Thesis

Topic:

-Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind by Charlie Kaufman

-The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Focus: A comparison in chasing/pursuing something in order to relive the past, or the opposite action in leaving the past behind and moving on, and analyzing the reasoning and thought process behind both.

Thesis:

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind by Charlie Kaufman and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald both look into very opposite relationship circumstances. The film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind looks into the relationship of a disgruntled couple that resort to drastic measures to literally erase any memory of each other from existence in hopes of putting their painful and flawed relationship behind them. The Great Gatsby depicts a most opposing relationship, in which Jay Gatsby does whatever it takes to reenact his past and rekindle his love with his former companion Daisy Buchanan. Both discuss the themes of fate, the acceptance of reality (as opposed to running away from it), and memories of the past acting as a catalyst for their decisions. The relationships in both of these works analyze the difference between dwelling on the past, or disregarding the past entirely, as well as the reasons why one chooses to do so.

Thesis

Topic, Focus, & Thesis

Topic(s): 1. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey

2. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Focus: In each of the two novels stated above people are forced into some sort of escape where they must abandon their old lives and face a new reality. Sometimes this escape is for the better, but other times it can be for the worse, but even more so, an escape doesn’t necessary mean traveling to another location, but moving closer to a new person in search for help. Having an “escape” experience in one’s life can help people truly identify who they are and discover their own dreams and goals.

Thesis: In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the asylum is a place where individuals who can’t blend in with the outside world are forced to go, until they can properly ease back into the rules and expectations of society. Chief, a patient at the asylum with a Native American heritage and extremely large physical features that make him look like he’s towering over the rest of the patients, remains quiet during the majority of his time at the asylum, until he meets the news patient, McMurphy. McMurphy is unlike any of the other patients at the haven and fights back against Nurse Ratched and the Combine. He doesn’t conform to the society in anyway and remains true to his beliefs. The inspirational actions of McMurphy immediately attract Chief towards him and his beliefs, forcing Chief to escape the Combine and remain true and original. He follows in McMurphy’s lead and using his strength breaks free of the asylum.

Just as Chief finds an escape to freedom through action, Dimmesdale, from The Scarlet Letter, finds himself running away from his sins, unable to take action and confess what he has done to the town. His escape attempt is simply used to retreat from his previous life and leave forever, avoiding the troubles of his past forever. Dimmesdale strategy fails, as he is incapable to remain true to his life and confess his sins. The recognition of one’s self that Chief experiences at the asylum gives him the strength he needs to break free of the Combine, and be true to himself, as opposed to the weak, running away that Dimmesdale attempts to do.

Assertion

Topic: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Focus: The object (the ring and the key) that the characters are given and the journey it takes them through.

Thesis: In both Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the main characters, Frodo and Oskar are given an object that takes them on a journey. Throughout this journey they are both understanding more about the world and learning how to understand themselves. These objects that they are given become each of the character’s life but they eventually lose the object, which was their life for so long. At the end of their journey Oskar is so easily able to move on, and it actually helps him because he realizes that his life doesn’t have just one meaning and he doesn’t need an object to define him. On the other hand, Frodo is unable to return to his life or move on and has to leave to find something new to depend on.

Topic and Focus

Thesis Topic: The Great Gatsby and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Focus: Obsession in the two books

Inside all men there is an obsession, and a desire to reach or obtain that obsession is what drives them to change who they are. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde both have obsessive men. Jay Gatsby, formerly known as Jay Gatz, changes himself to gain material possesions, and his highest prize is his lost love and obsession Daisy Buchanon. Dr. Henry Jekyll, a man of science, changes to Mr. Hyde along his quest to make strides in the field of science; which is his obsession.

Working Thesis

Working Thesis Statement:

Holden Caulfield—of The Catcher in the Rye—is a unique and iconic adolescent who has paved the way for various narrators to follow, including Oskar Schell in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. Despite their signature voices and radically different outlooks on life, Holden and Oskar are both deeply troubled individuals who have their trademark catchphrases, wander the streets of New York City, and attempt to regroup following the death of a close family member. They are initially rather dissatisfied with society (Holden is displeased by phoniness and corruption, while Oskar struggles to fathom the motive behind terrorism), but these two characters ultimately show a willingness to change after obtaining support from other family members. Although the two novels were written in different eras, the underlying connections between Holden (in the 1940s) and Oskar (in the post-9/11 era) highlight the universal struggles of adolescents.

Topic and Focus

Topic: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid
Focus: -Contrast and comparison of how people look at societies
- Books provide two lenses in which one can look at society and tourism

Focus-Topic-Thesis #1

Topic: Lisbeth Slander in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.   Focus: Why gender is a limiting factor for female heroines and how Lisbeth is a so called “gender outlaw”.   Thesis: Steig Larsson’s bestselling series “The Millennium Trilogy” revolves around the lives of the journalist Mikael Blomkvist and the young computer hacker Lisbeth Salander. Lisbeth is a woman with a mind of her own who has suffered terrible abuse at the hands of people, who raped, neglected, tortured, mistreated, and ridiculed her. Lisbeth’s struggle in life as a woman mistreated by men has led her to become, or try to become, the neutral androgynous gender. Her departure from the “traditional” female heroine is both empowering and haunting as she fights society’s conceptions and those who try to force her into submission.