Thursday, January 3, 2008

ESSAY!

Topic: hope and the struggle for survival
4 Sources: Group A: Macbeth and Two Words-Short story
Group B: The Race-Poem and Shawshank Redemption

Thesis: Everyone needs hope in them to survive in this world.

1 comment:

Mr. Wilkinson said...

Your sources are fine.

Your thesis needs to be developed a little more. Right now your topic is so open-ended that it would be difficult to prove. By this thesis alone, you are attempting to show that EVERYONE in the world needs hope (not that I'm arguing) but then you'd have to prove it.

Try to narrow it down and be more specific. What do you mean by 'have hope in them?' exactly? If I'm rich and comfortable, what hope do I have? That I don't lose it?

See, if you narrow your idea down then you stand a better chance of proving your statement. What do all four sources have in common that you want to address? Is it just hope in general, or do these works share a common bond in that hope saves people from themselves?

Focus your idea down to something that is interesting and can be proven. "Hope drives many of these characters to rise above their circumstances in order to find peace and happiness." Now you have to find out how hope drives them, what circumstances are preventing them to do, and how they want to really live their lives.

Hope that helps! Good luck!