Thesis statements in literature papers

Click on the sentence that would make a better thesis for a five-to-ten-page college literature paper. Remember that a thesis should be a central idea that requires supporting evidence; it should be of adequate scope for a five-to-ten-page paper; and it should be sharply focused.

For help with this exercise, see Thesis statements in literature papers.

Example

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Question

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◯ In Tim O’Brien’s Vietnam novel The Things They Carried, the main character is named Tim O’Brien, but the author claims that the work is fictional.
◯ In Tim O’Brien’s Vietnam novel The Things They Carried, in which the main character is also named Tim O’Brien, the author deliberately blurs the line between autobiography and fiction.
Thesis statements in literature papers – 1

2 of 5

Question

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◯ In Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray presents readers with a heroine whose ambition and disregard for the morals of the nineteenth century make her seem more like a woman of our time than of her own.
◯ In Thackeray’s nineteenth-century novel Vanity Fair, Becky Sharp is an impoverished young woman who plots deviously to get money and status in her society.
Thesis statements in literature papers – 2

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Question

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◯ Clint Eastwood’s film Unforgiven critiques the kind of strong, silent, macho Western heroes that made Eastwood a star.
◯ Many revisionist Western films made after the upheavals of the 1960s criticize the uglier aspects of frontier life, such as the frequent mistreatment of women and minorities.
Thesis statements in literature papers – 3

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Question

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◯ Patricia Highsmith’s novels and short stories are among the most disturbing literary works ever written in English.
◯ In The Mysterious Mr. Ripley, Patricia Highsmith brings readers so deeply into the mind of her hero that they may find themselves hoping he will get away with murder.
Thesis statements in literature papers – 4

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Question

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◯ In Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë’s use of multiple narrators enables her to create an atmosphere of moral ambiguity.
◯ In Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë uses the interesting technique of having multiple narrators with differing viewpoints tell the story of Heathcliff and Catherine.
Thesis statements in literature papers – 5