We’ve read The Awakening and The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man because both offer a view of what it felt like to chafe against categories of identity at the dawning of the twentieth century. For both Edna and the Ex-Colored Man, finding a sense of self was a rewarding and yet also upsetting process. Each discover a truth about who they are but the endings of their stories aren’t exactly picture perfect. As categories of identity have become more complex over time, the process of defining the self hasn’t necessarily become easier as finding the right identifying category (or categories) is one process and being accepted by society is another. This isn’t all that different from what Edna and the Ex-Colored Man experience as they have selves that don’t fit into society’s vision of what it is to be a woman, a man, a member of the upper class, an African American, etc.
Your task is to isolate one moment from each text (for a total of two moments) which summarize the struggles with identity each character goes through. Your thesis should in some way knit these two moments together to give the reader a sense of what it was like to be searching for a self at the start of the 20th century. It might be helpful to isolate moments from similar places in each text: when a character realizes something is wrong, when they feel what it’s like to fully inhabit a sense of self, or when they struggle with understanding themselves or the process of becoming an “I”. Perhaps you can find moments when the language or tone is similar. Feel free to choose what you want from each book as long as you clarify for the reader why these two moments are being closely read in your paper.
The word “explication” comes from a Latin word that means “unfolding.” When you explicate – or do a close reading – of a story, you “unfold” its meaning by interpreting or analyzing a portion of it. No explication can take into account everything that goes on in a story, so your paper should focus on one passage from each story that you think contribute to the overall meaning or purpose of the stories as a whole. A good close reading concentrates on details: you should quote portions of the passages to show how the text supports your thesis, and you should attend to the details of tone, style, and choice of language by each of the authors.
Although this paper is relatively short (feel free to go over the word count if you need to), you should treat it formally. You need a title that signals the reader to the content of your argument, your conclusion shouldn’t merely repeat all of the main points you just made, and in text citations need to be in MLA style. No research is necessary but reflecting the supplementary readings is encouraged if you find them helpful. YOU NEED TO HAVE BOTH BOOK ON ORTHER TO DO THE JOB