English 215 Spring 2018

On March 12th we will begin looking at Blindness, which is a novel set in what feels the Apocalypse. Below are some articles that will help explain what this means; http://io9.com/5392430/research-reveals-that-apocalyptic-stories-changed-dramatically-20-years-ago http://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/4399/what-is-apocalyptic-literature http://sites.silaspartners.com/partner/Article_Display_Page/0,,PTID34418_CHID137699_CIID2304042,00.html http://www.revelation.giffmex.org/?p=71 http://theambulantscholar.com/2012/07/14/teaching-genre-and-convetion-using-the-post-apocalyptic-narrative-part-i/ http://csuchico-dspace.calstate.edu/bitstream/handle/10211.4/187/4%2015%202010%20Karl%20Becker.pdf?sequence=1 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/boria-sax-/apocalypse-no-more-post-a_b_4994358.html

3 PAGES, DOUBLE SPACED, SIZE 12 TIMES NEW ROMAN USE TWO OUTSIDE SOURCES (NOT INCLUDING THE TEXT!) AND QUOTE THE PRIMARY TEXTS AS WELL. USE THE EXAMPLE PAPER HANDOUT FOR MLA GUIDELINES!! Refer to the class blog for outside source info: eng215spring2018.blogspot.com Pick ONE of the essay topics below for your paper. Illusion vs. reality is something that comes up in a lot of literature. We saw some in The Great Gatsby . Pick one aspect of a character’s life, whether it be from the past or the present, and explain how he/she uses illusions to distort their reality. Use examples from the texts along with outside sources to support your thesis. 2.       Pick one or two of the many symbols from the novel and describe what it is important. What does this symbol mean in to this particular text? Use examples from the texts along with outside sources to support your thesis. 3.       How does Gatsby represen...

Your introduction does not introduce the title(s) and author(s) of the primary (anything read or watched in class) texts. (In “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan…) You announced your thesis (“This paper will…”-or- “I will discuss…”). Your introduction does not include a thesis (The main point of your paper—reword the question you are answering from handout). You did not cite or quote 2 OUTSIDE SOURCES (They can be found on the class blog or by doing your own research) You cited or quoted unreliable outside sources (ie: Sparknotes, shmoop, wikipedia, cliffnotes, 123helpme, yahoo discussion boards etc.) You plagiarized. You took info from an unreliable source or just took info and did not give credit. You need to quote the primary texts in your paper (Anything we have read or watched in class). Sources are not accurately documented, and MLA format is not attempted or followed properly. Several awkward and/or unclear sentences; pr...

Background Info on the play: http://www.legacy.com/news/celebrity-deaths/article/lorraine-hansberrys-a-raisin-in-the-sun https://theundefeated.com/features/new-documentary-lorraine-hansberry-of-a-raisin-in-the-sun-one-tough-minded-woman/ https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1959/05/09/playwright https://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/lorraine-hansberry-review-superb-portrait-of-important-playwright-activist-1.16239285 Hansberry on Writing the Play: https://nj.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/hans17-ela-writing/lorraine-hansberry-a-raisin-in-the-sun-hansberrys-writing-process/#.WoGoha6nG70

Below are links that would function as strong outside sources: http://www.umich.edu/~eng217/student_projects/araisininthesun/historicalcontext.html http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/literary-criticism/36902365/somewhat-like-war-aesthetics-segregation-black-liberation-and-r aisin-sunhttp://lifeofannekathrin.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/race-in-a-raisin-in-the-sun.pdf http://www.iasj.net/iasj?func=fulltext&aId=45950 http://www.iasj.net/iasj?func=fulltext&aId=62331 You can look through these links to see if any may be useful for your paper: https://www.google.com/#q=a+raisin+in+the+sun+scholarly+articles this link will explain how to quote and cite a play in your paper: http://libguides.pstcc.edu/content.php?pid=24540&sid=1751573 American Dream: https://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/raisin-sun-quest-american-dream https://www.huntingtontheatre.org/articles/A-Raisin-in-the-Sun/A-Dream-Realized-Hansberrys-iA-Raisin-In-The-Suni/ http://mobile.nytimes.com/bl...

This links provide many articles and resources for The Great Gatsby: http://reading.cornell.edu/reading_project_06/gatsby/great_gatsby_resources.htm http://www.fscottfitzgeraldsociety.org/resources/critical-materials.html Some more helpful links:  https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/jun/10/great-gatsby-fitzgerald-jay-mcinerney https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/achenblog/wp/2015/03/20/why-the-great-gatsby-is-the-great-american-novel/?utm_term=.d4153c7d759f http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/books/ct-prj-great-gatsby-f-scott-fitzgerald-hl-mencken-20141010-story.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karielle-stephanie-gam/the-great-gatsby-analysis_b_3430967.html https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/04/to-early-reviewers-the-great-gatsby-was-not-so-great/390252/

Taking a few mintues to read some background information on the author will enhance your understanding of the text. Here are a few quotes to also think about from the text:  “ Whenever you feel like criticizing any one…just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had” (1). “”a single green light, minute and faraway, that might have been the end of a dock” (22). ”He smiled understandingly-much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced–or seemed to face–the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself” (48). “Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine: I am one of the few honest peopl...