Essays and Research Papers on American Literature

A 3 page paper which examines and analyzes the character of Lennie, as tragic hero, in John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men. No additional sources cited.

This is a 4 page paper that provides an explication of Dimmesdale's dying monologue in "The Scarlet Letter". The argument is made that Dimmesdale rejects Puritanical values and beseeches Hester to do the same. Bibliography lists 0 sources.

This 6 page paper discusses some of the literary techniques Shirley Jackson uses in her short story The Lottery. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

A 3 page paper which examines what the argument/thesis is within Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. No additional sources cited.

This 5 page paper presents summaries of five essays and a print advertisement. The report includes the main ideas, supporting evidence, reader’s reaction. The advertisement is analyzed according to Aristotle’s triangle of arguments. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

This 4 page paper explores Sylvia Plath. Despite her short life, Plath made a lasting contribution to the feminist movement. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

In seven pages this paper examines how Taylor Greer’s rebellious streak of independence changes to maturity as a result of motherhood and close friendships in an analysis of the novel’s protagonist. Four sources are listed in the bibliography.

This 10 page essay provides an examination of literature that investigates how the processes and social structures of childhood identity formation are represented in specific works. After defining "identity," the writer discusses this topic in terms of 4 works. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

This 3 page paper analyzes the short story Integration by Native American author Sherman Alexie. Bibliography lists 1 source.

This 5 page paper discusses the main themes of Tim O’Brien’s story about Vietnam, “The Things They Carried.” Bibliography lists 1 source.

This 3 page paper begins by explaining that the characters in the story do talk about love, but the discussion is rather dismal. Love as a concept is discussed. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 5 page paper which examines the events as they relate to the narrator in Edgar Allen Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 4 page essay that draws on sources to discuss the theme of lynching in Richard Wright's Black Boy and how this symbolically represented the culture of violence that kept African American subservient in the pre-Civil Rights era South. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

This 3 page essay offers a brief analysis of American Son, a novel by Brian Roley, which describes how two Filipino American brothers cope with their heritage within the context of 1990s American society. No other sources cited.

This 6 page essay analyzes and discusses an excerpt from Toni Morrison's novel The Bluest Eye. The writer argues that this excerpt concisely sums up the novel's main thematic context. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

This 10 page paper provides an analysis of 'The story of a Marriage' by Andrew Sean Greer. This paper specifically looks at the topics of sexual orientation and race relations presented in the work. Bibliography lists 5 sources

This 4 page paper provides an overview of a viewing of Mark O'Rowe's play Howie the Rookie. This paper integrates responses to questions about the emotional connection in the play and the impacts of the use of monologues. No additional sources cited.

This 2 page essay discusses the private and public nature of suffering in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, focusing on the 3 major characters, Hester Prynne, Roger Chillingworth and Arthur Dimmesdale. Only the book is cited.

A 3 pages essay that summarizes and analyzes "On the Beach at Night" by Walt Whitman. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

This is an 8 page paper that looks at the stories of Tim O'Brien and Ernest Hemingway. The use of fiction to convey higher truths is explored. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

This 3 page paper compares two classic short stories: A&P by John Updike and “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

This 7 page paper discusses the themes in A Farewell to Arms and The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. Bibliography lists 10 sources.

This 3 page paper discusses the way Poe and Poushkin handle the themes of revenge and forgiveness in their stories The Cask of Amontillado and The Shot, respectively. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

This 5-page paper discusses James Cobb's book, The Most Southern Place on Earth: The Mississippi Delta and the Roots of Regional Identity, and how the region became what it is today.

This 3 page paper considers the meaning of justice and mercy within the context of the classic novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Bibliography lists 2 sources.