English 2F - Children's Lit
Essay 2 - Sociocultural/Historical Analysis

Purpose: To analyze the political and cultural messages, hidden and overt, in a child's text, to examine a text using sociocultural and/or historical theory to analyze a text, analyze a text as a reflection of cultural attitudes about children and childhood.

Directions: 

1. Review the material from Module 5 about historical and sociocultural criticism

2. Choose a book to analyze.

• Treasure Island
• Bridge to Terabithia
• Number the Stars

3.  Choose an approach to the text:

• Historical theory: do some research on the author's life and times, with the goal of demonstrating how the events of the author's life, and the cultural and political climate of his/her time, influenced the writing of the book.
• Feminist Theory: discuss the portrayal of gender and/or sex roles in the book. What are the subtle and overt messages about what it means to be a man a woman, a boy and a girl?
• Class Theory: discuss the portrayal of class in the book. What does the author seem to be suggesting about money, class and class structure?
• Race Theory: discuss the portrayal of race and ethnicity in the book. What does the author seem to be suggesting about race relations, and does the author seem to be reinforcing or challenging the status quo?
• Queer Theory: Because none of these books openly discusses themes of homosexuality, you could choose to discuss how the heterosexual paradigm is presented, and what assumptions the author might have about sexual orientation.
• Colonial Theory: discuss the "othering" of certain groups in the book. How are members of certain non-dominant groups portrayed in the dominant culture? What does the author seem to be suggesting about the status quo? Does the author challenge the way non-dominant groups are perceived or treated?

4. Write at 4-6 pages discussing the book from your particular perspective. Your paper should feature a thesis - a single controlling idea, developed with examples and quotes from the book. If you are using historical theory, your thesis should draw a conclusion about what influence the author's life had on the text in question. If you are choosing one of the sociocultural theories, your thesis will make a statement about how the author portrays the power imbalances, and what message the author is sending about how she views that power imbalance. Make sure you include quotes and specific references to the text to back up your conclusions!

5. Submit your response to the assignments chamber.

6. Relax in your favorite chair with your favorite beverage! Congratulations on finishing Essay 2.

7. Extra Credit Option: Post your essay to the extra credit forums.  You will receive extra credit if you post your response and/or respond to at least one other student's posting.