At what point in the story does the climax occur? Is resolution offered? In this example, you would want to consider all aspects of plot as explained in the “Introduction to Fiction” in Literature: A Pocket Anthology, and take detailed notes as you read. Then read the story again, but this time, focus your attention on another element of literature, like point of view. Which point of view is used? Does the point of view, as defined in the “Introduction to Fiction,” remain the same throughout the story? At what moments in the story does the point of view become significant? How and where, specifically, would the story change if the point of view was different? Continue rereading the story, each time focusing on a different component of literature. For each, be sure to note specific passages that seem significant in terms of the component you’re investigating. Now look over the notes you have taken during these readings and then consider the theme of this module: women and the community. In one sentence, summarize the view of women in the community that is shared in the piece of literature you’ve chosen. Such a sentence is a strong basis for a thesis statement for this paper. Then prove your thesis statement — the theme of women in the community, as portrayed in the poem, play, or story you’ve selected — by carefully explaining specific examples of elements of literature that reflect this theme. For example, how does a poem’s imagery emphasize this theme? Or what about a play’s use of reversal? Provide your thesis statement in your opening paragraph, consider several elements and provide specific examples of each, and be sure that each paragraph links directly to your thesis statement. Finally, explain why this theme is significant. Why is it an important theme to consider in today’s society? Reading module – Rape, by Adrienne Rich There is a cop who is both prowler and father: he comes from your block, grew up with your brothers, had certain ideals. You hardly know him in his boots and silver badge, on horseback, one hand touching his gun. You hardly know him but you have to get to know him: he has access to machinery that could kill you. He and his stallion clop like warlords among the trash, his ideals stand in the air, a frozen cloud from between his unsmiling lips. And so, when the time comes, you have to turn to him, the maniacs sperm still greasing your thighs, your mind whirling like crazy. You have to confess to him, you are guilty of the crime of having been forced. And you see his blue eyes, the blue eyes of all the family whom you used to know, grow narrow and glisten, his hand types out the details and he wants them all but the hysteria in your voice pleases him best. You hardly know him but now he thinks he knows you: he has taken down your worst moment on a machine and filed it in a file. He knows, or thinks he knows, how much you imagined; he knows, or thinks he knows, what you secretly wanted. He has access to machinery that could get you put away; and if, in the sickening light of the precinct, and if, in the sickening light of the precinct, your details sound like a portrait of your confessor, will you swallow, will you deny them, will you lie your way home?
