“The Lottery in Babylon”by Jorge Luis Borges .

In your essay, you will interpret “The Lottery in Babylon” by Jorge Luis Borges. This essay will be at least 1250
words—and you must also incorporate at least one scholarly source which is “The Holy Bible”. For this
assignment, all primary and secondary sources must be cited—both in-text and in the Works Cited at the end
—incorrect MLA 8th format. As always, your essay must feature your own clear, original thesis.
You are embarking upon a focused inquiry about “The Lottery in Babylon”. (Your essay might briefly refer to or quote from other stories or poems to support your argument, especially if you’re writing about Borges, but this is not a comparative essay; this time, the goal is not to balance but focus.) Think of this as an opportunity to dig deeper into something that interests or excites you about literature. Inquiry means starting with a question or problem and working to find an answer or solution. There are at least three basic approaches to this task. You can think of your essay’s purpose in terms of 1) to pursue an unanswered question, 2) to elaborate an original interpretation or offer a new perspective on the text, or 3) to respond to an oversight or error in previous criticism. To start this process, think about which stories (or poems) you found most interesting, engaging,
enjoyable, or puzzling. As you look over your notes and readings from this class, keep track of your lingering questions about the texts, as well as noteworthy clues or connections that might contribute to an insightful interpretation.
As in your last essay, your own close reading ability remains your most important tool. But this time, we will add another tool your inquiry toolbox: through the process of research, you will enter the critical conversation about your primary text. The secondary source (or sources) you cite may be either a book or journal article, but it must be a scholarly source. This source might help support your argument, it might provide a claim for you to disagree with, or it might raise a question or observation for you to develop further. Ultimately, you will select the source that is most useful to you—whether you paraphrase their entire argument or extract a single quotation. After you narrow this down to the most relevant titles, you will need to skim several scholarly works and probably read a handful more closely in order to decide which you will cite in your essay.