Develop an argument about either of the following themes, or any combination of these themes, in Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days.

English 1202: Research Essay Topics
Length: 1800-2100 words double-spaced, 12 pt font. Choose one of the following:

1. Develop an argument about either of the following themes, or any combination of these themes, in Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days.
– memory: to generate ideas for yourself, consider different things Winnie remembers, from the trivial to the profound, as well as real and false memories, sameness and change, pasts either real or idealized, and memories repressed or denied.
– repression (or denial): a more focused version of the “memory” theme; to generate ideas, consider similar angles as above.
– fear and desire: while looking at both these themes, consider also the “paradox” of simultaneous fear and desire for the same things, and/or how a person’s desires often contradict one another.
– attachments: consider this topic at various levels, including but moving beyond the interpersonal; you might think, for example, of attachments to ideas, desires (like being seen or heard), locations, identities, and ways of behaving or communicating.

-vision and observation: consider related concepts such as observation of self, of others, and by others; blindness (willful or otherwise) and insight; imagination, light, exposure, eyes, etc.

2. Compare Knut Hamsun’s Glahn and Camus’ Meursault as “outsiders” or “strangers.” How is the theme of alienation treated similarly and/or differently in both novels? Look closely at each character’s attitudes toward various parts of their lives and various people in their lives. Look also at their sensibilities, their memories, their desires, their methods of self-expression and their use of language, their values and beliefs. Develop a complex overall argument about alienation that accounts for both characters.

Sources: you are required to use at least three peer-reviewed sources (book chapters, or articles) in your essay. These three should be relevant enough that you can cite them in detail throughout major portions of your essay. They must be books or articles that analyze the particular play or novel you are writing about. You can of course add more sources, which you might refer to in passing, or in less detail.
At least two of your main sources MUST be taken from the “Research Paper Sources” at the bottom of our course Moodle Page. You are welcome to take all of your sources from these readings if you like. Files or links to each source are included there (for most links, you will be prompted to login to the KPU Library site with your Student ID number and password).
-If you want to look for other sources, you can find print books and full-text e-books through a KPU Library Catalogue search, and full-text articles through research databases such as Academic Search Complete, the MLA International Bibliography, and JSTOR.
Here is how to access books and articles that are not included in the Moodle course site section called “Research Paper Sources”:
– for print books and e-books, go online to the KPU library homepage, and do a “Catalogue” search (click “Catalogue Search,” then the “advanced catalogue search” option at the lower right corner of the options bar).  In the search term boxes, simply put the name of your author in one box, and the name of the play or novel you want to write about in the other box.  Then “search,” and results will come up.

– for articles, go online to the KPU library homepage, and do a “Research Databases” search (click “Research Databases,” then choose the “research databases A-Z” option at the lower right corner of the options bar).  Then search as above — by inserting the author’s name in one box, and the play or novel in the other — in the following databases: Academic Search Complete, MLA International Bibliography, and JSTOR.  In Academic Search Complete and MLA International Bibliography, be sure to place a check in the “scholarly” or “peer-reviewed” box below the search term boxes.  Also be sure that you are finding full-length articles by academic authors, several pages long at least, and not “Review” articles that may be only a journalist’s review of a particular play performance. (You can also find articles through a “Summon” search on the KPU homepage, but this will produce a huge number of hits and will require careful limiting of your search to find useful sources).

In both cases, you’ll need to log in when prompted with your Student ID number and password.