Connie’s Identity Struggles in Oates’ ‘Where Are You Going?’

In my own mind and thoughts, the short story, Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Oates emphasize on how someone’s personality are greatly shaped and generated by external circumstances. Connie’s inner conflict justifies this argument as illustrated in the book. Connie did not relate well with...

“Waiting for the Barbarians” by J. M. Coetzee

Critical Observations Asked about the barbarians and why they seemed disgruntled, the following was Colonel Joll’s response: I will say nothing of the recent raids carried out on them, quite without justification, and followed by acts of wanton cruelty, since the security of the Empire was at stake, or so...

Dramaturgy in “The Piano Lesson” by August Wilson

The Piano Lesson is a play that was written by August Wilson in 1990 with its main theme being a family legacy. It is set during the dark days of the Great Depression in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Wilson managed to encompass and deliver the main problems of the American society during...

Race, Social Movement, and Citizenship: Insights from Anne Moody’s Memoir

The Relationship between Race, Social Movement, and Citizenship: Personal Opinion and Response to Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody As a memoir of an African-American woman who was involved in the Civil Rights Movement, Coming of Age in Mississippi is most suitable for a discussion on race, social...

Victimization Image in the “Disgrace” by John Maxwell Coetzee

Introduction Disgrace is a Booker prize-winning novel written by a prominent South African writer John Maxwell Coetzee in 1999 (McCrum par. 1). The book tells a story of a middle-aged professor of English, David Lurie, who is faced with life-changing events and decisions precipitated by his relationship with a much...

De Certeau’s Walking in the City vs. Schwartz’s Far Rockaway Compared

Introduction Michel de Certeau’s Walking in the City and Delmore Schwartz’s Far Rockaway represent two different literature genres. The former is a short story, and the latter belongs to poems. Even though they do have some similarities that will be discussed in this paper, these genres reach out to the...

Elie Wiesel’s ‘Night’: Father-Son Dynamics in Concentration Camps

In his book ‘Night’, author Eli Wiesel depicts several dynamics that affect the relationship between Elie and his father. The two characters are confined in a concentration camp during the Second World War after leaving their home in Siget. Like the other Jews in concentration camps, Eliezer (Elie) and his...

Symbolism in Coetzee’s “Disgrace”

Introduction Symbolism is often used in fiction to describe pressing but controversial issues. Through subtle comparisons and allegories, authors can connect simple objects and situations to more complex problems. The novel Disgrace, written by Coetzee in 1999, uses a number of symbols to strengthen the message of the author. First...

Sophocles’ Oedipus the King: Fate, Free Will, and Human Responsibility

Oedipus the King is one of the most recognizable literary characters. His name is generally associated with fate, sin, and sorrow. The famous founder of psychoanalysis used the name of the character to depict one of the peculiarities of the human mind. Admittedly, Sophocles’ tragedy has become one of the...

Writing Strategies in Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye”

Introduction An appropriate choice of a writing strategy during the classroom activities seems to be a significant step to be taken. The way of how a teacher is able to check students’ knowledge and involve them into the education process (Ryder & Graves, 2003) influences considerably students’ activities and understanding...

V for Vendetta: Alan Moore’s Dystopian Masterpiece

V for Vendetta is a book written by Alan Moore; it is divided into different chapters. The story is about nuclear war that ruined Britain and left it under the rule of a strange revolutionary/activist known as V. He slowly killed the government representatives and challenged them. He rescued a...

Does Best-Selling Status Reflect Good Writing? Analyzing Trends and Metrics

Introduction Popular literature is a concept that implies its orientation towards the masses. As such, it is bound by several popular assumptions, some of which are less justified than the others. Among the most widely recognized is the correlation between the book’s popularity and its quality. However, it is much...

The Relationship Between Father and Son in “Night” by Elie Wiesel

The theme of love has been developed in the novel, “Night” by Elie Wiesel. Reflectively, this theme is the axis of the climax. It defines the interaction between Eliezer and his father Schlomo. Thus, this treatise attempts to explicitly analyze the changing relationship between father and son in the novel...

“Antigone” by Sophocles: Antigone and Creon Characters

Character and motivation of Antigone and Creon In the play, Antigone is mainly motivated by love for her family, respect for the gods, and belief in the afterlife. When she is faced with a difficult choice concerning new law, which challenges Theban traditions, she opts to disobey because of her...

Analysis of “The Tempest” Play During the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival

William Shakespeare is universally acknowledged as the creator of theatrical performance. His plays written for the Globe Theatre expand the limits of literature by turning the written word into an art of theatrical performance. The play “The Tempest” written in the very beginning of the seventeenth century influences the canons...

Afro-American Women’s Roles in “We Shall Overcome” and King’s Speech

Introduction In both “We shall overcome” and Martin Luther King’s speech, there are different roles accorded to African American women of that time. “We shall Overcome” is a hymn that outlines the many odds that people of African American decency underwent during those days when the whites viewed blacks as...

Gilman’s “Women and Economics”: Progressivism and Women’s Independence

Introduction The era of progressivism has given birth to several innovative ideas and offered support and leverage for many more. Feminism can be categorized as the latter, as it gained substance and refined many of its ideas during this historical period. Women and Economics by Charlotte Perkins Gilman are often...

Captain Nemo on the Lost Continent

In the twenty thousand leagues under the sea, Nemo comes out as a captain who does not value the chain of command. He believes in himself and thinks that his decisions are his visions. In chapter nine of part two, he shows up in the submarine only to exit with...

Storyteller in Poe’s “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”

Poe’s short story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” presents an example of a classic detective tale with an extraordinary detective and his faithful companion. It is possible that this story was a predecessor of the genre’s development, incorporating numerous signs of detective fiction that were and are still used...

The Relevance of “Hamlet” to Contemporary Readers

Introduction It should be emphasized that almost all the literary works of Shakespeare do not lose their relevance and reflect the core human concerns that are topical for the contemporaneity. They raise important issues and touch upon the feelings that remain unchanged for centuries. The purpose of this paper is...

The Issue of “Othering” in Literature

The issue of “othering” was studied by plenty of authors. However, the need to examine the current situation remains. In this connection, in Frantz Fanon’s “The Fact of Blackness”, Nina McConigley’s “White Wedding”, and Eula Biss’ “White Debt” the act of “othering” and its impact as a generating factor of...

The Life of Olaudah Equiano: An African’s Tale of Survival and Abolition

Summary In his narrative “The interesting narrative of the life of Olaudah Equiano, The African”, Olaudah Equiano (Gustuvas Vassa) presents a detailed account of his autobiography. In brief, the author says that he was born in a beautiful land in West Africa. It is believed the place was located in...

Symbolism of Masculinity in John Maxwell Coetzee’s “Disgrace”

The issue of social isolation and ostracism has been explored extensively in literature, yet it shines through especially vividly in Coetzee’s award-winning Disgrace (Poyner 1). Among the characteristics that make the message of the novel especially poignant, one must mention the fact that Coetzee manages to incorporate the political and...

Life-Death Contrast in Flannery O’Connor’s Stories

Introduction The present paper is a review of two stories written by Flannery O’Connor – A Good Man Is Hard to Find and The River – regarding their depiction of the concept of death. The two readings incorporate the concept of death in very different ways, and it is apparent...

Dramatic Plot in “Defending Jacob” by W. Landay

Defending Jacob is a novel by William Landay, a lawyer. The novel stands out due to its exceptional ability to create mystery and dilemma for the reader. In the book, Jacob, a teenager, is accused of the murder. His father, Andy, is a prosecutor, who initially considers his son incapable...

Mary Rowlandson’s Story as a Faith Narrative

Introduction Mary Rowlandson, a middle-aged female settler who moved from England to Massachusetts Bay Colony and then to Lancaster, was captured by the Wampanoag Indian tribe during King Phillip’s War. Mary Rowlandson’s experience as a hostage became a foundation for A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary...

Analyzing Representations of Marriage in Works by Bradstreet, Dooley, and Larkin

Marriage is an important event in the life of a significant percentage of people, and it is no wonder that a considerable amount of literature is devoted to portraying the married life. This paper discusses three literary works on this topic: A. Bradstreet’s To My Dear and Loving Husband, the...

Satrapi’s “The Complete Persepolis” Graphic Novel Analysis

A graphic novel belongs to the number of genres that allow people to demonstrate their talents of writers and artists simultaneously. Graphic novels present fictional stories that are told with the help of the combination of verbal and graphical means. Even though it is widely accepted that a format of...

Sexual Energy in The Changeling and The Revenger’s Tragedy

Introduction: Relevance of the Topic to Early Modern Literature Although most of the early modern English plays seem innocent to the present-day audience, in fact, exploration of sexuality, ranging from playful and comic to tragic and taboo, was one of the most popular topics among playwrights. Sexuality in the early...

Passage from “Mundus et Infans” Morality Play

The passage chosen for the textual analysis in this assignment is the one from Mundus et Infans. This play is one of the brightest examples of the Medieval morality plays (Lester 2002). The drama doctrine of this period is characterised by the ability not only to depict the heroes with...

The Tempest by William Shakespeare: Viewing and Reflection

St. Louis Shakespeare’s production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest was staged in 2010 and performed at the Grandel Theatre in St. Louis, Missouri. The play was directed by Jerry Vogel, the stage set by Cristie Johnston. The cast of this critically acclaimed performance includes Robert A. Mitchell as Prospero, Betsy Bowman...

Puritan Marriages in Bradstreet’s Poetry

What does Bradstreet’s poem tell us about the nature of Puritan marriages? Do you find this to be a surprising poem? In general, it is known that Puritans believe that marriages should be based on true love. The poem by A. Bradstreet “To My Dear and Loving Husband” could serve...

“Imperium in Imperio” a Book by Sutton Griggs

The main reason why the novel Imperium in Imperio (by Sutton Griggs) is now being commonly referred to as one of the most notable works of the 19th century’s Black-American literature, is that it does represent a great literary value. Among other things, this can be explained by the novel’s...

Segregation in “Disgrace” by J. M. Coetzee

Disgrace is a novel written by J. M. Coetzee at the very end of the 20th century. It was awarded several times and received positive feedback from numerous critics. With his work, the author urged society to pay attention to the morality of their actions. He depicts the life of...

African-American Identity in the Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man

Introduction The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man is the work written by an African-American writer James Weldon Johnson in the early 20th century when racism was considered the norm in the New World. Despite the title, the author admitted that this novel was not autobiographical and mostly fictional. Nevertheless, the...

Gender Roles in “Herland” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Introduction The book Herland written by an American writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman tells about young men who randomly got into an unusual place where only women lived. The way of life of local inhabitants was completely different from a standard order. These women have special laws for raising children; they...

Frank Conroy’s Childhood in His ‘‘Stop-Time’’ Memoir

Introduction ‘‘Stop-time’’ is a memoir which was written by an American author by the name; Frank Conroy. The book tells Conroy’s childhood experiences while growing up between Florida and New York was published in 1967. Conroy’s story can be related to contemporary times where thousands of American children go through...

“The Narrative of Sojourner Truth” a Book by Olive Gilbert

The Narrative of Sojourner Truth is a story of a renowned public speaker, abolitionist, feminist, and itinerant preacher who spoke against slavery in the eighteenth and nineteenth century and against the feminist movement that excluded African American women. In the book, Sojourner told a story of her life not only...

Philosophical Themes in “Le Morte d’Arthur” by Thomas Malory

Introduction The main reason why the book Le Morte Darthur by Thomas Malory is being often referred to as such that represents a high literary value, is that there are strongly defined philosophical overtones to the book’s themes and motifs. One of these overtones is being concerned with the fact...

“Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri

Pulitzer prize winning collection of short stories, Interpreter of Maladies by the Indian-American writer, Jhumpa Lahiri is analysed in this essay from feminist and postcolonial perspective. Grouped among migrant writers, Lahiri like Salman Rushdie, deliberately create characters that have a plural and/or partial identity. The crisis created among the female...

Jane Austen’s Novels: Pastiches’ Analysis

Pastiche of Jane Austen’s Novels The Use of Pastiche in Jane Austen’s Novels Jane Austen is regarded as one of the best English novelists of all time. In fact, some critics have compared her to Shakespeare, and her six novels have inspired and formed the basis of various contemporary works...

Little Red Riding Hood by Dahl and Perrault

Comparison of the Different Versions of LRRH Little Red Cap is a folk text initially written by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. Today, it is also widely known as Little Red Riding Hood (LRRH). This fairy tale reveals a story about a young girl who goes through the woods to visit...

Elie Wiesel’s Exploration of Faith in “Night”: Themes and Reflections

Eliezer’s faith in God was something beyond question. He spent time in devotion to God. He frequently prayed to Him and at times he even cried. This was to show how deep his reverence to his creator was. It was made even more evident when Moshe questioned his faith and...

Lucy Lurie in “Disgrace” by J. M. Coetzee

Despite the impressive improvement in recent decades, adherence to humanistic values remains uneven in different parts of the world. Even after the official adoption, they continue to be undermined by conservative social views, leading to numerous personal tragedies. In Disgrace, J.M. Coetzee creates a complex character, Lucy Lurie, who faces...

Faith in “The Hollow Men” and “The Funeral Blues”

Introduction Thomas Stearns Eliot and Wystan Hugh Auden belong to the brightest representatives of the American literature of the twentieth century. The unmatched virtuosity of each poet deserves particular attention and admiration from the audience. In their work, Eliot and Auden rise such crucial topics as love, war, faith, death,...

Exploring How Young Adult Fiction Shapes and Influences Personal Worldviews

In “Darkness too visible,” Gurdon discusses the problem of young adult fiction, which often appears to be too brutal and gory to be introduced to young readers (Gurdon, 2011). As Gurdon (2011) notices, many of the books explicitly use foul language and descriptions of violence and assaults, which can negatively...

Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”

The concept of a social norm has been very rigid for quite a while, numerous compelling authors to express their indignation in the form of social satire, hyperbolized representations of social interactions, etc. The Yellow Wallpaper is, perhaps, the epitome of the phenomenon since it subverts the social standards, in...

Masculinity of King Arthur in Literature

Is Chretien merely mocking Arthur or the concept of Arthurian literature? Chretien as Bonnie Wheeler explains is not only mocking Arthurian literature but also the character that is King Arthur by confining him to contexts that portray him as weak and not only ridiculous but laughably so. The story of...

Courage and Change: Analyzing the Costs and Implications of Social Action

Through the history of world art and literature, portrayals of courage abound. Whether a cave painting of a lone spear against the horde of beasts, a classical battle scene, or a modern memorial to the fallen, such a piece is more likely to appeal to pathos and ethos than to...

“Monstress” a Comics by Marjorie Liu

Monstress is a popular series of graphic novels by Liu (the author) and Takeda (the artist), published by Image Comics. Dealing with feminism and racism, the story is based on childhood experiences and family history. Thus a fantastic world, cruel to the main heroine Maika, is created. According to McMillan,...

Little Red Riding Hood: Original vs. Retell

Comparison of the Different Versions of LRRH Two versions of Little Red Riding Hood (LRRH), including the original written by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm and the retelling by Charles Perrault, focus on similar themes and have a lot in common. However, regardless of the fact that they describe the same...

Inspiration from “Stop-Time“ by Frank Conroy

Time is a concept that does not exist in nature by itself. It is created by humans to ease our understanding of universal development. For us, everything has a beginning and an end. It is quite difficult for a human mind to grasp an image that space existed all the...

Civil War Poetry by Whitman, Melville and Dickinson

American Civil War ignited the imagination and penmanship of many poets in the country. This resulted in an explosion of poetry written in the Union in the post-Civil War era. Poets created beautiful verses in response to the battles and conflicts with immense patriotic fervor of freedom and pathos for...

Drama: Paula Vogel’s “How I Learned to Drive”

Driving lessons are similar to lessons in life because the learner should understand how to control oneself and influence surroundings. This idea is reflected in Paula Vogel’s play “How I Learned to Drive” (1997). However, this idea comes to mind only after the play’s ending because it is necessary to...

Imagery in “The Great Gatsby” by F. Fitzgerald

Although “The Great Gatsby”, a novel of the American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, was written almost a century ago, in 1925, it still remains an unparallel classic of both the American and global literature, and is often considered to be one of the greatest literary documents capturing the fickle spirit...

“High Lonesome” a Book by Joyce Carol Oates

Introduction In almost every environment, there exist mentally ill or physically impaired individuals. Cases of maltreatment to such people have continually been evident within societies but no one is watchful to such situations. On the other hand, people have always had wrong perceptions that riches are capable of making such...

Masculinity in James Joyce and Ernest Hemingway’ Stories

James Joyce and Ernest Hemingway are two well known authors of the early twentieth century modernist short stories that offer various points of view including philosophical, sociological and linguistic approaches. Such literary works had a big impact on the perception of culture, and an alteration of the correlation between writing...

Exploring Concepts of Natural Freedom in Romantic American Literature and Its Cultural Impact

There is a common denominator that binds the works of James Fennimore Cooper, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Washington Irving, and Henry David Thoreau. The four authors share a common affinity to the concept of freedom in the context of societal pressures, religious dogmatism, and government control. Washington Irving describes this phenomenon...

Garner’s Murder in El-Khazen’s “Hummingbird Effect”

Justine El-Khazen’s lyrical piece was an attempt to make sense of Eric Garner’s senseless murder. She was able to learn more about the case by going beyond the news footages, news reports, and even beyond the uncut version of the recorded event via YouTube. She was able to have a...

Chopin’s “Story of an Hour”: Misdiagnosed Joy and True Cause

Kate Chopin’s Story of an Hour is a tale about an unhappy marriage. It is an interesting piece to study, because the author combined certain elements of a mystery novel and a tragic love story into one. The author forces the reader to retrace his steps in order to understand...

Art and Life in The Flamethrowers: Lerner’s Review and Analysis

Rachel Kushner’s novel, The Flamethrowers, is essentially about the relationship between art and life. The author carefully intertwines art, history and events in the life of Reno. Reno is a young woman who has finished college and wants to turn her dreams into reality. She wants to experiment with her...

Kate Chopin and Her “The Awakening” Story

Introduction American literature is the written or factual work prepared in United States and some of its former colonies. It consists of thousands of short stories and classic novels and covers all other kinds of subjects and genres (D’Arcy 6). One outstanding fact that remains is the struggle to forge...

Historical Memory in the “Barefoot Gen” Manga

Artistic expressions are part of every society’s collective memories and subsequent history. The main role of historical memory is to make a society remember what it has forgotten. Furthermore, historical memory upholds the concept that forgetting is part of remembering. This is why memories might change over time in the...

“Liberty and Power” a Book by Harry Watson

Author’s Argument Harry Watson’s “Liberty and Power” is a masterpiece focusing on the political changes and events that characterized Antebellum America. According to the author, the Jacksonian ideology played a critical role towards reshaping the political future of the United States. The targeted historical period led to the establishment of...

The Warrior Culture in “The Iliad” by Homer

In The Iliad, a culture that portrays bravery, honor and masculinity is highly honored. Men were expected to participate in warfare fully. Therefore, any man that shuns this responsibility or did not take part in the war was later faced with criticism. Individuals who failed to engage in the battles...

Elie Wiesel’s “Night”: Father-Son Bond Amidst Holocaust Struggles

In his autobiography, Elie Wiesel describes the destructive influence of the Holocaust on a person’s inner world and his/her attitudes toward others. One of the central themes that the author explores is the relationship between a father and a son under the circumstances when people cannot easily retain their humanity....

“The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” by Junot Diaz

The central character of Junot Diaz’s novel, The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, does not seem like a traditional hero, and his foolish choices can cause the reader to gasp or shake their head over how ill-advised they are. However, Diaz has subtly endowed Oscar’s tale with some...

A Jury of Her Peers: Examining Susan Glaspell’s Narrative and Its Themes

Background The story has an interesting beginning of a wife is asked by the husband to stop baking the bread and accompany him to a crime scene of a family they knew. Thereafter the story of a jury of her peers revolves around these characters one of them being Minnie...

Love and Emotion in Lawrence’s, Byron’s, and Browning’s Poetry: A Literary Analysis

Introduction Describing love is a challenging task. It requires maneuvering between the clichés that have worn out their welcome and the convoluted attempts at rendering the essence of affection. In their poems, Lawrence, Byron, Browning, and Soto view love as the experience that has huge power. Whether this power is...

“Gulliver’s Travels” a Book by Jonathan Swift

Introduction The novel ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ was written in Europe in the early 16th century. It was published in 1726. The novel was written by Jonathan Swift. He was a writer of Anglo-Irish origin. Initially, the title of the book was ‘Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World in Four...

“To Build a Fire” by Jack London: Human Frailty vs. Nature

Jack London’s short story “To Build a Fire” is regarded as one of the most brilliant examples of the naturalist movement. London tells a story about a man who freezes to death. The author reveals the idea that humans are too self-assured or naïve if they think they can conquer...

The Murder in the Play “Hamlet”

Introduction Hamlet is a play with a strong focus on interpersonal relationships. Despite the plot of the play setting events across a multitude of locations, most of the pivotal events revolve around the friends and family of Hamlet, specifically, their involvement in the murder. This journal response will provide ideas...

Characters Whose Stories Reveal Life’s Dualities in Literature

Speaking about the world of literature, it is necessary to say that it is quite difficult to divide the most famous and appreciated books into two groups based on positive or negative aspects of life that their authors are focusing on; in fact, when it comes to good books, it...

David Auburn, Kate Chopin, and John Updike: Masters of Figurative Language

When numbers and amounts of numbers receive their symbolic representation called figure, and various objects take a distinguished shape these representations or shapes are called figures. In the exact same way, the locutions can also change shape and become figures of speech. Such a phenomenon is called a figurative expression....

Madonna of the Burning Bush: XV Century Masterpiece by Georges Trubert

The painting titled “Madonna of the Burning Bush” is one of the illustrations in The Book of Hours. It was made in XV century by Georges Trubert, who was a famous painter and had few apprentices who followed his style. We can see a number, 154, in the right upper...

The Poem “In Justice!”

The poem ‘‘In Just’’ is pieced together and deciphered based on love and deliberately visualizes the external world in portraying its intended message. On the whole, the poem depicts apprehension of the coming of spring from a childhood visionary perspective. It is woven in satire and rhythmic analysis bordering on...

“In Our Time” a Short Story by Ernest Hemingway

The nature of humans suggests that we tend to get close with certain people or things, and to keep others at a distance at the same time. Some things are familiar to us; we know them well and feel safe with them. Other things are foreign to us, and we...

Eliezer’s Love for God vs. His Father: A Complex Relationship

Introduction The relationship between Eliezer and his father is quite strong in the beginning. However, Eliezer’s love for God overwhelms love for his father. This is evident when he decides to study Kabbalah, against his father’s wish (Wiesel 5). Interestingly, Eliezer chooses to ignore his father’s advice concerning the religious...

Character Analysis of the Protagonist in “The Glass Menagerie” by Williams

I believe that Tom is the protagonist of the play by Tennessee. The play revolves around the lives of three key characters. The three characters include Tom, Laura and Amanda. Tom encounters many challenges in his life and he tries everything possible to have a new kind of life. The...

Understatement in Robert Frost’s “Out, Out—”

Robert Frost wrote his famous poem “Out, Out—” in 1916, during the First World War. The poem reveals the author’s dark thoughts at a difficult time in the world’s history. The author was not at war, as well as the audience is not. However, Frost manages to reflect the core...

“The Martian Chronicles” by Ray Bradbury

Americans, in the twentieth century, saw wonderful scientific discoveries like the atomic bomb, the space age, and political moves that came as a result of a sense of superiority for America. It elevated America to a nation that was ahead in civilization and development. All these phenomena had a great...

Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Magical Realism

“A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” Elisenda and Pelayo responded to the arrival of the old man with enormous wings like to the ordinary event, which captured their attention only for a while, and then they focused on benefiting from the situation. Thus, having met the old man, Pelayo...

Human Nature in Wells’s “The Island of Dr. Moreau”

Introduction The theory of evolution according to which humans descend from animals and inherit their key traits was first introduced by the English naturalist Charles Darwin and was met with a mixed response from the public. Since then, numerous debates have been rising around the problem of people and animals...

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West is the book that covers the historical events the Western Americans had to survive and describes the betrayals and conflicts of people. The peculiar feature of this book is the language and style chosen by the author,...

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane: A Quest Unveiled

“The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane” was written by Katherine Howe. The book was first published in 2009. The story in the book involves a quest a young Harvard graduate and doctoral candidate Connie Goodwin needs to complete in order to uncover the secrets of Deliverance Dane, the woman who...

Comparative Analysis of Zehfuss’s and Barkans’s Works on Memory and Guilt

World War II was one of the biggest tragic events in modern history, and its adverse consequences made all involved parties reflect on the moral implications of the participation in any military conflicts and responsibilities it may impose on both individuals and nations. The readings Wounds of Memory by Maja...

Gender Discrimination in Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper”

American society encountered several changes. The changes included the gender equality issue. The author was one of the gender equality victims. Charlotte P. Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper novel describes the plight of discriminated women during the 19th Century American period. Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper is a feminist novel. The Gilman...

Robert Frost’s and Virginia Scott’s Poems Comparison

Introduction While at first glance Robert Frost’s Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening and Virginia Scott’s Snow are remarkably different, after careful consideration it becomes clear that there is a striking similarity between the poems’ meanings and messages. This paper aims to compare the poems and discuss rhetorical and...

Puritan Values in Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter”

Introduction There is no doubt that law, order, and moral norms remain the components that allow to shape the society and to control people to prevent a wide range of unwanted situations. When it comes to the life of modern society and its members, it is necessary to say that...

Jonathan Swift’s Hidden Satire in Gulliver’s Travels

Introduction Many scholars agree that Gulliver’s Travels was written as a bitter satire designed to parody the human race, with particular emphasis to England and Europe. However, despite this, the satirical significance of this book has over time diminished with its secondary meaning, as a children’s book emerging as the...

Establishment of Values and Beliefs in Literature: A Comparative Analysis

The establishment of values and beliefs is a popular motif in both children and adult literature. Despite the superficial differences in narrative and manner of delivery, these stories are usually similar in their core premise. The following paper compares two such works, Surprised by Joy and The Wild Things. Surprised...

Lucille Clifton’ Poems Comparison

Introduction Lucille Clifton is noted for her outstanding ability to say very much using very few words. Her poems are full of life and passion, though hardly any exclamations are used. She uses simple means to express powerful ideas. Proclamation of the need for racial and gender equality, a hymn...

“Ragged Dick” a Book by Horatio Alger

Introduction In his book, Horatio Alger reflects on a range of issues associated with the street life of a 14-year-old bootblack Ragged Dick (7). The book includes three stories, describing the way the poor young boy, striving for financial success, succeeds thanks to his courage, good fortune, and virtue and...

The Narrative Form of Sarah Scott’s Millenium Hall

During the 18th century, the topics of creating the perfect social model and developing a strong friendship among the representatives of the high social class were popular. However, in her novel Millenium Hall (1762), Sarah Scott focused on the specific approach to discussing the above-mentioned topics and presented the story...

“Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne: A Study of Morality and Hypocrisy

Introduction Even though scars are quite a usual phenomenon and almost every person has them, they are able to produce a strong influence on their lives. Scars are perceived as something dark and negative. Basically, they are just the signs that somewhere in the past, an individual has suffered a...

Elie Wiesel’s Book “Night” Literature Analysis

Introduction Elie Wiesel was an American national (born in Romania in 1928). The book ‘Night’ is actually a translation (by Hill & Wang in 1960) of the original novel titled ‘Un di Velt Hot Geshvign’ that Wiesel wrote in 1955 (in the Yiddish language). In this book, Wiesel brings about...

“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” by Jonathan Foer

Introduction Significant catastrophes always leave the scars in the souls of the generation-eyewitness. People receive physical and psychological traumas that may affect a generation or two after the event. Numerous ‘damaged’ voices of people who have suffered and survived the disastrous moments or their relatives shout in different ways about...

Madame Bovary by Gustav Flaubert

Charles was married to a young woman. She was his second wife. The first one died. His first wife was a widower. Charles married her because he was unsure of himself. In fact, his own mother was unsure if Charles could survive on his own. Even with impressive credentials and...

Dilemmas in Hamlet and The Fall of the House of Usher

In the famous play of William Shakespeare Hamlet, the English poet tried to show the tragic image of a man who is trying to find answers to the eternal questions of life and death. The play focuses on vengeance and personal conflict of the main character. Likewise, an unnamed narrator...

Evolution of War Depictions in Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried”

In the history of literature there were many writers who became the living witnesses of the horrific realities of their times; some of them were Erich Maria Remarque (who was a soldier during World War I), Elie Wiesel and Primo Levi (who survived in concentration camps during the World War...

“Technics and Civilization” by Lewis Mumford

Tombstone Title of the book: Technics and Civilization. Author: Lewis Mumford. Publisher, date of publication: Routledge & Keagan Paul Ltd., 1934. How the book was obtained: The book was obtained using an internet search. It was found in the form of a PDF. Author’s Background Lewis Mumford was a world-renowned...

“A Streetcar Named Desire” a Play by Elia Kazan

“A Streetcar Named Desire” is one of the most popular plays in the US history. Along with two other plays – “Glass Menagerie” and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” – it brought its author Tennessee Williams tremendous success and fame. The themes opened in the story help the audience...

Hamzanama: Cultural Insights and Heroic Tales

Introduction The work in question is entitled “Hamzanama” or “Dastan-e Amir Hamza.” From Urdu, the title translates as “The Adventures of Amir Hamza” (Lakhnavi & Bilgrami 2012). The book is an old Persian dastan – a heroic story usually told orally. The manuscript is known to be accomplished as late...

Standards of Quality Prose Fiction

High quality prose fiction is characterized by several unique features. These features include a properly chosen point of view, precise themes, appropriate stylistic devices, a relevant setting and realistic characters (Beers 27). Features such as themes, stylistic devices, setting and characters may be shared among many genres of literature but...

Theories Behind Selected Creation Myths: Insights from Various Cultures

Introduction There are various theoretical styles for analysis of mythologies of the antique evolution. The reality is that the myths mainly form a definition that scholars can easily follow and relate to during the current timelines. Physically, dichotomy exists entirely especially under the intensities of pantheons over the powers regarding...

Themes of Loss and Connection in Elie Wiesel’s Night: A Relationship Analysis

Introduction The essay will explore the relationship between Eliezer and his father. An extensive study of the relationship right from the beginning to how they later change in the novel will be examined. It is notable that, during the Holocaust, Eliezer and others who were ready to face the executions...

“Young Goodman Brown” Story by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The story of “Young Goodman Brown” unravels as the titular character abandons his spouse called Faith despite her protests. However, Goodman Brown assures Faith that he will return shortly and that, as long as she continues to pray and lead a pious life, nothing can harm her. He leaves for...

W. E. B. Du Bois and Marcus Garvey’ Works Comparison

Introduction It is imperative to mention that the works by Du Bois and Garvey are truly fascinating, and both leaders were extremely influential. “The Souls of Black Folk” and “Africa for the African” are the ones that are especially noteworthy. Both pieces are regarded masterpieces by many scholars, and they...

Awkward Scene in The Castle of Otranto by Walpole

Introduction One awkward scene in the novel was where Manfred stabbed his own daughter Matilda when she was out with Theodore at St. Nicholas church. Manfred was in love with Isabel, but he thought that she loved another man called Theodore. As a result, Manfred had deployed a man to...

Elie Wiesel’s Night: Ghetto and Concentration Camp Horrors

Elie Wiesel revealed his experience in the ghetto in his novel Night. He portrayed the horrors of the war years and the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps. The author shares his thoughts and deepest emotions. The book is a very intimate confession of a person who tried to come...

Homer Biography

Homer is known to be the founder of the written poetry in the Western cultural history. His works are the first fixed examples of Greek poems that are currently available to the historians. Even though there are still numerous disagreements on the quantitative quality of his writings, the two masterpieces...

Analyzing Stories from the Syrian Revolution: Insights and Implications

The Fear of Breathing: Stories from the Syrian Revolution is a powerful, appealing and, at the same time, controversial play that provides insights into the real life of Syrian people who have suffered from the war. The play has been written by a theatre director, Zoe Lafferty, and two award-winning...

“Divine Comedy” and “Confessions”

Just like any other religion, Christianity had a period when it was to pave its way through the doubt and rejection of the people in order to gradually win more and more followers. The intent to move on from one religion and set of beliefs to another always comes along...

Theme in Henry James’s “Daisy Miller”

“Daisy Miller” is one of the most remarkable novellas written by Henry James in 1878. In his novella, James focuses on the opposition in visions typical for the Americans and Europeans living in the 1870s. From this point, “Daisy Miller” addresses the question of the morality based on certain social...

Modernism in Hemingway’s “Big Two-Hearted River”

Introduction Big Two-Hearted River, a short story written by Ernest Hemingway and first published in 1925, tells the readers about the feelings, thoughts, and perceptions of Nick Adams, the story’s main character, that he had during his visit to the river. The text contains virtually no significant events and no...

Mathilde in Guy de Maupassant’s “The Necklace”

Introduction Fiction writing is one of the most intriguing pieces of art in literature. Characterization is one of the integral parts of fiction writing. Characterization uses description to create characters that stick in mind. Therefore, when developing a character, the author needs to describe in detail his characters to a...

Review: Formisano’s ‘The Tea Party: A Brief History’ Analysis

Introduction Formisano is an American political historian and the author of the concise book, The Tea Party: A Brief History. This compilation is one of the books that broadly talk about the Tea Party in the history of American politics. The books mainly talk about the rise of the Tea...

Claude McKay’ Novel “Amiable with Big Teeth”

The recently discovered manuscript of Claude McKay titled “Amiable with Big Teeth: A Novel Concerning the Love Affair between the Communists and the Black Sheep of Harlem” provides a rare framework of the ideas, events and world affairs that shaped the Harlem Renaissance after the First World War. In particular,...

The Poetry by Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson is one of the most famous and loved poets in American literature. The author’s word choice and use of punctuation make her works outstanding, as they combine both sound and pause, resembling the wind. Dickinson avoids conformity, as Emerson would say, and she creates her own poetry rules....

Stylistic Devices in Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily”

Introduction Literature has always been an integral part of human society. It helped people to express their feelings and emotions and share thoughts that seem very important to them. That is why, since the beginning of the history of the mankind, authors tried to create some special and unique approach...

Literary Themes in Sherman Alexie’s “What You Will Pawn I Will Redeem”

Nowadays, it is not a shame to interact with homeless people, provide them with help, and offer free food and support to improve their lives. Unfortunately, even the most mettle supporters cannot prevent the development of such bad habits like alcoholism, drugs, or low finance. Sherman Alexie is a successful...

William Carlos Williams’ Poem: “This is Just to Say” and Its Exploration of Everyday Moments

Communication is an important aspect with regard to human relations and interaction in social contexts. Through communication and interaction, people share and propagate ideas that ultimately portend influence on overall thresholds of discourse and engagement. It also offers an opportunity for individuals to relay feelings and emotions in a manner...

Elie Wiesel’s Night: Analyzing the Impact of Holocaust Literature

Introduction Night is a book written by Elie Wiesel that focuses on his experiences while imprisoned in one of the Auschwitz concentration camps during the Holocaust. The book focuses on the inhuman experiences that the prisoners in the camp were subjected. Therefore, it highlights the impact that such experiences had...

“Tears of a Tiger” a Novel by Sharon Draper

Introduction Sometimes, the weight of past mistakes feels too heavy for a single person to endure. Sharon Draper’s fictional novel, Tears of a Tiger, is dedicated to exploring this concept. It is a morbid and tragic story of a young man who ruined his life by making just one poor...

Henry David Thoreau and Virginia Woolf’s Essay Comparison

Introduction Henry David Thoreau, an essay writer, social critic and editor, has been considered as the father of the American nature literature. In his book ‘Walden’, Thoreau, a naturalist, provides several short stories that relate to the natural aspects surrounding him. In particular, he uses natural things such as animals...

Susan Glaspell’s ‘Trifles’ – Gender Oppression and Justice

Trifles is an early example of a feminist drama, written by Susan Glaspell in 1916. The drama revolves around the murder of John Wright, a farmer described by his peers as an honest and hard-working man. The man was found in his house, strangled with a string. His wife, Mrs....

“The Tempest” a Play by William Shakespeare

In the Tempest, Shakespeare, portrays Caliban as an uncultured half- man, half beast, who is enslaved in his own land by a foreign intruder. Shakespeare portrays him as a person who has limited understanding on how the modern world works. Through Prospero’s own description, Caliban is shown as a beast...

“The Female American” a Book by Unca Eliza Winkfield

Unca Eliza Winkfield wrote The Female American in 1767 as a religious memoir modelled after Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe. Just like Robinson Crusoe, despite being a work of fiction, there is a series of references to factual historical events meant to create an illusion of reality. From a non-critical perspective,...

“The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros

Introduction Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street is an illustration of the problems faced by Latin women in a culture laden with racism, prejudice, and discrimination. Society as depicted in the book is being dominated by men where women are generally praised for their physical features; however, the Latin...

The Things They Carried: The Main Characters and the Underlying Themes

This essay discusses a famous novel about the war in Vietnam called The Things They Carried. It also gives a piece of background information about the writer, Tim O’Brien. In the essay, there is a discussion of the main characters and the underlying themes. The author analyzes some of the...

“Schoolsville” a Poem by Billy Collins

The Introduction: The Author’s Humorous Tone First of all, I would like to point out that the poem Schoolsville reminded me of my own school life. Of course, it is obvious, that the writer Billy Collins used expressive language devices to impress the readers. In other words, his speech is...

Popular Ballad: Bonnie George Campbell

The World of People’s Sorrows It goes without saying that ballads speak to each individual’s heart as they address archetypal points. Thus, Bonny George Campbell focuses on the idea of war and death. People contemplate these two topics at some point of their life. Of course, the balled also speaks...

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare

The play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare is characterized by comedy, farce and humor that are present throughout the play. It is mainly based on love, magic, mistaken identity and the sudden reversal of relationships. Act I begins with a scene where Duke Theseus is conversing with his bride....

Black Slavery in Barn Burning by Faulkner: Historical Insights

The problem of black slavery described in the story Barn Burning by William Faulkner demonstrates the most significant moments of historical development of the country. Moreover, this novel reminds me another famous story The adventures of Huckleberry Finn written by Mark Twain. The conflict between father and son emphasizes the...

Francis’s “Catch” and Herbert’s “Easter Wings” Comparison

Introduction This paper analyses the comparison between “Catch Poem” of Francis Robert and “Easter Wings Poem” of Herbert George. Indeed, the two poems are significant, although they express concealed implications to readers. Though each poem presented dissimilar information, such ideas are related, imperative, and vital to readers in general. Analysis...

Social Lives of Ancient Egyptians: Culture, Hierarchy, and Daily Life

The two books focus on the social lives of the ancient Egyptians. In the book Voices in Ancient Egypt, Kay presents an anthology of poems and pictures of workers in ancient Egypt (Kay & Moser, 2003). On the other hand, Hibbert in the book Rich and Poor in Ancient Egypt...

“The Karma of Brown Folk” a Book by Vijay Prashad

Introduction The book, The Karma of Brown Folk, is the book that presents the history and the life of the minority groups in the United States. Some of the minority groups that the book examines include Asian and Black Americans. According to Prashad, Asian and Black Americans living in the...

Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson Literary Styles Comparison

Introduction One of the differences between Whitman and Dickinson was the thematic elements that were utilized by the poets. For instance, Whitman’s use of slang and “common” language in his poetry greatly contrasted with Dickinson’s overly formal language, however, this difference in the type of words utilized actually embodied a...

Williams Shakespeare Biographical Interpretation

Does the life of an author have a significant influence on his work? Do the author’s experience and surrounding wield influence on his writing? How much does an author’s life impact his work? The effect of an author’s life experiences on his writing is often unquestionable. The impact Shakespeare’s life...

Societal Transformation in Voltaire’s Letters: Analyzing Cultural Critiques

Voltaire’s book Letters on England can help readers better understand various aspects of the early Enlightenment. The author’s incisive comments throw light on the distinctive characteristics of England at the beginning of the eighteenth century. Voltaire made his observations during his stay in this country in 1729. In his work,...

Exploring Diverse Poetic Elements: Techniques and Their Literary Impact

In his poem “Musee des Beaux Arts,” Wystan Auden uses ekphrasis, “a vivid description of a scene or, more commonly, a work of art” (“Glossary Terms”). Auden provides visual descriptions of a Breughel’s painting, “In Breughel’s Icarus, for instance: how everything turns away / Quite leisurely from the disaster; the...

Family Relationship in “Night” by Elie Wiesel

Introduction In the book Night by Elie Wiesel, the relationship between Eliezar and his father appears to be complex. It is shaped by harsh conditions, religion, deportation, and the interaction between the two and other people. In this essay, the author analyzes how this relationship changes throughout the novel. According...

Nineteen Eighty-Four: Orwell’s Warning Against Totalitarianism

Introduction Written by Orwell (1), Nineteen Eighty-Four is a celebrated literary work of the 20th century. The author sets the novel in a 1949 totalitarian world, where an elitist group in Airstrip One (formerly Great Britain) used politically manipulative techniques to keep their power by silencing “independent minds.” They controlled...