Please write a 1100-1200-word comparative essay that synthesizes the works of literature and
scholarship that come from the two Norton Critical Editions we have dealt with in this course.
The purpose of this paper is to conduct comparative research on the works of world literature,
focusing your attention on a single component, motif, or theme in two or three different works.
Such a component should be significant enough to afford us a better understanding of the works
selected for the analysis.
You can use the methods of comparison (pointing out the similarities of the two works), contrast
(pointing out their differences), or a combination of the two.
Whatever topic you choose, one of the objects of comparison should be either The Sufferings of
Young Werther or The Metamorphosis (or both) because you will use secondary sources (critical
articles) from the Norton Critical Editions of those works.
TOPIC WITH RECOMMENDED SECONDARY SOURCES: (USE AT LEAST 2)
Social gender roles, their subversion and ambivalence; as well as the role of this
ambivalence in love affairs and inter-gender relationships. Consider such characters as
Donna Anna, Lotte, Gregor Samsa, Werther, Hedda (but do not choose to compare
Donna Anna and Hedda because it was one of the topics for the short essay). Use two of
the following secondary sources from Norton Critical Editions: “Werther’s Lotte: Views
of the Other in Goethe’s First Novel” by R. Ellis Dye, “’I shall not come to my senses!’
Werther, Goethe, and the Formation of Modern Subjectivity” by Dirk von Petersdorff,
“Afterward to The Sorrows of Young Werther” by David E. Wellbery, “A Lover’s
Discourse” by Roland Barthes, “Transforming Franz Kafka’s “Metamorphosis” by Nina
Pelikan Straus, and Mark Anderson’s article “Sliding Down the Evolutionary Ladder?
Aesthetic Autonomy in The Metamorphosis.”
Choose a focus. Simply ticking off every similarity and difference between two works would
make for a slack and rambling essay. Don’t devote the first half of your paper to one story and
the second half to the other. Such a paper wouldn’t be a comparison or contrast so much as a pair
of analyses yoked together. To reap the full benefits of the assignment, let the two or three
works mingle.
As you have noticed from the list of the topics, in this essay you are required to make use of two
articles from the Norton Critical Editions of The Sufferings of Young Werther and The
Metamorphosis. Do not worry that only one work which you interpret is “covered” by the
secondary sources (when you choose to compare, let’s say, The Sufferings of Young Werther and
Hedda Gabler); let the articles about one work serve as an inspiration or source of ideas for your
own interpretation of the other work as well. Compare the arguments from the secondary sources
with your own feelings and ideas and try to formulate a tentative thesis (main idea or argument)
of your essay. Make sure that you are not simply repeating the argument of another author: the
secondary sources can only contribute to your own argument, providing either support or
opposition to your ideas (if the latter is the case, you need to think over a strategy of a persuasive
refutation of the opposing ideas). Your essay should rely on your own observations and
interpretations of the selected works.
Provide a title that specifies your topic and gives an idea of your thesis; avoid vague or
nonspecific titles such as “A Comparison of Lotte and Hedda”.”
Begin your paper with an introduction. The introduction should identify the works to be
discussed and their authors and indicate the emphasis of the discussion to follow. State the main
problem of your essay and present briefly how this problem was developed in the supporting or
opposing secondary sources; then formulate your own thesis statement. Thesis statement is an
idea, usually expressed in a single sentence, that the rest of your essay will support. It should be
precisely worded, making its point clear to your readers, and it should contain no vague words or
imprecise phrases that will make it difficult for a reader to follow your discussion. Your thesis
statement should give your readers an accurate sense of the scope and direction of your essay. It
should not make promises that you do not intend to fulfil or include extraneous details that might
confuse your readers.
In the main body of the essay, you need to develop your argument and provide supporting ideas
to your thesis in a logical and coherent manner. Assess the appropriateness of your supporting
ideas, considering whether you present enough support for your thesis and whether all the details
you include are relevant to that thesis. Make sure you have supported your key points with
specific, concrete examples from the work you are discussing. Make certain that your own ideas
are central to the essay and that you have not substituted plot summary for analysis and
interpretation. If an event in a story you are analysing supports a point you wish to make, include
a brief summary; then, explain its relevance to the point you are making. Provide topic sentences
that present the main ideas of your body paragraphs. Make sure that each topic sentence is
clearly worded and that it signals the direction of your discussion. Use secondary sources to
support your argument or some aspects of it, but do not turn your essay into a summary of your
secondary sources. To support your ideas, use quotes from both your primary and secondary
sources.
In your conclusion, you reword your thesis and sum up your essay’s main points; then, you
make a graceful exit.
Provide a Works Cited list using MLA documentation style