Can someone explain this to me? : write an original thesis statement that makes an argument about the relationship between your independent study novel and the social, historical, and cultural context in which that novel was written. i get that i have to write a paragraph based on my independent novel, jane eyre, but i don't get what they qre asking it to be about.

I'd be happy to explain, a thesis statement is not a paragraph, it is literally a SINGLE SENTENCE argument introduction. Essentially, you are writing a simple, provable statement based on the topic you have mentioned. I have an example from an Anecdotal Essay that I had to write.

Ex: Pokémon is a difficult game to learn.

What makes this sentence a thesis statement is the fact that it is an argument that can be defended and it is a clear and concise as to what the author is arguing about in this context.