Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Refined Research Questions
Given your reading of your primary source, your writing about elements of your primary source, your reading and notetaking of two critical sources, revisit your first questions. Try to narrow and refine your angle of interpretation. You're a step closer to having a specific thesis; use the work you have done up to this point to inform and shape the direction your research is taking. Due at the end of class.
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How does Twain use Satire to poke fun of the stereotype of Black and White people in the 18th century?
ReplyDeleteHow does Twain use power and money as a tool to demonstrate his despise of the Gilded Age in his novel?
Author: Sylvia Plath
ReplyDeleteThe Bell Jar
- How did The Bell Jar comment on a woman's role in society and in marriage during the 1950s?
- How does the theme of medicine/doctors impact Esther's decisions regarding her health?
- What about Esther and her insecurities forms this belief that she lives inside a bell jar?
- Why are the reoccuring "negative" characters in the Bell Jar male while good characters such as Dr. Nolan are female?
-How does Bierce use symbolism to help create illusions that lead the reader astray from the underlying message of his pieces?
ReplyDelete-How does Bierce use symbolism and Biblical references to help convey the evils of women?
Author: Henry David Thoreau
ReplyDeleteBook: Walden
- In what ways does Thoreau use the seasons in a way that mirrors his sentiments and feelings? Is this important to any kind of spiritual change or regeneration?
- What is the significance of Thoreau compressing his two-year stay at Walden Pond into one? Could this show that symbolic time is more important to him than the actual time his project took?
- Thoreau focuses more on the actual inward journey of his stay at Walden Pond rather than the spiritual truth at the end of his journey.
- Thoreau elaborates that material improvements such as the train give only “illusions of heightened freedom,” meaning that any capitalist expansion or really abjny outward improvement only drives us further away from inner contentment and peace. Essentially, since the only things that improve are outward, no real progress is being made, hence his “illusion of progress.”
Sara Makaretz
ReplyDeleteAuthor: Amy Tan
Book: The Joy Luck Club
• How does the inclusion of narration from the point of view of both mothers and daughters strengthen the novel as a whole?
• What is the significance of the setting's switching between past and present?
• How does Tan use her characters and their stories to define "self" and personal identity? What are the novel's conclusions about identity and self? How does family (specifically one's mother) affect this?
Book: Carrie
ReplyDeleteAuthor: Stephen King
How does King's use of realism in his novels make him such a successful horror novelist?
How does King's use of sexuality and maturity appeal to the senses of horror?
Does King convey his feelings for religion through his characters?
In Cold Blood
ReplyDeleteTruman Capote
-Does Capote purposely make the murderers come off as more interesting and thrilling? What impact does this have on the reader’s perception of the novel?
-Does Capote really take a neutral perspective when writing this book? Or does he discreetly control the reader’s interpretation by manipulating what witnesses and information he chooses to include?
Tennessee williams's life is portrayed in his stories and plays through the romantic characters he creates that are shattered by the brutality of reality.
ReplyDeleteIs there a reason behind the psychological strife in Poe's work?
ReplyDeletePersonal experience?
How do these dark themes affect readers?
Is this feeling done by Poe on purpose?
All My Sons.
ReplyDeleteArthur Miller.
How does Arthur Miller use the idea of self-delusion to portray the themes of betrayal, family, and the other major ideas of All My Sons?
What other examples/sources can be used to back this idea up?
Anthem
ReplyDeleteAyn Rand
Why does Ayn Rand create a dystopia rather than a utopia?
Does she believe that shocking the reader will help her get her message through?
Summer Sisters
ReplyDeleteJudy Blume
How does Judy Blume use similar themes in each of her novels?
Cold Mountain
ReplyDeleteBy: Charles Frazier
How do elements of the parallel but different Odyssean quests of Inman and Ada foreshadow a metaphorical redemptive homecoming, but also the ominous uncertainty of death and loss?
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ReplyDeleteThe Color Purple
ReplyDeleteAlice Walker
How does the sewing of pants help Celie realize her true sexuaity preference?