Essays on Literature

Imagine being tossed from a moving vehicle by your own mother. This is how Trevor Noah, anchor of ‘The Daily Show,’ begins his riveting life tale. Trevor’s autobiography is filled with hilarious tales and self-deprecating jokes that beautifully reflect his difficult life in South Africa...

In Trevor Noah’s 2016 book Born a Crime, he relates his youth in South Africa under the politically-sanctioned racial segregation government known as the Apartheid, and the first couple of long periods of a fair standard by the country’s dark greater part. The story is...

This journal is a place for me to record and reflect on meaningful passages in my selected memoir – “Born a Crime”. The passages I choose for this journal reflect my unique experience as a reader, which means that I do not select the exact...

In Born a Crime, by Trevor Noah, Noah is aware crime punishments depend on the color of your skin. Apartheid has caused crime to take a turn in the wrong direction. Those of color are punished for their crimes while others are not punished when...

The primary mode of discourse in Why I Went to the Woods is persuasion. The essay is based on the idea of living in simplicity. In “Why I Went to the Woods,” Thoreau speaks to the benefits of temporary withdrawal. He writes “I went to...

What does friendship mean to you? In this essay, I would like to share how The Reel Sisters by Michelle Cummings helped me understand the depth of true friendship, despite initially assuming it was just a fly fishing guidebook. To me, it is a haven...

Introduction Cultural Criticism is a critical lens through which any text can be viewed. This form of criticism examines how different religions, ethnicities, class identifications, political beliefs, and views affect the ways in which texts are created and interpreted. For those seeking examples of cultural...

Introduction In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the values of friendship and family are explored as a means of preventing isolation and despair. The novel shows that Victor, Walton, and the Monster all require companionship for different reasons, whether it be to console themselves in times of...

Introduction History books have always provided an abundance of information that I have always thought of to be factual but in reality, it was a skewed version of the truth. In Lies My Teacher Told Me, James Loewen writes about how textbooks omit information and...

Introduction A lot of essays highlight the theme of men vs women in different ways. Here we will explore this theme through ‘A Jury of Her Peers’ by Susan Glaspell. The short story ‘A Jury of Her Peers’ shows the clear divide in perception of...

“You’re not like the others. I’ve seen a few; I know. When I talk, you look at me. When I said something about the moon, you looked at the moon, last night. The others would never do that.” (Bradbury 23-24) The book “Fahrenheit 451” by,...

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver is a poignant and compelling novel that explores themes of motherhood, identity, and belonging. Set in the 1980s, the novel follows the journey of Taylor Greer, a young woman from Kentucky who sets out on a road trip to...

In ‘The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action’ essay Audre Lorde reflects on the power of speaking up and taking action in the face of oppression and marginalization. Lorde argues that silence can be both a tool of oppression and a self-destructive force that...

One of the most atrocious actions humans have done to one another was slavery. Judging and persecuting others because of their skin tone to then forcing them into doing unthinkable tragedies and abuse, to make a profit is the most cruel and unbelievable act. Slavery...

To begin with, I agree with Butler’s description of an educated man because an educated guy possesses all of the attributes he mentions. There are a lot of educated men on the planet, but there are also a lot of men who are not so...

Food is a significant element which reflects the culture and the traditional practices of a country. Jonathan Safran Foer says ‘Food is not rational. Food is culture, habit, craving, and identity’. It is an effective symbol of nostalgia for the first generation immigrant people. And...

Introduction People nowadays do not seem to take the concept of ‘evil’ very seriously, least of all amongst academic circles. The notion of ‘evil’ is a non-starter as an intellectual topic. For example, in an article on the Cambridge psychopathology professor Baron-Cohen, he is quoted...

Introduction A ‘satisfying’ ending to a novel often leaves the reader feeling emotionally fulfilled, with many problems presented in the novel being solved and loose ends optimistically tied. Examples of these ‘happy endings’ are predominant in popular literature and not hard to find in narratives...

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee explore the idea of illusion and reality in people’s lives. Fitzgerald’s novel was written during the height of the Roaring Twenties in 1924, where people led lives filled with...