Description
Write an essay in which you choose at least two literary elements, such as plot, characterization, symbol, point of view, tone, or style, to connect these elements to a story’s overall theme. How does the author use these elements to convey this theme? You may write about any of the stories we’ve read so far:
“How to Date a Brown girl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl, or Halfie,” by Junot Diaz
“The Things They Carried,” by Tim O’Brien
“The Story of an Hour,” by Kate Chopin
For plot, think about how the sequence of events may or may not be conventional. Does the author play with plot structure at all?
For characterization, think about how the characters are protagonistic or antagonistic, archetypal, or anti-heroic. Also, think about the growth of the character within the story. How does he or she change (or not)?
For a point of view, think about whether the story is written from a certain character’s point of view (1st or 2nd person), or from an omniscient (all-knowing) narrator’s point of view (3rd person) and how this impacts the story. Do you trust the narrator?
For tone, think about how the author conveys attitude through diction, syntax, and imagery. Especially if the story is written in the third person, is the tone of the narrator different from the characters he or she writes about? If so, why?
For style, think about how the author uses devices like imagery, irony, diction, and symbol to add meaning to the story.
Here are some sample thesis statements:
O’Brien incorporates raw war imagery, archetypal characters, and third-person omniscient point of view to emphasize that soldiers often attempt to ease the weight of physical and emotional burdens of war by holding onto memories of love and peace but that sometimes even that is not enough.
Chopin uses complex narration to present a character that struggles internally, symbolism to represent the character’s supposed new freedom, and irony in establishing her death, all to critique the role of marriage in society.
Diaz uses colloquial tone, 2nd person limited-omniscient point of view, and anti-heroic characterization to demonstrate the uselessness of stereotypes because of their diminishment of identity.
Criteria:
Your introduction must hook the reader and briefly summarize the story. It should also identify the story’s title and the author’s full name.
Your thesis must be the last sentence of your introduction. Your thesis must reveal your overall position.
You must cite a portion of the story or stories in each paragraph.
Your proof of writing center visit (for extra credit) will be due via email on the same day the essay is due on Canvas.
Sample Solution
Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell.
In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.
God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.
Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.
To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.
References
Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.
Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.
Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.
