Paper Assignment for The
Sun Also Rises
Due Date: Tuesday, September 18th
For our
unit on Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also
Rises, you will be writing a 3-5 page paper on one of the topics listed
below. Whichever topic you select, make sure you:
-Type and double space the paper
with normal margins, a title, a works cited page, and without your name on the
top (hand write it on the back)
-Proofread and edit, avoiding past
tense, passive tense, and “I” and “You” whenever possible
-Have a clear thesis in which
you present an argument on your topic with clearly noted proof points
-Use proper MLA format for
citations of your quotes (and for goodness sakes use quotes…)
If you have any questions about formatting, just check with
me (this is much easier to do if you don’t wait until Monday night to write the
paper…)
Topics (for any of these, you don’t have to answer every
question I ask, the questions are just there to get your thinking started)
- At the
beginning of our reading, I suggested that The Sun Also Rises could be considered a “war novel.” Is it?
That is, is it a novel about war? If so, what examples can you cite that
define it as a war novel? Be specific. If not, what is the novel about?
Again, be specific with your examples.
- One of
the central constructs of the novel is gender. We have already had many
class discussions about bulls, steers, and the like. Expand on these
discussions. Take a stance on who fits into which gender category and why.
You may do this in the realm of bull/steer/etc, or in the realm of
male/female/etc, whichever you prefer. Be sure to be clear about what you
are discussing symbolically/metaphorically as compared to what is
literally the case. Be specific with your examples.
- Select
a character (probably either Jake, Brett, or Robert) and construct an
argument about their role in the novel. Is (insert your character here)
the main character? How is he/she viewed by the other characters? By the
narrator (awkward if you pick Jake)? Is he/she a dynamic character (one
that changes—either matures or regresses—over the course of the novel)?
How else is he/she significant? Be specific with your examples.
- Topic
of your choice, with my approval. Perhaps a close reading of a section of
the text. I’d be happy to suggest a number of other possible choices if
you don’t like any of these…