Literature Essay Examples and Topics. Page 33

8,776 samples

Paul Bunyan’s Contribution to American Folklore

The history of Paul Bunyan is therefore attributable to the oral traditions of many loggers in Pennsylvania. The character of Bunyan was eventually popularized by William Laughead towards the end of the 19th century.
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 562

“Wind in the Willows” a Novel by Kenneth Grahame

As the morning seemingly approaches, the Rat is suddenly amazed by a sound of great beauty, a haunting piping."Such music I never dreamed of, and the call in it is stronger even than the music [...]
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 905

History of China in Novel “To Live” by Yu Hua

On the whole, the novel is an example of intersection of personal and historical aspects of life depicting an individual and his changes under the impacts of the political history of the country.
  • Subjects: Historical Literature
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1376

“The Handmaid’s Tale” a Novel by Margaret Atwood

From Offred's accounts of their time at the Center, Moira shows a strong will to survive by maintaining her composure and emotional strength while many of the women were devastated in the life of imprisonment [...]
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 775

John Donne’s and Edmund Spenser’s Works Comparison

Although the theme of female body is disclosed differently in two poems, both authors resort to a variety of devices to make the idea clear and to engage the readers in the perception of it.
  • Subjects: Comparative Literature
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1250

The Role of Location in Crime Fiction

Thus, the paper argues that the representation of crime in nineteenth-century literature was based on disparities between the regions of the city as well as the countryside.
  • Subjects: British Literature
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1117

“Romeo and Juliet”: Play and Film

Preminger et al.claim that poetry is to be educative and pleasurable and both versions of "Romeo and Juliet" meet this criterion regardless of the fact that they had to appeal to the audience of a [...]
  • Subjects: Plays
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1135

“Everyday Use” Story by Alice Walker

As a result, she can be considered a reliable narrator as she describes both of her daughters honestly and without skipping over any of the unpleasant bit of their backgrounds such as the fire that [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 648

Fables of Anansi and the Jamaican People

Since these tales were adopted by many other groups of people that came from Africa and now live in different parts of the world, there are numerous versions of both the stories themselves and the [...]
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 844

Racism in Ralph Ellison’s “Battle Royal”

The main focus of the story is the problem of racism, particularly to African-American people in the United States. In terms of other issues that "Battle Royal" demonstrates and that are further developed in the [...]
  • Subjects: Themes in American Novels
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1439

Protagonist in Hamid’s “The Reluctant Fundamentalist”

Although Changez appreciates the opportunities that the United States have opened in front of him, as time passes, he starts experiencing love-hate emotions toward the country and its culture due to the social pressure, the [...]
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 1948

The Imperative of Good-Doing in “The Arabian Nights”

Considering the importance of religion and its postulates in "The Arabian Nights," it is possible to say that the text moralizes the imperative of good-doing from the religious perspective."The Second Old Man's Tale," "The Tale [...]
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1111

Sophocles’ Oedipus as a Tragic Hero

Oedipus does not know that he kills his father and marries his mother; the only motif he follows is to protect people he loves and become happy.
  • Subjects: Plays
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 630

“The Color Purple”: a Novel by Alice Walker

Thus, the recognition of an individual in the society, the respect of the individual rights and freedoms are fundamental in the determination of a person as a part of that society.
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1379

“The Scarlet Pimpernel” a Book by Emma Orczy

The representation of the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror in The Scarlet Pimpernel is considered an accepted and popular view on these historical events in the majority of Western countries.
  • Subjects: British Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 566

Racism in “The Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison

The "Battle Royal" chapter in the novel brings rather controversial reactions and thoughts, due to its being a blend of relief for the main character, the shame for the abusive white society, and the pain [...]
  • Subjects: Themes in American Novels
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 755

R. Skloot’s “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”

The family of Henrietta Lacks had to face the consequences of slavery and the outcomes of institutionalized racism. The formative influence of legal system on the lives of common people resulted in the number of [...]
  • Subjects: Dramatic Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 954

“The Wright Brothers” by David McCullough

The purpose of this critical analysis is to explore the author's description of the targeted characters in the book. The emphasis of the book is that the brothers were always determined, focused, and intelligent.
  • Subjects: Historical Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 853

“Beloved“ a Novel by Toni Morrison: Analysis

The plot of Beloved is rather complex due to the flashbacks that are revealed with the help of storytelling and provide the reader with the opportunity to go back in time for several decades.
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1638

Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Man in the Crowd” Story

The structure of the tale, its manner of narration, and the minimal number of main characters are only some of the features that make "The Man in the Crowd" one of the most memorable short [...]
  • Subjects: American Novels Writing Style
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1391

“Histories” a Work by Herodotus

The monumental work of Herodotus, the Greek historian, titled The Histories, is considered to be one of the founding historical works in the world.
  • Subjects: Historical Literature
  • Pages: 11
  • Words: 3057

Transcendentalist vs Dark Romantic Literature

Transcendentalism was one of the brightest literary movements of the 19th century, in which a few people belonging to cultured and educated American society founded a movement that proclaimed the power and importance of the [...]
  • Subjects: Comparative Literature
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1407

Themes and Narration in “Black Boy” by Richard Wright

The events show that in the conditions of racism, the psychological deformation of a person occurs due to the formation of a feeling of inferiority in him or her and the cultivation of fear.
  • 5
  • Subjects: Themes in American Novels
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1229

Positivism in “The Birth-Mark” by N. Hawthorne

In the novel, the conflict between nature and Positivism showcased by juxtaposing Aylmer, an aspiring Positivism scientist, and his wife Georgiana is rendered with the help of the third-person view, which sets the tone for [...]
  • Subjects: Concepts in American Novels
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1376

Race and Culture in Langston Hughes’ Poems

The most obvious way of assessing the extent to which Langston Hughes responded to the historical context of his race in his work is to assess his thematic concerns. Again, just like in "Cross," Hughes [...]
  • Subjects: Poems
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1229

ZZ Packer’ Stories Comparison

Dina's experiences in Japan depicted in Geese contribute to the depiction of her life at Yale from Drinking Coffee Elsewhere, offering valuable insights into the development of her character and search for personal and national [...]
  • Subjects: Comparative Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 570

“Ching Kang Shan” by Mao Tse-tung

Thus, through this poem, Mao Tse-tung describes the establishment of the Red Army in China; this poem can be considered as a 'hymn' of the revolution.
  • Subjects: Poems
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 552

“Year Zero: A History of 1945” by Ian Buruma

Through numerous examples of events happening in many countries after the end of the war, Ian explains to us that the changes in socio-political systems were made by the people who tried to make the [...]
  • Subjects: Historical Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 824

“When My Brother Was an Aztec” Poems by Natalie Diaz

However, the most common and visible theme is the issue of the native American identity and the difficulties these people had to face on their way of struggling to take over a place in the [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1103

Word Choice in “The Curse” by Arthur C. Clarke

When I read the story for the first time, it hardly drew my attention to the words chosen by the author to depict this scene. And why earlier in the text the author used the [...]
  • Subjects: British Literature
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1695

Dependence in Octavia Butler’s “Bloodchild”

In spite of the fact that Butler rejected the idea that she intended to discuss the problem of the humans' enslavement in her work, it is impossible to ignore the accentuation of the issue of [...]
  • Subjects: Themes in American Novels
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1103

Marxist Criticism in “Death of a Salesman” by Miller

Marxist criticism helps to get insight into the relationships between individuals and social groups and to understand the historical, social, economic, and political context of the environment of the story and its influence on a [...]
  • Subjects: Plays
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 598

Characters and Setting in “The Veldt” by Bradbury

The second and the third ones are created and represented by the Veldt, which turns the reader nauseous with the eye-blinding sight of an African steppe and then lulls their vigilance by offering a background [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 584

Ibsen’s A Doll House and Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex

Of course, the most suggestive similarity of the two plays is that recognition and reversal occur simultaneously for protagonists as they learn an important thing about themselves and this knowledge changes their life completely forcing [...]
  • Subjects: Plays
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 627

Walt Whitman’s and Emily Dickinson’s Poetry

In particular, Walt Whitman focuses on the experiences of a free individual who cannot be restricted by the conventions established the society. In turn, it is important to show how this person differs from the [...]
  • Subjects: Poems
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 881

Rebellion in “No Name Woman” by Maxine Kingston

Rethinking and remastering her mother's talk-stories, the author bears witness to the oppression of women's bodies, minds, and spirits that they managed to withstand. The author muses that she is the only one tending to [...]
  • Subjects: Gender in Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 838

Old Traditions in “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson

Evidence of this can be seen in the way in which the townspeople seemingly forgot the exact origins of the lottery, what it was for, and why they had to do it in the first [...]
  • 5
  • Subjects: Concepts in American Novels
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 475

A Rose for Emily by Faulkner: Garrison’s Analysis

In his examination of the story "A Rose for Emily," Garrison presents an entirely different method of examination as compared to previous critiques of the story wherein he focuses on the way in which the [...]
  • Subjects: Concepts in American Novels
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1656

Literature: The Grapes of Wrath and As I Lay Dying

This understanding forms the background of The Grapes of Wrath and As I Lay Dying analysis in this paper. The unity of structure and language in any comical genre take after carnivalistic folklore..".there is a [...]
  • Subjects: Comparative Literature
  • Pages: 11
  • Words: 3270

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano

In its turn, this allows us to refer to The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa as a book of not only a great literary, but also a philosophical value, [...]
  • Subjects: Historical Literature
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1509

George Orwell’s Views on the Euphemism

Orwell believes that insincerity is an obstacle to the use of clear language. In the short essay, Orwell believes that this poor use of euphemisms is curable if society makes it unfashionable to use pretentious [...]
  • Subjects: Writers
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 620

Psychological and Material Reality in Literature

His psychological reality contrasts with his material reality such that he does not practice his homosexuality just because of his class and the social attitudes at the time.
  • Subjects: Comparative Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 916

Literature as a Protest: The Lottery and The Crucible

Thus, in the case of "the lottery" it can be seen that it is a form of protest against the practice of blindly following "tradition" without taking into consideration the full logic of the actions [...]
  • Subjects: Comparative Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 570

The “Ragtime” Novel by E. L. Doctorow

The novel, Ragtime, underscores the theme of change through the main characters by being accurate about the history of the period.
  • Subjects: Historical Literature
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1684

Heart Power in “Joyas Voladoras” by Brian Doyle

He uses the metaphor of the hummingbird to pass the message that people may think to be at the top of a situation, but any time could be a downfall the same way a hummingbird.
  • 4.5
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1689

Mythology: Trickster as a Human Condition

The trickster's creative force is sometimes used to whip the intelligence standing of society and to highlight the importance of creating new cultural traits that people feel are important and necessary in society.
  • Subjects: Mythology
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 586

Arthur Miller Contributions to the Literature

All his life Miller was a true proponent of communist and socialist ideals, which revealed his idealistic attitude to life and the place of an individual in a society, the relationship of the society and [...]
  • Subjects: Writers
  • Pages: 9
  • Words: 2749

The Novel “By the Sea” by Abdulrazak Gurnah

The study of Indian Ocean societies can throw light on the way in which the representatives of different religious, ethnic, and cultural groups can interact with one another within the boundaries of a country or [...]
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2209

American Protest Literature: Native American Injustices

Native American protest literature was mostly characterised by non-fictional stories written in the form of autobiographies, short stories and novels that were authored in response to the American society's infringement of the Native American people's [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 10
  • Words: 2918

Life Conflict: “Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy

The problem of non-adherence to the conventional role of a married woman becomes a paradigm for the analysis of the problems that are created in interrelated patterns.
  • Subjects: Dramatical Novel
  • Pages: 10
  • Words: 2795

Short Story’s Elements and Character Development

According to Poe Edgar Allan, the single effect has a vital role in writing short stories in which any element of a story have to focus on such an effect.
  • Subjects: American Novels Writing Style
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 1112

“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 [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 2226

Major Themes of the Play “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell

They were the decision-makers in the family and in the political platform since women were still not allowed to vote and be represented in the political arena.Mrs. Wright is the symbol of the suffering the [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 630

The Poem “Manfred” by George Byron

Thus, till the end of the whole poem, the main character is not able to embrace peace and forget about the guilt. Manfred is guilty and he is not able to get rid of tortures.
  • Subjects: British Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 586

The “Epic of Gilgamesh” and Mesopotamia

Another instance in the epic, which portrays women as sexual objects, is the use of the women as sex tools in the temple. Women in Mesopotamian society had the duty of brewing wine for men [...]
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 880

“The Horse Dealer’s Daughter” by D. H. Lawrence

The storyline is romance and love; however, after Jack saves Mabel, the story transitions dramatically and defies all the expectations of such a story."Lawrence cuts through the romanticism inherent in such a plot line to [...]
  • Subjects: British Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 623

The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

Sartre's thesis is in that essay is that the non-chronological narrative in the Sound and Fury is not merely a matter of style or aesthetic preferences but the fundamental elements of the novel's content.
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1166

Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri Literature Analysis

The parents want him to have two identities with one represented by the name 'Nikhil', which should be used at school to fit in the American culture and 'Gogol' to be used at home as [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 598

Literature Symbols in “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe

In spite of the fact that there are many symbols of different types in Poe's "The Raven", such symbols of darkness and depression as December, the raven, the Night's Plutonian shore, and the repetition of [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1122

Virginia Woolf’s Novel Mrs. Dalloway

The story is a portrait of a middle-aged woman that Woolf paints utilizing Clarissa's thoughts and actions that eventually help her convert the ideology of life of the English middle class and describe the cultural [...]
  • Subjects: British Literature
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1177

“The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho Literature Analysis

Coelho demonstrates that while the love demanding the sacrifice of one's dream is not true, the genuine love serves as a stimulus for living out the Personal Legend and achieving the happiness.
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1109

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 [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 847

Literature: “Song of the Hummingbird” by Graciela Limon

In the novel, the main character's ability to use a narrative form of the dominant culture and undermine it with her story shows how the structure of domination of one culture over the other can [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1489

The Means in Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”

However, in Ferdinand's case, the emotional pain was the result of a misunderstanding after the ship wrecked, Ferdinand came to the assumption that he was the only survival completely on his own.
  • Subjects: British Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 656

“The Swimmer” by John Cheever

In "The Swimmer" the reality paves the way towards surreal through the use of foreshadowing where there is a creation of the antagonistic world faced by Ned in every new swim.
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 741

The Greatest Emptiness Concept in Moby Dick

This paper analyzes Moby Dick, a mysterious symbol of an embodied terror and the inevitable tragedy of humanity, discusses the main characters of the novel, and summarizes the plot of the story.
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1130

The Main Characters and Themes of The Bluest Eye

This essay discovers the child's view of the problems of racism, poverty, incest, and the inability to love. Cholly's Projection of Pain Cholly is the father of the Breedlaw family and the one who took [...]
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1152