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Take this opportunity to post any questions or concerns you have regarding the research essay. Also, please post the topic of your essay and the thesis statement that will appear in the introduction.
Week 12 Discussion
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Take this opportunity to post any questions or concerns you have regarding the research essay. Also, please post the topic of your essay and the thesis statement that will appear in the introduction.
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49 thoughts on “Week 12 Discussion”
For my final essay, I have chosen to compare two poems by Emily Dickinson, both of which deal with the topic of womanhood and the emotional complexities that existed within married women during the time period in which the poet lived. The poems I chose are “The Wife,” which we read as part of this course, and another poem that deals with similar themes, “I’m ‘wife’-I’ve finished that.” I found that both of these poems additionally used natural phenomena to symbolize the deep and varied internal states of women, and this was my jumping-off point for my essay. In addition to this, I’m doing research on Dickinson’s own perspectives and experiences with domesticity, and how these opinions may influence her work.
Thesis: In Emily Dickinson’s poems “The Wife” and “I’m ‘wife’-I’ve finished that,” the author uses metaphors and references to natural phenomena to demonstrate the restrictive yet socially safe nature of marriage versus the freedom yet unpredictability of unmarried womanhood.
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Justine, what an intelligent choice. You are starting with material we have studied and expanding it into new areas of thought. I look forward to reading your essay!
For the final research essay, I will be comparing two short stories by William Faulkner “A Rose for Emily” and “That Evening Sun.” Both of these short stories included women (the main characters) who were isolated from society and were judged and controlled by the male figures in their lives which are in A Rose for Emily, Emily’s father and in “That Evening Sun” Nancy’s husband. These stories also describe the hardships and challenges these women had to go through, which in the end resulted in consequences and they were left in despair.
Thesis Statement: In his short stories “A Rose for Emily” and “That Evening Sun” by William Faulkner, the author uses similes, metaphors, and references to describe the life of women who were controlled by the male figures in their lives.
Section 0503
Gagandeep, this is a great choice! Your thesis statement works (except for the word “references”) but if this is your main idea, make sure that you are truly going to focus on similes and metaphors. Please avoid vague words, such as “references.” References to what? You might want to narrow your thesis to just focus on the theme rather than on metaphors and similes. If you do, try to make the thesis statement just a bit more specific. Many stories describe the lives of women controlled by men. What differentiates these two stories by Faulkner from other stories about women under the control of men?
For my final essay, I will be comparing two of Shakespeares sonnets. Sonnet 18 from class and Sonnet 43, my outside source. In 18 Shakespeare uses the seasons to paint a picture of life and love lost, he uses something similar in Sonnet 43 — where again the theme is love but instead of the seasons, Spring, summer for life/ Fall, winter for death and the end of love — he uses night and day as the metaphors for life and death; the splendor of love/the tragedy of love.
I hope to formulate a thesis based around this but would love some input.
Thesis: In William Shakespeare’s Sonnet’s 18 and 43 the author uses the seasons of the world in one sonnet and night and day in the other as metaphors for his love stories that highlight the happiness and tragedy of love and death.
Section 0505
Giulia, this is a very interesting thesis! You might consider rephrasing to suggest that in the two sonnets Shakespeare refers to the passage of time (a more general idea) as seen in the seasons of the year and the hours of a day (more specific) “as metaphors for his love stories that . . . “
For my research essay, I’ll be comparing two authors that really focus on the victorian era, Emily Dickinson poem “The Wife” and “The Story of an Hour”, even though we already discussed this two particular poems in class ill be going furthermore in how this poems were one of the very first steps for women of that era to neglect a patriarchal society, and how literature pieces like this two poems will help develop what we now know as the feminist movement that not only involved the female sex but also tries to en inequality and gender roles for all.
Thesis: How two pieces of literature such as “The Wife” and “The Story of an Hour” became expendable for a revolution were misogynistic and patriarchal ideologies were opposed and were irony plays a crucial role in exposing reality.
Juliana, your idea is good. Your thesis statement needs some serious rephrasing. You are trying to pack too much into one sentence. What do you mean when you write that the literary works became “expendable?” What revolution are you talking about? If you really want to focus on the ironical elements in the story and poem, try to write a simple clear sentence that expresses this. Please repost or send me a rewrite via email. Again, the idea is good. You need a crystal clear thesis statement. Believe me, it will make writing the essay so much easier.
I decided to write an essay comparing two short stories by Flannery O’Connor: “Everything That Rises Must Converge” and “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”. Both stories showed similar themes of racism, old women and their attachment to the past and being overly concerned of outward appearances, hypocrisy, a notion of grace, and (what O’Connor’s known for) how violence leads to an epiphany. I am drawn to her idea of how an act of violence tends to draw her characters towards an epiphany; however, I am having quite a hard time with thinking of a thesis statement on centered around that idea. I do realize that in both stories, the old women have an interesting thing in common: they are both hypocrites that cared so much about appearances (they like to think they are superior), they both eventually perform an act of “kindness” (subconsciously for the story we read in class and consciously for the one we didn’t) that ends up to them receiving an act of violence in exchange that leads to their undoing.
Thesis Statement:
O’Connor uses her protagonists in “Everything That Rises Must Converge” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find” to explore themes of hypocrisy and performing what is thought to be an act of kindness, only for it to lead to the protagonists’ undoing.
I do have a question though, do we have to stick to this thesis statement or are we allowed to make adjustments if needed?
[ENG 0505]
Gwyneth, first, of course, you can tweak or alter your thesis statement. Writing, as you well know, is a process. This Db is just to get ideas flowing and to get everyone started so there is no frantic pressure as the terms draws to a close. Your idea is terrific. I think you could streamline your statement just a bit. Here’s a possible tweak that uses your words slightly transposed. You don’t have to copy this. Just consider ways in which you can clarify a bit.
In the short stories “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” and “Everything That Rises Must Converge” by Flannery O’Connor, the hypocrisy of the protagonists is explored as their supposed acts of kindness lead to violence and their own undoing.”
I will be comparing two works by Kate Chopin, “The Story of an Hour” and “The Kiss”. The latter might change. Both stories discuss the independence of a woman in time when it was taboo for a woman to step beyond bounds of the expectations of the role of a woman.
Thesis: The protagonists in “The Story of an Hour” and “The Kiss” contrast in many ways but their paths converge toward the independence of a woman.
Q: Should I seek out a different primary source if there are not a lot of secondary sources to support it?
Section:0503
I find this thesis very interesting because although they are simple I feel like it can be expanded even more and a deep dive into this time period would possibly help support your idea. further more I think one very important part to this essay would be showing how they get liberated from the standards of this time being a women.
Mosheur, it’s not clear whom you’re addressing in this post!
for my final essay I have chosen to compare two stories by William Faulkner “A Rose for Emily” and “That evening Sun” both stories deal with women who are mistreated by society while ones mistreatment is that the town gossips and spreads rumors about her the other is abused and mistreated because of her skin color. While their circumstances are dramatically different these two story’s show that women no matter what your race or social standing were often mistreated by society and while the mistreatment was certainly different they still suffered because of it. The author also uses symbolism as a way to vividly describe the setting in both story’s such as the house in “A Rose for Emily” and the ditch in “That evening sun”.
thesis statement: In William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” and “That evening sun” the author uses symbolism to show how society has played an important part of both these women’s lives and how even though they were from different social standings and races they still suffered from the expectation that society had placed upon them.
Ariadna, this is a very good idea for the essay! Your thesis statement is also good but needs a little streamlining.
Example:
In William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” and “That Evening Sun,” the author uses symbolism to show how two women from different backgrounds suffer equally from the expectations placed on them by society.
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Question can you change your thesis statement later on if you decide you have something better of does it have to stay the same?
Ariadna, yes you may change your thesis statement. Writing is a process, and new ideas often emerge along the way. It’s always good to keep an open mind!
For my research essay I chose to compare the story “the necklace” and “the string” by Guy De Maupassant. These stories are opposite but still have a common ending. The necklace uses a friend to connect to honesty and someone’s perception of you to how it can change your life. The string also uses perception and honesty but instead he used an enemy.
Thesis: When comparing The necklace and the string by Guy De Maupassant, one can find that they are similar in that their authors both use perception and honesty in their stories and are different in that they display the main character in one story as an enemy and the main character as a friend.
I am really bad with any thesis so any advice would help.
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Patricia, the two stories are worthy of comparison, but you need to give a bit more thought to what makes them similar. (I don’t know what you mean when you write than the main character in one story is displayed as an enemy while the main character in the other story is displayed as a friend.) However, you mention honesty and perception. What is the perception the protagonists care about? How does the element of class play into each story? How does honesty feature in the stories? Try to give these ideas a little more thought. Repost or email me any new attempts.
Hi Patricia,
I appreciate how you chose Guy de Maupassant too. I feel as if his short stories all have some sort of relatable aspect to one another. It’s very interesting how he continues an unofficial theme throughout all of his work during his career.
For my final essay, I would like to use the sonnets from Shakespeare, although I haven’t decided which sonnets I will be using, my theme is going to be encompassed around love and death to show how there is a thin line in between that unifies them. I chose this because with the pandemic going on, people are striving to survive and there is a passion for everyone coming together to take care of each other and keep people well. Another reason I chose this theme for my essay is because it relates to the relationships in my life such as my girlfriend and family. The love that I have for them make me reflect on how life and death can flash before my eyes.furthermore, I would like to work more on the thesis statement and get any feedback as to how I can tie this theme to the sonnets, that would be great.
Thesis: As death takes a toll on someone, the love that brings people together make them bound to be united.
(ENG 201 0505) [11615]
Mosheur, it’s okay that you haven’t quite arrived at two works of literature. What’s important is that you are giving this thought. I don’t want anyone in this class to be under pressure with work as the semester draws to a close, so everyone should be thinking seriously about the final essay now. Your thesis is interesting and, as you say, inspired by events of the moment. Your thesis statement does not work. Your thesis statement cannot be a generalized observation like that. It must refer specifically to the works in question. If you come up with one and want some feedback, repost here or send it to me via email.
Hi professor thank you for the feedback so what you are suggesting is to do a deep dive into the sonnets I’m going to use and create a thesis base on that? can there not be a connection to the real world or a more personal experience?
Mosheur, yes, I would suggest that you find two sonnets that affect you strongly and that you feel you understand on a deep level. And to answer your other question, no, this is not an essay about how the literature connects to you personally. It is a research paper. For secondary sources, you might explore the BMCC library literary databases and read a bit about Shakepeare’s approach to love poetry. You might even find some biographical details that are relevant to your thesis. The activities in Week 12 should help you navigate through the online library. Please avoid googled sources.
Mosheur your thesis is very interesting and got me thinking about my interpretation of How Do I Love Thee” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning because love is a very powerful emotion and it can overcome a lot of things even death because even after someone has left us we still remember them because of that love that we have for them and .may be you can write about how Shakespeare is able to capture his audience with something relatable.
For the final essay, I’m thinking about comparing Oedipus the King and A Good Man is Hard to find. A Good Man is Hard to Find is one of my favorite stories of the semester, and I love the grandmother’s role because she really represents to me a world filled with people that are not in tuned with who they think they are vs who they actually are.We see the grandmother make many choices that negatively impact the whole family, similar to Oedipus who ignores everyone around him to find the truth. Both the grandmother and Oedipus live in a box and paint themselves to be very important and “good” people, but really end up hurting everyone at the end because they could not accurately deal and face the reality of their selfishness.
Though I’m not sure if I should choose to write about A Good Man is Hard to Find again, because I’m choosing to write about it for essay 3 that’s due this Wednesday. So maybe I could find other stories that compare in that way, or explore a different theme/revise my current thesis. Maybe find stories or characters that could be used to argue the opposite. Examples of people who do have an accurate understanding of who they are.
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Samantha, be sure to read the directions carefully. You must choose two works of literature by the same author and find a connection you want to discuss.
Okay thank you
For the final essay I want to do “Story of an hour” by Kate Chopin. I am still trying to figure out what other story or poem to compare it too, but I do know the theme will be freedom, identity. I choose this because theres a lot of real life situtions that we hear about women being so in love and they feel like their only job is to please a man, but in reality they are just slowly losing themselves in the process, and its sad. So I figured this would be a good story to start off with!
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Valentina, this is a good starting point. Please update as soon as you decide on your second work of literature. Please post your thesis statement for feedback.
For my final essay, I have decided to draw comparisons between “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” and “Revelation” both by Flannery O’ Connor. The short stories she writes all have similar themes, though with different execution, with grace through violence as the core of the story. Flannery O Connor’s stories all possess a religious undertone, and she uses that to create epiphanies of divine favor.
Thesis:
In Flannery O Connor’s short stories, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” and, “Revelation,” the author uses characterization to show the true, flawed nature of the characters and acts of violence to redeem them through the idea of divine grace.
Section 0505
Kexin, you’ve got two good stories to explore. Your thesis statement needs some streamlining though (e.g. In both “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” and “Revelation,” and act of violence brings grace and redemption to the flawed protagonists.)
For my final essay, I have decided to compare Sonnet 18 and Sonnet 73 both by William Shakespeare. Both poems speak about love and the cravings related to a purposeful relationship with a person. Furthermore, both sonnets refer to seasons that relate to change in a character.
Thesis:
In the sonnets, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” and, “That time of year thou mayst in me behold” Shakespeare uses natural imagery to portray love to the reader.
Section 0503
Thajmire, this thesis works. But please write “nature imagery” rather than “natural imagery.” Have you found any secondary sources for the essay?
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For my final essay, I will compare two poems written by Williams Shakespeare the poem are Sonnet 130 ‘My Mistress’ Eyes Are Nothing like the sun’ and Sonnet 18 ‘Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day”. In Sonnet 130, Shakespeare criticize his mistress’ beauty but in the end realizes his love for his mistress goes beyond than society norms of beauty. But in Sonnet 18, main ideas are love and beauty the idea of it is timeless and should be embrace rather than denying it.
Thesis Statement: In Williams Shakespeare’s poems Sonnet 130 and Sonnet 18 , the author use imagery and metaphors to describe how beauty within and physical beauty impacts ourselves and society to allows ourselves to stick to society norms and wishes.
For my final essay, I will compare are poems by William Shakespeare which both are about a comparison of nature to something else such as another human or poetry. Sonnet 18 which is the poem we did in class and Sonnet 130, my outside source for this essay. In sonnet 18 Shakespeare uses the notable parts of summer to describe life, love, and the greatness poetry brings. The idea that it is greater than nature itself and those words will live on giving life to someone. Sonnet 130 the women is compared to features of nature such as the sun and snow as a way to show his affection. As this comparison may seem loose, I am still looking into information such as the purpose of writing these or the constant comparison to nature that he doe must mean something deeper.
Thesis: In William Shakespeare’s Sonnets 18 and 130 the references to nature show the importance of life, love, and poetry through the use of metaphors to express his passion
(Thesis may be subject to change, this is mainly for purpose of direction of the essay)
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Brandon, you need to rethink this a bit. Your thesis needs more focus. What you have here is so broad and vague; I don’t actually know what you mean. Sonnet 130 does not really exemplify a poem that employs seasonal imagery in a central or consistent way. It can’t convincingly be compared to “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer Day.” The two poems are very different from each other. If you want to focus on sonnets by Shakespeare that use metaphors of nature, please search a little further.
For my final research essay, I will be comparing two short stories by Guy de Maupassant. Both the stories “The Necklace” and “Useless Beauty” exhibit how toxic a superficial mindset can affect a woman’s judgement, thus resulting in an unfavorable situation. “The Necklace” tells of how a woman finds herself desperate to be part of an upper-class, where “Useless Beauty” focuses on a woman’s desperate need for flattery and attention from her husband.
Thesis: In Guy de Maupassant’s short stories “The Necklace” and “Useless Beauty”, the author uses both symbolism and metaphors to demonstrate how women can tend to focus their attention on superficial aspects of life, rather than on the importance of their relationships with their loved ones.
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Soraya, this is a great choice of stories. Just be careful with your thesis statement. Are you really going to focus on metaphors and similes, or is your essay more about the theme of the story? If it is the latter, please rephrase the thesis statement:
Guy de Maupassant’s short stories “The Necklace” and “Useless Beauty” both explore how women can tend to focus their attention on superficial aspects of life, rather than on the importance of their relationships with their loved ones.”
Thank you!
For my final essay, I have chosen to compare “The Wife” by Emily Dickinson and “What My Lips Have Kissed and Why and When” by Edna Saint Vincent Millay. Both these poems are very similar to each other. Each poem by Dickinson and Millay adhere to a central theme that limits a woman’s freedom based on their marriage.
Thesis: Emily Dickinson’s “The Wife” and “What My Lips Have Kissed and Why and When” by Edna Saint Vincent Millay both touch upon woman’s freedom and limitations that come from marriage.
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Ava, these two poems cannot convincingly be compared. They explore totally different subjects. “What My Lips Have Kissed” has nothing to do with limitations on women’s freedoms that come from marriage. This is a poignant poem about the loss of youth and the pleasures of love that come from it. The speaker is an aging woman thinking back on a rainy night about all the boys she once kissed. The poems do no have any strong points of comparison.
For my final essay I will be comparing two sonnets, Sonnet 18 “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day.”and Sonnet 130 “My Mistress’s Eyes Are Nothing like the Sun” by William Shakespeare. Both of these stories speak about loving someone, but both people are described nowhere near the same. They show the different ways or forms of love that exist.
Thesis: In Sonnet 18 and Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare he describes two people he has come to love through imagery showing how there are different forms of love and how its not always beautiful, but just as intense.
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