english

Using any of the stories we’ve read so far,

 

 

Maupassant’s “The Necklace”

 

Chopin’s “Story of an Hour”

 

Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants”

 

Carver’s “Popular Mechanics”

 

Walker’s “The Flowers”

 

Atwood’s “Happy Endings”

 

 

 

 

 

 

To write a 500 word (2 page) essay on how an element of fiction has been used to convey meaning.

 

 

 

The following are possible topics:

 

1) Discuss the influence that the setting exerts on the main character(s).

2) Describe the turning point or climax in the story.  Explain what conflicts are resolved and unresolved.

3) Discuss how the major character’s development helps the reader to explore a central issue or theme in the story.

4) Locate several significant symbols in the story and explain how each contributes to the development of a major theme.

5) Identify a major theme in the story and explain how the author explores it.

6) Irony is a significant element in a number of stories we’ve read.  Explain.

7) Compare or contrast two stories in terms of their fictional elements or themes.

8) Analyze and /or interpret an individual story by examining how a specific element of fiction (or more) functions in the story.  Use details and quotations from the story to support your thesis.

9) In all the works we’ve read, we plunge into the middle of a character’s life, witness crucial developments, and by the end, have a moment of insight into the character.  Discussing a character you’ve been introduced to so far, elaborate on an insight into his/her struggle or the character’s own insight into his/her life.