Emma O’Donnell

Course: Writing About Literature, ENGL-102
Professor: Jenna Bohn
Assignment Title: Comparative Analysis Essay: Identity in “Cloud Dragon Skies” and Americanah

Assignment Details

Provide details about your assignment in this section. What is your project about? What question(s) did you explore, and how? Feel free to add images using the “Picture Placeholder” on the left hand set of instructions.

The objective of this assignment was to extract similar thematic topics from at least one of the four assigned short stories and, in a comparative thematic analysis essay, compare or contrast it to either a second short story, or another piece of media. I chose the short story “Cloud Dragon Skies” by N.K. Jemisin and the novel I had been reading at the time, Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. After a read through of both works, the theme of identity jumped out as a heavy presence in both – integral to the stories. My essay centered on the shared methods of the texts in conveying identity as a thematic topic in both works, and more specifically, the overlapping thematic message, or the “takeaway” of the story.

Application

How does the topic of your assignment connect to your field of study, another course you have taken, or your life?

Success in Communications & Journalism is contingent on the ability to accurately analyze circumstances, context, and media. Dissecting and comparing themes within different texts allows for the understanding of the means through which different messages can be communicated and conveyed in media. In this case, the use of the identity of the protagonists, settings, and different literary devices are used in both texts to make commentary on race, immigration, gender, and the pressure to conform that members of marginalized groups often experience. Practicing the recognition of such methods is useful for not only recognizing them in other works, but also for their application in my own. Additionally, general analytical skills are critical to media literacy,assessing sources, and practicing ethical journalism.

Results/Conclusions

What did you learn? What answers did you come up with?

Through dissecting the themes and the literary devices used to convey them, I learned about the intentionality that authors bring to their works. While elements such as character and setting descriptions may seem insignificant or peripheral, they are often very intentionally used to contribute to the conveyance of a larger concept. In this assignment, I analyzed how both authors used settings, and a secondary contrasted setting, to convey the centrality of the concept of identity and the struggle of maintaining authenticity in cultures that emphasize assimilation. The descriptions of these settings and the characters therein were very particularly crafted to develop this complete portrait for the reader to take away.

Challenges and Successes

What were the challenges that came up as you worked on your assignment?

An obvious challenge of this assignment was the time constraint. This class was a four-week winter section, and this assignment was one of four essays to be completed at the time. It was a challenge to stay on top of the deadlines for this class while producing work that I felt was up to my standards of quality. For this assignment in particular, I chose to compare one of the assigned short stories to a novel, meaning I needed to do a close read of the (quite-lengthy) novel in order to analyze thematic topics and gather supporting textual evidence. Another challenge this assignment presented was ensuring that I was evaluating and, subsequently arguing, with honesty and the conscientiousness of how my own bias might impact my reading experience. Both of the works I analyzed were about black characters and their experiences with race, misogyny, and the intersection therein. Reading and learning about experiences other than my own is integral to the growth of my knowledge, cultural understanding, and empathy. It was important, however, that in choosing these works to analyze, I did not misconstrue, misrepresent, or in any way trivialize the experiences of the characters, which reflects a lived experience for many people of color, and specifically, black women. I drew specific lines and plot points from both works to ensure that my arguments were supported by the text