Romeo and Juliet Play by William Shakespeare

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

Harper Lee and “To Kill a Mockingbird”

There are numerous various books in the world, and some of them are products of pure imagination while others reflect real life. Often authors implement some aspects of their lives into their works, and one such example is Harper Lee and her novel To Kill a Mockingbird. To understand the...

Reflection About Teaching Patriotism in Schools

Introduction As a concept, patriotism has been subjected to multiple interpretations, which range from quite neutral to outstandingly positive to downright negating its significance. The perception of patriotism, has become particularly complicated over the past decade due to the rise in political tensions among representatives of different countries, as well...

Civilization and Oppression in World Literature

The postcolonial theory looks at how colonization influenced the colonized nations in terms of culture, economics, religion, power, and politics. It encompasses such topics as identity, otherness, class, race, diaspora, and others. This paper aims to explore such topics of postcolonial theory as oppression and being civilized or uncivilized in...

“The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien: Analysis

The nature of war is excruciatingly difficult to understand, being both disturbingly simplistic in its raw violence and unbearably complicated in the multitude of lives that it consumes and the intricate emotional responses that people build toward it. The Vietnam War is one of the best – or, to be...

Setting Matters: “Cat in the Rain”, “A Rose for Emily”

A person telling a story is likely to provide some setting to help listeners acknowledge relevant contexts. The setting, being one of the central components of literary works, serves as a background where certain events take place (Khrais, 2017). Some may even think that authors mention the place where their...

Virtue and Family Responsibility in “The Ramayana”

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,...

Birches Poem Analysis

Introduction The poetic legacy of Robert Frost, as one of the foremost American poets of the 20th century, is rich and imbued with images and vivid stories. As an example, his poem “Birches” can be analyzed as a work that captivates the reader with its philosophical ideas about eternity and...

“The Year of Magical Thinking” by Joan Didion

How the setting (time and place of the novel’s events) has impacted the beginning of the plot The plot and course of the story are significantly shaped by the initial events of time and place. The author, Joan Didion, and her late husband, John Didion head to the hospital to...

The Meaning of Fairy Tales in Adult Life

Children love fairy tales, which is not surprising as books contain worldly wisdom, allowing them to find a way out of many life situations and in an accessible form explaining the structure of this world. Many of the world-famous fairy tales were initially written for adult readers. Only transformed and...

Love in Shakespeare’s Sonnets 141 to 145

William Shakespeare is one of the most prominent figures in world literature whose characters and imagery are still popular. His plays are staged and screened in many countries, while his sonnets are widely read and recited. William Shakespeare focused on diverse topics in his literary works, but his sonnets are...

The Future Shock and Its Idea on Accelerating the Speed of Progress

Alvin Toffler is an American philosopher and futurologist, one of the authors of the popular concept of post-industrial civilization, author of many books and articles. He holds honorary doctorates in literature and natural sciences. In the late 1960s, Toffler was commissioned by IBM to research the social consequences of the...

Comparing and Contrasting Sonnet 103 with Echo and Narcissus

Shakespeare permeates his lyrics with amazing metaphors and comparisons to express love and feelings. The metaphors used in Sonnet 103 and Echo and Narcissus by Shakespeare also present the reader with an indirect description of the sublime romance. On the other hand, the romance in these two works is, in...

Responsibility in “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare

Introduction Macbeth is a play, one of the most famous tragedies by William Shakespeare, presented for the first time in 1606. It is based on the true story of the Scottish king Macbeth and reveals an excessive lust for power. In the story, General Macbeth hears the prophecy of three...

Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum Est”

The research on Owen’s life helps understand the motivation for writing “Dulce et Decorum Est.” Wilfred Owen was born in Shropshire, England, in 1893 (“Wilfred Owen”). As a young adult, he was forced to join the army in 1916 because the WW1 began. Hence, the understanding of Owens’s life journey...

The History Behind “On Being Brought From Africa to America”

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...

Who Is the Monster, or Who Are the Monsters, in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley?

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a good representation of human evils in literature. The main question concerned is who should be considered a monster: creative insane scientists or people around us. It is difficult to emphasize black and white characters because the situation differs from the classical villain-hero scenario. Each character...

Examination of the Heroes Beowulf and The Knight

The characteristics of a good individual have been an essential topic of philosophical and literary discussions for several decades, as such attributes as moral conduct and benevolent attitude often distinguish a virtuous person. The epic poem Beowulf, translated by Lesslie Hall, presents a prominent example of a good individual. The...

“Neighbors” Short Story by Raymond Carver

The story of the Millers presents fascinating attributes of families in contemporary societies. In many instances, people tend to copy what their fellows are doing with a perception that these other individuals have a better life, just like the Millers admired the Stones. Although Bill is portrayed as an outgoing...

Love in “Romeo and Juliet” Play by William Shakespeare

“Romeo and Juliet” was written by William Shakespeare about two young people deeply in love. It is set in Italy during the 16th century, and it has been one of the most debated narratives. Love is an archetype that is evident across the piece. The story relates to my chosen...

The Triumph of Death: A Prominent Theme in Gothic Literature

No species is more deserving of accolades than humans for consistently executing the dual role of creating problems and solving them. While some challenges predate humanity, many wrongs people seek correct are artificial. Mired in the endless maze of thanatophobia, the fear of death, people have grown overly preoccupied with...

The Boston Massacre. Historical Documents

While both documents are historical accounts of the Boston Massacre on March 5th, 1770, there are significant differences in the narratives. Unarguably, bias and political motivations are present in both, but from what is known by historians, Captain Preston’s account is more accurate. First, the description of the massacre itself...

The Gift of the Magi Short Story by O. Henry

All O. Henry’s works are imbued with attention to imperceptible “little” people, whose troubles and joys are vividly portrayed in his stories. The author aims to draw attention to the genuine human values. As a result, the most seemingly deplorable finals of his short stories begin to be perceived as...

Antagonistic Objects in the Short Stories

An antagonist is a character who opposes the main one on the way to achieve goals. The antagonist-protagonist opposition is one of the possible driving forces of the central conflict of literature work. The actions of the antagonist not only create obstacles that the protagonist must overcome but can also...

Letter from Birmingham Jail – Summary & Analysis

The “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was authored by Martin Luther King (1963) while in custody. King references the church leaders as the audience in the first paragraph of the letter. In the article, the clergy term King as a sheer outsider who instigated the demonstrations. In the letter, King uses...

“The Necklace” by Guy De Maupassant: Character Portrayal

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....

“My Last Duchess” Poem by Robert Browning

Summary The poem, “My Last Duchess” was written by Robert Browning in 1842. The work can be described as one that’s the prime example of a dramatic monologue in the form of a poem. The dramatic monologue, as a genre is a self-conversation that is presented from a particular character’s...

The Concept of Fairness in the Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale”

Justice, equality, and fairness are the ideals people from different cultures in different parts of the world have always aspired to achieve. They are the values that not only have inspired people to speak up and fight against oppression, cruelty, discrimination, and abuse but also encouraged innovation and progress, bringing...

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...

“The Last Leaf” by O. Henry and “The Good Samaritan” by Luke

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...

“Wild Nights!” by Emily Dickinson

Who is the Speaker? Wild Nights is known as one of the most thought-provoking poems written by Emily Dickinson in 1891. This verse has captured readers’ attention and imagination due to its ambiguous nature. It narrates about passion, desire, rapture, and ecstasy; yet, it also describes the powerful natural phenomenon....

Body, Pain, Self, and Sexual Desires as Themes in Poetry

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...

War in Ernest Hemingway and Tim O’Brien’s Stories

Soldier’s Home and How to Tell a True War Story are short stories written about the wars. In the Soldier’s House, Hemingway narrates the time after the First World War, and O’Brien connects the events with the Vietnam War. In a comparison of O’Brien’s description of war with Hemingway, it...

Jack Turner, the Song of the White Pelican

Identity encompasses the unique signature that differentiates different works of literature. Essentially, this identity can be utilized to differentiate different works originating from different authors. Jack Turner is an author that has created an identity for himself, by not only writing interactive works on wildlife but also incorporating various figures...

Review of Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”

The short story written by Kate Chopin in 1894 raises essential feminist issues. Despite the short form of the literary work, it successfully and powerfully conveys the deprivations American women of the end of the nineteenth century experienced due to the dominantly patriarchal society in which they lived. Meticulously using...

Love Theme in “Paradise” by Toni Morrison

Introduction The novel Paradise was written in 1997, and it was Morrison’s first book after winning the Nobel Prize in literature in 1993. Paradise stresses the affection of God, and it is the author’s third novel focusing on various kinds of love. All the chapters in the book are dedicated...

Eliezer’s Lost Childhood and the Image in the Mirror

Holocaust is a sad tragedy that left its terrible traces in the hearts and souls of millions of innocent people. Among them is also Elie Wiesel who shared his sad experience in his book “Night”. At the end of the book, the readers find a very special scene when Eliezer,...

Kafka’s Metamorphosis from a Legal Perspective: People vs. the Samsa Family

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,...

Analysis of Social Issues Raised in American Literature

Any literary work raises an issue related to a political or social problem in society. An examination of a narrative’s historical context, its literary features, and plot helps identify and understand such societal issues. The poem “Ballad of Birmingham” by Dudley Randall, the poem “The Star-Spangled Banner” by Francis Scott...

Current Culture in Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk away from Omelas” Story

“The Ones Who Walk away from Omelas” is a fiction by Ursula K. Le Guin. Through the elaborated imagery of reflective narration, the author explores urgent moral issues still relevant to our society. This paper aims to apply Le Guin’s short fiction to the cultural analysis of our modern society....

The Problem of Power and Powerlessness in “Hard Times” by Charles Dickens

Introduction The problems of public life and power are central in any culture, and their poignancy is expressed throughout the history of literature: literary forms are often seen as a safe place for ideas to dwell. The desire to achieve a lawful legal order and a moral and ethical climate...

Homer’s Iliad and Sophocles’ Three Theban Plays

The Greeks are some of the renowned writers who have ever been known. Although most of their works were done in the past, scholars still use their poems up to date. The Greeks seemed to have mastered the art of poetry and tales since the pieces were done in a...

“Twelve Years a Slave” Book by Solomon Northup

Slavery and racial discrimination are the two ugliest forms of human interaction. Unfortunately, for a long period in history, they had been an integral part of society and determined relations between different groups of people. However, the evolution of human thought and the rise of humanistic values created the basis...

Juan Boscan’s Letter to the Duchess of Soma

Juan Boscan is a significant Catalan lyric poet who was at the court of Charles V and was considered the best student of Siculo and Varini. The latter were teachers of Latin culture in the family of the Dukes of Alba. Subsequently, Juan Boscan himself became a mentor to the...

Disempowerment of Women in King Arthur’s Court

Abstract Thomas Malory’s book “Le Morte Darthur: The Winchester Manuscript” is about the life and death of King Arthur. Apart from ventures and battles, it depicts the disempowerment of women in King Arthur’s Court, an issue which is not so frequently discussed by scholars in frames of the book “Le...

“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...

Oedipus, the King and Hamlet: Analysis

Belonging to entirely different cultures and addressing quite different social and psychological issues, “Oedipus, the King” and “Hamlet” might seem quite distant from each other. However, with the advent of psychoanalysis and the development of the psychoanalytical theory, parallels can be drawn between the emotions by which Hamlet and Oedipus...

Heroism in “Odyssey” by Homer and “Inferno” by Dante

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....

Love, Life, Death, and God Concepts in Poetry

Introduction The themes of love, life, death, and belief are commonly discussed in poetry, and people are free to expand their own opinions and judgments. One of the main reasons for poets and poetesses to choose these concepts is their emotional complexity. These issues can be easily coupled with each...

Sea Poems by Keats and Wordsworth

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...

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...

“Shooting an Elephant” and “Stranger in the Village”

The themes of oppression, alienation, and identity often permeate the well-known pieces of modern and classic literature. Conflicts that are understood on an instinct level are often engaging for the reader and broad with possible meanings. The basic issue at the core of a story can be expanded and turned...

Leitmotif of Women Empowerment in Kate Chopin’s Works

Introduction Kate Chopin was a well-known American novelist and short story writer who was born in the late 1800s. She is considered one of the founders of feminist ideas. Even though at the end of the nineteenth century, this movement was only in a state of formation and was widely...

Autobiography as a Literary Genre: Review

Autobiography is an exciting and unusual literary genre popular worldwide. Writing an autobiography is an excellent opportunity to declare oneself, tell stories, and teach future generations something new. This allows people to transfer their useful experience to other people, which contributes to society’s development. However, in addition to having an...

The Glass Menagerie: The Roles of Amanda and Society

Autobiographic works do not only help understand the author’s writing better but also do it credibly and convincingly. The Glass Menagerie is a memory play by Tennessee Williams, in which he recollects life challenges his family had to face. This paper aims to prove that the social environment, rather than...

William Shakespeare’s “Othello, the Moor of Venice”: An Aristotelian Tragedy

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...

Parenting in Lapine’s Play Into the Wood

Introduction Parenthood is one of the central elements of personality socialization, which lays the child’s primary skills in communication and interaction with the environment. For this reason, it is so important to provide effective and pedagogical education and training that stimulates the child’s successful and harmonious development. Otherwise, a parent...

The Idea of Friendship in Literary Works

Studying the phenomenon of friendship in literary works is quite popular among authors. The writer Sherman Alexie in his story “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” comically approaches the description of friendship between old friends. At the same time, Borges Luis, in the short story “Funes the...

“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...

Symbolism in “The Egg” and “Bernice Bobs Her Hair”

One of the most effective learning approaches is through fictional and real-life narratives. Short stories have been used in the history of humanity to offer studying materials that allow students to connect emotionally with the texts and relate them with their experiences. The Egg and Bernice Bobs Her Hair are...

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Jane Austen authored the title Pride and Prejudice in 1797 for ten months. However, the novel was published in 1813. To help in her writing, Jane Austen used personal experiences of the happenings during that era as the story describes the middle-class life in England. Jane Austen hails from a...

“Parable of the Sower” by Octavia E. Review

Introduction Within the current state of government and society order, it is difficult to predict the future regarding the abundance of current issues that can jeopardize a better future. The current civilization should consider the specific laws and ways of living in order to set to ensure a bright future...

The Theme of Patriotism and Honor: Poetry Seminar Analysis

Introduction The theme of patriotism and honor is a crucial element in understanding the literature and film created to depict World War I. The poem “The Absorption” in particular focuses on the ideas of patriotism because Sassoon contrasts the horrors of wartime with the soldier’s changing attitudes towards the battlefield...

Greek Drama. “Medea” by Euripides

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...

Edmund Spenser’s Sonnet 75 Analysis

Edmund Spenser firstly published sonnet 75 in 1595, and it was devoted to his second wife, Elizabeth Boyle. The verse was a part of the book Amoretti and Epithalamion, which included love poems and a wedding song. In his work, Spenser presents a straightforward idea that love is immortal and...

Pursuit of Daisy Buchanan in Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”

Reasons Why The Pursuit of Daisy Buchanan Was Justified “Great Gatsby” is a novel written by F.S. Fitzerald and published in 1925. The book follows the narrator as he enters the world of the American socialite after returning from war and meets the eponymous main character. Jay Gatsby gained his...

“Lusus Naturae” by Margaret Atwood

“Lusus Naturae” by Margaret Atwood describes an unknown creature that everyone renounces at first glance. It is a girl with specific congenital syndromes that make her appearance strange and intimidating. The author uses Point of View (PV) to describe characters and set up a plot in which the main character...

Analysis of Hamlet Passage by William Shakespeare

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....

Attitudes Toward Death: Thomas vs. Whitman

Introduction As well as the theme of love, the theme of life and death is frequently preferred by many poets for their great works. The main challenge is the impossibility to avoid death or prolong life, and authors try to find out additional ways to calm down, motivate, and support...

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...

“Frankenstein” Story Retold by Anna Meriano

“Frankenstein,” the book by Anna Meriano, is a fancy, captivating retelling of the worldwide known legend. The story of a creature seeking love began in the writings of Mary Shelly in the 19th century. Masterful illustrations by Katy Wu make the book look like a personal diary. Victor, the main...

The novel “A Man of the People”

Introduction The novel A Man of the People was first published in 1966 by Chinua Achebe, who depicted a wide range of problems concerning the corrupted nature of politics, power, and greed. Despite its date of publication, the novel presents a high relevance even these days due to the acute...

Shelley’s Frankenstein: The Monster’s Description

The story of Frankenstein and his creation has been popular for many years. It was a base for movies, and the monster character was included in many other stories. This is not surprising since this monster is ambiguous and arouses many feelings and emotions. Many contradictions exist in this monster,...

Bidpai’s “The Camel and His Friends” Story Analysis

Lying at the crossroads between a children’s story and a part of the folklore-related legacy of a specific ethnicity, fables have a very special place in literature. With recurring characters and basic yet important life lessons to offer to their readers, fables serve as a shorthand for conveying important messages...

The Book “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” by Mary Wollstonecraft

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...

Hamlet’s Universality and Contemporary Cultural Discourse

Measuring the literary value of a text is a complex process. The worth of a piece of literature to human civilization is a notion that, for instance, the postmodernist worldview negates, as well as the need for literary idols. Nevertheless, some texts became deeply ingrained in social consciousness as those...

“Jazz” by Toni Morrison

Introduction Any literature masterpiece is composed of numerous layers and themes, which supplement each other and give it new tones and accents. One can read a book looking for some evident events and the plot lying on the surface. However, this approach will not ensure a profound understanding of the...

“A Lesson Before Dying” by Ernest J. Gaines

From ancient history to modern days, people have worshipped heroes. Whether they were living or dead, fictional or real, those extraordinary individuals inspired others to be better. In A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest J. Gaines explores the theme of heroes in a seemingly brief, but significant way. The novel’s plot...

Loss of Faith in Night by Elie Wiesel

One of the main themes of Wiesel’s ‘Night’ is faith in God. Throughout the book the faith of the narrator, Eliezer, undergoes many assaults. In the beginning we see his ‘totalistic and zealous commitment to God’, as Downing describes his state of faith (62). Eliezer grew up believing, that everything...

Analysis of the Short Story “A&P” by John Updike

Introduction “A&P” is a short story written by John Updike, an American novelist, poet, and literary critic. The story was initially published in 1961 in The New Yorker. Updike tells the story of Sammy, a nineteen-year-old working in a small-town grocery store. The central conflict in the plot revolves around...

Utnapishtim’s Teaching About Immortality

The encounter between Gilgamesh and Uta-Utnapishtim teaches the protagonist to accept death’s inevitability and stop searching for eternal life. Afflicted by Enkidu’s death, Gilgamesh immerses into thoughts about his mortality and seeks Uta-Utnapishtim, who was granted everlasting life after the Deluge. Uta-Utnapishtim advises Gilgamesh to abandon the idea and demonstrates...

Ralph Ellison’s “Battle Royal”: Racism

Introduction The main character of Battle Royal, a short story which was written by Ralph Ellison, describes the life of a young black man, who is forced to endure violent acts of racism towards him and other African-Americans. Even though it depicts the events from centuries ago, the issue that...

“The Man He Killed” by Thomas Hardy

The poem I chose for this essay is “The Man He Killed” by Thomas Hardy. It was written in 1902, and published at the time of the Second Boer War between the British Empire and combined forces of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State. The poem examines...

“Mr. Fox” by Helen Oyeyemi: Violence Against Women

Introduction Mr. Fox is one of the many novels written by Helen Oyeyemi. Through a set of short stories, the author explores a variety of different topics; however, the subject of violence against women seems to be the most prevalent. The issue is identified in the very beginning with the...

“Big Fish” by Daniel Wallace Review

In Daniel Wallace’s Big Fish, the main character Edward Bloom is obsessed with water throughout his life. Water is the central theme of the novel, and it symbolizes the abundant life in which there are numerous possibilities of places to explore, challenges to face, people to meet, and ways to...

Stephen King’s 1408: The Image of Death in Contemporary Gothic Literature

Modern gothic literature involves the use of terrifying, horrifying, and uncertain death events. A gothic story requires a frightening setting and unusual characters. 1408, a story by King, is a reflection of modern gothic literature. It is composed of elements of terror, horror, death and suspense. Great parts of the...

“The Spellman Files” by Lisa Lutz

Lisa Lutz’s The Spellman Files is a novel with disordered episodes which combine some genres. It combines literary work with comedy and mystery in a 300-plus-page book. Despite the problems found in the structure of the book, Lutz’s choice of characters, humor and adept narration makes the book an interesting...

Greek Mythology: The Life of Hades

Greek mythology includes numerous outstanding and influential figures worth researching. Besides, the details of this vibrant world imply many fascinating insights that can be translated into modern society. One of the Greek gods is Hades, “the god of death and the dead,” who was also called “the King of the...

“The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls: Impression of Jeanette’s Parents

The first impression of Jeannette’s mother is very conflicting. It is hard to believe that she is describing her mother. When she describes her emotions and the way she sees her mother going through garbage, one wonders if she is talking about her mother or someone she just calls “Mom”....

“Snow-White and Rose-Red” and “Snow White and the Huntsman” Character Analysis

The German fairy tale Snow-White and Rose-Red (German: Schneeweißchen und Rosenrot), just as the more famous Little Snow White, is one of the stories collected by the Brothers Grimm, who brought their version of the fairy tale in accordance with the moral norms of the contemporary German society. According to...

Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Introduction Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s novel Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus addresses conventional romantic themes like isolation and beauty of the nature and one can find that the novel discusses the ultimate pain of lose. It is often considered as a humanistic critique of technological development or new scientific inventions. Personal...

Acquainted with the Night by Frost: Writing Techniques

Introduction “Acquainted with the Night” is a poem written by an American poet, Robert Frost. He is a famous figure in the literary world because there are no other poets except for him who managed to receive four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry. In this essay, the answer to the question...

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...

The American Dream in “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan

Introduction Literature is one of the greatest ways through which important messages are passed to millions of people all over the world. The audience may be fascinated by the title of a story or novel and decide to buy it while another may be interested in reading anything that will...

Love Obstacles in Betty Keller’s Tea Party

Betty Keller’s essay Tea Party is one of her best works. It demonstrates the talent of the author as far as the reader may observe how many themes may be covered in such a short story (Betty Keller). This essay is like a hymn to the remote love between two...

“They Shut Me Up in Prose” by Emily Dickinson

Annotation The writer speaks of a force that has tried to limit her ability to write in prose and compares this to a time when she was young and they tried to lock her up in a closet in a bid to silence her and make her still. She goes...

Themes in “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy

Introduction In his work, The Road, Cormac McCarthy creates a quintessentially post-apocalyptic scenario, revolving around the plight of a man and a boy, desperately holding on to a wavering yearning for survival and sustenance, in a world turned upside down by the reasons unknown to the reader (Ryan 152). The...

The “Night” Novel by Wiesel Review

Wiesel’s intention in writing the novel ‘Night’ was to give a testimony of the horrors that took place during the Holocaust; consequently, the themes from the book reflect these intentions. Themes in the night When Elie was a young boy, he grew up in a sheltered environment where he assumed...

Two Passages From ‘The Devil on the Cross’ by Ngugi

First passage In this passage Wariinga who is the main protagonist in this play talks about her material and emotional problems. In this case, it can be argued that Wariinga had been abandoned by her lover, which resulted in her emotional problems. From the passage, it can be argued that...

Stono Revolt Literature Review

Introduction In 1739 a slave revolt took place in South Carolina. It is referred to as the Stono Rebellion or the Catos Rebellion. It is not clear what actually triggered the rebellion by the slaves in South Carolina. On the fateful day of 29 September 1739, the slaves in South...

Symbols & Themes in The Necklace by Maupussant

Introduction The narrative opens with an exposition of the protagonist. The author describes the persona’s background as being one of discontentment characterized by envy for a better life. (Maupassant 4). However, the persona is only able to dream of her objects of envy as her life provides limitations. The opening...

Dichotomy in “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” Poem

The dichotomy is the division of opinions that are contradicting in their meanings and application. The poem sir Gawain and the Green Knight is about testing the morals that people uphold. The poem revolves around Gawain and the Green Knight. The Green Knight is the challenger who puts sir Gawain...

Love and Death in Poetry by Emily Dickinson

Emily Elizabeth Dickinson is known as one of the most famous poets of the XIX century. One of the most important causes of her popularity is her manner of writing that was new for the period, during which she has been working, and the main themes of her literature. So,...

Tragedy in Oedipus the King by Sophocles

Introduction The ancient Greeks were well-known for their tragedies. These tragedies played a big role in the process of carrying out investigations about the nature of man and the position man held in the world and also the powers that served to control man’s life. Tragedy in most cases involves...

“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...

Character’s Identity in Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles

Literature has often been described as the representation of human life and his social, cultural, religious and ethical backgrounds. One can consider Macbeth, as a Shakespearean play and Tess of the D’Urbervilles, as a Hadrian novel. Literary works of most of the writers demonstrate various identity based concepts such as...

Bonny George Campbell Ballade Review

Bonnie George Campbell is a very good child ballade that you actually do not understand when at childhood so deeply and thoroughly as you do when being a grown-up. Partially, because there are those words you do not understand and partially because adults apply more personal life experience. Overall, it...

‘The Right Stuff’ Book by Tom Wolfe

Tom Wolf in his book ‘The Right Stuff’ 1979 attempts to talk about the commitment of the pilots in US postwar research with the experimental speed-planes. The title, The Right Stuff dwells around the idea of having the right stuff. Wolfe also documents the tales of the initial development of...

Character Analysis in Mark Twain’s Works

Introduction By portraying the relationship between a young white boy {Huck} and a black slave {Jim} – a relationship that sees the racially prejudiced suspicion of the former dissolve and replaced by a warm friendship with the black slave – Mark Twain does well to depict the gross injustice of...

Ambrose Bierce and Henry James Works Comparison

“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce is rather a short story originally published in 1890. The primary characteristic of the story is irregular time spacing and unclear ending. By the end of the story, the reader does not have an understanding of what has really happened with...

“David Copperfield” by Charles Dickens

The novel David Copperfield by Charles Dickens is the narration about the hard experiences of the main hero, David Copperfield the Younger. David is a naïve village boy and half orphan whose father dies six months before his birth. The novel is also the account of a gradual transformation of...

Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis

Author The author, Joseph John Ellis was born in 1943 and is currently professor at the Mount Holyoke College of History on the Ford Foundation. He wrote the Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation in 2000 and received the Pulitzer Prize in History in 2001 for it. He received his PhD...

Time Machine in The Olive Tree by Aldous Huxley

Introduction Aldous Leonard Huxley was born in the year 1824 and died in the year 1963 at the age of 69 years. He was born in England but spent several years in United States in his latter life from 1937 till his death. He was a humanist and in later...

Love and Loneliness in the Works of R. Carver and B. A. Mason

Introduction Raymond Carver is considered one of the very few contemporary writers who concentrated mainly on short stories and poems. According to many, Raymond revived a dying profession of literature. His literary works are mainly characterized by middle-class characters. Because he mainly wrote on love and loneliness, Raymond was believed...

“The Worst Hard Time” by Timothy Egan

National Enterprise Reporter Timothy Egan is a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and the author of five successful books. His books include masterpieces such as The Good Rain and Lasso the Wind. The worst hard time is a story that centers on the people who were present in America’s high plains in...

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...

“Mimsy Were the Borogoves” by Lewis Padgett

The short story Mimsy Were the Borogoves, written by Henry Cutter and Catherine Moore, has always been considered as one of the most prominent examples of American science fiction. The main reason, why this novella attracts so much attention of critics is its deep symbolism, and intricate ideas, which the...

“The Difference of Being Human” by Francisco Ayala: Arguing

Ever since the application of the notion of political correctness to theoretical and empirical research, in various fields of science, began to undermine its intellectual soundness, we can no longer assume the results of such research as being objective by definition. Reading Francisco Ayala’s article “The Difference of Being Human”...

Breaking Free of Tradition. Poetry

Early American Poetry Poetic tradition in America followed that in Britain for nearly 200 years. The Puritan poets, like Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor, likened their work to the British metaphysical poets, and followed in the footsteps of Milton, Spenser and Donne, among others. Their poetry was highly didactic, mostly...

The Theme of Change in Poetry

“Omnia mutabantur, mutantur, mutabuntur” as the Latin proverb has it. Antiquity has supplied us with perfect food for reflection since ancient literary sources are the treasury of wisdom, just as the sayings that have lived during centuries to supply humanity of the present with eternal wisdom. Everything changes. It is...

“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...

Coelho’s Biographical Representations in “The Alchemist”

Introduction Paulo Coelho is one of the most famous novelists of the world of today (Coelho, 2009). This Brazilian author wins a lot of respect for his talent of making people think of the simplest issues they have never thought of before, even when those issues directly touch their lives...

“Nice Guys Can Get the Corner Office” by Edelman Russ

The Book, “Nice Guys Can Get the Corner Office” is a conflicting view of why being a nice guy in business and life has more benefits than what the conservative believes. Being a nice person is a fashioned thing in the modern world contrary to what the conservative has believed...

A Rose for Emily

William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily” is a story about a woman who is isolated from her town because of the attitudes and beliefs of the Old South social structure. Throughout the story, she is seen as a town oddity because she represents the ways of the Old...

Old South Social Structure in “A Rose for Emily” by W. Faulkner

Introduction A Rose for Emily is one of the shortest stories by William Faulkner and it tells the tale of a woman named Miss Emily Grierson living in the southern parts of the country with its depleting social structure. The author narrates his story from the point of view of...

A Pale View of Hills: The First Novel, Written by Kazuo Ishiguro

A Pale View of Hills is the first novel, written by a prominent English-speaking author, Kazuo Ishiguro. In this book, the novelist explores various themes, and this book can be analyzed from various perspectives, for example, the relationships between family members, the sense of alienation, the hardships, which many immigrants...

Human Behavior Depicted in Science Fiction Works

Science fiction is successful enough to convey the message that human behavior changes under political and scientific changes. It is important to note that most of these changes are not very encouraging. Human beings lose all the considerate thoughts for their fellow beings and turn into inhuman beasts ready to...

Ahab from Moby Dick and Prospero from the Tempest

First of all, there is the necessity to explain the choice of the form of the essay and the choice of the characters that present nontrivial development of the comparative analysis of their characters. The work has the form of the panel discussion with two main participants, Ahab and Prospero....

Frederick Douglass’s and Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiographies

Introduction The overall situation in America from a political, educational, and religious was distinguishable. Benjamin Franklin and Frederick Douglass were iconic American figures able to accomplish their life goals and express their life road through their biographies. Through the reading of the book, the similarities between the two have been...

Francois Voltaire’s “Candide, or Optimism”: Analysis of Satire

In the scope of classical literature, the writings of Francois Voltaire occupy a prominent position. Voltaire’s renowned shrewd outlook and sober judgment found reflection in his famous satire Candide, or Optimism – a book which, met with a scandal immediately after publication, has enjoyed great popularity for centuries due to...

The Transition of a Woman in Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”

“The Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin (1894) tells us the transition of a woman from shock to grief to joy and then again to shock within a span of an hour or so. But it should be mentioned in the initial stages that there is no change of...

“Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen

The book Water for Elephants by Sara Gruenn is full of rich accounts and actions. The reader is attracted into the vast arena of sideshows, elephants and ringmasters. One can also get experience about the conditions of nursing homes as also about old age. Indeed the book is remarkable in...

“On Bullshit” by Harry Gordon Frankfurt

On Bullshit is a 2005 nonfiction bestseller by acclaimed American philosopher, Dr. Harry Gordon Frankfurt. A compact 67-page philosophical investigation, and emanating his distinguishable blend of philosophical acuity, wry humor, and psychological insight, Frankfurt sketches/develops a revolutionary theory of bullshit – defining the concept and analyzing its application, effect, and...

Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice” Performance

Introduction The play Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, as all the masterpieces of the prominent writer, raised the themes of love, hatred, betrayal, and honor; the performance transfers the reader into the atmosphere of religious oppression and human portrayal of the central character, villainous Shylock. The play remains relevant,...

Nature of Name in “The Namesake” by Jhumpa Lahiri

Introduction In most cases our backgrounds characterize us, for instance, where we grew up, our beliefs as well as traditions, the forms of education we acquire and the friends we make. It only becomes a problem when your background clash and as a result we are left torn between the...

Rhetorical Scheme in “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck

Introduction Just like any other novel this one utilizes three rhetorical schemes such as emotion, character, and logic. Yet upon closer examination the strongest is emotion or pathos. Steinbeck was able to do this indirectly. Without explaining what he is doing and without being explicit about his goals he was...

“The Necklace” vs. “Paste”: Character Comparison

Comparing characters of Mathilde and Charlotte In these two short stories, Mathilde is portrayed as the pretty and charming wife of Mr. Loisel, a minor clerk in the Ministry of Education. She is disillusioned with her small time life, with no grandeur or high living. Charlotte Prime is a governess...

“The Knight’s Tale” by Geoffrey Chaucer

In the history of the English literature Geoffrey Chaucer is undoubtedly the biggest poetic name up to Shakespeare, where the best of his works — “The Canterbury Tales” is certainly one of the greatest literary works of the English Middle Ages in which Renaissance features are clearly breaking through. The...

Relationships and Dialogues. “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin

Edna Pontellier, the heroine of “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin, lives in the United States during the 1800s. During those days, men dominated U.S. society while women were considered inferior to them. The Feminism movement that demanded women should be treated equally as men, having the same political, economic, and...

Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis Book I and II

Introduction The book Persepolis I and II, reflects on the life of Marjane Satrapi, an Iranian girl who fled to Vienna in Australia after the Islamic revolution in 1979. This occurred after the Iranian warfare augmented the government’s authority over its people. Satrapi’s parents saw the need to send their...

“Columbus and Western Civilization” by Howard Zinn

“Who controls the past controls the future. And who controls the present controls the past.” By the above quote, it is meant that Orwell claims those historians to be in power who govern our society. Only such historians who lead the society through their deeds or words are in a...

S. Armand’s Lesson and the Horror Genre

The key element in horror fiction is its ability to provoke fear or terror in readers with a sense of dread, unease, anxiety, or foreboding. A horror fiction may contain highly improbable and unexpected sequences of events that usually begin in ordinary situation and involve supernatural elements; explore dark, malevolent...

Cullen’s and Milton’s Poems Review

Introduction The Afro American poets Countee Cullen and John Milton are closely connected with the so-called Renaissance of the African literature. The best known poem “yet, do I marvel” by Cullen is often been misinterpreted and consequently, it was regarded as just one more lament of a defeated soul as...

“The Metamorphosis” by Kafka

In all societies and all epochs, judging individuals by their appearance was a prevalent tendency, which normally allowed creating a first impression about the person, their possible nature, lifestyle, and behavior. However, there is a negative side to such practice, which consists of prejudices against those, who look different in...