For your semester-long assignment in this class, you will write a fully realized

For your semester-long assignment in this class, you will write a fully realized research paper. You will be allowed to choose the subject of your essay, but regardless of which one you choose, all essays will meet the same basic requirements: they will be at least ten full pages long, with at least eight sources in your bibliography. Note that the works cited page(s) are not included in this page-count. All essays will have a professional tone, a clearly stated thesis, and a solid structure, with identifiable introduction and conclusion. Our readings in the second half of the semester will provide further guidelines to make your writing as polished as possible. Also, the use of direct quotes from your sources is required, and all sources, quotes, and works should be cited in exact MLA format. If you mention a source in-text, you MUST cite it in your bibliography, and vice versa.
In this essay, you will select a work (or small body of connected works) of literature, drama, or poetry, and provide a lengthy analysis of it. Essentially, you will be following the same style as your response papers, but on a much greater scale and with a research component. The works you may choose are by no means limited to the textbook: you have a lot of options in what you can cover. I do request that you only focus on the written word, however, rather than movies, music, games or television; however, such works can be used to augment or draw a comparison with your central subject. The style for this essay will be analytical, although you are allowed to include your critical evaluation of the work(s) in the process.