Study Like a Boss
Frank Norris, through the work of his novel McTeague, changed America in several ways. Norris was born in Chicago in 1870, during a naturalistic time period (The Literature Network). This novel was written with many themes that define naturalism, such as greed and lust. Social Darwinism, which can be defined as “survival of the fittest” … Read more
In the book Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Jane travels many places as a young woman. It begins with her at Gateshead, where she lives as a young child. She then goes to a private school called Lowood. Here, she learns many disciplines and gains wisdom. After being a teacher for two years at Lowood … Read more
Most people have somebody that they have faith and courage in. Someone who they can rely on in about every situation. In Harper Lee’s book To Kill a Mockingbird, Miss Maudie says, “Whether Maycomb knows it or not, we’re paying the highest tribute we can pay a man. We trust him to do right. It’s … Read more
An Inspector Calls How does Priestly develop the Character of Sheila Birling? In an Inspector Calls, Sheila Birling’s character is seen as a child that has been raised into an upper-class family and has become familiar with the luxuries and social standing lower classes wouldn’t dream of obtaining, her spoilt upbringing and deceiving parents have … Read more
When it came to social inequalities, the African American community relied on drugs and music to overlook their struggles. “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin was a short story about living in poverty in Harlem. In the beginning of the story, the narrator discovers that his brother Sonny was imprisoned for selling and possessing drugs and … Read more
Ray Bradbury explores the idea of a culture where technology is used by everyone for everything. When people rely so heavily on technology they forget entirely who they are, and lose not only themselves but their families. “The Veldt” is a short story written by Ray Bradbury that explores the affect technology has on society, … Read more
The People’s Champion Harlan Ellison’s “Repent, Harlequin! ‘ Said the Ticktockman” incorporates, and perfectly balances, a goofy silliness and foreboding seriousness. Ellison’s story invites readers to reflect upon their own values, and whether or not they are meaningful. The society within the story has many parallels with the reader’s, and encompasses many of the same … Read more
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien represents the epitome of dehumanization that war inflicts on people. Each character is involved in a short story that makes up the entire novel; their different traits make up not only their personality but their entire persona and how their social role contributed to the overall message. The … Read more
Society today is quick to stereotype those with a quiet disposition as boring, hermits, misanthropes, inferior, self-conscious, serious, sensitive, shy, lack sociability, lack assertiveness and introversion is considered ‘second-class’ personality trait. Characters such as Atticus Finch in ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ published by Harper Lee in 1960 and an influential individual named J. K. Rowling … Read more
When growing up, parents repeatedly tell their children to dream and work towards their dreams. Rapper LL Cool J has said, “Stay focused, go after your dreams and keep moving toward your goals. ” He, like parents and others who care, want to see individuals succeed. More specifically, they want them to succeed in something … Read more
Perception plays an integral role in the fabric of human existence, simply because it affects how we view ourselves and also others view us. Blanche Dubois, Stanley Kowalski, Harold Mitch, and Stella Kowalski all learned this through their continuous evolution throughout “A Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams, however by focusing on Blanche’s relations and … Read more
To Kill A Mockingbird is a popular book written by a woman by the name of Harper Lee. This books theme was on how the main character, Scout, matured throughout the story. The book starts out telling about Jem, Scouts’ older brother and what he looks like. There are a few things throughout the book … Read more
“There will always be men struggling to change, and there will always be those who are controlled by the past. ” -Ernest J. Gaines. Although Ernest J. Gaines often told stories of the past, he was certainly not a man controlled by it. Through the creation of his own characters, Gaines attempted to change not … Read more
Define “crime. ” Define “sin. ” Are all crimes sins? Are all sins crimes? Explain your response using examples from your education and current events. Crime is breaking a law that is in place by the government and that a person could be put it in jail for. A sin is breaking a moral law … Read more
Chaos: The New Order The will to defy order in society spurs chaos, but eventually, this chaos emerges as the new order. Chaos and order seem to contrast by definition. However, I hypothesize that chaos and order both reinforce each other after analyzing Like Water for Chocolate, by Laura Esquivel, and Oryx and Crake, by … Read more
In all actions and thoughts, Howard Roark never relinquishes his integrity: the central, guiding component of his life that Rand stresses is of utmost importance for any moral life. Roark maintains this integrity in the face of numerous challenges in his career that attempt to force him to compromise the guiding principle of his work: … Read more
When reading any work of fiction, it is highly important to consider what the themes of that particular story might be. The theme expresses the main purpose of the fictional work to the audience and essentially has some type of meaning. Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Flannery O’Conner both demonstrate in their works, “A Very Old … Read more
The Handmaid’s Tale and 1984 are similar in that they share a “subversion of authority” motif. In both novels, characters continuously rebel against the States that they are subject to, regardless of the consequences of their actions. In The Handmaid’s Tale, Offred subverts the authority of the State by having an affair with Luke before … Read more
The invisible man spends the whole book trying to come to terms with his identity, throughout the book he continues to learn who he is and discover who he is. Ellison uses IM’s briefcase as a symbol of oppression throughout the novel, while he uses the briefcase to contrast IM’s sense of selfempowerment and his … Read more
In Phillip Lopate’s novel To Show and to TellI, he describes the process of characterization in memoir by saying, “I would further maintain than this process of turning oneself into a character is not about self absorbed navel gazing, but rather a potential release from narcissism” (25). In Lopate’s chapter “On the Necessity of Turning … Read more
You and your best friend live a normal life in Gravesend, New Hampshire, although your best friend has a squeakier voice than you and is much shorter. Your favorite sport is baseball, until one day you are at your baseball game as your best friend is up to bat, who rarely ever gets on base, … Read more
Reflections That Show the Hidden Truth The use of reflections is common in pieces of literature so that authors can incorporate hidden meaning behind simple actions in their works. For example the eyes are commonly known as the windows to the soul making the simple action of looking into another’s eyes much more complicated in … Read more
DeNiro’s Game is a novel based around war and the effects it has both mentally and physically. The novel is set in the war torn country of Lebanon. The main characters, Bassam and George, are greatly affected by the war. Families are destroyed, there is major corruption, and they are forced to make the choice … Read more
A History of Violence When governments ignore their citizens the violence of a realm will increase. This reality is displayed in “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift, “Violence Vanquished” by Steven Pinker, “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell and other historical facts. When a government ensures that the basic needs of their people are met, … Read more
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn once said that “the battle line between good and evil runs through the heart of every man. ” East of Eden is a novel written by twentieth century author John Steinbeck. The Viking Press published it in 1952. The narration takes place from 1862 to 1918, mostly in the Salinas Valley, although some … Read more
As a child, everyone is guilty of stealing the last cookie or snatching their favorite colored marker to draw with. This is human instinct, but it is not for survival anymore. Repercussions such as timeout time are often just around the corner after these actions. This greedy acquisition of material goods met with consequences can … Read more
Enveloping action plays an essential role in how a reader perceives the plot within a story. As defined in The Glossary of Literary Terms, enveloping action is, “The general setting of a story including its sense of historical period or culture. This term- popularized by the New York Critics, also covers how characters interact with … Read more
In “Mother tongue” by Amy Tan talks about her experience as a young child whose mother didn’t speak “proper” English; She Described her mother language as “Broken”. Tan recalls often having to translate for her mother in various time. She found herself feeling embarrassed of the way her mom spoke. One- day Tan was delivering … Read more
During the time period in which the story takes place, Chicago held the nickname “The Back City” due to its heavily polluted air and the dark crimes that occurred on its streets. Women went missing each day, disappearing into the smoke of the city, and credit fraud was common. In building The World’s Fair upon … Read more
The narrator in Invisible Man is mistaken for a reverend, a pimp, a gambler, a fink, a unionist, a Southern Negro, a New York Negro, a rapist, a lover, a doctor, and a good singer. All are mistaken identities imposed upon him by the people he meets, but Ellison gives the reader all necessary information … Read more
There are many social restrictions that cause a person to behave or think a certain way, These restrictions lead a person to act a certain way, based on the influences present. There are many limitations from many different influences that result in these behaviors. In a community, a person is expected to be placed under … Read more
“… they got enough to put up with. ‘ [he said. ] I was surprised. I don’t surprise easy. ‘But that ain’t fair,’ I said finally. When the [expletive] did you start expecting anything to be fair? ‘ he asked. He didn’t sound bitter, only a little bit curious;” modern author S. E. Hinton, like … Read more
Cold Mountain, written by Charles Frazier, is a historical fiction novel written in 1977. Charles Frazier writes about the grand journey of a troubled Confederate soldier on his way to the Blue Ridge Mountains. However, Inman, the soldier, is not alone in his journey. Although separated by distance, Inman’s life long lover, Ada, is experiencing … Read more
Throughout the book ‘The Cay’, a book written by Theodore Taylor, the main character, Phillip, through many changes with the different conflicts he has to face, develops independence, determination, and satisfaction. He starts as dependent on his parents and Timothy, ungrateful and disrespectful, and troublesome. But through having to face with conflicts such as the … Read more
In “The Lottery”, by Shirley Jackson, and “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”, by Ursula LeGuin, the two authors give the idea of sacrifice and that it is the only way to happiness. Through comparing and contrasting, the reader will see the ways in which the two societies go about sacrifice and how it … Read more
In connection to a complete rebirth would be in the imagery of the invisible man waking up from the factory incident. “Mother, who was my mother? Mother, the one who screams when you suffer-but who? This was stupid, you always knew your mother’s name. Who was it that screamed? Mother? But the scream came from … Read more
I find the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn very difficult to read. I often find myself re-reading the paragraph just to understand what it means after not getting it the first time. Some of the more difficult aspects for me to understand in the book are based on the way they speak and the … Read more
“If you want something you’ve never had, then you’ve got to do something you’ve never done”-Anonymous. There are some ideasin the world that are considered impossible, but as they all say nothing is impossible and neither is the idea of creating an monster name Frankenstein. To start with in the 1800’s girls being able to … Read more
Imagine living with someone who despises you because of your eye. That’s exactly what was happening with the old man and the narrator in Edgar Allan Poe’s story “Tell Tale Heart”. The “Tell Tale Heart” is about a narrator having an urge to kill the old man because of his vulgar eye, but when the … Read more
02. 20. 16 Identical in Independence or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Loons In Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the significance of conflicting values is present around every corner McMurphy hates the idea of being locked up inside the institution; however several patients turn out to be enrolled … Read more
Oversimplified ideas regarding the expected behaviors of human kind have been the leading causes of conflicts from the beginning of time. Called stereotypes, these beliefs have played key roles in defining how much the 21st century has improved in terms of acceptance of differences. Stereotypes often dictate the plot of a book or movie, such … Read more
The play, A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, is about a family that lives in a cramped apartment in Chicago. One of the characters, Ruth Younger, finds out that she is pregnant. A child is a lot of responsibility and are very costly. The Younger family is stressed as it is, bringing a … Read more
There is not a single person in this world that does not want to belong to something. Every individual wants to feel like they have a purpose somewhere in life. in the poem “June 23rd 1973″ by Bruce Hunter two boys chase every teenage boys dream to fit in with the popular crowd and be … Read more
Lies are told around the world multiple times during the day. Everyone sitting in this room has probably once today, said a lie. Sometimes lying is understandable for someone’s protection but sometimes the truth is essential to the person. There are multiple things people say in a day that are seen as lies such as … Read more
Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven, Annabel Lee, And The Bells Edgar Allan Poe was a famous American poet, and many of his works are still read in classrooms today. Some of his most famous works include “The Raven”, “Annabel Lee”, and “The Bells”. Across these three poems, there are multiple literary devices used. Poe’s use … Read more
Some people in the world may believe that rebellion is way better than conformity. On the other hand, some believe that conformity is way better than rebellion. My primary sources, “The Bridegroom” and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, show that conformity causes or creates problems within the world while rebellion causes or … Read more
One makes many errors throughout his or her life, yet the way that the individual copes with their imperfections defines their other weaknesses. In most cases, imperfections are found once a single fault is discovered, which may cause the person to grow angered or fretful of their fate as the voices of the world may … Read more
By many, poetry is looked upon as being a language of its own. It’s a way of creatively expressing unique emotions, thoughts, and beliefs with the use of many literary devices. American poetry has been the most important form of writing throughout history. Many famous authors, such as Lucille Clifton, used poetry to document the … Read more
Choice Will a bad choice, lead you to your own murder? In the story “The Lottery”, we witness the murder of a woman as a form of sacrifice; the villagers must attend that event to follow their tradition, which doesn’t give them a choice to think for themselves. In the films: The Second Renaissance I&ll, … Read more
Everybody changes. It is an almost universal fact. The protagonist in a very famous Southern literary novel, “To Kill A Mockingbird”, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, has changed very much in a span of just three years, certainly a short time to mature. The book starts out with an innocent Scout, 6 years old, and progresses … Read more
