Erasure by Percival Everett
In an organized essay, discuss how Percival Everett investigates the problems of racial identity and representation in his novel Erasure.
You may choose to focus on the character's external and internal conflicts, tone, symbols, perspective, or any other relevant aspect of the story.
Your essay must have a clear and specific unifying thesis.
Integrate analysis from at least 3 outside sources from your own research to defend your thesis. These sources must be non-fiction and non-memoir. Include an annotated bibliography.
6-7 pages (not including bibliography)
Some questions you might ask to help develop your thesis and ways to enter the research:
Why is the novel titled Erasure?
How does Monk's family and background and the complications of his personal life help shape the novel's relevant themes?
Why does Everett include the pandering, stereotypical, satirical story that Monk writes in the book? Does the farcical book by "Stagg R. Leigh" reveal anything about Monk's unconscious, or does it reflect purely on the racist imaginations of Monk's imagined white audience?
To what extent is Monk's perspective reliable?
How does the history of minstrelsy in the United States show up in the novel's subject of the contemporary publishing industry?
Does the novel take a particular point of view about the relationship between race and identity? Would you describe this point of view as direct or nuanced? How so?