The paper must include references to both the primary text (Adventures of Huckleberry Finn) and two secondary texts, Gerry Brenner's "More than a Reader's Response: A Letter to 'De Ole True Huck" and James Pehlan's "On the Nature and Status of Covert Texts: A Reply to Gerry Brenner's 'Letter to "De Ole True Huck.'" References must be documentented through parenthetical citations in the text and a Works Cited page at the end of the paper, following the standard format established by the Modern Language Association (MLA). You may have a handbook from your first-year writing courses that details all you will need in the way of directions for documenting sources. Other resources include the The MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, in the Reference section of the library, PN147 .G444.
The two articles are being sent to you as an e-mail
attachment.
To open the PDF file you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader on your
computer,
which you can get as a free download if you happen to be working from a
computer that doesn't already have this program.
Information for Works Cited entries:
Brenner, Gerry. "More than a Reader's Response: A
Letter to 'De Ole True Huck." 1990. Rpt. Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn: A Case Study in
Critical Controversy. Ed. by Gerald Graff and James
Phelan. Boston: Bedford, 1995. 450-468.
Phelan, James. "On the Nature and Status of Covert Texts: A Reply to Gerry Brenner's 'Letter to "De Ole True Huck.'" 1990. Rpt. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: A Case Study in Critical Controversy. Ed. by Gerald Graff and James Phelan. Boston: Bedford, 1995. 468-479.
Directions:
After reading Gerry Brenner's imaginative piece and Phelan's critical
response to it, consider to what extent Brenner sheds light on the
characters
Jim and Huck and to what extent he distorts the novel for his own
purposes.
Use that basic question to frame your own interpretation of the novel
in
relation to the central question or questions raised by the debate in
the
two articles. NOTE: While your own paper is a response to Brenner
and Phelan, your response will be primarily your own interpretation of
the novel, supported by detailed analysis of key passages from the
novel
itself--the kind of analysis you were asked to do in your first two
essays,
but this time you are free to (required to) select the passages most
suitable
for supporting your own argument.
Your analysis must include:
. a clear thesis couched in an appropriate introduction
. development of your argument through explication of appropriate
selected
passages from the novel
. clear and significant references to Brenner's fictive criticism and
Phelan's response to Brenner. It will be very important that you
present the views of each fully and clearly.
. a conclusion that emphasizes for your audience what your paper brings
to the critical discussion you have entered.
Assessment
See the grading criteria attached to your syllabus.