Choose one prompt option. You are making an argumentative essay, so your thesis
Choose one prompt option. You are making an argumentative essay, so your thesis will be your own interpretative statement in response to the prompt.
Stories are “Big two-hearted Riverby Earnest Hemingway” and “To build a fire by Jack London”
London, Jack. “To Build a Fire.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry and Drama.
6th ed. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. New York: Harper Collins, 1995. 118-29
1. Using any of our stories, examine a change in philosophy, perspective, or lifestyle that one character undergoes or is attempting to undergo, looking at the role of nature in the character’s pursuit and the changes they undergo. What does nature mean to them? How do they interact with it? Does their view or philosophy change? If so, or if not, why might that be?
2. Argue how the landscape/setting/nature are used by the author to reveal qualities of a main character. How does the character interact with nature and view it? For instance, look at the contrast between the mountains and river in “Big Two Hearted River” and the war setting Nick has come from, or discuss the irony of the chilling beauty of “To Build a Fire” and the main character’s obliviousness to knowing himself, his environment, and thinking ahead. Your intro. paragraph and thesis will be about character and meaning, though literary tools will be mentioned.
3. Use Annie Dillard’s perspective on viewing nature to evaluate a main character in “To Build a Fire” or “Big Two Hearted River” or your chosen, outside story. You will need to have outlined her essay before choosing this assignment.
4. Compare and contrast the main characters the main characters in “To Build a Fire” and “Bit Two Hearted River”, or one of these stories and your own chosen story. You could also use Dillard’s essay as a launching point for criteria for evaluating if that helps you.