American Lit Final Literature & Language Essay Paper
Write an essay on Gish Jen's novel "Typical American." Make a strong ARGUMENT as your thesis statement, then support it with actual quotes and evidence from the novel. The essay should be arguing beyond the fact that Jen’s novel deals with the real struggles of immigrants -- this is just a simple fact. Focus on one detail of Jen’s novel -- not so much plot summary but rather how the story is told -- and how that specific detail impacts the greater narrative of the novel. For example, think about one specific challenge Ralph faces while trying to assimilate, rather than speaking about all of his challenges as a whole.
Final Literary Analysis Essay Prompt
Vital Signs
- 1500 words (1350-1650 words), include Word Count
- Double-spaced, Times New Roman, size 12 font
- MLA format with a Works Cited
Overview
The final paper is your opportunity to explore some of our texts in greater depth and demonstrate your mastery of close-reading skills. This is also your chance to apply your knowledge of contemporary American fiction conventions to the texts in our class.
While you may do some outside research, the majority of this paper should focus on the following text:
Gish Gen, Typical American (1991)
Your essay should use specific examples and quotes from it as evidence for your interpretation.
The key to this paper assignment is creating an argument that captures the complexities of the topic you are addressing and developing your argument with close-readings of passages.
Parts of the Final Paper
Title: The paper should have a descriptive title that introduces the texts and topic you will discuss; it might also hint at your argument or stance.
Thesis or Argument: Create a thesis statement that responds to the question in complex ways and one that you can support by close-reading the texts.
Successful papers:
- develop a claim or interpretation that can be supported using evidence from the texts
- don’t simply summarize plots or describe characters
- try to convince readers of the value of reading the texts in the ways you are suggesting they should be read
- suggest why your reading or interpretation is important
Body: The main method for arguing and source of evidence in this paper will be close-reading, or concentrating on small parts of the text and connecting their language, tone, and imagery to larger issues.
Close-reading involves:
- Slow, careful re-reading of specific passages
- Making connections between passages of the texts
- Relating their words, images, and details to your larger claim or interpretation, showing why these quotes are significant or persuasive
Counter Argument(s): Successful papers acknowledge multiple ways of reading the texts. Your argument or thesis should be complex enough to involve deep engagement with your chosen passages and consider multiple ways of interpreting the texts.
Conclusion: The conclusion is often the place which, rather than simply restate what you’ve already said, allows you to explore some of the larger implications of what you’ve argued for or to “take it to the next level.” In other words, you need to actually write the whole paper, to re-read and think about passages, and to make connections between passages, in order to come to an interesting or effective conclusion.
Works Cited: You must include an MLA style works cited for the novels that you discuss in the paper and any outside materials that you cite.
Rubric for Final Paper
|
A |
B |
C |
D |
Thesis Statement (25%)
Argument
|
Thesis statement is clear, insightful, thought-provoking, and focused so that it has potential to develop a strong argument. |
Thesis statement is clear and focused with a central idea, but is not consistently insightful or thought-provoking. |
Thesis statement is clear but conventional or general. (too obvious or irrelevant to literary analysis) |
Thesis statement is missing, or unclear or clichéd and demonstrates a lack of focus in support of the topic or a central idea. |
Development (40%)
Close-reading details Evidence Examples Logic arguments |
Development is fresh, with abundant strong close-readings and examples that provide relevant, concrete, specific and insightful evidence in support of sound logic. |
Development is adequate, but may lack depth, with details and examples that provide relevant, concrete, specific evidence in support of sound logic. |
Development is sufficient but general, providing adequate but perhaps not interesting details, examples, and evidence that include no logical fallacies or unsupported claims. |
Development is insufficient, providing scarce or inappropriate details, evidence, and examples that may include logical fallacies or unsupported claims. |
Organization (20%)
Structure Coherence Unity Transitions Secondary sources |
Organization is coherent, unified and effective in support of the paper’s argument and consistently demonstrates effective and appropriate rhetorical transitions between ideas and paragraphs. |
Organization is coherent, unified and effective in support of the paper’s argument and usually demonstrates effective and appropriate rhetorical transitions between ideas and paragraphs. |
Organization is coherent and unified overall in support of the paper’s argument, but is ineffective at times and may demonstrate abrupt or weak transitions between ideas or paragraphs. |
Organization is confused and fragmented in support of the paper’s argument and demonstrates a lack of structure or coherence that negatively affects readability. |
Style & Mechanics (10%)
Sentence Structure Word choice Tone Grammar Spelling Punctuation |
Style is confident, readable and rhetorically effective in tone, incorporating varied sentence structure, precise word choice and correct grammar, spelling and punctuation. (Mastery of style) |
Style is readable and rhetorically effective in tone, incorporating varied sentence structure, effective word choice, and correct grammar, spelling and punctuation. (Effective style) |
Style is readable, but unremarkable in tone, including a lack of sentence variety effective word choice, or some errors in grammar, spelling and punctuation. (Readable but inconsistent style) |
Style is incoherent in tone, including a lack of sentence variety, ineffective or inappropriate word choice, and serious errors in grammar, spelling and punctuation. (Ineffective style) |
Format (5%)
Presentation Sources Documentation MLA style |
Format is correct, meets all assignment directions, and works expertly to support the essay’s purpose. |
Format is correct, meets all assignment directions, and works generally to support the essay’s purpose. |
Format is mostly correct, meets critical aspects of assignment directions, and works mostly to support the essay’s purpose. |
Format is faulty, does not meet sufficient aspects of the assignment direction, and does not support the essay’s purpose. |
Professor’s Name
Course
Date
A Critic of Immigration theme in Gish Jen’s Typical American
Gish Jen's novel "Typical American" is a novel that introduces to the readers some of the details of the challenges the Chinese experience while they are trying to adjust with the American life in the United States. The novel presents the conflict between the American culture and the ancient culture. As stated by Jen in the novel “I think that something about… complexities of our times makes me want to hear every voice I can hear...”After the end of World War II, the rise of power by the China communists prevented of citizens from China who were in the United States and were involved in the war to return back to their homeland. The novel follows the life of Yfeng Chang from who arrived in the United States. Ralph decides to enroll for a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering while Teresa enrolls in a medical school. This paper provides a critical analysis of how effective Gish Jen develop the theme of immigration and the real struggles of immigrants using the experiences of Ralph.
The theme of migration and immigration has been widely explored in Gish Jen's Typical American Novel. The writer shows how Chinese immigrants transform and cope in United States. Furthermore, she manages to give native Americans back to themselves in a more sharpened and self-recognition nature. Arguably, the novel explores the dreams and lives of Chinese Americans, which the author had created another version of the American dream, the hope of Chinese Americans. Jen focuses her story on her main character Ralph, who migrates to the U.S from China in 1947 to pursue Ph.D. Apparently, he changes his name from Lai Fu Chang to Ralph on arrival to the U.S. The novel reveals the experiences of Chang's family as they adjust to the American freedom (Jen 5). In their pursuit of adjustment, they are caught up in the web of the American dream and greed as they try to cope with their suburban life.
Ralph and his relatives protect themselves while living in America by referring to anyone of them who is non-compliant as 'typical Americans.' Jen uses this term to show how Chinese immigrants must drop their culture and embrace the culture of typical Americans in order to survive in the west. However, their Chinese-American children don't comply with these protective strategies because they believe all options are open to them. Therefore, Jen has the ability to narrate the struggles of the Chinese immigrants in America in a more poetic description and well-developed characters. For instance, Ralph's sister, Theresa, and her roommate Helen try to save Ralph from his carelessness. It appears that Ralph has sacrificed his dreams and those of America (Jen 12). To keep their culture alive, the t...
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