Wednesday, April 2, 2014

This Marks the End of Me Getting Any Sleep

I went to the library yesterday and read some different critical essays about Hemingway to get a feel for the type of analysis I was wanting to do. I found a lot of good sources that are shaping the way I think about my topic. As I studied more, my original thesis statement evolved into something clearer. Instead of focusing on the generation of characters, I decided to focus on the main character, Jake Barnes, and analyze him a little more. He is an intriguing character, and I can draw some parallels between him and Alice. So, my thesis statement is a little different, but I think it will help me get to the point that I wanted to make all along.

I've started drafting and I think I should be done by tonight. I'm still reading more essays and I want to really make sure that I can defend my argument before I go any further. I think that our peer review session on Friday is going to be a big tell on whether or not I made the right decision. I think I'm going the right direction with this, but I could use some feedback from my peers.

Here is my revised (and hopefully final) thesis statement:

Although many of the characters in Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises personify the schizophrenic moral attitude of the twenties, Jake Barnes represents the resilient moral compass of his lost generation.   


2 comments:

  1. I think your thesis sounds good, but I do have a couple of questions. Your thesis is obviously that Jake Barnes represents a moral compass--how are you going to prove that in your paper? I don't have any doubts that you can, I'm just curious about what your plan is. My other question has to do with Barnes' character. I've never read the book, so I don't know anything about Barnes as a character, but since it's Hemingway, I would imagine that Barnes has some pretty significant character flaws, even though he sounds like the good guy. If he does have those issues, how are you going to deal with/address those things? This all sounds really critical, but your paper sounds interesting and I would really love to read it!

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  2. A nice, clear thesis statement. Sounds like you are ready to draft. Some good points made by Kate. I'm sure you will deal with what she's mentioning.

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