Topic Proposal Essay 1

1. Which text have you chosen? I have chosen to use the story “Swinging” for essay 1.

2. What would you say is the text’s central claim or argument? I believe that the text’s central claim/argument is that life is what you make of it. You have to go after things in life if you want them. If you just lay around and never attempt anything, your life will never change. And change is not something to be afraid of. It is something that should be welcomed.

3. Identify one short yet compelling passage that you feel is central to understanding the text. Make sure the passage isn’t too long. Indicate the passage by line or page numbers. The passage I chose was on pg. 56 approximately two-thirds down the page.
He got out, went to UGA on an academic scholarship. Lizzie had Enis’s baby boy, who was two years old and spent much of his time with Lizzie’s momma. Wayne did a stint for assault and battery at county. None of them had really scraped the mud of Fayetteville off their boots. Steve feels cliché. His hometown. A divorce. His life. It’s like it’s being written for him. He thinks that few people understand or appreciate that there are places in the world that haven’t changed. For all the flows in the river there remain stagnant pockets, like feedback loops kinked in woven threads of fabric, mocking their linearity. And then a small detail changes, unweaving entire tapestries.

4. Identify examples of important choices of grammar, punctuation, metaphor, alliteration, tone, diction, words, figures of speech, symbols, and/or images. Identify recurrent patterns. There are several examples of these in the first passage. The first sentence, “None of them had really scraped the mud of Fayetteville off their boots.” is an example of a figure of speech. There is also a metaphor in the last sentence, “And then a small detail changes, unweaving entire tapestries”.

5. Does your passage have significant instances of rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, etc? What are the effects of these? Since the passage is from a story and not a poem, there are no instances of rhyme. There are also no instances of alliteration the passage. There is no definite rhythm to these, although they are read as if someone is thinking out loud or giving advice to someone.

6. In what way do the features you’ve identified in 4 and 5 (above) contribute to or undercut the message you identify in 2? The features identified in numbers 4 and 5 help to contribute to the main argument of ‘life is what you make of it’ and “accept change” identified in number 2.

Thesis: . In order to break away from the everyday routine you have to experience new things and adapt to changes.