Character Analysis Essay
American Literature 302B
Alternative Literary Analysis Essay assignment
For Students NEW to GCA Only, choose from the two options given below:
1. You may choose to follow the literary analysis essay assignment which is already provided in the LMS, based on To Kill a Mockingbird, which was read last semester. If you need extra time to read the novel, let me know and I will give it! OR
2. You may choose to complete the character analysis essay assignment given below. It is still a literary analysis essay requiring documentation. Your teacher will still be available to help you with every aspect of this assignment.
Character Analysis Essay
(A Form of Literary Analysis)
Assignment: Your assignment is to write a character analysis of a character from ONE of the following short stories: “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, “After Twenty Years” by O. Henry, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" by James Thurber, or "The Lottery," by Shirley Jackson. (All of the stories can be found in Explorations: An Anthology of American Literature - Volume C.)
In writing about a literary character, you should try to describe the character’s major trait or traits. As in life, characters may be lazy or ambitious, adventurous or timid. The appearance of a character is also worth noticing. Often a writer gives physical features to a character in order to match them or contrast them with some aspect of the character’s mind and personality. Even the name of the person may be significant. When you study character, be sure to consider physical descriptions, but also be sure to relate the physical to the mental. Go beyond the actions themselves and try to indicate what they show about the character.
Choose ONE character. Consider the following:
What does the characters say (and think, if the author expresses their thoughts)?
What does the character do? (actions)
What do other characters say about the character?
What does the author, as storyteller or observer, say about the
Alternative Literary Analysis Essay assignment
For Students NEW to GCA Only, choose from the two options given below:
1. You may choose to follow the literary analysis essay assignment which is already provided in the LMS, based on To Kill a Mockingbird, which was read last semester. If you need extra time to read the novel, let me know and I will give it! OR
2. You may choose to complete the character analysis essay assignment given below. It is still a literary analysis essay requiring documentation. Your teacher will still be available to help you with every aspect of this assignment.
Character Analysis Essay
(A Form of Literary Analysis)
Assignment: Your assignment is to write a character analysis of a character from ONE of the following short stories: “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, “After Twenty Years” by O. Henry, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" by James Thurber, or "The Lottery," by Shirley Jackson. (All of the stories can be found in Explorations: An Anthology of American Literature - Volume C.)
In writing about a literary character, you should try to describe the character’s major trait or traits. As in life, characters may be lazy or ambitious, adventurous or timid. The appearance of a character is also worth noticing. Often a writer gives physical features to a character in order to match them or contrast them with some aspect of the character’s mind and personality. Even the name of the person may be significant. When you study character, be sure to consider physical descriptions, but also be sure to relate the physical to the mental. Go beyond the actions themselves and try to indicate what they show about the character.
Choose ONE character. Consider the following:
What does the characters say (and think, if the author expresses their thoughts)?
What does the character do? (actions)
What do other characters say about the character?
What does the author, as storyteller or observer, say about the