Given that this essay is still rather short, I’d recommend that you write on no more than 2 texts. If you choose to write on 3, you will need to narrow the scope of your argument considerably. (i.e. the role of the miniature in promoting romantic love, rather than the “importance of the visual arts in Jane Austen”)
Paper Length – 8 to 10 pages, typewritten and double-spaced, 12-point Times Roman Font
Paper Style – Please write your paper according to the principles outlined in the MLA Manual of Style. You may use some outside critical sources for this paper, as long as you restrict yourself to material found in our assigned texts or otherwise assigned in class. See the materials posted on our website.
Due Dates and Assignment
Task #1: Essay Description, Due April 9th
5% of Final Paper Grade
In a short paragraph describe the paper you intend to write and what you intend to argue. You might want to think about this part of the paper writing process as one that finishes the statement: “In this essay I intend to argue that…” and “Here is how I’ll prove it….”You will probably start off by focusing upon a large thematic but it is important to move from a large “sense” of what you want to say to a specific statement about what you want to explore and what you expect to find. REMEMBER THIS IS A TENTATIVE FIRST STEP and things might change.
Demonstrate how your argument might work by examining one scene or one narrative detail in-depth. If you will be using secondary materials, please mention this in your paragraph, as well as how the criticism has contributed to your argument.
Grading Standards: You will be graded upon your attempt to work toward a manageable paper topic as well as your initial attempts to isolate your thesis. The more specific you are the better.
TASK #2: The Final Draft, due by Wednesday, May 8th at 8:00pm
Please submit your final essay as an attached Word .doc to my gmail account (roxanne.eberle@gmail.com).
*Please note that I have not specified the scope of the essay. Your text (or texts) choice depends upon the thesis you decide to develop. You may also need to revise your thesis proposal as you begin writing, and that is also fine.
Constructing your own topic or developing an earlier essay: Although I have appended a list of possible essay topics (some of which overlap with topics you’ve already been given), keep in mind that for this final paper you should feel free to pursue an original argument independent of any of the prompts you’ll find below. You may also choose to develop your thesis drawing upon either (or both) of the short essays you’ve already written this semester. If you do so, keep in mind that I will expect you to develop your earlier argument(s) into something more than you had in your first graded drafts, even as you revise on the level of paragraph and sentence structure.
Austen and Narration — The narrator of an Austen novel often seems to function as an ironic — and often critical — observer of Regency society. In an essay examining Austen’s narrative voice discuss the narrator’s “relationship” to the text(s) and the world represented therein. Of course, you will want to “customize” this topic to your own interests. One way to go here is to discuss the narrator’s attitude toward the heroine of the text and the ways in which Austen’s narrative technique sometimes encourages the reader to align the narrator with the heroine.
Austen and Community — Austen’s novels, though focusing famously on “three or four families in a country village”, also take place in the context of a larger community. How does society at large function in Austen’s novels? And how does Austen convey social norms through her prose? What influence does the larger societal structure have on the development of character or plot?
Austen and Social Class — How would you characterize Austen’s portrayal of the social elite? On the one hand, Darcy is an idealized character, and yet, Austen also seems to suggest that “rising” characters such as William Price and Captain Wentworth are to be valued. Your essay should explore Austen’s attitude toward the class system in Regency England. Another way to approach this topic would be to consider Austen’s focus on the monetary “worth” of various characters. Austen goes to great lengths to indicate the ways in which desirability can be based upon financial status, and yet, some of her most “successful” characters have little money: i.e. Elinor, Fanny, and Elizabeth. Is there another system of “worth” suggested in Austen’s novels? Is gender important in determining what is of worth in a character? What are ways in which Austen heroines gain power/property within the limitations of Regency society? What about her heroes?
Austen and Literary Criticism: Literary Criticism can help you develop your own reading of the text by either inspiring you to follow up on an argument that you agree with or by prompting you to develop your own reading because you disagree with a critic. In an essay that makes use of either 1 or 2 pieces of literary criticism (drawn from our Norton editions) develop your own reading of the text under consideration. You may employ the criticism as a vehicle for addressing a text that the critic did not originally consider (i.e. an essay on Sense and Sensibility may give you insights into Emma, for example).