Practical Criticism, Essay #2

Like your first assignment, this will be a 5-page analytical essay, this time focusing on Denis Johnson’s Jesus’ Son. In order to move one step closer to your final research paper, however, this time you must engage with the Susan Jeffords article on post-Vietnam masculinity that we have been discussing. Obviously this essay deals with a postwar era that is already culturally distant. Jesus’ Son came out quite awhile after the films and books she discusses here. But how might we talk about the book in these terms, making use of Jeffords’s framework, making it relevant to our own historical moment? Has the gendered landscape continued to shift? What’s the status of Vietnam now, in our national memory, our mythography? How have the first Gulf War and our current wars altered the dynamic Jeffords describes?

In order to do this successfully, you will need to articulate a thesis that in some way places your essay in dialogue with Jeffords’s position. This doesn’t mean that you must either fully agree or entirely disagree with her: simply that, as happens in most conversations, you adopt a part of her argument, a significant claim that she makes, and use it as a springboard for your own argument about Jesus’ Son. (You may also, of course, incorporate critical vocabulary from the Bressler chapters.)

You may choose to focus on one story in the collection, or you may deal with several. If you focus on one, make sure you discuss the story in considerable depth, providing the reader with quite a clear sense of the story. If you incorporate more than one story, you should still (as concisely as possible) try to give the reader a sense of the main thrust of each story as well as a sense of how they are connected.

Jeffords’s article covers a great deal of cultural ground, so this gives you plenty of options in terms of how to approach the text. You might focus on representations of masculinity—or, alternatively, the relationship between masculinity and femininity. What about images of heroism? Metaphors for rebirth? The representation of African Americans in the 70s? The place of Vietnam in our national imagination, or collective memory? And that’s just the beginning….

You’ll want plenty of close, careful textual analysis of the story or stories you choose to work with, of course. You’ll also want to quote—or paraphrase—enough from Jeffords to establish a meaningful engagement with her article. Pay attention, too, to the way Jeffords structures her paragraphs: they tend to begin with an assertion, more on to close discussion of culture and or/texts as she explores that assertion, and end with an insight that paves the way for the next paragraph—which will introduce, not simply a new example, but a new assertion, one made possible by the work done in the previous paragraph.

Schedule of Deadlines:

Wednesday, Oct. 21: One (substantial) paragraph in which you describe your project: what stories will you focus on, what aspect of Jeffords’s argument will you engage with, what questions do you seek answers to. Also: 5 passages from Johnson that are relevant to your paper. Type them out and follow them up with at least half a page of freestyle textual analysis. UNPACK. Look closely at language, metaphor, punctuation. Choose rich, complex, even puzzling passages: they’ll yield more useful ideas. Finally: sketch out, paragraph by paragraph, how you might structure your paper: what idea you’ll focus on in each paragraph, what textual evidence you’ll examine, how you’ll connect it to Jeffords, how you’ll transition to the next paragraph/idea. This can be quite rough, but I’d like you to take a serious stab at it. The in-class workshop will REQUIRE you to have done all of this work.

Monday, Oct. 26: 4-page draft due. Submit for comments. Returned Wednesday.

Monday, Nov. 2: Final draft due. Turn in both drafts, your notes, and peer evaluations. You MUST include a properly formatted works cited page (MLA style; we’ll discuss this in class). You should use correct MLA parenthetical documentation throughout. Your title should be meaningful and specific; strive for originality. Use a standard 12 pt. font (I prefer Times New Roman or Palatino) and standard margins; there should be no fewer than 250 words per page (use the word count function to check this if you’re unsure). There should NOT be an extra space between each paragraph; you may need to change your computer’s default setting to prevent this. Manuscripts should be typed, double-spaced, and fastened with a paper clip or staple. Place both drafts in a folder, along with your other process-based assignments. Make sure your pages are numbered. Your paper must be at least five full pages; a little longer is fine. Proofread carefully. You will lose points if you don’t follow these instructions carefully.

Please feel free to come to my office hours (or make an appointment) at any time during this process; I will be happy to discuss your essay at any stage during its development. I cannot, however, simply comment on emailed drafts or paragraphs: if you would like feedback outside of the designated workshops, please come to see me in person.

Remember that I have places essay-writing guidelines as well as a template online; I strongly recommend that you consult them.