Take two short works and analyze the American-related themes of them WITHOUT summarizing the story. What are the themes of the story? How do the symbols connect to the overall theme/s of the story? What is the meaning of the title? How do the symbols and themes reflect the time period of the authors? How did each author approach the theme? What mood and tone is prevalent in each work? How alike or dissimilar are the two pieces (and do NOT say “one is a short story, one is poem.” Spend the time to compare author styles, settings, plot, narrators, characters, etc…) What, if anything, did the author or a critic say about this story’s symbols or themes? What difference does this add to the meaning of the story?

(the stories will be on “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe, and “The Man in the Black Suit” Stephen King)

Must include:
*at least 3 direct quotes from the story
*direct quotes from the author or critical source
*in-paper citations (at least one per body paragraph) and a works cited page, per MLA standards