A Clear, Arguable Thesis: Getting Beneath the Surface

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 Analyze 
Use the basic features.

Earlier, we discussed how the thesis of a literary analysis can contradict or complicate a surface reading of a work. After asserting her thesis about how “The Use of Force” helps readers see the “freeing, transformative power of breaking with social conventions,” Wright supports her thesis with examples from the text and with her own analysis. Often, she returns to a key term from her thesis: “social conventions.”

ANALYZE & WRITE

Write a paragraph or two about how well Wright gets below the surface in her reading of “The Use of Force”:

  1. Reread the thesis statement, and highlight the term “social conventions” whenever it appears later in the essay, paying attention to what Wright says about it in each instance.
  2. Do you think Wright’s thesis accurately forecasts the argument she develops in the rest of her essay? If not, what changes to the thesis might you suggest?
  3. In her discussion of how the doctor breaks with social conventions, do you think Wright makes an adequate case for the “freeing, transformative power” of his thoughts and actions? Why or why not?

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