Research Assignment

English 1102 Research Assignment

For this project, you will make the case that “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” “A Rose for Emily,” and “Good Country People” are examples of Southern Gothic literature by your own original analysis as well as the skillful and accurate incorporation of required research. The demonstrated ability to use MLA 8th edition formatting and documentation style is as important to the project grade as the content of the essay, so make sure to pay equal attention to both.
Specifically, you will be answering the following research questions based upon this topic. The research questions are as follows:

What are the defining characteristics of southern gothic literature?
How does “A Good Man is Hard to Find” qualify as southern gothic literature?
How does “Good Country People” qualify as southern gothic literature?
How does “A Rose for Emily” qualify as southern gothic literature?

You will organize your research paper around the answers to these questions. Your research project will be 1500-1800 words. You are required to use and cite the sources (Your citations MUST include accurate page numbers) that are listed on this assignment sheet and linked in Library Guides on the CTC website, using a minimum of 5 secondary sources and 3 primary sources. You may not use any other sources. Sources such as encyclopedias and Sparknotes are not permitted. Doing so will jeopardize your grade. You will be required to read several pre-selected articles, book chapters, and web sites. All of the required resources that you will use for this project are available online via GALILEO, web sites, or CTCs library guides. The paper must follow all of the conventions of MLA formatting including double spacing. Failure to include the required documented research in this essay will result in a grade of 0.

Remember: Any source that you place on your works cited page must be cited in the paper and any source cited in the paper must be found on the works cited page. Not doing so is an indicator of plagiarism and will seriously jeopardize your grade. You must include the page numbers of your sources when you cite them within your paper (Oliver 56). The page numbers cited in the paper must match those listed on the works cited page. Omitting these page numbers or using page numbers that do not match those listed on the works cited page will negatively impact your grade.

You will need to locate and review the following sources. Please note that you will not use all of these resources in your final paper and that some of the sources may not be useful to you at all. The sources listed below are not written in MLA format and must be converted. There is a sample under Course Documents.

In turnitin, an originality report is produced which is visible to the student as well as the instructor. Any paper which consists of excessive quoted material (more than 30%) will receive a significantly lowered grade and may possibly fail. Conversely, the similarity match should not fall below 10% as this indicates a lack of research. Ultimately, the content of the paper should be largely original, but adequately supported by quotes.

List of Required Sources:

Primary Sources
Faulkner, William. “A Rose for Emily.”
O’Connor, Flannery. “Good Country People.”
—. “A Good Man is Hard to Find.”

Sources for Definition and History of SGL Genre and Biographical Info on Authors
For definition and history of Southern Gothic literature genre use the following website:
https://oxfordre.com/literature/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190201098.001.0001/acrefore-9780190201098-e-304
MWP: William Faulkner (1897-1962) for biographical information
Faulkner, William: William Faulkner on the Web
New Georgia Encyclopedia for information regarding Flannery O’Connor

Book Sources Available through CTC_ONLINE (CTC Library—use a title search)
Bloom, Harold. Flannery O’Connor
—. William Faulkner
Di Renzo, Anthony. American Gargoyles: Flannery O’Connor and the Medieval Grotesque
Martin, Carter W. The True Country: Themes in the Fiction of Flannery O’Connor
Wacker, Norman. “A Good Rose is Hard to Find: Southern Gothic as Signs of Social Dislocation in Faulkner and O’Connor.” In David B. Downing’s .Image and Ideology in Modern/Postmodern Discourse
Whitt, Margaret Earley. Understanding Flannery O’Connor

Periodical Sources Available through GALILEO (ProQuest or EBSCOhost) Remember: These sources are not in MLA format. Use the MLA 8th edition resources in Blackboard or at the Purdue Owl website to convert them to the correct format.

(P) = ProQuest (E) = EBSCOhost

(P) Askin, Denise. “Anagogical Vision and Comedic Form in Flannery O’Connor: The Reasonable Use of the Unreasonable.”. Renascence 57.1 (2004): 47-62.
Bandy, Stephen “’One of My Babies’: The Misfit and the Grandmother.” Studies in Short Fiction (33:1) 1996, 107-17.
(E) Blythe, Hal. “Faulkner’s ‘A Rose for Emily.’” Explicator (47:2) 1989, 49-50.
Desmond, John. “Flannery O’Connor’s Misfit and the Mystery of Evil.”. Renascence (56:2) 2004, 129-37.
(E) Dilworth, Thomas. “A Romance to Kill for: Homicidal Complicity in Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily.”. Studies in Short Fiction (36:3) 1999, 251-62.
Donaldson, Susan V. “Making a Spectacle: Welty, Faulkner, and Southern Gothic.” Mississippi Quarterly Fall 97, Vol. 50 Issue 4, p 567-85.
(P) Fike, Matthew. “The Timothy Allusion in ‘A Good Man is Hard to Find.’” Renascence 52.4 (2000): 310-21.
Gleeson-White, Sarah. “A Peculiarly Southern form of Ugliness: Eudora Welty, Carson McCullers, and Flannery O’Connor.” Southern Literary Journal (36:1) 2003, 46-57.
(E) Holsen, Ruth M. “O’Connor’s ‘Good Country People’” Explicator Spring 84. Vol. 42 Issue 3 p. 59 ½ pg.
(P) Kurtz, Elizabeth Carney. “Faulkner’s ‘A Rose for Emily’” Explicator Winter 86. Vol. 44 Issue 2, pg. 40 ¾ p.
(P) McEntyre, Marilyn Chandler. “Mercy That Burns: Violence and Revelation in Flannery O’Connor’s Fiction.” Theology Today 53.3 (1996): 331.
(E) Oliver, Kate. “O’Connor’s Good Country People.”. Explicator (62:4) 2004, 233-6.
(E) Petry, Alice Hall. “Faulkner’s ‘A Rose for Emily.’” Explicator Spring 86. Vol. 44 Issue 3. p. 52. 3 p.
(P) Schaum, Melita. “’Erasing Angel’: The Lucifer-Trickster Figure in Flannery O’Connor’s Short Fiction.” Southern Literary Journal 33.1 (2000): 1-26.
(E) Wallace, James M. “Faulkner’s ‘A Rose for Emily.’” Explicator (50:2) 1992, 105-7.
(P) Walls, Doyle W. “O’Connor’s ‘A Good Man is Hard to Find’” The Explicator 46.2 (1988): 43.
(P) Yaghjian, Lucretia B. “Flannery O’Connor’s Use of Symbol, Roger Gaight’s Christology, and the Religious Writer.”. Theological Studies. 63.2
(2002): 268-301.

Steps in the Process (Outline and Bibliography are for your use and not for submission):

Develop your working bibliography
Make a “wish list” of all potential sources that you want to collect
Correctly format each bibliographical entry using MLA style
Attempt to locate sources from working bibliography
Create an annotated bibliography
Cross items off of your preliminary bibliography if you can’t find them or if you determine that the source is not what you need
For those items that are left, make notations as to how those items will be able to help in writing your paper—the annotated bibliography must include your entries written in MLA format and notes summarizing their content.
READ
Use the TOC and Index to help locate information quickly and easily
Skim books looking for sections and main ideas
Search for portions of the text that you can use as a quotation or as a paraphrase in support of your research questions.
ALWAYS have your research questions in mind when you are reading.
Take Notes
Highlight articles or sections of books that you have photocopied or printed identifying areas that you may use in your paper
If you are photocopying, make certain that you record the bibliographical information so that you can create your works cited page.
Use note cards to record exact quotations (be sure to record page numbers)
Write summaries or paraphrases immediately (be sure to record page numbers)
Create an outline
Indicate on your outline where specific quotations and paraphrases will be located
Determine the length of each section
(2 paragraphs for intro and conclusion, 3 or 4 paragraph for each body section)
Create deadlines for writing each section and stick to it
Write introductions and conclusions last
Draft
Revise your paper
Proofread / edit your work
Format
Final Paper
Do not be tempted to plagiarize your work. I realize that there are plenty of unethical resources available on the Internet. It is your responsibility as a student to make certain that the work you submit is yours alone, and it is my responsibility as your instructor to make certain that you did not plagiarize your work. The penalty for submitting assignments that are plagiarized in any way is a grade of “F” for both the assignment and the course.