Essays and Research Papers on American Literature

This 3 page paper discusses Russell Baker’s book “Growing Up” and three significant events that he describes. Bibliography lists 1 source.

In six pages this paper presents a review and analyzes the themes of ‘the Lost Generation’ and ‘impotent’ masculinity featured in this novel by Ernest Hemingway. Three sources are cited in the bibliography.

A 4 page essay that argues that Huck Finn is not a racist book. It has become a perennial issue that books, even classics, that contain “’racially offensive’” words should be banned from high school curricula and Mark Twain’s classic Huckleberry Finn is always a target of such campaigns (Bertin 18). The irony in this ...

In three pages this paper discusses how economic terminology referring to market structures such as pure competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly, monopoly, and monopsony are featured in John Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath with story examples of each term provided. One source is cited in the bibliography.

In four pages this paper discusses how the personalities of these characters were responsible for learning experiences that had negative outcomes for themselves and their families. Two sources are cited in the bibliography.

In five pages this paper examines how Poe creatively employs the literary devices of atmosphere and/or tension in these four short stories. Six sources are listed in the bibliography.

This 3 page paper discusses the novel “Kaaterskill Falls” by Allegra Goodman. Bibliography lists 1 source.

In four pages this paper analyzes how Nathaniel Hawthorne utilized symbolism as a literary device in his 1850 novel, The Scarlet Letter. Seven sources are listed in the bibliography.

This 8 page analysis focuses on this short story. Quotes from the story are included. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

In eight pages this paper examines how Ernest Hemingway’s literature can be collectively described as a ‘modernist portrait.’ Eight sources are listed in the bibliography.

This 6 page paper examines Rosalind Wiseman’s writing on “queen bees” and their courts and compares it to the group of boys William Golding creates in “The Lord of the Flies.” Bibliography lists 1 source.

This 8 page paper is an analysis of Kurt Vonnegut's slightly insane book, "Cat's Cradle." Bibliography lists 5 sources.

A 3 page paper which examines the significance and necessity of the main character’s death in Kate Chopin’s short story The Story of an Hour. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

This 4 page paper discusses Phil Cousineu’s book “Once and Future Myths” and how it uses examples of actors and entertainers to explain some of today’s modern myths. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 5 page essay on this topic. There is a tendency in the Western mindset to perceive past, present and future as compartmentalized, that is, as distinctly separate from each other, which is an attitude that emphasizes the ability of the individual to shape the present and determine the future. Whatever one's past might be, ...

A 5 page paper which compares and contrasts the character of Ron, in Ron Born on the Fourth of July and Sammy in John Updike’s A&P. No additional sources cited.

A 10 page paper which examines the symbolism present in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

A 3 page paper which compares and contrasts Shirley Jackson and Flannery O’Connor in terms of their characters and themes. No sources cited.

5 pages in length. Mark Helprin has a special way of reaching inside each one of his protagonists and drawing forth the most complex yet fundamental qualities of human nature. His themes stretch from one end of the spectrum to the other, focusing upon the characteristics that comprise what should be - but ...

A 3 page paper which examines the father in William Faulkner’s Barn Burning. No additional sources cited.

A 5 page essay on Joyce Carol Oates' short story "How I Contemplated the World From the Detroit House of Corrections and Began My Life Over Again," which offers a distinctly postmodern view of the life of an unnamed sixteen-year-old female protagonist. Examination of this narrative demonstrates that it is postmodernism that makes the writing ...

This 10 page paper examines two of Gertrude Stein's books, "The Making of Americans" and "Tender Buttons," and argues that the books are incomprehensible if approached in the normal way, but make sense as a linguistic experiment in form, rather than meaning. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

This 5 page paper discusses the major themes in the novels "A Hazard of New Fortunes" by Howells and "The House of Mirth" by Edith Wharton, and argues that they are inseparable from the characters. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

A 9 page research paper/essay that discusses how the city of New York, the setting for Tom Wolfe's Bonfire of the Vanities, provides a thorough examination of the sociological, political and economics aspects of life in New York City in the 1980s. The city itself plays such an integral part in this narrative that it ...

A 5 page paper which offers a book report of the novel Shiloh by Shelby Foote. No additional sources cited.