This home work is for the story by Flannery O”Connor, A Good Man Is Hard To Find. As we study…
This home work is for the story by Flannery O”Connor, A Good Man Is Hard To Find. As we study and discuss the story in class we learn about the power of a narrator, the carefully created traits of supporting characters, the power of setting and how the author uses these tools to describe the chosen theme. This two page paper asks you to focus on making a connection between a (one) literary term and the primary text. This paper is short, hence ONE very specific aspect of the text must be chosen to discuss. The term you choose must be explained in detail. The necessity, presence, and relevance of this aspect throughout the story must be shown clearly. These are the terms
Plot – The structure of the action; the meaningful manipulation of the action; one aspect of the total design of the story.
Action – NOT a single event (boring!), but rather a series of events having unity and significance.
Narration – To narrate is to tell a story, to tell what happened. Always be mindful of who the narrator is, where we are getting the story from. Is our narrator reliable? Trustworthy? Damaged?
Be mindful when reading texts chosen for this course to pay attention to when narration shifts.
Theme – Not to be thought of as merely the topic of the story. It is what is made of the topic. It is the idea, the significance, the interpretation of persons and events in the total narrative. It is what we (as the reader) are to make of the human experience rendered in the story – always involving, (directly or indirectly) some comment on values in human nature and conduct.
Symbol – An object, character, or incident that stands for something else, or suggests something else. The crown, the cross, or the flag are conventional symbols, but the symbols we are concerned with in these texts are not conventional. In fiction an author must make use of symbols at some level, not everything can be spelled out for us!
Foreshadowing – (my favorite ‘f’ word) – The process of giving the reader a hint or clue of some event which is to follow late in the action. We (the reader) cannot make a blind leap, there must be some reasonable connection between the events – it may not be revealed as soon as we’d like, but it must be a logical connection.
Characters – Characters are not real people! Be careful not to get too caught up with asking yourself whether or not you like this person, whether you’d hang out with them, or shouting at them to make better decisions. Pay attention to character traits and what they reveal about them; how they interact with other characters (and what that reveals), and what action or symbols are expressed through either characters alone of their involvement with others.
Setting – The setting of a text is very relevant to all of the above; the traits of characters and how they interact with others; what kind of action can take place and when; they type of symbols that are present, and the theme, what message the author is conveying about human nature.
Think about any horror movie – they ALL have the same setting – and they have to. The movie would be far less scary if it took place in broad day light on a crowded New York City street corner!
I don’t need the essay, what I have to submit for now is just the essay outline.
This is the oultine
I. Thesis Statement (your topic/focus of this paper)
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II. Intro Paragraph (MUST include author and title of primary article) ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
III. Supporting Body Paragraph Ideas ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
IV. Supporting Body Paragraph Ideas ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
V. Supporting Body Paragraph Ideas ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
VI. Supporting Body Paragraph Ideas ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
VII. Supporting Body Paragraph Ideas ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
VIII. Conclusion
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