Literary theory essay ideas

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To approach this particular assignment, first select your topic from the two works. There are a number of topics that you might select when comparing and/or contrasting these two short stories. One that I like is the treatment of women, which is a literary device of setting, since each woman suffers from the way women are treated in her own setting, or culture. You might choose the topic of insanity, which is part of the plot, or another topic perhaps, such as how each author advances their stories through their use of other literary devices such as figurative language.

I will choose the treatment of women (setting) as a topic to compare and contrast each work as your example.
Once your topic is selected, search for the resources. I will provide Web-based references, since I am not sure what resources that you might be able to access, and I am sure that you can access these.

Smith, N. (December 6, 2011). Psychological character analysis of Miss Emily in "A Rose for Emily" by Faulkner. ArticleMyriad. Retrieved from http://www.articlemyriad.com/psychological-character-analysis-rose-emily/
Smith, N. (January 17, 2012). Faulkner's A Rose for Emily: Fallen monuments and distorted relics. Article Myriad. Retrieved from http://www.articlemyriad.com/faulkners-rose-emily-fallen-monuments-distorted-relics/
Getty, L. J. (n.d.). Faulkner's A Rose for Emily. Retrieved from www.tvcc.edu/.../Analysis%20of%20A%20Rose%20for%20Emily.doc
Gilman, C. P. (October, 1913). Charlotte Perkins Gilman, "Why I wrote The Yellow Wallpaper" (1913). Retrieved from http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/yellowwallpaper.pdf
Edsitement. (n.d.). Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper"-Writing women. Retrieved from http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/charlotte-perkins-gilmans-yellow-wall-papermdashwriting-women
Faulkner, W. (1930). A Rose for Emily. Retrieved from http://www.eng.fju.edu.tw/English_Literature/Rose/el-text-E-Rose.htm

When you list references on your References page, they need to be alphabetized, and only include those you actually use in the paper. Survey these references, looking for information that would support your topic - see what the sources have to say that will support your ideas.

Put together a brief outline of how your essay will progress through your ideas. It can be this simple:

This essay will begin with an introduction that presents both works and their authors, giving a brief summary of each. (Then comes your thesis statement). After that, discuss in each work how women are treated (at that time) is central to each character's dysfunction in each story. Finish the essay with a summary of what you have been saying all along and answer your thesis statement.

Once your paper is outlined, you need to craft the thesis statement. A thesis statement is arguable in that someone could disagree with you. It also states your position, and hints at the arguments you will make to support your position. A thesis statement for this topic might read like this one:

In Faulkner's A Rose for Emily and Perkins' Yellow Wallpaper short stories, the protagonists each suffer from the way women were treated in their respective cultures, leading to mental illness, a loss of ability to rationally cope with their circumstances, and even murder.

Now you are ready to being writing. Your posting did not state what formatting protocol you need to follow, so I have been using APA. APA requires a title page, but not necessarily an abstract. If you DO need an abstract, I will supply one in your solution update, otherwise I won't include that, since the posting does not specify that you need one. For general tips ...