Southern Gothic Literature (ENGL 110 Essay 2)

ENGL 110 Essay 2 Instructor: Zollo
Choose one of the following prompts (or a combination) as a topic for your second essay:
1.    Write an analysis of the narrative point of view employed by one of our authors. Why does the author choose this perspective, and what does he or she accomplish by doing so? Support your assertions with evidence from the text.
2.    Write an analysis of the use of irony by one of our authors. What effect does the author achieve by including these elements? Support your analysis with evidence from the text.
3.    Analyze the theme of madness as developed by one of our authors. What does the author seem to suggest about the mental states of his/her character, and therefore the events that "occur" in the stories? Support your assertions with evidence from the text.
4.    Look up the elements associated with Southern Gothic fiction, and write an analysis of the use of those elements by Faulkner or O'Connor. Support your assertions with evidence from the text.
5.    Write an analysis of the symbols or images used by one of our authors. What do the authors accomplish by employing these images and symbols? Support your assertions with evidence from the texts.
6.    Several of our authors tackle issues from a female perspective. Choose one author and explore what she is suggesting about the roles of women in their respective times and societies? How are women seen in relation to the males and their roles in society? Are the authors calling for women to take action? Support your assertions with evidence from the text.
Follow the same process as before. Look back over your journals and choose an author to whom you had a strong response. Reread the story, and highlight and annotate any examples of these literary devices and themes. Then begin to do some brainstorming as illustrated in Chapters 2 & 7 of A Little Literature. Use the examples which you highlighted and annotated as specific evidence to support your conclusions and develop your body paragraphs.
Good essays begin with interesting introductions that capture the reader's attention, introduce the author and title of the work and its subject, and propose a thesis which your essay will argue. Good body paragraphs begin with a topic sentence that relates to some part of the thesis, then develop the topic in detail, using incidents and quotes from the work as evidence to support the writer's claims. They also include commentary, developing the implications of the events under discussion. Good body paragraphs close with summary sentences that wrap up your point and relate back to the topic sentence. Conclusions should reflect back on the thesis, theme, and subject of the essay, and end with a "clincher": a final sentence or thought that the reader can take away from both the work and your discussion of it.
Finished essays should be four to five pages in length, word processed and double spaced. See Appendix A of A Little Literature for manuscript form. Enjoy your time with the stories, and remember that you are teaching yourself what you think. Happy learning!