Student 1
Honors American Literature
Research Project Outline
Carefully consider the organization of your paper when constructing your outline. There are 2 possible
approaches: Book by Book or Concept by Concept.
Body Paragraphs Outline Format
I.
Major Idea of body paragraph 1
A. Topic Sentence
1. Example 1
a. Background/context of example #1
b. quotation #1 with page number
c. significance of example
B. Transition Sentence
Your secondary source
information should be
incorporated throughout,
wherever it is most
appropriate.
1. Example 2
a. Background/context of example #2
b. quotation #2 with page number
c. significance of example
Writing basics:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Use present tense verbs when writing about literature
Do not use slang – no contractions
Do not use vague words (a lot, stuff, things, good, bad)
Avoid personal pronouns (I, me, we, you)
In your outline, I am looking for a detailed, paragraph-by-paragraph summary, in note form, of the entire paper.
Include an indication of the quoted passages from primary and secondary sources that you plan to use. The
more detailed you make this outline, the simpler the process of writing the draft will be.
I am interested in your original thoughts about the primary texts. This means that you should use plenty of
quotations from your primary texts.
Do not worry about the conclusion yet. We will cover the requirements and you will write your conclusion
later.
GRADING:
Your outline must contain the following: primary and secondary quotations, proper parenthetical citations, a
clear sense of your discussion’s organization, and enough information to fulfill the paper’s 8-10 page length
requirement.
Student 2
Ima Student #1
Ms Nordsiek
Honors American Lit
16 March 2011
Sample Essay Outline
Thesis: Through the protagonists Yossarian, Slocum, and Gold, Heller shows the failure and corruption of
society's institutions in twentieth century America and the lack of heroic qualities that such institutions cause.
I.
Institution of military—Yossarian
A. Society’s institution of the military reflects John Yossarian's corruption in Catch-22.
1. Idea of Catch-22
a. To go home, one must fly a certain amount of missions; once Yossarian reaches
that number, Colonel Cathcart raises the number of missions so Yossarian (or
anyone else) cannot go home.
b. Heller says, “There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified
that a concern for one’s own safety in the face of dangers that were real and
immediate was the process of a rational mind” (52).
c. Army is a trap, no one can return home; way to keep people in the war, even those
that earned their right to go home.
B. Furthermore, Milo Minderbinder’s chocolate covered cotton balls symbolize Heller’s view of the
military.
1. Milo Minderbinder tries to feed chocolate covered cotton balls to the army Milo buys
surplus of cotton balls (as mess officer) to try and trade for new food items in Cairo. The
deal never goes through; Milo left with a lot of cotton, covers them with chocolate and
tries to feed them to army.
a. Heller describes, “He unwrapped tissue paper from something soft, round and
brown and handed it out to Yossarian. […] Yossarian gagged convulsively and
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sprayed his big mouthful of chocolate-covered cotton right out into
Milo’s face” (245).
b. Symbolizes army—good on the outside (chocolate) and bad on the inside
(inedible cotton)
c. Literary critic Darren Felty states, “His satire targets not just the military but all
regimental institutions that treat individuals as cogs in a machine. His central
character, Yossarian, recognizes the insanity of social institutions that devalue
human life” (106).
II.
Institution of big business/corporations—Slocum
A. The institution of big business illustrates corruption in society as shown by the protagonist Bob
Slocum in Something Happened.
1. Phillip Reeves (Slocum’s co-worker) confides in Slocum about his feelings towards their
boss, Jack Green.
a. Reeves is afraid of Green and vice-versa. Reeves feels he can confide in Slocum
about Green because Slocum is corrupt.
b. Slocum says, “Reeves confides in me because he thinks I am capable, honest, and
unpretentious; he knows I drink and lie and whore around a lot, and he therefore
feels he can trust me” (44).
c. Reeves trusts someone without moral values = it is common for people in the
office to drink, lie, and sleep around.
B. In addition, Slocum speaks of adultery in the office without even the slightest bat of an eye.
1. Slocum explains the “rules” of sleeping around with co-workers’ spouses.
a. Slocum talks about how adultery is an okay and common thing to commit.
b. Slocum explains “The company has a policy about getting laid. It’s okay. […] But
getting laid with somebody else’s wife is very okay,
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and so is talking about it, provided the husband is not with the company
or somebody anybody knows and likes” (66).
c. Corruption of big business—sleeping around seems to be more important than
work itself; adultery is “standard procedure” in the office—cannot trust
businesses because their own workers do not take the business seriously.
d. Felty says, “Rules of such large institutions, Heller suggests, often exist for their
own sake, not for a good reason” (98).
III.
Institution of government—Gold
A. Society’s institution of government demonstrates corruption and failure in society through the
character Bruce Gold in Good As Gold.
1. Gold does not have to have background experience to be Secretary of State
a. Ralph Newsome (Gold’s friend that works for the White House) is helping Gold
find a job in the White House.
b. Ralph responds after Gold asks about needing experience to become Secretary of
State, “‘Absolutely not,’ Ralph answered, and
appeared astounded that Gold should even ask. ‘In government, Bruce, experience
doesn’t count and knowledge isn’t important’” (118).
c. Gold does not have to have any sort of education and experience to attain the very
professional job of Secretary of Sate. Such lack of care in choosing the country’s
representatives shows the corruption in the government.
B. Moreover, the President of the United Sates never seems to be working.
1. President does not work (always sleeping)
a. Gold and the President plan to meet to discuss Gold’s job in the White House, but
the President never seems to be available (as he is always sleeping).
b. Heller says, “The appointment was canceled. The President was asleep. […] ‘The
President,’ Ralph explained, ‘is a very early riser. He is up at five every morning,
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takes two sleeping pills and a tranquilizer, and goes right back to bed for
as long as he can sleep’” (203).
c. The one man who is most representative of the country does not and is not
expected to do any work. Lack of care in the performance of the government.
d. Literary critic Walker Rutledge says, “With Good as Gold, Heller initially seems
to be scrutinizing the world of Washington in the same way he examined the
military and the business community in his first two novels.”
IV.
Institution of family—Slocum
A. The failure of the institution of family for Bob Slocum in Something Happened portrays further
corruption in society contemporary America.
1. Slocum and his family are always quarreling and hardly get along with one another.
a. The Slocum family wants to get through at least one dinner without a loud and
endless fight.
b. Slocum’s wife says, “Let’s try not to fight tonight. Let’s see if we can’t get
through just one meal without anybody yelling and screaming and getting angry.
That shouldn’t be too hard, should it?” (109).
c. Families are no longer a utopia of love and protection. Families now represent a
circle of conflict, anger, and lack of peace.
B. Furthermore, Slocum’s constant battle with his daughter adds to the new, corrupt view of the
typical, constantly arguing family.
1. Slocum’s daughter has a strong desire to leave home as merely a teenager, and Slocum
has no objection to the idea.
a. Slocum and his daughter do not have a strong, healthy relationship and are the
most quarrelsome in the family.
b. Slocum narrates, “As [my daughter and I] go through the formalities of
pretending to be still related. She lives here, follows
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loose procedures, and has dinner with us; I talk to her, buy her things,
and will continue to profess to be interested in her until she is old enough to go
away to college or move away somewhere else, as she never ceases stressing she
wishes to do” (184).
c. Members of the typical family no longer have the protective, loving
relationship—corruption in society
V.
Institution of family—Gold
A. The institution of family reflects corruption in society as portrayed through Bruce Gold and his
family in Good As Gold.
1. Gold has a very poor relationship with his father.
a. Gold’s father can never accept Gold; he always criticizes Gold, which sparks
constant fights between the two.
b. Heller says, “It was no secret to anyone that his father considered Gold a
schmuck. It would be unfair to say his father was disappointed in him, for he had
always considered Gold a schmuck” (31).
c. Father-son relationship is often very strong, but this one is the exact opposite.
There was a certain point where Gold’s father stopped loving him—the family is
no longer loving, passionate, etc.
B. In addition, Gold’s daughter talks disrespectfully towards her father which no longer shows her
respect for elders.
1. Gold’s daughter has no respect for elders; uses bad language with her father (only
twelve).
a. Gold talks to her father without any sense of authority (talks to her father without
respect).
b. Gold’s daughter says to Gold, “Balls, Dad. Listen, you better be goddamned
careful what you put in any more articles you write.
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That crap on child rearing you had in the Ladies’ Home Journal last year
didn’t do me no good” (131).
c. The family reached a point where loving relationships lacked. Now has come to
point where respect for one another (father-daughter) is no longer present.
VI.
Non-heroic qualities—Yossarian
A. The corruption of society’s institutions drives Heller’s protagonists to anti-heroism, evident in
Yossarian in Catch-22.
1. Yossarian does not want to fight in the war
a. Yossarian’s main goal is to get out of the war alive; he does not want to endanger
himself, therefore he is reluctant to fight.
b. Felty states, “Yossarian is certainly not courageous: he will do anything to get out
of combat, even fake illness. He’s not selfless; in fact, he’s obsessed with saving
himself from danger” (99-100).
c. Yossarian is not willing to fight in a just war against the Nazi army (World War
II). He does not want to sacrifice his own life to save others.
B. Moreover, Yossarian lives in a revolving world where events seem to repeat themselves, but he
escapes this world instead of trying to fix it.
1. Yossarian runs away from the army, instead of fixing its corruption
a. Yossarian runs away and leaves everything behind knowing that the world he is
leaving behind is in dire need of help
b. Felty states, “Heller portrays life for the men in the squadron as completely crazy.
They are at the mercy of ambitious commanders who care more about their own
careers than the men’s lives” (99).
c. Yossarian flees the world that he can no longer stand, instead of staying to fix it—
weak personalities in society that run away from issues as opposed to fixing them.
VII.
Non-heroic qualities—Slocum
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A. Heller’s use of anti-heroism in his novels is reflected through the protagonist Slocum in
Something Happened.
1. Slocum is not happy with a good wife (and children)
a. Slocum constantly cheats on his wife and fights with her. He is not happily
married to her.
b. Slocum says, “My wife is the only wife I could have had till now (I had no
choice) till death, divorce, or adultery do us part” (403).
c. Non-heroic because he is not grateful to have a good wife. Not only does Slocum
have a good wife, he has a good job, a house, and he is still not happy. He is not
strong enough to stand up to his wife to divorce her (even though he has no real
reason to divorce her)—weakness = non-heroic
B. Furthermore, Slocum’s inability to accept imperfection in society contributes to his anti-heroism.
1. Slocum cannot love his mentally retarded son, Derek.
a. Derek is never loved, or cared for in the family; Slocum hires a nanny to take care
of him because he sees Derek as a burden and not his own son.
b. Slocum says, “I no longer think of Derek as one of my children. […] the children
don’t care for him, either. No one really cares for him” (131).
c. Slocum only cares for himself; he does not want to deal with having to take extra
care to raise his retarded son, so he does not acknowledge Derek at all. Society no
longer cares about the imperfect things that dwell within it.
VIII.
Non-heroic qualities—Gold
A. Heller’s protagonist Gold in Good As Gold, displays anti-heroic qualities as a result of the failure
of institutions for Gold in society.
1. Gold goes to high limits to get a good job in the White House
a. Gold wants desperately to be the only Jew (other than Henry Kissinger) to be
Secretary of State.
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b. Rutledge says, “Heller’s purpose is to satirize those individuals, Jews
and Gentiles alike, who renounce their cultural and religious heritage in order to
be assimilated into the power elite."
c. Gold is willing to give up his cultural identity for self gain (a position in the
White House)—selfishness. Heller saying that many people running for
government the same way.
B. In addition, as a college professor, Gold fails to be a good mentor for his students.
1. Gold makes himself readily unavailable to be there to help his students.
a. Gold does not care about his students; he does not want to help them; he hates his
job (as a college professor).
b. Gold talks to one of his students, “‘You were mislead,’ said Gold. ‘If I were your
adviser I would have forewarned you.’ ‘You are my adviser,’ said the boy, ‘and
you’re never in your office’” (134-135).
c. Gold is selfish; he is a teacher but he does not care about his students; Heller’s
view on the corruption in school systems.