You could think about the way identity is formed through interactions with other people and/or landscapes. You could write about the way social groups—like families or religious groups, for example—often dictate unconscious behaviors and conscious actions. You could, if you wanted, talk about how different characters seek out society, why they do that, and why you think the authors that we’ve read put their characters in certain social situations. Another suggestion is to write about the way that issues like gender norms, situational ethics, or family relationships are emphasized by post-apocalyptic scenarios.
Requirements:
This essay should be four (4) full pages minimum and six (6) pages maximum.
This essay should be in MLA or APA format. This includes a header, a heading, page numbers, in-text citations, a Works Cited or References page, double-spacing (with no extra white space anywhere in the paper, Times New Roman font with one-inch margins.
This essay should address at least three of the novels we have read this semester. (Gold Fame Citrus by Claire Watkins, Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich, The Reapers are the Angels by Alden Bell, The Mosquito Coast by Paul Theroux, & The Road by Cormac McCarthy)
Begin your essay with an introduction that includes your claim/thesis statement and lays out the points you want to make about that claim. Generally discuss the primary texts you are using. The introduction should serve as a map of the essay, so you will probably need to revise it once you’ve finished the essay itself.
Make your points one at a time and use topic sentences to remind your audience (me) where you are in the essay in relation to the narrative outline you wrote in the introduction.
Finally, if you want to use any of the critical articles you read this semester, use them as support for your sub claims that the novels prove the overall arguments you are making. Use specific quotations from the three novels, not just a vague summary. Make a subclaim about how the novel(s) illustrate your main idea, and use quotation to show how that subclaim is true. The critical articles are not a primary text, so use them to show how other writers agree or disagree with the claims you are making about the novel(s).