Responding to War Literature
Description: Students will practice interpreting, analysing or drawing
conclusions using the short stories and poetry from their anthology.
They should be mindful of dividing their object of
study into analytical components and constructing an interpretation that critiques,
challenges, or questions commonly purveyed attitudes about the thematic material,
symbols or genre we have discussed in class.
The final draft should be 4 pages double spaced,
including
any necessary explanation or description of what you are responding to. So be
CLEAR, concise, and FOCUSED. HINT: This is where succinct "signal phrases" come
in handy. See your handbook.
The final draft will be double spaced, follow
MLA format and be followed by a Work/s Cited page. Missing drafts or
workshops will
lower the final grade by one point for each missing draft or workshop session.
Topic Suggestions for a formalist approach:
- Compare and contrast any of the poems or the short story.
- Analyze one of the poems or the short story, focusing on a single
element (some examples listed below). Then show how that element enhances
your understanding of the subject matter.
- Tone / Voice
- Irony
- Symbolism
- Imagery
- Point of view (ie, the speaker of the poem, or the narrator of the
prose)
- Dramatic situation
A rhetorical approach:
- Evaluate a claim made by any of the writers so far. How does the
author
make the claim in either poetry or fiction? How convincing is the claim?
Draw on your own experience or the experience of others to support
your
argument.
- How does the text use the rhetorical appeals: logos ethos, pathos? How
sucessful are the appeals and why?
- write an explication du texte - a close reading, line by line,
and
respond to the meaning you have determined.
- ALTERNATIVELY, simply follow your bliss, using any of the war material
we read to date. If you opt to choose your own topic, make sure your
thesis is clear with plenty of textual examples to support your
assertions.
Due Dates:
- Feb 27: Rough draft (topic / development workshop) 3 pages
- Mar 4: Complete Rough Draft (typed - dev workshop) 4
pages for editing
- Mar 6: Final version with all drafts, worksheets and self
evaluation in a pocket folder.
Late papers will be lowered a full letter grade.
Use this space below to write down questions you may have and bring your
questions to the workshops.