6099 samples of this type
Introduction Toni Morrison’s Beloved is a famous and exciting novel addressing a few essential themes. For example, the literary piece addresses the topics of love, slavery, masculinity, and the supernatural. The author managed to focus on the life of the protagonist, Sethe, to demonstrate what challenges people experienced after the...
Introduction Mark Twain’s The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County is a classic example of American literature. Written in 1865, it is a humorous tale based on a real-life event in a small town in California. The Local Color Realism Perspective From the perspective of regional/local color realism, this work...
Introduction A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s most iconic plays. The comedy-drama depicts the adventures of several young lovers and novice performers who fall prey to fairies. Such work has inspired countless adaptations and retellings, each with its unique take on the story. Among the works inspired by...
Introduction “Hills Like White Elephants” is a short story written by Ernest Hemingway. The story takes place in a train station in Spain, where an American man and a woman are waiting for their train and having a conversation about a crucial issue in their relationship. The story is considered...
Introduction Jane Austen is one of the most famous writers of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The novels of this brilliant author have had an incredible impact on the development of culture, have been adapted many times, and have inspired generations of writers. Jane Austen has written such...
Trifles is a piece written by Susan Glaspell in 1916 in the genre of the one-act play. The play explores the connections between husbands and wives, focusing on a murderous marriage. The play contains many symbols with specific meanings that enhance the contents of the play. Every symbol is related...
Introduction “The Metamorphosis,” a short story by Kafka, explores the implication of losing one’s physical body and the abilities that it provides. The process of metamorphosis itself represents the lack of the protagonist’s self-understanding and self-reflection. Further, verbal communication and its challenges play a pivotal role in the narrative development,...
Introduction Hamlet by Shakespeare is a brilliant piece of classical literature that is immortal in its ability to be always relevant. It tells a tragic story about the young prince of Denmark, who is tortured by nihilism and vengeance for his father. Throughout the narrative, prince Hamlet encounters numerous challenges,...
Introduction The Taming of the Shrew is one of the most famous comedic plays in English literature. The story revolves around the conflict between representatives of two different planets, the sons of Mars and the daughters of Venus. The main character, Kate, is the headstrong eldest daughter of a wealthy...
Introduction Phillis Wheatley was the first female African-American writer who was published. When transported from West Africa to America, she was sold into slavery. Later the family that purchased Wheatley assisted her; the woman learned to read and write and mastered several languages. Wheatley’s poems frequently investigate her Christian values,...
Brookes, Gwendolyn. “Malcolm X.” This poem is about Malcolm X, as obvious from the title, written soon after his assassination. It seems to be relatively ambiguous in its descriptions of him – “original,” “ragged-round,” “rich-robust.” It acknowledges the influence Malcolm X had on the Black movements, and yet emphasizes that...
Many people at some stage of their lives and almost all nations at certain points in history encounter the dilemma related to their cultural traditions. On the one hand, it is widely agreed that the new challenges necessitate new solutions that should eventually substitute the older ‘ways’. On the other...
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...
The lesson by Toni Cade Bambara is a narrative about children who, with the help of their teacher, learn a lesson about the social problems of society. The reader can see that children live in a bubble, not comprehending the daily challenges they and their parents must endure. Nevertheless, even...
The story chosen for analysis is the work of Toni Cade Bambara “The Lesson”. The author’s main argument is that the black population has the highest level of child poverty among all racial groups in the United States. Toni Bambara conveys her point of view through the story of Sylvia...
Published under a poetry collection in 1940, Federico Garcia Lorca’s poem, Norm and Paradise of the Blacks, seems to take apart that era’s contemporary, techno-industrial civilization. This piece of poetry symbolizes the chaotic, hostile, materialistic, and dehumanized version of New York City. This depiction rightly reflects the poet’s experience of...
One of the main characters of the Journey to the West is the Monkey King, Sun Wukong. The book has become a famous novel in many countries and one of the most popular in China. The story plot tells about the Journey of Xuanzang, the monk, to India in order...
In William Faulkner’s short story A Rose for Emily, Homer Baron plays the second fiddle to the main character who is Emily Grierson. Even so, Homer cannot be described as being a minor character or an antagonist in the story. Homer, as portrayed in the story, suits that of a...
Around 1850, the United States was a divided country. A deep split separates the slave-holding southern states from the northern states. Harriet Beecher Stowe recounts in Uncle Tom’s Cabin the shifting fates of slaves who are at the mercy of the whims and economic circumstances of their masters, for better...
Introduction The lust for power influences people’s decisions, their ability to think soberly and act on the basis of principles. The tragedy Macbeth by William Shakespeare for whom the desire for power becomes decisive in the loss of humanity. Macbeth Macbeth’s actions to gain power begin with the assassination of...
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,...
How does this story reflect the challenges put forward by the first wave of feminists? The first wave of feminism refers to the women’s movement against the societal expectations on the role of women in the middle-class and upper-class women in the 18th century to the 20th century. It was...
It is almost scary how people—in everything they do—are driven by hidden motivations inside them of which they are not even aware. The unconscious—the pivotal concept in psychoanalysis—is comprised of repressed feelings that shape people’s behaviors; specifically; dysfunctional behaviors. The story by Bettino titled “Free Ham” provides a lot of...
Introduction The author of A Modest Proposal and Gulliver’s Travels was Jonathan Swift, who wrote these books when England was losing its power and influence in the world. Swift wanted to show his readers that England could regain its status without becoming too dependent on other countries (Oakleaf 65). He...
The human experience is complex and multi-faceted, encompassing many emotions, experiences, and qualities. Throughout history, writers and artists have attempted to capture what it means to be human, exploring the universal qualities that connect us all. During the Renaissance in Elizabethan England, a time of significant cultural and societal change,...
In Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the author capitalizes on love and lust in many stories and transformations. He employs two themes to showcase their effects on individuals and the wider world, resulting in numerous transformations (Sharrock et al., 2020). In this piece, the writer illustrates how various characters’ aspirations and affections sway...
Introduction Resilience is the capacity to bear and overcome difficulties in one’s life. Every individual is faced with challenges on their path, be it the loss of their loved ones, interpersonal struggles, or an inability to function within their society. Discussion Resilience is a quality and an ability that helps...
Introduction Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein is a novel characterized by complex themes related to humans’ obsessive desires to assume the roles of creators and the portrayal of outcasts in stereotypical society. The author uses different perspectives on the story, namely the Doctor’s and the creature’s, to demonstrate the distinction in their...
The Oedipus Rex by Sophocles is a classical Greek tragedy. The roots of tragedy can be traced all the way back to ancient Greek culture. In the traditional meaning, it is a play that deals with weighty topics, as opposed to the lighter fare of a comedy. All throughout the...
Literary symbols have a significant role in defining the relationships between characters. For example, symbols such as personal items can point to the similarities or differences between the main characters. Thus, symbolism is often used in literary works with stories focused on the juxtaposition of two heroes in order to...
Michel de Montaigne was a French Renaissance writer who developed the essay as a literary form and wrote some of history’s most enduring and significant articles. Michel de Montaigne was an academic who devoted his entire career to criticizing intellectual hubris. In his major opus, the Essays, he reached out...
The poem “She lives in a pat of Butter” by Ramsey Jade revolves around the role of women in conducting domestic chores and setting good examples for their children in the modern world. Even though the efforts provided by mothers and wives are similar, the societal expectation is for women...
The Great Escape, a non-fiction book by Paul Brickhill that was released by WW Norton & Company in 1950, describes what it was like to live in a German POW camp during World War II. The author was an Australian fighter pilot and became a prisoner of war, which means...
According to the Russian theorist Mikhail Bahktin, a specific type of holiday is optional in all historical festivities. The most crucial is an emerging force preserved in it and contributes to the flight from the capture of “official culture,” such as the state, the church, or other suppressive systems. In...
Introduction Room by Emma Donoghue is a novel that reveals the essential aspects of child abuse, psychological trauma, and social adaptation through a child’s eyes. The events in this book are fictional, although the experiences that the author put in her work require a thorough examination and comprehension. Depicting such...
Introduction Human suffering is inevitable and may have a long-lasting impact on someone’s life. People grieve the loss of someone they loved much or situations they have little or no control over. Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” utilizes symbols to reinforce the melodramatic mood. The conversation between the speaker of...
The novelty of Samuel Beckett’s vision of performance art continues to affect the American scene. Postmodernism is apparent in the author’s works, which are thoughtful and complicated in their writing, acting, lighting, and other aspects (McNaughton, 2018). Beckett’s Come and Go is a short play with only a few lines...
Emily Dickinson is an influential poet of American literature of the XIXth century. Unlike most renowned authors and poets, she did not live to see her writing published. Therefore, her poems are minimally affected by editorial input and can show the author’s original semantic as well as stylistic intention. The...
Introduction “The Fires of Jubilee” by Stephen B. Oates is an accurate, reliable source of Nat Turner’s biography regarding specific historical fragments – the Civil War and the Slave Rebellion. This text is one of the best examples of how this historian can be savvy on this topic. “The Fires...
Introduction Ernest Hemingway was a master of short, expressive prose. Moreover, he considered his “best prose” to be the story of a man who never gives up – “Old Man and the Sea.” The harmony of man and nature can be considered one of the main ideas in this work....
Slavery optimally attributes to social injustice and inhumanity across society. In chapter four, Douglass (1845) narrates one of the core issues the enslaved people encountered. While working on Colonel Lloyd’s farm, he witnesses Mr. Gore, the overseer murder Demby. Mr. Gore affirms his actions to the colonel by articulating that...
Comics rely heavily on such a visual element as color. This is due to the fact that this aspect helps to fulfill many different tasks that the author faces when creating a work. So, the color helps to convey the characters’ mood and the narrative’s general atmosphere. Thus, this response...
Introduction Like many other works by Franz Kafka, The Metamorphosis is a surreal look at human psychology. This story bizarrely combines fantastic events and the dry style of realistic narration, as well as the lack of emotions in the presentation and the personal drama of the protagonist. The current paper...
Introduction The works of the British novelist Rowling collectively referred to as the Harry Potter series, are classified as fantasy. Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley are all enrolled at Hogwarts School in the novels. Major plot points revolve around Harry’s battle against the evil wizard Lord Voldemort, who...
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is a true classic of fiction of the early twentieth century. However, it is underestimated because of the abundance of symbols that many readers do not understand. The novel was written in 1912 and implied as a part of a compilation called Punishments, along with...
Désirée’s Baby, a short story written by Kate Chopin, depicts a woman’s life with unknown origins in Louisiana. The dramatic story includes her Southern husband, who exiles her from home because of her African – American origins. Chopin utilizes various symbols to raise themes of racism, hypocrisy, love, and woman’s...
Introduction Emily Dickenson’s poem Because I Could Not Stop for Death illustrates phenomena such as the circle of life, death, immortality, and the afterlife. The topic of death becomes rather welcoming as the feeling with which it is met calmness, which directly illustrates how the narrator came to terms with...
Human lives are inextricably linked with time measurement – people count their age, daily routine, and separate seasons and days. The chapter from Lightman’s (1993) Einstein’s dreams, dated June 18, 1905, devoted to the Great Clock and Temple of Time, raises the question of how measuring time changes human perception....
Introduction The Historical Context The events in the book occur during Hurricane Katrina, the most destructive hurricane in U.S. history. The disaster killed 1,836 residents and caused $125 billion in economic damage (Stevens 158). The hurricane began forming on August 23 near the Bahamas. Before the hurricane reached the U.S....
Growth and development are ongoing themes in the Parable of the Sower. When the old and new are not exactly ideal, the characters, led by Lauren Olamina, struggle with how to construct a perfect future. The Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler combines religious and imaginative elements. The text’s...
In order to understand “Tribal Ceremony,” the communal feature of minor literature is used because it depicts the tragedy of an entire community. The communal feature can be described as representing the problem of a particular society, not only concerning the author of the poem. In “Tribal Ceremony,” it is...
Introduction The Graveyard Book is a children’s fantasy book written by the English author Neil Gaiman. The book was published in America and Britain in 2008. The setting is mostly in the graveyard since it is the location where Nobody Owens was adopted and raised by the residents after his...
NASA made a decision to include a golden plaque on a satellite named Lucy that was to complete its mission in 12 years and then stay in its orbit for an indefinite time. The plaque contains messages from different people related to science and art, including Joy Harjo and Amanda...
“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...
Introduction Widely reputed for his mastery in infusing understatements in his short stories, Raymond Carver (1938-1988) is considered to have reignited the art of writing by the time of his death in 1988. As a poet and a writer of short stories, his works were characteristically multi-themed and could explore...
The interaction of partners in a relationship is connected with the construction of specific power dynamics. Recently, gender roles have shifted, and a somewhat unusual dynamic may be built between two people based on a woman’s dominance or mutual assistance and approximately equal roles. However, such a variety of force...
In human life, lies are found in various forms and for many reasons. However, often, if not always, deceiving other people leads to lying to oneself. Guy de Maupassant’s “The Necklace,” tells about the senselessness of the pursuit of pretentiousness and brilliance of high society, which can turn out to...
Introduction An intensely tumultuous beat runs through the poem Daddy by Sylvia Plath. She composes a poem about her father, Otto Plath, as an experience, including an unsolved complicated relationship. Plath regarded her father so highly that she alluded to him as an idol and a Nazi while comparing his...
The Plot The story begins with a young man getting stopped by an old Mariner on his way to a wedding with two of his friends. The young man, referred to as the Wedding Guest, “cannot choose but hear” Mariner’s narrative, even though he is anxious to get to the...
In his book “Unleash the Power of Storytelling,” Rob Biesenbach presents the readers with the importance of good storytelling and its implications in the wider world. This practical guide, as the author himself refers to it, introduces the reader to the idea of storytelling as a tool for communication both...
Trifles is a play written in 1916 by Susan Glaspell. It is categorized as feminist literature for highlighting how women are positioned in society as unimportant. The play carries a message for both males and females because it contrasts the women and men characters. It revolves around the murder of...
Introduction Achilles enjoys a legendary status in Greek mythology due to his bravery on the battlefield. His ancestry played a significant role in his development into one of the most powerful soldiers of the Trojan War. He possessed extra toughness and invulnerability alongside his demigod status since his parents were...
English Literature, as people know it now, was shaped by Shakespeare. His famous works include “Hamlet,” “Macbeth,” “Romeo and Juliet,” and many others, and most modern people know Shakespeare’s plays. However, apart from literary contribution, Shakespeare revolutionized literature by setting a standard for other works. Shakespeare’s works created a revolution...
Written stories have been the source of public entertainment for as long as the very concept of written language has existed. However, as the pace of global community development increases, the fascination with novels and other long-form storytelling types seems to have been subsiding. Due to the increased time pressure,...
Mary Poppins can be viewed from the point of view of Marxism as there are aspects such as social class, bourgeoisie, and proletariat. Earp (2021) notes that this piece is rife with hidden socialist ideas. The central figure, nanny Mary Poppins, is a representative of the proletariat. Chimney sweep Bert...
Notably, Othello is a drama about love, jealousy, and treachery. It depicts the narrative of a Moor, Othello, who marries a white woman named Desdemona, whom he murders because he is jealous. Nonetheless, to distinguish the genuine problematic marriage, it is essential to look at Iago and Emilia, a terrible...
The theme of language as a vital aspect of identity is prevalent within Shailja Patel’s “Dreaming in Gujarati”. Patel, from a Kenyan-Gujarati background, outlines how her languages, as well as those of her father, interacted with her perception of herself and how she had been observed by others. Patel recalls...
Introduction The period that followed the second world was characterized by an ideological war between capitalism and communism. This essay is based on the book ‘Under a Cruel Star’, written by Heda Margolius Kovály. It details the author’s experiences during the Nazi detention and those of her husband Rudolf Margolius....
In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the monster is the creation of Victor Frankenstein that was assembled from old body parts and unknown chemicals that come together and make a live creature from a spark. Looking quite menacing and dangerous, the monster enters life as a blank slate, with a newborn...
Response to “The Art of Eating Spaghetti” By Russell Baker “The Art of Eating Spaghetti” demonstrates the essential rule for creating any art, namely, a sincere desire to express oneself. The narrator shows that a simple and most conventional task of writing an essay as homework can produce an effect...
Introduction The Cinderella Tales are one of the most popular types of fairy tales known today. The most popular ones seem to be Charles Perrault’s Cinderella and Aschenputtel by the Brothers Grimm, although both versions are essentially different. For example, the Grimm story is known for its cruelty, while Perrault’s...
Poetry may require an immense effort from the reader if they want to grasp the meanings implied by the poet. However, on certain occasions, a poet may strive to convey a direct, explicit message. This case is applicable to Dulce et Decorum est poem by Wilfred Owen. Written from the...
The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller in 1953 when America was still affected by the McCarthy regime. During this era, communism was regarded as a serious threat, and many people were under suspicion of being or sympathizing with communists. Therefore, in order to avert suspicion from themselves,...
Introduction A Good Man Is Hard to Find was first published in 1953 after Flannery O’Connor’s permanent migration to Andalusia, her mother’s dairy farm, and displayed several characteristics typical of the author’s style. Constrained, in many ways, by her sickness, the author had to take advantage of various resources available...
Literature has always been used to mirror society; thus, the changes that occurred in women’s stance can be learned through literary representations. The main characters of all three plays, Nora, Eliza, and Cate, reflect greatly on the similarities in terms of a rigid stance of a woman in a patriarchal...
The relationship between Faber and Montag in the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury has a special role for this work. It should be noted that these relationships are mentoring in nature, because Faber is one of the mentors of Montag. Moreover, Faber exerts a certain influence on Montag, encouraging...
Sappho’s Poems Sappho was a poet and a singer whose works were meant to be sung and accompanied by music. In one of her most famous poems, “Fragment 31,” Sappho uses imagery, such as “sweet speaking” and “lovely laughing,” to describe the narrator’s fascination with the woman observed from a...
Introduction Literary techniques are the distinctive way of language used by authors to illustrate their intentions or meaning in their work. Usually, authors can apply a group of words, a phrase, or simple words. The literary forms are identified after a critical analysis of the piece of writing by a...
James Baldwin is a novelist, publicist, playwright, and human rights defender. Born to a priestly stepfather, he was the oldest of nine children. Baldwin never knew his father and partly suffered from it. Nevertheless, he followed in his stepfather’s way and helped him in the church until he graduated from...
Othello is Shakespeare’s play driven by its characters whose traits, moods, or relationships are told by the words, rhythm, and structure of the drama. The story therein is about a general in the army fooled into questioning his wife of adultery; and his name was Othello, so he is considered...
Introduction Patriarchy is the core of numerous societies around the world, which has different effects on the lives of people, particularly women. In a traditionally patriarchal society, females experience oppression and discrimination due to their innate features, which puts them in difficult situations. The role of women in society has...
“When I Consider How My Light Is Spent” is one of the most famous works written by John Milton in the middle of the 17th century. Compared to contemporary poetry and other Italian sonnets, this poem is characterized by complex syntax and the evaluation of serious themes related to human...
Excessive pride or hubris becomes a significant concern in Odyssey by Homer and Ozymandias by P.B. Shelley. Hubris defines pride as a destructing quality of a character, which might even be dangerous for the hero and his family and friends. Odysseus and Ozymandias are men from faraway islands; they function...
Sonnet 75 was written by Edmund Spencer, a famous English writer who popularized special sonnets named after him. This poem has a typical Spencerian structure that includes three interlocked quatrains, early Volta, and a couplet that provides a solution. It has a more complex rhyme system than the typical English...
Frederick Douglass was a notable abolitionist and social reformer who escaped from slavery and depicted his experience in his memoir Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. He strongly believed in equality and shared his ideas in a direct and intimate fashion through his own story. Throughout...
The subject of feminism is among one of the subtle and underlying themes of Frankenstein. Mary Shelley, the author of the story, primarily emphasizes the issues of male oppression and patriarchy through the use of subordinate women imagery. In addition, the fear of femininity and the power of womanhood can...
These days, people still love and cherish fairytales written by Hans Christian Andersen. Therefore, they keep empathizing with the characters’ feelings and even lamenting their tragic fates. One may easily remember “The Little Mermaid” as the most poignant story about one-sided love ending in everlasting woe. However, the author killed...
The Epic of Gilgamesh is an interesting work to analyze on the topic of life and death. It is one of the oldest literary works that have survived to this day, extremely psychological in its essence. This epic is composed of old material, but the old legends were woven into...
Introduction The imagery of hybrid species, encompassing a wide array of bizarre anatomical combinations feature in numerous Greco-Roman myths. These hybrid creatures typically possess humanoid parts alongside beastly characteristics, which intuitively seem to exhibit a certain principle. The true nature of the creatures remains unclear; they may have inhabited alternate...
Henry V is one of the famous war plays by William Shakespeare. The play can be presented to be both anti-war and pro-war. The play is pro-war; this is because a part of it glorifies war through Henry’s speeches where he urges his troops into battle and through the chorus...
“Let America be America Again” by Langston Hughes is a poem dedicated to the author’s pain about an impossible American dream. The dream of a virtuous republic, which America has not still reached, but achieving this dream is a goal of every generation (Gorski, 2019). The author tells about what...
Introduction William Shakespeare is known as the author of several great stories about human relationships. He focused on such eternal themes as love, friendship, respect, and family. Each of his plays delivers a serious message to the reader and helps understand the complexity of life. At the beginning of the...
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....
Le Morte d’Arthur retells the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. The medieval setting of the literary piece is traced through the use of outdated language that describes the atmosphere, social relations, and the environment of the medieval times. However, the themes of love, friendship,...
Introduction As a concept, patriotism has been subjected to multiple interpretations, which range from quite neutral to outstandingly positive to downright negating its significance. The perception of patriotism, has become particularly complicated over the past decade due to the rise in political tensions among representatives of different countries, as well...
One of the first books in the memoir series by the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama, is the Dreams From My Father, which raises such issues as family, bonding, and community. The excerpt offered for literary analysis tells a tragic episode in Barack’s life when he learned...
The Handmaid’s Tale is a novel in a dystopian style written by Canadian author Margaret Atwood and was published in 1985. The set is based on the near-future state called Gilead, which has dethroned the United States government. The new state is strongly patriarchal, where the main character, a woman...
Introduction The first scene in Hamlet is one of the most profound first scenes in the history of drama. It starts when one of the guards asks, “who is there?” (Shakespeare, 1602, p. 5). This depicts a revealing of one’s identity. The answer the other guard gives is quite strange....
Introduction No doubt, Francis Scott Fitzgerald is one of the greatest American writers of the twentieth century, and, probably, of all times. He has created an image of Roaring Twenties and provided future generations with the opportunity to experience the atmosphere of this period and dive deeply into it through...
The short story ‘The Conversion of the Jews’ by Philip Roth and was published in 1958 is about a thirteen-year-old freethinking Ozzie Freedman and his struggles. The story shows how the boy deals with the crisis in his faith at the Hebrew school. Ozzie is a young man who is...
Educated is a memoir by Tara Westover, where she explicitly describes her challenging way toward education. Born in a conservative family isolated from mainstream society in the mountains of Idaho, Tara decides that a university education is the best way for her to start a new life full of opportunities....
The exploration of friendship is a widespread literary issue for authors. This theme is a leitmotif for Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. In this story, Twain recounts the friendship between Tom and Huckleberry Finn, who go about their mischief and pranks. The book tells about true friendship...
Introduction Scholars and writers rely on different literary styles to complete their works and deliver the intended messages to their readers. The works Trifles and A Raisin in the Sun offer powerful insights and analyses of most of the challenges different members of the selected societies encounter. The books provide...
One of the main plays written by the Athenian playwright and poet Sophocles is the tragedy “Oedipus the King.” Oedipus is one of the main characters of the Theban mythological cycle, the action of which is connected with the city of Thebes. The story of Oedipus is complex, even confusing,...
In the Poem “On Being Brought from Africa to America” by Phillis Wheatley, an in-depth interpretation will show that Wheatley contrasts dark vs. light imagery, and her use of language highlights race and religion. Furthermore, the author uses an ambivalent representation of the African race using the perspectives of white...
Introduction The medieval theater originated in the deep layers of folk culture. Its roots are associated with ancient ritual games, folklore, and the creative work of wandering actors. Their performances gave viewers a cheerful spirit and amused them. Actors and jugglers made fun shows where everyone was ridiculed. Some of...
Introduction From the poem, the speaker demonstrates an unmatched love and affection for Annabel Lee who died unexpectedly. This love survives considerably after the mentioned death. Poe, the poet, uses literary styles to unveil the theme of lasting love between two characters. It is possible to recognize and understand that...
Crime and Punishment appear to be one of the most widely spread novels of Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky. Despite being created at the end of the 19th century, it is extremely popular both in the author’s native country and outside its territory. All the plot is articulated on the random...
Introduction The Hours by Michael Cunningham is a novel, which follows and describes a day from three women’s lives. The main characters are Virginia Woolf, Laura Brown, and Clarissa Vaughn. The actions of these women take place during different timelines and locations. Virginia Woolf is an author who is writing...
The book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall down by Anne Fadiman is one of the highlights of the Hmong culture and the challenges socializing a family from Laos faces in American society. Misunderstandings and disagreements manifested in day-to-day interactions reveal distinctive values and norms in the two cultures....
The Iliad is a classic work of literature, which has withstood the test of time and become one of the essential art pieces in human history. In ancient times, scholars have already started to question whether including Book 10, often referred to as the Doloneia, was the right choice. Modern...
Introduction Two epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey have great significance due to the poetic content they encompass. It is essential to consider two characters in these readings – Hector from the Iliad and Menelaus from the Odyssey. The former is the oldest descendant of the Trojan king Priam...
Introduction The tale of King Oedipus has become one of the best-known Greek tragedies, mostly due to the controversial nature of the fate that Oedipus meets. However, stepping away from the specified controversy and considering character development, one will have to point out that Oedipus is the perfect tragic hero....
Shakespeare’s Hamlet has attracted abiding interest due to its aesthetics and the exceptional complexity of the author’s masterpiece. Deep reflections on life and death invariably attract the readers’ attention and push each to their interpretations. Every generation can identify with the problems touched upon in the play. Shakespeare’s work remains...
“Everyday Use” is a short story written by Alice Walker, which depicts a family gathering where one of the two daughters comes home to visit her mother and sister. Dee studies at a University and her perspective on the African-American heritage differs from that of her relatives. Moreover, for her...
Introduction Flannery O’Connor was known as a devout Catholic, and much of her work reflects this part of her identity. “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” one of her most well-known stories, is an example, as it features religious themes throughout the encounter with the Misfit. Initially, the grandmother...
Poets and writers use numerous literary devices, ways of building rhyme, and rhythm to convey the message of their compositions to readers. Elizabeth Bishop is also one of these authors as her poetry is filled with various elements to create form and context for sharing her personal experience and ideas....
The works of Edgar Allan Poe are famous for their gothic style, the penchant for depression and melancholy, as well as sinister motives of imminent death and evil fate. So, in the “Black Cat,” the story of alcoholism, madness, and movement towards destruction unfolds. The cat is the main symbol...
Introduction This play was written by playwright Lorraine Hansberry in 1959. It talks about a young family with a mama Lena Younger, her son Walter Lee, Ruth the wife of Walter, Travis their son and Benetha the young sister to Walter. One of the themes of this play is dreams...
Interpreter of Maladies is a collection of nine short stories written by an American author Jhumpa Lahiri. This writing presents its readers with stories about the experiences of Indian Americans who learn to live in the conflict between two distinct cultures. Therefore, in order to understand the life of these...
Introduction The peculiarity of Rowling’s books is that, as in life’s reality, good and evil tend to penetrate each other, replace one another and intertwine so closely that it is challenging for the hero to distinguish one from the other. Consequently, the choice of his path is complicated enough as...
Argument The central argument that Michel Foucault puts forward in the Order of Things: An Archaeology of Human Sciences is that relevant points of history, knowledge, and humankind come in a specific order. By discussing the order, the author points to a series of assumptions that make up the relevant...
The rhythmic picture of the poem aims to convey the words of a little black boy as if it were a direct speech. For this purpose, William Blake constructed the stanzas of the poem as quatrains with the rhyme pattern “ABAB,” and most importantly, used the iambic pentameter. According to...
The Hazy London and Its Dwellers The small excerpt depicts the scenery of London in the 19th century. The central streets are small, quiet, and clean from dust. Nonetheless, it is just an illusion of a prosperous city. The text suggests that people are unhappy and unsatisfied with the situation...
The relationship between humans and strange beings is a separate literary genre that is filled with symbolism. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a legendary novel that is considered one of the pearls of Gothic and science fiction literature. The main character in the book is Victor Frankenstein, who designed the...
Love poems are usually filled with admiration for the author and exaltation of his or her romantic feelings, or vice versa, with the pain and despair of the cruelty of love. However, Shakespeare’s “Sonnet CXXX” has no such elements that make the reader doubt its sincerity. This sonnet can be...
Introduction Inspiration is a normal process in art creation, moreover, one can argue that all art pieces were created as a result of the artist being inspired by other works or by the world around them. The inspiration for the poem “Autumn” was a poem by Robert Frost titled “Nothing...
The Three Prophecies and Meaning of Each Prophecies in Shakespeare’s Macbeth occurs in act 1 and act 4. These prophecies play a significant role in advancing the themes of good and evil, treachery and betrayal, loyalty, crime, and violence, which are common in the play. Shakespeare used various characters and...
Women have always played central roles in literature as they impacted the development of the plot, motivated main characters, and affected their actions. However, because of the patriarchal system of values and the adherence to the stereotypic perspective on females’ duties and rights, their position in stories was mainly passive....
Introduction A special place in world literature is occupied by works belonging to the genre of utopia and dystopia. The authors of utopian novels tried to predict a beautiful future, promising immense universal happiness and social harmony. Anti-utopians have debunked the myth of the possibility of global equality, brotherhood, criticizing...
Introduction In his free verse poem “Mexicans Begin Jogging,” Gary Soto addresses the issues related to the employment conditions of Mexican Americans. The story of illegal factory workers who have to run when the police arrive for inspection explicitly demonstrates the existence of ethnic problems in society caused by disparities....
The Great Gatsby by Francis Scott Fitzgerald is considered one of the cult books of the 20th century. The protagonist, Jay Gatsby, was the forerunner of an entire literary dynasty of rich personalities with a mysterious past. The novel, which draws the reader into the atmosphere of a continuous holiday,...
Drew Hayden Taylor uses comic to explore community politics, intergenerational legacies, identity, and traditions in his book Motorcycles and Sweetgrass. I believe his primary theme is rational because it emphasizes the dire need to balance the modern world’s realities and culture. The author presents a troubled woman, Maggie, to demonstrate...
Introduction The theme of friendship is central to Toni Morrison’s novel Sula. The writer exposes two sides of such a relationship – uplifting and supportive on the one hand and complicated and painful on the other. As girls, Sula and Nel structure their own rules and outline the size of...
Introduction Poetry about nature and its features occupies a significant part of the world’s poetic heritage. At the same time, in addition to describing the world, many poets resort to the analysis of such a phenomenon as human nature that conveys aspects of people’s characters and their outlook on life....
Introduction William Shakespeare’s play, Othello, the Moor of Venice, describes tragedy using Othello as the protagonist. Othello is a Moorish soldier in the Venetian army who is highly qualified and respected. In the play, he finds himself in several tragedies resulting from racial discrimination, envy, love, and infidelity. Other characters...
Introduction Change is one of the concepts that appear both thrilling and frightening to people at the same time. However, even during the most drastic change, those who can keep their humanity intact are capable of surviving the challenge of transformation and even turning it into something beautiful. Examining the...
In the graphic novel They Called Us Enemy, George Takei provides his memoir after the presidential proclamation ordering all people of Japanese origin to be relocated to isolated camps. The title of the book and its cover page sums the struggles illustrated inside. The image of a policeman holding a...
Introduction Alien presents a short science fiction regarding a strange individual being returned to Earth after supposed abduction by a UFO. Told from the perspective of a blogger that encounters and connects with the man by accident, the short story offers a lighthearted but also tragic narrative of someone being...
Reasons Why The Pursuit of Daisy Buchanan Was Justified “Great Gatsby” is a novel written by F.S. Fitzerald and published in 1925. The book follows the narrator as he enters the world of the American socialite after returning from war and meets the eponymous main character. Jay Gatsby gained his...
Introduction In the middle of the 1900s, the United States of America survived hard times when racism, poverty, and inequality shaped human standards. There are many literary works where authors tried to share their opinions and describe specific situations, conflicts, and lessons. One of them is Sula, a novel written...
Opening the essay with personal experience proves to be an efficient introduction. The author starts the novel with the story of his first favorite sports teams at the age of two or three. He then jumps to the description of his high school games and the first time paying attention...
The fascination with death, darkness, and moral corruption seems intrinsic to the human experience. Macabre areas of life attract substantial attention, especially in works of fiction – Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” belong to this category. The explanations for the phenomenon could be found...
Invisible Cities is a novel that invites the reader to active cooperation and provides erroneous interpretations. It seems that the development of an adaptive metanarrative for this text should not be too difficult since the emblematic nature of its constituent elements presupposes its presence. However, the complexity of perception is...
The exposition begins when the characters and the setting are introduced to the reader. The dialogues between the characters filled with their constant disagreement serve as the rising action. The story reaches its climax when Moris Melnik decides to let the spoon of salt define the state of things in...
Introduction The novel A Man of the People was first published in 1966 by Chinua Achebe, who depicted a wide range of problems concerning the corrupted nature of politics, power, and greed. Despite its date of publication, the novel presents a high relevance even these days due to the acute...
Introduction The limitation of short stories prompts authors to focus on the essential contents of their narrative, stripping away unnecessary descriptions and explanations. One of the best examples of such a prudent approach to writing is the short story by Ernest Hemingway, “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” written and published in...
Relationships between family members, as well as childhood memories, have always served as one of the most popular subjects of many literary works. Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy” and Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” are poems written in the middle of the 20th century, with about 20 years of difference in their...
Introduction It is natural that the relationship between parents and their children is usually composed throughout the period of early childhood. Special attention often has to be paid to the father-son relationship because these two male figures may be both prone to covering their emotions. The deep connection between sons...
Introduction Mythology is a critically important element of any culture. It represents values and ideas that attract people and contribute to the creation of inspiring stories. Myths also reveal the current state of society’s evolution and issues that are important at the moment. At the same time, there are still...
