“The Scarlet Ibis” which is a short story by James Hurst and the movie, Simon Birch by Mark Steven Johnson are stories about two boys that are born with heart problems and have to face adversity. Simon Birch is a story about a boy who...
The Illusion of the American Dream The American dream has been portrayed as something that can be accomplished by anyone in order to gain success in America regardless of race, skin tone, and cultural background, as long as they have the ambition to acquire that...
The epithet “the Land of the Free” is a distinctive phrase commonly associated with America, a country that prides itself for awarding its people with equal opportunity and the freedom to pursue their dreams. Yet, American literature does not seem to echo such patriotic sentiments....
Steinbeck’s novel “The Grapes of Wrath” has been the subject of much critical attention. Many of the novel’s detractors have concentrated their critiques not upon its literary failings, but rather its politics (Zirakzadeh). At the time of the novel’s publication and in the years since,...
Reading Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination, Toni Morrison thoughtfully explores the importance of African Americans in the American literary imagination. Morrison shares her concerns with American language and the American literary imagination being both characteristically white, and questions the impact of...
Written by Joseph Heller in 1961, Catch-22 is an absolute masterpiece of a novel that rivals giants such as Kafka’s Metamorphosis or Susanna Collins’ The Hunger Games even to this day. Amongst the mass of characters and their individual stories, is understandably a plethora of...
In the short story A Sound of Thunder, author Ray Bradbury’s main argument is that the decisions that may seem irrelevant at first can end up being far more serious than expected. In the story, the main character Eckles, pays $10,000 to travel back in...
Through the use of the narrative conventions of symbolism, the key themes of keeping secrets, accepting change and the loss of innocence are presented In Larry Watson’s novella, Montana 1948. Montana 1948, written between 1992 and 1993, is a novella by American author Larry Watson,...
It has been said that the true power of beauty is felt most deeply by those who have caught but a glimpse of its potential; those able to see its ethereal quality without demanding more. Perhaps, some have said, the fragility of aesthetic beauty can...
Muscles tensed, nostrils flared, the beautiful feline creature eyes its soon-to-be prey, a harmless antelope drinking from the watering hole. Without a moment of hesitation, the black and orange striped tiger breaks out into a full stride and pounces on its victim, tearing the defenseless...
Introduction John Cheever’s “The Swimmer,” penned in 1964, unfolds the journey of Neddy Merrill, a middle-aged suburbanite consumed by youthful vitality. This short story delves into the classic theme of a “mid-life crisis” that afflicts many privileged adults in suburban settings. As Neddy embarks on...
“The Story of an Hour” is a short story by Kate Chopin. The use of setting will be easier because the reader can associate these facts with some human behaviours or some human emotions. Also, Chopin uses these setting facts in her story. In this...
The Early Life of Helen Keller “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart” Helen Keller once said. Despite being blind and deaf, Helen Keller did not let her disabilities...
As we live our lives we will go through many emotions. These emotions could range from, anger, fear, sadness, or guilt. But one of the most profound emotions that a person can experience in his or her lifetime is love and hate. On paper, these...
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. contends “race” is not itself a natural entity, rather a synthetic construct used to degrade certain peoples. He implores society to move forward free from the shackles of categorization, liberating itself from a false reality. While this commentary holds significant merit...
Celebrated American author Herman Melville wrote ‘Moby-Dick’ and several other sea-adventure novels, before turning to poetry later in his literary career. Made-to-order essay as fast as you need it Each essay is customized to cater to your unique preferences + experts online Get my essay...
Introduction In Washington’s Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring, Alexander Rose tells the story of the spy ring that helped America win the Revolutionary War. Rose takes us beyond the battlefields into the secret world of double agents and triple crosses, confidential operations...
The Good Country People story by Flannery O’Connor is a psychological drama that leaves a message to the reader about not to judge people for how they look and/or how they behave in a certain situation. The characters like Joy, Mrs. Hopewell, and Manley Pointer...
Brent Staples is an African American man born in 1951 who received his first Bachelor’s degree in behavioral sciences at Widener University at 22 years old. Staples continued on to graduate with a Master’s degree in psychology at the University of Chicago and subsequently he...
The idea that our American literary culture has been influenced since its inception by Britain’s is not a new one; after all, the two countries are rather like two branches of the same tree. Even though the mindsets are of distinctly different beliefs, they still...
Nourishment as a Symbol in The Grapes Of Wrath Made-to-order essay as fast as you need it Each essay is customized to cater to your unique preferences + experts online Get my essay In The Grapes of Wrath, families traveling to California suffer starvation and...
Papa’s Bridge is a famous poem written by Richard Blanco. According to the poet, people often ask him certain questions about how does he manage such different works, engineer and poet. He answers to the people in a way that he is an engineer by...
There is much literature on the subject of World War II. Catch-22 by Joseph Steller, published in 1961, expressively describes this nerve-racking, gruesome, and turbulent era. The story is centered around a paranoid and homesick Yossarian who is fed up with his military career as...
In Sarah Orne Jewett’s “A White Heron”, a young heroine’s adventure is glamorized by exploring her characters essence before, during, and after her symbolic victory of the great, big pine tree. The adventure of Sylvia from the bottom to the top of the tree represents...
The book Requiem for a Dream, written by Hubert Selby Jr., was published in 1978 and is, in many critics’ opinions, Selby’s most extreme yet sincere illustration of the American Dream or in this case the failure to complete it. The American Dream by definition...
“It’s worth everything, isn’t it, to keep one’s intellectual liberty, not to enslave one’s powers of appreciation, one’s critical independence?” (164). Questioning the concepts of true freedom and liberty, the overall theme presented throughout Edith Wharton’s masterful novel, The Age of Innocence, is the abstraction...
The term “coming of age” is identified with many concepts of growing up: loss of innocence, solidification of an identity that adulthood is based upon, and conforming to society to one degree or another. These concepts are tied to various “rites of passage”, including a...
Inigo and Fezzik the two of the main characters in the novel called the Princess Bride, by William Goldman. They come from the same background of losing their parents. Fezzik’s parents were gone from him from being used and Inigo’s parents were slayed. My claim...
Kate Chopin’s ‘The Story of an Hour’ is a remarkable piece of literature that transcends societal conventions, offering readers a thought-provoking narrative. Chopin masterfully employs narrative techniques such as character development, plot progression, and irony to immerse the reader in a realm of emotions often...
Helen Keller broke down a social barrier by going to college and getting a bachelors degree, writing her book, and speaking in different countries about her experiences being blind and deaf. Made-to-order essay as fast as you need it Each essay is customized to cater...
