AP/EN 3230 6.0 Fall-Winter 2016-17
Modern Canadian Fiction
Essay #2
Write an essay about 1500 words (about 6 double-spaced pages) long on ONE of the following topics. Be sure to narrow your topic down to manageable scope (in other words, deal with a limited range of material), to organize your essay properly (including an introduction and conclusion), to cite references according to MLA style, and to proofread your essay for errors in grammar and style—use the Proofreading Checklist. Deal ONLY with texts we have read fromOctober 25 on. Be concrete and specific. Using secondary material is recommended.
Due: Nov. 29, 2016Value: 20%
1. Compare the way two authors we have read treat the meaning of femininity. How do two protagonists understand and respond to social constructions of what it means to be a woman?
2. Analyze in detail a technique of the fantastic, showing how an author conveys the sense that the world portrayed is fundamentally different from our own. Consider such techniques as exaggeration, fragmentation, metamorphosis, and non-sequitur.
3. Compare the portrayal of the city in two works, keeping your discussion concrete and focused. Look at just one aspect of city life, such as housing, life on the street, transportation, interaction with a community, or commerce. Be very specific and think creatively about what life in a city involves.
4. Analyze how the fragmentary nature of experience is reflected in the structure of one text: that is, how it is divided into chapters/parts/segments. Discuss this topic with me before you tackle it.
5. Compare the function and meaning of one natural symbol in two texts. The symbol could be an animal, a type of plant, a geographical structure, and so on. The essay should be very focused; do not try to discuss everything in such a short paper.