Essays and Research Papers on (All) Literature

A 5 page paper arguing that the six main characters of Carson McCullers’ novel fail to communicate with one another in a way that enables them to be really understood and validated. McCullers considered this to be the primary irony of the human condition. Bibliography lists five sources; the secondaries are attached.

The status of the family described within Pa Chin's work The Family is defined by class status and definitive social design. The structure of power and the interactions of the decision making processes are the foundation for the trans-class love that develops between Cheuh-hui, the third son, and Ming-feng, a house servant. Things ...

A five page paper analyzing Chinua Achebe’s novel from a cultural perspective. The paper holds that while the protagonist Okonkwo is clearly meant to represent the Ibo people under the thumb of British imperialism, Okonkwo really “falls apart” because he is unable to change. No additional sources.

A five page paper looking at the question of whether James Joyce’s Ulysses and Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber deserve to be considered obscene and vulgar. The paper concludes that Joyce’s use of vulgarity is a natural part of an otherwise life-affirming novel; Carter’s is merely intended to incite lust in the reader, and thus ...

A five page paper contrasting Nathaniel Hawthorne’s heroine Hester Prynne and the novel’s villain Roger Chillingworth. The paper argues that Hester, driven by the forces of goodness, is led by her heart; and Chillingworth, driven by the forces of evil, is led by his head. Bibliography lists two sources.

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is the story of the post-colonial conflict between Africa and Europe, as well as the conflict between the Western way of doing things and the tribal consciousness. It is the story of the psychological and social consequences of the transition from the tribal indigenous society to the Western ...

A 7 page character analysis of Okonkwo, the chief protagonist in Chinua Achebe’s 1959 novel, 'Things Fall Apart,' as well as a consideration of the third-person narrative structure used in the novel. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

A five page look at the issue of South African apartheid which forms the backdrop of Alan Paton’s novel. The paper concludes that although the protagonist of the novel would be merely content if whites were kind to him, he misses the importance of legally-mandated equality. Bibliography lists four sources.

A five page paper looking at James Joyce’s coming-of-age novel in terms of Freud’s Civilization and its Discontents. The paper concludes that the reason young Stephen has so much difficulty fitting into society is that he cannot sublimate his artistic individuality into socially-acceptable channels. No additional sources.

A six-page paper based on these central characters in Hermann Hesse’s classic novel Siddhartha. The paper compares these two characters in terms of their spiritual quest, concluding that there are many paths for seekers to take in attaining Nirvana. No additional sources.

A 3 book report which provides a detailed summary and critique of psychoanalyst Erich Fromm’s book, 'The Art of Loving.'

A five page paper looking at Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe’s work in terms of the moral lessons the reader takes away with him. The paper asserts that morality is central to literature because it allows fiction to guide us in the way we live our lives. No additional sources.

A 3 page paper which reviews Martin Duberman’s chronicle of the June-July 1969 New York gay uprising, 'Stonewall.'

A 5 page paper which compares and contrasts the strengths and weaknesses of the Nigerian male character Okonkwo in Chinua Achebe’s 1959 novel, 'Things Fall Apart' with the Nigerian female character Nnu Ego in Buchi Emecheta’s 1979 novel, 'The Joys of Motherhood.' Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A five page paper offering an overview of Carlos Fuentes’ novel. The paper shows how Fuentes compares the characteristics of his protagonist to twentieth-century Mexico itself. No additional sources.

A six-page paper overview of Chinua Achebe’s classic novel. It traces the plight of the protagonist Okonkwo as he confronts his own inability to handle the dissolution of traditional Ibo culture in the face of colonial imperialism. No additional sources.

A five page paper looking at whether this Arthurian character’s relationship with Elaine the Maid of Astolat was sinful. The paper concludes that although he did not sleep with her, he broke her heart and drove her to her death. Bibliography lists two sources.

This 5 page paper assesses Okonkwo’s responsibility in his own situation. How much of his own psychological motivation creates his dilemma versus either fate or other outside sources? The paper explains how this protagonist is partly to blame. No additional sources.

5 pages in length. The writer discusses the impact of European colonization upon the village of Umuofia from Chinua Achebe's 'Things Fall Apart.' No additional sources cited.

A five page paper looking at the social forces binding the Ibo to tradition in Chinua Achebe’s acclaimed novel. The paper points out that Achebe’s insights illustrate Bronislaw Malinowski’s theories of social change. Bibliography lists four sources.

A five page paper looking at this book in terms of its treatment of education. The paper argues that before the British imperialists came, the members of the Ibo tribe were far from uneducated and uncivilized; they simply had devised educational and socializing methods which differed from the Western model, but which worked for them. ...

A five page paper looking the protagonist of this novel by Chinua Achebe in terms of the way he illustrates the plight of the Ibo culture. The paper asserts that while our own values often contrast with those of Okonkwo, we understand the poignancy of his fate. No other sources.

This 5 page paper delves into this novel’s minor character Nwoye and expresses his importance in the work. The father-son relationship is explored as a repetitive element. Gender is noted as being of significance. Quotes are used to support the thesis. The work is the only source listed.

A seven page paper looking at the degree to which the indigenous Ibo society depicted by Chinua Achebe in this novel actually collaborated with the white imperialists who came to take over their land. The paper argues that the Ibo allowed the West to gain a foothold because their own culture did not allow them ...

A nine page paper comparing the state of African society depicted in Chinua Achebe's novel with the sociological and political theories discussed in Mahmood Mamdani's Citizen and Subject: Contemporary Africa and the Legacy of Late Colonialism; Anthony Butler's Democracy and Apartheid: Political Theory, Comparative Politics, and the Modern South African State; and Frederick D. Lugard's ...