In Feng Meng-Long’s, “Due Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger,” a lot of tension is displayed due to the difference in values systems between Du Tenth and Li Jia.
In Saikaku’s “Life of a Sensuous Woman,” the narrator seems to show feelings of both penitence and pride towards her life as a prostitute.
4 responses so far ↓
e.rospide // Oct 2nd 2015 at 10:32 pm
With the first thesis, i think you should state the value systems that create tensions between Du Tenth and Li Jia, whether that be money vs. love, caring about ones class vs. not, or materialism vs. the lack of. I feel it should be more focused on what exactly is creating the conflict between the two.
The second thesis, I am not sure how this discusses the role of women to Saikaku. Does the feelings he decides to express through the women give more detail into what role women should play?
m.lee // Oct 2nd 2015 at 11:33 pm
I think that the first thesis is a little too broad and that you should go into more detail about the differences in the value systems by first defining what the value systems are – money and power vs. love and sincerity. You should mention how the Li Jia and Du Tenth have different views on money and love and how Li Jia is much more focused on money while Du Tenth is naive and blinded by love and these differences and tensions resulted in something. What did these tensions lead to? Perhaps you could focus on one specific character and how he or she ruined the relationship instead of focusing on both.
t.zar // Oct 3rd 2015 at 3:11 am
I think that the second thesis statement allows you to speak about the inner workings of the narrator and exactly what she was thinking or feeling during her specific relationships. That being said, I would advise to sticking with a particular idea instead of speaking about both. If I were you i would stick to depicting how her life as a prostitute really led to her downfall and life as a lonely and sad woman. Instead of bringing up how she was proud of her previous relationships I think it would be better to focusing more on expanding one idea. With the first thesis I would suggest in being more specific and stating exactly what the differences in value systems are between Du Tenth and Ji Lia.
JMERLE // Oct 3rd 2015 at 3:06 pm
Chaya,
Both statements are valid observations, but to be a full thesis statement, you need to be sure to include the interpretive part; that is, why did the authors focus on these issues?
Also, in the first one, you would need to decide, even in your thesis, what the value systems you’re discussing actually are.
Grade: 8/10