Posted: August 3rd, 2022

Final

8/2/22, 4:29 PM

Essay: Theme Analysis Essay

https://canvas.tccd.edu/courses/56796/assignments/967333?module_item_id=2756546 1/4

Essay: Theme Analysis Essay

Due Jul 31 by 11:59pm Points 100 Submitting a website url or a file upload
File Types docx and pdf Attempts 0 Allowed Attempts 2
Available until Aug 3 at 11:59pm

Start Assignment

Prepare
First, choose which two works you’ll be focusing on for this essay.

You can choose two short stories, two poems, or one of each
It is recommended (though not required) that the two works you choose come from the same
Module
The two works should have a topic or theme in common

Then, re-read the works.

What do they have in common? What topics, themes, and literary devices are shared?
How do they differ? Are they expressing the same theme in different ways? Discussing the same
topic but expressing different themes?
What literary elements does each use to illustrate or emphasize its theme?
Make note of quotes from the texts that you might want to use in your essay.

Review these resources:

The Spiderman Paper x (https://canvas.tccd.edu/courses/56796/files/7764960/download?
download_frd=1) : This annotated sample essay points out all the required formatting and
organizational components in an essay
Video guide to literary analysis (https://youtu.be/pr4BjZkQ5Nc)
Writing Toolkit: Compare / Contrast

Write
For this essay, you’ll be comparing how two different works explore the same or similar themes
in their own ways.

You can choose A or B:

A. Write about two works that share theme – which means they both make the same overall point



https://canvas.tccd.edu/courses/56796/files/7764960?wrap=1

https://canvas.tccd.edu/courses/56796/files/7764960/download?download_frd=1

https://canvas.tccd.edu/courses/56796/pages/writing-toolkit-compare-slash-contrast

8/2/22, 4:29 PM Essay: Theme Analysis Essay

https://canvas.tccd.edu/courses/56796/assignments/967333?module_item_id=2756546 2/4

Essay 1

B. Write about two works that share a topic, but have different themes – which means that they each
make a different point about the same general topic

For example, if there are two stories about growing up that seem to make the same point, that would be
option (a); if there were two stories that each made a different point about growing up, that would be
option (b).

Your essay should:

Be at least 750-1000 words
Be organized – it should have an introduction (including your essay’s thesis), at least two
discussion sections, and a conclusion
Focus on supporting its thesis statement
Include quotes in each body paragraph
Use MLA format, including internal citations

You should avoid:

Copy / pasting from other submissions
Summary – focus on making and supporting points
Unprofessional discourse
Conversational language (you, I, etc.)



https://canvas.tccd.edu/courses/56796/pages/writing-toolkit-thesis

https://canvas.tccd.edu/courses/56796/pages/writing-toolkit-paragraphs-slash-discussion-sections

https://canvas.tccd.edu/courses/56796/pages/writing-toolkit-thesis

https://canvas.tccd.edu/courses/56796/pages/writing-toolkit-direct-quoting-partially-quoting-paraphrasing

https://canvas.tccd.edu/courses/56796/pages/writing-toolkit-formatting-your-paper-for-submission

https://canvas.tccd.edu/courses/56796/pages/writing-toolkit-in-text-citations

8/2/22, 4:29 PM Essay: Theme Analysis Essay

https://canvas.tccd.edu/courses/56796/assignments/967333?module_item_id=2756546 3/4

Criteria Ratings Pts

20 pts

20 pts
20 pts
20 pts

Thesis 20 pts
Thesis presents
clear argument,
thesis focuses on
theme, thesis
relates to
meaning beyond
summary.

17 pts
Thesis meets
most criteria:
clear argument,
focused on
theme, relates to
meaning beyond
summary.

15 pts
Thesis meets few criteria:
presents clear argument,
focuses on theme, relates to
meaning beyond summary.
Review Lesson 2 information
about thesis statements.

10 pts
Off
topic /
missing

Topic
Sentences /
Organization

20 pts
Essay is
organized
around
topic
sentences
that clearly
and
directly
support
thesis.
Thesis is
not
organized
around
summary.

17 pts
Essay is organized by
arguments, but in some
paragraphs over-relies on
summary. Be sure that
topic sentences lead each
paragraph and directly
relate to thesis. Do not
begin paragraphs with
summary.Clarifying topic
sentences and
connections to thesis
would be beneficial

14 pts
Essay is not organized by
arguments, and in most or
all paragraphs over-relies
on summary. Be sure that
topic sentences lead each
paragraph and directly
relate to thesis. Do not
begin paragraphs with
summary.Clarifying topic
sentences and
connections to thesis
would be beneficial

10 pts
Essay is
almost
entirely
summary.

Formatting /
Clarity

20 pts
MLA format –
750-1000
words –
Purposeful
paragraphs –
Clearly written
with evidence
of revision –
Relatively free
from error

17 pts
– MLA format
with some
mistakes –
750-1000
words –
Purposeful
paragraphs –
evidence of
revision –
Some minor
errors

14 pts
– MLA format inconsistently
used – Essay written about
a story outside of Lesson 5
– May be too short – Less
Purposeful paragraphs –
Some evidence of revision –
Several minor errors,
possible some major clarity
errors

10 pts
Not written to
meet formatting
and clarity
requirements.
Review MLA
format and work to
revise more
carefully. A visit to
the writing lab
may be beneficial.Evidence 20 pts

– Essay
supports each
point with
evidence from
story – Quotes
are clearly
integrated and
properly cited

18 pts
– Essay
supports most
points with
evidence from
story – Quotes
are mostly
integrated and
properly cited

14 pts
– Essay uses quotes to
support some ideas – Not
all quotes are integrated
into the author’s
sentences – Review
quote integration and
citation guidelines

10 pts
– Essay needs
more support
from quotes –
Essay makes
claims that are
not or cannot be
supported by
story



8/2/22, 4:29 PM Essay: Theme Analysis Essay

https://canvas.tccd.edu/courses/56796/assignments/967333?module_item_id=2756546 4/4

Total Points: 100

Criteria Ratings Pts
20 pts

Composition 20 pts
– Essay is
written to
exceed
assignment
requirements
– Analysis of
theme is
focus of
essay

17 pts
– Essay relies on
summary and
does not make
enough use of
original analysis
– Structure to
support a thesis
is clear – Essay
focuses on
theme analysis

15 pts
– Essay relies too heavily
on summary and does not
make enough use of
original analysis – Structure
to support a thesis is less
clear – Essay is not entirely
focused on theme analysis
– essay may misidentify
theme – Off topic / wrong
story

10 pts
– Essay is almost
entirely
summary –
Essay does not
have a thesis
and structure to
support thesis –
Original points
not included –
Not focused on
theme



8/2/22, 4:27 PM Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? The Dedication and Time Period Summary & Analysis | SparkNotes

https://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/where-are-you-going-where-have-you-been/section1/ 1/3

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

Joyce Carol Oates

Summary

The Dedication and Time Period

Popular pages: Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? Take a Study Break

Study Guide

Joyce Carol Oates dedicated “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” to Bob Dylan, and she has claimed that the story was in�uenced by Dylan’s

haunting song “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.” The story contains echoes of the song’s lyrics, such as the following: “The vagabond who’s rapping at your

door / Is standing in the clothes that you once wore / Strike another match, go start anew / And it’s all over now, Baby Blue.” Many aspects of Dylan

himself are mirrored in the �gure of Arnold Friend. With their wild hair and short statures, Dylan and Arnold are physical doubles; but more signi�cant is

how each man is perceived. In the 1960s, Dylan was considered by many young people to be somehow otherworldly—even a sort of messiah �gure. In the

story, Arnold Friend is a darker version of this type of �gure. He has come to take Connie away, and she is ultimately powerless to defy him. At one point,

Connie observes that Arnold’s voice sounds like the voice of the radio DJ, Bobby King. The DJ’s �rst name is a link to Dylan’s �rst name, and the DJ’s

involvement in the music world evokes Dylan’s.

Oates’s evocation of Bob Dylan is purposeful, adding richness to the story’s setting, particularly the time period in which it takes place. In the 1960s, when

Oates wrote “Where Are You Going . . . ,” a social revolution was happening. American women were asserting their rights and independence from men, and

they were claiming their sexuality in a way they had never done before. One frequently discussed topic was adolescence and the struggles and anxieties

that many young girls endured as they lost their sexual innocence and became adult women. Feeling undervalued in their homes and relationships with

men, women questioned their role in society and the role that sex and gender played in their lives. In “Where Are You Going . . . ,” Oates explores this social

upheaval in miniature: Connie, one young woman out of a country of young women, must confront her own questions and anxieties as she transitions into

adulthood. Her separation from her home and family is violent, and Arnold Friend is by no means a savior. But the sense of sweeping, dramatic change

taking place in 1960s America is evident in this story, from the period details to Connie’s psychological terror at what lies ahead.

Next section

The Facts behind the Fiction

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8/2/22, 4:28 PM Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? The Dedication and Time Period Summary & Analysis | SparkNotes

https://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/where-are-you-going-where-have-you-been/section1/ 2/3

Character List

CHARACTERS

Connie: Character Analysis

CHARACTERS

Important Quotations Explained

QUOTES

Themes

LITERARY DEVICES

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QUIZ: Which Greek God Are You?

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8/2/22, 4:28 PM Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? The Dedication and Time Period Summary & Analysis | SparkNotes

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8/2/22, 4:28 PM A Rose for Emily: Full Book Summary | SparkNotes

https://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/a-rose-for-emily/summary/ 1/4

A Rose for Emily

William Faulkner

Summary

Full Book Summary

Study Guide

The story is divided into �ve sections. In section I, the narrator recalls the time of Emily Grierson’s death and how the entire town attended her funeral in her

home, which no stranger had entered for more than ten years. In a once-elegant, upscale neighborhood, Emily’s house is the last vestige of the grandeur

of a lost era. Colonel Sartoris, the town’s previous mayor, had suspended Emily’s tax responsibilities to the town after her father’s death, justifying the action

by claiming that Mr. Grierson had once lent the community a signi�cant sum. As new town leaders take over, they make unsuccessful attempts to get Emily

to resume payments. When members of the Board of Aldermen pay her a visit, in the dusty and antiquated parlor, Emily reasserts the fact that she is not

required to pay taxes in Je�erson and that the o�cials should talk to Colonel Sartoris about the matter. However, at that point he has been dead for almost

a decade. She asks her servant, Tobe, to show the men out.

In section II, the narrator describes a time thirty years earlier when Emily resists another o�cial inquiry on behalf of the town leaders, when the

townspeople detect a powerful odor emanating from her property. Her father has just died, and Emily has been abandoned by the man whom the

townsfolk believed Emily was to marry. As complaints mount, Judge Stevens, the mayor at the time, decides to have lime sprinkled along the foundation of

the Grierson home in the middle of the night. Within a couple of weeks, the odor subsides, but the townspeople begin to pity the increasingly reclusive

Emily, remembering how her great aunt had succumbed to insanity. The townspeople have always believed that the Griersons thought too highly of

themselves, with Emily’s father driving o� the many suitors deemed not good enough to marry his daughter. With no o�er of marriage in sight, Emily is still

single by the time she turns thirty.

The day after Mr. Grierson’s death, the women of the town call on Emily to o�er their condolences. Meeting them at the door, Emily states that her father is

not dead, a charade that she keeps up for three days. She �nally turns her father’s body over for burial.

In section III, the narrator describes a long illness that Emily su�ers after this incident. The summer after her father’s death, the town contracts workers to

pave the sidewalks, and a construction company, under the direction of northerner Homer Barron, is awarded the job. Homer soon becomes a popular

�gure in town and is seen taking Emily on buggy rides on Sunday afternoons, which scandalizes the town and increases the condescension and pity they

have for Emily. They feel that she is forgetting her family pride and becoming involved with a man beneath her station.

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As the a�air continues and Emily’s reputation is further compromised, she goes to the drug store to purchase arsenic, a powerful poison. She is required by

law to reveal how she will use the arsenic. She o�ers no explanation, and the package arrives at her house labeled “For rats.”

In section IV, the narrator describes the fear that some of the townspeople have that Emily will use the poison to kill herself. Her potential marriage to

Homer seems increasingly unlikely, despite their continued Sunday ritual. The more outraged women of the town insist that the Baptist minister talk with

Emily. After his visit, he never speaks of what happened and swears that he’ll never go back. So the minister’s wife writes to Emily’s two cousins in Alabama,

who arrive for an extended stay. Because Emily orders a silver toilet set monogrammed with Homer’s initials, talk of the couple’s marriage resumes. Homer,

absent from town, is believed to be preparing for Emily’s move to the North or avoiding Emily’s intrusive relatives.

After the cousins’ departure, Homer enters the Grierson home one evening and then is never seen again. Holed up in the house, Emily grows plump and

gray. Despite the occasional lesson she gives in china painting, her door remains closed to outsiders. In what becomes an annual ritual, Emily refuses to

acknowledge the tax bill. She eventually closes up the top �oor of the house. Except for the occasional glimpse of her in the window, nothing is heard from

her until her death at age seventy-four. Only the servant is seen going in and out of the house.

In section V, the narrator describes what happens after Emily dies. Emily’s body is laid out in the parlor, and the women, town elders, and two cousins

attend the service. After some time has passed, the door to a sealed upstairs room that had not been opened in forty years is broken down by the

townspeople. The room is frozen in time, with the items for an upcoming wedding and a man’s suit laid out. Homer Barron’s body is stretched on the bed as

well, in an advanced state of decay. The onlookers then notice the indentation of a head in the pillow beside Homer’s body and a long strand of Emily’s

gray hair on the pillow.

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The Narrator

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Every Shakespeare Play Summed Up in a Single Sentence

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The 7 Most Embarrassing Proposals in Literature

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Popular pages: A Rose for Emily

Character List

CHARACTERS

Emily Grierson: Character Analysis

CHARACTERS

Important Quotations Explained

QUOTES

Themes

LITERARY DEVICES

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