Page length 10-12 pages of a LITERARY ARGUMENT
Sources: 3-5 sources
thesis paragraph, you want to try to argue that Millay’s play uses the genre of Commedia Dell’ Arte in order to show how war is unjust. Look at how the play tries to show that… She shows 1. the divide between the rich and the poor; 2. the shepherds (or the poor in the play) two former friends are encouraged to fight to the death; 3. and what are they fighting over, resources like land, water, “jewels” or rather money, which Millay is trying to say is absurd and perverse. Finally, she tries to show that once the “war” is over, society forgets and tries to dismiss or hide the consequences, which she is trying to say is unjust, unfair, and basically stupid.
For this assignment, choose a short story, play, poem(s), or non-fiction work from the readings in class and discuss either how issues of peace and pacifism intersect with social justice; OR how issues related to gender, race, or class are presented as social justice issues in the work you chose. Weve read Edna St. Vincent Millay. ,craft a literary argument based on a topic related to either peace as a social justice issue OR gender, race, and class as social justice issues. A literary argument states a position that is debatable and your essay tries to change the readers mind about it. , for a thesis paragraph, you want to try to argue that Millay’s play uses the genre of Commedia Dell’ Arte in order to show how war is unjust. Look at how the play tries to show that… She shows 1. the divide between the rich and the poor; 2. the shepherds (or the poor in the play) two former friends are encouraged to fight to the death; 3. and what are they fighting over, resources like land, water, “jewels” or rather money, which Millay is trying to say is absurd and perverse. Finally, she tries to show that once the “war” is over, society forgets and tries to dismiss or hide the consequences, which she is trying to say is unjust, unfair, and basically stupid.
STEP ONE:
Find at least 3 OUTSIDE, SECONDARY SOURCES on your text by going to LITERARY DATABASES: MLA Bibliography; Google Scholar; JStor; Project Muse; Academic Search Premiere, and plugging in your search terms. DO NOT GO TO SOCIOLOGY/PSYCHOLOGY DATABASES; LITERARY DATABASES ONLY
STEP TWO:
Read the articles youve found, taking notes and highlighting meaningful quotes you may want to include in your essay.
AND Read and take notes on the text youve chosen to write on. Highlight quotes that you think are meaningful and useful to include in your essay.