The Girl
Short Story Argument Essay: Is This Love?
Write a comparison-contrast argument essay, using two or three of the stories we have discussed in class.
“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, page 713 “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love,” by Raymond Carver, page 721. “Sweat” by Zora Neale Huston, page 731.
Your essay should be three FULL to four pages long. MLA style.
You will need to write a working thesis statement and outline that should be approved before you begin your essay. Remember that your thesis should be a claim or argument, i.e., someone may disagree with your claim, and you are persuading him or her that your idea or interpretation is valid. A well developed thesis will include the answer why to your claim.
In your essay, you will need to quote from the text to support each of your topic points (in your outline).
Ideas for your essay:
How do the authors use the settings to develop the stories or themes? Are settings symbolic or representative?
Using a feminist approach, what motivates the female characters in the stories?
Why do characters abuse the ones they love?
Does social class or class differences motivate some characters?
How do the narrators in the Faulkner and Carver stories shape the stories? Are they reliable narrators? In “Sweat,” what is the purpose of the men’s talk at the store?
Using the reader-response approach, why did most of the students in our class prefer the Carver story over the others? Does a second reading change the way you feel about a particular story?
Write a comparison-contrast argument essay, using two or three of the stories we have discussed in class.
“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, page 713 “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love,” by Raymond Carver, page 721. “Sweat” by Zora Neale Huston, page 731.
Your essay should be three FULL to four pages long. MLA style.
You will need to write a working thesis statement and outline that should be approved before you begin your essay. Remember that your thesis should be a claim or argument, i.e., someone may disagree with your claim, and you are persuading him or her that your idea or interpretation is valid. A well developed thesis will include the answer why to your claim.
In your essay, you will need to quote from the text to support each of your topic points (in your outline).
Ideas for your essay:
How do the authors use the settings to develop the stories or themes? Are settings symbolic or representative?
Using a feminist approach, what motivates the female characters in the stories?
Why do characters abuse the ones they love?
Does social class or class differences motivate some characters?
How do the narrators in the Faulkner and Carver stories shape the stories? Are they reliable narrators? In “Sweat,” what is the purpose of the men’s talk at the store?
Using the reader-response approach, why did most of the students in our class prefer the Carver story over the others? Does a second reading change the way you feel about a particular story?