Thursday, September 18, 2008
Possible Paper Topics on Sab
A possible paper topic would be what symbols or ideas Avellaneda uses to relate to Sab's unclear character and how she uses these symbols or ideas. In the previous post, I state that Avellaneda uses the garden, race, and his heritage or background. I think that could make a possible paper topic, but I am not sure whether that particular paper topic will be long enough or not. It would also be interesting to do a paper on race. But, I am not sure how exactly to narrow down that topic or write a paper on this topic without repeating what was already discussed in class.
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2 comments:
Ruth, all of those ambiguities that you point out are certainly there. The question is: What role do these ambiguities play in the way that we should understand the novel as a whole, or Sab's character as a whole? If you're interested in race in the novel you might explore the hidden vestiges of 19th-century racial bias. That is, clearly Avellaneda's novel has an abolitionist bent. There is no doubt that she was a very forward-thinking woman for the time. That said, there are traces of 19th-century racism that are in there whether she meant to put them there or not. What can some of these traces tell us?
Thanks, Mr. Cummings for the advice. I think that race would probably be the better of the two topics to choose from. If I am correct on what you are saying, if I should write my paper on race, I should find some traces of 19th century racism in the book and them try to figure out what Avellaneda is trying to tell the reader. Or if I decide to actually do the topic on Sab's ambiguous character, then I should discuss the role of the ambiguities in the novel. Thanks, again for the advice and good luck!
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