Thesis Statements, Introductions & Conclusions [ In the poetic sequence “Modern Love,” George Meredith uses a wealth of figurative language and metaphor to portray a view of modern love as being akin to living death.] [This bleak, pessimistic view is communicated primarily through his use of personification and metaphor as means to characterize modern lovers.] Background Thesis

Answers part two (what is his view?) Answers part one (how is it conveyed?) This [bleak, pessimistic view] is communicated primarily through his use of [personification and metaphor] as means to characterize modern lovers.

This bleak, pessimistic view is communicated primarily through his use of [personification] and [metaphor] as means to characterize modern lovers. Body ¶ one. Body ¶ two.

PROMPT: Evaluate the extent to which Brett is a “liberated woman” in Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises. In Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, Brett proves a “liberated woman” in that she acts in a manner more masculine than her male counterparts, controls the actions and emotions of the male expatriates, and serves as the singular connection among all the major male characters.

Topic: Brett’s characterization Precise opinion: she is an independent woman Reasoning: she behaves like a man, controls men, connects the group

For timed essay, these types of thesis statements are sufficient as an entire intro However, skip 4-6 lines before penning thesis Add “hook” only after reviewing completed essay

For processed essays, thesis statements follow an attention-grabbing hook  Analogy  Brief anecdote/scenario  Philosophical musing/questions  Quote (that is NOT CLICHED!)  Rhetorical question  Startling paradox/statement

The “Lady” Ashley Alcoholic. Faithless. Licentious. Inconsiderate to the feelings of the opposite sex. A “lady.” In a novel in which one of the 20 th century’s most hyper- masculine writers cast no fewer than five significant male characters against the backdrop of drinking, bullfighting, sex and war, it is emblematic that more hard-boiled than any of the men is a ”titled” female. In Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, Brett proves a “liberated woman” in that she acts in a manner more masculine than her male counterparts, controls the actions and emotions of the male expatriates, and serves as the singular connection among all the major male characters

The Art of Losing We all hate to lose things. The disappearance of a favorite shirt or pair of jeans can induce hours of frustration and unrest. In “One Art,” Elizabeth Bishop’s conflicting responses to loss are revealed through her progression of details, deliberate ambivalent diction, and symbolic structure of the poem which create a connection to the final stanza, clarifying the author’s reluctant acceptance of her ordeal.

Beautiful Nightmare The concept of a time machine, a machine free from the constraints of seconds and minutes and hours, has been popular in works of science fiction. Powers to manipulate time are valued by moviegoers and avid readers who desire a way to conquer it. For ages, philosophers and writers have attempted to determine the universe’s most dominant force. W.H. Auden, in “Clocks and Lovers,” differentiates between the optimistic, active attitude of the lover and the pessimistic, tyrannical demeanor of the clock to highlight both the destructive strength and the weakness of time.

Conclusion should include social/universal significance of argument. Review your essay & ask: “So what?” Why should the reader care about this issue? What implications does it have for the “real world” or the way we live?

As a dominating and unifying force, Brett serves as the central male figure in the novel. Liberated from convention, she possesses no impulse to conform to any standard of the day and drifts directionless from one failed relationship to another. Through Brett, Hemingway portrays a generation that has lost faith in the future as well as the precepts of the day but continues to stumble unhappily in search of what it cannot even define. In Brett, the reader is reminded that without hope man is lost, unable to “get away from [himself] by moving from one place to another.”