Comparison Essay Assignment | Custom Essay Services

Introduction:
For this paper, I would like for you to explore a theme by writing a comparison. This paper will focus strictly on the novels by Charles Dickens and Robert Louis Stevenson, a Christmas Carol and the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, respectively. The emphasis of this paper is to compare and contrast either how these authors use certain literary tools to portray a similar theme or how one of these authors uses certain literary tools to advance a theme.

1. To begin, you should choose from themes that arise in both works. Below is a list of possible ideas.
• Use of the Gothic genre conventions to explore a theme on the human condition*
• Use of literary devices to explore a theme on the human condition*
*These first two options differ in that you would likely make a thematic statement that argues for the value in studying the Gothic genre. The second option would focus more on the theme dealing with the human condition.
• Human Condition Themes**
o The line between right and wrong/moral and immoral
o The ability for humans to transform for better or worse and the factors that cause them
o The class divides
o The portrayal of women—the plight of women
o The portrayal of non-white (i.e., European) identities
o The problem of substance abuse
o Exploration of various taboos (either directly or indirectly referenced) and their impact on society
o An economic reading (which can be separate from a discussion of the class divide noted above)
o Themes dealing with the reliance on, or rejection of, religion and spirituality, or spiritualism
o Themes dealing with specific commentary on a major historical event or movement that impacted the Victorian people, such as the following:
 The impact of industrialization
 Women’s liberation ideals (e.g., educating women, the Angel in the Home or the New Woman movements)
 Changing attitudes toward sexuality
 Advances in science or popular scientific theories, including reactions to Darwinism, surgical innovations,
 Major advances in technology, such as gas lamps, the printing press, and photography
• Various economic theories/philosophies popular in this era or even now
• Other forms of literary criticism, such as Orientalism, Freudian, Jungian, feminist, Marxist, etc.

2. Then, you should choose from the literary devices and/or theoretical approaches below and
show how the authors use these to bring this theme to their works. Please note that your
paper will only include a selection of the devices below.

Literary Devices: Point of view, characters, dialogue, setting, structure, tone, style,
symbolism, diction, imagery, metaphorical language, sound elements, and form***

3. The introduction should include your thesis statement and major points from the paper itself.

4. Papers must include close analysis of the texts and should include textual evidence.

The novels by Charles Dickens and Robert Louis Stevenson, a Christmas Carol and the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, respectively are found in the books The Norton Anthology English Literature (tenth edition) The Victorian Age and The Norton Anthology English Literature (tenth edition) The Romantic Period respectively. These two books are the only things that need to be cited in MLA format unless outside sources are used then those must be cited as well.