Essays and Research Papers on British Literature

This 7 page paper considers the estates of Pemberley, from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, and Ferndean Manor, from Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, and assesses the way these two estates embody social and domestic vision. In correlation, this paper also assesses the impacts of these estates in shaping the novels as a whole. ...

A 5 page paper which examines the issue of authority, and whether or not it can ever be entirely justified, by specifically considering the divine authority of kings in William Shakespeare's "Henry IV," the authority of God (and man) in John Milton's "Paradise Lost," the secret wish of female authority in Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Wife ...

This 5 page report discusses William Golding’s 1954 novel “Lord of the Flies.” The timeframe in which Golding wrote the book is important because it offers an added dimension of insight to the reality from which the boys surviving on the island came. Lost and helpless as they were, the boys had no choice but to rely on the structures ...

A 6 page paper which examines how science was viewed and perceived in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel masterpiece, "Frankenstein." Bibliography lists 3 sources.

This 12 page report discusses Jane Austen’s novel “Mansfield Park” (1814). Jane Austen presents her late 18th and early 19th century world to readers of the 21st century with such clarity and distinction that it becomes impossible to not apply the universal truths of her time to the contemporary age. In “Mansfield Park” she presents the reader with a ...

This 5 page paper explores the comic tradition of parody and satire as well as the intertextuality of the novel, Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett. Bibliography lists 11 sources.

This 5 page report discusses two of the Western world’s great story tellers -- Charles Perrault and Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll). “At the time it all seemed quite natural,” Lewis Carroll wrote in the scene in which the White Rabbit first appears to Alice. Likewise, Cinderella does not seemed amazed when her godmother, who also happened to be ...

A 3 page paper which compares and contrasts the protagonists' stories in Thomas Hardy's "The Mayor of Casterbridge" and Joseph Conrad's "Lord Jim." No additional sources are used.

A five page paper looking at Robert Louis Stevenson's novel in terms of the way its structure -- the events leading to the climax, the climax itself, and finally the resolution -- make the work well-paced and keep the reader on the edge of his seat. No additional sources.

A 5 page paper that discusses relationships and marriage in Austen's Pride and Prejudice. The underlying motivation for each marriage is provided with commentary about whether or not these motivations exist today. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

This 11 page paper examines the cultural variables in A Passage To India by E. M. Forster. No additional sources are listed.

This 6 page report discusses “The Time Machine” and the ways in which the world of the future provided a commentary on Wells own time. When the story is viewed as a social construct of the world it takes on yet another tonal quality and presents a realm in which class consciousness exists as a fundamental cornerstone of social order. ...

5 pages in length. This is a quick synopsis of the groups of books by Henry Fielding and his legendary book of Tom Jones. Includes the ending of the book and rates how the ending works, as well as a narrative of what makes the book work as well as it does to remaing popular throughout hundreds of ...

A 5 page paper which examines how Mary Shelley's life is reflected in her classic Gothic novel, "Frankenstein," such as the death of her mother, the death of her son and the loneliness of her life as depicted in the characters of Victor Frankenstein, the monster, and the primary narrator, Robert Walton. Bibliography lists ...

This five-page-paper presents a detailed analysis of Crash by J.G. Ballard and A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. Bibliography lists two sources.

A six page look at this novel by Rudyard Kipling, showing how this book -- the only one of Kipling's novels set in the New World -- brings the motifs of his recent quarrel with an American as well as his love of the sea together into a positive whole. Bibliography lists five sources.

This 5 page report discusses the fact that women face considerable barriers in the professional realm, especially those women who have literary aspirations. Drawing from Woolf’s writing and that of Brigid Brophy, this report considers whether or not women are still “like animals in a modern zoo” who are held back by invisible bars. Woolf felt that her own works ...

A five page paper looking at the debate over Joanna Rowling's Harry Potter books. Looking particularly at her first novel in the series, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," the paper presents both the fundamentalist Christian viewpoint against the book and the more moderate secular argument in favor of it, finally concluding that the book ...

A five page paper looking at the difference between the way Geoffrey Chaucer's female pilgrims are portrayed in this medieval work from the depictions of the female characters in the tales themselves. The paper concludes that while Chaucer portrayed women without stereotyping them, his storytellers reflected the prejudice of their times. Bibliography lists three sources.

A 5 page research paper and analysis of the character of Heathcliff from the classic novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. The writer explores the many facets and ways that this character has been viewed. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

An eight page paper which looks in detail at the argument between Eve and Satan in Book 9, and considers its importance in relation to the themes of Paradise Lost. The writer considers the character of Eve and the ways in which Satan uses reason and logic in order to tempt her to disobedience. Bibliography lists ...

A 6 page paper which compares and contrasts the horror genre, as represented in novel and cinematic form. An overview of each is provided, along with critical reviews and an evaluation of their respective strengths and weaknesses. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

(5 pp) In this discussion we will examine Charlotte Bronte's major character, Jane Eyre. As the novel is arranged and Jane progresses, each new environment or setting teaches her something new; the vivid picture-form descriptions of the weather throughout the novel give us clues to what we might anticipate in each of five settings ...

A 7 page paper which examines why Mary Shelley has been widely regarded as a Gothic author, citing examples from her novel "Frankenstein" and her short stories "The Mortal Immortal" and "Transformation." Bibliography lists 9 sources.

This 5 page paper looks at this work by George Bernard Shaw, and the film version of 1938 in order to ascertain the similarities and differences. The reason for these are discussed and the way in which they influence the interpreted of what we see is also examined. The bibliography cites 2 sources.