Essays and Research Papers on (All) Literature

A 6 page look at the way Susan Glaspell, John Updike, William Faulkner, and Guy de Maupassant build realistic and believable characters in their short fiction. Particular stories discussed are Glaspell's 'A Jury of Her Peers,' Updike's 'A & P', Faulkner's 'Barn Burning,' and de Maupassant's 'The Necklace.' Bibliography lists 8 sources.

An 8 page paper that concludes: In these five stories, women are portrayed in various ways. Only Anderson's 'The Egg' continues to stress the inadequacy and calamity of women. James, Updike and Welty each present a twist on society's sexist view of women in the situations presented. Each writer provides redeeming ...

A 6 page paper discussing these three novels by Charles Brockton Brown, Herman Melville, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. The paper concludes that in each of these novels, the characters had a choice about whether or not they intended to be a victim -- and for better or worse, the choice transformed their lives forever. Bibliography ...

A 6 page paper on these two stories by Willa Cather and Graham Greene. The paper concludes that Paul's rebellion pits the exquisite against the drab, while Trevor's rebellion ultimately pits meaninglessness against meaning. No sources.

A 7 page paper analyzing the conflict between parental figures and youth in three stories: Frank O'Connor's 'First Confession,' 'Joy Williams' 'Taking Care,' and Ernest Gaines' 'The Sky is Gray'. The paper concludes that the job of a 'parent' is to instill qualities in a younger person that will help the young person contribute productively ...

A 9 page paper analyzing the detectives used in six detective novels of the twentieth century: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie, The Emperor's Snuffbox by John Dickson Carr, The Moving Toyshop by Edmund Crispin, The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett, Guardian Angel by Sara Paretsky, and Devil in a Blue Dress ...

A 5 page essay comparing Job to Oedipus from Sophocoles 'Oedipus The King.' Issues such as free will are discussed throughout. No Bibliography.

A 5 page paper looking at the works of James Joyce, Lu Xun, Mahasweta Devi, and Pramoedya Ananta Toer, in terms of how these authors reflect class stratifications within their respective cultures. Stories mentioned are Joyce's 'Araby,' Lu Xun's 'My Old Home,' Devi's 'Breast-Giver,' and Toer's 'Inem.' Bibliography lists two additional sources.

An 8 page paper looking at Oscar Wilde's urbane The Picture of Dorian Gray, James Joyce's modernist Dubliners, and William Blake's Romantic Songs of Innocence and Experience, in terms of the way each author depicted humanity's problem with love. The paper shows that all three authors felt society has impeded our ability to freely express ...

A 6 page paper looking at the strength of the woman's perspective in four works from all over the world: James Joyce's 'Araby,' Chinua Achebe's 'Things Fall Apart,' Ding Ling's 'When I Was in Xia Village,' and Pramoedya Ananta Toer's 'Inem'. The paper concludes that of those stories discussed, the female principle is strongest in ...

A 6 page comparison of women, fate, and suffering in Medea and the Irish Saga ("Exile of the Sons of Uisliu") -- two classic works from completely different cultures and periods. Primary focus is upon the central characters : Medea and Dredriu. No Bibliography.

A 5 page paper showing how hallucinogenic imagery in these two stories, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Nathaniel Hawthorne respectively, gives the reader access to a deeper well of insight than could be provided through the protagonist's rational narration. The paper analyzes the nightmare quality of both stories, and shows how the imagery cuts through ...

A 6 page essay that looks at two works from each author, Don Juan and The Way of All Flesh respectively, in regards to their opinions on marriage with references from each book.

A 5 page paper that considers the similarities between elements of Zweig & Abrams' Meeting the Shadow and Martin's Mary Reilly. Bibliography lists no additional sources.

A 5 page paper comparing the ability of Hester Prynne and Bigger Thomas in these novels by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Richard Wright, respectively, to effectively communicate difficult concepts to those who could help them. The paper concludes that Hester can communicate more effectively than Bigger because she is trying to speak to a helper within ...

In this 6 page essay, the writer compares social oppressions as they relate to the wives in each of these two stories. In each story, the wife was expected to look up to her husband as an 'Ideal-maker'--yet each author uses different techniques and secondary characters to illustrate this point. No Bibliography.

A 5 page paper discussing the importance of paternal influence on the central characters of Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler, and Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. The paper traces these relationships in both plays and concludes that the sins of the father are definitely visited upon the children, long after they have become ...

A 6 page paper analyzing the way Edgar allan poe and Franz Kafka deal with the subject of the dead who will not die. The stories compared are Poe's 'The Fall of the House of Usher' and Kafka's 'The Hunter Gracchus.' No additional sources are listed.

A 5 page paper examining the theme of ritualistic violence in these two stories. Compares and contrasts the two different approaches taken by Jackson and Kaplan that arrive at the same conclusion - that violence is wrong.

This 8 page paper examines how William Faulkner charted social evolution in America in the person of Ike McCaslin in his 1942 short story, 'The Bear,' and how Zora Neale Hurston similarly described the African-American struggles in white society through the eyes of Janie Woods in her 1937 novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. ...

In 5 pages, the writer compares and contrasts the literary strategy of style in three readings, one each by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ernest Hemingway, and William Faulkner. The House of The Seven Gables, A Farewell to Arms and The Sound and The Fury are compared and contrasted in terms of the literary strategy of style. ...

A 5 page paper looking at Jake Barnes and Brett Ashley in Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, as compared to Jay Gatsby and Daisy Fay Buchanan in Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. The paper specifically analyzes their characterizations in comparison with one another, and in terms of how they each reflect their author's respective views of ...

An 11 page paper examining how Zora Neale Hurston's and Jean Toomer's use of the vernacular in their works reflects their own self-concept as black people. Novels discussed are Cane and Their Eyes Were Watching God. Bibliography lists 9 sources.

An 8 page paper on the significance of 'home' -- in both its beneficent and constraining aspects -- in Arthur Miller's Death of A Salesman; Pat Conroy's Prince of Tides; and Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. The paper notes that although home may have been where the hurt occurred, it is where healing must begin ...

A 5 page paper examining Samuel Johnson's opinion that no literature will endure the test of time except that which reveals and explores situations and characteristics that are recognizable, that most of us share, and that are common to people across the boundaries of time and space. The paper compares Ernest Hemingway's 'A Clean, Well-Lighted ...