Senior Project

[Poliester]

Hey there, fellow DD fans.

I'm wondering if I can get any advice on a project that I have to do for school. The project is an extended essay on pretty much anything I want. I want to write about the Young Wizard Series, but I'm not sure what. Perhaps the development of the relationship between Nita and Kit? Or of just one character, like Ponch? Another idea that came to me is comparing the YW series to A Wrinkle in Time and those books.

Thoughts, anyone?

(Also, as a note, I don't know if asking for help on choosing an essay topic is against some rule of the site. I know that talking about ideas about upcoming books or possible plot turns is prohibited and I'm not sure if my inquiry relates to that or not.)

[Tsakaki]

Well, I couldn't say as to whether or not it's prohibited, I'm not sure myself.

As for this essay, is it for High School or Post-Secondary? Like, are you in a University English program? If so, then I doubt my suggestions will help, my program has very little to do with Essays of that caliber.

But, in case I can help. What about an essay on the overall theme of the series? Light and Dark, how one cannot survive without the other kind of thing. (At least that's what appears to be the theme of the books to me, if someone disagrees, by all means discuss it with me.)

[wizardsrreal]

I would probably write about how everything has a price and how it is determned and things like that, or about the family life and how it all fits together. Like with Dairine being a wizard too and how that makes Nita feel, how it affected her wizardry and their mom dying, how it impared her thinking. Also with Kit and Ponch how their relationship is and how it works with Kit's wizardry and Carmela and whatever she's got goin' on (in terms of power and wizardry).

[Poliester]

This essay is for my Senior year in high school. The suggestions you gave are very good, but I think they'd be better in just an analysis of the series. The suggestions you gave, wizardsrreal, would be good for a plot or character study and not very good for literary analysis. Tsakaki, that would be a terrific theme to follow throughout the series.

Thank you both for your suggestions!

[Emi]

Several people have asked for help on their essays for school in the past so I don't think it is prohibited. I think someone posted their essay on here too!

Anyway, if you need anymore help, I would go with a literary analysis for your senior project. Compare and contrast the YW series with other literary works. Like A Tale of Two Cities, don't really use that book because I don't think that has anything related to YW... it was just an example. But if you understand what I mean, then I think it would work.

Good luck!

[Tuttle]

I'm not sure how ell it would work, but the idea that came to me was using Young Wizards as an example for the study of the use of science in fantasy and science fiction, and comparing this to some other types of stories. The importance of physics in these books is interesting to compare to stereotypical science fiction.

[Poliester]

I think the options that I'm mostly looking at are (1) explore and follow a theme or aspect throughout the series or (2) compare the series to Madeleine L'Engle's series.

I actually haven't read the criteria all the way through, and so far it doesn't look too good. The topics that I want to do don't seem to fit in any of the categories available. Thank you for your suggestions; once I've figured this whole topic thing out, I'll be sure to let you all know.

[Nights Mistress]

It really depends on what you wanted to do! Naturally, having the criteria up would help though

Some I thought of were:

1. The coming of age for Nita and Kit. As Nita and Kit become more adept at wizardry, they also begin to come of age. There's a definite underlying premise that latency = adolescence and presumably the latency period ends when the teenaged wizard creates their own identity (that's possibly why there aren't any late teenagers on the moon in WAW). (I also have the idea that wizardry correlates with Erikson's stages of development but that is so beyond high school English -- maybe a future interdisciplinary paper for uni?)

2. Redemption and sacrifice. The Powers are working to have the LP redeem Itself. There's a remark in ... one of the books (I want to say the first, but it is under my bed so I can't check) where it's pretty much expected that to stop the LP, someone will die. There's also an interesting discussion about intention and self-sacrifice in Deep Wizardry, and how it is intention that makes all the difference. Self-sacrifice is so, so important in the YWverse.

3. Being different and accepting difference through wizardry. When we first meet the characters, a lot of them are alienated from their peers. Nita has read the entire library because no-one will talk to her, Kit's marked as different because he speaks with an accent and was put up a year. Dairine's hyperfocus causes her to forget about people, to the point it was explicitly brought up in her Ordeal. Roshaun is despised for what he is. Sker'ret is chafing under parental expectations. You get the idea! But through wizardry, they gain friendship and become better people for it. Wizardry not only seems to recognise difference, but celebrate it.

I could probably come up with more ideas if I knew what your teachers were looking for. (It really beats legal ethics, that's for sure!)

[Poliester]

Alrighty, guys, I've come up with a topic that satisfied my IB advisor.

I'm looking at the role of books in the YW Series. I'll probably focus on the first book, with the Book of Night With Moon and all that. I'm going to discuss this more with my advisor to narrow it down.

Thank you all for your suggestions! They really did help me look at all my options and come to a conclusion.

[Jacq]

Awww I'm too late.

I was going to suggest analyzing the religious allegory throughout the book - The Book of Night With Moon as an incarnation of The Word, and how the series meshes with different religions, from Greek pantheon (The powers as avatars of certain traits, for example) through to modern Islam (Timeheart being very similiar to heaven, and in that if one dies for a cause, for fighting the Lone Power, they are pretty much guaranteed a spot because of being loved by the one.... or something.) But I am too late.

Good luck on your essay!


I would totaly spend eight pages writing about whether Tom and Carl are gay or not probably <.<

[Emi]

I would totaly spend eight pages writing about whether Tom and Carl are gay or not probably <.<

Hahahah That is so perfect!!! I would do that too, but probably compare the character "pairings" with others, like Sam and Frodo. Gotta love the hidden meanings.