Essays and Research Papers on American Literature

A 5 page paper discussing the android of Marge Piercy's "He, She and It" in comparison to Pete Hamill's golem of "Snow in August." The violence of Piercy's world and Hamill's is not so very different, though there is a century between them. Yod fights the evils that threaten Shira; Joseph the golem takes on those ...

This 5 page paper explores the meaning of success according to the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. No additional sources are listed.

A 5 page paper which compares and contrasts Dorothy Allison and Cherrie Moraga's analysis of class. Bibliography lists 3 sources. RAanclass.wps

A 5 page paper which examines the character of the narrator, also the author, Maya Angelou. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 5 page review of "The Water is Wide", a novel chronicling the experiences of writer and educator Pat Conroy in 1969 on the near deserted island of Yamacraw off the South Carolina coast. Relates Conroy's trials, tribulations, and successes when charged with educating a largely illiterate group of student consisting of black fifth ...

A 5 page paper which critically examines Paul Auster's complex mystery, "The City of Glass." No additional sources are used.

This 5 page paper focuses on this one theme in reviewing this infamous work of Ken Kesey's. Self sacrifice is explored through the protagonist's view as well as in respect to others who are also institutionalized. How the society sacrifices its most unique and creative people is also discussed. No additional sources ...

This 5 page paper looks at this play by Tennessee Williams. The first part of the paper consider the character of Tom, using quotes from the book to explain and examine his character, the second part of the book then looks at the story as a whole and the way in which we can see ...

A 5 page paper which discusses the literal and symbolic meanings of the title 'Death of a Salesman,' the play by Arthur Miller. In the literal meaning we are truly presented with the death of one man, a salesman, Willy Loman. In the symbolic meaning we see the death of the salesman as representative of the death of the ...

A seven page paper showing how Kate Chopin's short story reflects events and feelings in her real life. The paper argues that Chopin's enjoyment of the single life after years of apparently happy marriage form the background of the story. Bibliography lists 17 sources.

8 pages in length. The writer discusses how Holden is attracted to women who harbor innocence and vulnerability, while at the same time is repelled by those who do not possess these characteristics. Bibliography lists 7 sources.

A 5 page summation and analysis of Russell Banks' novel The Sweet Hereafter.' The writer argues that characterization is the driving and defining force in this work. No additional sources cited.

A six page paper analyzing these two short stories in terms of their treatment of scientific experimentation. The paper shows that Hawthorne strongly felt that there were areas in which human intervention had no place, and which should be left in the hands of God. Bibliography lists six sources.

A 5 page paper which considers how the autobiographies Malcolm Cowley's "Exile's Return: A Literary Odyssey of the 1920s" and Margaret Mead's "Blackberry Winter" are examples of political criticism. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

(5 pp includes 0.5 pp outline) This discussion will examine the statement by Machiavelli, "The fact is that a man who wants to act virtuously in every way, necessarily comes to grief among so many who are not virtuous" and its relationship to Robert Penn Warren's novel All the Kings Men (1946), which won ...

This 5 page paper provides a view of the two central couples in Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. This paper compares and contrasts central elements of the two couples and the characterizations of George, Martha, Nick and Honey. No additional sources cited.

A five-page paper which looks at society in the Southern states at the time of Mark Twain and how Southern values influenced his writing. The writer cites examples from four of Twain’s novels, The Innocents Abroad, Pudd’nhead Wilson, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn and considers how Twain juxtaposed the virtues and shortcoming of Southern culture in ...

This 5 page paper looks at the book 'To The Lighthouse' by Virginia Woolf and the way in which this can be seen as the retelling and rewriting of her own childhood in both the physical circumstances as well as events and characterisations. The bibliography cites 1 source.

This 6 page report discusses one of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short stories from the collection “Mosses from an Old Manse” (1846). In “Roger Malvin’s Burial,” Hawthorne presents the story of a man who lies to his wife as to how he helped her father in his dying hour. His life slowly but certainly begins to fall apart after that ...

A five page paper on this twentieth century novel of Southern politics and disillusionment. The paper compares the stories of Jack Burden, Willie Stark, and Cass Mastern, discussing how they are thematically related. No additional sources.

This five-page-paper presents a detailed analysis of Crash by J.G. Ballard and A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. Bibliography lists two sources.

A 5 page paper which examines how protagonists were either haunted or hunted by something or someone in Nathaniel Hawthorne's short stories "The Minister's Black Veil," "The Birth-Mark," "Rappaccini's Daughter," "Roger Malvin's Burial," and in his novel, "The Scarlet Letter." Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 5 page research paper that examines Arthur Miller's award-winning play Death of a Salesman. The writer considers thematic material, as well as such points as how the play is typically produced. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

This 5 page paper argues that the short story, Fathers And Sons, is entered on the theme of rejection, even though the tone is one of wistful longing in concert with anger at not being able to make a connection. The style that Hemingway employs can be described as 'reminiscent narrative'. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 6 page consideration on three Southern novels' portrayals of social class and race, and how each author relates to the subject matter. Bibliography lists 6 sources.