Directions: Please make sure to read the lecture for the Least You Should Know

Directions:
Please make sure to read the lecture for the Least You Should Know About Literature under Week #1 before doing this assignment. The lectures can be found under Modules 4 to 6. The required reading is as follows: Chopin – “Desiree’s Baby” (Required Reading Under Week #1)
After you have read this story, complete the LYSK #1 assignment below. It will be graded on a 25 point scale. Prepare a separate Word Document file with your answers to all nine questions (make sure to number your responses #1 to #9) for the story you have chosen.
Save your file as a Word (.doc) file, and name it ‘LastNameLYSK1.doc’, and upload it to this “Assignment” page on Canvas when you are ready. For example, Professor Tamayo would name the file ‘TamayoLYSK1.doc.’
MLA Guidelines: Your name and class information should be in the upper-left hand corner. Your last name and page number should be in the upper-right hand corner, in the “header.” Make sure to double-space your writing and use 12 point font in Times New Roman or Arial. You also need to have one-inch margins on all sides. See the sample format posted in Module 5.6 and under Files.
Make sure to read through the Rubric at the bottom of the page to see how this assignment will be graded.
Due: Sat., 10/28 (Upload to this Assignment Page)
Worth: 25 Points
Note: No outside sources or AI (Artificial Intelligence) can be used for this assignment. However, you can use a source for #8 to investigate the time period but the source should be scholarly (but not AI generated), and the source needs to be cited correctly. Please make sure to read the lectures on citing and only use scholarly historical sources to look up information for #8.
1. Identify the protagonist in 4-5 sentences, describe his/her life situation and basic personality, and then state his/her problem and/or primary motivation. What is the central idea, need, or problem that drives the protagonist? How does the protagonist change by the end of the story? What have they learned? Include an MLA citation in your response for support. Make sure to review the lectures on citing.
2. Identify the antagonist in 4-5 sentences, describe his/her/its basic situation and qualities, and then state his/her/its main motivation. What is the central idea, need, or problem that drives the antagonist? Finally, explain how this drive interacts with the protagonist’s motivation, thus establishing the central conflict of the work. Include an MLA citation in your response for support. Make sure to review the lectures on citing.
3. In no more than 3-5 sentences, summarize the plot. Include enough of the deeper level to show all that’s at stake for the protagonist and to suggest how he/she does or doesn’t change by the end of the work.
4. Describe the conflict in 3-5 sentences. What is at stake? What are people fighting over? What is the problem? Remember that there is always a problem in literature. The human condition – the subject of all literature – is about problems. Include an MLA citation in your response for support. Make sure to review the lectures on citing.
5. Identify the one scene that is the climax of the story. What is at least one moment of crisis, or scene, that leads up to the climax? (Usually there are several moments of crisis that build up the climax, but you only need to explain one or two scenes). Describe this in 4-5 sentences. Include an MLA citation in your response for support. Make sure to review the lectures on citing.
6. Write 4-5 sentences which describe the setting in the story. You can think of the time and place but also consider the immediate physical location (such as a lake, kitchen, house or village, etc.) in the work you are analyzing. Remember that there may be more than one important setting in the story. What are some important sites, sounds and details in the surrounding environment that add to the story? Why are these important? Include an MLA citation in your response for support. Make sure to review the lectures on citing.
7. Write 4-5 sentences on the meaning of an important symbol in the work. How does this meaning enrich your understanding of the work as a whole? What does the symbol represent?
8. Write 4-5 sentences on important historical or cultural information that might enrich your understanding of the work. Connect the historical or cultural information to the development of the story. If you use any source for information, make sure to cite it. If you use an outside source, make sure it is scholarly historical source (not Wikipedia or websites about the story) and cite it. To understand how to cite an online source make sure to review the lectures on citing as well as the Purdue Owl Website.Links to an external site.
9. In no more than 2 sentences, state the central theme. What is the message of the story?