Write a well-constructed essay on ONE of the stories we have studied by responding to a single topic listed below. Be sure to articulate a clear thesis and support your assertions with specific references to the text.
- In a story, the setting can function either as a mirror of a character’s or characters’ emotions or attributes, an ironic contrast to these, or a mold that actively shapes a character or characters. Selecting one of the stories we have read, analyze the relationships between the setting and a character or characters by choosing one or more of the possible relationships listed above. Note: You may not write on “The Storm” because we have discussed setting in that story thoroughly as a class.
- We have talked a good deal about narration in this unit—whether the narrator is first person, third person, omniscient, limited omniscient, unreliable, and so on. If you decide to write on this topic, you should reflect on the author’s choice to write the story from the point of view of a particular type of narrator. Why did the author choose this voice? Do you find this method effective, compelling, or believable? Why or why not? Does the point of view ever change to that of another character in the story? Does that shift contribute to or detract from the story’s overall effectiveness? Note: You may not write on “The Tell-Tale Heart” because we have discussed narration in that story thoroughly as a class.
- In writing any tale, an author invariably chooses to relate the story from the perspective of some characters more than that of others. For example, “A Father,” although seen through the eyes of a third-person narrator, focuses on the perspective of Mr. Bhowmick. But what if the story—again, told in third person—focused on the point of view of Babli or Mrs. Bhowmick? For this topic, construct a 2-page journal in which you assume the point of view of a different, more minor character in the story, and reconsider the story from that character’s perspective. Then write a 2-3 page analysis of your “journal” in which you justify your construction of this voice with textual evidence from the story. Other options for this topic include the viewpoint of Mrs. Hayashi or Mr. Hayashi in “Seventeen Syllables.”
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