Essay 3
Here is your prompt for Essay 3:
Read Thoreau's "Life Without Principle" (page 257). Then, after reading Melville's "Bartleby the Scrivener" (page 69), after viewing Office Space and a film that features a whistleblower, and after interviewing three people who have careers, make connections to "Life Without Principle." Then, take a stand on whether or not you agree with Thoreau's arguments.
Here are some tips:
1. Make sure to examine "Bartleby the Scrivener," Office Space, a whistleblower film, and the three interviews in your essay. Each should be connected to "Life Without Principle," and you'll likely follow the format you followed in Essay 2 when making connections between each text and "Life Without Principle."
2. Identify Thoreau's arguments in your introductory paragraph.
3. Consider defining "life" and "principle."
4. The last sentence of your introductory paragraph should be your thesis statement. Do not use "I," but make sure to take a stand when articulating your thesis.
5. When looking for a film that features a whistleblower, consider the following films: The Insider, Serpico, Erin Brokovich, North Country, Silkwood, Brubaker, and Concussion.
6. Make sure to interview three people with careers. Compose the questions based on your understanding of "Life Without Principle," and make sure to cite each interview on your Works Cited page. You might place all three interviews in one body paragraph, connecting each to "Life Without Principle." Or, perhaps, you might choose to place the interviews throughout your essay.
7. Toward the end of your essay, make sure to refute the opposition. Do this by adhering to the following process:
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Address the opposition |
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Identify with the opposition |
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Refute the opposition |
Here is an example of refuting the opposition:
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Some people argue that Thoreau's views should be supported, and that a person should only be hired if he works "[ . . . ] for love of it" (366). This is reasonable. In fact, Thoreau states: "The aim of the laborer should be, not to get his living, to get 'a good job,' but to perform well a certain work [ . . . ]" (259). Clearly, there is value to loving a job, for a person may be more inclined to perform well. However, while Thoreau's views are certainly idealistic, they are not realistic. Many people cannot selfishly think only of themselves, choosing only to take a job they love. Unfortunately, many people must think of other things, like their children, their mortgage, their car insurance, and their other financial responsibilities. |
You may wish to refute the opposition two or three times, depending on how many of Thoreau's arguments you chose to take a stand for or against.
Also, make sure to examine Everything Your Grammar Should Have Taught You before submitting your Works Cited page.
*Make sure to compose a Works Cited page for this assignment. Make sure to examine the Grammar Manual before submitting your Works Cited page.
**This is an in-class essay. You may bring up to 16 quotations (no more than three lines apiece).
| Last Updated: 6/3/19 |
