Description
For this assignment, you will make a calculated and defendable decision in the form of a
cogent, five-paragraph-minimum analytical essay (1500-2000 words) at a level appropriate
for a college sophomore complete with introduction paragraph (to include a fully-developed
claim/position/thesis statement with roadmap/blueprint plan, i.e. summation of
support), three supporting body paragraphs (each following the P.I.E. model, i.e. Point,
Information, Explanation) with adequate transition signals/devices between each of them,
and a suitable conclusion paragraph that synthesizes more than it summarizes.
Using the core value of “personal development” as your “jumping off” point, the challenging
decision you are asked to make for this written assignment is this: Decide how a major
character in one of the primary text readings transformed himself or herself from the
beginning of the narrative to the end. The character may either be a hero, heroine, mentor,
herald, threshold guardian, ally, trickster, or shadow (villain). You may explain this
transformation with the language of the Hero’s journey, (e.g., departure phase, initiation
phase, return phase), or you may use another technique such as identifying three or more
character traits that improved throughout the course of the narrative. Conversely, you can
approach the idea of personal development as a negative slide downward. For example, you
might note three or more ways that a character negatively “developed” or devolved, on a
personal level, into a much more degraded and less functional being as s/he progressed
throughout his or her journey. However, once your “decision” is made—it will be in the form
of a thesis statement—your three or more well-constructed arguments used to defend it
must show clear evidence of the critical thinking tools listed on the assignment rubric.
For your thesis statement, please choose one of the following two approaches. If you would
like to use an approach that differs significantly from these models, please consult with your
instructor, for prior approval, BEFORE you begin to write.
Option 1—One Character & The SLU Core Value of Personal Development
Model Structure of Thesis:
In nationality (if known) name of author (birth/date year)’s (if known) genre _title of
text_ (date of publication), name of character exemplifies/disregards the SLU core
value of personal development in the following three ways: way/place/event 1,
way/place/event 2, and way/place/event 3.
Sample Thesis:
In Canadian Jackie Rich’s (1901-84) novella, It Happened Suddenly, One Autumn (1956),
Angelica, the protagonist, demonstrates the SLU Core Value of personal development in
three key ways. The first was when she was presented the challenge of helping her old
neighbor carry his packages up the stairs of their flat; sarcasm is her default reaction, but
she keeps her remarks to herself about his statue of Ganesh. Angelica’s second sign of
restraint—evidence of growth—is when she eats the rotten-smelling kimchi prepared by her
brother’s fiancée at their house. Finally, she reports her boyfriend Curtis, the disgruntled
postman who steals magazines from the tenants who are away on vacation, thus showing
that some new stage of emotional maturity had taken place in the character since the
beginning of the narrative.
Note: The final three sentences of this paragraph comprise the thesis’s “blueprint
plan.” Roadmaps/Blueprint plans are a required component—if you need review
this concept, see the links below.
Criniti, Amy. “What is a Thesis?” Academic Resource Center. Wheeling Jesuit University.
2002. Web. 1 May 2013 http://www.wju.edu/arc/handouts/thesis.pdf.
Egan, M. A. “Developing a Thesis Statement: The Vital Step.” PowerPoint Presentation.
Loyola Academy Writing Lab. Web. 1 May 2013
http://www.goramblers.org/document.doc?id=462.
Jerz, Dennis G. “Blueprinting: Using the Thesis Paragraph to Plan Your Essay.” Jerz’s
Literacy Weblog: Humanities/Cyberculture/Journalism/Writing. Seton Hill University. 24
March 2012. Web. 1 May 2013 http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/academic1/bluepr...
Option 2—Two Characters & The SLU Core Value of “Personal Development”
(Classic Comparative Analysis)
Note: The characters can either be two characters from same text or one character from
two separate texts).
Model Structure of Thesis:
The SLU core value of personal development, can be amply demonstrated, albeit in vastly
different manifestations, in the protagonists of both nationality name of author 1
(birth/date year)’s genre _title of text 1_ (date of publication) and nationality
name of author 2 (birth/date year)’s genre _title of text 2_ (date of publication).
Sample Thesis:
The SLU Core Value of Personal Development has an important role to play in the lives of
the protagonists from both Canadian Jackie Rich’s (1901-84) novella, It Happened
Suddenly, One Autumn (1956), and Australian Virgil McGovern’s (1918-96) play, Counting
Black Sheep in the Daytime (1977).
Insert roadmap/blueprint plan of thesis here, i.e., the same three arguments for
why that particular core value is so important in both cases, e.g., both
transformed into mothers, both learned about the consequences of selfishness,
both learned the practical value of keeping an open mind.
Note: If you need review this concept, see the links below.
Sources:
Criniti, Amy. “What is a Thesis?” Academic Resource Center. Wheeling Jesuit University.
2002. Web. 1 May 2013 http://www.wju.edu/arc/handouts/thesis.pdf.
Egan, M. A. “Developing a Thesis Statement: The Vital Step.” PowerPoint Presentation.
Loyola Academy Writing Lab. Web. 1 May 2013
http://www.goramblers.org/document.doc?id=462.
Jerz, Dennis G. “Blueprinting: Using the Thesis Paragraph to Plan Your Essay.” Jerz’s
Literacy Weblog: Humanities/Cyberculture/Journalism/Writing. Seton Hill University. 24
March 2012. Web. 1 May 2013 http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/academic1/blueprintingusing-the-thesis-paragraph-to-plan-your-essay/.
Explanation & Answer
Kindly check the answer in the attachment
Surname 1
Student’s Name
Professor’s Name
Course
Date
The Transformation of Elizabeth in the Story of Pride and Prejudice
Our capacity for accomplishment is largely determined by our personality. As our
personality grows, then our capacity also becomes greater. In a given story, we can always
perceive the connection that exists between accomplishment and personality, especially so when
a bad person eventually suffers for his evil acts. In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, we come
across several characters with various personalities. That of Elizabeth Bennet is especially
intriguing with both traits of pride and prejudice. Elizabeth resents Darcy from the first time they
meet based on a statement that she overheard him makes. She immediately concludes that Darcy
is a proud individual. Based on her judgement, Elizabeth believes all the bad things that she
hears about Darcy. However, towards the end, she admits that she was wrong about Darcy,
shows her regret, and the two eventually get married. The character of Elizabeth in Pride and
prejudice develops from pride, to prejudice, and finally to humility.
In our first encounter with Elizabeth, we see a pretty, charming, young woman who is an
intellectual with a great sense of humor. However, these great qualities are not the only ones she
inherited from her father; she also too after her father’s caustic cynicism that can see through
physical appearances and mock those around her. When Elizabeth first meets Darcy, she is
outraged by his aloof and proud behavior. However, this was not so because she thinks that he is
not entitled to it or does not deserve it, but because Darcy’s behavior reminded Elizabeth of her
Surname 2
personal social inferiority. She states that she could have easily forgiven Darcy’s pride if it had
not humiliated hers. From that point, Elizabeth makes conscious effort to tease Darcy, and she
even confesses to Jane that she does all of this just for the sheer joy of having someone to laugh
at. Elizabeth feels that disliking someone without a reason greatly boosts her ego. For this
reason, Elizabeth readily believes Wickham’s lies about Darcy without questioning because it
justifies her cynical wit and wounded pride. Never at any point does Elizabeth imagine that
Darcy would ever ask her hand in marriage, and that at some point she would actually desire it.
In her mind, Darcy was an object of ridicule and scorn, and she could not in any way perceive
that Darcy actually presented her with a real opportunity to be emotionally fulfilled and to
advance socially. Charlotte even volunteers to hint this idea to Elizabeth but she does not
concede it in any way. In her mind, all Elizabeth could see was the irreconcilable opposition that
she felt against Darcy, only for her to realize much later that this was just an illusion.
A first, Elizabeth drew her satisfaction from criticizing Darcy from a distance. However,
Wickham’s story ignites her flames and makes her bold enough to provoke and tease Darcy
openly while they were dancing. She also openly laugh at him while she was staying at
Netherfield. In all this, she did not at any point imagine that Darcy was attracted to her because
to her, Darcy did not belong in her social setup but was a subject for her critical assessment.
Elizabeth has all reasons to believe that Darcy was responsible for the sudden departure of
Bingley from Netherfield and the inability of Jane to meet up with him in London. After the
confirmation of Darcy’s role at the Rosing’s walk by Fitzwilliam, Elizabeth’s earlier dislike
become an intense anger against Darcy. When Darcy proposes to her ...