The Role of Icons in Comics: A Review of McCloud’s “Understanding Comics”

Introduction Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art is an insightful source for comprehending the essence and complexity of comic books alongside art. The author is an expert in the unique field of comics, and his particular work was published in the United States in 1994. While all sections of...

Langston Hughes’ Love in “Fantasy in Purple”

Music and poetry are interrelated since many poets have dedicated their poems to various musical genres. This article by Beugre Zouankouan Stephane explores how Langston Hughes expressed his love for Blues and Jazz in his poem “Fantansy in Purple.” The author observes an as close link between the two genres...

The Novel “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini

Introduction In the novel, The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini analyzes the situation in Afghanistan and some of the historical events that have defined the region for the past four decades. He relies on the use of several characters whose actions and roles help the reader learn more about the nature...

The Book “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini

The story of The Kite Runner begins in the pre-war Afghan city of Kabul in the 70s, where there were children who did not know what shelling and explosions were. A favorite pastime and, at the same time, a very serious matter for all the residents were kite competitions (Hosseini)....

“The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea” and “First Encounters” Interpretation

Introduction Primary and secondary sources in history are essential because they allow researchers to establish the course of certain important events. They serve as evidence to analyze the past and either confirm or refute different hypotheses or theories about it. Sources that are commonly considered unique and highly important for...

Antigone and Ismene in Sophocles’ Play

Today the play “Antigone” by Sophocles, written hundreds of years ago, is still widely discussed, not in the least due to the masterfully created characters of Antigone and Ismene. The readers see that the sisters love each other, and family means a lot to them from the very beginning. However,...

Analogy in “To a Daughter Leaving Home” by Linda Pastan

An analogy refers to a linguistic expression that compares one thing to another to make a comparison and clarify meaning. As a result, poets often employ analogies when they want to establish a resemblance between two factors. The following essay recounts how Linda Pastan uses analogies in her poem, “To...

Harry Mulisch’s Novel “The Assault”

Many books are set in the setting of war, and they explore different topics from loss to fate. The novel The Assault by Harry Mulisch is one such book since it is based on the story of Anton, a boy who suffers the loss of his parents during the Nazi...

Kate Chopin’s ‘The Story of an Hour’: A Review

“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin has been named as the mainstay of literary studies of feminist works. It explores the complicated reaction of the protagonist, Louise Mallard, to learning about her husband’s, Brentley Mallard’s death. The main interest of many scholars and readers in the story lies...

The Central Theme in “The Open Boat” by Crane

Introduction The Open Boat by Stephen Crane is an endurance tale about four people who have survived a disaster and are now working as a team to locate any piece of land they can discover while only traveling in a tiny boat on the ocean. Nature is on their tail,...

Gender Norms in A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen

Considering the core themes of A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, the following research question has been formulated: “What were the norms and expectations pertaining to gender in nineteenth-century Norway?” The question is essential to explore as the play is set to expose the limited roles of women during the...

The Story of the Great Flood From the Epic of Gilgamesh

As an ancient Egyptian peasant, I am struck by the story of the Great Flood from The Epic of Gilgamesh. The story tells of a great flood that devastated all life except for a man and his family. They were able to survive by constructing a large boat (Jackson, 2014)....

Plato’s Sixth Book of Republic: Divided Line

Introduction Plato’s sixth book of Republic describes the philosophy of the Divided Line. His allegory divides the world into two unequal parts: visible and intelligible. These categories are divided further into two, thus creating a line of the world containing four sections. While the first realm consists of images and...

Humor and Suffering in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein

Despite seeming incompatible at first sight, pain and humor often go together in fiction writing, creating realistic plots in which the entire palette of human emotions finds use. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is among numerous works that demonstrate the co-existence of the ridiculous and the painful, thus conveying a deep meaning....

“Red, White and Black” by Gary B. Nash

Introduction Gary B. Nash’s book Red, White and Black: The Peoples of Early America explores the complex and diverse peoples who inhabited the Americas before the American Revolution. Through a combination of primary source documents and narrative history, Nash sheds light on the various Native American societies, European empires, and...

The Portrayal of Racism in Literary Works

Introduction One of my main concerns about my paper is that I am unsure how to approach racism from an unbiased perspective. I aim to critically analyze how authors portray racism in their works without prejudice or preconceived notions. I may interpret things too personally, which could affect the accuracy...

“Fences” by August Wilson: Play Analysis

Family relationships are commonly discussed in many literary works to demonstrate different visions of this topic. Fences is one of such stories where the life of an African American family is thoroughly described, addressing the specific living conditions of Americans in the middle of the 20th century. August Wilson, the...

Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” vs. O’Connor’s “A Good Man…”

Introduction “A Rose for Emily,” written by William Faulkner, and “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor are two short stories that illustrate the complex relationship between the past and the present. Namely, common topics highlighted in both literature pieces are the time and location setting and...

Themes in How I Learned to Drive Play by Paula Vogel

Introduction Literature is one of the important kinds of art, causing a strong impact on people and making them think about certain things. It also helps writers to convey their messages and speak about problems that are topical for them. At the same time, as against other arts, literature does...

Unconditional Fatherly Love in Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays”

Introduction Differences in the perception of life values, manifested in the context of a generation gap, are a common problem raised in literary works. In Hayden’s poem “Those Winter Days,” the poet demonstrates such an assessment by presenting himself as the narrator. In this short poem, he faithfully captures the...

The Key to “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell

The Primary Message of the Story Susan Glaspell’s story, A Jury of Her Peers, explores a mysterious murder in Dickson County. The short story illustrates gender roles and their significance in the twentieth century, with Martha Hale as the lead character in the novel. The primary message communicated in the...

Review of “1776” Book by David McCollough

Introduction 1776, written by David McCullough, is a follow-up to his earlier biography of John Adams and is intended to expand the reader’s understanding of the early stages of the American Revolution. The book provides a fresh viewpoint on those events in a clear and exclusive manner. This review essay...

Summary of Sonny’s Blues by James Baldwin

Introduction “Sonny’s Blues” is one of the most compelling short stories that effectively conveys its message to the target audience. The fiction story aims explicitly at telling the story of suffering among the Blacks living in America. The story takes the reader through the tales of two brothers who went...

The “Their Eyes Were Watching God” Novel by Hurston

Introduction Their Eyes Were Watching God novel explores various personal relationships between the characters as a mirror of the society they live in, how the masses relate, the stereotyped relationships between men and women, and what is socially expected of every gender as per the societal norms. Through Janie’s relationships...

Techniques That Make Claudia Rankine Poems in “Citizen” Relatable

Introduction Claudia Rankine is politically charged prose poet, and her works, especially Citizen, have a great influence on the modern American society. Citizen is a poem conducted in prose, thus making it one of the staples of the contemporary literature. One of the important things about Rankine’s work is that...

Analysis of Arthur Miller’s Play, “The Crucible”

Arthur Miller’s play, “The Crucible,” is inspired by the McCarthyism hysteria which occurred in the 1940s and 1950s due to the inconsistencies in the Salem witch trials. The play is based on extreme behavior when people had hidden agendas and dark desires (Li 116). Thus, the word McCarthyism means making...

Oedipus as a Tragic Hero of Sophocles’ Play

Oedipus by Sophocles satisfies the requirements for a character to be classified as a tragic hero and serves as an example of the Aristotelian theory of tragedy. According to Aristotle, tragic heroes must be distinguished individuals who exhibit noble traits and possess a hamartia or a fatal flaw. An illustration...

“Why Abortion is Immoral” by Don Marquis

Summary Don Marquis is an author of an essay that argues that abortions are immoral from a non-religious standpoint. He begins with a general discussion on why killing is wrong. According to Marquis, killing any human being is morally wrong not because it inflicts suffering on their loved ones but...

Rose as a Family Leader in “Fences” by August Wilson

Introduction Fences is a play by American playwright August Wilson that was first staged in 1985. Set in Pittsburgh in the 1950s, it explores race relations and the evolution of the African-American experience. In the center of the plot is the character of Troy, the head of the household, who...

Character Sketch of Dr. Jekyll

“Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” is a classic gothic novel depicting the complexities of life when people exhibit distinct personalities. The novel gives us a tour into an admired life of an England- based physician Dr. Jekyll. The protagonist Henry Jekyll is a composite that strengthens the theme of good...

Characterization and Irony in “A&P” by John Updike

A&P is a comic short story written by John Updike in 1961. The story tells about a cashier guy in a store who was shocked by the appearance of three young female customers who came to the store in swimsuits. After the manager, as the main hero thought, disgraced girls...

Poe’s View on “The Masque of the Red Death”

Introduction One of the most important themes explored in The Masque of the Red Death is the inherent equality of death. Edgar Allan Poe uses the word “masque” in the title to symbolize a one-of-a-kind celebration where people cover their identities behind masks to foster safety and experience joy. Shortly...

The “Middle Passage” Poem by Robert Hayden

The Middle East is regarded as the cradle of civilization, whereas Africa is the cradle of humankind. Approximately 60,000 years ago, Homo sapiens started leaving northeast Africa, crossing the Middle East and populating Eurasia (Hawley para. 1). The African region has a long and eventful history, one of the most...

Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” Critical Analysis

The Story of an Hour by American author Kate Chopin is a feminist literary classic. The story, which was first published in 1894, depicts Louise Mallard’s conflicted reaction to learning of her husband’s death. From there on, the protagonist experiences complex and contradictory feelings on the matter, most of which...

The Novel “Peace Shall Destroy Many” by Rudy Wiebe

Rudy Wiebe’s novel “Peace Shall Destroy Many” surrounds the lives of the pacifist Mennonites in Saskatchewan during World War II. The main protagonist, Thom Wiens (a young farmer living in the most isolated community in Saskatchewan) makes the book fascinating by posing challenging questions. During wartime, local males would either...

“Gimp: When Life Deals You a Crappy Hand…” by Mark Zupan

Introduction It is easy to say that there are no hopeless situations, that the most important thing is not to give up, and that people should believe that the best days are ahead. However, when trouble happens in real life, very few people find the courage to keep on fighting...

Loss as a Transformative Experience in Alice Dark’s “In the Gloaming”

Writers have tackled the theme of tragedy and loss for as long as there was literature itself, contemplating the many different aspects of this hard yet omnipresent experience. In this respect, Alice Elliot Dark’s “In the Gloaming” is hardly a ground-breaker, as it is definitely not the first piece of...

Literary Analysis of Jackson’s The Lottery Story

Summary Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery is one of the most well-known and culturally significant short stories in the history of American literature. It provides an insightful and horrifying look at the comfort people take in passively accepting horrifying events as long as they are part of the accepted stability. Set...

Analysis of “Native Son” Story by Richard Wright

Introduction Native Son is a story by American writer Richard Wright, which was written in 1940. The story is about Bigger Thomas, a growing black man who existed in absolute lack in a bad neighborhood in the southern part of Chicago. Without apologizing for Bigger’s violations, Wright presents an inextricable...

“The Canterbury Tales”: Plot and Structure of the Work

The Canterbury Tales is an unfinished work on which author Jeffrey Chaucer worked until his death. The Canterbury Tales is composed of some passages which are sometimes controversial. Nevertheless, it is generally accepted that the text is divided into ten fragments, the first of which begins with the General Prologue,...

Social Conditions During “If We Must Die”

McKay wrote the sonnet “If We Must Die” in 1919. The audience for this poem was the Black community that was suffering violence due to white supremacy. Even though slavery had been abolished decades earlier, Black people still experiences social injustices. McKay urges his kinsmen to be courageous in the...

“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Gilman: Literary Analysis

In writing the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Gilman describes the protagonist and narrator, a young woman giving in to a mental disorder upon giving birth. Through the symbol of the yellow wallpaper on the house walls, the author conveys the mental health state of the protagonist throughout the narrative....

The Role of Dreams in Gilgamesh

The Gilgamesh Saga belongs to the oldest literary monuments of the Sumerian civilization. However, the story of changing the personality through true friendship, overcoming adversity, and searching for immortality still resonates in the hearts of readers. The plot is based on the adventures of king Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu,...

Homo Deus Summary: A Brief History of Tomorrow by Harari

The given annotated bibliography will focus on the book titled Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow written by Yuval Noah Harari. The writing is an outstanding piece of humanity’s future possible development and challenges, which need to be overcome in order to achieve the primary objectives. The book is...

“Water by the Spoonful” by Quiara Hudes

Water by the Spoonful is a play written by Quiara Hudes. The play narrates to the reader the story of the Iraqi war veteran and the group of drug addicts, including his biological mother. The author of this work raises several acute social problems, trying to address them through the...

Oroonoko as a Hero: Analysis of Novel

Oroonoko; or, The Royal Slave. A True History by Aphra Behn is considered to be one of the first English novels – it was published in 1688 when the genre was only beginning to emerge. The story’s protagonist is Prince Oroonoko – an African king’s grandson who possesses all the...

“The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin and How It Is Relevant

The question of what exactly a woman’s place in the marriage has long been a ground for heated discussions. Our society has come a long way from perceiving women as merely the property of men to today’s development of the feminist movement. However, even though nowadays, emancipation is a must...

Claudius as Hamlet’s Foil in Shakespeare’s Play

In Hamlet, Shakespeare utilizes several foil characters to help readers better comprehend Hamlet’s character. One such foil is Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle, who killed King Hamlet and married his wife to become a king. Although Claudius may not seem as obvious a foil as Laertes or Fortinbras, his decisiveness, immorality, and...

Holden Caulfield’s Irresponsibility in The Catcher in the Rye by Salinger

Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of Jerome Salinger’s The Cather in the Rye, may be many things, but responsible is not one of them. Be that himself or other people around him, he rarely has a concern for anything. By highlighting his irresponsible behavior, Salinger contrasts the character’s rather self-absorbed focal...

“An Adventure With Teddy Roosevelt” by Jerome Alden

An Adventure with Teddy Roosevelt by Jerome Alden is set in the United States in the early twentieth century. During this period Theodore Roosevelt, the country’s 26th president, attempted to run for a third term as president in 1912. Having already been a leader of the United States twice and...

“Barn Burning” by William Faulkner: A Family Unit Analysis

Introduction Barn Burning is a short story written by William Faulkner, which demonstrates the complex relationship between personal and familial values. The protagonist Sarty – a ten-year-old boy – is forced to testify in court to prove his father’s innocence (Faulkner 5). However, Sarty is aware that his father has...

“Bears” Short Story by Matthew MacKenzie

Trying to adapt the format to a traditional theater seems ridiculous, game-moving through different landscapes, clever avoidance of trackers, and genre demands when production and audience are trapped. How simulating the heightened tension is commonplace for a limited number of people time? How the main message and theme are delivered...

Father-Son Relationship in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” Play

Often children respect and honor their parents even after they have passed. In many movies, for instance, Disney movies, a child’s motivation is a result of their parent(s) passing and that becomes their new reason to keep them going. Another example of this is when a child grows up with...

Laila Lalami’s “My Life as a Muslim in the West’s Gray Zone”

In the feature article “My Life as a Muslim in the West’s ‘Gray Zone,’” the author, Laila Lalami (2015), expresses her thoughts and fears regarding the current status of Muslims in the world, specifically in the United States. The article suggests that Muslims are not entirely welcome in the U....

Nature of Evil in “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Despite its shortness, the story “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne contains a number of educative lessons. One of them is the possibility to understand the nature of evil better. On the one hand, all people are free and happy due to many options and choices. On the other hand,...

Nature of “The Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad

Joseph Conrad, an English-Polish author has made a considerable contribution to the artistic scene of Great Britain. As a writer, Conrad was noted for his unique writing style, accentuated by the fact that English was not the man’s first language. Having lived during the period of rapid discovery and societal...

Feed, M. T. Anderson’s Novel Issues

Feed, M. T. Anderson’s novel, shows how technology, accessibility to goods and services, and the world of free entertainment make society morally starving. The work, written in 2002, is relevant nowadays as all the principles and behavior patterns observed there can still be noticed in today’s community. Besides, this book...

Edgar Allan Poe’s “Wuthering Heights”

The narrator wanted to take revenge with impunity, also making sure that it would be recognized as revenge, otherwise, there would be no point in it. The retaliation could go unpunished if it was portrayed as an accident, but, in this case, Fortunato would not understand the meaning of the...

“The Princess on the Pea” by Hans Christian Andersen

“The Princess on the Pea” is one of the shortest and most well-known classic fairy-tales, and its plot may seem quite simple to some. I believe that there are two ways to answer the question why it was so important for the royal family to find a “real princess”. First,...

“Doll’s House”: Ibsen’s Play vs. Losey’s Movie

Throughout history, women were expected to accommodate the patriarchal perception of gender roles in society. Females had to be perfect as dolls, never complain, procreate with their husbands, and foster flawless ‘doll children’. In the play Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, the exact theme of poor female treatment and marriage...

United States Colonialism in Sherman Alexie’s “Evolution” Poem

Introduction Postcolonial theory claims that the members of decolonized cultures develop a specific postcolonial identity, shaped by the unequal power dynamics of their colonial past. This identity is based on the collective trauma and exists in response to the oppression the identity holders had experienced in the darker parts of...

Message of “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood

The symbolism of Margaret Atwood’s book The Handmaid’s Tale is strong: the role of women is reduced to their reproductive functions, and the author emphasizes that it is not a dystopia since some things characteristic of Gilead are already happening in American society. This paper analyses the changes that happened...

Michael P. MacDonald’s “All Souls” Memoir Analysis

All Souls: A Family Story from Southie, written by Michael Patrick MacDonald, is a sincere memoir published in 1999. The author uses his talent of putting life experiences and feelings into words to describe the place where he used to live in his childhood. The book starts with the author,...

“The Devil and Tom Walker” Short Story by Washington Irving

There are many different negative features that are common for people of all times, be it the eighteenth or the twenty-first century. Greed, indifference, anger, corruption, immorality, and the readiness to sin for one’s own benefit destroy humans and everything good in society. To show the full horror of the...

Old, Middle, and Early Modern English Literary Periods

Introduction At the dawn of human history, humankind was able to transfer information only in the oral form. However, the invention of writing more than five thousand years ago changed the way information was spread through human societies. Since then, both oral and written formats of information transfer have coexisted....

Romeo and Juliet Play by William Shakespeare

The playbook titled Romeo and Juliet is my favourite, and William Shakespeare is the author of this romantic narrative which later ended tragically. The story is so exciting and after reading it, I was interested in watching its movie on the big theatre screen. This essay will first evaluate the...

The Death of Enkidu and the Enlightenment of Gilgamesh

Introduction The great epic poem of Gilgamesh explores a vast number of themes, but the one that sets the epic into motion is the subject of friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu. The effect their friendship imposes on the reader has to deal with the unusual circumstances of their acquaintance –...

Espaillat’s “Bilingual-Bilingüe” & Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays” Poems

Family relations, in particular between parents and children, are often complex and ambiguous. Moreover, the connection established with the mother and with the father also contrasts. Most modern adults were probably closer to mothers who took care of the home well-being, while fathers worked daily for the benefit of the...

Poems About War by Borden, Owen, and Others

Introduction The paper responds to poems that deal with experiences and emotions experienced by soldiers on the war front. The first poem was written by a woman who provided humanitarian and medical care to soldiers, while the rest were written by men who fought in World War 1. Each of...

“Dwellings” Rhetorical Techniques Analysis

Linda Hogan’s piece “Dwellings” argues that the places inhabited by people are always in motion and going through continuous modification and change unlike the thinking of homes being solid, stable, and, motionless. Hogan’s work is written in an optimistic tone as the author uses language to explain and explore the...

Analysis of Reverse Psychology Used by Lago in Shakespeare’s “Othello”

The character of Iago from Shakespeare’s Othello is one of the most unique and multi-faceted villainous characters from all of Shakespeare’s works. The mysterious and deceitful aura of the character makes the play more thrilling to the viewer or reader, who is aware of Iago’s untruthful motives, and makes the...

Conformity in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”

Introduction The works of Shirley Jackson are well-known in literary society. Even though the issues addressed by the author appear to be diverse, special attention is drawn to the subject of conformity. In “The Lottery,” the writer delivers her unique understanding of the dangers of excessive conservatism. In this essay,...

“The Crucible” Themes by Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, which was published back in 1953, remains one of the most notable plays of English literature because it is full of themes that transcend time and are still relevant today. For readers to understand the intentions behind the story, it is imperative to dig deeper into...

Summary of “Paul’s Case” Story

Paul’s Case by Willa Cather is a short story full of temperament lessons. It is a narration of a few months’ events in Paul’s life. Paul is a student at Pittsburg High School, who prefers theater and music to class. The story begins when Paul is suspended from school; he...

Ferdinand and Miranda in Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” in Terms of Postcolonial Theory

Shakespeare’s last plays belong to the genre of tragicomedy – plays devoid of genuine tragedy, which, while slightly disturbing for the audience, were still mainly intended to entertain them by delivering a sharp and entertaining experience. Nevertheless, Shakespeare brings an exceptional tone to them, switching them into the fairy tale...

“Recitatif” by Toni Morrison Analysis

Introduction One of the primary purposes of literature is to deliver meaningful messages through artful images and plots. While some literary works may have a mostly entertaining function, some pieces prove to be seminal in the broader context of topical issues of society. Toni Morrison is one of the authors...

Satire in “The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz”

The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz is a satirical novel written by Canadian writer Mordecai Richler, which describes Duddy Kravitz’s life. The main character, a Jew from Montreal, Quebec, tries his best to become rich, not paying attention to all the sacrifices made for this purpose. The author of the novel...

“iGen” by Jean Twenge

The first chapter of Twenge’s book is titled “In no hurry: Growing up slowly.” The primary theme is that the iGen is taking longer to become adults. Essentially, Twenge is convincing the readers that, comparing to the previous groups, people who were born between 1995 and 2012 remain dependent on...

Transcendental Ideas in Frederick Douglass’ Memoirs

One of the seminal literary works revealing the theme of historical legacy is The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, written as the memoirs of a dark-skinned American slave. The book proper consists of eleven chapters describing, in chronological order, childhood, the stages of learning to write, the periods...

Pentangle in “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”

About fifty lines in the chivalric romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight take over the significant symbol, the Pentangle, displayed on the Gawain’s shield. Each knight had a different design or symbol placed on his shield, which made it possible to identify people in battle when helmets obscured their...

Jealousy and Its Examples in Literature

Introduction Jealousy occurs when a person longs for something they do not possess, whether it is a relationship, talent, or a material object. People may choose to control the natural reactions regarding this feeling or exhibit them freely regardless of the consequences. Jealousy could occur toward other humans, dead or...

Woody Holton’s “Unruly Americans and the Origins of the Constitution”

Woody Holton’s book Unruly Americans and the Origins of the Constitution discusses the historical events and economic factors that played the central role in the development of the Constitution. Particular attention is given to the economic issues, class conflicts, the role of popular protests, and the decisions of the Founding...

Krebs’ Portrayal in “A Soldier’s Home” by Hemingway

In Hemingway’s “A Soldier’s Home,” the main character experiences apathy for a multitude of reasons. Harold Krebs was trained in a way that made him void of any empathy. The disinterest towards maintaining normal relationships or any mundane hobbies settled in after the return to civilian life (Hemingway 2). This...

“Worlds Together, Worlds Apart” by Adelman, J et al. Analysis

Chapter 19: Global Crisis, 1910 – 1939 World War I was the first modern war, and its consequences were fundamental on a grand scale. Adelman et al. (2017) state that WWI’s aftermath expedited the trend toward mass society and hastened the debates on how to measure progress and organize people...

Comparing the Archetype of Satan in The Chronicles of Narnia and His Dark Materials

Introduction It is impossible to imagine the world without literature and its advancements. It is so because all peoples create some writing pieces, meaning that this field has many universally acknowledged features. Archetypes are one of them, and Carl Jung developed this term to denote a pattern or model that...

Cortazar’s “The Devil’s Drool” vs. Marquez’s “Big Mama’s Funeral”

The protagonist of the story The Devil’s Drool, Roberto Michel, a Chilean living in Paris, accidentally takes a strange picture, depicting a woman seducing an inexperienced youth. The appearance of the photographer gives the guy the opportunity to escape, but the card begins to live its own life, and a...

Mitch Albom’s Inspirational Memoir: ‘Tuesdays with Morrie’

Introduction The story Tuesdays with Morrie written by Mitch Albom is considered to be a biographical story disclosing the real-life of sociologists. The novel was written in 1997 and gained recognition as one of the most significant works of the literature world. The work is devoted to the disclosure of...

Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”: Significance of Letters

Introduction Pride and Prejudice is a passionate epistolary novel written by Jane Austen in 1813. Letters are an important part of this novel as they are used to tell the story, develop the characters and build the exposition of themes. Correspondence was a common way of communication during that era....

Individualism in “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut

One of the fears described in dystopian fiction is the loss of individuality. People become uniformed cogs in an oppressive society, so the government could completely control them. Therefore, individualism can contribute greatly to maintaining freedom and independent thinking. In Harrison Bergeron, the author shares his vision of the future...

The Story “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner

Introduction “A Rose for Emily” is a story about the decline of Southern aristocracy during the early 20th century. The titular character, Emily, declines alongside her house, eventually becoming mentally ill, murdering her lover and sleeping alongside his decaying body. However, while she may have been predisposed to such a...

“Who Moved My Cheese?” by Johnson

In his book, “Who moved my cheese?” Johnson (1998) explores change by narrating the story of four characters searching for cheese. He also depicts how each of the four characters goes about finding cheese. All four characters live in a maze where they are searching for cheese. According to Johnson...

Unconscious Irony in “Oedipus the King,” by Sophocles

Tragic heroes often embrace unconscious irony, leading to their downfall. In any literary work, it becomes fascinating when some of the characters are self-denial after engaging in different heinous actions unknowingly and later face the consequences after realizing the truth. Denotatively, unconscious irony is when various characters within the play...

“The Five Languages of Love” by Gary Chapman

Introduction to Chapters 1, 2, 3 Many fiction works and films are built on the same plot: the heroes love each other but cannot show it. Based on misunderstanding, many stories unfold: sometimes funny, sometimes sad and tragic. Often, a couple’s life is full of misunderstandings and difficulties in developing...

Miller’s “Death of a Salesman”: The Theme of the Small Man in the Play

Arthur Miller’s plays are characterized by the significance of the moral and ethical issues and the application of references to his heroes’ past, where roots of the present behavior lie. The desire to find profound implication in the ordinary, to create an emotional atmosphere from as if insignificant words and...

Analysis of “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner

The plot of “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner involves Colonel Sartoris Snopes or Sarty, a little boy from a poor family, whose father decides to burn barns of the people he works for. The setting of the story is early spring in rural America in the end of the 19th...

“Going to Meet the Man” Story by James Baldwin

Koritha Mitchell’s Living with Lynching and James Baldwin’s “Going to Meet the Man” In the book Living with Lynching, Koritha Mitchel studies the so-called “lynching drama” and the role that lynching played in the American culture. She claims that the depictions of racial violence produced by the black and white...

The Tragedy of “A Streetcar Named Desire” by T. Williams

Tragedy, as a form of drama, is defined not necessarily by the overall sorrowful atmosphere of a literary piece, but by the comeuppance that the protagonist receives due to their faults. With this distinction, the calamity of the situation is achieved using having no one to blame for the ending...

The Short Story “White Hills Like Elephants” by Earnest Hemingway

If there is one universal quality that describes humans, it is the unwillingness to confront or accept harsh realities like death, terminal illness, and loss. This human nature is seen in humankind’s attempt to downplay the seriousness of issues through the use of euphemisms, ignoring painful truths, and the use...

Analysis of Stephen Jay Gould’s Writing Style

Introduction Most talented authors have their own style, which is reflected in the topics, structure, and word choices of the writer. Stephen Jay Gould also has a “voice” in literature, which allows readers to recognize his work from the first lines and attracts most of them. This paper will explore...

Domestic Violence in “Othello” by W. Shakespeare

Introduction Arguably, William Shakespeare’s works are a critical way of thinking about the different contemporary subjects existing today. In Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello, various issues affecting society during the 16th century are discussed. Writers, historians, sociologists, linguists, and the public, in general, use Shakespeare’s works as a vital reference point and...

The Story “The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane

“The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane is a story about the victim of a shipwreck who spent 30 days stranded at sea. The central theme of the story is the idea that nature is unforgiving, which contrasts with the sentiments of Romanticism writers. For instance, poets from the Romanticism era...

The Connection between the Ancient and Current World Heroes

Rome and Greece are strongly identified with a culture, which credits heroes. The dynasties in ancient times would create their brave men and make them leaders who they believe in. The gallant notion has been passed on to generations through the word of mouth, to a point where it is...

Odyssey. Influence on World Literature

The Odyssey is a world literature masterpiece, one of the two epic poems written by Homer. It was composed around the 8th century BC, and its plot focuses on Odysseus’s journey home after the Troy’s fall. This essay aims at analyzing several peculiarities of The Odyssey that show its significance...

“One Thousand and One Nights”: The Frame Story

Frame story (a frame narrative or a frame tale) is a widely popular literary technique used in storytelling and even cinematography because it helps involve readers’ attention in several stories within the whole narration. An excellent example of this method is One Thousand and One Nights, a collection of folk...

Vanity, Evil, Immortality in “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde

Introduction The Picture of Dorian Gray is arguably Oscar Wilde’s most well-known and most debated work. Set in Victorian England, the story revolves around Dorian Gray and his slow descent into a life of hedonism, decadence, and immorality. However, unlike any other self-indulgent character, Gray is freed from the effects...

The Snake in Hurston’s Short Story “Sweat”

Introduction The Sweat transitions enormously when Bertha is introduced in the story. Sykes is committed to having her put up with Della as a concubine. Delia is not ready to allow another woman to have the resources she has labored to buy. She resists, and in the event, the two...

Heroism in The Things They Carried

The war in Vietnam…How much pain this short word combination incorporates. This war can be listed among the strangest and the most unsuccessful military campaigns ever held by the United Sates. The new commanding strategies limiting commanders out of their power and authority to control the process on a local...

Crane’s “The Open Boat”: The Central Idea and Language

Central Idea The narration centers around the correspondent, the captain, the cook, and the oiler, who are lost in a boat in the middle of the sea after a shipwreck. The central idea of the story is to show the place of a man in the world and to demonstrate...

“The Life and Culture of the Gebusi” by Bruce Knauft

Introduction In his book, Bruce Knauft describes the life and culture of the Gebusi, a people living in Papua New Guinea. His anthropological research is deep and covers various aspects of the development of this unique culture. The evaluation of life, religion, social relations, spirituality, and other features of the...

Rituals and Human Nature in The Lottery

Introduction “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a fictional narrative representing rural American culture. The story starts by telling the reader how “the men began to gather, surveying their own children, speaking of planting and rain, tractor and taxes.” The population and setup of structures highlighted in the narrative reveal...

Love and Loss in Poem “Annabelle Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe

The poem “Annabelle Lee” is considered the last poem by Edgar Allan Poe. It is believed to be related to the love of Poe’s life, his wife Virginia, who died at an early age of tuberculosis (Syafitri & Marlinton, 2018). Since Virginia was much younger than Edgar, her image could...

“Mother Tongue” of A.Tan Analysis Review

Amy Tan is an American writer of Asian origin who is passionate about languages. She had to grow up in a difficult situation, being the daughter of a Chinese immigrant. Her circumstances were also complicated due to the communication issues that her mother had to endure. For this reason, she...

Minor History and B. Kruger’s “I Shop Therefore I Am”

Minor History Defined by Branden Joseph Branden W. Joseph introduces the concept of minor history in the first chapter of his book Beyond the Dream Syndicate: Tony Conrad and the Arts After Cage (Joseph, 2011). He uses this concept to place Conrad’s art in a theoretical perspective grasping his endeavors...

The Exploring Freud’s “Uncanny”

Argument The main argument laid out by Freud in The Uncanny is that there is strangeness in the ordinary. Psychoanalysts rarely investigate the subject of aesthetics understood as a feeling of the qualities of feeling. However, the uncanny interested Freud as something belonging to all that is terrible, which arouses...

Social Satire in Canterbury Tales

Introduction The 14th-16th centuries period received the name Renaissance in European history. As a cultural phenomenon, the Renaissance marked a slow transition from medieval era to modernity. During that time period, a significant part of European states experienced severe changes in their social structures, as well as the rise of...

Philosophy of “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” by Le Guin

“The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” is a philosophical short story that deserves the public’s attention. In her work, Le Guin describes a utopian city in which all people are happy, but their happiness rests on the misery and suffering of one child. The short story is filled with...

“What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” by Raymond Carver

Introduction What We Talk About When We Talk About Love is a concluding story in a self-titled collection of short stories written by Raymond Carver. It sets to explores various notions humans have about love. The title itself suggests that there are different perceptions people can have about this concept,...

“The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” by Christopher Marlowe Review

Love has always been an eternal resource of inspiration for poets. Sentimental and flattering, love helps to reveal the most hidden feeling and emotions. Therefore, the narrators use vivid poetic elements to describe this flourishing phenomenon. This paper seeks to explore how love is addressed in the poems “The Passionate...

“Big Night” by Dawn Powell: Myra’s Final Choice Pragmatism

Introduction Dawn Powell’s play “Big Night” portrays controversial relationships both within a particular family and in society in general. The author uncovers the sad but true reversal of values in 1930s America, when love, friendship, kindness, and other aspects of ordinary life were replaced by the desire to make a...

Self-knowledge in Oedipus, Socrates, and Achilles

Introduction The Delphic Oracle’s motto of “Know Thyself” applies to many stories from Ancient Greece. The characters of Oedipus, Socrates, and Achilles can all be examined from the point of view of the extent to which they knew themselves and the extent to which knowing or not knowing themselves led...

Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” Review

Hills like white elephants, is a sort story written by Ernest Hemingway. It is an important piece of Ernest’s work from his second collection of short stories Men without women. Hills like white elephants could be tagged as one of the best writings by Earnest’s. What makes Ernest’s Hills like...

Appearance and Reality in “Diamond Necklace”

“The Diamond Necklace”, by Guy de Maupassant, is one of the best short stories ever written. Taking an inanimate object, the necklace, Maupassant weaves around it human dreams and desires and then contrasts them too hard realities. He takes a beautiful woman as the central character of his story to...

“1984” by G.Orwell, “Catch-22” by J.Heller Compared

Introduction Living in this world which is a complex of different processes influenced by people, it is difficult to understand for what people live, how they live. The most interesting thing is that this world is created by people also and people create everything they struggle against after. People create...

Symbols and Metaphors in A Good Man Is Hard to Find

The story by Flannery O’Connor describes the particular event which was of terrific coloring. In this respect the term of murder is pointed out. The world of a man is not so easy to understand. Most of human beings are intended to believe in their righteousness more than to admit...

Death of a Salesman: Critical Analysis

Every literary genre is unique and marvelous in its way, but the genre of drama stands apart from other genres of literature, as it possesses certain features that are characteristic for it only. These characteristic features of drama will be analyzed in this work using the example of an outstanding...

The Sun Also Rises and The Great Gatsby: Comprare & Contrast

The works ‘The Great Gatsby’ by Scott Fitzgerald and ‘The Sun also Rises’ by Ernest Hemingway are considered to be real masterpieces of world literature; both works are based on the reflection of historical setting characterized as ‘roaring twenties’. It is necessary to underline the fact that the books serve...

“Midaq Alley” Novel by Naguib Mahfouz

Introduction The novel “Midaq Alley” by Naguib Mahfouz is a novel with many characters that live in a poor neighborhood called Midaq Alley during the Second World War. Among the protagonists are Umm Hamida, a marriage broker and bath attendant, her daughter, who was pimped by Ibraham Faraj; Hussain Kirsha,...

“How America Was Discovered” Analysis

The work of Handsome Lake How America was discovered is a fiction that bears more ideological and precaution character for a reader. The story of a white preacher who once met the Creator telling him about a country where people would be cruel and corrupt because of money greed and...

“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Review

“Where are you going, where have you been?” is a beautiful story written by Joyce Carol Oates. The author takes the archetypal theme of seduction and then presents it in the way he finds it today, particularly in America. The way she depicts the emotions of a 15 year old...

“Suddenly, Last Summer” by Tennessee Williams

Individual versus society is probably the oldest theme employed by writers, playwrights, and film producers to demonstrate a difference one might make by their positive or negative deeds. In “Suddenly, Last Summer,” Tennessee Williams shows homosexuality as the central point of the conflict between the characters and makes broader implications,...

Jane Austen’s “Emma”

Jane Austen’s Emma Overview Emma, published in 1816, like other novels of Jane Austen, deals with one major subject, that is, young lady’s attempts at finding proper husbands. Although superficially this seems to be the storyline of the novel, there is much more than only this at the deeper level....

Death of a Salesman: Imagery & Sumbolism

Introduction The Death of a Salesman was a tale of broken dreams, aspirations of the characters and unfulfilled promises. The Loman family is portrayed in the play as a dysfunctional family, each member with his or her issues. Willy Loman is sixty-three and nearing retirement, his wife, his two sons,...

“Self-Made Man” by Norah Vincent

Introduction Since the time of its publication, the book “Self-made Man” written by a famous American journalist Norah Vincent has always been a subject of heated debate. The question arises what is the reason for such close attention to this work of literature. The thing is that the author tried...

Analysis of “The Hollow Men”

The Hollow Men is a soliloquy by one of the hollow men, representing a modern generation of rootless, faithless, lonely, and aimless wanderers. The hollow men are bewailing their lot in the modern Waste Land. They are in Death’s dream kingdom from which they cannot cross to Death’s other kingdom...

Alliteration in Thomas Hardy’s “The Darkling Thrush”

Thomas Hardy’s “The Darkling Thrush” is one of the most well-known poems written on the borderline of the 19th and the 20th centuries. The poet employs a variety of rhetoric devices in the piece, but the most prominent of them is alliteration. Hardy’s use of this rhetorical device helps to...

The Theme of Deception in The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant

Despite Guy de Maupassant’s ‘The Necklace’ being written in the late XIXth century, this story successfully transports its moral lessons to modern life. The author engages symbolism around the main object of the story, the diamond necklace, and the deep character portrayal of two heroines to reveal the common deceptiveness...

The Canterbury Tales Costumes as Symbols

Clothing in a literary work can serve as a detail that communicates certain information about the hero. Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales are replete with detailed depictions of various characters’ wardrobes. At the same time, Chaucer’s numerous descriptions of clothing are equipped with varying artistic functions, serving special expressive purposes. The...

A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Critical Analysis Essay

Introduction Flannery O’Connor is the brightest representative of the Southern Gothic in US literature. Her prose is filled with violence, erupting evil and dark features of a human being, and many stories shockingly end on a note of horror. “A Good Man is Hard to Find” first appeared in a...

Death of a Salesman: Literary Analysis Essay

A radical innovative strategy in the literary analysis of a text in the modern literary learning and appreciation has been that of the literary experience which insists on the appreciating of a literary work as it is experienced by the reader and the elimination of the intimidating elements of literary...

The Canterbury Tales: The Knight’s Tale Analysis

The Canterbury Tales is a book authored by Geoffrey Chaucer (1342 to 1400). The author was well known as a diplomat in the Royal Service, best known for his contribution to the world of literature in the form of writings on various subjects. His work has been notable for the...

Thwarted Love in Anton Chekhov’s Literature

Born in 1860, Anton Chekhov wrote extensively on the complexities of human nature and the hidden importance of how day-to-day interactions impacts human life (Kirk 43-56). He is famously known for such stories as “The Steppe”, “The Lady with the Dog”, “The Seagull”,” A living Chattel”, and” Uncle Vanya”. Even...

In-depth Analysis of William Faulkner’s Short Story “Barn Burning”

William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning” (first published in June 1939 in Harper’s Magazine) is a short story that is notable for underlining the problem of class conflict as well as for reflecting on family dynamics and the role fathers play in the lives of their children. The story is told from...

“The New Automaton Theater” by Steven Millhauser

Introduction It should be noted that Steven Millhauser is a writer and author of many popular works that raise important philosophical and moral questions. He uses the images familiar to every individual and creates a small world, a micro-universe, into which the reader is immersed from the first lines. The...

Food in Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest”

Introduction When it comes to discussing the discursive significance of Oscar Wilde’s 1895 comedy The Importance of Being Earnest, critics commonly refer to the fact that, despite having been written at the end of the 19th century, the concerned dramaturgic masterpiece continues to enjoy popularity with contemporary audiences. The reason...

“All My Thoughts” Poem by Dante Alighieri

Introduction Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) was an Italian poet famous for his Divine Comedy, which is regarded as the most prominent literary work ever written in Italian. The sonnet “All My Thoughts” is a part of the acclaimed narrative poem. The very title of the sonnet resorts to the readers’ attention...