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William Faulkner
Essay Prompt on a Literary Element:
Show how a character's attempts to recapture or reject the past is used
to develop an important theme in the novel.) Absalom,
Absalom Essay Prompt on a
Literary Element: Analyze
the conflict created when the will of an individual opposes the will of
the majority. Discuss the moral and ethical implications that this
conflict has for the individual and for society. Another
Essay Prompt on a Literary Element:
Choose a scene or character in one of Faulkner's novels that awakens "thoughtful
laughter." Then write an essay in which you show why this laughter
is thoughtful and how it contributes to the meaning of the work. Another
Essay Prompt on a Literary Element:
Although not usually identified with the detective story genre, this work
does involve the investigation of a mystery. Write an essay which
identifies the mystery, explaining how the knowledge gained from the investigation
illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize
the plot. Light
in August Essay Prompt on
a Literary Element: Show
how the author developes the significance of the title through the use
of such devices as contrast, repetition, allusion, and point of view. Another
Essay Prompt on a Literary Element:
Choose a complex character from this play who might--on the bisis of the
character's actions alone--be considered evil or immoral. Then write
a well-organized essay that analyzes how and why the full presentation
of the character in the play makes us react more sympathetically than we
otherwise might. Avoid plot summary. Another
Essay Prompt on a Literary Element:
Write a well-organized essay that analyzes how the meaning of this novel
is enhanced by sustained allusions to myths, the Bible, or other works
of literature. Another Essay Prompt
on a Literary Element: Write
a well-organized essay that analyzes how this novel confronts the reader
with a scene or scenes of violence. Be sure to explain how these
scenes contribute to the meaning of the work as a whole. Avoid plot
summary. Another Essay Prompt
on a Literary Element: Select
an important character in this novel who is a villain. Then, in a
well-organized essay, analyze the nature of ther character's villainy and
show how it enhances the meaning of the work . Avoid plot summary.
Do not base your essay on a work that you know about only from having seen
a television or movie production of it. Another
Essay Prompt on a Literary Element:
This work highlights the values of a culture or a society by using characters
who are alienated from that culture or society because of gender, race,
class, or creed. Write a well-organized essay that analyzes how the
alienation of one character reveals the surrounding society's assumptions
and moral values. 1999 Open Question: In this novel,
a character--not necessarily the protagonist--is pulled in conflicting
directions by two compelling desires, ambitions, obligations, or influences.
Write a well-organized essay that identifies each conflicting force and
explain how this plaguing conflict within one character illuminates the
meaning of the work as a whole. As
I Lay Dying Essay Prompt on
a Literary Element: In questioning
the value of literary realism, Flannery O'Connor has written, "I
am interested in making a good case for distortion because I am coming
to believe that it is the only way to make people see." Write an
essay in which you "make a good case for distortion," as distinct from
literary realism. Analyze how important elements of this novel are "distorted"
and explain how these distortions contribute to the effectiveness of this
novel. Avoid plot summary. Another
Essay Prompt on a Literary Element:
This novel depicts a conflict between a parent or parental figure and a
son or daughter. Write a well-organized essay that analyzes the sources
of the conflict and explain how the conflict contributes to the meaning
of the work as a whole. Avoid plot summary. Another
Essay Prompt on a Literary Element:
In this novel, a character who appears briefly, or does not apppear at
all, is a significant presence. Write an essay that shows how this
character functions in this work. You may wish to discuss how the
character affects action, theme, or the development of other characters.
Another
Essay Prompt on a Literary Element:
In this novel, a character's apparent madness or irrational behavior plays
an important role. Write a well-organized essay in which you explain
what this eccentric behavior consists of and how it might be judged reasonable.
Explain the significance of the madness to the work as a whole. The
Sound and the Fury Essay Prompt
on a Literary Element: This
novel includes a scene of social occasion--for example, weddings, funerals,
parties--which reveals the values of the characters and the society in
which they live. In a focused essay, discuss the contribution the
scene makes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
Essay Prompt on a Literary Element:
In this novel, a character's apparent madness or irrational behavior plays
an important role. Write a well-organized essay in which you explain
what this eccentric behavior consists of and how it might be judged reasonable.
Explain the significance of the madness to the work as a whole. Another
Essay Prompt on a Literary Element: Critic
Roland Barthes has said, "Literature is the question minus the answer."
Choose a novel or play and, and considering Barthes' observation, write
an essay in which you analyze a central question the work raises and the
extent to which it offers any answers. Explain how the author's treatment
of this question affects your understanding of the work as a whole.
Avoid mere plot summary. |