In a full 2-page essay (500 word minimum), respond to one of the following questions in connection to the story you've chosen to analyze. Remember to use textual evidence to back up your claims, and to provide proper APA documentation and References citations for your work.
Questions to choose from (as presented by Lois Tyson in Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide):
1. How do the operations of repression inform the work? What unconscious motives are operating in the main character(s)? What core issues are thereby illustrated? How do these core issues structure or inform the piece? (Remember, the unconscious consists of repressed wounds, fears, unresolved conflicts, and guilty desires.)
2. Are there any family dynamics, including oedipal or electra dynamics, at work in the piece? Is it possible to relate a character's patterns of adult behavior to early experiences in the family as represented in the story? How do these patterns of behavior and family dynamics operate and what do they reveal?
From Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide. New York: Garland, 1999. 32.
Use textual evidence when needed to back up your claims. Remember to use proper APA in-text citation if you use words or phrases from the readings, and to include a References citation for each source you use. You can also consult the APA Resource Center listed in the "Classroom" link in our course menu for helpful documents and resources concerning APA documentation.