Feminism and Hubris
Purpose Your assignment is to write a First Draft essay of five to ten paragraphs (and any number of pages). The Final Draft will require 5-7 pages, in addition to a works cited page.
Write an essay in which you compare and contrast the play Oedipus Rex by Sophocles with the play Trifles by Susan Glaspell. You should focus on 3 or more of the following elements in your essay: theme, character, setting, dialogue, stage directions, plot, and structure. Please consider 1 or more of the following questions in your essay:
How is Oedipus Rex an example of ancient Greek drama, and how is Trifles an example of modern drama? Ancient Greek drama is often characterized by a ritualistic tone. The presence of a chorus is an example of this tone. Is Susan Glaspell’s Trifles an example of a feminist play? In a feminist story or play, the female characters typically struggle to assert their rights in a society dominated by men. The title character in Sophocles play Oedipus Rex is often referred to as a tragic hero.
A tragic hero or heroine begins the play as a well-loved person of stature, but that stature disappears, because of a tragic set of circumstances that (a) is foretold, (b) is inevitable, and (c) is brought about by the heros or heroine’s own actions.
Compare and contrast Oedipus, Creon, or another character from Oedipus Rex with Minnie Foster or another character from Trifles. Is Minnie a tragic heroine? Is Minnie’s tragic circumstance (being arrested for and possibly convicted of murder after killing her husband) foretold, inevitable, and brought about by her own actions, like Oedipuss circumstance?
The final draft of your essay should be 5 to 7 double-spaced pages (and 1,200 to 1,500 words) in length, plus a works cited page. Your essay should have a title as well as a thesis statement. You must support each of your claims with quotations from the play(s) you choose to write about. After answering the above questions as part of the prewriting process, develop a Thesis Statement.
Please consult the sample essay on drama in our literature book (in the chapter entitled Writing about Plays) for help on formatting in-text citations for plays (such as Oedipus Rex) that are divided into acts and scenes. Please study the sample works cited page below. Relax and have fun with this assignment! Tasks Use prewriting techniques to generate ideas (based on the guidelines in this prompt).
Write a final draft in which you analyze your chosen theme using quotations from the two plays. Title and save your final draft to a desktop or laptop computer, Click Submit Assignment on the top right to upload your assignment, Click Choose File to upload your file submission, Click Submit Assignment to submit. Sample Works Cited Page Your final draft must have a works cited page that lists each literary piece you use as a source. Please see below for a sample works cited list:
Works Cited Glaspell, Susan. Trifles. Literature: A Portable Anthology. Ed. Janet E. Gardner, et al. 4th ed. Bedford, 2016. pp. 909-920. Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Literature: A Portable Anthology. Ed. Janet E. Gardner, et al. 4th ed. Bedford, 2016. pp. 707-750. Submission Format Please submit your assignment by uploading a Microsoft Word Document (.doc or .docx file extension) or a PDF file. You may also upload a Google Docs file.
Time Frame Please see the text in the blue bar at the top of this assignment for the submission due date. The due date is also listed in our course Syllabus. Criteria for Success The final draft is worth 8% of your Course Grade. Your Peer Review Discussion Board assignment is worth 1% of your Course Grade. Relax and have fun with this assignment!
