INSTRUCTIONS FOR PART II:
In realism, there is this constant tension between reality and illusion. Just because something seems real doesn’t mean it is real. As Peter Brooks puts it, “Fictions have to lie in order to tell the truth: the must foreshorten, summarize, perspectivize, give an illusion of completeness from fragments.”
Think back to the one of the “realisms” you wrote about from Part I of this assignment (literature, Netflix series, etc.) and analyze how it might “lie in order to tell the truth.” How effective is it in its illusion? Does it use any techniques, such as an “intrusive narrator,” that attempt to bolster the authenticity of the story? In what other ways does it try to establish and insist on its reality?
Interwoven with this analysis, please draw from at least THREE different sources in your required reading lists for Modules 2 & 3, including at least SIX direct quotations combined from these three sources. Make sure that one of these three sources is a work of fiction that we have covered to date in this course and that you compare it (by way of analysis) to your own chosen work of realism from Part 1. Quotations must be properly introduced/integrated into your writing and must be cited and fully referenced according to MLA convention. IMPORTANT: ALL SOURCES LISTED IN YOUR WORKS CITED MUST ALSO APPEAR IN YOUR ESSAY AS AN IN-TEXT CITATION.
In terms of format, you should think of this as a short, well organized essay with intro, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. While your writing should be formal, please continue using the first-person voice that you established in your Realism Profile. The length should be between 500-750 words.
