Study Like a Boss
“I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly I know a hawk from a handsaw” (II. ii. 376-7). This is a classic example of the “wild and whirling words” (I. v. 134) with which Hamlet hopes to persuade people to believe that he is mad. These words, however, prove that beneath his “antic … Read more
Life, death, and reincarnation are portrayed in Emily Dickinson’s poem “I felt a Funeral, in my brain”. The use of words associated with death gives the poem an ominous and dark karma. To add to this karma, important words that are strong in meaning are capitalized. At the beginning of this poem the feelings of … Read more
Adolescence is a time of existence in two worlds. One world having the desire to be in the adult world, which is filled with all the unknown wonders of the world. The other world is the world of childhood which is comfortable and protected from all the impurities in the world. This sort of tug … Read more
The ending of the novel “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, by Mark Twain, is very relevant to the themes and ideas of the main body of the novel. Although it has been criticised for being too long winded and being the downfall of this great novel, it is very important in reinforcing the messages put … Read more
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a universal and timeless literary masterpiece. Fitzgerald writes the novel during his time, about his time, and showing the bitter deterioration of his time. A combination of the 1920s high society lifestyle and the desperate attempts to reach its illusionary goals through wealth and power creates the … Read more
In the short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher,” by Edgar Allen Poe, setting is used extensively to do many things. The author uses it to convey ideas, effects, and images. It establishes a mood and foreshadows future events. Poe communicates truths about the character through setting. Symbols are also used throughout to … Read more
When the topic of a Puritanical society is brought up, most people think of a rigorous, conservative, highly devout society. While this may have usually been the case, this was not always so. The Puritan society was also known not to act out of brotherly, Christian love, but to cruelly lash out on those who … Read more
In Kate Chopin’s short story “The Story of an Hour,” there is much irony. The first irony detected is in the way that Louise reacts to the news of the death of her husband, Brently Mallard. Before Louise’s reaction is revealed, Chopin alludes to how the widow feels by describing the world according to her … Read more
A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway, is a typical love story. A Romeo and his Juliet placed against the odds. In this novel, Romeo is Frederick Henry and Juliet is Catherine Barkley. Their love affair must survive the obstacles of World War I. The background of war-torn Italy adds to the tragedy of the … Read more
Harriet Beecher Stowe expressed a need to awaken sympathy and feeling for the African race in the novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. She was born June 14, 1811 in Litchfield, Connecticut. She was the daughter of a Calvinist minister and she and her family was all devout Christians, her father being a preacher and her siblings … Read more
The plot of “Much Ado About Nothing” is an elaborate network of schemes and tricks. This statement is confirmed throughout “Much Ado About Nothing”. The play contains many examples of tricks and schemes that are used to manipulate the thoughts and feelings of characters. The major examples of such manipulation include- Don Pedro, Claudio and … Read more
The book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, is thought of as a fantastic, even fanatic, representation of Southern life, most memorable for its emotional oversimplification of the complexities of the slave system, says Gossett (4). Harriet Beecher Stowe describes her own experiences or ones that she has witnessed in the past through the text in her novel. … Read more
Charlotte Bronte uses violence in several scenes throughout the novel. The violence in the novel is not fatal to anyone, it is just used to catch the readers eye. This novel consists of many emotional aspects. For example, the violence in the scene where Mr. Mason gets attacked. The attack really upsets Jane and Mr. … Read more
I think Michael Moore’s documentary Roger and Me can be compared to Elizabeth Stuart Phelps’ “The Silent Partner. ” Perley, the fiance of the owner of the mills visited a couple of poor families. The poor people in who visited, basically were in the same situation as the poor people in Flint, Michigan in Roger … Read more
Dead White Males, the play by Australian playwright David Williamson, deals with several conflicts which occur between the characters. Whether they concern patriarchy and feminism, or intellectualism and anti-intellectualism, these opposing ideas each spawn from the plays chief conflict between liberal humanism and post-structuralism. In the beginning, the plays main character, Angela Judd, finds herself … Read more
Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse is the story of a young Indian noble who ventures off in the world to find an understanding of the meaning of life. His journey begins as a young Brahmin who yearned to unwind the complexities of his existence. He ends as an old sage who has found peace within himself … Read more
Addie Bundren conjures up the central darkness derived from her death and directly or indirectly causes actions in which each Bundren character takes advantage of Addie. With the character’s actions revolving around her death, William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying reveals the truth about the people who surround a person may take advantage of him … Read more
In The Odyssey by Homer, hospitality plays a very important role. There are certain rules of hospitality needed, such as inviting a stranger into your home, not asking them their name before they have dined at your table, and sometimes even gift offerings. If these rules of hospitality are not carried out, the consequences are … Read more
In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the dominant/submissive relationship between an oppressive husband and his submissive wife pushes her from depression into insanity. Flawed human nature seems to play a great role in her breakdown. Her husband, a noted physician, is unwilling to admit that there might really be something wrong with his … Read more
Creon’s strict orders on burying Polynices because the unalterable laws of the gods and our morals are higher than the blasphemous laws of man. Creon gave strict orders not to bury Polynices because he lead a rebellion, which turned to rout, in Thebes against Creon, their omnipotent king. Antigone could not bare to watch her … Read more
Anthony Burgess’s View That a Lack of Free Choice is Spiritually Condemning as Evident In all of my reading, I have come to the conclusion that Anthony Burgess is the greatest literary genius of the twentieth century. His masterpiece, A Clockwork Orange, is unrivaled in depth, insight, and innovation. The novel is a work of … Read more
Siblings are never meant to get along. They yell and bicker over everything and are never able to have a friendly relationship. Very rarely do I see a pleasant relationship between a brother and a sister, who actually are able to communicate without killing each other. When I see siblings that are nice to each … Read more
The basic Christian view of Milton’s Paradise Lost is that a purely evil being, the anti-god if you will, Satan, is the cause of all of human downfall. Briefly the story goes like this, first God creates everything, but a rogue angel named Lucifer wants more out of existence so he attempt a coup d’etat … Read more
Conformity can often seem like the best path to take in a situation. Going along with everyone else will cause less conflict for the group as a whole. Unfortunately conforming simply to protect other people’s feelings can lead to powerful internal conflicts if a person does not fully agree with the situation. Ruth from A … Read more
Beowulf is one of the great heroic poems 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 his mother. Later, … Read more
The major theme in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is the great emphasis placed on appearance and acceptance in society. In modern society as well as in the society of Frankenstein, people judge one solely on their appearance. Social prejudice is often founded on looks, whether it is the color of one’s skin, the clothes that … Read more
Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter is considered the best of his writings. It may also be the most strongest statement of his recurrent themes, an excellent example of his craftsmanship. Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter during emancipation of women liberation. Therefore, many of his thoughts and ideas about what was happening around him was very … Read more
The personalities of the two sisters; Antigone and Ismene, are as different from one another as tempered steel is from a ball of cotton. One is hard and resistant; the other: pliable, absorbing and soft. Antigone would have been a strong, successful 90’s type woman with her liberated and strong attitude towards her femininity, while … Read more
Hamlet play a very important role in this play. Basically the whole play revolves around him. In this play Hamlet is faced with the obligation to kill Claudius because Claudius has killed his father. Some people see Hamlet as a tragic hero with a clear and sacred obligation to kill Claudius but since he is … Read more
Robert Frost takes our imaginations to a journey through wintertime with his two poems “Desert Places” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”. Frost comes from a New England background and these two poems reflect the beautiful scenery that is present in that part of the country. Even though these poems both have winter … Read more
“ Bells bells bells bells bells bells bells” this quote from Edgar Allen Poes’ The Bells, is one poem that had great influence on early 19th century literature. During the early 1800’s , writers Poe, Irving, and Cooper display characteristics of Romantic writers. Cooper diplays characters with honest expression to their feelings. This appeal to … Read more
By definition, a tragic hero is a protagonist that due to some tragic flaw loses everything he has. Throughout history, literature has always been filled with main characters possessing some tragic flaw. In Macbeth, Macbeths tragic flaw is his enormous ambition to become king. In Hamlet, Hamlets tragic flaw is his need for revenge for … Read more
During the latter part of the 19th century, the American public was still engrossed with the seemingly innocent ideals of romantic novels. Particularly in the South, where chivalrous acts were still commonplace, children and adults alike enjoyed reading the exciting exploits of such stories as Ivanhoe by Walter Scott. Despite its popularity, romantic literature was … Read more
“Man has been endowed with reason, with the power to create, so that he can add to what he’s been given. But up to now he hasn’t been a creator, only a destroyer. Forests keep disappearing, rivers dry up, wild life’s become extinct, the climate’s ruined and the land grows poorer and uglier every day” … Read more
Arthur Miller profoundly explores the subject of morality and human values in his two famous plays, Death of a Salesman and All My Sons. Though dealing with a common topic , the works contain major differences that help to make them unique. Death of a Salesman describes the tragedy behind shattered dreams and the effects … Read more
Sophocles, the playwright of Oedipus Rex, often wrote scripts for events in mythology, which were common knowledge to the populace who viewed his productions. Set in the time of the Golden Period of Greece, Sophocles, knowing that his audience is aware of the outcome of the play, utilizes that foreknowledge to create various situations in … Read more
Writing with uncommon strength, Gwendolyn Brooks creates haunting images of black America, and their struggle in escaping the scathing hatred of many white Americans. Her stories, such as in the “Ballad of Rudolph Reed”, portray courage and perseverance. In those like “The Boy Died in My Alley” Brooks portrays both the weakness of black America … Read more
Beowulf was written during the Anglo-Saxon time period. Beowulf is a story about a young warrior and his quest through life. Some people consider Beowulf a tragic hero, and some people just consider him a hero period. Whether Beowulf is a tragic hero or not, he fights many great battles. The reason Beowulf fights stays … Read more
Emily was a woman that cannot be described without a the words not quite normal, and extra ordinary. The story, A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner is about one womans life, from her being a teen to her death in her house. The towns people did not like her, her family did not like … 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
Think how boring life would be if all humans only demonstrated one personality trait. In literature, characters are made more interesting by being developed as round characters, people with more that one personality trait. In Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet, Romeo demonstrates being lovesick, impulsive, and sneaky. One of the personality traits that Romeo demonstrates … Read more
Shakespeare uses many ways to portray humor and make his plays a success because of it. He created a careful mix of love with humor to create a success called “A Midsummer Nights Dream. ” The focus of this paper is to describe how Shakespeare uses humor in his play. One way that Shakespeare uses … Read more
Kurt Vonnegut wrote Slaughterhouse Five as well as many other novels. Slaughterhouse Five is the story of Billy Pilgrim. Pilgrim is a time traveling war veteran who is “unstuck” in time. The entire novel is a journey through this universe. He visits strange planets and the bombing of Dresden in Germany. Human cruelty is the … 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
In Williams Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” many of the play’s female characters have strong similarities and differences among one another. Although many of the main female characters in the play come from dissimilar backgrounds, their similarities are brought together by common problems associated with society and love. Of the four main female characters, Hippolyta, … Read more
One of Frosts commonest subjects is the choice the poet is faced with two roads, two ideas, two possibilities of action. The Road Not Taken deals with the choice between two roads, and with the results of the choice which the poet makes. It raises the evident question of whether it is better to choose … Read more
The debate over who is the tragic hero in Antigone continue on to this day. The belief that Antigone is the hero is a strong one. There are many critics who believe, however, that Creon, the Ruler of Thebes, is the true protagonist. I have made my own judgments also, based on what I have … Read more
The Glass Menagerie written by Tennessee Williams is a play involving four very different characters, all of whom are troubled in their own way. Amanda is a very affectionate mother, however she may be too affectionate, and seems to actually smother her children with her love. Laura is physically crippled, and this causes her to … Read more
Being a good mother takes a lot of time and effort. To be a good mother, you need certain, but good qualities. In my opinion, the mother needs to be loving and understanding towards her children. She needs to know when to back off and when to be there. She needs to make many sacrifices … Read more
This is one of the best, yet saddest books that I have ever read. There are so many bad things out there that are happening to good people. We just have no idea. You never know what is going on behind closed doors. I am so lucky not to have experienced anything like this growing … Read more