Students are to write a comparative, critical essay analyzing two short stories, based on their personal responses to the texts and their own questions as critical readers.

Instructions

• Read the four short stories listed below:

1. A & P by John Updike
2. ABC Antidote by Ishmael Beah
3. A Doctor's Visit by Anton Chekhov
4. Some Women by Alice Munro

• Write a formal essay (1000 words, +/- 100 words) comparing the themes of entrapment in any two of the stories.

1. The essay should contain a title page, introduction (thesis statement), a body with careful and logical organization of arguments and observations, and a conclusion.
2. Use APA style in formatting your essay.
3. Support your observations with quotations from the stories. Do not cite or incorporate secondary sources; this is YOUR analysis, not a summary of someone else's.

• The essay is to be based on your careful reading of the stories, your personal response and critical thinking about them, with the intent to discover deeper meaning in exploring and comparing these themes in two rather than in reading only one story.