Contrast Updikes A and P and Joyces Araby This is what my teacher wants.
Write an essay [on any of the recent plays or SHORT STORIES] in which you discuss various elements of the story:
[see story elements from the handout. We will continue to discuss these elements, but it would also help to look them up again, come to understand them. The elements are as follows: plot, character,
the theme, the point of view, setting, symbolism, atmosphere, tone, and paragraph model argument: I include this first because it is most common. My strong advice to you is to be careful to not reduce the paper to a simple,
five-paragraph “formula.” There are more subtle ways to write a paper. I will say, however, that the model works. I just want it to be somewhat complex.
Whatever you do, be sure to write a clear INTRODUCTION, BODY, and CONCLUSION to any paper.
A “Comparison/Contrast” essay demonstrates the separation of two things based on how they are either alike or different. Comparison/contrast can be made in two fundamental ways: by using a “point by point” comparison, by which the subjects are discussed in relation to each other one point at a time; or by using a “side by side” comparison, by which the subjects are discussed separately, one at a time, in relation to the thesis. You might want to compare the characters in
a story or compare two stories [Araby/A&P]. In a paper like this, you might even compare settings in a story or symbols—. In doing so, you’ll want to
address a deeper question: what does it all mean? And why are these stories similar or different.
Remember the class discussions, your notes, consider the themes we’ve been discussing. Three things: UNIFY your paper [thesis], write TOPIC SENTENCES
[coherence]; and use QUOTES [development]. Your essay will be 3-4 pages in length. The paper must be typed, double-spaced. Please have the essay in three full
pages.
