Mrs. Dalloway – Virginia Woolf

The assignment

This assignment has two parts: a short essay written in a structure that Ill give you, and a written reflection on the essay.

Part I (5-6 pp.): Demonstrate how you can interpret Mrs. Dalloway more meaningfully by using close reading to understand it in the context of the literary history of modernism. Use the essay structure below, bringing in at least one secondary source to define which feature of modernism proves most illuminating for you as a reader of Mrs. Dalloway.

Goals of the Exercise

      Deepen your appreciation of Mrs. Dalloway and modernist aesthetics;

      Refer to a secondary text to define modernism as literary critics use the term;

      Show how an understanding of literary history helps critics interpret a difficult text;

      Illustrate the utility of close reading as a method;

      Motivate an analysis of a primary text using a secondary source;

      Refine your use of the most important elements of academic writing: thesis, motive, analysis, evidence, and structure; and

      Strengthen your voice and your authority as a critic.

Structure

Im giving you the topic sentences of your first few paragraphs plus the conclusion, so you can experiment with using your thesis and motive in this way. The remaining body paragraphs should also begin with a strong topic sentence that makes a claim advancing your thesis. Every paragraph should be organized around a main idea, presenting the textual evidence and critical analysis you need to make your case.

***** PLEASE FOLLOW THE FORMAT GIVEN BY THE INSTRUCTOR ******

Your name
ENG 242
Date

Title

            For a reader in New York City in 2021, Virginia Woolfs Mrs. Dalloway (1925) resists easy interpretation, but it also invites critical attention.

      Give your reader a brief (two sentences or so) orientation about Mrs. Dalloway: If we havent read it, or we havent read it in a long time, what do we need to know about it to follow your argument in this paper?

      Identify a specific feature of this novel that makes it hard to interpret.

            This interpretive problem becomes easier to solve, though, if we read Mrs. Dalloway in the context of the literary history of modernism in the United States and Europe.

      What was modernism, generally?

      What feature of modernism do you want to use to read Mrs. Dalloway?

            To understand Mrs. Dalloway more fully as a modernist novel, we can read it alongside [your secondary text].

      What secondary text helps you understand the feature of modernism you want to discuss?

      How does this text illustrate modernism as you understand it?

      How does it promise to help you understand Mrs. Dalloway?

            Mrs. Dalloway becomes more susceptible to critical interpretation in this light.

       Identify a passage or section of Mrs. Dalloway that illustrates what makes the text difficult in the way youre describing;

        Read that passage or section closely through the lens of your secondary text; and

       Demonstrate how the novel makes more sense to you if you read in this context.

            [Write your own topic sentence to make a claim: What will you demonstrate with close          reading?]

                        This will take you at least three paragraphs. Each one should have a topic sentence                            that makes a claim advancing your thesis, showing your reader how you can                                             understand Mrs Dalloway better by reading it this way.

By reading Mrs. Dalloway as a modernist novel in this context, I see…

       Name the specific insight you gained about the novel by reading it this way.

       Pull the threads of your analysis together to identify precisely what you understand about this novel that you wouldnt have understood if you hadnt read it in this context of literary history.

       If significant interpretive challenges remain for you about this novel, tell your reader what they are. What would you like to understand better at this point? 

Works Cited

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