Themes in American Novels Essay Examples and Topics

In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald pays attention to the relationships between both Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan and Daisy Buchanan. Scott Fitzgerald's book is mainly focused on the relationship of Daisy with Gatsby and Tom, [...]

The beliefs and norms of the people in Panem are centred on the self-interest; they are obsessed to acquire the comfort and lifestyle of the affluent people.

Perhaps that is clearly illustrated by the quote that presupposes that whoever can control the past, has power to control the future; while whoever has the ability to control the present, wields the right to [...]

Jimmy Cross, a lieutenant enlisted to take care of the other soldiers is the victim of the guilt burden. Collectively, these soldiers experienced different forms of emotional torture, which boiled down to emotional burdens as [...]

The misunderstanding between An-Mei Hsu and Rose Hsu-Jordan occurs due to their differences in the views on the roles of females in the family.

The first evidence to support their ignorance of McCandless is his lack of knowledge and experience to understand and survive the wilderness.

The play shows the contrast between the representatives of American folk and Yankee on the basis of Jonathan's behavior and manners.

Towards the end of the story, Mathilde Loise decides to tell the truth to Madame Forestier concerning the necklace and the misery that she had undergone.

This analysis would focus on the essay's Chapter 3 dedicated to fiestas in general and the Day of the Dead in particular, which reflect many national traits of Mexicans.

The intense training depicts the importance of reward to the tributes. Further, the society is in touch with the preparedness of their tributes via media.

The book covers the mid-life of David bringing to the fore the events which he has contributed to himself and some he has not that are set in motion and lead to his near-total destruction.

In the novel Joseph is introduced as the sister of “the illustrious Pamela whose virtue is at present so famous”.

To begin with, the hunting practices of this native group, as well as the invasion of the European into their land, led to a great decline in the herds of the white-tailed deer in the [...]

Given the nature of family structure and power, it is not surprising that Merricat wanted to rid herself of the oppressive traditions that her family held.

Maus, through the comic, explains the Holocaust through his father's experience, and we see that it was not an easy place to come out because of the horrors and mistreatment in the concentration camps.

By showing how the stringent moral and religious standards of Puritanism can result in hypocrisy and the restriction of human freedom, The Scarlet Letter emblem relates to the concept of Puritanism.

The population had to work hard to pay taxes to the state and various fees required by the Church that assured them of the importance of that.

Even without the name of the main character, the audience can tell how she behaves and relates with others, which brings out the imbalance of power that exists between men and women particularly when it [...]

However, no matter how important the physical map of the city and the wanderings of the heroes is. Nobility, loyalty to the word, decency, and dignity are the distinctive qualities of the heroes of The [...]

The story reveals a Western culture, where the narrator exhibits freedom and openness in her conversation with other characters of the story. This is depicted in the conversation of the narrator with her mother in [...]

It is ironic in the sense that Abner is punished for his injustices to the wealthy yet the justice system does not consider the social injustices of the rich society to the poor.

The novel presents the incompatibility of the "divine law" and human law, and the protagonist's, Joseph K, inability to understand the discrepancy.

This essay discusses the rhetoric devices George Orwell uses to convince the audience of the credibility of his arguments regarding the ambiguity of political language.

The central tempter of the story is Tom Sawyer because he is ready to give something valuable to the other boy rather than paint a thirty-yard fence. The reason for the inability to withstand temptation [...]

The main conflict of the novel is built around one of the main characters' awareness of the legacy of evil that he has inherited from his mother and his hesitation about whether he is destined [...]

Judging by the way the short story handles the themes, plot, and literary tools, The Last Leaf is a literary masterpiece.

To be more specific, the consideration of actions and motivations of the protagonists of the stories so that to see what courage meant to them and to the authors.

Main idea 2: Social and historical difficulties of migration and slavery. Main idea 3: The search for the main character of identity and place in society.

The themes of empathy and compassion are actively developed throughout the novel; at first, Lauren realizes that the world is cruel and she must learn to live in it.

People are prone to hunger and starvation, the man and the boy, for instance, are at the verge of starvation when they come across an apple orchard and a well.

A possible thesis for an essay on this topic could be: "In 'The Wars,' Timothy Findley suggests that adversity plays a crucial role in shaping an individual's identity, as it forces the person to confront [...]

It is necessary to underline the fact that in the modern world the concept of racial profiling is considered to be common rather than unheard or unknown; the essay under analysis allows evaluating the author's [...]

Another major difference between the book and the film is the pace of the narrative account. The reason why Tris Prior turns out to be a sympathetic and relatable champion in the Divergent is because [...]

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.

Being the representatives of different literary genres, the chosen stories contributes to the promotion of home as the only place for hope, safety, and empowerment.

Through the symbolism they pertain to, both pieces of work are an undeniably true reflection of the socio-economic and political struggles in the turn of the 19th century, as well as within the New Deal [...]

A suitable passage to illustrate the author's use of the curtain as a device symbolizing and bringing forward the separation between the main characters is the excerpt when it is first introduced.

The source of the conflict and the main cause of the woman's unfortunate fate is not so much the mental illness itself but, rather, the refusal to recognize it as such.

The Back of the Bus by Mebane presents the American South during the era of racial segregation and complex black-white interactions.

In spite of the fact that the events depicted in Beloved take place after the end of the American Civil War, Sethe, as the main character of the novel and a former slave, continues to [...]

This was an indication that although his faith had started to change, he still had faith in God. He was able to come out of the holocaust with a stronger faith.

The Gift of the Magi tells the story of two lovers who sacrifice valuable things for themselves for the sake of their beloved. Love requires sacrifice and compromise, and the willingness to do this is [...]

The story begins when the narrator, Amir, is supposedly 38 years old, and the tale he tells is essentially a flashback over the events of his life that have brought him to this point.

I think that the protagonist of this short story became mad because of loneliness and the inability to live an independent life.

In the literal sense, since Alaska's death reinforces the storyline, the first part of the book traces the events of her life, and the second, the aftermath of her death.

The narrative "Girl" is a piece written by Jamaica Kincaid concerning a mother's attempt to teach her daughter about a woman's role in society.

The narrator had ups and downs with Sonny, and through the story, there is a significant aspect of racism which is the main focus of this proposal.

The fact that it specifies whose cry it is, "of a woman", draws specific attention to the incomparable nature of a human being and the sound that is made. There is the loss of all [...]

The essence of the latter is in the opposition of a person to society and its norms. Further, the second conflict in "The Story of an Hour" is the internal struggle and confusion of Louise.

The surrounding atmosphere and cultural specificities influence the characters' personalities throughout the story and change their attitude towards the particular minorities and races.

Various attempts by April throughout the novel reveals her desperateness as a teenager to fulfill the criteria set by white, however, as an adult, April feels and experiences the endeavor to observe the creation of [...]

The book, The Maid's Daughter: Living inside and outside the American Dream, is a historical study and it covers the history of a woman, Olivia Salazar - the daughter of Carmen - an immigrant working [...]

When the hunter says that he is aware of the bear and knows how the bear smells, means that he is extremely familiar with the hunting and especially, bears, as the unique scent is characteristic [...]

OASIS is a useful and productive escape from the harsh world that the characters in Ready Player One live in, while the current social media platform that could be compared to OASIS, Meta, is more [...]

The image of storm is used by Kate Chopin as a metaphor to describe the romantic feelings that explode in the hearts of the two people, Alcee and Calixta.

"The Fat Girl" written by Andre Dubus illustrates the main problem of modern civilization that is the problem of the overweight. Andre Dubus used a number of cognitive metaphors to show the liveliness and the [...]

Hosseini's natures, Mariam and Laila, are memorable; their sympathy for each other and love for their children is overwhelming."A Thousand Splendid Suns" narrates the story of two women against the backdrop of the previous forty [...]

Through symbolism, O'Connor was able to convey the characters' unique features with their names, connection to parents with Hulga's wooden leg, Joy's mindset with her glasses, and Pointer's non-religiousness with the hollow Bible.

Through exploring the characters' lives, the author reflects on the notions of drug use, hopelessness, and escape in the context of the black community.

Without their knowledge, the meeting between Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey marks the beginning of a relationship that is the center of attraction in the book by EL James.

As a consequence, the constant social pressure added to the stress of strict parental control and further exacerbated the sisters' depression. It resulted in Cecilia's suicide and the tightening of parental restrictions.

The insensitivity in this mistreatment and dehumanization of Black people is pervasive to the extent that Jim considers himself "property" and was proud to be worth a fortune if anyone was to sell him. To [...]

The play is made by the author in the way representing the memories of the main characters through the flashbacks along with the real scenes of the play.

The beginning of the novel is quite inspiring and stimulates for reading in order to recognize the details of a true love story...

In the short story, Faulkner portrays that the beginning of the 1900s was marked by great social and economic changes but many people fail to accommodate their life to new social relations and a new [...]

The girl from the new family reminded Alvarez of her own plight when she had moved to the United States and had not yet been accepted completely by the community.

A breakdown of the symbolic significance of the concept of "doubleness" in the short story and its exciting aspect forms the basis of this paper.

In "The Veldt," George and Lydia suffer terrible repercussions from the delegating of parenting duties to the house, which offers all the living luxuries at the expense of the organic relationship between parent and kid.

In the narrative, the lawyer's office is divided into two rooms by a glass folding door, one where Bartleby works and the other where the lawyer's station is.

The theme of the struggle between a man and the sea as the power of nature can be traced even in the ancient literature, drawing on the example of Odysseus challenges and Poseidon, the formidable [...]

He also shows the way people responded to the opportunities and challenges of the new times. The girls seem to rebel against the system and conventions of the society, as they dare come into the [...]

First of all, there is a need to point out that Reed is recognized as one of the most influential African American letters. The most interesting point I would like to highlight is related to [...]

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 [...]

It appears that the suicide of the main character of the play "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller can be described within the framework suggested by Durkheim.

The story's central irony is that the protagonist is not a good boy. A passage that depicts the author viewing the character as pretentious is the one discussing Jacob's desire to rescue a dog only [...]

What is even more because of the story's allegorical clues, concerned with the author's portrayal of "Bacote nigger's" burning by the crowd of White Southerners, readers are hinted at what may be the ultimate consequence [...]

The reason why this is important to the main theme lies in the fact that passing is a form of deception that allowed Clare to obtain higher status and more freedom.

The novel A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway demonstrates the similarities between my life and Henry's, resulting in a metamorphosis due to improved knowledge.

The development of the American dream and its impact on the society of the United States is a pertinent topic of discussion for various authors.

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 [...]

As the narration continues and Katrina is wooed by Crane, Irving interrupts and expresses his imagination about the challenging and admirable nature of women.

Such characteristic features of American Realism as the focus on the middle class and upper class characters, the author's intention to make a positive social or moral influence on his readers, the author's concentration on [...]

The purpose of the present paper is to analyze the novel from several points of view. The character is a picture of savagery and primitivism.

The eventual fate of the rabbits serves as a metaphor for Robert's character, as their deaths reflect the loss of Robert's own moral values and the abandonment of his faith in humanity.

For example, the mother in the family in the 2019 remake is presented as a kind woman without any sins, with her daughters claiming that she is never angry and her partly corroborating this statement, [...]

In this story, the protagonist, whose wife was Ligeia, tells of the happiness he found in his marriage to her before her untimely death.

Another one is more of a humorous idea that there are spores in the sunlight that are essentially converting people into self-centered zombies.

The present work thus seeks to elaborate the reason behind Hong's valuation of 'Bad English' as featured in the book 'Minor Feelings.' The valuation of 'bad English' by Hong partly purposes to celebrate and appreciate [...]

Wishing to shed the fetters limited her freedom; at the beginning of the novel, Dellarobia fears not meeting the gender norms of the culture.

Art Spiegelman magnificently links the past and the present graphically to narrate his father's surviving the Holocaust and his relations with the father.

The story of the narrator from "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven" demonstrates the absence of one's connection to his parents. This example adds to the role of relationships in one's behavior and [...]

Paul is offered a chance to pursue the American Dream and gain huge material riches as a result of hard work in the area of business, for example.

The paper will examine how Naylor manages to achieve this through an analysis of the main idea, stylistic devices and classification of the piece.

Being the brain and the intellectual reason of the family, the husband wisely guides the ship of his matrimonial unit through all the possible mishaps and traps and takes the necessary precautions in order to [...]

There is a powerful cultural perception of the behaviors of the three groups, the father and the brother on one side, the mother and the grandmother on the other side, and the American media and [...]

Though the themes in the stories are different, both convey a message which is strong enough and thought-provoking to the readers.

In the New Jersey-based stories, the narrators, all of whom may or may not be Yunior, share Yunior's sensibility: the suspicious watchfulness and defensive stance, the blighted relationship with the father figure, and the uneasiness [...]

Nevertheless, while it is emotional, having to deal with death, the pain of losing a son, and having to deal with the sympathy of people around them, the story disguised the emotion of the individuals [...]

At the same time, Troy tries the best way he knows how to direct the course of his own son's life away from the negative influence of the boy's ancestors.

The main characters in Karen Russel's story The Bog Girl are situated on a mythical island somewhere in Northern Europe, where peat cut out of the bogs is the main source of fuel.

Also, it is a tragedy of the society the influence of which can be too devastating to heal."The Paper Menagerie" teaches the audience how ungrateful and cruel a child can become under the pressure of [...]

Although the story is told from the point of view of the girl referred to as "Snot" by the troop, Arnetta could be considered the center point of the short story.

However, despite the consensus among critics, both the fate and the chance are methods that are used by the author to reveal a much deeper concept of the journey through which the protagonist searches for [...]

It is therefore likely that Sammy made the decision to quit his job so as to get the girls' attention. When the reader is first introduced to Sammy, it is apparent that he is the [...]

He is so annoyed that he would like to go out and show her that he is not the hairy ape that she called him.

As a result, people use local gossip networks as the source of authority, eventually arriving at a decision that the man is an angel whose mission is to take away the soul of Pelayo and [...]

I think that the irony, demonstrating how issues of the girl are directly related to the mother's relationship with her is, used effectively.

Therefore, in a strict play of the private incidents such as the death of her father with gangrene and his German lineage are presented in the poem to actually demonstrate Plath's abhorrence for her ancestry [...]

In the beginning, the readers are exposed to the horrifying experience of Melinda being raped by Andy Evans. The little girl feels alone and has no idea how to deal with her anguish or let [...]

To Kill a Mockingbird, in its imperfection, is a testament to the march of progress in social justice and racial equality.

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri is a coming-of-age novel that explores the issue of identity. A significant setting from the book is the beginning of the book.

As one of the most ignominious felonies in the world, it turns people of all ages and sexes from all parts of the globe into victims forcing them to do perverted acts daily.

The main symbols of the story are tortoiseshell hair combs and a platinum chain for a pocket watch the symbols of sacrifice and devotion.

In this respect, the title of the book fully indicates its reliability and straightforward character of it in terms of the contemporary social situation between minorities and the majority of the American nation.

By exploring the notion and censorship and how it affects people, the author draws parallels with the modern world of his time and the increasing impact of government-led propaganda. Censorship is a recurring theme that [...]

The setting is the poverty-ridden streets of Chicago and a realistic peep into the lives of the two brothers Lafeyette and Pharaoh.

The sinister nature of the novel is inferred in the title which derives from the Hebrew word, Ba'al-zvuv which means god of the fly, host of the fly or literally the Lord of Flies a [...]

In the memoir "The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid" Bryson advances and proves the thesis about the necessity of childhood reminiscences in everyone's life.

She is the perfect Victorian example of what Edna is expected to be, but Edna is incapable of keeping up the act, which is all her marriage and family really are to her.

Ana brings out the pains of living in exile in America for most of the Cubans, some of whom had a life in their former homes. A new beginning in Miami is the fate of [...]