4-6 pages

In this paper, you will compare two texts (short story or play) and their treatment of one topic. Here are some topics we have encountered:

Marriage

Gender/Feminism

Freedom

Individuality

Family

Identity

Equality

Self-Reliance

Faith

Suffering

Sin/Guilt

Responsibility

Sacrifice

Forgiveness

Loyalty

Duty

Obsession

Justice

Law

Nature

Economic Class

Truth

Innocence

Experience

Love

Process:

1) you could pick the two texts you enjoy the most and identify a common topic/issue, or you could pick a topic and then find the texts to fit.

2) You should answer the following questions: What do texts A and B have to say about topic X? What is similar and what is different about the texts’ treatment of the topic X? Basically, you are exploring how a topic takes on new meanings under different historic or literary circumstances—how the same topic is explored differently by two different authors to arrive at different artistic ends.

3) You need ONE thesis/conclusion about ONE topic; do NOT write a paper with a thesis for each of the two works you use…you need a unified thesis that connects/synthesizes your reading of both texts.

Research Parameters:

In addition to my lecture notes (if applicable), this essay must incorporate a minimum of TWO secondary sources accessed from the TCC library databases. These sources should lend support to your thesis (i.e. your historical and/or textual analysis rather than provide background/biographical details). Please use the Library Research Guide for our class.

If you do not cite sources, you are plagiarizing. If you borrow ideas and arguments about your text/author from other sources without citation, you are plagiarizing (and, yes, this includes borrowing information and ideas from Sparknotes and Wikipedia and such).

Use MLA documentation: parenthetical in-text + Works Cited