Study Like a Boss
Comedy, Courtly Love, Drama, Fiction, Poetry, Protagonist, Short Story, Tragedy, 1984, A Raisin in The Sun, Animal Farm, Beowulf, Fahrenheit 451, Frankenstein, George Orwell, Hamlet, Into The Wild, Lord of The Flies, Macbeth, Of Mice and Men, A Modest Proposal, All Quiet on The Western Front, Allegory, Antigone, Between The World and Me.
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
One of the basic assumptions underlying any detective novel is a sense of social order. The novelist assumes that the reader agrees that killing people is wrong; it does not matter if the victims are exemplary citizens or odious individuals, it is the mere act of snuffing out anothers life that is against the social … 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
Arrowsmith is a classic American novel written by Sinclair Lewis. Lewis wrote this book in the early 1900’s as a current outlook on the world of science in that time. The main theme it focuses on is commercialism and its effect on science. During this time period there were many advances in the field of … Read more
The themes of this novel are calmness and persistence. These two themes are exemplified by one character, Mr. Fogg. Mr. Fogg is always calm in the novel not once in this novel does he show any anxiety or nervousness. Mr. Fogg, under a prolific amount pressure of losing a wager of twenty thousand pounds, remained … Read more
Throughout the novel The Call of the Wild, we follow a dog named Buck through his journey through the Klondike. We experience a transformation in him, as he adapts to the cold, harsh land where he is forced to toil in the snow, just to help men find a shiny metal. Buck seems to almost … Read more
The novel Brave New World is like no other in fantasy and satire. It predicts a future overpowered by technology where the people have no religion. Has Huxley written about a degrading way of life or has he discovered the key to a perfect world that should be called Utopia? This essay will show that … Read more
Critics often suggest that Kurt Vonnegut’s novels represent a man’s desperate, yet, futile search for meaning in a senseless existence. Vonnegut’s novel, Slaughterhouse-Five, displays this theme. Kurt Vonnegut uses a narrator, which is different from the main character. He uses this technique for several reasons. Kurt Vonnegut introduces Slaughterhouse Five in the first person. In … Read more
Captain John Yossarian is the main character of Joseph Hellers 1961 satirical war novel, Catch-22. Hes a bombardier in the Army Air Corps 256th bomber squadron and he suffers from an intense fear of death. Catch-22 is a mysterious regulation that traps its victims in a web of circular reason. Basically, if theres a rule … Read more
In this story, the intelligence of a mentally challenged man is greatly enhanced by neuro-surgical treatments. He forms an attachment with a mouse named Algernon who has already undergone this same treatment shortly before him. Charlie is asked to keep a dairy and the novel consists of his daily reports. As his intelligence grows Charlie … Read more
‘Darkness at Noon’ is the second novel of a trilogy, which revolves around the central theme of revolutionary ethics, and of political ethics in general: the problem whether, or to what extent, a noble ends justifies ignoble means, and the related conflict between morality and expediency. The theme of the novel relates to the ever-present … Read more
The novel Our Guys, written by Bernard Lefkowitz, is a very dynamic story about the heinous actions of a dozen middle-class athletes, from a small New York suburb, against a defenseless mentally handicapped girl. Lefkowitz describes a brutal gang rape involving a baseball bat and broomhandle, which took place in this unsuspecting town, by these … Read more
In the novel The Autobiography Of Miss Jane Pittman, there were many different stories about JanePittmans life. In the movie there were not as many stories as the novel, but they were still quite interesting. The novel and the movie had many similarities and differences. Some of the similarities were very noticeable. Just from the … 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
“The Chrysalids” by John Wyndham is an entertaining yet plausible story. It compels the reader to think about human nature and our attitude to the world around us that we often take for granted. The setting of “The Chrysalids” is several hundred years after a nuclear war. What is left of civilization is a few … Read more
In Alan Paton’s novel Cry, the Beloved Country two characters, Absalom’s girl and Gertrude, show the how society in Johannesburg is as a whole. Absalom’s girl symbolizes how girls her age are mothers and have even become divorced several times before. On the other hand Gertrude, Kumalo’s sister, illustrates the qualities of a young woman … Read more
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
Duddy’s obsession with land lies within his grandfather, Simcha. When Duddy was small, he spoke those unforgettable words to him, “A man without land is nobody. ” When it seemed as if nobody cared or respected him, Simcha did. Duddy did not receive the same kind of love from his father or uncle as Lennie … Read more
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
In the novels The Pact, by Jodi Piocoult and Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden there is a strong reflection of life and its negative aspects. Not only do both novels involve a female whos life is controlled by those around her, but the girls are also controlled by a desired conception of themselves … Read more
Discrimination against people who are different can be identify in every country around the world. People of every sex, color, religion, and in this case, ethnicity are tormented. In the 1940’s, 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s apartheid was an emanate injustice throughout the land of South Africa. Apartheid was the government’s rigid policy racial segregation between … Read more
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
In Canada, we have the freedom to do almost anything. In the novel Nineteen Eighty Four, there is no freedom. Although there are no laws in Oceania, there are consequences to doing thoughtcrime. The consequences are used not for punishment but for the limitation of people who may perform a crime in the future. There … Read more
Diversity is an attribute that is seen among people, situations and cultures. Everyone has encountered different situations at one time or more during their lives that has either been pleasant or upsetting. Certain novels written in the 1950’s to the present show signs of multiformity very clearly. In regards to culture, people are placed in … Read more
In the beginning, Lovey and her best friend, Jerry, are watching the Shirley Temple movie before they go to church. They never get to see the end because they have to go and leave. They make up the endings and cry in the middle of the pastor’s sermon. On Lovey’s birthday, Jerry would make her … Read more
Cathy Spellman’s, The Playground of The Gods is an exuberant novel which deals with murder in a remote tropical paradise but can further be read as an illustration of man’s ignorance and invasion of nature. “Do it big, or stay in bed. “( Larry Kelly). These are words that Thoros Gagarian lives by. He is … Read more
When studying a novel it sometimes helps to look at the language used in a specific passage. In the novel In The Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje, this approach is extremely helpful. It will help you better understand the characters and give you a clearer idea of what the author is trying to … Read more
In Moby Dick, by Herman Melville, a recurring theme of death is seen throughout the book. A coffin appears at the beginning of the book and at the end of the book, Ishmael sees a large oil painting that foreshadows and represents many things and events that follow in the book, and Fedallah makes a … Read more
I.Author Information Herman Melville, was born in 1819, in a very “good” neighborhood in New York. Many influences on Melville’s works were European literature, experiences in his travels, and tragedy in his life. Melville was born into the time when inspiring works of American literature began to emerge. Yet, European heritage in literature still had … Read more
Two distinguished authors, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville, were the only two anti-transcendentalist novelists. They focussed their novels on limitations and the potential destructiveness of the human spirit rather than on its possibilities (The American Experience 301). Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and Melville’s Moby Dick, are tales of sin, guilt, obsession and destruction. From out … Read more
Often in great works of literature, symbols are incorporated to add depth. These symbols make it more interesting to the reader by making connections from one idea to another. Herman Melville depicts a great number of characters and symbols in his 19th century novel Moby Dick. Melville uses symbols to develop plot, characters, and to … Read more
Moby Dick was not the novel I expected. I was under the impression that it would be about seafaring and the whale Moby Dick. Instead, Moby Dick is a story about Captain Ahab’s obsession. There is very little in the story about the revenge itself, just about Ahab’s monomania. Out of 465 pages, only forty-two … Read more
I. Biographical Insights A. The culture this great author was a part of was the time in American history where inspiring works of literature began to emerge. It was also a time when American writers had not completely separated its literary heritage from Europe, partly because there were successful literary genius flourishing there. B. Herman … Read more
There are numerous characters in Moby Dick, but only a few of them have any impact on the story. A common sailor named Ishmael is the narrator. The book, however, focuses on Captain Ahab, the one-legged commander of the whaling ship Pequod. Ahab has sworn to kill the gigantic whale Moby Dick, who took away … Read more
According to the editor Currer Bell, the novel Wuthering Heights may seem rather crude and unintelligible to those who know nothing of the author. Strangers who are unacquainted with the setting where the story takes place, or who are unfamiliar with the customs of the time may also look at Wuthering Heights with a critical … Read more
Gustave Flauberts Madame Bovary tells the story of a womans quest to make her life into a novel. Emma Bovary attempts again and again to escape the ordinariness of her life by reading novels, daydreaming, moving from town to town, having affairs, and buying luxurious items. One of the most penetrating debates in this novel … Read more
Gustave Flubert’s masterpiece, Madame Bovary, was first published in 1857. The novel shocked many of its readers and caused a chain reaction that spread through all of France and ultimately called for the prosecution of the author. Since that time however, Madame Bovary, has been recognized by literature critics as being the model for the … Read more
Gustave Flaubert presents one extreme side of human life many would very much rather think does not exist. He presents a tale of sensual symbolism within the life of Charles Bovary. Madame Bovary is the story of Emma Bovary, but within the scope of symbolic meaning, the make-up of Charles is addressed. It is representative … Read more
The novel Madame Bovary was written by Gustave Flaubert in 1856. Flaubert was born in 1821, in Rouen, France. His father, being a doctor, caused him to be very familiar with the horrible sights of the hospital, which he in turn uses in his writings. In this novel, Charles Bovary, an undereducated doctor of medicine … Read more
This book is definitely a novel. It has all the elements of a true love story. It has a lovesick woman, who has her head filled with notions of a life that will live on happily-ever-after. It is made complete by the death of the heroin. The outside world is a major influence on this … Read more
We would like to think that everything in life is capable, or beyond the brink of reaching perfection. It would be an absolute dream to look upon each day with a positive outlook. We try to establish our lives to the point where this perfection may come true at times, although, it most likely never … Read more
Daniel Defoe’s Moll Flanders, Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, and Buchi Emecheta’s The Joys of Motherhood are three novels that portray the life of woman in many different ways. They all depict the turmoils and strife’s that women, in many cultures and time periods, suffer from. In some cases it’s the woman’s fault, in others it’s … Read more
Over the span of the XIX century, Europes socioeconomic and political reality was transformed by unprecedented changes in technological development. Urbanization and the emergence of the middle class redefined the social stratification of most European countries. These dramatic changes did not go unnoticed in art, and particularly in literature. The idealistic individualism of the romantic … Read more
The story starts as we see Charles Bovary entering a new school in the town of Rouen in France. People laugh at him because he isn’t sure what to do and how to act. He is the son of a doting mother and a very strict father. Charles isn’t sure what to do with his … Read more
Conrad’s guilt theme in the novel Lord Jim is shown directly through the main character, Jim. “Jim’s spiritual odyssey explores the theme of guilt”(Kuehn 35). Jim is a strong character at heart, but he is overcome by the forces that guilt put on his mind. Jim is a man controlled by his fear. He dreams … Read more
Nabokov’s Lolita is a book that deals with obsessive lust and bloody violence, the real horrors of which are often masked by the beautiful, clever language of the novel. Indeed, Humbert’s early job as a perfume salesman mimics and evokes this masking and sweetening aspect of language. Sudden, horrible death occurs frequently in Lolita, but … Read more
Lolita is one of the most unconventional literary classics of the century. Lolita is a twelve-year-old girl, who is desired by the European intellectual Humbert Humbert. As the narrator of the story, Humbert chronicles his abnormal childhood, adolescent experiences, and an adventure in a booming American as a European tourist and pedophile. But it is … Read more
There are many different definitions of feminism. Some people regard feminism as the idea that women deserve the same amount of respect that men deserve. There are the other schools of feminist thought that hold women superior to men. Yet another believes that the gender roles controlling women are artificially created and not innate knowledge, … Read more
An oppressed soul finds means to escape through the preparation of food in the novel, Like Water for Chocolate, “A Novel in Monthly Installments with Recipes, Romances, and Home Remedies,” published in 1989, written by Laura Esquivel. The story is set in revolutionary Mexico at the turn of the century. Tita, the young heroine, is … Read more
Laura Esquirels, Like Water for Chocolate, is a modern day Romeo and Juliet filled with mouthwatering recipes. It has become a valued part of American literature. The novel became so popular that it was developed into a film, becoming a success in both America and Mexico. Alfonso Arau directs the film. After reading the novel … Read more