Assignment co-op 4 Writing (plus Scarlet Letter essay prompts)

[JodyI]

In addition to your syllabus assignment (essay prompts for that assignment pasted below), please do the following:

1) Google this phrase: What is the allusion in the title Of Mice and Men?

(Of Mice and Men is a famous book by John Steinbeck.) Where did he get the inspiration for his title? What does the title mean?


2) Read the two "Infant Joy/Infant Sorrow" essays distributed in class. Engage your brain as you read and write down some thoughts to discuss in class. What was good about the essay? Any improvements to suggest? Any ways you would change your essay after reading these? etc.


3) Complete the short essay on Frankenstein as described in class:

-Pick any thesis (all ideas discussed in class and in your WEAL Elements of Fiction chapter are fair game: "Who is the protagonist?" What is the theme of the book?" "How do the characters support the theme?" "Why is the setting important?" etc.)

-Write 1-2 paragraphs (about 3/4 of a page or so) supporting your thesis. Use specifics from the story to support your case.


For your SL essay, please select one of the following prompts:

The Scarlet Letter Essay Questions


Trace the role of the forest through The Scarlet Letter. Does Hawthorne seem to treat the forest as a positive entity or a negative entity? Is there a pattern to its descriptions and function in the story.



If Hester Prynne is the protagonist of The Scarlet Letter, who is the antagonist? Some argue for Roger Chillingworth and Governor Billingham, but also perhaps for Arthur Dimmesdale - and even for the Puritan society as a whole. Which of these characters (if any) do you believe serves as the villain in the novel? Why? What qualities and actions make a character villainous? If you believe there are no villains in the story, why do you believe that is the case?



Look at the descriptions and words of Arthur Dimmesdale in Chapters 8 and 17. Note how Dimmesdale is portrayed in the two chapters. Use examples from the text to compare (show similarities) and contrast (show differences) between the two characterizations.



Choose a symbol from The Scarlet Letter and write an essay about how Hawthorne uses it to communicate the themes of the book.