Thesis statement about a story that you have read or watched

  Create and support a thesis statement about a story that you have read or watched Length: 4-6 pages plus a works cited page (size 12 font, four FULL pages minimum) MLA format Works cited page Write as a third-person authority (no I or you) You must quote the story (book, movie, or work you are analyzing) at least once. You must also quote at least one academic or scholarly source from a library database. ASSIGNMENT: Create and support a thesis statement about a story that you have read or watched. The story may be from a book, movie, TV show, play, etc. The point of the essay is to prove your thesis and demonstrate critical thinking. DO NOT simply summarize the entire story. Discuss only the parts of the story that help prove your point. You must demonstrate critical thinking. The essay must contain and support a thesis statement, an argument you are making about the plot, the text, the characters, the author, or the significance of the work. Remember, a thesis statement must be arguable and must be supported by evidence from the text. The textbook Everyone’s an Author has a section on analytical writing on pages 201-251 (first edition pages 137-181). There is a good sample essay on page 240 called “Calvin and Hobbes: the Voice of the Lonely Child.” You will be provided with a list of literary criticism styles. The list is to serve as inspiration; it should help you think of your story from different viewpoints. Do not let the list of criticism types confuse you. You are not required to identify what “type” of criticism you are writing. Again, the list of criticism styles is supposed to help you analyze your story from different perspectives. You do not need to conform to any of these styles. The assignment is simply to create a thesis statement and support it with evidence form the story. Sample thesis statements: In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen relies too heavily on irony to create humorous situations. In Death of a Salesman, much of Willy’s suffering is caused by his own personality. Jane Eyre should be considered an early feminist novel. Remember that there are many styles of criticism, and many ways to approach and analyze a work of literature. You may focus on the story as a whole, or you may focus on something very narrow and specific such as a single character or scene. QUOTES When you use a quote from the text or from another author, you must comment on and analyze the quote. DO NOT insert a ten line quote and then offer no insight as to why you selected that quote. Your analysis of the quote should be at least twice as long as the quote itself. Discuss the story in PRESENT TENSE When you write about fiction you should use the present tense ("the literary present") to discuss plot, characters, and actions. We write about written works as if the events in them are happening now. At the end of Of Mice and Men, Lennie sees an enormous rabbit that chastises him, making him to think of George. At the midpoint of The Odyssey, the hero Odysseus journeys to the realm of the dead. However, if you are discussing what the author did in his or her life, that would be in the past tense. It is the story, not the author’s life, that should be in present tense. Example: Milton composed the poem over many years.