World Literature Help! :help:

[samt_mansha]

My first World Lit Assignment is on the books Medea by Euripides and A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen. I'm exploring the concept of motherhood in both the texts. I have thought of a few things such as the comparison of them as mothers, one leaves them the other kills them. The situation they are in. The difference of time and era. The Social Situation of Women.

Now I kinda of seem stuck. If anybody could give me ideas to work on, would be of great help.

[Sandwich]

Have you done relationships in a literary sense? Like use of language to speak with other characters (affectionate?), the way in which they relate to the other characters (eg. protectively, neglecting children, ignoring them). Is there anything about their past and how that might affect how they behave as mothers? How are their roles as mother revealed within the texts-- is it made obvious by their actions what their relationships are, or is it stated that they are the mothers of the children? Is it clear how they feel about their roles as mothers? To what extent are they the backbone of their families-- do they have a helpful husband or servants, or are they on their own? Are they powerless in their role or powerful?

I'm afraid I've not read the texts to help you, but those might hopefully give you some ideas (and some of them a good jumping point for language analysis). Good luck!

[Sarusta]

Unfortunately I haven't read those books either, but there are several things you can do to brainstorm and come up with a rough outline (such as Sandwich's list of thesises (thesi? theses? o_o).

The situation they are in. The difference of time and era. The Social Situation of Women.

It seems to me you've got some sound evidence for a thesis in the making with those three aspects. You might consider comparing/contrasting the actions and judgment of the mothers in the context of their situations, the roles they are expected to play in society, the time frame, etc.

Once you come up with a thesis, I have a sure-fire way to get my mind rolling, taught to me by my teacher. Instead of trying to struggle with a full outline, go through your books and pick up quotations that you can use for your essay as evidence. Jot them down, then write a couple of notes analyzing them. A couple of quotes per book per paragraph is enough.

Sort the quotations by category based on your thesis, and voila, half of each of your body paragraphs are completed, all that's left are topic sentences, some complimentary adjectives and explanation, and you basically have your essay completed.