Othello & Neighbors

Based on what we have learned throughout the course of the semester, write an essay where you explicate and connect two works from two of the three genres that you have studied this term. So, for this paper, you need to utilize a fiction/poetry, fiction/drama, or poetry/drama discussion. Your paper needs to be a minimum of 1500 words (approximately 5-7 pages). An explication is defined by the English department website at Tyler Junior College website as:
“An explication is a detailed analysis. To Explicate means to unfold; to give a detailed explanation of; to develop the implications of; to analyze logically.”
In order to “unfold” the meaning of the work, you will want to consider some (if not all) of the following questions:
What does the work mean? What are some themes that are present in the work?
What does the author want his or her reader to get out of the work?
If there are characters present, how do this / these characters grow throughout the course of the work? What do they desire?
How does the figurative language play into the piece?
What does this work demonstrate about the human condition?
These are not the only things that you should consider about the works, but they should get you started. If it helps, think of it as the same type of detailed analysis that we did for the poems where we used the steps to understanding a poem. The exception here is that you are going to do a detailed analysis for two of the three types of literature that we studied this semester and then connect the two works together.
Here is a skeleton of what your paper might look like. This pattern is not a requirement, but it is a guide to help you get started if you get stuck. You can organize your paper any way you like as long as it makes sense and explicates the two works and connects them together:
Paragraph 1: Introduction that illustrates the topic and has the thesis near the end of the paragraph. You need to introduce the two works, what you are going to argue about them, and how they are connected.
Paragraphs 2-3 (or more): Explicate work 1
Paragraph 4-5 (or more): Explicate work 2
Paragraph 6-7 (or more): Connect the two works together by their themes, historical/social importance, ideas, characters, or whatever theme you see as important. For ideas on themes, you can go to: https://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/wlf/what-theme (Links to an external site.)
Additional body paragraphs: Continue to prove your thesis with specific examples from your text and your secondary sources.
Final Paragraph: Thorough conclusion that puts a good final stamp on your essay.
In addition to your own analysis of the works, you must use at least four (4) secondary sources that you incorporate into your argument. The two primary sources do not count in this number, but you must cite them on your works cited page. So, there will be a minimum of 6 sources on your Works Cited page. These sources must be viable, legitimate academic sources that analyze the work (and follow the Approved Research Material Policy in the syllabus). Whatever you choose to focus on within these two pieces, remember to connect them to each other. In your citations and works cited page, please use MLA style.

****Othello By William Shakespeare****
****Neighbors By Raymond Carver****

*****Rough draft of the paper must be sent to me by 12/13 @ 12:00 PM****

Also the book must be cited as well “Perrine’s Literature Structure, Sound & Sense” By Greg Johnson & Thomas R. Arp

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