Essay writing
Essay writing to practise poetry and comparative analysis skills and how to put the era into perspective.
1:
Write an analysis and interpretation of the poem The Applicant by Sylvia Plath.
In your paper should be included
- A characterization of the applicant
- The use of the pronoun it
- An analysis of the line My boy, it’s your last resort in the last stanza
- The aspect of gender roles in the sixties
- The use of irony in the poem.
2:
Write an essay on the subject of gender roles during the Sixties as depicted by Gail Collins and Sylvia Plath and make a comparison to Molly Jong-Fast’s modern view on things.
What is similar and what has changed?
3:
Write an essay about the Martin Luther King legacy.
Discuss whether or not Dr King’s dream has come true?
Aspects to consider:
- The Stand Your Ground Law
- The Trayvon Martin Case
- The L.A. riots
- President Obama’s speech at the 50th anniversary and the following quote from his speech:
Yes, there have been examples of success within black America that would have been unimaginable a half-century ago. But as has already been noted, black unemployment has remained almost twice as high as white employment, Latino unemployment close behind. The gap in wealth between races has not lessened; it's grown.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/08/28/transcript-obama-remarks-at-50th-anniversary-martin-luther-king-jr-have-dream/
4:
Write an essay about the Beatles’ Give Peace a Chance (1969)
Analyse the lyrics.
What is the function of the name-dropping?
What is the message of the song?
Is it so 60s? Or could it as easily have been written today?
