Essays on Literary Genres

2528

Charles Brockden Brown’s Clara, an Archetype of The Classic Eighteenth-century Woman

4 pages / 1955 words

Although Leslie A. Fiedler calls Charles Brockden Brown the "inventor of the American writer," and sees the revolt of the European middle classes translating in America to "feminism and anti-intellectualism," Brockden Brown seems to have a problem imbuing Clara, his narrator in Wieland, with these...

Gothic Fiction Novel

2529

Clara: The Unreliable Narrator

5 pages / 2176 words

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, a narrator is: “one who tells a story. In a work of fiction the narrator determines the story’s point of view.” If the narrator is the person that determines the story’s point of view, then what happens when the narrator...

Gothic Fiction Novel

2530

A Fiend in Disguise in Joyce Carol Oates’ "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been"

4 pages / 1714 words

A Fiend in Disguise in Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Connie, a 15 year old in Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” is a prideful and churlish girl who has a habit of belittling...

Fiction

2531

The Role of Ambiguity in Literature: Specimen Days

2 pages / 770 words

Art lives in a realm of ambiguity, and it is ambiguity that grants it greater applicability to the average life. In Specimen Days by Michael Cunningham, three narratives lack detail as to draw greater attention to the ideas within the narratives and the idea of...

Fantastic Novel

2532

Waiting for Lefty Revisited by Odets

2 pages / 790 words

In his play “Waiting for Lefty” Clifford Odets attempts to stir up the weary American public of the 1930s by providing examples of everyday people who, with some coaxing, rise above the capitalist mess they’ve inherited and take control of their destinies. In his work,...

American Literature Drama Literature Review

2533

Deconstructing Master-narrative: The Postmodern View of History in Volkswagen Blues and Diego Rivera’s Detroit Industry Murals

7 pages / 3054 words

History is written by the victorious, the dominating nation, the ruling class, and subaltern voices are overpowered and unheard. Jean-Francois Lyotard, in his The Postmodern Condition, critiques the historical master-narrative, the vision of history as a totalizing narrative schema that reflects a singular perspective: “I...

Diego Rivera Fiction

2534

Anna’s Exploitation in Voyage in The Dark

4 pages / 1703 words

In the novel Voyage in the Dark by Jean Rhys, we eventually see the character of young Anna Morgan shift from a naive chorus girl to a hardened woman who endures an unending cycle of pain and suffering. At first glance it seems that Anna...

Novel

2535

Convention and Realism in Washington Square

5 pages / 2426 words

Realism, as described by William Dean Howells in the late nineteenth century, replaces the high art and style of the literature of the preceding decades by permitting such characters as Howells’ Silas Lapham to have a distinct place in the pantheon of American literary characters....

American Literature Novel

2536

Morality and Competing Ideologies in Watchmen

2 pages / 1026 words

Despite it being a superhero story, within the graphic novel Watchmen there is no clear assertion of who is to be considered a hero and who is to be considered a villain. Rather, there is a spectrum of morally grey characters, and what is deemed...

Novel

2537

Feminist and Postcolonial Critique of Le Guin "Sur"

6 pages / 2829 words

Ursula K. Le Guin’s short story “Sur” lends itself easily to feminist literary criticism. As a fantasy of alternate history about polar exploration, the story tells of nine women arriving at the South Pole over a year before Roald Amundsen’s all-male team gained the Pole...

Short Story

2538

Burial, Death, and Resurrection in Villette

2 pages / 800 words

Charlotte Brontë’s Villette revolves around the myriad cycles and seasons of life. Lucy Snowe traverses from place to place, witnessing different stages of life and yearning for her own fulfillment of elusive experiences. Lucy’s introspections focus particularly on death, even comparing people to and calling...

Charlotte Bronte Novel

2539

Obstetric and Narrative Delays in Tristram Shandy

3 pages / 1463 words

Laurence Sterne’s novel The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman is heavily saturated with elements of satire and dark humor. Sterne proposes an argument, through the inclusion of the ‘male’ mid-wife, Dr. Slop, for the restoration of natural delivery methods of infants. His hectic...

Novel

2540

Family Connections in "Tropic of Orange"

5 pages / 2170 words

In Karen Tei Yamashita’s novel Tropic of Orange, while the narrative is split into seven parts, so is the opinions and the lifestyles of the seven characters who stories she dictates. Family is an idea that defines us all. Whether that is by blood, by...

Novel

2541

True Grit: an Alternate Perspective

2 pages / 768 words

What is true grit? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines grit as “perseverance and passion for long term goals.” While the Merriam-Webster dictionary does provide an appreciable explanation of grit, no such definition exists for “true grit.” True grit is far more challenging to place words upon;...

Novel

2542

Identity Controversy and Music in Jackie Kay’s "Trumpet"

2 pages / 873 words

Jackie Kay has created a topic of controversy regarding gender identity in the novel Trumpet. Through the difference in perspectives on the gender of Joss Moody and Millie Moody, the novel contests the absoluteness of one’s identity by proving language’s inability to express it. Kay...

Novel

2543

The Shifting Family Dynamic in John Updike’s "Separating"

4 pages / 1817 words

The family has long been the most basic unit of human society. In a traditional sense, it typically functions as a support system, often both financially and emotionally, with each spouse supporting the other and together the parents supporting their children during their ascent into...

Family Relationships Literature Review Short Story

2544

The Devolution of Man: Animalistic Sexual Desire in Tobacco Road and Child of God

4 pages / 1862 words

Both Caldwell’s Tobacco Road and McCarthy’s Child of God concern themselves with quintessential poor white people. Tobacco Road follows the Lester family, a poor family on the outskirts of town, struggling for food and money during the Great Depression, whereas Child of God follows Lester...

Novel

2545

Harrison’s "National Trust" and The Corruption of The Upper Classes

3 pages / 1250 words

Introduction Published in The School of Eloquence in 1978, Tony Harrison’s “National Trust” is the embodiment of his frustrations at the British social-class system. Through this poem, he divulges how, after receiving a post-War opportunity for education, he was dislocated from his family. “National Trust”...

Poetry

2546

Division, Unity and Identity in Tony Harrison’s "V"

4 pages / 1829 words

“V” is a poem in which Tony Harrison illustrates the working class hostility towards the political establishment and Margret Thatcher’s government during the 1984 miner’s strike. However, it also focuses on the unity between himself and his “woman” and well as his parents. It is...

Poetry