Study Like a Boss
This book has been steeped in controversy since it was banned in America after it’s first publication. John Lennon’s assassin, Mark Chapman, asked the former beatle to sign a copy of the book earlier in the morning of the day that he murdered Lennon. Police found the book in his possession upon apprehending the psychologically … Read more
The Red Badge of Courage is now universally recognized as a masterpiece, although when it first appeared in book form in 1896 (two months later in England than in the United States) it provoked mixed reactions. The English critics, in fact, brought it to the attention of the American public, which had generally ignored it. … Read more
Color symbolism was really popular in novels written during the 1920’s(Microsoft Encarta). One good example is Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby. There is a lot of color symbolism in this novel, but there are two main colors that stand out more than the others. The colors green and white influence the story greatly. Green … Read more
The use and misuse of magic has an important role in A Midsummer Nights Dream. As a reoccurring theme, Pucks use of magic creates humor, conflict and balance in the play. The magic of Puck changes the head of Bottom into that of a donkey. Pucks own use magic adds more humor to the already … Read more
Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) is quite possibly the greatest satirist in the history of English literature, and is without question the most controversial. Infuriated by the moral degradation of society in the eighteenth century, Swift wrote a plethora of bitter pieces attacking man’s excessive pride, and the critical reception has been one of very mixed reviews. … Read more
Even today, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is read by every class from kings to common people. The book is a universal classic, meaning it can be related to at any time, by anyone. The philosophies included in his book have spanned the centuries, and Meditations remains to be one of the most influential books ever … Read more
Hard Times, by Charles Dickens, was a representation of his time. Times were hard for children and adults alike. People who questioned what they were taught, often went through struggles and “hard times. ” Eventually, the people who were looked down were the ones who really helped those in need. Throughout the book, there are … Read more
It was with ardent horror that the prehistoric man first witnessed a solar eclipse—the sun swallowed by the predator moon until all light ceased and darkness fell on to the land. We, the more enlightened descendants, have also suffered eclipses. One such eclipse was the darkness of evil that fell upon Salem in 1692, when … Read more
“Young Goodman Brown”, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a story that is thick with allegory. “Young Goodman Brown” is a moral story which is told through the perversion of a religious leader. In “Young Goodman Brown”, Goodman Brown is a Puritan minister who lets his excessive pride in himself interfere with his relations with the community … Read more
John Gardner introduces the reader of Grendel to an intimate side of Unferth unseen in the epic poem Beowulf. In Grendel we behold what a pathetic, sniveling wimp Unferth has become. In Beowulf all that we see is a jealous bastard. Why did Gardner make the character of Unferth so different from the original depiction? … Read more
In the story Frankenstein, written by the author Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein decided that wanted to create a being out of people that were already dead. He believed that he could bring people back from the grave. Playing with nature in such a way would make him play the role of God. With Victor Frankenstein … Read more
In her novels, Jane Austen employs the timelessly effective characterization agents of dialogue, action, and point of view to cleverly manipulate the reader’s emotions towards the characters. Austen successfully creates heroins in a time that it was not social acceptable to think of women in a heroic role. She is so successful in applying these … Read more
Just some of the last pleading words of the grandmother in the story, “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor. In the story, the author uses colloquialism, point-of-view, foreshadowing, and irony, as well as other rhetorical devices, to portray the satire of southern beliefs and religion throughout the entire piece. Flannery O’Connor … 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 Eudora Weltys “A Worn Path” the conflict was not apparent at the very beginning. What was a poor, elderly sick woman doing gallivanting in the forest during the dead of winter? The reason became clear towards the conclusion of the story as the action revealed that the conflict was obtaining the necessary medicine for … Read more
Arguably the best piece of writing ever done by William Shakespeare, Hamlet the is the classic example of a tragedy. In all tragedies the hero suffers, and usually dies at the end. Othello stabs himself, Romeo and Juliet commit suicide, Brutis falls on his sword, and like them Hamlet dies by getting cut with a … Read more
In their life, at one point or another, people deny to themselves and others what they really feel and what really happened. Some people go on living their entire lives denying their true emotions. In Toni Morrison’s novel Sula, characters constantly denied their feelings and their actions. Sula Peace, her best friend Nel Wright, and … Read more
Near the turn of the fourteenth century the art of composing romantic poetry entertained the inhabitants of northwestern England. Many highly educated men participated in this art and form of entertainment. Most created tales, termed epics, were also very important to the history of the individual author’s nation or race. One of the three great … Read more
Our environment dictates how we live our lives and how we handle situations. Our environment also dictates how the people around us handle our death. Death is one important social convention of a society depicted in The Call of the Wild, Garden Party, the Great Gatsby, Bone, and Dulce Et Decorum Est. Death and the … Read more
A Struggling Emily In the story, A Rose for Emily, by William Faulkner, Miss Emily Griersons struggle with her family, her town, and herself makes her do things that are out of the norm. Her struggle makes her act inhuman and deranged. Emily is a living a very sheltered life. Miss Emily struggles, in this … Read more
Frankenstein has been hailed as one of the best horror stories ever. The title, Frankenstein, is the last name of the creator of the infamous Frankensteins monster, Dr. Victor Frankenstein. His is a story of the great pain suffered by Frankenstein and his monster and peoples misunderstanding of the poor creature. All his efforts to … Read more
Leo Tolstoys novel, War and Peace, contains three kinds of material, a historical account of the Napoleonic wars, the biographies of fictional characters, and a set of essays about the philosophy of history. Critics from the 1860s to the present have wondered how these three parts cohere, and many have faulted Tolstoy for including the … Read more
In Christopher Marlowe’s play, Doctor Faustus, the idea of repentance is a reoccurring theme with the title character. Faustus is often urged by others to repent his decision to sell his soul to the devil, but in the end he suffers eternal damnation. Faustus was resigned to this fate because he lacked the belief in … Read more
There are three major themes in Hemingways A Farewell to Arms. The first themeis enduring love ended only by mortality. The second, the effects of war on a mans ideals and morals, things which people can and do believe during war. The last and most important theme is Frederic Henrys disillusionment. Hemingway shows that love … Read more
In Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, good weather is Brontes tool to foreshadow positive events or moods and poor weather is the tool to set the tone for negative events or moods. This technique is exercised throughout the entire novel, alerting the readers of any up coming atmosphere. In the novel, Janes mood was, to … Read more
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a novel about the American Dream. In the Great Gatsby, the dream is that one can acquire happiness through wealth and power. To get his happiness Jay attempts to reacquire the love of his lost sweet heart, Daisy. The main problem with Jays dream is that Daisy … Read more
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, also called Life Among the Lowly, was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. It is a realistic, although fictional view of slavery. The main characters in this story are Uncle Tom, Eliza and George Harris. Uncle Tom is a pious, trustworthy, slave. He never wrongs anyone and always obeys his master. A very … Read more
In the real world there exist many different people, of different races and ages, each one unique. Some live secluded lives with few friends and others live very rich and complex lives surrounded by friends and acquaintances. No matter what type of life is led it is human nature to adjust one’s external personality to … Read more
One of the most devastating problems for the Classical Greeks was the women’s issue. Women in Classical Greece were not citizens, held no property, and indeed were not even allowed out of the house except under guard. Their status differed from that of the slaves of Greece only in name. This alone, however was not … Read more
In a world where a drug, a chemical or a piece of a technology has become the primary refuge for those who seek to rid their lives of imperfection, two scientists sought out to broaden their minds and penetrate the very limits of sanity, life and death. Dr. Victor Frankenstein, a passionate and thoughtful master … Read more
“When he lifted his head a little, he saw his vaulted brown belly, sectioned by arch-shaped ribs, to whose dome the cover, about to slide off completely, could barely cling. His many legs, pitifully thin compared with the size of the rest of him, were waving helplessly before his eyes. ” Gregor Samsa has gone … Read more
The American Dream remains viewed as the success which one obtains. The American Dream has had a great impact on literature as well as an impact on the changing of time periods. The 19th century Transcendentalists idea of the American Dream focuses on reaching ones goals by honest, hard work. On the other hand, Gatsbys … Read more
This reflects how both Grendel and Frankenstein must have felt during their lonely lives. “Seeking friends, the fiends found enemies; seeking hope, they found hate”(Neilson back page). The monsters simply want to live as the rest of us live. But, in our prejudice of their kind, we banish them from our elite society. Who gave … Read more
Casterbridge’s realistic Western England setting through the architectural buildings, the behavior of the townspeople, and the speech used throughout the novel. All of these aspects combined provide a particular environment Hardy called “Wessex” which infuses the work with reality and a life. The love which Hardy had, for architecture, is displayed throughout this novel with … Read more
The historical terms, Victorian Age or Victorian Era, referred to the things and the events that happened during the reign of Queen Victoria in England from 1837 to 1901. Some adjectives to describe the people and things of this period would be prudish, strait-laced, and old-fashioned. Another characteristic of the Victorian society was that many … Read more
The American Civil War is sometimes called the War Between the States, the War of Rebellion, or the War for Southern Independence. It began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate General P. G. T. Beauregard opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, and lasted until May 26, 1865, when the last Confederate … Read more
These citizens grow up under the same social institutions and although classes are drawn up on wealth; it can be conceived that two people may have very similar opinions of the society that created them. The English society which Virginia Woolf presents individuals that are uncannily similar. These two individuals carry the names of Clarissa … Read more
The people and the Depression In the book The grapes of Wrath, the Joads undergo the hit of the depression, they have to leave their farm. They go to California for jobs, but find there are few jobs, and it Pays little, or at least less then what they were told. The government tried to … Read more
As a child, my world was enraptured by the wonderful Fisher-Price toy known as the Lite-Brite. By inserting multicolored little pegs into their corresponding slots on a detailed guide, I could transform drab, dull, and dark pieces of paper into wondrous works of brilliant art. The light that filled and transformed the plastic pegs closely … Read more
In the Confessions, by Saint Augustine, Augustine addressed himself articulately and passionately to the persistent questions that stirred the minds and hearts of men since time began. The Confessions tells a story in the form of a long conversion with God. Through this conversion to Catholic Christianity, Augustine encounters many aspects of love. These forms … Read more
Blake Moreland The Lottery Winner Clark, Mary Pocket Books 1994 SETTING: The book starts out in Manhattan, New York in modern times. The book mostly takes place in New York city but throughout the book they also travel to London, England, cypress point spa, and several other places. The book ends back in Manhattan, New … Read more
We are often bullied into doing things against our will, this could also be said of expository texts which aim to inform, instruct and explain but importantly to persuade. They use shock value to force us to look at our values, attitudes and ideologies. When devices such as statistics, personal touch, persona, language and case … Read more
In J. D. Salingers The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfields innocence is taken away through a twisted chain of events. The novel opens up with Holden depresses after fluking out of Penecy, the suicide of a classmate, and the death of his brother, Allie. Because if these tragic events, Holden tries to preserve his … Read more
The expectations imposed upon Nora were created by society and her husband. In the nineteenth century women had few alternatives to marriage; they were not expected to step beyond their roles as housewife and mother. Females were confined in every way imaginable. Women were limited by their identities as it relates to society and their … Read more
A Portrait of The Artist as a Young Man Stephen, makes the claim that he perceives his identity as being selfcontained and non-contradictory. Being readers we see that this in actuality is almost a direct opposite of how Stephen has been living his life. As his mind jumps from thinking about a life as a … Read more
John Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902 in Salinas California, shortly after the end of the Civil War. His mother was a schoolteacher in the public school system in Salinas. Steinbeck grew up in the fertile California where he found the materials for most of his novels, and short stories. Steinbeck demonstrated a great … Read more
In the early twentieth century a writer’s work usually represented one’s surroundings. In the stories ‘Wunderkind’; by Carson McCullers and ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’; by Charolotte Gilman, there are examples of the immediate surroundings taking affect in their writings. Both writers prove a point, conditions and attitudes presented in the early 20th century influenced and often … Read more
Most people find it very hard to pull up roots in their native land and move to a strange country. Throughout history, countless millions of people have done so. People forsake their homeland and move to another country for various reasons. Some people emigrate to avoid starvation. Some seek adventure. Others wish to escape unbearable … 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 athenian’s. Oedipus is the embodiement of the perfect Athenian. He is self-confident, intelligent, and strong willed. Ironically these are the very … Read more
Oedipus Rex is a tragedy of a man who attempts to flee a prophecy out of fear of what the future may hold for him, and in doing so blindly falls straight into his tragic fate. The use of literary devices in this play such as irony, metaphor, and reversal of situation in this play … Read more