Write an essay on ONE of the following:

1. ^{Analyze the relationship between mother and daughter in Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” and Junot Diaz’s “Wildwood.” What characterizes these two sets of relationships? Why is this fundamental bond difficult? How do conflicts and transformations play into this relationship? Use examples from the stories. Analyze the quotes you interweave through your essay to make your argument. Stay away from general statements . Make sure all your comments are specifically about the characters and not generally about people in society. Offer interesting connections and insights that you gather in the stories.}
   
2. ^{Examine the ironies and paradoxes in Marjane Satrapi’s “Shabaat” and Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral”. How do they surface in the plot, character, action and dialogue. Use examples from the stories. Analyze the quotes you interweave through your essay to make your argument. Stay away from general statements . Make sure all your comments are specifically about the characters and not generally about people in society. Offer interesting connections and insights that you gather in the stories.}
3. ^{Write an essay analyzing the varieties of blindness in any two of the stories you have read in this class. Analyze the quotes you interweave through your essay to make your argument. Stay away from general statements . Make sure all your comments are specifically about the characters and not generally about people in society. Offer interesting connections and insights that you gather in the stories.}

^{Length: 2 pages typed double-space.}

^{Note: make an outline or do some freewriting to arrive at a thesis. Answer all parts of the question. Make sure each paragraph has a topic sentence. Support your points with examples and analysis. Quote significant lines and keep your quotes short. Cite the quotes using in-text citation.}

^{If you simply retell the story, you will get a zero. Do not copy from online sources. See my plagiarism policy.}

^{Note: Avoid generalizations. Write a Thesis paragraph. State your thesis, which is the main idea of your essay, clearly. Do not write it like a lab report. Your discussion should show you understand the story and the underlying meanings behind the images and metaphors that the author is using.}

^{Each paragraph needs a strong topic sentence, supporting sentences, a short quote, perhaps a sentence, and an analysis of the quote and a concluding sentence.}

^{Avoid writing long-winded, wordy sentences. Combine sentences wherever you can. Avoid repeating yourself. Include plenty of detail without writing wordy sentences.}