Q ESSAY TOPIC: We will be reading A Raisin in the Sun and several shorter works in our unit on the American Dream. Your task in the upcoming essay is to synthesize two texts. Create a synthesis of A Raisin in the Sun and one of the short works of your choice that we have read in this class (in this unit or another) where you examine these texts together to identify important connections or contradictions between the two texts’ portrayals of the American Dream. Main Task: Write a 5-7 page paper that answers two main questions: How do these two depictions of the American Dream relate to one another? That is, how do the two writers convey similar, or different truths or impressions about these experiences? What is significant about this comparison? In order to answer that second question, you can refer to the focus questions below, but do not feel limited to these topics: Are the authors saying something similar or different about the American Dream? If it’s a similar message, what’s significant about it? If it’s a different message, what is interesting/unique about what’s different? Do the authors seem to agree or disagree about the achievability of the dream? Why? What does this show or say to the reader? How might the ideas of these texts reflect changes – or lack thereof – in their shared setting of America? What are the authors saying about how race, socioeconomic background, or being an immigrant or native-born American affects the pursuit and attainment of the dream? Are there similar social philosophies between the two writers? What changed (or didn’t) about the American Dream between the publications of the two works? Here are some preliminary pointers for how you might organize your paper : The first thing to nail down is the tentative thesis. This will be where you connect the stories. Let say you're working with "Winter Dreams" and you are arguing for your thesis that you think both authors were saying that the American Dream, while it appears to offer hope, is actually hollow, and more of a nightmare than a dream. Let the thesis be the guide for how you organize the synthesis. You could compare Walter to Dexter and spend a paragraph talking about their similarities, while thinking, too, about why financial success happens for Dexter but not Walter, and why at the end of the pieces, there is resolution for Walter but not for Dexter. What other characters might you look at side by side? 3. You might also look at symbols that you think back up your thesis, like the $10k check that gets swindled, which you could perhaps compare to the elusive Judy Jones. Or maybe you want to look at the notion of dreams that must be "deferred" in both pieces. If you choose to look at historical context and at the authors themselves, don't do it as a general summary; instead do it as a way to shed light on backing up your thesis. 4. However you choose to go about your comparisons, make sure that your topic sentences align with and back up your thesis. If you want a little plot summary in your paper, that's fine, but it's not the main task; the main task is to declare and then defend your thesis as you look at these pieces side by side. Criteria for evaluation: A focused, thesis statement that draws a clear synthesis of the two texts being addressed Focused, well developed paragraphs with clear topic sentences A strong introduction and conclusion Properly framed and punctuated quotations, paraphrasing and summary that support your points A Works Cited page Clear and correct sentences