Essay prompts for Essay #3
Please choose only ONE of the following topics. Please be thorough and cite examples and give quotes from the entirety of the novel. You will be graded on the support (specific, detailed examples and relevant quotes) as well as your argumentation. You will also be rewarded for the sophistication of your expression and ideas, the fluidity and clarity of your paper, your grammatical correctness, correct spelling and punctuation, and the breadth and depth of your paper.
These papers should be 1400 words pages, typed, double-spaced, 12-point font, with 1-inch margins. Do NOT put extra space between paragraphs. Simply double-space throughout and use the tab key to indent the first line of each paragraph.
All essays must include an introduction that begins with an attention-getter. Include a statement in your first few lines that uses the name of the author and the title of the book. Please remember that book titles are italicized or underlined.
Your first paragraph should include a clear, complete thesis statement.
Main body paragraphs should begin with topic sentences and must include both examples and specific quotations taken accurately from the novel. The relevance and significance of this support must be made clear to the reader with thoughtful, precise, and complete explanations. Always reference and introduce your quotes (no “quote-plopping.”) Needless to say, but I will anyway, a good paragraph is about 8-10 sentences in length. Your conclusion should sum up your main ideas, restate your thesis, and make either a personal observation or leave the reader with something to think about.
Although it is acceptable to use the “I” voice in this paper, please remember that this is a formal academic essay. Never address the reader, use slang or casual language, or announce/declare your thesis or topic sentences. (In other words, never say, “In this paragraph I’m going to talk about Huck.” Or, “My essay is about…”) The tone of this essay is elevated and formal. You are writing college-level work.
While writing this paper, you may refer to outside sources; but these sources must be correctly CITED as per M.L.A. guidelines. The consequences for plagiarism include a zero on the assignment, with no option of extra credit or a replacement assignment. Do your own work!!!
Use a header at the top left of your paper. It should have four lines. On the first line, put your name, first and last. On the second line, put English 382 - Pamplin. On the third line, put the date you will be turning the paper in. On the the fourth line, put the name of the assignment, like this: Essay #3: Prompt #1/Civilization (or Prompt 2/Masterpiece or Prompt 3/Huck and Jim.)
CHOOSE ONE.
Prompt #1:
At the end of the novel, Huck says, “But I reckon I got to light out for the Territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she’s going to adopt me and sivilize me and I can’t stand it. I been there before.” Why, at the end of the book, does Huck once again reject “civilization”? In your essay discuss:
Prompt #2:
Ernest Hemingway once said that all American literature came from one book: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. According to Hemingway, it’s “the best book we’ve got.” However, other scholars and students of literature dare to disagree with this assessment. Examine the novel Huck Finn as a masterpiece of American literature. Does it deserve a place in the canon of Great Books? (Do not automatically assume that your teacher agrees with Mr. Hemingway.) Support or refute Ernest Hemingway’s claim. Take a stand for or against the inclusion of this novel as an important book to include in American Lit II. Develop your reasons for or against the novel’s stature as an icon of American literature. Provide specific and intelligent reasons, and support those reasons with specific examples from the novel, as well as relevant quotes. You will also need to examine American society (and its students) today, as contrasted with society in the past. Thus, you will need support from both the novel and “real life” when constructing your arguments and marshalling your support.
Prompt #3:
Trace Huck’s changing relationship with Jim throughout the course of the novel. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn gives us a glimpse of one summer in the life of the thirteen-year-old boy. During that time, Huck develops an extraordinary friendship with Jim, a runaway slave. Although Huck never comes to a final awareness that his society is wrong to enslave another human being, he ultimately chooses loyalty to a friend over the legal and moral code of his land. Discuss Huck’s “journey” in this changing relationship with Jim. Be sure to address:
This assignment was adapted from one at www.sonorahs.org
These papers should be 1400 words pages, typed, double-spaced, 12-point font, with 1-inch margins. Do NOT put extra space between paragraphs. Simply double-space throughout and use the tab key to indent the first line of each paragraph.
All essays must include an introduction that begins with an attention-getter. Include a statement in your first few lines that uses the name of the author and the title of the book. Please remember that book titles are italicized or underlined.
Your first paragraph should include a clear, complete thesis statement.
Main body paragraphs should begin with topic sentences and must include both examples and specific quotations taken accurately from the novel. The relevance and significance of this support must be made clear to the reader with thoughtful, precise, and complete explanations. Always reference and introduce your quotes (no “quote-plopping.”) Needless to say, but I will anyway, a good paragraph is about 8-10 sentences in length. Your conclusion should sum up your main ideas, restate your thesis, and make either a personal observation or leave the reader with something to think about.
Although it is acceptable to use the “I” voice in this paper, please remember that this is a formal academic essay. Never address the reader, use slang or casual language, or announce/declare your thesis or topic sentences. (In other words, never say, “In this paragraph I’m going to talk about Huck.” Or, “My essay is about…”) The tone of this essay is elevated and formal. You are writing college-level work.
While writing this paper, you may refer to outside sources; but these sources must be correctly CITED as per M.L.A. guidelines. The consequences for plagiarism include a zero on the assignment, with no option of extra credit or a replacement assignment. Do your own work!!!
Use a header at the top left of your paper. It should have four lines. On the first line, put your name, first and last. On the second line, put English 382 - Pamplin. On the third line, put the date you will be turning the paper in. On the the fourth line, put the name of the assignment, like this: Essay #3: Prompt #1/Civilization (or Prompt 2/Masterpiece or Prompt 3/Huck and Jim.)
CHOOSE ONE.
Prompt #1:
At the end of the novel, Huck says, “But I reckon I got to light out for the Territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she’s going to adopt me and sivilize me and I can’t stand it. I been there before.” Why, at the end of the book, does Huck once again reject “civilization”? In your essay discuss:
- What “civilization” means to Huck
- Specific instances of hypocrisy, cruelty, and social satire in the novel (This will take several paragraphs)
- Contrast the raft life of Huck and Jim with the shore world
- What Twain thinks of society in particular and mankind in general
Prompt #2:
Ernest Hemingway once said that all American literature came from one book: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. According to Hemingway, it’s “the best book we’ve got.” However, other scholars and students of literature dare to disagree with this assessment. Examine the novel Huck Finn as a masterpiece of American literature. Does it deserve a place in the canon of Great Books? (Do not automatically assume that your teacher agrees with Mr. Hemingway.) Support or refute Ernest Hemingway’s claim. Take a stand for or against the inclusion of this novel as an important book to include in American Lit II. Develop your reasons for or against the novel’s stature as an icon of American literature. Provide specific and intelligent reasons, and support those reasons with specific examples from the novel, as well as relevant quotes. You will also need to examine American society (and its students) today, as contrasted with society in the past. Thus, you will need support from both the novel and “real life” when constructing your arguments and marshalling your support.
Prompt #3:
Trace Huck’s changing relationship with Jim throughout the course of the novel. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn gives us a glimpse of one summer in the life of the thirteen-year-old boy. During that time, Huck develops an extraordinary friendship with Jim, a runaway slave. Although Huck never comes to a final awareness that his society is wrong to enslave another human being, he ultimately chooses loyalty to a friend over the legal and moral code of his land. Discuss Huck’s “journey” in this changing relationship with Jim. Be sure to address:
- The way Jim is depicted in the earliest chapters and how both Huck and Tom treat him.
- Huck’s decision to turn Jim in, then his decision to trick the slave-hunters as they approach the raft.
- Huck’s apology after the fog incident.
- Huck’s surprise over Jim’s misery regarding his daughter. How is Jim a foil, or contrast to, Pap?
- Huck’s argument with Jim over King Solomon and the French.
- Huck’s decision to tear up the letter to Miss Watson.
- Huck’s tolerance of Tom’s escape plan.
- Huck’s rationalization after Jim sacrifices his freedom for Tom.
This assignment was adapted from one at www.sonorahs.org