Essays and Research Papers on American Literature

A 3 page paper which examines the romantic and the supernatural in Edgar Allen Poe’s “Tell Tale Heart” and Washington Irving’s “Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” Bibliography lists 1 additional source.

A 3 page paper which examines how the character of Mrs. Mallard is perhaps weak as seen in “the Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin. No additional sources cited.

This 6 page paper provides quotes and an analysis of three characters in this thesis paper that focuses on social stratification. Selby's portrayal is discussed in depth.

A 3 page paper which examines various themes in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. No additional sources cited.

This 6 page paper examines this work of historical fiction. Historical fiction is defined and explored. The novel is discussed in terms of accuracy. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 10 page essay, research paper that, first of all, examines Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" and Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery." The writer argues that each author make comments on the nature of evil and relates their interpretation to their own society. These stories are similar in that each author may appear to be ...

A 3 page examination of Eric Frank Russell’s story And Then There Were None. No additional sources cited.

This 6 page paper examines Jeffrey Reiman's book, "The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison." Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 4 page paper which examines why Tim, in Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried,” went to war and how it affects him. No additional sources cited.

A 4 page book review/research paper that examines this novel in order to discern the plight of labor unions in the steel industry from the late nineteenth century through the early twentieth. First published in 1941, Thomas Bell's Out of This Furnace is novel that tells the story of three generations of a Slovak immigrant ...

This 8 page paper discusses "My Contraband" (under its original title, "The Brothers") by Louisa May Alcott, and "Life in the Iron Mills" by Rebecca Harding Davis. It explores the concept of the Other with regard to the characters of Robert in the first story and Wolfe in the second. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 5 page paper which examines how women are represented in relationship to being independent in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. No additional sources cited.

4 pages in length. Lystra's "Searching the Heart: Women, Men, and Romantic Love in Nineteenth-Century America" draws its influence from a long-standing misinterpretation of Victorian love and relationships as being covert and void of romantic undertones. The chronological scope of the nineteenth century provides for a more focused major emphasis upon the social ...

A 5 page analysis of Flannery O’Connor’s The Life You Save May Be Your Own. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 3 page paper which examines the theme of individualism in the work of Mark Twain. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

A 6 page paper which examines the theme of finding one’s identity in William Faulkner’s short story Barn Burning. No additional sources cited.

This 4 page paper discusses the character of Roger Chillingworth in "The Scarlet Letter." Bibliography lists 1 source.

A 3 page analysis and philosophical look at Don DeLillo’s book White Noise. No additional sources cited.

A 3 page paper which examines the theme of blind ignorance in Graham Greene’s The Quiet American. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 7 page paper which examines the theme of loneliness in the short stories of Ernest Hemingway. Bibliography lists 10 sources.

This 5 page paper analyzes the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel "The Great Gatsby" with regard to the point of view, and the tone; it argues that the main thesis of the book is that wealth corrupts, and great wealth corrupts absolutely. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

A 3 page paper which examines whether or not the protagonist in Truman Capote’s novel Other Voices, Other Rooms was a blossoming homosexual. Bibliography lists 1 additional source.

A 5 page paper which examines the symbolism in William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily and Katherine Mansfield’s Miss Brill and then a 2 page analysis of various poems. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

A 4 page paper which compares and contrasts the main male character in Flannery O’Connor’s A Good Man is Hard to Find and Good Country People. No additional sources cited.

This 3 page paper discusses the novel "As I Lay Dying" by Faulkner, and the themes of selfishness and selflessness expressed therein. Bibliography lists 4 sources.