Essays and Research Papers on American Literature

This is a 5 page paper discussing the character of Calixta in Kate Chopin’s “The Storm”. Kate Chopin’s “The Storm” tells the story of a 19th century housewife, Calixta, who appears to be unhappy and restless within her marriage. Upon the arrival of an old flame, Alcee, during the approach of a storm, Calixta begins ...

A 5 page paper which analyzes Kate Chopin’s short story “The Storm.” Bibliography lists 4 additional sources.

A 5 page paper which examines how superstitious Tom Sawyer is in Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.” No additional sources cited.

This 5 page paper examines the philosphies of Romantic Era philosophers Emerson and Thoreau and how their ideas conflicted with the authors Melville, Poe and Hawthorne. This paper uses many examples from their works to illustrate the points. Bibliography lists no sources.

A 5 page paper which examines Farley Mowat’s works “Born Naked” and “Never Cry Wolf,” as indicators of how Mowat is similar to his father, and his father to his father, etc. No additional sources cited.

This is a 5 page paper discussing the differences found in Brunvand’s “The Vanishing Hitchhiker” and “The Baby Train”. Jan Brunvand’s text “The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends and Their Meanings” (1981) introduced a generation to contemporary American urban legends, their origins, their development, and contained detailed accounts as to the depth of research in ...

A 5 page paper which compares and contrasts the themes offered by Amy Tan in “The Joy Luck Club” and James McBride in “The Color of Water.” No additional sources cited.

This is a 6 page paper discussing the slave trade and treatment of slaves in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” and Herman Melville’s “Benito Cereno”. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” and Herman Melville’s “Benito Cereno” show different sides of the slave trade and slave life in the 18th century and colonial America. Although ...

This 7 page paper examines this controversial book, considering the main message that promotes socialism as the cure to the evils of capitalism. The paper considers how this idea fitted in with the American Dream and ideas of the time. The bibliography cites 5 sources.

A 12 page research paper that contrasts and compares Emily Dickinson's "The Soul selects her own Society" and Whitman's "A Woman Waits for Me." The writer looks at the similarities between their poetic form and their differences in their decorum, i.e. the context of their work. Annotated bibliography lists 9 sources.

This is a 6 page summary and annotated bibliography on Genny Lim. Genny Lim is a successful poet, writer, playwright and performance artist who is currently a professor at New College of California in San Francisco. The research related to her work reveals her significance and impact in the Asian American arts especially in regards ...

A 5 page paper which compares and contrasts the causes, extent and consequences of alienation experienced by protagonists Reverend Hooper and Bartleby. No additional sources are used.

A 6 page paper which examines how the differences between males and female are outlined throughout the course of the novel. No additional sources are used.

A 7 page paper which examines Mark Twain’s “Pudd’nhead Wilson” and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” as it involves the American Dream. No additional sources cited.

This 8 page paper is a discussion of the play, "A Raisin in the Sun". This paper analyszed the characters, their motivations, the racial issues, the family structure and more. Bibliography lists 7 sources.

This 5 page paper discusses Hawthorne's "The Birthmark" and "Rappaccini's Daughter". This paper explores how both of these stories treat women as mere objects and how the men in these stories control and coerce these women. Bibliography lists 0 sources.

An 11-page paper detailing the pattern of confusing reality and fantasy in the works of Tim O’Brien. Discusses his deliberate attempt to confuse the reader as to what is real and fictional, with the intent of presenting a "higher" truth by making the reader feel viscerally what it was like in Vietnam, and to illustrate ...

A 5 page paper which examines the morals of the Puritan community in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter” as they existed then and also now, as it relates to men of the cloth and sexual affairs. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

A 7 page paper which examines how Fitzgerald makes use of time through flashbacks and non linear progression. No additional sources cited.

This is a 6 page paper discussing the theme of “doubling” within Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher”. Edgar Allan Poe’s 1839 story “The Fall of the House of Usher” tells the tale of a lonely narrator arriving at the House of Usher where lives a friend of his, Roderick, who ...

A 5 page paper which examines various female anxieties, those associated with fertility, procreation, and maternity, as found in Margaret Atwood’s novel “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Bibliography lists 3 additional sources.

A 5 page essay that argues that characterization is a crucial factor in the creation of superb short stories. To substantiate this position, the writer looks at "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver; "Paul's Case" by Willa Cather; "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" by James Thurber; "King of the Bingo Game" by Ralph Ellison; "Gimpel the ...

A 5 page paper which examines the character of Lena in Willa Cather’s “My Antonia,” illustrating how her character possesses the qualities that make the American Dream possible. No additional sources cited.

A 5 page paper which introduces the short story, then examines it in detail to determine the author’s meaning before concluding with a personal evaluation of the work. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 5 page paper which analyzes the vernacular used in Mark Twain’s short story “Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog.” No additional sources cited.