For this assignment, you will perform a close reading on one literary text we have read so far in class. As I outlined in the previous assignment, a close reading is precisely what it sounds like: closely read a short passage from a text, paying attention to the most striking and interesting details: rhetorical features, structural elements, cultural and historical references, metaphors and other figurative language, or references to identity and subject position. More importantly, rather than pointing out these details, you are reading with the aim of saying something about the text and the world it comes from! Close reading is a tool of academic analysis, but also of expression. With this in mind, after you have identified what you want to analyse, then you have to interpret it and tell your reader why it is important. This assignment is different from the previous assignment in two ways: 1. You will choose two passages to close read. 2. Close reading literature is slightly different because the meanings and structural elements of the text are often highly symbolic and figurative. For example, ideas are often embodied by the interplay between characters (both human and animals) and settings so your close reading is much more interpretive for literature than it is for analytic essays and non-fiction. Here is a more detailed breakdown of the assignment: Some interpretive steps and questions to help guide you in before you begin writing: 1. Summarize the text: who are the main characters and what are their respective situations? ? 2. What is the point of view of the story? Who is telling it? Does the perspective of one or more of the characters limit the point of view? What attitude does the narration spur us to adopt toward the protagonists? ? 3. Interpret the title. Is it ironic? 4. What are the principal themes and motifs? Motif: a) a recurrent word, image, symbol, object, phrase or action b) a conventional incident, situation, or device? 5. What types of social issues are raised through the telling of the story? 6. Are these issues resolved or left unresolved by the ending? Close Reading Steps for the essay once you have chosen your two passages: 1. Summarize the gist of the passages in one sentence. ? 2. Identify words, phrases, images, sentence structures, rhythms, and sounds that seem heightened in terms of the mood and tone they convey. ? 3. Analyze the denotative and connotative aspects of these elements. What do they literally mean and what do they imply or suggest indirectly through their interplay with other elements in the passages? How do the meanings of certain words shift through their association with other words and images in the passage, as well as the text in general? What associations does this interplay elicit from you? Elaborate on the associations that you uncover. ? 4. Describe the effect of the passage after you uncover its denotative and connotative elements. How/what do they make you feel? Is this effect surprising, engaging, ambiguous, contradictory, paradoxical, antithetical or ironic? Do the passages lead you to judge a character or situation in a particular way? 5. How do these passages fit into or challenge an overarching theme in the text? 6. Pick a compelling cluster of elements that you observed in the passages that form a pattern and write a short essay about them and why they matter. Remember that your essay must contain a persuasive thesis claim that it develops and supports through analysis of evidence from the text. The final draft must be between 1350 and 1500 words (5-6 pages) and is due Thursday October 31 st by 11:59pm. Assignment Goals: Identify a problem or question worth addressing. Formulate a thesis claim that makes a strong, insightful (i.e. not obvious) argument. Establish a motive for the essay in your introduction. Here you will answer the So What? question, suggesting why your essay is important and interesting to an intelligent reader. Draw out the implications of the argument in your conclusion. Structure the essay around your central claim, making sure that each paragraph is adding an essential piece to your argument. Use evidence persuasively, quoting and analyzing the text when necessary, summarizing or paraphrasing accurately and responsibly when appropriate. Do not provide evidence from other sources or make general assertions. Adhere to all relevant MLA formatting guidelines.
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