Essays and Research Papers on African-American Literature

A general 3 page plot summary of Stowe's 'Uncle Tom's Cabin.' The writer covers specific events as they relate to characters. No other sources cited.

A 7 page paper highlighting the three main characters of Tennessee William's play, 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' and how their personalities are very dramatic in nature. The three characters examined are Big Daddy, Maggie, and Brick. They all have pain and sorrow which creates their individual make up. The leading players are what ...

A 5 page paper on Tennessee Williams' riveting play of Southern dissolution. The paper shows the reasons why Brick, rather than Big Daddy or Maggie, would be the prime choice for the play's protagonist; it concludes that Big Daddy creates the backdrop against which the action is played out, and Maggie creates the immediate cause ...

This 5 page research paper examines Tennessee Williams' Pulitzer-prize winning play, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955). Specifically discussed are the lies (mendacity) ever-present throughout the play, the theme which contributes to the dramatic structure as a whole, and explains the underlying motives of the characters. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

This 5 page report discusses the treatment of mendacity (the state of falsehood or untruthfulness) in each of the plays and compares it in terms of intensity. No additional sources cited.

A 6 page essay detailing the importance of stage direction, setting, lights, props etc; in conveying the thematic message of author Tennessee Williams. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 4 page essay examining the themes of Tennessee Williams' play, The Glass Menagerie. No additional sources cited.

A 7 page paper looking at the relationship between the facts of Tennessee Williams' own life and its reflection in his classic play. The paper concludes that although we do not see the precise details of Tennessee Williams' early life replicated in The Glass Menagerie, we see enough to understand the playwright's deep sense of ...

An 8 page paper in which the writer discusses the presence of hypocrisy, particularly in the character of Blanche Dubois, in Tennessee Williams' 1947 play. The paper asks whether Blanche is consciously presenting a facade -- in short, whether she is deliberately lying -- as well as analyzing the effect Blanche's ambiguous nature has upon ...

A 6 page paper showing how the character of Blanche Dubois in Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire -- and the persona of the Southern Belle in general -- epitomizes the theme of decadence. It argues that in periods of decadence, appearances matter more than reality, and we see this clearly in Williams' play. ...

A 2 page essay on the import of the name to the play, including its formal and informal aspects, and how the name leads into charactericzation and plot.

In this 6 page paper, the writer demonstrates how the theme of disillusionment is developed through the characterizations of Blanche DuBois and Charlie Wales in these two short stories. No additional sources cited.

3 pages in length. The writer discusses how the representation of cannibalism in Tennessee Williams' Suddenly Last Summer is a compelling combination of metaphoric and fantastic implications. Suggested as a means of physical torture, Williams successfully illustrates the destruction that can occur when one denies the truth. As well, it demonstrates ...

A 6 page paper describing 4 of Williams' plays. The writer describes the similar themes and plots of 'Night of the Iguana,' 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,' 'Streetcar Named Desire,' and 'Glass Menagerie.' Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 6 page research paper which examines how a failure to communicate impacts the characters in three of Williams' most famous plays, The Glass Menagerie , Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and A Streetcar named Desire. The writer demonstrates how Williams illustrates his view that an inability to communicate meaningfully with other human beings ...

A 9 page look at two American plays: Tennessee Williams Suddenly Last Summer and Eugene O'Neill's Desire Under Elms examples of Realism in Drama. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

This 5 page report discusses satirist Christopher Durang's outrageous parody of Tennessee Williams' masterpiece 'The Glass Menagerie.' The issue of how well Durang captures the true intent of Williams' play is covered. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

A 10 page essay comparing two books on the theme of black identity and manhood. The writer explains that both of the described elements show the importance of standing up and being proud in the wider community. Bibliography lists the two primary sources used.

A 19 page paper on Ellison's 'Invisible Man' in which the writer argues in support of the idea that there is a direct link between Ellison's concept of invisibility and the narrator's search for self-identity. The writer also relates the narrator's struggle for identity with the same struggle recognized by black theologians. Nine ...

A 5 page essay, using the author's own statements, which analyzes the concept of ‘invisibleness' that appears throughout the book. The primary source is cited.

A 5 page paper that compares two major scenes in Ellison's Invisible Man--The Battle Royale and the Harlem Riots. This paper contends that not only do these scenes represent black violence inacted against other blacks but they also serve to underscore the narrator's invisibility, two major themes of the novel. No additional references ...

A 4 page paper tracing the struggle of the unnamed protagonist in Ralph Ellison's novel. The writer pays close attention to the idea of the novel as a 'nightmare.' Bibliography lists 3 sources including the book.

A 6 page research paper comparing Invisible Man with Rabbit Run. The writer begins by detailing the similarities and differences between each of these two works, and then goes on to give a detailed analysis of Invisible Man. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A short, yet very descriptive 1 page essay explicating the significance of the character 'Sergeant' in Langston Hughes' short story entitled 'On the Road.' The writer highlights ideas about how Hughes felt towards oppression and ignorant racial tensions imposed upon Blacks by White people in society. No Bibliography.

When Harriet Jacobs' 'Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl' was published, it was probably one of the few slave narratives that dared to speak of a woman in captivity not only as a mother but also as a fiercely individual self. In this 3 page essay, the writer analyzes the book's historic value ...