Description

These are exact directions on the paper from my professor. Thank you so much!
Provide a close reading of a passage from one of the texts you have studied so far (Ariel Dorfman’s Death and the Maiden
A careful, sustained interpretation of a brief passage of text
Connects that passage to the entire text (i.e. defines a character or relationship between characters, or identifies a symbol, theme, or issue in the passage that is at work in the whole text)
It contains a thesis statement about the text, using elements from the passage to support it.
To begin:
Pick a passage you like or find interesting and determine what theme/issue/symbol/character development it illustrates
Or Pick a theme/issue, etc and find a passage that supports it
Depending on the length of your passage, you can either include it in its entirety:
“It may be a teensy-weensy thing, but it’s enough for me. During all these years, not an hour has passed that I haven’t heard it, that same voice, next to me, next to my ear, that voice mixed with saliva, you think I’d forget a voice like his?” (Dorfman 15).
About 4-5 quotes from the book or…
Use ellipses to indicate additional words…
“From that moment on, Leni understood Werner’s mission … As they leave the baroque archive Leni feels the anguish in her heart being transformed back to her previous admiration, but this time with the depth of love reborn” (Schrader 53).
Example #1:
“You’re still a prisoner, you stayed there behind with them, locked in that basement. For fifteen years you’ve done nothing with your life. Not a thing. Look at you, just when we’ve got the chance to start all over again and you begin to open all the wounds.”
from Death and the Maiden by Ariel Dorfman
Sample thesis statement:
This passage from Death and the Maiden demonstrates the fact that captivity lasts after a person is physically free. Despite having been released, Paulina remains trapped by the trauma caused by her experience. The passage also speaks to the problems with Paulina and Gerardo’s marriage. He is able to move on in a way that she can’t and his guilt over what she went through him keeps him a prisoner to her.
Length: 2-4 pages