Paper 2

Write an analytical or argumentative essay on a topic of your own choosing, focusing narrowly on some significant aspect of Death of a Salesman or A Streetcar Named Desire.

You must meet each of the following requirements.  Read these requirements carefully.

1200-1500 words (in the body of the essay, excluding headers, name, date, title, works cited entries, etc.).

Submission of final draft in both hard copy (printed on paper) and electronic form (on floppy disk or as an email attachment). Failure to meet this requirement will result in a letter-grade penalty.

Formatted carefully and correctly, following MLA guidelines as outlined on my simple stuff page.

A minimum of eight quotations from the play. Eight quotations is an absolute minimum—you may certainly offer more to illustrate or substantiate your primary claims thoroughly and effectively.

Quotations and other source material must be documented according to MLA guidelines as outlined on my "quotes and documentation" page. A works cited page is required.

You must do some research and incorporate quotes from at least two sources of legitimate scholarly criticism into the discussion of the play(s).  ("Legitimate" means truly scholarly sources, so items from the popular press, reviews of performances, encyclopedias, and study aids such as Cliff's Notes, SparkNotes, Master Plots, etc., are not acceptable.) No world wide web sources of any sort are valid—only sources available through the RSU library or its subscription databases are acceptable.

You must turn in photocopies or printouts of each secondary source from which you take quotes.  Highlight the quoted passages (on the photocopy of the criticism, not in your paper).

Very important note: Papers that do not meet the research requirements—at least two secondary sources of literary scholarship or criticism, with photocopied pages attached—will automatically receive failing grades.

As with the first paper, and as indicated in the online schedule for this class, on Monday, March 26th you will turn in a paper proposal in the form of a topic sentence outline beginning with the question your essay will strive to answer, followed by each body paragraph's complete topic sentence as it will appear in the essay itself, and ending with a thesis statement that a) answers the question you are addressing, and b) ties together the primary points in your topic sentences. The question you raise for this outline should be a literal question—an interrogative sentence ending in a question mark, not merely a statement of what your topic is. You may email me your topic sentence outline before the 26th in the body of an email message—that is, it's not necessary to send the outline as an attachment. For full explanation of a topic sentence outline, including examples, follow the paper proposal link on our schedule of readings and assignments.

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Topics to consider:

The greatest challenge with this assignment is arriving at an appropriate topic.  Basically, any significant theme, motif, issue, technique, or aspect of either play is fair game.  You are by no means restricted to the suggestions below, but here are a few ideas to consider:

Death of a Salesman:

• The issue of whether or not the play is a tragedy—authoritative definition of tragedy as a literary term would be key.  Definitions from standard dictionaries (Webster's, etc.) will probably not suffice.  See me to verify your definition of tragedy before addressing this topic.
• Miller's commentary on the American Dream
• Miller's criticism of the American commercial/capitalist system
• Miller's portrayal of women—Linda, and possibly others
• Psychological problems—Willy's, Biff's, and/or Happy's in particular
• The Loman family conflicts: parents vs. children, husband vs. wife, and/or brother vs. brother
• The translation of the play into film—the significance of differences between film and print versions
• Contemporary relevance of the play
• Comparison of Miller's depiction of dreams or ambitions with Lorraine Hansberry's in A Raisin in the Sun

A Streetcar Named Desire:

• The confrontation of the "Old South" and the modern American world
• The theme of desire (sexual, definitely, possibly other as well)
• Madness and/or mental illness
• Social criticism: Stanley as representative "100% American"
• Social criticism: class conflict
• Gender issues (There are many.)
• Illusion and reality: appearances and reality
• Is the play a tragedy?—would require authoritative definition of tragedy as a literary term.  Definitions from standard dictionaries (Webster's, etc.) will probably not suffice.  See me to verify your definition of tragedy before addressing this topic.
• The impact of the past upon the present
• Streetcar as quintessentially Southern literature—would require authoritative definition of "Southern literature."  Talk to me first.
• The problematic or disturbing ending of the play
• The translation of the play into film—focusing on significant differences between film and print versions
• Autobiographical?  What the play says about Tennessee Williams, how Williams himself is present in the play

Tips:
Offer concrete evidence (i.e. quotations) to support each of your major assertions.
Make every body ¶'s topic sentence answer the topic sentence outline question directly.
Avoid plot summary: see nugget 1; introduce all quotes: see nugget 3.
Sweat the details: use the Golden Rules, Nuggets, Simple Stuff, and Quotes & Documentation pages and proofread carefully.

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I encourage you to seek my help with your paper outside of class. If my office hours don't fit with your schedule, let me know. I also encourage you to seek help from the writing tutors in Health Sciences 227 or Baird 207 on any aspect of the essay: setting up your topic, outlining, developing the draft, revising, or editing.