English Literature EE - Kafka and Orwell?

[Guest]

Hi!

I'm considering looking at The Trial by Kafka and 1984 by Orwell in terms of the nature of authority, the position of the individual in society and the methods the people in authority use to maintain power.

Do you think this is a good choice for my EE? I haven't come up with a research question yet but something to do with society vs. the individual?

I realize that these books are somewhat overdone in the IB but this is what I'm most interested in doing and I am going to refine my research question into something that hasn't previously been done.

Thanks!

[Nomenclature]

If you want to do them, then sure, they're a good choice.

[aTeddy]

Hey there, I did my EE on Kafka's The Trial and Orwell's Homage to Catalonia under the research question: In what ways and for what purpose do Franz Kafka in The Trial and George Orwell in Homage to Catalonia depict the effects of an antagonistic political structure?

Firstly, let me say that your choice is certainly appropriate and there is definitely enough for your essay. Originality wise, 1984 ranks fairly low on the list, and you could get just as rich an analysis from any of Orwell's other subversive non-fiction texts like Down and Out in London and Paris, The Road to Wigan Pier or even his critical essays. If you have your heart set on 1984, then you should be fine, just make sure to have an inventive question and rigorous, novel approach. Another thing to be very careful about when studying political authors like Kafka and Orwell is to keep the focus of the essay on the literary merits and techniques of the texts.

If you're looking for some ideas: my central ideas in my essay were split broadly into how individual agency is subjugated by oppressive regimes and how beliefs (e.g religion and revolution) that bring societies together are manipulated by oppressive regimes such that they function to suppress resistance. I also used a psychological theory called the "power: approach-inhibition" theory to show demonstrably how the author in Homage and K. in The Trial had their power reduced, reflecting their position as trapped and unable to resist. I compared the texts style, form and structure to show how the broad similarities were carved and also how the subtle differences between each authors own unique perspective were made salient.

Ultimately, I really enjoyed the experience and I think you are onto a really great topic. I wish you the best of luck and should you require any help throughout the process, feel free to contact me as in one way or another, I'm familiar with both texts and how they function in tandem. 

[Guest]

Hello!

Thank you for your responses!

aTeddy, I understand what you mean about the originality of 1984 but I do think that ultimately, I will be more comfortable analysing 1984 because that was my original idea. I will definitely be looking into the psychological theory you suggested, and yes I agree that it is important to focus on the literary techniques rather than the context and politics (this is something I suspect I will be struggling with). I will hopefully be confirming my research question by next week but thank a lot for your advice!