Study Like a Boss
In Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” the mortal teenage characters fall in love foolishly, and the character Bottom states, “O what fools these mortals be”. They are foolish because they act like children. Although Lysander, Hermia, Demetrius, and Helena appear grown-up, when they are in love they act foolishly. The four teenage lovers are fools. … Read more
We just finished reading the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. In this play we are introduced to the tragic story of their forbidden “love” which ultimately leads to their deaths. Although Romeo and Juliet is considered to be a timeless love story, I find Romeo to be too immature for this to be … Read more
Nature, described as mysterious and secretive, is a recurrent theme throughout Shakespeares Antony and Cleopatra. Cleopatra, the ill-fated queen of Egypt, is both mysterious and secretive, and her emotional power is above and beyond natures great strength. Whether described in a positive or in a negative manner, both nature and Cleopatra are described as being … Read more
“A Good Man Is Hard To Find” and “Good Country People” are two short stories written by Flannery O’Connor during her short lived writing career. Despite the literary achievements of O’Connor’s works, she is often criticized for the grotesqueness of her characters and endings of her short stories and novels. Her writings have been described … Read more
As with every play we read this quarter, we started A Midsummer Night s Dream with only a text. Reading the script is the foundation of Shakespeare, and the least evolved of the ways that one can experience it. There is no one to interpret the words, no body movement o! r voice inflection to … Read more
Any good story starts with an observation: an observation of the silent neighbor, the infamously loud aunt at the family reunion or the mysterious stranger, smiling at nothing. William Shakespeare always wrote of these observations. His characters in each of his plays represent some part of society or desire lying within society. “The Tempest”, Shakespeare’s … Read more
Odysseus, the Hero The “Odyssey” is an epic story that has been a significant piece of literature since it was first composed and will remain so for ages to come. One of the reasons it has been so is because of the hero, Odysseus. Odysseus is one of the first Greek mythic heroes renowned for … Read more
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s background influenced him to write the bold novel The Scarlet Letter. One important influence on the story is money. Hawthorne had never made much money as an author and the birth of his first daughter added to the financial burden (Biographical Note VII). He received a job at the Salem Custom House only … Read more
Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors is a madcap romp of mistakings and misadventures, wrapping together two Plautine comedies sauced with Scripture and Renaissance poetry. Yet the tangled web of estranged family that Shakespeare weaves holds significant differences from any of his originals, pointing to ideas about family and marriage that Shakespeare no doubt held, and was … Read more
In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston a young girl named Janie begins her life unknown to herself. She searches for the horizon as it illustrates the distance one must travel in order to distinguish between illusion and reality, dream and truth, role and self” (Hemenway 75). She is unaware … Read more
Othello is a Moorish nobleman and soldier of fortune, inclined into the vale of years. Now in the service of the Venetian State as a general against the Turks. Othello is said to be great of heart, honorable and valiant, of a free open nature, that thinks men honest that but seem to be so, … Read more
For young people, the Vietnam War is a thing of the past and they can only learn about it from second hand sources. In Tim O’brien’s The Things They Carried, it becomes very apparent that the Vietnam conflict has proved to be one that many of the participants have not been able move away from, … Read more
Mental illness and madness is a theme often explored in literature and the range of texts exploring these is tremendously varied. Various factors can threaten a character’s sanity, ranging from traumatic events which trigger a decline to pressure from more vast, impersonal sources. Generally speaking, writers have tried to show that most threats to sanity … Read more
Madam Adam: Hemingways exploration of Man in The Sun Also Rises Its really an awfully simple operation, Jig, the man said. Its not really an operation at all. Much of Hemingways body of work grows from issues of male morality. In his concise, Hills Like White Elephants, a couple discusses getting an abortion while waiting … Read more
The mythological critic easily evaluates the written version of Oedipus the King, finding the prevalent mythological or archetypal characteristics in the text as well as common hero characteristics in Oedipus. The myth begins with a journey as Oedipus arrives in Thebes from his home in Corinth as the son of King Plybus. The ideas of … Read more
F. Scott Fitzgerald is an author who is distinguished for his use of symbolism in his literature, like in the novel The Great Gatsby. Houses the image of Doctor T. J. Eckelburg’s eyes to symbolize a godlike being. Fitzgerald uses the symbol of the two women in yellow at Gatsby’s party to represent the values … Read more
Mark Twain used the contrast between the characters of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn to illustrate a romantic and realistic imagination. Tom is spectacularly imaginative in the boyish, romantic sense. Tom has filled his head with romantic adventure novels and ideas; this has shaped Tom’s worldview and feeds his fantasies, which he is constantly trying … Read more
In Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew, one topic that has been debated, interpreted, discussed, reinterpreted and adapted into different forms has been the character of Katharina, the shrew, and whether she was tamed, liberated, or just a good enough actress to make Everyone think she was in fact, tamed. In this essay, I will present … Read more
“Hey, Sabrina, are you Japanese or Chinese? ” I asked. Her reply, as it seems to be for a lot of minority groups, is, “Neither, I’m Chinese-American. ” So, besides her American accent and a hyphenated ending on her answer to the SAT questionnaire about her ethnic background, what’s the difference? In Amy Tan’s enjoyable … Read more
In Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier describes the epic journey home of wounded Confederate soldier Inman from Petersburg to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Inman’s physical voyage home is paralleled by the mental journey made by his sweetheart, Ada, in her transformation from city girl’ into mountain woman’. The story is woven around the experiences of Inman … Read more
The book A Brief History of Time (1988) by Stephen Hawking is a one of a kind introduction to todays physics. It recently became a record standing over a hundred weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List and about 237 weeks in The London Sunday Times best-seller list. The book has been translated in … Read more
“In Slaughterhouse Five, — Or the Children’s Crusade, Vonnegut delivers a complete treatise on the World War II bombing of Dresden. The main character, Billy Pilgrim, is a very young infantry scout* who is captured in the Battle of the Bulge and quartered in a Dresden slaughterhouse where he and other prisoners are employed in … Read more
It is very easy for a reader to see Heart of Darkness as a depiction of, and an attack upon, colonialism in general, and, more specifically, the particularly brutal form colonialism took in the Belgian Congo. Consider the book from this point of view, and you will be led to those details which depict the … Read more
It has been questioned by people, honored by people and revered since the beginning of time. Yet even today not one person can say what is morally right. It is a matter of opinion. It was Dr. Victor Frankenstein’s opinion that it was alright to create a “monster”. Frankenstein’s creation needed a companion. Knowing that … Read more
Every Epic follows a certain guideline, it is written in an elevated style consisting of a hero and deeds he does during his travels or journey. In the Odyssey written by Homer, the hero named Odysseus portrays many Hero-like characteristics that can make the reader envious. Homer gives Odysseus 3 traits that fit the definition … Read more
Throughout the play “Death of A Salesman” by Arthur Miller, Willy Loman’s misguided pride leads to his tragic failure and lack of accomplishment. Willy’s pride and attitude cause him to brag constantly to his family and friends about his career. His pride also causes him to put a lot of pressure on his sons because … Read more
Macbeth(c. 1607), written by William Shakespeare, is the tragic tale of Macbeth, a virtuous man, corrupted by power and greed. This tragedy could in fact be called “A Tale of Two Theories”. One theory suggests that the tragic hero, Macbeth, is led down an unescapable road of doom by an outside force, namely fate in … Read more
An individual often finds himself in a conflict with the rules of society. Occasionally, rebelling is the path to happiness. However, usually, the real path to happiness is through compromise. This is the case in the early nineteenth century England setting of Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen. In the novel, Miss Elizabeth Bennet is … Read more
Laura is a woman who has reached the body of a full adult, but she has yet to gain the brain and thought process of an adult. Laura is a woman that lives in her own dream world, and is not motivated by what is going on in the real world. She is a woman … Read more
The Glass Menagerie refers to the fragile world of dreams, and illusion. Within the play Williams uses characters who face solitary struggles in an emotionally, physically, and financially starved surrounding. During the course of the play, a glass unicorn gets broken, symbolizing the fragile nature of a dream world. It’s more than coincidental that the … Read more
Throughout William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, there is the dichotomy of the hard-working political life of Rome and the luxury and pleasures of Egypt. The effect of the difference between the two places on the main characters, and on the plot, is a key theme throughout the play. It is common in Shakespeare’s plays for … Read more
Voltaire’s Candide is the story of an innocent man’s experiences in a mad and evil world, his struggle to survive in that world, and his need to ultimately come to terms with it. All people experience the turmoil of life and must overcome obstacles, both natural and man-made, in order to eventually achieve happiness. In … Read more
The true Greek tragedy, Oedipus the King, written by Sophocles (496-406 B. C. ), adheres to Aristotles (384-322 B. C. ) definition of a tragedy. The first criterion of a Greek tragedy is that the protagonist be a good person; doubly blessed with a good heart and noble intention. Sophocles reveals immediately at the start … Read more
Of Mice and Men and The Pearl were two interesting novellas I was able to read. Both written by the famous author John Steinbeck. In both books Steinbeck described a lot of social Injustice, hardships, and how his characters kept their dignity throughout both books. In the book, The Pearl, it takes place in Baja, … Read more
Achilles shield, made by Hephaestus, the god of fire, plays a part in the Iliad. It tells the story of the war between the Greeks and the Trojans. Hephaestus depicts the two cities and the activities going on in them, and Agamemnons, the Greeks king, estate. Homer thought that seeing what it is on the … Read more
The story of Beowulf displays multiple motivations for the multiple characters. For example, adventure is Beowulf’s first motivation, but his drive later changes as situations change. Grendel kills for the sport, survival, and revenge for being outcast as a monster. Grendel’s mother is outraged after the death of her only son, as any mother would … Read more
To be known as a hero takes a lot. But what is a true hero? To some, a hero might just be a person who has a lot of courage and bravery, to others a hero might be a person that is a strong warrior and leader who wins battles; still to others a hero … Read more
Ever since the human race has appeared on Earth, they have been striving to become superior to everything else, including other groups of humans. To this day, the power struggle continues. However, during a period of time in the 19th and 20th centuries, one race assumed the superior position, or so they thought. These groups … Read more
Lady Audleys Secret, by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, is a novel of many elements. It has been placed in many different style or genre categories since its publication. I feel that it best fits under the melodrama or sensational genre, and under the subgenre of mystery. It contains significant elements of both types of writing, so … Read more
All of the characters in The Glass Menagerie have specific symbols in the play representing themselves. Some of the symbols for Tom are the Merchant Marine and the magicians nailed coffin, while Amandas are the yellow dress and her membership to the Daughters of the American Revolution and some of Lauras are the unicorn and … Read more
Theme is what the author is saying about the subject of the story. In “Young Goodman Brown” the subject of the story is hypocrisy. In “Young Goodman Brown”, Hawthorne writes in detail how hypocrisy can change a person for the worse. In the opening pages of the story you can see how hypocrisy is already … Read more
Centuries apart Robert Herrick and Robert Frost wrote poems illustrating the brevity of life. “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” by Herrick and “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Frost are the two poems which address the limited time humanity, especially the time of youth, has to spend in this life. Both authors use … Read more
The speaker in Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” gives the reader insight into human nature with each line of poetry. While, Frost had not originally intended for this to be an inspirational poem, line by line, the speaker is encouraging each reader to seek out his or her own personal path in the journey … Read more
In a story as confusing and ambiguous as Thomas Pynchons The Crying of Lot 49, it is difficult to connect any aspect of the book to a piece of modern culture. However, Oedipas quest, her search for the truth, and the paranoia therein, are inherent in the plots of todays most-watched television and movies. Though … Read more
Throughout the play, Oedipus the King, Sophocles refers to site and blindness to relate attitudes and knowledge of the past. The irony of sight in this play can be marked by Oedipus inability to realize that which is evident to the reader. His extreme pride is his tragic flaw. It blinds him from the truth. … Read more
In the Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka transforms the main character, Gregor Samsa, into a bug. Kafka chose the bug for several reasons. The bug is a symbol for the life that Gregor has. His life is full of loneliness and emptiness. Furthermore, Kafka wrote this book shortly after the Industrial Revolution. There is a connection between … Read more
Huckleberry Finn provides the narrative voice of Mark Twain’s novel, and his honest voice combined with his personal vulnerabilities reveal the different levels of the Grangerfords’ world. Huck is without a family: neither the drunken attention of Pap nor the pious ministrations of Widow Douglas were desirable allegiance. He stumbles upon the Grangerfords in darkness, … Read more
The epic poem of Beowulf blends aspects of the pagan world – such as the belief in fate and the importance of being remembered – with aspect from the Christian world. The author writes about the values of the pagan world, while, at the same time, portraying Christian morality through his characters. The epic of … Read more
In their life, at one point or another, people deny to themselves and others what they really feel and what really happened. Some people go on living their entire lives denying their true emotions. In Toni Morrison’s novel Sula, characters constantly denied their feelings and their actions. Sula Peace, her best friend Nel Wright, and … Read more
In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, many of the characters suffer from the tolls of sin, but none as horribly as Hester’s daughter Pearl. She alone suffers from sin that is not her own, but rather that of her mother. From the day she is conceived, Pearl is portrayed as an offspring of evil. … Read more
