1) Many works of literature explore a character's sense of lacking something important in life. The character perceives an unfulfilled need which may be emotional, spiritual, financial, or something the character does not understand or cannot articulate. Analyze how a character's sense of an unfulfilled need contributes to an interpretation of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.  2) In great literature, no scene of violence exists for its own sake. . . choose a work of literary merit that confronts the reader or audience with a scene or scenes of violence. In a well-organized essay, explain how the scene(s) contribute to theme. 3) Many works of literature contain a character who intentionally deceives others. The character's dishonesty may be intended to help or to hurt. Such a character, for example, may choose to mislead others for personal safety, to spare someone's feelings, or to carry out a crime. . . analyze the motives for that character's deception and discuss how the deception contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.  4) From a novel or play choose a character (not necessarily the protagonist) whose mind is pulled in conflicting directions by two compelling desires, ambitions, obligations, or influences. Then in a well-organized essay, identify each of the two conflicting forces and explain how this conflict illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. 5) In many works of literature, characters may be significantly affected by memories of the past. A character may be inspired by the past, haunted by the past, and unable to let go of the past or motivated by the past to craft a better future. Choose a character in which who is significantly affected by a memory. In a well-organized essay, analyze how the impact of the memory on the character contributes to the interpretation of the book as a whole.

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