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II. Body paragraphs
Each body paragraph will use the same formula: Statement, Proof, and Analysis (SPA).
The ingredients of the body paragraphs are as follows:
1. Statement of topic: mention the two characters and the first of the traits you intend to compare, connected to one of the novel’s themes. The second body paragraph's topic will be the second trait taken from the introduction, connected to the theme. The third body paragraph’s topic will be the third trait listed in the introduction, connected to the theme.
2. Set-up: This one sentence is a brief description of what is happening at the time of the supporting quotation you are using (see #3 next).
3. Proof: Provide at least one quotation from the literary work which supports your topic statement, along with additional paraphrasing and summarizing. Include proof for both characters. Don’t end a paragraph with a quotation; leave yourself the final word (see #4 next). If quoting dialogue, reproduce paragraph divisions, punctuation, and indentations exactly to help your reader follow the flow of conversation. When including speech within a quoted passage, use single quotation marks around what is spoken aloud, to distinguish it from the rest of what is quoted, which should be enclosed in double quotation marks (See below, and refer to online MLA Essay Style Guide for examples).
4. Analysis: a detailed examination of exactly how the proof supports your thesis. Roughly double the length of your quote. Connect your comparison of character traits with your analysis of theme.
Below is an excerpt from a comparative literary essay, demonstrating an exemplary introductory thesis paragraph, and a body paragraph showing the pattern of topic statement, set-up, proof, analysis, and concluding sentence:
(originally double-spaced, except for quotations, but single-spaced here to conserve space)
During our lives, at some point we will cross paths with the beasts of our society. Beneath all the heartache and destruction that they may cause, it is still possible to find those individuals whose acts give us the strength to stand back up on our feet. This is the message Khlaed Hosseini would like readers to learn throughout his novel A Thousand Splendid Suns. Putting others before ourselves can be a difficult sacrifice, but it builds one’s character. Laila and Mariam demonstrate such selflessness as well as bravery and strength.
There are certain people who always choose to think of ways to benefit themselves and never those around them. Throughout Mariam and Laila’s lives, they make many sacrifices to protect the ones they love. The greatest act of selflessness Mariam displays occurs when she willingly gives up her own life to provide Laila with one of freedom. She says:
“Don’t do this, Mariam. Don’t leave me. Don’t break Aziza’s heart.” “They chop off hands for stealing bread,” Mariam said. “What do you think they’ll do
when they find a dead husband and two missing wives?”
“No one will know,” Laila breathed. “No one will find us.”
“They will. Sooner or later. They’re bloodhounds”....
“Mariam, please ---”
“When they do, they’ll find you as guilty as me. Tariq too. I won’t have the two of you
living on the run, like fugitives. What will happen to your children if you’re caught?”
Laila’s eyes brimming, stinging.
“Who will take care of them then? The Taliban? Think like a mother, Laila Jo. Think
like a mother. I am.” (357-8)
Mariam shows the trait of selflessness by offering to give herself up for the death of Rasheed, rather than taking the chance of their both getting caught and executed. Unlike herself, she knows that Laila has a lot more to lose, namely her children and Tariq. Laila shows this trait when she chooses to stay in Kabul and live with Rasheed in order to protect her and Tariq’s unborn child.
Before Abdul Sharif’s visit, Laila had decided to leave for Pakistan....But, suddenly, leaving was no longer an option. Laila pictured herself in a refugee camp, a stark field with thousands of sheets of plastic strung to makeshift poles flapping in the cold, stinging wind. Beneath one of these makeshift tents, she saw her baby, Tariq’s baby,... its skin mottled, bluish gray...lowered into a hole dug in a patch of windswept land... How could she run now? ....Laila already saw the sacrifices a mother had to make.
(218-9)
In the beginning of this passage, Laila expresses her desire to leave Kabul and make a fresh start in Pakistan. Once she discovers that she is bearing Tariq’s child, she decides that leaving is no longer a suitable option. To supply her child with food and shelter, she chooses to enter an undesirable marriage with Rasheed. When we become mothers, portraying selflessness becomes second nature.
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