Study Like a Boss
In Shakespeares tragedy/history/Roman play Antony and Cleopatra, we are told the story of two passionate and power-hungry lovers. In the first two Acts of the play we are introduced to some of the problems and dilemmas facing the couple (such as the fact that they are entwined in an adulterous relationship, and that both of … Read more
The novel One Hundred Years of Solitude explores several interesting ideas that stem from the human condition. One of these ideas is the relationships among the past, present, and future. Time is a curious thing in general, but when explored in Gabriel Garcia Marquezs novel it is both non-existent and utterly crucial all at once. … Read more
Ask any typical-looking Asian students around campus whether they are Chinese or Japanese and the reply will probably be universal: Neither, Im Chinese-American. In reality, developing a clear concept of exactly how they define themselves as a race has become a difficult thing to do in this day and age for most Chinese-Americans. Many have … Read more
This novel is set on the Californian Grain Farms in the 1930’s. The town is called Soledad and is four miles south of San Jose. The inspiration for the book probably came from a poem by Robert Burns. The poem was about the plans of mice and men going wrong. The book generally is about … Read more
Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” portrays a small town in which the citizens gather for a yearly lottery. Unlike the “typical” lottery, this is not one you would want to win. Throughout “The Lottery,” Jackson focuses on families from the village in order to demonstrate the role of separation of genders. Gender is defined as the … Read more
Oedipus Rex, a tragic victim of fate, easily meets the criteria of the tragic hero. According to Aristotle, a tragic hero can not be extremely virtuous or evil, they must be on the middle ground. This is true of Oedipus, in the eye of the public, he is a concerned, caring individual, but he is … Read more
In Joseph Conrad’s novel, ‘Heart of Darkness’, the term “darkness” can be related to a few different meanings. Conrad uses this term in various ways to characterize social, political and psychological affairs in order to help the reader get a feel of his attitudes towards things, such as colonialism, Africa, and civilization. The first impression … Read more
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is the story of moral corruption by the means of aestheticism. In the novel, the well meaning artist Basil Hallward presets young Dorian Gray with a portrait of himself. After conversing with cynical Lord Henry Wotton, Dorian makes a wish which dreadfully affects his life forever. “If … Read more
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare is a comedy where commoners and royalty speak together frequently, in both prose and blank verse. The usage is not always clear to the modern reader but is easily understood with sufficient knowledge of the literary styles of the period in which Shakespeare lived. This shift from one form of … Read more
Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter, felt that the Puritans were people who believed that the world was a place where the battle between good and evil was a never-ending one. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne uses the symbols of light and dark to depict this battle among the characters Hester Prynne, Pearl, and Roger … Read more
The Anglo-Saxons set the foundations on which the English nation developed. In spite of continual internal warfare, they built upon those foundations and developed a high degree of civilization. In Beowulf, Burton Raffel portrays many aspects of Anglo-Saxon lifestyle, especially the importance of weaponry, women’s role in society, and the significance of Christianity. There was … Read more
There are many characteristics of the Beowulf poem that make it a significant part of the history of literature. It is a perfect representation of how the people in eighth century England communicated, what their feelings were, and their culture. “It gives us vital information about Old English social life and about Old English politics … Read more
A Midsummer Night’s Dream character, Demetrius is very difficult to identify except by his relation to the one he loves, or, more particularly, to the one who loves him. Helena’s ridiculous chasing after him and his irritation with her are the primary marks of his character. While in this uncharmed state, he even begins to … Read more
The Wife of Bath has been described and depicted as an independent proto-feminist who long ago led the charge for sexual equality. Chaucers visionary protagonist was a refreshing and modern look at womens rights in the fifteenth century. She spends much of her prologue breaking down stereotypical barriers that have confined women of her time … Read more
What is going to be analyzed in this paper are the two short stories by W. Faulkner ‘A Rose for Emily’ and ‘Dry September’. Basically, what is to be performed is a comparison/contrast analysis in terms of the writing style and character presentation. More specifically, I will provide first the information from the story ‘A … Read more
In the course of time, many heroes have made their name and many stories have been written to proclaim their greatness. However, none as captivating as Beowulf. This Anglo-Saxon epic demonstrates it’s power with beautiful language, usage of kennings, metaphors, similes, and alliteration. Also, it gives wondrous supernatural beings as in God, and even of … Read more
“A Doll’s House” is classified under the “second phase” of Henrik Ibsen’s career. It was during this period which he made the transition from mythical and historical dramas to plays dealing with social problems. It was the first in a series investigating the tensions of family life. Written during the Victorian era, the controversial play … Read more
A memory of sadness and pain always remains in ones mind longer than one of happiness. These negative memories will resurface each time people are reminded of them, and will cause them to act differently in situations then they would have if these past, negative experiences had not taken place. In the novel, Along Came … Read more
A great deal of blood has been shed and many wars have been fought during the history of civilization; however, man’s greatest battle and most formidable enemy is only himself. Humans like to think of themselves as faultless, but sin is inevitable. Mankind is a sinful race; therefore, everyone has sinned. This has been made … Read more
Satire on a Nation Jonathan Swifts, Gullivers Travels satirically relates bodily functions and physical attributes to social issues during Englands powerful rule of Europe. Through out the story we find many relations between bodily features and British and European society. Swift uses this tone of mockery to explain to his reader the importance of many … 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
In researching Geoffrey Chaucer’s collection of stories named The Canterbury Tales, an interesting illustration of the Medieval Church becomes evident. A crooked society exists within the corrupt, medieval church community. Not all of the clergy’s intentions were corrupt, but as Chaucer, through his character the Pardoner,so well put it,“Radix malorum est cupiditas”, ( Love of … Read more
When we first hear about Macbeth from the sergeants report, we are led to believe that he is very much a person who does only what he believes is right. Furthermore, when he first appears in the play, his fellow nobleman, Banquo, accompanies him. Given this, we would think that he does what is right, … Read more
Everyone thinks they will fall in love or be in love with someone else at one point in there life. Love is a very strong word, in A Midsummer Nights Dream by William Shakespear, it was used to its full potential. It could be true love or jus an infatuation that you think is love … Read more
The short story, A Worn Path, is about an old Negro woman named Phoenix who travels a long distance to a town to get medicine for her grandson. The trip is extremely long and tiresome for an old lady but she feels that it is her duty to get her laboring grandson the needed medicine. … Read more
For hundreds of years, writers have used religion as a principle issue and point of discussion in their novels. Hawthorne expressed his views in The Scarlet Letter, Garcia Marquez did the same in One Hundred Years of Solitude and in other writings, and even Ernest Hemingway used his writing to develop his own ideas concerning … Read more
Conclusion Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, author of several acclaimed books-including “Notes From Underground”-a semi-autobiographical story, introduced a new form of writing, “stream-of-consciousness”, to Russia and Europe. Soon, this form of writing that would become the mark of the Existentialist, spread to the America’s. Interestingly enough, the “stream-of-consciousness” that manifested itself in his writing was actually the … Read more
Shakespeare brings up sexuality quite often through the play. Since the play is male-dominated, it seems that very time a female is brought into the plot, sexuality is discussed. The first time this theme is mentioned is when Caliban attemps to rape Prospero’s daughter, Miranda. Caliban was son of the witch, Sycorax, who formerly ruled … Read more
The Scarlet Letter is a novel with much symbolism. Throughout the novel several characters represent other ideas. One of the most complex and misunderstood characters in the novel is Pearl, the daughter of Hester Prynne. Pearl, throughout the story, develops into a dynamic symbol – one that is always changing. Although Pearl changes, she always … Read more
In William Shakespeare’s Richard III, we see Shakespeare’s interpretation of despot rule and the parallels that stem from this interpretation. The character type of Richard has been examined and marveled for thousands of years. From Plato’s examination of despot rule in the Republic, we see the motives of what drives despot rulers. A look at … Read more
Ernest Hemingways classic novel, A Farewell to Arms, is one of the greatest love and war stories of all time. The success and authenticity of this tale is a direct result of Hemingways World War I involvement. The main character, Frederick Henry, encounters many of the same things as did Hemingway and creates a parallel … Read more
The literary character that I most readily identify with would be Dostoevsky’s Alexei, The Gambler. I can relate to him because like me, he is a man of many passions. He is also all but helpless against his addiction to gambling. I have also felt helpless to certain circumstances in my life, as have we … Read more
The Mill on the Floss is a book written by George Eliot, whose real name is Mary Anne (later Marian) Evans. There is a great deal of autobiography in this book. The facts of Mary Anne’s life do not match Maggie Tulliver, but there is an obvious reflection of her own life. Book One: Chapter1-13 … Read more
Sophocles Oedipus the King is a tragic play which discusses the tragic discovery of Oedipus that he has killed his father and married his mother. The story of Oedipus was well known to the athenians. Oedipus is the embodiement of the perfect Athenian. He is self-confident, intelligent, and strong willed. Ironically these are the very … Read more
Brave New World Sometimes very advanced societies overlook the necessities of the individual. In the book Brave New World, Aldous Huxley creates two distinct societies: the Savages and the Fordians. The Fordians are technologically sophisticated, unlike the Savages. However, it is obvious that, overall, the Savages have more practical abilities, have more, complicated, ideals, and … Read more
Alexander Pope’s An Essay on Man is an attempt to vindicate, as Milton had attempted to justify, the ways of God to man. Both attempt to explain God to man, but come up with different conclusions. Milton states that man can overcome God’s design through faith and decency. In contrast, Pope remarks that man must … Read more
With our view of God, it can sometimes be difficult to comprehend the actions and thinking of the Greek deities. The Christian God does not tend to take such an active role in the affairs of people’s lives, where, on the other hand, the Greeks regarded direct involvement by the gods as a daily, uncontrollable … Read more
William Shakespeare wrote Antony and Cleopatra around 1606, during the reign of King James . The play is a history, set in the time of the Roman Empire many centuries before it was written and based on the well-documented history of Octavius Caesar, Marc Antony and Cleopatra. These characters and their lives were contained in … Read more
In the book “Siddhartha” Herman Hesse shows even though one may have a goal in mind there are many paths. In this story Siddhartha and his friend Govinda have the same goal, and the two friends end up taking separate paths. Siddhartha however becomes distracted. When looking at the book “Siddhartha” one can see three … Read more
The Taming of the Shrew The Taming Of The Shrew by William Shakespeare is probably one of Shakespeare’s earliest comedies. Its plot is derived from the popular ‘war of the sexes’ theme in which males and females are pitted against one another for dominance in marriage. The play begins with an induction in which a … Read more
The symbolism of the unicorn has two very different meanings. One of the symbols is happiness and love. The other one symbols sadness and hatred. You first come into contact with the unicorn when Jim sees it. This is where the first symbolism comes into place. Once Laura starts to talk about it you can … Read more
The Chrysanthemums, by John Steinbeck, is set in the beautiful valley of Salinas, California, during a time when California was the land of plenty. A place where dust storms and drought were unheard of, where water was plentiful and the air sprinkled with the sweet smell of fruit blossoms. A time when simple people farm … Read more
It is said that the truth will set you free, but in the case of Sophocles Oedipus, the truth drives a man to imprison himself in a world of darkness by gouging out his eyes. As he scours the city for truth, Oedipus ruin is ironically mentioned and foreshadowed in the narrative. With these and … Read more
Chinua Achebe believes that Joseph Conrads Heart Of Darkness is racist based on Conrads descriptions of Africa and its people. Achebe, author of Things Fall Apart, stresses Conrads depiction of Africa as the antithesis of Europe and civilization, and the animal imagery present throughout the novella. Heart of Darkness, written in 1899 during the period … Read more
One of the many similarities between Heart of Darkness and “Apocalypse Now” is race. Joseph Conrad and Francis Coppola both use white men as the characters that have dominance (Bradley). The white men not only dominate their respective crews, but also the peoples native to the country the white men are visiting. The character Conrad … Read more
In Death of A Salesman by Arthur Miller, the main character, Will Loman, could be considered a tragic hero. A tragedy must have conflict in it. Now only with people, but also in the mind of a character. In Death of a Salesman to A View from the Bridge, it said, “…not only conflict between … Read more
There are many pieces of literature that may entail more than one theme throughout the story. The tragedy, Medea, by Euripides is very good example of this. Throughout this story, the themes of betrayal and love, revenge, and womens rights arise. Euripides brings these points up to help the reader to realize that women are … Read more
“Barn Burning” is a sad story because it very clearly shows the classical struggle between the privileged and the underprivileged classes. Time after time emotions of despair surface from both the protagonist and the antagonist involved in the story. This story outlines two distinct protagonists and two distinct antagonists. The first two are Colonel Sartoris … Read more
” ‘Suppose you met somebody just as careless as yourself. ‘ ‘I hope I never will,’ she [Jordan] answered. ‘I hate careless people. That’s why I like you. ‘ ” (Fitzgerald, pg. 63) Jordan is explaining to Nick how she is able to drive badly as long as everyone else drives carefully. This quote represents … Read more
Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad is a fictional novel with an overflow of symbolism. Throughout the entire novel Conrad uses a plethora of simple colors, objects, and places in order to clarify very complex meanings. By doing this, Conrad is able to lure the reader into a world unlike his or her own: the … Read more