Nothing too fancy on this one. We’ve been talking about recurring elements as we’ve worked through the novel. As we begin to think about, and eventually make an argument about, what Ondaatje might have meant, or wanted us to feel, or see, or experience, as a result of these recurring elements, we’re making a claim about theme. So, for this essay, I want you to analyze one recurring element and use that analysis as the basis of support for your theme-based argument. Don’t forget, your thesis should be a specific, arguable, theme-based claim, and your introduction should clearly identify both:

• the element you’ll be analyzing
• the literary device that describes the element you have chosen

Your essay should provide insight that furthers the literary conversation surrounding the novel, so good critical thinking and argumentation skills are a must. Perform poorly in these areas and, rather than building or even helping to create knowledge and understanding, you construct barriers. You should consider your classmates and I as your audience, so work from the assumption that we have read and are familiar with the work you are analyzing; therefore, summary should be kept to a minimum, and summary for the sake of summarizing should be avoided.

It will likely be very helpful to look (again?) at chapters 20-25 in our textbook, which cover general guidelines and suggestions regarding writing about literature.

Requirements

3 (full) pages minimum (not including a Works Cited page), 100 points possible.

Research is required; you must use, in a meaningful way, between two and four high-quality, academic secondary sources (thought peer-reviewed sources are not required). All secondary sources must to be accessed via the Research Databases (from our library). Sources not from the Research Databases will not count toward this requirement. When you cite from our text (your primary source), a simple page number is sufficient (73). MLA format is required.