Topics - Essay #1

Below are the topics for today's in-class essay. Read them carefully before making your choice. They are very similar to the examples given to you last week, with slight alterations.

On the top left of the first page, on the first line of your paper, be sure to place the following:

Your name
Mrs. Sharon Aiken
English 1102
September 4, 2013

Number each page, consecutively, on the top right side of each page.

Be sure to title your essay

Choose one of the following topics:

Setting is an important literary element, often over-looked, though directly related to the characters and plot of a story. In what way does setting play a significant role in either the action of William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" and Andre Dubus's "Killings" OR in the development of the protagonist in the respective story.

Characters are often revealed by direct characterization (telling), but more often by indirect characterization (showing)--by allowing the reader to see the character in action, to see how other characters respond to him or her, or to give us the thoughts of the character, without commentary, allowing the reader to judge the character for himself.  Provided examples of indirect characterization from both  William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" and Andre Dubus's "Killings" that allow the reader to see the protagonist more clearly.

In many simplistic stories, characters have little depth; the main character is either "good" or "bad" and his/her actions make it easy for the reader to either like or dislike  him. However, in both William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" and Andre Dubus's "Killings," the protagonist is a murderer, yet the reader has a difficult time disliking Miss Emily or Matt Fowler. How does each author succeed in making his protagonist sympathetic to the reader?

Symbols are important to many stories, often used to emphasize another element of the story, including character. Explain how Faulkner uses Miss Emily Grierson's house as a symbol for its occupant and how Andre Dubus uses eyes in his revelation of character in "Killings."