Post your topics and thesis statements for the close reading essay (essay #1) here. This is a good way to generate ideas and see what your classmates are thinking about. Please post by class-time on Tuesday, 10/3, in time for the peer review session.

16 thoughts on “Close Reading Topics and Thesis Statements (due 10/3)”

  1. Topic – feminism in Life of a Sensuous Women
    Thesis statement – Saikaku’s Life of a Sensuous Woman is a story with strong feminist ideas during a time of oppression for women.

    1. Great thesis statement, Leandra! Support this claim with strong close readings from examples within the narrative, and you should be able to put together a pretty compelling argument.

      1. Thank you! I am going to also be speaking about Tartuffe in it to have a stronger argument, changed my thesis around a little.

    1. Revised Topic: Breaking stereotypical household hierarchies.

      Working Thesis: I will discuss how Tartuffe is a play that encouraged inferiors such as servants and women at the time to speak their minds despite society’s expectations of obedience.

  4. Topic: The hypocrisy of “religious” people
    Thesis Statement: “The Life of a Sensuous Woman” written by Saikaku and the play “Tartuffe” written by Moliere strongly emphasizes a common theme of appearances vs. reality among seemingly religious people.

  5. Topic – the rime of the ancient mariner, was he truly saved?

    Thesis Statement, – I want to argue that the ancient mariner, was his life truly become saved and enlightened? or Was he just become strong religious believer? Through my view, Mariner was saved from invisible anxiety and fear by a kind of saint thing such as Angel and God. He might be saved by God, but it is not hard to say that he is saved his life or enlightened. Because he had been forced to tell what he has suffered as a kind of messenger of God like pastor.

  6. Topic: Suffering in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

    Working Thesis: Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” is a poem told through a Mariner’s journey of sufferings due to his wrongful actions to realize his appreciation for nature.

  7. Topic: Religious Hypocrisy in Tartuffe

    Thesis Statement: Tartuffe had a lot of power and authority from being a religious hypocrite. Being a religious hypocrite he was, he was able to manipulate those around him and commit crimes.

  8. Topic: Morality in Tartuffe
    Working Thesis: In this paper, I will argue that the difference between what is right and what is wrong can easily become misconstrued by human desires, such as power and greed and lust.

  9. Topic: Comparing the usage of Religion in Life of a Sensuous Woman and in Tartuffe

    Thesis: Religion is often used as a tool for the character and their overall development throughout the story but it is used differently in both Saikaku’s Life of a Sensuous Woman and Moliere’s Tartuffe.

  10. Topic: Importance of nature in “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”

    Thesis Statement: In this paper I will argue that Coleridge implements elements of religion and the supernatural to stress the importance of preserving and appreciating nature.

  11. Topic: Female Empowerment in Tartuffe and in Life of a sensuous woman.
    Thesis: I will argue in this essay how Tartuffe and Life of a Sensuous Woman gave their female characters important roles despite sexist views at that time.

  12. Topic: Hypocrisy in Tartuffe
    Thesis Statement: In this paper, I will speak upon how hypocrisy centralizes as the main theme of this play through the characterizations and actions performed by the characters. Mainly, Tartuffe and Orgon both partake as hypocrites throughout the entire play.

  13. Topic: Power of the Human Mind and Influence of Nature in “Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey”

    Thesis: I will argue that the power of the human mind and the influence of nature are themes in “Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey”, and are key concepts in Wordsworth’s romanticism.

Leave a Reply