Essays and Research Papers on American Literature

This paper examines the lives and writing styles of two of America's formost writers, Thomas Paine and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Although these two were different on the surface, and especially, a generation apart, both wrote about their love for America in language that everyman could understand and respond to.

Although Ernest Hemingway and George Orwell were worlds apart in terms of what they wrote, they shared one thing in common: both traveled to Spain, and what they learned their changed their lives and impacted their writing. This paper examines how Spain effected Orwell and Hemingway on a personal and professional basis. Bibliography lists 3 ...

This 5 page report discusses Edgar Allan Poe’s writing style and presents an example of a short story written with Poe’s techniques that include foreshadowing, a very present narrating force, metaphor, and a subtle mounting of a level of tension that cannot be easily identified. No secondary sources.

A 5 page essay that examines the writing of Jonathan Edwards ("Personal Narrative" and "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God") and compares and contrasts this with excerpts from Franklin's "Poor Richard" writings and his correspondence. The writer specifically contrasts their religious beliefs and world perspective. No additional sources cited.

5 pages. Mark Twain not only wrote entertaining novels but he wrote with a purpose as well. In Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, for instance, Twain made some very obvious critiques and satires regarding freedom and slavery. This paper assesses the effects and significance of this theme throughout Twain's work and backs it up ...

When Vladimir Nabokov wrote Lolita he did not set out to write a controversial book about pedophilia, but a book that had it's roots in the firmament of American reality and was about love. This 5 page paper argues that the presenting scenario is one of innocence but it remains abusive. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

An 8 page research paper/essay that discusses Virginia Postrel’s writing on style, design and aesthetics and than applies her ideas to the writing of Tim O’Brien in “How to Tell a True War Story.” The writer argues that O’Brien uses aesthetics to convey meaning about the nature of war experience. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

In any consideration of the writings of Flannery O'Connor, her faith and upbringing has an impact. This 10 page paper explores the idea that Ms. O'Connor, in her first published short story, The Geranium; Everything That Rises Must Converge and one of the very last written during her all too short life: Judgment Day, utilizes the imagery and symbolism ...

5 pages in length. 'I suspect that most of you have been telling stories all your lives ' is the assumption Flannery O'Connor makes in her lecture entitled Writing Short Stories. For it is difficult for O'Connor to fathom that people perceive writing fiction as a chore, when it is something she achieves ...

A 5 page research paper/essay that examines this novel and its historical context. As the American Civil War was going on, President Abraham Lincoln is said to have commented when he meet Harriet Beecher Stowe that her novel had served as a “catalyst for war.” Reportedly, at the 1862 encounter, Lincoln said, “’So you’re the ...

This is a 3 page paper discussing “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” in regards to its place within the educational system and grade levels which can appreciate the work. “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” was written by Mark Twain (a.k.a. Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1835-1910) in 1884 and was originally meant to be read as adult fiction and ...

This 10 page paper looks at Jack London's classic work and evaluates it by focusing on the theme of free will. The symbolic nature of the ships is discussed. Characterization is also a focus and the relevance of gender is touched on. The work is placed in historical context as it was written during ...

A 9 page review of the societal restrictions portrayed by these two Civil War era authors. These authors were as separated in their societal backgrounds as they were in their race, men who had no qualms about expressing themselves both in person and in their writings. These writings provide us with distinct views ...

Jack Kerouac wrote On the Road in the early 1950's, though it wasn't published until 1957. The relationship of his escapades in the book and the philosophies of the 'beat' generation are well known. One area that has not been explored to any extent is the relationship the journey taken in the book has with ...

This 5 page report discusses the short story writer known as “O. Henry” who wrote using a pseudonym rather than his real name -- William Sydney (originally spelled “Sidney”) Porter. He became “O. Henry” after spending several years in prison and making the determination to return to freedom as, literally, a new man.His first nationally published short story, ...

This is a 5 page paper discussing the writer Flannery O’Connor and the themes and characters in her work. The writer Flannery O’Connor was born in Savannah in 1925 to a Catholic family. She was highly observant of the religious zeal and injustices which existed in the southern states during her lifetime and incorporated these ...

An 8 page essay that analyzes four stories by nineteenth century author Kate Chopin: "The Story of an Hour," "Ripe Figs," "A Respectable Woman," and "The Storm." The writer argues that Chopin, as a nineteenth century woman, focused her writing on the emotional experience of the women of her era. While many of these ...

In 4 pages, the writer summarizes the main points of three critics who have written criticism of 'The Catcher in the Rye', noting similarities and differences in their criticisms. ''The Catcher in the Rye' is a 1950s book that has been criticized in many forms by many people. Holden Caulfield is the subject of ...

(8pp). We have been told that cultures with more complex ideas, more readily responded to the development of a written language. Not only was writing used for the keeping of records in these early societies, but it was also used for religious purposes and socio-economic functions. We might say where the ...

An 8 page discussion of the theme of change which characterizes “Desert Solitaire”, a book which was written in a much simpler time, a time before Lake Powell and Glen Canyon Dam, a time before the rampant development which now characterizes the American West. This paper emphasizes Abbey’s sensitivity to the wonderful ecological complexity ...

In reading short stories it is sometimes difficult to remember the reason why they are written. In Good Country People, by Flannery O'Connor, the development of character allows the reader to make discoveries about themselves. This 5 page paper argues that the character of Joy, Hulga is dual dimensional as seen by the change in name. Her ...

A 5 page paper examining the relationship between Mary Shelley's own feelings of parental abandonment and the way the Creature is abandoned by his creator. The paper goes over the main points of Shelley's life up to the writing of Frankenstein, and compares them to events in the book. Bibliography lists 9 sources.

This 4 page paper evaluates this story for features like setting, characterization and plot. The style of writing that this author does is discussed in general terms. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 5 page paper which discusses how the South influenced the writing of Erskine Caldwell. His works "Tobacco Road" and "God's Little Acre" are discussed briefly as examples of the South as influence. Bibliography lists 1 source.

In three pages this paper examines the internal and external conflicts experienced by protagonist Joe Bonham in this antiwar novel written by Dalton Trumbo. There are no other sources cited in the bibliography.