Essays and Research Papers on (All) Literature

A 4 page essay that contrasts and compares Beowulf with Aeneas. Beowulf is the protagonist in an Old English epic of the same name by an anonymous poet. Aeneas is the protagonist in the ancient Roman epic of Virgil, the Aeneid. These two heroes each represent transitions in their societies. Beowulf provides the transition between ...

A 5 page paper which examines the obvious codes and the existence of situations that do not have codes in the classic poem Beowulf. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

An 8 page paper which examines the role of submissive women in a man’s world as seen in Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman,” and John Steinbeck’s “The Chrysanthemums.” Annotated bibliography comprises 3 of the pages. Bibliography lists 8 sources.

12 pages in length. As popular as Homer's classics are in the context of history, so too is the mystery that surrounds the author's true identity. The extent to which the authenticity of Homer's existence has spawned myriad theories throughout the ages is both grand and far-reaching; that no single conjecture is the ...

This 5 page paper considers George Lukacs's literary observations in his article "Narrative or Description" and considers how they can apply to a theoretical project. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 6 page paper which discusses the theme of evil in humanity as seen in Shirley Jackson’s short story The Lottery. Bibliography lists 1 additional source.

A 3 page paper which examines the validity of the criticism, “Flaubert is a wild Romantic compelling himself to be an exact Realist.” No additional sources are used.

A 5 page paper which analyzes the work of Edgar Allen Poe. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 7 page essay that contrasts and compares these two works. While separated by millennia, the twentieth century play Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry and the ancient Greek play Antigone by Sophocles share thematic similarities due to the fact that in each work there are characters who rebel against the standards of society, ...

A 9 page discussion of the different views taken in these works in terms of nature and human nature. This paper ties in the impacts of industrialization in the formation of those views. No additional sources are listed.

A 9 page essay that discusses Anne Tyler's novels Celestial Navigation and Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant. Anne Tyler's novels have been described as "songs written in the key of hardship" (Patrick 24). In many of Tyler's narratives, her female protagonists are isolated, divorced from the company of other women, which denies them the sort ...

This 5 page paper argues that no one who went to Vietnam in any capacity remained unchanged by the experience. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

This 3 page paper briefly examines Bartleby and why he can be considered an existential hero. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

This is a 3 page paper which analyses the kinds of sources used in two different articles. The bibliography has 2 sources.

A 4 page essay that discusses examples of Romantic verse. In the early nineteenth century, artists rebelled against restrictions on form and content in their art. Wordsworth ushered in the Romantic era in poetry by defining good verse as when it demonstrates the "'spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings'" (Abrams, et al 7). Unlike previous eras, ...

A 6 page paper which examines the character of Creon in Sophocles’ “Oedipus the King.” Bibliography lists 4 additional sources.

A 3 page paper which examines the significance of the story “Black Water” by Joyce Carol Oates. No additional sources cited.

A 12 page essay, which discusses the work of Katherine Anne Porter, an American writer from the first half of the twentieth century who is primarily famous for her finely crafted short stories. While Porter's short fictional works stand alone as self-contained narratives, the characters she creates tend to appear in multiple stories, forming, collectively, ...

A 4 page analysis of Flannery O’Connor’s “Good Country People.” No additional sources cited.

This 4 page paper explicates Baldwin's short story, 'Sonny's Blues.' Bibliography lists 4 sources.

A 3 page paper which examines E.B. White’s “Charlotte’s Web” in relationship to speaking and how the animals speak and how the human girl Fern can understand them but does not speak with them. No additional sources cited.

A 6 page paper which examines the short story in terms of plot, characterization, symbolism, and also evaluates the overall quality of the text. No additional sources are used.

A 3 page essay on the short story, "The Things They Carried," in which author Tim O'Brien offers a complex psychological portrayal of the combat experience. O'Brien's writing style is not chronologically oriented, that is, one episode does not lead directly into the next. The abrupt starts and stops in the narrative mirror the ...

A 3 page paper which examines the representation of family in William Faulkner’s “The Sound and the Fury.” Bibliography lists 2 additional sources.

A 3 page research paper that argues that Gilman's life constitutes an example of heroism. Heroism is often equated with fighting in battle. While this is certainly brave, the soldier receives tremendous societal reinforcement and approval for such bravery. Heroism is also shown by those who go against the dictums of society and face social ...