English 4U – Literary Essay
Overall Expectations
Reading and Interpretation
-identify a variety of reading strategies and use them appropriately before, during, and after reading to understand ideas and information in increasingly complex texts;
-demonstrate a range of critical literacy skills by analyzing and assessing overt and implied messages in a text, the author’s use of stylistic techniques, and the
perspectives presented in the text;
Writing and Representation
-use a variety of pre-writing strategies to generate ideas, and plan the content and organization of texts effectively and according to their purpose and audience;
-apply strategies to select, assess, organize, and document information for research purposes from a variety of texts and electronic resources;
-write texts in a variety of forms and for various media, applying their knowledge of stylistic techniques and other characteristics associated with each form;
-revise, edit, and publish their texts to refine expression, correct errors, and present their work effectively;
Task: Choose one of the following essay prompts and prepare a detailed outline for a
three (3) point literary essay.
Steps:
A - Write a workable & arguable thesis statement and have it approved.
Due Date: _____________________________
B – Research information from the novel The Stone Angel, you can also use secondary sources such
as the poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, the poem “Do Not Go Gentle Into that Good
Night”, “Death of a Salesman”, and/or from the Bible (you can use the internet here) in order to
prove your thesis statement. You will be given some time in class to complete this portion of the
task.
C – Organize an outline for your essay. Make sure your supporting proofs are concrete and refer to
specific incidents in the novel, poem or biblical story. Include page numbers when possible.
D – Create a typed Works Cited page (following MLA guidelines) stating the names of all sources
(novel, Bible, poem, internet sites) used in your outline.
Due Date: _____________________________
Essay Prompts
1. Give an account of the Biblical imagery in the novel, emphasizing the relationship between the
imagery and important themes.
2. Compare the idea of travel or escaping (coming, going, running from) in Hagar’s life (you could also
use a secondary source here)
3. Explain the idea of pride and how it either does or does not prevent happiness in Hagar’s life (The
Stone Angel) (you could also use a secondary source here).
4. Using The Stone Angel, and the Story of Jacob, explain the idea and symbol of “the real son”.
5. Discuss the symbol of the bird (the seagull, the albatross). How is Hagar like the old Mariner?
6. Discuss the struggles of values and rationality vs. sensibility (you could also use a secondary source
here).
7. Explain the symbolism of the “angel” in The Stone Angel, and compare it to the “angel” symbolism in
either “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” or the story of Jacob from the Old Testament.
8. Compare/contrast the theme of penance and its importance in The Stone Angel, and either “The Rime
of the Ancient Mariner” or the story of Jacob from the Old Testament.
9. Or, come up with your own essay topic. You can use these subjects for inspiration.
a. Characters (innocence, experience, anger, guilt, etc.)
b. Voyage (trip vs destination, leaving, arriving, obstacles, vehicles, group, alone, etc.)
c. Symbols (wind, weapons, ships, boats, sails, water, sun, moon, nature, etc.)
d. Escape (exile, flight, isolation, restraint, prison, caught, chains, wilderness, etc.)
e. Spirituality (nature, God, sin and consequence, calling, hermit, prayer and blessing, etc.)
f.
Struggles (of man, values, rationality vs sensibility, family, facing death, etc.)
***To make things a lot easier please put all your
notes and work in a folder.***