Power and Responsibility
Reflecting on the theme of power and responsibility, select ONE of the following prompts for the writing of a well-developed five-paragraph essay of literary analysis. Ensure your central claim (thesis statement) is debatable.
QUOTE TEXT FROM THE LITERATURE TO SUPPORT THESIS AND THOUGHTS. With the references to each short story, include the page number and paragraph number for quotes, as before. Here is an example: (239; par. 95).
Keep these pointers in mind (as with the first essay):
• Use the author’s first name on first reference and then only the last name afterwards. (Shirley Jackson and, thereafter, Jackson)
• Avoid RETELLING the entire plot. Assume your readers have already read the story and watched the dramatization.
• When writing about what happens in a story (and in the movie), use PRESENT TENSE VERBS as if the action is like a sports game on instant-replay.
• Place quotation marks around any actual wording your incorporate from the text. If the quote you are using is already an actual quote, you will use double-quotes and then single-quotes within.
• STAY IN THIRD-PERSON. That is, avoid “I,” “you,” and “we.” Keep the writing formal. Remember, your name is on the paper, so we know you have control of what the paper ends up being.
• Ensure you have a debatable thesis statement, or claim. Go beyond the obvious.
• Paragraphs in general should be about 4-6 sentences for the introduction; about 6-7 sentences for each paragraph; and 2-4 sentences for the conclusion.
• Create a Works Cited entry for both the “selection from the anthology” and for the movie. Follow MLA guidelines, avoid excessive word repetition
Choose ONE of the following:
Prompt 1: is my choice for this essay.
How might First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross’ coming to the realization of his role in Ted Lavendar’s death relate in any way to “Bub’s” own development in Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral?” Consider the degree to which each character is responsible for his own situation.
