Instructions
Topic: Analysis of a Short Story
Format: MLA. Access the Purdue OWL MLA Formatting and Style Guide herehttps: //owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
Length Requirement: 750­1000 words
All sources must be cited
Your Process:
Write an essay that discusses why and how specific symbols are used to depict one or two of the
themes from Unit 2 in a particular way. Your essay should incorporate details and quotes from the story
(using parenthetical documentation with the author’s name), and you should use your own words to
elaborate on the meanings of the details and quotes you use as evidence. The themes to choose from
are:
Love (Romantic, Platonic, or Filial)
Alienation/Otherness
The American Dream/Nightmare
The Quest for Identity/Coming of Age
Conformity/Rebellion
Stories To Choose From:
Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”
Kate Chopin’s “The Storm”
Tobias Wolff’s “Powder”
Ray Bradbury’s “There Will Come Soft Rains”
Instructions:
When writing your essay, the goal is to demonstrate what spin the story has on a particular theme. Be
specific about the ways the theme is used and how the story’s use of symbols develops a deeper meaning
to the theme. Provide details, including cited direct quotes from the story, but don’t forget that you must
comment on the quotes you use to explain why they are significant.
As an example, one student might focus on how in Chopin’s “The Storm,” the passion between Calixta and
Alcee is represented by the symbol of the rain storm and makes a social commentary on the theme of
love. Love is a very general term, so this student should note that s/he is focusing on forbidden, or
adulterous, romantic love in particular and comment on how that refines the broader theme. One
appropriate thesis statement for this particular topic would be something similar to the following:
“Although Calixta loves Bobinot, she willingly has a passionate affair with Alcee in order to
1/31/2016 Unit 4 Writing Assignment ­ Analysis of a Short Story ­ English Composition II Section 53G Spring 2016 CO
https://go.view.usg.edu/d2l/le/content/1041057/viewContent/16069241/View 2/2
demonstrate that passion, represented by the storm, is ultimately a symbol for her own female
independence.”
Then, you would contrast Calixta’s relationship with Bobinot with her relationship with Alcee in order to
show that Calixta could simultaneously function as an efficient housewife and passionate lover to her
husband if society at the time would allow such a woman to exist.
[Note: This thesis is provided as an example. Do not use it verbatim for your own paper; use
your own excellent ideas!]
Academic Honesty
Plagiarism in any form is unacceptable. Please ask if you have questions about what constitutes
plagiarism. Your words and your ideas must be your own.
Formatting and Style
Be sure to maintain an appropriate academic tone (no slang, second­person [“you,” “we”], contractions,
etc.)
Your essay should be typed, double­spaced, in 12­point Times New Roman font, with one­inch margins,
and numbered pages. Include your name, my name, the title of the class, and the date in the upper left
hand corner of the first page. Center your title (you do not need to underline or italicize it) and place it
above the body of the essay. Do not include a title page.
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