A-1 English                                                                                                              Name:__________________

Things Fall Apart/Oedipus

Comparative Analysis  

 

You’ve read two tragedies—the Nigerian novel Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe,

and the classical Greek drama Oedipus the King, by Sophocles. 

Your job now is to write a comparative analysis of some aspect shared by the two works.

 

Assignment:

A comparative analysis is just what it sounds like.  You need to find some element the two pieces have in common, and analyze the pieces in terms of that element.  The trick is not to merely describe the thing they have in common.  You’re trying to analyze something.

 

Mediocre thesis:        Okonkwo and Oedipus are both heroes.

 

Better thesis:             Okonkwo and Oedipus are both tragic heroes.

 

Even better thesis:     In both Things Fall Apart and Oedipus the King, the dominant theme is pride; while in each work pride works differently, for the characters, the end is the same.

 

You can choose an element of character, of theme, of setting, of plot, or of language.  (In class, I concentrated on theme and the idea of the tragic hero; you can safely deal with that theme, too.  In fact, you can basically steal the thesis statement above if you get really stuck.  But you can also be more creative and individual, if you’re feeling bold.)

 

Requirements:

Ø      This essay should be between 750 and 1,000 words.  If you go a little over, I won’t mind.

Ø      The main part of the grade is based upon a quality main idea, followed by the way you support that idea with direct and specific references to the books.  That’s why I’m asking for an introduction with thesis ahead of time, separate from the paper itself, so I can give you some feedback on your main idea.

Ø      Remember, when you quote from the books (and you should), you must cite what you quote.  When you quote from Things Fall Apart, that means a page number in parentheses after the quote.  However, since Oedipus is a classical work, that means the line numbers should be cited in parentheses after the quoted lines.

Ø      The first time you refer to each work, write the title and author.

Ø      Double-space your essay.  When you have an extended quote (more than 5 lines in the original source), single-space it.  At the top and bottom of it will be the normal extra empty line of double-spacing.

Ø      Proofread your essay before I see it, please!  Too many of you (you know who you are) typed your last essay and then hit “print” before even reading it over.  Let Microsoft Word’s spell-checker find about 75% of the errors—look it over and fix the ones that are underlined you realize are wrong—and then you’ll have to find the other 25% of errors in spelling, things like its vs. it’s and your vs. you’re.  The elements of clarity and style, you’re 100% responsible for.

Ø      Assume your reader (that’s me) has read the books (I have).  No need to re-tell the plots.

Ø      Think of a good title for your essay.

 

Due:

ü      An introduction of 1-2 paragraphs, which concludes with a strong, clear thesis statement, is due to me on Monday, the 29th of October.

ü      The completed essay is due Monday, the 5th of November.