Possible+Oral+Presentation+Topics

How do references to fairies (or faerys/fays) and other mythical creatures enhance the poetic impact of Keats' poems? - Since so many people are doing this, I probably wont. ||  ||
 * **name** || **The Great Gatsby** || **Essays** || **Oedipus Rex** || **John Keats** || **Carol Ann Duffy** ||
 * Abhinav || How does Nick's relation to the other characters affect his perception of the plot and the other characters? || What methods does White use to lighten the mood of tone of certain essays? (Specific essays tbd) || What role does the Chorus play in terms of plot development/giving Oedipus advice? || As a poet who is generally regarded as someone who refrained from outright political statements, what arguments are embedded within Keats' poetry and what do they say about his life?
 * Adrian ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * Alice || idea of deception, vision, perspective seeing? ||  || What are the similarities and differences between Sophocles' use of paradoxes or dualities in characterizing Oedipus compared to Keat' style in incorporating simultaneous opposites. (stated in next box). What are their purposes, how is it executed, to what extent is it effective.

To what degree can Oedipus's often demonstrated short temperedness reflect or be the blame for his murder of his father. || *note this is just a general idea, will become ALOT more specific. Based on the idea that writers "exult in ambiguity and paradox for the sake of the beauty to be intuited in such uncertainty' (NTC) or in an "intellectually creative balancing act in which invention and judgement coalesce...to achieve and preserve equilibrium" (Penguin). How has Keats incorporated this idea of dualities in The Eve of St. Agnes (hot/ cold, colours, dream/ reality, seeing) ||  ||
 * Avril || What was the role, purpose of the Buchanan's home in The Great Gatsby? || How does White bring out his strong dislike towards technology in all his essays? (does not simply state, "i don't like technology") || To what extent did Oedipus bring his fate onto himself? ||  ||   ||
 * Crystal || To what extent does Nick follow his father's advice throughout the book? ||  || Does Oedipus' view of himself differ from how the others see him? ||   ||   ||
 * Daisy || How is Gatsby characterized through the frequent parties held at his mansion? || How is Once More to the Lake structured in order to reflect White's concept of duality of time? || How does the choral ode contribute to plot and the characterization of Oedipus? ||  ||   ||
 * Emily || How does Gatsby's mansion reflect the plot of the novel?

What is the role of smiles [and laughter] in The Great Gatsby? || //The World of Tomorrow// and //Here is New York// (Industrialization and its effect on New York) || Fate vs. Free will (What is the purpose of having free will if one is fated towards a predestined end?) || How does Keats use medieval references to further plot development and imagery in the poem //The Eve of St. Agnes//? || What is the significance of knives throughout Duffy's poetry? ||
 * Evan || How does Nick's role as narrator influence our perception of Gatsby?

How does Fitzgerald depict the loss of the American Dream through Gatsby?

How does Fitzgerald present hypocrisy to illustrate society in the 1920's? || Does the understanding of self lead to the understanding of all else or vice-versa?

How does White use scale to portray humanity? (his own or mankind as a whole) || Sophocles portrays Oedipus' pride as his tragic flaw.

Are actions decided by the Gods or merely foreseen by them? || For what purpose does Keats use religious imagery? ||  ||
 * Lesedi || To what extend does the theme of success the affect main characters and the mood of the play? ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
 * Liam || How Gatsby's perceptions of a father figure differ between Henry Gatz (biological) and Dan Cody (mentor)?

How do different sounds in The Great Gatsby help to characterize or mimic the characters? || How does White illustrate the concept of change and the passage of time through the motif of doubles in Once More to the Lake?

To what exent can EB White's essays be considered self-centered, and to what extent can this be justified? || How does the motif of feet relate both to traveling and to Oedipus's roots?

What roles does Jocasta play throughout Oedipus the King? || In what ways are "faeries" used in John Keats's poems? || In what ways does Carol Ann Duffy express her disapproval of the titular character in her poem "War Photographer?" ||
 * Maura || How does F. Scott Fitzgerald's use of the character Owl Eyes in __The Great Gatsby__ help to characterize Gatsby and his various rich party goers?

What purpose does use of the color yellow serve in the novel?

To what extent does Fitzgerald mirror the work of John Keats in The Great Gastby? || What is the purpose do personal anecdotes serve in White's essays?

What effect does White's portrayal of animals/nature throughout his essays have on readers?

How does White utilize sentence structure within his essays? || How do the different characterizations of Oedipus throughout the play help to convey the moral of the story (you can't run from fate)?

What is the function of the motif of blindness in Oedipus Rex?

In what ways does the Chorus make the story of Oedipus Rex more of a tragedy? || What effect does the use of color have in Keats's poem "The Eve of Saint Agnes"?

How does temperature change throughout "The Eve of Saint Agnes" and what function does it serve in the poe || How does Duffy bring meaning to her poem "Education for Leisure"?

Comparison between the Duffy's and Sophocles' use of Greek myths/gods within their works. ||
 * Pam || People using others for their own gain, rather than true friendship in The Great Gatsby || white's tone towards animals-->the prescence of animal metaphors throughout white's essays || who is the antagonist in Oedipus the King? || purpose of medieval imagery throughout keats's poems and parallels to his own life?

tone of keats towards religion in his works || elements of keats' writing that are present in Duffy's poem Disgrace ||
 * So Yeon || The use of the two physical settings, West & East Egg for characterization

The role of 'time' in The Great Gatsby || To what extent does White's personal experiences contribute his writings?

How does White utilize nature imageries in his writings? How do they contribute to the establishment of the theme (passage of time)? || How does the use of irony contribute to the tragic development of the play?

Use of dualism in the play and its effects || The presence of two contrasting ideas (i.e. sorrow/happiness, life/death) and their interconnected relationship in "Ode on Melancholy" and "To Autumn"

The contribution of 'dream' to the development/establishment of theme

Immortality/Mortality - Passage of Time in "Ode on a Grecian Urn," "Ode on Nightingale" ||  ||
 * Teresa || Comparison of Myrtle and Wilson's relationship with Daisy and Tom's ||  || How is the motif of sight/blindness used for characterization? ||   ||   ||
 * TJ || How weather, as a motif, helps set the atmosphere of the situation which also reflects the relationships of the characters. || How does the humanization of animals and other objects make us feel sympathetic towards them? || How does dramatic irony help build suspense and foreshadow future events? || How does the motif of 'cold' and 'hot' shift throughout the poem: "The Eve of St Agnes" ||  ||