Free American Literature Essay Examples & Topics. Page 7

1,906 samples

The “Housekeeping” Novel by Marilynne Robinson

Despite the routine of Housekeeping, this process reflects the characters of the novel's protagonists and demonstrates the differences between generations. Therefore, the novel is called Housekeeping because the author wanted to emphasize the importance of [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 615

Fadiman’s The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

Fadiman's book highlights cross-cultural communication's importance in the American medical system through Hmong's history and the fish soup concept to show the medical profession's failure of the Hmong community and offers several solutions.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 950

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

The Scarlet Letter by Hawthorne

Despite the many pieces of evidence of virtue, they look paltry compared to the description of weaknesses in the main character of the story, Dimmesdale.
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 325

The Book “Stiff” by Mary Roach

The sensation made by this book is in the alternative perception of the life after death people have which contradicts the usual idea of what happens to us that used to dominate in the minds [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 806

Rappaccini’s Daughter’ by Nathaniel Hawthorne

One of the examples of the American literary canon is Rappaccini's Daughter, since it is distinguished by its innovativeness, features of the narration, and themes, but has universal values at the same time.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 858

“Half and Half” by Amy Tan Review

To illustrate, Rose and Ted disregard their parents' race-based objections to the couple's proposed marriage, thus depicting fate and wrong decisions jointly facilitating the characters' downfall.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 627

“Why I Live at the P.O” by Eudora Welty

The main character by the name "Sister" who is a first-person narrator, gives the story of her side of the family spat which served to her to leave the home of the family in which [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 567

“The Man Who Was Almost a Man” by Richard Wright

In his novella The Man Who Was Almost a Man Richard Wright tells the story of a seventeen-year-old African-American adolescent, Dave Saunders, who has a strong desire to buy a gun to prove to everyone [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 875

“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

“The Monkey Wrench Gang” by Edward Abbey

The novel became very popular and created the idiom of monkey wrench in referring to the sabotage activities that damaged machines and led to violence in America in order to protect natural habitat and conserve [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 567

Anti-Franklinian Stance of Rip Van Winkle’s Character

Metamophically Rip's nagging wife is the British petticoat governor in the colonial era, and Rip's reunion with his family symbolizes the American Revolution. They both held to the belief that Rip's character was an antithesis [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 555

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 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

Crescent and Arabian Jazz Novels by Abu-Jaber

In her novels Arabian Jazz and Crescent, the problem of remaking of identity of Arab Americans is depicted. It is important to mention that the problem of multiculturalism became a topical one in the end [...]
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1659

“The Unredeemed Captive” by John Putnam Demos.

In his book "The Unredeemed Captive," author John Putnam Demos depicts a fascinating contest of cultures, featuring the English Puritan Protestants of New England, the Roman Catholics of France and the Native Americans against the [...]
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1422

“Everyday Use” Short Story by Alice Walker

Despite Dee's overwhelming presence, Maggie is the first girl to be introduced in the story as it is she who has apparently helped her mother to make the yard "so clean and wavy yesterday afternoon....
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 1114

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

“The Sky Is Gray” by Ernest Gaines

Bassett is mostly an offstage character, and when on stage, he exists as Dr. Pride is one of the elements in the narrative and appears as social behavior in today's society.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 305

“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 Day after Superman Died” by Ken Kesey

The following is an incisive study on the work of Kesey "The day when superman died" it is giving an insight into the symbolism, which Kesey has used to depict the theme of the story [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1292

“Dead Man at Grandview Point” by Edward Abbey

In this chapter, the Abbey's goal is not to clarify the reasons of death, but to explain that death is something all people have to accept one day, and the way the tourist at Grandview [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 500

“Planet of Slums” a Book by Mike Davis

In his book, Mike Davis explains to the readers the mechanisms of how slums work, and puts forth an idea that the blame for slums being dangerous and miserable lies not on the inhabitants of [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 920

“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

Stetson’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” Criticism

Since the woman who narrates is alienated from the community and not allowed to work or be engaged in any other activity, she describes her inner thoughts and feelings, and that makes the whole story [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1165

“Breadwinning Daughters” a Book by Katrina Srigley

This paper examines the major tenets of the book and evaluates their significance to the history of Women in Canada. The writer introduces the book to readers by showing how women contributed to development in [...]
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2226

John Donnes’ Poetry Literature Study

In the poem Death Be Not Proud, death assumes the role of a tyrant without real power. To the poet, death is a brief rest, and when we wake up we will live eternally and [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 677

“A Different Mirror” by Ronald Takaki

The skepticism towards the existence of a amulticultural society' is mostly due to the fact that American citizens of European descent are considered to be the 'natural citizens' of the United States.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 561

The Warning Effects of Catastrophe Narratives

In this paper, the author analyzes the usefulness of catastrophe narratives as far as alerting the public about the possibilities of environmental destructions is concerned. The events depicted in the texts take into account the [...]
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1407

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

Man, the State and War by Kenneth Waltz

The sheer amount of views and in-text lifting from other authors lends the work a certain degree of veracity in terms of the accuracy of the arguments and how they conform to current methods of [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 860

“Catfish and Mandala” by Andrew X. Pham

Catfish and Mandala is a smooth mix of travelogue and memoir: Pham merges stories of his family's escape and settlement in America with steep mountain climbs on his bike, the reunion with several family members [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1095

Jack London’s “To Build a Fire”

The dog that accompanies the man is also indifferent to the man even though it seems to be have more aware of the danger posed by travelling in that kind of weather than the man [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 618

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

Maya Angelou’s Journey Towards Acceptance of Self

In this paper, I will aim to confirm the soundness of namely Walker's suggestion, while pointing out to the fact that, by the end of Angelou's novel, Maya did not only become fully self-aware individual, [...]
  • 5
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1162

The Concept of Broken Love in Poetry

The emotional state of the author is the main idea of the poem because the main character seems to reflect the mental and emotional features of Browning introducing his weakness and lack of self-confidence.
  • Pages: 11
  • Words: 2979

The Glass Menagerie: Figurines’ Significance

In this paper the focus will lead to a discussion of the significance of the glass figurines and their symbolic value to the whole play as representation of the most central symbol uniting and supporting [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1414

Fences by August Wilson

Racism and discrimination becomes the centre stone of our analysis by providing the metaphoric activity of the play which however illustrates the distinct relationships that existed between the black and white cultures in 1950s.
  • 5
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1095

Poe’s life and how it influenced his work

He feels privileged to have such a creature in his room and the fact that the raven answers his question of what its name is with the word "Nevermore", adds to his excitement.
  • 3.7
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1824

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

Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry

However, when Kira learns the truths in her society, she decides to strive and save the villagers from their horrible way of life and superstition. The village is primitive and a scary place to be [...]
  • 5
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 693

Ayn Rand’s “Anthem” Book Analysis

Despite being centered on the antiutopian model of the narration, the author strives to show the first step for the person to obtain individuality. Supporting the ideology of the author and the situation depicted in [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1224

“The Bluest Eyes” by Toni Morrison

Although black slaves were freed by Lincoln in the 1860s, the 1960s in the United States and the prewar 1920s and 1930s were not a time of equality between whites and blacks at all.
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 1940

“I Know Why the Caged Bird…” Article by Prose

The book, the Prose argued, is "freighted with tons of sociopolitical ballast," and not enough attention was paid to the composition and language. Of course, To Kill a Mockingbird is not meant to be a [...]
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 289

Human Emotions in Ted Chiang’s Short Stories

Throughout the story, the emotional conflict between hope and despair is evident as the characters grapple with the uncertainty of the situation and the consequences of their actions.
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1700

Kahlil Gibran’s A Self Portrait

Kahlil Gibran, a Lebanese migrant in the United States, was considered a rebel in the world of Arabic literature. The diversity of Gibran's educational background is reflected through the marriage of English and Arabic [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 611