WCU - Spring 2006 LITERARY SYNTHESIS PROJECT

Due: May, 2006 (final exam)
Length: 4-6 pages, typed, double spaced
Sources: One literary work and two outside sources, minimum
Manuscript and Documentation: Short paper format, MLA parenthetical citation style

THE ASSIGNMENT. Choose any single literary work (short story, poem, or play) from your textbook (other texts may be used with approval) that interests you. What makes you curious about this work? For this assignment formulate and then answer a question that will deepen your understanding of the literary work you’ve chosen. Achieve this by supplementing your reading of the literary work with research from the library. Combine and present your understanding of the literary work together with your researched information in a synthesis essay. Your goal is to enhance your reading of the literary work by digging for information that lies outside of the work itself. The nature of the information you decide to hunt for is up to you.

SYNTHESIS CHOICES (Suggestive, not exclusive)
Choose only ONE of these angles to write a well-focused, in-depth essay.

Research the writer’s biography: find facts relating to the author’s life and relate them to the work.
Research some aspect of the work’s subject matter (i.e., marriage, gender roles, post traumatic stress syndrome, identity crisis, etc.) in greater depth or currency.
Research information on our “rites of passage” course theme and apply it to an analysis of the work you choose.
Research some aspect of the surrounding social context and relate it to the work.
Compare or contrast the work with another literary work(s) (for example, another work or works by the same author, with the same theme, same form, etc.)
Research professional critical opinion to supplement or substantiate your own analysis or interpretation
Apply one of the critical approach discussed in your textbook (see handout “Critical Approaches to Literature”)
Apply concepts from another discipline you have studied or are currently studying (sociological or psychological analysis, Marxism, feminism, quantum physics, etc.) to some aspect of the literary work (an interpretation of character, for example).

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

What psychological illness does the wife in “The Yellow Wallpaper” seem to be suffering from?
What events in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s own life seem to have inspired “The Yellow Wallpaper”?
What was happening in the world in 1945 that might have given Shirley Jackson such a dark view of human nature in her chilling short story, “The Lottery”?
Does Langston Hughes’ portrayal of racism and discrimination in “Ballad of a Landlord” accurately reflect the time and place in which the poem was written and the time in which it is set?
What is a “mid-life crisis” and how does the husband’s character in the poem” Rain” seem to be suffering from one? Is his experience typical or unique?
How do the stories “Eveline” by James Joyce, “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? By Joyce Carol Oates, and “A & P” by John Updike handle similar themes in unique ways?

RECALL THE RESEARCH PROCESS

Phase 1. SUBJECT ------- TOPIC ------- QUESTION
The SUBJECT is the literary work you choose to work with; the TOPIC is the angle you decide to pursue to enrich your understanding of the literary work. There are several angles to choose from, some of which are listed and illustrated below, but you can also pursue your own interests if you find your ideas don’t match those listed. Turn your topic into a QUESTION to focus your research and guide your search for sources.

Phase 2. GATHER INFORMATION------- TAKE NOTES-------------- FORM YOUR THESIS
Use the familiar library resources you can rely on to gather credible information; evaluate, analyze and select the best source material you can find. Carefully note the bibliographic data for each source to avoid plagiarism. Your analysis of your material should help you arrive at your THESIS, a general, explicit statement which answers your research question and serves as the controlling idea for your essay.

Phase 3. DRAFT YOUR PAPER
Write your paper in stages: the rough draft, the revised draft, and the final manuscript.

Questions? Contact me.

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