You’ll focus on two works, drawing out a meaningful relation or illuminating contrast between them. Consider pairs of texts that have really intrigued you this semester that you might want to put into conversation. Any of the following text is fair game for this paper.
Texts:
-Sula By Toni Morrison
-A Good Man Is Hard To Find and other stories by Flannery O’Conner
-Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
-The New York Trilogy “City of Glass” by Paul Auster
-Mumbo Jumbo by Ishmael Reed
-China Men by Maxine Hong Kingston
Do some research for secondary sources that could help set up the context for your argument, help concretize your comparison, or further your argument. The MLA bibliography database is the best place to search for this. There you can search for articles/sources by keyword, primary author, or primary text title.
Some tips for a meaningful and rich comparison:
A meaningful comparison is able to give a thoughtful answer to the questions: why should we think about these texts together? What insights and revelations are possible by looking at these texts together that are not possible if they were examined separately?
If you see two texts just doing completely different things, that doesn’t make for a rich comparison since there’s no reason to think about the texts together. And those different things they are doing could be apparent in two separate essays on those texts.
A rich comparison tends not to conclude with specific similarities and differences between the texts but situates their specific similarities and differences within a larger story: a larger literary or political debate; a larger literary school, style or movement; a larger literary tradition whose evolution you can see through the comparison; or a larger historical development or connection that links the two texts. The larger story answers the question of why look at these texts together. It is the insight that is made possible by looking at these texts together rather than separately.
So if you see differences, are these differences distinct answers to the same bigger literary question or debate? Is there a particular fight or argument these writers would pick with each other? Does one text help us see the strengths or limitations of another text? If you see similarity, why is this similarity interesting or revealing? Might it be surprising or unexpected? Are we seeing a continuity of a literary tradition here? Is this a further evolution or expansion of something other writers started? Are we seeing multiple writers as part of a larger school, movement, style, or technique?
Another rich question is: Does looking at these two texts together reveal a historical or literary connection that is surprising or unexpected?
Effective comparisons also strive for nuance. It can be tempting to intensify the similarities or differences between texts to fit a strong argument about similarity or difference. But this flattens out complex and unique texts. A comparative argument that acknowledges and incorporates the other side of the argument will be richer for it.
So if you’re making a similarity argument, acknowledge and account for the differences that still pertain between the texts. Doing so will sharpen and focus your similarity argument so it’s not like “these texts are exactly the same in all ways” but “these texts are similar in this particular way”. Their differences can make the similarity you’re discussing all the more interesting, surprising, or significant.
Vice versa with a difference argument. Acknowledge and account for the similarities that still pertain between the texts. Doing so will sharpen and focus your difference argument so it’s not like “these texts are different in all ways” but “these texts are different in this particular way”. Their similarities can make the difference you’re discussing all the more interesting, surprising, or significant.
Some tips on structuring a comparison paper
It can be useful to set up your comparison up front in the introduction. So in your introduction we encourage you to explain why this comparison of texts is interesting and valid. This would be a good place to acknowledge that the texts come from specific social, historical, or cultural contexts while showing how you are relating them. You want to make a case for your comparison, justifying why it makes sense and previewing some of the interesting insights that come out of thinking about these texts together.
Whether you interweave the discussion of the two texts or devote two different sections in the paper to the two texts, you want to make sure the paper feels like a whole not just two separate papers on different texts thrown together. This means you’ll want zoom out synthesizing moments that draw out the larger story and larger insights that come out of thinking about the texts together. If you take the one section to each text approach, you’ll want to integrate moments in the second section that refer back to the first section and draw connections for your reader between the two texts. There might even be moments in the first section that preview and anticipate connections to the second section and text, e.g. “As we’ll see when we turn to Mumbo Jumbo, this stylistic feature spoke to other writers in this same era.”
Rubric
Thesis/argument: A thesis that is specific, convincing, arguable, original, and nuanced.
Comparison: Substantive and revealing comparison of the texts that fully demonstrates why this comparison is so interesting and valid. Reveals compelling insights that wouldn’t be seen if the texts were examined separately. Whether ultimately drawing a distinction or a convergence, makes a convincing case that acknowledges nuances.
Textual Evidence: Well-chosen and convincing textual evidence. Avoid sweeping general statements about the text unless you back them up. Well-chosen quotes, particular moments, and specific scenes play a large role.
Analysis: Sustained and revealing analysis. Dig into the text, break it down, and point out what is most striking or pertinent in a passage, scene, etc. Shows readers what they might not have perceived.
Organization: Clearly organized argument progresses smoothly and takes the reader on a satisfying intellectual journey
• Style and mechanics: A clear style that is a pleasure to read. Nearly perfect mechanics.
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