The presence of supernatural elements is a defining characteristic of Gothic literature, serving not only to create an atmosphere of fear and suspense but also to explore deeper themes of human psychology, morality, and the unknown. By integrating ghosts, curses, and other unearthly phenomena, Gothic novels delve into the complexities ...Read More
The presence of supernatural elements is a defining characteristic of Gothic literature, serving not only to create an atmosphere of fear and suspense but also to explore deeper themes of human psychology, morality, and the unknown. By integrating ghosts, curses, and other unearthly phenomena, Gothic novels delve into the complexities of the human mind, societal fears, and the thin line between reality and the supernatural.
Analyzing the role of supernatural elements in Gothic literature offers valuable insights into the historical and cultural contexts from which these works emerged. It allows for an exploration of how authors use the supernatural to challenge readers' perceptions and to comment on issues of their time. Furthermore, such an essay can illuminate the enduring appeal of the supernatural in storytelling and its impact on readers' engagement and imagination. Writing on this theme encourages critical thinking about the ways in which the supernatural influences narrative structure, character development, and themes, making it a rich topic for literary analysis.
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These topics are designed to provoke thought and encourage a deeper understanding of various literary genres and themes. They offer a wide range of exploration opportunities for students and scholars alike, providing a platform to analyze novels from multiple perspectives.
In contrast to many other Depression-era novels, in which the teamwork of the common man is seen as society's glue, Tillie Olsen's Yonnondio looks with great admiration at one family's struggle to keep above water. Through the travails of a coal-mining/farming family, Anna Holbrook becomes...
In The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett, a young girl discovers the importance of the relationship between humans and the natural world. At the start of the novel the orphaned and contrary Mary Lennox is brought from her home in India to her mysterious...
Introduction The concept of consumer culture has garnered significant attention throughout history, with authors and philosophers delving into its various dimensions. In the context of the United States, consumerism often carries a negative connotation, particularly due to the country’s association with surplus and leisure, even...
Suzanne Berne’s novel “A Crime in the Neighborhood” delves into the complexities of a quiet suburban neighborhood when a heinous crime disrupts their idyllic existence. In this analysis, we explore an excerpt from the novel that captures the moments leading up to the discovery of...
Fiela’s Child is a fiction novel by South African writer Dalene Matthee. The narrative is set in the forests of Knysna, South Africa. This novel follows the story of Fiela Komoetie and her family. Fiela is a black South African, and everyday she work hard...
The novel is set in Berne, Switzerland in the spring of 1905. Einstein is twenty-six years old, working on his theory of relativity in his extra time. The novels portrays Einstein’s dreams on physics, time and relativity. The year 1905 has been referred to as...
Nothing sounds better than a vacation to an island for most people, at least that’s what 10 individuals thought at first. In And Then There Were None 10 people are sent to an island for crimes unfathomable to the regular person; they’ve all murdered someone...
It should be impossible to read a nineteenth-century British literature like Jane Eyre without considering the notions of Imperialism and Colonialism. In that age, both of them were crucial and a part of England’s image not only to the British people, but also to the...
In the set of three arrangements, first novel Divergent by essayist Roth has been for sure a science fiction in its trilogy series. So far we have seen the principal half piece of this book where we recognize that Chicago is a city a long...
Abstract Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus is discussed here as a dialogic novel, with a focus on multiple consciousness and the multi-voiced perspective of the characters, and the interpretation of the characters and the novel based on the ensuing consciousnesses. Bakhtin’s idea of dialogism and...
Lara’s Journal by A. Gavazzoni is a thriller suspense novel that deals with crime, love, jealousy, sex, and abuse in the life of two dispirited women. The plot starts off in Miami with the primary character, Simone, on a steamy vacation trying to escape from...
Introduction In the realm of literature, certain characters emerge as remarkable figures, captivating readers with their complexity and compelling narratives. Among the myriad of fictional characters created since the 1900s, Judge Holden, from Cormac McCarthy’s “Blood Meridian,” stands as an enigmatic and unforgettable presence. Judge...
Introduction As Josie said in Melina Marchette’s novel, ‘Looking for Alibrandi’, “You can’t hate what your part of. What you are. I resent it most of the time, curse it always, but it’ll be part of me till the day I die.’ In today’s ever-growing...
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Hope in the face of hardship is a recurring theme in much of literature today. As human beings, it is in our DNA to survive—despite circumstances that make it difficult to do so. A human beings innate ability to survive shows itself in the way...
The narrative of disempowerment is one that is woven extensively through Edwidge Danticat’s postcolonial novel, Breath, Eyes, Memory. Placing great emphasis on the politics of the domestic sphere and the stories told between women, the novel spans the childhood and young adulthood of Edwidge’s main...
In the unfinished novel Netochka Nezvanova, Fyodor Dostoevsky portrays Alexandra’s letter from her former lover S.O. as a parallel for little Netochka and Katya’s relationship/friendship. It is perhaps nclear what a 19th century Russian author intended by this arrangement; nonetheless, this relationship whether romantic or...
Distinctive representations of the symbiotic relationship between natural landscapes and people are reinforced through personal and socio-cultural contexts. Such representations can be brought about through travel, often renewing an individual’s relationships between real, imagined and remembered landscapes, also their identity. Alain de Botton’s non-fiction, multi-modal...
When you picture Islamic women, the image that immediately comes to mind is a woman cloaked in black, with not one part of her body visible. Even more so, it is hard to imagine this specter as possessing any sort of sexuality. Yet, in Tariq...
“Good Omens” by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett challenges the stereotypical conventions of Gothic literature and provides a more modern approach to the genre. Conventionally, the Gothic is associated with terrifying creatures such as Frankenstein or Dracula, and remote, dark settings such as abandoned castles...
So here you are now, ready to attack the first lines of the first page. You prepare to recognize the unmistakable tone of the author. No. You don’t recognize it at all. But now that you think about it, who ever said this author had...
In Gloria Naylor’s Linden Hills, the vignette of Ruth and Norman’s lives on Wayne Avenue serves as a stark contrast to the tales of the inhabitants dwelling in the adjacent, more affluent neighborhood of Linden Hills. Naylor uses this couple to illustrate that, despite their...
Although Hannah Webster Foster names her book The Coquette, there is ambiguity in who the true coquette of the story is. Eliza Wharton, named the coquette by Foster and the other characters of the story, does not follow the rules of coquetry. Instead it is...
Forbidden love is a prominent theme in both The Guide and The God of Small Things. While R.K. Narayan utilizes Raju’s affair as a plot device, Arundhati Roy displays several sexual taboos as part of a broader theme to challenge societal expectations in India. Made-to-order...
Willa Cather’s 1913 novel O Pioneers! is very much a work of its time, providing social commentary regarding a number of significant issues of the nineteenth into early twentieth century. This commentary presents a variety of frameworks for critical analysis: from the perspective of reform...
In the classic allegory The Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan explains the journey of a newly-saved believer. Bunyan’s story unraveled in a dream of a man named Christian. After reading a section in the bible, Christian tells his wife and children that he must find a...
Reflecting back on Shane, life in the West was fairly isolated compared to the way that we live now when many people will pass by our houses throughout the day. during the late 1800s many people were moving west, but there were not highly populated...
Stevens believes that to be a great butler, one must maintain their professional facade at all times in order to remain dignified (or at least, the ability to maintain a professional facade regardless of one’s circumstances is Stevens’ definition of dignity). This results in him...
