Here are our essay topics (finally!) for the first essay. You can focus on just one book if you like, though you may find it interesting to discuss two.\

1. "The truth about stories," Thomas King tells us, "is that's all that we are." Choosing one or two characters from The Blind Assassin, Three Day Road, and/or My Sister's Blue Eyes, examine the function of stories in the character's/characters' life/lives. How do stories shape the character's/characters' behaviours? Do these stories or how they are looked at by the character(s) change over the course of the novel(s)?

2. Examine the role of fate or destiny in the lives of two characters from The Blind Assassin, Three Day Road, and/or My Sister's Blue Eyes.

3. Create a topic of your own. Please clear it with me first, though.

A few tips: First, make sure to cite your sources properly using MLA style. MLA style and my grading criteria are outlined in detail in the essay handout I will distribute to you by e-mail. Second, make sure to give yourself enough time, even if it's only a day or a few hours to reread and revise your essay. This posting I made last year while grading essays will give you a few ideas as to some areas you might want to review before handing in your essay. Second, these essay topics are deliberately broad, allowing you the room to tailor them to what you find interesting about each book. Make sure to narrow the topic you choose enough to make it something manageable for a six page essay. You could easily write a book on any of these topics, so make certain your thesis is specific enough that you aren't biting off more than you can chew.