Essays and Research Papers on (All) Literature

An eight page discussion of this seminal genre of twentieth-century drama, and two of its most notable practitioners, Harold Pinter and Samuel Beckett. Specific plays discussed include Pinter's "The Birthday Party," and Beckett's "Endgame" and "Waiting for Godot." Bibliography lists seven sources.

A nine page paper looking at Virginia Woolf's novel "Mrs. Dalloway" and T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land" in terms of the way they serve as examples of modernism. The paper asserts that their dense allusive and associative structure was necessary to render adequately a modern consciousness of the world. Bibliography lists four sources.

A ten page paper looking at these two plays, by Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams respectively, in terms of the way the playwrights brought their characters' illusions to life on the stage. The paper shows that Miller used a much more expressionistic technique while Williams developed his characters more conventionally. Bibliography lists 9 sources.

A six page paper comparing F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" and David Guterson's "Snow Falling on Cedars" in terms of their use of metaphor and symbol in their novels. The paper asserts that the use of such imagery deepens the reader's appreciation of the author's meaning. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

5 pages in length. The writer discusses Susan Griffin's "Our Secret" as it relates to true spirituality and human connectedness. No additional sources cited.

This 5 page paper looks at the ethnic conflict in the Balkans through Ivo Andric's book The Bridge On The Drina which tells the story of a village in the area over three centuries. The paper then goes to on to look at other ethnic conflicts and considers the way in which the situation in ...

A 7 page paper which the life of Maya Angelou and analyzes her 1970 book, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," by evaluating the literary criticism of five professional critics. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

An 8 page paper which discusses the book "The Unicorn" by Iris Murdoch and illustrates how Hannah, and other characters within the book, are set in a scenario that presents numerous Christian images of suffering righteously, and innocence despite guilt. The paper discusses the characters' involvement in this, the gothic representation of the novel, and the general presentation of ...

An eight page paper looking at three of O'Casey's major works -- Juno and the Paycock, The Shadow of a Gunman, and The Plough and the Stars -- in terms of the way the playwright intertwines alcoholism and imagination throughout the texts. The paper concludes that in all three of these plays, life is most ...

A six page paper looking at Ralph Ellison's novel in terms of the way certain classes of people are rendered invisible by a society that refuses to see them as individuals. The paper observes that by the end of the novel, the protagonist has moved from a socially-imposed invisibility that makes him personally inauthentic to ...

A 10 page essay that analyzes the thesis proposed by anthropologist Gayle Rubin in her landmark 1975 article "The Traffic in Women: Notes on the Political Economy of Sex" that women in primitive cultures are viewed as objects for exchange between men and compares this thesis to the narrative related in "The Clerk's Tale," from ...

This 5 page report discusses Geoffrey Chaucer’s views on love and lovers as presented in three of “The Canterbury Tales.” Each of these three Tales clearly speak to much of the romance Chaucer saw around, him both in terms of love and passion, as well as in the sense of the adventure and lyricism of “romanticism.” They also demonstrate darker sides ...

A 5 page paper which examines the attitudes of love revealed in a trilogy of stories from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, The Knight's Tale, The Miller's Tale, and The Wife of Bath's Tale to determine what each reveals about the nature of love, as well as what can be surmised about Chaucer's own view ...

8 pages in length. Along with a handful of other famous poets, Walt Whitman represents the epitome of Romanticism. Inasmuch as the Romantic period is defined by a oneness with nature and the intangible world in general, Whitman took this historic opportunity to express myriad feelings he had in relation to life, environment, ...

A six page paper looking at the reasons Joanna Rowling's "Harry Potter" series, originally intended for children, has gained a loyal adult readership. The paper shows that it is possible to read Harry's story as a fairy tale, a deprived-child tale, a boarding school bildingsroman, or a heroic quest. Bibliography lists 8 sources.

In 5 pages, the author discusses Harriett Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin or Life Among the Lowly. 'When considering the institution of slavery in America, one must look to one specific text in order to understand what happened during that horrific time in America's past. That work is Uncle Tom's Cabin or Life ...

A 5 page analysis of Anton Myrer's novel Once an Eagle. The writer points out that, since this novel's initial publication in 1968, it has come to be considered a classic. In this novel, Myrer offers the reader an overview of military life from the perspective of a career officer who rose up through the ...

A six page paper looking at this autobiography in terms of the way the author feels sheer determination allowed her to break through the limitations placed on her by her family and society. "Bone Black" is the story of a young girl who is not willing to accept the submissive and limited role offered to ...

A five page paper on this classic novel by nineteenth-century Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky. The paper maintains that Raskolnikov’s “crime” lies in his arrogant assumption that his life and goals are worth more than someone else’s, and that he even has the right to make that kind of judgment. Bibliography lists one source.

Narration is the crux and the foundation of storytelling. All stories are narrated in one form or another. This 10 page paper asserts that James Joyce, in his book, Ulysses and Gertrude Stein in the novella, Melanctha, use the device of 'unreliable' narrators or a mixture of first and third person; inner and outer narrators. The narrative ...

This 8 page paper gives consideration distortion is used as a tool in this modern literary work. Distortion is seen in the presentation of the facts as well as the perception and self-identity of the characters. This is a powerful tool which enables Anderson to reflect loneliness and inaction for the negative aspect of life ...

5 pages in length. The writer discusses how influential in both style and content, William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" attacks gender, societal and cultural roles at one time by employing outwardly obvious indications of such roles within the fundamental structure of the story. No additional sources cited.

A 5 page analysis of two books by S.E. Hinton for young adults-- The Outsiders and That Was Then, This Is Now. First published over 30 years ago, the writer examines the characteristics behind their enduring appeal. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

A 9 page analysis of Zora Neale Hurston's novel "Seraph on the Suwanee." The writer discusses the criticism that this novel has received because Hurston, presumably, abandoned her own heritage and her feminist principles in writing this book. Basing her argument on an essay by Janet St. Clair, the writer proposes that this work can ...

This 5 page paper looks at Bernard Lefkowitz's well researched true story of rape in a small town where athletic ability is more important than anything else. The way in which power was used to manipulated the girls and sex roles were developed can be seen as the root cause of the rape, with the ...