“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner Short Story Interpretation
Your paper should be approximately 1100 words (about 5-6 pages) long. Type your paper in a Word or .rtf document – double-spaced – with a heading on the first page appropriate to MLA style. It doesn’t require a title page. Don’t break each paragraph with an extra line break, but instead begin each paragraph with an indent. When you submit your paper’s final draft in Essays via the Assignment Tool, post it as a Word or .rtf attachment that preserves the document’s formatting. Follow the due dates listed in the Class Schedule.
Assignment: Second Essay – Short-Story Interpretation
Instructions:
Choose one of the short stories we’ve read this term and write an essay interpreting its meaning.
A literary analysis isn’t merely a summary or review, but rather an interpretation of the work and an argument about it based on the text. You might argue about the work’s meaning or why it causes certain reader reactions.
Write an essay of approximately 1100 words (about 5-6 pages) explaining your thoughts about this short story and the author’s intended purpose in writing the story. Give examples and quotations to illustrate your main points.
Develop a thesis that makes an arguable claim about the text. It should connect one of the themes you’ve identified with specific proof from the text (i.e. setting, context, plot, characters, symbolism, or allusions). You might decide to also use the support of other analysts or literary experts.
Example Thesis: In The Once and Future King, White shows that the ideal leader is not one of military strength, but one who balances government power and social independence. He achieves this through his satire of the knighthood, his depiction of Merlin’s philosophical experiments, and his portrayal of Arthur.
Remember that a thesis for a literary analysis should NOT merely:
- Summarize the plot (The Once and Future King tells the story of the legendary King Arthur.)
- State an over-generalized theme (The Once and Future King gives important ideas about leadership.)
- Offer a review of the book (The Once and Future King is a literary classic that everyone should read.)
- Make a formal announcement (This paper will discuss the reasons that The Once and Future King should be read by everyone.)
Objectives:
Write a clear, confident, well-supported essay analyzing a short story.
To complete this assignment, you should:
1. Write a clear thesis statement.
2. Discover a main theme around which you will focus your discussion, analysis, description, narration, details, illustrations, facts, and examples.
3. Organize your paper with a clear beginning, middle, and ending.
4. Consult a style guide like “Rules for Writers” for help with grammatical, punctuation, or mechanical issues.
Requirements:
Your paper should be approximately 1100 words (about 5-6 pages) long. Type your paper in a Word or .rtf document – double-spaced – with a heading on the first page appropriate to MLA style. It doesn’t require a title page. Don’t break each paragraph with an extra line break, but instead begin each paragraph with an indent. When you submit your paper’s final draft in Essays via the Assignment Tool, post it as a Word or .rtf attachment that preserves the document’s formatting. Follow the due dates listed in the Class Schedule.
The Process:
Begin by summarizing the basic plot: “Matilda by Roald Dahl is about a gifted little girl in small town America who learns to make things move with her mind and saves her teacher and school from the evil principal.” This will help ground you in the story. (When you write your paper, you might use only a very brief summary to orient your readers in this class since they will be familiar with the story.)
Research the author’s background and other work. This can give insight into the author’s perspective and bias, as well as tell the reader what he might be commenting on. For example, Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is about a group of friends who embark on an epic journey and fight a great war. Knowing Tolkien fought in the Battle of Somme during World War I and that his closest friends were killed helps explain his sentiments about war.
Your introduction should introduce the author, the title of the story, provide a brief plot summary, state the theme of the story, and state briefly which literary devices the author uses to develop the theme. Do not forget that the entire essay must be written in present tense.
Consider how the author uses the following literary devices to develop the theme of the story so you can discuss them and use their examples as evidence to back your thesis.
- Setting
- Characterization (character’s actions, inner thoughts and motivation. Is the character dynamic?)
- Foreshadowing
- Irony
- Point of view (who is telling the story?)
- Plot
- Symbolism
Each paragraph should focus on a literary device and how the author uses the device to develop the theme. For example, the conflict in “The Most Dangerous Game” reveals the theme that we cannot understand another’s perspective until we have experienced his perspective
Each paragraph should include at least one quote (either from the text or from an outside expert source) and must follow proper format for citing and for integrating quotes.
The conclusion should remind the reader of your thesis and summarize the impact of the theme on the reader.