Douglass 1

Prof. Douglass

English 80 Fall 2017

DUE: 8 September 2017

Critical Response to Jonathan Gottschall

700 word minimum; bring a draft Monday, September 18

In this response, you will argue whether you believe in or agree with Gottschall’s argument that we need our life stories for our own self-preservation and to drive our success, or whether you agree more with his other suggestion that these kinds of stories about ourselves are delusional and harmful, either to ourselves or to others. You can also take an “in-between” position in which you argue that both could be true. Avoid arguing the extreme situations, and make an argument about what you think is typically true about this question: Are these life stories we tell ourselves, that may be partly true and partly hopeful fictions, helpful or harmful?

In addition to agreeing or disagreeing or both with Gottschall’s idea that we need life stories, you should give an example from your own life that helps show why you think this. If you have difficulty coming up with an example from your own life or the life of someone close to you, you can summarize in your own words one of the examples from Gottschall’s article.

You also should talk about specific parts of Gottschall’s text, preferably even quoting him directly in order to explain his concepts. One useful passage you might review is when he talks about psychotherapy as a way to create stories that help “unhappy people set their life stories straight” (Gottschall 175). Other useful passages might be from page 161 where, at the top of the page, he talks about “story grammar” and “structure” (how we put our stories together) or, at the bottom of the page, where he explains personal myths and our identity. You can use any part of the text you want, but those parts seem especially relevant to me. 2

Format your paper basically the way that this assignment sheet is formatted. You can watch the paper formatting video at my website if you want to get it right this first time, but I will give you notes so that you get it right before the first graded essay. This assignment is worth

2% of your grade, and as long as it is at least 700 words and on topic, you will get a for-credit

“A” for doing the basics. Responses that are less than 700 words or totally off topic will fail with some credit points; no response gets a zero. The feedback you will get is the most important part.

Here are some goals for your writing once you’ve covered the assignment basics:

 Show that you really understand what Gottschall is talking about and can discuss his

ideas in your own words and make your own connections and/or independent ideas that link

to his. (This is a critical thinking goal.)

 Show that you really have reflected on this concept of life stories and whether they are

useful/harmful etc. This is not necessarily an easy question and your response should reflect

more than an easy answer. (This is a critical thinking goal.)

 Present your ideas in a way that someone who hasn’t read the article and isn’t in your

head can follow along. Think about how your ideas should start, how they should develop,

and how they should close. Consider having a sentence somewhere towards the beginning

that makes your overall idea really clear. (This is an organization goal.)

 Try to write sentences that are clear and direct and that make sense when you read them

aloud, separate from the others around them. (This is a grammar/writing goal)

 If you use the exact words (phrases or sentences) from something you’ve read, be sure to

put it in quotes, so your reader knows you aren’t claiming that the work is yours.

If you have any questions, contact me or Adam for help or to clarify. See me in office hours or via email for help with any part of the writing process. [email protected] / Quad 222F