Essay: Character Analysis Essay
Paper Specifications: 2 Full Pages, excluding WorksCited page. Typed. Double Spaced. One-inch Margins. 12pt. Font. Times New Roman. Proper MLA.
Using the STEAL method or Foil Characters concept, analyze how the author constructs a character. Your analytical argument should focus on how the author creates the character and how the author uses the character to embody the theme of the work.
Find one scholarly source to help support your essay's thesis.
Choose only one character from the following list as your main point of analysis:
• Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest:
o Lady Bracknell
o Miss Prism
o Cecily
• Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde:
o Mr. Poole
o Mr. Gabriel John Utterson
o Dr. Hastie Lanyon
Remember, always establish clear criteria during your argumentation. You need a clear thesis to guide the essay and argumentative topic sentences to guide each paragraph. You are essentially discussing how an author creates the personality of a fictional character and how that character helps develop the meaning and significance of a work, so make sure you assert your interpretation.
Do not summarize! Consider that your audience has read the work and has been exposed to the key literary terms, so you do not need to define them.
Do not evaluate! Avoid judging how well the author writes or how good or bad the poem is. Analyze the importance of the literary device and remain objective.
***Numerous essays exist about these works. Do not be tempted to plagiarize! Use close reading and your critical thinking skills to approach your selected topic***