“This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” and Smoke Signals Essay
Your assignment is to write a four paragraph essay about the role of stories and storytelling in the short story “This is What it Mean to Say Phoenix, Arizona” and the film Smoke Signals. You should address the following prompt:
What is the purpose of Thomas being a storyteller? What purpose(s) do his stories serve?
Be sure to address at least three specific stories in answering this question. You must use at least one story from the film that does not appear in “This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona.”
You will need to have an introduction, two body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Your introduction should start in an interesting way in order to hook your reader’s interest, and it should go from the general to the specific. It must also contain a thesis statement which tells your reader what you are going to write about. A sample thesis statement might be: “In the story “This is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” by Sherman Alexieand the film “Smoke Signals,” stories serve at least two purposes. They demonstrate the importance of family connections and they also underscore the importance of maintaining tradition.”
Each body paragraph should begin with an analytical topic sentence which states your opinion about the purpose of storytelling. You should have two concrete details, as well as commentary for each. Use specific stories to exemplify the purpose of storytelling. Don’t just retell the story; instead, explain to your reader how it helps make your point. You are inferring and drawing conclusions, not simply restating. End your paragraph with a sentence of conclusion.
End your essay with a concluding paragraph. It should bring your ideas together and extend your thinking about the prompt. The most successful conclusions circle back to the introduction in some way.
You will be working on the computers next week to write this essay. You will have two days in class. You should have two copies of your complete draft of the essay printed out for class onMonday, November 3 for peer review. Failure to have a complete draft on Monday will result in a zero for the assignment, as well as a letter grade deduction from your final essay.