6109 samples of this type
The main character of the Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet, is one of the most famous female characters in world literature. Heatedly condemning gender, social and cultural stereotypes, Elizabeth is a main figure of disobedience and pride. However, given the social mode of 19th century England, other models are available...
Kate Chopin was a prolific figure and a writer of the mid-to-late 19th century, who has contributed significantly to the growth of feminism in the United States. She was a well-read woman who has started writing after the death of her husband, publishing both longer works and short stories. The...
William Shakespeare, an English poet, and playwright wrote “Sonnet 116.” It was most likely written in the 1590s, during English literature when sonnets were famous, although it was not published until 1609. Although Shakespeare’s sonnets were not well received during his lifetime, “Sonnet 116” has become one of the most...
Mark Twain’s famous novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer illustrates the Romanticism tradition in depicting the characters. Even though the romantic literature was in a state of collapse at the time of the novel’s writing, Twain preserved the inherent image for this movement. The dreams and desires of the main...
Sexuality is a significant aspect of a person. It is never about who he or she has sex with or how frequently they have it. It is basically about one’s sexual feelings, ideas, interests, and behaviors towards other people. Both fiction and non-fiction contexts depict differences in matters of sexuality....
A Rose for Emily – William Faulkner’s Storytelling by Emily Grierson. The yellow wallpaper is a short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman about the young woman Jane. Both stories illustrate girls who became recluses in one way or another. If Emily did not let anyone into her house after her...
Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl” is the most famous and vital piece of the beat generation. Bob Dylan’s song It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding) opened an entirely new genre of the song in the music industry. Comparing a literary work and a musical one, critics define them as dark masterpieces. The...
In the article by Best (2019) in the scene “play extempore” of Henry IV part I, the author, Shakespeare through deconstruction makes obesity fat. Shakespeare in the play put a crippled character to assume the role of a fat person. In the scene, “play extempore,” Prince Henry is supposed to...
For the most part, Daniel Deoe’s Robinson Crusoe tells a story of a man who lives on an island where the class of a person does not matter. Nevertheless, the concept of the middle class still plays a significant role in the book and its narrative. Robinson’s father is a...
Often children respect and honor their parents even after they have passed. In many movies, for instance, Disney movies, a child’s motivation is a result of their parent(s) passing and that becomes their new reason to keep them going. Another example of this is when a child grows up with...
Introduction Literary techniques are the distinctive way of language used by authors to illustrate their intentions or meaning in their work. Usually, authors can apply a group of words, a phrase, or simple words. The literary forms are identified after a critical analysis of the piece of writing by a...
Hamlet can be considered a literary character whose procrastination leads to gruesome consequences. The main hero’s level of procrastination can be considered extremely high, as he is exceptionally likely to delay completing urgent tasks and frequently misses necessary deadlines. Hamlet’s inability to fulfill the responsibility of killing Claudius is an...
Introduction “Fences” is an American play composed by playwriter August Wilson in the year 1985. The play examines the progressing African-American life experiences related to cultural practices and races among other themes. It is important to analyze the play fences and understand how different perceptions of the characters regarding their...
Introduction The assessment of poetry is generally conducted with regard to the essential elements that it incorporates. They include characters presented by the narrator and their audience, dialogues, image, setting, themes, voice, style, and tone, and the consideration of corresponding techniques can demonstrate their importance for the message. Hence, poems...
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...
Where the Crawdads Sing is a modern novel created by Delia Owens in 2018. The author narrates the story of a girl who has to learn how to live independently at a very young age. At the beginning of the story, she lived in a rundown shack in the marshlands...
The novel Christ in Concrete, written by Pietro di Donato in 1939, tells the story of construction workers. The book shocks the audience with its straightforwardness and leaves a deep imprint. The first chapter of the novel is called Geremio and describes the death of this character and his coworkers...
As befits an epic hero, Beowulf possesses almost superhuman qualities when it comes to performing on a battlefield. His physical strength has no equals, his combat prowess is unmatched, and his bravery can put almost any man to shame. However, Beowulf is not only a formidable warrior but also a...
The author presents a series of advice that the mother gives to the daughter in the Antiguan community. The mother notices that her daughter has reached adolescence and realizes she is the only person to guide her daughter to live a non-promiscuous and respectful life. She imparts general knowledge to...
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is Shakespeare’s revenge tragedy that may be defined as one of the most well-known tragedies in world literature. It focuses on moral sensitivity and reflection that lead to the gradual alienation of the main character affected by the necessity to act. Prince Hamlet...
Introduction Humor in literature and art can be characterized as a kind of tendency, the desire to evoke a laughing reaction from the audience. Initially, it seems that the humorous presentation of information, the description of comic situations, is aimed at entertaining the audience, arousing positive emotions in it, and...
English literature has existed from the beginning of time, developing spontaneously regarding forms of writing from different eras and periods. Realism and romantic periods originate from grouping literary works according to specific time frames exhibiting certain features. The periods help in understanding various characteristics of literary works according to the...
Beyond simply telling a good story, Mary Shelly is trying to convey the information that while technology and science have an essential part in human life, the two can only go as far. The author at the end of the story proves that technology and science can only go far...
Introduction Slave narrative developed as a distinct form of written literature, characteristic of North America. The period from the early 1830s to 1865 was marked by a wave of abolitionism, which was embodied in the writings and speeches of several former slaves. They spoke eloquently and convincingly about the need...
Introduction Dugan’s poem “On Being a Householder” attempts to make sense of his irrational anxieties and misgivings about the environment in which he lives. The poem explains the importance of identifying one’s weaknesses and stepping out of the comfort zones. The psychoanalytic theory by Sigmund Freud is a suitable approach...
Introduction Upon reading Yellow Woman for the first time, I was amazed by how much the author keeps the story interesting, especially when she connects myths and reality. Leslie Marmon Silko has maintained an appreciation of history and culture and thus the Laguna Pueblo. What she goes through and what...
Shakespeare portrays Macbeth as a lady who influences her husband’s decision-making negatively because she is stronger, ruthless, decisive, and ambitious than the husband. In the entire play, the theme of ambition is demonstrated well and the character with a lot of determination comes out as the wife. The husband proves...
In “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, the author creates a contradictory image of the main character; the author leads the reader to discover who she is. It is not easy to form one’s own impression of Emily due to the narrative aesthetics characteristic of the author’s modernity. The...
In this passage, there is a conflict between Desdemona and Iago over women’s nature, which ends with the victory of a rational and objective way of thinking. The woman argues with the man and is indignant at his feeble mind. Although she does not have so much experience in life,...
Douglass’s work captures the era of abolitionism, the struggle against slavery, and black Americans’ contribution to their liberation. In Frederick Douglass, the writer and the social activist, the educator and the statesman were happily united. Beginning his life under the harshest conditions of slavery, he achieved recognition through natural talent,...
Poems are recognized as one of the earliest literature forms that have significantly influenced the field of communication. Since pre-colonial times poems have been used to bring people together, warn, encourage and inform. One of the essential features of poems is their form and structure. While some poems lack a...
In the play, Oedipus solves the Sphinx’s riddle to save Thebes from destruction. The Sphinx asked him a compound question, and Oedipus was the first man to conquer the Sphinx by answering it and saving the city from the plague; therefore, he got the title of the king. However, this...
Introduction The Vietnam War, which took place from 1955 to 1957, has been the subject of many artworks of different forms, ranging from movies to paintings and literary works. While many of them focus on the experiences and heroism of soldiers, a Vietnamese-American writer Le Thi Diem Thuy focused on...
In chapter 8 of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, Mr. Beaver talks about the experiences of Tumnus. He explains that Tumnus was arrested by Secret police under the White Witch’s spell (Lewis, 1950). Children, to whom Mr. Beaver was talking were scared and wanted to...
Interpretation and understanding of truth is a very ambiguous thing. Everyone has their own unique opinion regarding what is true and what is false. The reason is that language is not a perfect instrument for communication. The language is limited because we can only hear the words. When people listen...
Introduction Published in 1884, Guy de Maupassant’s short story with the ambiguous title “The Necklace” is an excellent example of a work with an unexpected ending that forces the reader to rethink the artistic narrative. Along with the psychological issues of the conflict of desires and opportunities, the instability of...
“Hills like white elephants” is a heartbreaking story about two beloveds who are going to make a fatal decision in their lives. This story depicts a couple whose relationship has poorly changed because of the woman’s unexpected pregnancy. The pregnancy implies the end of their frivolous life full of pleasure...
Introduction Beloved by Toni Morrison is an allegory of emotional and physical trauma caused by slavery. It is illustrated through the story of a black woman haunted by her daughter’s ghost that she murdered to save her from servantry’s fate. The genre used in this novel is called magical realism,...
The Epic of Gilgamesh is an interesting work to analyze on the topic of life and death. It is one of the oldest literary works that have survived to this day, extremely psychological in its essence. This epic is composed of old material, but the old legends were woven into...
The narrative Hills like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway commences in a valley in Spain. The story is about a protagonist, the American, and the antagonist is the girlfriend, Jinn. The narrative revolves around the American man’s suggestion to the girlfriend to have an operation that she later agrees with...
The Fountain is a 2006 film by Darren Aronofsky. In the film’s plot, oncologist Tom Creo tries to save his wife, Izzy, neglecting the last hours of communication with her. Izzy writes the book “The Fountain,” which she does not have time to finish, and asks her husband to finish...
There are many different negative features that are common for people of all times, be it the eighteenth or the twenty-first century. Greed, indifference, anger, corruption, immorality, and the readiness to sin for one’s own benefit destroy humans and everything good in society. To show the full horror of the...
Introduction Njal’s saga is one of the most iconic works of literature from medieval Iceland. The story was written in the thirteenth century by an unknown author with a 9th – 10th century setting in the Icelandic Commonwealth. The story features many characters ranging from Njáll Þorgeirsson, a wise lawyer,...
At the beginning of the 20th century, there was a toxic enchantment with the West in Japan, which transmitted an extremely negative imprint on women who got influenced by it. Junichiro Tanizaki investigated Japan’s fascination with the West for many years and documented his observations in numerous writings. The central...
“King John” is among the most interesting plays by Shakespeare. In the book, the struggle for inheritance and power controls the plot. After the death of King Richard, the Lionheart, Arthur, and John enter a conflict on who rightfully deserves to inherit the throne. At the same time, the Bastard,...
Introduction William Shakespeare is known as the author of several great stories about human relationships. He focused on such eternal themes as love, friendship, respect, and family. Each of his plays delivers a serious message to the reader and helps understand the complexity of life. At the beginning of the...
Jim and Irene Westcott seem to be ordinary people with no peculiarities. Their lives resemble the lives of their neighbors in many aspects. For example, all of them are married, have two children, go to the theater, and hope to live in a better place (Cheever 1). Westcotts appearance could...
It is important to note that White Teeth explores a wide range of themes and topics through a number of perspectives offered by different characters. Twin brothers of Samad and Alsana, Magid and Millat, are among the outstanding examples of how individual fates and parental expectations can shift the course...
Shirley Jackson’s short story, The Lottery, describes a tradition in a small town where members draw lottery slips, and the winner is subject to death by stoning as a community sacrifice for good health and harvests. On the other hand, Sophocles’s play, Antigone, follows one girl’s fight against authority for...
It is Nathanial Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown that still makes students’ minds and imaginations work hard after reading the short story. The plot is marvelous as per both theological and moral issues. Undeniable, the short story is one that makes one rethink the ideas and values of own life due...
The first part of the trilogy tells about the despotic government, which organizes an annual demonstration game of survival, which is watched from the air by the whole world. The lot to participate in the Games falls to the young Katniss and Pete, who is secretly in love with her....
Thi Bui’s “The Best We Could Do” brings out the theme of family relations and family history. The author explains that she started researching and writing the book to understand their family and better connect with her mom and dad and learn to love them. Although a vast gulf separates...
Introduction No doubt, Francis Scott Fitzgerald is one of the greatest American writers of the twentieth century, and, probably, of all times. He has created an image of Roaring Twenties and provided future generations with the opportunity to experience the atmosphere of this period and dive deeply into it through...
Introduction The problem of female agency and the constraints that patriarchy has placed on it became particularly prominent in the West in the late 19th-early 20th century. Due to the pressure of sociocultural, as well as socioeconomic and sociopolitical changes, the opportunity for women to add potency, urgency, and convincingness...
Introduction The poem “Desert Places” by Robert Frost depicts the speaker’s lonely mind in a deserted place, resonating with the current times; the inevitable return of depression and universal human loneliness. The poet uses simple vocabulary, “the loneliness includes me unawares,” which underestimates the actual extreme loneliness of human beings...
The Ramayana is one of the major works in world literature displaying the beliefs of people who lived in Ancient India. The epic depicts the adventures of Rama, who was one of the best people of his time and the best king of his people. As any other epic hero,...
Shakespeare’s last plays belong to the genre of tragicomedy – plays devoid of genuine tragedy, which, while slightly disturbing for the audience, were still mainly intended to entertain them by delivering a sharp and entertaining experience. Nevertheless, Shakespeare brings an exceptional tone to them, switching them into the fairy tale...
Books can be a great avenue for exploring ideas. By writing about one’s feelings and thoughts, they can be shaped more clearly, be transformed and be understood by others. As a creative medium, literature is one of the best ways to properly examine the phenomena of the human condition in...
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz is a satirical novel written by Canadian writer Mordecai Richler, which describes Duddy Kravitz’s life. The main character, a Jew from Montreal, Quebec, tries his best to become rich, not paying attention to all the sacrifices made for this purpose. The author of the novel...
Introduction Scholars and writers rely on different literary styles to complete their works and deliver the intended messages to their readers. The works Trifles and A Raisin in the Sun offer powerful insights and analyses of most of the challenges different members of the selected societies encounter. The books provide...
Introduction The novel, The Marrow Thieves, was authored by Cherie Dimaline and published by Cormorant Books Incorporated on April 15th, 2017. The story focuses on a bleak future in Canada in which most people are no longer able to dream, and indigenous romantics have to escape their routine. The antagonist,...
Quality literature is an integral component of a child’s upbringing for a range of reasons. First of all, reading develops vital skills, such as literacy, logic, and imagination. Children with an early affection for good books are likely to demonstrate better school preparedness and learning outcomes. At the same time,...
In the Poem “On Being Brought from Africa to America” by Phillis Wheatley, an in-depth interpretation will show that Wheatley contrasts dark vs. light imagery, and her use of language highlights race and religion. Furthermore, the author uses an ambivalent representation of the African race using the perspectives of white...
The spirit of renaissance stirs through many literary works from the last quarter of the 20th century, rejuvenating African American’s will to defy an oppressive system. One such invigorating creation is Maya Angelou’s Still I Rise. This paper analyses how Angelou’s poem criticizes racism and marginalized conditions that have perpetually...
Introduction Hedda Gabler is a play written by ‘the father of modern drama’, Norwegian playwriter Henrick Ibsen, in the last half of the 19th century. The play reveals the lifestyle and thoughts of a desperate housewife, who is limited by Victorian values. He has to marry a man without loving...
Beowulf is an American performance that is founded on the “Angola-Saxon English epic poem,” currently considered as one of the earliest and most influential poems of the modern-day European dialect. The 2007 film, directed by American director Robert Zemeckis, was produced through an action capture and process technique, comparable with...
Introduction Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus is a novel written by Mary Shelly that was first published in 1818. The author tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who artificially animated a body assembled from parts of corpses. Although Victor intended to create a beautiful creature, the result...
A Goodman is Hard to Find is a short story created by Flannery O’Connor back in 1953. It should primarily be mentioned that this literature piece is very interesting to read because it makes the readers think about the main characters and their distinguishing features, and apply the identified ideas...
Introduction From the poem, the speaker demonstrates an unmatched love and affection for Annabel Lee who died unexpectedly. This love survives considerably after the mentioned death. Poe, the poet, uses literary styles to unveil the theme of lasting love between two characters. It is possible to recognize and understand that...
In Americanizing the White Man, Felix S. Cohen uses the term “Americanizing” to mean transforming immigrants from Europe into the American people. The author uses this term to raise a question about what kind of traditions and culture America heritages. For example, traditional American food and products such as corn,...
An accomplished painter and poet, William Blake, is an influential figure of the Romantic age, which was characterized by people’s reactions to the changes occurring in Europe. His two prominently famous publications, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell and Songs of Innocence and Experience, are among the artistic endeavors espousing...
In the play, Death of a Salesman Miller says that the latest boom in real estate is one of the testimonies of the success of the American businesses. He particularly highlights the rapid development of residential buildings in Willy’s Brooklyn neighborhood. Those who have succeeded in their careers and businesses...
The Misfits depicts a group of friends rejected by others, known as the Gang of Five, despite having only four members. They are Bobby, Joe, Skeezie, and Addie, the only girl in the circle. Each has a distinct personality and certain reasons for being ostracized, and later the quarter joins...
The book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall down by Anne Fadiman is one of the highlights of the Hmong culture and the challenges socializing a family from Laos faces in American society. Misunderstandings and disagreements manifested in day-to-day interactions reveal distinctive values and norms in the two cultures....
Introduction “The Persian Letters” are detailed accounts of the European experiences of two young Persians named Rica and Usbek. The intellectual tourists explore French manners and morality while their people rebel against the tyrannical authorities that have been subjected to years of misery. The seraglio, as defined in the text,...
Introduction Guy De Maupassant’s story, The Necklace is an example of how a writer uses various characters to develop the plot of the story leaving an everlasting memory on the reader. This essay will focus and determine Mathilde’s character as portrayed in the story The Necklace by Guy De Maupassant....
The Iliad is a classic work of literature, which has withstood the test of time and become one of the essential art pieces in human history. In ancient times, scholars have already started to question whether including Book 10, often referred to as the Doloneia, was the right choice. Modern...
Introduction Two epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey have great significance due to the poetic content they encompass. It is essential to consider two characters in these readings – Hector from the Iliad and Menelaus from the Odyssey. The former is the oldest descendant of the Trojan king Priam...
In the short story “The Other Two,” Wharton describes a husband, Mr. Waythorn, whose wife Alice has two divorces. At first sight, it seems that Alice is miserable because she marries and divorces in strive for social prestige. Nonetheless, it is essential to notice that Wharton depicts the upper class’s...
Introduction Fiction is a genre of literature that involves invented characters, they are usually in prose and are primarily novels. Children’s fiction has been used over time, and the question of what impact it had on their lives arose. The parents reading The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires to...
Introduction The Reader, a novel written by Bernhard Schlink, is one of the heartbreaking books in the last 30 years. The author discusses many topics relevant to people born in the 20th century and analyzes one of the worst events during this period, the Holocaust. Topics include first love, male...
Introduction Christian stories and parables carry deep meaning and contain valuable discourses about virtues, goodness, and the righteous path that people should follow to live in a healthy and peaceful society. At the same time, in addition to theological texts, works from popular literature also may contain profound truths that...
The adventure novel “Moby Dick,” written by Herman Melville, is an excellent example of a literary work full of symbols transmitting the secret message behind the narrative. Most of these symbols are somehow related to religion, and this fact conditions the central place of the religious theme in the book....
The human body has always been an important topic for people. Its representation and attitude to it changed throughout the history of humanity, and the literature belonging to different epochs proves it. Writers tried to respond to topical ideas and speak about the topic from different perspectives. One of the...
If anyone is asked in a small town, two-hour drive away from New Orleans, whether they know Lucie, their faces will be filled with joy as they begin speaking about the young, but already not so young, girl. Lucie is a brave and proud individual – she can make almost...
The story The Red Convertible was written by Louise Erdrich, who makes Native Americans the main characters in her books and frequently touches upon the topic of family relationships. In this particular tale, the author describes the tragic story of brothers Lyman and Henry, who never get to reconcile after...
Beowulf is an old English story drawn from their native oral literature. Though the author is anonymous, its influence is still felt up to today in many of the works of contemporary writers. The protagonist exhibits all the character traits of a tragic hero as defined by Aristotle. According to...
The book review on “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow them and people will follow you” is a subject to criticism based on many view points. First, the title of the book stands to be questioned itself; it shows some sense of rigidity and also some form of forced...
Closing Statement: The Prosecutor Your Honor, the life of a person, no matter what his or her body may look like, is sacred, which is why the Samsa Family must answer for their actions. There is clear evidence that, despite his transformation, Gregor Samsa still possessed the ability to feel,...
The Eleusinian Mysteries played a vital role in ancient Greece. Moreover, during the Hellenic era, these initiations became a major festival that was later exported as a cultural phenomenon to various parts of the Mediterranean and even encouraged a similar celebration in Ancient Rome. The initial idea behind the initiations...
The importance of each character in a literary work can be either revealed explicitly by the author or implied by the character’s interactions with other individuals or relations to some events. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, there is one character that does exist in the same dimension as all the others. The...
In her book “The House of Mirth”, Edith Wharton addresses several values that play an important role in the society of those days. One of the values, she discusses in detail and from different angles, is the value of responsibility to family and marriage. In the following paper, the influence...
“Dulce et Decorum Est” is a poem written by Wilfred Owen after his experience of fighting in World War I. The title is a Latin clause meaning it is worthy to die for one’s country. However, Wilfred Owen shares the reverse opinion, implying that it is an awful death. Due...
Introduction The peculiarity of Rowling’s books is that, as in life’s reality, good and evil tend to penetrate each other, replace one another and intertwine so closely that it is challenging for the hero to distinguish one from the other. Consequently, the choice of his path is complicated enough as...
Introduction The analytical paper is dedicated to the comparison of the stories by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. “Harrison Bergeron” and Flannery O’Connor “Good Country People”. From first sight, the two narratives seem to be completely different and do not have much in common; however, there are topics covered by both of...
Introduction The Divine Narcissus employs religious symbolism to highlight important Christian ideals and teachings. The play is considered to be one of Sor Juana’s masterpieces because it employs allegorical narratives to explain complex theological ideas. The play uses American themes to explain the Spanish conquest of Mexico, and describes critical...
Introduction In the current research paper, the main aim is to answer the question of which conflict does August Wilson uses most to drive all the other elements of the story in his play “Fences.” To address the problem adequately, the following plan is followed. First of all, a brief...
Thesis statement This work aims to study such an aspect of human experience as heroism in Odyssey by Homer and Inferno by Dante Alighieri. Introduction Authors may research and analyze one or several different topics in their literary works. One of the most common themes in the literature is heroism....
In the play “A Raisin in the Sun,” several important themes are explored. George Murchison strives towards assimilationism as a way of addressing consistent racial discrimination, while Beneatha sees assimilation as a manifestation of George’s fear of his heritage. Moreover, George sees heritage as “raggedy-assed spirituals and some grass huts!”...
Introduction The sea is frequently the central theme of many authors’ compositions. The poem “On the Sea” by John Keats (1800) illustrates the incredible power and subtlety of the waves, as well as their capacity to treat troubled eyes and torn ears. It demonstrates freedom and solace that can be...
The themes of heritage and cultural identity often become central to literary works. In Everyday Use by Walker (1994), a conflicted story is presented, opposing superficial cultural values to practical ones. The main conflict revolves around Maggie’s and Dee’s desire to own quilts that symbolically represent enduring legacy and family...
Love poems are usually filled with admiration for the author and exaltation of his or her romantic feelings, or vice versa, with the pain and despair of the cruelty of love. However, Shakespeare’s “Sonnet CXXX” has no such elements that make the reader doubt its sincerity. This sonnet can be...
Introduction Gwendolyn Brooks is an important and well-known figure in American poetry of the 20th century. “We are really cool” and “Malcolm X” is one of the greatest poems written by Brooks. She is the kind of author who widely employs syntactic means to express her texts’ significant meanings. In...
Introduction In the middle of the 1900s, Ralph Ellison created one of his remarkable novels Invisible Man. Each its passage or phrase has a specific meaning and impact on the reader. Still, the first paragraph of any literature work plays a significant role because it sets the tone for further...
Introduction Animals often have a prominent role in the world’s mythologies and folklore. The fox is a common figure in many traditions, representing a cunning trickster or, sometimes, messenger, figure (Ashkenazi 148; Lihui and An 239). This figure is not necessarily negative or malevolent but is often described as dangerous...
“A Streetcar Named Desire” is written by Tennessee Williams and first presented in Broadway Theatre in December 1947. The play is focused on the tense relationship between two sisters, where one is a spoiled young woman who is driven by her desires, and another is desperately in love with her...
Introduction A special place in world literature is occupied by works belonging to the genre of utopia and dystopia. The authors of utopian novels tried to predict a beautiful future, promising immense universal happiness and social harmony. Anti-utopians have debunked the myth of the possibility of global equality, brotherhood, criticizing...
Introduction In his article The Philosopher Stoned, Adam Kirsch describes Walter Benjamin, his way of life, views, ambitions, and the influence of drugs on his mentality. The author explores certain life periods of Benjamin, observes the progression of his character, and also tries to emphasize his book On Hashish. Kirsch...
Introduction Flannery O’Connor wrote probably the cruelest and piercing stories in American literature. They addressed a wide range of social topics and revealed peoples hidden tools and behavioral motivation. In “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, the development of characters is described adequately through the prism of communication to...
Nature and science are intricately linked elements that complement and contradict each other in equal measure. Nathaniel Hawthorne has contributed to this discussion through “The Bench-Mark,” a uniquely written short story that revolves around the life of Aylmer, a scientist whose current mission involves the removal of a birthmark from...
Drew Hayden Taylor uses comic to explore community politics, intergenerational legacies, identity, and traditions in his book Motorcycles and Sweetgrass. I believe his primary theme is rational because it emphasizes the dire need to balance the modern world’s realities and culture. The author presents a troubled woman, Maggie, to demonstrate...
Notwithstanding that both William Golding and Mary Shelley created hypothetical situations to explore the nature of humans, their approaches and motives significantly differ. However, the given paper will prove that simultaneously they share the research on how the environment influences people and on what the inner nature of these creatures...
It goes without saying that there are multiple symbols in the short story “The black cat,” written by an outstanding American writer Edgar Allan Poe. As a matter of fact, the symbol of the black cat may be regarded as the most significant, and its changes throughout the story support...
Introduction The most profound meanings are texts in which the conflict is expressed implicitly, and occurs inside the character. The story of the knight Don Quixote and his squire Sancho Panza is a brilliant example of how a writer skillfully recreates inner-personal conflicts leading to the radical metamorphosis. Thus, a...
Gentle Ben is a novel by Walt Morey set in the Alaskan wilderness. The main character, Mark Andersen, experiences loneliness after the death of his older brother Jamie; however, he finds comfort in Ben – an Alaskan brown bear. A family-oriented adventurous story of a boy’s friendship with a terrifying...
Belief in Gods was part of the culture and religion of Ancient Greece, which was reflected in sculpture, art, architecture, literature, and traditions of the population. Nevertheless, often the images of the Gods in the art are the representation of the author but not of the entire people, since rituals...
Introduction William Shakespeare’s play, Othello, the Moor of Venice, describes tragedy using Othello as the protagonist. Othello is a Moorish soldier in the Venetian army who is highly qualified and respected. In the play, he finds himself in several tragedies resulting from racial discrimination, envy, love, and infidelity. Other characters...
Kant’s ideas about enlightenment and its impact on the human mind are essential views. The philosopher’s thoughts on this topic are clearly expressed in his essay “What is Enlightment?” where the author tells about his view of how exactly the human mind is transformed under the influence of progressive thinking...
In his poem “My Last Duchess”, Robert Browning narrates a story of a proud man, whose evil nature and wicked character traits become the reason of his wife’s tragic death. The Duke, who is both the main character in the poem, and is its narrator, tries to prove his innocence...
The plays of Moliere’s Tartuffe and Henrik Ibsen A Doll’s House are some of the most famous literary works. Both plays explore the all-consuming topic of money and the obsession with money, which are still relevant in modern society. A Doll’s House and Tartuffe depict the influence of money on...
The Moldau is the symphonic poem of the Czech composer Bedrich Smetana. The poem illustrates the flow of the Moldau river from its spring in the Bohemian forest to Prague. The Moldau theme is played five times and could be characterized as proud and playful by the character. Such an...
The Lottery was written by Shirley Jackson in 1948 and contains many notable themes. It has an exciting plot that, simultaneously, can cause a contradictable sense of averse for the events that take place. It might be rational to suggest that The Lottery is significant and relevant to discuss. The...
George Elliott Clarke is a multitalented author, offering a unique perspective as a Black Canadian in his works. Poetry is just one of Clarke’s facets, but it allows him to express his identity in a concise and vivid way. However, even a small sample of the works reveals a great...
There are several elements that can outright describe and reflect Greek drama. The play “Medea” by Euripides is a mythical tragedy that was written in 431 BC. One common element in such plays that is also reflected through the drama is the presence of mythical gods. The story gives relevance...
Introduction Philip Barry wrote Holiday in 1928. The stock market crashed in 1929 leading to the Great Depression of the 1930. Perhaps these events brought out better what Barry’s work criticized about the American society of that time – the affluent and nobles had a false face. Additionally, the play...
Introduction Literature has a unique connection with the real world as, through literary works, writers reflect the complexity of human nature and relations. Especially through a first-person perspective, readers have an opportunity to understand a different mindset and culture better. In particular, in Alexie’s short story What You Pawn I...
‘The Laughing Man’ is a fictitious story told by Chief John Gedsudski to the Comanche Club members, a twenty-five-member group of baseball players, in between breaks from their regular sports. The Laughing Man was an only child to a rich missionary couple, abducted in childhood by Chinese bandits. His parents...
Introduction The given literary analysis will primarily focus on The Leavers by Lisa Ko, which narrates the story of an abandoned child and his search for belonging. The main character is Daniel or Deming, whose mother is Polly Guo. The narrative focuses on the continuous abandonment of the protagonist, which...
Introduction The central idea of the Recitatif by Toni Morrison is race and racism, the “black-white” conflict. It must be noticed that the author’s approach to this subject is nonconventional, and the first sign of it is that she makes the reader guess who between the two protagonists of the...
A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen is an interesting play that considers a variety of themes, including morality, law, social standing, and gender equality. However, the central theme of the play – and the one reflected in its name – is marriage. Torvald and Nora appear to be a happy...
Introduction In the middle of the 1900s, the United States of America survived hard times when racism, poverty, and inequality shaped human standards. There are many literary works where authors tried to share their opinions and describe specific situations, conflicts, and lessons. One of them is Sula, a novel written...
Introduction William Shakespeare is one of the most significant figures of the United Kingdom and the whole world. His contribution to the development of culture and literary and theatrical art is priceless, and the fact that this ingenious writer lived and created literary works is a gift for all humankind....
“To His Coy Mistress” is a well-known poem by Andrew Marvell, in which the speaker addresses his lover, who is reluctant to be intimate with him. Even though the speaker seduces his lady, it is mostly a carpe diem poem full of profound contemplation about the brevity of life. “Had...
Literature has always been a tool used by authors to attract people’s attention to a particular aspect of their lives of problems topical for society. At the same time, some issues have always been topical for communities because of their universal character. These include love, relations, faith, morals, and values...
Social class and status were extremely important during the Victorian era. People did not have a chance to climb to the top if they were born into a lower class. Poor and less educated people remained the members of their class for life. A person’s belonging to a certain social...
Introduction The Sweat transitions enormously when Bertha is introduced in the story. Sykes is committed to having her put up with Della as a concubine. Delia is not ready to allow another woman to have the resources she has labored to buy. She resists, and in the event, the two...
Over the course of history, it has become clear that in a world replete with cruelty and mischievous triumph, people crave freedom even if it implies going as far as possible from the established behavioral norms and patterns. The undisputable eagerness to feel alive and find the new connotative meanings...
Introduction In the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, magic is described as a supernatural force that defies nature’s laws. These books are popular because they contradict the norms and beliefs that people have been raised to know. Rowling has formed a narrative logic to make these stories believable to...
Introduction “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a fictional narrative representing rural American culture. The story starts by telling the reader how “the men began to gather, surveying their own children, speaking of planting and rain, tractor and taxes.” The population and setup of structures highlighted in the narrative reveal...
Introduction It is natural that the relationship between parents and their children is usually composed throughout the period of early childhood. Special attention often has to be paid to the father-son relationship because these two male figures may be both prone to covering their emotions. The deep connection between sons...
Introduction Mary Wollstonecraft, an 18th-century British author and philosopher, was among the first people who openly drew the public’s attention to women’s rights in society. Her fundamental work, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, explores several important topics, and education is one of them. The situation in this regard...
Most Western societies have been predominantly patriarchal for most of history. Gender roles and many societal restrictions bounded women for centuries. Fundamental human rights like voting, abortion, and equal pay had to be fought for. Therefore, it is no wonder why many literary works reflect the unfair reality of gender...
Introduction Mythology is a critically important element of any culture. It represents values and ideas that attract people and contribute to the creation of inspiring stories. Myths also reveal the current state of society’s evolution and issues that are important at the moment. At the same time, there are still...
Many people do not even imagine how they are dependent on decisions they make, either it is a necessity to wear a new suit or an intention to get married. Decision-making may be a serious topic for discussion at a different age, and Robert Frost was one of the American...
The embodiment of the rival for Oedipus is Creon who does not represent the same interpretation that takes place in Sophocles’ Antigone. In Oedipus the King, this character does not want to obtain power and aspires rather a share of it. The chorus reaffirms the reliability of Creon’s words, as...
Summary In the prologue, Craig Welch tells a story about two detectives, Ed Volz and his partner Bill Jarmon, of the Washington department of fish and wildlife trying to track down smugglers of a geoduck, the world’s largest burrowing clam consumed as seafood. One night, they meet dealers with information...
Introduction By “I, too sing America” the author means that he also sings the anthem of America as he is a full-fledged citizen of the country, has the right to be a patriot, and can be proud of his homeland. Hughes “sings” and tries to convey the main idea of...
In the world of the 21st century, people seem to have forgotten about the cruelty of being deprived of freedom. With the impression of living as a free man, they have now become more focused on the notions of respect and equality. Only few, however, realize that every human being...
Introduction It may seem that the role of money in society is higher than morality — while abstract concept limits life, the material situation allows the owner to gain more influence and resources. That is why the phenomenon of money is reflected in fiction: the central themes of two plays,...
In the twentieth century, many artists paid great attention to existentialism. In addition, the theater of the absurd became a remarkable phenomenon, which described in colors all the strangeness and meaninglessness of life. A striking example of such a work is Endgame by Samuel Beckett. One of its theatrical performances...
