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ENGLISH 340: MULTICULTURAL AMERICAN LITERATUREESSAY ASSIGNMENT ON JHUMPA LAHIRI'S THE NAMESAKE Choose one of the following subjects for your 4-5 page, double-spaced[1,200-1,600 word] paper on Lahiri's The Namesake. I have kept the subjects rather broad to give you an opportunity to focus on aspects of the novel that appeal to you and that, in your view, best develop the thematic concern or issue that you have chosen to discuss. You are required to narrow the broadly stated subject to an emphasis that you can state in a clear thesis and develop through discussion of a series of topics in a short [4-5 page, double-spaced] paper. As we investigate Lahiri's novel over the next four class periods, prepare for your essay by taking notes and marking passages that you suspect will benefit your analysis. Our classroom discussions, for the most part, will center on the issues identified below as reasonable emphases for your paper. You can assist this process and prepare to do well on the writing assignment by attending class sessions having read the assigned chapters and being prepared to identify key passages relevant to the concepts listed below. Of course, you are welcome to suggest additional approaches as we discuss the novel, but if you want to write about an aspect of the novel not listed below, you are required to seek my approval by providing me with a paragraph describing your alternative topic no later than Tuesday, February 9.While you are required to examine Lahiri's address to one of these concepts in her novel [or to your own approved topic] and to cite relevant passages from the novel in your analysis, incorporating personal history is encouraged. That is, as you address one of these topics, you might in your essay's opening and closing passages discuss how Lahiri's address to naming, cultural assimilation, twoness, or issues of love and intimacy relates to some aspect of your own experience. The idea here is to engage the study of multicultural American literature as relevant to your own experience and not merely as an academic exercise. However, the bulk of your essay must be an analysis of the novel. Remarks about the relation of the concern you are discussing to your own experiences should be limited to your opening and closing paragraphs. For example, after you introduce the novel and state a thesis in paragraph one, you might include comments about how these ideas are relevant to your own experience in paragraph two and return to those ideas in your conclusion.Here are the suggested topics:NamingCultural AssimilationTwoness/Double ConsciousnessMarriage/Love/Intimacy ?INSTRUCTIONS FOR PRESENTING YOUR PAPERPresent your paper using times New Roman or Cambria 12 font; use 1" margins on all four sides of the page.? You will need to re-set your margins if using MS Word, for the Word default is 1.25" margins.? Put your name, the course, my name, and the date of submission in the upper left hand corner of page one; after typing your name, select Format, then Paragraph, and reduce the value under Spacing in the After box from 10 pt. to 0 pt. Use the Insert command to insert page numbers, placing them in the upper right hand corner of the page, beginning with page 1. Do not use a title page; instead, simply center your title on page one just above your initial paragraph.? Of course, paper titles capitalize the first letter of each word [except for prepositions and articles]; your title should NOT be underlined, bolded, or put in quotation marks. If you use no additional sources, and all of your quotations are from The Namesake, you do NOT need to create a Works Cited page. However, if you do consult and cite additional sources, then create a works cited page that includes The Namesake as well as the additional sources. If you use a digital copy of the novel that does not have pagination or a copy of the novel whose pagination is different than the one ordered for this course, create an explanatory footnote placed at the bottom of page 1 and explain what kind of source you used. Introduce the story title, author, and year of publication in your opening sentence or two. Provide a brief plot overview keyed to the specific issues that you will discuss.? Your opening paragraph (or at the very least second paragraph) should end with a specific thesis statement that explains or identifies the purpose of the essay, what will be proved, and how it will be proved through identification of topics to be discussed. Begin body paragraphs with topic statements, statements of opinions about story facts (interpretations), and NOT with the next item in the story sequence NOR with a wordy delay phrase like "Another way that the concept that I am discussing is shown in the way that the story was written is..." In other words, use active voice; make subjects act through verbs in your sentence openings.Italicize the titles of novels and place quotation marks around the titles of stories or essays. When you summarize plot, use present tense. Introduce your quotations, establishing the speaker and context, and document properly using the MLA format:? An early indication of the importance of the belly as an image of both illness and healing occurs just before Tayo plunges a broken bottle into Emo’s gut and Tayo realizes that “The space to carry hate was located deep inside, below his lungs and behind his belly; but it was empty” (63).? Additional examples of MLA documentation can be found in any undergraduate guide to writing papers, like The Beacon Handbook.? Of course, the majority of your writing should be your own analysis and language, but you do need to support your argument by presenting and discussing key passages in the novel.? If the quote itself is a question, the end punctuation remains inside the quotation mark. Periods, however, are placed after the parentheses.After presenting a quotation, be sure to discuss its significance or to explain how the quotation furthers your argument, unless the quote is simply illustrating a point made in the material immediately preceding the quote. Indent and Block quotations that take up four or more lines of your text.? Never end a paragraph or an essay with a block quote, or any undiscussed quotation. Avoid the following wordy delay structures:? In my opinion, I think, I feel, I believe, There is, There was, There are....Do not open sentences with wordy phrasings like "Another way that..." or "One of the reasons that" or any similar structures.? Make subjects act through verbs in the beginning of your sentences.? Instead of ? "There are many ways that Gillis affects the colony's chances for survival."? write, "Gillis affects the colony's chances for survival by consuming 20% of their stored food during his 32 years alone on the Alabama."? Note that the second version of the sentence includes specific details of Gillis's actions, while the "There are" opening tends to lead into vague references to his actions--"many ways."? List or name the ways instead of writing general references. Paper Length: ?4-5 pages [1,200-1,600 words] Submission Procedures:? Make the first word of your Word file your last name and submit your essay by e-mail attachment to jake.jakaitis@indstate.edu?For example, my Word file would be titled Jakaitis Namesake Essay.Paper Due Date: No later than 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, February 21, 2021. ................
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