You have been assigned a research paper in your Modern English Literature course; where to begin? In order to write a high quality paper, you need to be intrigued by the story and interested in the research you will be performing. Having an engaging topic will inspire your writing, and keep up the momentum throughout the project. There is any number of topics available; here are 20 to get your creative juices flowing:
- Love in Modern Literature - how love is portrayed and woven throughout the novel.
- Biblical Allusions in Stephen King novels
- The Uprising of Utopian Society following Apocalypse in Young Adult Fiction, The Hunger Games Series, The Divergent Series
- Ethical Leadership in Modern Literature
- Violence of War depicted in Modern English Literature
- Revolution of Samuel Butler in The Way of all Flesh
- Character Study – an in-depth study of one character, and how he or she evolves throughout the novel
- Witchcraft, the Impact on Modern Literature
- Greek Mythology Modernized – A study of Rick Riordan Novels
- Compare and Contrast Political Corruption Satires by Kafka
- Author Study: Ayn Rand – how she evolves throughout her literary career
- The New Woman in fiction – women becoming heroines in Victorian novels.
- Evolution of Literary Monsters – from the overt monsters like Dracula and Frankenstein, to those monsters that are less tangible and more abstract.
- The Influence of Graphic Novels on Modern English Literature
- Realization of Self-Awareness in Deliverance
- Morally Ambiguous Character Portrayal in The Great Gatsby
- Character Transformation, Alice in Wonderland
- From Page to Screen, Adaptation of a Novel
- Alternate Histories, World War II What Ifs – The Man in the High Castle, The Yiddish Policeme’s Union, Fatherland – explore the commonalities in these three novels
- Racism themes in John Grisham Novels
Now that you have a varied list to start your brainstorming process, know that you can jump off anywhere. Take one of these examples and narrow it down even further, giving yourself an opportunity to provide a detailed, in depth analysis that will stand out amongst all the research papers your professor is grading. Consider focusing on a single work influenced by witchcraft, or a particular biblical theme Stephen King weaves into several of his novels. The scope and content of a Modern English Literature research papers is only limited by your imaginings.