Description
Over the last 4 weeks, we’ve read Kali Fajardo-Anstines collection of 11 short stories, in Sabrina & Corina. There are a
couple of very clear connections between many of the stories, but we have covered a variety of character types, themes,
outcomes, and settings as we’ve moved between tales of Latinx women in the fictional but very real southern Colorado
town of “Saguarita”. Now, as we settle into the last few stories and start to piece things together, I’d like us to start
assembling our next essay as we analyze the text.
Prompt
Using (at least) 2 short stories from Sabrina & Corina, write an essay in which you “explain” the stories in such a
manner that you illuminate for your audience some of the prominent elements that are hidden beneath the obvious
surface of the text to convey a particular theme or themes. Include textual evidence (in the form of direct
quotations from the text) to support your analysis of each story and build a larger meaning.
Choose 2 characters from each story and at least 2 Literary Devices (imagery, symbolism, foreshadowing, irony,
etc.) to analyze and find meaning among the texts through the lens of your chosen themes.
***
(Suggested) Ways to Proceed
This prompt choice should help you to examine a piece of fiction in order to find pertinent meaning in the text (that is not
directly stated by the author). It should help you to see how fiction often uses characters, events, and symbols in works to
convey meaning that while often unspoken, nonetheless pervades and informs the given text.
First, you can find a short story that sticks out to you for its imagery (or any other Lit. Device). Examine this imagery for
how it comments on the text. Quite often, Fajardo-Anstine adds depth and meaning to her stories by using imagery to
create symbolic meaning. Sometimes a text will contain various seemingly unimportant objects that represent objects
beyond their literal meaning. These are often key in terms of explaining what’s going on in the story, and you can use
these symbols as part of the “language” you weave together in order to interpret your story.
Then, think of how Fajardo-Anstine characterizes the different types of people in the text. The people in these stories
often embody what the text is trying to convey, so what they say and what they do adds further meaning to the story.
Their words and deeds can also create symbolic meaning. What characters do and what they say form a commentary that
you can examine as another aspect of meaning that is embedded in the story. Hence, by examining the representational
elements of these characters in the story, you will find some fascinating commentary developing on what we may consider
a major “theme” in the story.
Your goal for this prompt choice is to uncover, interpret, and develop some sort of pervasive meaning in the story you
choose that informs some aspect of the text. If you can do this, you can have a successful essay.
***
Essay Requirements
4 page minimum – 6 page maximum
Works Cited Page (on separate, final page not included in page minimum)
MLA Format (page setup, paragraph setup, in text citations, etc.)
In-text citation using our CACE quoting system
Minimum sentence errors or typos
Unformatted Attachment Preview
Essay #2: Making Meaning and Finding Substance in Sabrina & Corina
Due Date – 10/30 on Canvas by 11:59pm
Over the last 4 weeks, we’ve read Kali Fajardo-Anstines collection of 11 short stories, in Sabrina & Corina. There are a
couple of very clear connections between many of the stories, but we have covered a variety of character types, themes,
outcomes, and settings as we’ve moved between tales of Latinx women in the fictional but very real southern Colorado
town of “Saguarita”. Now, as we settle into the last few stories and start to piece things together, I’d like us to start
assembling our next essay as we analyze the text.
Prompt
Using (at least) 2 short stories from Sabrina & Corina, write an essay in which you “explain” the stories in such a
manner that you illuminate for your audience some of the prominent elements that are hidden beneath the obvious
surface of the text to convey a particular theme or themes. Include textual evidence (in the form of direct
quotations from the text) to support your analysis of each story and build a larger meaning.
Choose 2 characters from each story and at least 2 Literary Devices (imagery, symbolism, foreshadowing, irony,
etc.) to analyze and find meaning among the texts through the lens of your chosen themes.
***
(Suggested) Ways to Proceed
This prompt choice should help you to examine a piece of fiction in order to find pertinent meaning in the text (that is not
directly stated by the author). It should help you to see how fiction often uses characters, events, and symbols in works to
convey meaning that while often unspoken, nonetheless pervades and informs the given text.
First, you can find a short story that sticks out to you for its imagery (or any other Lit. Device). Examine this imagery for
how it comments on the text. Quite often, Fajardo-Anstine adds depth and meaning to her stories by using imagery to
create symbolic meaning. Sometimes a text will contain various seemingly unimportant objects that represent objects
beyond their literal meaning. These are often key in terms of explaining what’s going on in the story, and you can use
these symbols as part of the “language” you weave together in order to interpret your story.
Then, think of how Fajardo-Anstine characterizes the different types of people in the text. The people in these stories
often embody what the text is trying to convey, so what they say and what they do adds further meaning to the story.
Their words and deeds can also create symbolic meaning. What characters do and what they say form a commentary that
you can examine as another aspect of meaning that is embedded in the story. Hence, by examining the representational
elements of these characters in the story, you will find some fascinating commentary developing on what we may consider
a major “theme” in the story.
Your goal for this prompt choice is to uncover, interpret, and develop some sort of pervasive meaning in the story you
choose that informs some aspect of the text. If you can do this, you can have a successful essay.
***
Essay Requirements
4 page minimum – 6 page maximum
Works Cited Page (on separate, final page not included in page minimum)
MLA Format (page setup, paragraph setup, in text citations, etc.)
In-text citation using our CACE quoting system
Minimum sentence errors or typos
Purchase answer to see full
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