Fall 2001
Dr. R. Nordquist
Victor Hall 1-10
(912) 921 5991
nordquist@mail.com  

ASSIGNMENTS

BULLETIN BOARD

EXAMS

HOME PAGE

HONOR CODE

NEWS

NORDQUIST

NOTES

PROJECTS

REGENTS' TEST

RESEARCH

RESOURCES

STUDENTS' PAGES

SYLLABUS

WRITERLY ADVICE

Advice to Students


American Heritage Dictionary, 4th ed.

PROJECTS

NOTE:   If you any problems printing out this project sheet, pick up a hard copy       from the box outside my office. 

PROJECT #3

DUE:  No later than 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 20.
            (Drop your pocket folder in the ENGL 1102 box outside my               office.)
LENGTH: approximately 1,000 to 1,200 words

Your assignment is to compose a thoughtful, well-supported, clearly organized, and grammatically sound essay on one of the four topics below.  You may not use outside sources, though you may consult with me and with the tutors in the Writing Center for help in organizing your thoughts and revising your paper.  If you have any questions about what constitutes an "outside source," please check with me; any violation of this policy will be considered a violation of the AASU Honor Code.

Get an early start.   Review your class notes and the notes on our web site, consider the questions that accompany each work, and make sure that you're familiar with the various literary terms introduced in class (definitions appear in links to the NOTES and RESOURCES pages as well as in our textbook).  Keep in mind that a good essay generally builds on points raised in class discussions. Don't ignore those points, but don't limit yourself to them either: go beyond them.  Keep in mind, also, that the purpose of literary analysis is not to reduce a text to a single simplistic interpretation but to consider the rich complexities of   a literary work.  In other words, think about characters and themes--don't shrink them down to stereotypes and cliches. 

You should be prepared to reread, several times, the works you have chosen to write about.  Jot down responses to the questions that accompany the works, and make note of your observations.  Find specific details ("Show me") that support your main ideas ("So what?").   Next, study the sample essays (both in our text and in handouts) for ideas on how to develop, connect, and organize ideas effectively. Then compose your responses and observations in a rough draft, which you may show to me or to one of the tutors.  (Be sure to save your notes and rough drafts: you will include them in your pocket folder when you submit the final version of your essay.)   Keep in mind that you are writing your essay for someone who has already read the works: don't summarize.  Show me a draft as soon as possible--no later than Friday, November 16.  You may drop a draft off at my office or send me one via e-mail: I'll make every effort to return my comments to you within 24 hours.   If you wish, you may also schedule an appointment to discuss your draft with me in person.  (As always, keep track of the NEWS and NOTES pages on this web site for additional advice regarding all assignments--including this course project and my availability for conferences.)

As you revise your essay, be guided by the format sheet (handed out for Project #1) and the revision checklist.   The final version of your paper must be word processed and must include a self-evaluation, as follows.  At the end of your essay, respond briefly yet specifically to these three questions:

1. What part of your essay do you think is most effective?

2. What part of your essay (or which stage in its composition) gave you the most difficulty?

3. What is your overall evaluation of this essay?

Essays submitted without a self-evaluation will be considered incomplete and will be graded accordingly.

Submit your essay in a pocket folder (make sure that your name is on the outside of the folder) with the final version on top and rough drafts below along with graded copies of your earlier essays.  An essay submitted without any rough drafts will be treated as a draft and will be returned ungraded.   You may drop the folder off in the carton outside my office any time before 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 20.

__________________TOPICS FOR PROJECT #3_________________

1.     Different as the two plays are, both Oedipus Rex and Death of a Salesman concern a character's efforts to discover some kind of truth about himself by examining events from the past.  Analyze, compare, and contrast the difficult investigative and psychological journeys taken by King Oedipus and Willy Loman.  Consider the extent to which each character accepts difficult truths--and also resists accepting them.  Which character, do you think, is ultimately more successful in his journey of discovery--and why?

2.    Carefully examine, compare, and contrast the characterizations of  any two of the following women: Jocaste in Oedipus Rex , Linda Loman in Death of a Salesman, and Amanda Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie.   Consider each woman's relationship with the leading male character(s), and explain why you think each character is primarily active or passive (or both), supportive or destructive (or both), perceptive or self-deceived (or both).  Such qualities are not mutually exclusive, of course, and may overlap.  Don't reduce these characters to simple-minded stereotypes; explore their complex natures.

3.    A foil is a character whose main function is to illuminate the qualities of another character (often the protagonist) through comparison and contrast.  Identify at least one foil character in each of the following works, explain why and how this character may be viewed as a foil, and (most importantly) discuss how the foil character serves to illuminate certain qualities of another character.
    Oedipus Rex
    Death of a Salesman
    The Glass Menagerie

4.    The three plays studied so far this term (Oedipus, Death of Salesman, Glass Menagerie)  all deal with the theme of conflicting responsibilities--toward self, family, society, even gods.  Like most of us, King Oedipus, Willy Loman, and Tom Wingfield at times try to avoid fulfilling certain responsibilities; at other times, they may appear confused as to what their most important responsibilities should be.   By the end of each play, this confusion may or may not be resolved.  Discuss how this theme of conflicting responsibilities is dramatized and resolved (or whether  it is resolved) in any two of the three plays, pointing out similarities and differences along the way.

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