The Island of Doctor Moreau
WRT 102.66, Fall 2014 Ms. Cox
Literary Analysis: The Island of Doctor Moreau ROUGH DRAFT DUE: October 2nd at the start of class. (Minimum of 5 pgs.)
FINAL DRAFT DUE: October 7th at the start of class. (6-8 pgs.) (Remember, both must be submitted both to me as a hardcopy and through either Assignments or
SafeAssign. If you do NOT bring a pre-printed hard copy, it’s an automatic -5 pts.) Requirements:
1,800 – 2,400 words (approx. 6-8 pgs.) + Works Cited Page Pose an original interpretation of The Island of Doctor Moreau. Reference one of the historical or critical readings from the Broadview editions (these are what
we read on Sept. 18). Prompt: So what? This is the question that we always ask in relation to literature. A conversation that you may have with an English instructor might go as follows:
Hetty was so tragic. So what? I mean, she had no one to turn to. So what? She was like, abandoned by her society for her affair with Arthur, but he wasn’t even punished. So what? It’s a real double-standard, you know. Hetty is punished for her desire. Now you’re getting somewhere.
A literary analysis should offer your analysis of a text’s relevance to greater culture. What is this text saying about one’s experience of the world around us? This is what you’ll seek to answer. To support your interpretation, you will draw on the language of the text, meaning direct quotations (you will need a minimum of one quotation per paragraph). Examples: You will have access to examples on Blackboard, so I recommend you look there. However, you might also review the chapter “Strategic Reading.” The authors illustrate what aspects of a text you might analyze and how to form an argument. Consider their reading of animals in Frederick Douglass narrative. They do NOT just say, “Frederick Douglas uses animals to represent the slave holders.” This is the type of statement to which you might reply, “So what?” It doesn’t tell you anything significant about the novel. Rather than make a general (and unexciting) statement like this, they argue, “Frederick Douglas uses animal imagery to represent the character of the slave holders, inverting the traditional association of animals with slaves to suggest that the slave holders are the true uncivilized monsters.” Which statement is better? Which one tells you more? Which one can you argue with? If Douglas refers to the slave holders as animals, you can’t argue with that, but you might argue that, rather than suggesting that the slave holders are monsters, Douglas inverts the traditional trope to suggest that the slave holders are not that different from the slaves from whom they want to distinguish themselves. Your job is to do this with The Island of Doctor Moreau. Pick an attribute of the story or text that you found particularly interesting and explain it in your literary analysis.
WRT 102.66, Fall 2014 Ms. Cox
Learning Objectives: At the end of this assignment you should have demonstrated your ability to do the following:
Analyze the language of a text. Incorporate terms that illustrate your familiarity with the genre of writing. Reference and analyze the language of the text to support your analysis. Write a clear thesis statement. Properly use MLA format. Logically organize your argument. Do college-level research.
Each of these objectives meets portions of the portfolio requires. The goal with assignment is to demonstrate your ability to analyze a text and form a cohesive argument explaining that analysis. Secondary is demonstrating your ability to do college-level research. (NOTE: Portfolios have been failed for being improperly formatted.)
