 You are being asked to make an argument about the author’s purpose and prove it  You will use a combination of commentary, textual evidence, and expert opinion to support your argument  You will answer HOW the author achieved his purpose and WHY he chose the elements he chose

 Argument about author’s purpose and the avenues taken to achieve that purpose  Analysis of literary elements present in the text  Synthesis of literary criticisms and textual examples

 Plot Summary  Soapbox for personal beliefs  Relation to your own life  Comparison to “the world today”

 Your opinion  Interpretation (What is the meaning?)  Insight  Analysis  Personal response

 There are TWO types of concrete detail Each paragraph will contain at least two of each  Textual examples-American Novel Direct quotes from novel Must support your claim  Expert opinion-Criticisms/Analysis Direct quotes from criticisms Must support your claim

 Sentence #1: topic sentence (TS)  Sentences #2: concrete detail (CD)  Sentence #3: commentary (CM)  Sentence #4: commentary (CM)  Sentences #5: concrete detail (CD)  Sentence #6: commentary (CM)  Sentence #7: commentary (CM)  Sentence #8 conclusion sentence (CS)

The first of this supernatural characteristic is given to the scarlet letter that is worn by Hester. The first of this supernatural, or unexplained phenomena, is given by the narrator in the description of Hester returning to jail: “It was whispered, by those who peered after her, that the scarlet letter threw a lurid gleam along the dark passage- way of the interior” (Hawthorne 1061). This reference is used by Hawthorne to establish a supernatural characteristic early in the novel

Before Mattie Silver arrives at the Frome house, Zeena and Ethan’s marriage has already begun to fail. Wharton utilizes the season of winter to symbolize the lack of vitality in the Frome marriage. This theme of death is accentuated by the prolonged illness and passing of Ethan’s mother. According to the article “Ethan Frome” in the book Masterplots, “Zeena’s talkativeness, which had been pleasing to Ethan during his mother’s illness, quickly subsided within a year of their marriage. Ethan became increasingly dissatisfied with his life” (2094). Wharton capitalizes on the depression that occurs in both winter and grief to illustrate the inevitability of the failure of the Frome household. Wharton suggests that the decay of winter constantly reminds Ethan of his mother’s passing and therefore his grief is multiplied by the weather. Had the season been cheerier, it is possible, even probable that he would not have become dissatisfied with his wife: “He had often thought since that it would have not happened if his mother had died in spring instead of winter” (Wharton78). Early in their marriage, their love starts to fade and becomes lost.