Overview
In this essay you will move beyond the close reading of one text and instead develop an argument that compares or contrasts at least two texts. You have many options when selecting these texts, but one of the texts must be one that has been assigned as reading this semester. The other text can be anything you select. Remember that “text” is often broadly defined. For example, commercials, paintings, songs, or movies can be considered texts; whether through words or images or a combination of the two, these genres make arguments and convey meaning.
Examples
Regardless of which texts you select, your essay must have an argument at its center. The typical thesis for an argument includes two parts: a claim and a reason. For literary analysis, you’ll most likely make a claim about why the two texts are similar or different. The reason will explain why that argument is true. Say I’d like to compare Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman to August Wilson’s Fences. A rough, early thesis for my draft may read: “I will argue that Wilson utilizes but revises Miller’s version of an American Dream because in Fences race is shown to be inextricably tied to the family’s ability to ascend while Death of a Salesman shows materialism as the main impediment.” Though this thesis needs revision, it features both texts, makes an argument for their similarities and differences and provides a basis for that argument.
Other examples might be to compare one of the Emily Dickinson poems we’ve read to one of Lana Del Rey’s songs. Or, how might the poem “Marks” by Linda Pastan compare or contrast to Disney/Pixar’s Brave when considering motherhood? Or, does Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birth-Mark” help us understand human differences in a way similar to an ad campaign against bullying? Think not only about the fit of the two texts but also about why the pairing of the two texts is interesting and important. This shouldn’t just be a theoretical exercise, so make sure to consider the consequences and results of putting these texts next to each other. You might consider how different audiences are addressed through texts (what differs between adult and children audiences, for example?) or how and why certain stories are revised for different time periods (Shakespeare’s plays have been revised over and over—what changes and what stays the same and why?).
Sources
You will use at least two outside sources (beyond the two texts you are focusing on) as evidence. You might consider using JSTOR through the library’s database. This might mean that you apply a theoretical lens—what would a specific way of thinking about the texts reveal about them? Or, it might mean that you research what other thinkers have said about these pieces and use their arguments to develop your own. You will have a Works Cited sheet that lists the primary sources as well as any secondary sources.