After a semester of looking at different genres of literature, what ties do you observe between life and the art of the written word.  Select a theme or issue and at least two works of literature, be it poem, story, or play to illustrate this connection.

Literary Research Paper Guidelines:

Format:  MLA format with a MLA works cited page

Length: minimum 6 pages typed

Font and Spacing:  Times New Roman 12pt, Double Spaced

References:  Two Primary Texts, Two Secondary References

Prompt:

After a semester of looking at different genres of literature, what ties do you observe between life and the art of the written word.  Select a theme or issue and at least two works of literature, be it poem, story, or play to illustrate this connection.

Suggestions:

– Define Literature in your introduction. Reflect of its importance.  Feel free to quote someone else’s definition, but be sure to reference MLA style. (1/2 a page to a page)

– Select an issue or aspect of life that you will be focusing on. Then select at least two works of literature, i.e. poems, plays, songs, stories, or films.  Spend time detailing and reflecting on the theme or issue.  How is your topic important to the overall human experience? (1 page)

Discuss the works of literature you have selected. Engage them critically; do not just summarize them. Think about what does each piece say about your topic and how it conveys its message.

Why are these pieces important? How does the work of art expand and complicate its theme?  Does the work tell us something new? (2 pages per work of literature)

–  Consider the themes of the works.    –  For your conclusion, what is the overall connection of literature and life?  What can we learn from each work?

Why do we care about the theme of the words? How do these works of literature, and literature in general, enrich the human condition and experience?  (1/2 a page to a page)

Tao of the paper:

I. Introduction
A. Literature
1. What is Literature?
2. How does it connect to life?
II. Theme
1.   Identify the Theme
2.   Why is the theme you selected important?
III.   Works of Art
1.   Mention the works of Art
2.   Thesis
IV. Work of Art #1
A.     Support #1
B.      Support #2
V.  Work of Art #2
A. Support #1
B. Support #2
VI. Connections
VII. Conclusion
VIII. MLA Works Cited

Potential Topics

Climate Change in Wordworth’s The World Is Too Much With Us and the film An Inconvenient Truth.
Race in America in Hughes’s Harlem, Valdez’s Los Vendidos, and the film Crash.
Morality in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, O’Conner’s A Good Man Is Hard to Find, and the film Se7en.
Gender Roles in Kincaid’s Girl, Chopin’s The Story of the Hour, and Ibsen’s A Doll House.
The Meaning of Family in Walker’s Everyday Use, Roethke’s My Papa’s Waltz, and Hayden’s Those Winter Sundays.
War in O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, Owen’s Dulce et Decorum Est, and the film Saving Private Ryan.
The Contrast of Sight and Insight in Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex and Carver’s Cathedral.
Communication and Relationships in T.S. Eliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Iver’s Sure Thing.

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