In the insightful novel The Edible Woman, Margaret Atwood uses symbolism effectively in order to shape and reinforce the theme of struggle for identity in a society that enforces strict gender stereotypes and expectations.
for secondary sources use JSTORE articles
The independent study unit for this course requires students to select, read and analyze a novel with “literary merit” (a work of literary fiction that possesses cultural value, literary elements, rhetorical devices, and literary criticism has been written about it), and it will culminate in a literary research essay.
Criteria for novel selection:
-minimum of 200 pages
-at a reading level that is challenging enough for a grade twelve, university-bound student.
-must be the focus of scholarly essays and literary criticism
Steps to completion:
Focus on the most significant literary elements used in the novel (ASK: What literary elements do I notice right away? – symbolism, imagery, situational irony, foreshadowing, etc.)
Focus on the themes that become apparent as you explore the content (ASK: What are the main messages in my novel? – the destructive nature of revenge, the power of young love, or the human ability to survive the unspeakable, etc.).
Identify and examine how ONE literary element reinforces ONE key theme in the novel, either effectively or ineffectively.
Make continual point-form notes about key literary elements and their connection to central themes, because these can be used as YOUR OWN RESEARCH NOTES.
Conduct additional research from a minimum of 3 academic secondary sources; these articles must have been published in peer-reviewed publications; you will use evidence from these articles to support your thesis and to complement direct quotations from the novel. Be sure to track