Literature in History III—Paper #1
Due 11:00 p.m., Saturday, 27 September

Send papers as Microsoft Word attachments to rpfeingold@smcm.edu
I will confirm receipt, so if you haven’t heard from me by midnight, try again.

Your paper should be roughly 6 pages, or 2100 words (+/- 10%). I do count words, since fonts differ wildly; I suggest you do, too. Please don’t include your name anywhere on the paper itself—I try to grade anonymously. For further information about my general technical expectations, please see my paper-writing FAQ page (keeping in mind that it was written for Intro students, so some of it might seem too elementary).

Assignment:
Assuming you’ve written a literary analysis paper before, this shouldn’t be too surprising. Write an essay about a recurrent theme, image, collection of symbols, idea, or narrative device in A Room of One’s Own orThe Good Soldier. Don’t stop at listing or describing the phenomenon in question, but formulate an argument about what it means, why it matters vis-a-vis an overall reading of the text.

Remember that this is an analysis, not an opinion piece. This is not to say that your ideas don’t matter, but rather that these ideas should be about the text, and rooted in the text. It would not do, then, to argue that Edward Ashburnham is a bad man because adultery is ammoral, or he’s unkind to his wife, or he doesn’t think through his actions. Neither should you make it your thesis that patriarchy is the world’s greatest evil, or that Woolf’s narrator needs to stop whining and take responsibility for her own actions. All of these things are potentially reasonable assertions, but they tell us more about you, and your personal philosophy, than they do about the text. That’s writing for another time and place. Here, I would want you to tell me what Dowell ultimately thinks about Edward—or what the text wants us to think about him (these two are not necessarily the same thing!). I would want you to explain how Woolf sees patriarchy functioning, and articulate the relationship she draws between individual and larger society. Make sense?

I expect a clearly stated thesis; a well-developed argument; and careful, close analysis of individual textual passages that you cite to support your argument. For an essay of this length, I would prefer that you don’t rely heavily on secondary sources; if, however, you do consult any, you will of course include a bibliography.

Possible general topics include:

The (un)reliable narrator — this is one that could work for either text. We have here two first-person narrators, each of whom is granted certain types of authority by the texts’ authors—and denied others. Why? To what purpose? And how? In what ways do the narrators strive to assert their authority? In what ways do they—deliberately, or not—undercut it? How does this affect us as readers?

Chronology and storytelling—again, could work for either. Neither text is exactly a straightforward linear narrative. Yet surely linearity is the best, the clearest way to get one’s point across. What do the twisted, back-and-forth, narrative ramblings of our speakers contribute to their tales?

Comedy or tragedy? This is pretty much only for The Good Soldier. Critics have argued that the novel is one, or the other. What do you think? Why? (hint: it might be helpful to look up common definitions of these terms before launching into your argument).

The definition of “good” in The Good Soldier. Dowell talks a lot about “good people”—and also a lot about people doing what might be considered very bad things. What, to him, is “good?” Does it mean the same thing to the author, or to us a readers, as it means to Dowell?

What is “The Saddest Story?”—Lots of things in the novel qualify as this, and Dowell keeps on shifting about. Is there any definitive answer?

The role of metaphor in A Room of One’s Own. How do Woolf’s sometimes elaborate metaphors relate to the real, concrete ideas she’s discussing—and in what ways can we understand her concrete assertions metaphorically? The room, the money, the fish, the turf—the list goes on and on…

Appearance(s) and reality in The Good Soldier. What does the novel have to say about the importance of each, and about their relationship to each other?

On Beyond Patriarchy—wahat advantages, special opportunities, responsibilities, possibilities does Woolf see for women in general, and women writers in particular? How do these relate to the limitations, restrictions, and realities of the past?

You’re absolutely not required to write on one of these topics—they’re just here as suggestions, in case you can’t think of anything. And please, feel free to talk to me about ideas, either in person or over e-mail.

One final note: Plagiarism. As I say on the course website (note the citation, even though I’m citing myself), I take plagiarism extremely seriously. Intellectual theft robs the original author of his or her work; you of the learning you’re supposed to be here for; your classmates of the chance to have their work evaluated on a level playing field; and me of a tremendous amount of time and energy. You have no idea, really, how monumentally pissed off I get about plagiarized essays. Read the section on academic honesty in the student handbook, and familiarize yourself with its provisions. You might also look at my Paper-writing FAQs for some resources on avoiding accidental occurances. A failing grade for the semester is the minimum penalty for plagiarism in this course.