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English Composition II--Paper #1: Reflection
For this assignment, choose ONE of the following and write a 3-page paper that develops the topic. Be sure to include at least three quotes from the story with which you are working.
1.We have read three stories that in one way or another explore what it means to be in a committed relationship: “The Story of an Hour,” “Cathedral,” and “Cat in the Rain.” Each story has a different focus. In “The Story of an Hour,” it is the idea that when we are in a committed relationship, on some level, we sacrifice a bit of our freedom. We either want someone to bend their will to ours, or we bend our will to that of our partner. In both “Cathedral” and “Cat in the Rain,” we see relationships where lack of communication is an issue. In both stories, one of the partner’s needs are not being met within the marriage, and in each case, the wife is looking for an emotional attachment she is not getting from her husband. Working with ONE of these stories, reflect either on what we give up to be in a relationship (you might also reflect on what is gained) or on the difficulties of communicating honestly within a relationship (you might also analyze different communication styles within a relationship). You are welcome to use your own experience or your knowledge of another couple to illustrate what you are seeing in the story.
2.This upcoming week (5/30-6/6), we are looking at coming of age stories, also known as stories of initiation: “Boys and Girls,” “Araby,” and “A & P.” Think about your own experience when either you learned the rules of gender roles (as explored in “Boys and Girls”), learned a lesson in consequences or took a stand (as in “A & P”), or when you learned that the world may be indifferent to you (you are not the center of the universe) or that the adult world may not be what you thought it was when you were more innocent (“Araby”). Drawing on your own experience and using one of these stories, explore the theme of coming of age, http://www.ukassignment.org/ygkczy/ of coming to a greater (and maybe at times disappointing) understanding of how the world works.
This paper needs to begin with an introduction that sets up the theme you are exploring and introduces the story with which you are working. DO NOT ANNOUNCE your topic (no“I will be exploring” or “This paper will . . .”). Also, though you can use “I” in this paper, I do not want you to use “you”; that is too informal. Then develop your topic in four more substantial paragraphs. When you quote from the story, be sure to cite the page number that the quote is from. For example, if you are quoting from James Joyce’s “Araby,” you would cite it this way: “Her dress swung as she move her body and the soft rope of her hair tossed from side to side” (137). Note that the punctuation comes AFTER the page citation. If you are quoting a narrator who is in turn quoting a character, this is a quote within a quote and is punctuated as follows: “George looked up and saw the back of her neck, clipped close like a boy’s. ‘I like it the way it is’”(101). Notice the single quote marks that enclose George’s speech. The double quote marks enclose the narrator’s comments.
Note: Short story titles go into quotes: “Araby”
This paper DOES NOT involve outside research. This is your own reflection and analysis.
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