Here are some possible topics, though you are not limited to them: Allegories: Young Goodman Brown and The Open Boat Coming of age: the young men in Araby and Barn Burning Compare and contrast any two characters or works Compare and contrast Howards End the novel and Howards End the film Heroic heroines: Edna Pontellier, Margaret Schelegel, Phoenix Jackson Is Edna Pontellier a tragic heroine? Inadequate males in Howards End Journeys: Young Goodman Brown and A Worn Path Men and women in love: The Lady with the Dog, The Awakening, Howards End, The Horse Dealer’s Daughter The human condition and The Open Boat The importance of money in Howards End The influence and the influenced: Maupassant and Chopin The uses of Gothic: Hawthorne, Poe, Gilman, Faulkner Violence in The Cask of Amontillado and Barn Burning What’s going on in Hills Like White Elephants? Women’s plight: The Yellow Wallpaper, The Awakening, Howards End, The Chrysanthemums

Essay instructions Offer 3 full pages of writing (750+ words), typed, double-spaced, MLA formatted, which show your ideas richly & generously. You are welcome to choose your own topic in connection with any of the stories/novels/films we've engaged in the class. Also, feel free to choose from the "Possible Topics" list below. While I will be counting the organization of your ideas, audience awareness, and grammar/spelling type stuff toward your grade, the most important thing is what YOU think and WHY you think it :) Feel free to use the first person, if you like (the words "I," "we," etc.). Offer specific examples & quotes from the readings to help me understand where your interpretations are coming from. Abundant examples & explanations of your ideas are essential to good work & help get you to the full length requirement of 3 full pages. Helpful Resources & Reminders Make sure that you have a thesis statement that is supported adequately. Give your essay a meaningful title. Do not retell the story in your essay. Support your thesis with reasons and examples. Your essay grade will be based on thesis, support, organization, grammar, and punctuation. See the Guidelines for Literature Essays handout for more information. To learn more about MLA documentation, watch the lecture and review the sample below. MLA Documentation Lecture MLA Documentation For a refresher on the structure of an essay, review the video What is an Essay. For more information, review the video about composing Analytical or Comparison and Contrast essays. Essay Structure Analytical Intro Paragraph: ends with Thesis Which answers the question “What are you trying to prove?” Body Paragraphs (3 or more): explain reasons that we should believe your thesis. Concluding Paragraph: sums up main ideas. Comparison - Contrast Essay Intro Paragraph: ends with Thesis, Which answers the question “What are you trying to prove?” Paragraph(s) examining similarities between 2 subjects. Paragraph(s) examining differences between 2 subjects. Concluding Paragraph: sums up main ideas.