“Miss Brill”, “A Rose for Emily”, “Young Goodman Brown”, “The Lottery” and “The Story of an Hour”
Discuss the portrayal of women in one or more of the stories we’ve read so far. Are they flat or round characters? Static or dynamic? To what degree, in your opinion, are the main female characters depicted in stereotypical ways- and do you think the author was fully aware of any gender stereotypes in his or her depictions? Incorporate evidence from the text(s) in your response.
Imagine for a moment that someone was going to take all of the stories assigned in weeks 1 and 2 and destroy them forever: no one in future generations could read about these characters, and no one who had read these would ever again remember them. Somehow, though, you had an opportunity to save ONE of these texts from eradication. Which of these stories would you save for future generations, and why? Think specifically about character as you respond.
Do you think that this week’s characters are more to blame for the conflicts and adversities they face, or does the fault lie more greatly in the outside forces affecting them? Pick a side. To answer this question more specifically, imagine for a moment that each of this week’s protagonists were on trial; you can choose to either prosecute or defend each one of them. Which would you prosecute? Which would you defend? Explain.
Swap characters from any two of these week 1-2 stories into the other’s story, in that character’s place. How would either or both of these stories change as a result, and why?
Requirements:
MLA Style and Word Count
Your analysis should contain at least ONE direct quote and ONE paraphrase from the text (with MLA in-text citations as necessary), and your paper should include an MLA-formatted Works Cited page. For more information about MLA style, view the MLA Formatting and Citations page.
Remember to observe MLA formatting: double-space your paper, with headings and a centered title on page 1; use 12 Times New Roman font.
Your finished response should be at least 800-1000 words.
Structure
The introduction paragraph should include a clear thesis statement. It should also clearly identify the title of the literature you’ve chosen to write about, as well as the author’s name.
Each body paragraph should have a clear topic sentence that relates back to the thesis. The information in each paragraph should relate to the topic sentence.
The conclusion paragraph should restate the thesis, summarize the main points of your argument, and offer some closing context or insight regarding your topic.
Mechanics, Grammar, and Punctuation
All written assignments should be mechanically and grammatically correct, with proper punctuation.
Use third-person person point-of-view in order to maintain objectivity. Other general writing tips are located in this week’s “How to Write a Response Paper” resource.
Stories for this assignment “Miss Brill”, “A Rose for Emily”, “Young Goodman Brown”, “The Lottery” and “The Story of an Hour”
