For the second essay you will craft a comparative analysis of two works we have read thus far in class. Please select one of the topics from the prompts below.
1) Time and the Journey. Journeys are not just journeys through space but also journeys through time, and each text we’ve read this semester deals with the expansion and contraction of time in different ways. Marini ‘s journey takes several months, Mrs. Mallard’s lasts an hour, and Basho’s take place across an entire lifetime. How do different approaches to time change our perceptions of the journey and the journeyer? Does time make the transformations that occur any more or less profound?
2) Transformations in the Journey. Journeys transform characters in a number of ways, both desired and undesired, good and bad, as travelers reflect on the significance of their movements. Compare/contrast two texts, paying attention the the transformations sought and those that actually take place.
3) Gender, Sexuality, and the Journey. Women who take physical journeys like the concubines in Basho’s Narrow Road often take on transgressive roles in texts. Others such as Alice in “Adventure” or Mrs. Mallard in “Story of an Hour” tend to stay in place or embark on interior journeys rather than moving through the outside world. Compare how gender and sexuality have a role in shaping the journey in two texts.
The first draft will be workshopped in class on Friday, October 31. You must bring a complete daft (i.e. 2-3 pages, 2 critical sources, etc) to workshop that day. The final revised draft is due on Friday, November 14.