Survival in Canada Literature

750-word Essay Instructions (25%)

The purpose of this assignment is to make connections between the theme(s) in one of the works covered in class and Margaret Atwood’s analysis of survival in Canadian literature.

Instructions: Write a minimum 750-word essay including an introduction, body paragraphs to support your thesis, and a conclusion, in MLA format. Use the resources in your coursepack, on Lea, previous assignments, and other online sources to aid you, such as a dictionary and thesaurus.

Due: Submit on the Assignments tab on Teams before the deadline. Your essay will automatically be submitted to Turnitin.com through Teams.

Base your thesis and analysis on the following:

Choose one of the following works to focus your analysis on: “Horses of the Night,” “Burning the Fallow,” The Snow Walker, or “Four Stations in His Circle.”

Relate your chosen work to Atwood’s analysis in one or more of the following chapters in Survival: Chapter 1 – “Survival,” Chapter 2 – “Nature the Monster,” Chapter 4 – “First People” or Chapter 7 – “Failed Sacrifices: The Reluctant Immigrant.”

Analyze the author’s use of literary elements or devices to demonstrate the theme, such as imagery, symbolism, characterization, plot, setting, etc. Include at least three examples from the text to support your analysis (you may use more than one example for the same literary device).  

Discuss how your chosen work fits the patterns of survival Atwood analyzes. Discuss at least three connections to support your argument. You may connect each point to a literary technique or device used by the author (such as setting, characterization, symbolism, imagery, metaphor, etc.) if appropriate, or you may analyze these separately.

How to organize your essay:

• Introduction that sets up your topic, including a clear thesis statement that outlines the focus of your analysis (must connect your chosen work and Atwood’s Survival).
• Three body paragraphs, each analysing how your chosen work fits one pattern of survival presented by Atwood, including at least one example of a literary technique or device used in your chosen work to support your argument in each body paragraph OR
• One or more body paragraphs analyzing the use of literary devices or elements to demonstrate the theme in your chosen work and one or more body paragraphs analysing how your chosen work fits the patterns of survival presented by Atwood.
• Conclusion that ties your argument together and echoes your thesis.

You will be evaluated on:

• Comprehension and insight (How well did you analyze the story? How well did you relate the fictional work to the theory?)
• Structure and development (How well did you prove your position?  Do all your points tie back to your central thesis?  Have you used topic sentences and concluding sentences effectively? How well have you supported your ideas with examples from the story?)
• Expression (How well have you articulated your ideas with clear writing?  Have you used proper vocabulary, diction, transitional words, sentence structure and syntax?  Is your writing free of grammatical and spelling errors? Have you properly integrated quotes and paraphrase with in-text citations?)
• Formatting (Have you formatted in MLA style?  Double-spaced?  Provided a Works Cited page with proper citations?)