Jonathan Tsirlin
Professor. Benjamin
ENG 2150 JWFB
9/5/2014
An Unalienable Right for Every Writer

After an idea has been stated in a work of literature, anything that closely resembles that idea would be considered plagiarism unless it credits the original author. Thus when Nella Larsen wrote “Sanctuary” she plagiarized Sheila Kaye-Smith’s original work of literature “Mrs.Adis” because Larsen never credited her. Author Ian McEwan and Baruch’s academia policy both demonstrate how Larsen did in-fact plagiarize.
In both of the short stories, when the protagonist goes into hiding in his old friends place of residence, the mother helps him and she eventually finds out that the protagonist killed her son. Afterwards, the mother lets him escape without contacting the authorities. The plot of the two stories is too similar to be a coincidence. Larsen never admitted to plagiarism although many will agree that it was.
Baruch’s academic policy partially defines plagiarism as “Presenting another person's ideas or theories in your own words without acknowledging them." (Academic Honesty). According to this definition, Larsen plagiarized because multiple parts of the story are technically Kaye-Smith’s ideas, primarily the climax. Although, the names were changed and characters description were different it still goes against Baruch’s policy because the policy states “…in your own words without acknowledging [the original author].” So yes, when she wrote the story it was in her words, but she didn’t acknowledge the other party, which makes it go against Baruch’s policy. Since Larsen wrote her story without any correlation to Baruch, Baruch’s policy doesn’t necessarily apply to Larsen. However that policy is broadly established because it is a basic concept of plagiarism and any author especially Larsen should understand it. Thus, a well-regarded author such as