English 202

Jane Austen: The Presentation and Longer Essay

For the final 8-10 page essay, you will examine a recurring feature of Austen’s novels that poses difficulties for a contemporary audience and compare its treatment in three novels and three or four film adaptations. You might, for instance, consider Austen’s treatment of children, fathers, mothers, servants, fallen women, romantic heroes, counterfeit heroes, clergymen, reserved heroines, the great house, letters, courtship codes, class distinctions--any feature of the novels that could confuse or disturb contemporary readers of Austen’s novels and so contemporary film viewers.

Once you’ve decided on a topic, you’ll of course need to go back and work with the texts and films you choose to analyze. The major support for your argument should come from your analysis of specific passages from the novels and scenes from the films. I’m also requiring you to consult and cite 3-4 secondary sources to help support your argument, including at least one essay on or review of a film or films, and at least one scholarly source on the novels.

Secondary sources:

Reviews of the films are easy to find on the internet, and this is one assignment where a popular perspective can be valuable. The pemberley.com website is also a good source for contemporary popular reactions to films and novels. For more scholarly discussion of the films, consult Jane Austen in Hollywood, ed. Troost and Greenfield (see table of contents on reverse), which will be on reserve. For a more specialized topic, you may want to consult the MLA on-line bibliography, accessible through First Search in the library, for scholarly studies of Austen’s work.

The essay:

The essay should begin by defining the issue you’re examining and should present a thesis about why this aspect of Austen’s novels poses difficulties in adaptation for a contemporary film audience. Go on to compare how the novels and films handle this particular feature of Austen’s novels, considering reasons behind changes the films make.

The essay should have a title, parenthetical page citations, and a Works Cited page giving publication information for all texts you use (including the Austen novels and films) in MLA format.

The presentation:

The presentations on 5/1 will be organized into panels according to topics. Each presentation should take no more than ten minutes and should include a summary of your argument and brief discussion of your research. Think of the presentation as an opportunity to get feedback on your argument as you move toward the final essay.

Due dates:

1-paragraph proposal for class discussion on Mon. 3/27

Individual conferences to discuss your research week of 4/17

Class presentations 5/1

Final essay due Tues. 5/16 in my office