Topic Brainstorm - Last Time

One idea I have, taken from my previous topic brainstorm, would be to address the following prompt: "Think about a theme you see running through your life (failure is the best lesson, love is eternal, etc). Choose a reading that you think also discusses this theme (even if it reaches different conclusions about it). Explore connections between how the theme plays out in your life, and how the theme gets played out in the reading." A theme in my life that I would enjoy writing about is my belief that everything gets better. I think I could use "Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger" by Feng Menglong to show how differently my belief compares to the way Jia Li views his own life since I feel the two are almost complete opposites. This project should be something I can manage since my life is the only one I lived, so there's no way I can realistically mess up that half of the project, meaning I would just need to be careful when addressing Jia Li in order to make sure that I've clearly analyzed his life and the way his story doesn't line up with my beliefs. Whereas I always look on the bright side of things and maintain a sense of optimism when things get bad, Li would avoid his problems because he always feared the likely outcomes. Something I would hope to learn from writing this project is whether or not everything can get better for people, or if maybe some people are destined to crash and burn.

Another idea I have, also from my previous topic brainstorm, addresses the prompt that asks me to choose a female character to focus on and discuss several questions about her. For this project I think I would discuss the character Du Tenth from Feng Menglong's "Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger." For this project, I would address how several characters view her in a negative manner and share my contrasting opinion about her. I'm interested in this topic because I felt sympathetic for Du Tenth the whole time I was reading this story. At first I had doubts as to whether or not her love for Jia Li was sincere, but it ended up becoming clear to me that it was sincere even if Jia Li didn't realize until it was too late and he had already ruined things with her. I could also write about Kieu from "The Tale of Kieu" since her story has a lot to talk about. She's been in plenty of different situations and has met a lot of characters who respected her, even if she never viewed herself with the same level of respect. From this project, I might end up learning something about the way that we as people perceive others who don't meet society's standards of what makes someone a good person and whether or not our judgments are fair.

My third idea, which is isn't from a previous brainstorm, is to write about the following prompt: "Pick a subject: love, work, freedom, etc. Then choose two selections and discuss how that subject is discussed in those selections. Use literary devices to help frame your discussion." For this project, I would pick the subject "love" and analyze the love lives of Kieu and Du Tenth. Kieu has a lot of love in her life. No matter what happened to her, she always had someone that loved her. Kim loved her before she disappeared and even after she came back. When she was gone, Lord Tu loved her and took care of her, going so far as to get revenge on the people who hurt her. Her family was also greatly relieved to see that she was alive and they reassured Kieu that she shouldn't feel like she doesn't deserve their kindness. Du Tenth on the other hand, wasn't well-respected nor did anyone have a genuine love for her. Jia Li came into her life and the two fell in love. Then he proceeded to screw everything up and betray her feelings by doubting the integrity of their relationship and how well their marriage would work out. Overall, I feel like there is a lot of content I could fit into this project.