ENG 102 Professor Connell

June, 2006

 

Short-story Assignment

Transformation is a major theme that we've covered in class. Pick no more than three stories and try to identify the quotes, that illustrate where, why, and to whom the transformation takes place. Also discuss the nature of the transformation (death and resurrection, initiation, epiphany, self-discovery, heroism, love, liberation, etc.). Identify who is transformed. Identify what they’re moving away from as well as where they are going.

Losing your Humanity is another theme we've covered. In "Guests of the Nation," and "Soldier's Home", and perhaps even more subtly in stories like "Chrysanthemums", the characters get to say "yes" or "no" to what Campbell calls the "vitality" of life.

Do NOT outline the plot. Avoid official style. Do not use dictionary definitions of "transformation," etc. Use Campbell's definition. Use the book's definition of "initiation."

Remember that this assignment must be the equivalent of three typewritten, double-spaced pages.

It must meet grammatical and thematic standards expected in college-level papers (see, in particular, the checklists and grammatical codes provided in the syllabus). You must also attribute any information that is not yours. You do not need to use formal MLA citation, however. I'll further explain this in class.

Word-process this assignment. There is NO excuse not to.

Whatever you do, do not let me see you finishing this thing at the beginning of class, tearing pages out of your notebook, or scribbling wildly as I'm collecting them. It's dumb and dangerous to deny me my illusions that you spent hours carefully crafting this assignment. Please staple your papers together. DO NOT COME TO CLASS AND ASK IF I CARRY AROUND A STAPLER. Staple it before you get here. No cover pages, please.

Advice: If you begin with a statement like, "Chrysanthemums" is a story about a woman who lives in the Salinas Valley and who grows flowers and who suddenly meets a tinker and the tinker drives away after he can't talk her into repairing her pots and pans , your essay, like Eliza. will have no chance of resurrection ! Better to begin with something like: "In the story ‘IND AFF or Out of Love In Sarajevo,’ the main character's sudden transformation is caused by a flirtatious glance at a Bosnian waiter. It changes her whole way of looking at things."

Talk about the concept , using quotes and instances to illustrate the concept, rather than rehashing the plot. Again, DO NOT OUTLINE the story.

Warning: In some stories, transformation does not take place or the process is incomplete ("Young Goodman Brown," seems like a transformation, but it’s really not).

The sample papers that I distributed to you were written for the first assignment. When you examine these papers, you will note a number of significant ways these papers are effective.

1. They do not hiccup around in a quagmire  of convoluted language. The sentences seldom waste words.

2. They don't contain glaring typographical  errors or grammatical mistakes.

3. You can read them aloud without having  your audience saying, "huh?" or giggling.

4. They have been extensively revised--hint,  hint!

5. They use a thesis statement and topic sentences  effectively.

6. They focus on theme rather than outlining  a story.

7. They use mature diction and tone.

8. They pay attention to detail.

9. They use quotes at key intervals  (timing is everything) to illustrate significant points.