Please post a potential thesis statement for your comparative analytical essay on your two novels. This statment must argue a thematic and/or stylistic similarity between the novels.
See the following great samples from last year for ideas:
#1
The protagonists in James Baldwin's Go Tell It on the Mountain and If Beale Street Could Talk not only feel rejected by society but also by their families. These portrayals emphasize the effects of isolation along with the hardships many African-Americans face and have to overcome through self empowerment.
#2
The difference in style, in fact, actually mirrors both the difficulties in Rice's own life, and her struggle to find faith in the world around her. Consequently, both Vittorio the Vampire and its anthesis, Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt, depict the sorrow of the loss of innocence through tragedy, and the small hope illuminated in a strong faith.
#3
Although the two female main characters in Joyce Carol Oates's Foxfire and Black Water are on polar sides of their views of men, they are both defined by their father's actions, and in the future are challenged by male influence, ultimately bringing them to their defeat.
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59 comments:
The differing protagonists depicted in 'Tough Guys Don;t Dance' and 'Why Are We In Vietnam?' shed light onto how childhood dictates a child's fate. Norman Mailer ultimately defines a conglomerate of people through characterization and description of one dynamic character.
alex putnam
Russell Bank's reflections of lower middle-class, small town America in "Rule of The Bone," and "Affliction," sheds light on similarly suffocating enviroments, and how there are seemingly two types of people: those who rise above their surroundings and those who succomb to them.
-MATT CAMPBELL
alex-
"through characterization" is a little vague. "description of one dynamic character" is also a little vague, though not as bad, but your thesis should probably be a bit more specific.
(sorry if that came off really harsh, which i think it did)
~Shay
In Philip K. Dick's novels "Flow My Tears the Policeman Said" and "Ubik", Dick's lurid yet intreging style shows how Dick bends the facts of life and leaves the reader confused and entranced.
-Matty Fitch
P.S. I really enjoyed putnam's thesis, he used mature language to state his view of Mailer's style
matt --> i really like where your thesis is going, it pulls me in to want to know more about the author's fact bending, and how he leaves his readers confused and entranced.
Throughout the lives of both Esperanze and Ceyala, they cross paths with characters that symbolize a part of themselves, ranging from who they are, who they don’t want to be, and who they strive to become. Such symbolism, assimilated with Sandra Cisneros’ strong Latino heritage, help portray the female need for independence, and excessive want for recognition within their Latino society.
"In the Time of the Butterflies" and "In the Name of Salome" portray women who, by preserving and sharing the memories of their famous loved ones, discover their own value and strength and become empowered to make their own marks on history.
-Shannon Langella
For Matt F's thesis, maybe just say "Dick's lurid yet intreging style bends the facts of life, leaving the reader entranced with the confusion he creates."
Matt's is good. I just think that "suffocating enviornments" is kind of confusing.
here's mine:
In both The Tattooed Girl and Black Girl/White Girl, Joyce Carol Oates focuses heavily upon the religion of one main character and parallels it with the conflicting beliefs of another, to emphasize how their discrepancies lead them to live a life of isolation.
~Alyssa Bacon
In John Updike’s Rabbit, Run and Terrorist, he uses the protagonists’ dramatic foil to offset their intentions of fulfillment and save them from their own self-destruction. Both protagonists, Harry Angstrom (Rabbit, Run) and Ahmad Ashmawy Mulloy (Terrorist) wish to fulfill themselves in ways of taking actions which they think will better themselves. These characters’ unhappiness with life leads them on a journey of fulfillment, and although disliked at first, their foils save them from their self-destruction, illuminating the idea that fulfillment can be found within ones counterpart.
Jacob B.
John Dos Passos’s use of vivid descriptions and metaphorical comparisons reveals the horrid conditions that characters encountered in "Three Soldiers" and "Manhattan Transfer." The demeaning and crushing lifestyle presented throughout both novels illuminates the powerlessness that people of all classes faced during the 1920’s.
-Joe DePalo
As for Matts, I liked how the end of the thesis leaves the reader thinking.
that one was referring to matt cambells because that was the most recent one on the page I just came from ^^^^
Mikaela: Your thesis is very interesting and definitely answers the "So what" question. The "summary" in your first sentence is helpful to set the scene of your paper. You may want to slide the book titles in there somewhere.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kurt Vonnegut illustrates the complexities and emotional struggles of finding one’s identity during post-war life through the strong usage of flashbacks, which demands the main characters to constantly relive their traumatic pasts, in both Slaughterhouse Five and Bluebeard. This illuminates the results of this fervent endeavor in an attempt to make sense of life’s displacing events.
~Victoria Welch
William Faulkner's use of stream of consciousness helps the reader to distinguish events and the portrayal of his characters in "The Sound and the Fury" and "Light in August". Faulkner also depicts the unstable psyche of the human being when morals are tarnished, pressing upon pyschological trauma and how people deal with it.
Eric Leone
Leslie Marmon Silko illustrates two characters within her works Ceremony and Almanac of the Dead, who each deal with a struggle to be accepted within society and each turns to their cultural ties to help overcome their struggle.
~Jenna Williams
Eric:
You should try to combine your two parts of your thesis into one, it seems almost like two different ideas...
Victoria-
Your thesis is very complex and is a good start to your paper. I like how you used people's emotions and motives as a main focus. One thing you might want to center on is symbols Vonnegut uses to portray his characters as unstable war vets.
Eric L
wutang clan!!!
The emblematic writing style of Zane Grey in “The Riders of the Purple Sage,” and “The Last of the Duannes,” is distinguished the consistent mold that he places his characters in.
Will Kearney
The second half of my thesis statement...
revelaing the power of native traditions for a sense of stabilityand healing.
The so what part maybe???
Jenna Williams
Through out "The Things They Carried" and "If I Die in a Combat Zone" Tim O'Brien is able to show the emotional distress that soldiers suffer from his use of First-Person narrative. He is able to fully capture the thoughts and feelings of a soldier in Vietnam because of his real-life experiences and memories of the war. The reader is able to see the way the soldiers dealt with death in “The Things They Carried” and how the soldier thought about the likely possibility of themselves dying in “If I Die in a Combat Zone”.
-Scott Hagen
In Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's and In Cold Blood he uses the psychological aspect of a tormented childhood to show how on the outside someone can seem balanced, but inside they are self destructive.
Scott, yours is really well written, very specific.
-Steph
My Thesis:
Alice Walker’s The Color Purple and By the Light of My Father’s Smile highlight reconciliation both within and between characters through the spirituality and empowerment of love, using the voices of multiple narrators to emphasize theses key themes of the humanity.
Steph:
I really like your idea. It's very interesting. Is there maybe a style Capotle uses to get across this psychological aspect? How is this represented in the writing? (I'm not really sure. It'll probably make more sense when you expand on it in your paper.)
-Victoria M
My Thesis:
Julia Alvarez intertwines the use of time and mosaic anamnesis' in both novels "How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents" and "In the Time of the Butterflies" to reveal the true identities of the protangonists Yolanda and Dede.
Victoria M:
-i really liked your thesis, espcially the line "spirituality and empowerment of love" -NIIICE! :)
-"key themes of the humanity"? do you mean key themes of humanity? are they THE key themes to humanity?, could just be me-but maybe clarify a bit
-ONE LAST THING haha maybe change the wording around a bit so you dont have to say "by these..."-it'll make it more direct i feel
overall GOOD JOB :)
-Krystle D.
In Franny and Zooey, and Nine Stories, JD Salinger uses a cynical narrative voice to tell stories of young adults attempting to identify and overcome the phoniness in the world, alone without any help. Salinger uses his characters in these novels to show the different problems of our phony world.
Krystle D- I like how your thesis flows well. It also is a very good introduction into a paper. it seems like you can do a lot with this
Steve LEs
Being a sequel to Foundation , by Isaac Asimov, you would expect Second Foundation to be very similar, but they, at first appear extremely divergent. Themes prevalent in both revolve around the idea of the individual's relationship with society, frequently showing the futility of a protagonist's actions, and his relative powerlessness when it comes to changing the future. Ironicly though,both novels fixate around lone men who single handedly shape the plot line.
In Franny and Zooey, and Nine Stories, JD Salinger uses a cynical narrative voice to tell stories of young adults attempting to identify and overcome the phoniness in the world, alone without any help. Salinger uses his characters in these novels to show the different problems of our phony world.
how does the cynicality of the author's voice relate to the phoniness of the world?
"alone without any help" -redundant much?
the wording is a bit rough but overall i like the direction, although you really need to tell me more
I am not sure who did the last thesis statement, but my only comment would be that it is a little long. You certainly have a well-thought out argument and have attacked your novels with a very high level of thinking. However, don't give everything away in the thesis statement. Save some of the really concrete evidence for your supporting paragraphs. Maybe the first scentence does not need to be a part of your thesis statement. I am not sure exactly how that fits into your argument. That being said, I think that it is clearly very intelligent and well written!
Irving’s novels highlight the universal experience of the continuous maturation process at all stages of life by creating stories of lifetimes in which the protagonists struggle to achieve self-awareness as they battle the doubt and fear of the past.
-Kelley S.
The emblematic writing style of Zane Grey in “The Riders of the Purple Sage,” and “The Last of the Duannes,” is distinguished the consistent mold that he places his characters in.
Will-
Your thesis is a good start, but I think you need to develop on your focus points more. The part "is distinguished the consistent mold that he places his characters in."
dosen't make sense because you left out a word that I can't figure out what it should be, but this is the part where your focus points should stem from.
-Scott Hagen
The first thesis in my comment is Will's, I was just posting it so people could see it because I didn't get to critquing in class.
-Scott
The unstable protagonists in Vladmir Nabokov's "Lolita" and "Pale Fire" both have something from their past that have altered not only their actions but their entire view of life. These characters that Nabokov creates helps show the difference between reality and delusion and how someone's life can be altered by something so small hidden in their past.
-Eric Scott Hubley II
Hey Kelley, don't forget to put in the names of the novels in your thesis.
-Eric Scott Hubley II
Krystle, your thesis is awesome. It is short and to the point, and has the so what factor. well done, old chap.
Jacob B.
Eric- very strong thesis. The second sentence especially is well-worded. You might want to move away from "something" though; maybe say "an event" or "a moment in". Just a suggestion- it is an excellent thesis.
The central characters in each of Palahniuk’s novels are distinctly individual, and the forced incorporation of these outcasts into society ultimately leads to their downfall. The demise of the assimilated individuals illuminates Palahniuk’s message of the difficulty of finding and retaining one’s identity.
Christina Murphy
Whoops. that was my old one.
The central characters in Chuck Palahniuk’s novels Survivor and Rant are distinctly individual, and the forced incorporation of these outcasts into society ultimately leads to their downfall. The demise of the assimilated individuals illuminates Palahniuk’s message of the difficulty of finding and retaining one’s identity.
christina --> I think your thesis is really interesting, especially the 2nd sentence. Although, from "and...downfall" seems a tad wordy to me. I don't know if it would be better to say that "society forces the incorporation of these outcasts..." Although overall it is very good, you have all the required elements.
here is mine:
Throughout Joyce Carol Oates’s novels "I’ll Take You There" and "The Tattooed Girl", Anellia and Alma’s quest for establishing an identity is revealed not only by their obsession with men, but also with their difficult pasts. The emotional and physical hardships that these characters suffer through ultimately shows how overcoming hardships is an important lesson to learn in life.
~Maryam Semenov
Christina- I liked your comparison. Instead of "distinctly individual" you might want to say "distinctly different"-- it might make it more clear. Your thesis sounds complex and succinct, so I am sure that you'll have a lot to write about.
Vonnegut uses science fiction elements, specifically aliens and time travel, to reflect humanity's ills in "Breakfast of Champions" and "Slaughterhouse Five." These thematic fundamentals reveal flaws in society and illustrate how to improve them.
Zenya M.
alright, here's mine. i'm not 100% happy with it yet, so it'll change but this is the basic idea:
In The Sun Also Rises and For Whom the Bell Tolls, Ernest Hemingway focuses on the aimlessness of his characters as part of a “lost generation” to emphasize the futility of their search for meaning in a post-war world. The plot is driven by the protagonists’ denial and naïveté towards the effects of war, illustrating their distorted sense of self and morality and their perpetual struggle to find true happiness.
~Shay
zenya - i like your thesis statement, but i feel it could use a few more details. Maybe provide some specific and interesting examples on how aliens show flaws in society.
Through The Pearl and The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck illustrates the social and economic differences between the aristocrats and the poor. Although set in distinctively different locales in the American continent, both novels share striking resemblences which shows that strife between rich and poor exist everywhere and every time period.
-bowen
Willa Cather's protagonists in My Antonia and Alexander's Bridge differ immensely in regards to their personalities but share common mental characteristics that illustrate Cather's symbolism and overall message of her novels.
-Kelsey Laning
Bowen,
Very good thesis statement, it is very strong but maybe you could add what the differences between the two books are so people will want to read on. Overall its great! :]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Through "The Ghost Writer" and "The Prague Orgy" Philip Roth tells a story of the difficulties with the writing world. It can bring heartache to family,loved ones, even a whole country, but he lets us know through the main character in both books, Nathan Zuckerman, that writing is something beutiful even if it can be a struggle.
- Kristen Scopetski
^^^^ Im not happy with it. i will defianlty revise
bowen...what's your other novel and what common factors can be found in each novel specifically that connects the two? Like what social class examples are found in each?
-Kelsey L.
Ernest Hemingway defines his own symbol of heroes in "The Old Man and the Sea" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls." Robert Jordan and Santiago, both personify this Hemingway styled hero, where both fight through intense emotional states of inner conflict to find a victory in defeat. Hemingway's use of superstition, foreshadowing and the eventual tragic end for our hero, instills a sense of wonder and mystique to both of these novels.
Eric Wu
Bowen I liked your thesis statement, I thought it could stand on its own, and just by readign it, I already have an idea of your topics and arguments and what message these stories are portraying.
Eric Wu
Kristen, I think you are totally in the right direction with your thesis statement. It may be a little wordy though. Maybe you could try to compact some of your ideas into two thoughts or something like that
my thesis
Alice Walker's novels 'The Color Purple' and 'By the light of my Fathers Smile' contain two african-american women who, through other people, try and find their true place in the world.
-Lauren Bowker
Norman Kingsly Mailer’s, Tough Guys Don’t Dance and The Naked And The Dead both invoke clear aspects of sexism and machoism through dialogue, description, and significance of events to the story. This helps to bring the past to us and to point out the flaws in this viewpoint. This was not intentional, as Mailer came across as one of the more sexist people of his age, but the depiction of women’s cleverness, albeit in their evil, shows that they could not be ignored as intelligent members of society.
Lauren, good start, but you need the "so what?" factor. Also, are there different aspects of this idea?
-Cameron D
My Thesis:
Through his seemingly simplictic plots and events, Bernard Malamud develops reocurring themes contributing to his unique characterization. Malamud's focus on both racial differences and their roles in society is closely paralleled in both "The Assistant" and "The Tenants."
Cameron: Your thesis definitely has the "so what?!" factor. But, I feel like it's a bit too long and a little confusing. There are a lot of different points being made... which are clearly good points... but maybe you could spread them out in your body paragraphs instead and just give a glimpse of them in your thesis. "This helps to bring the past to us and to point out the flaws in this viewpoint..." a little confusing, maybe use differnet wording.
-Laura Hundley
The main characters in Michael Cunninhgam's The Hours and Specimen Days experience love through nonconventional sexuality, and use these sexual desires to search for the meaning of their own self-worth and identity.
Cameron- I really like the vocabulary you chose to include in your thesis. You seem to discuss very interesting topics, but are you covering too many aspects of the stories? other than that, it looks good!
- B kemps
laura, i think your thesis sounds perfect. you chose appropriate words and its a perfect length. You also incorporated two interesting issues, racial differences and roles in society, and you worded it nicely. Looks good!!
-Brooke
cameron-
i agree with brooke and laura, i think you have a little too much going on and its a bit confusing. try and focus everything into one idea.
brooke-
i really liked your thesis, its very strong and to the point, yet at the same time i feel like its missing something, maybe the 'so-what' point? i'm not sure, but you're getting there. good job.
-Shay
In Edith Wharton’s novels Ethan Frome and The Age of Innocence, the central character endures a life marked by unfulfilled, oppressive torment resulting from both an unhappy marriage and intense love for a forbidden woman. This bitter anxiety and emphasis on dishonesty directly serves to demonstrate the personal struggles of Wharton herself, who also was locked into an unhappy marriage ridden with infidelity.
-Carolyn Maiorana
Christina--Nice thesis! it is very complex, but evidently logical. The only thing is that I feel like "distinctly individual" can be interpreted in a few different ways. So perhaps this could be slightly more specific. Really good job with it though.
--(carolyn's suggestion)
(thesis) The central characters in each of Palahniuk’s novels are distinctly individual, and the forced incorporation of these outcasts into society ultimately leads to their downfall. The demise of the assimilated individuals illuminates Palahniuk’s message of the difficulty of finding and retaining one’s identity.
-Christina Murphy
Throughout her novels, 'Four Souls' and 'The Master Butchers Singing Club', Louise Erdich is able to successfully capture the hardships of living in unfamiliar countries and the intricate bonds that can be built between two people, by telling the story from various characters' viewpoints.
-Rhian
Carolyn-
I like your thesis, it is very strong and I like how show how it connects to the authors own life and experiences.
I agree with Shay, Brooke I think your thesis is to the point and concise. But I feel like it is missing that so what point, some type of a hook to lure the reader in.
In both 'The Beet Queen' and 'Love Medicine,' Louise Erdrich stresses the idea of family as the ultimate component of the Native American lifestlye. Erdrich illuminates situations where at times family can feel hated and betrayed by one another, but in the end, your family will always be there to love and care for you.
-Katie Campbell
Ray Bradbury’s notion of admonishing the loss of time and preaching the value of life is defiantly portrayed in his books “Something Wicked Comes This Way” and “Fahrenheit 451” where mundane characters are introduced to the meaning that the essence of life is not determined by age, but by how each day is lived, and only through magic acts and teenage intellects do they comprehend this theme.
Gwendolyn Ngai
Rhian- You thesis is clear in what its trying to say, though good, I'd try to complex the sentence structure and add more details yet at the same time not being so wordy such as changing "Louise Erdich is able to successfully capture.. " to "Louise Erdich successfully captures..."
With many setting changes and stories of travel throughout "Visions of Cody" and "On the Road", Kerouac portrays a sense of restlessness in his characters. His blunt and sometimes shocking style effectively develops his characters and exemplifies their discontent with society.
--jillian pellegrini
katie- your point is very clear and its a really good thesis, but there's a few awkward phrases (its just nit-picky things)
when you say that family is the "ultimate" component, thats a little vague, you should probably refer to it as the most valuable component, or the most important component. and also, be careful not to use "you" and "your". again, these are just tiny picky things, but overall you got your point across strongly so dont be worried.
-Shay
gwen-- i'm really intrigued by the idea of your thesis. however, i think to state all of that in once sentence is too much; i'm a little bit confused. i think to split it up into two sentences would be a good idea. i definitely think it ends very strongly, though!
--jill
oooh jill, you were cuttin it close with that post at 10:59, but i commend you on making it in time.
-Shay
hahahahahha, oh, shay. thank you!
-jill
Eric,I think you need to define what a hemingway hero is in your thesis statement, or at least give some information to the reader about what that is or scrap it
ME
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