Essay 1: Literary Non-Fiction Essay
Word Limit: 800 words
Choose one of the following topics and develop an argument based on your interpretation of the work in question. Your essay should be at least 800 words long, but no longer than 1000 words. It must include an original title, introduction, thesis statement, body paragraphs that support your thesis with quotations from the text, a conclusion, and a works cited page. Your essay must adhere to MLA style. Please feel free to discuss the texts in any way you wish (within reason, of course). You do not need to answers the questions provided in the topics. They are only meant to help you begin thinking about the essays.
1. Discuss Jonathan Swift’s satirical essay “A Modest Proposal.” What point do you think Swift is trying to get across? Why would he use humour to make this point? Does this mean he does not take the issue seriously?
2. Discuss Mark Twain’s “Advice to Youth.” Does Twain mean to give any advice? If not, why does he say he will give advice? If yes, what advice is he trying to give readers?
3. Discuss Zora Neale Hurston’s “How It Feels To Be Coloured Me.” What message is Hurston trying to get across? Why is her message important?
4. Discuss Virginia Woolf’s “Death of the Moth.” Is the essay simply about an unfortunate moth, or is it about something greater? What do you think the essay is actually about?
5. Discuss Drew Hayden Taylor’s “Pretty Like A White Boy.” What is Taylor trying to say about other’s perception of him? What lesson is he trying to teach the reader? Penalties