Suggested Research Topics

Hamlet SUGGESTED RESEARCH TOPICS

1. Madness. Consider the role of madness in the play. How does Hamlet’s feigned (is it feigned?) madness compare with the madness experienced by Ophelia? What is the “method” in Hamlet’s madness? Do we see any pattern in Ophelia’s? Research madness in the 1500’s and 1600’s. How was it diagnosed? How was it treated?

2. Supernatural. Old Hamlet’s ghost is the only supernatural element in the play. What role does he play and how does this affect Hamlet? Why doesn’t the Queen see the ghost? Research the beliefs and attitudes, both religious and secular, towards ghosts in the 1500’s and 1600’s.

3. Ophelia. The big question: What is her relation with Hamlet? Were/Are they in love? Lovers? How many ways can we interpret the “Nunnery” exchange? What drives her mad? Research the symbolism of flowers in the time period. What do her gifts mean? Or research beliefs and attitudes towards pre-marital pregnancies and/or courting rites and marriage rituals of the time period. What light does this information shed on Ophelia?

4. How does each of Hamlet's seven major soliloquies reveal the stages of his eventual downfall? IS indecision Hamlet's "tragic flaw"? Research Aristotelian tragedy. How does Hamlet compare to the traditional definition?

5. HAMLET in film: Begin with the A & E "Biography" (1994) of Hamlet, a survey of the most famous actors who have played Hamlet during the last one hundred years. Why have these actors all found this play so difficult to interpret and perform? Why do these actors regard playing Hamlet as a crowning achievement of their careers? Choose one of the actors and research his life.

6. With copious textual examples, agree or disagree with Helen Vendler's argument that Hamlet is "our preeminent post - Christian poem", refusing both the redemptive linear plot of Christianity -- by which God brings good out of evil -- and the stable political hierarchy implicit in the Christian belief that regal authority is derived from God... Hamlet believes only in death -- not in the Christian afterlife that was part of the ideology of his century. Research the ideology of the time period.

7. Compare and contrast Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1967) with the play. Is Stoppard "retelling" the story of Hamlet through the eyes of two minor characters or is Hamlet incidental to the plot of Stoppard's play? Research the theater of the absurd.

TOPIC OF YOUR CHOICE THAT MUST BE APPROVED BY MS. SUTTON Death of a Salesman SUGGESTED RESEARCH TOPICS

1. What was happening economically and socially in the United States in 1949? Was it fairly easy or difficult to get a job? What was America’s standing in the world?

2. What effect do the expectations of parents have on the behavior of their children? In what ways might parental expectations be beneficial? In what ways might they be detrimental? Research what parenting gurus and psychologists have to say on the topic.

3. Research the signals which suicide victims usually give. What typical signals did Willy give? Could Willy have been prevented from killing himself? What resources are available in your community to help potential suicide victims? The Things They Carried SUGGESTED RESEARCH TOPICS

French involvement in Vietnam prior to 1955 American involvement in Vietnam 1955-1965; 1965-1975 Domino Theory as it relates to Vietnam Map of Vietnam with cities, rivers, mountains, deltas, seas, oceans, and surrounding countries Leaders and armies involved in Vietnam President Kennedy, President Johnson, President Nixon, President Ford Ho Chi Minh General William Westmoreland Robert McNamara USS Maddox in Gulf of Tonkin Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964 – use of military force against North Vietnam) Kinds of weapons used in the war Types of booby traps used on both sides Means of transport (trucks, planes, helicopters, boats, ships, etc.) used in the war The life of a “grunt” when in country The Green Berets USO and troop entertainment Student protest Anti-war movement Jane Fonda Agent Orange Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome Commendations (Purple Heart, Silver Star, Bronze Star) Experiences of Vietnam Veterans upon their return and later in life The workings of the draft/draft lotteries Draft dodgers Conscientious objectors Music connected with the war Kent State My Lai Massacre Military women in Vietnam (VWMP) Prisoners of War MIA’s Famous veterans (John McCain, John Kerry) Role of the media and the Vietnam War Geneva Accords Evacuation in 1975 Refugees and Immigrants Operation Babylift (1975) Voices of the Vietnam Era (statements about the war by people who lived at that time) TOPIC OF YOUR CHOICE THAT MUST BE APPROVED BY MS. SUTTON In the Heart of the Sea (READ BY ADVENTURES CLASS) SUGGESTED RESEARCH TOPICS

TOPICS:

1. TYPES OF WHALES: Sperm, Killer, Right Sizes, characteristics, products

2. WHALING HISTORY: History, process, products, dangers, effects upon economy

3. PACIFIC OCEAN: Size, characteristics (temperature, wildlife, landmarks), discovery, navigation, mapping

4. NANTUCKET: Location, history, industry, map

5. QUAKERS: History, beliefs, founders, practices, relationship to Nantucket

6. HERMAN MELVILLE/MOBY DICK: Short biography, connection to Nantucket and the Essex, basic plot of the novel

7. THE ESSEX: Measurements, history, equipment, capabilities, crew members

8. CANNIBALISM: Historical evidence of cannibalism (Donner Party, 1972 Uruguyan soccer team, the Peggy)

9. STARVATION/DEHYDRATION: Symptoms, behavior, facts about both

10. SURVIVAL AT SEA: Famous journeys including Captain William Bligh and Sir Ernest Shakleton

11. WAMPANOAG TRIBE: History, beliefs, involvement in whaling industry, famous leaders, numbers, factors that affected their survival.

12. SEA MONSTERS: Types of sea monsters; reports of, how common were the fears

13. PIRATES: Historical pirate figures from the time period, the truth about pirates, where they operated, under what rules

14. WHALERS IN HUDSON, NY: Where did they come from? How did they operate their whaling business?

15. GALAPAGOS ISLANDS: History, turtles, wildlife, the fire (real or imagined?) 16. OPIUM ADDICTION OF NANTUCKET Truth or fiction? Profiles of women, insight WOMEN: into why they might have done this, effects on family life/ the economy

17. INTELLIGENCE OF WHALES: Are these mammals really intelligent? Communication, habits, stories about whales that have helped man / attacked man

18. LAST THREE CHAPTERS OF MOBY DICK: Compare Melville’s version to the true adventure

19. SALEM CHINA TRADE: History, time line, ports landed and explored, info known about cannibals on islands

20. FRENCH POLYNESIA: Tahiti and other islands in French Polynesia, What was known of its natives? Where there cannibals? What kind of society inhabited the islands?

21. MARQUESAS: Same questions as for French Polynesia.

22. POEMS ABOUT THE SEA /WHALING: Find a half dozen poems, analyze them, relate them to the book 1984 SUGGESTED RESEARCH TOPICS brain-washing techniques utopias / dystopias

Orwell wrote 1984, in part, as a warning against the Soviets and their totalitarianism and their great social experiment. Research totalitarianism and the great social experiment. Compare and contrast the Soviet Communist party with the Party in 1984. Compare and contrast life in Oceania versus life in the Soviet Union.

Prole is a corruption of the word proletariat (worker), as in the supposed dictatorship of the proletariat in the Soviet Union. In truth the Soviet Union was a dictatorship of Communist Party bureaucrats from day one. Workers weren't treated any better than they were in capitalist systems. They were used like tools and party leaders felt the means justified the ends (as all politicians do.) Research the Communist Party.

That 1984 is a satire on totalitarian states such as Hitler’s Germany and Stalin’s Russia (research these) and a warning to the West is one of the commonly accepted interpretations of the novel. Prove that this is so by showing that Orwell did create a complete, repressive totalitarian state in Oceania.