Paper 1
Guidelines
- You are expected to write with a thesis and argument, providing support for your assertions by citing specific quotes or ideas from your reading material. However, quotations should be used discretely to illustrate your argument. Your thesis statement must be underlined or in bold text.
- Make sure to have an original title for the paper.
- Use parenthesis to make in-text citations. A Works Cited page needs to follow the essay. A failure to acknowledge sources through citations constitutes plagiarism.
- The paper is to be 4 pages in length (not including Works Cited), double-spaced using Times New Roman 12-point font, with one-inch margins. USE MLA METHOD OF CITATION. If needed, consult The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 7th ed. as a guide.
- Number your pages.
- Your name, the instructor's name, class, section, and date will appear on the top left hand corner of the first page. NO COVER PAGE.
- Staple and secure the pages at the top left-hand corner.
- Your paper is due at the beginning of class on March 15. Late work will affect your participation grade and I will not accept assignments more than one week late. Do not send your papers as attachments or do not leave them in my mailbox. For your safety they need to be handed to me in person.
- Grades will be based on four equally important criteria: 1) formulation of intellectual problem/response to topic 2) knowledge of subject/content of the course 3) analysis and interpretation 4) clarity of purpose, organization, language, and mechanics.
REMEMBER: There is a difference between unjustified opinion and a persuasive argument. This assignment requires you to critically analyze and interpret the readings to persuasively argue your points. It is not looking for a mere summary of the material.
Assignment
Pick one of these options and write a 4-page paper, exploring the topic deeply and thoroughly, grounding it closely in the text. Use textual examples (themes, quotes, etc.) to provide support for your argument or exploration of the topic.
Option 1
Discuss the significance of the title The Heart of Darkness as it relates to European imperialism on the continent of Africa, and bring the novel into conversation with our reading on "World Lite: What is Global Literature?" . In your discussion you may analyze the title using characters, episodes, themes, etc. from the novella to concretely illustrate your answer.
- The papers will gain in-depth analysis if you focus on a few characters/themes/episodes and analyze them in detail. For example, you may explore characters that signify both agents of imperialism as well as the colonized populations. What does darkness mean to these characters in the context of the novel, and in the world in which they lived?
- It is important to pick the most relevant points from "World Lite: What is Global Literature?" to generate an organized and coherent paper about the title of Heart of Darkness.
Option 2
Nervous Conditions like The Heart of Darkness focuses on the disability and debility in the context of colonization. Pick either of the novels to examine the symbolic significance of disability and debility in the context of a social critique of colonialism.
- Avoid broad, generalized answers. Pick a few examples so that the discussion is in depth and has close reference to the details in the poem or the text.
Option 3
Using gender as a category of analysis of the postcolonial novel Nervous Conditions, bring out the significance of the title of the novel in the context of racial oppression.
- Focus on the specifics of the novel to respond to the assignment. Focusing on details allows for in-depth analysis in four pages.
- Get beyond surface-level thoughts and engage deeply with the topic as you demonstrate clearly your familiarity with the novel through meaningful illustrations and analysis of those illustrations. For example, the novel Nervous Conditions reflects on colonial education as a bedrock of imperialism.
- Option 4
The Heart of Darkness has become an iconic work about imperialism articulated through a narrative whose style captures the insanity of colonialism. Analyze some of the stylistic devices that Joseph Conrad uses to drive home his messages.
- What kind of images does the novel use? Why? Analyze specific images to lay out their role in generating a social critique of the establishment or the continuing racial oppression.
- What role does the impressionistic narrative play in this novel about imperialism?
Attachment:- readings elections.rar