Essays on Literary Genres

2851

Analysis of Plots in The Novel Pere Goriot

3 pages / 1376 words

In the first paragraph of his novel Pere Goriot, Balzac describes his primary setting, the Maison Vauquer, as a "respectable establishment" that has never been sullied by any "breath of scandal" (1). This statement significantly defines the house in terms of scandal, the author choosing...

Novel

2852

The Female Mentor as Vital and Problematic in Pere Goriot

3 pages / 1519 words

In her towering box at the fashionable opera house, Mme de Beausant “was scanning the theatre with her opera-glasses, and though apparently taking no notice of Madame de Nucingen, did not miss her slightest move” (112). The vicomtesse, as though an all-knowing omnipresent figure in...

Novel

2853

Scent and Hatred in The Novel Perfume

3 pages / 1402 words

Scent and hatred in the novel Perfume Everyone has characteristics that define or individualize them. Without these characteristics, it becomes difficult for one to be considered unique. The novel Perfume, by Patrick Suskind, presents a character, Grenouille, who is distinctive, yet conflicted with his individuality,...

Book Review Novel

2854

The Impact of The Natural Landscape in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

3 pages / 1432 words

The main character in Perfume, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, sets on a long journey through 18th century France, which starts and ends in Paris. The changes in the landscape during his travels reflect the inner changes in personality he undergoes himself. Patrick Suskind portrays Grenuoille as very...

Literature Review Murder Novel

2855

Aromatic Symbols in Time in "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer" by Patrick Süskind

2 pages / 961 words

Within a novel, authors incorporate and implement symbols into their works in order to transfer more detailed ideas and deeper meanings through to the reader; ideas richer than what they actually write. In the novel Perfume by Patrick Süskind, Grenouille, an odd character with an...

Novel Symbolism

2856

Cather’s Connection to "Paul’s Case"

2 pages / 917 words

To understand art, one must first understand the artist who created it and their motivation in doing so. In Willa Cather’s short story “Paul’s Case: A Study in Temperance” the protagonist, Paul, is a unique and complex character, which gives insight into the complexity of...

Short Story

2857

Analysis of Paul's Personality in Willa Cather's "Paul's Case"

4 pages / 1718 words

In the 1905 short story “Paul’s Case”, author Willa Cather leaves the reader to wonder what exactly Paul’s “case” is. Throughout the story, there seems to be clues left behind by Cather as to what Paul’s obstacles are. Some of Cather’s indications of what Paul...

Short Story

2858

Setting, Title, and The Central Theme of "Paradise of The Blind"

3 pages / 1404 words

The novel Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Houng is a work that represents postwar Vietnam quite well, with the author holding nothing back in terms of her home nations virtues and ailments. So much is her unbridled frankness that the work has long...

Novel

2859

The Role of Food in The Social, Cultural, and Political Landscapes of Paradise of The Blind

3 pages / 1345 words

One of the most striking elements of Paradise of the Blind is its constant discussion of food. Through imagery and description of traditional foodstuffs, the novel emphasizes the Vietnamese’s deep cultural connections to and love of food. These descriptions serve to describe family and cultural...

Novel

2860

The Symbolism of Sticky Rice in Paradise of The Blind

3 pages / 1472 words

In the novel Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong,the shifts in the government, cultural, and social factors in Vietnam under the implementation of communism are illustrated through the use of symbols, such as sticky rice.In the beginning of the novel, Vietnam is consumed...

Novel

2861

"Queer Ideas": Sexuality, Race, and Repression in Nella Larsen’s Passing

2 pages / 890 words

Widely celebrated as a cornerstone text of the Harlem Renaissance, Nella Larsen’s 1929 novella Passing is concerned with its titular subject in more ways than one. While racial passing undoubtedly constitutes the text’s thematic center, Larsen’s narrative also implicitly addresses the theme of sexual passing....

Novel

2862

The Adaptation of Sapphic Aesthetics and Themes in Verlaine’s "Sappho Ballad"

4 pages / 1923 words

Several aspects of classical lesbian poet Sappho’s work would come to be admired and built upon by the Decadent poets of the nearly two and a half millennia after her time. The mixing of gender aspects and themes of masculine power and feminine desire in...

Poetry

2863

The Ending of Passing: Making Sense of Chaos

5 pages / 2165 words

Nella Larsen’s novella Passing tells a compelling story about two mixed-race women, Irene and Clare, from drastically different outcomes who shape contrasting perspectives on the notion of “passing” as one race over another, as Irene is content with being her black self while Clare grew...

Novel

2864

The Politics of Shelley’s "Ode to The West Wind"

4 pages / 1682 words

In his impassioned paean “Ode to the West Wind”, Percy Bysshe Shelley focuses on nature’s power and cyclical processes and, through the conceit of the wind and the social and political revolution prompted by the Peterloo massacre of August 1819, examines the poet’s role therein....

Percy Bysshe Shelley Poetry

2865

The Injustices of Capitalism as Depicted in "Pastoralia" and "Sea Oak"

3 pages / 1590 words

Many of George Saunders’ works are focused around capitalism, which is a recurrent concept in several short stories of Saunders’ Pastoralia. However, Pastoralia not only focuses on the general workings of capitalism, but also enumerates the hardships the poorer working class faces. Saunders slowly reveals...

Novel

2866

Patriarchal Oppression in Herman Melville's The Tartarus of Maids

2 pages / 970 words

American Gothic literature arose during the early years of America’s founding, adopting some characteristics from the European tradition and establishing others in order to capture the turmoil and anxiety present in revolutionary America. As with any great literature, it changed with time, and these traditional...

Short Story

2867

The Allegory of Rape in Paradise of The Blind

3 pages / 1520 words

In the novel Paradise of the Blind, Duong Thu Huong tells the story of Hang, a native Vietnamese girl, following the establishment of independence in Vietnam and the imposition of Communism. Vietnam, with a historical background of invasion by foreign entities, was initially accepting of...

Novel

2868

The Power of Example: Fantomina and Pamela

6 pages / 2509 words

To act as an ‘example’ is to influence another’s actions. If the effects are, as Johnson claims, ‘powerful’, a responsibility of care accompanies the role of example. This responsibility may seem unnecessary, as the example seizes the ‘memory’, and exists only as a mental influence....

Epistolary Novel

2869

Pamela’s Conflicting Image

2 pages / 1041 words

In eighteenth century England, a prominent social concern arose in regards to one’s social and economic status. Three broad categories of status existed, including the gentry (consisting of aristocrats and nobles), the middle class (consisting of civil servants and merchants), and the lower classes (consisting...

Epistolary Novel