Essays on Literary Genres

3763

Who is Pechorin: Ambiguity and Unreliability in a Hero of Our Time

3 pages / 1348 words

The novel A Hero of our Time is a Russian novel about the life of a soldier named Pechorin serving in the Caucasus, written by Mikhail Lermontov and translated in one of its most famous versions by Vladimir and Dmitri Nabokov. Throughout his novel, Lermontov’s...

Literature Review Novel Vladimir Nabokov

3764

Defoe’s a Journal of The Plague Year: an Examination of The Effects of Apocalyptic Disease on Humanity

6 pages / 2547 words

Daniel Defoe’s A Journal of the Plague Year gives the modern reader insight into the tense atmosphere of disease-infested urban London. However, the most important insights we gain from H.F.’s narrative are his observations on human behaviour, ones that can be applied universally to those...

Novel

3765

Comparing "The Kite Runner" and "Where There's a Wall"

3 pages / 1515 words

One thing that perhaps all humans can agree on, based on their own experiences of life, is that obstacles cannot be avoided. They can be ignored, they can even be dodged sometimes, but at the end of the day, they cannot be avoided. In the...

Poetry The Kite Runner

3766

Bridging The Gap: Comparing "Letters from My Father" and "The Writer"

2 pages / 884 words

The short story “Letters from My Father”, written by Robert Olen Butler, and the poem “The Writer”, written by Richard Wilbur, both depict family struggles. “Letters from My Father” is about a Vietnamese girl who grew up without a father because of troubles with immigration...

Short Story

3767

Already Dead: The Need for Human Interaction in Butler’s "Titanic Victim Speaks Through Waterbed"

3 pages / 1473 words

Robert Olen Butler’s story “Titanic Victim Speaks Through Waterbed” is narrated by the ghost of a victim who died on the Titanic, whose spirit continues to haunt the waters in which he dwelled. Making his way from the ocean, to a cup of tea, and...

Short Story Titanic

3768

The Role of Stereotypes in a Confederacy of Dunces

3 pages / 1233 words

In his novel A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole casts Burma Jones in a stereotypical role in society. By hiding Jones’ face behind space-age sunglasses and a cloud of smoke, Toole maintains Jones’ ambiguity while gradually diverging from his stereotype. During Jones’ employment at...

Novel

3769

Manhood in a Gathering of Old Men

4 pages / 1707 words

Manhood in A Gathering of Old Men In his novel, A Gathering of Old Men (1983), Ernest J. Gaines writes about a Louisiana sugarcane plantation in the 1970s. The plantation’s white, Cajun work boss is shot and seventeen old black men and one white woman...

Literature Review Novel

3770

Erasure in Change-rae Lee’s "A Gesture Life"

2 pages / 1112 words

Chang-rae Lee’s A Gesture Life tells the story of a man of slippery character. Known by his neighbors as “Doc,” Franklin Hata is a friendly face around town, always maintaining a respectful, purposeful distance. He assimilates with the people of Bedley Run quietly and gracefully,...

Literature Review Novel

3771

English, Nationalism, and Ngugi: Language in a Grain of Wheat

8 pages / 3815 words

Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s A Grain of Wheat is a Kenyan novel written in English, a language traditionally associated with colonialism and oppression in Africa. Despite the fact that the novel is written in English, Ngugi still uses language to speak to the novel’s theme of...

English Language Nationalism Novel

3772

The Consequences of Capitalism: a Marxist Analysis of "The Gift of The Magi"

4 pages / 1597 words

Marxist philosophy believes that society views the world through a completely economic lens. Marxism dictates that society is separated into two classes: the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The bourgeoisie utilizes ideology to suppress the proletariat mainly by manipulating their perceptions of their free agency. One...

Short Story

3773

Transcending The Gernsback Ghetto in a Canticle for Leibowitz

2 pages / 1101 words

After the end of World War II, Americans lived under the fear of nuclear war. The government built up huge arsenals of nuclear bombs, and used propaganda to assuage the American people’s fear. The best known example of that is the Duck and Cover propaganda...

Novel Science Fiction

3774

Symbolic Representations of a Complicated Kindness

3 pages / 1225 words

Miriam Toews’ A Complicated Kindness tells the story of a Mennonite teen, Nomi Nickels, and her response to the rise of conflict and tragedy in her family. This novel, however, explores not simply the life of a fictional coming-of-age young woman, but also of the...

Book Review Novel Symbolism

3775

Ignatius and Irene: Partnership and Polarization

5 pages / 2319 words

Familial bonds add arresting dimensions to even the most torturously mundane of novels. The literary options are truly myriad; family ties can represent both complexity and simplicity, and provide characters with both adversity and appeasement. The intricate interaction between mother and son has particularly saturated...

Novel

3776

Emotional Desolation in Brokeback Mountain

5 pages / 2172 words

In the unforgiving austerity of the Wyoming plains, two men, liberated from the confines of society, find love in a time and place where their passion has dire consequences. In the short story “Brokeback Mountain” by Annie Proulx, the main character, Ennis Del Mar, is...

Feeling Literature Review Short Story

3777

A Verbal Portrait of Sexuality in Gertrude Stein's Preciosilla

3 pages / 1154 words

As with many poems, an initial read-through of Gertrude Stein’s Preciosilla may leave many readers bewildered as to what her intent or message may be. From a technical perspective, it is difficult to make sense of the language because the entire poem consists of unrelated...

Poetry

3778

The Neglected Victim: Alma and Her Agony

3 pages / 1494 words

In the short story, Brokeback Mountain, by Annie Proulx, page 11 describes Alma’s one encounter with Jack. After witnessing her husband kiss another man, she faces them both quietly and uncomfortably, but does not otherwise convey any dramatic emotion and remains surprisingly collected. She attempts...

Literature Review Short Story Victim

3779

Heart Full of Love: Thematic Analysis of Corso’s "Marriage"

2 pages / 1000 words

Born in New York City in 1930, Gregory Corso became one of the leading voices of the beat movement. In his signature works, there are the wild thoughts of Gregory Corso himself, flowing out of his head. Having a conversation with himself, coming up with...

Poetry

3780

Samuel R. Delany "Aye and Gomorrah": Summary and Themes of Sexuality

3 pages / 1352 words

Aye and Gomorrah is a short science-fiction written by Samuel R. Delany that dives into the themes of sexuality and social norms. The story highlights the abnormal relationships between two marginalized communities and the struggles they undergo trying to understand their situations. Although the novel...

American Literature Science Fiction Short Story

3781

The Effects of Saul Bellow's Life on His Novels Especially Herzog  

3 pages / 1246 words

Introducing 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 Saul Bellow was a Canadian-American writer of Jewish origin who wrote about the disorienting nature of modern civilization, and the...

American Literature Novel