Study Like a Boss
Siddhartha, written by Herman Heese, is a book about a man’s journey to find his inner self beginning when he is young and ending when he is of old age. Siddhartha, while on this quest, searched for different mentors to teach him what they know, hoping to find truth and balance in and of the … Read more
Murray Kempton once admitted, No great scoundrel is ever uninteresting. The human race continually focuses on characters who intentionally harm others and create damaging situations for their own benefit. Despite popular morals, characters who display an utter disregard for the natural order of human life are characters who are often deemed iconic and are thoroughly … Read more
The Importance of Biffs Role in “Death of a Salesman” The play “Death of a Salesman”, by Arthur Miller, follows the life of Willy Loman, a self-deluded salesman who lives in utter denial, always seeking the “American Dream,” and constantly falling grossly short of his mark. The members of his immediate family, Linda, his wife, … Read more
Mary Shelley has become one of the most renowned Gothic authors because of her descriptions and settings and her use of many significant themes. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly has written many books in her life. She has received much criticism about one of her books inperticular, Frankenstien. Frankenstein was one of her most famous novels. Shelly … Read more
“Destiny in Gilgamesh and The Iliad” Stories do not need to inform us of things. From Gilgamesh for example, we know that some of the people who lived in the land between the Tigris and Euphates rivers in the second and third milleniums BCE. We know they celabrated a king named Gilgamesh; we know they … Read more
In 1798, a poet named Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote the poem called Kubla Khan. In his preface, he stated that he had dreamt the poem, and wrote it down just as it was preserved. The speaker also stated that the poem is merely a fragment, it is not complete. With the exception of about eight … Read more
Morality. 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 … Read more
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgeralds classic story about the shallow aristocracy of the 1920s American society, is the topic of much interpretation. This paper is a simple proposition that the Roaring Twenties were years dominated by an SP (part of Carl Jungs archetypal psychology that will later be explained in more depth) society and … Read more
In “The Cask of Amontillado” Edgar Allan Poe takes us on a trip into the mind of a mad man. The story relates a horrible revenge made even more horrible by the fact that the vengeance is being taken when no real offense had been given. This concept sets the mood for true evil. The … Read more
Through Prospero’s verbal and physical abuse, the enslaved Caliban is unjustly portrayed as a vicious and subhuman beast. Prospero has no feelings for Caliban. Therefore he thinks that Caliban was put on earth for work. Additionally Prospero just thinks he makes fires and does work for him so people should not have sympathy for him. … Read more
Picture this, a person graduates from high school with honors, goes to college and graduates at the top of his/her class. After college, he/she is offered a job in the field he/she wants with an annual salary of about $400,000 a year. He/she marries the person of his/her dreams, has two children and moves into … Read more
In George Orwell’s book, Animal Farm, it is obvious that that the pigs, tyrants though they were, were awarded control of the farm through the ignorance of the other animals. There are various statements in the book that support this idea. After reading this piece, the importance of education should be clear. It seemed as … Read more
Othello’s character during the play is first shown as a hero of war and a man of great pride and courage. The other main characters in the play all form their own opinions of him and as the play continues, his character begins to deteriorate and become less noble. Chronologically through the play Othello’s character … Read more
Only when the present has become the past can we reflect on what we could have or should have done. Yet our society is so obsessed with keeping track of time that we spend millions of dollars a year to keep a set of atomic clocks ticking the time. These clocks are so accurate that … Read more
The novel Don Quixote, by Miguel Cervantes, is an exploration into the idea of created reality. Cervantes, through the character of Don Quixote, illustrates to readers how we as human beings often make reality to be whatever we want it to be. Don Quixote is a perfect example of “created reality. ” The character Don … Read more
Many authors receive their inspiration for writing their literature from outside sources. The idea for a story could come from family, personal experiences, history, or even their own creativity. For authors that choose to write a book based on historical events, the inspiration might come from their particular viewpoint on the event that they want … Read more
To say that Tom Sawyer was an average young boy growing up in Illinois would be an understatement. “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”, written by Mark Twain is an absolutely enchanting book. Every episode is more exciting than the prior one, which is why this book receives five stars. Set in the old Southwest in … Read more
In the book, “Walden” by Henry David Thoreau, there a section devoted to the battle of ants. Thoreau’s subsequent narrative of the battle is very detailed and peppered with historical allusions. These allusions make the reader become “fired up” over the subject of war and patriotism. About seventy-five percent of this essay was about patriotism, … Read more
In Fire from Heaven, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Flea, the authors take a stance on men and women committing sinful acts and using it as a main position in their work. They write from a very religious perspective which is probably due to the time period in which their work was written about. … Read more
In the novel, The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck brings to the reader a variety of diverse and greatly significant characters. However, the majority of each characters individuality happens to lie within what they symbolize in the microcosm of the Joad family and their acquaintances, which itself stands for the entire migrant population of the … Read more
In Phaedra, Jean Racine allows the characters passions to be their downfalls. Jean Racine lived during the Age of Enlightenment. This period styled itself by making choices based on reason. By allowing the characters to be at fault by their own passions, Racine depicts the Enlightenment periods theme of passion versus reason. Phaedra amplifies the … Read more
Animal Farm As A Social Criticism Writers often use social criticism in their books to show corruptness or weak points of a group in society. One way of doing this is allegory which is a story in which figures and actions are symbols of general truths. George Orwell is an example of an author who … Read more
When studying a novel it sometimes helps to look at the language used in a specific passage. In the novel In The Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje, this approach is extremely helpful. It will help you better understand the characters and give you a clearer idea of what the author is trying to … Read more
New Historicism has developed from the “New” Criticism’s inclination to treat works of literature in a historical void, as if a poem or novel had no association to its historical context whatsoever. Political developments in the 1960s, especially a desire on the part of literature professors to figure out how understanding literature might help in … Read more
Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel about a young boys coming of age in Missouri of the mid-1800s. 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 some … Read more
Kate Chopins story, The Story of an Hour is an ironic short story of a wife in the late 1800s. The story is only a few pages long and in doing so Chopin writes a story filled with kernels (events that have important causal chronological coherence) with very few satellites (events not logically essential to … Read more
For centuries evil was defined by human preoccupation, and it was often indicated in the English literature. From Beowulf to Macbeth, peoples perception on the nature of evil had matured and became more complex. In Beowulfs period, evil was simply defined based on outer appearances and actions. The author of Beowulf described the evil Grendel … Read more
F. Scott Fitzgerald comments on the lighthearted vivacity and the moral deterioration of the period. It possesses countless references to the contemporary period. The aimlessness and shallowness of the guests, the crazy extravagance of Gatsby’s parties, and the indication of Gatsby’s connection in the bootlegging business all represent the period and the American setting. But … Read more
In 1692, in Salem Massachusetts, the superstition of witches existed in a society of strong Christian beliefs. Anybody who acted out of the ordinary was accused of being a witch and then the accused would actually be forgiven if the blamed their accusations on another individual. This was the main idea of a play entitled, … Read more
In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, women of the Ibo tribe are terribly mistreated, and viewed as weak and receive little or no respect outside of their role as a mother. Tradition dictates their role in life. These women are courageous and obedient. These women are nurturers above all and they are anything but … Read more
Willy Loman is the unsuccessful, imaginative salesman which the play is focused on. He is very child-like and this can be noticed in his lack of reality. He believes he is the best salesman ever and thinks that everybody likes him. Children often have these ideals. They often think they are the center of the … Read more
A dream deferred is a dream put off to another time, much like this essay. But unlike dreams sometimes, this essay will get fulfilled and done with. Each character from A Raisin in the Sun had a deferred dream, even little Travis although his dream was not directly stated. Their dreams become dried up like … Read more
Oedipus the King is widely regarded as a tragedy of fate. Briefly stated, it begins with a terrible plague that destroys the city. King Oedipus sends a messenger to the oracle at Delphi to find a cure. The answer that is received suggests to find out who the killer of King Laios was. Oedipus sends … Read more
Initially, I found the interchapters to be annoying, interruptions to the story. It was only when I realized the point in having the interchapters that I understood that not only did they not interrupt the story, but they added to it tremendously. The interchapters provide indirect comments or general situations which suggest something about the … Read more
There are many essential emotions that form the building blocks of our lives. These emotions help to shape the people that we are. These feelings are ones that are ultimately necessary to keep us happy. Nothing makes these feelings more evident than the Odyssey by Homer. Through out the course of this book there is … Read more
The role of the king in the time of Greek tragedies was simultaneously desired and dreaded because of the kings responsibility to the people and because of the effects of the position on the kings character. Creon reveals such ambivalent thoughts towards the kingship in his speech defending himself from Oedipuss conspiracy accusation in Oedipus … Read more
Bombshells exploding all around, destruction everywhere, civilians running for their lives… total devastation. This is exactly what Kurt Vonnegut encountered in the fire-bombing of Dresden during World War Two. Vonnegut bases his novel, Slaughterhouse-five on this event in his life. Several themes can be seen throughout the novel: The theme of war and its contrast … Read more
I think that today’s society is a “half version” of George Owell’s novel, 1984, in some ways it is similar and in others, uniquely different. The closest we come today to a “Big Brother” is the mob. The people are also controlled by watchful security cameras and subliminal messages. However, something in life today is … Read more
Historians en masse have determined that Shakespeare was most definitely not the first one to come up with the general plot lines contained in King Lear. Though the play revolves mainly around the conflict between the King and his daughters, there is a definite and distinct sub-plot dealing with the plight and tragedy of Gloucester … Read more
Which character in this work reminds you of people you know? In the novel My Antonia, Anton Cazak reminds me of my neighbor. Anton Cazak is a considerate good-humored man. He shows this in the story when he is polite enough to substitute English for Bohemian since Jim is his guest. He also presents his … Read more
When I thought about the role that the word “night” would play in the tragic play “Macbeth,” I found that there were a variety of possibilities. Immediately, I thought of the nighttime as a period of rest and revitalization. I expected that this would allow characters to recover from the day’s many demands. Secondly, I … Read more
The entire plot of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is rooted on intolerance between different social groups. Without prejudice and intolerance The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn would not have any of the antagonism or intercourse that makes the recital interesting. The prejudice and intolerance found in the book are the characteristics that make The Adventures … Read more
In many stories, settings are constructed to help build the mood and to foreshadow of things to come. “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a story in which the setting sets up the reader to think of positive outcomes. However, this description of the setting foreshadows exactly the opposite of what is to come. In … 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
According to the Greek poet Hesiod, the Titan demi-god Prometheus was responsible for the creation of men. He manufactured them from clay, from the natural earth. When Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus, she left little doubt that the creator of the monster, Victor Frankenstein, by making a living creature from inaminate parts … Read more
In the tragic play Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, a particular deterrent in Hamlet’s quest to be rid of his regal uncle is his procrastination. This act of murder intended to set the future right is Hamlet’s sole responsibility, ordered by his deceased father. Hamlet’s main target throughout the play is for Claudius to commit suicide. … Read more
The main theme of the book Ethan Frome is failure. It is shown in three ways throughout the story: Ethan’s marriage, him not being able to stand up to Zeena, and his involvement in the “smash up”. Ethan marries Zeena so he won’t be alone after his mother dies. She seemed like a very cheerful, … Read more
In the early eighteen hundreds, literature in the Americas started a revolution of style in upcoming authors. Authors started to look towards nature for symbolism and society as a source of sin. The underlined meaning in most of these stories was meant to leave the reader with a new perspective of their personal lives and … Read more
Throughout the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, the reasoning of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is completely subverted and undermined by their insatiable ambition. Macbeth was at first reasonable enough to keep his ambition in check, however it eventually became to strong for even Macbeth and therefor over powered him. To the contrary, Lady Macbeth was … Read more
Although the book, A Farewell To Arms by Ernest Hemingway was not the type of book that had an exciting page-turning story, it can nevertheless be called a classic. A classic has been defined as “a book that lasts through generations because of its universality of theme, ageless symbolism, word choice and the ordering of … Read more