Essays and Research Papers on American Literature

A 5 page analysis that examines That Evening Sun by William Faulkner; Trifles by Susan Glaspell; and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston as to how the protagonist in each attempted to better her life. No additional sources cited.

A 5 page paper which examines how the concepts of culture, stratification, norms, values, mores, folkways, socialization, role and status, deviancy, primary and secondary groups, significant others, and stereotypes are represented in the novel. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

This 6 page report discusses the Symbolism in Zora Neal Hurston's "Their Eyes Were Watching God" (1937). Hurston’s remarkable sense of imagery and symbolism that she purposefully uses supports the overall theme of the book and adds to the unique points-of-view it represents. In fact, it is her use of symbols that serves to best represent the multiplicity ...

This 5 page paper considers the book and its contents, paying specific attention to a single character, that of Win Hancock. The paper looks to use a single word to describe him, and settles on victim, he is a victim of fatter, a victim or reputation and of circumstances and discusses this characterisation of him. ...

This 5 page paper looks at three of Shepard's plays (Curse of the Starving, True West, and Buried Child) and evaluates how he views the American family. The idea of normalcy is challenged. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

A 5 page discussion of the societal restrictions which resulted in the underlying desire for freedom in both of these nineteenth century books. Notes that while these societal restrictions are, perhaps, most obvious in the issues of slavery, they are present as well in "The Scarlet Letter". Described as "a penetrating dramatization of ...

A 5 page paper which discusses Roddy Doyle's book "The Woman Who Walked Into Doors" as it concerns Paula's search for identity outside of being an abused wife. The paper discusses aspects of Irish and American identity. No additional sources cited.

This 5 page paper explores the validity of an 1851 diagnosis of Dysaesthesia Aethiopica that was assigned to unruly slaves as it applies to the character Sixo in Toni Morrison's Beloved. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 5 page paper which compares and contrasts the husbands and wives in the two twentieth-century short stories. No additional sources are used.

This 5 page paper compares and contrasts the views of White and Black culture as presented in Mark Twain's The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn and The Souls Of Black Folk by W. E. B. Dubois. Bibliography lists 12 sources.

This 5 page paper asserts that Jean Shepherd, in the short story, Daphne Bigelow And The Spine-Chilling Saga of The Snail-Encrusted Tinfoil Noose, uses satire as a way of redefining the pain of an embarrassing moment into a comic situation that allows healing. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 5 page paper which discusses the importance of sexuality in Daniel Defoe's "Roxana." The importance of the study of such historical sexuality is incredibly important for scholars today for it reveals a great deal of information which further defines why our sexuality is as it is today. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

A 5 page paper which examines how the two plays serve as commentaries about their respective times and societies. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

This 4 page paper looks at the work of two very different women authors, he Fifth Chinese Daughter by Jade Snow Wong and In My Place by Charlayne Hunter-Gault and compares the way in which the autobiographical stories relate to issues of heritage and produce a the message of hope and determination, and of over ...

5 pages. In comparing the two short stories, A Respectable Woman, by Kate Chopin, and Susan Glaspell's A Jury of Her Peers, there is a common thread running through them which is that of the instinctive motivations of women's self-preservation against societal judgements. Indeed, both stories support this thesis strongly; Chopin's protagonist, Mrs. Bardoa, instinctively protecting herself against being judged ...

This 6 page report discusses the American writer and dramatist, Tennessee Williams (1911-1983) and the ways in which his work and his life can be defined as postmodern. Part of the power of the modernist movement in 20th century literature was the force, or the will of the artist, which is presented in the writing and is imprinted on the reader. ...

A seven page paper analyzing the significance of the theme of the Doppelganger, or "double", in Poe's short fiction. Specific stories discussed are "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Cask of Amontillado," "Ligeia," and "William Wilson." Bibliography lists eight sources.

A 5 page research paper that explores the writing and the influence that Mary Moody Emerson had on her famous nephew—Ralph Waldo Emerson. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

A five page paper which analyses Hawthorne’s short story in terms of the dualities and opposites presented within it, both in theme and treatment, and considers Hawthorne’s view of the nature of humanity and the concepts of absolute good and evil in relation to Puritan ethics and behaviour. Bibliography lists 1 source.

A 5 page paper which examines Hemingway's tortured chief protagonist, specifically concentrating on his complicated relationship with Lady Brett Ashley. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

A five page paper which looks at the character of Victor as described in a passage from Chapter IV, showing how his nature and personality have changed under the compulsive influence which drives him to fulfil his studies in the creation of life, and how he loses aspects of his own humanity in his hubristic ...

A four page paper looking at the symbolism Tennessee Williams uses to bring to life the tragic Wingfield family in this modern play. Specific symbols discussed are the portrait of the missing Mr. Wingfield over the mantel, sister Laura's love of little blown-glass animals (particularly her unicorn), brother Tom's love of the movies, and their ...

This 5 page paper looks at the book by John G. Neihardt entitled 'Black Elk Speaks'. It is the life story of one of the last great holy men of the Ogala Sioux and has many lesson and messages for the reader. The bibliography cites 1 source.

A 7 page paper which discusses how F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, "The Great Gatsby," presents the American dream of the 1920's. No additional sources cited.

A six page paper looking at these two works by Robert Frost in terms of their subject matter, theme, imagery, and tone. The paper concludes that although they both deal with the effect of death upon the living, "Home Burial" is darker than the merely poignant "Hired Man," because the stakes are higher; the couple's ...