English 234: Sex, War, & Plague
Final 5 page Paper Prompts
1-2 sentence thesis due: Sunday, 11/18—post to course web page by 9pm
Paper due: Friday, 11/30 (in class)
Purpose
The purpose of this assignment is to perform a series of sustained close readings to support an
argument about a literary text. Close readings are important because they make the fundamental
connection between style and theme that is central to arguments about cultural texts.
A Review of Close Reading (aka, the skill we’ve been pushing all semester)
A close reading is a careful, detailed interpretation of a short selection from a longer work. A close
reading differs from a plot summary and goes far beyond it in that it explicates or unfolds the meaning
of the text rather than merely describes it. A successful close reading will scrutinize a single passage’s
figurative language, diction, structure, style, tone, and characterization in order to uncover a central
pattern that orders the narrative and informs its meaning. An essay is formed by linking a series of
related close readings to a conclusion that elucidates the significance of the part (the cluster of close
readings) to the whole (the big idea or theme explored by the text).
Assignment
Please produce a 5-page essay on any topic and text on the syllabus. Your essay should be written in
12 point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, and contain 1-inch margins. Other MLA guidelines
apply.
The possible paper topics presented below are meant to serve as springboards only. Each topic must
be narrowed considerably and assigned an appropriate thesis before being pursued. Remember, there is
a crucial difference between a topic (a concept to be examined) and an argument/thesis (which makes a
specific claim and has all the what/how/why components).
Your essay will be graded on the presence of and adherence to a clear and concise thesis, the level of
its engagement with specific key passages (close readings), and the extent to which your argument and
evidence are surprising and/or debatable.
As always, we are available for consultation at any stage of the writing process. We also strongly
recommend working with writing tutors at TJ’s—in particular, Andrew Goring (agoring@rollins.edu),
Mackenzie Gill (mgill@rollins.edu), Faith Galloway (fgalloway@rollins.edu) or Mandy McRae
(amcrae@rollins.edu). You may email the tutors directly to schedule an appointment.
Robert Coover’s “The Babysitter” describes the many ways that children or adolescents are inducted
into dominant modes of gender or sexuality. Using this text or another from our course that explores
similar themes, develop an argument about how gender or sexuality are instilled in the piece with
surprising/debatable close reading examples.
Shelley Jackson’s Patchwork Girl uses a strikingly experimental form to explore major ideas like
gender, writing, the limits of the body, sexuality, and how we read. Narrow down to one significant
concept and use a few paths or pieces of text to make an argument about how stylistic choices have
shaped what she’s saying and why it’s important.
On the opening page of Dispatches, Michael Herr writes, “[E]ven the most detailed maps didn’t reveal
much anymore; reading them was like trying to read the faces of the Vietnamese, and that was like
trying to read the wind” (3). How does this line about maps serve as a metaphor for the larger
arguments Herr wants to make in the book? What is the connection between the descriptions of the
landscape throughout the book and the war as Herr captures it here?
In The DaVinci Code, Dan Brown articulates a version of history in which the past is not lost, but
directly influences events, individuals, and societies in the present. What does this model of history
suggest about larger questions like cause and effect, freedom of choice, or personal identity? In your
response, you must use surprising examples from the text to offer a close reading that supports your
argument.
Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code tells us repeatedly that only one man in the world—Harvard
symbologist Robert Langdon—has the credentials to unlock the mystery of the Holy Grail. Yet, at the
same time as the novel celebrates knowledge acquired from the university and the Church, it subtly
undermines it as well. Construct an argument that uses a cluster of often overlooked textual examples
to examine how and why institutional paradigms are challenged, refashioned, and/or reimagined.
The importance of death in premodern culture is underscored by the fact that Beowulf begins and ends
with a funeral. In an era where disease, famine, war, and other calamities made the average life
expectancy almost half of what it is today, how one dies becomes almost as (if not more) important
than how one lives. Use this essay as the opportunity to explore one of the provocative and overlooked
ways in which ars moriendi (the art of dying) operates in a text of your choice from the syllabus.
One of the best illustrations of the inexorable relationship between sex and violence in medieval
literature is when Saint Christina’s breasts are cut off just prior to her execution. Sex and serious injury
(or death) often to go hand-in-hand in early texts, including those produced by and for clergy (ie.
medieval saints’ lives, Peter Damian’s Letters). Why? How do sexual innuendo and metaphors of
violence work together or against one another to make provocative claims about religion, politics,
gender, or law? Focus your analysis on one text.
The medieval period was not a good time to be a woman. Generally speaking, women living in the
Middle Ages enjoyed few legal rights and were repressed by almost everyone. Yet, still some women
from this period found innovative ways to exercise dominion over their sexual economies and carve
authoritative spaces for themselves. Conduct a critical analysis of one of these instances highlighted in
your course reading (The Book of Margery Kempe, Holy Maidenhood, Norwich Heresy Trials, etc),
making sure to push your reading beyond the stated (obvious) intent.
We encourage you to explore a topic from a text we’ve read in class that has stayed with you
throughout the semester. In order to boost your confidence about straying from these prompts, you will
probably want to check in with us about the strength of your argument and to be sure you’re meeting
the goals of the assignment outlined above.