Literature

A. Prompt:

Write a response analyzing the similarities and differences between two characters we have read about this semester.

B. Requirements:

1. Compare two characters from two texts we have read this semester. This includes both novels and short stories.

Books we read : 1.The Great Gatsby(F. Scott Fitzgerald), 2. The remains of the Day(Kazuo Ishiguro), 3. A Temporary Matter(Jhumpa Lahiri) 4. The First Day( Edward P. Jones) 5.Lawns (Mona Simpson)

2. Essay must be at least 5 pages long.

C. Tips for Writing:

Consider the following three questions when you write your essay. Please note the essay should be in an essay format (with an introductory and concluding paragraph), and not in the numbered list answering these questions.

1. How are these characters similar to one another? Give textual evidence to support your assertions. Analyze the textual evidence in a way that supports your claim.
Please use quotes from the texts to support your opinion.

Be sure to consider internal factors such as their personality and motivations. Are they both motivated by greed, for instance? Are they both outgoing? Indecisive? Lonely? Are they haunted by something that happened in their past?

At least one of your examples should focus on internal similarities.

Other examples can be about external similarities, such as their role in society, how their peers perceive them, or even their role in the text (comic relief, love interest of narrator, etc).

2. How are these characters different from each other? Give textual evidence to support your assertions. Analyze the textual evidence in a way that supports your claim. Again, be sure to consider internal differences. At least one of your examples should focus on internal differences. (See #3 for examples of internal factors.) Other examples can be about external differences.

3. By the end of each of their stories, what has happened to each character? Are their outcomes similar or different from one another? Given these two characters’ similarities and differences (discussed above in sections 1 and 2), can any insight be gained from a comparison of their outcomes? Why do they have the same outcome? Why are their outcomes different?

D. Grading:

Essays will be graded based on the following criteria: being in an essay format, fulfills the requirements described in section B above, has a clear thesis, has an insightful and well-developed analysis of characters and texts, sufficient and concise textual evidence to support claims (with page numbers cited in MLA format), good organization, good spelling and grammar, good diction, strong opening and conclusion.