Essay 1

ESSAY #1*** DUE FRIDAY 12/29***

LATE PAPERS DO NOT GET REVISION AND LOSE POINTS

2-3PAGES, DOUBLE SPACED, SIZE 12 TIMES NEW ROMAN

USE TWO OUTSIDE SOURCES (NOT INCLUDING THE TEXT!) AND QUOTE THE PRIMARY TEXTS AS WELL.

Refer to the class blog for outside source info: eng102winter17.blogspot.com

ONLY RELIABLE SOURCES!

Pick ONE of the essay topics below for your paper.

“Live For Today”, “Mrs. Turner’s Lawn Jockeys” and Lion

1.  Bernie and Emma put on black shoe polish so they will not be seen when they sneak out at night to paint the lawn jockeys white. Why could this been seen as symbolic? What is your understanding of blackface? Later on, Bernie says they are invisible—could there be more to that?

2.    

  When they see their father in the kitchen as they are attempting to paint the jockeys, Bernie says to himself that his father is “thinking about who he used to be, who he is, who people think he is, and who he wants to become” (79). What does this mean?

3.     

Pick NO MORE THAN THREE characters from the three stories and explain how their identity is shaped or explained in their story. Use examples from the texts along with outside sources (links about identity on blog) to support your thesis.

4.     

Explain the relationship between Jinx in “Live For Today” and the victims that come into the morgue. Why does she seem to relate so well to them? What about her past makes her so sympathetic towards these people? Use examples from the texts along with outside sources (links about identity on blog) to support your thesis.

5.     

We talked in class about the reputation of Newark and how it is perceived by others. We also discussed how the morgue in the story could be symbolic for Newark (the forgotten members of society). For this question make the case that the morgue is indeed symbolic of Newark. Use examples from the texts along with outside sources to support your thesis.

Assimilation, The Namesake, "Brave We Are" and "Two Kinds"

6.      Use examples from The Namesake, “Two Kinds” , “Brave We Are”, and from your own experience if it applies (and limit it to one paragraph) to explain the “new American” experience and the challenges of assimilation. Use examples from the texts along with outside sources to support your thesis. You must use at least one of the short stories as an example for this question.

7. We discussed how symbols were used in “Brave We Are” this week for the issues new Americans face. Discuss three (the meal, the song, the poem) of those symbols and explain their importance in the story. Use examples from the texts along with outside sources to support your thesis.
8. In “Two Kinds” the mother puts a lot of pressure of her daughter to do well. This can be referred to as her “putting all her eggs in one basket”. Explain how she attempts to shape her daughter’s life in the story. Use examples from the texts along with outside sources to support your thesis. There are sources on the blog that discuss the pressure some Asian parents put on their children to succeed in school. These would work well as outside sources.
9. Food is clearly important in all cultures and we see that in “Brave We Are” and to a lesser extent in The Namesake; using examples from both of those texts OR JUST “Brave We Are” and two outside sources, explain what role food plays in culture. Use examples from the texts along with outside sources to support your thesis.