Posted: April 17th, 2015

Make an argument about A Day in the Country’s intertextual reference to either Auguste Renoir’s painting, The Swing or the paragraph of Maupassant’s story beginning with, “Mademoiselle Dufoir was trying to swing.” Suggest the significance of the reference then support your argument through 2) close analyisis the painting or the passage from the story and of 2) a relevant series of shots.

Paper 1,

Papers are due at the BEGINNING of class on Thurs, 4/23 in hard copy and on safeassign. No credit will be given to papers not submitted in both modes. Make sure you submit the exact same version/draft of the paper on safeassign as in hard copy. Papers up to 1 week late will be penalized (25% deduction); papers will not be accepted more than a week after the deadline.

Please staple or paper clip the pages and number them. Be sure to reread and correct your work to avoid careless (and other) errors. Writing does “count”! If we can’t understand your ideas or if we are distracted from them, that detracts from the substance of your work.

Your first assignment is a comparative close analysis of 1) an excerpt of a literary work, a painting and 2) a related film clip In order to write a satisfactory or better paper, you need to work closely with both the passage from the literary work and the film clip you are analyzing. You should rewatch your clips numerous times, using the pause and rewind functions. Writing from memory will not suffice for a good or excellent paper.

Choose one of the following topics and write 600-800 words (use “Tools” or the appropriate function on your computer to indicate the word count at the end of your paper). Double space or 1.5 space. (No single or triple spacing.) Use 12 point font. Do not skip extra space between paragraphs. You may print on both sides of the page to save paper. Number pages. Indicate which topic # you’ve chosen and come up with a creative title.

Pay attention to not only what is said or shown, but also how. Sean will work with you on literary and film analysis/terminology and your papers, specifically, in the week 4 screening.

Choose one of the following pairs of texts and topics:

1. Make an argument about A Day in the Country’s intertextual reference to either Auguste Renoir’s painting, The Swing or the paragraph of Maupassant’s story beginning with, “Mademoiselle Dufoir was trying to swing.” Suggest the significance of the reference then support your argument through 2) close analyisis the painting or the passage from the story and of 2) a relevant series of shots.

2. Do a comparative close analysis of the passage with the little girl in chapter 16 of Shelley’s Frankenstein and of the scene featuring Maria in Whale’s Frankenstein. You might refer to the Helga sequence in Brooks’ Young Frankenstein in a sentence or two in conclusion. Make sure to go beyond comparing action/plot; consider cinematic techniques, including the visual and/or dialogue and genre.

3. Do a comparative close analysis of Mary Shelley’s 1831 introduction to Frankenstein and Edward Van Sloan’s introduction to Whale’s film, highlighting the concept of genre. Be sure to go beyond what we already discussed in class, examining both texts more closely and rigorously. Note that there is plenty to delve into beyond what we covered!

4. Choose a paragraph long passage from “Chabela Wedding Cake,” chapter 2 of Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate, and analyze it in relation to the corresponding scene from Alfonso Arau’s film. Possible questions to ask and answer (choose 1):

1. a) does magical realism carry over from the novel to the film? b) Does the recipe at the outset of the chapter appear in the film? If so, how?