Assignment 4
Length
1,200–1,500 words
Value
20% of the final grade
General instructions
1.
Follow the format according to the instructions in the Syllabus.
2.
Follow the guidelines on essay writing and grading in the Syllabus.
3.
Pay attention to the comments that your instructor made on your other essays to avoid making the
same writing mistakes, and proofread carefully to eliminate errors. Consult your writing manual
and/or your instructor.
4.
Whichever topic you choose, be sure to support your assertions with evidence drawn from the
relevant text(s). The use of secondary sources is optional, but if you consult such sources, choose
them judiciously and cite according to MLA conventions.
5.
Consult your instructor for direction, help, etc. Communicating with other students on the course
site can also be an excellent source of ideas.
Write an essay on
one
of the following topics:
1. In
A Jest of God
, Rachel Cameron learns to accept her limitations and inadequacies as the novel
progresses. Discuss
three
events from the novel that indicate her new-found ability, assuming of
course, that you believe she does discover such an ability.
2. Margaret Laurence ends
A Jest of God
with Rachel’s hopeful and realistic statement, “God’s
mercy on reluctant jesters. God’s grace on fools. God’s pity on God” (209). Discuss the Fool in
A
Jest of God
by focusing on several characters who seem to play that role.
3.
Rachel says to Nick Kazlik, “‘I envied you, I guess. I don’t mean you, especially. People like you’”
(93). She implies that she finds qualities in Nick that appeal to her because of his cultural
“Otherness” or difference. Discuss the importance of cultural difference in
A Jest of God
.
4.
Compare Nikki Giovanni’s “[Untitled]” to Gwen Harwood’s “Suburban Sonnet” in terms of the
apparent struggle of each woman’s domestic situation.
5.
Discuss the importance of the image in
three
poems that you studied. How you define “image” will
obviously be crucial to your argument. You may choose to form your definition by consulting a
glossary of literary terms then apply that definition to the poems.
6.
Discuss the blurred distinction between hero and villain in Michael Ondaatje’s
The Collected
Works of Billy the Kid
.
Representative Literary Works
ENGL 1200
Assignment 4
1
