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View Full Version : Help! M2 thesis on American gothic fiction: comparable authors and themes?



essep
08-26-2014, 11:37 AM
Hi everyone! I need your help. I really need to find a valuable and interesting topic for my M2 thesis on American Gothic Fiction. I'm really confused; I have many ideas, but I'm not sure they are practicable. :banghead: I would like to build a comparison between American authors of different times (for instance, Poe-Lovecraft-King) but I can't find an interesting connection between them (I am supposed to write around 100 pages, so I need a very interesting subject matter, a leitmotiv evidently connecting all the writers); for example, I am thinking about the scientific developments that influenced the works of such authors, or - more in general - their choice to exploit fantastic/horror literature also as a reaction to the destabilizing events of their times. I think this subject matter could be perfect for a long thesis; actually, the problem is to find the most suitable works displaying such themes. Any ideas? What about Harlan Ellison? I think short stories would be easier to analyse. Moreover, I could also decide to study only Lovecraft and Poe, or Poe and someone else.. I could also change my approach, find a different subject matter. I was also thinking of a possible connection between Poe and Asimov, but I don't know much about the latter. Basically, I'm all "ears"!! Thanks