Essays and Research Papers on (All) Literature

5 pages. This excellent paper reviews the book by Anne Moody as it describes her turbulent life growing up black in Mississippi. In this tense and very interesting book, author Anne Moody describes to the reader a society that is unlike anything most of us have ever experienced. Anne Moody was one of the ...

The slave narrative has been a subject that has held the interest of contemporary historians as well as literary critics. The relative abundance of narratives of women in slavery has led to a number of feminist perspectives. This 10 page paper explores three such narratives: Incidents in the Life of A Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs, The Narrative of ...

A 7 page analysis of Masuji Ibuse's moving novel, 'Black Rain,' a narrative that recounts what it was like to be in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 when the atom bomb fell. Ibuse allows the reader to see the devastation of Hiroshima through the perceptions of more then one character. He also shows the interplay ...

This five-page-paper discusses at length the use of symbolism in the stories Miss Brill and Young Goodman Brown. The concet of self evaulation as well as death are both detailed through the discussion of the symbols used in each story. Bibliography lists two sources.

5 pages in length. This focuses on the play by Guillermo Verdecchia. Fronteras Americanas is an entertaining but darkly humorous look at the borders of Latin-America. Borders both without and within, and the stereotypes we deal with in the immigrant experience. It is at once poignant and funny, and makes us ...

Ralph Ellison's The Invisible Man is not really invisible, as he explains in the prologue: 'I am a man of substance, of flesh and bones, fiber and liquids--and I might even be said to possess a mind'. This 5 page paper argues that the story tells of the process used by one man to first recognize then reject ...

A 5 page analysis of John Bester's translation of collection of the stories of Japanese author Kenji Miyazawa, "Once and Forever." The writer discusses the characteristics of these wonderful tales and discusses one, "Kenju's Wood," in detail. No additional sources cited.

A 5 page paper comparing Wilfred Owen's 'Dulce Et Decorum Est' and Thomas Hardy's 'The Man He Killed,' both poems born of combat in World War I. Reaction to Owen's descriptions in 'Dulce Et Decorum Est' transcends mere emotion; in 'The Man He Killed,' Hardy evokes it by avoiding any allusion to it. Both, ...

A 5 page paper which examines how, in his novel, "Cannery Row," John Steinbeck presented a positive view of morality in that people must be understood within the context of their own environment. Specifically discussed include such issues of morality as abortion, alcoholism, capitalism, domestic violence, and prejudice. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

A 12 page paper which examines how Aristophanes' used comedy to address the existing social, moral and political problems of his day in the satirical plays, "Lysistrata" and "The Clouds." Specifically considered is why Aristophanes chose to present his criticisms with humor. Bibliography lists 10 sources.

Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen were contemporaries during a time that has come to be known as the 'Harlem Renaissance'. This 8 page paper asserts that both were influential poets from the same era; however, the differences between them went further than their poetic voice or style, it was ultimately the difference in the manner they chose to view ...

John Milton's work, Paradise Lost, begins with an invocation to the 'Heavenly Muse' and makes reference to the nine goddesses of inspiration. This 3 page paper asserts that Milton's appeal to the Muses can be interpreted on many levels, one of which may be the use of symbolism to represent the juxtaposition of the pagan and Christian belief systems. ...

Maya Angelou, born April 4, 1928 as Marguerite Johnson in St. Louis, was raised in segregated rural Arkansas. This 5 page paper asserts that the unique vision of the world that is Maya Angelou's has been given voice in her stories and her poetry. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings is the story of a Black ...

5 pages in length. The writer discusses that apart from the obvious thematic ploys of Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights," there exists an overriding theme of Catherine's betrayal of her true self. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

5 pages in length. The relationship between love of homeland and love of family in "Medea" becomes as conflicting as does the relationship between the primary characters. However, this struggle to choose between person and place is not limited to just these two characters, but rather is apparent with nearly all of the ...

How the Role of Society Changed After 1750, From Acceptance to Oppression of the Individual, Illustrated in Voltaire's "Candide," Mary A 5 page paper which examines how after 1750, society shifted from one of acceptance to the individual as a member to one of enforced oppression, which prompted the individual to attempt to escape society's influence. ...

This 5 page paper examines F. Scott Fitzgerald, known as the spokesman of the "Lost Generation" of Americans in the 1920s. Fitzgerald's life and major work, The Great Gatsby are discussed. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

A six page paper looking at the way William Faulkner portrays justice and the legal system in this 1931 novel. The paper contends that Faulkner posits two basic kinds of justice -- a cosmic level, and a human level -- and neither is operative here. Bibliography lists four sources.

A 7 page overview of Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat". Written during the latter years of the 1800s this short story captures the actual experience of Crane whose boat capsizes and who is flung to the whims of the sea in a small and unstable dinghy with three other men. Through their fortitude ...

A 5 page paper which discusses how cyborg imagery stands to illustrate some very real approaches to resolving problems in society which arise due to individualism. the book "He, She, and It," by Marge Piercy, "Simians, Cyborgs, and Women: The Reinvention of Nature" by Donna Haraway, and the movie "Blade Runner" are discussed in this context. No additional sources ...

A 7 page paper which analyzes the search for love and the identity which promised liberation in Kate Chopin's 1899 novel, "The Awakening," by examining the themes of patriarchal oppression, repression, depression and rebellion. Bibliography lists 7 sources.

6 pages in length. Influential in both style and content, William Faulkner's A Rose for Emily and Yukio Mishima's Patriotism attacks gender, societal and cultural roles at one time by employing outwardly obvious indications of such roles within the fundamental structure of the story. These inferences help the reader to understand the thematic ...

A 7 page paper that discusses Juan Ramón Jiménez, Nobel Laureate. Born in Spain in 1881, Jimenez had his first poem published at age 19. Juan Ramón Jiménez was a well-known, prolific and highly influential poet. His life is highlighted. A portion of one of his most famous works is included, translated into English. Bibliography ...

A five-page paper looking at this unsavory character from Geoffrey Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" in terms of his intellect and skills. The paper concludes that he is a masterful salesman, highly skilled at using a variety of sales techniques to win "customers" over to his side. Bibliography lists five sources.

This 5 page report discusses the poetry of William Butler Yeats with a primary focus on “Adam’s Curse.” In the vast majority of Yeats’ love poetry he is able to separate a clearly personal experience and emphasize its greater universality in terms of shared emotion and a tone of melancholy awareness that transfixes most people at some point in the midst ...