STEP 1
You’re going to select ONE of these themes to focus on, EITHER the theme of home OR the theme of journeys.
STEP 2
You’re going to select TWO texts.
If you’re choosing to focus on the theme of home, you’ll select any TWO of the three texts you read: “There Will Come Soft Rains,” “Home,” and/or “Picking through the Ruins of Your Dying Neighborhood.”
If you’re choosing to focus on the theme of journeys, you’ll select any TWO of the three texts you read: “Blue Winds Dancing,” “Change,” and/or “The Pomegranate Lady and Her Sons.”
Whether you’re focusing on home or journeys, you’re going to write about two and only two texts.
STEP 3
Decide which TWO elements you’re going to analyze in your paper:
character
point of view
setting
Writing Project 1 will be based on these.
Home
“There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray BradburyLinks to an external site.
“Home” by Warsan ShireLinks to an external site.
“Picking through the Ruins of Your Dying Neighborhood” by Desiree CooperLinks to an external site.
Journeys
“Blue Winds Dancing” by Thomas S. Whitecloud
“Change” by Anne CarsonLinks to an external site.
“The Pomegranate Lady and Her Sons” by Goli TeraghiLinks to an external site.
Compare and contrast how the theme of home OR journeys is developed by the story-telling methods employed in two literary texts, focusing on any two of these elements: character, point of view, or setting.
Who is the audience?
The audience is us, your college learning community. What does this mean?
The paper should be written for a general academic audience. That doesn’t mean you have to write in a highly formal way. If style in writing was like style in fashion, you can choose to wear prom attire if you want, but business casual is just as suitable.
You don’t need to provide a summary or too much background information. We’ve all read the same texts. Most of your paper should be analysis and not summary.
Compare and contrast how the theme of home OR journeys is developed by the story-telling methods employed in two literary texts, focusing on any two of these elements: character, point of view, or setting.
Let’s break this down.
Compare and contrast
So you know you’ll be comparing (finding similarities) and contrasting (finding differences) between the two texts you’re writing about.
how the theme of home OR journeys is developed by the story-telling methods employed in two literary texts
You’ll need to focus on the theme of home OR journeys (NOT both) in your paper and discuss how that theme is developed and written about
You’ll need to select any TWO and only TWO texts within your theme.
If you choose to write on the theme of home, you have these three different texts to select from: “There Will Come Soft Rains,” “Home,” and “Picking through the Ruins of Your Dying Neighborhood.” Pick any TWO of those three texts to focus on.
If you choose to write on the theme of journeys, you have these three different texts to select from: “Blue Winds Dancing,” “Change,” and “The Pomegranate Lady and Her Sons.” Pick any TWO of those three texts to focus on.
focusing on any two of these elements: character, point of view, or setting.
You won’t just generally discuss how that theme is developed and written about in those two texts BUT how that theme is developed and written about in those texts THROUGH character and/or point of view and/or setting (any two of those three elements).
Let’s say you’re choosing to write about the theme of journeys. You can only write about two of those three texts, right? Let’s say you decide to select “Change” and “Blue Winds Dancing” as the two texts you’ll write about.
You’re writing about any two of these: character, point of view, or setting. Let’s say you decide you want to discuss how characters and setting are used to tell a story about journeys in these two texts.
Then brainstorm. For example, who are the characters in these two texts? How do these characters contribute to or tell us about the theme of home or journeys?
What kinds of characters are in the text? Protagonist? Antagonist? Flat/round/static/dynamic? As you’re only writing 1,000 words, focus on major characters.
How do the characters contribute to the story being told? Don’t just tell us that a character is flat. Tell us how that’s character’s lack of depth and complexity is relevant to the story.
For example, even though Lencho is technically the main character in “A Letter to God,” he’s written as a flat character, which is pretty unusual. Why? Why is that important for the story? (One could make the argument that if Lencho had more depth or complexity, the story perhaps wouldn’t have the ironic ending that it does.)
Are characters used to contrast each other, furthering our knowledge of these characters? For example, Voldemort and Harry Potter are written to demonstrate how completely the opposite they are (we call this being a foil). One will sacrifice others to further his own ends and the other will sacrifice himself to save others. One will do anything for power while the other has the most powerful wand in the world in his possession but disposes of it as he believes no one should have that much power.
Are you going to write about the setting? How does the setting contribute to or tell us about the theme of home or journeys?
When and where do these stories take place? Is there one setting in that text or more than one? How does the setting contribute to the story being told? How might the setting provide clues to the characters or theme or plot, for example?
As I said previously, the setting of Star Wars being a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away lets the audience know that the story is fantasy–it won’t be based on reality as we know it.
Maybe you decide to write about the point of view. How do the point of view contribute to or tell us about the theme of home or journeys?
What point of view is used in that story? Is it first person, second person, or third person? How does that contribute to the story?
For example, if it’s omniscient third person, then you as the reader are able to “see” into the minds of all the characters. If it’s limited third person, then you only know the thoughts and motivations of one character or just a few characters. If it’s first person, the story is being told from one character’s perspective. How does this contribute to how the story is told and what you see?
For example, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is written in first person from the perspective of Huck. Huck is a product of his time period, so his descriptions and perceptions of his companion Jim is skewed by his prejudices, particularly at the beginning of their journey. The story would be VERY different if it were written from Jim’s point of view. (There actually is a one-man show called Through the Eyes of Jim, which retells this story from Jim’s perspective.)
Does the point of view change throughout the text? If so, why does the author do this?