Essays and Research Papers on American Literature

A 5 page paper which discusses and compares Toni Morrison's "Sula" and "Beloved" as they involve the murders within. No additional sources cited.

This 5 page report discusses three well-known authors’ works -- Charlotte Perkins Gilman (“The Yellow Wallpaper”), Henry James (“The Beast in the Jungle”) and the best-known of the three, Mark Twain (“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”) -- and uses them as examples of how the author tells the story is every bit, sometimes more, important than the story itself. Bibliography lists ...

An 8 page paper which compares and contrasts the character of Bigger in "Native Son" by Richard Wright and the character of Maggie in "Maggie: A Girl From the Street" by Stephen Crane. Bibliography lists 5 additional sources.

A 5 page paper which examines the use of irony and dark humor in "Holes" by Louis Sachar. The paper also discusses how Sachar uses the irony and dark humor to develop his characters and the plot. No additional sources cited.

An 8 page examination of some of the most significant post WWII literature. Many argue that Ralph Ellison's "The Invisible Man" may be the most significant literary work. The paper discusses Ellison's work, but also presents arguments which focus on the significance of Don Delillo's "White Noise" and Maxine Hong Kingston's "The Woman Warrior." Bibliography ...

A 5 page examination of the character, and main protagonist, Will Tweedy in "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns. No additional sources cited.

This 6 page report discusses Octavia Butler’s 1987 novel “Dawn” in which she presents the theme of slavery in the service of another beings’ hierarchy and sense of survival and order. “dawn” became the first book in a trilogy, followed by “Adulthood Rites” (1988) and “Imago” (1989). Nuclear war has decimated Earth in “Dawn” and human beings are almost extinct. ...

An 8 page paper which discusses how London used Mother Nature, the weather, as a protagonist in "To Build a Fire" and "Love of Life." Bibliography lists 8 additional sources.

A 5 page paper which discusses how William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" is a story that provides us a picture of the patriarchal old South and the new South. The paper also discusses the story in general, discussing external and internal conflicts, as well as elements relating to her father as the antagonist and ...

Reality is a matter of what is familiar and agreeable, while on the other hand, also refers to what is concealed and kept out of sight. This 7 page paper explores the representation of the inner and outer reality of the characters in Anton Chekhov's The Lady With A Pet Dog and Sherwood Anderson's Death ...

A five page paper which looks at the different perspectives on solitude which are taken by Thoreau in Walden and May Sarton in Journal of a Solitude, with reference to the authors’ attitude to nature, the trivialities of the civilised world, and the creative process. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 5 page paper which examines how these novels are examples of modern literature, considering its characters, events and symbols. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

A nine page paper which looks at The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock and Sweeney Amongst the Nightingales, and considers the way in which Eliot describes the human condition, the individual’s relationship with society, and the contrast between the animal and spiritual elements of human nature. Bibliography lists 5 sources

A sixteen page paper which considers the main characters in Forster’s A Room With A View, Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway and Spark’s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, in terms of the types of women they represent and the way in which they are influenced by the socio-cultural codes and values of their environment. Bibliography lists 6 ...

A 6 page review of the major themes and symbolism in this 1961 story. Although “I Stand Here Ironing” is not biographical it parallels to some degree events which occurred in Olsen’s own life. It is the story of a young and inexperienced mother who painfully relates the deplorable circumstances of her life ...

A 5 page paper which examines the journey to the lighthouse, in Virginia Woolf's "To The Lighthouse" and finds symbolic implications. In regards to the journey the paper focuses on what was attempted and what was achieved. No additional sources cited.

A 6 page paper which examines and defines the modern urban woman and then discusses which story would most appeal to, and typify, the modern urban woman, "Lysistrata" or "The Glass Menagerie." The paper argues that the story of "Lysistrata" would appeal to the modern urban woman for its strength, ingenuity, and sexual nature. bibliography lists 5 additional sources.

Everyone has some characteristic that is not entirely within the parameters of what is considered 'the norm'. This 5 page paper provides a tutorial on a comparison paper with the thesis: The differences experienced by the characters in the short story, Spikes, by Michael Chabon and When Mr. Pirzada Came To Dinner by Jhumpa Lahriri ...

This 10 page paper considers this well known book by in an unusual style. The paper is written in the style of ten separate newspaper articles. The bibliography cites 1 source.

A 9 page paper which compares two characters, from Oscar Wilde's "Picture of Dorian Gray," and examines how they approach art and life. The paper examines who these two realize their aesthetic ideals and philosophies. The two characters discussed are Dorian Gray and Lord Henry. The paper utilizes the essay "Against Interpretation" by Susan Sontag and the essay "In the ...

This 4 page report discusses five of young adult fiction writer Gary Paulsen novels -- Hatchet, The River, Brian’s Winter, Brian’s Return, and The Haymeadow. Four of them are directly related to one another and tell the story of Brian Robeson, a teenager who survives a plane crash, survives the wilderness, and then chooses to leave society to return the natural ...

This 4 page report discusses three of the most important writers of 19th century America and how each of them wrote in ways that represented the fundamental roots and cultural identity of the United States during their lifetimes. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

A 4 page paper that summarizes and discusses these two works as exemplary of Hemingway's style and work. The writer argues that that these two works illustrate that Hemingway's work is complex, with multiple layers of meaning and superb characterization. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

A 4 page research paper that contrasts and compares Huck from Huckleberry Finn and the character of the Misfit from Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man is Hard to Find. The writer argues that both of these characters were abused as children, but it was Huck's "adventure" with Jim, the runaway slave, that gave him ...

This 10 page paper provides an overview of the recurring themes of evilness and depravity in man relative to the central characters in the works of Nathaniel Hawthorne. This paper integrates a view of the way in which evilness and man's depravity isolate man from society, especially through the views of central characters in ...