Fiction essay

FICTION ESSAY ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS

OVERVIEW

You must complete the required textbook readings in preparation for the Fiction Essay

Assignment. This will equip you to objectively respond to the readings by compiling

information from a variety of sources in order to compose a persuasive analysis of a literary

work. You will also learn to follow standard usage in English grammar and sentence structure;

identify the theme and structure of each literary selection as well as the significant characteristics

or elements of each genre studied; and evaluate the literary merit of a work.

INSTRUCTIONS

You will write a 750-word (approximately 3 pages) essay that compares and contrasts 2 stories

from the Fiction Unit. Before you begin writing the essay, carefully read the below guidelines for

developing your paper topic and review the Fiction Essay Grading Rubric to see how your

submission will be graded. Gather all of your information, plan the direction of your essay, and

organize your ideas by developing a 1-page thesis statement and outline for your essay. Format

the thesis statement and the outline in a single Microsoft Word document using current MLA,

APA, or Turabian style (whichever corresponds to your degree program); check your textbook,

the assigned readings on Writing about Literature in the Learn section of your Canvas course

Module 3:Week 3- Fiction Unit, as well as the Online Writing Center to ensure correct citation

format is used.

Your submission must include a title page, a thesis/outline page, and the essay itself, followed by

a works cited/references/bibliography page listing any primary and/or secondary texts cited in

your essay.

Guidelines for Developing Your Paper Topic

The Writing about Literature section of your textbook provides helpful pointers for writing

your literary essay and for academic writing in general. Be sure that you have read these sections

before doing any further work for this assignment. Take particular notice of the examples of

fiction essays in the Writing about Literature section of your textbook.

Choose 2 of the following short stories to compare and contrast in your essay:

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

The Destructors by Graham Greene

The Rocking-Horse Winner by D.H. Lawrence

Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Prodigal Son by St. Luke

Also, at least 1 of these elements of fiction must be the focus of your essay:

Conflict/Plot/Structure

Characterization

Setting

Theme/Authors Purposes

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Point of View, and/

Tone/Style/Irony/Symbol/Imagery

If you need help focusing your essay, ask yourself questions that correspond to your chosen

element(s).

Conflict/Plot/Structure (This is not a summary of the stories)

What are the basic conflicts? How do these conflicts build tension and lead to major,

complicated incidents and climactic moment(s)?

What are the ways in which each major character experiences conflict (either with

self, with other characters, or with the social and/or physical environment)?

How are the conflicts resolved? Do the protagonists succeed in achieving their goals?

Which character receives your deepest sympathy and why?

Characterization

Who are the main characters in the stories?

What are their outstanding qualities? Does the author give any indication as to how or

why the character developed these qualities?

What are the characters emotions, attitudes, and behaviors? What do these indicate to the

reader about the character?

Can the characters motivations be determined from the text?

Setting

Where and when do the stories take place (remember to include such details as

geographic location, time of year, time period, if the setting is rural or urban, etc.)?

Do the settings make the stories believable or credible? How does setting impact the plot

of the story, and how would the plot be affected if the story took place in another setting?

Are the characters influenced by their setting? How might they behave if they were in a

different setting?

What atmosphere or mood does the setting create (for example, darkness may create a

mood of fear or unhappiness while light or bright colors may create one of happiness)?

Is the setting or any aspect of it a symbol, or does the setting express particular ideas?

Does setting create expectations that are the opposite of what occurs?

Theme/Authors Purposes

What is the major theme (or themes) of each story?

Are the themes of the stories similar or different?

How does the author convey the theme (or themes) to the reader?

How do the stories themes relate to the authors purposes (some examples of author

purposes are to entertain, to satirize, to realistically portray lifes problems, to analyze

emotions and responses, and/or to communicate a moral message)?

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What unique style, techniques, or devices do the writers use to communicate their

themes?

Tone/Style/Irony/Symbol

How would you describe the tone of the piece?

Does the tone correspond with the action occurring in the plot?

What style does the author use (for example, one way an author might satirize is by

including a lot of irony, hyperbole, and unrealistic scenarios)?

How might the story be different if the tone or style were to be changed?

Does the writer use irony or symbols to communicate the message?

Note: These questions are a means of ordering your thoughts while you collect information for

your essay. You do not need to include the answers to all of these questions in your essay; only

include those answers that directly support your thesis statement need to be included.