Dr. Neelika Jayawardane
English 465
Essay Assignment 1
Format/Requirements:
1) A separate title page: title, your name, the date, my name, and the course number
2) 6 (full) pages: double-spaced, 12-point Times font, with regular margins (absolutely no excuses on this)
3) Three documented, academic sources (must be from academic journals (through our Coursepack, or
library website). NO websites not accessible through the library website.
4) Late papers will NOT be accepted.
5) Please pay attention to my policies on grammar, mechanics, and punctuation (clearly stated in syllabus). If
I can’t read your sentences, follow your logic clearly, it will be difficult for me to read your brilliant ideas.
6) Keep your graded essay in folder and turn it in with the final paper - this way, I can see how you have
improved by paying attention to the problem areas in your previous assignment.
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Write about any ONE of the novels we have read so far in class, using the critical articles/academic
papers we have read (from the Coursepack), as additional, foundational material to help you. The paper is
an analysis, not an author-biography or a summary of the story - so assume that your audience has read the
story. Only use examples to illustrate your own arguments – a short summary or a direct quote can be
added to “prove” your point, not to take up space.
Examples:
a) Ivan Vladislavic’s Portrait with Keys portrays the constant, daily, street-level negotiations for the right to
define “history” and “identity” in South Africa. Some of the negotiations are very low-key and are told almost
like parables (the Ndebele wall), others are more obvious (Branko’s reactions to the “invasive species” in his
neighbourhood), and others are examples of out and out war (the urinating incident). In a neighbourhood
that contained, at one time, a microcosm of South Africa – white, elite, the struggles define what it is like to
redraw the lines for what it means to be “civilised”. When one grows up withj an unquestioned and
monumental history, how does one react to new versions of history and new versions of what it means to be
“civilised”? These stories illustrate what happens when a monument (as large and imposing as the definition
of “civilisation” as described by the apartheid government) will now have to be negotiated, redefined, and
refashioned.
b) David Medalie’s The Shadow Follows is a novel that contains the multiple strands of intertwined personal
histories of several characters: ………. We see, through the lives of these characters, how identity can be
something that is determined for you before birth, or defined by the manner in which one chooses to live life.
People like Aunt Maisie believe that “blood” and origins not only determine your character, but defines your
future. However, as other characters illustrate, if one chooses to do so, though some monumental effort, one
can have a say in how one choses to live life. In either case, history is shown as something that one cannot
ever escape from, erase, or ignore: it is the shadow that follows you. Through the lives of these characters,
Medalie seems to illustrate a point for South Africa, too: we cannot escape our history, but we can learn to
find a way to live with it – and that there are multiple ways of doing so – if we do not, it will dictate the terms
by which you live.
c) In Rayda Jacobs’ Confessions of a Gambler, the author brings AIDS out of the closet – metaphorically and
literally. Hers is a cultural group that has very strict guidelines for how to “be” – be honourable, religious,
dutiful, faithful, and Muslim. However, if one steps even a little outside these boundaries, one is no longer
allowed to partake in the strength of the community – one is an outcast. Jacob’s Abeeda makes conscious
choices to bring the “prodigal” son back – and forces her community to include him in their daily ceremonial
lives. She illustrates that there are multiple ways to being a Muslim, that there is no one better way, and that
a community is stronger because of difference. Hse illustrates that the exclusivity and rigidity that helped
them stay together/protected them during the apartheid years may be something that they need to redefine: it
may not be necessary any more to create such rigid walls any more. And in fact, such rigid walls may be
more damaging to their community.
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Dr. Neelika Jayawardane
English 465
In each paper, follow these guidelines (AND PLEASE SEE THE OTHER GUIDES FOR PAPER WRITING IN
GENERAL):
Introduction:
Think first of a strong thesis sentence that actually has an argument – the paper is not a
description/summary of what you’ve read, or an author biography, but should actually have some point you
will “prove” using examples from the novel. Your overall essay should have a purpose: so come up with a
concrete thesis (your argument/main point) that ties the essay together for the intro paragraph; then use the
rest of the essay to elaborate.
Main Body:
Please use the organizational charts we discuss in class (see the other sites I’ve connected to paper writing)
to organize your paper. Organisation of ideas is BIG! Each paragraph should stick to one idea, and give
concrete examples (lines within the book) as evidence for your paragraph-thesis. Make sure that you
are not simply doing author biography - - tie the writer’s bio to writing. This is also where you use academic
sources/articles to provide evidence (and back up) your ideas.
Conclusion:
What to you want to say, finally, about the relationship between the evidence in your paragraphs and your
original thesis/main argument in the intro? (don’t bring up new, points here).