Choose literature from the following list and use specific examples and quoted material in your essay.
Kate Chopin “The Story of an Hour”
Ernest Hemingway “Hills Like White Elephants”
Leslie Marmon Silko “Yellow Woman”
Joyce Carol Oates “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”
Susan Glaspell Trifles (a One-Act Play)
Choose one of the following three essay topics to develop into a full 800-900 word essay. Indicate your topic choice number in the heading of your essay.
1. Select aspects of at least three of the following elements of fiction: symbolism, imagery, metaphor, simile, characterization, setting, allegory, tone, foreshadowing, or irony (remember, there are 3 types of irony).
Analyze how the theme of violence is conveyed through the use of these literary devices in one (1) work of literature.
OR
2. A number of the works we’ve read, if carefully examined, reflect certain cultural codes that dictate male and female roles in society. That is, certain patterns of behavior, life situations, values, or attitudes reveal a great deal about the time and place in which the works were written.
Select one (1) work of literature from our readings that you think effectively illustrate certain aspects of the culture of the time in which they were written.
OR
3. All of the works portray the relationships between men and women. In particular, these works show females who undergo a transformation from being weak and dependent on their husbands or boyfriends, to becoming stronger, more independent women. Select one (1) of these works of literature to use in discussing this topic.