LIT 100 Milestone Two Interpretive Essay Outline
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Dec 6, 2023
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LIT 100 Milestone Two: Outline Worksheet
1. Introduction
Introduce your chosen text (or texts if you selected poems) and explain why you chose
the text(s). Summarize the author’s overall intended message
or
draw connections
between the author’s time period, culture, etc., and the text as a whole. Craft a thesis
statement that clearly states your position and argument.
The story I connected to the most was “The Things They Carried,” written by Tim
O’Brien. The reason I chose this text is because it tells us the story of war, as well as the
emotional and physical burdens that soldiers carry with them every day. I chose this text
because my dad was in the military. Both emotional and physical burdens are a major
issue when it comes to current soldiers and those who are not in the military anymore.
There are soldiers who have mental health issues and there are some who even take
their own lives. This text reveals their experience through fear and guilt which are
common in modern times as told by Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried” using
symbolism.
Example:
The story I connected to the most was “The Tell-Tale Heart,” written by Edgar Allen Poe.
The reason I chose this text is because it discusses guilt, as well as the issue of madness.
Both of these emotions are felt in current society. One emotion is more general, while
the other emotion speaks about the torments of psychological madness. This text
reveals this experience though the use of
symbols
,
tone
, and
setting
. Edgar Allan Poe
reveals the theme of guilt and madness, two common emotions in today’s society,
through his story “The Tell-Tale Heart” by using symbols, tone and setting.
Note:
You may choose to focus more on the impact of the author’s time period and
culture on the text, but this example is an idea of what your introduction may look like.
Body Paragraphs
Each body paragraph must
contain one supporting argument (for a total of three) and
begin with a topic sentence that makes the connection between the thesis statement
and the body paragraph clear. Then, you must provide evidence from the text that
supports the topic sentence.
2. Body Paragraph/Supporting Argument #1
Refer back to the Milestone One
Thesis Statement Worksheet.
Topic Sentence/Idea: What is the main information that will be discussed in this
paragraph? How does this information relate to the major themes in the text?
In my first paragraph I will be talking about characterization because the story itself
focuses on each soldier or character and also what each soldier has been burdened with
to carry.
Example:
I am going to discuss the topic of
symbols
in this paragraph, as it
relates
to the major themes (madness and guilt) in the story.
OR
Poe’s story reveals the issues of madness and guilt in society through multiple
symbols
found in the text.
Supporting Points: What evidence from the text will you use to support your topic
sentence? You should provide 2–3 points.
First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, unrequited love, guilt, and responsibility.
The independent roles and fables about a group of different guys who sit around
sharing stories of horror, beauty, and everything they experience on the front
line.
Example:
The vulture’s eye as a symbol of madness and guilt
The heart as a symbol of guilt and increasing madness
--“Meantime the hellish tattoo of the heart increased. It grew quicker and
quicker, and louder and louder every instant.”
3. Transition Sentence
Effective transitions create a logical flow from paragraph to paragraph, making it easier
for your reader to follow your message. For the purpose of this outline, you may provide
your initial thoughts for your transition sentences, then refine your transitions as you
develop your interpretive essay.
You
ma
You may use
I will finish my sentence by revealing how the soldiers became lost as their humanity
gave way. The author uses metaphors to show the kinship as to how each soldier
becomes entangled in an illusion to flee the reality of who they are.
Example:
I will create an ending sentence that says something like
symbols are not the only way that cultural meaning
becomes apparent in the story. Tone also creates the meaning of guilt and madness.
4. Body Paragraph/Supporting Argument #2
Topic Sentence/Idea: What is the main information that will be discussed in this
paragraph? How does this information relate to the major themes in the text?
The author uses metaphors to reveal the physical, mental, and emotional things that
each soldier carried.
Example:
Guilt and madness are present in the
tone
of “The Tell-Tale
Heart.”
Supporting Points: What evidence from the text will you use to support your topic
sentence? You should provide 2–3 points.
“Kiowa also carried his grandmother’s distrust of the white man, his
grandfather’s old hunting hatchet.” (O’Brien 1071).
“As a big man, therefore a machine gunner, Henry Dobbins carried the M-60,
which weighed twenty-three pounds unloaded, but which was almost always
loaded.” (O’Brien 1072).
Example:
The narrator presents an attitude/tone about madness in the beginning of the
paper.
--“TRUE!—nervous—very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but
why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses
—
not destroyed—not dulled them.”
Transition from Body
Paragraph #1 on
This is an
example of a
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Bedroom scene presents a tone of horror and madness.
-- “And every night, about midnight, I turned the latch of his door and opened
it—oh so gently! And then, when I had made an opening sufficient for my
head, I put in a dark lantern, all closed, closed, that no light shone out,
and
then I thrust in my head.”
5. Transition Sentence:
I will finish this paragraph with the metaphors representing their physical, mental, and
emotional baggage. As well as the symbolism as it navigates the reader through the
emerging characters humanity as they deal with the guilt of war emotionally and
mentally.
Example:
Like the other paragraph, I will end with a statement saying something like the tone of
this story also relates to setting in connection to madness and guilt.
6. Body Paragraph/Supporting Argument #3:
Topic Sentence/Idea: What is the main information that will be discussed in this
paragraph? How does this information relate to the major themes in the text?
The author effectively uses symbolism in such a way that describes each soldier so that
we obtain a greater understanding of each one. By doing that we can see a personal side
and the importance of their developing personalities.
Example:
The last literary element that reveals madness and guilt is that of setting in the “Tell-Tale
Heart.”
Supporting Points: What evidence from the text will you use to support your topic
sentence? You should provide 2
–
3 points.
The following says how symbolism is used to describe one of the soldiers.
“Kiowa, a devout Baptist, carried an illustrated New Testament that had been
presented to him by his father, who taught Sunday school in Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma.” (O’Brien 1070)
Dave Jensen carried a rabbit’s foot. (O’Brien 1076)
Example:
Unknown location—We are unaware of the
place
in this story, and it gives a sense of
uneasiness. This helps to highlight the
madness of the scenes. It is in a random
bedroom.
The ending scene brings about the feeling of guilt in connection to the scene. “I
foamed—I raved—I swore! I swung the chair upon which I had been sitting, and
grated it upon the boards, but the noise arose over all and continually increased.
It grew louder—louder—louder!”
6. Transition Sentence:
I will finish this paragraph with the symbolism that the author used to help us have a
greater understanding of each of the soldiers.
Example:
For this transition, I will state that the
symbols, tone, and setting all contribute
to a
larger cultural issue present in the short story.
7. Conclusion
Your conclusion should summarize your overall argument and expand on that
interpretation, leaving the reader inspired or reflective. The conclusion to your
interpretive essay must address each of the following:
Restate your thesis, summarizing your overall interpretation of the text
Apply your argument to a larger context
Explain how culture could impact interpretations of the text
Explain how the text could impact culture
Discuss the relationship between this piece of literature and identity.
Use the
term “identity” in your conclusion to best make this connection.
As you can see, a conclusion is much more than just a summary of an essay. Keep these
points in mind as you draft a conclusion in this outline.
O’Brien’s story “The Things They Carried” depicts the burdens that the soldiers carried
during the Vietnam War. Even though most of the people never had to experience the
As demonstrated in this
example, supporting
arguments can be general
The last transition statement will be a
feeling of fighting in a war, it will still change them. It does not matter if you are a Soldier
or a Marine, you will do as you are told no matter what. War leaves devastating effects
on everyone and everything that is involved in it. It changes you in ways that most
people will never understand. The argument I have made is consistent to the continuing
issue that affects our veterans. Servicemen and women frequently face different
challenges when they leave the military and return home. A good majority of these
servicemen and women go home with challenges related to their mental health. The
most common mental health issue among servicemen and women is PTSD or Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder. Regardless of what the time period is, war has been and will
continue to be an issue.
Example:
Poe’s short story “The Tell-Tale Heart”
discusses the issues of guilt and madness that
often occur when someone does
something distinctly wrong in society. While the topic of murder is extreme in
connection to cultural identity, most people have done something wrong in society and
have felt a major uneasiness in connection to their wrongdoings. As such, this story may
be discussing a very dramatic form of identity (guilt and descent into madness), but also
an emotion that is felt at a basic level. My argument is important, because I am talking
about an issue that reveals social ills and wrongdoings that are in today’s society. The
issue of murder and insanity are issues that we face as a society constantly. Literature
helps us to think about these social wrongs and how these stories can reflect horrors
that we may not think about in the real world.
O’Brien, Tim. “The Things They Carried.”
Literature: The Human Experience.
Abcarian.
Richard, Marvin Koltz, Samuel Cohen. Literature: The Human Experience, 13
th
Edition.
Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2018.
This is just a start; your conclusion will
likely evolve as you develop your
arguments. For this outline the goal is to
get a few main ideas drafted.
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