Flood myths are common around the world. Typically, in flood myths, an older, imperfect world is destroyed because of human failures, and a new creation takes place. After the flood, the world is reborn and remade, giving humans a second chance. Flood myths express the belief in both imperfection and the possibility of redemption" (Leeming, "Flood" 138). Just as baptism of an individual represents a death to the old self and a rebirth to a new self (death, burial, regeneration), flood myths express the same imagery applied to the cosmos, the world-system.
The Tilted World by Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly is set in the small town of Hobnob, Mississippi during the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. Ted Ingersoll and his friend are federal agents tasked with capturing a bootlegger. Dixie Clay Holliver and her husband are the bootleggers that Ingersoll is trying to find. The story explores the conflicts thata develop between Ingersoll and Dixie set against the backdrop of the flood. In an essay of 600 words, examine how the motif of the flood myth shapes the narrative and developing relationship of Dixie Clay and Ingersoll in their search for a better world.
Prewriting
“The Old World”
Flood myths often focus on the destruction of an old, flawed world and the rebirth of a new, improved world.What characteristics and details from Dixie Clay and Ingersoll's world before the flood indicate the flaws of that world?
“The Destruction of the Old”
The flood physically changes the world that Dixie Clay and Ingersoll had lived in. What details from the novel symbolize the end of their old world or that indicate the passing of their past lives? What actions, events, or other things symbolically represent the death of the old world?
New World
What details from the epilogue illustrate the new world that Dixie Clay and Ingersoll are now entering?
Resources
Requirements
- Length: Your essay must be a minimum of 800 words.
- Documentation Format: You must include an MLA formatted Works Cited page that includes correctly formatted internal citations for the stories and the additional resources.
- Sources: You are restricted to the novel The Tilted Worldas a source. It is not necessary to document the information given in the assignment about the flood motif. Do not use any other source material. Your essay is based on your own close reading and analysis of the novel.
- Format: The essay must be in MSWord format (.doc or .docx)
- Explain symbolism of flood myths: the archetype of floods representing an old life, death, and rebirth.
- The introduction should explain the symbolism of flood stories as representing the cycle of life, death (of the old world), burial, and resurrection (to the new world).
- Use as illustration any or all of the following: baptism, Noah's Flood, O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Do not use the movie if you have not seen it)
- First topic sentence: The problems with the world of Dixie Clay and Ingersoll before the flood;
- Second topic sentence: The changes illustrated during the flood (what is being lost, what will be gained); and
- Third topic sentence: The nature of the new world they will create for themselves.
- The old, flawed world: In what ways is the world of Dixie Clay and Ingersoll flawed? Use specific details that demonstrate what is wrong with that world. Think about this both in terms of their individual personal lives as well as the nature of the world around them. Do not neglect details from their lives before coming to Hobnob. (Prologue through Ch. 15)
- The flood: What details during the flood itself represent or symbolize the old world that is being washed away or their old lives they are leaving behind? What details during the flood represent or symbolize the new world that Dixie Clay and Ingersoll will make for themselves? (Chs. 16-19)
- The new world: What details from the epilogue illustrate the new world that Dixie Clay and Ingersoll are now entering? What will this new world be like? How will it differ from the world they have left behind? How will it be a better place? (Epilogue)
Students must use MLA style documentation. Internal citations should identify the page number and section for the novel. Students must also include an MLA Works Cited page.Students should proofread carefully their final drafts for spelling, grammar, and punctuation as well as clarity, conciseness, and completeness. The final draft should be typed, double spaced, with one inch margins, in Times New Roman 12 pt. The essay should be a minimum of 800 words.
The essay will be evaluated based on how well students develop their arguments with significant support from the poems (thesis, topic sentences, supporting details from the novel); clarity, cohesion, and conciseness; correct use of MLA format; and grammar and spelling.For this essay, students may use a dictionary to help with words with which they are not familiar but should not refer to the dictionary definitions in the essay. Students must use MLA style documentation. Internal citations should identify the author and line number for the poems and author or authors for any articles or other resources. Students must also include an MLA Works Cited page.
Students should proofread carefully their final drafts for spelling, grammar, and punctuation as well as clarity, conciseness, and completeness. The final draft should be typed, double spaced, with one inch margins, in Times New Roman 12 pt. The essay should be a minimum of 900 words.The essay will be evaluated based on how well students develop their arguments with significant support from the poems (thesis, topic sentences, supporting details from the poems); clarity, cohesion, and conciseness; correct use of MLA format; and grammar and spelling.
Essay Map
Introduction
Lead
Thesis
The Tilted World by Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly examines the flawed world that is washed away for a new, better world for Dixie Clay and Ingersoll. (You should not use this exact wording, but you should have this general idea as your thesis--there are better ways to state the thesis idea. This is given as a general guide.)
Body
Topic Sentences
The topic sentences for this essay should explain
Supporting Details
This essay will have three body paragraphs:
Conclusion
What is the significance, importance, relevance, or value that this story reveals, both regarding Dixie Clay and Ingersoll as well as the significance, importance, relevance, or value the story might have for anyone experiencing a difficult life or a major change in life?
Works Cited
Leeming, David. "Flood." The Oxford Companion to World Mythology. New York: Oxford UP, 2005. Print.
