I want my theme of this paper to go alone the lines of: A woman‘s fairytale is not always to become a wife and mother. And if you can talk about how the setting of the house in this story is showing she’s trapped inside the home… below are the essay instructions, thank you!
For this paper assignment, you will be asked to write an essay that analyzes Gail Godwin’s use of literary elements to develop her theme in “A Sorrowful Woman.”
As you consider how you are going to approach this assignment or as you think about your thesis for this essay, first ask what the major themes of the stories are. Once you have come up with your answers, begin analyzing or “taking apart” the story to uncover how the author develops his/her theme. As you write your essay, make sure that you have 1) identified the theme, 2) identified some literary elements (i.e. setting, plot, characters) that the author uses to develop her theme, and 3) interpreted the significance of the theme.
As I grade your essays, I will pay close attention to how you identify the key elements of the theme. Be sure that as you identify these key elements, you include examples from the text. Here are some suggestions/questions that can help you identify the development of the theme: Pay close attention to the language used by the characters. How does this use of language help set the tone of the story? How does the tone of the story contribute to the overall message of the story? How do the characters develop over the course of the story? How does the setting or the tone contribute to the overall theme of the story? What kind of commentary on society is the writer making with this story?
