The major assignment of this semester is a formal paper that asks you to incorporate at least one secondary source in your literary analysis of a particular text. The topic of the paper is completely open. Keep in mind what you’ve learned. Possible topics include (but are not limited):
The significance or function of a static character in a novel.
The importance of the kind of growth undergone by a round character in a novel
the function of figurative language
the protagonist as antihero
the impact of the narrator or narrative strategy
the representation of certain themes
the function of an unsympathetic protagonist
the difference between young adult and adult fiction
the construction of historical fiction of the graphic novel
the notion of reliable or unreliable narration
*Remember, topics are NOT arguments. You must do something with such ideas!
You must include evidence from the primary source and a secondary critical source. You have two basic options: it can be a critical source (which offers an interpretation or an argument about the text or topic you’re analyzing), or a historical source (written during the time period the book portrays – so it offers historical context). This must be a print source – you may use an online database to find it, bit it must exist in print somewhere. A dictionary definition (from the literary terms handbook or from Oxford Reference) can be used as an additional secondary source, but it does NOT fulfill the research requirement of this paper. You may use secondary materiel included in your edition of your primary text.
