English artifacts
This page describes three major papers I have written as an undergraduate English major at Clemson University. Each paper is summarized and accompanied by a brief reflection regarding its impact on my development as a writer. The images of the papers serve as links to the essays.
“Live Fast, Die Young, Bad Girls Do It Well,” says Mary Elizabeth Braddon
This essay was written for my Victorian Literature Survey in the fall of my junior year. The course itself is one of my favorites; I discovered my interest for writing about the representation of femininity in the Victorian Era. The essay itself focuses on Mary Elizabeth Braddon's novel, Lady Audley's Secret, and provides an analysis of Braddon's attitude towards femme fatales in a society that shames female sexuality and autonomy.
The Great Gatsby: Putting A New Woman in the Driver’s Seat
Written in the spring semester of my senior year, this essay asserts the importance of Jordan Baker's character in The Great Gatsby, and discusses Fitzgerald's creation of a new female archetype through experimentation with point of view and explicit narrative judgements. The Great Gatsby is the book that inspired me to choose to pursue my BA in English, so the opportunity to write about this work in an upper-level course in my final semester was exciting and very fulfilling. As was the feedback I received from my course instructor-this essay will be submitted for the next cycle of departmental awards.
Senior Seminar Final Project:
This essay was written in my senior seminar course which focused on vampires and their development as a cultural phenomenon since their literary origins several centuries ago. (will be added at end of semester)
