5592 samples of this type
Introduction “Why I Live at the P.O.” is a classic short story by Eudora Welty that wonderfully captures the nuances of small-town southern life in the United States during the early 20th century. The story is narrated by Sister, who has moved to the local post office after a series...
Introduction Social issues are often the subject of analysis by famous writers, mainly due to the comprehensibility and proximity of such themes to the ultimate reader. This essay critically compares three works written in different time, historical, and cultural frameworks. The first is A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, written...
Introduction The Ramayana is an ancient Indian epic that describes the interactions of many key characters in mythology. Ramayana is an epic narrative from Hinduism that reveals the traditional ideas of the time about courage and duty (The Ramayana: A South Asian Myth and Text, n. d.). At the same...
Introduction Literature conveys various aspects of human life with unwavering precision, allowing us to delve into the world of characters and their personal experiences. One such work is Tony Morrison’s novel The Bluest Eye, which explores the complex theme of racism, belonging, and self-esteem among African Americans in 20th-century American...
Gogol’s Definition of Home Gogol Ganguli, the main character of The Namesake novel by Jhumpa Lahiri, changed many homes. He lived in his parent’s house in Boston during his childhood and teenage years. Then Gogol moved to New Haven when he became a Yale College freshman. His passion for architecture...
Introduction The discussion in this essay will revolve around the short story, Young Goodman Brownwritten by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Four voices—those of the narrator, author, characters, and readers—dominate the narrative, as is evident from once. These voices besides helping control the events of the story are critical in communicating the author’s...
Introduction World wars became the reason why a man was considered a savage. My friend’s family still does not live according to the rule of partnership that is promoted and used today but follows the rules of patriarchy. They faced a backlash when their son went to school and started...
Introduction The story in the book “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker discusses the importance of cultural heritage and identity. In her work, the author talks about the life of a mother and two daughters. They went through a difficult path that separated them, and now they must overcome many difficulties...
Introduction Imagine a world where a simple trip to the toy store can change a child’s perception of society and class. Toni Cade Bambara’s ‘The Lesson” offers just that: it tells the story of a group of underprivileged children who receive an eye-opening lesson from a well-intentioned but confrontational teacher....
Publication Year and Historical Context of “A Modest Proposal” Swift’s 1729 work, A Modest Proposal, satirized the tense Anglo-Irish relationship and the declining standard of living among ordinary people. The Norman invasion in the late 12th century marked the start of 700 years of interaction between the two islands, which...
Introduction Alice Walker presents several bright characters in the short story “Everyday Use,” but the mother and Dee, her eldest daughter, are at the center of the plot. After returning home, a young woman shows interest in her African heritage – through her actions, she wants to show that she...
Introduction Literary works often focus on what kind of a cruel joke life can play on a person. One of those things, that many believe in is a phenomenon of karma. In other words, individuals assume that there is a causal relationship between actions and that for all the wrong...
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 While Elizabeth Bishop’s poem “The Fish” may seem too simple or meaningless, only describing the lyrical hero’s fishing experience, it is actually a quite deep and impactful literary work. The poem illustrates how an ordinary situation can change one’s views or intentions. All living creatures, even different kinds of...
Monsters are legendary creatures characterized by grotesqueness, supernatural powers, and the desire to bring harm and suffering to people. The main difference between monsters and other mythological creatures lies in the sociological aspect that characterizes them. Monsters are essentially transgressive, that is, they violate traditional ideas and social norms. Monsters...
The heroes of the poems can represent entire nations and be the arbiters of human destinies and states. A variant of such correlation is the category of the epic hero. Heroes are endowed with the best and worst sides of their people. Achilles and Aeneas are a reflection of valor...
Introduction Tinkers, an award-winning literary piece by Paul Harding, is focused on the story of George Crosby, an elderly man revisiting his most memorable life recollections. The novel additionally features the main character’s father, Howard Crosby, as the meaning of life, death, and family is explored. The described struggles of...
Introduction To introduce the paper, it is feasible to state that in his short story Sonny’s Blues, author James Baldwin tells the story of African American musician with addiction problems. The author chooses a narrator complete Sonny’s opposition: his nameless brother, who works as a math teacher, follows the rules...
Geoffrey Chaucer is one of the greatest English poets that has disclosed the language in a unique, unrepeatable way. Unfortunately, some facts about the writer’s biography remain unclear and unknown; however, Geoffrey Chaucer remains in history as a poet, diplomat, courtier, and military servant. Chaucer experienced a bright and interesting...
A Scholarly Summary of the Literary Aspects The narrative keenly illustrates a broken social institution and an apparent disconnect of emotions. Scholar Li (116) depicts Frome’s life as a domestic misfortune characterized by death and a sense of love insecurity. She describes Ethan as a desperate person who is anxious,...
Alexander Pope is considered one of the greatest English poets and an outstanding poet of the early 18th century. He is best known for his satirical and discursive poems. In England, at the time of Alexander’s birth, there were still quite strict laws against Catholics. They could not hold public...
People can trace the development of world religions through various written sources, historical changes, and mentions in literature. The latter source most accurately reflects not only developmental processes or religious rules but their influence and perception in society. For example, the emergence of monotheistic religions is considered the birth of...
Many poets are excited by the theme of death, seeing it as an existential transition from one state to another. For some poets, as can be seen, death is an emotional blow. Emily Dickinson embraces and admires death and views him as a romantic guide, whereas Dylan Thomas is desperate...
Introduction Words are undeniably a powerful vehicle. In addition to influencing individuals’ mental state, they can also be used to stimulate cognitively enhanced reality to our ordinary life experiences. Traditionally, literary works like plays and novels have been used to exemplify varied fascinating themes (Slagle 79). But a particularly enchanting...
Introduction In Sonnet 116, William Shakespeare attempts to define love, in his eyes appearing, as an unwavering union between two people. Similarly, in his other sonnets, the poet addresses the question of love with utmost romanticism and passion. Shakespeare uses metaphors and other literary devices to convey his ideas to...
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...
Flatland is a satirical work written by Edwin Abbott that elaborates on the nature of hierarchy, freedom, and reality. The novel describes a two-dimensional world where “distinction of sides is intended by Nature to imply distinction of colours” (Abbott 27). Hence, it is a society where some seemingly abstract properties...
Introduction Clarissa is an epistolary novel that was written by Samuel Richardson and published in 1748. The work revolves around two main characters that are Clarissa Harlowe and Robert Lovelace. Clarissa is a virtuous character who reveals the human principles in her from the family pressure concerning marriage to Mr....
There are a number of themes that are prominent throughout Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull”, a majority of which can be seen in the second act of the play. In particular, an apt reader can identify a running idea of love, the self and its perception, as well as appreciation of...
“Dulce et Decorum Est” is a poem by English poet Wilfred Owen. Besides being a poet, he participated in World War I, and this writing was devoted to experiences in battles during the war. “Dulce et Decorum Est” was published posthumously in the collection of Owen’s poems (Spacey). The author...
“Anyone lived in a pretty how town” is a part of the poem’s collection written by Cummings. The poem represents a small society of people who lead ordinary life following the traditional cycle, such as getting married and creating a family to achieve something significant. The poem has two main...
Ode on a Grecian Urn is doubtlessly on the list of the best-known poetic works by John Keats, a British romanticist of the early 19th century. In the writing under review, the author, presumably, seeks to express his perspective on what messages art is able to transmit. In addition, he...
Poems are a creative way of expressing feelings and thoughts. While some poems may be short, they are typically profound in their expressions. A crucial part of fully understanding the meaning of a poem is understanding its speaker. Emily Dickinson’s poem Wild nights – Wild nights! may be confusing at...
Modern society is increasingly concerned about the problems of environmental destruction, which are the consequences of human activity. Although many works have been written in the 21st century describing the possible catastrophic results of long-term human impact on nature, Margaret Atwood in Oryx and Crake does it from a new...
In the poem “Homage to My Hips” by Lucille Clifton, the speaker is a woman other ladies dream of becoming. This poetry is the glorification of the female body of an African American woman. It is a consolidation of the idea that every woman is independent and has a right...
Introduction Book censoring and banning transpire to prevent teenagers from being exposed to explicit topics that are not fit for children. To Kill a Mockingbird transpires in the fictional city of Maycomb in the Great Depression. The central character is Jean Louise (“Scout”) Finch, a bright though unconventional young lady...
Introduction Contemporary American literature is largely dominated by white male authors. These authors are limited in their empathy and imagination by their own experiences and inherent privilege that comes with being on the top of the social hierarchy. Therefore, they were unable to authentically portray the lives, thoughts, and experiences...
Introduction The Odyssey was written at a time when men played a key role in society. During this period of civilization, men controlled society. Women, on the other hand, were identified to hold inferior positions in the community compared to men. Women had no opportunity to comment on the daily...
Introduction Reading tragedies, people usually want to express their personal opinion about the essence of a tragic hero. It is possible to state several different definitions which are going to be correct about the main character in tragedies. Most tragic heroes are the main characters of a play who want...
Introduction The Crucible is a fictional play written by Arthur Miller that revolves around witches in Salem, Massachusetts. The events took place in 1692 and address the Salem Witch Trials at a time when New England residents lived in hysteria and paranoia in fear of the unknown. In the 1950s,...
Lynda Barry is a modern American cartoonist and author well-known for her book One! Hundred! Demons!, which is an autobiographical graphic novel that delves into her childhood and struggles with depression. The artwork in the book is a mix of real-life photographs, drawings, and collages. Each page contains a story...
Epic heroes are essential characters in literature and frequently serve as examples of morality and perfection. They have tremendous physical and mental abilities and are larger-than-life characters. They display traits like bravery, intelligence, bravery, and loyalty that set them apart from regular people. It is essential to note that Gilgamesh...
In Charlotte Gilman’s short story The Yellow Wallpaper, one of the characters is Jennie, who is directly influenced by the gender norms and expectations of the time. This story, like the story of this hero, holistically talks about how gender stereotypes and society’s expectations negatively affect the mental health of...
Introduction In “The Necklace,” Guy de Maupassant depicts Mathilde’s character transformation through her interactions with various settings. Discussion The protagonist begins the story as an unhappy woman dissatisfied with her life and longs for wealth and luxury. However, as the story progresses and Mathilde experiences the consequences of her actions,...
Introduction The literary works by Franz Kafka, “The Metamorphosis,” and Kurt Vonnegut, “Slaughterhouse-Five,” show that the abilities of the person to change their destiny are limited in many cases, and the individual can only submit to the circumstances to preserve psychological sanity. The lines from Kafka and Vonnegut illustrate the...
Introduction Even in a children’s book, the reader can identify deeply philosophical topics for oneself, so Christina Rossetti’s poem Goblin Market (1862) under the guise of a fairy tale contains deep ideas. The first theme seems more superficial since the reader can notice it even with a shallow reading. The...
Steinbeck was a US writer and the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner. Born in 1902 in Salinas, California, his family immigrated to the US in 1858 from Germany, England, and Ireland (Pratt). The author’s mother was a former teacher who encouraged his love of reading and writing, while his...
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is often analyzed from the point of view of opposing dreams and reality, the spiritual and material world, and the inconsistency of the genre diversity of the novel. The Great Gatsby is usually viewed as a characteristic novel for its era, the main...
Nowadays, many peaceful adults go to war not out of ideological convictions but only for the sake of saving their children and ensuring they have a brighter future. Kids should be valued and protected all over the world, both by their relatives and strangers. However, this view was not shared...
Introduction The Plato’s Apology gives an overview of Socrates’ speech which he delivered while in the court of Athens – the court was deliberating whether or not to put him to death due to his practices. As explicated by Tanner, Socrates was charged with corrupting the youth, combined with his...
Resilient people can quickly overcome adversity, trauma, tragedy, and threats. A person should become more resilient and mentally tough after quickly overcoming these challenges. People get an understanding of life’s obstacles via resilience, so Oedipus and Hamlet both exhibit considerable tenacity, but neither one excels the other. In Oedipus Rex,...
Shakespeare is a great playwright who created unfading and ageless works that have fascinated readers worldwide throughout the centuries. The secret of Shakespeare’s fame lies in the fact that, in his works, he raised such issues as love and hate, loyalty and betrayal, and truth and lies that are still...
Introduction Desire is one of the most common themes explored in poetry. It is also the subject of Sir Philip Sidney’s poem “Thou Blind Man’s Mark”. On the surface, the text seems to implicate desire as the main cause of harm, yet a closer inspection of poetic devices can show...
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...
This research focuses on the poem “Elegy of Color” by Kate Hanson Foster, the book “Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston and the play “Fences” by August Wilson. All three of these literary works provide a historical context for the understanding of racism. In the early 20th century, amid a time...
Introduction In the mythology of the Greeks, Ovid, a Roman poet, is credited with writing the epic poem Pygmalion, published many years ago but has maintained its relevance throughout history and into the modern day. The love Pygmalion feels for the creature he has created is the story’s primary focus....
The work of philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche titled The Gay Science features several arguments. Among the many submissions, one claim that significantly impacted my perception was The Value of Prayer. Nietzsche gives his viewpoint on prayer, its importance, and its purpose. Reading Nietzsche’s work titled The Value of Prayer changed my...
Iago is the traitor and perhaps the most significant character in the play “Othello” by William Shakespeare. He is a man with a sinister plan of deception and death and loses focus of what he was formerly: a genuinely good husband and strong soldier. Necessity compels him to act and...
Introduction Realism is a literary movement distinguished by its unique depiction of human nature by depicting specific people in a specific time and place, also known as a slice of life. This is accomplished using vernacular to create a convincing yet true depiction of a culture. Similarly, psychological realism employs...
John Updike’s short story “A & P” describes an episode from Sammy’s life: the teenager working in the counter shop and thinking about the way adult people live. The text is a concise description of life in American suburbia, and the images the author uses reflect the conduct shared by...
According to the ancient Greeks’ heroic code, since death is inevitable in the long run, every hero will fight, whether the glory goes to them or to other people. When the emissaries are sent to Achilles, he rejects the offer given to him by the king, explaining his plans to...
The book, “The Things They Carried,” by Tim O’Brien represents war’s emotional and physical burdens. The author captures his story and his colleagues, other soldiers who endure moral, emotional, and physical difficulties. The physical commitment includes military gear and other objects from those they left behind. They had guns and...
“Sweat” is a story written by Zora Neale Hurston, an American writer, in 1926, and it provides valuable insight into the daily life of African-Americans during this historical period. Delia, a young woman, works as a washer in white families, while Sykes, her abusive spouse, struggles to find any job,...
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...
The stories of heroes have been broadly presented in literature since ancient times. Heroic characters tend to display various human traits focusing on their strengths and abilities to conquer enemies and overcome difficulties. In Indian literature, prince Rama from the book of The Ramayana appears as a particular example of...
Jean-Paul Sartre dismisses the understanding of humanism that fails to acknowledge the importance of individual choice. Based on the rejected philosophy of humanism, people may take others’ credit for their personal accomplishments since they share humanity, thus, making others’ achievements their own. He critics the previous understanding of the concept...
The story’s main character is Emily Grierson, a lady who lived with her father until his death. Before the demise of her father, she was asked not to marry. The event breaks her heart since she understands she does not have anyone else with whom to share life. When she...
Introduction The stories describe the theme of the mother-daughter relationship, which is relevant in today’s world. Both writers try to convey that the mother is not just an important character in a child’s life. The entire human psyche is formed in the early relationship with the mother. The mother is...
Jamaica Kincaid’s short tale Girl was published in At the Bottom of the River (1983). It was published in The New Yorker on June 26, 1978. The conversation in the story comprises one sentence and 650 words worth of to-do and how-to lists. What the girl learns from her mother...
Characters enhance the storyline of a story in literature in a crucial way. People do this through their deeds, behaviors, connections, and other facets of personality. Furthermore, within the framework of a plot, their mannerisms characterize who they are. In “Oedipus Tyrannus” by Sophocles, the events of Oedipus the King...
Introduction The study of the literature of the past centuries is of particular value as it provides an understanding of how their thought represented itself in earlier times. Moreover, this process provides a unique insight into how people perceived the world and what morals and attitudes to culture and religion...
Introduction Like Morrison’s other work, Recitatif focuses on the issue of prejudice and racial identity. However, in the short story, the races of the main characters are concealed. Although the author indicates that one of Roberta and Twyla is white and the other black, it is ambiguous which is which....
Introduction In this book, Erich Auerbach has adopted distinct rhetoric and philosophy of communication that significantly advanced my theoretical knowledge of concepts. For instance, the author assumes a persuasive form of writing whereby he coins around words to present an idea or a thought. Firstly, the book has boosted my...
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...
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...
The poem Daystar by Rita Dove depicts women’s lives in the role of a mother and a wife. The author illustrates the state of loneliness of the protagonist, as well as the peacefulness of her quiet moment of the day. It is also reflected in the title of the poem....
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...
Abstract This essay focuses on Alcott’s Little Women as a feminist novel and explores the representations of feminisms in the text. In that my exploration is on three areas to showcase Alcott’s feminism in the novel. First, I argue Little Women is a novel that presents writing as feminist practice...
Introduction Novels reflect real life and integrate different aspects of human development through figurative language that reflects human development. This paper focuses on the story I Know Why the Caged Bird Sing by Maya Angelou in general and Maya’s character in particular. Maya is the narrator and the main character...
Introduction Since the dawn of time, there has been intense discussion about the definition of a hero. The original heroes were sons of humankind and deity who first appeared in classical Greek literature. There are significant differences between the Ancient Greek and contemporary ideas of heroism. A hero in the...
In people’s terms, heroes are those who demonstrate bravery and save the world. In classical myths, heroes are the same; people can turn to heroes for help in troubles or other challenging situations. In ancient Greek mythology, heroes are usually descendants of a Deity and mere mortals. Usually, the heroes...
Ernest Hemingway recounts to the readers of The Old Man and the Sea a story about an older man named Santiago who loves his life as a fisherman, although he lives in terrible poverty. The novel’s main event is Santiago’s lengthy fishing trip, during which he reels in one of...
Introduction From time memorial people worshiped deities considered to run the universe. Expectedly, religion has some social control function that discourages deviance, self-distractive behavior, and delinquency from establishing order (Hood et al. 413). However, some people may pretend that they observe the norm when in the presence of specific people...
Introduction The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin features Mrs. Mallard as the main protagonist. It revolves around her inner character, which tends towards preservation. She is portrayed as a woman suffering intensely due to her internal thoughts. Her true personality is one of independence and intelligence. Her independence...
The use of water in the three novels Roumain’s “Masters of the Dew,” Danticat’s “Krik? Krak!” and Paul’s “Praise Song for the Widow” has a symbolic meaning. The main innovation of the writers is the image symbol which replaces the traditional artistic image. The early forms of poetry and visual...
The following essay reviews a poem called First Love by 19th-century poet John Clare. In it, he describes his experience with falling in love for the first time. The work encapsulates many various emotions that Clare experiences throughout the narrative. Moreover, the poem mentions some details that make the depiction...
“My left foot” is an autobiography of Christy Brown written in 1954. Brown was diagnosed with an incurable disability but lived a productive life thanks to intelligence and the ability to control his left foot. Despite being born with the disability of cerebral palsy, Brown, thanks to various attitudes as...
Introduction While discrimination occurs in Palestine against women due to their weak state in a patriarchal culture, it also happens in Tanzania to people with albinism in ordinary people’s culture. The story of the albinism nature of Yona makes him weak in a community with ordinary people, a similar weakness...
In world practice, there is probably no other topic, common, provocative, diverse, or centuries-old, as love or its absence. Hence, it is essential to consider how different authors have described love. Hills Like White Elephants, by Ernest Hemingway, depicts the story of a man and a female waiting for a...
Introduction Authors often put their ideas and ideals into their works, and Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market” utilizes literary devices to share her vision on religious beliefs. God is present in all Rossetti’s works, as her world views are heavily influenced by the Church (Şirket and Alban 27). The literary devices...
Introduction The role of females in different societies and at different times is one of the most discussed topics nowadays. Although now the world is close to gender equality, thousands of years ago, the role of a man and a woman distinguished drastically, and a person was treated due to...
Brief Summary Sophocles wrote the tragic drama, Oedipus Rex, around 429 B.C. when it was first presented. It depicts the story of Oedipus, king of Thebes, who is said to have slain his father and married his mother by accident due to a prophecy made to Laius, the previous ruler...
Cimalová, Natalie. “Feminism in the Poetry of Adrienne Rich: A Comparison of Her Early and Late Poems.” (2015). The present article is devoted to the development of feminism in the poems by Adrienne Rich. The author states that it was strictly formal at the beginning of the 1950s and only...
Despite the seeming glamor and wealth, the character of Great Gatsby is deeply and inherently tragic. Striving to bury his deep discontent with his life in an attempt to recreate the past, he refuses to acknowledge that the people around him have changed. Furthermore, his pursuit of the material wealth...
It is important to note that Rose in Fences is a vital character who represents maternal care and practical love. One needs to be aware that she is the only female figure in the story who brings balance between Cory and Troy. In addition, when it comes to her functional...
The study of literary works is of particular importance for understanding the past years’ events. However, autobiographical works are even more valuable, as they directly reliably talk about the trends and worldviews that ruled during their writing. One of these works is a book by Jane Addams called “Twenty Years...
Pearl S. Buck’s story The Good Earth raised several significant problems in China. Exploitation, a desire for riches, family troubles, and contempt for elder Chinese culture are among the conflicts that the protagonists confront throughout the novel (Gupta 90). Wang Lung faces several challenges as he attempts to escape poverty....
Introduction Everyman is a morality play written by an anonymous author and printed in the 15th century. The play depicts an Everyman – an ordinary man representing humankind – who is searching for companions to accompany him on his journey to face God’s judgment. This paper aims to discuss the...
“The story of an hour” by Kate Chopin focuses on Josephine, who has conflicted feelings about the loss of her husband. The entire text describes how she reacts to the news of her husband’s death. Her worries, possible memories, emotions and, oddly enough, the inhalation of freedom are placed at...
In Joyce’s story Araby the main character, falls in love with a girl living next door. One day she asks him whether he wants to go to an Arabian bazaar. He is happy that she speaks to him and promises to bring her something if he goes there. His journey...
Introduction At first glance, it may seem that rituals and traditions are related only to some special events in a person’s life, but it is necessary to look at this topic a little more broadly. It is essential to look at rituals, traditions, norms, and customs as specific sequences of...
Introduction The Wars is a novel written by Timothy Findley about a young Canadian, Robert Ross, who takes part in World War I. The story follows his journey, starting with the death of his beloved sister, which makes him enlist, ending with his death. The narrative moves between people who...
The novel “1984” written by George Orwell, raises many social and political issues, and at the same time, its plot is built around the relationship of the main characters – Winston and Julia. In a totalitarian state, where love is prohibited, their romance is rebellion and crime. However, when the...
The main theme of the play “Riders of the sea” is to represent conflicts between religion and nature. The sea is a representation of fate and tragedies in the play. It is a great factor for the people living on Aran Island. It is a source of living as it...
Introduction “The Yellow Wallpaper” is arguably the most famous short story by the American author and feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman. In a concise narrative evolving in a deliberately confined setting, the author paints a frightening picture of a slow descent into madness facilitated by the internalized misconceptions of mental health...
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...
Teenagers often tend to subdue their peers to harm themselves or others as a form of a joke or tease. For the affected students, such an experience is usually associated with fear and the inability to escape the situation. In Roald Dahl’s poem, “The Dentist and the Crocodile”, similar fear...
Introduction In Homer’s writing, morality is coded as a guarantee of a secure world. Strangers are viewed as harmless or dangerous, and when the residents see them, they should prepare for uncertainty if they do not handle them with wisdom. Homer’s depiction of Odysseus is an embodiment of a self-assured...
Introduction All literary works are created within a specific historical era characterized by distinct beliefs, cultures, and experiences, which shape the artists’ story, perspective, and style. Published in 1958, Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (TFA) mirrors the everyday socio-cultural context of the Igbo people as they struggled with the complexities...
Introduction Few writers inspire as many controversial thoughts as Flannery O’Connor does. Yet, the sense of controversy is exactly what distinguished her writing. O’Connor wrote stories that were filled with violence, despair, and loss. These themes are not accidental, as she viewed violence as having the capacity to uncover the...
Introduction ‘On The Run’ is a book released in 2014 by Alice Goffman; it is the most potent piece of ethnography. The narrative of how it came to be is almost as fascinating as the story at the center of the literature. This is a description of some of the...
An American writer Denise Levertov wrote the poem “What Were They Like” for her collection “The Sorrow Dance,” released in 1967. This work is a symbol of protest against the Vietnam War, in which the American army took part. The poet portrays the immediate future of the Vietnamese people, destroyed...
Annotated Bibliography Michael, Olga. “Queer Trauma, Paternal Loss, and Graphic Healing in Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic.” Arts of Healing: Cultural Narratives of Trauma, 2020, pp. 187-195. The article discusses how through the loss of her father, the main character of “Fun Home” manages to accept her personality...
Introduction The theme of the “seize of the day”, or Carpe Diem, is a widespread theme in English and American poetry. Various poets encourage readers to celebrate life while they are young as it is too short to wait for the right moment. Wallace Stevens and Robert Herrick are two...
In the poems “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” by Langston Hughes and “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, metaphors and allegories are used to add depth to the descriptions. “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” by Langston Hughes is an allegorical depiction of the history of the black race. In the...
The short story A&P is centered around the main character named Sammy, who is displeased with his current life, including his job and the people around him. As a teenager, he realizes that he wants a more adventurous life because he is living in a highly conservative and quiet town...
“A Good Man is Hard to Find” is the most famous short story by Flannery O’Connor included in a collection of ten tense stories, filled with supernatural horror and fraught with the explosion, filigree combining realism and absurdity. Those accustomed to a more optimistic view of surroundings, the obligatory “happy...
Sweat is a short shorty written by Zora Neale Hurston. It centers around the marital conflict between a hardworking Christian washerwoman, Delia, and her abusive and unfaithful husband, Sykes (Hurston). After 15 years of marriage, Sykes is attempting to evict Delia out of their common household to move in his...
The paper is devoted to analyzing the two characters of the Scandinavian and Greek myths: Loki and Prometheus. The psychological approach contributing to assessing and comparing particular characters’ behavior is used for the analysis. The ancient myths are the essential resource of knowledge that can help examine the behavior and...
Introduction Literary techniques are essential in advancing the meaning that an author intends to portray. The passage Book of Songs (B) is a poem whose main theme is grief and sorrow. The poet used comparison in several instances to reflect the theme of grief. Another passage titled The Works of...
Introduction The role of women in literature and art is a topic explored by various critics, creators, authors, and people throughout the years. Due to the way society has developed, some types of people have found themselves to be at a significant disadvantage in the ways others are used to...
Slaves in Algiers Rowson’s play is a reaction to actual events on Barbary Coast, where pirates raided American ships and captured passengers and sailors for ransom. The writer compares Arab culture and American values presenting the latter from a favorable perspective. Her characters are designed to demonstrate American faith in...
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...
Anne Bradstreet and Mary Rowlandson are American Puritan writers of the 17th century who focused their works on the individual, real-life aspects which were influenced by their spiritual development of personality and religious involvement. This period in literature was primarily associated with the religious influence on writers’ lives by focusing...
Literary works created by African American writers during the era of angry social complaints against racial profiling share many similarities in terms of structure and themes. This interrelationship has resulted in literature characterized by expressive social insight, providing informative evaluations of American histories and identities. Moreover, the black American literature...
Introduction It is important to note that the story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates addresses a wide range of critical and key topics, such as narcissism, deception, manipulation, and reality versus appearance. The given analysis will primarily focus on the deceptive interactions between...
Introduction Based on the poem The Song of Roland and its significance and relevance, French literature from the eleventh to thirteenth century is a crucial concept and topic for literature studies. The work is based on old French epics of the “chanson de geste” type and was composed in the...
Incisive and filled with profound commentaries about the human nature, Hawthorne’s works often skewer some of the most rigid and inflexible beliefs and standards of the time. The writer dissects the concept of Puritanism unbiasedly, allowing the reader to see the ridiculous nature of it. Making his characters question the...
Rodman Philbrick’s work Freak the Mighty is an interesting example of a novel for young adults. According to the plot, two very different guys meet in the book. Max is a silent, shy, and clumsy giant. Kevin is small, quick-witted, and terminally ill. They reacted differently to what was happening...
Central Research Problem Interest in the study of the political and spiritual freedom of the individual is growing, the problems of human society and the connections on which it is based are becoming more evident. As shown in the text of the play, the modern human self also claims its...
The idea of identity and culture has always been topical in the literature. Numerous authors have been cogitating about their culture and place in a particular country or community. For America, this issue acquired critical importance because of the history of the state and its multicultural nature. The diversity of...
Creating a literary piece requires an understanding of various poetic devices. William Shakespeare is one of the world’s most renowned writers, capable of capturing the reader’s attention. Even though it is challenging to grasp the essence of one’s fairness, a person can indeed be more attractive than a day in...
Dante’s journey through Hell is chaotic and filled with haunting experiences that reinforce the point that the author is trying to make. Specifically, “Inferno” portrays the depth of sin and depravity quite accurately, allowing the reader to embrace the importance of ethics and moral judgment. Since Dante’s impressions and speculations...
Introduction “Parsifal” is the last of Richard Wagner’s operas, which is considered the most beautiful and, at the same time, the most enigmatic of his works. Its creation occurred during almost all of the composer’s conscious life. While working on Lohengrin in the late 1840s, learning the legend of Parsifal...
Family relationships are never simple, and even if people think they know everything about each other, something unpredictable occurs. “A Pair of Tickets” by Amy Tan and Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich is the stories about two families and their cultural and social impact from the Chinese American and Native...
Max Bledstein’s analysis of “Asterios Polyp” by David Mazzucchelli This work focuses on the analysis of the article by David Mazzucchelli “Beyond Stereotypes”, which examines the literary work Asterios Polyp. The main themes are racism, sexism and characterization. I believe that the essay has fulfilled the necessary requirements, as it...
In the distant 1949, Arthur Miller wrote one of the essential tragedies in American literature named The Death of a Salesman. However, while describing Willy Loman, the main hero, the author illustrated the essential obstacle of the whole middle class. The tragedy is presented ambiguously due to the refutation from...
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....
Introduction One of the most known adventures of Odysseus is the encounter with cyclops and, more specifically, Polyphemus, and this episode serves as a turning point in the narrative. It is critical for understanding the consequent events as they happen under the influence of evil powers, which postpone the hero’s...
The Lottery, first published in 1948, remains to be one of the most read stories in American literature. The story revolves around a small village in New England where all the members hold a lottery annually and the person picked is murdered. Shirley Jackson’s main aim of writing the tale...
Introduction Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery is a short story that tells about a fictional village where people are gathered for an annual lottery, in which all the villagers take part. The lottery has been held for many years as a tradition, and the tickets are drawn to select one person...
Both stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe are written in a gothic style which means they keep a reader in tension and fear engaging in a plot full of drama and tragedy. Both writers were finding major issues of the time and disclosed them within their works. One...
Dr. Seuss was the pseudonym of the beloved children’s writer Theodor Seuss Geisel. His works have taught generations of children how to read, feel, and think (Go, 2019). Dr. Seuss’s books are instantly recognizable because they feature a simple plot told in an extremely original matter with delightful wordplay and...
The United States is a multicultural country that has many variations of its official language. For example, according to Britton (2021), more than 20% of the American population have a mother tongue language other than English. An increasing number of international students in the U.S. created “ethnolinguistic diversity” (Britton, 2021,...
Song of Myself is a part of Walt Whitman’s book Leaves of Grass. Throughout the course of his life, Whitman continuously revised this poem, and today it is considered to be one of his most well-known works. This poem reflects on a wide range of topics, such as transcendental experiences,...
Introduction The role and place of women in society have long been addressed in literature, visual arts, and performance art. The theme of gender-based power distribution has been brought to the discussion by many writers and play authors. Some renowned examples of a successful portrayal of the flawed stereotypical perception...
Introduction Modern societies face numerous challenges which affect the lives of people and, at times, significantly hinder their well-being and mental state. Isolation is among the main pressing issues encountered by individuals nowadays, and some experts state there is even a loneliness epidemic taking place (Klinenberg). The story “Miss Brill”...
Introduction Everyday Use is one of Alice Walker’s most well-known works. The tale was first published in 1973 as part of the author’s collection of short stories, In Love and Trouble. The plot revolves around “Mama,” an African American woman who lives with one of her kids, Maggie. She describes...
As material aimed at some of the most vulnerable and impressionable members of society, children’s literature has long been a subject of controversy, both at the time of its release and historically. Contents and permissible topics within the field change depending on both the time period and cultural characteristics of...
The short story by Richard Connell called “The Most Dangerous Game” quickly grabs a reader’s attention with its action-filled scenes. However, there are more mature topics within the story that highlight a question regarding the exceptional value of life and the error of black-and-white worldviews. This essay will analyze the...
