(1) Find a short story (any story of your choice) that lends itself to interpretations of race or gender. (2) If you want, instead of a short story, you can also choose a novel or a film. (3) You need to interpret the story by commenting on the plot, themes, symbols, literary techniques like irony and so on, title, characterization and setting, and how they contribute towards the story’s theme(s) of race and gender. You can pick and choose from this list and do not have to include all in your analysis. (4) This will be a 5 page paper (12 font size, Times New Roman, and Double-spaced). Format it in the MLA 8th or APA style. Check our Purdue OWL website for more on the formatting. (5) Your paper must also have a title of its own. (6) Write an Introduction with a thesis statement, construct well-defined paragraphs, and write a conclusion to sum up your discussion. (7) More importantly, go beyond the plot/story. I want you to interpret the story, and therefore the tone should be persuasive or argumentative. Consider this as an chance to show off your critical thinking and analytical skills. You can discuss themes like race and gender and its representations in your chosen work. (8) When analyzing themes of race and gender, you can agree or disagree with the author. comment on the stereotypes, or how the character(s) defy it or anything on those lines. You can critique the author as well the text. (9) Use at least 3 different secondary sources to support your analysis. use at least 2 printed secondary sources instead of relying only on the web. Also, you need to use textual examples/quotes to support your argument. (10) If you cannot find critical articles specifically for your chosen text, you may use something that is related to your analysis in a broader sense. Please check with the librarian for more resources. There is also tutoring facilities available in our library for this purpose. Please make use of these resources.
