Essays and Research Papers on (All) Literature

A 5 page paper which compares and contrasts the characters of Ralph and Jack in William Golding's "Lord of the Flies." Bibliography lists 5 additional sources.

The story of Spartacus is an account of a slave revolt in 71 B.C. This 5 page paper provides short descriptions of several of the minor characters and then a summary of the story. No additional sources are listed.

This 5 page report discusses the dramatic texture that exists in ancient literature and is presented by comparing the convention of the idea of a “best buddy” for the story’s hero. For example, such a character is not part of Beowulf but is featured in The Song of Roland. The role of the “buddy” generally ...

This 6 page paper addresses the Vietnam War, the fact that it was not one that the soldiers agreed with and the significance of their good luck charms. O'Brien's The Things They Carried is the focus of this paper. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 5 page paper which examines how the short novel initially appears to be a ghost story, but as it progresses, exposes the governess/narrator’s ignorance and unfamiliarity with the tale, as she moves toward a complete nervous breakdown. No additional sources are used.

A 10 page discussion of the underlying theme of despair which is prevalent in much of Robert Frost’s poetry. Cites examples from Frost’s "Fire and Ice", "Desert Places", "Spring Pools", "The Road Not Taken", "Birches" and "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" to illustrate the theme of despair. The author of this ...

A 6 page research paper/essay that contrasts and compares a play by Xavier Villaurrutia with an Italian play that highly influenced the famous Mexican playwright. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

This 6 page report discusses the style Chaucer uses through his careful use of detail. Referring to "The Knight's Tale" and "The Wife of Bath" in The Canterbury Tales, this report illustrates how he uses detail to enhance and balance or to counterbalance the effect of the story being told, as well as the attitudes ...

A 5 page paper which examines how the issues of race and class influence the novel’s characters. Bibliography lists 7 sources.

This paper examines two works, The Great Gatsby and A Streetcare Named Desire, and discusses how the two authors, Scott Fitzgerald and Tennessee Williams respectively, defined modern society and progress through these works. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 5 page paper which first compares and contrasts the Miller's tale and the Reeve's tale to the Knight's tale. The paper then discusses the role of deception in the Wife of Bath's tale and the Physician's tale. Bibliography lists 2 additional sources.

5 pages in length. The journey motif plays an important role in both Cheikh Hamidou Kane's Ambiguous Adventure and Sembene Ousmane's God's Bits of Wood, as does the theme of reconciling traditional African values with the values and technologies of the West. The ways in which the 'journeys' to this 'golden mean' are ...

It is highly unlikely that the author of Gawain And The Green Knight meant to represent the process of nonviolence as proposed by Martin Luther King Jr. This 5 page paper asserts that the tale does, however, allow a representation of the six steps of nonviolence that King proposed. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A five page paper which looks at the way the concept of the outsider is treated in Woolf's 'Mrs Dalloway', Steinbeck's 'East of Eden' and Camus's 'The Outsider'. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

This 5 page report discusses and compares two short stories -- “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” (1936) bye Ernest Hemingway and “The White Stocking” by D.H. Lawrence. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 16 page research paper that compares and contrasts Elizabeth Bennet and Emma Woodhouse, the female protagonists from Pride & Prejudice and Emma. The writer argues that both of these heroines transcend the narrow restrictive gender roles of Austen's era. Bibliography lists 8 sources.

A five page paper which looks at Robert Stone’s novel Dog Soldiers, in terms of themes, characters and narrative development, and considers whether it meets the criteria to be considered as a work of art.

A review of Fierstein's play 'On Tidy Endings', with particular reference to the way in which the character of Marion is developed throughout the drama.

A paper which looks at 'A Room of One's Own' and 'To the Lighthouse' by Virginia Woolf, with particular reference to the social construct of gender and Woolf's interpretation of metaphysical thought.

A seven page paper which looks at Smollett's 'Humphrey Clinker' with reference to the author's use of the grotesque and in particular his literary treatment of both Europeans and Native Americans. Bibliography lists 6 sources

A paper which reviews James Dickey's novel 'Deliverance', with particular reference to the character of Ed and the themes of personal achievement and growth. Bibliography lists 7 sources

The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico Garcia Lorca is a play that is focused on the social role of women as it applies to family honor. Chronicle of A Death Foretold is a novella by Gabriel Garcia Marquez that focuses on the social role of men as it applies to family honor. This 10 page paper ...

This 5 page paper looks at Heathcliff. It is eighteen years after Catherine has died and the haunted Heathcliff has a dream, he is lying with Cathy. This chapter gives a insight to the pain and torment felt by this cruel character. The writer looks at the events of this chapter and considers how they ...

This 5 page paper contrasts and compares the works of John Milton's Paradise Lost, Gilgamesh, Oedipus Rex, Hamlet, and Madame Bovary and looks at the way in each there is a portrayal of good and evil, the corruption of innocence and the use of information that creates a specific outcome. The bibliography cites 7 ...

This 5 page report discusses what is called “jungle fever” which occurs when the attraction is so strong between people who are so patently wrong for one another, either because of social conventions of class or racial differences, the attraction often grows more heated, more intense, more feverish. The works of F. Scott Fitzgerald and ...