Essays and Research Papers on American Literature

A 4 page essay that discusses Hemingway's characters in his short story "Indian Camp." Bibliography lists 5 sources.

This 5 page paper reviews Louise Erdrich's Tracks, a 1988 novel about Chippewa Indians living in North Dakota. The book analyzes the major characters of Pauline, Nanapush, Margaret and Fleur and how their struggles reflect the overall struggle of the Native Americans to hold onto what is left of their land and their dignity. ...

A 6 page research paper that examines "Indian Camp" and "Soldier's Home" and argues that Hemingway objectified young women in his fiction. In general, the writer argues that Hemingway did not present females as fully realized characters, but rather focused on the effect that they had on his young male protagonist. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

This 4 page paper is a review about Mark Spence's book, Dispossessing the Wilderness: Indian Removal and the Making of the National Parks. No additional sources cited.

A 4 page summary & review of this novel. The writer gives an overview of the book by Leslie Silko, depicting the life of the half-white, half-Indian protagonist.

This 7 page paper explores virtue as evidenced in the character of John the Savage from "Brave New World" and Henry V from Shakespeare's "Henry V". This paper asserts that John the Savage is the more virtuous of the two based upon his personal motivations. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 5 page analysis of James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans and Mary White Rowlandson's personal narrative that tells of her capture by Narragansett Indians in a 1675 attack on Lancaster, Mass. The writer argues that both of these accounts are revealing as to how whites viewed Native Americans and how this showed ...

A 5 page paper examining this unique book by John Demos. The paper argues that the book, which deals with a young girl, Eunice Williams, who is assimilated into an Indian tribe in Colonial America, is definitely nonfiction because its author does not attempt to impose fictional structures on it, and grounds his speculation in ...

This 4-page paper discusses the major themes of Ernest Hemingway's collection of short stories, "In Our Time." The main stories focused on include "Indian Camp," "Cat in the Rain," "The Big-Hearted River," and "The End of Things." Bibliography lists 3 sources.

This 6 page paper discusses this novel which is about the Dakota Sioux Indians in the mid-19th century. This paper argues that the novel is told from a primarily female perspective and gives insight into the family relationships and cultural expectations of this society. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

This 7 page report compares Sherman Alexie's 1993 book with the 1998 movie "Smoke Signals" directed by Chris Eyre tht it inspired. Both comment on the contemporary Native American experience and consider stereotypes about Indians. Both offer the outsider a glimpse of life in a truly "outsider" culture.

A 6 page research paper that examines "Indian Camp" and "Soldier's Home" and argues that Hemingway objectified young women in his fiction. In general, the writer argues that Hemingway did not present females as fully realized characters, but rather focused on the effect that they had on his young male protagonist. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

A 6 page paper which examines the search for truth in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye,” and Willa Cather’s “The Professor’s House.” No additional sources cited.

A 4 page review of these two contrasting works of literature, one by Shakespeare and one by modern author Louise Endrich. The author contends that despite their contrasts, each is a Christian tragedy.

This 3 page paper compares the characters of Hannibal Lecter from Thomas Harris' Silence Of The Lambs and Shakespeare's Iago from the play, Othello. No additional sources are listed.

A 6 page paper which illustrates how Shakespeare and Arthur Miller present their tragic heroes in "Hamlet" and "Death of a Salesman" respectively. The argument is presented that both men are struggling to do the right thing. They are both noble in many respects, but Hamlet appears more noble only because his presence is in the past in a ...

A 5 page overview of the problems which are inherrent in with policies of forced cultural assimilation. The author reviews Doris Goodwin’s “Wait Till Next Year”, Sherman Alexie’s “Indian Killer” and Mary Patillo-Mcoy’s “Black Picket Fences”, to provide a basis for the argument that forced assimilation causes more problems in American society than it ...

5 pages in length. Three of Hemingway's short stories are compared: A Clean Well-Lighted Place; Indian Camp; and Soldier's Home. Common themes are discussed with examples. Hemingway has demonstrated how values clash in each of the stories and what despair does to humankind. Bibliography lists 4 references.

A 5 page research paper/essay that examines Ceremony by Native American writer Leslie Marmon Silko, which draws on the tradition and heritage of Pueblo Indians in order to demonstrate the significance of the narrative's setting. Silko emphasizes the psychic disconnect that Tayo has suffered between himself and the Earth, which is his "mother" ...

A 10 page paper which examines elements in three of Ernest Hemingway’s short stories. The stories are “Indian Camp,” “Soldier’s Home,” and “A Clean Well-Lighted Place.” Bibliography lists 3 additional sources.

This 3 page paper discusses Sherman Alexie’s book for young people, “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” and what the illustrations tell about the text. Bibliography lists 1 source.

A five page paper looking at George Orwell's 'Animal Farm' and Richard Attenborough's film version of Gandhi's life in terms of their approaches to social revolution. The paper observes that Orwell's revolution fails because it is unsuited to the needs of the people it claims to support; Gandhi's succeeds because it is precisely suited to ...

A 5 page paper which argues why this story is most important in understanding Nick’s character and experiences. No additional sources are used.

6 pages in length. Childhood experiences - both good and bad - serve to formulate an individual's lifelong perspectives, judgments and beliefs, all of which ultimately construct his personality. Parents toil especially hard to make sure every situation has an underlying lesson to take away so the child realizes the importance of learning ...

A 4 page paper which examines and characterizes the father/son relationships between Daniel and John Smith and Bird Lawrence and Reggie Polatkin. No additional sources are used.