Present an argument about a novel (or perhaps several novels from the Communist module of the course) that develops out of your close reading of the text(s). In this essay you have to demonstrate your interpretative skills and ability to think conceptually. Before you begin working on this assignment, read the handout “Analytical essay” to familiarize yourself with the format of the essay. You are encouraged, but not required to consult secondary sources that provide historical, geographical, and biographical context and engage literary criticism about the novels and their authors (see the reference list below for some reading suggestions). Any use of secondary sources should be acknowledged in the footnotes and the bibliography.
The analytical essay should be at least 1000 words long. You will be expected to produce one draft and one final version of this assignment. Both the draft and the final version of the analytical essay will be graded based on the criteria in the grading rubric.
Secondary sources:
Ioana Luca, Transnationalizing Memories of Post/Socialism: Diasporic Graphic Lives, Comparative Literature Studies, 59 (3), 2022: 568-589. (Marzi) Ioana Luca Transnationalizing Memories.pdf
Mihăilescu, Dana. “The Legacy of Communism through a Child’s Lens: The Thrusts of Emotional Knowledge Out of Marzi’s Poland.” In Literary and Visual Dimensions of Contemporary Graphic Narratives, ed. Mária Kiššová and Simona Hevešiová. Nitra: Constantine the Philosopher University Press, 2012. (Marzi) Dana Mihailescu The Legacy of Communism.pdf
Mihaela Precup, “Introduction: Comics, Fatherhood and Autobiographical Representation,” In The Graphic Lives of Fathers: Memory, Representation and Fatherhood in North American Autobiographical Comics, Pelgrave, 2020. (Marzi) Mihaela Precup Introduction.pdf
Ewa Stanczyk, “Comics After 2000: Between Individual and Collective Memory,” In Comics and Nation: Power, Pop Culture and Political Transformation in Poland, Ohio State University, 2022 Ewa Stanczyk Comics.pdf
Jordana Hall, “Peter Sis and the Geography of the Body: Body Image and Movement Metaphors as the Manipulation of Identity in The Wall,” The Looking Glass: New Perspectives on Children’s Literature, 21(1), 2018: 21-26 Jordana Hall Peter Sis.pdf
