the novel which i choose is a pair of tickets by amy tan

Your assignment, if you choose to accept it (and you’d better, it’s worth 15% of your grade!) is to write a fully fleshed out Fiction Analysis Essay (2F) that defends a thesis you developed through a close critical reading/analysis of one work of fiction listed on the syllabus. Your analysis relies on textual support from the primary text (secondary sources are not required) to develop your argument. Do not confuse “critical analysis” with “plot summary;” the goal is to develop, sustain, and advance a thesis based on a critique of the primary text, in response to one of the following prompts:

1. Discuss the protagonists in your chosen short story. What motivates them? How does their role as the protagonist inform the story (versus how the story might be unveiled with a different protagonist?). How is the protagonist related to other characters in the story or other characters of their time and place in society? How can they be analyzed from a Marxist, psychoanalytical, or feminist view? Most importantly, and this should be the crux of your literary argument, how do they change or grow over the course of the story?
2. Discuss the role of historical context and setting in your chosen short story. Why might the authors have chosen to present the stories in the time and place they did? What do these choices to do bring meaning to the narrative? What relationship do the stories have to the problems or issues of their eras? How does the setting act as a “character” in the stories?
3. What is the dominant theme of this piece? How do you know this theme exists? What does the literary piece say about that theme and how is it expressed in the piece? What does this theme say about today’s society? What value, if any, does the presentation of this theme offer from an historical, Marxist, psychoanalytical, feminist, etc. view?

Text usage (quotes and paraphrases) should be properly cited with MLA Style, including an MLA Style Works Cited page at the end of the essay.

Your essay should contain a thesis statement that gives me an idea of how you will back this point up and how your support will be organized throughout. It should also fulfill the other requirements of your rubric.

750 words (two-three pages double spaced 12 point font). Please include your name, a title, the date, and your class hour at the top, as well as page numbers throughout.

Individual Assignments (2A-2F) will be discussed in coming classes.

2F: Final Draft

Complete your final draft of your Fiction Analysis Essay by revising and editing your first draft (2D). Your final draft should present a compelling argument clearly stated in a complete thesis statement, include a complete introduction, at least three support paragraphs, and a complete conclusion, should be well-organized and supported, should include plenty of thoughtful analysis and concrete support details and should follow all of the expectations of the course rubric.

The final draft should be a two page assignment (Times New Roman 12 point font) and should include your name, date, etc., as you would on any other assignment.