Essays and Research Papers on (All) Literature

5 pages in length. Giovanni Boccaccio's Tenth Tale, Tenth Day tells his story of Griselda as an answer to Chaucer's The Wife of Bath tale and philosophy. When one ponders the opposition of The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale as it relates to Boccaccio's tale of Griselda, it is easy to see ...

8 pages in length. Myriad productions have been created that revolved around Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard; however, time after time each rendering failed to present the play in the comedic style that Chekhov had originally intended. Curiously, even the playwright's own wife did not detect the comedic air to her husband's tale, ...

This 5 page paper considers the self identification presented in Maryse Conde's story of the Salem Witch Trials and the Caribbean slave woman, Tituba. This paper relates the relationship that exists between Tituba and other central characters in her work, including Mama Yaya, Abena and Yao, in shaping the view of her life and ...

(5 pp) Not a large story for Poppa Hemingway, and sometimes difficult to find, "The Killers" can usually be located in a book of short fiction called Men Without Women., 1927. It is a coming of age story infused with layers of meaning, not unlike the coming of age process itself. Bibliography lists ...

A 5 page paper which compares and contrasts the nature of the conflict in "The Awakening" and "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been," how and why sex is used in the development of these stories of women coming of age; and also compares and contrasts "The Awakening" with "Sonny's Blues" to consider the ...

This 3 page paper looks at Jean Genet's Querelle and its underlying message. How society views homosexuality is discussed. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 5 page discussion of cultural and behavioral differences which are targeted by bias and prejudice. Typically these prejudices target racial and ethnic differences as well as sexual preference such as homosexuality. Examines the works of five authors: William Foote Whyte's "Street Corner Society", Piri Thomas' autobiographical novel "Down These Mean Streets", ...

This 5 page report discusses the Kenyan novelist Ngugi wa Thiong’o, also known as James Ngugi (1938 - ) and his fourth novel, “Petals of Blood” (1977). The book serves as both a sarcastic and bitter indictment against the leaders of post-independence Kenya and how they betrayed the country. Chinua Achebe (1930 - ) of Nigeria is one of ...

A five page paper looking at Nathaniel Hawthorne's treatment of religious rationalism versus romantic passion in this nineteenth-century novel. True morality does not lie in rules, Hawthorne argues, but in love; not in the head, but in the heart. No additional sources.

5 pages. This paper will introduce the work by Anzia Yezierska, The Bread Givers, and compare it to the inaugural speech given by Woodrow Wilson on March 4, 1913. By considering the ideals of the American Dream as it appears in each of these works, this paper will attempt to identify that which is most at stake in ...

This 6 page thesis paper explores social class as a significant part of the author's message. The importance of gender is also noted. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

A 5 page paper which discusses the story "that Evening Sun" by William Faulkner in relationship to the character of Nancy. The paper discusses Nancy's character in general as well as her evident problems. Bibliography lists 2 additional sources.

This 5 page paper examines the idea of a 'quest' within Herman Melville's Moby Dick and Mark Twain's The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn. No additional sources are listed.

This 3 page paper argues that the paranoia that the protagonist, Oedipa Maas, experiences is a reasonable reaction to the world that is reflected in the postmodern setting of the sixties as well as the very structure of the story which is based on a series of confusing and somewhat sinister representations of labyrinths. Bibliography lists 3 sources. ...

This 5 page paper argues that silence in Baldwin's Go Tell It On The Mountain is used as a means of maintaining a sense of self and privacy as well as hiding sins and keeping peace. No additional sources are listed.

5 pages in length. Spoken language is the most fundamental form of communication between human beings, yet its origin is quite elusive. From grunts and snorts back in the Neanderthal age to the most sophisticated of speech patterns of present day, the evolution of language has incorporated myriad changes and still continues to ...

5 pages in length. In his book entitled "Race Matters," Cornel West claims that xenophobia, consumerism and hedonism are elements that serve to stifle any positive racial progress. The manner by which these three elements have a negative impact upon racial progress is, indeed, clear and can readily be witnessed in everyday society. ...

5 pages in length. The primary difference between Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club" and Alexis de Tocqueville's "Democracy in America" is that they were written generations apart; other than that fact, however, each author effectively addresses the human ills associated with seeking emotional contentment and economic satisfaction. Found within these two books ...

6 pages in length. What is the American Dream, and who are the people most likely to pursue its often elusive fulfillment? Indeed, the American Dream has come to represent the attainment of myriad goals that are specific to each individual; while one person might consider a purchased home with a white picket ...

A five page paper which looks at the relevant Circles in the Inferno and appropriate punishments for characters from four other major works of literature, and considers the essential themes of the works studied. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

A five page paper which looks at two aspects of British literature. The first section compares and contrasts the views of Margery Kempe and Mary Astell on the institution of marriage. The second section demonstrates how Chaucer uses the Prologue to the Canterbury Tales to give an overview of the society of the time, and ...

This 3 page paper assesses this novel which embraces Islam. Tradition and modernity are discussed. No additional sources cited.

(8 pp) James A. Michener did not begin writing until he was forty years old, consequently there is a great deal of maturity about all of his work, which touched on religious and racial tolerance, hard work and self-reliance, themes which made him popular with the reading public, but not particularly in ...

(5 pp) In our politically correct world of a new century, certainly 'vexing' is hardly the thing to do, however during the time of the writers we are examining, Jonathan Swift through Gulliver's Travels and Jonathan Edwards in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, we might say that 'vexing was 'in''(style) ...

(5 pp) What is in the human condition that prompts us to enjoy being scared? Ghost stories at Halloween; escaped criminal stories around the campfire; or creatures rising from the dead, all serve that part of us that tingles with frightening tales. Gothic stories, are, that group of literary works, ...