• First Session:

As I brainstormed topics, I was conflicted between literature and physics. My love of reading motivated me to choose literature, and I felt it would be more insightful. I wanted to choose two books because that seemed less restrictive in terms of content. After listing down my interests, scouring through Goodreads, and consulting my librarian, I selected Anita Diamant’s ‘The Red Tent’ and Toni Morrison’s ‘Beloved’. After one reading, I found the intimate representation of suffering and oppression in the novels fascinating and exploration-worthy. As per my supervisor’s advice, I did my own analysis before reviewing secondary sources. On a google sheet I would keep adding quotes with short analyses, and on another document, I would note down my big-picture ideas. This systematic process helped me structure my analysis more efficiently and comprehensively.

• Interim Reflection:

Since I could not find any relevant literature review in my school’s library, I used JSTOR, google scholar, and google books as per the suggestions of the librarian. During the research, I noticed a huge difference in the amount of literature review on Beloved and The Red Tent, realising that I should have done more research earlier in the process. My supervisor suggested that I should find general literature review on oppression in The Red Tent instead of text-specific articles. However, as I started drafting my essay, I could not ignore the disparity in my arguments. After a short period of panic at the realisation that I had to give up on one book, I realised I could use the general literature review of the feminist literary theory that I had collected to analyse oppression in the more unexplored novel – The Red Tent. As I tried to apply this theory to my text, I noticed it was not relevant for some of my arguments. Therefore, I included other sources where I could find relevant and became more evaluative. I also elaborated on the use of voice in this novel in order to give depth to my analysis. As I read through dissertations and journal articles during my research, I tried to figure out the structure and formatting of those sources in order to make my writing process more efficient.

• Final Reflection – Viva Voce:

There were many unexpected challenges that I faced during this process, some of which were a consequence of my own imprudence. But I also feel that I have gained experience in terms of handling the obstacles that one could face during long-term, complex research. I also believe I was able to pull through quite well because I was organized in my writing process, I had most of my resources sorted efficiently, my supervisor was quite supportive, and because I loved every part of the process. As for the content, almost all of my personal analysis remained intact throughout the process. The major changes were in my literature review, and, rather surprisingly, I ended up loving that research. I learnt lots of new and interesting concepts and theories which I feel will enhance my literary endeavours in the future.