Possible Paper Topics

Here are some topics from which you may choose. Feel free to modify them as you may like.

POSSIBLE TOPICS FOR SEMINAR PAPERS


General:

Show how the themes of lying and self-deception are developed in the plays we have read.

Compare Miller's ideas about the functions of drama with those of Williams.

Compare Miller's handling of sexual morality with that of Williams. Are their views naive or sophisticated (for their times) or a bit of both?

Both Miller and Williams make extensive use of expository stage directions (as opposed to simple descriptions of characters and notes on movement). How do these directions affect the way readers of the scripts, as opposed to the audience at a performance, perceive the dramatic structures and the themes of their plays?

In the cases of “The Crucible” and “The Glass Menagerie,” the stage directions have many elements of poetry. Analyze the stage directions in these two plays in terms of their patterns of images and of metaphors.


The Glass Menagerie:

Argue, based on the text only (not on performances) that Tom, or Laura, or Amanda is the “protagonist” of the play.

To what degree is the play autobiographical? It is easy to take “Tom” as a representative of Williams himself, but some critics suggest that “Tom” has a lot more in common with the poet Hart Crane. Laura, like Williams' sister Rose, is “afflicted,” but there are many respects in which the two differ. Similarly, Amanda shares some elements of Williams' mother's background, but there are great differences as well. Using the text and biographical information (Lyle Leverich is the best source), identify those elements which are autobiographical and those which are not.

Defend or attack the idea that the Wingfield family is destroyed by Romanticism.

Summarize Jim O'Connor's philosophy in the context of the 1930's in America. His ideas are in some ways directly opposed to those of the Wingfield family; he is described as inhabiting essentially a different world. But are there similarities between their world views? Particularly, do both share a commitment to Romantic ideals?


A Streetcar Named Desire:

Is Blanche a sympathetic character? Explain, based on the text only, how Williams intended for the audience to respond to her and her dilemma. Pay careful attention to her past as well as to her present.

Is Stanley a sympathetic character? Again, base your argument on the text only.

Are Stanley and Stella suited to each other? Carefully describe their relationship and show why it is positive or not.

What dramatic function do the poker players (except for Mitch) and the other background characters serve? How do they affect the impact of the story of Stanley, Stella, and Blanche on the audience?


Death of a Salesman:

Is Willy Loman a “tragic hero”? Argue that he is or is not, based on the text of the play and appropriate secondary material.

Compare Willy Loman and Blanche DuBois in their capacity for lying and self-deception.

Argue that Biff Loman is or is not a sympathetic character.


The Crucible

Outline the exact historical differences between the witch hunts in Massachusetts, including the trials of 1692 in Salem Town, and Miller's dramatic version.

Fit “The Crucible” into the context of the “Red Scare” in post-war America.

Comment on the theme of suicide and redemption as it appears in all three of the Miller plays we have read. If you like, include “A View From The Bridge,” which also ends with a suicide.

A Useful Source Of Information About Arthur Miller

The Arthur Miller Society is a non-profit organization which promotes the study and production of Miller's plays. Their web site is a good starting point for accessing the large amount of material on Miller available on the internet. Reach them through the following URL: http://www.ibiblio.org/miller/

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS ON "CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF"

Here are some questions to think about as you prepare for our discussion of "Cat On a Hot Tin Roof."

1. What makes a play "successful"? By what standards can we, as students of literature as well as people who attend dramatic performances, judge whether a particular work or a particular performance is good or bad, effective or ineffective? Could there be a great performance based on a bad script? Could a great script be effective despite mediocre performances?


2. How much can a producer and a team of designers, director, and cast change a playscript while still using the name the playwright gave it? Could a director essentially eliminate the characters of Gooper and Mae and their children in "Cat On a Hot Tin Roof," alter the dialogue spoken by Brick and Big Daddy to make it explicitly obscene, tack the Hollywood ending onto the stage play, and still use Williams' title for the show? Would audiences who arrive expecting to see the play Williams wrote have a right to protest?

3. By careful reading of the script, build character descriptions of Big Daddy, Mae, Big Momma, Maggie, Brick, and Gooper.

4. How are the relationships between Maggie and Brick on the one hand, and Big Daddy and Big Momma on the other, alike and different?

5. Based on what we can know from the text, would Brick or Gooper be a better person to run the plantation after Big Daddy dies?

6. Does the family do the right thing by lying to Big Daddy about his cancer?

7. What other specific instances of "mendacity" among the family members can you identify?

Seminar Paper (Hausarbeit) Requirements:

1. You may choose a topic from the list on the class blog, or you may develop your own topic in consultation with me.

2. You may write in English or in German -- but don't expect me to comment on your German style. I will be happy to make suggestions about your English, but I will do so only if you specifically ask me to.

3. Your paper should follow normal conventions for format and documentation, which you no doubt know far better than I do.

4. The text of your paper (excluding documentation or illustrations) should be between 2500 and 4000 words long, a length which would mean about 10-15 typed pages.

5. Prepare your paper as a Microsoft Word 2003 document (".doc" format, but not ".docx") or as an ".rtf" (rich text format) document, which can be produced and read by essentially all word processing programs, and send it to me by email. Use the address "rboyd55098@gmail.com," and title your cover email "Seminar Paper."



SOME SAMPLE TOPICS:



Tennessee's Older Women: Amanda, Blanche, Big Momma. Are they convincingly female, or are they women as imagined by a man? What are their goals? How successful are they in achieving them? Should (based on the text) the audience find them sympathetic or not? Why?

Music As a Dramatic Element In Glass Menagerie and Streetcar Named Desire. From the incidental music to Glass Menagerie composed by Williams' friend Paul Bowles to the distorted polka music which accompanies Blanche's exit in Streetcar, music plays an unusually active and forceful part in Williams' dramaturgy. Analyze and describe the music specified in the scripts of both plays, showing how it is used to create moods and to add essential elements of characterization.

Whose Play Is It? Argue, with evidence from the script, from accounts of various productions, and from secondary sources, that the protagonist of Glass Menagerie is Tom, or Amanda or Laura, or that the protagonist of Streetcar Named Desire is Stanley or Blanche or Stella.