: For your research paper, you will analyze and discuss an idea from one of the plays or novels included in this course using one or more specific critical approaches - formalist, historical/biographical, gender/feminist, psychological. It is up to you to narrow your topic to something manageable for this 6-8 page (1500-2000 word) assignment and define your thesis. Finally, to support your discussion, you are required to directly incorporate statements from the work(s) and a minimum of three (3) secondary sources. You may choose to write about a piece of literature, a character or characters, a theme, the symbolism, or the settings, etc. (Review Bedford Ch. 50, pp. 2029 – 2050, Ch. 51, pp. 2071 – 2080, and Ch. 52, pp.
2096 - 2110).
from which you might develop a thesis (in each case remember that you need to have an overall point – an original insight of your own). There are many other possibilities. You are not limited to these. However, you are limited to the plays and novels specifically studied in this course.
A.
Formalist Approach: Consider what critics have said about the novel (please, no epinions.com or simple amazon.com critiques! Look for solid book reviews or literary criticism.), in other words, what scholars have written about the novel, or how interviews with the author may help you more closely interpret the novel or play. Remember: formalist criticism is ALL about what the text itself reveals.
1.
How does Sophocles’ characterization (see p. 2124) of Antigone contribute to the overall meaning of the play? What specific images and diction (words & phrases) help to give an accurate picture of Antigone? Is she the protagonist or the antagonist? What specific narrative techniques help to develop this character?
2.
Choose one or two of Hamlet’s soliloquies. Analyze the imagery that reveals a significant aspect of his character.
3.
Analyze the symbolism in The Glass Menagerie .
4.
Analyze the characterization of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman .
5.
Analyze the irony in either Fahrenheit 451 or Mockingbird.
B.
Historical/Biographical Approach: Consider locating articles that discuss the author's history (i.e. biography), the social/cultural/political conditions surrounding the time the text was published, and possible the reaction people had when the text was published.
.
How does the work reflect the period in which it was written? What literary or historical influences helped to shape the form and content of the work? How important is the historical context to interpreting the text?
C.
Gender/Feminist Approach: Consider locating sources that help you examine roles, expectations, and privileges determined by one's gender. You may want to look closely at language, power struggles, and characters.
1.
Compare and contrast the views of Creon from Antigone and Torvald from A Doll House about women.
AACC 112 Schmitt 1

2.
Compare and contrast Lena Younger’s role as a mother in
A Raisin in the Sun to Amada
Wingfield’s in Tennessee Williams’
The Glass Menagerie .
3.
How is gender portrayed in Mockingbird ? Are there traditional roles? Do these works challenge or affirm modern traditional ideas about men and women?
D.
Psychological Approach: Consider locating sources that will help you analyze the motivations and behavior of various characters, possibly including the meaning(s) of their dreams and desires.
What do the characters’ emotions and behavior reveal about their psychological states? What type of personalities are they? Does the author present psychological matters such as repression, dreams, and desire consciously or unconsciously?
1.
What psychological characteristics attribute to Antigone’s willingness to die in order to obey the laws of the gods by burying her brother? What psychological characteristics contribute to her continued defiance of Creon?
2.
Was Hamlet suffering from bipolar disease?
3.
Using the criteria of the American Psychiatric Association, consider Nora’s personality.
Does she have a narcissistic personality?
4.
Several of the works contain examples of suicide. Examine the psychology of suicide, then discuss several of the characters who kill themselves.
E.
Combination of Approaches:
1.
Compare and contrast Antigone and Nora (from A Doll House ) as feminists.
2.
Compare and contrast Creon from Antigone and Claudius from Hamlet . What kind of kings are they? How are matters of state and the political atmosphere in the world of each play affected by the rules of Creon and Claudius?
3.
Research marriage laws in the United States for the late 19 th
century. To what extent is
Ibsen’s 1879 Norwegian play relevant to current American laws and attitudes toward marriage?
4.
Compare and contrast Polonius in Shakespeare’s
Hamlet to Willy Loman in Death of a
Salesman . To what extent is each character wise, foolish, deluded, and/or hypocritical?

Must be between 1500 and 2000 words – approximately 6 to 8 pages. (I am more concerned with content rather than word count, but you must make sure you have fully developed your argument.)
 Must use Times New Roman, 12-point font, 1-inch margins.

Must use MLA style documentation format.

Paper Proposal & Working Thesis Statement

Organizational Plan & Introduction
 Rough Draft

Final Paper
October 19 th
November 9 th
November 16 th
November 30 th
AACC 112 Schmitt 2