Analysis of Short Fiction: Characterization and Character Arc Essay.

Analysis of Short Fiction: Characterization and Character Arc Essay

Format: Double-spaced, indented paragraphs, standard font (Times New Roman, standard print size (12), and margins (1”); give essay a unique title; tone and language will be appropriate for a college-educated audience. Avoid the use of first person (I, me, in my opinion, etc.).

Length: Minimum three full pages. Maximum five pages. You may go over this maximum requirement only if needed to enrich the analysis.

Weight: 20% of final grade

Objective: In popular fiction—murder mysteries and the like—plot is the most important element. However, in the literary short story, what happens in the story is driven by character. To put it simply, the main character, the protagonist, runs into some kind of conflict as the result of encountering an antagonist (whether a person/people or an internal conflict which can be considered antagonistic), and this conflict gives rise to a significant event or moment that changes the protagonist’s life in some way. As discussed in the literary terms review (under Lecture Notes), the significant part of the character arc is how the protagonist changes from the beginning of the story to the end. These changes can be dramatic or subtle and can range from changes within himself/herself and/or how the character views the world or others. For this essay, you will choose a character from one of the stories discussed in class and examine how this process works: your paper will analyze the way this particular character functions in the story. What do we know about the character, and how does that character’s personality bring about what happens? And, again, most important, what change occurs within the character by the story’s end?

The paper will have the following elements:

• Title for Essay: Your title will indicate the main focus of your essay

• Introduction: The introductory paragraph will engage readers, be relevant to selected story and will place the examination of the character in context. (Be sure to identify the story and its author somewhere in this paragraph.) Short story titles are placed in quotation marks.

• Thesis statement: You will state a thesis in the last sentence of the introduction, a one to three sentence statement that sums up the main focus of your paper and be indicative of the objective of characterization. This thesis will make a claim about the character and his or her role in the story. For example: Because of William’s abusive and violent past, as an adult, he refuses to trust anyone he meets and ultimately lives a lonely, bitter life. For your thesis, do not use first person or what is known as the announcement tone—i.e. “In this paper, I will…”

• Supporting paragraphs: Each paragraph of the paper will begin with a clear topic sentence that makes a point about the character (i.e character trait, behavior, opinions of the character as a result of plot that lead to subsequent conflict) that supports your argument. Each sentence in the paragraph will support that claim with your analysis and textual evidence from the story.

• Conclusion: Your concluding paragraph will begin by re-examining the thesis and then reflecting on how the character has changed by the end of the story. You should consider include how this reflection emphasizes the theme/message of the story and if said theme/message is universal in nature.

• Citations from story: Please cite page numbers from the story only when quoting directly. (Note: Try not to “over-quote.” Select direct quotations that best support your thesis and avoid extended quotes (more than four typed lines). Consider working quoted words and phrases neatly into your own sentences i.e. Finally, Mrs. Mallard says her first words “over and over under her breath: “free, free, free!”(416). Another way to integrate a quote is to introduce it with a full signal sentence, followed by a colon, then the extracted quote—i.e. Finally, Mrs. Mallard abandons her fear and embraces her epiphany: “But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome” (416). Please follow the conventional MLA placement of period outside of the parenthetical citation.

• There is no research required for this story. Please avoid going online to unreliable websites such as Sparknotes, Bookrags, Schmoop, and Wikipedia. These sites are not deemed as scholastic sources. Your essay should be your own critical insights. If there is any evidence of plagiarism within the essay, the essay will receive a failing grade. Refer to plagiarism policy in our Syllabus.Because you will be using only one source (the selected story within your textbook), you do not need a Works Cited page.

The rubric that will be used to assess this assignment is below:

RUBRIC: Analytical Essay on Fiction: Characterization & Character Arc ENGL 1020

*Please see the rubric section that corresponds to your assessment. The rubric assessment/percentage that a student is given is the one which best fits/describes the quality of the submission.

In general, a solid “A” paper will receive a 95 (anything above a 95 is generally considered superior), an A- paper will receive a 93 and a borderline A/B essay that leans more toward the “A” scale will receive a 90. A solid “B” will receive a 85, a B- paper will receive a 83 and a borderline essay B/C that leans more toward the “B scale will receive an 80 and so on. Percentages may be higher or lower depending on quality of content/mechanics and will be clarified through professor’s brief notes:

Student’s Assessment:

Instructor’s brief notes:

90-100%

Intro and Thesis: Introduction presents a clear, appropriate lead-in to thesis and holds appeal for a wide audience; work to be discussed and author’s name is presented. Thesis is well crafted and clearly indicates, explicitly or implicitly, the analytical direction of the characterization. Announcement tone and use of first person is avoided in thesis.

Organization: overall, strong organization with effective topic sentences and transitions; contains clear introduction, body paragraphs, and satisfying conclusion.

Content: a thoughtful, in-depth essay which addresses and supports thesis and is developed through skillful and varied diction; paraphrases and direct quotes from text are skillfully woven into the work.

Diction and tone: employs precise choices of vocabulary; tone demonstrates a high degree of audience awareness.

Mechanics: sophisticated sentence structure, demonstrating a command of subordination and parallelism; contains very few (or no) errors, showing a mastery of the conventions of written English. Adheres to formatting: double-spaced indented paragraphs; page length is adhered to; direct quotes are documented by parenthetical indication of page number.