Study Like a Boss
Banned for social reasons in many conditions and in many school systems, Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange first seems to pierce the mind with its bizarre linguistic orgy of debauchery, brutality, and sex, and for some, refuses to affect them above the level of pure voyeurism and bloodlust (either for reveling in it or despising … Read more
A Clockwork Orange received critical acclaim, made more than thirty million dollars at the box office, and was nominated for various awards; however, this esteemed film was outlawed from the nation of Great Britain in order to curb its immoral content from permeating society. Before all the controversy began, A Clockwork Orange was a novel, … Read more
Julian Marias, a Spanish philosopher proves to be no exception to the numerous writers attempting to describe Californias effect on both visitors and residents alike almost predictably invoking the idea of paradise in their evaluation. He confirms California as a paradise while at the same time exploring the reflective meaning of paradise itself in human … Read more
In the drama, The Glass Menagerie (1945), Tennessee Williams reflects upon personal experiences he and his family encountered during the Depression of the 1930s. As a lower class family, the characters are placed in the slums of St. Louis in 1935. The protagonist, Tom Wingfield, is the narrator and Williams surrogate. Living with his mother … Read more
Jane Austen was a child of the Enlightenment, an age when reason was valued while many romantic traditions still lingered on in society. [* By the way the romantic period follows the Enlightenment (a reaction)] As one of the educated and intelligent women emerging from this era, Austen has used the character of Elizabeth Bennet … Read more
John Updike, unlike many of today’s authors, wrote about what he knew and life experiences. Some people may say that this would make his writings boring or uninteresting. The way he writes, however, makes it applicable to almost everyone’s life. When John Updike was little he grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania and … Read more
This International Bestseller is about a young woman in love with a man torn between his love for her and his incorrigible womanizing; one of his mistresses and her humble faithful lover these are the two couples whose story is told in this masterful novel. In a world in which lives are shaped by irrevocable … Read more
The American Novelist, John Steinbeck was a powerful writer of dramatic stories about good versus bad. His own views on writing were that not only should a writer make the story sound good but also the story written should teach a lesson. In fact, Steinbeck focused many of his novels, not on average literary themes … Read more
In the short stories “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver and “Girls at War” by Chinua Achebe, the theme of blindness is prevalent. In “The Cathedral” Robert, the man who comes to visit, is physically blind, but in his mind, he sees things more clearly than most others do. His “mental-vision” is seen when he travels to … Read more
Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, written in approximately 1385, is a collection of twenty-four stories ostensibly told by various people who are going on a religious pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral from London, England. Prior to the actual tales, however, Chaucer offers the reader a glimpse of fourteenth century life by way of what he refers to … Read more
Antigone is a tragic play written by Sophocles in about 441b. c. The play is a continuation of the curse put upon the household of Oedipus Rex. Sophocles actually wrote this play before he wrote Oedipus, but it follows Oedipus in chronological order. The story of Antigone begins after the departure of Oedipus, the king … Read more
In the nineteenth century, Ireland was marked by extensive personal suffering. Civilians, predominantly the catholic lower and middle-classes, were having a hard time finding jobs, paying rent, feeding their children, as well as putting up with overpopulation which contributed to the overall growing problem of poverty. During this time of suffering, many began to question … Read more
In the play, Death of a Salesman, the main character, Willy Loman’s tragedy is due to both his own flawed character and society’s flaws. Advancements in science throughout this century have led to tremendous advancements in industry. In this case however, advancements in industry have not always led to advancements in living conditions. For some, … Read more
Jane Austen’s society values impressions, and considers them an important aspect of their culture. A first impression determines the entire perception of that person. In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet learns a hard lesson by basing her perception of other characters completely on their first impressions. “The comedy is concerned with a heroine who must … Read more
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams shows the struggle of two people to fit into society, Tom and Laura, and how society wouldnt accept them. They were the dreamers that were unjustly kept out and you may even go as far as to say persecuted into staying out and aloof like the other dreamers which … Read more
Ethan Frome, the main character in the book entitled Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton, has many complex problems going on at the same time. His family has died and he has a wife that is continually sick, and the only form of happiness he has is from his wife’s cousin Mattie. This, however, at times … Read more
The opening events of the play Antigone, written by Sophocles, quickly establish the central conflict between Antigone and Creon. Creon has decreed that the traitor Polynices, who tried to burn down the temple of gods in Thebes, must not be given proper burial. Antigone is the only one who will speak against this decree and … Read more
When comparing and contrasting the character’s Oedipus and Othello by means of the different theatrical practices, one must take in account that there have been many interpretations, and productions of each of their respected plays. The differing presentations of each may lead someone to think differently about the play than another would. In comparing and … Read more
Loving a person too much can often be deceiving. Failing to act upon the truth in order to protect an individual’s pride and emotions can bring about destruction for the American Dream. Lois Gordon’s quote about Linda is a good example of the disillusionment that many people experience when loving someone too much, when he … Read more
There are many similarities and numerous differences between The Hobbit and Field of Dreams. This will be talking about the similarities. One similarity is both Bilbo and Ray do crazy things. Another is how both the dwarfs and Ray go on an adventure. The last one is how both Bilbo and Ray are looked up … Read more
In Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, all the characters are, in one way or another, attempting to achieve a state of happiness in their lives. The main characters are divided into two groups: the rich upper class and the poorer lower class, which struggles to attain a higher position. Though the major players seek only to … Read more
An ideal father is one who is both caring and understanding. To fit this mould, one must express these characteristics. The outlook and actions of King Henry IV (Shakespeare, Henry IV Part 1) and Joseph Strorm (Wyndham, The Chrysalids), suggest characters who do not match the mould of the archetypical ideal father. King Henry IV … Read more
This entire novel takes place in England between Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, two homes on the English moors. There is a distance of approximately two miles between the two homes. The moors are vast open lands that may stretch out for miles at a time. Due to location and climate, there is usually a … Read more
William Faulkner (1897-1962) was a southern writer; he spent most of his time in Oxford, Mississippi. “A Rose For Emily” was a vehicle for him to write about the South and the old ways of the South. He was a well respected writer. In 1950 he received the Nobel Prize for Literature. faulkner uses symbolism … Read more
Jealousy causes many of the characters in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar to commit dangerous and foolish acts. Cassius’ jealousy drives him to kill Caesar. All the conspirators, except the noble Brutus, kill Caesar because they feel threatened by his power. Brutus is the only conspirator who murders Caesar for more honorable reasons. Jealousy is … Read more
There are major differences between the film we saw in class and The Black Cat by Edgar Allen Poe. The film had added effects to get the viewer’s attention. The film also let out important parts that were in the short story. The short story gave the reader a better background for character analysis. Although … Read more
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne was written in 1849. This novel won him much fame and a good reputation as a writer. In writing The Scarlet Letter, Hawethorne was creating a form of fiction he called the psychological romance. A psychological romance is a story that contains all of the conventional trappings of a … Read more
Joseph Heller who is perhaps one of the most famous writers of the 20th century writes on some emotional issues such as war. He does not deal with these issues in the normal fashion instead he criticizes them and the institutions that help carry these things out. Heller in fact goes beyond criticizing he satirizes. … Read more
Pride and Prejudice, the novel by Jane Austen, and Sense and Sensibility, the movie based on the novel by Austen, share many striking similarities. These similarities lie in the characters, plots and subplots between these characters, the settings, and the overall style and themes used in creating the two works. Jane Austen uses extremely similar … Read more
“Symbols are nothing but the natural speech of dramathe purest language of plays. ” Once, quoted as having said this, Tennessee Williams has certainly used symbolism and colour extremely effectively in his play, A Streetcar Named Desire’. A moving story about fading Southern belle Blanche DuBois and her lapse into insanity, A Streetcar Named Desire’ … Read more
Pablo Picasso once said there are two kinds of women; there are goddesses and doormats. This quote perfectly reflects the outlook of Renaissance women. Shakespeare fully illustrates this in his novel, Taming of The Shrew. By portraying the darker side of the Renaissance life of Elizabethan women, the concept of marriage as a business agreement, … Read more
Hamlet is a play written by William Shakespeare that very closely follows the dramatic conventions of revenge in Elizabethan theater. All revenge tragedies originally stemmed from the Greeks, who wrote and performed the first plays. After the Greeks came Seneca who was very influential to all Elizabethan tragedy writers. Seneca who was Roman, basically set … Read more
Sophocles wrote “Oedipus the King” for the annual festival where playwrights competed for prizes. It was a major civic occasion, with attendance expected. Sophocles the writer is phenomenally good, especially considering his era. His writing is tight, with each phrase contributing to the whole. He is full of succinct observations on life. And despite the … Read more
The Joy Luck Club is a story about four Chinese friends and their daughters. It tells the story of the mothers struggles in China and their acceptance in America, and the daughters struggles of finding themselves as Chinese-Americans. The movie starts off with a story about a swan feather, and how it was brought over … Read more
Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front, a novel set in World War I, centers around the changes wrought by the war on one young German soldier. During his time in the war, Remarque’s protagonist, Paul Baumer, changes from a rather innocent Romantic to a hardened and somewhat caustic veteran. More importantly, during … Read more
Edgar Allan Poes renowned poem The Raven shows the turbulent thoughts and feelings racing through the mind of a person who has lost a loved one. The narrator of the poem has recently lost his lover to deaths unyielding grasp. As a result, he is struck by the grief that accompanies such a death. Poe … Read more
During the period of Milton’s Paradise Lost as well as myriad of poets construction of an epoque submerged in metaphysical literature, a number of significant events both socio-political, entwined with a systematic religious metamorphism of the sixteenth and seventeenth century led to a time of unrest and discovery. The creators and author’s of work of … Read more
Antigone did the right thing by defileing Creon’s strict orders on burying Polynices because the unalterable laws of the gods and our morals are higher than the blasphemous laws of man. Creon gave strict orders not to bury Polynices because he lead a rebellion, which turned to rout, in Thebes against Creon, their omnipotent king. … Read more
In the novel, The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan, the characters Suyuan and Jing-Mei Woo have a mother-daughter relationship confused with scattered conflict, but ultimately composed of deep love and commitment for one another. Because of drastic differences in the environments in which they were raised and in their life experiences, these two women … Read more
The story of Antigone has been written and translated numerous times. However, the plays written by Sophocles and Jean Anouilh are the most discussed. Despite sharing a similar plot, these adaptations are very different. In Sophocles’s Antigone, Kreon appears to be the protagonist. However in Anouilh’s, it is Antigone. In Sophocles’s Antigone, Antigone does not … Read more
Well anywise Willy Loman was played by Dustin Hoffman and well he did a great job portraying his charter. And he did very well. The move well little slow to the start but after it introduced all the charts and the things starting falling in place then that is when everything came clear. But I … Read more
Defined by a book of current literary terms, a climax is “the arrangement of a series of ideas or expressions in ascending order of importance or emphasis; the last term of the arrangement; a culmination. ” Written by F. Scott Fitzgerald during the roaring 20’s, The Great Gatsby provides a look into the upper class … Read more
In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, the dominant/submissive relationship between an oppressive husband and his submissive wife pushes her from depression into insanity. Flawed human nature seems to play a great role in her breakdown. Her husband, a noted physician, is unwilling to admit that there might really be something wrong with his … Read more
Gregor Samsa awakes one morning to find that he has been inexplicably transformed into a giant insect. He has also slept late. His parents and his sister Grete try to rouse him so he can make it to his dreary job as a traveling salesman. The family depends on him for its livelihood. Gregor, however, … Read more
In John Milton’s Paradise Lost, he tells of Satan’s banishment from Heaven. He and his brigade have plotted war against God and are now doomed to billow in the fiery pits of hell. Satan is a complex character with many meaningful qualities. The relationship between Satan’s qualities and Hell’s atmosphere tell the reader more about … Read more
In this paper I’m going to focus on the themes, and also do an analysis of the main characters in the book. I’m going to focus on the theme of the concept of illusion and reality and the nature of the characters and their impact and contribution to the play. The main theme in Death … Read more
Emily Jane Bronte remains a mystery. Very little is known about her. There is little information, and much of what we have is contradictory. She is the author of only one novel and a few bits of poetry. This gives people little to build on. The majority of what we know about her comes from … Read more
The plot of “Much Ado About Nothing” is an elaborate network of schemes and tricks. This statement is confirmed throughout “Much Ado About Nothing”. The play contains many examples of tricks and schemes that are used to manipulate the thoughts and feelings of characters. The major examples of such manipulation include- Don Pedro, Claudio and … Read more
Characterization refers to the techniques a writer uses to develop characters. In the story A Rose for Emily William Faulkner uses characterization to reveal the character of Miss Emily. He expresses the content of her character through physical description, through her actions, words, and feelings, through a narrator’s direct comments about the character’s nature, and … Read more
This novel opens on the Shelby plantation somewhere in Kentucky before the Civil War. The Shelby’s own numerous slaves all of whom they treat as though they are family. Unfortunately, at the opening of the book it is understood that Mr. Shelby has gotten into some financial difficulties, and the only way out of debt … Read more