Today’s Agenda
1) Presentation
2) Response to reading
3) Paper discussion:
a. For today you needed to write a more specific version of the 1.5 page blog post your write last week on the book, literary element, and critical frame you wanted to use.
4) Today we are going to begin the process of drafting out paper.
a. Now that you have identified your topic, it is time to begin explaining that topic to the reader. In a literary research paper, you begin this process by introducing the text to the reader, and providing some basic background information on it.
i. For example, you can begin by identifying the book telling the reader a little bit about when it was written, and a little bit about the author as well. You are essentially writing an introductory paragraph. In this kind of paper, it makes sense to include a general quote about the book from a secondary source in the opening paragraph.
ii. Once you have established your paragraph, it is time to present your thesis statement. In an academic paper, we want to be upfront with our thesis statement as we draft. The reason for this is two-fold: A) it helps the reader, but B) it will also help you stay focused. [STAYING FOCUSED IS ONE OF THE MAIN CHALLENGES OF WRITING AN ACADEMIC PAPER. LITERATURE IS BY ITS NATURE OPEN TO MULTIPLE INTERPRETATIONS, AND UNLESS YOU HOLD YOURSELF TO YOUR THESIS, YOU WILL FIND THAT IT IS VERY EASY TO WANDER OFF IN YOUR EXPLANATION]
iii. Once you have established your introduction and your thesis paragraph, it is time to move into the body of your argument. I would recommend that you do this by spending at least two paragraphs doing the following: introduce the reader to the literary element you are focusing on in the text: when and where does it appear? What do you think its general purpose is in the text? Make sure to describe its role and function within specific details.
iv. Once you have done that, it is time to introduce the reader to the basic theory that you are going to be using as an interpretative from. Regardless of whether or not you are using Psychoanalysis, Feminist Theory, Queer Theory, Marxist Theory, or Post-Colonial theory , take at least a paragraph to introduce the reader to the theory and the relevant term or terms that you will be using from that theory.
v. Now that you have introduced the reader to your text, literary element, and relevant theory, it is time to talk about how the literary element relates to the relevant theory. This is where your critical thinking will really begin. There are a couple of ways to approach this part of your paper: 1) how does the theory help us understand the role of the element? 2) how does the element affirm the underlying concepts of the theory? 3) How does the element, considered through the framework of the theory, contribute to a reader’s overall understanding of the text?
All groups expect for group presenting on Friday, draft first three pages of your essay. Group presenting on Friday, draft first 1.5 pages.
[...] Wednesday, April 8 [...]
to go into more detail of what I am going to write my paper on I have decided to look at the exposition and speaker in the letters that are in the novel throughout, and incorporate them into the psychoanalytical theory of literature. I think the letters will be a great basis for my thesis and the paper to come because the letters let the readers see into the mind of the characters. Most novels, the authors make you see what they want you to see and think for yourself on what is going on int he characters mind. Shelley on the other hand decided to incorporate letters to make the minds of these characters speak for themselves. These will be great for my paper because Freud wanted to know exactly what was going on in the mind of his patients and the struggle between id ego and super ego. I think I can also incorporate the Oedipal complex and the theory of wanting to be back in the womb.
I chose this text because there are a handful of characters in this novel that I’m sure psychoanalytical theory will work for. Especially in the letters. I’m going to approach my paper by first talking about Frankenstien and diving into his acts, thoughts, and emotions and talk about the Oedipal complex and even the oceanic experience. I can tie these schools of psychology in by many of his letters and actions and how he felt right after he created the monster. I think I am also going to look at all of the letters in the novel and write my paper on the letters just alone.
I also think I will talk about Walton and his actions and thoughts when he is on the boat while traveling to the Pole. Although he is not really a “playing character” in the plot, well actually he is, (what I mean by “playing character” is that he does not know all the people in the novel, he only gets one aspect of the story which is told to him by Frankenstien). Walton though is a major character in the sense that he is also, like the monster, searching for something in a quest to better understand his beginnings or his inner working (mind).
Out of all the novels I think psychoanalytic theory school of thought would work best for Frankenstien. Shelly does an amazing job of bringing the characters thoughts and motifs to light. By doing this, she has created an almost (in my mind) a psychoanalytical thriller.
Also I like the psychoanalytical theory best because when I read a novel, I try to see the thoughts and actions of the characters that is not printed in the text. Like any Freudian, they would use these thoughts and actions to better understand the text even though it may not be printed in the novel.