ENGL 102

Fiction Essay 2

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Essay should be about 1000 words or 4 pages double-spaced typed. 

Choose one of the short stories and keeping the theme in mind, discuss one or more of the following, using literary terminology where appropriate: 

  • How setting contributes to the theme in the story
  • How point of view contributes to the theme in the story
  • How characterization contributes to the theme in the story
  • How plot and climax contribute to the theme in the story
  • How does imagery or symbols work successfully in the story?

 Sometimes for a fiction piece you can also discuss:

  • Imagery and symbol
  • Word choices

OR choose one of the following specific questions for your essay::

  1.    Analyze the theme of Leslie Marmon Silko’s “The Man to Send Rain Clouds” and how it relates to Nature. Explain how the author uses elements of literature to support your interpretation. 

    2. Compare/contrast the two religions in the story “The Man to Send Rain Clouds” by Leslie Marmon Silko. How do they handle the concept of life and death? Is more emphasis put on one rather than the other? Also consider the rituals used by each religion. 

      3. In “The Storm” and  “The Man to Send Rain Clouds,” the authors use elements of nature to reveal the beliefs and values of the characters in the stories. The authors also use nature to disclose the personal (and cultural) conflicts that the main characters experience in their lives. Using specific examples from one story, discuss how nature reveals and furthers the character and plot development in that story. 

   4. How does the symbol of the “path” work in the stories, “The Worn Path” and “Dead Man’s Path” and how does that symbol relate to life’s journey? 

    5. In what way might “Dead Man’s Path” illustrate the theme of generational conflicts?

 

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