Study Like a Boss
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich Precis 1. ) Synopsis: The main character, Ivan, is serving a sentence for treason in a labor camp. He has been sentenced to stay in the camp for 10 years. The camp shows Ivan no mercy, and punishes him even when he is sick and does not … Read more
A Discussion An dining hall containing no more or less than the necessities for a comfortable dinner, materializes seemingly out of nothing. Enter Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 18th century counterenlightenment luminary; Charles Darwin, 19th century naturalist; Karl Marx, 19th century political philosopher; and Sigmund Freud, 20th century neurologist and founder of psychoanalytic theory. No one is alarmed … Read more
“O, a story about the Black Man, how he haunts the forest” (Hawthorne 175). A collaboration between three major symbols can be seen as Pearl, the daughter of the main character, asks her mother HesterPrynne to tell her a story about the Black Man in the forest. Pearl is a changing symbol who started as, … Read more
Humans have performed dangerous stunts since the beginning of time. These daredevils, deemed as either utterly insane or as possessing death wishes, are usually viewed by society as mere lunatics: people who do not value their lives. On the surface they are laughed at, but underneath the public condescension and jeering they are viewed with … Read more
The most important literary term that is used most often out of all of the stories is situational irony. Situational irony is when the opposite of what one expects to happen occurs. The situational irony was all about Madame Forestier’s necklace that Madame Loisel lost. At the end of the story, Madame Loisel, who despised … Read more
Written by J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye explores the recollections of an adolescent boy, Holden Caulfield, who experiences a nervous breakdown. Salinger illustrates Holden’s personal dilemmas through setting and characterisation to show the readers Holden’s isolation. The Social Network, directed by David Fincher, is a film of similar context, exploring the social … Read more
In the year of 1980, Oscar Wilde published his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, before he reached his height of fame. The first edition of his book appeared in the summer edition of Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine. Although, many criticized the novel as being scandalous and immoral. Wilde, being disappointed with its outcome, revised … Read more
Critical Overview The Memory Keeper’s Daughter The novel The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, by Kim Edwards, is a story of sadness and despair. Throughout the story the reasons and examples for why this happened are clear. Selfishness and lying prove to cause great pain and suffering throughout the story. These two also prove to be the … Read more
To inherit, in general, means to come into possession of property from someone else, whether it’s through ancestry or a former owner. Loss is unfortunately associated with any gain, and therefore, loss is just as equally inherited as the possession gained. By becoming a part of the judge’s household, Sai not only inherited the lifestyle … Read more
The reading, “Shooting an Elephant” takes place in Moulmein. He starts of the story in spectacle as to why the locals have so much hatred toward the Europeans when in all reality his main goal was only to help and protect the townspeople from any hurt, harm or danger that may come their way. In … Read more
Allegory is a depiction or symbol of an abstract or spiritual meaning through tangible or material forms. Relatively a story, poem, or portrayal that could be elucidated to divulge an unknown and clandestine meaning. In the following tales of the erratically depicted heroes such as the gallant yet reluctant figure known as Sir Gaiwan to … Read more
500 days of summer, a romantic comedy, written by Scott Neustadter and Michael h weber, puts us in the life of a man named Tom Hansen in his mid-twenties, who meets a girl named summer Finn, who he believes is the love of his life. during their time together she gets him out of his … Read more
Losing “Ridiculous. The mirror was curved. How do you expect to see yourself in curved mirror (275)”. The Vanishing American by Charles Beaumont is a story about a man “vanishing” to the people around him. The story has deep meanings throughout it and requires the reader to read it more than once. Three major points … Read more
The shortest of Dickens’ novels, Hard Times, was also, until quite recently, the least regarded of them. The comedy is savagely and scornfully sardonic, to the virtual exclusion of the humour – that delighted apprehension of and rejoicing in idiosyncrasy and absurdity for their own sakes, which often cuts right across moral considerations and which … Read more
The serious attacks are mainly by four species. The Bull shark. the Tiger, the Great White and the Oceanic Whitetip shark. The Grey Nurse (Sand Tiger) and the Bronze Whaler have for many years been blamed for many attacks but it seems nearly all were mistaken identity. The Grey Nurse is now protected in most … Read more
The story I selected is Roger Malvin’s Burial because I find that the symbolism expressed in this story is very strong and detailed. In an almost sadistic fashion, Hawthorn is trying to make the reader feel the pain, anguish and despair of these people, by depicting everything in intricate detail and with overly-specific descriptiveness. This … Read more
Life is like Coca-Cola. It is greatly anticipated when brought forth, greatly enjoyed during its existence, and greatly missed when it’s gone. As in “Do Not Go Gently In that Good Night” by Dylan Thomas, many people get to the end of their lives and only then do they realize what they have missed. They … Read more
Literature discussion groups play an important role in a whole language classroom. They allow students to actively participate and gives them an opportunity to project their won views to others members of the class. The discussion groups that we participated in generated a lot of thoughtful participating, as well as providing new insights to the … Read more
In the last forty years there have been some key people and events that have shaped history and in turn have influenced the works of some of literature’s most prolific writers. During this time period some of the most powerful speeches, poems, and literary protests were written. These works of literature were sometimes written out … Read more
Mary Stewart is one of the most popular novelists writing today. She is a lecturer at the college where she got her M. A. and B. A. , Durham university. She had 15 books published, and all of them became popular. Although it is accurate, she wrote it merely because she was so fascinated, not … Read more
Maya Angelou has become a national celebrity since she read her poem, “On the Pulse of the Morning,” at the inauguration of President Clinton. Before that, she was probably best known for her autobiographical I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. What is it about Angelou’s writing that is attractive to so many people? In … Read more
“A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, is the tale of the unstoppable love and care of a grandmother for her grandchild. It tells a story of sheer determination as Phoenix Jackson makes a long journey into town to get medicine for her chronically ill grandson. She strives forward despite frequent obstacles in her way that … Read more
I enjoy stories that are long and involved. However, the short story “A & P” by John Updike is a wonderful exception to this rule. Updike writes the story from a viewpoint of what I believe to be a younger, more contemporary person. The story contains many other enjoyable attributes, such as the comments about … Read more
Henry Rider Haggard sets out to create an epic tale of courage, a breathtaking drama that attempts to capture, within its limits, the universal spirit of adventure. He appeals in particular to the proverbial young male that seeks an audacious inspiration in life by which to model his own. He entices his readers because his … Read more
Well, I think that the part that really griped me is when Dr. Rolf van der Berg had discovered that a Monolith (a huge black rectangle made of an unknown material) had just appeared on Europa (one of the moons of Jupiter). Summary: Dr. Heywood Floyd was sitting in the space station Pasture when he … Read more
Cisneros’ Barbie-Q really stood out as a great piece of literature. Barbie-Q is a quick glimpse into the life of a poverty-stricken child and her way of life. Though my life as of yet has been rather short, my earliest childhood memories are overwhelmingly my fondest and her account really struck a chord. Sandra Cisneros’ … Read more
The Eleventh Commandment portrayed the state church as being the supreme dictator. It is through the eleventh commandment that the church held it’s power and control over the masses. Without the church and it’s leaders to guide the masses, their society would have collapsed. However, compared to Brave New World, the whole society is conditioned … Read more
Having majored in literary studies (world literature) as an undergraduate, I would now like to concentrate on English and American literature. I am especially interested in nineteenth-century literature, women’s literature, Anglo-Saxon poetry, and folklore and folk literature. My personal literary projects have involved some combination of these subjects. For the oral section of my comprehensive … Read more
It is clearly evident that many fairy tales of childhood tend to shape the reader. Certain moral codes and ideals are tightly woven into the text of many fairy tales, promoting or denoting a characters actions. In the Grimms fairy tales Cinderella, Brier Rose, and Rapunzel, the heroines of these tales exhibit strong behavioral codes, … Read more
America has been labeled “The land of opportunity,” a place where it is possible to accomplish anything and everything. This state of mind is known as “The American Dream. ” The American Dream provides a sense of hope and faith that looks forward to the fulfillment of human wishes and desires. This dream, however, originates … Read more
Nick Carraway has a special place in The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. He is not just one character among several; it is through his eyes and ears that the story takes place. In this novel, Nick goes to some length to establish his credibility, indeed his moral integrity, in telling this story about … Read more
The Chrysalids, by John Wyndham is a great novel in my opinion. It occurs in the future but it focuses on prejudices, intolerance and torture, issues that exist now and will always exist as long as we do. I believe the novel has a very important message for readers today. In the novel, The Chrysalids, … Read more
There are many different types of people in this world. Apart from physical features, it is the characteristics of a person that makes him/her original. Nick Carraway the narrator of The Great Gatsby, has qualities which are the complete opposite of those of Tom Buchanan, his cousin-in-law. In the novel, the author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, … Read more
If you go back to the Old House, it’s in ruins and the Clock Tower is gone. But remember this place to come back later when you have some items that you don’t have at the moment… At Father’s House, the baby bird is spreading its wings. Unfortunately, it doesn’t say anything with a Relay. … Read more
Addie Bundren conjures up the central darkness derived from her death and directly or indirectly causes actions in which each Bundren character takes advantage of Addie. With the character’s actions revolving around her death, William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying reveals the truth about the people who surround a person may take advantage of him … Read more
They all return to the house. The fully paid for house. The sight of it brings back a slight sob to Linda’s throat, when she reaches the cement stoop her sobbing once again becomes full. Charley looks to her but is at a loss for words. Happy puts his arms around his mother and holds … Read more
For my summer reading, I chose to read Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger. I decided to do my essay on the themes of the story. The only problem was, I couldn’t think of any. After reading the book twice, and still coming up without any, I decided to do some research on … Read more
A lot has been made of the suggested subtexts present in High Noon and On the Waterfront, that they reflect the experiences of Carl Foreman (the writer of High Noon) and Elia Kazan with the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Foreman has openly assented to this, and Kazan has admitted that there are parallels. However, … Read more
During the 1940’s Jewish Europeans experienced an unthinkable and atrocious collective trauma. In her work “Survivor-Parents and Their Children” taken from the anthology Generations of the Holocaust, Judith S. Kestenberg has argued that regardless of location, the effects of the Holocaust are felt on survivors parenting. The children of survivors receive a secondary traumatic impact … 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 is the … Read more
World War II marked a wide dividing line between the old and the new in American society and the nations literature (The World Book Encyclopedia 427) . When world War II ended there was a pent up desire that had been postponed due to the war. Post war America brought about a time when it … Read more
Wallace’s fictional narrative Infinite Jest is an epic approach to the solicitous and addictive nature of humanity. The novel’s diverse characters demonstrate both individually and collectively the fixations and obsessions that bind humanity to the pitfalls of reality and provide a fertile groundwork for the semiotic explanation of addictive behavior. Although Wallace may have actualized … Read more
“Jane Eyre” is set during the Victorian period, at a time where a women’s role in society was restrictive and repressive and class differences distinct. A job as a governess was one of the only few respectable positions available to the educated but impoverished single women. Not only is “Jane Eyre” a novel about one … Read more
The Matchmaker has four main characters Mrs. Dolly Levi, Mr. Horace Vandergelder, Cornelius Hackl, and Mrs. Irene Molloy. Each character has his or her own personality, but one thing that each character has in common is that they want some type of adventure or change in their life. How they go about these changes they … Read more
We humans are all storytellers, or story-listeners, or both. That’s a crucial element of our humanity. Passing down the generations, constantly changing under the pressure of altering circumstances, stories link humanity together in chains of narrative. Odysseus sets out on the wine-dark sea, fights ferocious monsters, endures endless hardships, and eventually finds his way home; … Read more
William Shakespeare writes the Tragedy of Julius Caesar. This tragic play is based on historical facts of the life of Julius Caesar. It displays the events before his death such as his conquest over Pompey’s armies and his coronation to be king and after his death. Furthermore, this play describes the minds and motives of … Read more
For young people, the Vietnam War is a thing of the past and they can only learn about it from second hand sources. In Tim O’brien’s The Things They Carried, it becomes very apparent that the Vietnam conflict has proved to be one that many of the participants have not been able move away from, … Read more
The plot of “The Yellow Wallpaper” comes from a moderation of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s personal experience. In 1887, just two years after the birth of her first child, Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell diagnosed Gilman with neurasthenia, an emotional disorder characterized by fatigue and depression. Mitchell decided that the best prescription would be a “rest cure”. … Read more
Wuthering Heights, published in 1847, is the only prose work written by Emily Bronte, middle of the three famous Bronte sisters. She was 29 at the time and her life should have only been beginning, but sadly it would end a year later (Gaskill 433). The one and only novel that she wrote was a … Read more
In Nathaniel Hawthorn’s torrid tale of The Scarlet Letter, Arthur Dimmesdale, a main character, is confronted with a number of circumstances, both in and out of his control, that lead to his ultimate demise. Dimmsedale is a weak cowardly man. Arthur Dimmesdale, a minister, lives his life under the watchful yet admiring eye of the … Read more