The major change in Gregor’s life was the transformation from the human life to that of an insect (Kafka 2). Despite this change in physical appearance, Gregor’s life did not undergo further significant changes throughout. The transformation was majorly physical and not on the mind. In fact, the physical transformation…
Marlow left for Africa specifically to Congo in the service of the Belgian company occupying Congo as its protectorate (Conrad 3). However, when Marlow was presented with the map showing the Belgian empire, he raised concerns with the effects of imperial presence in Africa. For instance, the Congolese viewed the…
The Metamorphosis is an expressionist novella by Franz Kafka that is considered one of the most intriguing and absurdist pieces of fiction while presenting an intricate psychological and philosophical analysis of modern realities. The complexity and inherent meaning of the plot have been a widely debated literally topic. Kafka is…
The theme of transformation is one of the most prominent ones in The Metamorphosis. Franz Kafka implemented various literary devices to illustrate how the central characters changed throughout the novella. Yet, the key aspect the author tried to convey is that Gregor’s physical metamorphosis led to everyone’s psychological transformation, including…
Chedgzoy, Kate. Shakespeare, Feminism, and Gender: Contemporary Critical Essays. New York: Palgrave, 2001. Recently, feminist criticisms of Shakespeare’s works have greatly expanded. Chedgzoy notes that the modern field of feminist criticism is not as obsessed as it once was on whether Shakespeare’s works were feminist or proto-feminist, or in the…
Introduction Gender roles are a collection of behavioral and social norms that acceptable for people of a particular sex in the framework of a specific culture (Dusinberre 12). Gender roles change widely between different cultures and periods. To better understand gender roles in Shakespeare’s plays, it is crucial to understand…
Introduction The works of William Shakespeare have received a lot of attention throughout history. His works have been analyzed by themes, line by line, or the characters he invented. His works can be interpreted one way or another, and as such, Shakespeare seems to have gained immortality. The Tempest has…
Despite its ancient origin, the archetypal journey of the hero remains one of the most enduring and captivating stories known to civilization. The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Iliad, and The Odyssey depicts two very different types of heroes – Gilgamesh and Odysseus – however, both heroes encounter the theme of…
Introduction In this paper, I compare two prominent heroes in contemporary literature – Odysseus and Maximus. Based on the portrayal of the latter from the movie Gladiator and the representation of Odysseus in a book with the same title, I argue that both characters had more similarities than differences. In…
“The Disinherited” by Jack Conroy mixed an early version of social commentary and fiction into a compelling informant narrative that delved into the life of a poor low wage worker within the U.S. during the early 1900s. The book delves into how non-skilled workers within the U.S. attempt to live…
Themes The present paper compares and contrasts the characters of two short stories: “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell and “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl. Both stories seem to explore the themes of crime and punishment. Apart from that, both stories depict a specific case of…
It has been said so many times that in any given journey, the destination is not the most important aspect of the trip or the quest. The most important aspect of the quest or journey is in the act itself, the process of journeying from Point A to Point B…
“Finally, high school is over,” softly said Abu-Bakr Mohammed to himself as he walked down the sandy road that led to his village from the school he had attended for the last six years. Abu, as most of his friends called him, was excited beyond measure because he had made…
Introduction The Arab American writers have always employed several literary components and literary devices that reflect the true history and traditional values of Arabs living in America. The literary works of Diana Abu-Jaber in her two novels, Crescent and Arabian Jazz are some of the most important Arab American novels,…
Canola Queasy It is not easy to create an educative and interesting eco-poem to support the chosen position and help the reader to understand how unfair or unpleasant human activities may be. In her Canola Queasy, Wong underlines the importance of environmental pollution and human direct participation in it and…
Trevor Cole has been referred to by several critics and also fans of his works as the best young novelist in Canada. He comes from a humble background and has even worked on a factory floor to the newspaper boardroom. Despite this, he has managed to earn a living through…
Ximen Qing was born to a family of a person who sold medical herbs (Roy, 1997). Very often Ximen assisted his father in his shop and as a child he was accustomed to work. Nevertheless, his father was not a very rich man, and since early childhood Qing understood that…
Introduction Misha Glenny’s, The Fall of Yugoslavia: The Third Balkan War is a book that gives an account of the events that led to the Yugoslavian conflict. In the book, Glenny gives a detailed account of his interaction with the Balkans and this provides a basis for understanding the origin…
Introduction Children’s literature can be defined as that form of literature that is designed for readers and listeners of about twelve years or below. Barry (2009) is of the view that children’s literature can be viewed from four perspectives. The first perspective defines children’s literature as that form of literature…
The problem of identity has perplexed great philosophers for many centuries and has resulted in differing philosophical views. Many philosophers hold that identity is an inherent characteristic that lies deep in the nature of human existence and attempts to unravel it calls for the understanding of other entities that intricately…
I Stand Here Ironing I stand here ironing is a title that describes the life that Emily undergoes during her childhood, and as one iron in a real sense, he or she tends back and forth at the same position several times. This is the same thing in Emily’s life….
Perceptions of childhood in Wordsworth’s and Freud’s Writings The first common thing in Wordsworth’s and Freud’s perception of childhood is the influence of the events that took place in childhood on the future development of the individual. Freud’s theory that all complex of the individual has its roots in early…
The article “The Awakening: an authoritative text, biographical and historical contexts, criticism” kicks off by giving the novel The Awakening appreciation for being among the few fiction publications that front a female protagonist. The author then goes ahead to explain how the gender of the main character causes her to…
The article The Real Raymond Carver by James Campbell opens by confirming that Carver usually went through various drafts of all his work before settling on a final copy for print. Campbell claims that the joy in reading Carver’s work comes from enjoying the strange scenarios that the author presents…
The Mysterious Stranger by Mark Twain The setting and atmosphere at the beginning of the story The story begins with the description of the country: “It was in 1590 – winter. Austria was far away from the world, and asleep” (n. pag). Thus, the author immediately connects the beginning and…
Behind the Writing: Reading the Author’s Mind There comes a time when a person needs to have a place where he or she belongs. When one knows that there is a safe place worth being called home, no matter how far this place might be, one starts feeling somewhat relieved….
Introduction Even though the two plays; ‘Antigone’ by Sophocles and ‘A Doll’s House’ by Henrick Ibsen were written in completely different times, they share certain thematic elements when it comes to the portrayal of the female characters. For instance, the characters “Antigone” by Sophocles and Nora in “A Doll’s House”…
Introduction The term ‘author’ can be used to refer to someone who “…….originates or gives existence (or life) to something” (Hodges 2002). In the context of literature, an author can be described as an individual who originates or gives existence to a piece of text. This is for example a…
Introduction Ghosts were written in eighteen eighty-one as a scathing commentary on nineteenth-century fatalities. The two plays were sensational and often regarded as being indecent. Ghost and a Doll’s House criticized contemporary Norwegian society. A Doll’s House is an earlier play than Ghosts written in 1879 during the European revolution…
Written by James Joyce, Araby is a short story describing young adolescent boys eager to learn about sexual awareness. The narrator who is a young boy falls in love with his neighbor the Mangan’s sister. However, he has poor skills on how to approach a girl and therefore secretly admires…
Introduction John Okada’s No-No Boy recounts the story of challenging cultural identity of a Japanese American young man named Ichiro. In the midst of a bloody conflict with the Japanese, the United States undertook a radical move of creating concentration camps for those of Japanese origin, whilst still requiring these…
Introduction The poem “The Blind Men and the Elephant” by John Godfrey Saxe depicts the actions of six blind men in their attempt at trying to discern what an elephant is like based on their perceptions. The result is a series of rather humorous descriptions wherein each man ascertains the…
The characters of Macbeth and Smeagol/Gollum in the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings seem at first glance to be drastically different characters. Macbeth is a relative of the king, in line for leadership. Smeagol is a cut-throat of dubious, possibly Halfling origins with none but himself and his…
In the article, the author begins by pointing out the various issues that stand out in the eighteenth-century novel “The Female American” by Unca Eliza (McMurran 323). The author of this article outlines several facts that are specific to eighteenth-century society. The article proceeds by laying out the peculiarity that…
John Smith, the author of “General History of Virginia, New England and the Summer Isles” does not seem to be a reliable narrator, even though he is talking about his adventures from the times of colonization, he makes the story sound like an ode to himself and his deeds. The…
The tone Christopher Columbus used in his letters to the Queen and King of Spain is very official, professional, optimistic, and positive. Christopher Columbus as a person, who was directly involved in the process of discovering new lands had the best level of education and was very well informed about…
Elie Wiesel’s “Night” is a detailed description of the processes that happen in a young boy’s heart, soul, and mind, when he observes people being tortured, starved, and burnt alive, when he gets betrayed, insulted, and humiliated. This short but shocking book contains preserved images and evidence of how far…
“Night” by Elie Wiesel is a powerful book filled with the tragic psychological development of the main characters and their relationships. Wiesel’s writing’s power is that all the unbelievable events described in the book happened in real. The book describes Elie Wiesel’s experiences, a Jewish man captured by the Nazis…
Literary Darwinism is the specific approach in the literary criticism according to which literature as the discourse is discussed as originated from and affected by definite evolutionary processes. Literature reflects the aspects of human nature, human development, the progress of human psychology, behavior, and culture. As a result, there is…
“Rip Van Winkle” is a symbolic story, its author, Washington Irving, used a fictional and unrealistic event to be able to portray the difference between the same places of America before and during the Revolutionary War. The story of a mysterious situation when a character skips a long period without…
An interesting way of looking at the quite radical alterations that information technologies in general and computer usage, in particular, have brought into people’s lives, Nutcracker.com by David Sedaris features nearly every essay mode that there is. Despite keeping their storytelling style consistent and their narration even, the author manages…
The Relationship Between Eliezer and His Father Eliezer is the protagonist of the Elie Wiese’s Night narrative. Eliezer was the son of a Jewish elder called Chomlo (Bosmajian 211). Throughout the novel, Wiese narrates how Chomlo treated his son throughout his life. Similarly, he narrates how Eliezer’s attitude towards his…
Introduction “What’s That Smell in the Kitchen” by Marge Piercy is a poem that relates to my childhood experience. Since I was young, I have been taught by my parents and grandparents that my role as a woman was to perform domestic chores like cooking, cleaning, etc. On the contrary,…
Introduction Wiesel’s book Night can be regarded as a story of dehumanization and lost hopes. However, it is also a story of affection and desire to remain a human in inhumane conditions. There are different themes in the book, but the father-son relationship is one of the central and most…
Introduction Elie Wiesel exhibits his struggle in religion and faith in a unique manner. As a Jew, Eliezer was brought up to be a staunch believer in God. However, the same is not evidenced throughout the book. Eliezer grows up believing that God is absolute and omnipresent. He is a…
While reading the critical response on Ha Jin’s short story Saboteur, I’ve realized that the critic Nicola McAllister has a low opinion of the Chinese government and knows nothing about the policy of China. On the other hand, he is just ignorant of the historical changes that took place in…
Patriarchy in the novel Daughter of Fortune The author uses the text to refer to a society where men dominate and have an exercising authority over women and children (Allende 2). The author demonstrates how Jeremy controls Sommer’s household and describes his character as a rigid man (Allende 4). The…
In the literary scholarship, Anne Bradstreet’s poetry is usually discussed as Puritan and feminist. Therefore, Bradstreet’s poems should be considered as unique representations of the revolutionary female vision that combines the discussion of religious ideas and the discussion of a woman’s place in the world. “Contemplations” is the most vivid…
Where are the borders between the truth and lies, between justice and injustice? Should the world be considered being civil and civilized, if it is based on the principles of law? What is the connection between law and justice, between civilization and the barbarian world? J. M. Coetzee has discussed…
Thesis statement What causes the historical legacy of the Holocaust particularly disturbing is that, while exterminating Jews, the Nazis were also trying to humiliate/dehumanize the ‘chosen people’ in just about every way possible. The book Night by Elie Wiesel illustrates the validity of this suggestion. Body of the paper One…
Thesis statement Elie Wiesel’s novel Night is being often referred to, as such that represents a high philosophical value (Fienberg 169). One of the reasons for this is that Wiesel succeeded in exposing the illusionary essence of people’s belief in God, as an omnipotent entity that is supposed to be…
Character Analysis Miss Emily, Mrs. Mallard, and the main character in the story The Yellow Wallpaper (her possible name is Jane) are three characters from three different stories written by different authors. In spite of the fact that these women may have nothing in common due to the different living…
In literary scholarship, Anne Bradstreet’s poetry is usually discussed from two perspectives: the Puritan views in her poems and the feminist views, as it is represented in the author’s works. Thus, the uniqueness of scholars’ discussions is in their suggestions that Bradstreet can be viewed as both a Puritan and…
In what ways are the condemned man’s perceptions of time and motion distorted as he is waiting to be hanged? Ambrose Bierce uses the stream of consciousness literary style to present some aspects of the story that take place in Peyton’s imagination. Peyton believes that everything has a slow and…
The narrator of Cathedral is an unnamed person. Still, this vagueness does not make him unimportant, as he influences the way the readers perceive the text. I associate him with an antihero and believe one to resemble a negative character because his behavior is indecent. As Cathedral refers to realism,…
Introduction In the book “Children of the Dust,” Ali Eteraz gives a detailed analysis of his childhood experiences in the United States and Pakistan. The author wrestled with numerous experiences and ideologies that eventually transformed his understanding of Islam. This book review begins by examining Eteraz’s journey from childhood to…
Generally, the entire event in Gilgamesh starts with a journey and makes the journey more important. All journeys provided in Gilgamesh reflect his inner flight to become altruistic and loyal king. The hero is obliged to set off on a journey or mission with the aim of discovering himself. In…
A war is something that may change human life considerably: it is not an army, where young people just learn to serve and complete certain duties; it is not a game, where everything is according to the already established rules; and it is not a movie, where a director may…
The Fortunes & Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe is a novel that already includes the main plot in the title since it tells about the whirlwind life of a criminal – Moll Flanders. Written as a collection of Moll’s memories, the novel follows the main character…
Christopher Columbus is arguably the world’s most renowned explorer. His discovery of the New World was of epic significance to the European nations. In his voyages, Columbus wrote letters detailing his discoveries and other items of interest. In this paper, I shall review a letter written by Columbus on his…
Introduction The world is characterized by different faiths and beliefs that are guided by specific norms, principles, and notions. Human beings from a given society or nation can study other cultural beliefs in an attempt to identify various best practices that can be adopted to improve their lives or experiences….
Type Although the story is narrated from the third-person perspective, the primary source chosen for the analysis can be defined as an autobiography since the events described in it occurred in the authors’ life as well. Title The autobiography was published under the title of Leaves from a Slave’s Journal…
Flannery O’Connor’s short story A Good Man is Hard to Find has always attracted the attention of various critics since this literary work can give rise to various interpretations. Moreover, it is possible to identify various themes that the author explores, for example, one can mention religion or social change….
Yusef Komunyakaa’s poem “Blackberries” and Sylvia Plath’s poem “Blackberrying” are two of the many poems that have utilized the theme of blackberry picking as a plot. Both poems belong to distinctly different eras of American History. Sylvia Plath is a confessional poet while Yusef Komunyakaa’s poem is deep-rooted in his…
The first part of Inchbald’s “A Simple Story” is about Miss Milner who is left in the care of Mr. Dorriforth who was to act as her guardian. This is just after the demise of her father. Miss Milner develops lots of love for Mr. Dorriforth despite the fact that…
There are different ways of getting acquainted with writers’ works, such as reading a book, watching a film, or attending a theatrical performance. Out of these three, the latter seems to have the greatest impact on the audience. A play is different from a book in that it presents characters…
“The city is like poetry: it compresses all life, all races, and breeds, into a small island and adds music and the accompaniment of internal engines. The island of Manhattan is without any doubt the greatest human concentrate on earth…” (Elwyn Brooks White and Roger Angell, Here is New York)…
Introduction This conversation shows that Jug has made up her mind to keep the pregnancy. This is quite interesting because she engages in an ironical conversation, which is full of satire. This can be observed through the symbols she uses in the conversation. Apart from this, Jig fakes her innocence…
Introduction Kate Chopin wrote The Storm which is a short story in eighteen ninety-eight. The story was however published in nineteen sixty long after she died. The author based the story in Louisiana where the two main actors are Calixta and Alcee. Most of Calixta’s neighbors are of the Catholic…
Write about the conflicts portrayed in the book as the trial unfolds and intensifies. Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird reveals the central conflict of society and humanity that is represented through Boo’s disagreements with the entire town Maycomb, the conflict between the black accused and the white justice…
Introduction Don Quixote is a fictional book written by Miguel de Cervantes (Saavedra) and later translated by John Ormsby. The main character builds on imaginary things and works to accomplish what he reads in books. The article analyses how far a person’s imagination can drive someone to do some things…
Introduction A death in the family is an autobiographical book by James Agee. The writing of the book started in 1944, but the book was printed in 1957, two years after the death of its writer James Agee. The novel is entirely based on what happened when the author visited…
Introduction Coetzee’s “Disgrace” is a reflection of the extent to which brutality and sexual violence characterized the famous South African era of apartheid. This novel features David Lurie as the central character whose negative perceptions of women, racist attitudes, and cases associating him with rape depict the level of moral…
Stream of consciousness is a popular trope predominantly used in the twentieth century fiction. It is essentially a narrative mode that pens down the protagonist’s thought processes either in the form of a monologue or by connecting with his or her actions. Scholars believe that stream of consciousness is a…
Introduction In history, there are a number of books that have been written depicting the wars of the past centuries. The books have mainly been centered towards numerous interests on military forces and the way that they organized their war plans chiefly regarding their ammunitions and leadership. Military excellence is…
Introduction Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” was first published in 1846, and it is widely recognized today as the best or one of the best short stories written by the author. It contains a story of revenge taken by an insidious and dark man named Montresor on his…
The power of words should never be underestimated. The particular style of the presentation of information may wring some secret chords in one’s heart. One of the most vivid examples of the way words and the impressive story may influence the behavior of many people is the story of the…
Introduction There is growing recognition today of the importance of cultural differences in many spheres of life, including health care. Anne Fadiman wrote a nonfiction book entitled The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, which is the story of a young Hmong girl named Lia Lee who had epilepsy….
Not many of us think about the way life was hundred, or fifty, or even ten years ago. Even less of us ponder on the topic of the change in society, for example, human rights. However, when one encounters a work of art, for example, a literature piece or a…
Introduction Mrs. Dutta Writes a Letter, a short story by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, tells the readers about Mrs. Dutta, an elderly Indian woman who moved to California to live together with her son and his family after her husband died. The story shows how hard it is for the old…
Advancements in the Humanities In 1922, Eliot wrote The Waste Land, a long poem, which imagery occupies the minds of scholars to this day. Various themes explored by the author in this writing include despair, stillness, and futility of life. Researchers focus on different topics of the work and often…
Introduction Machiavelli’s “The Prince” is a powerful masterpiece that presents the best leadership concepts. This political treatise was written by Niccolo Machiavelli. According to many scholars, “The Prince” was the first political text to examine the issue of leadership ethics (Machiavelli 27). The book presents meaningful arguments that are applicable…
Exploring the issues of the racisms in the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” cannot be separated from the use of symbolism since symbolism has been used as the vessel by which racism is expressed in an indirect manner that allows the reader to explore the meaning behind such symbols, Harper…
The themes of alienation and isolation frequently occur in the short stories by Hemingway. The writer focuses on the separation of the protagonists from the outer world by creating circumstances and situations that prevent him/her from establishing relations with other people. Soldier’s Home and Out of Season are among the…
Introduction In Lawrence’s “Sons and Lovers”, when approaching the title of chapter eight, ‘Strife in love’, it is evident that we will encounter incidents of love in the chapter, that love will be dominant therein, but looking at strife in its independent contextual meaning, then, the kind of love in…
One of the main indications that a particular literary piece represents a high literary value has traditionally been considered the psychological soundness of how the featured characters address life-challenges. The reason for this is quite apparent – it is specifically one’s deep-seated unconscious anxieties, which largely define his or her…
Abstract This paper provides an interpretation of one of the aspects of Tennessee Williams’ play The Glass Menagerie. It is stated that the collection of glass figurines in the play symbolizes one of the characters of this piece of literature, Laura Wingfield. The paper argues that the glass animals, being…
Introduction Herodotus’ Histories, a multi-volume literary composition, is not a historical work in the modern sense of the genre. Describing the events that took place over the course of the Greco-Persian Wars serves as the major theme in the book, yet along the way, the author also creates a thorough…
In their works, Zoe Valdes and Heberto Padilla explore the theme of asking and giving. In particular, they show how people can be asked to sacrifice their lives for the sake of other individuals or some noble ideals. One can analyze this theme by focusing on the protagonist of Zoe…
Summary The novel is based on real-life events that happened during World War 2. The main character of the novel, which was a Jew, narrates how the Jews survived during the holocaust. The diary of Anne Frank is an account of a young girl’s experience. The diary narrates the ordeal…
Introduction William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was an African American writer who is known for his collection of essays The Souls of Black Folk. This work can be treated as a sociological history, as it reveals issues and disparities associated with race and racial discrimination. “Of the Coming of John”…
The point of view an author chooses to use when writing is often an integral choice to make in describing a story (Hawke 1). The most common points of view used by writers are first person, second person, and third person. Although they affect different aspects of writing, they are…
Introduction Connection to ancestry is a very important aspect of our society. By connecting with the past, individuals get insights concerning the factors that led to their existence and their descendants. In addition, connection to ancestry is instrumental as it enlightens one on the issues that their descendants experienced during…
Modern Hebrew and Yiddish literature are extremely versatile in terms of subjects. Nevertheless, the themes of Jewish tradition, history, and culture pervade many of the pieces written by Hebrew and Yiddish authors. As stated by Miron, art and literature often serve to strengthen the collective identity of the communities that…
Introduction This work is dedicated to two wonderful poems called ‘Fair is my Love’, and ‘To Althea, from Prison’, written by Samuel Daniel 2016, lines and Richard Lovelace. The purpose of this paper is to compare them, to reflect their contrasts and mood, and to define their meaning and core….
Have you ever imagined that the complete human life can be depicted in a few pages? Can you remember books that describe stories of life? If you do, it is more likely that these stories are at least three hundred pages long. It is logical as far as people live…
Introduction When it comes to writing a novel, authors must first make sure that the would-be produced literary work will have what it takes to prove discursively relevant. This, in turn, can only be accomplished if the novel’s themes and motifs are consistent with the prevailing socio-cultural climate, on the…
Reconciliation with Death Reconciling with the loss of a child barely seems possible, yet, in Ben Johnson’s poem, the lead character finds his consolation in faith. By saying that the Virgin “Hath placed amongst her virgin-train” (Johnson, 1616, line 9), the lead character manages to stifle his sorrow and find…
“All the world’s a stage,” wrote Shakespeare (Shakespeare, 2010), and that is true even when behind the wheel. Driving is not a solitary activity but involves many interactions, with passengers, fellow drivers, gas station attendants, and, in most unwelcome fashion, for the most part, the highway patrol. The experience of…
Folk literature is a concentration of wisdom and moral values. Fairy tales open the world where good confronts evil, and good always wins. The main character is usually a hero: virtuous and courageous. He faces challenges, defeats the enemy, and gets the desired reward. However, in a fairy tale, a…