“A Rose For Emily”

First Paper Assignment –Character Analysis
It is time to get started on our first paper of the semester, which is an analysis of character. This assignment will follow the MLA format. You will teach your reader one important thing about one character. You may choose any one of of the stories on the syllabus, and one character from the story to write about. First you must develop an appropriate thesis which focuses on one important thing to know about the character you have chosen to write about. You must select the best pieces of the plot (primary source) to support your thesis, and you must select direct quotes and paraphrases from MWCC Library Sources (secondary sources) to further support your thesis. You may go to the MWCC Library Literature data bases to find sources, and you may go the Links and Critical Materials button to find the reference series, Short Stories For Students, where you will find chapters of background and literary criticism (analysis) on the stories we are reading this semester. This is a very helpful source.

When developing a thesis for your essay, remember that a thesis must be more than a fact; it must tell your reader what about that fact is important to know. So, if you say that Mrs. Mallard is freed from her marriage by her husband’s death, you are stating a fact. Why is that fact important to know about?The following could be a thesis statement about the fact: “Mrs. Mallallard’s reaction to her husband’s death reveals how unconventional Kate Chopin’s central character really is.” Now you have an assertion to prove to your readers–that Mrs. Mallard’s thinking is unconventional for the time. It is a fact that Miss Emily denies the passage of time, but why is that important to know, so she denies the passage of time because…?

Here is a link to the MWCC Library Research Guides For Eng 102 where you will find the literature databases and more helpful information.

Here is a link to OWL (On-line Writing Centre by Purdue Univ.) for the MLA format.