summarize the main points of the author’s argument in three double-spaced pages. Think of yourself as a reporter: your job is to give a synopsis of the writer’s argument, theory, and / or findings, such that someone who had read only your synopsis would have a complete picture of the essence of the writer’s argument.
Forget about lengthy introductions (and conclusions): jump right in and start reporting in your first sentence.
. Freud divides his essay into three
sections, I, II, and III,
Section I: no more than a short paragraph on section I of Freud’s essay. You should read the fourth paragraph of section I carefully. In that paragraph Freud draws a distinction between his views and Jentsch’s views which is phrased in a rather sly and subtle way. In order to avoid misunderstanding Freud, you should make sure you are aware of this distinction.
Section II: Freud goes into his own definition, contrasting it with Jentsch’s, and tries to give an account of the uncanny as it appears in E.T.A. Hoffmann’s (1776-1822) short story “The Sandman,” written in 1817, a year prior to Frankenstein. don’t dwell at length on Jentsch’s theory, and you certainly don’t want to recount the story of the Sandman or give an analysis of it. Keep your attention focused on ‘how does Freud define the uncanny?’
60% of synopsis towards questions in section II: what are they? Why does the uncanny surface in each of them?; what makes each of them uncanny? What roles do repression and fantasy play in Freud’s definition?
Section III: constitutes a summary of Freud’s findings and adds a few new ideas, particularly on the effects of the uncanny. Freud’s draws a distinction between the uncanny in life and the uncanny in literature (what is this distinction?), and discusses how artists may use the uncanny in their works (how might they use it?). A key point in defining the uncanny is F’s contention that fairy tales are not uncanny. Why are fairy tales not uncanny?
****concentrate on sections II, and III, with a sense of why (in section I) Freud finds it necessary to investigate the uncanny in the first place – why does he goes through these dictionary entries, what role ambiguity plays in his definition, and giving a quotation or two from the many offered in section I.***
When you quote from the essay, give your reference as a section number and a paragraph number. If you are quoting from dictionary entries call it ¶ 10. For example,
With his reflection that “Unheimlich is in some way or other a sub-species of Heimlich,” Freud introduces a paradox (I, 11).
Freud points out that “among its different shades of meaning the word ‘heimlich’’ exhibits one which is identical with its opposite, ‘unheimlich’” and this is a very important point (I, 10).
These references are to the eleventh paragraph, and to the dictionary entries (tenth paragraph) of section one.
