Write a 7-8 page argumentative essay on either of the slave narratives (Frederick Douglass or Harriet
Jacobs/Linda Brent), the texts by Booker T. Washington or W.E.B. DuBois, Toni Morrison’s Beloved, or August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. Writing this essay should be a process of discovery for you, so choose a topic that interests you the most. You argument may be about the significance of a cultural element or elements in the text, a stylistic device, use of language, a theme, figure of speech, etc., or you may consider the relation of the text to questions of race, class, gender, sexuality, religion, cultural identity, etc. Your essay should make a clear and precise argument about the significance, role, or impact that the specific element or idea you examine has in the text.
The focus of your essay should be relatively narrow: strive for depth rather than breadth. Engage in
conversation with literary and cultural critics who have written on the subject. Give ample and relevant textual evidence in support of your argument from both your primary source (the literary work that you are writing about) as well as from secondary sources (scholarly texts that help you analyze the literary work.). You should include at least four secondary sources. Your secondary sources should be scholarly, peer reviewed articles or book chapters.