w2 Literary Analysis

CONFIDENCE

Complete the Week 2 Literary Analysis Tools Module before completing this assignment. Part of your grade is based on selection, integration, and citation of paraphrased quotations.

Read all of the information below before posting your response. This is a post-first forum, and you must post your response before gaining access to your classmates’ posts. Submitting a blank post may result in a reduction of your grade.

Post responses to both prompts. You must post on three different days to earn full credit for participation.

Post 1: You learned the definition of the American Dream in Week 1, and you also learned about the American identity. Traits often associated with the American identity include boldness, confidence, perseverance, and integrity. These traits are often demonstrated through a character’s words or actions. This week, we’ll focus on confidence and how it is reflected in two of the readings. Choose one character from a work of fiction (“Desiree’s Baby” or Trifles) and one person from a work of non-fiction (Torres, Kobabe, or Stanton). Describe how confidence is reflected in each.

Criteria:

· 300 words minimum (excluding quotations and citations)

· Include two properly integrated and cited paraphrased quotations (one related to each character) to support your claims. See the Literary Analysis Tools Module from this week’s activities for information about integrating and citing paraphrased quotations.

Posts 2 and 3: Respond to two different classmates. Do you agree with your classmate’s perspective? Why or why not? Be specific. What is the most convincing part of your classmate’s post? Why?

Criteria:

· 150 words minimum for each post (excluding quotations and citations)

· Include at least one paraphrased quote from in each response to a classmate to support your ideas. See the Literary Analysis Tools Module from this week’s activities for information about integrating and citing paraphrased quotations.

There is a no-research policy in place for this class. Using any material other than the assigned readings and lectures, even if it is correctly quoted and cited, will result in a failing grade for this assignment. Contact your instructor if you have questions about this policy.

First, you’ll need to choose a topic for your final essay, which will be at least 1,000 words in length. This is the topic you will use to create your outline in Week 2 and final essay in Week 3. Choose ONE of the topics below.

Option 1 – Watch either The Great Gatsby or The Color Purple and relate it to “The Way to Wealth”

The American Dream lecture in Week 1 points out that Poor Richard’s Almanac was an annual publication that included calendar lists, home recipes, weather forecasts, etc. What made Franklin’s almanac unlike other almanacs was the inclusion of Franklin’s witty parables and humorous writings. The maxims below relate to Franklin’s ideas of working hard, avoiding debt, and working toward attaining a virtuous character. Choose three maxims and align them with a character or characters in either The Color Purple or The Great Gatsby. For example, you might choose Celie from The Color Purple and discuss maxims 1, 4, and 6; or, you might choose The Great Gatsby and align Daisy with maxim 4, Tom with maxim 5, and Nick with maxim 6. You will be providing quotes from the film you select to support your observations about each character/maxim in your essay.

Choose Three of These Maxims from “The Way to Wealth”

1. “There are no gains without pains”

2. “Do not squander time, for that’s the stuff life made of”

3. “Fools make feasts, and wise men eat them”

4. “He that lives upon hope will die fasting”

5. “The second vice is lying, the first is running in debt”

6. “If you will not hear reason, she’ll surely rap your knuckles”

Your thesis statement should follow this template:

Three maxims from Franklin’s “The Way to Wealth” that the characters embody in The Color Purple (or The Great Gatsby) are _____, _____, and _____.

Option 2 – Compare or Contrast Using the Assigned Readings:

Write a comparison or contrast essay about two of the corresponding characters in the table below. You will choose three of the points of comparison from the pool below as your points of comparison or contrast. Keep in mind that the purpose of a comparison or contrast essay is to reveal something meaningful about the characters and their relationships to the text.

You will be using a point-by-point style of comparison, and you will have two choices for your thesis statement:

While some differences between __________ and __________ (names of characters in the pairing you chose) are evident, they are similar in the aspects of __________, __________, and __________ (you will determine three points of comparison from the pool, and those will become the topics of your three body paragraphs).

While some similarities between __________ and __________ (names of characters in the pairing you chose) are evident, they are different in the aspects of __________, __________, and __________ (you will determine three points of comparison from the pool, and those will become the topics of your three body paragraphs).

Choose one of these pairings:

Choose three of these traits:

1. Rip Van Winkle and Hugh Wolfe

A. Confidence

2. Deborah and Desiree Aubigny

B. Boldness

3. Dame Van Winkle and Mrs. Hale

C. Empathy toward others

4. Faith Brown and Minnie Wright

D. Perseverance

5. Maia Kobabe and Justin Torres

E. Integrity

F. Honor

Now that you have selected a topic and thought about your thesis statement, the next step is writing an outline to help you plan the final essay. Download and complete the appropriate outline for the topic you have selected.

When you are finished with your outline, submit it by clicking on the title of this page and submitting a Microsoft Word document. Do not type your outline into Blackboard using the “Text Submission” button; you must submit a file. Outlines not submitted as Microsoft Word documents may be returned to you ungraded.

There is a no-research policy in place for this class. Using any material other than the assigned readings and lectures, even if it is correctly quoted and cited, will result in a failing grade for this assignment. Contact your instructor if you have questions about this policy.