I need an analysis of the story “like daughter”. I do not need the story summarized just a passage from the story analyzed. 

I want you to analyze/close read the chosen passage. I want you to articulate not only WHY you chose this passage and what about it stood out to you, but what this passage means (e.g., in terms of characterization, plot, theme, foreshadowing, etc).
Think about your response paper as your reading between the lines of your chosen passage; what is being said that’s not actually being said in the text? What is the subtext behind the author’s writing?

Johnson1

Jennifer Johnson

Contemporary American Literature 21:352:211:62

OR

20th Century American Women Writers 21:988:342:62

Response Paper #1

Prof. Yemini

29 January 2020 (Please note that the date indicated is the date your response paper is due)

“This is where you type up/copy and paste the passage you are analyzing. You may analyze a

theme and how it relates to the overall arc of the story or to specific characters; you may analyze

names of characters and correlate them to the story in terms of plot and/or theme, et.; you may

analyze the subtext of a passage or of words that stand out to you (I do not mean words like

“yes,” “today,” “he,” and so forth); you may analyze a passage that foreshadows the ending of

the story; you may analyze tone, but please be sure to NOT summarize your passage or the story.

I will allow two sentences of summary, if you feel it is necessary for your close reading/analysis

of your chosen passage; however, anything that exceeds two sentences will greatly affect your

grade. Please take note that exceeding the margins will also decrease your grade; if you are

unable to fix your margins, you must write more than one-page. This likely means writing two

pages for those of you whose margins are very wide (one page with very wide margins is, at best,

half a page of actual analysis, so please be sure to make up for your excessively wide margins.

Similarly, you must avoid summarizing(especially if you have wide margins), as this would

mean you’ve essentially not even written a response paper.)

If you are analyzing a theme or only parts of a passage, please use ellipses (…) to indicate that

you’ve either included quotes from different parts/pages of the text, or that you’ve shortened it.

Please be sure to single-space this first page. Please be sure to use 12 p. font and Times New

Roman, and ensure that your margins, on all sides, do not exceed one inch. Please also take note

of how your paper needs to be paginated, on the upper right corner. This first page does NOT

count as part of your analysis. You must also place quotation marks, as you are directly quoting

from the text; be sure that you use apostrophes in place of quotation marks, if the latter appear

within the passage you are quoting. Please also be sure to properly cite the passage” (Jackson

59).

Johnson 2

Response to “The Witch”

Please note that the title is not in bold, nor is it underlined. Please be sure to write ONE

FULL PAGE, and not half, third, or three-quarters of a page; there is no reason for any of you to

do badly on these papers, so please avoid not filling the minimum page requirement. Please do

not exceed two double-spaced pages either.

Be sure to begin a new paragraph when needed, and make sure your paragraphs are

properly indented. However, please do not start new paragraphs for no reason other than to fill

the page as quickly (and lazily) as possible. Please also be sure to use italics when writing about

a novel or novella, and use quotation marks (and no italics) when writing about a short story.

These are little details that make a difference.

Your response papers are due at the beginning of class, and I will only accept hard

copies, so please do not email me your papers. If you hand in your response paper late, your

grade will decline as well (please look at p. 3 of the syllabus, under “Assignments”).

Additionally, you may use first person (“I”) in your response paper, if you want to;

however, you must remember that you are still writing an academic paper, and so I expect your

writing to be formal and academic (e.g., no slang or colloquialisms, no comma splices, no

personal background stories or anecdotes, no examples from your personal life, etc.).

Last, but certainly not least, please be sure to see a tutor at the Writing Center (Conklin

126); having a tutor look over your response paper, especially if you struggle with grammar, will

help you tremendously. Please note, however, that you should make these appointments at least

one week in advance, as the Writing Center tutoring appointments fill up quickly. If there are no

available appointments, be sure to go to the Writing Center as a walk-in. I cannot stress enough

how important it is to have a tutor look over your response paper before you hand it in.

This is what I mean by a full page (including this sentence you’ve just read).

1

Contemporary American Literature 21:352:211:6

2

Response Paper #1

Prof. Yemini

29 January 2020

“Old Jane nodded and shuffled the papers in her hand. ‘I have all the records here,’ she said.

‘Although a girl named Martha Alexander applied for admission to the Phillips Educational

Camp for Girls Twelve to Sixteen, her application was put into the file marked ‘possibly

undesirable’ and there is no record of her ever having come to the camp. Although her name has

been entered upon various class lists, she is not noted as having participated personally in any

activity; she has not, so far as we know, used any of her dining room tickets or her privileges

with regard to laundry and bus services, not to mention country dancing. She has not used the

golf course nor the tennis courts, nor has she taken out any riding horses. She has never, to our

knowledge, and our records are fairly complete, sir, attended any local church—’

‘She hasn’t taken advantage of the infirmary,’ said Will Scarlett, ‘or psychiatric services.’

‘You see?’ said the girl’s uncle to Chief Hook.

‘Nor,’ finished Old Jane quietly, ‘nor has she been vaccinated or tested for any vitamin

deficiency whatsoever’ ” (Jackson 16).

2

Response to “The Missing Girl”

Shirley Jackson, author of “The Missing Girl,” creates a unique take on horror fiction by

focusing on a seemingly mundane affair, away from conventional horror, thus bringing to life a

sense of ubiquitous horror, where the reader can view horror as an uncertainty. Throughout the

short story, we are led astray but still given clues about what may have happened to Martha

Alexander. Though she may not even have existed, this sort of mystery and the ability for one to

be so inconspicuous builds a sense of dread within the reader, cementing a sense of

insignificance. Additionally, the most alarming notion from this short story is its ambiguity

towards Martha, as she is possibly never found.

I have selected the scene in which the main characters exhibit their negligence regarding

Martha’s attendance. Perhaps Jackson is satirizing officials and their incompetence, or most

likely, demonstrating that a person can get lost within the cog of life. Due to the different stresses

and obligations that people go through, faces become bland and what distinguishes us becomes a

lot harder to see. This thought in and of itself is frightening, similar to the concept of “The

Giver,” though I believe Jackson had a much more frightening idea in mind.

Interestingly, the possibility of Martha not being real is debunked; the camp records that

old Jane has indicate that Martha was at least admitted to the camp and signed up for classes. Yet

no one can place her. And while no one may remember Martha, there is now irrefutable proof

that she indeed was once at this camp. Jackson alludes to the horror of this short story as Martha

not even existing, but I believe the true horror is the ambiguity in regards to whether Martha is

even real. Additionally, I believe the jabs of negligence that Jackson attributes to Old Jane

correspond to the theory that Martha is real. Furthermore, her name being on different class lists

and the lack of vaccination records stood out to me most. My theory suggests that Martha

3

disappeared a long time ago and her presence was just never noticed, which would explain her

lack of attendance and personal items. Jackson utilizes the unknown to frighten the reader, as we

ask and theorize what may have happened to Martha and if she was ever real. This scene is the

culmination of Martha’s mystery.