Question Description

Note: This document is a supplement to the one I have already given you with the reading assignments for this essay, due dates, etc. Be sure you have completed ALL of the reading, including the discussion questions at the end of the novel, and the assigned reading in the Kennedy and Gioia textbook, before you choose your topic and begin work on your essay.

Topics. Choose one of the following topics for your essay:

  1. Well-written characters, according to those who give advice to people who wish to write good fiction, are characters who have both good and bad traits, for who would want to read a story, much less an entire book, about people who do and say all the right things? Choose five to seven characters from Rescue for in-depth analysis. Review the chapter on Character in your textbook to remind yourself of important terms, and take time to look through the novel and your notes to be sure you don’t omit important information about the characters you choose.
  1. Plot is another element essential to good fiction. Certainly, in Rescue, the plot fits Kennedy and Gioia’s definition of plot as “the artistic arrangement of [the] events” (15). It is not strictly chronological, there are many complications, and lots of foreshadowing, flashbacks, and other narrative techniques.

Write an essay in which you analyze Shreve’s use of plot in Rescue.

(Remember that you will not simply be summarizing the events of the novel.

Again, review the material on plot in your textbook. Try making a graph if you’re

visually inclined.)

  1. Consider carefully the title of the novel. Write an essay in which you analyze the many ways in which the meaning of this concept keeps recurring in the novel, sometimes in unlikely places. Remember that this topic is about the whole concept of rescue as it comes through in the novel, not just rescues performed by paramedics, or by or for the three main characters.
  1. Symbolism, another element of fiction that we have been studying this

semester, obviously can be found in this novel. You may write an essay on the major symbols in Rescue, but be sure that after identifying the symbols, you explain what they symbolize, and how Shreve’s use of symbols helps convey the theme of the novel. Review the chapter on symbol in your textbook if you choose this one. Choose more than one or two symbols—there are many.

  1. Gender and how it is imagined and expressed is an important part of contemporary literary criticism. (Your textbook has a very short section on Gender Criticism that begins on p. 2033.)

Write an essay in which you analyze the portrayal of gender in major and minor characters in Rescue.

  1. If there is a topic related to Rescue that you would like to write about that allows you to analyze the novel in a different way, let me know, and we’ll decide if it’s an acceptable alternative to the five options above.

Paper Length: 4-5pages.

Size 12 or 14 font. Indent paragraphs ½ inch, side margins 1 and ½ inch.Double space your essay.

Separate Works Cited page at the end of your paper in correct MLA format. The citation for the paperback edition of the novel I ordered for you should look like this:

Shreve, Anita. Rescue. New York: Back Bay Books, 2011. Print.

If you refer specifically to material from our textbook, you should include a reference to whatever section(s) of that book you are using as well. For example, if you use something from the chapter on Symbol in your essay, your Works Cited entry should look like this:

Kennedy, X. J. and Dana Gioia. “Symbol.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction,

Poetry, Drama and Writing. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 12th ed. New

York: Pearson, 2013. 239-241. Print.

Since Kennedy comes before Shreve alphabetically, the above entry would be first on your Works Cited page.

If you use any other sources for this essay, be sure to cite them in correct MLA format, both in the body of your essay and on your Works Cited page. If you need help with this, see the chapter in your textbook on Writing Research Papers. You can also ask me, of course, and get help at the Writing Center.

If you’ve misplaced your schedule, it’s still on Canvas.

Structuring your Essay

You should state the title of the book and the author’s full name in the first few sentences of your paper. Your introductory paragraph should also make clear exactly what the focused subject of your paper is, and it should include your thesis statement.

Remember to give page numbers for all material from the novel, even if paraphrased or summarized.

Do NOT summarize/retell too much of the novel. Stay focused on YOUR topic. Remember that your given audience, as in the first essay, consists of educated people who have read the book.

Be very careful to avoid inferences that you do not support with material from the text. You should double check all references to material from the novel and other references for accuracy.

Remember that this is an academic essay, so you should not use slang or conversational expressions, or text language, and you should not use “you.”

Remember to use present tense when writing about a literary work.

Be sure to allow time for revision and proofreading.

Don’t forget the Reflection. I included questions on the Schedule.

Good luck! I’m looking forward to reading your papers!