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Prompt

    Regarding Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, it has been argued many times that the problem with Oedipus, the thing that finally leads to his downfall, is his pride.  True, he tries to defy the prophets and the gods, but the punishment he finally suffers is truly wretched.  Does he get what he deserves?  Does he deserve what he gets?  Imagine that you are either Oedipus’ defense attorney, or the attorney prosecuting against him for the people, and make your case.

Directions:

Each paper should be 7-8 pages in length, double spaced.  They should answer the specific question that I have asked for each.  Each paper needs to contain the following elements:

–Your name and class information on the top left hand corner.  Put your first and last name, the name of the class, the instructor’s name, and the date.

–Continuous last name and page number on each page as a “header” at the top right hand corner of your paper.  Example:  Smith 1

–A title.  A good title indicates the tone and focus of your essay.

–Introductory paragraph(s).  This paragraph (or the first two paragraphs, depending how you as a writer organize your ideas), introduces the topic in general, the title of the literary work you are discussing and the author’s name, and should contain a thesis statement indicating your main idea for the paper.

–Thesis statement.  This sentence absolutely needs to be a statement, not a question.  You are telling the reader, within this statement, what specific idea you are going to focus upon within the rest of your essay.

–Clear supporting paragraphs.  These paragraphs are the “meat” of your essay, and should contain topic sentences (the main idea of each paragraph), and examples from the readings (or other sources, such as other essays) supporting your ideas.  All direct quotations and paraphrases need to be written using the MLA format for literary analysis papers.

–Concluding paragraph.  This paragraph is a restatement (not a repetition) of your introductory paragraph.  It should summarize your main points, restate your thesis in a different way, and leave the reader wanting more and thinking about the ideas you have established throughout your paper.

Quotations should be cited from the Textbook:

“Perrine’s Literature:  Structure, Sound, and Sense.”  Twelfth Edition.  Thomas Arp, Greg Johnson.  ISBN 978-0-285-05205-2.

You may also need to do outside research (use outside sources), and if you do use outside sources, you will need to use the MLA format in listing all of your sources.  The outside sources can be from books, magazines, professional journals, films, documentaries, the Internet, etc.  You will also need to prepare a Works Cited page if you use outside sources.