EN103: Fairy Tales

First Essay Assignment

The first essay is due at the beginning of class on Tuesday, October 2. The paper should be about 4-5 pages long.

In this paper, you should carefully compare and contrast any two of the fairy tales that we have studied. You may choose two version of the same tale (such as Perrault’s “Little Red Riding Hood” and the Grimms’ “Little Red Cap”) or similar versions of different tales (such as "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "Little Thumbling").

Be very careful in choosing the texts you want to write on, since you want to choose the ones most appropriate to your topic. You should have a precise topic focusing on a specific theme. I hope you choose the theme you are most interested in; some suggestions are: the depiction of childhood; the depiction of nature; the depiction of animals; the depiction of human nature; the depiction of men; the depiction of sexuality; the depiction of girls or women; the depiction of marriage; the depiction of family; the depiction of poverty.

For class on Friday, September 28, bring a thesis for your first essay. This thesis should be typed and should be stated as a single, complete sentence. The thesis of the essay is the one, central idea that you want to convince the reader of. A good thesis is one that can be proven (that is, there is objective evidence in the texts to support it) and that needs to be proven (that is, it is not obvious or self-evident). A thesis does not have to be a single sentence, but it is a good exercise to write it as a complete sentence since it forces you to articulate the single, coherent idea that drives the essay as a whole.

Secondary critical sources are not required for this essay, and in fact I am most interested in your close engagement with the primary texts. You are, however, free to apply the critical sources that we have read, or to refer to other secondary sources. But remember that you must fully cite any and all sources that you use. The source must appear in the list of works cited at the end of the essay, and each source must be cited on every occasion that you make use of its words or ideas. This is true if the source is your primary source (the text you are studying) or a critical source (an analysis of the work published elsewhere), and it is true if the source is printed or electronic, including internet sources. Follow the MLA style of in-text citation and lists of works cited, as described in A Pocket Style Manual.