Essays and Research Papers on (All) Literature

A 3 page essay that discusses the beginning of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. The writer focuses on the description of Jane as a child and what this tells the reader about the character. No additional sources cited.

This 5 page paper discusses the names of the characters Beloved and Sethe in Toni Morrison's novel "Beloved," and argues that the characters are named as they are because of the way they behave. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 3 page essay that discusses the symbolism of shoes in Budd Schulberg’s novel What Makes Sammy Run? which was originally published in 1941 and, consequently, its use of language is, in some instances, somewhat dated. However, Schulberg’s characterization of his protagonist Sammy Glick is so extremely well defined and accurate that the novel still ...

A 5 page tutorial analysis of Edgar Allen Poe’s short story The Tell-Tale Heart. No additional sources cited.

This paper compares and contrasts two books by Avi: "Crispin, The Cross of Lead" and "The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle." Bibliography lists 2 sources.

This 8 page paper discusses the book "Treason by the Book" and contrasts the system described therein with the current situation in the U.S. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 3 page paper which examines whether the character in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman experiences insanity as a destructive or a liberating force. No additional sources cited.

A 10 page research paper that examines how Jonathan Swift's classic Gulliver's Travels, which is a biting adult satire was transformed into a staple of children's literature. The writer summarizes Jackie Stallcup's insightful history and analysis of Gulliver's myriad children's adaptations. This review establishes the fact that adaptations of classics into children's books says a ...

This 6 page paper examines two passages closely, one from the "Iliad" and the other from the "Aeneid."

A 3 page paper which examines how various Cinderella stories influence, or could influence, little girls. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

This 6 page paper discusses the question of identity formation using three texts: "No Name Woman" by Kingston; "Aria" by Rodriguez and "Yes Ma'am" by McCloskey. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 5 page paper which examines the characters’ resistance to marriage as seen in William Congreve’s The Way of the World and Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

A 4 page analysis of the short story Twin Study by Stacey Richter. No additional sources cited.

This 3 page paper discusses Stampp's book about the Reconstruction period that followed the U.S. Civil War. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 3 page essay that offers an explication of Francisco de Quevedo's Sonnet 478. This examination of Sonnet 478 demonstrates the connection that Quevedo made between the concept of Neoplatonic love and the anguish of unrequited love. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 4 page paper which examines “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan, “Politics and the English Language” by George Orwell, and “If Black Language Isn’t a Language, The Tell Me, What Is?” by James Baldwin and then examines their discussions of language and identity, and language as political. No additional sources cited.

3 pages in length. Sometimes life is nothing more than a means to an end, and everything that happens in between the start and finish of a given life does not define the person who has endured its imperfect reflection. This is the case in Saikaku's "The Life of an Amorous Woman" and ...

A 3 page paper which examines symbolism in three of Henrik Ibsen’s plays. The plays are Rosmerholm, The Lady From the Sea, and Little Eyolf. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 4 page paper which examines the story Greasy Lake by T.C. Boyle as it involves youth. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

This 4 page paper examines Edgar Allan Poe's classic story "The Tell Tale Heart." It argues that the narrator is in the grip of obsession that leads him to kill. It also argues that the same can be said of Willard in the film "Apocalypse Now." Bibliography lists 1 source.

This 6 page paper discusses the book "Last Standing Woman" by Winona LaDuke. Bibliography lists 1 source.

A 6 page essay that contrasts and compares two "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," author unknown, written circa 1375-1400, and "The Wife of Bath's Tale" and "Prologue" by Geoffrey Chaucer. Both works offer the modern reader insight into the worldview and values of medieval society. Both narratives uphold the values emphasized by the medieval ...

In five pages this paper examines the common thread of African American women’s identity that forges a community through the generations as revealed in Bambara’s short stories ‘My Man Bovanne,’ ‘Gorilla, My Love,’ ‘The Lesson,’ and ‘The Survivor.’ Three sources are cited in the bibliography.

This 4 page paper discusses two versions of Troilus and Cressida, that of Boccaccio and Chaucer's later work. Bibliography lists 1 source.

A 10 page research paper/essay that contrasts and compares Ursula K. Le Guin's science fiction/fantasy The Land Hand of Darkness and Hermann Hesse's Steppenwolf, which are two novels that share a basic orientation in that both narratives employ fantasy in order to illustrate the author's views on the tendency of human beings to view reality, ...