Essays and Research Papers on (All) Literature

A ten page paper which looks at the works of Ernest Hemingway, and discusses how far the author’s own complex and tortured nature is reflected in the themes of his work and the way in which he draws on his own background and experience to convey the passions and tragedies of human existence to the ...

The tale of Beowulf is interesting in both it's context and content. The poet seems to parallel the pagan Germanic past with the pre-Christian world of the Old Testament with the aim of demonstrating the prefiguration of the Christian world in his native heritage. This is reflected in Hrothgar's advice to Beowulf to protect himself ...

5 pages in length. The writer discusses how Twain attacks racism in his classic tale. No additional sources cited.

An 8 page paper which compares and contrasts the women in Mariama Ba's "So Long a Letter" with women in Senegal, Africa. Bibliography lists 3 additional sources.

A 5 page paper which compares and contrasts the stories “A Temporary Matter” and “The Interpreter of Maladies.” Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 5 page paper which discusses three areas where parent/child relationships are witnessed. The three areas involve Gilgamesh and his mother, Gilgamesh and his people, and Gilgamesh and Enkidu. No additional sources cited.

This 5 page paper considers symbolism, style, tone, setting and perspective in this short story. This is further demonstrated by comparing the story with other literary works including other Kate Chopin stories. The bibliography cites 7 sources.

A 6 page paper which discusses the development of the main character, Edna, in Kate Chopin's "The Awakening." Bibliography lists 3 additional sources.

A 5 page paper which examines how this tragic masterpiece articulates Sophocles’ religious notions, which serve as his greatest innovation. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

5 pages in length. New criticism takes an entirely different approach to the fundamental basis of literature. In assessing F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby under this application, one finds that the autotelic element is quite apparent throughout the story, with Daisy representing perhaps the most obvious attributes of new criticism through figurative ...

A 6 page paper which compares and contrasts the theme of authority in each. No additional sources are used.

A 5 page paper discussing, as the title explains, the use of the word "druncen" (i.e., drunken) in this epic. It is apparent that the poet's use of "druncen" is less mysterious than most translators have been willing to believe. Reading the meaning at face value generally makes more sense of the poet's descriptions and explanations, though ...

This 5 page paper considers three of Kate Chopin's stories, the "Story of an Hour", "Ripe Figs", and "The Storm". Using these stories the writer examines how emotions and events are depicted with the positive and negative impacts of marriage and how this may be interpreted by a reader. The bibliography cites 3 sources.

A 10 page paper which compares and contrasts "Passing" by Nella Larsen and "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The paper argues that the two individuals are clearly influenced by society in their endeavors to be something different, yet they are both clearly controlled by their past as well. Bibliography lists 1 additional source.

This 5 page report discusses the psychoanalytical aspects of the short story by Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) “The Lost Titian” that was published in 1856. It is worth noting that her works’ apparent simplicity often masks a darker and far more intellectual stream of consciousness. From a psychoanalytical perspective it is quite clear that there is much more to the writer and ...

In this 6 page paper, the writer considers how successful Washington Irving and Nathaniel Hawthorne were in distancing themselves from the tales they told. Irving makes a statement that the tale he is about to report was not written by him and he is simply reporting the story. Hawthorne makes no comments of this nature. ...

Horror stories are built on two elements: a journey into the unknown (such as the subconscious, an experience or circumstance) and surprise or suspense. This 5 page paper explores the elements of theme, character, setting and point of view in Stephen King's short story, Suffer The Little Children. No additional sources are listed.

This 5 page paper argues that Hesiod, in the Theogony, presents Zeus as an autocratic leader by virtue of authority, with the wisdom to heed the advice of others. No additional sources are listed.

10 pages in length. Critics have long heralded E. L. Doctorow's Welcome To Hard Times as significantly more realistic of the Western frontier than what other books and Hollywood movies have depicted. Conspicuously absent from Doctorow's version is the squeaky clean, overly friendly image in late nineteenth century society, where men were praised ...

A 5 page paper which considers whether or not Billy Pilgrim is a modern-day Jesus, and if so, how this impacts the novel’s message. No additional sources are used.

This 5 page report discusses the haunting short story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935), is both a feminist exploration of the ways in which women of Gilman’s time were limited to a very narrow definition of what was socially acceptable for them and a declaration of realism regarding the inherent damage done to women because ...

This 6 page report discusses two of the most popular American fiction writers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries are Stephen King and Toni Morrison. King is often condemned as nothing more than a marketing phenomenon or that his writing is just a game of gore and horror but King is a writer that takes chances while dealing with ...

A 5 page paper which argues that Newman, in Henry James' "The American," serves to offer the reader religious undertones. The paper argues that the character of Newman symbolically presents the immorality of the British class system. Bibliography lists 2 additional sources.

This 5 page report discusses Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s novel “Frankenstein” and whether or not there is a moral to the story. The report asserts that there certainly is a moral but that the moral is multi-faceted and offers numerous areas for consideration of the moral in the story. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

This 6 page report discusses the most basic aspects of Henry David Thoreau (1817-62) and the two years he spent at a crude cottage beside Walden Pond, a small body of water outside Concord, Massachusetts. Walden is essentially a daily account of his stay in the woods, of which he wrote, “Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make ...