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Supervised Writing Template
Using the template provided and the space below it if you need to, select one of the following prompts and write a literary analysis about “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
You will have 40-50 minutes to write. The entire time should be spent writing.
In ___________ (author's name) ________ (poem, novel, novella, play, short story, memoir), __________________ (title of work), ________________ (summarize the plot). [1-2 sentences of commentary here would enhance your intro.] Throughout the __________ (poem, novel, etc.), ________________ (author) uses ____________________ (diction, imagery, detail, figurative language, tone, mood) to ___________ (verb: reveal, explore, portray, suggest) _______________________ (theme). [This last sentence is your thesis statement.]
- Discuss which of the minor characters in the work plays the most important role.
- Which characters were included to convey cultural expectations? (In other words, which characters seem to be there mainly to suggest cultural archetypes?)
- Elaborate on the use of symbols in the text.
- Choose one key episode in the novel and consider its significance to the work as a whole.
- Consider the language in the story and comment on how it is used to support the tone.
- Comment on the use of contrast or juxtaposition.
- To what extent are the two primary characters affected by the backdrop against which Lispector places them?
- How far would you estimate the ending of the novel to be successful and on what grounds?
- There is clearly emotional “electricity” created between two charactgers. How is this included in the plot and to what effect?
- The chapter on Mark Ukacierra, the steward of the Kanun, provides a number of points of interest and clarification in the novel. How do you see Mark's role in the novel?
- What single minor character do you judge to have a critical effect on the unfolding quest of the protagonist Tom?
- Particular events in Japan's history are imported into the plot of the novel. Discuss Murakami's inclusion of one or two and their effectiveness.
You will have 40-50 minutes to write. The entire time should be spent writing.
In ___________ (author's name) ________ (poem, novel, novella, play, short story, memoir), __________________ (title of work), ________________ (summarize the plot). [1-2 sentences of commentary here would enhance your intro.] Throughout the __________ (poem, novel, etc.), ________________ (author) uses ____________________ (diction, imagery, detail, figurative language, tone, mood) to ___________ (verb: reveal, explore, portray, suggest) _______________________ (theme). [This last sentence is your thesis statement.]