Presentation and "Interview"
Your assignment is to choose a novel or play, read it, and then be interviewed about it in front of members of the class. You will need to be ready to:
- offer a brief overview of the story,
- "sell" your text to us as one that we should read,
- be ready to address a few elements of literary analysis (a.k.a. "book club" topics), AND
- defend or qualify the book's literary merit based on a few of the characteristics below. In your presentation, be certain to provide specifics from the story to support what you have to say. Remember, you do not need to defend all seven; however, you should try to cover those characteristics that are present.
General Characteristics that Determine Literary Merit
- The characters are interesting and elicit discussion of the novel’s themes.
- The book has/expresses social, political, or ideological impacts on/about society.
- The themes elicit good discussion; there is not one trite message tied up neatly at the end. There is room for ambiguity and consideration of ideas from different angles.
- The book is fresh/demonstrates innovation in style – the message, characters, voice, and plot and structure are not just repeats of books that have come before it.
- The themes and the story are appealing to a wide audience and are relevant over time; therefore, the story has withstood/has the potential to withstand the test of time.
- The book is artfully written – consider the use literary elements used to convey theme (i.e. symbols, foreshadowing, imagery…all used to create a piece of ART, not just entertainment).
- The novel, or elements of it, evokes a strong emotional response that speaks to the human condition rather than being a story of mere sentimentality, cliche, or "pulp" fiction.