Your final essay will require you to use one of the theories we discussed this semester to analyze a work of your choosing.
As a reminder, the key theories/theorists we discussed this semester are:
• Victor Turner: The Forest of Symbols (Rituals/Rites of Passage/Liminal Period)
• Joseph Campbell: The Hero with 1,000 Faces (The Hero’s Journey)
• Carl Jung: Man and His Symbols (Dreams as Collective Images/Archetypes)
• Otto Rank: The Family Romance (Another Hero’s Journey/Fighting the Father)
Your task, then, will be to choose ONE of the above, and apply it in a reading of either a myth we read/discussed this
semester OR a contemporary (modern) story. The only thing you CANNOT do is a pairing of a theorist and a myth that
was done in the book. For example, you cannot do a Rankian analysis of Harry Potter, since one was done in the book.
You COULD look at Harry Potter and the Hero’s Journey, however.
Important things to Consider:
How should I do my research?
I would first use the school’s library’s online database (https://pgcc.libguides.com/databases/alphalist) to find information
about the particular theorist that you choose (you can try looking in other databases, but the best ones to start would be
Bloom’s Literature, Gale Literature, and Gale Literary Index). You will need to find something that has been published
regarding that theorist, and then use that information (whether it be direct quotes, summaries, paraphrases, etc) to discuss
certain points in the myth/story you have chosen.
For example, if discussing the Hero’s Journey of Luke Skywalker, for example, you would find something published
about Joseph Campbell (using the online database), and use the information from that published article to further your
discussion of how Luke Skywalker matches Campbell’s idea of the Hero’s Journey.
Additionally (or Alternatively), you can use the information in the textbook about the particular theory/theorist to further
your discussion. Instead of looking up published information on Joseph Campbell in the online database, you can use the
information in the book which clearly lays out the steps of the Hero’s Journey. You would then use that information to
further your discussion of Luke Skywalker’s journey.
What should my essay look like?
The first part of your essay (maybe a page-ish?) should introduce the theory and the work you’re going to look at (don’t
assume the reader is familiar with the work, even if you know that I am). The rest of the essay will be you using the theory
to look at the work. See Chapter 43 for an example of this in action.
Help! I don’t know what to write about!
That’s fine. That’s what I’m here for. Email me and we’ll figure it out together. Remember that in addition to any of the
myths in the book, you can choose any form of a contemporary story to analyze. This includes movies, books, television
shows, video games, comics, etc. Here are just a handful of possible things to look at:
Any of the Marvel/DC films (Avengers, Spider-Man, Black Panther, etc)
• Popular movie franchises (Star Wars, Star Trek, Harry Potter, etc)
• Popular Anime franchises (Pokemon, Dragonball, Gundam, Naruto, etc)
• Video game franchises (Final Fantasy, The Legend of Zelda, Halo, Metal Gear Solid, etc)
Other things to Consider:
This is an Upper-Level English Course
Since this is a 2000-level course, and thus is one of the highest-level courses PGCC offers, the expectations I
have for your writing will be significantly higher than in some lower-level courses you may have taken with me
or with other professors. As such, your essays will be expected to a) analyze, b) interpret, and c) synthesize.
Simply summarizing information from a text or my presentations will not meet the requirements of this, or any
essay for this course.
Citations Needed
Obviously, your work will require both in-text (parenthetical) citations and a works cited for every source you
use. Remember that you need to use citation whenever you reference, summarize, paraphrase, or quote material.
Depending on your source (which may very well be a film, in addition to text), you will be required to use
appropriate citation style. This essay will require MLA citation. Information about that can be obtained from me
or by any reputable source on the internet (I recommend doing a search for “The Owl at Purdue”—their
information is fantastic).
Structure
If you’ve taken lower-level courses at PGCC (especially if you’ve taken a course with me), you may assume
that your essay needs to have a specific structure and perhaps follow a 5-paragraph format. For upper-level
English, this is not the case. Your first paragraph will most likely introduce the material and set out the direction
your essay is going to go (with a strong thesis that lays out your claim(s)), but after that, no set structure is
needed. As long as your essay follows a logical format that is easy to follow, you can ignore any set structure
rules you have learned in the past. That said, if you choose to follow a tried-and-true format like the 5-
paragraph structure, feel free to do so.
Goals for Paper Criteria:
Papers will meet the following criteria:
• Main Idea/ purpose/ focus-The paper stays on topic, is unified, clear, defines terms and meets the
requirement of the topic.
• Organization/ structure-The paper includes the effective use of modes, has an introduction and
conclusion, and uses transitions.
• Content/ development-The paper contains specific details, full support, and development of ideas.
• Tone and Style- The paper is appropriately written for the declared audience.
• Grammar/ Mechanics-The paper demonstrates proper use of sentence construction, usage spelling
punctuation, and capitalization.
Format for Papers (MLA):
• Put your name, instructor’s name, the name of the course/ the assignment number/
and the date at the top left of the first page, double-spaced.
• Have a title, centered at the top of the first page.
• Have your last name and page number at the top right side of each page. (Go to view/ headers and
footers—type your last name. Then go to insert page and add the page number.)
• All papers will be typed in size 12 font, double-spaced, using one-inch margins on “8 1/2 by 11” white
paper (NOTE: Microsoft Word margin default is 1.25 in.).
• You will turn in your papers via BlackBoard.
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