Problem
Beauty and the Beast byJeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont
The pig king by Giovan Frencesco Straparola focusing on the author's style, structure, use of imagery, symbolism, and language in the passage. You will particularly need to concentrate on the theme and message of the story as revealed in the passage you explore. Explain the author's purpose and design, and paraphrase the message of the work. Make sure that you include the full text of the passage in your paper and quote from it as you conduct your close reading.
You will also need to do some outside research to support your analysis of the tale. You will need to quote and cite from at least two outside sources in this section. A good place to start is with the "Introductions" to the tales in the The Classic Fairy Tales, and you are welcome to reference and quote from that material as well, but it does not count as an outside source. This section will probably be at least three pages in length.
Close Reading
For a close reading you should be sure to first contextualize the passage, relating it to the rest of the work that it appears in and briefly discuss how prior textual events impact the passage and how the passage introduces events or themes of continuing importance. This should not be a general summary and you can assume basic knowledge of the text, rather this should be a specific placement of the passage in its context. Relate the passage to any larger themes that it introduces or of which it is a continuation. How does this selection contribute to the overall purpose of the work, and how does it relate to the author's development of important issues. Consider the content of the passage. What narrative action occurs during the passage? What characters are involved and what do we learn about them through their actions or revelations? What is the setting of the passage and how does this affect your reading? You will also need to consider the language used in the passage and discuss any significant word choice, imagery, or literary techniques (such as symbolism, simile or metaphor) that are relevant to understanding the selection. Consider the sentence structure, punctuation, tone and any dialogue. Consider the passage artistically and aesthetically and at least address its form.