Free American Literature Essay Examples & Topics. Page 8

1,899 samples

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

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

“A Conversation with My Father” Story by Grace Paley

Paley chose to write the story in the first person to depict the connection between the author and the story. Other than the technique demonstrating the author's exceptional emotional depth and profound intelligence, it contrasts [...]
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 325

White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide

With regard to the underlying framework of the book, Anderson presents the Black community of the United States as the main victim of American society and historical development through the decades.
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1531

The American Dream and Success

One of the most pertinent topics associated with the American Dream is taking the courage to act and seize the opportunity.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 845

Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”

Mallard, the protagonist of the story, learns that her husband died as a result of a train accident. Mallard understands that the rest of the life she has will be spent the way she wants.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 866

“Roman Fever” by Wharton

The external behaviour of Mrs Slade is a reflection of her inner struggles to stop continuous comparisons of her life to that of Mrs Ansley.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 364

“Daddy Issues” by Sandra Tsing Loh

In her article, Tsing Loh employs irony, satire, and sarcasm as the main rhetoric devices that help her apply to the readers' emotions such as sympathy and compassion since the subject of her writing is [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1129

“The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood

In interpreting the book, the main area of discussion will be supporting the meanings of the work whereas in evaluating the book, the focus will be coming up with the literary merit of the book [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1235

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

Analisis “Moby Dick” of Herman Melville

The author, describing whales and hunting on whales, all methods of dealing with meat and processing the dead bodies of whales after hunting still depicts whales not only as objects for hunting, though he is, [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 771

Shirley Jackson’s Short Story “The Lottery”

Although there does not seem to be much of the original materials, practices or meaning of the lottery available to the reader, the degree to which people have become slaves to tradition is emphasized in [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 703

Little Red Riding Hood Revisited by Russell Baker

It is important to stress that Baker filled his new version of the story with a number of professions being popular and respected by modern generation."The purpose of this enlarged viewing capability," said the wolf, [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 810

“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

“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

What Is American Literature?

In today's literature, it is possible to observe the artistic, historical, social, and political value of literary work in connection with the social and political conditions of the definite epoch.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 1104

Hypocrisy in Flannery O’Connor’s “Revelation”

These assessments are made based upon the appearances of others, such as in her identification of the cotton print dress that is recognizable to Mrs. Through imagery and setting, O'Connor is successful in heavily lacing [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 597

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

Psychological Issues in “Fight Club” by Palahniuk

The story focuses upon an unnamed narrator who struggles to find a sense of fulfillment in a world in which personal fulfillment is supposed to be accomplished through making the right purchases and having access [...]
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 935

“Riders of the Purple Sage” Western by Zane Grey

The book "Riders of the Purple Sage" was one of the first in the genre western. Overall, storylines intertwine the fates of the main characters, which allows the audience to understand them better, and an [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1111

“Daisy Miller” a Novel by Henry James

As the representative of literary realism, Henry James in his novel Daisy Miller uses a number of realistic features such as concentration on details, accent on reality instead of reflections and on characters instead of [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 580

“Stones and Switches” by Lorne Simon

The main hero of the novel, a young man, named Megwadesk, is plagued by misfortune following him around, and struggles against it as his perceptions of right and wrong are shifting between Christianity, spiritualism, and [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 681

“Girl” Story by Jamaica Kincaid

This vision is somewhat old-fashioned, but the meaning behind this is much bigger, as the word "lady" in the context of this short story implicitly represents the depiction of the superlative human personality traits, not [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 573

“The Scarlet Letter” a Novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne

This essay asserts that the role of the narrator in The Scarlet Letter functions more as social critic of the Puritanical values that founded the United States; the narrator of The Scarlet Letter represents Hawthorne's [...]
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 1941

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath Literature Analysis

One of the reasons for this is that in her novel Plath was able to show that, contrary to what used to be the psychiatric convention of the fifties, one's depression-triggering sense of inadequateness does [...]
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1677

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

The Search for Order by Robert H. Wiebe

One of the critical issues that I learnt from the book is the disorder that prevailed after the abortion of the Reconstruction and the subsequent quest for restoring order in the American society.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 842

Faulkner and Material Culture

The essays give a deeper meaning between the things that Faulkner borrowed from the real world and merged with the things that he espoused in his way of life.
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1098

J. D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye

The reason is that the face value of the content impairs the ability of the reader to dig deep into the book and unravel some disturbing traits about Holden.
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 2147

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

The check is on life insurance and is to be given to Lena due to the death of her husband. Wilter asks for the insurance money in order for him to work with it and [...]
  • 5
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 843

“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

WIT by Margaret Edson

An interpretation of the ending of the play is given with the impact that is felt as a result of the play is brought light.
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1083

‘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

Young Goodman Brown

The symbolic nature of faith is the problem which can be discussed perpetually as there is no specific answer to the issue."The timelessness of mankind's sin is revealed within the Puritans", it can be stated [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 989

Haven character analysis report of Ruth Gruber

This paper will analyze the character of Ruth Gruber by focusing on two themes: the idea of inspiration and hope restoration and the notion of truth telling according to the book "Haven: The Dramatic Story [...]
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1180

“A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty

In the 1930s, African Americans were discriminated in all spheres of their lives and it was uncommon for a white person to help an African American. The entire conversation is the symbolic representation of the [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 584

The Mystic River Analysis

The title of the book refers to the river in which bodies and murder weapons are dumped. One of the main themes of this book is the connection between the past and the present.
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 1109

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

Joseph Conrad: The Heart of Darkness

The thematic core of his writings examined the trials and tribulations of the human spirit/soul in relation to duty and honor as well as the pervading affects of world empires.
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1738

1984 by George Orwell

There are high hopes that the current settings of the twenty-first century and the predictable future of governance will be sustainable and responsible especially on issues of cultural identity and preservation.
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 886

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

Ronald Takaki: A Different Mirror

In chapter 2 of this book, Takaki brings out the contradiction in the America society right from the onset in the section he calls the 'The Rise of the Cotton Kingdom', this scholar brings out [...]
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 555

Born on a Blue day by Daniel Tammet

The book by the title "Born on a Blue day" is a story describing the journey through the life of a character who is also the author-Daniel Tammet.
  • 2
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1390

The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness

The following essay is concerned with the book' The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness' by Joel Ben Izzy. Joel Ben's story,' The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness' resonates in my life.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 630

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

I Need a Wife by Judy Brady

In most cases, it is quite difficult for husbands and men as a whole to invert their mindsets on the way they perceive women and their wives.
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 625