Character Development in a Text
Description of the Project As we have been seeing for the past couple of weeks, a character analysis focuses your critical attention on one character in a text in order to illuminate a narrative’s central theme(s). There are many ways in which authors develop their themes throughout a story, but a strong, dynamic, round character is the best tool they’ve got. What you will be doing in this mini-paper is analyzing one character and how that character carries, embodies, and/or develops a theme within the narrative.In other words, the goal of this paper is simple: analyze a character in order to show how that character helps carry the weight of a central theme. (Feel free to use the document from this week’s character analysis as an organizer for the character you choose to analyze). You may choose one of the following three characters to analyze for this mini-paper: Jake Barnes Lady Brett Ashley Blanche Dubois (these three characters from The Sun Also Rises,Hemingway) Must haves for the paper: There is a strong thesis that communicates an argumentative claim, and that claim must include the theme that the chosen character sustains or develops in the text Each paragraph has a clear topic sentence that guides the reader into the point of the paragraph Sufficient textual evidence from the primary text is used to support the author’s analytical argument — no outside sources are permitted Formal language, grammar, and punctuation The paper also has the following requirements: 750 words. No less, no more. Use only the primary text; no outside sources whatsoever. (Close reading only) Proper MLA formatting for in-text citations and works cited Proper academic style Your own voice and analysis — do not simply parrot or repeat ideas and connections you have read. Make your own connections; formulate your own ideas You will not have space enough in this paper to tackle every angle and way a character fleshes out the central theme of a text. Choose two or three aspects of the character to analyze and that will be sufficient. Remember, your paper should go into more depth and have more nuance than the general contextual overview that my lectures and the textbook’s introduction provide. You may use them, but go deeper and more creatively.