Essay #6 (11/16/2009)

Essay #6: What’s it all really about?

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Prompt:

Every day we read and talk about lots of ideas from Moby Dick, but this week it’s time for you to take a stand: What’s it all really about? We know that the topic of the book is “whale hunting.” But in your essay today you need to explain what you think Melville is really writing about—what’s the deeper meaning behind the allegory.

State in one or two sentences what you think the main idea of the book is, so far. DESCRIBE several examples from the book that support that main idea. EXPLAIN WHY you think Melville wrote about this main idea: What did he hope people would take away from the experience of reading the book?

Hints:

  • There will still be a category on this rubric for a brainstorm of some sort and an outline. Hand those in with your essay.
  • This is like your final exam for this semester. Be sure your essay:
    • Focuses on the questions in the prompt
    • Has an intro paragraph that sets out the main idea of the paper
    • Has several paragraphs that support the main idea with examples and analysis
    • Has a conclusion that sums up the main ideas