Essays and Research Papers on (All) Literature

Morrison and Salinger have both chosen to have the plot revolve around the misconception of the community and the need for adolescents (innocence) to find acceptance. A loss of that innocence results in a need to escape to somewhere or something that is able to fill the void. This 5 page paper argues that the character of ...

5 pages in length. Examines the plots of "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne and "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin. The differences and similarities in the plots are explained in this interesting paper. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 5 page paper which examines the significance of the setting in John Steinbeck's 1945 novel, "Cannery Row." Bibliography lists 4 sources.

The two men seemed to be from separate planets, if not universes, as they sat face to face in the comfort of the TV studio. William Butler Yeats, in his three piece Italian suit, was somber and a little detached. Carl Sandburg, on the other hand, looked as though he could 'talk up a storm' in his ...

5 pages. What is a role player? And why is Felix Krull described as one? In the book 'Confessions of Felix Krull: Confidence Man' by Thomas Mann, we find out what a true role player is. Felix is one of the best, and this paper artfully describes just what comprises that ...

A 5 page paper which illustrates how Twain's "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," was a book which illustrated, like many of his other works, how the death of youth was often the death of enlightenment and free thought, thereby presenting us with a society that was ignorant and essentially wrong in many ways. Bibliography lists 4 additional sources.

3 pages in length. As children, we are always curious and not a little scared of the vast mystery surrounding death. In James Joyce's book Dubliners, in "The Sisters" we find a story that is a valid portrayal of a young man's first encounter with death. Bibliography lists 1 source.

This 12 page report discusses “Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure: Fanny Hill” by John Cleland (1709-1789). The ways in which eroticism and prostitution are presented in the novel are discussed. Throughout the novel, Cleland allows a time-travel glimpse into British concepts of sexuality, female identity and maternity during the 18th century. Bibliography lists 4 ...

A 5 page paper which examines the general standard of behavior expected of middle-or upper-class Southern white women, Miss Rosa Coldfield in Faulkner's "Absalom, Absalom!", Mrs. Caroline Compson and Miss Quentin Compson in William Faulkner's "The Sound & the Fury." Specifically considered will be how these standards compare and contrast with the way they actually behave in their ...

A 5 page paper which discusses the book "The Master and Margarita" by Mikhail Bulgakov, and illustrates how the characters Ivan and Margarita succeed in triumphing over evil and despair. Bibliography lists 4 additional sources.

A three page paper on Oscar Wilde's novel, detailing the way Dorian Gray's portrait turns ugly and decrepit as its real flesh-and-blood subject stays fresh and innocent-looking. Wilde's work shows the fallacy of believing we can judge a person by his or her appearance alone. No additional sources.

This 2 page paper considers the role of Janie in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, and considers her quest as it defines the action in the story. In particular, this paper outlines Janie's quest for self-definition and her symbolic journey, both of which shape her transformation and regeneration. No additional ...

This 5 page report discusses “Charms for the Easy Life,” Kaye Gibbons 1993 novel about three generations of Carolina women in the years during the Great Depression and World War II. Each of the three women presented in the story have the strengths and attitudes other women hope are someday credited to them while also understanding ...

This 5 page report discusses David Michael Kaplan’s 1985 short story titled “Doe Season.” Kaplan uses the setting of the winter woods to underscore a young girl’s encounter with a threatening and potentially dangerous environment. Every aspect of her experience is more intense because of the world in which it takes place. In ...

This 2 page paper considers the symbolic value of the items that the narrator collects in his briefcase and those items that he eventually discards. No additional sources cited.

This 5 page paper considers the limited roles of men and women in Jane Austen's society and assesses the social conventions, enforced by gossip, that keep women in line. This paper specifically explores the characterization of Elizabeth Bennett in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and argues that she is a representation of a modern woman in a nineteenth ...

A 5 page (+ a one page outline) analysis of an anthology of essays, edited by Julian Wasserman and Robert Blanch, that offers essays that outline the parameters of Chaucerian scholarship in the first half of the 1980's decade. No additional sources cited.

A 10 page paper which examines the influences provided by poet Langston Hughes and novelist/short-story writer Zora Neale Hurston on African-American blues and theater, by comparing and contrasting their perspectives, through such works as (among others), Hughes' 'The Weary Blues' and 'Po' Boy Blues' and Hurston's short story, 'How It Feels to Be Colored Me,' and the novel, 'Their Eyes Were ...

A five page paper looking at Anton Chekhov's play in terms of what the symbol of the cherry orchard means to each of the principal characters. The paper concludes that overall, it represents something that is purely decorative but not really functional, and a healthy society cannot be oriented around the purely decorative and survive. Bibliography lists three sources.

A six page paper looking at three of Geoffrey Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" -- specifically, the Wife of Bath's Tale, the Nun's Priest's Tale, and the Miller's Tale -- in terms of whether they have a moral. The paper asserts that they do, and that their morals are reflective not only of the individual stories but of the storytellers themselves. Bibliography ...

A 5 page paper which compares and contrasts how single women are depicted in Tennessee William's "A Streetcar Named Desire" and Toni Morrison's "Sula." For the most part, William's tale has one primary character who is single, that being Blanche. And, in this character we are presented with a very lost woman who finds herself alone. She is essentially useless ...

A 5 page paper (4 pp. + 1 pg. outline) which examines how Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) uses the Mississippi River as a motif in his classic novel, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."

The character of Caddy Compson in The Sound And The Fury by William Faulkner plays a significant role in the establishment of plot and the process of developing identities for the other characters in the novel, specifically her brothers Quentin, Jason and Benjy. This 5 page paper explores the roles that her brothers had assigned her to and argues ...

The family in America has many definitions and connotations, the most prevalent being 'dysfunctional'. In William Faulkner's The Sound And The Fury and Absalom! Absalom! the family plays a significant role in the plot development as well as the characterizations of the family members. This 5 page paper argues that the dysfunctionality of the Sutpens is seen as ...

5 pages in length. Voltaire's 'Candide' helps one to make a solid distinction between the concepts of rosy optimism and gloomy pessimism. By doing so, this particular literary masterpiece provides insight as to what constitute the notion of happiness and the existence of despair. The writer discusses how Voltaire effectively demonstrates these ...