Dr. Obermeier's Eng 200

Assignment #1÷Character Analysis and/or Comparison

Format: 3 typed pages. Follow the format for student papers and the parenthetical documentation outlined in the Guide to Style and attach a Works Cited page. A Works Cited page is your source record and is required for both primary and secondary works, and even if you only use one work. Papers that are substantially too short will be marked down. I will be putting sample papers on the website for your perusal, but not your paraphrasing or cribbing. I mostly want you to glean from them organization, sophistication of argument and diction, as well as form.

Content and Structure: Write a character analysis of any one character or a comparative character analysis of two characters in the short stories on our syllabus. You should develop a careful analysis that is well supported with evidence from the text. Be aware, however, that a paper that comprises long quotes strung together is not acceptable. This assignment is not a research paper but seeks to test your close-reading and interpreting skills; therefore, you should not use outside secondary criticism. You are, however, encouraged to use other primary sources, such as handbooks to literature, historical and philosophical texts, dictionaries, the Bible, mythology, etc.

A) Character Analysis: Consider the choices the character makes, his/her major physical and mental traits (ambitious, lazy, arrogant, kind), what the character says about him/herself, what the character does, whether the character grows or remains the same. Is this important to your analysis? Perhaps you feel that the character is controlled or determined by the eyes through which s/he is perceived (other characters, narrator). Try to be original but do not go beyond what is in the text. Do not try to imagine the character outside the context of the story and do not include ideas or situations the author does not include. Remember that you are analyzing, which means that you are not only describing what is in a text but that you demonstrate why it is in a text. From the list of traits you have amassed, you come up with a stated central idea and then formulate the clear thesis, containing a brief statement of your main sections, I would like to find at the end of your opening paragraph.

You could choose from several methods to back up your thesis:

1. Organization around a central characteristic, like ãkindness, gentleness, generosity, firmness,ä or ãresoluteness of will frustrated by inopportune moments of action, resulting in despondency, doubt, and melancholy.ä A body containing this sort of material would demonstrate how the literary work brings out each of these qualities.

2. Organization around a development or change of character. Here you would attempt to show the character traits a character possesses at the start of the work, and then describe the changes or developments that occur. Try to determine the narratorâs view on such changes; that is, is the change genuine, or does the narrator establish hidden traits in the character which are brought out as the story progresses?

3. Organization around central incidents that reveal primary characteristics. Certain key incidents will stand out in a work, and you might create an effective body by using three or four of these as guide for your discussion, taking care to show in your topic sentence that your purpose is to illuminate the character you have selected, not the incidents. Therefore, regard the incidents only as they bring out the truths about the character. Naturally, with this arrangement, you would have to show how the incidents bring out the characteristics and also how they serve to explain other things the character might do.

OR

B) Comparative Character Analysis: Comparison/Contrast (C/C) is one of the commonest approaches in literature and most disciplines and helps you to gain an understanding of a piece of literature. C/C is closely related to the study of definition, because definition aims at the description of a particular things by identifying its properties while also isolating it from everything else.

After you have decided on a goal for your comparison, you can use the c/c method several ways:

1)ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ to compare, characters these stories equally, without stressing or favoring either;

2)ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ to emphasize one character and to use the other to highlight the first;

3)ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ to favor one over another

The next step is to find the grounds for your discussion. You should not just go for the obvious surface; let your ingenuity help you in seeing new and fresh connections. See above.

Structure: When you write your essay, you can organize it in several ways:

1)ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ Block approach: treat one work first and then the other. Bane: less cohesion and more repetition.

2)ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ Treat your main ideas in its major aspects and make reference to both (or more) works, as the reference illustrates and illuminates your main idea. Boon: more cohesion and less repetition. Beware, however, of the ãTennis-Ballä method, where you feel you have to make a connection in every sentence. You should feel comfortable enough to develop a point about a work in several sentences before you bring in the comparison with another.

Remember: You need to develop a thesis, for merely stating that two characters are different or similar is not enough. I would also like to reiterate that you are writing a formal paper, both in content and in style. Thus, your paper needs a context-providing introduction with a coherently-organized and precisely-phrased thesis at the end, indicating the position that you wish to prove in this paper. An analytical thesis is a statement of content not merely intent. The paragraphs in the body of your paper need to be analytical and developed (topic sentences and supporting evidence/ideas). You might achieve those tasks better when you edit your material, making it more concise and tightly developed. First drafts rarely hold up to critical scrutiny. Proofread!

I encourage you to discuss ideas, outlines, and drafts of your paper with me before it is due. For any further details on how to write this assignment, see #2 f in the Guide to Style and the paper file on the website (some papers are still on Reserve in the library). Note: The following numbers in the Guide to Style might be especially helpful for this assignment: 1-10, 13, 17, 28-32, 36, 43-48, 52-56, 61-62, 70-74, 82, 83, 96.

Due Date: Monday 2.5.2001