We’ve had several discussions in class regarding Expectations vs. Reality – how a character might expect one thing to happen when something else happens entirely. Or maybe the thing he or she expects to happen actually does happen, it’s just the outcome/reaction is different. For your midterm paper, I’d like you to pick 2 or 3 characters from 2 or 3 different stories and compare/contrast the way in which their expectations either do or do not coincide with reality. Do the characters have realistic expectations or unrealistic expectations? Which character has the least realistic expectations? Which character has the most realistic expectations? Why? Is the reality of what happens drastically different from what they had expected or does it come close to what they expected? Do you understand or sympathize with the characters? Why? As their expectations shift into reality, do your feelings toward the characters also change? Why? Are expectations “good” or “bad” (or neither)? Why?
These questions are merely suggestions to guide you. The main thing here is that you analyze the texts and compare and/or contrast them in a specific manner. “Expectations vs. Reality” is a broad subject, so find a specific angle that interests you and analyze your two or three texts through that lens. You’ll notice I repeat the question “Why?” several times – that’s because I want you to support your opinions with quotes from the text. Here are some other guidelines:
Your paper should be 3-4 pages, double-spaced, with 1” margins. 12 point font, Times New Roman.
You may use any text that we’ve discussed in class up to this week’s (March 9th’s) class. That’s anything from James Joyce’s “Araby” up to Jennifer Egan’s “Great Rock and Roll Pauses.”
You may use “I,” and I encourage you to use “I” frequently throughout your paper!
Think of this as a more formal version of your homework responses. I want the same level of analysis and comparisons you’ve been making so far, only in a slightly more formal version. That means you should have an introductory paragraph with a thesis statement that tells me which texts you’re going to discuss and how you’re going to compare/contrast them. You should have separate body paragraphs for each text (it’s okay to have multiple paragraphs discussing a single text). And you should end with a short conclusion.
In terms of voice, try to make this a little more formal-sounding than your homework responses. The analogy I like to use is this: Think of the homework responses as journal entries – something less formal, more relaxed, with contractions or stream-of-consciousness – but this paper should be more like a “normal” essay.
