Post 8 - Thesis Proposal

For my American Author, I chose Michael Chabon and read two of his books, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, and Wonder Boys. I am still in the process of finishing the second book, but I’m sure I will have it read by next week.

In Kavalier & Clay the theme throughout the novel is comic books and superheroes. Chabon gives several main characters in the book alter-egos in the form of comic book superheroes. As the story progresses, whatever a character experiences, his or her superhero-ego reflects their feelings. A characters’ secret obsession for spying and hiding could be identified in his superhero-ego. Near the end of the book, one of the main character's super-egos is destroyed, so he is forced to come to terms with himself. This does not happen with other characters, but other superhero-egos are identified.

In Wonder Boys, however, there are no comic books or superheroes in the story. One similarity I notice between the two books is that the main characters of each are either authors or artists. I have noticed some passages in the book where the main character and narrator reflects on himself, and how he is unsure of his life and purpose.

Based on this, I was thinking that for my thesis I would focus on character identity, and how characters pour their dreams, fears, and feelings into fictional characters they create. I have found a lot of evidence for this thesis, but my main concern is how to word it properly. I want to say it in a way that will pave the way for the evidence I’ve collected. Also, I am not clear on how to answer the question “So what?” in my paper. I am not sure of what bigger picture character identity could be pointing to. To be quite honest, I have no idea how comic books relate to society or the world in general. One possibility, and this is completely hypothetical, it’s about coming to terms with yourself that’s truly important. That could be a subject that everyone can relate to and understand. As soon as I finish Wonder Boys I’m sure I’ll have enough evidence and ideas to connect the two books and their similar themes.

When writing my paper, I want to have a strong structure to make my argument all the better. I plan to introduce my thesis in the second or third paragraph. After I want to look at character’s identities and how the evolve. I want to try and look at why Chabon does this, and what benefit is has to each individual character and the story as a whole. Apart from discussing my thesis and how it connects to both books, I would also like to look at Chabon’s writing style. I want to see if characters in both books experience similar things that shape their personalities.