Paper 1:
Character & Symbolism |
In your first paper this semester, you will write a character analysis that also explores the use of symbols in the story. Your paper will range from 750-1000 words in length (3-4 typewritten, double-spaced pages); you may wish to download the Paper 1 evaluation rubric.
For this paper, you may choose any one of the main characters from Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” or from Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles”; if you wish to write about a story we have not discussed in class, you may also analyze the main character in John Updike’s “A&P.” Your paper will analyze the character, but also discuss how the author’s use of symbolism helps the reader understanding both the character and the story more fully.
It is important when writing a paper that combines discussions of multiple elements of literature not to simply have separate paragraphs discussing character and then symbolism as isolated elements. Your paper must have an overall thesis that combines the analysis of both elements.
As with your Browning essay, you are making a statement about what sort of character the character you’ve chosen to write about has, but also linking that more broadly to how an understanding of character helps you interpret the story. In addition, you must discuss at least one symbol from the story to explain how that symbol is significant to the character and the story. Your paper must have a clear thesis statement, topic sentences in the body paragraphs, and textual evidence to back up your conclusions. Please reread chapters 1 and 2 of Literature and the Writing Process, which address how to write a character analysis and which distinguish between a critical comment and a plot detail, and also review the Paper Guidelines for this class as well. For a good example of a good thesis for a paper dealing with symbolism, see the sample student paper on “The Lottery” in Literature and the Writing Process.
The central rule for this assignment |
It’s not enough to say that such and such has so and so a character. Why is this characterization important? What does it matter? Your paper must have a direct thesis statement as described in Literature and the Writing Process. For instance:
The Duke’s art collection represents his greedy and acquisitive nature, as well as his concern about his social status; these traits ultimately lead him to murder his wife, reducing her to a portrait and a possession.
This example from “My Last Duchess” gives you an idea how to proceed. Just remember that your thesis needs to address both character and symbolism. How does the author’s use of these elements convey the meaning of the story or communicate a central theme of the work?
Some questions to consider |
Remember, use these brainstorming questions to get started writing, not as an organizational structure for your paper. DO NOT answer all these questions in your paper.
- What motivates your character to act as he or she does?
- How does the character change, grow, or develop over the course of the events narrated in the story?
- How does the character interact with other characters? Do other characters have a significant influence over this person?
- In all three stories, one character makes a crucial, life changing decision. What motivates this character to make this decision? To answer this question fully, think about what might have happened to this person had he or she simply refused to act, or allowed events to continue on the path they were already on?
- In each of these stories, one or more characters are literally unable to see the perspective of the main characters. Why would that be?
- What do the characters’ actions in the stories reveal about what is truly important to them?
- What relationships are important to your character?
- How does the point of view of the story support your knowledge of character?
- Do the characters’ names reveal anything about them?
- What physical objects in the story might function as symbols?
- What associations do we usually have with these objects? In what ways are the objects unique within the context of the story itself?
- Why are these objects important to the characters in the works?
- On what various levels might an object function symbolically? Remember that a symbol often has layers of meaning, not just the one most obvious meaning.
As with all our papers this semester until the research paper, you should not use any source material for this paper. This paper should reflect your critical reading and writing abilities, not your synthesis of other interpretations. DO NOT research this story or use any source material in your paper, whether from the library or the internet.
This page copyright 2000-2007 by Lisa Hammond | last update 5 February 2007