A Doll House and the Glass Menagerie Literary Analysis Essay

A Doll House and The Glass Menagerie Literary Analysis Essay

Directions: Choosing one of the topics below, you will construct a 3-4 page, 4 or 5 paragraph literary analysis paper comparing and contrasting A Doll House and The Glass Menagerie. The first paragraph will be the introduction; in it, you will need to include a topic sentence that introduces the titles and the authors of BOTH plays, as a well as a well-developed thesis statement, which needs to be the last sentence in your introductory paragraph. The next 2-3 paragraphs need to be your body paragraphs. Each of these paragraphs need to go in the same order as your thesis statement and need to discuss and analyze your topic, citing textual evidence (quotes) from the novel for support. The last paragraph is the closing paragraph, usually considered the most difficult to write by many students.

Topics:

Compare and contrast the family dynamics presented in A Doll House and The Glass Menagerie.
Compare and Contrast the theme of abandonment and how it is presented in A Doll House and The Glass Menagerie. Discuss the similarities and differences for how this theme is conveyed in the two texts.
Compare and contrast the structure and language of A Doll House and The Glass Menagerie. Think about the use of stage directions, the use of poetic language, the use of monologues, diction, syntax, etc.
Compare and contrast the absence of a father figure in A Doll House and The Glass Menagerie and how that absence shapes characters, like their personality and the choices they make in each text, as well as how it affects the overall play. With this topic you can also discuss the theme of how children pay for the sins of the father.
Compare and contrast Nora and Tom, the two protagonists from A Doll House and The Glass Menagerie. Please do an in depth analysis for each of these characters when thinking about their similarities and their differences.
Compare and contrast how the theme of baptism (death and rebirth) is evident in A Doll House and The Glass Menagerie. There is no need to cite How to Read Literature Like a Professor in this. Just tell me what baptism represents and then go on with your analysis.
Choose two minor characters, one from A Doll House and one from The Glass Menagerie, to compare and contrast. Think about their role, what they teach the main character, and what they reveal about the main character through their presence/influence in each play.
Open Topic: If you do not like these topics, you can create your own. It must compare and contrast the two plays, A Doll House and The Glass Menagerie, AND YOU MUST CHECK YOUR TOPIC OFF WITH ME FOR APPROVAL!

Requirements:.

Typed
12 point, times new roman font
MLA heading and page numbers (top right of pages)
Double spaced, 1 inch margins
3-4 pages, 3 is good…2 is not…if you hit 6 you are talking way too much!
AT LEAST 6 Quotes total in your entire paper. You need to have at least 2 from each play.
Lead ins FOR EVERY QUOTE!!!
Said Lead in
Sentence Lead in
Blended Lead In
Formal diction
No contractions
No personal pronouns…AT ALL!
No abbreviations
No Text Language
No informal language (i.e. Nora is lame. Jim is a turd!) No matter how true the statement, I will take off points 
No phrases that include the following:
“In this essay…”
“In this part of my thesis…”
“In this quote…”
“In my paper….”
“I think that…”
Citations for every quote you use
Author’s last name, page number at the end of the sentence where you use the quote, in parentheses (Ibsen, 45). After you use the author’s name the first time, if the next quote is by the same author then you just use the page number. If not, author’s last name, page number at the end of the sentence where you use the quote, in parentheses (Williams, 92).
Title of plays are either underlined or italicized, just like a book, EVERY TIME YOU USE THEM IN YOUR ESSAY.

Dates to Remember:

Thesis Statement due Wednesday, November 6 (10 Point Writing Grade)
Outline (either extended or bullet points) Due Monday, November 11 (50 Point Writing Grade)
Final Typed Copy due Friday, November 15 (100 Point Writing Grade)

Lab Dates: Monday, November 11, Tuesday,November 12

BONUS: If you turn in your final copy before November 15, you will earn 10 extra points on your final grade.

LATE: If you do not turn in your final typed copy by midnight of November 15, you will have one week to turn in your essay for a 20% deduction from your grade. The grace period will end on Friday, November 22.

Citation information: visit http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/