WRITING PROMPTS 1 Ricardo Alvarado ENG 125: Introduction to Literature Magdalena Sokolowski June 19, 2017 1. What is your chosen prompt for the literary analysis assignment? I chose prompt 1. Write an analysis of a principal character in a literary work. Focus on two or three key actions of that character. Comment by Grammarly: Deleted:key 2. What interests you most about this prompt and why? For one to critically understand any literature, it is important to comprehend the primary characters in the literature and know their roles according to the genre of the literature. This prompt is of interest since I will be able to assess the characters actions and decisions in writing. So as to achieve this, I will be forced to read the literature critically. Therefore, it will enhance my reading skills. This will also help me when am coming up with my writing work as I will be able to bring up appropriate characters that go hand in hand with the theme of the literature. Comment by Grammarly: Deleted:und Comment by Grammarly: Deleted:rsta Comment by Grammarly: Deleted:he l Comment by Grammarly: Deleted:terature Comment by Grammarly: Deleted:critically Comment by Grammarly: Deleted:o Comment by Grammarly: Deleted:n l Comment by Grammarly: Deleted:erature 3. What text(s) will you write about? Why? I chose to write about Jhumpa Lahiri, ‘Interpreter of Maladies.' From my perspective, I think that the story brings the role of the characters. Mrs. Das a new community member is capable of influencing Mr. Kapasi who seems not to be interested in his life. Assessing the characters in the story will require me to use my critical reading skills. From the story, I will be able to find evidence to support my illustration of the character's motivations and decision. I will be able to describe the role of various characters in the story and how they are linked to the main character. Comment by Grammarly: Deleted:own Comment by Grammarly: Deleted:clearly Comment by Grammarly: Deleted:w Comment by Grammarly: Deleted:th 4. What is your working thesis? Keep in mind that "working hypothesis" means you can slightly modify your thesis for the draft and final essay. Comment by Grammarly: Deleted:/or Mr. Kapasi, a middle-aged man, works as a tour guide who encounters a significant transformation in his life after having a conversation with Mrs. Das. Mrs. Das aptly convinces him the importance of his job although he previously discounts it. Comment by Grammarly: Deleted:re 5. What are three key ideas that you will discuss in support of your thesis? 1. Mrs. Das significantly influences Mr. Kapasi to love his career. Comment by Grammarly: Deleted:re 2. The Das family’s actions surrounding their children show that their desires or interests do not accord with their obligations. 3. Mr. Kapasi desires Mrs. Das to make him understand the import.

1. WRITING PROMPTS
1
Ricardo Alvarado
ENG 125: Introduction to Literature
Magdalena Sokolowski
June 19, 2017
1. What is your chosen prompt for the literary analysis
assignment?
I chose prompt 1. Write an analysis of a principal character in a
literary work. Focus on two or three key actions of that
character. Comment by Grammarly: Deleted:key
2. What interests you most about this prompt and why?
For one to critically understand any literature, it is important to
comprehend the primary characters in the literature and know
their roles according to the genre of the literature. This prompt
is of interest since I will be able to assess the characters actions
and decisions in writing. So as to achieve this, I will be forced
to read the literature critically. Therefore, it will enhance my
reading skills. This will also help me when am coming up with

2. my writing work as I will be able to bring up appropriate
characters that go hand in hand with the theme of the literature.
Comment by Grammarly: Deleted:und Comment by
Grammarly: Deleted:rsta Comment by Grammarly: Deleted:he l
Comment by Grammarly: Deleted:terature Comment by
Grammarly: Deleted:critically Comment by Grammarly:
Deleted:o Comment by Grammarly: Deleted:n l Comment by
Grammarly: Deleted:erature
3. What text(s) will you write about? Why?
I chose to write about Jhumpa Lahiri, ‘Interpreter of Maladies.'
From my perspective, I think that the story brings the role of
the characters. Mrs. Das a new community member is capable
of influencing Mr. Kapasi who seems not to be interested in his
life. Assessing the characters in the story will require me to use
my critical reading skills. From the story, I will be able to find
evidence to support my illustration of the character's
motivations and decision. I will be able to describe the role of
various characters in the story and how they are linked to the
main character.Comment by Grammarly: Deleted:own
Comment by Grammarly: Deleted:clearly Comment by
Grammarly: Deleted:w Comment by Grammarly: Deleted:th
4. What is your working thesis? Keep in mind that "working
hypothesis" means you can slightly
modify your thesis for the draft and final essay. Comment by
Grammarly: Deleted:/or
Mr. Kapasi, a middle-aged man, works as a tour guide who
encounters a significant transformation in his life after having a
conversation with Mrs. Das. Mrs. Das aptly convinces him the
importance of his job although he previously discounts it.
Comment by Grammarly: Deleted:re
5. What are three key ideas that you will discuss in support of
your thesis?
1. Mrs. Das significantly influences Mr. Kapasi to love his
career. Comment by Grammarly: Deleted:re
2. The Das family’s actions surrounding their children show
that their desires or interests do not accord with their

3. obligations.
3. Mr. Kapasi desires Mrs. Das to make him understand the
importance of his career to the society.
6. What questions/concerns do you have at this point about your
project?
One of my greatest concern in this project is whether I will have
the capability of bringing out the concept of the project in the
most appropriate way. The research materials to be used in the
project are also a primary concern, whereby I don’t plan on
relying on the internet only. I hope I will be able to find print
media or e-books to support my project.
Example of the Primary Source for the Annotated Bibliography
See the example below of the primary source:
Example of the Secondary Source for the Annotated
Bibliography
In your Annotated Bibliography you will find two sources that
will help you explore and discuss your primary text.

4. Ashford University - Ed Tech | CANVAS - ENG125 Assignment
Two
MILLIE JONES: Hello. I'm Millie, a tutor with the writing
center. For this week's written assignment, you'll
complete an annotated bibliography. This might be a new term
for some of you, so I'll explain.
A bibliography is a list of reference works used in a research
paper. An annotation is a note
about each work. Therefore, your annotated bibliography for
this course will contain the list of
works you intend to use for your literary analysis paper and a
note about each.
This might sound simple, and it is. However, there are still
certain expectations placed upon
you for this assignment. First of all, you need to understand the
differences between a primary
and a secondary source. For your literary analysis paper, your
primary source is the story,
poem, or drama that you'll write about. And secondary sources
are the articles you find where
another scholar writes about the primary text. In the sample
essay, the primary source is
Kafka's The Metamorphosis and the secondary sources are the
two articles that are used in

5. the paper to support the analysis.
For your annotated bibliography, you will include an entry for
your primary source and two
secondary sources. Be sure that your sources are scholarly. See
the information in the course
material on how to use the Ashford Library for research. More
is not better, so two sources
should be plenty. Don't forget to adhere to APA formatting for
the assignment. We've included
a template and a sample annotated bibliography to help you
understand exactly what is
expected of you in this assignment. Good luck with your
research.
Sample Annotated Bibliography
Prompt #2: “In some stories, characters come into
conflict with the culture in which they live.”
Working thesis:
Gregor Samsa’s physical transformation into a vermin is a
physical manifestation of his already

6. alienated state and demonstrates how his family viewed him as a
thing instead of a son or brother
that they loved.
Kafka, F. (1990). The metamorphosis. New York, NY: Scribner
Paperback Fiction.
The Metamorphosis begins when Gregor Samsa wakes up and
discovers he has been transformed
into a large insect. The story tells how he and his family deal
with his transformation, which a
focus on the dehumanization that Gregor faces in his job and his
family role. Gregor attempts to
communicate, but cannot and, isolated and misunderstood, he
slowly deteriorates. Kafka uses
Gregor’s transformation into an insect as a metaphor for how
modern life squashes our ability to
interrelate with others and create meaning in our lives.
Ryan, S. (2007). Franz Kafka’s Die Verwandlung:
Transformation, metaphor, and the perils of
assimilation. Seminar: A Journal of Germanic Studies, 43(1), 1-
18.
This source by Simon Ryan explores how Kafka’s Jewishness
created anxiety about his body,

7. particularly since anti-Semitism pervaded his Czech culture.
The stereotypes of Jewishness did
not allow Jewish people to easily assimilate into the dominant
culture, though many Jews
attempted to do so. Gregor Samsa’s transformation into an
insect is a metaphor of the power and
pervasiveness of anti-Semitism and the inability of a Jewish
man to fully assimilate. The insect
2
body symbolizes how Jewish people were viewed and Gregor’s
quiet extinction foreshadows the
Holocaust. This source helps to define how body image, coupled
with Jewishness, can alienate a
person from the culture around him.
Sokel, W. H. (1983). From Marx to myth: The structure and
function of self-alienation in
Kafka’s Metamorphosis. Literary Review, 26(4), 485-496.
Walter Sokel discusses the concept of self-alienation and how
Kafka’s story represents it in a

8. literal way. Using a Marxist analysis, Sokel shows how labor, as
it is defined in the story, is
structured within a capitalist system where the worker -- Gregor
-- is alienated from the product
of his labor. Therefore, his work has no meaning to him.
However, describing this as a “mythical
setting,” Sokel shows how Gregor assumes guilt for his inability
to provide labor and, as a result,
dies without ever recovering his humanity. This source will help
define why Gregor turned into
an insect and how the economic system alienated him from
himself and his family.