English 130 Betrayal Essay 1 PDF

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Essay Draft For Betrayal By Harold Pinter...

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Essay #1 English 130 Spring 2021  Close reading of a text (the play Betrayal) in the context of a source (Ch.2, “Defining Narrative” from The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative by H. Porter Abbott) 

Essay length: 4-5 pages (1000-1250 words)

Essay #1 will be based on a close reading of a text - in this case, a play - but in the context of a secondary source (the chapter by Abbott), which focuses on aspects of narrative. You will need to raise an interpretive issue around which you develop an arguable thesis, but will do so by using some aspect of the Abbott chapter as a lens through which to analyze Betrayal. In doing so, you will need to incorporate/respond to ideas from the Abbott chapter along with analyzing the play. This essay will call for an understanding of the Abbott material and concepts along with knowledge of the play and how the two texts relate to each other. Consider how the narrative structure of the play complicates our perceptions of the relationships and what we know or think we know about the characters. In the case of Betrayal, because the story is depicted through, for the most part, reverse chronology (the events are revealed with the ending at the beginning), our sense of what happens “next” is actually based on what happened to the characters previously. Is there any aspect of Abbott that, for instance, sheds light on the narrative structure or on the character relationships or on the characters individually? What does the Abbott chapter indicate about the nature of narrative and its various components, for example, narrative discourse, or constituent vs. supplementary events, that are presented in or can be connected to Betrayal? Can the Abbott chapter be “used” or “applied” in any other way? The more specifically you can connect some aspect of the Abbott chapter to Betrayal and the more specifically you can discuss Betrayal through the use of characters, scenes, dialogue, settings, etc. the more successful you are likely to be. RWL includes a section on the elements of drama (pp.120-122) along with a Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms beginning on p.187, although you will need to use Abbott’s terminology along with the terminology of plays. Also, keep in mind that the use of a source without acknowledgement constitutes plagiarism (see the English Dept. Statement on Plagiarism posted in Blackboard along with the information about plagiarism at the beginning of the assignment sheet). You will need to use MLA documentation, both in text citations and a Works Cited list that includes both Betrayal and the Abbott chapter. See RWL pp.48-50 on how to quote from a play. Refer to RWL pp.152-167 on how to use MLA documentation. There is also a sheet in Blackboard that gives overview information on MLA documentation. Draft Paragraphs in Blackboard for Peer Comments: Between March 19-26 (see the “Peer Commenting” document in Blackboard) Final draft due by email: by or before noon on March 30 – Word docs. only!...