I would love to say that I've given a lot of thought to this final paper, but I honestly haven't. I really only have a general idea of what I would like to talk about. I was thinking I might talk about something along the lines of the relationship between conscience/guilt and madness in Edgar Huntly and William Wilson. As well as arguing that guilt and madness are directly related to each other, I also want to talk about how Poe and Brown portray madness in their protagonists differently and to what end (i.e. what message does that particular kind of madness send to the audience and why?) I haven't found any academic sources yet, but I want to cite Hamlet to talk about the relationship between conscience and madness, and perhaps some secondary sources which also speak to that idea, along with perhaps talking about Freud? Especially in relation to Edgar Huntly. I haven't explored that idea extensively yet, but I really want to. Mostly I would talk about the Freudian idea of the Id, Ego, and Super Ego and how Huntly's form of madness, sleepwalking, is a manifestation of the war of these 3 parts of the mind...I'm sure I could relate it to William Wilson as well, but I'd have to do some more research.
-Riannon S.
The general subject is a good start; there's definitely a ton of madness going on! Psychoanalytical readings of these stories are wildly popular, given all the fodder, so be very clear in the line of argumentation you intend to follow; your readings will serve as a solid foundation for that argument -- and that's the key: to make an argument about them that answers the question "why" or "so what?" Also be sure to address in some way that the stories significantly predate Freud's notions, on the way to making your argument.
ReplyDelete[also make sure you check the assignment sheet and cover the full breadth of requirements]