General Instructions:

of the topics listed below or they will not be graded.

scholarly secondary sources to support your argument in clear and precise language.

o If you are unsure of what constitutes a scholarly source, review the library modules, or

come see me during office hours.

must include a properly formatted works cited page.

Essay Topics (Choose ONE):

1. Develop your own topic. If you choose this option, you must email me a research topic statement

of 50-75 words and a list of your proposed primary texts (minimum 2) for analysis on or before

March 23, 2022. If your topic is not approved, you must write on one of the topics below.

2. Both Frankenstein and Parable of the Sower raise ethical issues connected with human

reproduction and/or child-rearing. Compare and contrast the ideas raised by these novels about

reproduction or child-rearing and society.

3. Both Parable of the Sower and Empire of Wild offer representations of the role of organized

religion in the lives of communities. Compare and contrast the representation of religion in both

novels. Some questions for consideration (you do not have to answer them all): What does

religion offer its believers? What complications or conflicts arise from religion in the novels?

How does religion contribute to or help to heal conflicts in the novels?

4. In 1997, Noël Sturgeon defined ecofeminism as “a movement that makes connections between

environmentalisms and feminisms; more precisely, it articulates the theory that the ideologies

that authorize injustices based on gender, race and class are related to the ideologies that sanction

the exploitation and degradation of the environment” (58). Using Empire of Wild and at least one

other text studied this term, discuss these works as representations of ecofeminist literature.

5. Analyze the representation of exterior or interior spaces in Emily Dickinson’s poetry. You must

use at least three of her poems in your essay. You may wish to consider the relationship between

space or place and things like: gender, spirituality, relationships, authorship, etc.