English 2230
Fall 2005
Tracing a Theme Essay

Write an essay of 4-5 pages, word-processed and double-spaced, in which you explore and trace one of the “topics/themes” I set out on the course schedule as "topics/themes to watch for." Pick one (1) of the topics/themes which is interesting to you, and trace that topic/theme through three or more writers (but don't over-do it, for your sake and mine). Find a “connection” you noticed among some writers as you worked your way through the assigned readings, an insight you had which draws some writers together in a unique way--and this connection or insight can be very focused on a few writers rather than really broad (the topics/themes themselves are very broad). If you get stuck at this early point, glance through the list below for some ideas, and keep this assignment in mind as we go through our second "unit" in the course. (Note: you do not have to read any writers that were not assigned for the class.) You might think of your essay as an answer to the question: "How has the presentation or treatment of this particular topic or theme changed over the years (or, how is it similar and different among these X writers)?"

When you write your essay, be careful not to simply summarize what each writer “says” about your chosen topic/theme. Explore how the writers you choose are similar and/or different in their ideas, presentations, and treatments of the theme. Does one writer seem to simply repeat another writer’s ideas? Does a particular writer seem to add a very original or unique idea to the “conversation”? Does a writer seem to directly disagree with another writer? Does the theme change or evolve through different historical and literary periods? Are there common images, motifs, or arguments among the writers?

In terms of a “thesis” or central idea for your essay, you will need to draw some original “conclusions” or “interpretations” about your chosen topic/theme and writers. You will want to present an idea, focus, or direction that other readers may not have thought about. You can begin with or include an idea mentioned in class, but of course you will want to develop that idea several steps further in your essay. Furthermore, research is not required for this essay; in fact, I’d rather you not do any research at all but instead really focus on and analyze and think about the “primary texts” we’ve read.

More information about this paper and several sample papers will be provided throughout the semester. If you have any questions at any time, please ask me before or after class or stop by my office. Remember that you will need to demonstrate “significant planning and revision” for this paper, so be sure to keep all your notes, outlines, and drafts as you work on your paper. Also, to satisfy the "writing intensive" requirement in this course, you will need to present a complete rough draft of your essay to your peers at an in-class peer review, and you will then revise, edit, and proofread your paper before submitting a final draft. (Missing or not being prepared for the peer review will lower your essay grade one full letter.)

Course Themes and Possible Writers/Texts

Growing Up and Coming of Age:

• Bradstreet, In Reference to Her Children
• Taylor, Upon Wedlock, and Death of Children
• Occom, A Short Narrative
• Equiano, The Interesting Narrative
• Rowson, Charlotte
• Irving, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
• Sedgwick, Cacoethes Scribendi
• Emerson, The American Scholar
• Hawthorne, My Kinsman Major Molineux
• Longfellow, My Lost Youth
• Poe, Annabel Lee
• Fuller, Unfinished Sketch
• Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
• Douglass, Narrative of the Life
• Whitman, Out of the Cradle, There Was a Child Went Forth
• Dickinson
• Alcott, Transcendental Wild Oats

Work and Labor:

• Smith, The General History
• Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation
• Winthrop, The Journal
• Rowlandson, A Narrative of the Captivity
• Franklin, The Way to Wealth, Information to Those, Remarks Concerning, The Autobiography
• Woolman, The Journal
• Occom, A Short Narrative
• Crevecoeur, Letter III, Letter XII
• Adams and Adams, Letters
• Equiano, The Interesting Narrative
• Irving, Rip Van Winkle, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
• Emerson, Self-Reliance, Experience
• Longfellow, The Slave's Dream
• Fern
• Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
• Thoreau, Walden
• Douglass, Narrative of the Life
• Whitman, Preface, Live Oak, When I Heard
• Melville, Bartleby
• Dickinson
• Davis, Life in the Iron-Mills

Love and Marriage:

• Bradstreet, To My Dear and Loving Husband, A Letter to Her Husband, Another Letter to Her Husband, Before the Birth
• Rowlandson, A Narrative of the Captivity
• Taylor, Upon Wedlock, and Death of Children
• Sewall, The Diary
• Knight, The Private Journal
• Byrd, The Secret Diary
• Occom, A Short Narrative
• Adams and Adams, Letters
• Equiano, The Interesting Narrative
• Murray, On the Equality of the Sexes
• Tyler, The Contrast
• Rowson, Charlotte
• Irving, Rip Van Winkle, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
• Sedgwick, Cacoethes Scribendi
• Apess, An Indian's Looking-Glass
• Hawthorne, Young Goodman Brown
• Poe, The Raven, Annabel Lee, Ligeia
• Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin
• Fern
• Jacobs, Incidents in the Life
• Douglass, Narrative of the Life
• Whitman
• Dickinson
• Davis, Life in the Iron-Mills

Reading, Writing, and Education:

• Bradstreet, The Prologue, The Author to Her Book
• Taylor, The Prologue
• Knight, The Private Journal
• Franklin, The Autobiography
• Occom, A Short Narrative
• Adams and Adams, Letters
• Stockton, A Sarcasm
• Jefferson, The Autobiography, On Education (handout)
• Equiano, The Interesting Narrative
• Murray, On the Equality of the Sexes
• Freneau, To a New England Poet, The Power of Fancy (handout)
• Wheatley, To the University, On Imagination (handout)
• Tyler, The Contrast
• Rowson, Charlotte
• Irving, Rip Van Winkle, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
• The Cherokee Memorials
• Sedgwick, Cacoethes Scribendi
• Apess, An Indian's Looking-Glass
• Emerson, The American Scholar
• Hawthorne, Young Goodman Brown, The Preface
• Poe, The Philosophy of Composition, The Poetic Principle
• Fuller, Unfinished Sketch
• Fern
• Thoreau, Walden
• Douglass, Narrative of the Life
• Whitman, When I Read the Book, Beginning My Studies, Live Oak, Out of the Cradle, When I Heard, There Was a Child Went Forth
• Melville, Bartleby
• Dickinson

Other Links for this Essay Assignment:

Other Information about Writing Papers in Literature Courses

Tips for Writing Essays about Literature

Sample Paper #1: Tracing the Theme of Native Americans in American Literature

Sample Paper #2: Tracing the Theme of Death

Sample Paper #3: Tracing the Common Themes of Women Writers

Copyright © 2005 Scott R. Stankey / All rights reserved
Last revised on 13 March 2008 by SRS
Please address comments to scott.stankey@anokaramsey.edu