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Oral Report
You will read the essay you have written from the choices below -- be prepared
to answer questions! No more than three people per topic -- first come,
first served.
Essay
Choose one of the topics below
and write an essay of 1000-1500 words that incorporates at least three different
authoritative, scholarly secondary sources -- use critical sources from the
library or the Electronic Resources on LINCC. Do NOT cite study guides. If you would like to address a different
topic for your essay, you must first get my approval for the topic and
thesis. Do not hesitate to quote from the novel(s)
briefly to support your assertions and ideas. Sources, of course must be cited in the
text of your essay and appear on your Works Cited List along with the novel
you are discussing.
MLA Documentation style must be followed. Before you
write your essay, read: Guidelines for Research Essays
and Errors
That Drive Jones Crazy and
review Sample List of MLA Citations
and/or MLA Handbook, pp. 1-43.
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Discuss how the layers of narration (i.e. the
narrations by Lockwood, Mrs. Dean, Catherine Earnshaw's diary, Catherine
Linton's conversations, etc.) in Wuthering
Heights affect the unfolding of the novel and the readers' perceptions
of the characters and events. Are the narrators reliable? How do
their prejudices affect the unfolding of the events in the novel?
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Whom do you consider the protagonist of Wuthering
Heights? Why?
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Compare and contrast the relationship between Catherine
Earnshaw and Heathcliff with that between Catherine Linton and Hareton
Earnshaw.
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Discuss the themes of the innocence of childhood and the responsibilities of adulthood in Wuthering
Heights.
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View a film version of Wuthering Heights (the 1992
film with Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes is on reserve on both campuses:
AV PR4172 .W98 1997 , but you may view a different one if you
choose). Discuss the vision of the novel as it is presented in the
film. What sort of interpretation did the writer and director make of
the novel? Do you think the version is true to Bronte's novel?
Why or why not? Is it a successful film? Why or why not?
Discuss the actors' interpretations of the characters. What was the
critical reception of the film? Do you agree with the critics'
opinions? Why do you think this novel has been filmed so many
times? If you like, you may compare and contrast two different film
versions with the novel.
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The narrative mode of Billy Budd is an editorial
3rd person narrator. Discuss how this mode affects the telling of the
story.
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At the end of Chapter 2, the narrator says that Billy
Budd "is not presented as a conventional hero, but also that the story
in which he is the main figure is no romance." What is the genre
of the story? What kind of hero is Billy?
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In the 1924 Raymond
Weaver edition and F.
Barron Freeman's 1948 edition and Elizabeth Treeman's later
modifications to the text of Billy Budd, the ship upon which most of
the action takes place is referred to as the Indomitable (not the Bellipotent
as Harrison
Hayford and Merton Sealts maintain that Melville intended it to
be). Bellipotent translates as "the power of
war." The ship itself is a societal microcosm. What kind of
society does it represent? What commentary is Melville making about
war? About his own society? (The book was written from 1888-91,
but "Dedicated to JACK CHASE ... Captain of the Maintop in the year
1843 in the U.S. Frigate United States).
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The English composer, Benjamin Britten, composed an opera
based on the novel of Billy Budd. The production is available
on DVD (opera
from Amazon.com). Watch the opera and review it: Discuss the vision of the novel as it is presented in the
opera. What sort of interpretation did the composer and librettist make of
the novel? Do you think the version is true to Melville's novel?
Why or why not? How do the music and performances enhance the themes
of the novel? While you need not be a musical expert to tackle this
subject -- you should have some knowledge and/or interest in music and
opera.
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View the film version of Billy Budd (the
1962
film with Terence Stamp and Peter Ustinov is available from Amazon.com). Discuss the vision of the novel as it is presented in the
film. What sort of interpretation did the writer and director make of
the novel? Do you think the version is true to Melville's novel?
Why or why not? Is it a successful film? Why or why not?
Discuss the actors' interpretations of the characters. What was the
critical reception of the film? Do you agree with the critics'
opinions? Why do you think this film is so hard to come by -- rarely
screened on TV or at festival revivals?
Useful Internet
Links
To find authoritative academic secondary
sources online, use LINCC's
Electronic Resources -- especially Academic Search Premier and the Gale
Literary Resource Center. Your G00# is your ID for LINCC.
Emily Bronte
Emily
Bronte: An Overview from the Victorian
Web edited by George P. Landow, Professor of English and Art History at Brown University
Charlotte
Bronte's description of her sisters and her Preface to Wuthering Heights
"The
Magnanimity of Wuthering Heights" by Joyce Carol Oates
The Bronte
Sisters Web
Wuthering Heights (1847)
by Emily Bronte (1818-1848): A
Study Guide & Bibliography prepared by Cora
Agatucci
Herman Melville
Herman
Melville's Billy Budd: a hypertext edition of the novel which
has extensive information on glossary terms, allusions, nautical references, the
manuscripts, illustrations, bibliography, etc. By David Padilla of the
University of Virginia. Invaluable.
The Life and Works of Herman Melville:
features a wealth of information about Melville
and his works. Includes links to several biographies; online texts; a forum; a
bibliography; contextual essays on his relationships; criticism; and more
Herman
Melville. An extensive bibliography, overview of Moby-Dick and Billy
Budd, an assessment of Melville's life and work, and study questions. From
the PAL: Perspectives in American Literature site maintained by Paul P.
Reuben (California State University, Stanislaus).
The
Melville Society: dedicated to the life and works of Herman Melville
Herman
Melville: Melville information from the Academy of American Poets.
Melville Biography:
A biography of Melville from Brandeis.
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