Analytic Research Essay -
Your priority this week is to finish reading Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, answer your assigned questions in the discussion forum, and jump into the planning and writing of your analytic research essay. If you start right away, you will have three weeks to complete your essay.
In your essay, you are asked to share your interpretation and analysis of one aspect of Morrison's novel. (For the assignment, see Analytic Research Essay - The Bluest Eye.) You begin by doing research. Based on your research, you will then develop an outline with your main argument in the form of a thesis and supporting illustrations. After that, you write the paper, using proper APA citations. Please examine the Rubric for Analytic Research Essay in the Course Materials section to make sure you are following the writing guidelines.
Why The Bluest Eye?
Selecting one particular novel to study in a course on American literature is a challenge. There is no way to select the "best" possible text to study, nor are there good reasons not to study other great books. What makes Morrison's novel a good choice for this course, primarily, is that it is equally intriguing in theme as it is in form. It will give you an opportunity to see and discuss how intricately interconnected those two planes are, especially in American literature of the contemporary period.
The Bluest Eye will make you sad and angry. It will also make you chuckle, perhaps even laugh out loud. Throughout the novel, Morrison tells of taboo topics in a direct manner that is frightening, even offensive, to some, while it feels bravely truthful, sobering, and real to others. Morrison herself has repeatedly said that she began writing because she felt that stories of the sort she could tell needed to be told, but nobody was daring to tell them. As you read, stay open and be alert to detail. Suspend your biases, read on when the narrative structure has you confused, and hear out this snapshot of three little girls' lives, families and community connections in the American mid-20th Century.
God in The Bluest Eye - One Critic's Quote
The following critic's quote may actually give you an idea for your research paper topic:
"Religious references, both from Western and African sources, abound in Toni Morrison's fiction, but nowhere are they more intriguing or perplexing than in The Bluest Eye. And of the many fascinating religious references in this novel, the most complex - and perhaps, therefore, the richest - are her representations of and allusions to God. In Morrison's fictional world, God's characteristics are not limited to those represented by the traditional Western notion of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Instead, God possesses a fourth face, one that is an explanation for all those things - the existence of evil, the suffering of the innocent and just - that seem so inexplicable in the face of a religious tradition that preaches the omnipotence of a benevolent God."
(Alexander, Allen. (1998) The Fourth Face: The Image of God in Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye. African American Review. Summer.)
Assignment:
Write a 5-7 page analytic research essay in which you research and analyze one theme or aspect of Toni Morrison's novel The Bluest Eye. (See steps below.) The paper must be double-spaced, following APA style.
Steps to Follow to Prepare and Write Your Paper
Step 1 - If you are experienced in writing research papers, skip Step 1 and proceed immediately to Step 2.
If you are new at writing research papers - or you feel you need to review the process - begin by studying Chapter 28, "Writing Research Papers" in your Pocket Wadsworth Handbook by Kirszner & Mandell. (If you do not yet have your copy of the handbook, you will find it in your college bookstore.) Pay special attention to Section 28d, "Developing a Tentative Thesis," and Section 28g, "Fine-Tuning Your Thesis."
Fine-Tuning Your Thesis to Build a Strong Outline
Adapted from the Pocket Wadsworth Handbook
Tentative Thesis Statement (rough, more vague)
Not all Americans have access to the Internet, and this is a potentially serious problem.
Final Thesis Statement (more precise)
Although the Internet has changed our lives for the better, it threatens to leave many people behind, creating two distinct classes - those who have access and those who do not.
Step 2 - In one or two sentences, identify what you think is the most important theme in The Bluest Eye. Or you might notice a key symbol or detail that runs like a thread through the novel. For example, how does Morrison portray God in the novel? Or race relations. Or family dynamics throughout the story. As you do your research, you will certainly find specific and detailed ideas that you could pursue in a paper. It is this important theme or main idea that leads into your thesis statement.
Step 3 - Spend some time thinking about how to support your thesis statement. In this case, you think about how Morrison uses the various elements of fiction to highlight or explain your theme, idea, detail, symbol, etc. Identify specific passages, events, character actions, conflicts, descriptions, and details, etc. that support your thesis. This is the textual evidence that you will provide in support of your thesis.
Step 4 - After you prepare your annotated bibliography, read through the five sources, the so-called "secondary" works on the novel, that you found. Add two or three more with further study as needed. (These are books, journal articles, interviews, websites on Morrison, audio-visual materials, etc.) Identify passages you can quote, paraphrase, or summarize and use as supporting evidence for the thesis of your essay. These expert sources will support your own voice as you construct your argument.
Step 5 - Use the evidence from the text that you have identified, as well as the additional researched materials you have compiled, to compose a focused, well-organized, academic essay of 5-7 pages, double-spaced. Remember, as stated above, the essay must have an introduction that contains your thesis statement, a body of evidence that supports your thesis, and a conclusion that sums up your main points and restates your position.
A basic outline might look like this:
I. Introduction - Begin with a quote related to your thesis, then create a transition into your thesis statement. Your thesis lets your reader know your main idea. Everything else in the essay then supports your main idea with examples and evidence.
II. First Example from the Novel to Support the Thesis
a. Quote from novel and discussion.
b. Support from critic or secondary source
III. Second Example from the Novel to Support the Thesis
a. Quote from novel and discussion.
b. Support from critic or secondary source
IV. Third Example from the Novel to Support the Thesis
a. Quote from novel and discussion.
b. Support from critic or secondary source
V. Conclusion - Summarize your three main points. Show how they support thesis in introduction. Clinch it with closing remark or quote.
Things to Keep in Mind As You Write
1. Your analytic research essay is an analysis of a text that will prove a certain interpretation. It is not a plot summary. Do not simply retell the story. Identify significant elements (character, setting, language, imagery etc.) and explain how and why they support your thesis. Use the voices of other experts on the text that you have located in your research to support your own critical-analytical voice.
2. There are very few wrong interpretations of a text, but there are unsupported arguments. Your opinion will not be judged one way or another. What will be evaluated is how well you support your thesis with evidence from the text and from research you have conducted.
3. Use Chapters 1 and 2 in your textbook Ways In for additional guidance as needed.
Spend time this week putting together an annotated bibliography for your analytic research essay on Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye. You will not turn in the bibliography this week, but you need to finish it so you will be ready to turn it in with your completed paper.
Steps to Prepare Your Annotated Bibliography
1. Visit your college's Online Library, which you can access through the Resources tab.
2. Do an extensive search for books, articles, websites, printed or video interviews, and other secondary materials on Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye and related subjects in African American Literature.
3. Put together a bibliography in APA style that contains a minimum of 8-10 credible academic sources.
4. Next, speed read - or skim - through the materials you have located and select five (5) sources that will likely be the most helpful in writing an analytic research essay on Toni Morrison''s novel The Bluest Eye.
5. Write five annotated notes, one each, for each of your five chosen sources about The Bluest Eye. Each note should be a paragraph that summarizes the main focus of the listed source. Work in a Word document and save it to your computer until you submit it with your completed paper.
Help with Your Research and Annotated Bibliography
Your college's Online Library has helpful resources on research and annotated bibliographies.
Also, visit the following website: https://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/skill28.htm. Alternately, simply do a search in your favorite Internet search engine for the phrase "Annotated Bibliography".
Sample Annotated Bibliography Entry - Zinn, H. (1997). A People''s history of the United States. New York: New Press
In this book the history of the United States is seen from the viewpoint of people who were not necessarily beneficiaries of American democracies. The book concentrates on the experiences of slaves, American Indians, women, and other disenfranchised groups and how they were affected by the major events in American history. It also includes excerpts from primary sources that show many of the country's most famous individuals as members of an elite upper class rather than idealized heroes.