I am not totally sure how I am going to approach this topic and I am definitely open to any and all suggestions, so don't hold back. I think I want to write on the rules of society, what it means to be a gentleman, and how our impressions of the characters change and develop through the story in the context of these definitions. By talking about the rules of society, I could get into the differences in Strange and Norrell, their approaches to magic, and how they reflect different societal rules, norms, and practices. (This could also relate somewhat to what we were talking about in class in early Christianity and the conflicts that occurred then with change and the conflicts in poetry, yet I would have to find a way to stay on topic and make it all relevant.) Then I would talk about what it means to be a gentleman and a member of high society, the different characters considered gentlemen, and those not considered gentlemen. What makes up this definition? etc. (To be talked about: Strange, Norrell, the gentleman, Lascelles, Stephen, and Childermass). Then for my own personal excitement I would like to talk about how our impressions changed over the course of the book of characters considered not to be gentlemen and not of high society. They seemed at first to be minor characters in a story about the society of the English upperclasses, and yet turned out to be very central to the plot, ending, and pretty much everything from out of no where. They were to some extent, the heroes. (Vinculus, Childermass, and Stephen).
