Description

Your essay should be 4-5 pages and follow MLA style. For this paper I encourage you to use A Doll’s House, “The Garden of Forking Paths”, or “The Day Dreams of a Drunk Woman”. If you want to write about an earlier text discuss it with me first. Your paper should have a clear introduction, thesis statement, body paragraphs and conclusion. Your grade will be determined on basic writing components and how well you develop and support your thesis. You are free to bring in secondary sources, but should only do so when relevant to cultural, societal, or biographical issues; that is to say refrain from seeking “experts” interpretations of the work and using them in your essay. We have examined and discussed themes and literary elements present in the texts thus far, and now you should generate a topic based off of class discussions and or ICW as the basis of your essay. You will need to make a claim about the text, a character, the writer, the style, or a theme, and support and develop that claim through the use of the text. Options Option A One of the themes in A Doll’s House is gender roles and how societal pressures and “norms” help to establish and perpetuate these. Chose a male and female character and examine how their actions and interactions are influenced by the time in which they live. 

Option B Ibsen’s nemesis (one might say) was August Strindberg. Strindberg was a contemporary of Ibsen’s, a fellow writer of plays and fiction. He was critical of A Doll’s House and wrote a collection of short stories, Getting Married, in which he titled one of the stories “A Doll’s House.” Using the play and the story compare and contrast the views that are presented in the two. The story can be found at http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/11647/ Option C Is “The Garden of Forking Paths” a simple, or complex story? Explore the narration of the story, and the stories within stories to address the immediate question. Next, go further in regards to your analysis and discuss how the layering of stories speaks to a greater theme. Option D Analyze/critique/interpret an element of the play/story. In class we have discussed some major themes present, as well as examined characters, their motivations and overall make-up. You will write an essay that makes an assertion about the text and supports it with your thoughts and ideas; make sure you use relevant and specific examples from the play to support your position. Important dates and other info: 3-15 You will need to have a statement of purpose for this essay. This should address your topic and indicate from where it derived, your reason for choosing the topic, a working thesis statement and at least three points of reference from the text (these can be bulleted). I imagine two paragraphs should be adequate along with bulleted references from the text. I will meet with each of you briefly on this day to discuss your idea.