Study Like a Boss
Foreshadowing is used in many of Charles Dickens’ novels. It can bring about a sense of wonder and imagination of what might occur later in the novel. The conceopt of foreshadowing means to present a warning sign, or hint beforehand. Dickens is able to use this concept in three examples. The threatening footsteps in the … Read more
“I am not what I am. ” What is Iago? — as distinct from what he pretends to be — and what are his motives? In Shakespeare’s, Othello, the reader is presented the classic battle between the deceitful forces of evil and the innocence of good. It are these forces of evil that ultimately lead … Read more
John Stubbs’ essay is an examination of the defense which he believes Henry and Catherine use to protect themselves from the discovery of their insignificance and “powerlessness… in a world indifferent to their well being… ” He asserts that “role-playing” by the two main characters, and several others in the book, is a way to … Read more
The narrator approaches the House of Usher on a “dull, dark, and soundless day. ” This house–the estate of his boyhood friend, Roderick Usher–is very gloomy and mysterious. The narrator writes that the house seems to have collected an evil and diseased atmosphere from the decaying trees and murky ponds around it. He notes, however, … Read more
In The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allen Poe, the dark side of human nature is exemplified through the character of Montresor and his victim, Fortunato. Montresor is a manipulative and vengeful person. These characteristics lead to the death of Fortunato, a man who has wronged him. Through the acts, words, and the thoughts of … Read more
The attempt to capture the American dream is a theme in many novels, and that is no exception when it comes to The Great Gatsby and Ethan Frome. Jay Gatsby, the central figure in The Great Gatsby, had the American dream that he could acquire happiness through wealth and power. Ethan Frome, the main character … Read more
John Updike’s “A&P” is a short story about a nineteen year old boy during the 1960’s that has a summer job at the local A&P grocery. The main character in the story, Sammy, realizes that life isn’t always fair and that sometimes a person makes decisions that he will regret. Sammy sees that life doesn’t … Read more
The Three witches in the tragedy Macbeth are introduced right at the beginning of the play. They tell Macbeth three prophesies, he will be Thane of Cawdor, Thane of Glams and King. These prophesies introduce him to ideas of greatness. Macbeth will eventually follow through on killing king Duncan. This brings into the play, idea … Read more
William Shakespeare’s Othello is a tragic play consisting of five acts. Although each act is not of equal importance, each serves a distinct role that affects the quality of the play in its entirety. Removing any act would therefore greatly diminish the final product of this play; consequently, reducing the play’s appeal to the audience. … Read more
In Alan Paton’s novel Cry, the Beloved Country two characters, Absalom’s girl and Gertrude, show the how society in Johannesburg is as a whole. Absalom’s girl symbolizes how girls her age are mothers and have even become divorced several times before. On the other hand Gertrude, Kumalo’s sister, illustrates the qualities of a young woman … Read more
Archetypes are, by definition, previous images, characters, or patterns that recur throughout literature and though consistently enough to be considered a universal concept or situation. Archetypes also can be described as complexes of experiences that come upon us like fate, and their effects are felt in our most personal life. A Rose for Emily by … Read more
We often wonder why Shakespeare’s character Hamlet, in the play Hamlet, waited so long after bring told by the ghost, about the evil deed, before carrying out his plan. Everyone contains a tinge of Hamlet in his or her feelings, wants, and worries. Hamlet is not like other tragic heroes of his period. He stands … Read more
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is by any means a classic. However, there are several flaws. First of all the coincidence that everything happens with in my mind detracts some from the story. The other major problem is that the book seems to drag on and on the closer you get to the end, as … Read more
The story entitled “The Lottery,” written by Shirley Jackson is an intriguing and shocking parable. “The Lottery” is set in a small village on a clear summer day. Written in objective third person point of view, “The Lottery” keeps the reader in suspense as the story progresses. This story shows the cruelty of people and … Read more
“Boys will be boys” is a clich often used when males exemplify the traits of wild, abandoned exploration, or use poor judgment in situations due to a desire to fulfill self. These traits, however, are seen as great downfalls and serious cause for concern should females display the same characteristics. Willa Cather beautifully portrays characters … Read more
One of the ironies of Steinbecks novel, The Grapes of Wrath was that, as Ma Joad said, “If your in trouble or hurt or need — go to poor people. They’re the only ones that’ll help — the only ones. “(pg 335) The irony is that if you need something you have to go to … Read more
Kate’s soliloquy brings about a joyous conclusion to The Taming of the Shrew. The audience leaves the theatre with a pleasant feeling, glad that such a shrew could be tamed so well. Kate herself realised the error of her ways, making the men feel confident while making the women feel safe. Moreover, the audience found … Read more
Homer, name traditionally assigned to the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, the two major epics of Greek antiquity. Nothing is known of Homer as an individual, and in fact the question of whether a single person can be said to be responsible for the creation of the two epics is highly controversial. Linguistic … Read more
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby has been labeled a masterpiece, and perhaps even one of the greatest novels of all time. In order to be revered as a classic, a novel must have one or more qualities that place it above the rest. One of The Great Gatsby’s best qualities is Fitzgerald’s incredible use … Read more
In Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth, the characters and the roles they play are critical to its plot and theme, and therefore many of Shakespeare’s characters are well developed and complex. Two of these characters are the protagonist, Macbeth, and his wife, Lady Macbeth. They play interesting roles in the tragedy, and over the course of the … Read more
Fitzgerald establishes Nick Carraway as an impartial but not passive narrator. He does reserve judgment on others, yet as he states, he is not entirely forgiving. From the opening paragraphs, there is already a tension. For the narrator, Gatsby represents all that is contemptible, but Gatsby is the one person exempt from this scorn. The … Read more
The American Dream, as it arose in the Colonial period and developed in the nineteenth century, was based on the assumption that each person, no matter what his origins, could succeed in life on the sole basis of his or her own skill and effort. The dream was embodied in the ideal of the self-made … Read more
Evil and charm are considered by many people to be very different things. It is not often that it is thought that evil and charm coexist together. Evil is defined to be; morally bad, or wicked, while charms definition is; a trait that fascinates, allures or delights. According to British author Brian Masters evil is … Read more
In life change is inevitable, in novels it is a way of life. All of the characters in. , Ethan Frome change in one way or another, From Ethan Falling in love with Mattie, to him starting to shave every morning. These changes from the minor ones to the major ones all play a large … Read more
At the close of Crime and Punishment, Raskolinkov is convicted of Murder and sentenced to seven years in Siberian prison. Yet even before the character was conceived, Fyodor Dostoevsky had already convicted Raskolinkov in his mind (Frank, Dostoevsky 101). Crime and Punishment is the final chapter in Dostoevsky’s journey toward understanding the forces that drive … Read more
He is peeping through a small hole, from which a light comes out and shows his expression. Is it an expression of pleasure? No, it looks like pain he feels. But his eyes are looking so lusty in desire, he is masturbating. I have never seen an expression like this, he is both taking sexual … Read more
When selecting a good piece of literature one must attempt to appeal to a wide variety of tastes. William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is often used to introduce students to literacy style that carries back as far as the seventeenth century. There is one main plot that consists of a love triangle between Orsino, Olivia and … Read more
In Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus, written in the late nineteenth century by Mary Shelley, Shelley proposes that knowledge and its effects can be dangerous to individuals and all of humanity. Frankenstein was one of our first and still is one of our best cautionary tales about scientific research.. Shelley’s novel is a metaphor of … Read more
In today’s rough and tough world, there seems to be no room for failure. The pressure to succeed in life sometimes seems unreasonable. Others often set expectations for people too high. This forces that person to develop ways to take the stress and tension out of their lives in their own individual ways. In the … Read more
In Antigone, especially with the feminist movement now holding the title character, as prototypical downtrodden woman, the king Creon is often villified. While accepting the fact that Creon has misogynist tendencies, the gender issues can cause the pure argument of validity of actions, to fall by the wayside. So supposing for a moment, that Antigone’s … Read more
In The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allen Poe, the dark side of human nature is illustrated through the character of Montresor and his victim, Fortunato. Montresor is a manipulative and vengeful person whom is obsessed with the downfall of Fortunato. Through the acts, words, and the thoughts of Montresor, one is able to see … Read more
Arguably, the best piece of writing ever done by William Shakespeare, Hamlet is the classic example of a tragedy. In all tragedies the hero suffers, and usually dies at the end. Othello stabs himself, Romeo and Juliet commit suicide, Brutis falls on his sword, and like them Hamlet dies by getting cut with a poison … Read more
An Aristotelian hero has a hamartia, downfall, suffering and enlightenment and considering these points we asks ourselves if Dr. Faustus falls under this. In the book, Dr. Faustus, Faustus has all but enlightenment, which is why he is not an Aristotelian hero. Faustus fatal error is that of wanting to have all knowledge and be … Read more
The Halocaust, a horrible time for the world. Just as any war is. War is the single most destructive thing our world has. It can take the lives of millions of people in just a few seconds. War however may seem bad from the perspective of many people, but it is even worse from the … Read more
The praised epic poem, Beowulf, is the first great heroic poem in English literature. The epic follows a courageous warrior named Beowulf throughout his young, adult life and into his old age. As a young man, Beowulf becomes a legendary hero when he saves the land of the Danes from the hellish creatures, Grendel and … Read more
In Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman, [the protagonist] Willy Lomans inability to live in and cope with the present ultimately destroys him. The are several constant themes and ideas throughout the play which show this. Willys inability to be successful according to his own standards is most problematical for him. The troublesome relationship between … Read more
Prior to deciding whether or not conflict is central to the dramatic development of MACBETH, one must consider all the dramatic factors that contribute to the Shakespearean play. The gradual decline of the protagonist , the role portrayed by characters and the order in which the events occur, greatly influence the direction in which the … Read more
Aside from all of the physical changes that Gregor encountered, his personality also took some major turns. Before this unfortunate transformation occurred, Gregor did not have the best relations with his family. Even though he was pretty much generating all of their income, he didn’t have much of a closeness with them, except for his … Read more
A tragedy by definition is “a drama which recounts an important and casually related series of events in the life of a person of significance, such events culminating in an unhappy catastrophe, the whole treated with great dignity and seriousness”. The Greek tragedies are plays based on myths which were well known and enjoyed by … Read more
In his short story “The Fall of the House of Usher”, Edgar Allen Poe presents his reader with an intricately suspenseful plot filled with a foreboding sense of destruction. Poe uses several literary devices, among the most prevalent, however are his morbid imagery and eerie parallelism. Hidden in the malady of the main character are … Read more
Charles Dickens wrote “Hard Times” in monthly instalments in “Household words” in 1854. It describes the life of the citizens in an industrial town whilst covering family values, the education system and the plight of workers. Tom Gradgrind is the eldest son of Mr Gradgrind and through him Dickens shows the impact of a factual … Read more
Chapter 14 made an interesting point. At one point in the chapter it was stated that a farmer lost his farm. As this mans family picks up their belongings and heads west they meet up with another family dealing with a similar situation. Now these two families share a common bond. A brotherhood is forming. … Read more
“Jane Eyre” is set during the Victorian period, at a time where a women’s role in society was restrictive and repressive and class differences distinct. A job as a governess was one of the only few respectable positions available to the educated but impoverished single women. Not only is “Jane Eyre” a novel about one … Read more
Of Mice and Men (1937), written in the same genre as The Grapes of Wrath, that of a story about migrant farm workers and their lives as a reflection on society, was the book that thrust Steinbeck into the limelight as a national celebrity. He won many awards and honors including being picked as one … Read more
The novel, Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, has a plot that is filled with an extraordinary amount of problems. Or so it seems as you are reading it. However, it comes to your attention after you have finished it, that there is a common thread running throughout the book. There are many little difficulties that … Read more
The purpose of the Russian Revolution was to fix problems from Czar Nicholas II. The purpose of the Animal Farm Revolution was to make life better for all the animals. However, both revolutions made life worse afterwards. All of the characters in Animal Farm have counterparts in real life. This book was based on the … Read more
“Jane Eyre” is set during the Victorian period, at a time where a womens role in society was restrictive and repressive and class differences distinct. A job as a governess was one of the only few respectable positions available to the educated but impoverished single women. Not only is “Jane Eyre” a novel about one … Read more
Throughout Edith Whartons novel Ethan Frome, Ethan is forced to make crucial decisions that affect the outcome of his life and others lives. He regrets most of the outcomes of his decisions and wishes he could change them. Yet, when given the opportunity to change his fate, he never seems to fully seize what could … Read more
True love is like ghosts,”claims Franois, Duc de La Rochefoucauld, “Which everyone talks about but few have seen”. What is true love? Is it idealistic love or physical love, mature love or paternal love. Well kiddies, it is all that are listed here for each has its own place in the Shakespearean play Romeo and … Read more
The freedom of choice and the rehabilitating form of corrections encase the realm of A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess. It produces the question about man’s free will and the ability to choose one’s destiny, good or evil. “If he can only perform good or only perform evil, then he is a clockwork orange-meaning that … Read more