Task

Write a well-developed analysis of Iola Leroy (approx. 600 words) that responds to the following question: Does Harper’s novel give the reader a clear idea of what the work of social justice should look like or do?Your analysis should have a thesis that is supported with at least one close reading of a specific passage from the novel.

• To help you develop your thesis and interpretation, you might also consider some of these questions: Do the different opinions of the various characters about how best to do the work of Reconstruction complement or oppose each other? What is the model of social justice work that Iola (or Iola and Latimer) performs or aspires to? Is there a vision for what a just society would look like?
• Task for Advanced Labor

Read the http://www.korithamitchell.com/americans-know-fred… by nineteenth-century literary scholar Koritha Mitchell, who points out that Harper was an activist as prominent as Frederick Douglass. As you develop your thesis to the question above, consider how social justice work is gendered. Does Harper’s novel give the reader a clear idea of what the work of social justice should look like or do? And does Harper’s novel imagine “more space not only for black women’s labor but also for its recognition”? You might focus on Iola, Miss Delany, or Aunt Linda and the work they do or call for as compared to male characters in the novel. Your analysis should be supported with at least one close reading of a specific passage from the novel and from Professor Mitchell’s blogpost.

Format

This assignment must be typed (single or double-spaced—your aesthetic preference) and uploaded to Canvas as a .pdf, .doc, .docx, or .rtf file. Use a first-page heading with your name, my name, course, and date. Give your assignment an original title.

Criteria for Grading!! Very important !!!

To earn a “Complete,” assignments must meet the following requirements:

• State your thesis in response to the question
• Develop your thesis with a consideration of the novel’s political, historical, and cultural contexts and/or its formal properties, e.g. characterization, imagery, irony, theme, etc.
• Support your thesis with at least one close reading of a specific passage from the novel
• Include at least one quote from the novel, properly cited with an MLA parenthetical citation, e.g. “Quoted passage” (51).
• Demonstrate an accurate and thoughtful reading of the novel
• 1-2 well-developed paragraphs, minimum of 600 words total

To earn Advanced Labor credit, assignments must meet all of the above criteria, as well as the following criteria:

• Use Mitchell’s blogpost to construct and develop your thesis on the novel
• Support your thesis with at least one close reading of a specific passage from Mitchell’s blogpost
• Demonstrate engagement with Mitchell’s analysis by using it to deepen your analysis and interpretation of Iola Leroy