Short Story Essay Assignment Help

1. Short Story Essay Assignment Help Rauch Block 2

2. Packet • Please use the yellow assignment packet I gave you as you write for help. • The packet includes a sample thesis as well a sample outline which includes sample topic sentences.

3. Constructing a theme • First, YOU MUST READ your story. Fill out a graphic organizer for your story as well. • Identify the CONFLICT of the story. Conflicts are at the root of a story’s theme. • Then come up with a SPECIFIC universal lesson or truth about human nature found in the story in relation to this conflict. • Consider “The Princess and All the Kingdom.” • The conflict of the story is between the prince and the old man. The old man wants the prince to be king, but the prince only wants happiness. Ultimately, the prince just wants to be happy and the old man then wants him to take responsibility. Next, consider how the conflict is resolved. The prince realizes that he has to accept the throne in order to enjoy all the things that make him happy. • Let’s turn this into a universal lesson…. • Responsibility is a necessary part of finding happiness.

4. Right or Wrong themes • The theme of “The Cabuliwallah” is time. Wrong • The theme of “The Cabuliwallah” is that times changes you and you can’t regain the past. • Wrong • The theme of “The Cabuliwallah” is that time changes relationships. • Sort of right…but let’s be more specific. • The theme of “The Cabuliwallah” is that no amount of money or economic prosperity can prevent the effects of time. • Correct • The theme of “The Cabuliwallah” is that regardless of economic status, eventually most children distance themselves from their parents. • Correct

5. Right or wrong- “The Streets of Canon” • The theme is prejudice. • Wrong • People need to stop judging one another. • Wrong- too obvious. • Prejudice and stereotypes often deny people the gifts other cultures have to offer. • Correct • Preconceived stereotypes and prejudices are often proven wrong by actual experiences. • Correct.

6. Body Paragraph Breakdown • Body paragraph 1: Write about the characters and the conflict. Identify the main character as dynamic, static, round, etc. and discuss the conflict in a brief manner. This is the shortest paragraph and only requires one quotation at most. • Body paragraph 2: Climax and its significance to the theme/ your thesis. One-two quotations. • Body paragraph 3: Resolution and how it conveys the theme and thus how it ties to your thesis. One-two quotations.

7. Sample Thesis and Topic Sentences • Sample Thesis from packet: In “The Princess and All the Kingdom,” Lagerkvist implies that accepting responsibility is an unavoidable part of achieving success and happiness. • Notice the comment made about humanity when thesis reads “accepting responsibility is an unavoidable part of achieving success and happiness.”

8. Transitions • We DO NOT want to use transitions like FIRST, SECOND, NEXT, ALTHOUGH, and CLEARLY in our papers. Instead we want to use TRANSITIONAL PHRASES • Transitional phrases are phrases that link one idea to the next. As a rule of thumb, a good transitional phrase is followed by a comma. For instance, “As a rule of thumb” and “For instance” are both transitional phrases.

9. Topic Sentence • Notice on your sample thesis how the first topic sentence discuss character and conflict and ties them to your thesis. • “Because the prince fights bravely and wins the hand of the beautiful princess, he assumes that their happiness will come with no further challenges.” • The parts “the prince fights bravely” and “he assumes” both discuss character since both describe the character’s actions and his thoughts. • The conflict of the story is also hinted at when the student writes “he assumes that their happiness will come with no further challenges” since this leads into the vary challenge that creates the conflict in the story.

10. Right or wrong? • Read the topic sentences for each body paragraph and determine if they are right or wrong BODY PARAGRAPH 1 • First, Luisa Valenzuela uses characterization and conflict to convey the theme that obsession can lead to the loss of identity. • Wrong- Do not use first • As Juan begins to change as a character, he gradually forgets that his oppressive government is his true enemy. • Correct- Transitional phrase and mention of character and conflict. • As he struggles against an oppressive government, Juan’s obsession begins to overwhelm his identity. • Correct- Transitional phrase and mention of characterization and conflict.

11. Continued…. • Body Paragraph 2 • Luisa Valenzuela uses the climax of the story to reveal the theme of the story, that obsession can lead to the loss of identity. • Wrong- No Transitional phrase, and its too generic. • When Juan finally finds his letter to Marianna, Valenzuela reveals how destructive obsession can be to individual identity. • Correct- Transitional phrase, interesting development. • As the story reaches its climax, and Juan finally discovers his letter, Valenzuela reveals how greatly obsession has destroyed Juan’s identity.

12. Continued… • Body Paragraph 3 • Lastly, Juan’s death reveals the theme of the story. • Wrong. • Lastly, Luisa Valenzuela uses the resolution of the story to convey the theme that obsession leads to the loss of identity. • Wrong. • Finally, the resolution is when Juan dies. • Wrong. • Juan dies at the end and this reveals the theme. • Wrong. • At the end of the story, Juan’s obsession ultimately costs him his identity and consequently his life. • Correct. • As the story concludes, Luisa Valenzuela uses Juan’s death to reveal the destructive consequences of obsession. • Correct.

13. Yellow Packet • Please use the outline in your yellow packet to see how to carry out the rest of the paragraphs. • Please see the sample on page one on how to incorporate quotes into an essay.

14. Discussing Characterization • Make sure that when you discuss characterization you discuss how a character’s behavior, dialogue, and traits conveys the theme. • For instance, it is not enough to say that the prince from “The Princess and All the Kingdom” is a round, dynamic character. You have to explain how his stubbornness and his eventual change prove the theme (that happiness cannot come without responsibility).

15. Continued…. • The author’s characterization of Juan is central to her theme that obsession often leads to a loss of identity. Juan takes a job with the censors to find a letter he wrote to Marianna. If his enemies find it they will kill him. In order to find the letter, he has to perform his job well so that he gets promoted. He begins censoring letters very well. Eventually he gets to his own letter and he turns himself in. The government then kills him. The author’s characterization of Juan is central to the development of his theme. • Wrong

16. Is it right or is it wrong? • Look at the examples below and determine whether or not they adequately explain how the author uses characterization to convey theme. • As a character, Juan is dynamic and his change conveys the theme. Clearly the author uses characterization to convey the theme that oppressive governments can destroy the will of even their strongest enemies. • Wrong

17. Continued… • As Juan changes as a character, it becomes evident that obsession can lead to a loss of identity. Juan takes a job as a censor so that he can find the letter he wrote to Marianna. Initially, he is against the government, so he takes the job so he can actually break the law. In order to find his letter though, he has to move up the ranks. He becomes obsessed with his job and eventually even censors his own letter. This leads to his downfall. Clearly, the author uses characterization to convey his theme that obsession can lead to a loss of identity. • Wrong

18. Continued • As Juan changes as a character, it becomes clear that obsession can lead to the loss of identity. Juan begins the story as a brave enemy of his oppressive government. He even becomes a double agent, taking a job as a censor so that he can intercept his own letter to Marianna. However, as the story continues, Juan’s dynamic change clearly conveys the dangers of obsession. Juan becomes obsessed with his work, even ignoring other aspects of his life. This obsession gradually destroys his courage and ethics, which led him to oppose the government in the first place. This obsession overwhelms Juan, and when he finally finds his letter, he ends up turning himself in. This change in character, from brave rebel to obsessive government spy, shows the damaging effects obsession can have on individual identity. Juan ends up losing himself in his work, so much so that he willingly abandons his original goal. Sadly, Juan becomes so focused on work, he no longer even values his own life or desires. This harrowing change emphasizes how greatly obsession can impact identity. • Correct