Essays and Research Papers on (All) Literature

A five page paper looking at Antonio's struggle for self-unity in Rudolfo Anaya's 1971 novel. The paper shows how Antonio is enabled to find peace, despite great tragedy, through an awareness that all is essentially one. No additional sources.

A 7 page paper examining Jane Eyre's choice of Edward Rochester as the father for whom she had longed but had never known. Mr. Brocklehurst of Lowood was a poor substitute as a father, and St. John provided an alternative that was not acceptable. The paper discusses the psychological need for a father figure as well. ...

This 6 page report discusses the autobiographical works of each of these writers and then considers the narrative strategies employed in their processes of developing subjectivity. If subjectivity is truly foundation for the autonomous and creative aspects of human life as many writers, philosophers, and social theorists believe it to be, then it is also necessary to consider the realms presented by ...

A 12 page paper which discusses various authors and their works and illustrates how these works of the 20th century often present aspects of confrontation to the society and to humanity. The paper utilizes "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald and "Jazz" by Toni Morrison to discuss this perspective. Bibliography lists 1 additional source.

A five page paper looking at Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne in terms of their very distinct interpretations of the short horror genres. The two stories compared are Poe's "Ligeia" and Hawthorne's "Rappaccini's Daughter." Bibliography lists five sources.

this 7 page paper looks at the main characters in 'Daisy Miller' by J D Salinger and 'Catcher in the Rye' by H James. The idea of the social outcast can be seen as portrayed in different ways in these two books, this paper looks at the way it is seen in both the books ...

A 5 page paper which considers how the protagonists Estragon ("Gogo") and Vladimir ("Didi") complement each other, and how they represent couples who are bound together by strengths and weaknesses. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A five page paper looking at this contemporary novel in terms of the degree to which Rev. Shepherd's bizarre religious fundamentalism can be called psychotic. The paper concludes that insofar as it endangers his children's emotional growth, it definitely can. No additional sources.

This 5 page report discusses the major character’s of Lao She’s (pseudonym of Shu Ch'ing-ch'un) novel “Rickshaw.” His writing is known for its humorous and satirical approach and for its elegant use of the Peking dialect. His best-known work “Camel Xiangzi” was originally translated into English as “Rickshaw” and became a best -seller in America. The characters and events of ...

This 10 page paper highlights three works--A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid, Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain and the film Buena Vista Social Club--and tries to determine the intent of the author. Can a reader or viewer experience these works without becoming involved in the subjectivity of the author? Themes of racism and oppression are also explored. Bibliography ...

A 10 page paper which analyzes the work "Patriotism" by Mishima. The paper also discusses Mishima's speech, "Manifesto" as it applies. Bibliography lists 6 additional sources.

A five page paper which considers the definition of heroism, and how it is treated in six works of literature. The writer distinguishes between heroic qualities and heroic acts, and analyses the way in which the hero is represented in Dante’s Inferno, Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilych, Cervantes’ Don Quixote, ...

A five page paper looking at these two plays by Sophocles and August Wilson, respectively, in terms of their categorization as tragedies. The paper notes that although Sophocles' heroine is a member of the nobility and Wilson's hero is a common man, both have been placed in unenviable positions by fate, and both are undermined ...

A 5 page paper which examines Jeanette Winterson's book "The Passion" as it addresses the lure of childhood. The existence of children offers hope, and the retrospective examination of the characters' childhood mesmerizes the characters as they find what passion and happiness they can through their passionate love of one another, somewhat compensating for the fact that they are no ...

This 7 page paper argues that Holden Caulfield of A Catcher In The Rye and Daisy Miller in Henry James' short story of the same name share the distinction of being a social outcast; Daisy because she does not fit the mold and Holden because the mold does not fit him. Bibliography lists 7 sources.

Twain's The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg, has been said to strip "away the pretensions of self-appointed arbiters of morality". This 5 page paper asserts that money corrupts, people are basically weak when confronted by temptation and even the incorruptible Christian can engage in ritual hypocrisy under the direction of the Devil. These basic principles are the theme to Mark ...

A five page paper comparing Gabriel Garcia Marquez' "Love in the Time of Cholera" with Jorge Amado's "Gabriela, Clove, and Cinnamon." The paper concludes that Amado presents the argument that love is pervasive in all our human relationships because it is what makes life worth living; Garcia Marquez goes further, asserting that love is in ...

This 5 page report discusses “Arms and the Man” written in 1894 and fitting into a category of his work that George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) called “Plays Pleasant.” This report presents the argument that the play is primarily a condemnation of the glorification of the military yet also tells the story of a remarkably short-lived yet bloody military engagement ...

(8 pp) Do you ever wonder if the Greeks would have booed a good comedy off the stage? I guess, the chorus responding to, "a funny thing happened to me on the way to the tragedy this evening, just wouldn't cut it. It is tragedy that has survived in the Greek theater. ...

4 pages in length. The thematic poetry of Alfred Tennyson, William Wordsworth and William Blake is often seen as quiet and pastoral, dealing with the gentler aspects of existence. There is however, another side of their respective work: addressing the issue of faith and conflict between human beings. Some examples in this ...

7 pages in length. The symbolic nature of life's path toward mortality is made crystal clear in Christina Rossetti's Up Hill, Emily Dickinson's Because I Could Not Stop For Death and Walt Whitman's Darest Thou Now O Soul. On the surface, it might appear to the reader as though the authors are speaking ...

5 pages in length. Relating Nadine Gordimer's Town And Country Lovers to Chinua Achebe's The Vengeful Creditor is to address the notion of oppression. Gordimer, a South African novelist and short-story writer who received Nobel Prize for Literature in 1991, delves deep into the thematic sense of exile, loneliness and strong political opposition towards ...

A 12 page paper. Katherine Mansfield lived for only 34 years but made a lasting impression on the world. She was an unconventional woman who wrote in an unconventional way. She was a contemporary and friend of D.H. Lawrence and Virginia Woolf. This essay provides some insight into her life and discusses some of her ...

A 5 page paper. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit was Jeanette Winterson's first novel, published in 1985, and it became a smash hit. In 1990, it was adapted for a BBC miniseries. This essay provides a brief synopsis of the story and then considers how each was received by critics and the public. ...

5 pages. In James Joyce's great novel Ulysses, are two chapters which are the topic of this paper. The focus herein is on Chapter Eight, The Lestrygonians, and Chapter Fifteen, Circe. Each one will be analyzed and discussed separately herein. Bibliography lists 1 sources.