World Literature II Paper #2: Conflict Analysis Essay Dr. Lin Knutson
Length: 4-5 pages
Draft: Thursday, April 15
Final Paper: Tuesday, April 20
Format: 12 point font; 1 margins; paper begins 2 from top of first page (no cover sheets). You need a clever title.
For your second literary essay, you will be writing either the play Hedda Gabler or The Metamorphosis. The structure of this paper will be the form of a conflict analysis essay. Conflict is the essence of drama and all literary fiction; at the story core, conflict is the momentum of happening and change, and is crucial on all levels for delivering information and building characterization. Conflict is the sources of change that engages a reader. Conflict is brought on by opposing forces such as: Person VS oneself, another person, nature, society, or the supernatural. Furthermore, conflict may be internal or external, or both; conflict may occur because of a fundamental disagreement on values, on money (resources), on facts (different interpretations), or power (who is in control), etc. Sometimes conflicts occur over situations that people cause, and sometimes over situations with which they have no control. What you want to do for this paper is identify a central conflict in one of the texts that are listed above, then go below the surface, and identify other forms or categories of conflict that might be related to it. You might also include attempts to resolve conflicts (with success or failures).
Then, you want to discuss the cause and effect of the conflict. What causes the conflict to happen, and what is the effect of that conflict? You may choose several forms of conflicts, and several results of that conflict
TOPICS: You will need to write your paper on one of the following texts from:
Hedda Gabler, or The Metamorphosis. Please choose the text you feel that you have more to talk about. Then, think about the several types of conflict that you see in the story. For example, you might argue that the book shows: person VS self, but also person VS another person, and also person VS society. The body of the paper will be broken down into these different types of conflict. For each type of conflict, you will need to give a specific example from the text, and quote from that example.
Please follow this outline:
Introduction: Be sure to begin the paper identifying the author and the title of the text. Be sure to punctuate the title correctly. Then introduce the text. Move to the topic of your paper, develop or explain it a bit; then move to your thesis statement. Your thesis should include the different types of conflict that you will be proving from the story.
Background: This is the second paragraph. You will want to give some background to the time period of the text you are writing about. This gives the reader a broader context for your paper. What is important to remember here is that you must paraphrase any source in your own words You may not just copy words and not use quotation marks. Remember, if you plagiarize, you fail the paper! Also, please include information about the author.
Body: You will be supporting your thesis, dividing the paper into paragraphs that each address the different conflicts you are discussing in an organized manner. For each type of conflict you are proving, you must have at least one example of proof from the story, but you might have two examples, and two paragraphs on each type of conflict.
Paragraph form: In general, the first sentence of each paragraph is a topic sentence that tells what the paragraph is about. The second sentence is a further explanation of the first sentence. The third sentence includes support for what you are saying in the paragraph. The support will come in the form of: events, examples, quotations, paraphrasing events, giving facts, etc. You will need to include a quotation in each body paragraph in order to prove the point you are making in that paragraph. The quotation must be cited according to proper MLA citation format for using internal quotations in your paper. Each quote must include: a) an introductory phrase, b) quoted words from the story c) a citation with the correct page number or line numbers.
After the quotation, you need to include one or two more sentences that further explain the quotation, and how your support proves the point you are making. End each paragraph with a transition sentence that connects, or links one paragraph to the next.
Conclusion: For the conclusion (like the introduction) you will need to relate your topic to the audience in some way. Give them something deeper to think about. You might explain if you believe people like this exist today, or not, and what we might learn from them. You might want to include reasons why your ideas are especially significant today.
Good luck with this paper, and let me know if you have concerns!
