This assignment asks you to expand one or more of the ideas you articulated in one of your weekly discussion board posts into an academic essay. Literary analysis requires that you read a text closely, observe its patterns and literary devices, break it into its significant parts, and argue for the larger meaning of the text as a whole. You are attempting to articulate:
- what theme, meaning, or universal truth a literary text conveys to its readers,
- how (specifically) a literary text establishes purpose, and
- why a literary text matters
Choose one of the following prompts to answer in essay form. For definitions of key terms, remember to review each week’s course notes on Canvas:
- Consider the genre of the slave narrative. What conventions (trends, patterns, or expectations) do you notice in the slave narratives we’ve read? Choose two or three slave narratives (from Equiano, Douglass, or Jacobs) to discuss the slave narrative as a genre. Present an organized analysis with specific evidence from the texts you choose.
- Consider how our authors use literary devices and figurative language. Choose one slave narrative (from Equiano, Douglass, or Jacobs) and discuss the ways the author uses at least two of the following literary devices to convey his or her purpose or theme: symbolism, imagery, allusion, metaphor, simile, personification, and situational irony. Provide specific examples from the text for analysis.
- Consider the paratextual information surrounding the slave narratives from Equiano, Douglass, and Jacobs. *Remember that paratext refers to content or material that surrounds a literary text and informs our understanding of it. For Equiano, you’d examine the frontispiece (112), epigraph (114), and introductory letter (114). For Douglass, you’d examine the Preface (330) and the letter from Wendell Phillips (335). For Jacobs, you’d examine the Preface (224).* Choose one slave narrative (from Equiano, Douglass, or Jacobs), closely analyze its paratext, and discuss how the paratextual information influences the ways in which readers might understand the author’s purpose and the narrative as a whole. Present an organized analysis with specific evidence from the texts you choose.
- Compare and contrast a specific theme you notice in the film Harriet with at least one other work we’ve read this semester. Present an organized analysis with specific evidence from the film and text.
Regardless of the prompt you choose, keep the following guidelines in mind:
- You should include all parts of an academic essay including a meaningful title, a compelling introduction with a strong thesis statement, purposeful and organized body paragraphs, and a conclusion that addresses the significance of the text.
- You should avoid plot summary, engage in text-based analysis, and demonstrate college-level grammar and mechanics.
- After initially introducing the author her full name, you should refer to the author by her last name only.
- You should use present tense verbs to describe actions in the text.
- You should avoid first- and second-person point-of-view and contractions.
- You should italicize the titles of long works (such as novels), but place the titles of short works (such as poems and short stories) in quotation marks.
- You should support all claims with evidence from the text in the form of summary, paraphrase, and direct quotation. You should cite all evidence that you use, via both in-text parenthetical citations and on a Works Cited page. (For a refresher on using in-text citations, review Purdue’s OWL instructions. Also, consult our free tutoring.)
- Do not consult outside sources. Only interpret the text(s) that you choose.
- Your essay and Work(s) Cited page should be formatted according to MLA guidelines. See the Essay Formatting Guidelines.
You should submit your completed essay as a Microsoft Word document via Canvas. Late essays will be deducted five points per day.