Here we are at the very end of a long semester; we will all be grateful to be able to sleep once weÕre all done, IÕm certain. First, you have one more essay to write.
Background:
As investigators of the crime(s) committed in Garcia MarquezÕs South American backwater town, we have a difficult case to crack. All we have is the investigative reporting of one character, our narrator, who 27 years after the murder of his friend, Santiago Nasar, has returned to the scene of the crime(s) in search of the truth about the crime and the circumstances that led to it. Even if the narrator is unable to make things any clearer, perhaps we, with our careful reading, can--and along the way discover certain truths about ourselves.
All of the themes we have touched on in class this semester are at play in this novel: identity, deception, bias, ethics, and storytelling. LetÕs use our analysis of this novel to bring clarity.
What to do:
Who bears the most responsibility, directly or indirectly, for the murder of Santiago Nasar? Clearly, every character in the novel bears some responsibility for his death, even Santiago himself perhaps, but who--through his, her, or their actions or inaction--is the most culpable (guilty) and why? Make your case by asserting a claim, qualifying it if necessary, and providing your reasons for why your audience should share your views. Look for root causes and the ultimate responsibility.
Conclude your essay by asserting what theme this crime represents, revealing, in other words, what Garcia MarquezÕs novel seeks to say to us about, for example, religion, law, human nature, racism, gender discrimination, or morality.
Your argument about the culpability of a particular character must rest on the evidence you are able to gather through your critical analysis of the specific details from the novel and your inferences about them. (Note how the characters, especially the narrator, reach conclusions based on many different kinds of evidence, some of it hard and some of very, very soft.) The challenge will be to distinguish between facts and opinions, rumors, lies, and other weak evidence. The author gives you the opportunity to evaluate the evidence yourself and draw you own conclusions.
Support your own case by presenting textual evidence, making sure to separate fact from speculation and truth from deception. Comparing this characterÕs crimes with those of other characters. Conclude by revealing what social critique the author, Garcia Marquez makes in his novel through his portrayal the particular crime you will illuminate in your paper
Writing advice:
Purpose: In order to reveal the meaning that you understand through your analysis of Gabriel Garcia MarquezÕs Chronicle of a Death Foretold, make an argument that shows your answer to the above question is accurate. (Use quotations from and specific references to the novel and explain them thoroughly.) Try to be as clear as you can be. Avoid lengthy plot summaries.
Subject: Your thesis will be in direct response to the prompt I have provided for you. Your evidence will be drawn primarily from the novel, not outside sources such as Spark Notes or on-line resources. Remember that your feelings or opinions about the novel or its characters are NOT the subject of your essay; all analysis must be of the FACTS, as hard they are to come by in this novel.
Writer: You may use the first person when absolutely necessary, but generally you will write with a clear, direct style that remains focused on the text and not on you.
Audience: Choose to write your paper for an audience that is interested in understanding what you have to say about the novel but has not necessarily read it.
Situation: This is an academic essay; adjust your process, content, and diction accordingly. Format precisely according to the guidelines in the syllabus.
In your essay, you must:
- establish a clear and well developed question at issue
- provide a brief but accurate summary of the novel and the crime it chronicles
- state a thesis that conforms to the guidelines on the ÒMaking the CaseÓ handout and asserts a logical justification of your claim using your own words
- develop support for your reasoning that includes SPECIFIC textual evidence from the novel
- follow a clear organizational pattern based on an outline
- use P.I.E. paragraphs
- make sure to introduce, provide context for, and explain any quotations you use
- provide the glue that will hold it all together: transitions
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