Aggression as a Theme in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

The story compares commonplace details of current life with a barbaric ceremony known as the “lottery”. The setting is a small American town where the inhabitants display a commemorative mood as they meet on June 27 for their annual lottery. After an individual from each family draws a small piece...

Themes in Death of a Salesman: Research Paper

Introduction “Poor Willy!” Charley laments in the end at Willy’s funeral. Poor Willy indeed! None of his delusions of grandeur or the glories of being a Salesman came true. Not only is he not rich he committed suicide precisely because he was so poor that he wanted to die just...

Willy Loman Death of a Salesman: Character Analysis

Introduction The Death of a Salesman vividly portrays a life of a middle-class salesman who tries to achieve the American dream and realize his life hopes. Miller writes that, in Loman, he has attempted to personify certain values which civilized men, in the twentieth century, share. In Death of a...

Benjamin Franklin vs. Jay Gatsby: Character Comparison

The Great Gatsby deal with contradictions present in a romantic figure, certain troubling discrepancies between appearance and reality which that figure reveals under critical scrutiny. The main character can be compared with Ben Franklin as he possesses the same qualities and virtues. Similar to Ben Franklin, Gatsby value knowledge and...

Jazz Age & American Dream in Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”

The Great Gatsby is considered to be one of the most renowned books of the beginning of the XX century. Written by a famous American writer Scott Fitzerald (1925), it represents extensive chronicles of the era named “Jazz Age”. The story is set on the background of the aftermath of...

A Good Man is Hard to Find & The Story of an Hour: Compare & Contrast Essay

Introduction A human being is a very complicated structure with a set of different qualities. A single quality does not represent whether a human being is good or bad. However, this quality can give a push to make a negative or positive opinion. Though what is good for one person...

Children’s Resilience in Bible and Literature by Mukherjee and Faulkner

Introduction The renowned African American author Maya Angelou said it best as she spoke the words “Children’s talent to endure stems from their ignorance of alternatives.” I believe that this enduring resiliency of the youth comes from the fact that children are innocents who, for a major part of their...

Marriage According to Geoffrey Chaucer and Jane Austen

Introduction The most discussed subject in the works of Chaucer and Jane Austen is the topic of marriage. It is still a hotly debated subject. What kind of relationship a husband and wife should have, how the domestic duties are to be shared, and whether both are equal, or whether...

Social Life in Canterbury Tales vs. Pride & Prejudice: Compare & Contrast Essay

Introduction Geoffrey Chaucer and Jane Austen belong to two different remarkable periods in English Literature. Chaucer was born in 1334 and Austen in 1775. The birth of the English language and literature in the fourteenth century provided a proper atmosphere in England for the growth of new trends and tendencies...

Comparing Characters from Odyssey, Scarlett Letter, Troy, Hamlet

The topic of this essay is the comparison of different characters from the masterpieces of world literature and movie-making. The heroes from Homer’s “Odyssey”, Hawthorne’s “Scarlett Latter” and movie characters from Hollywood hits “Troy” and “Hamlet” present a real interest for anybody as they display vividly basic features of a...

Human Issues in Chaucer’s ‘Canterbury Tales’

The Parson and the Plowman The story of Parson can be described as the sermon on virtuous living. Parson may be regarded as the only member of the clergy in Chaucer’s cycle who is depicted in a positive light. Parson, asked by the host Harry Bailly to tell the fable...

Giac Duyen in “The Tale of Kieu” by Nguyen Du: Character Analysis

Introduction The Tale of Kieu is a Vietnamese epic poem written by Nguyen Du in the early 19th century. The work has become a crucial part of Vietnamese literature, with many people believing that it holds great significance to the development of Vietnamese arts and poetry. The story is focused...

Story Of A Personal Journey: “The Moviegoer” by Walker Percy

As a medium that allows one to communicate personal ideas and beliefs through different types of expression, art transforms people. “The Moviegoer” is a unique narrative in which two art forms collide, thus providing a masterfully written foil for the character development. The story of Blix Bolling, a New Orleans...

Racism Against Afro-Americans in Wilson’s “Fences” Play

Fences is a play by August Wilson, an American playwright, a Pulitzer’s laureate, who wrote about the life of African Americans in different periods of the 20th century. He chronicled the African-American experience through a series of 10 plays. In the 1950s, the South was still officially segregated, and in...

Importance of Self-Serve Kiosks

Modern technological developments are transforming human activities, processes, and behaviors. The proliferation of handheld devices and smartphones is discouraging more people from visiting libraries physically. The traditional reading culture in this community has also been affected negatively. Many people are currently busy focusing on their career goals and aims. Long...

Augustine’s Legacy: “City of Gods” as the Main Aspects of His Work

Introduction Augustine was one of the most influential philosophers in the fourth century due to his controversial prospect and his views on Christianity. Marino examines the main Augustine’s works and his thoughts on a person’s will, good and evil, faith, and God. The author demonstrates the main aspects of his...

The Influence of Religion on Ceremonial Practices in Literature and Culture

Introduction Literature is one of the ways to express thoughts related to a particular issue or discuss people’s perspectives on it. Throughout all history of humanity, individuals have been trying to express their emotions and feelings by using the power of the word. Written texts, as the first potent tool...

“The White Book” Novel by Han Kang

The White Book is a novel written in 2016 by a South Korean writer, Han Kang. The unique and unconventional way of narration that is usually used by the author ensures the popularity of her books that are recognizable in different parts of the world (Hartanto 265). In 2018, the...

Analyzing Female Voices in Chinese Literature: Themes and Impact

Introduction Many recent studies have focused on female representation in art and literature. Researchers are turning their interest toward the fleeting female identity to be found in literary works of the past and the present. Women’s writing is often inseparable from the concept of gender. Each era in human history...

Father-Son Relationships in “The Odyssey”

Introduction The epic poem, “The Odyssey” by Homer is a great work of literature that narrates the story of Odysseus as he returns to Ithaca from Troy. Due to the patriarchal nature of the Greek society, the reader observes that the relationship between father and son is a major subject...

Food in Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest”

Introduction When it comes to discussing the discursive significance of Oscar Wilde’s 1895 comedy The Importance of Being Earnest, critics commonly refer to the fact that, despite having been written at the end of the 19th century, the concerned dramaturgic masterpiece continues to enjoy popularity with contemporary audiences. The reason...

Women’s Position in Kate Chopin’s Short Stories

Introduction Kate Chopin is an outstanding American author of novels and short stories. She is currently recognized as one of the first feminist writers of the 19th century as in her works, she focuses on women and their controversial position in marriage, and social oppression. For this essay, two works...

Passion, Persecution, and Epiphany in Early Jewish Literature

The Jew in the Modern World: A Documentary History (My Soul Desired Yiddish) The short story, “My Soul Desires Yiddish”, talks about how the Jewish society rejected its language, Yiddish. It is important to discuss the author’s relationship to his subject matter. The writer is a member of the community...

In-Depth Analysis of Rudolfo Anaya’s Novel ‘Bless Me, Ultima’

Introduction The novel Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya is one of the most outstanding works revealing the problems and lifestyle of Mexicans in the United States in the 20th century. At the center of the story, such a family is represented, and the main characters are vivid and deep....

History in “Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck

Introduction The book Grapes of Wrath is a national epic written by John Steinbeck. In this text, the author reveals the socio-political life of the country during the crisis years. Against the backdrop of this narrative, Steinbeck talks about the fate of the Joad family – one of many thousands...

Symbol of Liberation in Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”

Introduction The Story of an Hour, which is a short literary work about a woman who thinks that she has become a widow, was written by Kate Chopin in the 1890s. In her short story, the author describes the metamorphoses and the inner dialogue of Louise, whose husband, as far...

Patriarchal Oppression in Chopin’s Feminist Works

The works of Kate Chopin, a prominent American writer, traditionally focus on women’s biased position in marriage. The examination of “The Story of an Hour” and “A Respectable Woman” showed that these short stories addressed the disturbing issue of women’s dissatisfaction in marriage. The investigation of the concepts of patriarchy...

Sophocles’ Oedipus the King: Fate, Vision, and the Power of Choice

Introduction Sophocles’ work Oedipus the King belongs to the genre of ancient tragedy. This literary style is characterized by personal conflicts, as a result of which the main character comes to the loss of personal values that are ​​necessary for life. The contrast of happiness and unhappiness is often shown...

Are We Rome? Lessons for America from Ancient Rome’s Fall

Introduction The book Are We Rome? The Fall of an Empire and the Fate of America gives a detailed analysis and comparisons between the United States and the Roman Empire. The author’s main subject matter revolves around the practices and developments recorded in the United States that have the potential...

African Americans’ Issues in Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun”

Introduction The middle of the twentieth century was the period when the USA underwent major changes in many areas of social and political life. Diverse populations were affected by these shifts, but African Americans could be regarded as the group that went through the most considerable transformations in terms of...

Wilson’s “Fences” Play and the American Dream

August Wilson is one of the renowned American playwrights who displayed the complexity of the American society. Fences can be seen as one of his most referenced works that dwell upon the challenges of African Americans’ lives in the USA of the 1950s. The play uncovers the story of the...

Socratic Philosophy in ‘Apology’: Exploring Key Themes and Ethical Insights

Apology of Socrates is a work of Plato that contains a version of Socrates’ speech delivered by him in 399 BC in his defense. This work was one of many apologies written in defense of Socrates against allegations of corruption. This speech is a reliable source of the trial of...

“The Glass Menagerie” the Story by Tennessee Williams

It is important to note that there are significant similarities between Amanda and Jim, and Jim and Tom in various regards. Jim O’Connor is introduced by Tom as a person with a successful past but who undergoes daily struggles in the main timeline of the story. It can be compared...

Analyzing Giac Duyen’s Morality in The Tale of Kieu

The Tale of Kieu is one of the most important works of Vietnamese literature, and it is an exciting object of study and analysis. Throughout the poem, Kieu faces many different circumstances, including prostitution, poverty, slavery, rape, mental health issues, and more. The focus of the story is mostly on...

Symbolism in “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

In her famous short story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Charlotte Perkins Gilman explored the challenges women of the nineteenth century had to face. This literary work is still rather up-to-date and can bring insights into the life of women living in many countries. The piece is full of symbols, which makes...

Death of a Salesman Characters: Dreams, Failures, and Betrayals

The play “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller is a prominent and well-known work with vivid and deep characters, and each of them had one’s own story. Willy Loman aspired to the American Dream and wanted to have the support of his loved ones. As a result, he received...

“Greek Mythology” Article by Cartwright

Introduction The history of Greece is one of the richest ones in the context of cultural heritage, and its features and grandeur are studied all over the world. One of the common areas of the ancient Greek theme is mythology and all those literary works that have survived to the...

Heritage in Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use”

Introduction Literary plots in which national identity and commitment to traditions are described are fascinating works that make it possible to immerse oneself in other cultures and their features. Alice Walker’s story Everyday Use is an example of such a genre, and despite its humor and irony, the essence of...

“The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Le Guin

The article that resonates with me the most is the short story by Ursula Le Guin under the title “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas.” In an exciting combination of descriptive narrative and directly referring to readers, the author manages to convey a complicated twofold message. On the surface,...

The Essence of Machiavelli’s Book “The Prince”

Introduction In the early 16th century, when Italy consisted of city-states ruled by princes, Niccolo Machiavelli wrote a handbook for princes and dedicated it to Lorenzo de Medici, Duke of Urbino and the ruler of Florence. This work became infamous because it justified criminal deeds committed for the sake of...

The Concept of American Dream in Plays

Introduction The American Dream is a major ideal based on the ideas of liberty and equality of opportunity. It promises the possibility of success and happiness to everyone who works hard to achieve them. However, the American Dream is often presented in art as an impossible or corrupted ideal that...

“The Lottery” the Short Story by Shirley Jackson

Introduction Shirley Jackson was an American author who was born in 1919. Over the course of her career, she completed more than two hundred short stories, as well as several novels and memoirs. Her literary career began during her education at Syracuse University, where she wrote for the literary magazine....

“The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Introduction The Great Gatsby is a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, which was first published in 1925. The work is a recognized classic of American literature with the characteristic idea of that era – a dream that transforms into a tragedy eventually. Detailed characters and the irony of human relationships...

Puritanism in Works of Bradstreet and Rowlandson

Puritanism was one of the main features of 17th society. It impacted the lives of many people and preconditioned their behaviors. In accordance with this paradigm, women had specific roles and duties. For this reason, many writers of that period devoted their works to this philosophy and its discussion. Anne...

Punishment vs. Therapy: Oedipus Tyrannus & Equus Analysis

Introduction Both Oedipus Tyrannus by Sophocles and Equus by Shaffer cover tabooed and socially unacceptable behaviors, but while the Greek drama stresses punishment for breaking societal conventions, the contemporary one struggles with the impossibility of helping the perpetrator to correct his ways. Main body The crimes committed by the titular...

The Use of Disguise in “The Odyssey” and “The Metamorphoses”

Introduction The topic of disguise in the works of ancient authors is presented in different contexts and aimed not only at creating plot twists but also at using unique themes that were typical of that era. The works of Homer, Ovid, and other founders of the classical poem genre contain...

Gender Roles in Butler’s ‘Mr. Green’: Canaries & Vietnamese Culture

Butler uses the setting of the bird market and cages with canaries to develop the theme of gender roles in traditional Vietnamese culture. The protagonist’s grandfather had rather patriarchic views regarding gender roles as he believed that females had a specific place in the society or rather their households. He...

Winning with Honour: Ethics and History in Singapore

Winning with Honour is a fascinating work as the authors transfer the rules of morality and ethics to the history of Singapore. This book can be interesting for many people because its chapters describe the rules and recommendations that apply to both the individual and organisations. However, Winning with Honour...

“A Grief Observed” the Work by C. S. Lewis

Clive Staple Lewis is a known writer, renowned scholar, and lay theologian. He is recognized for over 30 works written in a genre of fiction and non-fictional Christian apologetics that is still cited by many philosophers and apologetics. One of C. S. Lewis’s religious works, A Grief Observed, was dedicated...

Eudora Welty’s Influence and Monologue on Phoenix Jackson

Eudora Welty is considered one of the most sophisticated prose writers of the US of the 20th century. Her stories began to be published in the 1940s and immediately marked the emergence of a new and genuinely distinctive voice in literature. Moreover, the author gained a plethora of medals, honorary...

Art Creation: Poetry as a Favorite Form of Literature

Poetry has always been my favorite form of literature due to its fascinating ability to reflect extensive ideas within several lines. One of my favorite poets is Robert Frost, whose works are considered some of the best ever written. My love for this poet was born in middle school when...

Girlhood Friendship in Toni Morrison’s “Sula”

The protagonists of the novel Sula by Toni Morrison have chosen the opposite life paths and held different views. Sula lived in a family that did not follow traditional values and, in many ways, challenged social attitudes, while the Nel family pursued conventional and conformal principles. However, the girls were...

Analysis of “Sula” by Toni Morrison

In her novel called Sula, Toni Morrison challenges the reader’s perception of good and evil. The book narrates the story of a small black community in Ohio, which takes place after World War I. Sula and Nel are the main characters of the novel, and, by depicting their lives, the...

Johnson’s Analysis of Hayden’s Poem: Insights & Interpretations

In her work, Johnson analyzes the poem by Hayden in detail and resorts to evaluating both the general idea and individual thoughts expressed in specific language constructs. According to the critic, the text in question cannot be considered complete since it lacks both a univocal introduction and ending (Johnson). In...

Archetypes in Cheever’s “The Swimmer” Story

Finding a balance between acting reasonably and daring to go on dangerous quests, despite a mature age, may be challenging. In his short story “The Swimmer,” Cheever portrays an upper-class man’s unusual night journey home, wherein he decides to swim back instead of walking. From one perspective, the man’s quest...

Anne Moody’s Coming of Age: Segregation and Civil Rights

Introduction The problem of discrimination and biased attitude towards the representatives of particular groups of society has always been an ongoing issue. Even today, despite significant progress in this sphere, some manifestations of this remnant of the past can be observed. The situation was even more complex a half-century ago...

Harry Potter and the Online Fandom: The Story Continues

The Harry Potter fandom is among the biggest ones in the world, with new fans joining every day. Since there is always the yearning for more stories, the book’s official site, Pottermore, and the original home for Harry-Potter-themed fan fiction, MuggleNet, are the most well-known sites for fans’ gathering (“Discover...

Helena’s Role in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Introduction The play, A Midsummer Night Dream by William Shakespeare examines and describes the events that surround the marriage between Hippolyta and Theseus. The playwright uses several characters in his work to make it meaningful and informative to the reader. This paper gives evidence-based ideas, reactions, and opinions about Helena...

Fools Crow: James Welch’s Insight on Aboriginal Struggles

The theme of aboriginal people and their relations with people from the Western world has always been topical. The existence of multiple disputable issues, extremely sophisticated relations, many cases of discrimination, violence, and the clash of cultures create the basis for vigorous debates about the behavior of one or another...

Othello’s Image in Shakespeare’s Tragedy

Introduction The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is an outstanding tragedy by William Shakespeare. It focuses on highly essential issues of tragic flaws, crucial miscommunication, revenge, deep hatred, and love. One of the most significant themes of a play that reflects both the social state of the Renaissance...

A&P Narrated by Sammie: A Teenager’s Perspective on Conformity

A&P is narrated from the point of view of Sammie, who is a 19-year-old boy working as a cashier at the A&P. Most of Updike’s story is told in the present tense, which creates a sense of immersion as if Sammie is talking. However, his point of view is rather...

Metamorphosis in “A White Heron” by S. O. Jewett

The idea of personal change as an unavoidable aspect of growing up and coming of age is one of the core themes in Sarah Orne Jewett’s “A White Heron.” The story follows Sylvia, a young girl who moves to the country and meets an ornithologist who wants to capture a...

August Wilson’s “Pittsburgh Cycle”: Music and Family

The Pittsburgh Cycle The issue of race was especially problematic for the U.S. in the early 20th century due to the legacy of the rampant racism that plagued the previous era of U.S. sociocultural development. The challenges faced by African American people in fighting against oppression and promoting equality were...

Social Problems in Wilson’s “Fences” Play

In 1985, the American playwright and Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson published the play Fences. This work was published as part of the ten-part Pittsburgh Cycle, which recounts the complexities of African-American life in different decades of the twentieth century. Fences is a theatrical play that raises acute social problems...

Willa Cather’s Nebraska Novel: A Tale of Swedish Immigrants

One of America’s greatest writers, Willa Cather, showed her talent and gained a solid reputation by writing a novel, her first book in a series about the state of Nebraska. The story of the prairies, mastered by Swedish, Czech immigrants, along with the story of how these lands experienced them...

Claudius’ Ramblings: A Night of Comedy and Confessions

In a dimly lit room, a dark figure of King Claudius occupies a large sofa. He occasionally stands up and walks across the room, his appearance disheveled, and they look exhausted. Think Dylan Moran is doing stand-up comedy at one AM after a party. Others are gathered quietly in the...

Punctuation in E. E. Cummings’ “Anyone Lived in a Pretty How Town”

E.E. Cummings’ poem “Anyone Lived in a Pretty How Town” consists of nine four-line stanzas characterized by a dynamic rhythm and frivolous punctuation. The main theme of the literary piece is the survival of individuality in a hostile world that is biased against uniqueness. The inhabitants of a “pretty how...

Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”

In the late part of the 19th century, short stories written by female authors shared certain similarities with reference to the topics they addressed. Thus, it is possible to compare literary elements in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” when determining similarities...

O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”: A Literary Analysis

The short story written by Flannery O’Connor in 1955 is a striking and emotional representation of the goodness in the life of people. As the title implies, the plot of the story emerges around the idea of what it means to be good and if it is at all possible....

Spoon River Anthology: Doctor Meyers

Spoon River Anthology is a 1916 collection of short, free-verse poems by American poet Edgar Lee Masters. The universe of Anthology, a small imaginary town on the Spoon River named after a real city in Illinois, contains 212 original characters and 244 accounts of their life plights with their joys...

“Moving Mountains” the Work by Erik Reece

“Moving Mountains” is a work by Erik Reece devoted to the exploitation of natural resources in the United States and related human casualties. The article is a part of the collection of essays published by Orion Magazine. In the source, Erik Reece provides a thorough discussion of the unwanted consequences...

Maureen Sherry at Harvard Association for Law and Business

Introduction A meeting with Maureen Sherry took place at Harvard Association for Law and Business. Maureen Sherry is a famous writer, a former successful business lady, and a mother of four. During the conversation, she answered questions about her career, the role of women on Wall Street and in business,...

Analyzing Love and Appreciation in Shakespeare, Albom, and King’s Works

The given essay will summarize and analyze the commonalities of the message in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom, and A Death by Stephen King. All three writings are historically separate and represent different genres, but they contain some similarities in the context....

Orgon and Candide from Moliere’s “Tartuffe” and Voltaire’s “Candide”

Introduction The wisdom of classical literary works is a valuable legacy that the authors of past eras left to posterity. The images of many characters, their experiences, thoughts, and actions make one think about the serious aspects of human life and the process of cognition. In order to better understand...

Characterization in “The Metamorphosis” by Kafka

Introduction The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka presents the story of Gregor, a salesperson who wakes up being transformed into an insect. The narrator helps the audience to understand the characters’ feelings and thoughts, describing not only the events happening in the story but also Gregor’s perspectives on them. This paper...

War Poetry: Turner vs. Owen on Empathy & Critique

War has existed with humankind for as long as humankind has existed, and it has defined many societal functions. Most people look at war from the perspective of the war winner and the loser of the war. However, war bears with it more themes than the winners and losers. The...

A Train Near Magdeburg: American Soldiers Liberate Jewish Victims

A Train Near Magdeburg is a historical novel that documents the story of American soldiers liberating Jewish people trapped on a train that had recently departed from the concentration camp. The book was written by Matthew Rozell, who is a History teacher in the United States. The book was born...

Pirandello’s “Six Characters in Search of an Author”

Introduction The play written by Luigi Pirandello in 1921 under the title Six Characters in Search of an Author is an example of a drama that utilizes the method of theatre-in-theatre. The author is a Nobel Prize-winning Italian writer and dramatist. As the title implies, the play concentrates around six...

Compromised Rulers in Literary Works

Introduction Modern societies long for democratic values including equality and the ability to make major decisions. People who lived centuries ago could only dream about democracy or any manifestation of this form of rule. People were to abide by the law and do whatever their ruler might ask them to...

The Dangers of Capital Punishment: Atavism and Arbitrary Condemnation

Introduction The concept of capital punishment is a highly controversial and widely discussed subject. The article discusses the topics of atavism, arbitrary condemnation, and sanctioned violence. The author makes an attempt to argue that capital punishment can be abused in someone’s interest because the victim will no longer have a...

Flannery O’Connor: “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”

Introduction “A Good Man is Hard to Find” was published in 1953 and may be considered a compelling narrative about the importance of personal religious and moral integrity. Flannery O’Connor, the short story’s author, remains an influential American writer who honed a uniquely grotesque style that brought to life realistic...

Bravery in “The Things They Carried” by T. O’Brien

Introduction It is worth noting that the book The Things They Carried is a series of stories about the life of American servicemen that was written in an ironic tone. The work created by Tim O’Brien reveals the physical and mental traumas experienced by soldiers during the war (Liu 57)....

Enrique’s Journey: A Tale of Hope and Hardship

Introduction Enrique’s Journey is a famous book by Sonia Nazario originally published in 2006. It describes the real-life details of a 17-year-old Enrique from Honduras, who ventured into the USA via train-hopping to reunite with his mother who left there to support the family financially. A word journey in the...

Odysseus and Oedipus: Archetypal Heroes in Greek Literature

Introduction Myths and works of ancient literature based on these myths represent archetypal heroes who have to cope with obstacles and challenges on their life paths that are viewed as universally common. The most vivid example of an archetypal hero is Odysseus presented by Homer in his epic poem The...

Flannery O’Connor’s Life Seen in Her Short Stories

Introduction Flannery O’Connor is one of the renowned American writers who had a unique style and addressed quite sensitive topics. She was born and lived most of her life in the South, which affected her writing since the majority of her stories were set in this region. She was a...

Injustice. “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Dr. King

Introduction Martin Luther King is regarded as one of the most influential thinkers and fighters for Civil Rights in the USA. His “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is one of the numerous examples of this activist’s effective addresses to people. In this piece, Dr. King responds to white religious leaders who...

Fiction Elements in Russell’s “The Bog Girl”

The story under discussion is “The Bog Girl” by Karen Russell. It revolves around the bog girl found by a boy. She becomes the major concern of the whole text as it represents a certain kind of non-personality that can be used for various purposes. These might include the desired...

Travel as a Metaphor in Frost and Thomas’s Poems

Poets tend to explore various aspects of human life and draw people’s attention to the most relevant issues. Hence, many poems may contain similar themes, but the emphasis is likely to be unique for every work of art. In this paper, a common theme in two poems by Robert Frost...

Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” and Updike’s “A&P”

Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates, and A&P by John Updike are both short stories that explore the subject of rebellion. The key conflict in Oates’ text is between Connie’s freedom to explore her beauty and sexuality and the views of people around her....

Protagonist of “The Stranger” Novel by Albert Camus

Introduction Meursault is the name of the protagonist of Albert Camus’s novel “The Stranger.” He is a French Algerian man living and working in Algiers, and the book describes his life and his journey that eventually ends in his execution for murder. Meursault’s key trait is his detachment from the...

H. Longfellow’s and D. Thomas’s Poetry Analysis

Literature is an approach that individuals utilize for conveying their thoughts. Among the essential themes explored by them are life, death, and their meaning. Both poems Psalm of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas offer a view on the...

Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” Literary Analysis

Fyodor Dostoevsky became a classic of Russian and world literature due to his ability to feel the subtle psychology of broken people, to create them in his works so that they seem frighteningly real. In the novel Crime and Punishment, the author tells readers about the tragic events in the...

The Killing of Balder in Norse Mythology

Introduction In spite of the fact that myths are perceived as fictional stories about different events occurring thousands of years ago, they still influence people’s spiritual life. The reason is that myths represent ancient people’s views regarding the cosmos, the relationships between nature and a human being, and the sacred...

Contents and Writing Styles of Insectopedia Written by Hugh Raffles

Introduction The writing style is an essential part of any science. Although the experiment’s results can be assessed with a certain degree of certainty, which excludes bias, the ability to write often determines the way the readers get to perceive certain subjects, be it literature, anthropology, history, sociology, or others....

Spiraling into Insanity: “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Perkins

Being a perfect example of a gothic novel, “The Yellow Wallpaper” sets its readers on a journey through the dark realms of human nature. Its unique manner of narration makes it extraordinarily difficult to draw a line between what happens in reality and what represents the fantasies created by the...

“Metamorphoses of the City” by Pierre Manent: A Book Review

Introduction The reading for this assignment consists of a part of the book “Metamorphoses of the City” by Pierre Manent. The book’s introduction attempts to define modernity as a massive collective project, the kind that would be impossible to carry out without a staging ground. Manent states that the city...

Power in “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” by Marquez

Introduction Quote “They thought that he would have had so much authority that he could have drawn fish out of the sea simply by calling their names and that he would have put so much work into his land that springs would have burst forth from among the rocks so...

War Attitudes in Poems by Tennyson, Emerson, Hardy, Owen

Introduction A poem can be defined in several ways. For example, we can define it as a piece of writing in verse form, which conveys strong feelings about a given subject. Poets always write poems for several reasons. For instance, one can write a poem to show his attitude or...

Crowd Impersonation in “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson

Crowd Impersonation in the Story Despite the fact that all the characters of the story in question are vivid, great attention is paid to the crowd as a single organism yielding to common ideas and influence. Decisions made by people demonstrate that the mass consciousness is largely manageable, and correctly...

Philosophy of the “Good Life” Concept in Agamben & Armitage

The main idea that is being promoted throughout the book Homo Sacer by Giorgio Agamben is that, ever since the dawn of history, people never ceased being unconsciously aware of the fact that there is a qualitative difference between the notion of a ‘bare (primeval) life’, on the one hand,...

“The Age of Innocence” the Novel by Edith Wharton

Introduction The novel The Age of Innocence written by Edith Wharton presents a critical or even satirical description of the social norms and values adopted in the upper-class society of New York at the end of the nineteenth century. In particular, the author focuses on such a concept as innocence,...

Race and Slavery in the “Clotel” Novel by Brown

Home/family The entire family is brought down by the slave trade. Clotel, Currer, and Althea are completely separated from each other. Currer later dies of yellow fever while Althea is left to suffer under the ruthless hands of slave traders. Even after being married to Henry Morton, her life is...

“How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents” by Julia Alvarez

Today’s nurses are faced with the challenging task of delivering culturally competent care to a large number of patients with different ethnic backgrounds. Among other things, a culturally tailored approach requires overcoming prejudice and racial stereotypes, which have shown to have a negative impact on patient health (Perkins, 2014). The...

Gender Narratives in Hardy’s and Winterson’s Literary Works Examined

Narration According to Childs and Fowler (2006, p. 148), narration consists of two “overlapping aspects” that include the content and the form of its presentation. The content will be mostly covered in the following part of the essay; in this one, the forms of the three novels (The Mayor of...

Irony in “The Ambitious Guest” by N. Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s use of irony as a literary device was not an afterthought. Writers use irony in the same way that a chef utilizes a certain type of ingredient to add flavor or character to the prepared dish. However, Hawthorne’s case, it is a mistake to perceive the use of...

Civil War Representations in American Literary Tradition Explored

The Favorite Readings The abstract Continuation of the Discoveries Along the Coast of the Almouchiquois, and What We Observed in Detail by Samuel de Champlain is a great example of a narrative, which presents remote places and culture. His writing is created in the form of a diary and gives...

Characters in the Play “Fences” by August Wilson

Introduction Fences, a play by August Wilson, was published in 1986. The play details the African-American experiences and deals with the themes of racism, infidelity, and forgiveness. This paper explores how Cory, son of Troy and Rose, has avoided following in his father’s footsteps and learned to manage his anger...

Katherine Howe’s Analysis of “The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane”

Introduction Katherine Howe’s novel called The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane is an adventure story of a young graduate student Connie Goodwin. The main protagonist of the novel is on a quest trying to solve a mysterious riddle of the past. Connie is struggling to locate and put together the...

“Disgrace” by John Maxwell Coetzee: Attitudes to Rape

Introduction Disgrace is a 1999 novel by J. M. Coetzee, written from the perspective of a middle-aged white South African professor living in Cape Town, who loses his job and, consequently, his usual life after his black student files sexual harassment charges upon him. David relocates to his daughter’s farm...

“Mightier Than the Sword” a Book by Jeffrey Archer

Summary Chapter 6 of the book, “Mightier than the Sword”, explores various cases of investigative journalism that occurred during the latter half of the 19th century which brought to light the various excesses of corruption and disreputable practices that various politicians, corporations, government agencies and captains of industry engaged in...

Characters Analysis of Joyce Oates’ “Four Summers”

Sissy In the story, Sissy is the protagonist and the narrator. In the first summer (or the first episode of the story), Sissy is a child, accompanying her parents and brothers at a tavern near an unnamed lake. She is dependent on her parents because she is quite young. For...

“I Cross Till I am Weary” by Emily Dickinson

Introduction In this work of poetry, the persona describes the struggles that she goes through, and what awaits her as she makes her journey to the place of grace (heaven) (Stanza five). As the persona nears the end of her narration, it is not clear whether her goal (place of...

Chaucer and Feminism: Gender Themes in Canterbury Tales

At the outset, it seems as though Chaucer is a feminist. As argued by Sigmund Eisner (1957, p. 45), he suggests that the work of Chaucer portrayed males as ‘lustful’ and immoral with the following phrases: “Of which made anon, maugre hir heed, By very force, he rafte hires maidenhead”...

Satirical Insights: Saunders, Swift, Rothman & Wallace

Reading Between the Lines: The True Meaning of the Story George Saunders: Marriages. Winning Your Lottery In his extremely satiric essay Saunders asks a simple question – why not marrying someone with an even weaker will and becoming what can be called a “normal family” (Saunders)? The author claims that...

Plato’s Philosophy: Soul Immortality and the Cave Allegory

Introduction Plato was one of the outstanding Ancient Greek philosophers. Most of his teachings were based on his conception of the ideas, which explained human nature, life, soul, relationships, and the state. Plato expressed his philosophy in the dialogues, among which the Phaedo and The Republic take a very important...

Amory Blaine in “This Side of Paradise” by Fitzgerald

Introduction One of the reasons why Fitzgerald’s novel This Side of Paradise is being commonly referred to as such that represents a high literary value is that despite having been written in 1920, it contains a number of themes and motifs that relate to the discursive realities of a contemporary...

“The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck

In his short story, The Chrysanthemums John Steinbeck describes a person who at one point understands that her life lacks meaning and value at least in the eyes of other people. The protagonist Elisa Allen feels that her life is deprived of emotional and intellectual intimacy. To some degree, this...

“Kafka on the Shore” a Novel by Haruki Murakami

Kafka on the Shore Telling two entangled stories that seem irrelevant to each other but later on prove intertwined, the book is split into two parts. While the odd chapters lead the reader down the life path of a boy of fifteen named Kafka, the second one narrates the story...

Eliezer and Shlomo: Evolving Father-Son Bond in ‘Night’

How Eliezer’s relationship with his father changes throughout the book? Eliezer and his father Shlomo are the main characters of Elie Wiesel’s novel Night. In spite of the fact many issues associated with the Holocaust and the people living in concentration camps are discussed in the novel, the author pays...

The Rough-And-Tumble of the Business in the “Meet You in Hell” by Les Standiford

The history of America includes lots of positive and negative characters that influenced the country and its citizens. At the end of the 19th century during the gilded age, the economy of the country improved and businessmen were holding the power in their hands. Some of them decided to work...

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and “Blue Winds Dancing”

“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce In what ways are the condemned man’s perceptions of time and motion distorted as he is waiting to be hanged? Ambrose Bierce depicts the protagonist who is condemned to be hanged, and he does not realize the fringe between illusion and...

Killings for Love in Shakespeare’s and Garcia’s Works

In both Shakespeare’s Othello and Garcia’s Chronicles of a Death Foretold, the themes of love, passion, and death are connected. In most cases, death occurs as a result of the violence that is ignited by passion, which seemingly originates from love. However, a critical reading of the texts begs the...

Foreshadowing in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

Examples of Foreshadowing in The Lottery While not immediately obvious, there are instances of foreshadowing in the story which seems to imply that some form of auspicious practice was about to occur. The most obvious example of foreshadowing was the emphasis the author placed on how the various characters in...

Historical Overview of Frederick Douglass’s Escape from Slavery

Introduction When Douglas managed to escape from slavery and safely landed in New York, he felt that he had come to a completely new world. He compares a day in New York to a year in slavery. He claims that he felt the same feelings felt by a person who...

A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Main Ideas

Introduction “A Good Man is Hard to Find” is a short story written by Flannery O’Connor in 1953 and is mostly known for its controversial and grim ending. O’Connor, being a Southerner, has been mostly using a Southern Gothic style in her writings; this genre is usually referred to as...

From a Villain to a Victim and Back: Othello and Iago

Introduction: Among Villains and Victims Of all the complex and thought-provoking Shakespearean plays, Othello must be the most complicated and enticing one. Offering a plethora of three-dimensional characters and developing an intriguing plot, the play conveys the author’s idea of the battle between good and evil and offers specific, unclichéd...

Lessons Learned from “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad

Marlow left for Africa specifically to Congo in the service of the Belgian company occupying Congo as its protectorate (Conrad 3). However, when Marlow was presented with the map showing the Belgian empire, he raised concerns with the effects of imperial presence in Africa. For instance, the Congolese viewed the...

Annotated Bibliography: Shakespeare Studies

Chedgzoy, Kate. Shakespeare, Feminism, and Gender: Contemporary Critical Essays. New York: Palgrave, 2001. Recently, feminist criticisms of Shakespeare’s works have greatly expanded. Chedgzoy notes that the modern field of feminist criticism is not as obsessed as it once was on whether Shakespeare’s works were feminist or proto-feminist, or in the...

“The Disinherited” by Jack Conroy

“The Disinherited” by Jack Conroy mixed an early version of social commentary and fiction into a compelling informant narrative that delved into the life of a poor low wage worker within the U.S. during the early 1900s. The book delves into how non-skilled workers within the U.S. attempt to live...

Comparison: “Lamb to the Slaughter” and “Jury of Her Peers”

Themes The present paper compares and contrasts the characters of two short stories: “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell and “Lamb to the Slaughter” by Roald Dahl. Both stories seem to explore the themes of crime and punishment. Apart from that, both stories depict a specific case of...

The Alchemist & The Wiz: Uncovering Hidden Paths to Self-Discovery

It has been said so many times that in any given journey, the destination is not the most important aspect of the trip or the quest. The most important aspect of the quest or journey is in the act itself, the process of journeying from Point A to Point B...

Abu-Bakr’s Journey: From Saudi Village to NY Success

“Finally, high school is over,” softly said Abu-Bakr Mohammed to himself as he walked down the sandy road that led to his village from the school he had attended for the last six years. Abu, as most of his friends called him, was excited beyond measure because he had made...

Competitive Landscape: Todd Babiak’s Strategies and Industry Position

Trevor Cole has been referred to by several critics and also fans of his works as the best young novelist in Canada. He comes from a humble background and has even worked on a factory floor to the newspaper boardroom. Despite this, he has managed to earn a living through...

Exploring Wordsworth’s and Freud’s Perception of Childhood

Perceptions of childhood in Wordsworth’s and Freud’s Writings The first common thing in Wordsworth’s and Freud’s perception of childhood is the influence of the events that took place in childhood on the future development of the individual. Freud’s theory that all complex of the individual has its roots in early...

“The Awakening” Analysis by Culley and Chopin

The article “The Awakening: an authoritative text, biographical and historical contexts, criticism” kicks off by giving the novel The Awakening appreciation for being among the few fiction publications that front a female protagonist. The author then goes ahead to explain how the gender of the main character causes her to...

“The Real Raymond Carver” by James Campbell

The article The Real Raymond Carver by James Campbell opens by confirming that Carver usually went through various drafts of all his work before settling on a final copy for print. Campbell claims that the joy in reading Carver’s work comes from enjoying the strange scenarios that the author presents...

Stylistics and Ideas in Mark Twain’s Short Stories

The Mysterious Stranger by Mark Twain The setting and atmosphere at the beginning of the story The story begins with the description of the country: “It was in 1590 – winter. Austria was far away from the world, and asleep” (n. pag). Thus, the author immediately connects the beginning and...

Trauma of Internment for the Nikkei Family in No-No Boy

Introduction John Okada’s No-No Boy recounts the story of challenging cultural identity of a Japanese American young man named Ichiro. In the midst of a bloody conflict with the Japanese, the United States undertook a radical move of creating concentration camps for those of Japanese origin, whilst still requiring these...

Shakespeare’s Macbeth vs. Tolkien’s Smeagol: More in Common Than Not

The characters of Macbeth and Smeagol/Gollum in the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings seem at first glance to be drastically different characters. Macbeth is a relative of the king, in line for leadership. Smeagol is a cut-throat of dubious, possibly Halfling origins with none but himself and his...

Issues in “The Female American” by Unca Eliza

In the article, the author begins by pointing out the various issues that stand out in the eighteenth-century novel “The Female American” by Unca Eliza (McMurran 323). The author of this article outlines several facts that are specific to eighteenth-century society. The article proceeds by laying out the peculiarity that...

“Night” by Elie Wiesel: The Powerful Book

“Night” by Elie Wiesel is a powerful book filled with the tragic psychological development of the main characters and their relationships. Wiesel’s writing’s power is that all the unbelievable events described in the book happened in real. The book describes Elie Wiesel’s experiences, a Jewish man captured by the Nazis...

Literary Darwinism vs. Marxist Literary Criticism

Literary Darwinism is the specific approach in the literary criticism according to which literature as the discourse is discussed as originated from and affected by definite evolutionary processes. Literature reflects the aspects of human nature, human development, the progress of human psychology, behavior, and culture. As a result, there is...

Symbolism in Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle” Short Story

“Rip Van Winkle” is a symbolic story, its author, Washington Irving, used a fictional and unrealistic event to be able to portray the difference between the same places of America before and during the Revolutionary War. The story of a mysterious situation when a character skips a long period without...