What are some topics I can use for my English paper?

I’m currently in my second college English course and we have an essay due in about two weeks. He says the possibilities of topics are “endless”, but we need to connect our topic to a fiction writer/story.

Examples:
Edgar Allen Poe, Alice Walker, Langston Hughes, John Updike, William Faulkner, etc.

“Everyday Use”, “Negro”, “A & P”, “Barn Burning”, etc.

Culture/heritage, symbolism, feminism, author blogs, film/story comparison, etc.

So, basically it’s a literary analysis about something related to a fiction author/story. I don’t have time to read an entire novel and write about it, so I’m going to focus on short stories. I’m just at a loss about what to write about.

It’s going to be 5–6 pages, so I really want to pick something I’m interested in. I’m interested in slavery/African American history, so I thought Langston Hughes or Alice Walker might be a good choice. I’m not into feminist issues, so Faulkner being a womanizer doesn’t really interest me.

I know you guys can’t tell me what I might be interested in writing about, but I’m just looking for any ideas on interesting topics on how I can tie a topic I can research to a story or author and make it interesting.

Thanks!