Major Project 3

Zero draft due: Thurs., Feb. 2
Full draft due: Tues., Feb. 7
Finished product due: Thurs., Feb. 16
When you turn in your finished version, include any drafts with teacher comments as well as any peer critiques.

At some point in your life, you've probably encountered a conversation, article, or textbook debate about some work of art—a movie, a painting, a concert, a novel. Because works of art are generally rich with IMPLIED rather than EXPLICIT meanings, and because those implied meanings can be complex, multiple and paradoxical, interpretations of a given work can vary among viewers or readers and are usually open to argument.

This doesn't mean that all interpretations are equally valid, or that any interpretation at all is meaningful.. A thoughtful reader, no matter what interpretive framework is used, will pay close attention to the work in question, will avoid merely speculating about the author's purpose, and will base his or her claims on specific evidence, usually in the work itself.

Keep in mind that we are not talking about art reviews here. The review is an argument of evaluation (is something good or bad, worthy or unworthy). What you want here is an argument of interpretation. That is, you're not JUDGING the book; you're examining its meanings and trying to understand it more deeply and richly.

For this project you will analyze and build your own interpretation of a contemporary literary work, Rule of the Bone. As with any commentary, your goal is to illuminate your subject for your readers. That is, you want to

A good way to focus any interpretation of literature is to build your argument around your view of the work's main theme or themes. That is, what, in the largest sense, is Rule of the Bone about, and how are we encouraged to regard that topic? Is the primary theme related to leadership or mentoring? Parent-child relationships? Coming-of-age in America in the 90s? Father figures? The meaning of "community"? The meaning of "education"? The meaning of religion? The meaning of nonconformity in America? What view of race or gender emerges in the book? What primary effect on its readers does the book ultimately seem to have?

For your interpretation of the novel, you might pick one of these topics/themes/issues and analyze how it plays out in the course of the story. In other words, consider what questions are raised in the book about your chosen theme, and then consider how those questions seem to be answered by the end or by the story as a whole.

You're free to focus on any facet of the work which you consider interesting or important, and you're free to interpret the story any way you wish, as long as you carefully support your claims with clear reasoning and specific evidence—description, examples, summaries, scenes—from the book itself. Because the topic of "leadership" is currently being stressed in our College Composition program for English 120, a "mentoring" focus would be an excellent idea.

All essays should provide "critical context." That is, they should comment at least briefly on what interpretations of the book have already been offered, and how your interpretation fits in among them.

Imagine that your essay will appear in a casebook on Rule of the Bone designed for college students. (A casebook is a collection of essays interpreting and commenting on a literary work to broaden readers' understanding.) Alternately, you might see this as an entry for a literary blog, your audience being any adult, avid reader of literature.

Your essay should be adequately researched. That is, not only should you have read the novel carefully, but you should look into what commentaries have already been written about it and how your views stack up again others'. (You've put your interpretation in a critical context.) Your essay should have a strong central point (thesis), apparent early on and throughout. That point should be supported in the body of the essay with explicit claims and ample grounds, including good, specific details and examples from the novel. Take care to also acknowledge—and refute—opposing views. The paper should show a discernible structure, attention to audience, coherence between parts, and extra-conscientious editing for mechanical errors and stylistic flaws such as comma splices, redundancy or wordiness, incomplete sentences, run-ons, typos, etc. All sources should be documented according to MLA format, or as appropriate for audience. Finally, you should clearly show that you understand what it means to interpret a subject, and that you can write an interpretive argument or commentary. Your essay should show evidence that you've read our Call to Write assignments and viewed any relevant course Power Points.

A = outstanding (stands out from the rest); fulfills all assignment criteria with distinction; creative and insightful (thesis is genuinely illuminating and fresh); may have a minor flaw or two, but these are overshadowed by the strengths. 27-30 pts.

B = very good; fulfills all or nearly all assignment criteria; may lack creative spark or flare, or may have an undistinguished or slighly obvious thesis, but otherwise presents a well-written argument. 23-26 pts.

C = ok; fulfills most assignment criteria, although marginally, or may fulfill some criteria very well and others with noticeable weakness. 19-22 pts.

D = poor; fulfills only some of the criteria, or, while fulfilling one or two reasonably well, is conspicuously lacking for most others. 15-18 pts.

F = unacceptable; does not fulfill any or a reasonable number of criteria. below 15 pts.