Study Like a Boss
“ Sight” and “Blindness” can be considered one of the main and most important themes in Oedipus Tyrannus. The themes of blindness and sight can be looked at both metaphorically and literally. When defining both physical and Metaphorical blindness, the following definitions are very useful: to be physically blind is, naturally, to be “unable to … Read more
How are experiments done without the use of guinea pigs to help us learn and understand what is being studied? Everyday lab animals, such as mice, are used in experiments as guinea pigs because they provide similar reactions in comparison to the human body. Thus, mush knowledge of science is gained through guinea pigs. However, … Read more
On the surface, Robert Frosts poem is a story about a walk on a wooded road, but it had deeper meaning to him and how he feels about “the road. ” Also, the poem has a universal meaning about life and the choices it presents. Further, the poem is magnificently written in Frosts own created … Read more
“The truth about man is not merely that he is, by nature, savage and afraid, but that he refuses deliverance, and murders the messenger of light”(Dick, “Criticism” 197). This view of our nature as human beings is based on the teachings of the Christian doctrine of original sin, a theory that has been used as … Read more
Myrtle is an incredibly important part of the story The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. In this book, Myrtle paints the portrait of an era with a tainted brush. Because she is a flapper, she is looked down upon somewhat. She is rebellious and does things that were not approved of by the “lost … Read more
In Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte, the characters are quite intricate and engaging. The story takes place in northern England in an isolated, rural area. The main characters involved are residents of two opposing households: Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. Wuthering Heights is a tale of a powerful love between two people, which transcends all … Read more
The book called The Color Purple shows many of the topics discussed in class, but for the purpose of this paper I would like to discuss three aspects that are the most concerning and disturbing. The concept of the body, reproduction, and violence shown through the novel are the most prominent and key concerns seen … Read more
The Bluest Eye is a complex book. Substance wise it is a disturbing yet relatively easy read, but Toni Morrison plays with the narrative structure in a way so that complexity is added to the hidden depth of the text. From the beginning to the end of the book, the author takes the reader through … Read more
Over the past few months in class we have learned about many aspects of literature. Some examples of them are characterization, setting, style, tone, allegory, theme, and symbolism. I chose to write this essay about the symbolism aspect that is featured in so many great works of literature. Two such stories that we have read … Read more
Symbolism in literature is the deepness and hidden meaning in a piece of work. It is often used to represent a moral or religious belief or value. Without symbolism literature is just a bunch of meaningless words on paper. The most symbolic piece of work in American Literature is Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter. Hawthornes … Read more
Dr. Heywood Floyd was sitting in the space station Pasture when he saw Haleys comet and decided to actually land on the surface (by convincing Tsung Corporation that it would be good advertising). So off go Dr. Floyd, Dr. Chant, Clifford Greenberg and the Universes crew to Haleys comet. Dr. Rolf van der Berg was … Read more
To many, a hero is someone who saves something or someone else. Although Odysseus seems to be the hero in Homers The Odyssey, his name problematizes the nature of his heroism, and ultimately, of his identity. In Greek, the proper noun Odysseus also functions as a verb meaning to be against or to oppose. Paradoxically, … Read more
The short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor could be viewed as a comic strip about massacre and martyrdom. What stops it from becoming a solemn story is its intensity, ambition, and unfamiliarity. O’Connor blends the line between humor and terror as she uses a reasonable use of the unreasonable. … Read more
I think Robert Frost is a understandable, but yet an unconventional poet. Frost wrote in his own style, and as a result, he took quite a bit of heat from the critics of his period. Frost has an elegant style of writing descriptive and understandable poems. I am going to tell you about the five … Read more
The authors achievement is when he is able to leave an everlasting imprint on his Audience. William Shakespeares fictional characters, in The Merchant of Venice greatly influenced the way I view the world and myself. So, how is one of Shakespeares characters related to me? Through Shakespeares ability to create multidimensional characters possessing every human … Read more
How didst thou sway the theatre! Make us feel The players wounds were true, and their swords, steel! Nay, stranger yet, how often did I know When the spectators ran to save the blow? Frozen with grief we could not stir away Until the epilogue told us twas a play. From the point of view … Read more
Bronte, is a universe of opposing forces-storm and calm. Wuthering Heights, the land of storm, is a sturdy house that is set up high on the windy moors, belonging to the Earnshaw family. The house is highly charged with emotion of hatred, cruelty, violence, and savage love. In comparison, Thrushcross Grange, the land of calm, … Read more
Women in literature are often portrayed in a position that is dominated by men, especially in the nineteenth century, women were repressed and controlled by their husbands as well as other male influences. In The Yellow Wall-Paper, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the narrator is oppressed and represents the major theme of the effect of oppression … Read more
In the novel The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, the life of a migrant family,who is forced off their land in Oklahoma and who is in search of employment in California, is portrayed. During the course of the novel, the Joads move from a concern for themselves and their own personal welfare to a … Read more
From the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, the youthful protagonist Holden Caufield, employs the word phony to describe the behavior of a number of characters including Mr. Spencer and Ossenburger, however it is not them who arephony, it is the young main character. First, Mr. Spencer, Holdens ex- history teacher, is not described as … Read more
I have a poets weakness for symbols. So states Tom Wingfield, narrator and major character in Tennessee Williams timeless play The Glass Menagerie. Through the eyes of Tom, the viewer gets a glance into the life of his family in the pre-war depression era; his mother, a southern belle desperately clinging to the past, his … Read more
The visible sign of the poet’s preoccupation–the word is not too strong–is the recurrent image, particularly in his earlier work, of dark woods and trees, Often, as in the lyric with which we have begun, the world of the woods… , a world offering perfect quiet and solitude, exists side by side with the realization … Read more
In Wuthering Heights, there are two main characters that have many things that are different about them and their attitudes toward others. Edgar Linton and Heathcliff are very diverse opposing forces in the book, they despise each other because they are total opposites and in search of the same goal, Catherine. Edgar is the calm … Read more
From the analysis of St. Augustine Confessions and Beowulf, it is clear that the two authors, St. Augustine and the poet respectively, differ on their views of death, which helps to paint a better picture of the world that each writer lived in. In Augustine’s writings, death plays a major role in life; it serves … Read more
Ernest Hemingway’s WWI classic, A Farewell to Arms is a story of initiation in which the growth of the protagonist, Frederic Henry, is recounted. Frederic is initially a nave and unreflective boy who cannot grasp the meaning of the war in which he is so dedicated, nor the significance of his lover’s predictions about his … Read more
In The Odyssey, Odysseus had to face many challenges during his travels; a few of these difficulties were a cannibalistic Cyclops, huge whirlpools, determined suitors, along with many hardships. Odysseus fought constantly to return to his homeland of Ithaca, but to accomplish this Odysseus had to be clever, resourceful, and have great leadership qualities. Odysseus … 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
Throughout history, women have been looked at as the lesser gender, mortal or immortal. They are always stereotyped as not equally important as men. I strongly disagree with this idea, especially in the book The Odyssey. In The Odyssey, Homer suggests that the women characters in the book are more important than the characters of … Read more
Throughout two of F Scott Fitzgerald’s books, The Great Gatsby’ and Tender is the Night’, comparisons can be made between the themes that are dealt with in each book. These themes that are portrayed, include materialism, the corruption of dreams and idealism, which all come under the larger theme of searching for human fulfilment. Materialism … Read more
Tragedy was a very controversial issue in literature until recent years. Recent figures in literature have set a clear definition for tragedy. Author Miller is one of these figures. Plays and novels have distinguished the definition of tragedy. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary tragedy is a serious piece of literature typically describing a conflict between … Read more
It is said in The Bible that God has given Man “free will. ” Unfortunately for Man, The Bible does not entail exactly what “free will” is. Some speculate that there is a force called Chance. These people believe that through a serious of coincidence, luck, and their own choices, they can control their future. … Read more
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is a novel about a young boy’s coming of age in the Missouri of the mid-1800’s. 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 … Read more
The old South was a place where the town ruled. People were full of gossip and Southern hospitality. The town was very close. Socializing and church going was fashionable and those who did not take part were outcast. This was the time Emily lived. “A Rose for Emily” was about a woman who could not … Read more
In society, money plays a major role. It is a necessity that is needed in order to survive in the world today. In Pride and Prejudice, it is the one element that determines one’s whole life and future. Not only is it needed to live, but it determines who you will marry as well as … Read more
Issue of male authority and challenges to that authority in the play “Antigone”. In the play “Antigone” by Sophocles, Creon and Antigone have distinct conflicting values. Antigone first demonstrates feminist logic when she chooses to challenge a powerful male establishment. This establishment is personified by her uncle Creon, who is newly crowned as the King … Read more
For Whom the Bell Tolls is a novel loosely based on Ernest Hemingway’s own experiences in the Spanish Civil War in the 1930’s. Before I delve into the book itself, I thought it would be best to give some background information on Ernest Hemingway and on the Spanish Civil war and the circumstances surrounding it. … Read more
Twelfth Night is a comedy of light and shade. Its characters are not unreservedly happy and the events are not unreservedly humorous. Discuss. As a comedy, Twelfth Night is obviously intending to not only entertain its audience but also point out problems in society. It is imperative to entire merit of the play not to … Read more
While Great Expectations and Gulliver’s Travels were not written as comedy, humor is seen in them. The comedy in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night can be related to the comedy in those writings, although Shakespeare used a variety of comedic techniques, not used in either Great Expectations or Gulliver’s Travels. The comedy in Twelfth Night varies greatly … Read more
William Shakespeare used many different writing devices when he wrote his plays. In Act I of The Tempest, the use of contrasts between characters, setting, and ideas were often used to develop the story, and more importantly, the messages that Shakespeare wished to portray by the play. One good example was how some characters in … Read more
Indeed, Hortentios assurance in the taming of the curst shrow Katerina seems a wonder to all the audience in the final scene of The Taming of the Shrew. After hurling furniture, pitching fits and assaulting her sister, Katerina delivers a speech that lauds obedience and censures rough behavior. Allegedly, this speech demonstrates Katerinas obedience to … Read more
In William Shakespeare’s “Othello”, the character Iago is, at least in my point of view, the main and most interesting character. Iago is in virtually every scene in the play, and has his hands in almost all doings within the play. Iago is truly one of the greatest villans in literature. Iago is viewed by … Read more
Edgar Allan Poe’s short story entitled The Mask of the Red Death is an artistic example of vivid symbolism. Throughout the sinister tale Poe writes in a style that appeals to all five senses and captivates the reader’s curiosity until the story’s dour conclusion. Upon first glance, the story seems to be a complex tale … Read more
The story of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is about a man who created something that messes with nature, and nature came back to mess with him because nature is more powerful than man. Victor Frankenstein was very interested in natural philosophy and chemistry and basically tried to play G-d by creating life. When he found … Read more
For this question, I have chosen to discuss the following three works of literature: Crime and Punishment, by Feodor Dostoevsky, Beloved, by Toni Morrison, and Utopia, by Sir Thomas More. To begin with an omniscient and philosophical frame of reference, crime is only defined as crime by the society defining it. When a mass of … Read more
Achilles was the son of the mortal Peleus and the Nereid Thetis. He was the mightiest of the Greeks who fought in the Trojan War, and was the hero of Homer’s Iliad. Thetis attempted unsuccessfully to make her son immortal. There are two versions of the story. In the earlier version, Thetis anointed the infant … Read more
Edgar Allen Poe is one of the greatest poets. He’s scary, weird, and wrote some insane tales. Virtually all of Edgar Allen Poe’s stories concerned themes of human perversity and involve the technique of ratiocination. Most critics believe that “The Fall of the House of Usher” reflects both characteristics. I agree, in this short story … Read more
One of the central issues in Shakespeares play Hamlet is madness. The focus of my essay revolves around Young Hamlet and the questions posed by this character in respect of his sanity. Firstly, is Hamlets madness entirely feigned, as he initially leads us, the audience, to believe? To what extent is Hamlets madness an act? … Read more
A Puppet without Strings The theory behind fate or predetermination has been embedded in todays society partially due to literature. Sophocles Oedipus The King perpetuates this ideology that the title character pursues a path which happens to be foretold. Oedipus was determined to save his city and discover his identity, however he ultimately assists in … Read more
Franz Kafka’s beginning of his novel, “The Metamorphosis,” begins with what would seem a climactic moment: “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect. ” From this point on, the reader is determined to make sense of this transformation. However, the reader later … Read more
The Great Gatsby, a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is about the American Dream, and the downfall of those who attempt to reach its illusionary goals. The attempt to capture the American Dream is central to many novels. This dream is different for different people, but in The Great Gatsby, for Jay, the dream is … Read more
