Mark Twain's portrayal of Widow Douglas, another of Huck's guardians, emphasizes the topic of religious hypocrisy. The Widow Douglas represents a respectable, "civilized" society that seeks to reform Huck by imparting Christian moral standards in him. She educates him about prayer, urges that he be "civilized," and opposes his reckless behavior. Twain, on the other hand, gently challenges Widow Douglas' moral authority by exposing her errors. For example, she discourages Huck from smoking yet readily consumes snuff, a type of tobacco. Her own habits reveal the moral contradictions in her faith.
I think this could definitely address the elephant in the room with slavery and even reference the good John Brown who was killed trying to fight for the abolition of slavery. – Sunni Rashad4 months ago
I see where you're going, but this doesn't read as a topic. Rather, it reads as a paragraph lifted from an existing article. I think what you want to do is construct a topic like, "Widow Douglas and Other Fictional Examples of Religious Hypocrisy." You could stick to Huckleberry Finn as a main source or (my recommendation), start with her and then compare and contrast religious characters from other books and adaptations. – Stephanie M.4 months ago
The writer could look at why is it difficult for some Christians to stick to what their faith teaches – Laurika Nxumalo4 months ago
Gatsby throws parties to entice Daisy Buchanan, the love of his life. The magnificence of the gatherings underscores Gatsby's attempt to reclaim Daisy by achieving the American Dream of success, fortune, and social position. However, the superficiality of these events highlights the novel's portrayal of the American Dream as empty. Despite the glamor, the parties are attended by people who do not know Gatsby and have no interest in him, underscoring the futility of his quest.
The writer could focus on how trying to please others could actually be a form of self-sacrifice – Laurika Nxumalo4 months ago
One of the most well-known linguistic innovations in Ulysses is Joyce's use of stream of consciousness, a storytelling method that attempts to recreate the flow of thoughts and experiences in the human mind. This technique captures the fragmented, nonlinear form of mind. Characters' inner dialogues, memories, and immediate experiences combine fluidly, giving the reader a real-time experience of consciousness. For example, the protagonist, Leopold Bloom,'s thoughts are presented without clear distinctions between past and present, fantasy and reality, illustrating the chaotic and associative nature of thinking.
The writer could explain stream of consciousness in relation to the protagonist's thoughts – Laurika Nxumalo4 months ago
Whilst YA Fiction in a sense existed before the 21st Century, it was never a properly defined genre that you could visit in the bookstore. You usually had your Childrens books and then your Adult books and your Classics. YA Fiction exploded into being with the publication of the Harry Potter books which we can consider as Modern Classics. This topic would be on the game changing books that have contributed to the growing shape and form of Young Adult Fiction.
For example, Harry Potter led to the popularity of YA adventure and action books such as Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series. Suzanne Collin's The Hunger Games is a staple in the genre for creating a wave of Dystopian fiction. Stephenie Meyer's Twilight and Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunter books paved the way for the multitude of paranormal fantasy books. John Green's The Fault in Our Stars contributed to the overwhelming popularity of Contemporary novels that delve into difficult and important topics that teenagers go through in life.
Of course there are positives and current or potential implications on these books in terms of how they have shaped the genre as well as how the genre is marketed, or at least what publishers looks for in this realm of Young Adult fiction. This would a very interesting topic to look at.
I love this topic. I would also suggest Veronica Roth's "Divergent", as that made a pretty big splash. – ValleyChristion7 years ago
I believe it is Young Adult novels are vital to literature because it touches on topics anyone can relate to, whether it is love and loss or finding your identity, the YA genre has something for everyone. – Yvonne T.7 years ago
Personally, I believe that The Giver by Louis Lowry is a predecessor to all the YA dystopias. – RedFlame20007 years ago
Interesting? I think this topic is amazing. In fact, you might have to limit yourself to one genre so you don't get overwhelmed. :) – Stephanie M.4 years ago
Perhaps the Hardy Boys and its progency would be worthwhile to examine. – J.D. Jankowski4 years ago
As a young adult who grew up reading these books, they all shaped me but allowed me to enjoy fiction and empathize with characters. – jamierrandall4 years ago
A lot of scholars trace young adult literature, as a category, back to the publication of S. E. Hinton's 'The Outsiders'. It would be interesting for you to look into Hinton's motivation to write what has essentially become a defining novel, trends in YA since then, YA authored by young adults versus books written by authors that no longer fit in that age category, among other sub-topics. – vibhavarid4 years ago
I'd suggest exploring Risking it All: Pushing the Limits Next Generation by Katie McGarry. It's young adult romance – Laurika Nxumalo4 months ago
One of the "hottest" books on Amazon right now is Chain Gang All-Stars, by Nana Kwame Adjel-Brenyah. It's billed as a hard-hitting drama in which American prisoners compete for their freedom on a bloody, Gladiators-style reality show on which "elimination" means actual death. Detractors look askance at the hype and writing style, but despite the book's newness, Adjel-Brenyah already has plenty of fans.
Chain Gang All-Stars brings to mind several other novels with this "reality show" conceit, from more lighthearted examples like Chicken Sisters and Take the Lead to Death Warrant and Cinderella is Dead. Whether or not elimination from these fictional reality competitions means one's life is forfeit, books like these usually offer discussion fodder regarding the deceptive nature of reality TV and social media, the meaning of trust and alliances, and other multifaceted topics.
Examine some examples of "reality literature" from any genre you like (thriller, rom-com, YA, or any combination). You could, of course, include Chain Gang All-Stars. Compare and contrast your examples, looking at character development, depth of themes, use of tropes, and any other issues you like. Examine what this particular subgenre is trying to say to readers, and how writers might keep its messages fresh in a world that continues in saturation of fast-paced reality shows, online influencers, cancel culture, and more.
With the Wicked movie coming out, it'd be nice to see an analysis of how wildly different the Broadway musical is from the novel it's loosely based on. Compare characters and their arcs. For example, Fiyero in the musical is like a Disney prince, while the book version was much more serious. Compare plot details. The musical's ending is quite different from the book's. Compare themes. The book goes deep into political and ethical questions; does the musical do these ideas justice?
Good start. However, I would take all this and tie it together with a thesis. For instance, do you think the book or musical is better? If so, angle your article toward that conclusion. Do you think the book and musical are conveying the same overall message, or are they different (or are they "feeding" each other)? Again, think of a thesis to give your article a definite direction. – Stephanie M.4 months ago
The Heads of Cerberus by Francis Stevens is one of those early speculative gems that somehow slipped under the radar, despite its daring blend of dystopia and parallel worlds, predating the genre's mainstream appeal. Written in 1919, Stevens’ work subtly tackles themes of oppression, identity, and resistance—issues that still resonate today. This article could reexamine The Heads of Cerberus through a contemporary feminist lens, making comparisons to modern dystopian and speculative fiction. By doing so, it could highlight how Stevens paved the way for today’s narratives of power and rebellion, and why her work deserves a fresh critical spotlight in our current literary landscape.
Recently, a lot of books have been making it onto the infamous banned books list in America, due to containing such themes as "strong female leader" in the case of Wizard of Oz, "racism", especially with children's books that tend to point to the systemic nature of racism in America, and of course, "sexuality and gender" that basically gets slapped on anything that even remotely hints at an LGBTQ relationship or gender expression outside of the cisgender spectrum. Most of these entries to the ever-growing ban list seem to be coming from conservative areas. It might be good to take a small sample of the banned book list from the past 2 years or so and see how it would compare to, say a European banned books list, if the idea of a banned books list isn't something that is wholly limited to America in the first place, and see if there are any overlapping topics between the lists to see what trends might exist cross-culturally.
If this cross-examination is not possible, the topic taker could instead talk about whether or not book bans should exist, and the reasons why they do, and could choose to take a few selections from the banned books list and make an argument as to whether or not the themes presented in the literature truly merit a spot on a banned books list.
I think for this to be good analysis of cultural differences it should look at time frames as well. 90s America vs 90s China for example. Or a myriad of differing ideologies within the nations and have they remained the same or evolved as times have changed. – Sunni Ago1 year ago
I think this is a very interesting topic! I think it would be fascinating to research if book bans come from liberals as well. The comparison could be what each side of the spectrum is trying to ban. Also, I think your second paragraph could be an interesting focus. – shoafhannah12 months ago
