Essays and Research Papers on American Literature

A four page paper comparing a love poem by e.e. cummings to the classic Tennessee Williams play. The paper traces the theme of the fragile beloved through both works, and shows how fragility exerts its own power. Bibliography lists four sources.

This is a 5 page paper discussing friendships in the novel “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck. Although the novel “Of Mice and Men” explores many facets of human emotions including pain, pity, rage, jealousy, compassion, misunderstandings and confusion, at the heart of all these emotions and the strength of the novel lies the ...

This is a 12 page paper that provides an overview of social compliance in "The Crucible". The argument is made that social compliance is achieved by the state exploiting societal guilt through various instruments of power. Bibliography lists 1 source.

A 5 page essay arguing that both Creon (“Antigone”) and Joe Turner (“Joe Turner Come and Gone”) were unable to use their personal power for correct action based on their convictions that they must live life in stereotypical or static ways. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

6 pages in length. The subject and theme of Orson Welles' "Citizen Kane" represent capitalism at its best. Chronicling the personal and professional life of media magnate William Randolph Hearst, "Citizen Kane" harbors a thematic appeal that blatantly addresses how power and wealth can represent a double-edged sword. For Hearst, a man ...

This 10 page paper focuses not only on changes discussed in the novel such as the Big Brother concept, but also notes today's New World Order as a concept that relates to the novel's paradigm. The order of the world in reality is related to the breakdown of the globe into three distinct powers ...

This 5 page essay analyzes this three-act play by Mamet which has the themes of sex, power and emotional warfare. This writer proposes the play is a lesson in how abusive movements for rights can become and supports this theme with quotations and descriptions from the play's content.

A five page paper looking at the importance of these three themes in James Joyce’s classic short story. The paper maintains that Joyce views Ireland as a nation essentially dead, whose greatest power lays in its memories and imagination. Bibliography lists two sources.

A five page paper comparing and contrasting Cathi Hanauer's treatment of the issue of anorexia in 'My Sister's Bones' with that of Margaret Atwood in 'The Edible Woman.' The paper concludes that both authors show how anorexia is reflected in issues of patriarchal power, although Atwood looks at it more from the standpoint of the ...

A 3 page paper which examines how love often hides political and personal powers as seen in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Shakespeare’s The Tempest. No additional sources cited.

A 3 page paper which examines Kate Chopin’s short story The Story of an Hour as it involves the power and pain of freedom. No additional sources cited.

A 6 page paper which examines the desire for power in a particular chapter from Joseph Heller’s classic Catch-22. No additional sources cited.

A 10 page paper which examines the theme of hypocrisy through religion in Mark Twain’s “the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” No additional sources cited.

A five page paper looking at this seminal twentieth-century author in terms of the various ways her work can be analyzed and interpreted. The paper concludes that she can be productively viewed from both the standpoints of Catholic spirituality and sociological change. Bibliography lists four sources.

A 5 page paper which examines the theme of religion in Flannery O’Connor’s short story A Good Man is Hard to Find. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

A 7 page paper looking at the treatment of Christian doctrine in these two novels by Charles Brockden Brown and Susan Warner. The paper points out that although Christian expression is used as a form of 'cultural shorthand' in both novels, only in Warner's is the teaching of Christian principles a major goal of the ...

A 6 page essay that reflects on the 3 works by John Updike, his novel A Month of Sundays and his short stories "Wildlife" and "Farrell's Caddie." The writer discusses how each work reflects on Updike's own lfie and attitudes and his perception of the divine. Bibliography lists 9 sources.

A 4 page paper which examines the theme of religion and secularism in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 5 page paper which compares and contrasts the religion of the New Worlders and the Reservation in Aldous Huxley's book "Brave New World." No additional sources cited.

A 3 paper that analyzes the title article. The writer comments on the major themes, the intentions of the author, and why we should care. Bibliography lists 1 source.

A 5 page paper that explores and examines the theme of the reconciliation of the heritage of Native American politics and religion with that of the heritage of the politics and religion of European colonization in twentieth century literature. Discussed and compared are John Neihardt's 1932 publication of Black Elk Speaks: Being the Life ...

In four pages this paper examines the Bokononist religion featured in Kurt Vonnegut’s science fiction novel in a consideration of the function of faith and how it is based more upon untruths than on logic. One source is listed in the bibliography.

A seven page paper looking at the difference between a conventional view of religion and that of people whose jobs constantly require them to face the possibility of death. A little-known novel of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s and Melville’s most famous work are used as the basis for this analysis. No additional sources.

A five page look at John Steinbeck's classic novel about a migrant family in the 1930s. The paper contends that Steinbeck refutes the basic assumptions that conventional Christianity makes about family structure and replaces it with a radically new sense of what family means. Bibliography lists two sources.

A 7 page paper which analyzes how Flannery O'Connor's view of religion is revealed in her 1955 short story, "A Good Man is Hard to Find." Bibliography lists 6 sources.