Professional Documents
Culture Documents
• For example:
• The poem “Hazel Tells LaVerne” by Katharyn Machan presents us
with a retelling of the fairy tale “The Princess and the Frog” and,
like the original, paints a revealing picture of women’s lives.
PART 2: THE INTRODUCTION – Paragraph #1
Step 2
• Step 2: Narrow the focus and provide context or
background. Paint a picture of how the topic is
presented in the text.
• In this step, suggest but do not give away the claim. Similarly, do
not list your reasons (supporting arguments) or evidence.
PART 2: THE INTRODUCTION – Paragraph #1
Step 2 Continued
• For example:
• This modern retelling, however, focuses not on a princess but a
Howard Johnson’s maid. In addition, the poem is told from Hazel’s
point of view rather than by a third person omniscient narrator
located outside the story at a distance from its events and
characters. The fact that Hazel is telling her own story gives it
immediacy and authenticity. The spoken diction indicated by the
misspelled words and slang used in the poem further enhances its
authenticity, suggesting the speaker is comfortable with her
audience, expecting her audience to be sympathetic. Indeed, as
the title indicates, it is a story told by one woman (Hazel) to another
(LaVerne), who shares her language and sensibilities. This new
context is feminist and suggest a likely feminist purpose or
argument.
PART 2: THE INTRODUCTION – Paragraph #1
Step 3
• Step 3: Present the claim.
• The claim in literary analysis is the main argument the text is
making.
• The claim the text is making is also the claim of your essay.
• The claim is the last sentence of your first paragraph.
• The claim should be a clear, specific, unified argument (presenting
just one idea).
• For example:
• Indeed, in direct contrast to the message of women’s dependence
on men inherent in traditional versions of the fairy tale, this poem
argues the self-sufficiency of women.
PART 2: THE INTRODUCTION – Paragraph #1
Sample Introduction Paragraph
The poem “Hazel Tells LaVerne” by Katharyn Machan presents us with a retelling of the fairy tale
“The Princess and the Frog” and, like the original, paints a revealing picture of women’s lives. This modern
retelling, however, focuses not on a princess but a Howard Johnson’s maid. In addition, the poem is told from
Hazel’s point of view rather than by a third person omniscient narrator located outside the story at a distance
from its events and characters. The fact that Hazel is telling her own story gives it immediacy and
authenticity. The spoken diction indicated by the misspelled words and slang used in the poem further
enhances its authenticity, suggesting the speaker is comfortable with her audience, expecting her audience to
be sympathetic. Indeed, as the title indicates, it is a story told by one woman (Hazel) to another (LaVerne),
who shares her language and sensibilities. This new context is feminist and suggests a likely feminist
purpose or argument. Indeed, in direct contrast to the message of women’s dependence on men inherent in
traditional versions of the fairy tale, this poem argues the self-sufficiency of women.
PART 3:
at a hotel. She works alone and unsupervised as the opening lines indicate: “last night / im cleanin out my / howard johnsons
ladies room” (1-3). The work is familiar suggested by her matter-of-fact tone and description; there is nothing complex or hard to
understand about cleaning a restroom, nothing worth pausing to describe or explain. It is also clear it is a regular job as she refers
to “cleanin out [her] / howard johnsons ladies room” (Machan 2-3) and later to “hit[ting the frog] with [her] mop” (21). By calling the
room and the mop hers, she is claiming ownership, which she wouldn’t do if it were a temporary situation. After all, she is working
at a blue collar, likely low-paying job, so she isn’t the owner of the hotel (or its ladies’ room or cleaning tools), but due to long-
standing association through work, she has come to think of it as belonging to her: the job and by association the hotel ladies’
room and responsibility for both. Similarly, she assumes the responsibility for both the decision of what to do about the frog as
well as its enactment. She doesn’t turn to someone of higher authority to take care of the perceived problem. She simply decides
and acts based on her own judgment. By taking responsibility for herself, she is implicitly demonstrating her self-sufficiency; Hazel
doesn’t need a frog to transform her into a princess. This frog chose the wrong woman, but because fairy tales are often
allegorical, we can understand this modern fairy tale disguised as a poem as speaking about more than just this one woman but
about all responsible, adult women, none of whom needs a frog or a man or anyone.
PART 4:
The Conclusion
PART 4: THE CONCLUSION
• The conclusion has 3 steps:
• Step 1: Remind the reader of the Claim.
• Step 2: Fully develop the Claim, explaining its larger meaning,
purpose, and implications.
• Step 3: Provide a strong concluding sentence.
PART 4: THE CONCLUSION– Step 1
• Step 1: Remind the reader of the Claim.
• Do not simply cut and paste the same sentence from your first
paragraph.
• Do use the same term and argument. But build or comment on it.
• For example:
• Claim:
• Indeed, in direct contrast to the message of women’s dependence on
men inherent in traditional versions of the fairy tale, this poem argues
the self-sufficiency of women.
• Claim Reminder:
• By insisting on the self-sufficiency of women, this poem not only rewrites
this one fairy tale but challenges the whole genre.
PART 4: THE CONCLUSION– Step 2
• Step 2: Fully develop the Claim, explaining its larger
meaning, purpose, and implications.
• This explanation typically addresses the questions “why” and “so
what.” Some questions you might ask yourself are:
• Why is this text/author making this argument? Why does it matter?
• What does the author want from the audience in terms of a response?
Why?
• What is revealed about human nature and/or the society/culture
reflected in the text?
• What attitude does the text/author have toward that society/culture?
• How does the text/author want us to think or feel about this
society/culture? Why?
PART 4: THE CONCLUSION– Step 3
• Step 3: Provide a strong concluding sentence.
• Avoid ending on weak or vague words, such as “it, that, thing,” etc.
• Do not end with a question unless the essay suggests an answer
previously or the question is relevant and provocative and provides
closure.
PART 4: THE CONCLUSION–
Sample Conclusion Paragraph
By insisting on the self-sufficiency of women, this poem not only rewrites this one
fairy tale but challenges the whole genre. By having Hazel repulse, attack, and even possibly
kill the frog, who comes bearing promises of gifts typically associated with romance and
marriage and traditionally provided by men, the poem rejects the male hero, reimagining him
as a nuisance and even a potential threat. The poem isn’t arguing that women should respond
with violence toward all frogs or men. However, by having Hazel tell the story herself and, in
essence, sing her own praises, the poem clearly privileges the woman’s perception and
perspective, insisting on her and our ability to tell and direct our own stories for ourselves.
While one might ask whether the story that emerges after going through this transformation is
even a fairy tale, the response seems to reject this question altogether, insisting instead and in