Important standards for your Critical Project:
- The Critical Analysis Component will count 25% of your semester average.
- Each critical project must have a central idea or a thesis.
- The critical projects should be at a bare minimum 1500 words and must include an introduction, body, and conclusion.
- The critical projects must have an original title.
- The critical project must not be a summary of a work. Mere plot summary is not acceptable! You must include your original opinions.
- Avoid the use of first person (I, we, me) and second person (you) in Option 1.
- The critical project should show understanding and original interpretation of the work.
- When using direct quotations, summaries, or paraphrases, you must use a parenthetical citation and include the work on a Works Cited page.
For more information on critical writing, please see the literature textbook Chapter 41 “Writing about Literature,” Chapter 42 “Writing about a Story,” Chapter 43 “Writing about a Poem,” and Chapter 44 “Writing about a Play.”
Option 1: The Critical Essay
Some possible topics for your Critical Paper (You may choose your own topic—you do NOT have to choose one of these–but if you choose your own topic, you must have my approval for the topic):
- Discuss the concept of coming of age in “House on Mango Street.”
- Discuss the concept of judging people or socioeconomic division in “House on Mango Street.”
- Discuss the theme of the American Dream in “House on Mango Street.”
- Discuss the symbolism in any of the short stories.
- Discuss regionalism or the role of the small town in shaping lives and society in “A Rose for Emily.”
- Discuss the role of her men in the life of Miss Emily.
- Discuss the dynamics of the southern small town in “A Rose for Emily.”
- Discuss the concept of wisdom in “The Gift of the Magi” and its historical allusions.
- Discuss the concept of irony in “The Gift of the Magi.”
- Discuss the concept of family and heritage in “Everyday Use” or “A Rose for Emily” or any of the stories.
- Discuss the house—what it represents, its symbolism, its use in the story—within any of the stories.
- Discuss the mundane and the extraordinary as they are separate yet juxtaposed and possibly even become one and the same in “The Red Wheelbarrow.”
- Give a character analysis of Ulysses as demonstrated by the poem “Ulysses.”
- Discuss any of the poems in terms of imagery, symbolism, etc.
- Discuss the concept of responsibility as displayed in “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.”
- Discuss the narrative poem in terms of personal mythology.
- Discuss the symbolism of birds in several of our poems, “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird,” “Song,” etc.
- Discuss the mythology of the poem “Song.”
- Discuss the severed head myth—especially as it pertains to “Song.”
Option 2: Evolution from Traditional Literature to More Contemporary Literary Forms–The Review
Using WordPress or Blogspot.com, create a blog and review the contemporary literary forms—movie, album, or game—of your choice. As part of your review, you will need to compare them to one work of literature found in our textbook. This section does not have to be large and can be just a section in passing in the course of your review, but it does need to encompass at least one to two substantial paragraphs. You could spend time discussing the evolution of the short story or drama into the gaming model or movies, or you could do the same for poems into songs. You may also choose to review a literary form from our book (short story, poem, play). This assignment should be 2000 words (the word count may include descriptions of the medium you are reviewing—you should be sure to describe it as part of your evaluation).
To evaluate or review something, one must establish criteria. The degree to which the work meets the criteria determines whether it is good, bad, or OK. For example, when reviewing an album, one might use the following criteria: lyrics, beat, and voice. As you can see the criteria themselves are neutral terms. After making a claim about the album in the introduction, the writer would devote a few paragraphs to each criterion. First, explain what constitutes “good lyrics” for you. Then, give examples from the album; explain how they meet or fail to meet your criteria for “good lyrics.”
In the blog itself, include links to scenes, songs, or screens, depending on your chosen genre. Include the links within the body of the essay/blog, in the appropriate paragraph. Remember: Anyone in the world can read your blog, so be sure to create something that you can be proud of. Keep the audience in mind. Write to the fans of your chosen work.
*Note: If you want to choose this option but are totally uncomfortable with the blog or have difficulty with it, you may submit this option as a Word or Google doc.
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