Examples of Thesis Statements for use in Literary Essays
English 1020
Hasting
From the opening paragraph, John Steinbeck sets a tone of leaden resolve and introduces the protagonist amid a garden rich with sexual symbolism. (theme and mood)
It is Gilman’s intention to show that her main character’s spiral into insanity is, in fact, her willful defiance of that which would vanquish her true nature. (character and mood)
“The Story of an Hour” contains a rich mixture of situational and dramatic irony, which grow out of error, misunderstanding, incorrect expectations, and a certain degree of pride. (tone)
In A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams demonstrates how real desires can lead, like the streetcar itself, to a place we should never be and towards cruelties of character and circumstance.
In Doctor Faustus, Marlowe demonstrates that when a mortal tries to surpass his human limitations in hopes of attaining ultimate power for himself, he will be defeated. (theme)
Through her clever use of fiction, Woolf shrewdly removes herself from the position of authority, enhances audience identification with her narrator, and invites women to join her search for “the true nature of women and the true nature of fiction.”
In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte illustrates that in order to overcome adverse conditions, one must possess a burning desire to succeed, the courage to defy societal norms and the endurance and ability to defend one’s convictions.
Auden uses the events in his ode to Spain to try to make sense of how and why a country as great and wonderful as Spain could tear itself apart in the name of diverse ideology.
The “Seafarer” poet uses the imagery in this poem to compare the perilous life of “landlubbers” (11) to that of his own and consequently explains his immense love for the sea.
