For our final essay I am happily writing Reader-Response on the novel The Last American Vampire. I am running into some problems finding credible sources to use as my three references to other critics. Since my novel is fairly new I decided to use the genre (mixing real events with fantasy) to conjure up what I need in order to gather enough information.
As far as the rest of the essay, I am really enjoying writing it. I am using the concept of projection and living vicariously through others with my novel. I am also using what it means to truly be an American, which just so happens to be in the title. The final aspect of my paper is how everything tends to head back to a single person and that is none other then Abraham Lincoln himself.
I am finding that my thesis is very complex and trying to relate every paragraph back to it is going to be impossible. Therefore, I might have to eventually break up my paper into sections, but I was hoping to get all of your opinions on that during our workshop period.
One other thing that has got me worried is the idea of paraphrasing in Reader-Response. I honestly do not think I can paraphrase because the quotations are so vital in order to prove my point. So far the aspect of my paper that I have worked on is very quote heavy and I would love to keep it that way because it helps the reader to fully relate to the main character, Henry Sturges. That is what Reader-Response is after all! :)
Here is my thesis so you all could take a stab at it!-
The
Last American Vampire presents the Reader-Response theory
brilliantly through the projection of all the characters on Sturges, including
the reader, and in turn Sturges resting his own immortality onto everyone who
crosses his path while keeping true to the American way and warping history
into fantasy.
(excuse the double space) Thank you! -Kayleigh
Kayleigh, this is great progress. I am really sorry for commenting on yours so late. I keep starting at the top when I come to comment so I end up reading the most recent posts and I didn't realize I'd missed yours.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, two thoughts: I get your need not to paraphrase and I can also present plenty of essays that used quotes heavily to do reader response. The holland essay about unity identity text self quotes extensively from frosts letters to demonstrate frosts identity theme. The dramatic monologue essay quotes extensively from Elizabeth Barrett browning's poem to demonstrate why readers don't judge the speaker and why readers conflate the author and the poem's speaker. So I'd say that while paraphrase is common, it's not a rule.
In other words, don't worry about this!
DeleteSecondly, your thesis. I'm confused, since I think you're the opposite here than you were saying in your earlier post. Are other characters projecting onto sturges or is he doing the projection. It's unclear in your thesis who is doing the projecting. Second, connect projecting to reading explicitly in your thesis. Tyson does this clearly, I,e,, explains why projecting is a form of reading. That's not a given, right? It needs to be explained. Next, I don't know what this means: "sturges resting his own immortality on everyone else"? What does resting mean here? also, I'd use a semicolon and write the second part of this as a separate independent clause (I.e. Like its own sentence with a standalone subject/verb). Lastly, you make two huge moves at the end of your thesis statement, American way and history into fantasy. I'm not following (and this may be too much to do in a thesis). Two suggestions: set up the American/fantasy/history context in intro so of these ideas arent totally new here. (You're probably already doing this...). And /or use a partition sentence where you outline your paper sections to bring up these further ideas. This will also help with the point you made about this difficulty of linking everything to your thesis with an argument that is this complex and has sub-parts. Sections allow you to just link to the theis of that section, rather than the thesis of the whole paper. Then you link the section thesis to the paper thesis at the beginning and end of the section. Does that make sense?
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry this comment is so hard to read. I am writing on the electronic keyboard on my iPad. Please let me know where I have been unclear.
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