Conflicted

Soon enough I will have to turn in a research paper, only problem is; I still have no earthly idea of what topic I am going to do it over. I am conflicted because I would like to write about the poems, but finding the right topics and resources is becoming a very difficult task for me. On the other hand, I actually enjoyed reading the previously assigned graphic novel, and each source seems to be easier to find, along with being much more relevant to my search.

I find myself leaning more towards the novel rather than the poems solely because of the easier access to references and information. As much as I would like to do more research on my poems, it just seems as if I am getting nowhere. With my new approach, Stitches: A Memoir would be the better, more informative approach and it would be in my best interest to research this topic rather than the comparison of two poems.

I am going to take the most obvious approach that ties in well with my purpose from my graphic novel essay. I plan to research the toll that child abuse takes on an individual, and how it could potentially carry on into that individual’s adulthood. I also plan to research whether or not it can be inherited or passed through genetics, or if it is purely a cause and effect “chain reaction”. So far I have two sources that prove to be relevant and address the psychological aspect of child abuse. As for the other resources I will be using, they are still non-existent.

My main source is a book I found on the Gale Virtual Reference Library link called “Child Abuse”. It gives the description of each abuse, a little bit of history, some causes and effects, along with ways to prevent it and overall very useful information. The other source I found was from the link Academic Search Complete. This topic discusses the effects of child abuse as well, but it explains how the exposure to abuse is related to cognitive deficits in adulthood, depending on the type of abuse and the frequency of exposure to abuse. There are a few more resources I have found, but I am not sure if they are appropriate for the point I am trying to get across with my research.

My research will be based off of my graphic novel essay in which I try to figure out Betty as a character. With this research, I hope to elaborate on why Betty is the character she is. I believe she was abused as a child, and I also believe that because she was abused, it led her to be more abusive, cruel, and neglectful to her son David. My hope is to identify what the underlying cause of her personality is, and I believe with all the resources I am discovering, I can explain, or at least give insight, on the psychological toll abuse can have on an individual.