In determining a topic for a critical essay, the critic must first
find evidence to support three possible topics
do research to learn which topics already have been written about
narrow his topic to a manageable size
decide how many paragraphs should be in the essay

narrow his topic to a manageable size

Explanation:

You usually have only a few paragraphs to explain your idea and you are meant to criticize something and add a counter-argument to your claim. The best way of doing it is having a very specific thing to talk about so you can focus on it better.

b. both have yearned to escape the environment they experienced as a child.