I need help with a thesis statement on Gertrude's actions influencing Hamlet.
Hamlet thesis - Gertrude's actions influencing Hamlet
Your thesis statement in this case will merely be your answer to the question of how Gertrude's actions influence Hamlet. If you are not certain how Gertrude's actions influence Hamlet, start by listing her actions, and Hamlet's responses to them, then look for connections and commonalities between your examples. In other words, gather your evidence, then come up with your conclusion, which becomes your thesis, rather than trying to come up with your thesis first, which is really reversing the entire mental process you need to go through when writing an essay. Just because your thesis is the first thing you state in your essay doesn't mean it is the first thing you actually write on the paper, chronologically speaking.
Great advice from Sean!! Scott, can you write a few paragraphs, and in each paragraph tell about interactions between Gertrude and Hamlet? You will start to get to know how she influenced him. After writing several paragraphs, and even quoting her or him, go back and write your thesis statement. THEN, in the conclusion para, reflect on that thesis statement.
You might even start by simply listing key quotations from Gertrude and Hamlet, and then see how you think you would order them to make sense of them. Then ask yourself why you picked that particular order. This might lead you to a thesis-like conclusion.
