Study Like a Boss
In “The Cask of Amontillado” Edgar Allan Poe takes us on a trip into the mind of a mad man. The story relates a horrible revenge made even more horrible by the fact that the vengeance is being taken when no real offense had been given. This concept sets the mood for true evil. The … Read more
Picture this, a person graduates from high school with honors, goes to college and graduates at the top of his/her class. After college, he/she is offered a job in the field he/she wants with an annual salary of about $400,000 a year. He/she marries the person of his/her dreams, has two children and moves into … Read more
In George Orwell’s book, Animal Farm, it is obvious that that the pigs, tyrants though they were, were awarded control of the farm through the ignorance of the other animals. There are various statements in the book that support this idea. After reading this piece, the importance of education should be clear. It seemed as … Read more
Only when the present has become the past can we reflect on what we could have or should have done. Yet our society is so obsessed with keeping track of time that we spend millions of dollars a year to keep a set of atomic clocks ticking the time. These clocks are so accurate that … Read more
Scotland has a very interesting and rich culture. Its long history has contributed much to the traditions that still stand today. Whether it be its literature, music, art, food, clothing, or sports, Scotland has a lot to offer. Scotland has contributed many novelists and poets to the world of literature. Such poets include Sydney Goodsir … Read more
Many authors receive their inspiration for writing their literature from outside sources. The idea for a story could come from family, personal experiences, history, or even their own creativity. For authors that choose to write a book based on historical events, the inspiration might come from their particular viewpoint on the event that they want … Read more
To say that Tom Sawyer was an average young boy growing up in Illinois would be an understatement. “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”, written by Mark Twain is an absolutely enchanting book. Every episode is more exciting than the prior one, which is why this book receives five stars. Set in the old Southwest in … Read more
In the novel, The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck brings to the reader a variety of diverse and greatly significant characters. However, the majority of each characters individuality happens to lie within what they symbolize in the microcosm of the Joad family and their acquaintances, which itself stands for the entire migrant population of the … Read more
New Historicism has developed from the “New” Criticism’s inclination to treat works of literature in a historical void, as if a poem or novel had no association to its historical context whatsoever. Political developments in the 1960s, especially a desire on the part of literature professors to figure out how understanding literature might help in … Read more
Kate Chopins story, The Story of an Hour is an ironic short story of a wife in the late 1800s. The story is only a few pages long and in doing so Chopin writes a story filled with kernels (events that have important causal chronological coherence) with very few satellites (events not logically essential to … Read more
In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, women of the Ibo tribe are terribly mistreated, and viewed as weak and receive little or no respect outside of their role as a mother. Tradition dictates their role in life. These women are courageous and obedient. These women are nurturers above all and they are anything but … Read more
Literature has always been a powerful way for people to express their ideas, opinions, and feelings. Authors often use literature to depict aspects of society that can affect a man or woman’s life. In the stories, “The Horse Dealer’s Daughter,” Life in the Iron Mills, “Barbie Doll,” and The Awakening the women of the stories … Read more
Willy Loman is the unsuccessful, imaginative salesman which the play is focused on. He is very child-like and this can be noticed in his lack of reality. He believes he is the best salesman ever and thinks that everybody likes him. Children often have these ideals. They often think they are the center of the … Read more
Initially, I found the interchapters to be annoying, interruptions to the story. It was only when I realized the point in having the interchapters that I understood that not only did they not interrupt the story, but they added to it tremendously. The interchapters provide indirect comments or general situations which suggest something about the … Read more
“Peer, you’re lying! ” cried Aase to her son – and he was lying. He had been weaving a fantastic tale of a ride he’d taken on a runaway reindeer when Aase realized that the story was one she had beard as a young woman. She berated Peer and wept. Aase had hoped that her … Read more
Bombshells exploding all around, destruction everywhere, civilians running for their lives… total devastation. This is exactly what Kurt Vonnegut encountered in the fire-bombing of Dresden during World War Two. Vonnegut bases his novel, Slaughterhouse-five on this event in his life. Several themes can be seen throughout the novel: The theme of war and its contrast … Read more
John Steinbecks’ “The Chrysanthemums” is a story that utilizes symbolism on many levels. Most of all, I believe in the character of Elisa Adams. Elisa and her garden seem to be considered one. Because of all of her hard labor and love the Chrysanthemums flourish. The Chrysanthemums being a symbol of children that she never … Read more
Historians en masse have determined that Shakespeare was most definitely not the first one to come up with the general plot lines contained in King Lear. Though the play revolves mainly around the conflict between the King and his daughters, there is a definite and distinct sub-plot dealing with the plight and tragedy of Gloucester … Read more
The entire plot of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is rooted on intolerance between different social groups. Without prejudice and intolerance The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn would not have any of the antagonism or intercourse that makes the recital interesting. The prejudice and intolerance found in the book are the characteristics that make The Adventures … Read more
In many stories, settings are constructed to help build the mood and to foreshadow of things to come. “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is a story in which the setting sets up the reader to think of positive outcomes. However, this description of the setting foreshadows exactly the opposite of what is to come. In … Read more
The passage of adolescence has served as the central theme for many novels, but J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, long a staple in academic lesson plans, has captured the spirit of this stage of life in hyper-sensitive form, dramatizing Holden Caulfield’s vulgar language and melodramatic reactions. Written as the autobiographical account of … Read more
In the early eighteen hundreds, literature in the Americas started a revolution of style in upcoming authors. Authors started to look towards nature for symbolism and society as a source of sin. The underlined meaning in most of these stories was meant to leave the reader with a new perspective of their personal lives and … Read more
Throughout the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, the reasoning of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is completely subverted and undermined by their insatiable ambition. Macbeth was at first reasonable enough to keep his ambition in check, however it eventually became to strong for even Macbeth and therefor over powered him. To the contrary, Lady Macbeth was … Read more
If literature is a game, then Fyodor Dostoevsky is one of literature’s most talented and respected players. All of Dostoevsky’s works are not only highly regarded by his readers, but also scholars of literature. Sigmund Freud stated that Dostoevsky’s place in literature is “… not far behind Shakespeare” (Freud 972). The novel most commonly referred … Read more
Emily Dickinsons Because I could not stop for Death is a remarkable masterpiece that exercises thought between the known and the unknown. In Dickinsons poem, Because I could not stop Death, there is much impression in the tone, in symbols and in the use of imagery that over flow with creativity. One might undoubtedly agree … Read more
Although the book, A Farewell To Arms by Ernest Hemingway was not the type of book that had an exciting page-turning story, it can nevertheless be called a classic. A classic has been defined as “a book that lasts through generations because of its universality of theme, ageless symbolism, word choice and the ordering of … 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 Maya Angelou’s autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya’s beautiful, vivacious biological mother, Vivian Baxter, emerges as an important character in her daughter’s life. Vivian endures as a black woman in a white man’s world by displaying strength, honesty, and toughness, which lead to self- preservation. Vivian lives within the St. Louis … Read more
The Catcher in the Rye was an interesting and controversial book. I chose to read the book because of the negative status it has with parents, teachers, and school. I wanted to discover what the roots of this controversy are. The main character who narrates throughout the book, Holden Caulfield, tells about his life before … Read more
Not many great novels were produced during the post World War II era. Perhaps the greatest novel published was J. D. Salingers The Catcher in the Rye. This book, just like all other great works, was met by scathing criticism and unyielding praise. Many literary critics marveled at Salingers genius use of language to make … Read more
Throughout literature, many writers have alluded to stories in the Bible. Whether it’s from the Old Testament or the New Testament, writers have paid references to Biblical stories. In literary analysis, this is called an allusion. The Oxford Encyclopedic English Dictionary defines an allusion as a reference, especially a covert, or indirect one (37). In … Read more
There are many common, familiar clichs about illusion versus truth. “All that glitters is not gold” and “Things are seldom what they seem” are the most universal hackneyed phrases, but they do not cover entirely every aspect of appearance versus reality. In Charles Dickens’ novel, Great Expectations, there are several differences between the illusion and … Read more
Voltaire’s Candide is a novel which contains enlightmenet and at the same time is also exaggerated. Voltaire offers disguised by jokes and sarcisam, and the story itself presents a distinctive outlook on life in the 1700’s. The crucial contrast in the story deals with irrational ideas as taught to Candide about being optimistic, versus reality … Read more
“Celebration of the lizard” by James Douglas Morrison is a helpless labyrinth of insanity. The poem is a murder that results in insanity. The speaker is the murderously insane madman. In this outrageous maze, the poet is running from his chaotic problems. In the first three stanzas, it starts out as a bad dream that … Read more
The Bluest Eye is a complex book. Substance wise it is a disturbing yet relatively easy read, but Toni Morrison plays with the narrative structure in a way so that complexity is added to the hidden depth of the text. From the beginning to the end of the book, the author takes the reader through … 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
Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried is not a novel about the Vietnam War. It is a story about the soldiers and their experiences and emotions that are brought about from the war. O’Brien makes several statements about war through these dynamic characters. He shows the violent nature of soldiers under the pressures of war, … Read more
Critics such as Adrienne Rich argue that Jane Eyre has to choose between the “temptation” of following the rule of passion by marrying Rochester, which would have made her dependent on him and not his equal, or of living a life of complete renunciation of all passions, by marrying St John Rivers. Fire and water … Read more
A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway, is a typical love story. A Romeo and his Juliet placed against the odds. In this novel, Romeo is Frederick Henry and Juliet is Catherine Barkley. Their love affair must survive the obstacles of World War I. The background of war-torn Italy adds to the tragedy of the … Read more
In the novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald incorporates many different themes, but the most prevalent message is that of the impossibility of the American Dream. Fitzgerald writes of two types of people: those who appear to have the ideal life and those who are still trying to achieve their dreams. Tom and Daisy … Read more
This is a book about a man named Atticus Finch, his children and the people of his town. This story takes place in a place called Maycomb County in the state of Alabama. The time is in the 1940’s and ’50’s. The story starts out with a girl, “Scout” telling the story of something as … Read more
Melancholy, grief, and madness have pervaded the works of a great many playwrights, and Shakespeare is not an exception. The mechanical regularities of such emotional maladies as they are presented within Hamlet, not only allow his audience to sympathize with the tragic prince Hamlet, but to provide the very complexities necessary in understanding the tragedy … 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
Trinculo and Stephano though not major characters in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, serve a large role in the story itself. They mainly serve as the story’s comic relief and they also contribute to demonstrating to the audience how evil has no boundaries. Much of the play revolves around Prospero’s contempt for everyone who betrayed him, … Read more
Beowulf was written in England sometime in the 18th century. “This provides us with an idea of a poem that was written during a time when the society had converted from paganism to Christianity”(Cohen 138). “We know that paganism did exist alongside Christianity during the approximate era that Beowulf was composed”(Hall 61). “The Christian influences … Read more
In 1726, the Anglo-Irish satirist Jonathan Swift wrote Gulliver’s Travels. Gulliver’s Travels was originally intended as an attack on the hypocrisy of the establishment, including the government, the courts, and the clergy, but it was so well written that it immediately became a children’s favorite. Swift wrote Gulliver’s Travels at a time of political change … 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
This is an English book report on “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley Frankenstein The story of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is about a man who created something that messes with nature, and nature came back to mess with him because nature is more powerful than man. Victor Frankenstein was very interested in natural philosophy and chemistry … Read more
Welcome to Nebraska, the land of plentiful plains and endless adventure. or in Willa Cathers case, the setting in which she introduces her readers to the two main characters of her novel, My Antonia. The compelling relationship between Jim Burden and Antonia Shimerda makes it impossible for their similarities and differences to go unnoticed. Both … Read more
The play The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams, Williams uses many symbols which represent many different things. Many of the symbols used in the play try to symbolize some form of escape or difference between reality and illusion. The first symbol, presented in the first scene, is the fire escape. This represents the “bridge” between … Read more
