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Write a Justifying an Evaluation Essay on Bruce Cannon Gibney’s A Generation of Sociopaths.
Of the many texts and artistic mediums used to explore notions of what makes a generation a generation, what did you think of Bruce Cannon Gibney’s A Generation of Sociopaths, Douglas Coupland’s Generation X, or lastly, Charlie Jane Anders All the Pretty Birds? Was there one book you were deeply impressed by, or conversely, was there a book you read that you particularly loathed—either in argumentation or in content—which you want to rain down fire upon for its incredible stupidity and absence of style? After picking the book of your choice, tell me (as your sole audience) what did you think of the book’s aesthetic worth: did it stand above, against or below the other books or articles read in class? If Coupland’s Generation X or Charlie Jane Anders’ All the Pretty Birds fits your fancy, identify key literary terms and techniques that will help you evaluate the overall value of your chosen novel. As such, the following terms may be used as the basis of your opinion: characterization, humor/satire, diction, plotting, metaphor, allegory, dialogue, description, suspense, theme, conflict, irony, pacing, tone and genre. Just as with novelists like Anders, non-fiction writers can also offer an aching and clear-eyed account of people in need, trapped in the past or the present, searching for connection, understanding, survival and solutions. Swooshing under plausible and implausible conflicts and cultural changes, these same non-fiction authors can detail and dramatize the powerful realities that explode inside hidden, old or newly envisioned ideas; and sometimes the ideas themselves are characters with complexity and contradictions of their own making. So, if you are more interested in examining A Generation of Sociopaths, you can also consider the following terms as well: the ef

fectiveness in Bruce Cannon Gibney’s ability to win his argument via the use of pathos, logos, ethos; additionally, Gibney’s use ofresearch, logical fallacies, chapter organization, awareness of audience can be used as the basis for your response.
From an awareness of these literary terms and techniques described above, go ahead and re-read portions of your chosen book,mark up the text by making comments and notes on scratch paper as well as inside the pages of your book. I want you to look at the deep structure of the book; look at its features and qualities. Evaluate your book fairly and accurately making notes about the work, so that you have possible leads to write with. Ultimately, though, I would like you to provide an overall argument as to how successful this book is as a work of art. Did you enjoy its writing and construction? Did the narrator make you think in new ways? Was author’s language too spare, concise or brisk? Or was it just a slog or sea-slug to read? Don’t base your thesis on bald, unjustified assertions; rather base your opinion from passage readings, supporting details, and comparisons and contrasts to other works of art—including articles/books we read during this quarter. In writing this book review, you may agree with another outside reviewer’s assessment, or you may disagree vociferously. Comparing your opinion of this novel to other published critics’ opinions can help make your evaluation more interesting and useful to readers. While you are free to cite, quote or interweave book reviews by professional authors, ultimately respond to your chosen story by using your own critical thinking skills. Lastly, please refer to the sample essays shown in class and model from them when drafting your evaluation. You will need at least three outside sources (not counting your primary text), and all sources must be acknowledged on a Works Cited page.