Literary Research Essay

Wuthering Heights is a novel rich with social, political, cultural, psychological, and historical connections. For this unit you will choose a topic of interest that connects with your book-club novel. As you read Wuthering Heights, try to understand the Bronte’s text through the lens of this topic.

You will then explore the background of this topic by reading secondary and primary source materials and reflect upon how you can organize these outside sources with your own analysis of the novel. After compiling your ideas and information from these sources, craft a thesis-driven research paper that connects your topic with the text of your Victorian-Era novel. 

This assignment is fairly open-ended and will require much thought on your part of how to organize your ideas and execute this written product. Remember that this is a Literary Research Paper, meaning that your topic must connect to the specifics of the text Wuthering Heights.  Due on Turnitin.com by 11:00pm on March 17^th.

Requirements:

·         4-6 Pages plus a Works Cited Page - all in MLA Format.

·         At least two scholarly outside sources. (You will probably want to use more sources than this)

·         Formal writing style. No I, me, you, or us.

·         Quotes of non-fiction sources should only be used if they are absolutely crucial to conveying your point. You cannot use more than two quotes from your non-fiction sources.  Most of the time you will want to rely on paraphrasing.

·         Citations: You must use MLA in-text citations for all quotes and paraphrasing that is done.

Mr. Achimore’s Advice:

·         Choose a topic that allows you to both examine outside sources thoroughly and analyze and discuss specific aspects of the text. That way, you will have plenty of information to talk about for four pages.

Potential Wuthering Heights Topics:

• ·   Examine Social Injustice (in Gender, Race, and/or Social Class) in Wuthering Heights and England during the 1800’s
• ·   Examine the Link between Nature and Spirituality within Wuthering Heights and England during the 1800’s (may also be researched through a psychological perspective independent of time period)
• ·         Research Thomas Hobbes’s Theory of the Social Contract or John Locke’s Theory of the Social Contract, Examine Whether Heathcliff’s Actions Are Justified in Relation to One of These Philosophical Perspectives
• ·         Examine masculinity and gender in the novel and how it reflects Victorian Era society.
• ·         Examine the portrayal of womanhood in Wuthering Heights and how it is in dialogue with dominant Victorian notions of femininity.
• ·         Examine the development of the Byronic Hero in literature and examine the existence of the Byronic Hero in Wuthering Heights
• ·         Identify and Examine the Dominant Romantic Style Elements within Wuthering Heights.
• ·         Explore the history of the Gothic Novel. Identify and Examine the Dominant Gothic Style Elements within Wuthering Heights
• ·         Examine the Existence of Freud’s Personality Types within Wuthering Heights (specifically the Id, Ego, and Superego)
• ·         Examine the Psychological Effects of Isolation and Its Relation to the Characters of Wuthering Heights
• ·         Examine Narcissism as a Psychological Concept and Its Existence in the Characters of Wuthering Heights
• ·         Examine Bi-Polar Disorder and Its Relevance to the Characters of Wuthering Heights
• ·         Examine Depression (as an Illness) and Its Relevance to the Characters of Wuthering Heights
• ·         Examine the Nature Versus Nurture Debate and Its Relevance to the Characters of Wuthering Heights