Mental illness affects many people, ranging from anxiety and depression to severe psychosis. One aspect of mental illness that is often overlooked is the irrational need for control that motivates the mentally ill. Write and essay of 600 words examining how the narrators and characters in Jill McCorkle's short story "Billy Goats" and William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" try to control their reality, how that effort at control motivates their actions and attitudes, and what that need for control reveals about the narrators and main characters.
Primary Sources
- Jill McCorkle's "Billy Goats"
(1-20) - William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily"
- McCorkle, Jill. Creatures of Habit. Little, Brown, 2003. Print.
Requirements:
- Length: Your essay must be a minimum of 600 words.
- Documentation Format: You must include an MLA formatted Works Cited page that includes correctly formatted internal citations for all source material used.
- Sources: You are restricted to these two short stories.
- Number of sources: You must use both short stories. You may not use any other sources.
For this essay, students must not use any sources other than the short stories themselves. 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 should base the discussion of the theme on their own close reading of the stories.
Students must use MLA style documentation. Internal citations should identify authors and page numbers. Students must also include an MLA Works Cited page.
Finally, students should proofread carefully their final drafts for spelling, grammar, and punctuation as well as clarity, conciseness, and completeness. The essay will be evaluated based on how well students develop their arguments with significant support from the text and articles (thesis, topic sentences, supporting details from the stories); clarity, cohesion, and conciseness; correct use of MLA format; and grammar and spelling.
