In Essay #2, we are identifying an argument within the context of fiction. We will examine the methodology authors use to express their viewpoints by studying how narrative fiction conveys an author’s outlook and creates meaning.
Main Goals for Essay 2
- Write a thesis statement that makes an analytical claim about the story’s argument or the author’s outlook
- Support an interpretation of a literary work
Texts for Essay 2
- Kate Chopin – “The Story of an Hour”
Essay 2 Prompts
For this essay, you will make a claim about the underlying meaning or argument of the story. The audience of your essay is people who have read the story and are familiar with it. Therefore, you do not have to summarize, except for brief summary in the introduction of the essay. Your paper should respond to one of the following prompts.
- Why does Mrs. Mallard die at the end of “The Story of an Hour”? Write an essay that examines the obvious and not-so-obvious reasons.
- What is Chopin trying to say about the position of women in the late 1800s? What is her central argument?
A few things to remember
- Your essay should be in a clear 3rd person point of view throughout. This includes your thesis statement, topic sentences, and supporting details.
- You must include several MLA parenthetically cited quotations from the story (minimum 1 each body paragraph)
- Talk about the complexities of the story and avoid oversimplifying it.
- Use your critical voice to argue how the story makes meaning or creates an argument.
- Your essay MUST be between 1000-1200 words AND be organized by 5 paragraphs.
- Follow MLA formatting guidelines (12 pt. Time New Roman font, double spaced, proper headers, title)
- You must have an engaging title that hints at the topic of your essay (Do NOT use the topic or the title of the story for your title)
- Please stay within the word count guidelines as 10% of your grade is based on this. If you must go over the maximum, make sure it is by no more than 5% (1260 words total) as this is where I stop reading. You may NOT write less than the minimum. The minimum is for the essay ONLY and does not include your headers, works cited page, or title
- You MUST include a works cited page at the end of your essay (it will be a new page; do not put it directly following your last paragraph. Please use the following citation
Works Cited
Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.” The Seagull Book of Stories 4th Edition. Ed. Joseph King, Norton, 2018, pp.95-
98.