English 3563
Assignment One
Analysis of a Brief Early American Passage
| Due Dates: | Requirements: |
| Working Draft—September 26th, 2012 Final Draft—October 5th, 2012 |
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Objective
To construct a persuasive argument about the meaning of a brief passage from a selected work of literature. The argument should be based on a close reading of the text in question. Close reading is a skill that will help you in subsequent assignments for this class.
Passage Choices
| Sir, As I know that you will be pleased at the great victory with which Our Lord has crowned my voyage, I write this to you, from which you will learn how in thirty-three days, I passed from the Canary Islands to the Indies with the fleet which the most illustrious king and queen our sovereigns gave to me. And there I found very many islands filled with people innumerable, and of them I have taken possession for their highnesses, by proclamation made and with royal standard unfurled, and no opposition was offered to me. (Christopher Columbus, "from 'Letter to Luis de Santangel Regarding the First Voyage,'" Norton Anthology of American Literature, Vol. A., 35) |
This sentiment roused our countrymen's jealousy. Alcaraz bade his interpreter tell the Indians that we were members of his race who had been long lost; that his group were lords of the land who must be obeyed and served, while we were inconsequential. The Indians paid no attention to this. Conferring among themselves, they replied that the Christians lied: We had come from the sunrise, they from the sunset; we healed the sick, they killed the sound; we came naked and barefoot, they clothed, horsed, and lanced; we coveted nothing but gave whatever we were given, while they robbed whomever they found and bestowed nothing on anyone. (Álvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca, "from The Relation of Álvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca," Norton Anthology of American Literature, Vol. A., 50) |
| I fear not want of company sufficient, were it but known what I know of these countries; and by the proof of that wealth I hope yearly to return, if God please to bless me from such accidents, as are beyond my power in reason to prevent: For, I am not so simple to think, that ever any other motive than wealth, will ever erect there a commonwealth; or draw company from their ease and humors at home to stay in New England to effect my purposes. (John Smith, from "A Description of New England," Norton Anthology of American Literature, Vol. A., 95) | I cannot but take notice how at another time I could not bear to be in the room where any dead person was, but now the case is changed; I must and could lie down by my dead babe, side by side all the night after. I have thought since of the wonderful goodness of God to me in preserving me in the use of my reason and senses in that distressed time, that I did not use wicked and violent means to end my own miserable life. (Mary Rowlandson, from A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, Norton Anthology of American Literature, Vol. A., 261-262) |
Procedure
Choose one of the above passages.
Take notes including specific details in the passage that explain its meaning and significance. Such details include word choice, comparison/contrast, imagery, punctuation, and anything else the author has used in order to make his or her meaning clear to an audience. (It may not be possible to find an example of each of these elements.) Focus on those that are the most useful in explaining the meaning of the passage.
Formulate a thesis statement summing up the meaning and importance of the chosen passage. This thesis will undoubtedly change as you write your paper, but at least it will give you a starting point. A good thesis is arguable rather than obvious.
Write a draft of your argument about the passage in question. Refer to specific words and phrases in the selected passage in order to support the points in your argument. You may also refer to other quotations in the larger work, as long as you maintain your focus on the passage in question.
Bring a word-processed, correctly formatted draft of this paper to class on September 26th, 2012 for peer editing. Include the entire chosen quotation at the top of the first page.
After considering feedback you received from peer editors and reconsidering your own argument, revise your paper.
Proofread your draft to identify and correct spelling and grammatical errors.
Turn in the completed final draft along with a peer-edited working draft in class on October 5th, 2012.
Close Reading
Close reading means paying careful attention to details in a written work. Since you will be looking more closely at this passage than most people who read it, your paper can offer perspectives on its meaning that will engage your audience challenging its expectations. In analyzing a brief passage, you might ask yourself the following questions:
What, literally, takes place in the passage?
Where in the larger work does the passage occur?
Who speaks in this passage? To whom?
How is this passage different from any other passage in the text?
Does the author use any terms that will be unfamiliar to 21st-century readers? What do these terms mean? How have these terms changed since the author first wrote the passage? NOTE: These passages are from a time before the regularization of many spelling rules. Thus, the writer's spelling of a particular word probably tells us very little about his or her intentions.
Does the author use any imagery in making his or her point? The most common forms of imagery include metaphor, simile, personification and symbol. Not all passages will contain straightforward examples of imagery, however.
Does the author allude to any other works of literature? The Bible is one common source of allusions in early American literature and it is often worthwhile to consult a Bible for the original verse or verses.
What will make this paper interesting to an audience consisting of your classmates, your teacher and yourself? You will want to tell them something new—that would not otherwise have occurred to them after reading this passage.
Remember: A close reading of a passage is not the same thing as a summary of the passage. A close reading provides much more insight into what the passage means and gets beyond the obvious interpretations of it. Resist the temptation to let the structure of the chosen passage determine the organization of your analysis of it.
Writing Tips
I have based the following writing tips on common difficulties that students encounter when writing papers for this class.
Develop an arguable and interesting thesis statement that applies directly to the passage (i. e., that you could not write about any other poem).
Example:
Thence it may at once be seen, that to bring all these people to be Christians and to the obedience of the Imperial Majesty, they must be won by kindness, which is a way certain, and no other is. (Álvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca, From The Relation, The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Volume A, p. 150)
NOT AN ARGUABLE THESIS: In the above passage, Cabeza de Vaca argues that the Spaniards should convert the Native Americans through acts of kindness.
ARGUABLE THESIS: While the language of this passage is politely indirect, it refers to the horrific alternatives to Cabeza de Vaca's recommendation that Spain should convert Native Americans to Christianity through acts of kindness.
Organize your argument around this thesis statement. Think of between two and four sub-points and structure your argument around them.
Sample Outline (for the above thesis):
- The lines preceding this passage ground Cabeza de Vaca's recommendation in his observation of the deportment of the Native Americans.
- The language of the passage reinforces Cabeza de Vaca's posture of humility when conversing with his king.
- The fact that Cabeza de Vaca is willing to challenge the policies of a king he so clearly reveres provides proof shock and horror he feels as a witness to the slaughter of Native Americans by Spanish conquistadors.
MLA format means you should include a list of works cited at the end of your paper, even if it only includes one work. For example:
Bradford, William. From Of Plymouth Plantation. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Volume A. Eighth Edition. Ed. Nina Baym. New York: Norton, 2012. 122-156. Print.
Please note differences between this bibliographic format and the parenthetical citation format of the above passage selections on page 1. They are not the same.
Some grammatical tips:
Avoid using the passive voice whenever it is possible to do so. When writing in the passive voice, you remove the subject from the sentence or at least de-emphasize it. This makes writing less engaging to most readers.
Example:
ACTIVE VOICE: William Bradford despises Thomas Morton.
(Note structure: subject/verb/object)PASSIVE VOICE: Thomas Morton is despised.
(Structure: object/"to be" verb/past participle)ACTIVE VOICE: William Bradstreet despised Thomas Morton.
PASSIVE VOICE: Thomas Morton was despised.
(Passive voice can exist in any verb tense.)Avoid contractions when writing college papers. Replace they're with they are and replace don't with do not (these are just a few examples of the numerous possible contractions out there.
Italicization is the best way to signal that you are referring to a word itself and not to the thing that the word represents. Notice how I am using italicization of the terms in the following section "d". You should also italicize titles of books (even in parenthetical references and lists of works cited) and foreign-language words like Bildungsroman or sine qua non.
The word it's (with an apostrophe) is a contraction of it is. The word its (without an apostrophe) is the possessive of it. Its and whose both deviate from the above rule about possessives which requires the addition of an apostrophe-s.
24 September 2012