Student Question
What are some good thesis statement suggestions based on "Rambler No. 4" by Samuel Johnson?
Quick answer:
In "Rambler No. 4," Samuel Johnson argues for the superiority of realistic over fantastical fiction, emphasizing the importance of portraying virtue. A thesis could explore whether creating virtuous characters aligns with realism or whether purely virtuous and wicked characters exist. Another angle could investigate how the portrayal of virtue and vice affects the perception of a story as fantasy. These questions can guide thesis development on Johnson's views on literature's moral responsibilities.
Johnson's essay "Rambler No. 4" starts out by expressing how much more valuable Johnson finds romantic fiction (romantic, here, means that it portrays life plainly) compared to fantastical fiction. The author believes that expressing the nuance of real situations is a much higher art than writing imaginative stories.
He then lays out the argument that writers of romance fiction ought to uphold ideas of virtue. He rejects the idea that the verisimilitude of characters in romance stories comes from portraying them as a complicated mix of good and bad characteristics and thinks this sets a terrible example for impressionable young people who use these stories as a model for how to act in the world.
Consider the following questions to help you develop a thesis statement: Do you believe that writing virtuous characters is compatible with writing realistic characters? Do you think that purely virtuous and purely wicked people exist? To what extent does writing virtuous and wicked characters make a story into a fantasy?
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