Short Paper #4

Due March 29

Paper should be 4 to 5 pages in length, typed, double-spaced, no extra spaces between paragraphs, 12 point Times New Roman font, 1 inch margins, stapled. Please give your paper a title, but no separate title page is necessary. I expect papers to be polished – that is, grammatically correct with clear writing and paragraph structure.

Using sources, please respond to one of the following paper prompts:

*You’ve read narratives of several Native Americans and the conflicts they experienced when their culture was transformed when white Americans settled the West. Analyze and compare at least two of these documents in relationship to class themes--such as borderlands, hybrid identities, assimilation/Americanization, literacy, the loss of cultural memory in relationship to the loss of place/space, and mobility. How do these experiences parallel or differ from the experiences of other Americans we’ve discussed in class? (When you do compare these documents with other texts or people, point to specific examples. )

*Analyze several scenes and/or a character(s) in Willa Cather’s My Antonia in relationship to class themes such as assimilation, gender, ethnicity, social class, concepts of place/space and mobility, memory & identity [choose]. What ideas about American culture does Cather highlight in these representations?

*Analyze the theme of borderlands particularly in relationship to the characters and setting in My Antonia. How, for example, does the narrator, Jim Burden, occupy a "borderland" between assimilated mainstream culture and the immigrant culture represented by Antonia and her family? How might Antonia herself represent a borderland? How might the town of Black Hawk be regarded as a kind of borderland between the natural world and the "civilized" world?

Your essay should begin with an introduction paragraph that features a thesis: your concise response to the question at hand. The main body of your essay should develop the thesis by analyzing evidence and expanding on your argument. Each paragraph should begin with a well-crafted topic sentence. Good paragraphing often includes a conclusion sentence that ties the analysis in each paragraph to the thesis. Avoid too brief and too long paragraphs.

Your tone should be formal. Do not use the second person (“you”), and avoid over-use of the first person (“I.”) Use quotations sparingly. Long block quotes should be avoided. If you use direct quotes, make sure to work them into your analysis and help readers see their relevance.

You may use whatever citation style you feel comfortable with. Please be conscientious about citing your sources, and do not plagiarize ideas or words. When you quote or refer to passages in your sources, you should include a citation in the text of your paper that tells the page number(s) it came from. The citation could be a parenthetical citation or a footnote/endnote.