Essays and Research Papers on American Literature

3 pages in length. The writer briefly discusses the significance of the café and the interaction between the young and old waiter. No additional sources cited.

A 6 page essay that examines the influence of transcendentalism in Stowe's novel Transcendentalism was concerned with the value of work as a means for obtaining spiritual development, and, in general put a huge emphasis on the development of a worthwhile inner life that helped the individual remain true or genuine to oneself. These ...

A 6 page essay that discusses tenets of transcendentalism that are applicable to modern society in the twenty-first century. The writer discusses how transcendental philosophy is defined and then relates the works of Emerson and Thoreau to contemporary society. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

A 5 page discussion of our societal tendency to place the blame on a woman when she becomes the victim of a sex crime. This paper pulls from Joyce Carol Oates" "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" (a short story fictionalizing the real-life murders of Charles Schmid in the 1960s) and the more ...

A 3 page consideration of typical reactions to this short story in terms of where guilt is assigned. This paper reinforces the fact, once again, that the guilt lies with the criminal not with the victim. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

A 5 page paper which examines how the women in Ernest Hemingway’s life influenced his writing of female characters in “Cat in the Rain” and “Hills Like White Elephants.” Bibliography lists 10 sources.

A 4 page analysis of Ernest J. Gaines’ novel “A Lesson Before Dying.” No additional sources cited.

A 7 page paper which examines the relationship between Jim and Huck in Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." Bibliography lists 5 sources.

10 pages in length. The character known as Arnold Friend in Joyce Carol Oates' Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? can be considered quite the conundrum, having been the subject of many interpretations; even Oates herself has proclaimed him a "fantastic figure" of many interpretations. But of all these various descriptions, ...

This 3 page paper examines the character called the Misfit in Flannery O'Connor's story A Good Man is Hard to Find. A Marxist analysis of the story is made, with particular emphasis on this unseemly character. No additional sources cited.

A 3 page analysis of Richard Brautigan's short story "The War I Los Angeles Airplane." No additional sources cited.

This 7 page paper examines this fictitious piece. It breaks it down into parts which are: I. Introduction, II. Characters, III. Plot, IV. Setting, V. Style, VI. Theme and Impact and VII. Conclusion. Some quotes are provided. No additional sources cited.

A 3 page paper which compares the novel with Gary Sinise’s 1992 film adaptation. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

A 4 page paper which examines how and why Hank Morgan is considered to be a buffoon in Mark Twain's novel "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court." Bibliography lists 2 sources.

This 3 page paper examines this comedian's book that is part self-help, part parody, and examines it. The content of the book is discussed and it is critiqued. Some biographical information about David Ritz (Sinbad) is relayed. No additional sources cited.

A 4 page general analysis of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper." No additional sources cited.

An 8 page paper that explores the question in relation to The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. The writer reports some of the many propositions made by the book's characters and discusses possible evidence for some of them. Many of the authors who have challenged the book's statements as false and inaccurate and why ...

A 6 page essay that examines the life of Edgar Allen Poe and how his work may have been influenced by the death of his mother and the early death of his wife Virginia. The writer attributes the morbid and macabre nature of Poe's tales to this influence. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

A 5 page paper which examines the development of Jo in Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women." No additional sources cited.

A 3 page paper which examines how the outcome of Hemingway's story "The Old Man and the Sea" may have changed had Manolin been in the boat with the old man. No sources cited.

4 pages in length. The writer briefly discusses various aspects of love as they relate to some of the stories. No additional sources cited.

A 5 page essay that contrasts and compares the structure and themes of Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club (1989) and Louise Erdrich's Love Medicine (1984), which have very similar structures as a novels. Each text offers a series of short stories that collectively relate a coherent saga of generations and relationships. Tan relates the ...

3 pages in length. Eudora Welty's ability to extract the very last shred of emotion from her readers' literary interpretation is part and parcel of the writer's inherent talent. That she explores the vast and complex family relationship in Why I Live at the P.O. and is able to reconstruct the underlying value ...

3 pages in length. Everyone harbors fond memories of the past and at one time or another and dissolves into those delicious recollections without cause or concern for the present. The extent to which the adult narrator of Welty's A Memory reverts so ardently to a particular childhood memory involving a boy, a ...

3 pages in length. Welty makes clear her own feelings in Death of a Traveling Salesman even without overtly stating them by delving more into Bowman's character than the older man's – and his young wife - who ultimately save his life. The life they saved, however, was merely physiological in form; even ...