Study Like a Boss
W. E. B. Du Bois’s Souls of Black Folk, a collection of autobiographical and historical essays contains many themes. There is the theme of souls and their attainment of consciousness, the theme of double consciousness and the duality and bifurcation of black life and culture; but one of the most striking themes is that of … Read more
Ernest Hemingway’s classic novel, A Farewell to Arms, is one of the greatest love and war stories of all time. The success and authenticity of this tale is a direct result of Hemingway’s World War I involvement. The main character, Frederick Henry, encounters many of the same things as did Hemingway and creates a parallel … Read more
Once is a generation, a book is written that transcends reality and humanity . The Catcher in the Rye, by JD Salinger, combines a unique style, controversial theme, and thought provoking main character in this perceptive study of the human condition. This postwar novel protests against the loss of innocence and hypocrisy of the era … Read more
In comparing and contrasting the stories Worn Path and Young GoodMann Brown. Several things come to mind . We see that both authors use a lot of symbolism as well as foreshadowing. Also, Both stories take place in the forest or along a path. In the story Worn Path the author makes use of symbolism … Read more
The tragic downfall of Macbeth was not determined by one single cause but rather caused by a combination of three dark forces: supernatural, external and internal. The three witches and their dark powers represent the supernatural forces. Lady Macbeth acts as Macbeth’s external force, pushing him towards the bloody deeds. Macbeth’s own ambition and inner … Read more
The above passage taken from the play A Raisin In The Sun by Lorraine Hansberry between Mama and her son Walter shows how the author can address many themes of the play in one scene or even just a few lines; She addresses such themes as dreams, prejudice, and family. Mama is the head of … Read more
Jane Eyre, a novel about an English womans struggles told through the writing of Charlotte Bront, has filled its audience with thoughts of hope, love, and deception for many years. These thoughts surround people, not just women, everyday, as if an endless cycle from birth to death. As men and women fall further into this … Read more
All poets have a certain structure in order for their poem to be understood in an artistic and unique way. Through the use of organization, diction and figurative language, the poem is composed in a creative manner. In The Great Scarf of Birds, by John Updike, the speaker is understood through the use of all … Read more
In A Midsummer Nights Dream, Shakespeare uses the green world and its inhabitants as a symbol of imagination. The characters flee from reality to escape the laws that govern everyday life in Athens. The importance of imagination reveals itself when the constraints of everyday life are lost in this realm. The fact that actors fall … Read more
There are many important elements to The Catcher in the Rye but there are two that stand out from the rest by a great margin. These elements of the novel are the message that the book gives to reader as well as the style of writing that J. D. Salinger uses while writing the book. … Read more
We often call Edgar Allen Poe one of the fathers of terror and mystery. His twisted, Macabre tales and poems are filled with great detail and often end with a dismal twist. “The Conqueror Worm” is one example of his masterful rhymes and tells how a play on life turns into reality for mankind. The … Read more
We are always striving for equality between the sexes. For many years women were seen as being less than men, and inferior to them. This is shown simply by one history-altering incident. The incident that I’m referring to is when the women were finally allowed to vote. It was quite a long time after the … Read more
Loving is a much more positive experience than being loved. In order to love, one must come to accept one to the extent that one is able to express his own emotions toward another person. A particular divinity can be experienced through loving others. While being loved does not necessarily provide one with the ability … Read more
Many stories often benefit from surprise endings. They can give us great insight into the characters. Four stories that have surprise endings are Rose for Emily, Young Goodman Brown, To Room Nineteen, and The Necklace. The surprise in Rose for Emily, by William Faulkner, is in the last sentence of the story. When they see … Read more
Achilles was the son of the mortal Peleus and the Nereid Thetis. He was the mightiest of the Greeks who fought in the Trojan War, and was the hero of Homer’s Iliad. Thetis attempted unsuccessfully to make her son immortal. There are two versions of the story. In the earlier version, Thetis anointed the infant … Read more
It is true that Grendel is monstrous. He is not only a deadly enemy to Hrothgar and Herot, but to the Geats in general. Grendel seems to take his only pleasure from assaulting Herot and destroying the warriors inside. He is a bane to all those that live under Hrothgar’s rule. They hate him. He … Read more
Whereas most individuals tend to see nature as a playhouse that should alter and self-destruct to their every need, William Wordsworth had a very different view. Wordsworth perceived nature as a sanctuary where his views of life, love, and his creator were eventually altered forever. The intensity of Wordsworth’s passion for nature elevated him from … Read more
In the novel, The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan, it tells of four Chinese women drawn together in San Francisco to play mah jong, and tell stories of the past. These four women and their families all lived in Chinatown and belong to the First Chinese Baptist Church. They were not necessarily religious, but … Read more
“A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, is the tale of the unstoppable love and care of a grandmother for her grandchild. It tells a story of sheer determination as Phoenix Jackson makes a long journey into town to get medicine for her chronically ill grandson. She strives forward despite frequent obstacles in her way that … Read more
In Jack Kerouac’s novel On the Road, the narrator, Sal Paradise offers up to us what seems to be a very optimistic view on life. He is forever singing the praises of how wonderful his adventures will be and his high expectations for the future. To Sal, the novel is defined by youthful exuberance and … Read more
William Blake spent much of his youth as an impoverished child, his family barely afforded him the chances to learn to read and write. He boldly worked with controversial themes during the largest revolutionary wars ever. His theories of innocence and experience were revolutionary in themselves and inspired and stirred awesome works reflecting upon how … Read more
“I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw” (II. ii. 369-370). This is a classic example of the “wild and whirling words” (I. v. 134) with which Hamlet hopes will persuade people to believe that he is mad. These words, however, prove that beneath his “antic … Read more
There are many different interpretations of Sammy’s role in A&P. T here are several that have been considered but the one that I have picked is the is Sammy a Womanizer by trying to lead the girls in to licking him or is he just quitting to become more successful than working at an A&P … Read more
If there is one thing to learn from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” then it would have to be that there is a little bit of evil in every aspect of life. In the short story, Goodman Brown leaves his wife Faith, who is “aptly named”, behind to go on a journey into the forest … Read more
The epic poem Beowulf describes the noblest king of the Anglo-Saxon times, Beowulf. Beowulf is a man who demonstrates all the good qualities of a king, this can be seen by just looking at what he has accomplished. Beowulf is a man who was loyal, powerful, and charitable. Beowulf was loyal to his promises and … Read more
In real life humans are multidimensional not only physically but also in their actions and emotions. Majority of the time when it comes to any form of entertainment being it movies, plays, or books, the characters are flat, one dimensional. You don’t get a sense of who they really are, the author in his writings … Read more
“A Doll’s House” is classified under the “second phase” of Henrik Ibsen’s career. It was during this period which he made the transition from mythical and historical dramas to plays dealing with social problems. It was the first in a series investigating the tensions of family life. Written during the Victorian era, the controversial play … Read more
Romeo finds out about his ladylove Juliet and quickly runs back to Verona to see Juliet with his own eyes. Romeo: What have I done! Juliet please come back to me or I shall come to you and meet you in heaven. This was not as I planed it to be. Who has done such … Read more
Nora Helmer, Ibsen’s strong-willed heroine is far from being a typical victim of male domination. She is master of the domestic world, dedicated enough to nurse her husband through illness, courageous enough to forge a signature and confident enough to pay back all her debts even in the face of enormous difficulties. But that is … Read more
The story’s opening lines announce the funeral of Miss Emily, to be held in her homenot in a churchand the reasons for the entire town’s attending-the men out of respect for a Southern lady, the women to snoop inside her house. Her death symbolizes the passing of a genteel way of life, which is replaced … Read more
The conflict between society and the individual is a theme portrayed throughout Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. Huck was not raised in accord with the accepted ways of civilization. He practically raises himself, relying on instinct to guide him through life. As portrayed several times in the novel, Huck chooses to follow his innate sense of right, … Read more
Reading a work of literature often makes a reader experience certain feelings. These feeling differ with the content of the work, and are usually needed to perceive the author’s ideas in the work. For example, Samuel Beckett augments a reader’s understanding of Waiting For Godot by conveying a mood, (one which the characters in the … Read more
Pearl is one of the most interesting and mysterious characters of the novel The Scarlet Letter. One tends to wonder why Pearl is the way she is. Why does she act so strangely and so differently than all the other characters? She acts this way because of a relationship she has with the force of … Read more
Lorraine Hansberry, the author of A Raisin in the Sun, supports the theme of her play from a montage of, A Dream Deferred, by Langston Hughes. Hughes asks, What happens to a dream deferred? He suggests many alternatives to answering the question. That it might dry up like a raisin in the sun, or fester … Read more
In the Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, Mordecai Richler clearly intends to portray his main character as a failure. Duddy understands perfectly well that a man must pursue his dreams, which is why he is one of the most motivated young man of his time. From the moment Duddy hears his grandfather say, “A man without … Read more
Edgar Allan Poes “The Raven,” representing Poes own introverted crisis of hell, is unusually moving and attractive to the reader. In his essay entitled “The Philosophy of Composition,” Poe reveals his purpose in writing The Raven and also describes the work of composing the poem as being carefully calculated in all aspects. Of all melancholy … Read more
Beowulf is a poem of leaders, warriors, evil, and good. It is also a poem of heroes and tragic losses. What kind of a community is revealed from these subjects if it is the community itself, which provokes peace and violence for these warriors to be hailed by? What organization and values does the community … Read more
In A Clockwork Orange, Alex, the narrator and the main character, tells the story of his teenage years, starting at fifteen. He begins his tale as the leader of a small gang that spends its evenings pillaging and wreaking havoc on the town until the gang mutinies and “Your Humble Narrator,” as Alex refers to … Read more
Slavery has been with us since the Egyptian times and with it prejudice towards certain humans have also come about. In Conrad’s Heart of Darkness these prejudice feelings are reflected throughout the story by the characters and their descriptions. The main character, Marlow shows much prejudice feelings towards the native black slaves by much of … Read more
Shakespeare’s “Othello” is a prime example of a cleverly crafted tragedy. Othello himself has all the elements of a tragic hero: the personal grievance involving a friend and loved one, the tragic flaw (gullibility), the sacrifice of suicide. Othello’s strong love for his wife and the love that Desdemona shows him by betraying her father … Read more
Pause, reflect, and the reader may see at once the opposing yet relative perceptions made between life, love, marriage and death in Virginia Woolf’s To the Lighthouse. In this novel, Woolf seems to capture perfectly the very essence of life, while conveying life’s significance as communicated to the reader in light tones of consciousness arranged … Read more
There is a man who is a head of state. He is a very powerful man and is well liked by his subjects. The people love him. Then he is suddenly, inexplicably murdered. Someone is blamed for the murder, but the entire country knows the accused are innocent and are tools used in a cover-up. … Read more
During the Roaring Twenties, American lifestyles changed dramatically. Money was abundant and people were going out and having fun. All of this wealth and socializing contributes to the American Dream. Jay Gatsby, the main character of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald symbolizes everything about this dream. Gatsby thinks money is the answer to … Read more
In The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare, there appears Shylock. He is a Jew, that much we are told in the cast list. But, as the play unfolds Shylock is seen to be the villian. He is protrayed as being cold, unbending, and evil. But is he? Is Shylock really the antagonist in this … Read more
First Impressions First impressions are very important. In the Victorian age, people based their whole opinion of someone on first impressions. Most times the first impression of someone is not the way they truly are. Sometimes a first impression can cause you to think negative of someone but later you find out that they are … Read more
I think Holden Caulfields difficulties started when his brother died from leukaemia because on the night of his brothers death he smashed every window in the garage with his bare fist and said that he didnt really know what he was doing. From what I have read in the book so far this doesnt appear … Read more
In Joseph Conrad’s book Heart of Darkness the Europeans are cut off from civilization, overtaken by greed, exploitation, and material interests from his own kind. Conrad develops themes of personal power, individual responsibility, and social justice. His book has all the trappings of the conventional adventure tale – mystery, exotic setting, escape, suspense, unexpected attack. … Read more
The passage of adolescence has served as the central theme for many novels, but J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, long a staple in academic lesson plans, has captured the spirit of this stage of life in hyper-sensitive form, dramatizing Holden Caulfield’s vulgar language and melodramatic reactions. Written as the autobiographical account of … Read more
To understand modern literature, one must develop a sense of the structured and ordered lifestyle prior to modern culture. Before the era of modernism, lifestyles were systematically organized through standard traditions. When World War I started, Americans felt the impact of modernism at its strongest with men going off to battle and women working in … Read more
Troilus and Cressida appeals to the iconoclastic and sceptical temperament of the contemporary era. Its anxieties about the problems of locating stable values and meanings, and its distrust of the claims of military and political authority, have obvious applications to the personal and public crises of today. ‘ Discuss this statement in relation to Shakespeare’s … Read more