Prose 2.B Rubric and Sample

First of all, here is the full text for "Dry September," you should read it and see if your understanding of the passage in the test changes once you know the whole story:

TEXT

Now, with that background filled in, take a look at this Cliff Notes analysis of the passage:

CLIFFS

Things I was looking for as I scored your essays (I didn't expect to see every point addressed, even in the highest scoring essays, but the more the better):

-Minnie's inability to let go of a "glorious" past (bonus if you could draw parallels to the South clinging to antebellum past).
-Townsfolk's glee at her downfall, false sympathy, schadenfreude, her decline reinforces their own superiority.
-Faulkner's diction deals almost exclusively with external details, you must infer feeling from fact.
-Contrasting "bright" and "haggard," implies deep emotional conflict in Minnie, trying very hard to keep a mask on, denial of her true situation, etc...
-Class issues, Minnie's aspirations are above her, but she's unwilling to settle for less until it's too late (like Emily Grierson). Ultimately, she's rejected even by those she ought to be "better" than.
-Idle, useless lifestyle implies that Minnie isn't able to DO anything, her value lay only in her attractiveness and as that fades, she has nothing left to offer. The bank cashier is so uninterested in her once the affair ends that he doesn't even visit her when he returns to town.