Identify one key characteristic/aspect of the character’s personality
Write an essay (5 paragraphs min.) critically analyzing a character in a short story from the list below. After reading the story carefully, you should have several major impressions about the character you’ve chosen. A character is made up of many different characteristics, after all. Your job, however, is to choose ONE characteristic and craft an argument about it. To find your argument, think about why a character has a particular characteristic or how a characteristic is the cause of a character doing something (likely strange!), whether that be leaving home, killing a lover, living at the P.O., etc.
I choose “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner (p. 99-105/10th ed.; 78-83/11th ed.) Your thesis must:
• Identify one key characteristic/aspect of the character’s personality AND ONE OF THE FOLLOWING: o Argue how that characteristic/aspect drives the character and/or impacts the outcome of the story o OR, in some cases, argue what caused the character Remember that your essay needs:
• A thesis & topic sentences that are clearly about your story—not just humans/life itself
• A minimum of 5 well-developed paragraphs (introduction, 3 body paragraphs, conclusion)
• Evidence, including quotations, from your primary source + secondary source(s) (properly integrated/discussed + cited in-text and on a Works Cited page)
• MLA format (1 inch margins, double-spaced, etc.)
Answer preview to identify one key characteristic/aspect of the character’s personality
MLA
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