Literary Analysis of The Odyssey with Close Reading

Literary Analysis of The Odyssey with Close Reading
5-6 Pages
Due in class on Tuesday, Feb 18th (a PAPER copy, not by email)

For this assignment, we will focus on what in literary analysis is called close reading: analysis of the details of particular scene or episode in The Odyssey as support for a larger argument. This is, in some senses, something that we’ve been working toward in class every day, but in a real writing assignment it will be much more formal and detailed work. Your goals are to show me
that you can make an argument about how to interpret the details of a particular passage (close read), that you can support your interpretation with evidence from the world of the text (rather than simply your own opinion), and that you can organize your argument effectively.

PROMPT:
How do 2 particular scenes, dialogues, or episodes in The Odyssey work within the greater context of the book to persuade the reader to favor a particular set of values, ideas, or world-view?

The central aspect of your essay’s analysis should focus on a close reading of two particular scenes or passages from the text of your choosing. The goal is to get down to details. This close analysis should aim to exhaust all the ways in which your given passage supports your argument: take apart as much of the passage as possible, in as great a detail as possible, right down to individual word choices if necessary. You can choose literally any episode/scene/event that you want – so PLEASE choose something that interests you or that you found particularly compelling.

Your essay should have an Introduction that includes a statement of your thesis, which should explain the particular set of values/etc. that you think The Odyssey seems to reflect through these passages, which your close readings will support through analysis.

The body of the essay should focus on a close reading of your two chosen textual passages. Work on paragraph organization. Each paragraph should have a clear claim statement, and should focus on presenting detailed textual evidence and explaining how it can be interpreted to support your particular claim (and thus, your thesis). Keep in mind that your close reading of any single passage may span multiple paragraphs (i.e., don’t try to cram all of your analysis into one gigantic paragraph — organize paragraphs around clear claims, and divide up your analysis accordingly).

In your Conclusion, I want you to overview other aspects of the work that, in a longer essay, you might use in connection with your close reading as further evidence of your thesis.

*For more on the basics of clear, persuasive argumentative writing in a university context, see the “On Writing” handout.

Formatting Guidelines for Writing Assignments

The following apply to all writing assignments, unless otherwise stated:

Assignments must:

• Have a heading that includes your name, the course number and term, and the due date
• Be typed, double-spaced, and have 1″ margins on all four sides
• Use 11 or 12-point font; Times New Roman is the standard.
• Be stapled together with pages numbered
• Use MLA format to credit all source. For guide, see: Hacker, Diana. A Pocket Style
Manual
• Adhere to proper grammar and spelling (for a guide, see A Pocket Style Manual)
• Have a title

Grading is done in two ways – part of it is qualitative (my evaluation of the quality and clarity of your work – see the “Grade Characteristics” sheet), but I also have a set of “standard deductions,” which are automatic grade penalties for assignments which do not have all of the required elements or which have errors in formatting, improper citation, etc., according to the rules laid out here and in MLA guidelines. This means that if your paper is of excellent quality but does not have all of the required parts, has formatting errors, etc., the ceiling (the highest grade you could possibly receive) will automatically drop. Therefore, the easiest way to ensure the highest grade possible is simply to follow the directions of the prompt, and to meet the formatting requirements.

 

Citation
Follow standard MLA practices for in-text parenthetical citations (i.e., NOT footnotes or endnotes). Since we are only working from texts set for the course, you do not need a separate “Works Cited Page.”

Each student is responsible to ensure his/her paper is free from plagiarism.
– Give credit to all authors and lecturers whose work you have used and enclose all quoted material in quotation marks—no matter how brief.

– Make sure that you cite all references to the text with parenthetical citations, even if you are not quoting directly (i.e., paraphrases, summaries).

As a rule, it is better to give too much credit than too little—so when in doubt, cite. For further information, check the resources in the Pocket Style Manual or talk with me.

 

 
Writing Assignment Grading Checklist
[in order of priority]
General: ? Addresses the prompt and meets the assignment criteria

Thesis: ? No arguable thesis
? Minimal attempt to state an arguable thesis
? Arguable but problematic thesis
? Arguable, sound thesis
? Arguable, sophisticated thesis

Use of evidence: ? No relevant evidence or explanation of how evidence supports the thesis
& explanation ? Minimal attempt to provide relevant evidence and explain how it supports the thesis
? Some valid, relevant evidence and some explanation of how it supports the thesis
? Adequate relevant evidence and substantial effort to explain how it supports the thesis
? Thorough presentation of relevant evidence and clear explanation of how it supports the thesis
? Superior use of valid, relevant evidence; sophisticated explanation of how it supports the thesis

Organization: ? Poor construction/organization
? Structure and organization relatively clear and sensible
? Clear and sensible structure and organization

Audience: ? Language and ideas of the paper are not appropriately directed toward the intended audience
? Language and ideas of the paper address the appropriate audience

Writing style/clarity: ? Writing very problematic and/or awkward
? Writing somewhat problematic and/or awkward
? Writing relatively clear
? Clear and sophisticated writing
? Sentence structure is varied and their content is always clear at first reading.
? Quotations are incorporated into the writing properly and fluidly.
? Word choice establishes a credible voice or tone for the essay. Words are academic
and precise using strong verbs.
? Sentences written in a clear and concise style even when presenting complex ideas.

Length: ? Significantly too short
? Appropriate length
? Significantly too long

Mechanics/grammar: ? Mechanical/grammatical errors serious enough to impede comprehensibility
? Numerous mechanical/grammatical errors
? Some mechanical/grammatical errors
? Few mechanical/grammatical errors
? Negligible mechanical/grammatical errors

MLA Format:

? Quotation marks (double/single, placement, etc.)
? Signal/introductory phrases before every quotation followed by correct punctuation
? Page layout (font, margins, page numbering)

 

? Parenthetical citations where appropriate
? Essay title and heading
? Underlining/italics/quotation marks applied to titles of work

 

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