Literary Historical Analysis Paper American Literature 11CP

Choose one of the short stories weve read in class (or choose one from the list provided on the back) and write a research paper in which you explore the historical/political/social climate of the time the story takes place or was written. Your essay will argue how the political/social issues of the time period influenced the authors work. You will examine how the author incorporates these issues into his/her text by looking closely at literary elements of the text. You will support your argument using quotations from the fictional text and evidence from your research on the time period in your final draft.

General Requirements: 1400 1600 words; MLA formatting; includes works cited Incorporates a minimum of 4 quotations from the short story & 4 historical references (using proper parenthetical citations) 12 sources (print, web, graph/image, multimedia, personal experience, critical analysis) Sources must be annotated (marked up) with at least 3 annotations per sourceall sources will be submitted with the final essay as a packet worth 120 points Meet various checkpoints throughout the writing process to track and monitor progress (and to provide valuable feedback for revision! Includes thesis draft check, source check, draft checks 1 & 2) Thesis must address BOTH the political/social/historical influences & a literary element of an approved fictional text.

Literary Historical Analysis Essay Timeline October 9th Story/text and general topic for approval October 16th Thesis draft (you must have read your story by this point) October 30th Introduction and 1st body paragraph (draft check # 1) October 30th Source packet checkpoint (8 annotated sources) November 13th Last body paragraph and conclusion due (draft check #2) November 14th Complete drafts due (draft check #3) in class Writers Workshop: editing November 27th Final drafts due to Turnitin.com (ONLY) & source packets (completely annotated, 12 sources) due. NOTE: The draft checkpoints are designed to give me ample time to provide feedback and to give you time to revise your writing. Therefore, these deadlines are strict and any late work will not receive comments. You must meet the above deadlines if you want help revising your work.

CA-Language Arts Standards: Writing Applications 2.2 Response to literature & 2.4 Historical investigation reports.

Possible texts to choose from: The Yellow Wallpaper (Gilman) The Story of an Hour (Chopin) The Storm (Chopin) The Things They Carried (OBrien) On a Rainy River (TTTC OBrien) Rip Van Winkle (Irving) Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Irving) Pauls Case (Cather) Barn Burning (Faulkner) Beyond the Bayou (Chopin) Impressions of an Indian Childhood (Zitkala Sa aka G. Simmons Bonnin) The Devil and Daniel Webster (Benet) Sonnys Blues (Baldwin) Battle Royal (Ellison) Civil Disobedience (Thoreau) A Raisin in the Sun (Hansberry) The Birthmark (Hawthorne) Young Goodman Brown (Hawthorne) The Heart of Darkness (Conrad) Winter Dreams (Fitzgerald)

**You may choose another short story, play, or novel not mentioned here; all texts and topics must be approved prior to drafting.

Questions to consider while reading and researching: What were some significant historical/political/social/cultural issues of the time the story takes place? What were some of these issues during the time the story was written? How was the author influenced by these issues/events? How do we see these influences in the text? What do these issues reveal about the text? What questions does the author raise about American life in their writing? Why were these events so important and significant? Why are these events significant today?

You will need to choose your text and topic and submit them for my approval no later than Tuesday, October 9th. I recommend you read a short synopsis of your story to help give you an idea of the historical context of the story and to guide you in your topic choice. Sample topics* include, but are not limited to: - Sonnys Blues and oppression of Blacks in America prior to the Civil Rights Movement - The Yellow Wallpaper and womens suffrage - Rip Van Winkle and post-Revolutionary War America - Barn Burning and class division in the South *Note: The above are topics NOT thesis statements; your thesis must address both the time period of the text and a literary element that highlights/exemplifies the historical context.
CA-Language Arts Standards: Writing Applications 2.2 Response to literature & 2.4 Historical investigation reports.