Essays and Research Papers on American Literature

A 5 page essay that examines the King's use of setting in this award-winning short story, "The Man in the Black Suit." The writer argues that the rural Maine setting, which is so typical of King's work, plays an intrinsic role in the manner in which King builds suspense in this story. No additional sources ...

A 3 page paper which argues that humanity did not benefit from the changes in society seen in Aldous Huxley's "Brave new World." Bibliography lists 2 additional sources.

A 2 page essay that examines the similarities in image, theme and symbolism between "Roger Malvin's Burial and "Young Goodman Brown" by Hawthorne. No additional sources cited.

A 3 page essay that compares William Faulkner's short story "A Rose for Emily, and Flannery O'Connor's short story "Good Country People." In both stories, female protagonists come face-to-face with their deepest fears. Also, in both stories, the authors make use of the imagery of time to dramatize the situations of women and the ...

A 7 page paper which discusses the symbolic images found in Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find." Bibliography lists 2 additional sources.

This 6 page utorial paper explores the historical novel, The Massacre at Fall Creek, which was based on an actual trial in which white men who had killed Native Americans stood trial for murder. No additional sources are listed

A 5 page paper which considers the reliability of the narrators in each story. No additional sources are used.

A 5 page paper that addresses specific questions: Jacobs intended audience, why she does not have children with her black lover; how she avoids Flint; and why she has children with another white man. The writer also compares Jacobs story with that of Olaudah Equiano's. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 5 page essay that contrasts and compares Tennessee Williams' play The Glass Menagerie and Amy Tan's short story Two Kinds. These works have as their central focus the relationship between a mother and daughter. While there are naturally numerous differences between their stories, many of which derive from the fact that the families involved ...

An 11 page paper which explores the major issues presented; offers a critical opinion of the book; examines Sagan's arguments on science, religion and skepticism in our world; considers how to make people understand and appreciate science; the role of science in the context of the present and limited educational systems; how the relationship between religious ...

This 5 page paper explores the role of old Colonel John Sartoris in William Faulkner's Flags In The Dust. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

This 5 p[age paper is a character study of Colonel John Sartoris from William Faulkner's 'Flags in the Dust' which is also published in a slightly different form as 'Sartoris'. The paper looks at the portrayal and origins of this character and the role this character plays in the book. The bibliography cites 2 sources. ...

(5 pp) The wonderful thing about the art process, both in the creation of a piece and the "viewing" of the work is that the viewer/reader brings their own feelings -their own spirit to the work, and then shifts through the corresponding pieces to see if they can provide more information about the puzzle that ...

This 5 page report discusses William Faulkner’s short story “Barn Burning” published in 1939. In it, Faulkner tells about the Snopes family. Ab Snopes is a poor sharecropper and onetime horsethief who takes out his frustrations against the post-Civil War aristocracy by burning barns. Colonel Sartoris “Sarty” Snopes is his adolescent son, who detests his father’s destructiveness. Ultimately, ...

(5 pp) The creative imagination is like a genie that has escaped its bottle; once it is released, it will do any and everything to stay alive, even to the point of fantasy and self -destruction. Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" illustrates that creative imagination cannot be stopped by oppression. ...

"Travels with Charley": Realism of Characters : A 5 page paper which discusses the a couple of the characters presented in John Steinbeck's novel "Travels with Charley." The paper addresses the qualities of the characters which makes them realistic. The characters discussed are Harry, and the marshals and the girl. No additional sources cited.

A 10 page essay that contrasts and compares how Emerson expresses and reflects the principles of Transcendentalism in his speeches "The American Scholar" and "The Divinity School Address." Bibliography lists 4 sources.

This 7 page paper provides an explication of several critiques or critical essays for Nathaniel Hawthorne's The House Of The Seven Gables and The Marble Faun which may then form the foundation for a critique written by the student. Bibliography lists 7 sources.

(5 pp). N. Scott Momaday and Sherman Alexie are Native American writers who "connect" with those they love. For Momaday it is the love of land - that unique place where one is born, that is both defining and healing. For Alexie it is the love of self and others as ...

A 5 page paper which discusses how Charlotte Perkins Gilman provides a reflection of herself in her story, "The Yellow Wallpaper." Bibliography lists 3 additional sources.

A 5 page paper which dispels the myths about pregnancy among lower-income teenagers. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 10 page overview of these two classic plays. Makes the contention that each is just as representative of the literary genre of classic tragedy as is the other. Observes that each is a different twist on one man's perception of the concepts of hope, fate, and destiny. Emphasizes that Oedipus believed ...

9 pages in length. The writer analyzes the message in Melville's "Billy Budd," as well as compares the story to Toni Morrison's "Beloved" and Arthur Miller's "The Crucible." Bibliography lists 5 sources.

5 pages in length. Neil Foley's "White Scourge: Mexicans, Blacks, and Poor Whites in Texas Cotton" Culture addresses the racial issues that have plagued ethnic minorities in Texas. Paramount to Foley's account is his treatment of racism's historical aspects, as well as the manner by which a more contemporary society has not let ...

10 pages in length. True to form in depicting a somewhat skewed perception of reality, females are one dimensional in the vast lot of Ernest Hemingway novels. This assertion has been noted by myriad critics, with one going so far as to say that Hemingway feels an obligation to introduce women, though he ...