Essays and Research Papers on American Literature

This 3 page paper discusses Barbara Kingsolver’s new book, “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle,” how it relates to sociology, and how it can alter a person’s relationship to food. Bibliography lists 1 source.

A 9 page paper which examines elements of cruelty and kindness in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

This 5 page paper discusses the character of Uncle Tom in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” and what it is about this character that made the North determine to end slavery. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

This 7-page paper attempts to answer if Billy Pilgrim in Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five is suffering from psychosis/schizophrenia or post-traumatic stress disorder. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

This 3 page paper discusses ways in which Amy Tan and Nancy McCabe found their strength and identity through adversity. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 3 page paper which analyzes the harm caused by fathers as it relates to Biff Loman from Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman and Tom Wingfield from Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie. No additional sources cited.

This 3 page paper examines one of the stories of Edgar Allan Poe, The Purloined Letter, and discusses what themes it has in common with his poetry. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

This 5 page paper discusses the troubled relationship between fathers and sons in “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner; “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke; and “The Killings” by Andre Dubus. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

A 3 page expository of Daisy Miller by Henry James. No additional sources cited.

A 5 page paper which examines Herman Melville’s novel Typee: A Romance of the South Sea as it relates to the superiority of the more savage human. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 6 page research paper/essay that discusses Emily Dickinson’s stance toward nature. Dickinson has moments of epiphany when she indicates a oneness with nature, but it is aggression, not passive receptivity that dominates these moments as she “wrests form nature the power to create her poems,” enduring “struggle and acute pain” when necessary (Diehl 36). ...

This 10 page paper discusses Fitzgerald's use of color symbolism in his classic novel "The Great Gatsby." Bibliography lists 6 sources.

A 4 page essay that discusses Norman Maclean’s A River Runs Through It, which can be viewed as a lament to the memory of his childhood and the memory of his father and his brother Paul. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

In five pages this paper thematically compares these science fiction short stories and the devices the author employs to convey these themes. Three sources that were supplied by the customer are listed in an incomplete bibliography.

A 3 page research paper/essay that examines the various reasons why Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises has been frequently banned. The writer attributes this primarily to the novel's depiction of a decadent lifestyle and the sexual components of the plot. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

A 4 page essay that argues that 2 short stories, "I Stand Here Ironing" by Tillie Olsen and "Teenage Wasteland" by Anne Tyler, address the same theme, which focuses on the reactions of parents to having a troubled teen. In each story, the author not only describes the teen's problems, but also stresses how society ...

A 3 page paper which summarizes James Michener’s work The Source. No additional sources cited.

A 5 page paper which compares and contrasts the depiction of slaves, slavery, and race relations in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

This 3 page paper gives brief reviews of the books "Holes" by Louis Sachar and "The Watsons Go To Birmingham – 1963" by Christopher Paul Curtis.

This 3 page paper discusses the ways in which these authors try to cope with prejudice, using Alexie's story "Class" and Jen's story "Who's Irish?" for reference. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

This 4 page paper discusses the way in which Rylant uses the characters in her book "I Had Seen Castles" to demonstrate how difficult times can cause people to behave in uncharacteristic ways. Bibliography lists 1 source.

This 4 page paper discusses the book “The Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom” and its author Wilbur H. Seibert. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

This paper looks at Philip K Dick's novel Ubik in relation to the period in which it was written, and draws parallels with the events of the narrative and the sociocultural trends of the 1960s. This five page paper includes one source in the bibliography.

A 3 page paper which examines the duality of human nature in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

This 4 page paper discusses Arthur Miller's play "The Crucible" and argues that John Proctor chooses death rather than swearing to a lie, in the hope that he will save his reputation and also show Salem that the Witch Trials are morally repugnant.. Bibliography lists 3 sources.