Paper Assignment #4
The Country House by Donald Margulies
Instructions: Choose one of the options below to plan, write, and edit an essay directed at a reader who is intelligent and well-informed, already familiar with Margulies' play, and impatient with idle talk about your topic. In other words, craft the sort of thesis-driven, style-conscious essay that Trimble encourages in his textbook Writing with Style.
Analysis Paper
Using the lecture, “Reading Drama,” as your guide, compose a character analysis of any one of the characters in The Country House. Consider that character's arc of development from first entrance to final exit. What sort of emotional baggage did your character bring to the house? How did they confront their central issue (or how were they made to confront it)? What condition are they in at the final blackout? Cite two or three key scenes that illustrate these changes and "prove" your interpretation
Your paper should be approximately 1,000 words in length, written in correct MLA format.
Comparison Paper
Read one of the following Donald Margulies plays and compare it to The Country House. Consider how he uses the elements of drama to express his themes. What do the plays have in common? What is different? How do you account for the differences? In what ways do the two plays complement each other? In what ways does each cover new territory?
- Time Stands Still
- Dinner with Friends
- Shipwrecked!
- God of Vengeance
- Brooklyn Boy
- Coney Island Christmas