Essays and Research Papers on (All) Literature

A 4 page essay that looks at Emerson's take on nature in his famous essay "Self-Reliance." American transcendental philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson outlines a perspective that values individualism over unthinking conformity. Just as Martin Luther proposed that individuals can establish a personal relationship with God, without intermediaries such as priests, Emerson eschews the entirety of ...

A 3 page paper which examines the existence of prostitution in Daniel Defoe's novel "Moll Flanders" and "Mrs. Warren's Profession" by George Bernard Shaw. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

This 3 page paper compares "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Masque of the Red Death" with regard to their protagonists, central conflict and dramatic questions. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 3 page essay that discusses the nature of playwright Neil Simons' comedy. The writer argues that Simons primarily draws his humor from characterization and that it is situational. Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple and Chapter Two are discussed. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 3 page essay that compares 2 works by Blake and King. Poet William Blake in his eighteenth century verse and Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. in his twentieth century rhetoric each addressed issues of morality and ethics during their respective eras. Examination of Blake's The Poison Tree and King's Letter from Birmingham Jail reveals ...

A 6 page paper which examines Mark Twain's views on slavery primarily through his character Jim from The adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

A 3 page paper which examines how Paul and his friends deal with war and how it affects them as seen in "All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque. No additional sources cited.

A 4 page analysis of the character Old Major in George Orwell's novel "Animal Farm." Bibliography lists 5 sources.

This 8 page paper describes the connection between the comic sensibility and intellectualism, using Flann O'Brien's absurdist novel The Third Policeman as an example. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

This 3 page paper reviews Shane K. Bernard's book "The Cajuns" and answers specific questions about the work. Bibliography lists one source.

A 5 page essay that considers the meaning and interpretation of this famous short story. The standard interpretation of James Joyce's short story "Araby" is that it is a coming-of-age narrative that recounts a young romantic boy's first bitter encounter with reality, as he realizes the fickle nature of women. However, as Frank Coulthard points ...

A 3 page book review that argues that Stratis Myrivilis, in his novel Vasilis Arvanitis presents a hero who often seems paradoxical in that his behavior frequently seems to violate his cultural norms. While there is seeming incongruity, a closer examination of this work, informed by background knowledge of rural Greek culture, shows that Myrivilis ...

This 3 page paper examines this novel as it respects race. Some additional information is provided and race is viewed as just one of many ways that the author sees the world. No additional sources cited.

A 12 page essay that examines three works by Kafka. "The Judgment" (1912), "Metamorphosis" (1915), and "The Hunger Artist" (1924) demonstrate how psychologically Kafka never overcame his feelings of inferiority in relation to his father. By first looking at Erikson's theory of personality development and then at Kafka's work, the tremendous psychological significance of Kafka's ...

A 7 page research paper that examines the poetry of George Gordon, Lord Byron in regards to his use of temporality. This examination of Byron's verse examines specifically this sense of temporality and how it affects his portrayal of the heroic protagonists. Essentially this shows that the Byronic hero stands outside of temporality due to ...

A 3 page paper which compares the film "The Man Who Would Be King" with the novel "The Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

This 7 page paper discusses Martine van Woerkens' book about the Thuggee cult of India. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

5 pages in length. O'Connor clearly defines the clash of good and evil; in her attempts to demonstrate how evil can overpower even the most devout Christian, the author achieves her goal and touches an exposed nerve of society's ills. No bibliography.

4 pages in length. Ethnic coexistence in a society where whiteness is the overpowering culture is, according to George M. Frederickson, comprised of four distinct categories: hierarchy, assimilation, pluralism and separatism. The extent to which racial disharmony has perpetuated because of these dividing classifications is both grand and far-reaching; that only one of ...

A 4 page essay that employs Aristotle's definition of tragedy to discuss the elements of Oedipus Rex. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 3 page paper which examines why first time readers of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" would be shocked. Bibliography lists 3 additional sources.

5 pages in length. O'Connor clearly defines the clash of good and evil; in her attempts to demonstrate how evil can overpower even the most devout Christian, the author achieves her goal and touches an exposed nerve of society's ills. No bibliography.

This 8 page paper discusses the short story "On the Golden Porch," what it means and what it tells us about the author. Bibliography lists 1 source.

A 3 page paper which compares and contrasts the characters of Fools Crow and Fast Horse in James Welch's novel "Fools Crow." No additional sources cited.

This 6 page paper discusses some of the complex relationships among mind, body, language, identity and reality as described by those who are facing life-threatening illnesses. Bibliography lists 5 sources.