Study Like a Boss
“To live with fear and not be afraid is the greatest sign of maturity. ” If this is true, then Mark Twain’s Huck Finn is the greatest example of maturity. Huck is the narrator of Twain’s book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In the book Huck, a young boy from the American South, travels down … Read more
Sara Orne Jewett, a local colorist from Maine, once suggested that Willa Cather write from her own background. Cather followed that advice and became famous for her stories of the American frontier; especially those about heroic women who struggled to tame the prairies of Nebraska and the Southwest. Cather’s first novel was published in 1912 … Read more
In the book A Separate Peace by John Knowles, one of the main themes is the effects of realism, idealism, and isolationism on Brinker, Phineas, and Gene. Though not everyone can be described using one of these approaches to life, the approaches completely conform to these characters to create one realist, one idealist, and one … Read more
There are many common, familiar cliches about illusion versus truth. “All that glitters is not gold” and “Things are seldom what they seem” are the most universal hackneyed phrases, but they do not cover entirely every aspect of appearance versus reality. In Charles Dickens’ novel, Great Expectations, there are several differences between the illusion and … Read more
A fool can be defined in many meanings according to the Oxford English Dictionary On Historical Principles. The word could mean a silly person, or one who professionally counterfeits folly for the entertainment of others, a jester, clown or one who has little or no reason or intellect or one who is made to appear … Read more
In the nineteenth century, women in literature were often portrayed as submissive to men. Literature of the period often characterized women as oppressed by society, as well as by the male influences in their lives. The Yellow Wallpaper presents the tragic story of a woman’s descent into depression and madness. Gilman once wrote Women’s subordination … Read more
King Lear is a tragic playwritten by William Shakespeare. It is a play about the suffering of two families that are caught in a struggle of greed, lust, and cruelty which eventually results in extreme amounts of pain and destruction for all the characters. In King Lear, there is a circular relationship between the characters’ … Read more
Henry James’s Daisy Miller and Kate Chopin’s The Awakening were first published twenty-one years apart, the former in 1878 and the latter in 1899. Despite the gap of more than two decades, however, the two works evince a similarity of thought and intent that is immediately evident in their main themes. Both works display characters … Read more
In the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorn the society of a Puritan town of Salem excludes anyone who is in any way deviant and renders that person sinful. However, the society, the townspeople themselves, is not without fault. However they try to conceal and contain their passions and all their faults because of … Read more
In the play Othello, the most powerful emotion is anger. This emotion helps to establish the plot, as it plays a vital role. Three characters that it affects in the play are Othello, Iago and Roderigo. All the characters vent their anger through violence and confrontations. Othello vents most of his anger by smothering Desdemona … Read more
Samuel Johnson writes “Hamlet is through the piece rather an instrument than an agent. ” This statement is true, it is exhibited in several ways. The manner in which Hamlet’s father manifests himself is an indication of his true intentions. Hamlet acts as an earthly means of revenge, he is the output for actions directed … Read more
In life, we all struggle to understand not only human nature, but ourselves. Its an innate part of human nature, not only to inquire, but to have an instinctive thirst for knowledge. We all wish to determine exactly where our personal horizons end. There are tribes in Africa that do exactly that for three months. … Read more
Throughout the history of the world, honor has been an important part of life. In literature, as well, honor plays an important role in many plots and the development of almost any character. Shakespeare’s play Much Ado About Nothing is no exception. In this comedy about love and marriage, honor is revealed as the primary … Read more
The Grapes of Wrath is a novel by John Steinbeck that exposes the desperate conditions under which the migratory farm families of America during the 1930’s live under. The novel tells of one families migration west to California through the great economic depression of the 1930’s. The Joad family had to abandon their home and … Read more
In Charlotte Bronte Jane Eyre, the main character faces many struggles. One of the struggles she faces is the temptation to run away with the man she loves and be his mistress or to marry a man who offers her the contrary where it would be a legal and highly respectable marriage but with no … Read more
Nor to any one is he known to have defect. No one ever ventures to speak of him slightingly or critically. Why does not the King, Laertes, or Fortinbras despise him for a scholar and a dreamer, at least, instead of taking him as they all do for the worthy son of his warrior sire? … Read more
Critics usually describe Hemingway’s style as simple, spare, and journalistic. These are all good words; they all apply. Perhaps because of his training as a newspaperman, Hemingway is a master of the declarative, subject-verb-object sentence. His writing has been likened to a boxer’s punches–combinations of lefts and rights coming at us without pause. Take the … Read more
Madness is a condition of the mind which eliminates all rational thought leaving an individual with no proper conception of what is happening around him/her. Madness typically occurs in the minds of individuals that have experienced an event or series of events that their mind simply cannot cope with and, thus, to avoid their harsh … Read more
Reflecting their role in society, women in literature are often portrayed in a position that is dominated by men. Especially in the nineteenth century, women were repressed and controlled by their husbands as well as other male influences. “The Yellow Wallpaper”, written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is a story of a woman, her psychological difficulties … Read more
Pride is defined as high or too high opinion of one’s own dignity, importance or worth; the condition or feeling of being proud; a noble sense of what is due to oneself or one’s position or character; self respect; self esteem. The definition of prejudice is; an opinion, usually unfavorable, which is formed beforehand or … Read more
In Marry Shelleys Frankenstein, the powerful creature represents the physical manifestation of the ugliness and selfishness of Victors desires as well as being the solution for his need to escape from the elements that threaten his way of life. Victor chose to embark on the arduous task of creating what he perceived as perfection. To … Read more
Hopes and dreams are needed to give man’s efforts a meaning, or a purpose. Pushing towards some ideal is how man can feel a sense of his own identity. In the novel The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is a man with tremendous and “infinite hope” (Fitzgerald, 6). To be able to accomplish life long dream, … Read more
In the novel, The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan, the characters Suyuan and Jing-Mei Woo have a mother-daughter relationship confused with scattered conflict, but ultimately composed of deep love and commitment for one another. Because of drastic differences in the environments in which they were raised and in their life experiences, these two women … Read more
Bildungsroman, a form of fiction which allows the novelist to recreate through the maturing of his protagonist some of his own remembered intensity of experience (Nivin, Alastair; pg. 34) D. H. Lawrence re-created his own life experience through the writing of Sons and Lovers, an intensely realistic novel set in a small English mining town, … Read more
In literature as in life, characters are multi-dimensional beings. They possess a wide variety of character traits that make them who they are. In the Tempest written by William Shakespeare, Prospero traits resemble those of the Europeans that came during the exploration of the Americas. Thus, Prosperos treatment of Caliban is similar to the way … Read more
Many of William Shakespeares plays have sparked controversy. Probably the one that has sparked the most controversy is The Merchant of Venice, which many intellectuals have dubbed an anti-Semitic play. The character that this discussion centers around is Shylock, the rich moneylender Jew. The problem with most of these anti-Semitic arguments is that they lack … Read more
The course of time has opened many doors in terms of romance. The present age not only consists many different forms in which love can be expressed, but exhibits the essence of romance that dates back to the dawn of time. Love has existed in many forms throughout time. There is no better example than … Read more
Antingone is the heroine of western drama, and the play bears her name rather than Creons. I believe this statement to be true. Not only because Antigone is the Heroine, but because the story also revolves around her. If not for the conflict of disobeying her uncle, the story wouldn’t have a pourpose. This is … Read more
After reading Othello by Shakespeare over about 3 times, I came to feel sorry for a man that I can easily say was gulled into tragedy by his own purity. I can see Othello as a man that could sit at the Round Table” with King Arthur and rank among those wonderous knights of chivalry. … Read more
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is a novel where the main character Marlow is telling a story of a trip to the Congo. This novel is said to possibly be an autobiography of Conrads life at sea. This is said because Conrad was a seaman for a many years and went into Africa many … Read more
In her landmark feminist play, “Trifles,” Susan Glaspell offers a peek at the complicated political and social systems that both silenced and divided women during their struggle for equality with men. In this simple but highly symbolic tale, a farmer’s wife, Minnie Wright, is accused of strangling her husband to death. The county attorney, the … Read more
“Araby” by James Joyce and “A Sunrise On The Veld” by Doris Lessing are both short stories in which the protagonists gained a consciousness that was beyond themselves. The main characters are both initiated into new realities and truths of which they were not previously aware. Both short stories will be examined with reflections according … 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
Invisible Man, written with ingenuity by Ralph Waldo Ellison, is a masterpiece by itself, but it also intertwines into every page one or more allusions to previously written masterpieces. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, and whether it was Ellison who incorporated the works into his own or others who incorporated his work into their own, it … Read more
Robert Frost, the author of “The Road Not Taken,” writes about how a person must choose his or her own path in life. Everyone is a traveler, who must choose how to live his or her life. This poem demonstrates Robert Frost’s belief that the road a person chooses to follow in their life will … Read more
Someone once said that true love is only an illusion and can never be achieved. This is evidently shown through many elements of the poem by John Keats, “The Eve of St. Agnes. ” Much of this poem is about the imagination and how it can blind people and make them oblivious to the true … Read more
In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, the main character enters a transitional period of his life. This character, Huckleberry Finn, faces many situations. Such as Humble myself to a nigger(95), forcing him to deal with decisions that carry with them the ability to bring about change. Since transition can be … Read more
Song of Solomon is Toni Morrisons most widely acclaimed work. An African-American writer, Morrison utilizes beautiful language and wonderful though often strange visual images to make use of every major literary device over the course of the story. Morrison’s fiction is concerned with themes of race, class, and African-American history. Her writing often approximates a … Read more
Yeats changes his treatment of Irish concerns throughout his life and these changes are reflected in his poetry. Three poems that reflect these changes are ‘September 1913’, ‘Easter 1916’ and ‘Under Ben Bulben’. These poems show a transpositions in political thought. In ‘September 1913′ Yeats shows his aversion to democracy and capitalism, and expresses his … Read more
In the epic poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the author uses the protagonist, Sir Gawain, to illustrate the heroic ideals of chivalry, loyalty and honesty in fourteenth century England. The poem depicts the fabled society of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. It extols and idolizes the virtues of the … Read more
In Emily Dickinsons lyrical poem Theres a certain slant of light she describes a revelation that is experienced on cold winter afternoons. Further she goes to say that this revelation of self oppresses, like the Heft of Cathedral Tunes and causes Heavenly Hurt, yet does not scare for it is neither exterior nor permanent. This … Read more
Chapter one: *Starts off in a mental hospital somewhere near hollywood. Holden Caufield is the narrator and begins to tell the story through a flashback. His flashback starts off with him standing alone on a hill looking down on a football game. He was watching the game because he got home early from the fencing … Read more
In A Rose for Emily, William Faulkner tells a story about a young women who is overwhelmingly influenced by her father. Her father controls her live and makes all of her decisions for her. Without him she could not do anything except stay at home. When her father dies, Emily has to confront a new … Read more
We begin this tale with reading some letters of good fortune of a man, whose name eludes me right now, to his sister. He is on a journey in what appears to be somewhere in the arctic when one day him and his crew spot a giant on a dog sled. Followed by awes of … Read more
“For more than half an hour he stayed there, struggling between life and death, dying in slow agony under our eyes. And we had to look him full in the face. He was still alive when I passed in front of him. His tongue was still red, his eyes were not yet glazed. Behind me … Read more
This sonnet is by far one of the most interesting poems in the book. Of Shakespeare’s sonnets in the text, this is one of the most moving lyric poems that I have ever read. There is great use of imagery within the sonnet. This is not to say that the rest of the poems in … Read more
Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel about a young boy’s coming of age in the Missouri of the mid-1800’s. The main character, Huckleberry Finn, spends much time in the novel floating down the Mississippi River on a raft with a runaway slave named Jim. Before he does so, however, Huck spends … Read more
Placed in various time periods and settings, the novel Heart of Darkness, written by Joseph Conrad, and the movie Apocalypse Now, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, both create the same mysterious journey with various similarties and differences. The journeys mystery lies in the scene; it is one down a river by boat, deep … Read more
These beliefs, values and dreams can be summed up be what is termed the “American Dream”; a dream of money, wealth, prosperity and the happiness that supposedly came with the booming economy and get-rich-quick schemes that formed the essential underworld of American upper-class society. This underworld infiltrated the upper echelons and created such a moral … Read more
When we read T. S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” you almost get the feeling that Prufrock is gay. In fact, when the story is read a bit more in depth you can conclude that he is gay. The first flag that is raised to our attention of prufrock being gay is … Read more