Please develop a specific argument that creates a conversation between For the Time Being and any other single text we have read for this class.
Creating a conversation between two texts involves more than merely identifying similarities or differences between the texts. You may find it helpful to think about texts similarities and differences as you brainstorm about the topic of your essay. However, you should move beyond that initial step by a) identifying a point of comparison that links the two texts (a place in the authors argument or rhetorical strategy that both texts share or differ on); b) using that point of comparison to generate c) a driving question, one that will enable you to explore both texts in greater depth. Analyzing the texts in relation to your driving question should lead you to discover something new about one or both of the textsyou should not be telling the reader something super-obvious. You can then share your discovery or new insights in your thesis statement. As you formulate your driving question, you may find it useful to think about the concepts that weve been discussing in analyzing authors rhetorical choices.
As with your first essay, your Comparative Analysis will be more persuasive if you support your arguments with specific evidence from both texts that youre discussing. Be sure to select quotes that clearly illustrate your arguments, and be sure to unpack the specific significance of words and phrases that appear in each quote. Addressing potential resistance to your argument and considering an issue from multiple angles will also enable you to deepen your analysis and strengthen your argument.
Finally, as with everything that you write, please keep in mind why this topic matters to you and why it should matter to your readers.
Do this in 8-10 pages.
PURPOSE
Good ideas are meaningless if we cant bring them to bear on our livesand because our lives are complex and we spend most of our time navigating varying discourses and worldviews, that also means bringing them to bear on other ideas. If everything you read lives in its own little silo in your mind, never influencing how you view your life or how you view other ideas and proposals, you might as well not read at all, and some of the great breakthroughs in art, science, business, religion and ethics, politics and activismlife itselfhave come because someone put two seemingly unconnected ideas into conversation. Hosting such a conversation, and bringing it to a resolution (a coherent, original argument), will help you to become the kind of thinker who participates in such breakthroughs.
COMMON MISTAKES AND FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
This is not a compare-and-contrast paper. In other words, you are not simply making a list of things that the two texts have in common, and of other things that they do not have in common. Youre zeroing in on one point of connection and making a hypothesis about what it means.
Find an idea that is robust enough to sustain ten pages worth of argumentation. (Yes, the Works Cited still counts as a page. Itll be OK.)
Here is my initial thesis idea that I think works to write ten pages:
In Emily Atkins What can I do? Anything, and Annie Dillards For the Time Being, the use of ethos varies in not only how it is established, but also how it is used to control the reader and sway them into leaning towards author’s viewpoint. For Atkins, the use of stern, yet vibrant language combined with a heart-wrenching story creates an interesting hold Atkins has over the reader. Conversely, for Dillard, the sporadic storyline and harsh tone give Dillard power over the reader and what they are thinking.
Counter argument: one could argue that both authors are not using their ethos and text to control the reader but rather to simply tell a story. They use the details of their text to connect to the reader and provide them with an avenue to learn and create a story for themselves. Rather than using the words to control the reader, its the exact opposite. They write pieces to give the reader freedom in thinking about what they would like to. They want the reader to decide the meaning of the text and they want the reader to journey through their texts based on their own, genuine volition.
I can send pages from Annie Dillards book with good examples if needed.
