Study Like a Boss
Socrates view of death in the Phaedo, Crito, and Apology is complex. His argument tries to prove that philosophers, of all people, are in the best state to die or will be in the best state after life because of the life they lead. Socrates views are sharply contrasted in The Epic of Gilgamesh. In … Read more
Hamlet has been praised and revered for centuries as one of William Shakespeare’s best known and most popular tragedies. Based on its popularity, critics alike have taken various viewpoints and theories in order to explain Hamlet’s actions throughout the play. The psychoanalytic point of view is one of the most famous positions taken on Hamlet. … Read more
While strolling through the forests near Walden Pond, Henry David Thoreau stumbled across a man and his family. The father, John Field had moved to America from Ireland with his wife and his son in order to “improve [their] condition one day” (Walden, 139). Henry listened intently to what John had to say about his … Read more
Heroism entails several things; a selfless act, courage, or the accomplishments of bold and daring expeditions. A hero can also mean courage in the face of death. Others may view this type of hero as stupid, or a martyr. Every hero has faults and these faults along with heroic deeds make the man or woman; … Read more
John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath is one of the most influential books in American History, and is considered to be his best work by many. It tells the story of one family’s hardship during the Depression and the Dust Bowl of the 1930’s. The Joads were a hard-working family with a strong sense … Read more
“And yet when I looked upon that ugly idol in the glass, I was conscious of no repugnance, rather a leap of welcome. This, too, was myself. ” Dr Jekyll’s recognition here unsettles the easy way of reading Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, where Hyde is imagined merely as a terrifying monster who must be … Read more
The Epic of Gilgamesh has many similarities to The Legend of King Arthur. Although Gilgamesh and King Arthur have comparison they also have differences. The main difference is that one is an Epic and the other is a Legend. To compare and contrast The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Legend of King Arthor, one must … Read more
Miss Harper Lee has chosen Scout as a first person narrator in this story. This narrative technique has many strengths and some weaknesses. Scout is a bright, sensitive and intelligent little girl. For all her intelligence, she is still a child and does not always fully understand the implications of the events she reports. This … Read more
Just by reading the first few lines of the opening paragraph of Fahrenheit 451, we get the feeling of a dystopia right away. Firemen burning books, instead of putting out fires that start in homes. Who ever heard of that? This is crazy thinking right off the start, yet Bradbury carries us through as if … Read more
The epic poem Beowulf, which was told from generation to generation honoring modern Anglo-Saxon beliefs, describes a heroic man who saves a village in their time of need. By definition a hero is a man of exceptional quality. Exceptional quality doesnt even begin to describe the man that is Beowulf. Beowulf has many heroic characteristics … Read more
After the Civil War, many Confederate soldiers returned home and founded nothing and many had no place to stay. Many people that God was punishing them for all the sins that they had done to the blacks. But many other Southerners refuse to accept that they were defeated by the Union. Instead, they thought that … Read more
One may readily perceive the theme of Shakespeares Othello as deception. Deception appears many times in Othello, but in almost every incident the degree of deception is different. Deception is to deceive another, illusion, or fraud (Websters New World Pocket Dictionary 69), which is seen as a wrongful act. However, deception may be used to … Read more
From the beginning of time, men have attempted to solve a mystery of which the answer always seems to be just out of their grasp: The Woman. From working, to playing even in simply trying to communicate, the workings of the womans mind have always seemed to befuddle the most intelligent of men. While hunting … Read more
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic twentieth-century story of Jay Gatsby’s quest for Daisy Buchanan, examines and critiques Gatsby’s particular vision of the 1920’s American Dream. Written in 1925, the novel serves as a bridge between World War I and the Great Depression of the early 1930’s. The idealism evident in Gatsby’s constant ambition … Read more
Explain how the characters of the monster develop throughout the novel. How does Mary Shelley use features such as language and structure to create and destroy sympathy for the monster? In this essay, I am going to examine Mary Shelleys Frankenstein. When the novel was written in 1817, the world was unbalanced. In England the … 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. She introduces her audience to the horror of self-love. … Read more
Among the various tools Dante Alighieri employs in the Commedia, his grand imaginative interpretation of life after death, scenes involving figures and beasts from classical mythology provide the reader with allegories and exempla effectively linking universal human themes with Christian thought and ideology. Among these, the figure of the Siren, found in Canto 19 of … Read more
Man dreams of living the life of the elite social class and of the power and admiration inherent within. F. Scott Fitzgerald comes to terms with this American dream in The Great Gatsby, a novel about social life in the 1920s. The social hierarchy of the times plays a very important role in this novel. … Read more
As with every play we read this quarter, we started A Midsummer Night s Dream with only a text. Reading the script is the foundation of Shakespeare, and the least evolved of the ways that one can experience it. There is no one to interpret the words, no body movement o! r voice inflection to … Read more
The novel Othello by Julious Lester is one of the most interesting love stories I have ever read. Iago the greatest villain of all times plays with the red handkerchief to ruin and sometimes determine love for people. Othello loves his red handkerchief and gives it to Desdemona to have as a symbolism of love … Read more
Othello by William Shakespeare takes place in Venice during the invasion of the island of Cyprus by the Turks. The protagonist of the story, Othello, is a newlywed, Moorish general with a very gullible nature. The antagonist of the story is Iago, an officer under Othello who wishes to be promoted to lieutenant, but the … Read more
The three young punks had been walking down a street in their neighborhood looking for whatever they could get their hands on and generally up to no good, when they stumbled upon an old man lying on the curb. “Hey, check the old dude down on the curb. Let’s see what the ol’ guy’s got! … Read more
Frankenstein has had a lasting impression on audiences since its publication in 1818. This continuing popularity is for many reasons. On the simplest level, Frankenstein is a novel that shows audiences there is a way to defy death, but on a deeper level it reveals many things about human nature and emotion. This is why … Read more
Penelope: In the opening chapters of The Odyssey Penelope is angry, frustrated, and helpless. She misses her husband, Odysseus. She worries about the safety of her son, Telemakhos. Her house is overrun with arrogant men who are making love to her servants and eating her out of house and home, all the while saying that … Read more
During his journeys Odysseus often makes the mistake of staying to boast to his enemies but learns that doing so gives his opposition a chance to seek retribution against him. After leaving Troy Odysseus attacks the land of the Cicones. Instead of leaving after his victory, he stays to celebrate until a force is rallied … Read more
The Great Gatsby is a novel that illustrates the society in the 1920’s and the associated beliefs, values and dreams of the American population at that time. These beliefs, values and dreams can be summed up be what is termed the “American Dream”; a dream of money, wealth, prosperity and the happiness that supposedly came … Read more
Sophocles play Oedipus the King was written for a Greek audience as a religious right and lesson around two thousand years ago, while Ibsens play Ghosts was written as a criticism of the Norwegian society during the 1890s. Although these plays were written for under different circumstances, and not for the same purpose, there is … Read more
The Vision by Dean Koontz Most people are skeptical about psychics and psychic powers. In the book The Vision by Dean Koontz, there arises a real convincing psychic Mary, who has visions of murders that are yet to happen. But, a new twist to the story causes Mary to see a different kind of vision. … Read more
The Vision by Dean Koontz Most people are skeptical about psychics and psychic powers. In the book The Vision by Dean Koontz, there arises a real convincing psychic Mary, who has visions of murders that are yet to happen. But, a new twist to the story causes Mary to see a different kind of vision. … Read more
At first glance, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a tale of two best friends traveling the countryside looking for work. This would seem like the norm for lower class people trying to survive in the rat race of society. Yet, the story isnt merely George and Lennies search for jobs. Rather, it … 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
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
The women of Shakespeares Othello are put into stereotypical roles, but behind peoples backs play much stronger types. Desdemona, goes against her fathers orders and marries a moor. Bianca innocently takes part in Desdemona’s death. Emilia has an opportunity to save Desdemona but sneakingly remains silent. These women are similar because they are treated like … Read more
Part 1 Chapter 1-8 1. Chapter 1 introduces readers to the town of Maycomb, its apperannce, its inhabitants, and the particular attitudes of many of its people. Find a sentence or a paragraph which illustrates each of the following attitudes/ideas. Quote at least a portion of the sentence or paragraph and give page number. a. … Read more
Jay Gatsby, the title character of The Great Gatsby, is really not all that the title might suggest. First of all, his real name is James Gatz. He changed it in an effort to leave behind his old life as a poor boy and create an entirely new identity. He is also a liar and … Read more
In Brave New World, Aldous Huxley tries to convey the belief that every invention or improvement for the betterment of mankind is only an instrument for his ultimate destruction. We are, he said, on the horns of an ethical dilemma and to find the middle way will require all out intelligence and all out good … Read more
In Homer’s Odyssey, he uses the stories of Calypso and Circe to give a reader a glimpse at Greek values. Odysseus is a “perfectly” moral man by Greek standards. In the Calypso episode, Odysseus demonstrates the value of faithfulness, and in the Circe episode, he illustrates Greek values in general. While both goddesses seek Odysseus … Read more
To turn Jim in, or not to turn Jim in, that is the question that Huck is faced with in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Whether it is nobler to protect a friend or to give in to the demands of society by ending a friendship. This novel portrays a period in … Read more
As far as we know, The Great Gatsby, only appears to be great in Nick’s eyes. For he describes Gatsby’s personality “gorgeous”. Nick and the Buchanans come from the same social group but interact entirely different toward their relationship to their social position. Fitzgerald portrays the 1920’s as an era of battles between the social … Read more
In Act I scene V, Hamlet is told by his fathers ghost to revenge his foul and most unnatural murder. The ghost then goes on to tell Hamlet that as he was sleeping in my orchard, A serpent stung me and that The serpent that did sting thy fathers life Now wears his crown. Hamlet … Read more
Doesnt it always seem as though rich and famous people are larger- than-life and virtually impossible to touch, almost as if they were a fantasy? In The Great Gatsby, set in two wealthy communities, East Egg and West Egg, Fitzgerald describes Gatsby as a Romantic, larger- than-life, figure by setting him apart from the common … Read more
Dear Great Odysseus, I am your son Telemachus. You were off at the Trojan War when I was just a baby. I am writing this letter hoping that you are still alive. Here in Ithaca things are not going good. Penelope, my lovely mother, has been plagued by the suitors. The suitors have taken over … Read more
Charlotte Perkins Gilman presents in the short story The Yellow Wallpaper a narrator of dubious identity. If a reader infers that the reference at the end of the story to Jane is indeed self-reflexive, a dichotomy between the Jane of which she speaks and the character who creeps about the room becomes apparent. This division … Read more
The Great Gatsby , written by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a portrayal of the withering of the American Dream. The American Dream promises prosperity and self-fulfillment as rewards for hard work and self-reliance. A product of the frontier and the west, the American Dream challenges people to have dreams and strive to make them real. … Read more
Telemachus recounts his confrontation with the Old man of the sea who could change his appearance in order to escape danger. Telemachus reveals the information which he obtained from the Old man of the sea to the reader. The Old man told Telemachus of the sorrowful tale of Agamemnon’s Murder. The story tells of how … Read more
“When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood. ” So begins the … Read more
The four main characters in the play Othello represent four different character traits of manhood: Roderigo, the failure; Othello, the hero, yet the insane lover; Cassio, the noblemen; and Iago, the villain, yet the strongest character of the play. Of these four characters Roderigo reveals the weakest character traits. Iago effortlessly profits from Roderigos deficiency … Read more
I chose the archetype The prostitute with a heart of gold. An archetype is defined as a universal idea that can take many forms, appearing spontaneously, at any time, at any place, and without any outside influence (Pygmalions Word Play, Carl Jung, p. 82). When present in the unconscious, an archetype shapes thoughts, feelings, moods, … Read more
From the minute you read the read the first paragraph until you finish the last sentence, Charlotte Gilman captures her reader s attention as her character documents her own journey into insanity in The Yellow Wallpaper. As her character passes a seemingly indefinite amount of time, it becomes clear that her husband s treatment is … Read more
Deception, which by its definition is a bad thing and has only one level or degree, is truly not this way at all. Deception appears many times in Othello, but in almost every incident the degree of deception is different. There are only a few characters that use deception, and those characters all use different … Read more