Free American Literature Essay Examples & Topics. Page 4

1,956 samples

Baldwin’s “Go Tell It on the Mountain” Analysis

Baldwin draws attention to the uncomfortable fuzziness between the desire and perception of righteousness and the likelihood and actuality of life heading toward eternal damnation to examine themes relating to sexuality. The concepts of domestic [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1177

Irony in The Ransom of the Red Chief by O. Henry

The irony is further exemplified when the two men end up paying the father to take his son back. These instances reveal how the roles of the father and the kidnappers are displayed in a [...]
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 321

Key Points in “Hard Core” by Linda Williams

In the first chapter of Hard Core: Power, Pleasure, and the "Frenzy of the Visible," author Linda Williams reveals the concepts of "speaking sex" as a feature of pornography and the "knowledge-pleasure" sexuality represented in [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1139

“Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri

The plot revolves around the trip of the Das Indian family from the USA to India itself. Kapasi to discover the difference in "interpreting" their national and personal perception.Mr.
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 389

“The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain

When the novel starts, Tom is appointed in and often the arranger of childhood tricks and make-believe games. In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tom's obsession with Rebecca Thatcher is obvious.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 482

Jack London’s The Call of the Wild

The purpose of the essay is to summarize the story of The Call of the Wild, describe its characters and themes, express the opinion regarding the background story behind key characters' relationship, and get an [...]
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  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1239

“No Easy Day” By Mark Owen

The major strength of the book is that the raiding mission that led to the killing of Osama Bin Laden is described by a person who was part of the team conducting the operation.
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  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1659

“Guests of the Sheikh” by Elizabeth Wernick Fernea

The author explains the meanings of different events and rituals conducted by members of the El Eshadda tribe in order to get rid of ambiguities that inform the western ideologies regarding the culture of the [...]
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 1941

The End of Poverty

Philippe Diaz's documentary, The End of Poverty, is a piece that attempts to dissect the causes of the huge economic inequalities that exist between countries in the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 555

One Theme Represented in “Mr Green”

Green, Butler develops the theme of gender identity through the use of minor character like the narrator's Mother. In conclusion, through the minor character; mother, Butler has managed to develop the theme of gender identity.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 631

Hills Like White Elephants Analysis

Hemingway wrote 'Hills like White Elephants' in the third-person perspective that restricts the tale to the words and actions of the characters.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 1106

Emersonian Idealism Main Characteristics

Emerson's outlook embraced an idealistic view of the world together with the key role of nature in it, and the ultimate objective of one's life was seen in cognition and understanding of the world with [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 948

Kinship Rules by Deloria’s “Waterlily”

In defining the goals for the Dakotas in keeping the kinship rules, as stated by the author herself, "to keep the rules imposed by kinship for achieving civility, good manners, and a sense of responsibility [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 675

Analysis of ‘Rule of the Bone’ by Russell Banks

From the onset, the author points out the importance of the family institution in inculcating the right morals to children. Besides, the author is on point to show that Chappie's theft of souvenir-coins of his [...]
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1666

The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Poe

This metaphor is necessary to show that the feeling of guilt distorts his perception of reality. This is one of the details that can be distinguished.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 577

Marriage in The Yellow Wallpaper

She has failed to recognize that she is the driver of her own life, and blame should not be put on man. Therefore, she is not able to work her creativity and ends up drawing [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 593

Short Detective Story

You nabbed them!" "Who?" asked the detective."The time fugitives" said the other man, with a note of deep distaste."They were not content with the domes, the recycled air, the recycled food, the unvarying light and [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 2725

“The Book of Unknown Americans” by C. Henriques

As the primary literary device, the author uses the conflict, which consists of the fact that Alma cannot get along in a new country without knowledge of the language, and also in the fact that [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 565

The Short Story “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan

Most prominently, this technique is used during the climactic confrontation between Jing-Mei and her mother, when the Jing-Mei's long-deceased sisters are mentioned. Over the course of the story, Jing-Mei's mother projecting her dreams on Jing-Mei [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 611

“Under the Overpass” by M. Yankoski

The author intends to put himself and his companion to the test by traveling to six cities of the US in the conditions of uncertainty and social rejection.
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1378

The Story “Who’s Irish” by Gish Jen

One of the main issues raised in the story is the indignation of the older woman by the behavior of her granddaughter who "is not like my daughter Natalie, or like me".
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 851

“Life Without Principle” by Henry David Thoreau

To begin with, it is necessary to emphasize that the central point of Thoreau's "Life without principle" is the necessity to have the aim in every action performed and do not chase the evanescent values.
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1049

Literature Studies: Every Little Hurricane by Sherman Alexie

Talking about the relationships between Americans and the Natives has never been easy, mostly because of the notorious historic events that took place during the colonization of America, and the following misunderstandings between the Native [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 847

Montressor in The Cask of Amontillado

In addition, Montressor said that he was a friend of Fortunato but he seemed to have acted out of character when he assumed the habits and characteristics of a cold blooded killer.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 625

“The Most Dangerous Job” by Schlosser

The main audience is the consumers and the occupational health officers so that they can liaise to improve the welfare of families and laborers of the company.
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  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 562

“Cross Country Snow” by Hemingway

The hesitancy and repetition of phrases, the parallels of contrast, express and enforce the strong bound between George and Nick. In the case of George and Nick they form the basis of their relationship.
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1178

Mrs. Mary Rowlandson’s Narrative of the Captivity

A peculiar feature of works of this type is that the main characters, women, are not treated as they should be: they see numerous deaths of their dearest people, they are deprived of the fulfillment [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 892

“A Summer Tragedy” by Arna Bontemps

The story is set near the Mississippi River, in the fertile lands of New Orleans. The Patton's love each other so much, and their affection is shown in the story.
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  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 404

“Recitatif” a Book by Toni Morrison

The author leads the reader through the intricacy of the events occurring to Twyla and Roberta and does not provide the reader with exact information about the girls' race.
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2246

“Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving

At the same time, the story draws a parallel to the uprising itself, with the tyranny of Rip's wife leading him to try and escape, only for this woman to disappear before his return.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 843

“The Dead” by James Joyce

It is paramount to address the fact that this collection was written during an extremely stressful period in the life of the author, and it has reflected in the content.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 828

The Blind Side: Book and Movie Comparison

But when simplified even further the movie version differs from the book because the author wanted to show the evolution of how American football is played and conducted using the story of Michael Oher the [...]
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  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1597

On Violence by Hannah Arendt

In the book, Hannah put forth a number of arguments in analyzing the issue of violence in the second part of the twentieth century.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 837

“The little store”

She even thought that the little store was made for children because she had never seen a grown up near it and would not have imagined that the owner's family lived in the same building.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 824

Analysis of “The Dubious Rewards of Consumption”

As a researcher on the social aspects of increased consumption characteristic of western societies such as the US and the UK, he cautions that the pursuit of happiness by individuals in such societies should not [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 552

“The Sandman” by E. T. A. Hoffmann

This occurs as a result of the mysterious death of his father which occurred in a manner that is consistent with the story of the Sandman, a bedtime story that he used to be told [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 798

An Analysis of “The Minister’s Black Veil”

Reverend Hooper was the chief protagonist in the story, The Ministers Black veil. Wearing the veil was the main cause of alienation from the villagers, congregation and his bride to be Elizabeth.
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  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 570

The “Quiet” Book by Susan Cain

Secondly, the author draws the reader to the benefits of introversion and the disadvantages of the trait within the workplace. The author traces the roots of the extrovert ideal to the spring of industrial America [...]
  • Pages: 11
  • Words: 3082

Carnival Season in Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado”

In this monograph, the author explores the depiction of madness in literary works and specifically Poe's "The cask of amontillado". This article in a scholarly journal analyzes the protagonist of Poe's 'The Cask of Amontillado' [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 669

“How I Met My Husband” by Alice Munro

The source is effective such that it helps to extract the language used in Munro's story and establish how the language is expressively used based on the contexts.
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1757

“Being There” by Jerzy Kosinski

Since the purpose of this paper is to unveil the theme and the thesis Kosinski wanted to convey to the reader I am going to unearth the slightest details of the book's and movie's plot.
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1486

“Give Me Liberty an American History” by Eric Foner

As regards, the neutralists, Eric Foner believes that these people harbored some doubts as to fighting against the British troops, On the one hand, they understood that the Colonies could do without the UK and [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 577

“House Made of Dawn” by N. Scott Momaday

Abel's feelings are in large part due to the Indians' belief that the image of the eagle clutching a serpent in its claws is the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl's icon that rivals the Christian cross.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 1016

“Happy Endings” by M. Atwood

The same characters, used are piercing through the story, being a red line of it are used with a purpose, the author is to reveal only at the end of the story.
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1586

Analysis of The Naked Citadel by Susan Faludi

The cadets insist that this is an integral part of the Citadel, that promotes the lifestyle that they want the cadets to follow one of trust in one's fellow man and the sense that everyone [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 947

“To Build a Fire” by Jack London

The protagonist of the story is the man who "was a newcomer in the land, a chechaquo, and this was his first winter" and he is the prime tool at the hands of the writer [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 701

Generation Gap in “The Joy Luck Club” by Amy Tan

Though the concept of the gap between generations and the cultural issues are mostly conveyed through the specifics of the characters' interactions, the setting has also contributed greatly to the creation of the unique atmosphere, [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1135

“Marley: A Dog Like No Other” by John Grogan

John Grogan's international bestseller "Marley: A Dog Like No Other" is suited for children of all ages, and it tells the story of a young puppy, Marley, who quickly develops a big personality, boundless energy, [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 846

Mental Illness as a Theme of The Yellow Wallpaper

As it appears from the novel, the reason why the narrator and her husband John decided to spend their summer vacation in a secluded mansion is that this proved beneficial to the narrator's mental condition.
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1381

The Fall of the House of Usher

Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher is a short story which makes the reader feel fear, depression and guilt from the very first page and up to the final scene.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 585

‘Brother I’m Dying’

The main theme in her book highlights the lives of families of Haitians in the US. She believes the impact of the US stay is the cause of constant devastations and rebuilding, self governance and [...]
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  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1146

“Barn Burning” by William Faulkner

The long sentences used by Faulkner in the story "Barn Burning" are observed to loop, thereby creating a style that shows the indecisiveness of the characters, and the diversity of their thoughts.
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1235

The “Sylvia and Aki” Book by Winifred Conkling

The incorporation of two distinctive perspectives on the events transpiring in the book, namely, those of the Mendez and Munemitsus families, also contributes to reinforcing the powerful message that the book conveys: "Every child deserves [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 650

“The Black Cat” Short Story by Edgar Allan Poe

The purpose of the short story has long been a subject of debate."The Black Cat," while having some characteristics of the horror genre, presents a psychoanalytical approach to the mind of a psychopath, a scrutiny [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 671

“Red Harvest” by Dashiell Hammett

Red Harvest was the first detective story written by Hammett and the first crime fiction that created a new sub-genre in a crime fiction literature.
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1475