Literacy

Essay 3: due Monday, August 5th, 11:59 p.m. (upload to eLearningdropbox)
Approximately 900-1200 words, double-spaced, MLA format
One of the most challenging, illuminating, and valuable cognitive skills you will practice in college will be synthesis—the act of making connections between two or more different texts in order to enhance your (and the reader’s) understanding of each. Essay #3 differs from the previous two essays in that I am stipulating that you use (and cite!) at least one nonliterary work in addition to the literary work you are analyzing. This source must be a text that provides a cultural, historical, or artistic link to the work of literature—there must be an intertextual relationship to which you may draw attention—in other words, one text is illuminated in light of the other. Types of texts could include but are not limited to the following:
-a piece of music
-a nonfiction essay
-a speech
-a film
-a painting or other piece of art
-historical research or literary criticism
Your thesis statement in the essay should present the relationship between the literary and nonliterary textsor explain how one enhances our understanding of the other. You can start by investigating, then answering, one of the questions in the following prompt and go from there. Your body paragraphs should support the thesis by providing specific examples of howboth texts correspond to each other.
Include a works cited page that lists a citation for the work of literature, a citation for the nonliterary text, and a citation for any other work you might consult. In addition to the works cited page, you MUST CITE ALL SOURCES IN THE TEXT. See me or the writing lab if you do not know how to do this. ANY INSTANCE OF PLAGIARISM IN ANY FORM WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. ESSAYS SHOWING ANY EVIDENCE OF PLAGIARIZED PORTIONS WILL BE GIVEN AN AUTOMATIC ZERO WITH NO OPPORTUNITY TO REDEEM POINTS. NO EXCEPTIONS. If you are unsure of how to quote, paraphrase, or cite something properly, again, see me or the writing lab.
Below are some possible topics from which to choose, but you may write on another topic if you wish. HOWEVER, if you have an idea for a topic that is not on this list, please discuss it with me before beginning your paper.
1. Research Elia Kazan’s 1951 film adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire. What did the film remove or otherwise change about the original play? Why? How was the film received by audiences of the period?
2. In Flannery O’Connor’s “Good Country People,” Hulga seems to have adopted the philosophy of nihilism, “the belief that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated. It is often associated with extreme pessimism and a radical skepticism that condemns existence” (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy). What brand of nihilism does Hulga seem to espouse? What do her statements to Manley Pointer and her mother demonstrate about her philosophy? How does this philosophy (or skewed version of it!) fail her in the end? You may try consulting the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy for some background.
3. James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” mentions two famous jazz musicians: Louis Armstrong, whom the narrator cites as an example of jazz, and Charlie Parker (Bird), whom Sonny prefers. Research one or both of these musicians and their music. How do their musical styles provide insight into the differences between the narrator and Sonny?
4. Examine “Recitatif” in light of the civil rights movement at the time(s) the story takes place. How does research and insight into specific aspects or moments in this movement help readers to understand the story?
5. What does Adrienne Rich’s poem “Diving into the Wreck” represent? In other words, for what personal, social, or political movement or experience is it an allegory? What is symbolized, for instance, by the “book of myths” or even the wreck itself? Combine your analysis with research—you may start with one of Rich’s own nonfiction essays, or research related to social and political movements of the time—feminism, etc.
6. What is it that Sylva Plath’s “The Applicant” is critiquing? Is it an indictment of the institution of marriage, or is it more than that? In what ways is it a “feminist” poem? Research a feminist argument from the 1960s and explain how Plath’s poem engages or demonstrates this view. OR research advertising during Plath’s lifetime—in what ways does her poem reflect or subvert the rhetoric of consumer culture?
7. Examine the use of Nazi imagery in Plath’s “Daddy,” researching one or more of the allusions (references) she makes. What do these images convey? What do they suggest about the speaker’s relationships and experience of loss?

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