Paper Assignments

Paper #1: "Guilty Vicarage"/Murder on the Orient Express

How does Murder on the Orient Express fit in with the pattern for whodunits laid out by Auden in "The Guilty Vicarage"? How does it differ? Give examples. What is the effect or significance of these differences?

Thesis Statement Due: October 8

Due: October 11

Paper #2: Murder on the Orient Express/The Maltese Falcon
How is Sam Spade a new kind of detective? In what ways is his character particularly American?  Compare to Murder on the Orient Express and Poirot.  What does this suggest about American values? 

Draft Due: October 22

Due: October 25

Paper #3: The Big Sleep
Using your Notice and Focus or Method exercise, choose your own focus for this paper.

Draft Due: November 5

Due: November 8

Paper #4: Phantom Lady
Compare and contrast the novel and the film to illuminate something significant about the matter. Don't just point out similarities and differences expand on their meaning.  Consider the following questions:

What problems does Phantom Lady pose to filmmakers trying to adapt it?  How do the filmmakers of the 1944 film address these problems?  Do their solutions work? Why or why not?

Draft Due: November 22

Due: November 24

Paper #5: The Cater Street Hangman
Choose one of the following:
    1. How does the treatment of female characters differ from that in the other novels?
    2. How does knowing that the author committed a murder herself affect the reader's experience of the novel?
    3. This novel was written between 40-50 years later than the other novels we've read. How does it reflect this difference in time?
    4. Develop your own focus using Notice and Focus or The Method.
    5. In the style of Anne Perry, write a final chapter for the novel, giving a conclusion to the story and showing what happens next.
Due: December 10
Instructions:
  • Papers must be centered around a strong thesis statement.
  • Papers should be approximately 5 pages long.
  • Use specific examples from the readings to back up your points.
  • Use MLA format for citations.
  • Have a clear organizational pattern with strong transitions between ideas.
  • Pay attention to proper grammar, especially proper sentences.
  • Proofread your papers.
  • Authors, both male and female, are referred to by their last names after the initial mention.
  • Title your papers.
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