Write a literary analysis paper based on A Good Man is Hard to Find, (O''Connor, 1953):
Create a detailed introduction that contains a thesis that offers a debatable claim based on one of the prompts on the list.
Apply critical thought by analyzing the primary source you selected from the approved List of Literary Works. Avoid summary and personal reflection.
Develop body paragraphs that contain clear topic sentences and examples that support the argument.
Write a conclusion that reaffirms the thesis statement and includes a summary of the key ideas in essay.
Apply your knowledge of literary elements and other concepts in your response each prompt listed below.
Prompt #1: Characters do what they do because of their various motivations and desires. Often, their desires conflict with their ethical or moral responsibilities. For example, a personal belief, a love, a thirst for vengeance, a resolve to rectify a wrong, or some other ambition may cause a character to conflict with a moral obligation. Write about a literary work in which a character's motivations/desire conflict with his/her ethical responsibilities. Remember that you are analyzing the literary text--not commenting on whether or not the behaviors are ethical or "right" in your opinion. Instead, you should focus on the moral dilemma the character experiences and analyze how he/she wrestles with this dilemma beyond what is obvious in the plot. What literary elements draw out this conflict?
Prompt #2 - Write an analysis of a key character in a literary work. Describe two to three key actions of the character, or how the character responds to events. What do the actions reveal about the character? Do the character''s actions fit together, or do they contradict each other? If they contradict, what does that contradiction say about the character''s emotional and mental capacity? Analyze the character''s psychological background. Why does the character act in the way he/she does? How does the author''s characterization in the text reflect this psychological background?
Prompt #3 - Most often, literary works have both internal conflict (individual v. self) and external conflict (individual v. individual, society, nature, or technology). Additionally, one can often find that a character''s internal conflict is linked to an external one. Choose a text in which both an internal and external conflict are evident to you. How does the external conflict illuminate the internal one? What meaningful parallels or incongruencies do you observe when comparing the two, and what is the significance within the context of the story?
Prompt #4 - In some stories, characters come into conflict with the culture in which they live. Often, a character feels alienated in his/her community or society due to race, gender, class or ethnic background. Choose a text that shows this kind of conflict. How is the character alienated from community and how does she/he respond to it? What does that character''s alienation say about the surrounding society''s assumptions, morality and values? In what way(s) do literary elements reflect how that society defines race, gender, class and/or ethnicity? How does this create conflict for the character?
Prompt # 5 - Setting is an important component of any story. Consider the role that setting has in one of the works. How is this particular setting integral to the story? Does the protagonist conflict with the setting or have particular interactions with it? How does the protagonist's relationship with the setting connect with his/her development as a character?
Prompt # 6 - Tone is a literary element that poets and authors use to affect a certain mood, emotion, setting, and/or message. Choose a story, drama, or poem in which you observe a unique tone. Analyze the tone in detail, illustrating specific qualities of it by offering several textual examples of each quality. Why is this tone important in understanding the conflict and theme of the text? How does it contribute to both?
Incorporate research from the primary and secondary sources.
Carefully review the Grading Rubric link below for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.
https://ashford.waypointoutcomes.com/assessment/13228/preview
Below is my week 3 discussion post, as I was unable to attach:
W3 Discussion Post
Bailey's growth from a son into a man, who is a husband and father, demonstrates how he stood up to his mom and didn't change his plans for a summer vacation to Florida, despite his mom's multiple attempts to derail the trip.
Grandmother made various attempts to reroute the trip to her destination of choice, East Tennessee. She were very determined stating, "The children have been to Florida before," but "never been to east Tennessee" (O'Connor 1953). Her most interesting and unsuccessful attempt was when she tried to scare everybody by showing them a news article about an escaped criminal that's headed to Florida. When she mentioned it to Bailey, he was reading a different section of the newspaper and didn''t look up from his reading. She decided that she will bring it to the attention of other family members, who also didn't entertain her. Grandmother's attempt was selfish as she wanted to visit her connections in East Tennessee (O'Connor 1953).
Explain the connection between the topic sentence and your working thesis. Would this connection be clear to someone without your explanation? If so, why? If not, how can you modify your topic sentence and/or thesis statement to make this connection more clear? The topic sentence links back to the working thesis and cites similar words to show connection. Yes, I believe it would be clear without explanation because the topic sentence introduces where Grandmother wanted to visit.
Explain the choice of reference material. How do the references support the topic sentence? Would this connection be clear to someone without your explanation? If so, why? If not, what information should you add to the paragraph to make this connection more clear? My references support the topic sentence and would be clear to someone without explanation because each reference states Grandmother reasoning for wanting to visit East Tennessee.
Does the paragraph contain any unnecessary information? Does everything in it work to support the topic sentence? What information could be added or removed? In essence, you are being asked to evaluate the cohesion of your paragraph. No, I don't believe the paragraph contains any unnecessary information. Yes, everything in it works to support the topic sentence. I don't think there is any information that could be added or removed.
Note any other specific challenges faced or successes experienced when writing this paragraph or completing this discussion post. A specific challenge I faced was being distracted by other characters other than those stated in the working thesis.