1. Siddhartha–Short reading assignment! Read and annotate Awakening.
2. (Due Friday, 4/7) The Alchemist Essay (2 pages)
I would strongly encourage you to work on this sooner rather than later.
ANYTHING OVER 2 PAGES WILL NOT BE READ. Make every word, every sentence, every paragraph count! Be sure to print out and read the rubric closely. This is a close-reading essay, meaning you should focus on one or two very specific aspects of the novel and build your argument only around that. For instance:
- Symbolism of the sheep
- The dichotomy of the old woman and the old man
- Nameless characters
- Symbolism of the oasis
- The role of the Crystal Merchant
- The role of fate (keeping in mind the great lie)
- Symbolism of the desert
- Etc…
You have just one draft for this essay: the final draft. Any prewriting and editing along the way is up to you. This 2 page essay gives me an opportunity to see just what you have learned thus far this year. So, I expect to see the following:
- Necessary intro that prepares your thesis
- Thesis that clearly articulates point(s) of analysis and a compelling/substantive argument
- Topic sentences that clearly articulate an insightful assertion
- Properly introduced evidence
- Evidence that meaningfully illustrates/illuminates your point and is worth discussing.
- Analysis that is focused on the evidence and is insightful/substantive.
- A writing style that relies on active verbs and very few passive to be or to have verbs.
- Structurally sound sentences.