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Themes and Symbols Sin, Redemption, and Damnation Doctor Faustus is a Christian play, as such it deals with themes at the root of Christianity and its views on the world. First, there is the concept of sin, which Christians define as being acts that go against the will of God. By making a pact with the … Read more
Main Characters and Analysis The Pilot He is the protagonist as well as the narrator of the story. He is introduced first as a child with lots of imagination in contrast to the grown-ups who lack imagination and discourage him from drawing. Then he is introduced as a pilot who lives life in isolation because … Read more
Blood Probably the most critical symbol in the play, blood symbolizes the guilt of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. It is associated with stains and signs of misdeeds which cannot be washed away or stains which would spread to everything it touches. Blood is also the symbol of natural order. The proper bloodline of kings, when … Read more
“Yet do I fear thy nature, It is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way.” Act I, scene v. Spoken by Lady Macbeth as she reads a letter from her husband explaining the prophecy of the witches. She fears he is too influenced by human kindness to simply take the … Read more
The Corruption of Ambition We see evidence throughout the play that Macbeth is by nature a brave soldier and one who adheres to duty. However, once ambition in the form of the witches’s prophecy and the influence of his wife begin to overtake his natural tendencies, he tends toward murder and violent usurpation. Lady Macbeth … Read more
Macbeth Macbeth is a powerful and capable general and soldier. However, he falls prey to ambition and he is easily influenced as soon as the prophecy which leads to him becoming Thane of Cawdor comes true. From this point on he is under the easy influence of Lady Macbeth and is compelled to commit murder. … Read more
One of Shakespeare’s shorter tragedies, Macbeth is based on a historical king of Scotland. Although some of the basic facts in the play are true to history, the murder of the king for example, Shakespeare largely wrote the play as an entertaining tragic story rather than a historical document. The play is a tale of ambition, revenge, … Read more
Bernard Marx An Alpha-caste male who feels inferior due to his small stature in relation to other Alpha-caste males. This insecurity makes him discontent overall and he develops resentments toward the World State. His last name is evocative of Karl Marx and the parallel between the Marx’s critique of culture and Bernard’s discontent with his … Read more
Even though Night by Elie Wiesel is not a memoir in the true sense of the word, the following study guide will frequently reference it as one due in part to the book’s collection of testimonials, depositions, and emotional honesty that is often reflective of the memoir genre. It is evident that Eliezer is meant to act, … Read more
Characters and Analysis Sethe The main character in the novel. Sethe is a fiercely independent woman and devoted mother. Having endured the violence and dehumanizing horrors of slavery, she becomes resolved to murder her own children rather than allow them to return to the plantation at Sweet Home. This haunts her for the rest of her … Read more
Well respected German scholar, Doctor Faustus, becomes discontented by the constraints of conventional knowledge forms – logic, medicine, law, and religion – and resolves to practice magic. He receives instruction in the black arts from his friends Valdes and Cornelius, soon he embarks on a new career as a magician and summons the devil Mephistopheles. … Read more
Light and Dark As with so much of Shakespeare, the symbolism is always complex. Romeo and Juliet continually refer to each other in terms of light. They are “star-cross’d lovers” from the start. Romeo sees Juliet lit by a light in the darkness. Yet, throughout the play they are forced to cover their actions in … Read more
“But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,Who is already sick and pale with griefThat thou, her maid, art far more fair than she. . . .The brightness of her cheek would shame those starsAs daylight doth a lamp; her … Read more
Love as a romantic Ideal: Love as a theme plays out as a passionate force that cannot be ignored or controlled. Romeo falls in love with Juliet at first sight and every other consideration, including his own safety or even his own life, is immediately forgotten for the pursuit of romantic love. Juliet’s love is equally … Read more
Romeo At first Romeo is characterized by his self-indulgent melancholy, characteristics which would have signaled a romantic quality as well as a tragic flaw for Elizabethan audiences. As he is smitten by Juliet he becomes more active and assumes his role as a true tragic figure. His fall and death are quintessential tragic modes. Lord … Read more
The Montagues and the Capulets are two noble families in Renaissance Verona, Italy. Locked in a long-standing feud, one that is fought by the nobles of the two families as well as their servants, they have engaged in a series of bloody public battles. In response, the ruler of Verona, Prince Escalus, is forced to … Read more
Themes Self vs Society The novel criticizes the patriarchal society that deprives a woman of her freedom to think, feel and act as she pleases. Girls are taught from a young age to betray their own instincts and live a dual life which consists of an inner and an outer self. Edna defies society by … Read more
In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.“Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.” Related Characters: Nick Carraway (speaker) Explanation and Analysis: … Read more
The Great Gatsby is a great book that changed the destiny of its author and the course of American literature development in general. It’s a must read and you will never regret spending time on it. But if the class is in five minutes and you need a quick overview of the text, here are … Read more
The book is full of different symbolism examples that are typical for American literature of the 20th century, but also unique for Fitzgerald. Most of the critics agree that any analysis of the examples of symbolism should start with the interpretations of the American dream concept. The protagonist of the book is pursuing his craziest … Read more
The Great Gatsby Theme – Money Gatsby’s natural talents, fearlessness, and agile mind allowed him to get unbelievably rich. Just like the author himself, he didn’t know what to do with his funds. He earned them through illegal ways of selling alcohol when it was prohibited to do so. The author speaks very little about … Read more
The biggest question of any Great Gatsby characters analysis is which character impersonates the author himself? Is it Nick Carraway or the legendary Mr. Gatsby himself? Let’s try to find out. Nick Carraway Nick Carraway is the narrator of the book. Unlike Jay Gatsby, he is from the “old rich” – he inherited his money … Read more
Nick Carraway is from a respected and well-off family from the Midwest. At first, we can’t help but wonder whether Nick is the one who wrote The Great Gatsby? He studied at the Ivy League school, went to war as a soldier, and then moved to New York in 1922 to study credits and bonds. … Read more
The World Literary community knows many writers with a tragic fate, who left the writing stage too early without having been given a chance to realize their full potential. Talented masters of the words died of loneliness, alcoholism, constant feeling of desperation, indifference, and lack of understanding. Each case like this attracts more and more … Read more
The setting is New York City. Willy Loman is an aging salesman who has just returned from a business trip. We learn that Willy is having memory lapses and having difficulty telling the difference from things in the past and things happening now. His wife, Linda, wants him to request a new job that does … Read more
Characters and Analysis Marlow: Marlow is the philosophical and knowledge-seeking protagonist of Heart of Darkness. He shares many of the same qualities as a master storyteller, capable of using imagery and detail to draw his listeners into his stories. Even though Marlow shares many of the same prejudices as Europeans of his time, he has experienced enough of … Read more
Characters and Analysis Tim O’Brien: Tim is both the narrator and the protagonist. He is a pacifist who repeatedly attempts to rationalize his participation in the war by concluding the his obligation to his family and commitment to his country were far greater influences than his own political beliefs. After the war has ended, O’Brien uses … Read more
The impoverished peddler John Durbeyfield is shocked to discover that he is the direct descendent of nobility – the d’Urberville family. Meanwhile, his older daughter, Tess, dances in the May Day dance alongside the other girls in the village. It is here where she first exchanges looks with a young man. Her parents make the … Read more
The hypocrisy of imperialism: Heart of darkness focuses on the issues that surround imperialism in very complex ways. While marlow ventures from the outer station to the central station, and eventually up the river to the inner station, he stares in the face of torture, cruelty and slavery. At its root, the novel paints a dark picture … Read more
Important Themes The American Dream Willy emphatically believes in the American myth of the rise of the individual in society. The notion that anyone can be achieve economic and social success through hard work is one of Willy’s central beliefs. He takes this in an almost childish sense. He believes that being well-liked and being … Read more
Characters and Analysis Faustus: Doctor Faustus is the leading character. He is a brilliant scholar in sixteenth century Germany. He has a thirst for knowledge, fame and fortune that runs so deep that he is willing to trade his mortal soul to Lucifer in return for cosmic powers. Faustus’s tragic grandeur is diminished by the fact … Read more
Characters and Analysis Alice A girl of seven, she is the protagonist of the story. She is a rational girl who sees the world as stable and orderly. Her adventures in Wonderland frustrate her but they also open her eyes to the magic around her. The White Rabbit A worried and frantic creature, the White … Read more
Characters and Analysis Willy Loman The protagonist of the play, Willy is characterized by insecurities and general illusions about life. While he seems to believe in the dream of a rise to success in business and the wealth which comes with that, these things have alluded him. He is also profoundly disappointed in his sons who have … Read more
Characters and Analysis Heathcliff He is the little boy found by Mr. Earnshaw in the streets of Liverpool. Heathcliff is favored by Mr. Earnshaw but is extremely hated by Hindly. Heathcliff after Mr. Earnshaw’s death is dehumanized by Hindly preventing him from coming up in society, educating himself or marrying the girl he loves. Heathcliff … Read more
The title is derived from Bradbury’s opinion that book paper catches fire and burns at temperature of Fahrenheit 451. Depending on paper type the temperature of burning can vary from 440 to 740 ºF. Fahrenheit 451 was written and published in 1953. It took nine days for Bradbury to finish the first draft called The … Read more
Bradbury’s prose is overflowing with symbols and Fahrenheit 415 is not an exception. Fire – a destructive force at the beginning, a tool of reinforcement and punishment, accompanied by night, black uniforms of firemen and smell of kerosene. At the end of the novel Bradbury gives another interpretation of fire, as a source of warmth, comfort … Read more
“Surely you remember the boy in your own school class who was exceptionally ‘bright,’ did most of the reciting and answering while the others sat like so many leaden idols, hating him. And wasn’t it this bright boy you selected for beatings and tortures after hours? Of course it was. We must all be alike. … Read more
The main theme of Fahrenheit 451 is censorship and the declining level of mass culture against the background of increasing government control over citizens. The novel was published in 1953, with its nuclear hysteria, Cold War, book burning by Nazis and Stalin’s “Great Purge” that horrified Bradbury. For him love for books means intellectualism and … Read more
Guy Montag Guy Montag is a protagonist, a loyal citizen who doubts the way of his life and ends up as a criminal and exile. He is thirty years old, a fireman in third generation and perfectly fit for his job, actually enjoying it for ten years – it’s somehow balances his unhappy marriage with … Read more
Fahrenheit 451 can be boiled down to a story of a man in course of soul searching, but, as it usually happens with Ray Bradbury’s works, the reader is completely immersed into his fictitious world outlined with creepy detalization. The timeline is XXIV century, and life in this period is fast and depreciated. In Part … Read more
Important Themes The Destruction of Identity Under Slavery The novel is largely about the horrors of slavery. But the erosion of the self emerges as a central theme. Even after characters escape slavery, they are haunted by the effects of the violence and dehumanizing brutality. Paul D loses his ability to have any real feelings for … Read more
The Sea is an embodiment of Nature. Santiago and other fishermen see themselves as a part of it and respect this source of nourishment and potential menace, for the sea is the force beyond anyone’s control. Marlin is the symbol of victory and reward in many senses. The parallel to Herman Melvil’s “Moby Dick” is … Read more
He was asleep in a short time and he dreamed of Africa when he was a boy and the long golden beaches and the white beaches, so white they hurt your eyes, and the high capes and the great brown mountains. He lived along that coast now every night and in his dreams he heard … Read more
The Old Man and the Sea is a multi-level text, where themes are naturally emerging from each other. The simplest example are relations between Santiago and Manolin that can be considered as tutoring, support, encouragement and so on. More interesting is the theme of Santiago’s attitude to the sea. He refers to it as “la … Read more
Santiago Santiago, whose name is mentioned only several times, is an old skillful fisherman who had seen much better days. It is not his fault that he is now alone and seemingly had lost his luck. He stubbornly tries to catch a big fish that he would be able to sell, so tunas and dolphins … Read more
The Old Man and the Sea starts with a description of an old man, Santiago, a fisher who spent eighty-four days without any fare. Local fishermen had already defined him as “salao”, a pathetic loser. Of course, it is offensive for Santiago who spent all his life at the sea and travelled a lot while being … Read more
Summary The book begins as Alice is sitting with her pet kitten, Kitty, who is playing with a ball of string. Alice tells Kitty a story about “Looking-Glass House,” a magical world on the other side of the mirror where everything is backwards. Suddenly, Alice finds herself on the mantel piece. She walks through the … Read more
Summary It’s been ten years since the fall of Troy, and Odysseus the Greek hero has yet to return to his kingdom in Ithaca. An anxious crowd of suitors have swarmed his palace and destroyed his land, they attempt to court his wife, Penelope, who remains loyal to her absent husband. The son of Odysseus, … Read more
Summary The story begins as Alice is sitting by a river bank on a summer day. As she is reading she sees over her sister’s shoulder, a White Rabbit in a waistcoat running by. The White Rabbit pulls a watch out of his pocket and says that he is late. With that, he jumps into … Read more
Characters and Analysis Eliezer Eliezer is the narrator of Night and is, in essence, a pseudo-persona of the book’s author, Elie Wiesel. Night follows Eliezer’s psychosomatic and troubling journey, as the Holocaust steals his humanity, robbing him of his faith in God and takes him deep into the pits of despair. Despite many experiences that would cause even the … Read more