Entrapment or Cowardice in Ethan Frome

Throughout Edith Whartons novel Ethan Frome, Ethan is forced to make crucial decisions that affect the outcome of his life and others lives. He regrets most of the outcomes of his decisions and wishes he could change them. Yet, when given the opportunity to change his fate, he never seems to fully seize what could … Read more

A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess

The freedom of choice and the rehabilitating form of corrections encase the realm of A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess. It produces the question about man’s free will and the ability to choose one’s destiny, good or evil. “If he can only perform good or only perform evil, then he is a clockwork orange-meaning that … Read more

Frankenstein bewildered and perplexed

Frankenstein is back to the role of narrator. He is bewildered and perplexed. The creature desires a female as his right. The latter part of the tale has enraged Victor, and he refuses the request. The creature counters that he is malicious because of miserywhy respect man when man condemns him? He is content to … Read more

The novel Mrs. Miniver

In Mrs. Miniver, a novel of about 300 pages, Jan Struther writes about the simple and fulfilling life of Kay Miniver and her family as they go through the struggles of WWII. Struther shows Mrs. Minivers optimism and vitality despite the effects of the war on her family. A narrator, who watches the family through … Read more

The Struggles Faced in The Color Purple and The Joy Luck Club

A common bond of struggle links the novels The Color Purple by Alice Walker and The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. Rape, suicide, death, war, oppression, and racism invade the two novels. In The Color Purple, Celie overcomes racism, violence, and other issues to find dignity and love. In the Joy Luck Club, the … Read more

Essay on Romanticism in Frankenstein

All literature is influenced by the time period in which it was written; whether it be war, poverty, or any other social trends. People tend to write commentaries of political events, or just describe the time period. Whether it is intentional or subconscious, an author can not help to include some aspects of the time … Read more

Ulysses S. Grant

Although Ulysses S. Grant’s contemporaries placed him in the highest position of great Americans along with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, the twentieth century has seen him fade. His presidency has been almost universally condemned, and he is consistently ranked second to rock bottom Warren G. Harding in polls of historians to rate the presidents. … Read more

Shirley Jacksons The Lottery

The Lottery, raises many questions in the back of a readers mind towards the destructive yet blind rituals of mankind. The Lottery clearly expresses Jacksons feelings concerning mankinds evil nature hiding behind traditions and rituals. She shows how coldness and lack of compassion in people can exhibit in situations regarding tradition and values. Jackson presents … Read more

Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath

Throughout reading John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men and viewing the video The Grapes of Wrath, the reader will begin to question the presentations as to which portrayal of the Great Depression is more realistic and accurate. We all know that the Great Depression was a time of economic struggle in America, as well as … Read more

Evil in The Picture of Dorian Gray

Minrose Gwins book, Black and White Women of the Old South, argues that history has problems with objectiveness. Her book brings to life interesting interpretations on the view of the women of the old south and chattel slavery in historical American fiction and autobiography. Gwins main arguments discussed how the white women of the south … Read more

Riding in Cars with Boys

Beverly, the main character of Riding in Cars With Boys fell into the categories of heterosexual, female. Beverlys family of orientation consisted of her mother and father. The movie begins with Beverly participating in a craze with the most popular guy in school, who is a member of a voluntary, closed group of jocks. Beverly … Read more

Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton

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

Harriet Beecher Stowe – Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Harriet Beecher Stowe carefully planned her novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, to change the mindset of her readers that would in turn change culture. She accomplished this feat by capturing the reader’s sympathy toward the characters, both black and white, and evoking compassion with the dramatic story line. The readers become witnesses to the suffering in … Read more

King Lear – A Man More Sinned Against Than Sinning

A King is supposed to have all that he needs without having to worry about anything in his late years. Yet King Lear, in Act 3, Scene 2, cried out in pitifully: “I am a man / More sinned against than sinning. ” Although Lear has made a huge mistake in the first scene of … Read more

Conflict in Eudora Weltys A Worn Path

Conflict in Eudora Weltys A Worn Path was not apparent at the beginning. Why was an old sick woman in the forest during winter? The reason became clear towards the end of the story revealing the obstacle was obtaining medicine for her grandson. What kind of society did this woman live in that she had … Read more

Marriages in Pride and Prejudice

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. This sentence, the first of the novel Pride and Prejudice is the statement of one of the major themes in the book. Within this novel there are seven different marriages that exist, … Read more

A Clockwork Orange and the Moral Decay of Society

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

Bram Stokers Dracula

Lords of the darkness, Darkling Dancers, Nosferatu, Vrikolakas. And the list goes on like this. The vampire concept is thought by the most to be a myth that has crept into almost every culture. It has influenced many writers to write novels on them and many directors to shoot films on. Vampire myths go back … Read more

Joy Luck Club by Amy Tans

Guilt is a powerful means of controlling someone else. Parents use it because its often an easy way of controlling their children. In Amy Tans Joy luck club, Junes Mom knew great ways to control her daughter by using guilt. She used guilt because that was the only way she knew. Because she had such … Read more

Leper Lepellier’s Functions as a Minor Character

Upon returning to his school fifteen years after graduating, Gene Forrester, recalled his days at the Devon School in a surreal sense. In his own words, In the deep, tacit way in which feeling becomes stronger than thought, I had always felt that the Devon School came into existence the day I entered it, was … Read more

The Joy Luck Club

The Joy Luck Club contains sixteen interlocking stories about Chinese immigrant mothers and their American born and raised daughters. The book opens with a parable about a woman with a duck that changes itself into a swan, and when she wants to take it with her to America, the immigration officials wouldn’t allow her on … Read more

The Psychology In Catch-22

Catch-22 is a black comedy novel about death, about what people do when faced with the daily likelihood of annihilation. For the most part what they do is try to survive in any way they can. The book begins, ‘The island of Pianosa lies in the Mediterranean Sea eight miles south of Elba. ‘ That … Read more

The short story “Araby” by James Joyce

Love at a young age is just an obsession. As children, our first relationships are object relationships. The people we like aren’t people; they are objects of our obsession, and our obsessions are driven by vanity and narcissism. We are obsessed with what we consider an ideal, something we create. The main character in the … Read more

“Our Town”, by Thornton Wilder

“Our Town”, by Thornton Wilder, written in 1938, was first performed at the McCarter theatre, New Jersey, on the 22nd of January1938. It is an example of meta theatre, and chronicles the lives of ordinary, everyday people, during their ordinary, everyday lives. The story is based in Grovers Corners, a small town in New Hampshire, … Read more

Pushed, Chosen, And Choosing

Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, was a novel about one womans self-revelation. It began when she was a very young girl, first being pushed, then chosen, and finally choosing. Born a victim of circumstance, Janie was subject to her position in life. She was raised to uphold the standards of the … Read more

The chosen and The Promise

In this major novel–a wholly new departure for the author of The chosen and The Promise–the reader becomes a galvanized witness to the development of genius, as Chaim Potok traces the making of a great contemporary painter from the time when an “ordinary” little Brooklyn boy responds to the first stirrings of a commanding talent … Read more

The short story “The Lottery”

Shirley Jacksons insights and observations about man and society are reflected in her famous short story “The Lottery”. Many of her readers have found this story shocking and disturbing. Jackson reveals two general attitudes in this story: first, the shocking reality of humans tendency to select a scapegoat and second, society as a victim of … Read more

The Yellow Wallpaper – Short story

Often times what is meant to help can hinder. Positive intentions do not always bring about desirable effects. The “Yellow Wallpaper” is an example of such an occurrence. In this short story the narrator is detained in a lonesome, drab room in an attempt to free herself of a nervous disorder. During the era in … Read more

A Considerable Speck – Compared to 4 Other Poems

I think Robert Frost is a understandable, but yet an unconventional poet. Frost wrote in his own style, and as a result, he took quite a bit of heat from the critics of his period. Frost has an elegant style of writing descriptive and understandable poems. I am going to tell you about the five … Read more

Emily’s Father Essay

Throughout this story, the overbearing presence of Emily Grierson’s father is perhaps the greatest influence on her behavior. The story describes how Miss Emily’s father rejected her suitors by standing in front of her and aggressively clutching a horsewhip whenever the young men came to call. Without her fathers influence and overprotective behavior it is … Read more

Beowulf and Values

The Anglo-Saxons living in the time of Beowulf did not believe in the afterlife. To them, the only way to experience life after death was to live on in the memories of others. One could fulfill this goal by being known for ones generosity, courage, and strength. Beowulf, the protagonist of this epic poem, embodied … Read more

The Great Gatsby – American dream

The Great Gatsby is a novel that is about the rich people of the roaring twenties and in particularly about a man named Gatsby in search of the American dream. The story starts out with the narrator Nick Carraway moving from the west (Chicago) to a New York suburb called West Egg. His is trying … Read more

Places In Gulliver’s Travels

Gulliver’s Travels has several places that Gulliver visits. In this paper we will take a look a in-depth look at each of the places that Gulliver visits. In my opion Gulliver parelles many places to is home country, England. Lets take a look at the first stop in Gulliver’s travels, Lilliput. Lilliput is inhabitited by … Read more

Holden Caulfield’s In The Catcher in the Rye

Holden Caulfield’s Perception and Gradual Acceptance of the “Real” World. In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden views the world as an evil place where there is no peace. This perception of the world does not change significantly throughout novel. However, as the novel progresses, Holden gradually comes to the realization that he is powerless … Read more

Robert Frosts After Picking Apples

Robert Frosts poem, After Apple-Picking is a depiction of an individuals realization that death is looming near. And due to this self-discovery, the individual looks back upon his/her life with disappointment and regret. The speaker is overwhelmed with life and uncertain about life itself. The theme of this poem deals with the speakers feelings of … Read more

The story “The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck

Throughout history, women have been portrayed as the weaker sex. As a result of these unfair social assumptions, women have been working hard to dissociate themselves from this stereotype and become more independent with their lives. In the story “The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck, he describes Elisa Allen’s frustration with her marriage, her sense of … Read more

The Moral Implications of The Pardoners Tale

During the Middle Ages, England was a nation in social chaos. Deception of every kind was rampart throughout the lands. Many people felt that there was a great need for moral improvement in society. In Geoffrey Chaucers The Canterbury Tales he clearly brings to light his thoughts and concerns of ethical cleansing. No tale more … Read more

The novel A Clockwork Orange

To leave out the final chapter of A Clockwork Orange is to change the entire meaning of the novel; as Burgess says in the introduction, his story is transformed into a fable. Without the last chapter the reader is left with a dark and pessimistic theme, that absolute good and evil exist in this world … Read more

Cry The Beloved Country: Book Review

“Cry, the beloved country, for the unborn child that is the inheritor of it all. Let him not love the earth to deeply. Let him not be too moved when the birds of his land are singing, nor give to much of his heart to a mountain or a valley. For fear will rob him … Read more

Nora Helmer in a A Doll’s House

Nora Helmer in a A Dolls House is a women ahead of her time. In order to protect her children from a false life, she inflicts tragedy upon herself by leaving every thing she has by walking away. She puts herself in this tragic situation by not being honest. Nora lies to herself and the … Read more

Gilgamesh and Enkidu relationship

In this paper, I seek to explore the identities and relationships between Gilgamesh and Enkidu in the epic poem of Gilgamesh, up through Enkidus death. I will explore the gender identity of each independently and then in relation to each other, and how their gender identity influences that relationship. I will also explore other aspects … Read more

The book A Tale of Two Cities

This paper is a literary analysis over the book A Tale of Two Cities, written by Charles Dickens. It contains information about the author, plot, and characters in the story. Devices and styles used to complete the book are also in this paper. On February 7, 1812 in Portsea, Charles Dickens began his life. His … Read more

Handmaid’s Tale By Atwood

The creation of Offred, the passive narrator of Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale, was intentional. The personality of the narrator in this novel is almost as important as the task bestowed upon her. Atwood chooses an average women, appreciative of past times, who lacks imagination and fervor, to contrast the typical feminist, represented in this … Read more

Faust as a Tragic Hero

In the story of Faust, written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust is whirled into an adventure of sin and deceit. The further Faust follows the devil the closer he comes to his own demise, taking down with him the innocent Gretchen. As Faust goes on he embodies the characteristics of a tragic hero in … Read more

The Catcher in the Rye and The Stranger

Holden Caulfield and Mersault have both been alienated in their worlds as the authors have so clearly portrayed in both books. But as much as both have been alienated, one is an essentialist while the other remains an existentialist. Holden Caulfield being the essentialist that he is, has psychological motivation for every action he takes. … Read more

The role of women in Shakespearean literature

It is curious to note the role of women in Shakespearean literature. Many critics have lambasted the female characters in his plays as two-dimensional and unrealistic portrayals of subservient women. Others have asserted that the roles of women in his plays were prominent for the time and culture that he lived in. That such contrasting … Read more

Although Short, John Updike’s “A & P” is Big on Enjoyment

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

“Flowers for Algernon”, by Daniel Keyes

The story “Flowers for Algernon”, by Daniel Keyes, that we read in English was about a mentally retarded person, named Charlie who had an operation to increase his intelligence, but the operation was a failure and Charlie is slow again. He wants to move now so society wont ridicule him for being slow again. Daniel … Read more

Chivalry is Yet, Not Dead

In some select stories of old/middle english, we can see that people have been fascinated by ideals of heroism, chivalry, and what we now refer to as romance for a very long time. I will argue in this document, that our fascination with such imaginary laws has never ceased, and in some ways is even … Read more

A book report on A Voyager Out

Katherine Franks novel A Voyager Out tells the life story of Mary Kingsley. She talks of her childhood, her young adult life, and her traveling life. She wanted to tell the world what this woman explorer did for Africa. Mary Kingsley had a famous family, many of whom were writers. Mary herself wrote two books. … Read more