A DollŐs House
Essay Topics: Choose one of the following essay topics.
  1. Thematic Analysis: Throughout his play, Ibsen plays with the concept of appearance and reality. Nora appears to be a spendthrift, but actually is saving every penny to repay the loan that saved her husbandŐs life. Torvald appears to be a solidly moral man, but is clearly more selfish and cruel than any other character in the play. Krogstad appears to be the villain, and so on . . . Write a well-organized and well-supported essay that discusses IbsenŐs contrast of appearance and reality and how it affects the work as a whole.
  2. Character Analysis: Analyze NoraŐs transformation. What is she like at the beginning of the play? What is she like at the end? How do several characters in the play influence her change? What themes does Ibsen develop through NoraŐs character? Use direct quotations from the play to support your claims.
  3. Passage Analysis: Choose one short passage from the play and write an essay analyzing the passage in-depth and analyzing how it contributes to the meaning of the play as a whole. Choose your passage carefully so that you get enough material to work with, but not so much that resort to summary. Pull out specific lines from the passage to focus your body paragraphs.