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Essay Instructions: Paper 1: Critical Reading to Develop an Argument


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read Simon book chapter 10 in the "Trash culture"
Simon does not argue that COSMOPOLITAN is just like PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. He considers it an "adaptation of established literary forms" (117). It does, he conceeds, "retain the essential elements of the older literay forms: concern with psychological growth and development over time, the interest in courtship and sexual behavior, the sense of an emerging coherent self, the problems of mastering social convention" (117). However, the magazine in his view is quite different from the woman''s coming of age novel. What is his point?

In a thesis-driven, well-developed essay, explain and illustrate the key difference, pointed out by Simon, between Cosmo and the female coming of age novel. You must back up your ideas with concrete textual support taken from the February issue of Cosmopolitan magazine (Britney Spears is on the cover) and Austen''s PRIDE AND PREJUDICE.






NOTE: This is as much a reading assignment as it is a writing assignment. You need to critically examine chapter 10 in TRASH CULTURE and illustrate your ability to grasp Simon''s ideas and overall point, in particular, how COSMO is distinct from Jane Austen and the female coming of age novel.