- You will choose one of the following stories to write about. All are easily found online. However, you will find direct links to the story on the CANVAS. Here’s a brief synopsis of each story.
Everything Goes Down Easier with Sugar (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) by Hananah Zaheer (Published by Southwest Review). Religion and outsides clash in this story of mystery, intrigue, and accidental-on-purpose murder.
Not From Here (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) by Angela Mitchell (Published by Carve Magazine). A Mid-West teenage girl finds a fascination with a life very different from her own and struggles to reach out and touch it. (trigger warning: abuse, images of violence).
When the Tide of Misfortune Hits, Even Jelly Will Break Your Teeth (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.) by Porochista Khakpour (Published by Gulf Coast Journal). An unlucky man seeks to find a better life by taking the advice of a peculiar stranger.
- Read the story through once briefly marking places of interest. Walk away from the story. When you return, read the story again, this time slowly, examine the text. What literary devices (pg. 211-224) can you find? Why are these important? How do they work together to build the story/character/setting? How do your feelings change throughout the paper? Remember, critically engaging with literature moves beyond reading a story to get from point A to point B. I am not looking for a plot summary. I do not want you to use any external sources and I do not want you to bring in the author’s background or life into your evaluation. What we are doing is called “close reading.”
- I want you to make a statement (argument) about the story and its form and back it up with textual evidence. We are here to explore the dark places, poke around in the dust, and come away with a greater understanding of the story and how it relates to society/humanity as a whole. I do not expect you to write a paper about the story as a whole, rather I’d like to focus on one part/scene/element
- Y
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