Monday, October 13, 2008

Additional Novel Analysis Prompts

You should plan on a paper of about two pages in length that follows the writing guidelines. Choose one prompt and answer it using CEW. Be sure to cite pages in from the text. Be clear in your explanations of how the evidence you cite illustrates, supports, or proves your claim.

Choose a principal character from you work of fiction and write an essay in which you (a) briefly describe the standards of the fictional society in which the character exists and (b) show how the character is affected by and responds to those standards. In your essay, do not merely summarize the plot.

In retrospect, the reader often discovers that the first chapter of a novel or the opening scene of a drama introduces some of the major themes of the work. Write an essay about the first chapter of your novel or the opening scene of your drama and explain how it functions this way.

An effective literary work does not merely stop or cease; it concludes. In the few of some critics, a work that does not provide the pleasure of significant closure has terminated with an artistic fault. A satisfactory ending is not, however, always conclusive in every sense; significant closure may require the reader to abide with or adjust to ambiguity and uncertainty. In an essay, discuss the ending of your choice novel. Explain precisely how and why the ending appropriately or inappropriately concludes the work. Do not merely summarize the plot.

Choose a complex and important character from your text who might on the basis of the character’s actions be considered evil or immoral. In a well-organized essay, explain both how and why the full presentation of the character in the work makes us react more sympathetically than we otherwise might. Avoid plot summary.

Often great writers use the setting in the story to help express the insight meant for the reader of the text. Explore how the author of your text uses the setting to develop the text’s theme. Avoid plot summary.