For this final 5-6 page essay, I’d like you to begin your analysis of a new text we’ve read in class by focusing on a theme from that text and making it the basis for a puzzling observation and an original argument.
In other words, you might choose a theme from a text and then consider “why this particular theme is used here” and “what it might mean.” A theme can be as broad (ex: race, leadership, sexuality) or as narrow (ex: animals, clothing, location) as you wish. You should also consider how this theme changes or impacts the meaning of the whole text. Remember that themes are open to several interpretations, so you must use specific textual evidence and secondary sources to support your analysis of this theme in light of a larger revelation. Your paper will make clear the stakes of the argument (why it matters) and how your work contributes to the scholarship surrounding this text. That being said, you have the freedom to choose what you want to explore in your writing. You might even consider tracing a theme and its significance across texts or genres. For the sake of brevity, I recommend focusing on a specific, narrow theme and analyzing its larger consequences through your argument. Help your readers realize something new about the text that might change the way we think about it or might open up the text to new modern interpretations. To do so, you need to rely on textual evidence and at least 3 secondary sources
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