Assignment:
This essay should be a 500 to 750 word essay focusing on the plays we have read in Weeks 5 and 6. It is due at the end of Week 6.
1. This should be a close reading essay, and should use as evidence mostly passages from the play that you discuss. While it is fine to do a little background reading on the history related to the play you're writing on, this should use as evidence mostly passages from the play that you discuss. If you need to bring in historical context at all, do your best to limit the context to "common knowledge" information (information that appears in more than 4 sources, and might have appeared in newspapers at the time, for instance). Try to avoid using ANY outside sources unless you discuss with the instructor first. If you do use sources, make sure to cite them if you quote or paraphrase them, even if you are quoting or paraphrasing common knowledge information.
2. The essay should be in MLA essay format and should have the student/teacher cover letter as the first page.
3. See this document for the cover letter questions and final draft checklist, and the sample essay for an example of an MLA formatted essay.
4. The essay grading rubric can be found here.
This topic and write a thesis-driven essay in response to the topic chosen below:
Unrealistic Elements in Reed's The C Above C Above High C: Ishmael Reed's The C Above C Above High C is full of unrealistic elements--inserted scenes, superimposed characters, slide images as backdrops--that can be confusing, especially when one is reading the play. Pick 1 scene that makes use of unrealistic elements, and create an argument about how the use of that element affect the scene. Why do you think Reed made the choice to write the scene using unrealistic elements instead of writing it in a more realistic way? Do unrealistic elements open up specific possibilities that would not be available in a more realistic play?