Writing Assignment on
William Faulkner's "Barn Burning"
Before attempting this writing assignment, be sure you have worked through the Study Guide for this story.
Option 1. Analyze in detail the conflict within Sarty. Conclude your analysis by explaining why you believe Sarty resolves it the way he does.
Option 2. Explain in detail how we are to understand Abner Snopes' motivation. Why is he so antagonistic to his landlords? What are we to understand as the principles he believes in for determining who deserves respect and who does not? Suppose someone were to try to persuade him that he should be grateful to the likes of Mr. Harris or Major de Spain for giving him a living. What do you imagine would be his reply? Important lines of inquiry to explore include:
What principles lie behind Abner's general attitude towards fences (cf. ¶3, ¶26) and other expressions of the "modern" regime of property (cf. ¶15, ¶26, ¶39, ¶108)?
What are Abner's notions about "blood" and "blood ties"? (Cf., e.g., ¶29, ¶84.)
What is the relevance, if any, of what we learn about Abner's feelings towards the element of fire? (Cf., e.g., ¶26.)
What are we to make of the various expressions of his determination, his hardness of will? (Cf., e.g., ¶20, ¶25, ¶41, ¶42, ¶46, ¶91)?
What, for Abner, are the fundamental conditions for the preservation of a man's personal dignity (self-respect, integrity)? What form of general social organization would such a conception of person honor be most harmoniously adapted to? How is that form of social organization inconsistent with the social order within which Abner finds himself, by historical accident, as it were?
Option 3. What are we to think of the legitimacy of the overall social order within which the story takes place? What, for example, is your assessment of the quality of justice administered in the two court sessions (in different small towns) that we witness in the course of the story? Are there other relevant factors to be taken into account? Explain.
Consult the Study Guide to this story before attempting this writing assignment.
Suggestions are welcome. Please send your comments to lyman@ksu.edu .
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Barn Burning Study Guide 1020
Study Guide to
William Faulkner's "Barn Burning"
Allocate at least three readings to the story.
Arrange for your initial reading to be carried out at a single sitting. Your goal in this initial reading should be to familiarize yourself with the basic facts of the story. As you do this, you should be looking for answers to the following standard initial agenda of curiosity:
Who is the protagonist of the story?
What are the basic features of his situation or predicament?
As a part of this: what are the basic cultural norms the character takes for granted, or is asked by others to accept?
What are the important conflicts at work in the story?
Proceed on the assumption that there may be more than one, and that they will probably be related to each other. For example, what internal conflicts does the protagonist experience, and do these connect with conflicts between the protagonist and other characters?
Where would you locate the climax of the story?
Is there more than one way open for deciding this?
What is the point of view from which the story is conveyed?
Does the point of view shift in the course of the story?
What games does a given point of view open up for the writer to invite the reader to play? (That is, what problems of interpretation does the point of view make it possible to interest the reader in?) Does it look like the author is indeed offering to play this or that game?
Do not read further in this memo until you have completed your initial reading.
Many readers find that the point of view of the story and the narrator's language make it necessary for them to strain a bit to construct the basic facts of the story. Check to see if your picture of the skeleton facts of the story corresponds to the following. Add some details of your own to fill out these bare bones with important omitted facts.
Opening scene: a village general store somewhere in the American South (Mississippi?). A court is in session, presided over by a Justice of the Peace. Mr. Harris, a local landowner, has charged Abner Snopes, a share-cropping tenant, with arson - burning down his barn in retaliation for Harris' reactions to repeated incursions by Snopes' hog in Harris' crops.
The Snopes family camps out that night on the way to a new tenancy, in a county next door.
Description of the campfire. (What's important here?)
The father's admonition to the son. (What are the issues here?)
Arrival at the sharecropper's quarters at the new place.
Visit to the big house by Snopes (who has taken Sarty along):
Sarty's impression (What is the tone of the narrator's description of the house, as Sarty experiences it? What strikes you about what strikes him?)
Marring the rug
Back at the hut:
Major de Spain delivers the rug, demands it be cleaned.
Abner Snopes cleans the rug.
Snopes returns the rug, Sarty again being taken along on the errand.
Next morning (Wednesday) at the hut:
Major de Spain imposes a compensation.
Sarty's hopes. (What are these?)
Saturday, in town (a different one from scene 1), in another general store: court again:
Snopes charges that his landlord's imposition is unfair.
The J.P. reduces de Spain's exactions to $5 (10 bushels of corn beyond the share-cropping agreement already in force)
Later that afternoon, still in town:
Sarty's reaction
Fixing the wagon
Eating a meal (What is revealed about Abner Snopes here?)
Back home, sundown.
Snopes' conflict with his wife
Sarty escapes, warns de Spain, escapes from the bighouse. The barn burns as de Spain rides out. Sarty hears shots.
Midnight, atop a hill in the middle of a woods. (What are Sarty's thoughts?)
Dawn. (What are the important details?)
In your second reading, focus on Sarty. What is the story inviting us to notice about him? What should be our feelings about what he undergoes, what he does, what the impact of this will be upon him?
How would you describe the conflict he is experiencing?
What are the different values to which he seems to be committed? How are these values embodied?
What is it about his father that strikes him as admirable, worthy of respect?
Look carefully at the two court-session scenes. What is your reaction to the way the two judges act in the respective trials? What standards prompt the first judge's question to the plaintiff at the end of the trial? What standards prompt the plaintiff's decision? How do you feel about their commitment to these principles? How would you assess the judge's decision in the second trial?
How do you figure these events have registered with Sarty?
After Sarty runs away at the sound of the shots, is there any indication how Sarty will turn out? Will this now virtual orphan end up soundly on his psychological and ethical feet? Or will he be demoralized and destroyed by the trauma of what he has brought about? (Consider the conclusion of ¶28.)
Keep track in the margins of your text of the places where
the narration shifts into what we would understand as the language of his own thoughts
the narration renders his experience of something, but the language of the narrator deviates from the kind of vocabulary or syntax that we can regard as Sarty's own
the narration departs from Sarty's consciousness, in order
to tell us something about the past that Sarty does not know about
to tell us something about the future
to tell us something that Sarty would have thought or felt if he had known something that he does not know.
Do not read further in this memo until you have completed your second reading.
In your third reading, try something really difficult. See if you can find in the story a basis, indirectly conveyed, for understanding Abner Snopes in a sympathetic light.
This is difficult forseveral distinct reasons.
(1) This story is written almost exclusively from Sarty's point of view, even though (as you will have noticed in your second reading) the narrator indicates Sarty's experience from a conceptual vantage point that transcends Sarty's own conceptual repertoire, and even though the narrator occasionally acquaints us with facts that we are told Sarty has never heard of.
(2) We are clearly meant to sympathize with what Sarty is undergoing and with the decision he makes at the end, and this decision is not only counter to his father's will, but seems to result in the latter's death.
(3) The narrator paints Abner Snopes' appearance and impact upon his family in an apparently unsympathetic light.
(4) Snopes' motivation is left entirely unexplained, mysterious, unaccountable, bizarre - at least on the explicit plain. - hence (apparently) irrational, even mad.
Yet there are some features of Faulkner's portrait of Abner Snopes that warn us it would be a mistake to appreciate him only as a simple villain. Make it your business, in your third reading, to pay attention to details that indicate:
(1) that there are things about him that are impressive, even admirable.
Tick off in the margin details that might serve as grounds for such view..
(2) that his "world view" is radically different from that which has come to be the established one, and that his sense is what the proper basis for self respect is something that on its own terms makes sense.
Make an effort (you may not succeed, but make the effort!) to see how Snopes' picture of what should be is hard for us to appreciate because the picture that is established, which we ourselves participate in, and which contradicts it, is so pervasive, so dominant, that it is difficult for the rest of the characters and for us ourselves (who have all implicitly come to be a part of the consensus) even to imagine what it is, and how it hangs together, despite the fact that Snopes' is historically more traditional. The fact that the two are irreconcilable means that if one is realized, the other is negated, and this in turn means that partisans of each must regard each other as a profound threat. What we find so deeply threatening we are tempted to find ways to regard as simply unintelligible. Your task here is to resist that temptation. Try to discover how Snopes' picture might be at least intelligible - even if, in the end, you decide that you would reject it.
What are the sources of the raging resentment of the people for whom the prevailing circumstances force Snopes to work?
What does he evidently see as the principles that he is defending, from a position of severe disadvantage?
Do you have some idea, historically, of how the circumstances came about that he sees as antagonistic to these principles? Or is it a fact of nature, rather than of particular societies, that some people must work for others on terms for the most part dictated by these others?
Would it make a difference, in your view, whether these conditions of inequality were a fact of nature or a socially constructed artifact? (Note that this question is logically independent of the question of whether you think that they were or were not such an artifact.)
The key questions, then, concern Abner Snopes motivation. On the face of things, his behaviors are bizarre and unaccountable. But are they ultimately? (Remember: your task is not to find a way to endorse Snopes - only to understand what drives him.) What, then, are the factors (the complex of factors) that you detect behind:
his negligence concerning the hog that keeps getting into Mr. Harris' corn;
his burning of Harris' barn;
his marring de Spain's rug;
his "cleaning" it the way he does;
his suing de Spain;
his burning of de Spain's barn?
Here are some of the paragraphs you will want to take into special account: 25, 26, 28, 38, 45, 83.
There's a Writing Assignment on this story.
Suggestions are welcome. Please send your comments to lyman@ksu.edu .
Contents copyright © 1999 by Lyman A. Baker.
Permission is granted for non-commercial educational use; all other rights reserved.
This page last updated 09 November 2000.
William Faulkner's "Barn Burning"
Allocate at least three readings to the story.
Arrange for your initial reading to be carried out at a single sitting. Your goal in this initial reading should be to familiarize yourself with the basic facts of the story. As you do this, you should be looking for answers to the following standard initial agenda of curiosity:
Who is the protagonist of the story?
What are the basic features of his situation or predicament?
As a part of this: what are the basic cultural norms the character takes for granted, or is asked by others to accept?
What are the important conflicts at work in the story?
Proceed on the assumption that there may be more than one, and that they will probably be related to each other. For example, what internal conflicts does the protagonist experience, and do these connect with conflicts between the protagonist and other characters?
Where would you locate the climax of the story?
Is there more than one way open for deciding this?
What is the point of view from which the story is conveyed?
Does the point of view shift in the course of the story?
What games does a given point of view open up for the writer to invite the reader to play? (That is, what problems of interpretation does the point of view make it possible to interest the reader in?) Does it look like the author is indeed offering to play this or that game?
Do not read further in this memo until you have completed your initial reading.
Many readers find that the point of view of the story and the narrator's language make it necessary for them to strain a bit to construct the basic facts of the story. Check to see if your picture of the skeleton facts of the story corresponds to the following. Add some details of your own to fill out these bare bones with important omitted facts.
Opening scene: a village general store somewhere in the American South (Mississippi?). A court is in session, presided over by a Justice of the Peace. Mr. Harris, a local landowner, has charged Abner Snopes, a share-cropping tenant, with arson - burning down his barn in retaliation for Harris' reactions to repeated incursions by Snopes' hog in Harris' crops.
The Snopes family camps out that night on the way to a new tenancy, in a county next door.
Description of the campfire. (What's important here?)
The father's admonition to the son. (What are the issues here?)
Arrival at the sharecropper's quarters at the new place.
Visit to the big house by Snopes (who has taken Sarty along):
Sarty's impression (What is the tone of the narrator's description of the house, as Sarty experiences it? What strikes you about what strikes him?)
Marring the rug
Back at the hut:
Major de Spain delivers the rug, demands it be cleaned.
Abner Snopes cleans the rug.
Snopes returns the rug, Sarty again being taken along on the errand.
Next morning (Wednesday) at the hut:
Major de Spain imposes a compensation.
Sarty's hopes. (What are these?)
Saturday, in town (a different one from scene 1), in another general store: court again:
Snopes charges that his landlord's imposition is unfair.
The J.P. reduces de Spain's exactions to $5 (10 bushels of corn beyond the share-cropping agreement already in force)
Later that afternoon, still in town:
Sarty's reaction
Fixing the wagon
Eating a meal (What is revealed about Abner Snopes here?)
Back home, sundown.
Snopes' conflict with his wife
Sarty escapes, warns de Spain, escapes from the bighouse. The barn burns as de Spain rides out. Sarty hears shots.
Midnight, atop a hill in the middle of a woods. (What are Sarty's thoughts?)
Dawn. (What are the important details?)
In your second reading, focus on Sarty. What is the story inviting us to notice about him? What should be our feelings about what he undergoes, what he does, what the impact of this will be upon him?
How would you describe the conflict he is experiencing?
What are the different values to which he seems to be committed? How are these values embodied?
What is it about his father that strikes him as admirable, worthy of respect?
Look carefully at the two court-session scenes. What is your reaction to the way the two judges act in the respective trials? What standards prompt the first judge's question to the plaintiff at the end of the trial? What standards prompt the plaintiff's decision? How do you feel about their commitment to these principles? How would you assess the judge's decision in the second trial?
How do you figure these events have registered with Sarty?
After Sarty runs away at the sound of the shots, is there any indication how Sarty will turn out? Will this now virtual orphan end up soundly on his psychological and ethical feet? Or will he be demoralized and destroyed by the trauma of what he has brought about? (Consider the conclusion of ¶28.)
Keep track in the margins of your text of the places where
the narration shifts into what we would understand as the language of his own thoughts
the narration renders his experience of something, but the language of the narrator deviates from the kind of vocabulary or syntax that we can regard as Sarty's own
the narration departs from Sarty's consciousness, in order
to tell us something about the past that Sarty does not know about
to tell us something about the future
to tell us something that Sarty would have thought or felt if he had known something that he does not know.
Do not read further in this memo until you have completed your second reading.
In your third reading, try something really difficult. See if you can find in the story a basis, indirectly conveyed, for understanding Abner Snopes in a sympathetic light.
This is difficult forseveral distinct reasons.
(1) This story is written almost exclusively from Sarty's point of view, even though (as you will have noticed in your second reading) the narrator indicates Sarty's experience from a conceptual vantage point that transcends Sarty's own conceptual repertoire, and even though the narrator occasionally acquaints us with facts that we are told Sarty has never heard of.
(2) We are clearly meant to sympathize with what Sarty is undergoing and with the decision he makes at the end, and this decision is not only counter to his father's will, but seems to result in the latter's death.
(3) The narrator paints Abner Snopes' appearance and impact upon his family in an apparently unsympathetic light.
(4) Snopes' motivation is left entirely unexplained, mysterious, unaccountable, bizarre - at least on the explicit plain. - hence (apparently) irrational, even mad.
Yet there are some features of Faulkner's portrait of Abner Snopes that warn us it would be a mistake to appreciate him only as a simple villain. Make it your business, in your third reading, to pay attention to details that indicate:
(1) that there are things about him that are impressive, even admirable.
Tick off in the margin details that might serve as grounds for such view..
(2) that his "world view" is radically different from that which has come to be the established one, and that his sense is what the proper basis for self respect is something that on its own terms makes sense.
Make an effort (you may not succeed, but make the effort!) to see how Snopes' picture of what should be is hard for us to appreciate because the picture that is established, which we ourselves participate in, and which contradicts it, is so pervasive, so dominant, that it is difficult for the rest of the characters and for us ourselves (who have all implicitly come to be a part of the consensus) even to imagine what it is, and how it hangs together, despite the fact that Snopes' is historically more traditional. The fact that the two are irreconcilable means that if one is realized, the other is negated, and this in turn means that partisans of each must regard each other as a profound threat. What we find so deeply threatening we are tempted to find ways to regard as simply unintelligible. Your task here is to resist that temptation. Try to discover how Snopes' picture might be at least intelligible - even if, in the end, you decide that you would reject it.
What are the sources of the raging resentment of the people for whom the prevailing circumstances force Snopes to work?
What does he evidently see as the principles that he is defending, from a position of severe disadvantage?
Do you have some idea, historically, of how the circumstances came about that he sees as antagonistic to these principles? Or is it a fact of nature, rather than of particular societies, that some people must work for others on terms for the most part dictated by these others?
Would it make a difference, in your view, whether these conditions of inequality were a fact of nature or a socially constructed artifact? (Note that this question is logically independent of the question of whether you think that they were or were not such an artifact.)
The key questions, then, concern Abner Snopes motivation. On the face of things, his behaviors are bizarre and unaccountable. But are they ultimately? (Remember: your task is not to find a way to endorse Snopes - only to understand what drives him.) What, then, are the factors (the complex of factors) that you detect behind:
his negligence concerning the hog that keeps getting into Mr. Harris' corn;
his burning of Harris' barn;
his marring de Spain's rug;
his "cleaning" it the way he does;
his suing de Spain;
his burning of de Spain's barn?
Here are some of the paragraphs you will want to take into special account: 25, 26, 28, 38, 45, 83.
There's a Writing Assignment on this story.
Suggestions are welcome. Please send your comments to lyman@ksu.edu .
Contents copyright © 1999 by Lyman A. Baker.
Permission is granted for non-commercial educational use; all other rights reserved.
This page last updated 09 November 2000.
Faulkner's "Barn Burning" Questions 1020
Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” Questions
Engl 1010
Hasting
1. Describe the buildings in the story, their presentation and importance.
2. What are the possessions of the Snopes family? How are they described and what significance do they have?
3. Locate and analyze passages in the story that emphasize the characters’ differences in wealth.
4. What crimes against property is Abner Snopes guilty of before the events of the story? During the time interval of the story? What punishments result?
5. Locate an explicit reference to the idea of “owning people.” Is the idea implied in other passages?
6. What are the story’s implications regarding the “American Dream” and ideal of the United States as the land of opportunity and justice?
Engl 1010
Hasting
1. Describe the buildings in the story, their presentation and importance.
2. What are the possessions of the Snopes family? How are they described and what significance do they have?
3. Locate and analyze passages in the story that emphasize the characters’ differences in wealth.
4. What crimes against property is Abner Snopes guilty of before the events of the story? During the time interval of the story? What punishments result?
5. Locate an explicit reference to the idea of “owning people.” Is the idea implied in other passages?
6. What are the story’s implications regarding the “American Dream” and ideal of the United States as the land of opportunity and justice?
Classification Essay 1010
CLASSIFICATION ESSAY
ENGLISH 1010
HASTING
In classification we analyze a subject by arranging it into groups or categories rather than separate parts. Here are some examples:
Apartments: kinds of apartments
High-rise
Garden
Tenements
Colleges:
Liberal arts
Community
Private
Biologists classify Vertebrates:
Mammals
Birds
Reptiles
Amphibians
Fish
Each class represents a major portion in your essay. Each needs to be defined and described, with as many examples as needed for clarity. Each must be carefully differentiated from the others when any possibility of confusion occurs.
Always use one principle of classification. Cars can be analyzed by engine size, manufacturer, price, body style, etc. Analyze only one of the many classifications that are available in order to avoid being inconsistent.
Acknowledge any complications. When classifying people or groups, remember that this is a necessary but artificial assignation, no one is a complete introvert, or complete a conservative, or a total liberal. You are classifying them in order to make some sort of point (hopefully!) not just to stereotype them. We never write a paper that does not have an argumentative purpose. Your point of view must be convincing and stated clearly in the thesis.
Examples of a classification thesis:
Good politicians in this country are vastly outnumbered by the bad and mediocre.
Every major religion in the United States has a similar concept of God.
The distinctions among normal drinkers, heavy drinkers, and alcoholics are dangerously vague.
Only one kind of television program makes any appeal to the viewer’s intelligence.
As the observant beachcomber moves from the tidal area to the upper beach to the sandy dunes, rich variations in marine life become apparent. (Obviously, this essay is going to be about different kinds of marine life)
Although most people focus on the dangers associated with the disposal of toxic waste in the land and ocean, incineration of toxic matter may pose an even more serious threat to human life. (this one is focused on methods of disposal)
Suggested topics:
television doctors, snobbishness, drug users, people at a concert or sporting event, methods of making excuses, cashiers in supermarkets, clothing, parents, love, hate, laziness, new programs or commentators, freshman English students, managers or coaches of athletic teams, ambition, summer jobs, pessimists, optimists, attitudes towards Christmas, attitudes toward money, attitudes toward sex
See pgs. 279-80 in Longman under classification for more potential topics
Parameters for the classification essay:
This essay is written in class on Wed. March 18
Essay must be at least 500 words
Must have a six to ten sentence Introduction paragraph
Thesis must appear as the last sentence in the introduction
Topic sentences must appear clearly as the FIRST sentence of each body paragraph.
Provide appropriate supporting details in each paragraph (Your essay must provide evidence of cohesion)
Must have a conclusion
Remember to double-space text
Use MLA style heading
Staple
Do not use contractions, ask rhetorical questions, or use the personal pronoun
“you”
Follow the rules on capitalizing your title
ENGLISH 1010
HASTING
In classification we analyze a subject by arranging it into groups or categories rather than separate parts. Here are some examples:
Apartments: kinds of apartments
High-rise
Garden
Tenements
Colleges:
Liberal arts
Community
Private
Biologists classify Vertebrates:
Mammals
Birds
Reptiles
Amphibians
Fish
Each class represents a major portion in your essay. Each needs to be defined and described, with as many examples as needed for clarity. Each must be carefully differentiated from the others when any possibility of confusion occurs.
Always use one principle of classification. Cars can be analyzed by engine size, manufacturer, price, body style, etc. Analyze only one of the many classifications that are available in order to avoid being inconsistent.
Acknowledge any complications. When classifying people or groups, remember that this is a necessary but artificial assignation, no one is a complete introvert, or complete a conservative, or a total liberal. You are classifying them in order to make some sort of point (hopefully!) not just to stereotype them. We never write a paper that does not have an argumentative purpose. Your point of view must be convincing and stated clearly in the thesis.
Examples of a classification thesis:
Good politicians in this country are vastly outnumbered by the bad and mediocre.
Every major religion in the United States has a similar concept of God.
The distinctions among normal drinkers, heavy drinkers, and alcoholics are dangerously vague.
Only one kind of television program makes any appeal to the viewer’s intelligence.
As the observant beachcomber moves from the tidal area to the upper beach to the sandy dunes, rich variations in marine life become apparent. (Obviously, this essay is going to be about different kinds of marine life)
Although most people focus on the dangers associated with the disposal of toxic waste in the land and ocean, incineration of toxic matter may pose an even more serious threat to human life. (this one is focused on methods of disposal)
Suggested topics:
television doctors, snobbishness, drug users, people at a concert or sporting event, methods of making excuses, cashiers in supermarkets, clothing, parents, love, hate, laziness, new programs or commentators, freshman English students, managers or coaches of athletic teams, ambition, summer jobs, pessimists, optimists, attitudes towards Christmas, attitudes toward money, attitudes toward sex
See pgs. 279-80 in Longman under classification for more potential topics
Parameters for the classification essay:
This essay is written in class on Wed. March 18
Essay must be at least 500 words
Must have a six to ten sentence Introduction paragraph
Thesis must appear as the last sentence in the introduction
Topic sentences must appear clearly as the FIRST sentence of each body paragraph.
Provide appropriate supporting details in each paragraph (Your essay must provide evidence of cohesion)
Must have a conclusion
Remember to double-space text
Use MLA style heading
Staple
Do not use contractions, ask rhetorical questions, or use the personal pronoun
“you”
Follow the rules on capitalizing your title
The Exemplification Essay DSPW 0800
THE EXEMPLIFICATION ESSAY
DSPW 0800
HASTING
An example is a single item drawn from a larger group to which it belongs. The exemplification essay will be filled with examples that will support your thesis. The following are specific examples drawn from a general topic:
Smog is one of the many possible examples of pollution.
Chicken pox is an example of a childhood disease.
The egg yolk on Bill’s tie is an example of his sloppy eating habits.
The bald eagle is an example of an endangered species that has been preserved.
The French Reign of Terror is an example that supports the idea that violent revolutions often begat a violent backlash.
Examples add interest. Specific examples take a humdrum generalization such as war is bad, and give it life by providing the rich detail that the reader needs in order to follow your argument.
Examples help to persuade. All of your examples should be relevant and persuasive. The main point of each example used should be one which supports your thesis. The examples you choose should encourage your reader to take your thesis seriously.
The number of examples needed is up to you and the topic you have chosen to write about. Three examples would be minimal, but would require a lot of development in order to make your argument sound.
It is very important to choose examples that are representative. The examples you choose should not be of some random, out-of-the-ordinary event that your reader will dismiss as an aberration and not representative of the problem of your topic.
It will be easy to get sidetracked when writing an example essay because you will want to explain what can be done about a problem or the causes for a problem and then you will have gone off track and away from your thesis.
Your first example should get you off with a bang! Choose your best example and use it first in the body of your essay. Your job as a writer is to stimulate interest, arouse curiosity, make the reader laugh and the sooner you do this the better. Once your reader is interested, curious, or laughing you have him or her hooked.
A few example topics:
Some teachers try to hard to identify with their students.
Junk food has many virtues.
Corruption is part of the American way of life.
Teenage marriages are likely to end unhappily.
People express their personalities through the clothes they wear.
The generation gap is a myth.
Children’s television programs display too much violence.
A student’s life is not a happy one.
Members of the clergy are complex human beings, not plaster saints.
You can tell a lot about people from their table manners.
Student government is a farce.
Apparent nonconformists are sometimes the worst conformists.
Everyone loves to gossip.
Many people never learn from their mistakes.
The effort to succeed is more satisfying than success itself.
Even at their best, most people are basically selfish.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Taking care of a pet can be a great educational experience for children.
Newspapers rarely bother to report good news
Parameters:
Must be at least 500 words
Form:
Must have a four to five sentence Introduction paragraph
Thesis must appear as the last sentence in the introduction
Topic sentences must appear clearly as the FIRST sentence of each body paragraph
Provide appropriate supporting details in each paragraph (Your essay must provide evidence of cohesion)
Must have a conclusion
Remember to:
Double-space text
Use an MLA style heading
Staple
Do not use contractions, ask rhetorical questions, or use the personal pronoun “you”
Follow the rules on capitalizing your title
The exemplification essay will be written out of class on a subject of your choice.
Due Dates:
DSPW 0800 101
Conferences will be on March 2, 3, 4
Conference sign up will be Friday Feb. 27
Final draft is due on
March 18
DSPW 0800 102
Conferences will be on March 3 and 5
Conference sign up will be Thursday February 26
Final draft is due on March 17
Bring two typed copies of your first draft to the conference. I will not look at essays which are not typed. Missing your conference will result in a 10 point deduction in the final essay grade.
Submit you first draft to Smarthinking. Include the tutor’s comments when you turn in the final draft. Not consulting with a Smarthinking tutor will result in a 10 point reduction in the essay grade
DSPW 0800
HASTING
An example is a single item drawn from a larger group to which it belongs. The exemplification essay will be filled with examples that will support your thesis. The following are specific examples drawn from a general topic:
Smog is one of the many possible examples of pollution.
Chicken pox is an example of a childhood disease.
The egg yolk on Bill’s tie is an example of his sloppy eating habits.
The bald eagle is an example of an endangered species that has been preserved.
The French Reign of Terror is an example that supports the idea that violent revolutions often begat a violent backlash.
Examples add interest. Specific examples take a humdrum generalization such as war is bad, and give it life by providing the rich detail that the reader needs in order to follow your argument.
Examples help to persuade. All of your examples should be relevant and persuasive. The main point of each example used should be one which supports your thesis. The examples you choose should encourage your reader to take your thesis seriously.
The number of examples needed is up to you and the topic you have chosen to write about. Three examples would be minimal, but would require a lot of development in order to make your argument sound.
It is very important to choose examples that are representative. The examples you choose should not be of some random, out-of-the-ordinary event that your reader will dismiss as an aberration and not representative of the problem of your topic.
It will be easy to get sidetracked when writing an example essay because you will want to explain what can be done about a problem or the causes for a problem and then you will have gone off track and away from your thesis.
Your first example should get you off with a bang! Choose your best example and use it first in the body of your essay. Your job as a writer is to stimulate interest, arouse curiosity, make the reader laugh and the sooner you do this the better. Once your reader is interested, curious, or laughing you have him or her hooked.
A few example topics:
Some teachers try to hard to identify with their students.
Junk food has many virtues.
Corruption is part of the American way of life.
Teenage marriages are likely to end unhappily.
People express their personalities through the clothes they wear.
The generation gap is a myth.
Children’s television programs display too much violence.
A student’s life is not a happy one.
Members of the clergy are complex human beings, not plaster saints.
You can tell a lot about people from their table manners.
Student government is a farce.
Apparent nonconformists are sometimes the worst conformists.
Everyone loves to gossip.
Many people never learn from their mistakes.
The effort to succeed is more satisfying than success itself.
Even at their best, most people are basically selfish.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
Taking care of a pet can be a great educational experience for children.
Newspapers rarely bother to report good news
Parameters:
Must be at least 500 words
Form:
Must have a four to five sentence Introduction paragraph
Thesis must appear as the last sentence in the introduction
Topic sentences must appear clearly as the FIRST sentence of each body paragraph
Provide appropriate supporting details in each paragraph (Your essay must provide evidence of cohesion)
Must have a conclusion
Remember to:
Double-space text
Use an MLA style heading
Staple
Do not use contractions, ask rhetorical questions, or use the personal pronoun “you”
Follow the rules on capitalizing your title
The exemplification essay will be written out of class on a subject of your choice.
Due Dates:
DSPW 0800 101
Conferences will be on March 2, 3, 4
Conference sign up will be Friday Feb. 27
Final draft is due on
March 18
DSPW 0800 102
Conferences will be on March 3 and 5
Conference sign up will be Thursday February 26
Final draft is due on March 17
Bring two typed copies of your first draft to the conference. I will not look at essays which are not typed. Missing your conference will result in a 10 point deduction in the final essay grade.
Submit you first draft to Smarthinking. Include the tutor’s comments when you turn in the final draft. Not consulting with a Smarthinking tutor will result in a 10 point reduction in the essay grade
Monday, February 16, 2009
Soldier's Home
Ernest Hemingway's "Soldier's Home"Commentary by Karen Bernardo
As Hemingway’s "Soldier’s Home" opens, the protagonist, Harold Krebs, has just come back from World War I. All the other young men his age have settled back into small-town life and found a niche for themselves as contributing members of the community. But Harold, for some reason, cannot do this; instead, he plays pool, "practice[s] on his clarinet, stroll[s] down town, read[s], and [goes] to bed."
Harold’s experiences in Europe have changed him irrevocably, and this change is dramatically played out against the backdrop of a town where nothing has changed for years. His father parks his same car in the same place he did before the war; the girls walking down the street look like the same girls with whom Harold went to school. People want Harold to justify his existence by talking about the glories of the war, but the experience wasn’t glorious for him; he is acutely aware that he was "badly, sickeningly frightened all the time."
It is not until his mother confronts him about his future that he realizes that he cannot continue to live this lie. Over breakfast, his mother pressures him to get a job by arguing that "There are no idle hands in [God’s] Kingdom." Harold replies, "I’m not in His Kingdom" -- and he’s not. The world he discovered during World War I had no hand of God in it. His mother, in despair, asks whether he loves her, and Harold responds quite truthfully that he doesn’t. We know that this is because his entire worldview has been turned upside down by his traumatic experiences in the war, and the ability to genuinely love requires an emotional balance he does not have right now. But his mother does not understand this, because she cannot identify with his experiences.
Harold veers onto the edge of self-revelation with his straight-forward answers about the Kingdom of God and his lack of ability to love, but when his mother begins to cry he waffles. So he backs down, telling her that of course he loves her and he wants her to pray for him. But he realizes in that moment that there is no source of strength except that which can be forged from within himself, and he will never be able to become assimilated back into the community in which he was born. Harold Krebs, only just returned, knows he has to go away.
As is typical of Hemingway’s fictional heroes, Harold has lost his belief in those systems -- religion, tradition, "family values," and the like -- which protect most of us from the existential world. A person who believes in nothing requires tremendous courage just to keep on living, but for the Hemingway hero it is better than living a lie.
As Hemingway’s "Soldier’s Home" opens, the protagonist, Harold Krebs, has just come back from World War I. All the other young men his age have settled back into small-town life and found a niche for themselves as contributing members of the community. But Harold, for some reason, cannot do this; instead, he plays pool, "practice[s] on his clarinet, stroll[s] down town, read[s], and [goes] to bed."
Harold’s experiences in Europe have changed him irrevocably, and this change is dramatically played out against the backdrop of a town where nothing has changed for years. His father parks his same car in the same place he did before the war; the girls walking down the street look like the same girls with whom Harold went to school. People want Harold to justify his existence by talking about the glories of the war, but the experience wasn’t glorious for him; he is acutely aware that he was "badly, sickeningly frightened all the time."
It is not until his mother confronts him about his future that he realizes that he cannot continue to live this lie. Over breakfast, his mother pressures him to get a job by arguing that "There are no idle hands in [God’s] Kingdom." Harold replies, "I’m not in His Kingdom" -- and he’s not. The world he discovered during World War I had no hand of God in it. His mother, in despair, asks whether he loves her, and Harold responds quite truthfully that he doesn’t. We know that this is because his entire worldview has been turned upside down by his traumatic experiences in the war, and the ability to genuinely love requires an emotional balance he does not have right now. But his mother does not understand this, because she cannot identify with his experiences.
Harold veers onto the edge of self-revelation with his straight-forward answers about the Kingdom of God and his lack of ability to love, but when his mother begins to cry he waffles. So he backs down, telling her that of course he loves her and he wants her to pray for him. But he realizes in that moment that there is no source of strength except that which can be forged from within himself, and he will never be able to become assimilated back into the community in which he was born. Harold Krebs, only just returned, knows he has to go away.
As is typical of Hemingway’s fictional heroes, Harold has lost his belief in those systems -- religion, tradition, "family values," and the like -- which protect most of us from the existential world. A person who believes in nothing requires tremendous courage just to keep on living, but for the Hemingway hero it is better than living a lie.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Literary Research Paper
English 1020/ Composition II
Literary Research Paper
Hasting
Literature available for research: Trifles, The Story of an Hour, Soldier’s Home, A Rose for Emily, Barn Burning, Good Country People, A Good Man is Hard to Find, Revelation, A & P, poetry must be chosen from the textbook.
Parameters for research:
1. Conduct research on a thesis developed from a play, short story or poem listed in the literature list above.
2. Attendance on library research days and approval dates are mandatory and missing will cause a deduction in your final research paper grade.
3. Anyone who plagiarizes this paper, wholly or in part, will fail the paper and the course.
Possible ideas for development: (Harbrace 704-724)
1. Detailed poetry explication. This requires a line by line explanation and interpretation of the poem(s) you have chosen.
2. Apply a critical theory to a piece of literature, examine three literary elements found in the literature, and apply all towards the question of theme.
For this assignment remember to review the material from our text as well as the handbook.
Format instructions for body text and other elements (Harbrace 632-647)
In-line citation suggestions (Harbrace 603-612)
Guidelines for works cited page (Harbrace 613-632)
Models for works cited page (Harbrace 650-651)
Required Paper Elements
Use standard MLA format for main body text of the paper; include name and page number in top right hand corner of the page (Harbrace 632-647)
Length: Paper must contain a 1000 word minimum quotes included (double-spaced, size-12 Times New Roman ) plus a Works Cited page. No title page
Must have at least 6-10 sentence Introductory (Harbrace 450-453) paragraph in which your argument is clearly presented.
Thesis statement with primary argument must appear in one sentence and as the last sentence of your introduction.. (Harbrace 426-436)
Body of the paper must include 3 main points of development
(Harbrace 426-436)
Topic sentences must appear clearly as the first sentence of each body paragraph. Plenty of supporting details in each paragraph (at least 3-10 sentences per paragraph).
Must have at least 4-6 sentence Conclusion paragraph (Harbrace 453-456) which draws the paper to a close by recapping the main points of your analysis.
Works cited (Harbrace 651)
Lists only works you cited in your paper; listed in alphabetical order and in proper MLA format
Language:
Avoid the first person use of “I.” The word “you” and its derivatives should not be used. Remember that literary essays are written in the present tense only.
Research Requirement List:
5 Sources of Information (Harbrace 546-583)
3 Traditional and/or ebooks
2 Journal articles (hardcopy or from a database)
No Internet sources will be accepted.
Sources should not take up more than 25% of your final essay.
All sources used in the literary research paper must be verified by copying the quotation, paraphrased section, or summarized area and turning them in with the paper on the due date.
The paper must contain a minimum of five quotes, paraphrases, or summaries.
(Harbrace 590-600)
Due Dates: Research Topic approval March 5, 2009
Research Thesis and Formal Outline March 24, 2009
Conferences April 7 and 9, 2009
Research Paper due April 21, 2009
Literary Research Paper
Hasting
Literature available for research: Trifles, The Story of an Hour, Soldier’s Home, A Rose for Emily, Barn Burning, Good Country People, A Good Man is Hard to Find, Revelation, A & P, poetry must be chosen from the textbook.
Parameters for research:
1. Conduct research on a thesis developed from a play, short story or poem listed in the literature list above.
2. Attendance on library research days and approval dates are mandatory and missing will cause a deduction in your final research paper grade.
3. Anyone who plagiarizes this paper, wholly or in part, will fail the paper and the course.
Possible ideas for development: (Harbrace 704-724)
1. Detailed poetry explication. This requires a line by line explanation and interpretation of the poem(s) you have chosen.
2. Apply a critical theory to a piece of literature, examine three literary elements found in the literature, and apply all towards the question of theme.
For this assignment remember to review the material from our text as well as the handbook.
Format instructions for body text and other elements (Harbrace 632-647)
In-line citation suggestions (Harbrace 603-612)
Guidelines for works cited page (Harbrace 613-632)
Models for works cited page (Harbrace 650-651)
Required Paper Elements
Use standard MLA format for main body text of the paper; include name and page number in top right hand corner of the page (Harbrace 632-647)
Length: Paper must contain a 1000 word minimum quotes included (double-spaced, size-12 Times New Roman ) plus a Works Cited page. No title page
Must have at least 6-10 sentence Introductory (Harbrace 450-453) paragraph in which your argument is clearly presented.
Thesis statement with primary argument must appear in one sentence and as the last sentence of your introduction.. (Harbrace 426-436)
Body of the paper must include 3 main points of development
(Harbrace 426-436)
Topic sentences must appear clearly as the first sentence of each body paragraph. Plenty of supporting details in each paragraph (at least 3-10 sentences per paragraph).
Must have at least 4-6 sentence Conclusion paragraph (Harbrace 453-456) which draws the paper to a close by recapping the main points of your analysis.
Works cited (Harbrace 651)
Lists only works you cited in your paper; listed in alphabetical order and in proper MLA format
Language:
Avoid the first person use of “I.” The word “you” and its derivatives should not be used. Remember that literary essays are written in the present tense only.
Research Requirement List:
5 Sources of Information (Harbrace 546-583)
3 Traditional and/or ebooks
2 Journal articles (hardcopy or from a database)
No Internet sources will be accepted.
Sources should not take up more than 25% of your final essay.
All sources used in the literary research paper must be verified by copying the quotation, paraphrased section, or summarized area and turning them in with the paper on the due date.
The paper must contain a minimum of five quotes, paraphrases, or summaries.
(Harbrace 590-600)
Due Dates: Research Topic approval March 5, 2009
Research Thesis and Formal Outline March 24, 2009
Conferences April 7 and 9, 2009
Research Paper due April 21, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)