Themes of Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” Story

Starting as a rather serene and slow-paced story, Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” gradually spirals into a rather frantic pace with a blood-curdling revelation at the end. Apart from an unexpected and frankly horrifying twist, “the Lottery” incorporates believable and relatable characters and a rather peculiar plot. However, its themes are...

Extended Similes: “The Faerie Queene” by Edmund Spenser

The poem The Faerie Queene (1552-1599) by Edmund Spenser follows the adventures of a number of medieval knights and is deliberately written in an archaic style to draw inspiration from myth and history, particularly the legends of Arthur. As mentioned by the author himself, the reading of the work should...

King Odysseus from Homer’s Epic “The Odyssey”

Introduction With various literary works existing in the world, analysis of particular aspects of a story can help in understanding it better. Such analysis can be focused on the character of king Odysseus, one of the main figures of Homer’s epic The Odyssey. King Odysseus represents a complex personality of...

Formal Features in “When I Consider How My Light Is Spent” by Milton

“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...

Jay Gatsby by F. S. Fitzgerald and the American Dream

“In his blue gardens, men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars.” (Fitzgerald 32) The chosen quote is important as it illustrates that Fitzgerald brilliantly portrayed the American society’s carnival lifestyle of the so-called dreamers, excited with fun and carelessness. The...

Mother-Son Conflict in Toole’s “A Confederacy of Dunces”

Introduction John Kennedy Toole’s novel A Confederacy of Dunces unveils diverse issues people encounter in their lives. These problems include but are not confined to relationships with others, ways to fit in the community, and attempts to realize oneself and satisfy one’s needs. At that, family issues, or rather the...

George Orwell’s Work “1984” Review

George Orwell’s work 1984 is a utopian social and political science fiction book and morality story. Issues and topics of the novel include totalitarianism’s effects, surveillance, and coercive regimentation of individuals and activities of the community. The dictatorial regime in the story was designed after Communist Russia and Nazi Germany...

And Tango Makes Three: A Book Banned in Vain?

And Tango Makes Three is a real-life story that was shaped into the literary form by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. The book tells the readers the story of two penguins from the Central Park Zoo, who hatched an egg together and practically gave birth to another penguin named Tango....

“Nothing Like It in the World” Book by S. Ambrose

Steven E Ambrose’s Nothing Like It in the World tells the story of the first transcontinental railroad. It follows the project’s history chapter by chapter, from choosing the route for the future road to driving the last spike in Utah. Concluding with the brief assessment of the road’s importance, the...

Justice in Dante’s Poem “Inferno”

Even though justice is a very straightforward idea, its execution in many cultures remains a challenge. Dante Alighieri depicts a man’s journey through Hell in his famous epic poem, Inferno, a microcosm of society. A book depicts Hell as a place where many humans- historical, mythological, or contemporary-are incarcerated for...

Analyzing “Frankenstein” Written by Mary Shelly

Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelly, is among the most well-known gothic novels, combining scientific and fantastic elements. It is a story about the scientist Victor Frankenstein trying to conquer death and the tragic consequences. Every character in the novel has their role in showing the cost of ambition because the...

“Henry V” Play by William Shakespeare

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” Poem by Langston Hughes

“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...

Anne Bradstreet and Phillis Wheatley Defied the Status Quo in the Literary World

The literary world experienced many challenges, especially during the 17th and 18th centuries, many voices were suppressed. Majorly, the male sentiments found their way into the mainstream due to the societal values that exalted men and despised women’s efforts (Luken 2). Educated males dominated the world of literature depicting the...

“The Drama Trifles” by Susan Glaspell

“The Drama Trifles” is a play by Susan Glaspell that focuses on gender, isolation, and justice. The drama primarily centers on the oppression of women, which is a common issue in many communities. In this case, the male character in the play wants to gather evidence of Mrs. Wright’s crime,...

Characters and Scenes in Baldwin’s “Blues for Mister Charlie”

The Important Scene One of the most significant scenes in the first act was the conversation between Lyle, his wife Jo, and Parnell. Jo is worried that her husband Lyle may be sentenced for committing transgression long ago. She considers it an unfortunate mistake that Richard was dead, and Lyle...

Saving Rufus’s Life in “Kindred” Novel by Butler

Kindred is a fictional novel written by Octavia Butler, which touches upon the topic of the value of human life, referring to the horrifying antebellum South events. The female protagonist Dana suddenly experiences the time-traveling to the past and meets her ancestor Rufus, the antagonist of this story. Dana has...

“Poem For Haruko” by June Jordan

The poems that resonate with most people are always about love and human relationships. One of them is a piece called “Poem for Haruko”, written by June Jordan (2005). Despite the poem’s concise nature, it exposes a deep and emotional story. The vivid images the author portrays with the help...

The Conversion of the Jews by Philip Roth

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...

“My Sister’s Keeper” by Jodi Picoult

Abstract My Sister’s Keeper, by Jodi Picoult, looks at the medical, legal, ethical, and moral issues that come with long-term illness, as well as some of the bioethical problems surrounding the experimental process known as the preimplantation genetic diagnosis. Preimplantation Genetic diagnosis is the process of analyzing the genetic makeup...

“iGen” by Jean Twenge

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

Color in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

American writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s novella The Yellow Wallpaper details the deteriorating mental health of a woman experiencing postpartum depression. The room’s ugly, dirty yellow wallpaper forms the centerpiece of the novel. Her obsession with the yellow wallpaper marks her fall into psychosis throughout history. Thus, in the composition The...

“Let America Be America Again”: The Poem Analysis

The poem “Let America Be America Again” by Langston Hughes is highly controversial and concerns many arguable subjects. One of those subjects is the American Dream, and Hughes says it has changed (191). The author hopes the American Dream will one day become what it once was. Hughes also states...

The Concept of Morality as Portrayed in the Novel “Sula” by Toni Morrison

The novel ‘Sula’ focuses on the lives of blacks soon after they were freed from slavery. They formed a community, The Bottom, and tried to lead normal lives, struggling to meet their daily needs. The novel focuses on various themes such as black-white relations, the fear of death, deceit, slavery,...

21st Century Ideals of Revolution From Shelley’s “Prometheus Unbound”

Introduction Percy Bysshe Shelley’s Prometheus Unbound combines the literary forms of lyrical drama and poetry to recreate and reanimate a classical mythological story. In the opening episode of the play, Jupiter, Shelley’s symbol of religious and political tyranny, punishes the heroic Prometheus for stealing fire from heaven and giving it...

Mystery, Morality, and Miracle Plays – “Everyman”

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...

Those Winter Sundays Poem by Robert Hayden

The Poet Robert Hayden wrote the poem “Those Winter Sundays” depicting a Person remembering the love of his father that he failed to understand when he was young and returned with cold indifference. The protagonist is shown to be lamenting his past relationship with his father. The claim that the...

Viciousness in “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson

Set in a village background, Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” illustrates the height of human potential to execute violence, although, it is depicted as ritual practices, tradition, and community order. The story reflects the society of the ancient time, but it has remained relevant even to today’s society. Through the use...

The Differences Between Conducting a Literature Review and Reviewing the Literature

Reviewing literature to solve an identified problem is different from conducting a literature review to search for a gap in knowledge. At the same time, their common features of both types of literature reviews. On the one hand, the purpose of both types of research is to discern what is...

The Main Character in The Story of an Hour

Women have for ages been victims of abusive domestic situations. In “The Story of an Hour” Louise Mallard, the main female character, fails to prove the validity of the information sent to her by Josephine confirming her husband’s death. According to the telegraph message from her husband’s sister, Brently Mallard...

The Theme of Destiny in Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

It is challenging to understand unique characteristics and shape self-identity when actions are dictated to people and there is no basic freedom. Never Let Me Go is a story about a world where humans are cloned then told to donate organs when they become adults. The main character of the...

Harlem Renaissance. Langston Hughes’ and Claude McKay’s Poems

Langston Hughes and Claude McKay are prominent representatives of the dawn of African American culture in the first half of the twentieth century. Harlem Renaissance was a powerful movement that shaped African American literature and aimed at reinforcing the racial bias. Despite leaving a mark in American poetry and being...

God Created War so that Americans Would Learn Geography

Mark Twain’s quote “God created war so that Americans would learn Geography” humorously depict the levels of American involvement with other countries at that time. Twain lived during the late 19th century when America was repeatedly involved in different wars, for instance, Red Cloud’s War, Mexican-American War, Great Sioux War,...

Science Fiction Then and Now

Introduction Scientific fiction constitutes a fictional genre that addresses the effect accrued to imaginative innovation(s) which occur in science/technology, and several times in settings that are futuristic. It is different from fantasy within the story context due to the fact that its component of imagination is to a vast extent...

Edgar Allan Poe’s Works and Their Characteristics

Edgar Allan Poe is one of the greatest American writers. Numerous poems and short stories are still being studied, and new facets and hidden meanings are being discovered. The life of the writer was not happy: early orphanhood, life failures, as well as the death of his beloved were significantly...

Review of “Young Goodman Brown” Book

An American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote “Young Goodman Brown.” The story’s setting is 17th century New England, which was predominantly Puritan. Hawthorne bases his work on the criticism of puritanism and its central premise that all people are responsible for the original sin. “Young Goodman Brown” is a literary criticism...

“Neuromancer” and “Snow Crash” Comparison

Introduction It is hard to disagree that most people like specific genres of books and usually read only them. One of the reasons for that is that texts share certain elements, which make them rather similar but still different. Precisely repetitive narrative elements, including plot, theme, characters, and setting, allow...

“My Papa’s Waltz” and “Porphyria’s Lover”: Sounds Show

In prose and verse, sound extensively contributes to indirect characterization: authors use sound devices to shape readers’ perception of characters and nuance characters’ descriptions. In this respect, such unlike texts as “My Papa’s Waltz” and “Porphyria’s Lover” is exemplary for investigating the connection between form (in this case, sound) and...

“Royal Commentaries” by Garcilaso el Inca

By the will of fate, Inca Garcilaso de la Vega may be considered as the most famous chronicler of the New World. As the son of an Inca princess and conquistador, he had a truly unique opportunity to learn the details of the history of pre-Hispanic Peru first-hand from numerous...

Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery”: Human Cruelty

Introduction Shirley Jackson’s story “The Lottery” was published in 1948 during the rebuilding of the world after World War II. Almost all the post-war period literature is, to one degree or another, devoted to understanding the consequences of what happened during 1939-1945. One of the cruelest and most inhumane episodes...

Alexander’s “The New Jim Crow” and Its Relation to Psychiatry

The New Jim Crow is a horrifying record by Michelle Alexander based on the race caste system’s return to the United States. According to the story, a large number of African Americans are imprisoned and afterward consigned to a perpetual inferior status (Alexander, 2020). The circumstance denied the rights such...

Bridging the Romantic and the Modern in Poetry

Romantic poetry started during the Victorian period and was characterized by a more plain language than previously, though still more formal and flowery than in twentieth century poetry. It was more conversational and emphasized high ideals. The poetry choose country over city and tried to reconcile animals and humans. It...

American Dream in “Their Eyes Were Watching God”

The American Dream is one of the founding concepts of the United States, yet it takes on different forms. As each person perceives the world differently, one may have particular desires and aspirations that do not correspond with the majority’s view. In “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” Zora Neale Hurston...

“Oresteia” Trilogy by Aeschylus

The current essay is an analysis of Oresteia based on the book “Aeschylus Oresteia” by Peter Meineck. In this paper, first of all, a brief overview of the trilogy will be presented. Then, the following topics will be addressed and analyzed: the issue of justice and Oresteia’s argument about it;...

Themes of Oppression and Imperialism in Literature

Joseph Conrad wrote the “Heart of Darkness” to portray a Congo River journey during colonial times. The “Heart of Darkness” shares themes of oppression and imperialism with “The Epic of Gilgamesh” and “The Tempest.” Oppression can be defined as an act of treating a person with no respect for their...

The Sound of the Trees, and the Noise of the People

Robert Frost was a prolific American poet born on March 26, 1874, in San Francisco. Although he holds the absolute record for the number of Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry awarded to a single person, Frost struggled to find any recognition in his early years. In fact, he had to work...

Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” Analysis

Woody Guthrie composed “This Land Is Your Land” in 1940 with the hope of proving the Americans to diverse views. The poem is well known, and it is considered the nation’s patriotic anthem. While the composition is supposed to promote patriotism, some of the song’s stanzas contradict the tune’s intended...

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

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

Directing “Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex”

Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex is a classic tragedy that can be received by the public in any setting because its concerns are timeless. The central themes can revolve around dichotomy, including the image of light as the idea of knowledge and darkness as ignorance. In the original play, all characters’ worship...

“Car Crash While Hitchhiking” by Denis Johnson

Introduction A reliable narrator is a speaker in the story or test who can be trusted. It means that it can also be a person who has values close to the values of the author of the novel and can offer it to readers and other individuals. Thus, the discussed...

Characters in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates

“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” is a famous short story by Joyce Carol Oates wrote in the 1960s. The story centers around Connie, an attractive girl aged fifteen that has a relentless focus on her appearance and gets in trouble after meeting a predatory man named Arnold....

Shakespeare vs Marlowe

During many years, nearly two centuries, many literary critics and lovers of the literature are pointing out the great similarity between the works of William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe. Some people approve that this is the one and the same person. Others claim that Marlowe is one of the predecessors...

Sisterhood in Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles” Play

Introduction Susan Glaspell is a celebrated American writer, and Trifles, a one-act play, is among the many works that she wrote in the early twentieth century. At the time, women in American society were facing various challenges and Glaspell used her literary skills to highlight the same, albeit dramatically. In...

“Theatre 6” by Sarah Hall

Introduction It might be difficult for people to openly discuss the moral dilemmas that can cause one to choose between abiding by the law and helping others. The story that is described in this essay discusses this issue by placing the reader out of his or her comfort zone and...

Claudius as the Main Antagonist in Shakespeare’s Hamlet

Despite the fact that Claudius is introduced as the main antagonist in William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, he actually posses a number of strong qualities. In the beginning, the character shares his emotions about the death of the king and demonstrates his intention to support the family and “to bear our...

Treatment of Women in Society in Shakespeare’s Plays

The audience of all art forms perceives and forms different ideas from the works of art. In this context, some readers may find the treatment of women in William Shakespeare’s play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, unreasonable and, therefore, troubling. The readers may have several reasons for forming the opinion. Some...

The Main Theme of Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables

The House of the Seven Gables is a romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne, an American novelist of the first half of the XIX century. The romance tells the story of the Pyncheon family and the life of the family members in the mansion in the small town in New England. This...

Love and Poverty in My Papa’s Waltz by Theodore Roethke

Theodore Roethke is a renowned American writer whose poetry is figurative and melodic. My Papa’s Waltz is one of the most known poems by the poet, and it deals with a moment in a boy’s life. The relationship between the father and the son is the primary theme of the...

“The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Stevenson

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...

“Intertextuality and the Discourse Community” by Porter

Analyzing the concept of plagiarism is often neglected as it is, by definition, considered a copyright violation. However, James E. Porter challenges this opinion in the article “Intertextuality and the Discourse Community.” The author declares that any text, regardless of academic level, is a synthesis of other writers’ existing opinions....

The Role of the Goldfish in “The Secret Goldfish” by David Means

Introduction The authors of short stories have to work hard and use their best writing skills to present interesting ideas within a limited amount of words. It is not enough to choose several characters and raise a topic that appeals to the reader. In the majority of cases, the success...

Poems by Gilbert K. Chesterton and M. Oliver Analysis

Introduction Poetry can take many forms and use a variety of rhyme types and literary devices. Despite the diversity of forms, poems have one thing in common: they elicit deep feelings from people’s souls and make readers reflect on important philosophical questions. This essay will discuss two pieces of poetry:...

Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” and Sandars’ “The Epics of Gigamesh”

The Europeans’ conquest is one illustration of how people’s desire for power and ownership can subject others to suffering. The results of such actions are oppression and loss of identity since the conquered often have to obey the policies and rules that the conquerors impose on them. These perspectives help...

Inspiration by Robert Frost’s Poetry

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...

What Do Hamlet and Oedipus Have in Common?

Hamlet by Shakespeare has similar elements in its plot and main characters with Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. This essay aims to show the common features of Oedipus and Hamlet, the main characters of eponymous plays. Both texts are tragedies; this genre largely defines the main characters of respective works and...

The Stories of Mental Illness: “A Rose for Emily” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”

The topic of mental health is not only studied by psychologists but is also widely used by authors in fiction. Psychological problems and mental disorders are complicated and understood differently by various authors. The following essay will examine and explain the differences and similarities in “A Rose for Emily” by...

Olds’ “Sex Without Love” and Piercy’s “Barbie Doll” Poems

Introduction The two poems “Sex without Love” by Sharon Olds and “Barbie Doll” by Marge Piercy that will be investigated in this essay explore different themes. Yet, they have much in common, which allows them to be analyzed together. The first poem depicts the two lovers united in the act...

“Walking Home in the Dark” and “An Essay on Man: Epistle I”: Poetry About Nature

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....

Women and Men in the Play “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell

The play Trifles depicts a profound disagreement between two types of attitude and performance. The play’s research exposes a significant contrast between female and male actions, based on a different perception of the environment. As Holstein claims in her paper, “the difference in initial perception ultimately leads to the creation...

Imitation of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”

How all occasions do inform against me, And spur my bitter binge! What is a man, If his chief good and passing of his time Be but to cry and feed? A wreck, no more. Sure, during this godly feast I gorged Myself to slumber, and forgot That capability and...

The Review of the Context as Content by Brian O’Doherty

Introduction A series of well-known essays by a renowned Irish writer Brian O’Doherty under the name of Inside the White Cube gives his thoughts on the art space, mainly focusing on the work of modern galleries. The design of the White Cube galleries has affected and permeated art and exhibition...

A “Moment of Grace” in the Works of O’Connor

The fiction of Flannery O’Connor is known for its connection to the concept of grace. Its representation is widely discussed and compared to the Christian notions expressed in the Bible (Galloway 13). Nevertheless, there are specific peculiarities in the way the author employs this technique to demonstrate problems. Hence, a...

The Tragedy of a Modern Man

I agree with the quote by Vaclav Havel, who outlines the tragedy of a modern man. After reading the quote written by Havel over and over, I have concluded that a person who knows less about the meaning of their own life lacks the ability to understand the general worldview...

Analyzing ‘Out, Out—’: A Deep Dive into Robert Frost’s Poem

Robert Frost’s poem “Out, Out—” (1916) is a single stanza poem describing the accidental death of a young boy who cuts his hand off when sawing wood. The poem has powerful imagery and rhythmical structure that creates a vivid picture of the accident. When describing the scene, the author uses...

Struggles in ‘Immigrant City’ by David Bezmozgis

Introduction The hardships of settling in another state are not known to many people. Most of the population does not have to immigrate and adapt to new conditions; hence, it is informative to learn about the process from the perspective of a person who had to. The paragraph from the...

Symbolism in Poe’s “Masque of the Red Death”

The Masque of the Red Death is a horror story by E. A. Poe that talks about Prince Prospero and his masquerade ball during the Red Death plague spreading. The disease symbolizes Tuberculosis, an illness common during the writer’s lifetime (Jones, 2017). In the film, it is possible to see...

Book Review: “They Say I Say”

Chapter 8 in the book discusses forming a cohesive whole out of the disparate thoughts gathered by the author for their writing. Graff and Birkenstein (2014) recommend using transitions and pointing words as well as repeating key terms, phrases, and longer passages (in a different manner). The aim of all...

Inspiration by Elizabeth Browning’s Love Poetry

Art Creation There is a significant number of topics that are especially loved by both authors and readers and used in literature rather often. Though all of them were being discussed for many centuries, poets can still find ways of expressing their thought and feelings about such themes in unusual...

Poems Comparison and Analysis

The poems below describe children playing and then one of them getting hurt by the door. Although the first poem starts on a cheery note, it ends with a sad mood because the child needs tending and the games stop. The poems are connected based on the content because both...

“Night” by Elie Wiesel

Night by Elie Wiesel is one such book where the main character is forced to go through hardships in order to become a different person. It describes the difficult life of a Jewish boy who had to experience a horrifying experience of hunger, violence and losing someone he loves. Since...

“The Wrysons” Story by John Cheever

The story “The Wrysons” written by John Cheever is a typical narrative about an American couple that preferred everything familiar to the unusual that they distrusted. The life of these people revolved around their comfort zone, and they were incredibly unwilling to welcome any change in their well-organized existence (Cheever...

Analysis of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics

Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics is centered on the concept of virtue ethics, which can be approached from different perspectives depending on one’s philosophical precepts. Aristotle advances the view that ethics should be contextualized based on whether an action is informed by the pursuit of excellence. The judgment on whether one acted...

“The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe: Review

“The Raven” is one of the most well-known poems by Edgar Allan Poe. This work of art can be seen as a hymn to remorse and emotional distress. The story starts with a description of a man who is “weak and weary” whose negative emotions and despair intensify with every...

Character Analysis of “Othello” by Shakespeare

At first glance, Othello seems simply a tragedy of jealousy, just as Macbeth is a tragedy of ambition. It is easy to imagine that Shakespeare decided to explore several exciting and dangerous passions and warn the audience against them. However, the ideas ingrained in the play seem to be broader...

Maus: A Survivor’s Tale by Art Spiegelman

This paper will analyze the graphic strategies used by Art Spiegelman on page 13 of his graphic novel, Maus: A Survivor’s Tale. This page represents a part of the narration when a father tells his son about his past, so it includes both the current timeline of the story and...

The Book “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley

Mary Shelley’s novel about Frankenstein and his Creature reveals many human vices and cruelty. There is also a place in the story for love and remorse, which opens in both characters in its strange way. However, the complex interweaving of feelings, actions, and the conditions, in which they were committed,...

Housewife’s Role in “Woman’s Work” by Julia Alvarez

Women are often required to be good wives, mothers, nurses, teachers, breadwinners, and housekeepers at the same time. All of them deserve gratitude and praise, but women’s work is often invisible. In her poem “Woman’s Work,” Julia Alvarez discusses the domestic role of women and their input in the family....

The Analysis of “A Note on Mascots” by Brian Doyle

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...

Sarah Hall’s Short Story “Theatre 6”

The narrative is set in a hospital operating room and in-house chapel, perpetuating the atmosphere of democratic conformity that defies morality. The setting serves as the display of the conflict between individual choice and procedures. The author writes, “The on-call room is never dark enough, even with your eye-mask,” indicating...

Analysis of the “Odyssey” by Homer

Introduction The “Odyssey” is an epic poem depicting Odysseus’s ten-year journey after the fall of Troy. The narrative has more than one perspective, following both Odysseus retelling his story and the view of his son, Telemachus. The “Odyssey” is an example of ancient poetry that had a despicable influence on...

Theme and Fiction in Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado

Introduction It is no secret that Edgar Allan Poe is an iconic representative of the Gothic literature genre. His works are important and exciting not only for researchers in the field of literary criticism but also for amateur readers. It is necessary to understand why his work has earned popularity...

“The Soldier’s Home” by Ernest Hemingway

Introduction Hemingway’s The Soldier’s Home is a story of a war veteran who faces the dilemma of choosing between being a welcomed member of his old social circle and staying true to his morals and ideals. When the book’s main character Krebs returns to his hometown, he is forced to...

“A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” by Ernest Hemingway: Core Elements and Themes

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...

“Tell My Horse” by Zora Neale Hurston Book Review

Zora Neale Hurston was a writer in the early 20th century. Her book Tell My Horse was published in 1938, which described the hands-on experiences in Jamaica and Haiti held two years prior. One of the book’s central discourses is the preservation of the traditional African customs in the era...

Jamel Brinkley’s “A Family” Short Story

Introduction Jamel Brinkley’s “A Family” starts on a note that immediately raises concerns in the reader. Curtis, a convict who spent twelve years in prison, is discreetly following what appears to be a single mother with a teenage son under the pretext of being interested in the son. The two...

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Gertrude

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is one of the most known tragedies in the English literature, while Hamlet himself is an illustrative example of a turbulent mind. His inner thoughts and his attitude towards his father is often at the center of the discussion, but his relationship with Gertrude, his mother, is...

“Romeo and Juliet” by Baz Luhrmann: Forbidden Love

Introduction The works of William Shakespeare have lived through centuries in order to be awarded the title of unprecedented classics. However, with the major change in the overall perception of society and its behavioral patterns, many creators felt the urge to interpret this classic to mitigate the gap between the...

High Fidelity and “Lad Lit” Overview

“Lad lit” is a genre of fiction characterized by the depiction of men’s personal lives, and it is usually opposed to the so-called “chick lit.” This trend was started by Nick Hornby, and it allows attributing his works to this genre. One of them is High Fidelity, and this novel...

Tom – A Tragic Hero of “The Glass Menagerie” by Williams

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams is a play of high importance for modern literature. The author depicts characters in a manner that they all, in some ways, possess characteristics of tragic heroes with the hardships they are forced to face in life. However, Tom explicitly shows all traits that...

“The Tragedy of Macbeth” by William Shakespeare

“The Tragedy of Macbeth” by William Shakespeare serves as a reflection of the relationship between the playwright and King James I, however, its implications stay relevant in the modern days. The portrayal of Lord Macbeth at the beginning of the play as an honorable, kind, and valorous man creates an...

Death in Poetry: the Analysis of Poems by E. Dickinson, J. Donne, and A. Sexton

Death is a phenomenon that affects all people, and it is a great source of musings. Some people fear death, some people are indifferent to it, and some people may welcome it. Writers, in particular, have a particular interest in death, as their characters face it in one way or...

Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras: The Theme of Vendetta

Hamlet is an outstanding tragedy by William Shakespeare, which is considered an example of skillful language and complicated plot. The play has always drawn the attention of researchers, and even today, litterateurs still analyze its peculiarities. Through his vivid characters, Shakespeare speaks about eternal issues: the problems of doubts, love,...

Analysis of “Out of the Dust” by Karen Hesse

«Out of the Dust» is a touching and tragic tale written by Karen Hesse which tells the story of the childhood of a girl named Billie Jo. She lives in Oklahoma Panhandle with her family and experiences the hardships and cruelty of life. Billie Jo’s mother and brother die in...

Marshall Berman’s Views in “All That Is Solid Melts Into Air”

Introduction The book All That Is Solid Melts Into Air is about Marshall Berman’s views on the relationship between different manifestations of modernity, and the concept of modernism as an approach to understanding the world. This academic text talks about the changes that the world is constantly experiencing and the...

“Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by Stowe

Introduction What if someone told you, that the Civil War was started by a simple book? Uncle Tom’s Cabin or Life Among the Lowly was written by the American author Harriet Beecher Stowe, who was a teacher and prominent abolitionist. Published in 1852, the novel gained widespread popularity and became...

“A Rose for Emily” by Faulkner and “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by O’Connor

Introduction Moral corruption is one of the central themes of Southern Gothic. This literary genre frequently features characters that are not merely flawed but thoroughly debased to the point of being grotesque. In their pursuit of intensely personal obsessions and vices, they persistently violate both social norms and conventional human...

Pressure in George Orwell’s “Shooting the Elephant”

Class Time Cruelty from one party spreads it to others where there are no alternatives left. Such was the case demonstrated in George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant,” where the main topic of discussion is the author’s inner conflict of serving the British Empire, which he despised with all of his...

Sonny’s Blues by James Baldwin: Analysis and Critique

For my literary research paper, I am going to write about “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin. Analyzing this story, I will focus on the characters of two brothers: the narrator and Sonny, and their conflicts. Both brothers lived two completely different lifestyles and yet they both feel spiritually trapped. I...

The Poem Howl by Allen Ginsberg Review

The poem Howl by Allen Ginsberg was written in a highly peculiar period of the Beat Generation. The latter was comprised of a number of authors who reevaluated the established norms of society and adhered to non-conformism. Allen himself was highly opposed to repression, exploitation, and capitalism because he perceived...

Hamlet as an Enjoyable and Exuberant Play

Introduction William Shakespeare was a renowned English writer, poet and dramatist. Shakespeare had a number of plays to his credit. Also, his works influenced quite a number of writers such as Charles Dickens, Herman Melville and a host of others. (Charles 602) This essay will focus on pointing out how...

Works by Carl Sandburg and Robert Frost Review

The first two poems are good pieces written by Carl Sandburg. The First poem is titled “A Fence” and the second one “Onion Days”. The third poem is a very interesting piece by Robert Frost titled “Mending Wall”. The three poems have apt language of metaphorical compositions. The themes in...

Allegory and Symbolism in “The Chrysanthemums” and “The Yellow Wallpaper”

Introduction Interesting details The horse and donkey were compared to a droopy flower that needed watered. Elisa is the droopy flower. She sees the world with a view of delicacy and strength. She can be both strong and delicate. She wants to be assertive but the era discourages the type...

Audre Lorde: The Use of the Erotic

Audre Lorde (2007) argues the insolvency of the statement that abolition of female eroticism illustrates women’s strength and power, while perfunctory eroticism exposes the acceptable weakness and dependence of a woman in Western society. The fictitious nature of the superficial erotic is reviled by the irrelevant emotions and exaggerates itself...

Medieval Society in The Canterbury Tales

Introduction The work and organization of the medieval society proposed in the Canterbury Tales by Charles Chaucer can be easily connected with the organization of modern society. This is a point that can be established if the two settings were to be compared. Chaucer depicts a society wherein work is...

Critical Analysis of James N. Gregory’s American Exodus

Introduction The book, American Exodus: the Dust Bowl Migration and Okie Culture in California, is written by James N. Gregory and it depicts the great dust bowl times which caused major agricultural and subsequent economical damage in American agricultural lands from the years 1930 to 1936. Canadian prairie lands were...

Playing Steve in “A Streetcar Named Desire” by T. Williams

Premiering in 1947, Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire is a play set in the late 1940s about the downfall of Blanche DuBois and the relationship between Stanley Kowalski and his wife Stella. Blanche and Stella come from an upper-class background in Mississippi, where Blanche lived and worked as a...

“A&P” by John Updike

A & P written by John Updike is a short story of a teenaged boy of 19 named Sammy who worked at a local grocery store called A&P. Sammy relates in first person the three young girls in swimsuits who entered the store. He appraises them sexually, until the manager...

“Hamlet” by Shakespeare: Scenes Analysis of the Play

This paper is based on scene analysis of the play Hamlet by Shakespeare, the paper critically analyzes the “Ghost Hamlet “ in this drama, which is based on the Novel “The Norton Anthology World Literature”, authored by Sarah Lawall in 2009 and published by W. W. Norton publishers. Over the...

Shakespeare’s “Othello”: Iago’s Honesty

Introduction In Shakespeare’s play Othello, the character Iago is the most well-known and multifaceted. To the characters in the play, he is a trustworthy and honest person who everyone in the community is willing to confide in. The audience on the other hand can note that he is the evilest,...

“One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” by Solzhenitsyn

The novel ‘One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich’ written by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is considered to be a prominent work of Russian literature dedicated to the disclosure of life in Soviet labor camp experienced by the protagonist Ivan Denisovich. It is necessary to underline the fact that the author...

“The Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne: Symbolism

Introduction Nathaniel Hawthorne was an outstanding writer of the 17th century and produced several works that took a reasonable place in the world’s classical literature. Judging from the example of his writing piece such as “Young Goodman Brown” one can state that his creative activity was distinguished with thoughtfulness and...

“Mama Might Be Better Off Dead” by Laurie K Abraham

Introduction Mama Might Be Better Off Dead is written by Laurie K Abraham (1994) and depicts a profound and unsettling picture of health care from the human perspective. The book is illuminating as also disturbing in telling the story of the devastating illnesses which have become very common in the...

Stranger in a Strange Land: Gregor Samsa & Meursault

This essay depicts the self tribulations that two men, Gregor Samsa and Meursault deal with in their separate yet similar lives. It also depicts their tragic ends and their attitudes towards men, law, religion and society. The two gives the expectations that man, religion, law and society have on fellow...

Traditions of Magical Realism in Juan Rulfo’s Short Novel Pedro Paramo

Juan Rulfo’s short novel Pedro Paramo is one of the most eminent Latin American works in literature along with novels by Marquez and Borges. In this respect, the analysis of the novel gives a specific evaluation of it in terms of the traditions of magical realism. The reality which is...

Anna’s Sacrifice in My Sister’s Keeper by Jodie Picolt

This paper analyses the role of Anna Fitzgerald and her character traits in the novel “My sister’s keeper” which was written by Jodi Picoult became the best-selling novel in the United States of America in 2004. “My sister’s keeper” novel is basically about a thirteen-year-old young lady Anna Fitzgerald who...

Alan Paton’s “Cry the Beloved Country”

Literary works have been instrumental the world over in initiating wide ranging changes in human affairs. Alan Paton’s Cry the Beloved Country is one such striking work of fiction that had sought to bring about positive social change in South Africa and has been assiduously studied and debated by scholars...

Sacagawea: Biography and Book Critique

Introduction The stories about Indian people are always fascinating and mysterious. It does not matter whether they concern the way of life of Indian tribes or explore the life of a separate person, they do it in a way that the readers forget about everything that surrounds them and give...

“Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost

The poem dramatizes the conflict between nature and the worldly activities, Frost places emphasis on natural things and reinforces his point that natural things are much better and beautiful than the worldly things. The poem is extremely well written and it is written in monosyllables throughout. Lines like “My little...

“One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Ken Kesey

The story is the confrontation of feeling and reason The book has a very interesting heading that transfers into some fictional world with awkward creatures depicted by the author. To my mind, the novel’s goal is to show that what people consider normal is uninteresting. Instead, the author reveals his...

The Use of Eerie and Bizarre of Edgar Alan Poe

This paper is an analysis of how the literal tools of eerie and bizarre; settings, characters, and images are used in developing the effect of horror. The literal works to be analyses in this case as an effort to analyze the use of these literal tools in the development of...

Sylvia Plath’s Fish in the “Mirror”

Sylvia Plath’s biography provides several important clues as to the meaning of this poem. As a teenager she seemed perfect in every way, blonde, beautiful, intelligent and talented. After attending Smith College she studied at Cambridge, married the poet Ted Hughes and returned to the United States to teach at...

Analysis of the Novel “Fahrenheit 451”

Introduction “Fahrenheit 451” is a science fiction written by Ray Bradbury. Its publishing year was 1953. It tells about the future of the American modern society. Fahrenheit 451 indicates the measurement of the temperature. Its name is related to the job of the hero of this novel. After reading this...

William Shakespeare’s “Othello”: Analysis the Play

Iago is no doubt the personification of evil and takes contentment in destroying virtue in him and others. The first and most significant thing we note in Iago is that, in comparison with the other characters of the play, he is highly intellectual and strong –willed. The fundamental attribute of...

Alienation Concept in the “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain

The romanticism of wandering, freedom, and estrangement from social norms attracted a number of authors; and this cohort of writers who extolled vagrancy includes Mark Twain with his “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”. A number of critics and experts refer to the specified piece of literature as a picaresque novel, or...

“Hills like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway: Problem of Choice

Introduction People usually appear before the choice: whether to do this or not, whether to go there or not, whether to stay with the person or to leave him/her. Analyzing the story “Hills like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway and imagining the conclusion of the story, three main developments may...

The Impact of Art of Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes Langston Hughes holds a place in the history of American literature as a great poet, novelist, playwright, short story writer, and newspaper columnist. It was his work during the Harlem Renaissance that immortalized Langston Hughes. The Harlem Renaissance was a blossoming period for African American art, literature, music,...

“The Anabasis by Cyrus” by Xenophon

The dictionary article defines anabasis as “a march from the coast into the interior, like that of Cyrus the Younger against Artaxerxes II, described by Xenophon in his historical work Anabasis (379–371) (Dictionary 1). Thus “Anabasis” is an account by the ancient writer and soldier Xenophon, which depicts the long...

Judith Guest’s “Ordinary People” Reflections

Conrad vision of life after death On primary reading of the story, I find Conrad feeling pain and guilt for his brother’s death. He is incapable to overcome this barrier as already experiencing the breath of death; the boy could look at the world in a usual way. Now, Conrad...

“The Deserted Village” by Oliver Goldsmith

Introduction During the course of the last two centuries, the semantic meaning of Oliver Goldsmith’s poem “The Deserted Village” has been assessed from a variety of different perspectives. Whereas, some literary critics used to suggest that it was namely Goldsmith’s “pastoral idealism”, which served him as an inspiration, while he...

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Covey

Introduction The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People was published in 1989 and is one of the most wonderful books that I have ever come across in my life. It is a self-help book written by Stephen R. Covey. This book has allowed me to look into myself and bring...

Racism in “Native Son” by Richard Wright

We live in time when the legacy of racism in America is now being assumed a thing of the past, with more and more people adopting interracial tolerance as the integral component of their existential mode. In its turn, this prompts many contemporary social scientists to suggest that, as of...

Is Ibsen’s “A Doll House” a Marxist, a Feminist, or a Psychoanalytic Argument?

Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House was an influential and to a certain degree shocking literary work, as it challenged the traditional roles of men and women in society and depicted the poor outcomes of gender discrimination. The major female characters of the play are definitely bold and determined women,...

Theme of Marriage in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

“Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen is the most famous novel and it may be considered as a classic of English literature. The novel, like the most part of Jane Austen’s novels, discloses the theme of marriage. Thus, the first sentence of the novel reveals its whole idea: “It is...

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place: Critical Analysis

The short story by Ernest Hemingway titled A Clean, Well-Lighted Place is a bright example of the psychological literature in which all sins of human beings are revealed. In this story, Hemingway manages to illustrate the eternal differences between human beings through the short dialog of two waiters in a...

“The Wild Swans at Coole” by William Butler Yeats

The poem “The Wild Swans at Coole” is a poem written about the scenery at a place called Coole. The poem is a dramatic lyric poem because of its musicality in the rhyme scheme and its direct expression of feelings. All five of the six-line stanzas are built upon the...

“I Am Murdered” by Bruce Chadwick

Bruce Chadwick’s book, I am Murdered: George Wythe, Thomas Jefferson and the Killing That Shocked a New Nation is about the murder of George Wythe, who was a noted law professor. Wythe was a towering figure and had pupils such as Thomas Jefferson, Henry Clay and James Monroe. He died...