EN 396 Austen Short Paper Assignment
Prof. Fay
Due 3/13 in class (any time later than in class will be marked late)
4-5 pages, double-spaced (4 pg strict minimum)
Choose one of these options; refer to The Dictionary of Sensibility website on our
wiki (http://graduate.engl.virginia.edu/enec981/dictionary/index.html) for
definitions of terms relating to sensibility, especially for options 1 and 3, and for 2
where relevant:
1)
Select a series of connected scenes from Sense and Sensibility and show how
these scenes create a sequence of character revelations that complicate our
understanding of a particular character. Use your scene and character
analysis to show the impact of this character on other characters, being
careful to show complications in this impact, as nothing is clearly either
beneficial or damaging in this novel’s complex plotlines.
2)
This option has 2 steps:
a) Analyze characters from “Lady Susan,” Northanger Abbey, and Sense and
Sensibility who share common character traits. Use dialogue and scenes to
show how these characters can be considered variations on the same
character type.
b) Use your analysis to answer the question of how Austen uses this
character type to further or frustrate the novella’s and novels’ plots.
3)
Use Addison’s discussion of imagination and Burke’s discussion of beauty to
analyze a set of scenes from Northanger Abbey and Sense and Sensibility that
dramatize Austen’s use of “sense” and “sensibility” in each novel.