Essay topics

Choose one of the following topics to write about in an essay of 3-5 pages. In your essay, you should develop an argument in response to one of the following questions, and support it using citations from the text.

1. What do you see as being an important motif in The Bluest Eye? How and why is this motif important to the novel's major themes?

2. Which theme from The Bluest Eye do you see most reflected in your own life today? Please support your argument with specific examples from both the book and your own experience.

3. What kind of theme about whiteness exists in The Bluest Eye? What kind of point is Morrison trying to make? You may also support your ideas with other texts we have examined.

4. How does our society transmit certain standards of beauty, which most of us are unable to live up to? How do we see beauty ideals impacting the lives of the characters in The Bluest Eye?

5. See Ms. Aaland if there is a topic you are interested in writing about which is not listed above.

Essays should be 10-12 point font, double-spaced, and have margins no larger than 1”. You will need to submit a paper copy in class for each of the two due dates, and you will also need to submit your essay to Turnitin.com by 11:59pm on the same day (both times).

1^st draft due for peer review Tuesday, May 5^th (2 copies)

2^nd draft due Friday, May 8^th (1 copy plus copy of 1^st draft)