Assignment Overview

For your Literary Analysis Essay, you will need to develop an argument about a topic related to either If I Ever Get Out of Here or Purple Hibiscus.

You may choose to write about one of the following topics or propose an alternative topic:

  • Discuss the family relationships in either novel. You might focus on one complicated relationship (e.g., between a protagonist and their parent) or you might examine a couple relationships for contrast.
  • What role does friendship play in the protagonist’s development? What factors complicate the protagonist’s friendships?
  • How does the novel characterize masculinity or femininity? How do particular characters or institutions (like school or church) perpetuate or challenge particular gender roles?
  • What role does (historical, physical, or geographic) setting have on character development and/or conflict in the novel? How are personal conflicts related to social/historical/political contexts in the novel?
  • How does either novel complicate a particular “single story”?
  • What role does religion play in the protagonist’s transformation? (You might interpret Lewis’s worshipful attitude about the Beatles to be a kind of “religion” for this topic.)
  • Analyze a binary you observed in either novel (e.g., the Catholicism of Father Benedict and the Catholicism of Father Amadi).
  • How does either novel represent justice? Is justice achieved for characters in the novel? If not, what prevents justice from being achieved?
  • What forms do power and authority take in either of the novels? How does the protagonist resist authority figures? To what extent are characters in the novel complicit in the violence of powerful figures?
  • How does the intersection of different identity categories (such as race, class, gender, ethnicity, nationality, religion, etc.) shape the protagonist’s experience?
  • Examine the intertextuality of 60s and 70s music and Lewis’s narrative in If I Ever Get Out of Here. How do musical references and particular song lyrics complement and contribute to the narrative?   

Please note that these topics are only starting points, and you will need to develop a narrower, more specific argument about your chosen topic.

Rather than merely describing the novel you’ve selected (e.g., outlining the plot of Purple Hibiscus), your essay must analyze the novel. In other words, your essay should seek to interpret the meaning of the novel, rather than summarize its content.

Analysis that engages closely with textual details tends to be stronger than writing that is more general, so like in class discussion, you will need to support your argument with specific evidence from the novel.

Essay Structure

Your 4-5-page essay must offer a single, cohesive, clear argument about your chosen novel and topic.

Your essay should open with an introduction in which you introduce your text and topic and state your argument. That argument should be expressed in a strong, clear thesis statement at the end of the intro paragraph.

Your essay’s body paragraphs should break your argument down into sub-arguments, or steps toward supporting your larger argument. Each body paragraph should open with an argumentative claim that is directly related to your paper’s thesis. Each claim should be supported with evidence (specific detailsfrom the story), as well as analysis of that evidence(an explanation of how the evidence supports the claim).

In your conclusion, you should reflect on the broader implications of your argument: How do your essay and the novel comment on larger social issues? What are the final takeaways you’d like your reader to continue to reflect on? How might future students and scholars continue to build on the work you’ve done in your essay?

Reminders

As you develop an interpretation of the novel for your essay, you should actively question your assumptions (especially your initial ones!) about what a phrase, sentence structure, image, or other narrative element might mean. Often, our first impressions about a text may not be correct or sufficiently nuanced. Put pressure on your reading of the novel to make it stronger as you continue to reflect on and write about it. Both as you brainstorm and as you write your essay, do not hesitate to identify points of ambiguity or conflict in the text. Engaging moments in the text that challenge your interpretation of the novel will deepen and complicate your analysis, making it more convincing.  

Do not turn to the internet for help interpreting your novel. Trust your own abilities to form conclusions independently, basing them in textual evidence. Seeking ideas on the internet almost always leads to a plagiarized final product, which has serious consequences. If you are feeling unsure about your understanding of your novel, please re-read relevant parts of the novel, sit with your questions and mull them over, email me your questions or arrange a meeting, or go to the Writing Center.

If you have questions about definitions, etymologies, or cultural and historical references, you may use credible resources like the Oxford English Dictionary Online or the online encyclopedias available through Uni’s library. Any information from outside sources that you include in your essay must be cited appropriately.

Your essay should be 4-5 pages double-spaced, use size 12 Times New Roman font, and have 1” margins. Your heading should be placed in the top left corner of the first page only and include your name, the course number, my name, and the due date. The title of the paper should be centered and set one line below the heading. Papers should include page numbers in the top right corner. “Before” and “after” spacing should be set at 0 pt. Papers must attribute all language and ideas to their original source using MLA-style citation.

Schedule

As the schedule below shows, we’ll spend a lot of time working on this essay during class, but you’ll also be asked to complete some tasks at home to prepare you for the next day’s workshop.

Mon. 11/11     In-class writing workshop (pre-writing)
Tues. 11/12     In-class writing workshop (pre-writing)
Wed. 11/13     In-class writing workshop (thesis statements, outlining and essay structure)
Thurs. 11/14 In-class writing workshop (drafting)
Fri. 11/15        Independent reading: bring your book and laptop to class

Mon. 11/18     In-class writing workshop (drafting)
Tues. 11/19     In-class writing workshop (drafting)
Wed. 11/20     In-class writing workshop (drafting)
Thurs. 11/21 In-class revision (drafting)
Fri. 11/22        Independent reading: bring your book and laptop to class

Mon. 11/25     Peer edit workshop
Tues. 11/26     In-class revision (reverse outlines)
Wed. 11/27-Fri. 11/29: Thanksgiving Break (no homework)

Mon. 12/2       In-class revision
Tues. 12/3       In-class revision
Wed. 12/4       In-class revision
Thurs., 12/5    Literary Analysis Final Draft due in class
Fri., 12/6         Independent reading: bring your book and laptop to class