Background:

During the course of the semester, we have read and discussed a representation of literary genres: a graphic novel, play, novella, and a poem. The authors who wrote the stories of Nasser Ali Khan, Firdaus, Gallimard, and the “best minds of [a] generation” have provided us with non-linear narratives and non-traditional literary styles as a metaphor to deliver insight into how society acts as a character in the formation of these characters’ identities.

Texts:

Literary Theories lecture and websites

Chicken With Plums by Marjane Satrapi

Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El-Saadawi

M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang

Howl by Allen Ginsberg

Task:

Select three of the four literary texts from the course and determine a common thread among those texts. In a 5-7 page essay, compare and contrast those texts to prove your chosen point/topic. Your essay must also include at least three of the literary theories in its analysis.

Guidelines:

• Analyze 3 of the 4 texts in your essay. As usual, you need quotations from these texts in order to create a valid analysis.
• Use at least 3 theories alongside the analysis in your essay– make sure the names of the theories are written in bold print in your paper.
• Compose at least 5 pages and at most 7 pages.
• Use MLA format for your essay and its quotations.
  • Your essay should use Times New Roman size 12 font, be double spaced, and have 1 inch margins. If you need familiarity with MLA format, reference the following website: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
• Include a works cited page.

Suggestions:

• Trace the significant similarities, differences, and trends in the themes, issues, and narrative styles of the texts.
• Determine how the literary theories will help you prove and analyze your texts cohesively.
• Review class lectures, forums, and previous essays.
• Formulate a guiding idea that threads the analysis together. In other words, what do you want to prove with your essay?
• You may use parts of your previous essays for this essay, but remember that this essay has a different focus, and anything you reuse from previous essays must flow in this essay.
  • Any of your own writing that you are using from your previous essays must be quoted and cited (which means you will be citing yourself). If you do not quote and cite yourself, turnitin will mark your writing as plagiarized.