ASSIGNMENT:
1. Analyze/interpret a work or works of literature (poetry or fiction) in terms of the theme of identity or “sense of self.” How does each poem or story portray a speaker’s or character’s sense of identity in relation to others or to the world? (Remember that the speaker in a poem or narrator in a short story is not the writer him/herself, but rather a character.) The literature for analysis is provided in Unit Three of the Coursepack (63-116). The four concepts of identity-formation are from Unit One, Lectures 1-1 and 1-2.
2. Topic choices are limited to the selections A-E below. Follow the instructions for each choice carefully, and address all requirements of the topic.
3. The thesis sentence (underlined) should state that the literature exemplifies (illustrates) the given theory (or theories) with respect to identity-formation. Approach the literary texts as providing examples of the theory or theories.
4. Summarize and quote from the text to “prove” your analysis. Interpret a work’s literary techniques, including figures of speech (metaphor, simile), symbols, images, etc. as they convey the character’s sense of self. The summary should not be a separate section of the paper. Analysis in terms of the theory should be integrated all the way through. Summarize only those details from the poems or stories that illustrate some aspect of the theory or theories.
5. PLAGIARISM: Some students seem to be tempted to plagiarize on literary analysis papers. There is a great deal of literary interpretation available on the Internet, but nothing is available in response to the topic prompts (A – E) below. This is a unique assignment. Internet sources will not help you write in answer to the these prompts. There is no point in looking for any outside sources, and you are required not to use outside sources, Internet or otherwise. This paper should be entirely your own thinking and writing. Anycopy/pasting of Internet source material into your paper will result in an F for the assignment. No exceptions, no excuses. Copy/pasting the language from Internet or other sources into your essay is cheating. As stated in the syllabus, serious cases of plagiarism warrant an F for the final course grade.
6. MAIN CRITERION FOR GRADING: In order to be successful on this assignment, the student must follow the requirements given in the topic description. Each topic choice focuses on a different literary text or texts. If the description asks you to use a particular theory to analyze the literature, that is the main thing I will look for in evaluating your essay. The theory should be applied in detail all the way through the essay.
TOPIC CHOICES:
Choose one topic from the list (A-E) below. The thesis of your paper should relate to the sense of self. Underline the thesis sentence. Be sure to follow the requirements of each topic carefully.
A. Analyze the sense of self as it relates to the natural world in Jack London’s short story “To Build a Fire” and Galway Kinnell’s poem, “The Bear.” The main characters of each work have much different senses of self: one is detached from the forces of nature, and the other is deeply connected to the natural world. Keep in mind that the protagonist in “The Bear” is a native Eskimo using traditional hunting techniques before the introduction of Western technology, like guns. The Man in “To Build a Fire” is a European-American who is new to the wild north of the Yukon Territory. Explore the differences, and explain how in each case the writer establishes the character’s relationship to the world using natural imagery.
Analyze to what extent each protagonist’s identity or sense of self is based on his relationship with and understanding of Nature and to what extent it is based on purely human social structures. What is that self-understanding? Examine details from the works that indicate something about the sense of self—cultural, psychological, behavioral. Quote and paraphrase evidence from texts to support your analysis.
You may or may not use a variation of one of the four theories of identity-formation, but be aware that none of the four as formulated by its theorists precisely fits either the story or the poem. If you choose, you can be creative and devise your own twist on one of the theories. This should be constructed as a comparison/contrast essay, pointing out the similarities and/or differences between the two main characters in the literary works.
B. Analyze the sense of self of Prufrock, the speaker and main character of T.S. Eliot’s poem, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.” Although he is part of the early 20th century upper-class society that attends tea parties, Prufrock clearly suffers from low self-esteem and social alienation. Use Cooley’s concept of the looking-glass self to explain his identity-formation. Find examples of the theory in the poem.
The introductory paragraph should provide a thesis sentence, stating that Prufrock’s sense of self can be understood in terms of Cooley’s theory, and give a brief definition of the theory, including the “three principle elements,” or steps (or as I like to call them, phases). Then the body of the paper should provide examples of Cooley’s process of identity-formation from the poem. Present evidence by quoting and interpreting specific lines. All three phases are clearly evident, most of the time in the same set of images or metaphors or within a group of lines. Note that the three phases can occur virtually simultaneously in a person’s particular experience; however, the lines may also indicate different phases at different points in the poem.
For example, in one section, Prufrock compares himself to an insect in a old-style insect collection, in which bugs were pinned through and mounted in rows with identification: “When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall” (l. 58). This metaphor conveys that he thinks of himself as pathetic and defeated; he imagines that others see him as rather repulsive and inconsequential, like an insect, and his self-esteem is brought to an extremely low level. In accordance with Cooley’s theory, he is imagining how he appears to others; he is imagining their judgment of him; and he adjusts his sense of self accordingly. Provide several such examples. Note that almost all of the poem takes place within the imagination or memory of Prufrock, and Cooley’s first two phases involve the imagination.
You must use Cooley’s concept as the basis for this analysis.
C. Discuss the impact of romantic relationships on the sense of self in the two short stories “The Sojourner,” by Carson McCullers, and “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love,” by Raymond Carver. Consider the relationships of John Ferris and Jeannine, Ferris and Elizabeth, and Elizabeth and Bill Bailey in the first story, and Mel and Terry and Nick and Laura in the second story. Use the theory of role identity as the basis for your analysis. Compare and contrast (point out similarities and differences in) the way the two stories treat relationships as the basis of identity. (Again, you must use role identity theory for this topic choice.)
In the first paragraph, provide a brief definition of the theory, attributing it to Stryker. The entire discussion in the body of the paper should focus on roles and how they are played, and role conflicts and how they are resolved in the two short stories. Explain love-relationships as the basis of most of the roles and the security of characters within particular roles. Use Stryker’s idea of the identity salience hierarchy to explain the rankings of roles and resolution of role-conflicts.
Here are some questions for generating points of analysis: What roles are played by the characters? Do the roles conflict? What are the sources of role conflict? How are the role-conflicts resolved in terms of identity salience hierarchies? How comfortable is each character in his/her roles? Those are the questions to answer.
Don’t get sidetracked by the issue of the meaning of love. That’s not the focus of the assignment. The focus is role identity.
D. Compare and contrast Kate Chopin’s “A Respectable Woman” and John Steinbeck’s “The Chrysanthemums” as they depict the emerging identities of the female protagonists (main characters), who strain against expected social roles. Use the theory of symbolic interactionism as the basis of the analysis and comparison of the two short stories, explaining the active search for self in both characters as consistent with the theory.
Include a thesis sentence that unifies your essay and the analysis in the first paragraph. The first paragraph should also give an overview of both stories and define the theory, but it should not include any biographical information about the authors.
Interactionism contains four distinct components: 1) interpreting experiences, making meaning out of them that has personal significance; 2) trying out different roles; 3) rebelling against social expectations; 4) actively deciding for oneself one’s identity.
The body of the paper should discuss examples of each of these components found in the texts of both stories. Pay particular attention to the protagonists’ straining against socially-defined roles and choosing roles that define them. Explain how each character is actively making her own meanings out of her experiences and coming to an understanding of her sense of self.
E. Compare and contrast the two Vietnam War pieces, Bruce Weigl’s poem, “The Way of Tet,” and Tim O’Brien’s short story, “The Things They Carried,” in terms of the impact of war on identity-formation. Consider the kinds of personal relationships created by the situation of war. Use Allport’s concept of in-groups and/or role-identity theory to discuss the cultural alienation between Americans and Vietnamese as exemplified by the soldier and the young prostitute in Weigl’s poem. Do the same to analyze Lt. Cross and his platoon in the O’Brien story. Put forward a unifying thesis for the paper regarding war and the sense of self, invoking the theory or theories. The thesis sentence should state directly that the theory is exemplified in the literary works. You must use at least one of these two theories–Allport’s in-group theory and/or Stryker’s role identity theory.
For in-groups, you could explain the in-group/out-group dynamics as the basis of the identity of various characters. To what in-groups do the characters feel belonging, and what are the shared characteristics of those groups? To what extent do the characters identify with or accept the expectations of their in-groups? And/or, if you are using role identity, explain the various roles played by the characters, their role conflicts and resolutions of these conflicts. Be sure to invoke the identity salience hierarchy as part of the role identity concept.
Conflict is the underlying theme of this analysis: in war, between in-groups/out-groups, and between social roles.
OTHER REQUIREMENTS:
1. Use only poems or stories from the Zip Notes Coursepack as indicated in A – E above.
2. Length: 750 words, minimum. No maximum length.
3. Use a Works Cited listing for each work in correct MLA format (see your handbook). The full publication information for each story or poem is available in the bibliography of the Coursepack (pages 117-19). Indicate lines in poems using the abbreviations l. for line and ll. for lines. Example: (ll. 14-15) for lines 14-15. Cite quotes from short stories by giving the original page number from the photocopy (not the Coursepack page number) in parentheses.
4. Do not consult outside sources. This should be your thinking only. Since you are applying one of the four concepts of self for most of these choices, research will not help you.