Over the course of the past several weeks, we've raised a wide range of issues and questions related to Yann Martel's Life of Pi. Now, it's your turn to connect these dots - to examine the ways in which a question about the book is answered by it.
Your response will be in the form of an essay - either a single-text analytic essay or a hybrid, connecting an outside text or personal story to the novel. For both essays, you will be forming and supporting an argument about the novel in terms of what it means and why.
Since the essay will be 7+ pages, you'll need a wide range of evidence. Be sure to include all four parts of the book, remembering they are not in chronological order.
Furthermore, an effective essay is organized by points, not by examples. You are not just pointing to examples of a particular idea or action - you are taking the time to examine the language, the implied layers of meaning, and the ways in which the novel functions as a whole. Thus you are focusing not on observations but on interpretations. Each section of your essay will benefit from having a clear topic sentence. I highly recommend making a sentence outline, looking something like this:
- Thesis / argument:
- Point 1:
- Supporting evidence (3+ examples)
- Point 2:
- Supporting evidence (3+ examples)
- Point 3:
- Supporting evidence (3+ examples)
It might help to think of the format of interpretive questions we used: "When the book says ____, does it mean ____? If so, then ____?" In order, these are the fact, interpretation, and implication. Another way to say this is the "show - mean - matter" approach: show the example, clarify what it means, then explain why it matters to your thesis / point.
It also might help to think of your sections as:
- Point 1: the challenge
- Point 2: the (attempted) solution / actions taken
- Point 3: the results
We'll have time in the computer lab on Thursday. If you want to send me a rough draft, I'll be happy to give you feedback on it. In class we'll discuss how to do this and what the deadlines are.
The final version of the essay is due Tuesday, March 5th.
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