Essays and Research Papers on (All) Literature

A 7 page research paper in which the wrier argues that in Kate Chopin's novel The Awakening and also in Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth, one finds the social paradigms of the Victorian era and how they were manifested in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth centuries. In both cases, the authors ...

9 pages in length. Virtue was synonymous with the female gender back in the eighteenth century; indeed, a woman without virtue was looked upon as being indigent of conscience. However, this social and emotional oppression was not placed upon women from their own kind, but rather, men were solely responsible for setting forth ...

5 pages in length. Expectations of gender and class structure have long carved out predetermined paths for those within global communities, not the least of which includes assigned roles of masculinity/femininity and hierarchy of social status that serves to stratifying social structure in such a way that reflects a definitive separation of economic, political, ...

3 pages in length. Gender perspective serves as the defining difference between Joyce Carol Oates and Anton Chekhov's respective versions of The Lady With the Pet Dog. While two couples in love represent the common denominator shared by both stories, the image of gender weakness is a decidedly blatant and undermining attribute of ...

5 pages in length. Leslie Marmon Silko's "Ceremony" addresses a long-standing issue that has existed between Native American men and women: the open and equal pursuit of identity. That patriarchy has been the controlling social force for centuries has effectively placed the female gender in the shadows of acceptance, while the male gender has ...

18 pages in length. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a celebration of gender, with particular emphasis upon issues of feminism and patriarchal control. Indeed, Shelley portrays the early birth of feminism; not only are her writings a solid reflection of her sentiments but so is the manner in which she reflects the female reawakening. ...

8 pages in length. Lorraine Code's 'What Can She Know?' is a celebration of gender, with particular emphasis upon issues of feminism and patriarchal control. Indeed, Code portrays the perpetuation of feminism; not only are her writings a solid reflection of her sentiments of a lacking Anglo-American epistemology but so is the manner ...

A five page paper looking at the portrayal of motherhood in traditional Ibo society, as presented in Buchi Emecheta’s novel. The paper concludes that there are no joys of motherhood when fertility becomes merely a matter of numbers and gender. No additional sources.

A 6 page research paper that discusses how setting affects the narrative in Beowulf and also in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. The writer includes the social conventions of a particular era as an aspect of "setting," and therefore discusses the importance of the mead-hall in Beowulf and cross-dressing in regards to gender roles in ...

A 3 page essay that examines Chopin's nineteenth century short story. Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" (1894) is one of the most anthologized short stories in American literature and numerous students have "grappled" with the story's implications as to gender in nineteenth century American society (Deneau 210). Modern readers debate as whether ...

4 pages in length. Taking on two monumental social concerns – war and gender inequity – Virginia Woolf's "Three Guineas" reaches beyond any superficiality commonly associated with those who choose merely to graze the topic with paltriness. Rather, Woolf's approach, while seemingly simple in its conjecture, is as forthright as one can possibly ...

A 7 page research paper that analyzes D.H. Hwang's play M. Butterfly in terms of gender criticism. The writer explains how the play is based on a real-life occurrence in which a French diplomat was convicted of espionage, and how the Frenchman had a twenty year liaison with a Chinese male spy, whom he thought ...

In eight pages this paper compares and contrasts how gender relationships are depicted in each text as reflective of different perspectives and cultural backgrounds. There are no additional sources listed in the bibliography.

This 5 page paper evaluates Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper. Gender themes are explored along with the author's use of voice. Imagery is seen as vital to the work.

A 3 page paper which examines coming of age in The Secret Lion by Albert Alvaro Rios and Doe Season by David Kaplan. The paper compares the two stories which are different in terms of the gender of the main character and the narration. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 5 page paper that provides an overview of the elements of gender-based social constructs described in Fernea's story, and demonstrates the differences that Fernea experiences as a westerner in an eastern culture. Bibliography lists no additional sources.

A 5 page paper which examines the similarities of these novels, such as how they are representative of their time periods, how they feature women who were clearly before their time, and how rigid socioeconomic class conventions dictated gender roles and marital compatibility. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

A 7 page paper which critically examines how these stories represent Chopin’s efforts to reflect her own life in her art, how they are innovative feminist critiques (such as gender stereotypes and oppression) of the social conventions that were defined and maintained by the American patriarchy. Bibliography lists 9 sources.

This 10 page paper examines the role of women in Virginia Woolf's novel "To the Lighthouse" and Shakespeare's play "Hamlet," and argues that in each work women are portrayed in both traditional and non-traditional gender roles. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

A 3 page paper which examines how female gender is depicted in Sophocles’ Oedipus trilogy and Aristophanes’ Lysistrata. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

This 6 page essay argues that Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" should be interpreted as a critique of nineteenth century gender roles, marriage and the medical establishment of that era. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

This 18 page paper discusses Betty Friedan's book The Feminine Mystique from a modernist perspective, with an emphasis on war imagery, and sexuality and gender issues. Bibliography lists 12 sources.

A 5 page essay that examines Jacobs' slave narrative as it relates to gender and race in the nineteenth century. The writer argues that Jacobs has to not only balance her presentation of herself and her actions against the backdrop of slavery, but also in regards to the ways in which a "true woman" ...

The medieval romance, Silence, translated by Sarah Roche-Mahdi, is a story of a girl who is raised as a boy. This 6 page paper argues that he character, Silence, is caught in the conflict of nature versus nurture as it applies to gender roles while her father, Cador, is caught in the battle between acceptance ...

In five pages this paper examines how in her famous 1850 literary Narrative and in her speeches, illiterate freed slave Sojourner Truth’s plain-speaking eloquence reminded readers and audiences that all people, regardless of color or gender, are created equal. Four sources are listed in the bibliography.