Essay Instructions: Total Sources needed: 2 original sources(the American novels I mentioned above) and at least 3 of critical sources (I also provide a list with suggested bibliography).
Before discussing the details concerning the paper ,please read the following note:
Attention! Special requirenments for the writer who is going to take this assignment:
1)Since I`m going to need a lot of proves from the very sources, the writer should be closely familiar with the following two American novels: Edith Wharton`s The House of Mirth and Theodore`s Dreiser`s Sister Carrie;
2)Preferably, he should belong to academic circles or, at least, to be familiar with the academic style of writing( I`m mentioning this because I`ve already had an unpleasant experience from one of your authors of totally "anti-academic" writing with some general superficial phrases, inadequate quotes without references to the sources and so on, therefore I don`t want to encounter with that again);
3)He/she should have an excess to online/regular libraries because I`ve made some research on my subject and came up with a list of bibliography I want him to use for this paper(some of the material(that which is not so long) I`ll try to fax you.
Now, about the paper itself. I need 10 -paged close analysis of Wharton`s The House of Mirth and Dreiser`s Sister Carrie in terms oftheir "theatricality"(this dramaturgical term is very often applied to the materially cultured New Yorkat the turn of the centurypresented in these two novels with its exaggerated emphasis on social behavior, appearances,clothes, possessions and so on.In particular, I have two suggestions: 1)To take as a basis Rousseau`s conception of theatre and how we are affected by the theatrical relations enacted outside as well as inside the playhouse by people who face each other as actors and spectators(this is very evident in both of the novels: the link between private and public is blired ?the exaggerated emphasis placed upon appearences, clothes, hotels, cars, posessions andso on... On Rousseau`s conception I suggest two books: Lionel Trilling, Sincerity and Authenticity... and David Marshall, The Suprising Effects of Sympathy(ch.5:Rousseau and the state of theater). You may probe this theory against? these novels to see the similarities and differences( Inhis Hard Facts ,Phillip Fisher argues, for instance,(and I`m agree with him) that Dreiser`s presentation, though in many points corresponds with Rousseau, still goes beyond Rousseau in his refusal to contrast acting with sincerity, to oppose the representation of what one is not to authentic self-representation . Instead ,according to Fisher ,acting for Dreiser involves not deception but practice, not insincerity but installment payments on the world of possibility. It`s just enough to remember Carrie`s playing in the theater--seemingly the most "real" moments i nthe novel as opposed to the flat representation of the same heroine throughout the novel..But I`m not sure where to place The House of Mirth in regard to that(maybe "tablua..scene can be also seen as a moment of authentity?);
2)Another option is to take as a basis Erving Goffman`s theory of...in his The Presentation of Self in Everyday`s Life and to look accordingly at these two novels in this context.(InMaureen Montgomery`s Displaying Women(1998) you may also find some references to Goffman`s theory in relation to Wharton`s presentation of New York society(in the Inroduction, the section "Leisure as Performance"[pp 13-14, I`ll fax you this section). In addition to that ,I`ve found in this book some pretty useful remarks concerning the analysis of Wharton`s The House of Mirth.
The main difference between these two theories (from what I`ve seen starting reading the first ch. called "Performances" which I`m going to fax you together with my remarks)is that Goffman, unlike Rousseau does not consider all kind of actings insincere but rather distinguishes between "sincere" and "insincere" or as he puts it, "cynical" performers(look at pp.18-19)Another interesting aspect of Goffman`s theory is stated on p.19 where he claims that "in a sense ,and in so far as this mask(i.e.,the social mask one puts on oneself) represents the conception we have formed of ourselves--the role we are striving to live up to--this mask is our truer self ,the self we would like to be.(This argument sounds even more contradictory to Rousseau then the previous one). All these Goggman`s statements can be probed on Dreiser`s and Wharton`s heroines and this is what I suggest you to do.
(In other words, you are free to follow any direction as long as it is sustained by the evidences from the very novels.And when you quote from the novels, please, always mention page number and, preferably, chapter number).
Another important remarks:
1)I don`t need you to write an introduction for this paper(I`ll do it by myself, adopting it to the analysis you`ll provide). Instead, I need you first of all ,to start the paper with well-defined thesis i.e.,with the identification of some problem emerged from the chosen topic and then suggesting the way the paper is going to deal with that;
2)It`s supposed to be a MA- level referatof a good "quality" ,so ,naturally, each statement ( be it yours or belonging to the critic you quote) it should be always supported by the quotes from the original sources. By the same token, it should`t include any superficial general statements or phrases(for example, "this novel is par excellence" ,"the writer is simply a genius" and so on. I`m quoting here one of your writers and I hope I won`t have to encounter that again because this is just totally nonacceptable!);
3)After each quote/citation I need the name of the source and page number(prefferably, also ch.number if it has one). I`m also going to need a list of Works Cited(even if you only used the material I suggested) .If you are going to use some extra material I would like to have a copy of it, if it`s possible;
4)Concerning the conclusion(one of the most important parts of the paper):I need well elaborated conclusion that will summ up the analysis of the novels and reffering back to the thesis stated at the beginning of the paper suggest the way the provided analysis helped to resolve or ,at least , contributed to a better understanding of the novels.
I also realize that 10-paged format is not enough for the extensive analysis of these two texts. So please ,at this point ,make it just reasonably "deep", adopting it to the leight of the paper . This is just a probing referat paper which when properly done may be extended latter into a Master Graduate Paper (which I`m also thinking og ordering from you) .So, please, when writing this paper, just keep it in mind that it should have some potential to become a much more extensive work(around 25 pages). For now, I want you to focus on its qualityrather than its quantity.
Concerning the material for the paper: In addition to the already mentioned bibliography, here is some more of the material you may find useful:
New Essays on House of Mirth. Ed. Deborah Esch (especially ch.4:"Beyond Her Self");
"Mimesis and Moral Agency in Wharton`s The House of Mirth" (on the net:
the address:http://humnet ucla edu/humnet/anthropoetics/ ap 0302/ MIRTH htm/)
Part of this material(at least the most important chapters) , I`ll fax you as fast as I could.Unfortunatelly, I can`t fax the entire book. So ,please, let me know what you can find by yourself and what you want me to fax. That will safe some time and energy for both of us.I would also like to be in touch with the writer of my paper(via email) to be able to give him anyinformation that he may need from me. So, please, don`t hesitate to email me any time you need my collaboration.
Please, let me know when you get my payment, the number and id of this order and what`s going on with it .
I hope I`ll be satisfied with your work because I have some more work for you.
