Essays and Research Papers on (All) Literature

A 7 page look at the relationship of these two boyhood friends in Mark Twain’s classic novel. The paper argues that the significant differences between Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer actually encapsulate the novel’s theme. No additional sources.

A five page paper on the historical background of John Steinbeck’s novel, set during the 1930s Depression. The paper argues that the self-sacrificing and fraternal spirit of people such as the Joads actually helped the United States win the Second World War ten years later. No additional sources.

A ten page analysis of the theme of absurdity in Lewis Carroll’s “Through the Looking Glass” and “Alice in Wonderland,” as compared to Franz Kafka’s “The Trial.” The paper notes that while both Kafka and Carroll present universes in which their protagonists are aliens, Carroll’s is run according to a rigorous (if alternative) logic, and ...

A 6 page paper analyzing the personality of the Monk in this excerpt from The Canterbury Tales. The paper concludes that to Chaucer, the sin which the Monk commits by breaking his religious vows is somewhat mediated by the fact that the dogma on which the vows were based was flawed to begin with. Bibliography ...

A six page paper looking at the theme of this classic French novel, and its implications for us today. The paper argues that while the writing style may seem overly Romantic to us now, its essential values are those desperately needed in our society. Bibliography lists seven sources.

A ten page paper looking at the relationship between the expatriated Chinese mothers and their aggressively assimilated American daughters in this 1989 novel. The paper shows how the four daughters learn to use their mother’s heritage as both a point of departure and a source of strength. Bibliography lists five sources; a free one-page sentence ...

A nine page paper looking at the role of the gods in perpetrating the violence that occurs in the works of these three classical authors. Specific works discussed are Homer’s Iliad, Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, and Statius’ Thebiad. Bibliography lists 13 sources.

A five page paper which looks at the historical background of Mark Twain’s classic novel. The paper looks at, among other things, the separation of slave families in the antebellum South and the lack of children’s rights in the nineteenth century. Bibliography lists four sources.

A six page paper looking at the way Toni Morrison’s novel fulfills the requirements of a “quest” novel. The paper shows that through the protagonist’s rediscovery of his past, he is able to start on the path of becoming a black man in a white world. No additional sources.

An eight page paper analyzing the thematic importance of the theme of breastfeeding and motherhood in Toni Morrison’s 1987 novel. The paper argues that the freedom to nurse one’s children up to the normal age of weaning, and then use the maternal bond thus created to nurture one’s children to adulthood, is denied to women ...

A ten page paper analyzing the characteristics and influence of the Beat generation of poets and writers in the 1950s. Although many poets and writers are mentioned, particular attention is paid to the work of Jack Kerouac; Allen Ginsberg; and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Bibliography lists 16 sources.

A six page paper showing how Steinbeck’s works reflect a perception of the American West as a metaphoric Eden which men seek but which ultimately fails to make them happy. Specific works discussed are “The Grapes of Wrath,” “Of Mice and Men,” “East of Eden,” and “Cannery Row.” Bibliography lists 10 sources.

A five page paper looking at the issue of freedom in John Steinbeck’s classic novel. The paper argues that Of Mice and Men presents three kinds of freedom: the freedom from responsibility that George dreams of; the freedom from guilt that is the unwanted side-effect of Lennie’s disability; and the freedom from social pressures that ...

A seven page paper looking at the way the two adolescent protagonists of Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and J.D. Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye” battle against their respective societies because they instinctively feel that their culture is wrong. Although the issues are very different -- slavery in “Huck Finn”, the emptiness of ...

A seven page paper looking at the motif of the journey as Dante develops it in this poem. The paper shows how the theme of the journey is a precise allegory for the spiritual growth experience we must all undertake at those points in our lives when we find we have lost our way; this, ...

A 7 page analysis of the Philip Roth's tale of growing up Jewish and male in the late twentieth century. Portnoy has a rather odd 'complaint' that results in consequences that are both intriguing and hilarious. He expresses all of his considerable Jewish angst at having a domineering mother through obsessive sexual ...

In 5 pages, the author compares and contrasts the film version of 'Clan of the Cave Bear' with current historical interpretations. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 1 page discussion that addresses the main topics covered in Sembene Ousmane's novel, God's Bits of Wood. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

Candide was written as a satire and was attacking the existing, if stumbling, class system of France as well as the theocracy that ruled the intellectual advancement of the age. Also, Voltaire is known as a writer of the 'enlightenment', which is best described as one who was not afraid to make his opinions ...

A ten page paper looking intensively at Harriet Wilson’s “Our Nig” and Harriet Ann Jacobs’ “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl”. The paper shows that while both books emphasize some nineteenth-century female virtues -- particularly in regard to the protagonists’ maternal instincts -- and elicit considerable sympathy for their protagonists, they also express ...

A five page paper examining the way Du Maurier uses foreshadowing and the evocation of mood to not only create and maintain suspense but express social criticism in her novel “Jamaica Inn.” The paper defines both terms and finds numerous examples of them in the book. Bibliography lists 8 sources.

A twelve page paper analyzing the classification of Stephen Crane’s novel as a precursor of existentialism. The paper defines existentialism and discusses which aspects of the novel would seem to fit this description. Bibliography lists seven sources, which are appended to the paper.

A seven page paper looking at Charlotte Bronte’s novel in terms of its depiction of family. The paper argues that Bronte’s difficulty in dealing with the authority issues implicit in family relationships is reflected in the absence of mothers and fathers in the novel. Bibliography lists two sources.

An 11 page analysis of this short story by Ernest Hemingway. The paper shows how Hemingway’s distress over his first wife’s pregnancy and the constraints it put on his life is reflected -- but not entirely resolved -- in this fictional work. Two-page annotated bibliography lists ten sources.

A seven page paper analyzing the way the writings of Marx, Freud, and Nietzsche influenced the development of modernism in general and the works of T.S. Eliot in particular. Works mentioned are Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” “The Waste Land,” and “Tradition and the Individual Talent”; Marx’ letters; Freud’s “Civilization and its ...