Essay #1 Sample Thesis

The Thesis As you can see on the essay topic sheet, the thesis for essay #1 needs 3 parts: A thesis somewhere on the first page that: 1. Identifies a part or characteristic of the text 2. Establishes an overall meaning or message of the story 3. Identifies one literary tool 4. Tells HOW the literary tool helped achieve that meaning

For an “A”: Thesis is original Thesis is analytical (tells “how”) Thesis is specific Thesis is clear Follows directions

Literary Tools Symbol Allegory Setting Motif

SUMMARY Summary just tells what’s there. Essays that are all summary will earn low grades.

Analysis Analysis tells how or why something is there. Essays that offer analysis earn higher grades than those that just use summary.

Thesis with All Summary and No Analysis The overall meaning or message of the story, “An Appointment in Samarra” is that no matter what they do, humans cannot escape their fate. The author makes this meaning clear through his use of the character of Death as an innocent narrator who tells us how the servant struggles against fate to no avail.

Thesis with Analysis The overall meaning or message of the story, “An Appointment in Samarra” is that no matter what they do, humans cannot escape their fate. The author makes this meaning clear through his use of the character of Death as an innocent narrator whose blithe recount of a servant’s struggles against fate implies that because the outcome is set, the struggle itself is meaningless.

Avoid summary. Don’t just tell what’s in the story Use analysis. Explain how the story works.

Sample Theses

“1” In this essay, I will explain the overall meaning or message of the story and explain how the author uses literary tools to achieve that meaning.

“1” The short story, “A Rose for Emily,” has an overall meaning or message because it has an overall meaning or message. The short story, “A Rose for Emily,” teaches us to respect our elders because in the story the townspeople respect their elders.

“1” The story “A Rose for Emily” uses the literary tool of climax to suggest that some old women are evil by showing us that Emily is evil.

“2” The story “A Rose for Emily” uses the literary tool of climax to suggest that some old women are evil by showing murder in the story.

“2” The story “A Rose for Emily” uses the literary device of climax to communicate its overall message: it is difficult to identify evil in everyday life.

“3” The story “A Rose for Emily” uses the literary device of climax to communicate its overall message: it is difficult to identify evil in everyday life. The story does this by not showing us the actual climax at all.

“4” The story “A Rose for Emily” does not show us the climax of the story (the murder) but instead gives us a long conclusion. By not showing us the murder, the story makes its message clear: it is difficult to identify evil in everyday life simply because, like the climax of this story, we don’t see it.

“5” The short story “A Rose for Emily” sends the overall message that racism breeds an unfair system where the ruling class cannot be criticized even when members of that class commit horrendous acts of evil. By using a narrator with a nonjudgmental, objective point of view, the author forces the reader to experience the frustration of knowing that evil exists but because no one, not even the narrator, is allowed to directly criticize the ruling class, nothing can be done about it.