Study Like a Boss
Anna Quindlen, Bill Bryson, Tertullian, Thomas Paine, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Harper Lee, Edgar Allan Poe, Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, Maya Angelou, Eudora Welty, Kurt Vonnegut, Langston Hughes, William Faulkner, Scott Fitzgerald, Zora Neale Hurston, Mark Twain, Ray Bradbury, Sylvia Plath, Shirley Jackson, Walt Whitman, Virginia Woolf, Jamaica Kincaid, Iago, Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Homer, Emily Dickinson, William Golding, George Orwell, The Tempest, Jane Austen, Leonardo Da Vinci, Mary Shelley, Alice Walker, Richard Wright, Tolkien, David Foster Wallace, Barbara Kingsolver, Elizabeth Bishop, J. K. Rowling, Malcolm Gladwell, Mary Wollstonecraft, Nikki Giovanni, Peter Skrzynecki, Alexander Pope, Richard Rodriguez, Robert Lynd, Roger Rosenblatt, Sherman Alexie, William Hazlitt.
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek written by Annie Dillard is a very mysterious novel. She goes through life examining many different things one would not typically pay attention to. She wants for us to go through life the way she does, by observing everything, whether it be big or small, and realize what is happening in … Read more
Nihilism is “the destruction of everything without pity” (Palmieri, 3). A completely different movement that is sometimes lumped together with Nihilism is Existentialism, which is a belief that “the world is without meaning or purpose.” It also states “existence itself – all action, suffering, and feeling – is ultimately senseless and empty” (Pratt, 11). Franz … Read more
Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales contain his trademark challenges to and reimaginings of the popular literary genres of his time. With each tale, Chaucer takes a common genre and follows its general conventions in order to tell a perfectly genre-appropriate tale — until he makes an alteration that stands out against the otherwise well-constructed style. … Read more
The Bible is an infinitely plastic text. The Wife of Bath illustrates this plasticity by, in effect, reworking Scripture and molding it to fit her specific argument. In an exploration of both the Prologue to the Wife of Bath’s Tale and the Tale itself, and through detailed references to the text as well as to … Read more
Literature Review Postmodernism is dominant philosophical approach that questions and rejects the fundamental totality of human thought and homogeneous way of perceiving the outer reality of the world. , which is the main focus of present study with reference and application to Kurt Vonnegut’s The Slaughterhouse Five. Like literature itself, postmodernism is difficult to be … Read more
The Sound Of The Shell Awareness Drawn in the Group Lord of the Flies opens with Ralph encountering Piggy. Their conversation provides the background of the situation they are in: A group of boys was being evacuated to an unnamed destination during a nuclear war. Their plane had crashed and dragged out to sea, leaving … Read more
For Emerson and Whitman, nature is more than just the trees that line the street, or even the flowers that rest beautifully within the vase. Both men find such a deeper harmony and value within nature, in a way that is very relevant to the transcendental theories each of them express. In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s, … Read more
Music is a prevalent motif in Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club, appearing during times of loss and confusion as a reminder of the past. The vignettes all share a common thread, in that music reveals how one must acknowledge the past and learn from it in order to mature and gain wisdom. Music is … Read more
Chaucer is a diplomat and also a royal gardener. In short, he is the master of the day job. Poet Geoffrey Chaucer was born around 1340 in London, England. In 1357 he became a civil servant for Countess Elizabeth of Ulster and continued his capacity with the British courts throughout his lifetime. The Canterbury Tales … Read more
“The Miller’s Tale”, a ribald and bawdy fabliaux about the generation gap, youthful lust, aged foolishness, and the selfishness and cruelty of people towards each other, contains a wealth of color terms which add to and expand the meaning of this rustic tale. The teller, too, the Miller, is described in detail in Chaucer’s “Prologue” … Read more
The animals’ inability to read greatly affected their daily lives and how power was wielded amongst them. The ability to read and write makes the pigs considered to be more clever than others, and, therefore, more privileged. Soon enough, a hierarchy is established where the pigs rule the farm and the rest of the animals … Read more
Emily Dickinson’s “Wild Nights–Wild Nights!” is as enigmatic as it is condensed. Most critics agree that it is an essentially erotic poem, but interpretations vary widely within that shared recognition of its eroticism. There is disagreement as to what motivated Dickinson’s eros, toward whom or what she directed that motivation, and even as to what … Read more
Tolkien’s colourful world of Middle Earth has been a place of escapist adventure in the minds of many since its humble beginnings in the mid-1950s. Ever since his novel The Fellowship of the Ring debuted, it has inspired minds with its epic tales of unheard bravery, touched hearts with its scenes of sacrificial love and … Read more
The Canterbury Tales is an estates satire, that not only points out the shortcomings and inequalities, but also the inauthenticity, that exist under feudalism’s code of social stratification. Examples of these characterizations of the estates are found widely throughout the general prologue and the pilgrims’ tales. The first example of inequality in The Canterbury Tales … Read more
Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice continues to be a well-loved classic in any readers’ bookcase. The anxieties of marriage, distinctions in social status, significances of reputation, unreasonable expectations of women and inconveniences of too much pride and prejudice are some of the themes presented in the novel. Among the various characters introduced, Elizabeth Bennet is … Read more
This book completely and utterly broke my heart, in the best way possible! I had never heard of Courtney Summer or about her books before. I stumbled upon this one quite accidentally when I saw one of my favourite reviewers giving it a 5 star rating on goodreads. I was curious and when I found … Read more
“Mother Tongue” an article by an author named Amy Tan is about the many different forms of the English language that she has used and continues to use throughout her life. Amy goes on to describe the different English’s she uses, the one when she is having a conversation with her mother and then the … Read more
William Shakespeare’s highly acclaimed drama Romeo and Juliet is the story of two lovers against fate who by their death end the quarrels between their families, The Montagues and the Capulet. After meeting each other at a masquerade, Romeo and Juliet fall in one. The powerful concept of fate and destiny has interested many writers, … Read more
Sherman Alexie uses embedded analeptic narratives throughout the chapter “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” in Tonto and The Lone Ranger Fistfight in Heaven to emphasise the importance of both the characters memories and pasts on their lives. Embedded in the main chronological storyline, non-linear flashbacks follow Victor and Thomas’s pasts, showing … Read more
Anne Bradstreet is one of the most prominent literary figures of the colonial era of American history, and she is often cited as one of the primary sources of Puritan literature. Some of her work carried undertones of pre-First-Wave feminism because she subtly alluded to certain gender inequities, at least for those who can read … Read more
Survival is a theme in Lord of the Files because of the way that it changes the humanity in the boys and because survival is the most important factor of survival. In the begining the boys were worried about surviving, finding out where they were. Signal fire was started, and the boys tried their best … Read more
Chinua Achebe’s “Civil Peace” takes place in post-war Nigeria. The story’s protagonist, Jonathan Iwegbu, considers himself to be a very lucky man as most of his family is alive and he still has the few material possessions he had possessed before the war. He is able to make some money putting his bicycle to use … Read more
“Love’s Deity” is an anti-lyric poem; rather than lament love’s inconstancy or celebrate love’s union, Donne questions the nature of love itself. Donne presents the poem as a theogony, an account of the origin of the god of love. For Donne, Love is a pagan god, operating in a beautifully imagined pre-lapsarian world in which … Read more
Loyalty vs Betrayal If people can be honest and loyal with each other about everything, that’s possibly the biggest key to success. But what if one were to get poison in the mind and became suspicious of things with no evidential proof or witnesses? During the entire play of “Othello, the Moor of Venice” written … Read more
Mark Twain’s, “The Five Boons of Life” is a very interesting short story in which life gifts are offered to a man, describing the effects each choice has on his life and where those choices led the man. I was intrigued by how often the fairy warned the man to choose wisely and the description … Read more
Song of Myself is a poem of bold declarations that egotistically assert Walt Whitman’s place and purpose in the context of a world of immense scope and romantically instilled vigor. And yet located within this chaotic unfurling of identity there is one piece of the poem that stands out as a conspicuously reserved, reflective fragment. … Read more
Mark Twain’s, “The Five Boons of Life” is a very interesting short story in which life gifts are offered to a man, describing the effects each choice has on his life and where those choices led the man. I was intrigued by how often the fairy warned the man to choose wisely and the description … Read more
Song of Myself is a poem of bold declarations that egotistically assert Walt Whitman’s place and purpose in the context of a world of immense scope and romantically instilled vigor. And yet located within this chaotic unfurling of identity there is one piece of the poem that stands out as a conspicuously reserved, reflective fragment. … Read more
Sylvia Plath’s “Mirror” explores the impact of time on individuals, specifically within the realities of aging and losing beauty; here, Plath speaks from an implied autobiographical perspective. As readers, we know that much of Plath’s oeuvre of poetry focuses on her lost youth and her gradual lack of beauty as she ages. Plath uses personification … Read more
In the book; “Animal Farm”; there are many conflicts in it. The main conflicts are Napoleon vs Snowball, Napoleon vs the animals, the pigs vs common animals and the humans vs the animals of Animals Farm. The main conflict of the story is person vs person because on Page 19, Napoleon or snowball could agree … Read more
Birches” is a memorable poem that is rich and interesting enough to repay more than one reading. Robert Frost provides vivid images of birches in order to oppose life’s harsh realities with the human actions of the imagination. I recommend this poem to anyone interested in reading and studying poetry that meets many requirements for … Read more
Jane Austen is commonly viewed as anti-romantic, but her novel Northanger Abbey possesses and promotes many of the ideas prevalent in romantic literature. Heroine Catherine Morland is an especially romantic character whose spontaneity, emotion, and sincerity eventually lead her to happiness. These traits, combined with a rejection of many traditional ideas and a theme of … Read more
“ The first chapter of the Metamorphosis is full of meaningful symbols that contribute through the rest of the book. The tone of the text is set in the very beginning and is recurring in the first chapter. The narrator’s human lonesome life is also explained in this section of the text. The idea of … Read more
The literary element of mood portrays the atmosphere of the work through its words and descriptions in order to create an emotional response within the reader. This allows the reader to develop an emotional attachment and interest in the story, as well as to better understand the characters’ feelings or emotional situations and the work … Read more
Outliers “If you work hard enough and assert yourself, and use your mind and imagination, you can shape the world to your desires.” In the world of Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, however, this isn’t always the case. In his book, Malcolm believes that we look at the wrong factors when considering an outlier’s success, like their … Read more
“ William Shakespeare was an incredibly intelligent play writer; some of his greatest plays include Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, and Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare has given an estimated 1,700 to 3,000 words to the English language, the estimations of his vocabulary range from 17,000 to 29,000 words (Facts about William Shakespeare). Shakespeare … Read more
“Salome” is a poem taken from Carol Ann Duffy’s collection of poems The World’s Wife; most of the poems share a common feature: a historically marginalized narrator retelling the story from personal perspective. Salome’s character originally appeared in the New Testament and over the centuries many novels and paintings focused on Salome and the legend … Read more
In the fourth act of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, many lines are filled with character, plot and theme development. However, more importantly, this act has been sophisticatedly worded to build up the theme of honor, revenge and justice and foreshadows the disastrous end of the play. One line that is of great importance and mainly is of … Read more
To Be a Hero A “Common Man” is someone who is characteristically non-descript. There is nothing particularly special about a Common Man. A hero, on the other hand, is someone who commits great acts, showing strength and courage in times of need, yet in a way that outsiders may see themselves in that hero. However, … Read more
In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer sets up a rich and unexpected portrayal of The Wife of Bath, which is already well established by the beginning of her prologue to her tale. Her honest and shamelessly blunt diction and admissions, along with the inclusion of personal anecdotes, contribute to the unexpected nature of her prologue’s content; … Read more
Who is Caliban? In the play “The Tempest” by William Shakespeare, Shakespeare portrays the character Caliban as a savage beast and a slave of the witch, Prospero. Caliban is the son of Sycorax, an evil witch who had passed away but once held control over the island now ruled by Prospero. After the death of … Read more
Florizel and Perdita are depicted in The Winter’s Tale as the epitome of young love. Whilst the majority of the play is surrounded by heartache, pessimism and paranoia, Florizel and Perdita’s relationship serves as a reminder of hope and happiness as they are seen as a breath of fresh air against a backdrop of hate … Read more
“An evil person may be considered as somebody who condones bad or morally wrong activities that cause ruin, injury, misfortune or destruction” Brandon Johnson writes in. In the play “Othello” by William Shakespeare the character of Iago can be considered evil and immoral. Iago is a two faced cynical that only wants revenge and does … Read more
Leonardo da Vinci was a one of a kind talent that the world may never see again. His inquisitive nature and desire to learn helped him achieve some of the most marvelous works that mankind has ever seen. He was a painter, sculpture, architect, and an engineer amongst many other things. Throughout his life, Leonardo … Read more
The Man of Law’s Tale is in many ways marks a new beginning in the middle of the Canterbury Tales, a break from the bawdy and secular tales that precede it. While Chaucer could have made it a more straightforward recentering of the tales on a Christian theme, Chaucer makes it more complex by introducing … Read more
Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Pardoner’s Tale,” a relatively straightforward satirical and anti-capitalist view of the church, contrasts motifs of sin with the salvational properties of religion to draw out the complex self-loathing of the emasculated Pardoner. In particular, Chaucer concentrates on the Pardoner’s references to the evils of alcohol, gambling, blasphemy, and money, which aim not … Read more
Sherman Alexie’s first young-adult novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, uses instances of sexuality, aggression, and profanity to expose a rawness in the cultural divide between Indians and Americans. The novel’s protagonist and narrator, Arnold “Junior” Spirit, grows up on an Indian reservation, and after throwing an antiquated geometry book at a … Read more
Thomas Hardy, in Tess of the D’Urbervilles, takes great pains to relate the characters to their surroundings, especially in the parallelism between Tess’ emotional disposition and her physical environment. It is not surprising, therefore, that the two interpersonal relationships which are the most important to Tess’ life have their origins in a fertile garden and … Read more
John Steinbeck’s power as a story teller is rooted in his portrayal of the working people of America. Its Steinbeck’s understanding of the common man that gives his books universal appeal and keeps them in print all over the world. Rather than being a writer of the 1930s, Steinbeck speaks directly to man’s present concerns, … Read more
“Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains” is a quote by Rousseau from his book The Social Contract. The opening lines were meant to address an individual’s freedom narrowed by the government, however, the quote is perhaps heavily famous due to its applicability to other perspectives as well. For instance, man is … Read more
