Free American Literature Essay Examples & Topics. Page 5

1,978 samples

“The Awakening” by Kate Chopin

The Awakening is a novel by Kate Chopin published in 1899. The novel is an earlier work of feminism as it shows a woman’s search for identity by rejecting oppressive social norms.
  • Pages: 10
  • Words: 893

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

Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men”

And Steinbeck offered his audience a clean view of the end when George made Lennie promise "to hide in the brush" if he gets in trouble again, as if it was an absolute fact to [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 614

“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

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

Edward P. Jones’ “Young Lions”

In that regard, such perceptions are found throughout the whole story, from a particular sequence of the events, such as the death of Caesar's mother, the flowers stolen by Angelo, being beaten and kicked out [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 854

“The Open Boat” Short Story by Stephen Crane

As they struggle to survive through rationing of food and water, fighting off the exhaustion of body and mind, and contend with the sharks that come to investigate the boat, they continuously think about nature [...]
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 261

“The Return of Merlin” by Deepak Chopra

The approach is helped by the legends of Arthur and the royal knights like Lancelot and Guinevere. The book is a journey of murder and mystery to spirituality and hope at the end.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 541

The Pearl by John Steinbeck

Kino plans to travel to another city to sell this pearl, but his brother warns that the pearl is evil and he should just sell it.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 926

“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

“Caviar” the Book by T. C. Boyle

The drive down to the dock in the '62 Rambler is a powerful phallic image culminating in the catch of the recently dead Sturgeon full of eggs, which were his and worth quite a lot [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 1022

“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

The Grapes of Wrath: John Steinbeck’s Writing Methods

In company with other 'Okies,' they tried to find land, dignity, employment, and future for their children.'The Grapes of Wrath' begins with a representation of the Dust Bowl, the incident that brings about all that [...]
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1669

“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

“First Person Plural” by Cameron West

The reader, who gets deeply engaged in the narrative, feels a kind of false hope that Cameron is going to get better when he leaves for California with his family and starts to undergo treatment [...]
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1385

“The Giver” a Novel by Lois Lowry

Before the Sameness, the world of the book was much like ours. Finally, the central box lists the emotions and sensations, probably the cause most responsible for the occurrence of the Sameness.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 538

American Culture in the Novel “The Great Gatsby”

In The Great Gatsby, Scott Fitzgerald documents these changes through an in-depth exploration of cultural changes such as the rise in consumerism, materialism, greed for wealth, and the culture of loosening morals in the 1920s [...]
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2215

“The Dead Woman” by Pablo Neruda

In the poem "the dead woman" by Pablo Neruda, the subject, states of his feeling of wanting to go back to where his loved one is lying without life, but he also clearly states that [...]
  • 3
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1100

The New Employee in the Daniel Orozco’s Orientation

Similarly, the job that the new employee is to partake is insignificant to the story. The narrator shifts from orientating the new employee to the general office to revealing about personal lives of the employees.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 633

‘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 [...]
  • 5
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1146

“The Storm” by Kate Chopin

And now, when the storm was about to hit, Calixta's home was about to become like a garden and Alcee will come in like a snake tempting her and she will give in to that [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 635

The Grass is not Greener on the Other Side

Madame Loisel, does not value her lifestyle and heritage, and feels that she, "was by a mistake of destiny, born in a family of clerk", and yet desires to be equal to the great, rich [...]
  • 1
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 794

The Storm by Chopin

The setting of the story is complex and multi-layered, presenting the life of the rural community and placing the storm into the midst of the story.
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1391

I Stand Here Ironing

It is essentially a story about internal struggles that a mother faces and the need to redefine herself and her understanding of this role as she reflects on the life of her daughter.
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1926

To Kill a Mockingbird

The author, in the novel To Kill a Mocking Bird presents a deeper understanding in relation to events occurring in her novel. To enhance understanding of the novel, the author has widely embraced symbolism in [...]
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1448

Hunter Thompson’s experience and writing style

Through his work, he came up with a writing style known as "Gonzo journalism which entails a concept where a reporter actively involves him/herself in the action to such a degree that he becomes central [...]
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2162

William Faulkner: Literature Works

The theme the author considers is related to the inability of a person to cope with the ideas implemented in the society but still the desire to be the part of that society.
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1359

The Way to Rainy Mountain: Analysis of the Text

The way to Rainy Mountain is not a simple description of how the Kiowa people developed, learnt, and protected their knowledge. They got one simple right to live and be the people of Kiowa.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 545

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

“It Ends With Us” by Colleen Hoover

The book is majorly based on the themes of generational cycles, abuse, and jealousy. Colleen paints a descriptive picture when she recalls the instances when Ryle was physically abusive to Lily.
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 410

The “Esperanza Rising” Novel by Pam Muñoz Ryan

The novel focuses on the life of Esperanza Ortega, who goes through various challenges in her life after the death of her father. The experiences of the main character prove that starting over is an [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 802

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair: Critical Analysis

The purpose of their activity was to expose the vices of society through various investigations and the study of documents. The purpose of the author was to show the public the arbitrariness that reigned there.
  • Pages: 9
  • Words: 2513

The “True Grit” Novel by Charles Portis

The author uses numerous literary features in order to advance the theme of justice and revenge throughout the book. The writer employs parallelism, humor, and character development in numerous accounts of narration to advance the [...]
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1238

Abjection and Subjectivity in Toni Morrison’s “Sula”

Toni Morrison says in her article "Unspeakable Things Unspoken: The Afro-American Presence in American Literature" that "the trauma of racism is, for the racist and the sufferer, the extreme disintegration of the self, and has [...]
  • Pages: 15
  • Words: 4151

Reflection on “Overstory” by Richard Powers

At the beginning of the Overstory, Nick is profoundly connected to trees because his forefather had a chestnut farm. The veteran betrays Adams to protect Mimi and is subjected to a light sentence.
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1400

“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

“The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe

He entombs the corpse in the basement of his house, and when the police unexpectedly show up at his house, he inadvertently leads them to the corpse.
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2254

“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

Grace Paley’s “A Conversation with My Father”

The interrelation of these parts makes the whole text a metaphysical work, and Paley uses it to comment on the state of literature and the definition of "short stories" that are often considered traditional.
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 285

The Tale of Despereaux: Chiaroscuro

The queen died of stress at the sight of a rat on her plate, and the King outlawed all rats in his kingdom and ordered to strictly punish all those who sympathize with him.
  • 5
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 290

Betty Wood: The Origins of American Slavery

Economic analyses and participation of the slave labor force in economic development are used to analyze the impact and role of slave labor in the development of the American economy.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 848

Coming of Age in “Reunion” by John Cheever

John Cheever's short story "The Reunion" is considered an initiation story because the protagonist of the story shifts from the viewpoint of a child to that of an adult during the action of the story.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 645

“The Storm” by Kate Chopin and Critical Article

The article related to this short story, "Looking at setting and Atmosphere" analyses and demonstrates the importance of minor details in a short story. The author of the article is right that the story is [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 565

“A Pair of Silk Stockings” by Kate Chopin

Even when she "found herself the unexpected possessor of fifteen dollars" she did not want to spend the money for nothing and started carefully making plans trying to figure out what the best way to [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 612

Jamaica Kincaid’s Short Story “Girl”

In noticing that the author is female, we begin to think that this is her story and that she has risen above the choices she was given after all, so it has a happy ending.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 1056

Use of Language in Susan Glaspell’s ‘Trifles’

The play begins as the County Attorney and the Sheriff have come to investigate the murder and find the motive. Irony helps Glaspell to unveil women's right to suffrage and dramatize the situation.in the play, [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1167

How to Win Friends and Influence People by D. Carnegie

The simple truths in the book were relevant to all generations and hence the book is of universal appeal."How to Win Friends and Influence People" tapped into the insatiable hunger for self-improvement and success in [...]
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 2322

Kate Chopin’s Symbolism in Short Stories

The lightning becomes the conflict inside her and the beating of the rain on her roof is the beating of her heart as she finally expresses her passion with Alcee.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 991

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

Nancy Drew’s Character Analysis

This paper provides a discussion on changes in the young woman's character, addressing her salient traits that remain the same and outlining the differences in her personality across time and media.
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1372

“Inherent Vice” by Thomas Pynchon

In this way, Shasta's image can be regarded as a metaphor of time, and the hero's search for her can be seen as resistance against the course of time.
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1180

“The Wind” a Novel by Dorothy Scarborough

The author focuses on the thoughts of the protagonist, Letty Mason, and shows the world through her eyes. Letty is a young woman that is not prepared to live in the harsh environment of her [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1192