Select three authors from the list below or (TBA) and demonstrate how they illustrate the concept of “Society and its Narratives.” What are some of the societal issues addressed by these authors in their respective works in Backpack Literature and handouts. Identify and define one societal issue that each author deals with. Use secondary sources to define those issues. Do some research on each issue and on the societal environment in which the author was writing. Use Freytag’s Analysis to summarize the plots of the texts. Identify the various literary techniques the author uses to showcase specific issues. Utilize all the writing rhetoric necessary to support your argument – description, definition, comparison, analysis, evaluation, persuasion and argumentation etc. There should be at least three citations per author. There should also be at least two citations from researched sources about the issue discussed. Altogether, there should be a minimum of ten entries in the Works Cited Page.
SUGGESTED LIST OF TEXTS
Guy de Maupassant, ‘Mother Sauvage,’ (handout).
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, ‘A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings,’ (handout).
Chamillionaire, ‘Evening News,’ (handout)
Gina Valdez, “English con Salsa,” (handout)
Philly Wheatley, “Snider.” (Handout)
Phyillis Wheatley, “Tyranny and Slavery.” (Handout)
In Backpack Literature:
John Updike in, ‘A & P.’ .266.
Chinua Achebe in, ‘Dead Men’s Path,’ 138
Langston Hughes in, ‘Theme for English B,’ 601
William Blake in, ‘The Chimney Sweeper,’ .563
William Shakespeare in, ‘Othello,’ 849
Some examples of societal issues that can be found in these works are: Child Labor; Fantasy, The Economy, War; Integration; Racism; Multicultural Education; Summer Jobs, Conservative Culture; Culture Clash; Choices and Consequences; Gender Relations; Interracial Marriage; May – December Relationships / Marriages; Coming of Age; Cultural Interaction. You are free to find and use other societal issues in your essay.
This assignment combines literary analysis and research with the analysis and evaluation of text to support a thesis. It also utilizes argument and persuasion rhetoric to convince the reader of the writer’s point of view.