“If people cannot write well, they cannot think well, and if they cannot think well, others will do theirthinking for them.”
~ George Orwell
Choose ONE of the following prompts and respond in an analytical, thoughtful 2 ½ page paper using the method we learned last semester.
1. In 1984 the protagonist, Winston, attempts to “stay human” in the face of a dehumanizing,totalitarian regime. What, according to Orwell, does it mean to be human? How does the governing body in 1984 exploit certain tendencies, weaknesses and even strengths that human beings possess in order to, ironically, control and dehumanize humankind? Based on Winston’s fate, what is Orwell ultimately arguing (advocating, criticizing and/or warning against)?
*Some of your ideas/topics that can be addressed using this prompt or some version of it:
• How can human nature work for as well as against political oppression?
• What does being human consist of? What qualities define “human”?
• What is necessary to remain human, to protect the qualities that make us human?
• Exploration of different kinds of love in the novel (romantic love for Julia,
exploitative/manipulated love of O’Brien, selfless compassionate love of a mother) and their
larger importance
• How does the Party exploit human nature/human characteristics to maintain control over
the citizens of Oceania? – what does this say about political power and individual freedom?
Why does it matter?
• The importance of various forms of human expression – art, language, etc.
• How is it possible to turn a rebel into a faithful supporter of the government, and, more
importantly, why is it important to understand this? Techniques of surveillance, oppression
and torture and how these are related to human nature
• How is emotional connection with political figures potentially threatening to political and
personal freedom?
• The significance of Winston’s moral ambiguity – how does Winston’s moral ambiguity
relate to Orwell’s larger point/meaning?
• Exploration of the power of fear and the power of love
• Why does Orwell emphasize the various facets of human nature – e.g., the ability to
reason/think rationally as well as the ability to feel a range of emotions independent of
outside manipulation – and how does this more complex view of human nature relate to the
question of personal freedom?
2. Although 1984 presents us with a bleak, dystopian vision of the future, Orwell does seem to suggest that there is hope for humanity yet (this novel is, after all, a warning, not a description of what already is): analyzing ample evidence from the text, explain what Orwell’s vision of hope consists of, and what, based on the depiction in the novel, is necessary for this hope to be realized.
*Some of your ideas/topics that can be addressed using this prompt or some version of it:
• What is the importance of compassion? How is it related to retaining humanity and to
obtaining or protecting personal freedom?
• How are knowledge, power and freedom connected?
• The importance of artistic and linguistic freedom of expression
• Significance of Winston’s defeat at the end of the novel, how the ending of the novel serves
to illustrate Orwell’s point
Thesis:
In order to write an effective piece of literary analysis, you will need to develop a strong claim (a.k.a. thesisstatement).
More tips:
Thesis Statements (a.k.a. a CLAIM):
• YOU MUST HAVE A THESIS – can we argue about your thesis? Is it possible to debate the thesis? If not, itisn’t a real thesis statement.
• Does your thesis answer the “SO WHAT?” question? Your thesis needs to matter, in a larger context; if I have to write “So what?” on your paper, your thesisisn’t sufficiently developed.
• REMEMBER, a thesis statement is NOT A STATEMENT OF FACT or simply an OBSERVATION OFTHE OBVIOUS. It should not be something that can be answered simply by opening up the book andfinding the relevant passage(s)
• YOUR THESIS MUST DIRECTLY ADDRESS THE PROMPT. Look at the entire prompt; does your thesisanswer the questions the prompt poses? IF NOT, REVISE IT.
Integrating Quotes & Evidence:
• NO DROPPED QUOTES! A QUOTE CANNOT FORM ITS OWN SENTENCE IN YOUR PAPER.
Consult handout so you know how to integrate quotes to avoid this.
• NEVER insert a quote without providing sufficient context for the quote. YOU HAVE TO LET YOURREADER KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENING AND WHO IS SPEAKING – “In chapter 4…” or “At the end of the book…” isNOTcontext!
• NEVER leave a quote to “speak for itself”; you should have at least twice as much analysis as of the quote asquoted text. E.g. if you cite four lines of text, you need at least eight lines of analysis.
• USE EVIDENCE FROM THE TEXT INTELLIGENTLY. NO RANDOM QUOTES! Quotes do you nogood if they do not directly support the point you are making.
Pronouns:
• DON’T use “you” in an analytical essay unless it is part of a direct quote.
• Do not use “I” – “I think” is pointless.
• AVOID VAGUE PRONOUNS! Circle all instances of “they”, “them”, “their”, “it” etc. and change them if itis not ABSOLUTELY clear what nouns these refer to.
Topic Sentences:
• ALL topic sentence should address a SPECIFIC ASPECT OF YOUR THESIS. Do your topic sentences readlike PLOT SUMMARY? If so, change them.
Formatting and Citation Guidelines
• DO NOT ADD A SPACE BETWEEN PARAGRAPHS
• DO NOT USE ANYTHING BUT 1” MARGINS
• DO NOT USE ANYTHING LARGER THAN 12-POINT FONT
• YOU MUST USE TIMES NEW ROMAN FONT
General:
• AN ANALTICAL ESSAY IS NOT A PLOT SUMMARY. I know the plot of 1984, as I assume you doas well. If your essay is nothing but plot summary (i.e. no argument or insight), it’s not an essay. REVISE.
• AN ANALYTICAL ESSAY IS NOT A BOOK REVIEW – Do not EVALUATE whether Orwell is aproficient writer (no “amazing” comments, etc.); just analyze the text and say why your analysis matters (theuniversal question).
* Two and a half page minimum
* Careless Spelling and Grammar Errors (You should have none)
* MLA format required
• Read your paper aloud, at least twice (no kidding); does what you have written make sense?
• Look for homophones (there vs. their, wear vs. where, etc.) – fix them!
Analytical Essay Taboos – ABSOLUTE NO-NO’s
Use this list to avoid some of the typical essay writing pitfalls
• You, your, etc. unless part of a direct quotation.
• The word quote, as in “In this quote….” or “This quote just shows.…”
• Referring to page or chapter numbers in the body of the essay, as in “A quote on page 100 shows that…”
• This, that, it, etc. if it is not ENTIRELY clear what the pronoun refers to. Use nouns instead.
• Using a plural pronoun (e.g. their) for a singular noun (e.g. someone, one, a person, etc.)
• So at the beginning of a sentence, as in “So, Bernard is a hypocrite because….”
• The author is trying, or The author tries (Use his last name only in the body paragraphs)
• The phrase paints a picture, as in “The author paints a picture” (gag!)
• This essay will show, This essay has shown, or any similar phrase
• maybe, probably, perhaps if used to water down your claim – take a stand!
• stuff, things, etc., as in “The novel deals with many things”
• amazing, excellent, and other “book review” adjectives
• Citing textual evidence without first providing context for the quotation
• Ending a paragraph with a quotation (no analysis following the quotation).
• Including quotations in the introduction
• Dropped quotes
• Having less that a 2:1 ratio of analysis to quoted text
• Homophones (there vs. their, wear vs. where, accept vs. except) etc.
• Concluding an essay by speculating that had the author done anything differently, the text would have been"boring", etc. – Discuss with WHAT IS, not WHAT IF
• Do NOT use past tense when discussing the contents of a literary work, as in “Huxley’s novel showed thathappiness and free will could not coexist” or “Winston went to see O’Brien”
• Sweeping generalizations about life and the universe, as in “Man has puzzled over the question of free willsince the beginning of time” – Do discuss universal questions in relation to the meaning of the text!
• Plot based topic sentences – connect explicitly to your thesis instead
• “Observational” thesis statements (no claim, just statement of obvious fact), as in “1984 is about the dangersof totalitarian rule.”
IMPORTANT DUE DATES
Outline Due: January 6, 2016
Skeletons Due: January 8, 2016
Details Due: January 14, 2016
Final Paper Due: January 22, 2016
BRAINSTORMING: