The Awakening

Prompt: In The Writing of Fiction (1925), novelist Edith Wharton states the following: At every stage in the progress of his tale the novelist must rely on what may be called the illuminating incident to reveal and emphasize the inner meaning of each situation. Illuminating incidents are the magic casements of fiction, its vistas on infinity. Using The Awakening, write a well-organized essay in which you describe an “illuminating” episode or moment and explain how it functions as a “casement,” a window that opens onto the meaning of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary. Advice: Your essay should include a worthy title, a strong introduction that includes the title expressed in italics, the author, and a collegiate thesis. The body paragraphs should have a topic sentence driven by the thesis, at least two correctly cited quotes from the book, and ample analysis of each quote. There should be strong transitions between paragraphs. The concluding paragraph should be all analysis/opinion and should contain a mature insight into how the book reveals something universal about the human condition. The final line of the concluding paragraph should allude to the worthy title in some way. Your essay must have a Works Cited page. Essay due the first day of school along with your fully annotated copy of the book.