Assignment instructions
Topic: Classics of literature
Nelson Lowhim from The Mantle wrote about how a literary work becomes a classic. Four main points that Lowhim argues is that classics:
1) “address universal human concerns;”
2) “shifts the reader’s views on life;”
3) address the “zeitgeist” (or the prevalent thoughts in the time they were written in);
4) and that they contain characters with “complexity, layers revealing surprising facets or
a relationship to the plot that is unexpected and not banal” (Lowhim, n.d.).
For this assignment, you will write a 5-paragraph essay where you will argue whether The
Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wild are “classics” and explain why they are (or are not).
instructions on how the essay should be structured
1. introduction with a thesis statement
2. first body paragraph: Explain why dorian grey is or is not a classic (using the four main points)
3. second body paragraph: explain why the bell jar is or is not a classic (using the four main points)
4. third body paragraph: compare the two works (using the four main points)
5. conclusion
