Study Like a Boss
Through the interactions between male and female characters, Fitzgerald depicts a variety of social expectations regarding “typical” male behavior in the 1920’s. In the novel The Great Gatsby, characters such as Tom Buchanan, Jay Gatsby, George Wilson and Nick Carraway demonstrate behavior that acts to maintain and live up to expectations inherent in society. Through … Read more
Kurt Vonneguts character Billy Pilgrim, in Slaughterhouse-Five, is an American soldier in Europe in the last year of World War II. What he sees and does during his six months on the battlefield and as a prisoner of war have dominated his life. He comes to terms with the feelings of horror, guilt, and despair … Read more
There are archetypal patterns in life. They reoccur and become familiar to people through all ages and ethnicities. Throughout history, few literary works have captivated audiences by incorporating these patterns. The epic Beowulf is one literary work that effectively incorporates timeless components. The epic poem relates the tale of Beowulf, a warrior who throughout his … Read more
“Antigone” the play written by Sophocles deals with moral law vs civil law. King Creon has condemned Princess Antgione. Antgione went against the kings decree and buried her brother Ploynices. Antgione now will be punished by starvation under King Creons decree. Antigone is a passionate, strong willed, and determined women. Antigone is a passionate character … Read more
William Shakespeare, the greatest playwright of the English language, wrote a total of 37 plays in his lifetime, all of which can be categorized under tragedy, comedy, or history. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Shakespeares most popular and greatest tragedy, displays his genius as a playwright, as literary critics and academic commentators have found an unusual … Read more
The story “Araby,” by James Joyce, shows how people often expect more than that which ordinary reality can provide and consequently feel disappointed when they do not receive what they expect. Another fascinating piece of literature is the poetry collection The Black Riders and Other Lines by Stephen Crane. What, if anything, does one have … Read more
A Midsummer Nights Dream is one of Shakespeares most read plays this romantic comedy illustrates how complicated love ties can be. Thesis: In this play one of the characters that catches the eye of the reader is Demetrius, his character is really difficult to identify except by his relation to the one he loves, or … Read more
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Samuel Clemens, also known as Mark Twain, is probably one of the greatest works of American literature ever written. Ernest Hemingway even said in his book The Green Hills of Africa, “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn” (Zwick). However, since Twain … Read more
From Ancient Greek playwright, Euripides, (“To die is a debt we must all of us discharge” (Fitzhenry 122)) to renowned Nineteenth Century poet, Emily Dickinson, (“Because I could not stop for Death/ He kindly stopped for me -/ The carriage held but just ourselves/ And Immortality” (Fitzhenry 126)) the concept of death, reincarnation, rebirth, and … Read more
The William Shakespeare play Macbeth, depicted Macbeth as a loyal subject of King Duncan and his homeland of Scotland. Duncan was so pleased with Macbeths actions during the war that he was named the Thane of Cawdor, a title not far from king. Soon after, he wrote a letter to his wife that would make … Read more
A play serves as the author’s tool for critiquing society. One rarely encounters the ability to transcend accepted social beliefs. These plays reflect controversial issues that the audience can relate to because they interact in the same situations every day. As late nineteenth century playwrights point out the flaws of mankind they also provide an … Read more
Shirley Jackson wrote The Lottery in 1948, not long after the second World War. The horror of the Holocaust was still fresh in everyones minds. Jackson wrote this story to remind everyone that we are not so far from this world of sadistic human sacrifice. She created a town, very much like any American town, … Read more
Peasants of the early sixteenth century are often pictured carrying a bundle of limbs tied with vines on their backs. This is a perfect metaphor for the events in Macbeth. Macbeth is one of many thanes, or limbs, bundled together. The thanes are united by the king, or the vine. Scotland, or the peasant, carries … Read more
Some people believe that most murderers have a mental illness which causes them to commit their crime. This belief is strongly disagreed with by the authors Edgar Allan Poe and Fyodor Dostoevsky. Crime and Punishment, “The Tell-Tale Heart”, “The Black Cat”,and “The Cask of Amontillado” are very similar in this contradiction. Each murderer takes a … Read more
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, is said to be ” the source from which all great American literature has stemmed” (Smith 127). This is in part attributed to Mark Twain’s ability to use humor and satire, as well as incorporating serious subject matter into his work. Throughout the novel Twain takes on the serious issue … Read more
She lived the life of a recluse, considered odd at her best and insane at her worst. Emily Dickinson was not considered “normal” by most people’s standards, and neither was her poetry. She used her sheltered life in Amherst to contrast the expansive universe her poetry encompassed. As a child, Dickinson appeared like an average … Read more
“The Downing Sun: Jim Casy Vanessa Cromer John Steinbeck passionately describes a time of unfair poverty, unity, and the human spirit in the classic, The Grapes of Wrath. The novel tells of real, diverse characters who experience growth through turmoil and hardship. Jim Casy- a personal favorite character- is an ex-preacher that meets up with … Read more
The Epilogue of the Tempest by William Shakespeare is an excellent — if not the best — example of Shakespeare’s brilliance. In 20 lines Shakespeare is able to write an excellent ending to his play, while speaking through his characters about Shakespeare’s own life and career. Even more amazingly, he seemlessly ties the two together. … Read more
Authors try to incorporate symbols into their stories to help display the qualities of characters, lifestyles, or foreshadowing of things to come. Symbols to any author are just another tool to explain a story a little better. In Eudora Weltys tale “A Worn Path” symbols help draw the reader closer to the lead character. Welty … Read more
Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried is not a novel about the Vietnam War. It is a story about the soldiers and their experiences and emotions that are brought about from the war. O’Brien makes several statements about war through these dynamic characters. He shows the violent nature of soldiers under the pressures of war, … Read more
This first chapter, a preface, is insistent on the fact that the book is based on real events. Vonnegut, like our narrator, is a veteran of World War II, a former prisoner of war, and a witness to a great massacre, and that fact lends a certain authority to what follows. Vonnegut shares with us … Read more
As one goes through life, many things shape personality and alter the direction one takes in life. These things usually take the form of events that one can look back on and evaluate; one may say, “I knew I wanted to become [a writer, painter, king]… here,” or wish one could go back and do … Read more
Frederick Douglass was born in Tuckahoe, Maryland, near Hillsborough. He doesnt know for sure of his age, he has seen no proof and his master will not inform him. Most masters prefer for their slaves to stay ignorant. He believes that he was around twenty-seven and twenty-eight when he began writing his narrative – he … Read more
Ibsen is a writer that uses literature to channel entertainment and express himself throughout the play, A Dolls House. He wrote the play during the transition from mythical and historical dramas to plays dealing with social problems. At the time that Ibsen wrote A Dolls House, the later 1800s, society has created a niche for … Read more
The short story “A Haunted House” is story with meaning, by portraying to us the treasure of life. When two ghosts are searching through their old house, looking for their “Treasure”, the treasure or meaning is revealed to us. The joy and love shared between two people is the treasure, the treasure of life. By … Read more
His youth was spent in Le Havre, where he first excelled as a caricaturist but was then converted to landscape painting by his early mentor Boudin, from whom he derived his firm predilection for painting out of doors. In 1859 he studied in Paris at the Atelier Suisse and formed a friendship with Pissarro. After … Read more
In the novel Pride and Prejudice, written by Jane Austen, several, if not all of her characters, can verify the idea that in order to achieve happiness one must abandon their pride and in turn, replace it with self-respect accompanied by some humility. In addition, tolerance and mutual respect must replace one’s prejudice. In the … Read more
Novel Summary Billy Pilgrim is unstuck in time, and so is Slaughterhouse Five. Novel follows Billy’s \”unhinged\” life. If I write every hop, skip, and jump, the summary would be as complicated as the book. These are the basic facts of Pilgrim’s life; they are shown in chronological order (but are definitely not in the … Read more
The Tempest was one of William Shakespeares last plays. Into it, he put his heart and his soul. The epilogue in itself carries enough emotional weight to fill an entire play. The scene where Ariel says that she would feel bad for the men trapped on the island if she were human (V. i. 20), … Read more
If The Sun Also Rises was one of the best books I have ever read, then A Farewell to Arms is Truth. I simply cannot believe that these books existed so long without my knowledge of how grand they are. I consider myself to read constantly, more than almost anyone I know, and here in … Read more
Oscar Wilde, author of The Picture of Dorian Gray, makes Basil’s life change drastically by having him paint a portrait of Dorian Gray and express too much of himself in it, which, in Wilde’s mind, is a troublesome obstacle to circumvent. Wilde believes that the artist should not portray any of himself in his work, … Read more
Shakespeares portrayal of Shylock in the Merchant of Venice is more complex than is originally thought. He is not only seen by the audience as the traditional stock villain; I hate him-p13, but he also evokes the audiences empathy such as in his famous speech: hath not a Jew eyes? -p47. Shylock is caricature to … Read more
The year of terror is one of the most complex and misunderstood periods in the French Revolution. Palmer, in his book, Twelve Who Ruled, however, takes this period and skillfully turns it into a written masterpiece. The book is narrated from the point of view of someone with an omniscient knowledge of the subject matter, … Read more
When the book begins, the main character, Huck Finn possesses a large sum of money. This causes his delinquent lifestyle to change drastically. Huck gets an education, and a home to live in with a caring elderly woman (the widow). One would think that Huck would be satisfied. Well, he wasnt. He wanted his own … Read more
A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams, is a very worldly play that contains issues from life; a guilty feeling of abandonment, the anger and frustration between two complete opposites, and the violation of a rape. It happens in New Orleans where there are many different races. Blanche DuBois, loses her ancestral home, Belle Reve, … 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
No one has a perfect life. Everyone has conflicts that they must face sooner or later. The ways in which people deal with these personal conflicts can differ as much as the people themselves. Some insist on ignoring the problem as long as possible, while some attack the problem to get it out of the … Read more
“It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. “At one point in his short story, “Big Two-Hearted River: Part II”, Hemingway’s character Nick speaks in the first person. Why he adopts, for one line only, the first person voice is an interesting question, without an easy answer. Sherwood … Read more
In the book Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer, gives us a stunning tale about a rooster named Chaunticleer. Chaunticleer, who is the King of his domain in his farmland kingdom. Like a King, he quotes passages from intellectuals, dreams vivid dreams, has a libido that runs like a bat out of hell, and is described as … Read more
How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavoured to form? (Shelley, 42) In Mary Shelleys Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein, who has spent two long years laboring in Ingolstadt to create this scientific marvel known only as the monster, wrongly assumes that … Read more
Many of us like to think that humanity as a whole is progressing to a better future where we will live united and in peace with one another, a time of a more enlightened society. But there are those among us that do not share these beliefs. In A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess, the … Read more
Inclusion, not exclusion, is the key to survival. What does this mean? To say the least, the definition is clearly stated in The Power of One, as well as Richard Wrights Black Boy. Actually, both these works resemble each other by both having many types of isolation. Initially, P. K. in The Power of One … Read more
Shakespeare’s Iago is one of Shakespeare’s most complex villains. At first glance Iago’s character seems to be pure evil. However, such a villain would distract from the impact of the play and would be trite. Shakespeare to add depth to his villain makes him amoral, as opposed to the typical immoral villain. Iago’s entire scheme … Read more
Many characters in The Canterbury Tales are only described in the smallest detail. Only a handful are given a physical description and even fewer are actually given names to go by. A character that has a most descriptive detail and also one, whom has a name, is Alice, the Wife of Bath. This majestic lady … Read more
Subsidies are payments, economic concessions, or privileges given by the government to favor businesses or consumers. In the 1930s, subsidies were designed to favor agriculture. John Steinbeck expressed his dislike of the farm subsidy system of the United States in his book, The Grapes of Wrath. In that book, the government gave money to farms … Read more
John Milton, a poet who was completely blind in 1651 wrote “Sonnet XIX” in 1652; this sonnet is his response to his loss of sight. The theme of the sonnet is the loss and regain of primacy of experience. Milton offers his philosophical view on animism and God. Furthermore, “Sonnet XIX” explores Milton’s faith and … Read more
Writers have reflected the differences in society and individual opinions over many years in their writing by slightly altering the plot of Arthurian Romances to appeal to the interests of their community. Arthurian Romances, at early times, were written with themes of magic and violence whereas legends from later times attributed critical turning points in … Read more
Holden Caulfield is teen angst bull-crap with a pickax. He’s sarcastic, nasty, and completely unlikeable. He also doesn’t give a crap. He is every teenager caught between the crapy little games of high school (“you’re supposed to kill yourself if the football team loses or something”) and the fear of adulthood (“going to get an … Read more
A raven is a dark and mysterious bird, and in this poem a raven visits a man with a message. Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” is about a man who is having a mental breakdown because of the death of a dear friend. The narrator presents a frightening and sad setting, while throughout the poem, … Read more
Mark Twain uses his novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, to explore and satirize many problems facing American society; as religion, civilization, and mob mentality: to prove a point and to try to change the readers opinion about the subject. Twain attacks religion when Huck decides prays and decides that it is just a waste … Read more
