07 Jul Critical Analysis “The Mother” and “Disabled” poems
Topic: Read “The Mother” by Gwendolyn Brooks and “Disabled” by Wilfred Owen. Analyze how each speaker feels in each poem about his or her circumstance and the decisions they make. Trace the mental, emotional, and physical challenges each speaker faces and compare and contrast them with each other. What hardships do they face? What wounds and scars do they carry? What haunts them? What keeps them from feeling whole or achieving peace and what does this reveal about each speaker?
Instructions: Compose a critical analysis essay on one of the topics below. Your essay should be well developed, unified, coherent, and grammatically correct. Refer to the Grading Criteria for MCC English Classes in the First Day Handout for this course. Required length: 3-4 full pages.
Create a thesis statement, and back up your claim with support/evidence from the text. Support should contain clear, specific examples from the story you are analyzing, as well as documentation for all text references. Include at least 2-3 quotations from the poems in each body paragraph of your essay, for a total of 6 quotations.
You must find 2-3 articles from a Literary Database (Literary Reference Center or Ebsco Host) and use them within your paper, for a total of 6 quotes total from your secondary sources. Remember, a critical literary article is not just a google search, but it is an article written by an expert in the field who is adding understanding and importance to the work.
When you find a source in Ebsco, look at the right side of screen and click “Cite” then scroll to find the MLA formatting. It does the Works cited entry for you! Copy and paste to your essay and fix any indentions, fonts, etc to make it work.
If your secondary article about the story quotes from the actual story, do NOT use those quotes as part of your secondary research. You can get those quotes from the original story, so do not pretend that is your research. Your secondary source research needs to say something enlightening, analytical, interesting about the story, the characters, the themes.
Follow MLA format: Use size 12, Times New Roman font and 1-inch margins; double space. Include a Work Cited page. It is not included in the length requirement; it should appear on a separate page at the end of your paper. Without a Works Cited page and/or secondary sources, you will receive a zero on this assignment because it would not be a research essay, and I say that in the nicest way possible.
Breakdown of Research Essay:
- 2-3 Secondary Sources from Database/Books use at least one time each (but can use more), but you need a total of 6 quotes total from your secondary sources. (So Source # 1 you might just use once but Source # 2 you could use 3xs, Source # 3 use 2xs).
- Each source you use must be in the Works Cited page and the last name listed there should be the one I find in your citation within the paper and after each quote.
- Attributive Tag the first time you use a source/author with his or her first and last name and title of article.
- Primary Source (short stories)- use at least 6 direct quotes with proper citation.
- Outline
- Final Draft- Make it perfect! It counts 20% of your final grade for this class. Use the online tutoring if you need to or even if you dont need to. Nothing wrong with making a 100 on this! : )
Directions and Steps:
- You will get your information to support your analysis from 2-3 secondary sources. You do not need to use more sources than this because a short research paper as this does not need to be bogged down with quotations and too many sources. You need to organize your research and state your finding in your own words. The majority of the paper will be your own ideas. ( Do not use Wikipedia or any google search article). Sources must be from a Database and/or books. Dont forget the library as one of your greatest resources and the Reserve Room. You are required to use each secondary source once.
Remember: Sources add to your thoughts and back you up.
** Write down all source information so that you can document your source.
Create an outline to organize your information. My suggestion is to form your thesis/argument first, reread the story and underline/copy quotes and examples that prove the point you are making. (Hint: you have to know your point before you do this ; ) Write your essay just like youve done with your other essays- using the text to prove your claim, setting up topic sentences, supporting details in the body, concluding sentences at the end of each paragraph. Next you will read the secondary sources youve found and skimmed and highlight quotes that the author wrote that makes a point similar to yours or helps explain one of your points or it can be something you completely disagree with and you use the text to prove the author wrong.
** If the secondary source quotes from the primary source (the short story) DO NOT use this as a quote from your secondary source. Go to the original source if you want to use that quote. Your secondary sources should analyze and explain things about the story.
For example: If my source was Symbolism in A Rose for Emily by Judah Hudson and within Hudsons article he quoted from the story: They held the funeral on the second day from page 4 of Hudsons article but this quote is found in the actual story on page 12, where do I use it?
- You are to use direct quotes– writing word for word what the source says. Do not use over 4 lines or this is a block quote [look it up]. You may NOT use block quotes in your paper. You can also use summarizing/paraphrasing taking your sources information and putting it completely in your own words. None of the paraphrased words should come from the source unless they are terms, names, dates, or places that cant be reworded. Most of the information you use from a source should be put in your own words. But even this material needs to be cited with the author and page number.
- Ellipsis points are used within quotations from the text to indicate where one or more words have been omitted.
Example: According to the narrator, The sound of her whisper startled her. She . . . looked about
to see whether anyone had been listening (92). Original sentence: She shook herself free and looked
Square brackets are used within quotations from the text to indicate that a letter, word, or phrase has been changed or added.
Example: As she watches the strangers wagon leave the ranch, Elisa [stands] in front of her wire fence watching the slow progress of the caravan. Her shoulders [are] straight, her head thrown back, her eyes half-closed, so that the scene [comes] vaguely into them (92).
Use an attributive tag the first time you use a source/author with his or her first and last name:
Example: Julia Wilson asserts in her article Grassroots of Literature that Phoenix Jackson knows the entire journey is filled with grief and turmoil, yet her love drags her on (8).
Composing a draft
- Writing the introduction
Open your essay by giving the authors name, the title of the story, and a brief overview of the storyline of no more than 2 sentences. (Ex: John Updikes story A & P reveals to readers the inner thoughts of a young man, Sammy, who works in a local grocery story. What makes the story intriguing is that Sammys reaction to the other characters is, ultimately, what leads to the storys climax.). Do not begin by telling me that the author writes an exciting story, or the author did a great job with whatever. Thats just filling up space. The last sentence will be your Thesis statement.
2. Writing the body paragraphs
When you get to the body paragraphs, be careful not to summarize (retell) the story. The brief plot summary that you include in the introduction should be the only summary of the story. In each body paragraph, you will develop a specific point related to your thesis. (Ex: The first role Elisa Allen plays is that of the nurturing caregiver.) The sentences that follow should cite evidence, including quotations and paragraph/page references, from the text to support your point.
Example of First Body Paragraph: The first role Elisa Allen plays is that of the nurturing caregiver. While she has no children of her own to tend, she pays careful attention to her garden and looks over the plants and flowers like a loving mother. She admits to Henry, I’ve a gift with things, all right. My mother had it. She could stick anything in the ground and make it grow. She said it was having planters’ hands that knew how to do it” (Steinbeck 402). If she cannot take care of a child, she can at least give great attention and care to her garden. (Second Point under Body 1): Elisa is also a nurturing caregiver with her husband Henry as she irons his clothes, cooks his meals, and genuinely cares about the work he does on their farm: You were right smart to get that price on that head of cattle (Steinbeck 406). She chooses to see the positives in Henry rather than view him as a poor, country farmer. Concluding Sen: As Elisa proceeds in her life despite the emptiness of her womb, she proves that nurturing is innate in her character.
3. Writing the conclusion
The conclusion should express to the reader why what you have discussed is significant. (What point were you trying to make in your argument? What does the story reveal about human nature? How can readers relate to the story?) Do not simply write, These are the symbols that represent Miss Brills character, as this is redundant and boring. Instead, write something along these lines:
Example: By examining Miss Brills inner thoughts as they are reflected in the images and symbols in the story, readers develop a sense of empathy for her. It is human nature to want to feel…. (Do not write: I learned a lot from this story or The author did a good job of writing this story. Blah blah blah)
4. Preparing the Work Cited page
Your Work(s) Cited should list the story you are analyzing (and any additional sources referenced in your paper). Within your essay, there should be specific references to the story with in-text documentation for each reference
More Know Hows:
Title of your paper: not in bold, not underlined, not in quotations.
- Present tense means it is ALWAYS in present tense. You do not switch from past to present and back again. If it happened in the story, it is happening as you talk about it: Brown exits the forest with only his pride and leaves behind his wife, his God, and his town. Not: Brown exited the forest with only his pride and left behind 2 pts every single time.
- Writer vs. speaker– The writer cannot say. The writer writes. You would not say: Hughes says to his instructor that they are alike. Hughes is the writer of the poem, but he is not necessarily the speaker. The speaker is the one who says he and the instructor are the same. Same thing with a story: the writer is not the narrator or a character. Do not say: Faulkner says that Emily is a fallen monument. Instead say: Faulkner uses the narrator to reveal that the town views Emily as a fallen monument. And do not write that the story says. A story cannot say or write itself.
- Comma Rule: Place commas around words that interrupt the flow of a sentence (nonrestrictive elements). Do not use comas when the information is important.
Study the punctuation closely :
1). The Chrysanthemums, by John Steinbeck, is about a woman who longs to belong in a mans world.
(Notice by John Steinbeck is the interrupter in the sentence and needs commas around it. Also, the first comma goes inside the quotation marks, not on the outside. Short works like short stories, essays, and poems are in quotation marks. )
2). Elisa Allen, the protagonist, shares an intimate moment with a complete stranger : I wish a woman could do such things (Steinbeck 634 ).
(Notice the complete sentences in front of the quote, so you put a colon before the quote. Notice the period at the end of the sentence is not inside the quotes but after the citation. 634 is the page number and Steinbeck is the authors last name where the quote is found. No comma is between them.
3). In John Steinbecks The Chrysanthemums, Elisa Allen’s flowers allow her a sense of motherhood: Its the budding that takes the most care (633).
(Notice the apostrophe after the authors name because it shows possession. Notice the colon before the quote because it is a complete sentence before the quote that helps explains it. Notice the placement of the period after the citation.
4). In the short story I Stand Here Ironing, by Tillie Olsen, and the poem A Negro Mother, by Langston Hughes, the mothers are both hard working.
(Notice there is NOT a comma before the title of the story or poem because you need to know which story you are talking about. A comma after story would mean the title is not important. Notice the comma inside the quotation marks after Ironing because the In at the beginning of the sentence makes it a introductory phrase. Notice that the authors name has commas around it because it is an interrupter.
Topic Sentences – A topic sentence is the first sentence of your paragraphs and (like the thesis does for the entire essay) it should reflect what the entire paragraph is about. It should not begin with a quote or a detail.
Wrong Example: Katniss volunteers to take her sister’s place in the Hunger games. (This is a detail, not a topic sen).
Correct Topic Sen: Katniss is the very definition of a hero because of her self-sacrifice. She courageously volunteers to take her sister’s place in the Hunger games, with no regards to her own safety. (The first sentence sets up that I will be writing about Katniss as a hero and that self-sacrifice is a trait of a hero throughout this paragraph. The second sentence is a detail from the book that proves my point- a detail sentence. )
2) Textual evidence (quotes from your reading) and commentary (explanation) and Secondary Source quotes.
3) A concluding sentence. Do not end a paragraph with a quotation.
Citation:
Wrong: The slave mother still has hope for her children: “God put a dream like steel in my soul.” (Hughes 15).
Correct: The slave mother still has hope for her children: “God put a dream like steel in my soul” (Hughes 15).
The period does not go inside the quotation marks. It belongs after the parenthesis of the citation.
A Drop Quote (dont do this)
A “dropped quotation” is when you do not integrate quoted material into your own work but leave the quote to stand alone between sentences, thereby disrupting the flow of the essay. You cannot begin a sentence with a quote. It must have a lead in.
Wrong: The slave mother still has hope for her children. “God put a dream like steel in my soul” (Hughes 15).
Correct: The slave mother still has hope for her children: “God put a dream like steel in my soul” (Hughes 15). (You needed to lead into the quote and have a colon before the quote begins.)
Or The slave mother exclaims, God put a dream like steel in my soul” (Hughes 15).
Poetry:
With poetry, you need to separate the lines with “/” slashes. You also cite line numbers instead of page numbers with poetry.
Example: The speaker reflects,”What did I know, what did I know / of loves austere and lonely offices?” (lines 13-14). The slash appears after “know” because that is the end of the line and the next line begins with the word “of.”
Works Cited (centered)
Author last name, Author first name. “Title of Poem.” Title
(this line indented) of Textbook, edited by Editor’s
(indented) Name(s), Publisher, Year, Page range of entry.
The first line of the works cited entry (author’s name) is not indented. The second line and third ect… should be indented.Make sure you have a period at the end of the entry.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “Young Goodman Brown.” Compact Literature, edited by Kirszner and
Mandell, Cengage, 2016, pp. 448-57.
EBSCO article (from MCCs database system, which all your secondary sources will need to be from).
Folks, Jeffrey. Crowd and Self in Faulkners The Sound and the Fury. Southern Literary
Journal, vol. 34, no. 2, 2002, pp. 301-306, EBSCO, Access no: 6970238.
How to lead-in to a quotation (Do not begin a sentence with a quotation).
Use a colon to introduce a quote when the lead-in is a complete sentence.
In the beginning of “The Lottery,” the crowd begins to feel very uncomfortable: The villagers kept their distance, leaving a space between them and the stool (Jackson 217).
Try to avoid using “the author writes, the narrator says, Jackson says,” -this is overused and not as strong.
Use your own sentences to introduce the quote. Example: Miss Brill believes she is an important part of the performance, for [n]o doubt somebody would have noticed if she hadnt been there (Mansfield 243).
You can also use brackets to change the grammar or tense of the quote to fit your sentence.
Example: Miss Brill believes in her own importance and sincerely thinks “somebody would have noticed if [I] hadnt been there” (Mansfield 243). (The “she” in the original quote can be changed to “I” to fit the meaning and grammar of the sentence by placing “I” in brackets to show that you changed a part of the quote.
You can also lead into a quotation with an attributive tag where you name the author and work.
- Example: In the opening line of the poem A Blessing from My Sixteen Years Son, Mary Karr penetrates the heart of a mother: I have this son who assembled inside me (line 1). [This is a poem, so though it is found on page 729 in the book, poetry is cited with the line number.]
Analyzing – There is an issue with your analysis: Possibly you are telling me a lot of details from the story, but not making a point about them. Remember, a critical analysis essay does not summarize the plot. I’ve read it. I know. You have to tell me the “so what” or the “why.”
For example, in “The Disappearance,” if you say the husband controls her by not letting her drive or get a job. Ok. So what? I read that in the story. Your job is to analyze, which means to scrutinize, investigate, examine, and question. So you ask what does it reveal about the husband or their marriage or their culture that he had to control her this way and that she, in a sense, allows him to (until of course, she leaves). You have to ask what is the motivation of this character? What is the theme teaching us?
Who vs. That
This is Relative Pronoun error. Usually this means you have used “that” when referring to a person or people while “who” is correct.
Wrong: “I am a person that values honesty.”
Correction: “I am a person who values honesty.”
Sentence Structure
If youre sentence structure is weak: Your sentence are short and choppy. This is a college essay, and the sentence structure needs to reflect that in both structure, variety, and word choice.
Wrong: The husband wants to control his wife. The husband will not let her drive. The husband is mean. He is a bully. (These are very basic sentences and need to be combined, cleaned up, and revamped).
Correct: Because the husband seeks control in every area of his life, including the bedroom, he tries to control his own wife by not letting her drive, forcing her into sex, and becoming his own worst enemy by destroying his family from the inside out
Essay Outline
(No title is needed until you complete an actual draft of your essay.)
NOTE: With the exception of the thesis, you do not have to write complete sentences in your outline.
- Introduction (Fill in the boxes)
|
A. Story title, author, brief overview and/or background information Remember to Stay in PRESENT tense when writing about Literature!
|
|
B. Transition/general statements leading to thesis
|
|
C. Thesis statement– (Controlling idea of your essay: the most important sentence in here)
|
- Body Paragraph 1
|
A. First point of discussion- Topic Sentence is the first sentence of each paragraph. It should relate to the first point of the thesis. You should NOT just start telling what the story was about (thats plot summary) or just start with a detail). This sentence tells the reader what the entire paragraph will prove/explore/discuss. Do NOT start a paragraph or sentence with a quote.
|
|
B. Specific support 1
1. Quote(s) and/or text reference(s) to support point one
2. Follow-up/explanation of support
|
|
C. Specific support 2
3. Quote(s) and/or text reference(s) to support point one
4. Follow-up/explanation of support
D. Concluding Sentence– do not end a paragraph with a quote. The last sentence of the paragraph should act as the first one does: it should sum up what the paragraph discussed (but do not say: This paragraphed proved or any type of announcement that states the obvious (that you are writing an essay).
|
- Body Paragraph 2
|
A. Second point of discussion Topic Sentence
|
|
B. Specific support 1
1. Evidence quote(s) and/or text reference(s)
2. Follow-up/explanation of evidence
|
|
C. Specific support 2
1. Evidence quote(s) and/or text reference(s)
2. Follow-up/explanation of evidence
D. Concluding Sentence– do not end a paragraph with a quote. The last sentence of the paragraph should act as the first one does: it should sum up what the paragraph discussed (but do not say: This paragraphed proved or any type of announcement that states the obvious (that you are writing an essay).
|
- Body Paragraph 3 (optional)
|
A. Third point of discussion
|
|
B. Specific support 1
1. Quote(s) and/or text reference(s) to support point one
2. Follow-up/explanation of evidence
|
|
C. Specific support 2
1. Evidence quote(s) and/or text reference(s)
2. Follow-up/explanation of evidence
D. Concluding Sentence– do not end a paragraph with a quote. The last sentence of the paragraph should act as the first one does: it should sum up what the paragraph discussed (but do not say: This paragraphed proved or any type of announcement that states the obvious (that you are writing an essay).
|
- Conclusion
|
A. Reworded thesis
|
|
B. Concluding statements
Analysis |
|
C. Clincher (Give readers something to think about.)
|
It is okay if you cannot fit your points into this form exactly. This is just a general guide for organizing your paper.
