Literature Essay Examples and Topics. Page 59

8,506 samples

John Stuart Mill’s “The Subjection of Women”

In "The Subjection of Women," John Stuart Mill argues for the emancipation of marginalized women for both the benefit of the society and the personal gain of the woman.
  • Subjects: Gender in Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 289

Literature, Key Concepts, and Reading Preferences

Although the term literature means different things to different individuals, it is the reader of literary work who has the discretion to define what literature is and what it is not.
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 797

“The Pilgrimage” by Nelofer Pazira

"The Pilgrimage" by Nelofer Pazira uses multiple rhetoric devices, including epithets and similes, which seem to perform similar functions in the description of the two opposing themes of the essay: the peaceful life in Afghanistan [...]
  • Subjects: Historical Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 413

“A Friend of the Earth” and “The Terranauts” Comparison

One of the reasons behind the rising popularity of the "eco-fiction" genre has to do with the fact that the philosophy of environmentalism has now been firmly incorporated in the discourse of post-modernity, which nowadays [...]
  • Subjects: Comparative Literature
  • Pages: 14
  • Words: 3847

Workplace Culture in Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener”

In this essay, the analysis of "Bartleby the Scrivener" helps develop a strong understanding of the culture of the modern workplace compared to the one preferred in the previous centuries and the factors that influence [...]
  • Subjects: Themes in American Novels
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 824

Taiwan Literature: Zhou Mengdie’s Poetry

His first book is entitled Lonely Country, and it is the very piece of art, which made him known as the king of the lonely country and proved that he was a sadhu in poetry [...]
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1381

The Power of Images in “Sleeping Beauty”

In addition to the possibility to improve an understanding of the story, images help to define the level of relationship between a reader and an author.
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 945

Chinese Literature: Su Shi’s Poetry

2 The implication of social and political concerns through his beautiful and artist description of daily life inspires the readers to realize the real situation of the society throughout his poetic works.
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1655

Historical Significance of Ancient Primary Sources

Therefore, the historical significance of the text is that it became the beginning of the historical manner of writing characterized by a thorough analysis of described events and strive for establishing cause-and-effect relationships.
  • Subjects: Historical Literature
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 2073

History in “Intimate Apparel” Play by Lynn Nottage

Nottage found her great-grandmother's picture in an old family house and wanted to learn more about what it was like to live in New York at the beginning of the twentieth century, but she had [...]
  • Subjects: Historical Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 564

Naming and Identity in Achebe’s and Senghor’s Works

This theme can be used to teach the topic of identity to high school students by elaborating that names often have origins that are deeply rooted in a particular culture and that a name can [...]
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 372

History: “Mexican Immigrants in America” by Hanel

First published in 2008, it describes the events from the beginning of the 20th century when many Mexican people came to the United States after the Mexican revolution for shelter to the first decade of [...]
  • Subjects: Historical Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 685

Ancient Roman Myth and Historical Facts

Indeed, compared to the Greeks, who composed legends about the creation of the cosmos and the gods, the central place in Roman mythology is given to Rome itself and its heroic people and the specific [...]
  • Subjects: Mythology
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 602

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

The Poetry of the Holocaust Period

In conclusion, it seems appropriate to state that Sutzkever is a metaphysical poet as his creative thought focuses on the beauty of nature and the truthful presentation of events.
  • Subjects: Historical Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 858

“Death of a Salesman” a Book by Arthur Miller

Loman believes that Biff has wasted time and money, and is throwing his life away. To defend himself, Biff lies to his father that he has a potential business meeting the very next day.
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 564

Racist Ideas in Joseph Conrad’s Work

Achebe emphasizes that Conrad attempts to show his positive attitude towards Africans, but it is clear that he shares the belief about the superiority of the white race that reigned at that time.
  • Subjects: British Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 577

Ernest Hemingway and Thomas Eliot Works Comparison

In addition to the Great War, urbanization, immigration, and the rapid progress of technology led to the general feeling of uncertainty due to the rejection of old, traditional ideas.
  • Subjects: Comparative Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 842

“Paradise Lost” a Poem by John Milton

Finally, Adam and Eve had to defend their right to believe and have their faith is the allusion to the changes that were apparent in the religious life of England.
  • Subjects: British Literature
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 309

The Epic Poem “The Song of Roland”

An in-depth study of The Song of Roland reveals that the epic poem portrayed feudalism in three ways: as a form of government and a social structure that brings people together to accomplish shared goals [...]
  • Subjects: Poems
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1269

The Play “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot”

It seems that the artists decided to participate in this play since they are also concerned about the mentioned issues and would like the spectators to feel as close to Judas Iscariot as possible, sharing [...]
  • Subjects: Plays
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 567

The Play “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”

The purpose of this production is to deepen the understanding of the story and its themes. The diversity of characters, an interesting and unusual plot, and the variety of settings are factors that contributed to [...]
  • Subjects: Plays
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 710

“Swamp Thing” a Book by Alan Moore

The personal struggle of the protagonist was two-dimensional: the rejection of his own nature and the active rejection of the idea of duty.
  • Subjects: British Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 567

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

“Song of Solomon“ by Toni Morrison Book Review

Ruth did not abandon her affection for her father even as an adolescent, their goodnight kiss ritual, motivated by her seeing her mother as a rival due to the latter's lack of maternal care, was [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 496

“Tortilla Flat” by John Steinbeck

One of the most notable aspects of a contemporary living in the West is that, as time goes on, more and more people tend to adopt a highly individualistic approach to addressing life-challenges while assuming [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1661

“Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora N. Hurston

When Janie decides to move in with Tea Cake, she secretly conceals two hundred dollars in her shirt pocket, and fears to reveal the secret to Tea Cake. Tea Cake's role in the novel is [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 843

Sylvia Plath’s Life and “The Bell Jar”

The decision to publish the novel under an alias was informed by the author's attempt to protect several of the real-life characters that were depicted in the book.
  • Subjects: Writers
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1716

Human Life in “Ode” by William Wordsworth

The central idea the author want to deliver to the reader is the connection between people and nature and his struggle to understand humanity's failure to recognize the value of the nature.
  • Subjects: Poems
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1111

“The Man in the High Castle” by Philip Dick

Robert Childan is considered to be one of the key characters of The Man in the High Castle as he makes a significant contribution into the unraveling of the plot.
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 588

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

Racial Injustice in “The New Jim Crow” by M. Alexander

The author believes that it can be one of the new systems used to control society and affect African Americans negatively even though it seems to make the USA safer for the representatives of the [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1091

“Travels With Charley” a Book by John Steinbeck

Although his participation is sometimes attributed to the author's fascination with dogs, Charley actually serves two functions in the novel: he is an important character that helps to highlight the author's point and a plot-forming [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 950

“Twelve Angry Men” Movie-Based Play

In this essay, we will examine the setting of the story, the behavior of Juror Eight, and the arguments he used to sway the other jurors to his side.
  • Subjects: Plays
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1373

Religious Gullibility in Molière’s Tartuffe

The cunning behavior of Tartuffe, the credulous nature of Orgon, and the rational perspective of Cleante represent different sides of the author's argument against hypocrisy and blind trust.
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1406

Europa and Jupiter in Ovid’s and Rembrandt’s Works

The myth "Europa & Jupiter, the House of Cadmus" narrates the romantic story about the abduction of Europa by Jupiter. Immediately, the god in the guise of a bull jumped into the sea and began [...]
  • Subjects: Mythology
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 671

Japan in “The Pillow Book” by Sei Shonagon

The author of The Pillow Book is Sei Shonagon, a Japanese writer who served as a court lady to the Japanese empress in the 1000s. Sei Shonagon was a part of the upper class, which [...]
  • Subjects: Historical Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 679

John Hale’s Image in “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller

The book is concerned with the topic of witch trials taking place in the city of Salem, the Province of Massachusetts Bay, 1692-1693; it features a number of characters, some of whom depict the real [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 663

“Mein Kampf” a Historical Book by Adolf Hitler

However, the book shows that even under the mask of one of the cruelest people in the world, there is a boy with his own dreams and intentions to have a happy life.
  • Subjects: Historical Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 500

American Southern Literature

Some of the most common themes that can be found in Southern literature are dedicated to the dominant religion practiced in this region Christianity, the ethnic communities that inhabit it, class division of the Southern [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1705

“Survival in Auschwitz” by Primo Levi

For instance, in the chapter called "The Drowned and the Saved", the author only describes the setting and does not allow making any particular conclusions about his position, and the reader has to interpret the [...]
  • Subjects: Historical Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 592

American “The Name of War” by Jill Lepore

The purpose of this paper is to review the assigned selections of Lepore's book and discuss the importance of the theme of violence in this reading.
  • Subjects: Historical Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 629

Lynching in “A Party Down at the Square” by Ellison

The practice of lynching could be considered one of the worst acts committed by the citizens of the United States. This date would place the events at the end of the period of extreme racism [...]
  • Subjects: Themes in American Novels
  • Pages: 7
  • Words: 1998

National Identity in “Song of Solomon” by Morrison

In this novel, Morrison, from her feminist viewpoint, depicts the successful quest for the personal and national identity of the main character Milkman, who finds the solution in African national values and the act of [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 834

“The Iliad” a Greek Epic Poem by Homer

One of the most famous arming scenes in the Iliad is the description of Achilles' arming, in particular, shield. It could be supposed that Homer tried to highlight the horror of the war and focused [...]
  • Subjects: Poems
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 642

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

“Tiny Beautiful Things” by Cheryl Strayed

Tiny Beautiful Things is also a memoir with a strong element of self-help built in it; the author is in the role of Sugar who answers questions sent to her by ordinary people for the [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 559

“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

“The Giver”: Novel by Lowry and Film by Noyce

Having the plot in common, the book and the film have some slight differences in the content, and the most significant of them can be acknowledged the theme of love which is touched upon only [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 576

Capital Punishment in Melville’s “Billy Budd, Sailor”

One of the reasons for the triumph of Billy Budd, Sailor in America and the United Kingdom, was the precision, with which the author portrayed the historical and cultural context, particularly Melville analyzed both issues [...]
  • Subjects: Themes in American Novels
  • Pages: 8
  • Words: 1947

“Citizen: An American” by Lyric Rankine

Of the points that Rankine makes about "mistaken" identity, the social racism, and the fabric of urban and suburban life, what point hits closest to home for you?
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 609

“Missing Women” by June Spence

As the story progresses, the author begins to create a mixture of facts and rumors; a mixture that is inevitable in any real-life investigation.
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 666

The 11 Book of Homer’s “The Odyssey”

The 11th book of the Odyssey tells about the trip of Odysseus to the Underworld. He expresses pity that Odysseus is also in the land of the dead and tells about his journey in Hades [...]
  • Subjects: Poems
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 558

“The Story of the Stone” by Cao Xueain

The author of The Story of the Stone, Cao Xueain, integrates his own reality with the story in the novel. The theme of reality versus appearance affects Shi Xiangyun in terms of what her life [...]
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1377

Jhumpa Lahiri, Her Life and Stories

Then in 2000 she was also awarded the Best Debut of the year in New Yolk for the same book. The story "Hell and Heaven" was one of the stories contained in the "Unaccustomed Earth" [...]
  • Subjects: Writers
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 535

“The Frontline Surgeons” by Clifford L. Graves

He tries to put into account all the activities of the surgeons, the challenges and achievements, and even highlight the specific roles of the members of the "Third Auxiliary" played during the Second World War.
  • Subjects: Historical Literature
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1135

“Bartleby, The Scrivener” by Herman Melville

Right from the start, the Lawyer admits that "Bartleby was one of those beings of whom nothing is ascertainable, except from the original sources", yet he is also the character who is central to the [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 888

The Japanese Traditional Tales

The reason for this has to do with the fact that the concerned epic was written by Buddhist monks over a long period and also the fact that the Tale of the Heike can be [...]
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1394

“The Tale of Heike” and “The Pillow Book”

Although the authors sometimes succumb to the traditional gender tropes, the subtle changes to the roles that men and women played in the 16th-century society, as well as the behavior norms that they were supposed [...]
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 5
  • Words: 1435

“Native Son” a Novel by Richard Wright

Towards the end of the novel, the author could have featured or explored the life of Buddy. Since from the very beginning Buddy is portrayed as someone who wants to be like his brother, the [...]
  • Subjects: Gender in Literature
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1148

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

Madness in “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Poe

Poe uses a wide range of tools to create an uncomfortable mood, yet it is his ability to maintain the balance between reality and madness that shines through the whole story.
  • Subjects: American Novels Writing Style
  • Pages: 2
  • Words: 594

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

“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 [...]
  • Subjects: American Literature
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1111

Alexander Pope, a Poet and Translator

Pope was living with his parent in their house, but his works on some of the writings by Homer provided him with enough finances to find his own dwelling, which happened to be a villa [...]
  • Subjects: Writers
  • Pages: 1
  • Words: 309

Edgar Allan Poe’s Life, Poems, Short Stories

The recognition of his works is based mainly on the uniqueness of the themes and characters the author created, as well as his excellent command of the language and exceptional imagery and style.
  • Subjects: Writers
  • Pages: 4
  • Words: 1159

“The Epic of Gilgamesh” in Art Interpretation

It is imperative to mention that the analysis of ancient works is incredibly important because it enhances the understanding of the traditions and values of the people."The Epic of Gilgamesh" is regarded as one of [...]
  • Subjects: Poems
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 832

Life Meaning in “Tuesdays With Morrie” by Mitch Albom

Morrie questions the importance of spirituality and the ability of a person to love and be loved. The virtue is ridiculed by society and is considered to be a manifestation of the softness of the [...]
  • Subjects: Themes in American Novels
  • Pages: 3
  • Words: 862

Character Building in the Reluctant Fundamentalist

By building his character, Changez, in a very original manner and displaying him as both the lover and the critic of the American traditions, the author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist makes the audience realize the [...]
  • Subjects: World Literature
  • Pages: 6
  • Words: 1666