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Final Paper: Literary Analysis/Reflection (35 points) Assignment:  Write a 5 page paper (1200-1700 words) in which you analyze a myth from our textbook that we have not read in class

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Final Paper: Literary Analysis/Reflection (35 points)

Assignment:  Write a 5 page paper (1200-1700 words) in which you analyze a myth from our textbook that we have not read in class. Chapters 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 22, 24, 25, 26, 29, 33, 38,

39, as well as 41-47 all offer suitable possibilities. Choose a “myth” that lends itself to literary analysis as well as offers insights into its culture.

Purpose:  To synthesize your learning this semester. The successful paper will feature your ability to summarize the story, analyze characters, plot, setting, symbols, motifs, and themes. It will also discuss:  similarities to other myths we’ve read; the function the myth serves/served in its culture; and what insights it provides to its culture. Further, it will consistently provide quotes from the text to support your claims and ideas. In essence, all that we’ve been practicing in EQs, Reflections/Responses, and Quizzes.

Method:  Once you’ve selected and read your myth, begin by filling out a set of Essential

Questions. Determine which aspects of your analysis interest you the most. Might it be the role of women in the story? The metaphysical understanding of humans as they relate to the gods? The similarities between this myth and another we’ve studied? Use your own interests to determine

what your thesis will be.

Devise an argumentative thesis, one that makes a particular point or points about this myth, and then determine how you will go about organizing your paper. You will have to briefly summarize the

myth, but this should not occupy more than a page; instead, focus on showing those features of

the myth that support your main ideas about it. Along the way, be sure to use the terms on our EQ

as well as other key terms and tools (see below) that we’ve studied. Feel free to incorporate some

of the theoretical perspectives we have studied, such as Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey,” or

other theories presented in our textbook, such as that of Claude Levi-Strauss (Ch. 17), Victor

Turner (Ch. 28), Carl Jung (Chs. 34 & 35) and Vladimir Propp (Chs. 36 & 37). And be certain

throughout to provide detailed, specific support for your ideas by quoting the text and providing

explanations for those quotes.

As you bring your analysis to a close, reflect upon the significance of this myth to contemporary

culture and to you in particular. What value does it hold? And how does it fit into the learning

(and possibly personal growth) you’ve engaged in throughout the semester?

Notes:  Although the final paper is not due until 12/8, getting an early start will be helpful so you

can confer with me if you like, and also to submit it to the Kirkwood Center for Online Writing

(COW) or work with an instructor at the Writing Center* for suggestions too. Use the Peer Review

Workshop sheet to make sure you’re on track with the assignment, and consider posting your draft

in our Discussion Forum to review each other’s papers according to these guidelines.

If you wish to be informed by outside readings (other than our text) as you work on your paper,

remember to cite sources responsibly (including those from our text), using MLA formatting. (The

Writing Center and COW can help with this too.) Also see the excellent library resources,

including help with avoiding plagiarism, accessible from our Talon page. For outside sources,

 

please use the database named Literature Resource Center. It is available by clicking on the

Library link under the Student Tools tab, then clicking on "All Kirkwood Databases" down on the

right hand side, then "L", and then "Literature Resource Center." You can search this database by

author or topic, and you will find a great deal of top quality material here.

Key Terms:  When appropriate, include these, along with the bold terms on our EQs in your

analysis and discussion.

oral myth                                                        

paratactic storytelling                                   syntactic storytelling

anthropomorphic god                                   immanent god

transcendent god                                           polytheism                                                     

contests                                                           syncretism

riddle                                                                ritual

shape-changer                                                trickery

epithet                                                             cuneiform

repetition                                                        dharma

karma                                                               fire ordeal

metonymy                                                       moksa

ancestor worship                                            euhemerism

hierogamy                                                        gift-giving

trickster                                                            exogamy

animals as characters                                    audience awareness of storyteller

oral storytelling                                              irony

liminality transformation

chivalry                                                             courtly love

literary myth                                                    prose romance

interlaced narrative                                       Great Mother                                                

Questions?? Please post them on our Discussion Board.

*Here's the llink for the Iowa City Writing Center.