English 1A/10

Second 2-page Paper

due date
Monday, September 22, at 3:10 in class.

topics
Choose one topic. Write a two-paged typed paper. If you write about Clerks, you must watch the movie again (we will expect the correct character names and some direct quotes from the film).

1. Dante (from Clerks) and Shakur both claim, in one way or another, that they have no choice about what they are doing for work. Why do they make this claim? In your opinion, are there any differences between Dante and Shakur's justifications for their behavior?

2. Shakur compares banging to several other kinds of work, such as being in the military or being part of a corporation. What is the effect of these comparisons, and why do you think he wants to make them? You might consider whether the comparisons work to clarify his experiences to a particular audience, or if Shakur wants to shed light on the reality of the institutions he likens to gangs.

hints
Make sure that your essay begins with a thesis paragraph in which you clearly state what you're going to talk about in the essay and what you will be arguing about it. Remember, you are stating your opinion in the thesis paragraph, and then using the rest of the essay to show how your opinion is based on logical analysis of the movie and/or the book. Use direct quotes or summaries from the texts to demonstrate how your argument grows out of a well-founded interpretation of the readings. Always try to keep the summary to a minimum, however, and play up the interpretation.

Here's an example of a summary:

Caitlin returns from college to get back together with Dante, but then she accidentally has sex with a dead man and is shipped off to the hospital.

Here's an example of analysis that grows out of a summary:

When Caitlin has sex with a dead man and claims she's been with Dante, Dante realizes that, even in the eyes of a woman who finds him appealing, he's like a dead man. His work in the store has made him so passive that he's unable to make any move to change his future and "get a life."

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