This is a formal essay and should be formatted according to APA guidelines. Review the APA information in the CWL 1000 Resources area of the course to view a template.
Write a 1,000-word (minimum) essay addressing one of the topics described below. You must meet the minimum word count to get full credit.
Your essays must include quotes from each text you use to get full credit. Be sure to quote, cite, and reference from the text(s) using appropriate APA format.
You cannot use any additional resources other than the texts or film you choose and the terms from within class
Choose ONE of the following prompts and write a formal 1,000-word essay:
Consider the film you watched in Week 1 (Cinema Paradiso). Identify the theme of the film and explore the political and/or social issues that affect the story being told. How do these issues affect the characters and influence the theme?
Choose one of the short stories you read in class and perform an analysis of characterization and conflict.
Review the definition of “canon” from the Week 1 “Getting Ready to Study Literature” lecture. With this definition in mind, write an essay dealing with three works we have read and argue why they should be a part of this canon. Be sure to focus on how each work is worthy of admiration and study and how it embodies the cultural values of a society. Be sure to provide specific examples from the readings.
Watch the film Cinema Paradiso (check Netflix, Amazon, or your local library for access)
Term Definition
Genre Genre is a type of literary, cultural, or artistic form. Genre in literature can refer to a broad category, such as fiction, non-fiction, drama, essay, or poetry, or it can refer to a more specific category, such as romance.
Reading Critically Reading critically is the process of identifying what it is that we do not understand about a text and doing our best to reduce the items we do not understand. Good critical reading often involves more than one reading of a text. We also collect evidence from the text to support our best interpretation of it.
Preparing to Read
In order to get the most out of your reading and to prepare you to write about literature, you should understand the following terms:
PREVIEW: Begin reading, asking yourself questions about the title, purpose, theme, style, setting, tone, and overall function of the literature.
HIGHLIGHT: Highlight or underline the answers to some of the questions above, any pertinent facts that relate to the literature, or anything that strikes you as important, unusual, or interesting.
ANNOTATE: Make notes to yourself in the margin regarding any of the above; this begins a “discussion” and interaction between you and the literature. This is the first step in understanding the literature and prepares you to write.
You do NOT work with any outside sources at this time. It is a conversation between you and the actual text. No research comes into play here.
Ambiguity Ambiguity is uncertain meaning. There are several types in literature, including ambiguity of syntax, ambiguity of diction, and ambiguity of words.
Syntax Syntax is the grammatical structure of a sentence.
Tone The manner, mood, or pervading attitude established by the author toward his or her subject. It may, for example, be angry, resigned, humorous, serious, sentimental, mocking, ironic, sarcastic, satirical, reasoning, emotional, or psychological.
Diction Word choice and phrasing.
Canon In general terms, a canon refers to the generally accepted list of great works of literature or the collection of works by a single author.
Many people consider the works commonly collected into anthologies as being part of the literary canon. These works are typically considered to be suitable for admiration and study and are considered to reflect the cultural values of a society. However, the vast majority of traditional works considered to be part of the canon are written by dead, white European male authors. More recently, critics and scholars assert that works written by a variety of authors should be considered as part of the literary canon.
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adapted from:
Wheeler, K. (2013, August 20). Literary terms and definitions. Retrieved from http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/lit_terms_C.html.
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