ENG

4: American Literature
Essay 2: Historicism Analysis

Assignment Description:

Previously, we looked at intertextuality and how a work interacts with other works.
Now, we need to examine how a piece of writing interacts with when it was written. For
your second analysis paper, you will be writing a historicism analysis focusing on a
contemporary interpretation and argument for The Crucible by Arthur Miller.

You will establish a stance on an interpretation of the narrative, as well as elements

within the story, that argues how this work has relevance and merit for a contemporary
audience. You should examine how and/or why this story, set in the 1590’s and written in
the 1950’s, has any relevance or impact on 2020.

To begin working through your ideas, you should be practicing a deconstructionist

approach. Break the story into elements that interest you. Look for patterns that emerge
that have deeper meaning or relevance. Then, ascribe meaning to those patterns. Look for
ways that the meaning you interpret has weight on today’s society. By deconstructing the
play into pieces, the entire work becomes malleable. The strength of this essay is in the
meaning you ascribe to the narrative elements, and the parallelism you apply to the
historicism of the work. You might use the following questions to generate some ideas:
 When the play was written, what was the intention? Was it effective? How would it
have hit the audience emotionally or logically?
 Are there any elements of the play that could possibly happen today? Is it all
irrelevant and silly, or are there moments when things could be superimposed onto
today’s society?
 What moments have an emotional impact on you? Where there any moments or
scenes where you had to shake your head, gasp, or smiled? Those moments can
most likely be translated to modern times.
As you work on your own analysis paper, be sure that you are assigning meaning to
specific passages of dialogue in the text. Also, be sure that you are explaining those
examples fully. Help readers to see how your analysis proves the interpretive claim in your
thesis. Remember, your job as a writer is to convince me that: 1) you read and understood
the story, 2) you can apply the terms and concepts from previous English classes as well as
class discussions and 3) that I should accept your interpretation of the content of the
narrative. Be persuasive and give me lots of evidence and explanation.

Assignment Requirements:

Your short paper will be in analytical format (meaning it will have a clear thesis that
makes an interpretive argument and is supported by analyses of textual evidence), and
should use the third person (e.g. don’t use the pronouns I, me, mine, us, we, ours, you or
yours).
 Your paper should be between 1500 and 1750 words (approximately 5 and 7 pages)
long, Times New Roman font, and in 1” margins. Please follow MLA manuscript format.
You must effectively communicate your analytical argument to an academic reader,
using diction and a tone appropriate for collegiate writing. Choose a vocabulary that is
specific—the terms should be familiar to English academia—and evocative—remember
that MSWord has a thesaurus built-in (hit shift+F7 after highlighting the weak word
you’d like to improve).
You must also include some evidence, in the form of descriptions, quotations or
paraphrasing, from the play. However, as you integrate this evidence into your paper
you should go beyond merely summarizing or giving an opinion. Instead present a clear
claim that interprets the ambiguity you find in the text.
Evaluation Guidelines:

A. The essay should include a clear statement of claim including any necessary
qualifications, a clear explanation of reasons and evidence, and enough relevant
evidence to support the claim.
B. The essay should have an introduction that (1) introduces the topic and (2) provides
a thesis statement about the writer’s position or claim. The introduction should be
concise.
C. The argument should effectively integrate material from sources with your
own writing. The source material should be carefully attributed to its author,
and the material must be properly cited using MLA guidelines.
D. The reasons and evidence presented by the writer should be convincing, credible,
and logical.
E. The essay should comprise sentences and paragraphs that logically develop your
argument. The transitions between sentences, paragraphs, and sections should be
clear.
F. The essay should be free of grammatical, mechanical, and usage errors. Pay
attention to the following:
 clear use of modifiers
 effective incorporation of quotes, paraphrases, and summaries
 correct attribution and citation commas
 sentence boundaries