Responding to Karen Joy Fowler’s novel We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, write a thesis paragraph of 150-200 words in which you formulate an argument about the text, imagining that you will proceed to write a 750-word essay (but, to be clear, you won’t write the full essay). The paragraph must include a clear thesis (an argument) and identify evidence from the novel to support that thesis. In this assignment, you will demonstrate your ability to write clearly and persuasively about a defined topic in response to a literary text. Following the thesis paragraph, describe in 100-150 words the points, evidence, and examples you would use to develop this thesis into a full essay. This description of evidence should be written in full sentences, but you may use headings, bullet points, or a numbered list to help you organize your ideas. This assignment must include a list of Works Cited, prepared in MLA style. Choose one of the following four topics on Karen Joy Fowler’s novel We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves: Topics 1. Examine Madame Defarge as a metaphor or a symbol. What does she represent in Fowler’s novel? To help you answer this question, consider when she appears in the plot and how she influences the interrelationships and actions of characters. More broadly, how does Madame Defarge incarnate broader themes and ideas explored in the novel? 2. Rosemary withholds information as a narrator, something she acknowledges in her asides and addresses to the reader. Consider Rosemary’s role as the narrator of Fowler’s novel, focusing on her self-awareness as an unreliable storyteller. Why is Rosemary open about her omissions and 2 distortions? What does her narrative voice say about the novel’s broader explorations of identity, language, and memory? 3. Consider the role of fathers in We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves: think about Rosemary’s father Vince Cooke, the novel’s other paternal figures, as well as non-biological and interspecies father/child relationships. 4. “I am the daughter of a psychologist. I know that the thing ostensibly being studied is rarely the thing being studied” (99), Rosemary reflects on the experiment to raise Fern in a human family. What do the Cooke family members learn about each other, as humans, by living and interacting with Fern, a chimp? Discuss what the humans in Fowler’s novel learn about themselves by observing and living intimately with animals. You may choose to focus on one character’s process of self-discovery, such as that which Rosemary undergoes in the novel. 5. Rosemary dreads that her secret “monkey girl” self will be discovered by others and goes to considerable lengths to hide those aspects of herself that she considers “not quite” human. How does Rosemary reveal her “monkey girl” self, inadvertently and otherwise? How does her animality show itself and inform her character? Format and core features As you draft your response and compose an argument, keep in mind that the thesis: • Is a complete, concise statement about the topic • Is arguable: it can be disputed and is not merely opinion • Is manageable: is specific enough to limit the material • Is general enough to require proof • Is not self-evident • Acknowledges opposing points of view or other possible interpretations • Responds to existing ideas, assumptions, or conversations about the topic I have adapted the following four questions from Graff and Birkenstein to help you develop your position on Fowler’s novel (192): 3 1. What is the central conflict of Fowler’s novel? 2. Which side – if any – does the text seem to favour? Which side does Rosemary favour as the narrator? 3. What’s your evidence? How might others interpret the evidence differently? 4. How do you react to the text as a reader? What aspects trouble you? Entertain you? Make you laugh? Consider how your reaction or opinion as a reader can influence your argument. Submission procedure The assignment should be formatted according to MLA Style (and double spaced in an easily readable 12-point font) with a list of Works Cited. Close R