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Choose a character from a novel or play of recognized literary merit – you must use A Prayer for Owen Meany -and write an essay in which you (a) briefly describe the standards of the fictional society in which the character exists and (b) show how the character is affected by and responds to those standards.
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In retrospect, the reader often discovers that the first chapter of a novel or the opening scene of a drama introduces some of the major themes of the work. Write an essay about the opening scene of a drama or the first chapter of a novel – you must use A Prayer for Owen Meany - in which you explain how it functions in this way.
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In some novels and plays certain parallel or recurring events prove to be significant. In an essay, describe the major similarities and differences in a sequence of parallel or recurring events in a novel – you must use A Prayer for Owen Meany - and discuss the significance of such events. Do not merely summarize the plot.
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In great literature, no scene of violence exists for its own sake. Choose a work of literary merit that confronts the reader or audience with a scene or scenes of violence – you must use A Prayer for Owen Meany -. In a well-organized essay, explain how the scene or scenes contribute to the meaning of the complete work. Avoid plot summary.
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A critic has said that one important measure of a superior work of literature is its ability to produce in the reader a healthy confusion of pleasure and disquietude. Select a literary work that produces this "healthy confusion." Write an essay in which you explain the sources of tSome works of literature use the element of time in a distinct way. The chronological sequence of events may be altered, or time may be suspended or accelerated. Choose a novel, an epic, or a play of recognized literary merit – you must use A Prayer for Owen Meany - and show how the author's manipulation of time contributes to the effectiveness of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.
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Some novels and plays seem to advocate changes in social or political attitudes or in traditions. Choose such a novel – you must use A Prayer for Owen Meany -and note briefly the particular attitudes or traditions that the author apparently wishes to modify. Then analyze the techniques the author uses to influence the reader's or audience's views. Avoid plot summary.
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Writers often highlight the values of a culture or a society by using characters who are alienated from that culture or society because of gender, race, defect, class, or creed. Choose a novel – you must use A Prayer for Owen Meany -in which such a character plays a significant role and show how that character's alienation reveals or challenges the surrounding society's assumptions or moral values.
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The eighteenth-century British novelist Laurence Sterne wrote, "No body, but he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man's mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength, both obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time."
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From a novel – you must use A Prayer for Owen Meany -choose a character (not necessarily the protagonist) whose mind is pulled in conflicting directions by two compelling desires, ambitions, obligations, or influences. Then, in a well-organized essay, identify each of the two conflicting forces and explain how this conflict with one character illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. You may use one of the novels or plays listed below or another novel or work of similar literary quality.
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The most important themes in literature are sometimes developed in scenes in which a death or deaths take place. Choose a novel – you must use A Prayer for Owen Meany -and write a well-organized essay in which you show how a specific death scene helps to illuminate the meaning of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.
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In many works of literature, past events can affect, positively or negatively, the present activities, attitudes, or values of a character. Choose a novel – you must use A Prayer for Owen Meany -in which a character must contend with some aspect of the past, either personal or societal. Then write an essay in which you show how the character's relationship to the past contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
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Many works of literature deal with political or social issues. Choose a novel or play that focuses on a political or social issue. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the author uses literary elements to explore this issue and explain how the issue contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.
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