Essays and Research Papers on American Literature

A five page paper looking at Antonio's struggle for self-unity in Rudolfo Anaya's 1971 novel. The paper shows how Antonio is enabled to find peace, despite great tragedy, through an awareness that all is essentially one. No additional sources.

This 6 page report discusses the autobiographical works of each of these writers and then considers the narrative strategies employed in their processes of developing subjectivity. If subjectivity is truly foundation for the autonomous and creative aspects of human life as many writers, philosophers, and social theorists believe it to be, then it is also necessary to consider the realms presented by ...

A 12 page paper which discusses various authors and their works and illustrates how these works of the 20th century often present aspects of confrontation to the society and to humanity. The paper utilizes "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald and "Jazz" by Toni Morrison to discuss this perspective. Bibliography lists 1 additional source.

A five page paper looking at Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne in terms of their very distinct interpretations of the short horror genres. The two stories compared are Poe's "Ligeia" and Hawthorne's "Rappaccini's Daughter." Bibliography lists five sources.

An 8 page research paper that examines Faulkner's classic short story, "A Rose for Emily." The writer examines the thoughts of several scholars on the story, and also from a feminist perspective that considers the role that societal expectations played in the murder of Homer Barron. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

A five page paper looking at this contemporary novel in terms of the degree to which Rev. Shepherd's bizarre religious fundamentalism can be called psychotic. The paper concludes that insofar as it endangers his children's emotional growth, it definitely can. No additional sources.

A 5 page paper which examines Jeanette Winterson's book "The Passion" as it addresses the lure of childhood. The existence of children offers hope, and the retrospective examination of the characters' childhood mesmerizes the characters as they find what passion and happiness they can through their passionate love of one another, somewhat compensating for the fact that they are no ...

This 7 page paper argues that Holden Caulfield of A Catcher In The Rye and Daisy Miller in Henry James' short story of the same name share the distinction of being a social outcast; Daisy because she does not fit the mold and Holden because the mold does not fit him. Bibliography lists 7 sources.

A 5 page research paper that argues that this classic short novel in style and content is undoubtedly part of the Hemingway canon. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

Twain's The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg, has been said to strip "away the pretensions of self-appointed arbiters of morality". This 5 page paper asserts that money corrupts, people are basically weak when confronted by temptation and even the incorruptible Christian can engage in ritual hypocrisy under the direction of the Devil. These basic principles are the theme to Mark ...

5 pages. In James Joyce's great novel Ulysses, are two chapters which are the topic of this paper. The focus herein is on Chapter Eight, The Lestrygonians, and Chapter Fifteen, Circe. Each one will be analyzed and discussed separately herein. Bibliography lists 1 sources.

A 4 page paper. In this essay, the writer compares and contrasts Stowe's Uncle Tom and Melville's Babo from Benito Cerano. Both the similarities and differences of these two men are discussed. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A five page paper which analyses the themes of roots and alienation in Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street. The writer considers how the main character’s childhood alienation is the first stage in her reconciliation with her cultural background, and looks at the ways in which her relationship with and attitudes to other women ...

This 9 page report discusses Alice Walker’s short story “The Abortion” in her collection titled “You Can’t Keep a Good Woman Down.” In it, Walker creates a story and situation in which she pulls a reader into a state of understanding and empathy with the primary character. The reader may not like the attitudes or the actions of ...

This 5 page report discusses romanticism in literature that is best personified in the works of English and some other European writers and poets of the period roughly encompassing 1775 to 1837. Wordsworth, Keats, Shelley, Malthus, and Austen are examples of the English tradition of Romanticism that immediately come to mind while one is likely to think of Coleridge, Hawthorne, ...

A 5 page paper which discusses the concept of modernity. The paper also addresses issues of realism within the novel. No additional sources cited.

A nine page paper which looks at Steinbeck’s short story The Chrysanthemums and considers whether the central character, Elisa, may have been based on the author’s wife Carol Henning. The writer compares the similarities and differences between Elisa’s life and behaviour and Carol’s, and looks at the society of 1930s America which would have had ...

A five page paper which compares Philip K Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? with Ridley Scott’s film Blade Runner. The writer looks at the way in which the setting and characters are treated differently in the two works, and how the main character achieves a fuller understanding of the nature ...

This 6 page paper reflects on Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman and shows how the Loman family, particularly Willy, is affected by money and the American dream. The American dream is discussed as a theme. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

This 11 page paper looks at the book by Edmond Killina which considers the election of Kennedy over Nixon in 1960. The results were very controversial and this book considers these on a national and a local basis, giving us an insight to the events and giving us lesson to bring into the present. The ...

This 5 page paper considers the self identification presented in Maryse Conde's story of the Salem Witch Trials and the Caribbean slave woman, Tituba. This paper relates the relationship that exists between Tituba and other central characters in her work, including Mama Yaya, Abena and Yao, in shaping the view of her life and ...

(5 pp) Not a large story for Poppa Hemingway, and sometimes difficult to find, "The Killers" can usually be located in a book of short fiction called Men Without Women., 1927. It is a coming of age story infused with layers of meaning, not unlike the coming of age process itself. Bibliography lists ...

A 5 page paper which compares and contrasts the nature of the conflict in "The Awakening" and "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been," how and why sex is used in the development of these stories of women coming of age; and also compares and contrasts "The Awakening" with "Sonny's Blues" to consider the ...

A 5 page discussion of cultural and behavioral differences which are targeted by bias and prejudice. Typically these prejudices target racial and ethnic differences as well as sexual preference such as homosexuality. Examines the works of five authors: William Foote Whyte's "Street Corner Society", Piri Thomas' autobiographical novel "Down These Mean Streets", ...

A five page paper looking at Nathaniel Hawthorne's treatment of religious rationalism versus romantic passion in this nineteenth-century novel. True morality does not lie in rules, Hawthorne argues, but in love; not in the head, but in the heart. No additional sources.