Devise a topic and thesis from one of the subject areas below. Think of your topic as a question you are trying to answer, and your thesis as your potential answer to that question. Whatever your subject, you will need to take advantage of outside sources — articles, books, other critique — to support your argument, and you must append a list of these sources — roughly a handful (4-6), not counting fiction.
The paper is about 1500 words, approximately five pages double-spaced in 12-point font.
Midterm: The focus for the midterm paper will be YA fantasy from Lewis to Rowling.
1. Consider another work by C. S. Lewis. It could be in the Narnia series, the science fiction (Ransom) trilogy, or something else. Possible questions: How does it reflect Lewis’s literary, philosophical, or religious sources? How does it help us understand his work as a whole? What do his other writings say about the nature of faith — or about his attitudes toward girls and women? Warning: Be cautious about quoting the Bible as a source. If everyone agreed on the meaning of Scripture, there would be a single biblical faith instead of hundreds. Make sure you are using Lewis’s interpretation.
2. Analyze another novel in the Harry Potter series. Possible questions: How does this novel represent the development of the character(s) or the series as a whole? Thematically speaking, is it part of a larger adolescent quest, or can it stand on its own?
3. Between the Narnia series (1950-1956) and the Harry Potter series (1997-2007), there were many other fantasy series originally written for adolescent readers. Examples would be Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain (The Black Cauldron, The High King, etc.), Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising (incl. The Grey King et al.), LeGuin’sEarthsea trilogy, L’Engle’sA Wrinkle in Time and its sequels (much influenced by Lewis). Choose one, focusing on a particular text, and make a case for it. Possible questions: To what extent does it fall into the adolescent quest pattern? Does it have qualities that make it unique? What are the author’s apparent themes or sources?
• Books:
• C. S. Lewis:
The Silver Chairbuy it now from Amazon.com
The Last Battlebuy it now from Amazon.com
• J. K. Rowling: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Firebuy it now from Amazon.com
• Philip Pullman: His Dark Materials trilogy buy the 3-book Omnibus now from Amazon.com
(The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass)