Final Paper


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Final Paper

 

Directions:

For the final research paper, examine the evolution of a specific fairy tale using one of the critical lens (theories) from class. Choose a specific literary fairy tale and find another representation of this tale (either an advertisement, a painting, a drama, a film…). Do a close reading of the works and develop a thesis which will focus the analysis on the cultural and artistic evolution of this tale. The final paper should rely PRIMARILY upon your close reading and analysis of the primary texts, but you should also support your thesis with secondary research from at least three scholarly sources, including cultural context for the texts you are analyzing. The paper must be 8 - 12 pages long (MLA style - 12 point, Times New Roman, Double Spaced). The page length does not include the Work Cited Page. 

 

Scaffolded Research Paper Steps: 

 

Remember, the sort of close reading and ANALYSIS you do in your paper is THE SAME SORT OF CLOSE READING AND ANALYSIS we have been doing iN CLASS. Think of class lectures as PRACTICE (or models) for papers.  

 

 


 

Final Paper: the moves that make good papers

 

For your final paper, I want you to focus on SOMETHING SPECIFIC (a narrative trope, a theme, a symbol) in a fairy tale or group of fairy tales. Then I want you to create a THESIS and a PAPER that makes four "moves": 

  1. Elaborate on the THING: a) identify the THING (trope, theme, symbol); b) describe a the scene that best illustrates this THING and it's significance (The female body and homosocial/homosexual bonding in Dracula - "The female body is a cite for homosocial bonding that has powerful homosexual tensions in the novel Dracula. This is best illustrated by the male bonding around Lucy's blood transfusions. Through her body and their, these men are connected. They have share something personal, from their bodies and have put it into the same woman. This is a woman who cannot find contentment in one man and knows not which she should choose. This is almost like having the men share their bodies with her and thus, this unifies them intimately.")  
  2. Elaborate on the THING in the text: (i.e. Identify the significant scenes where the female body enables homosocial bonding and explain how these scenes relate to Dracula overarching plot or how these scenes interact with the overarching message of the text, or... make connections from the specific to the whole) 
  3. Connect this THING to literary/social criticism: (i.e. Relate your observations and close readings to other scholars - orient your observations with the scholarly conversation about the text, or the theme, or the genre, or... "Scholars have examined both female bodies and homosocial/homosexual tensions in Dracula, but the role that female bodies play in enabling homosocial/homosexual bonds in this text has not been fully explored.") 
  4. Elaborate on this THING outside the text: (i.e. Connect your THING to cultural context of your text IF POSSIBLE - "It was necessary for Stoker to use female bodies as a catalyst for his most intense homosocial bonds in Dracula because Stoker's Victorian audience was unable to accept overt homoeroticism in fiction.")  

 

You may find that these four moves blend into each other in your analysis or that one "move" dominates the paper while the other "moves" play supporting roles. Think of these "moves" as SUGGESTIONS, not a series of things to structure your paper.