English Literature

The movie O Brother, Where Art Thou can be considered to be a film based on the Homers epic The Odyssey in terms of its plot and character. One can clearly see that Everett, the protagonist in the film, is closely similar to Odysseus, Homers main character on The Odyssey. Their personalities are noticeably alike as well as some of their several encounters. Some of these situations are their experience on a creature they called Cyclops and encounter on the enchanting songs of the Sirens. In terms...

An Explication and Analysis on The Social Meanings of Poes The Tell Tale Heart (1843) and The Fall of the House of Usher (1839), and Hawthornes The Birthmark (1843) and Rapaccinis Daughter (1844) An Explication and Analysis on The Social Meanings of Poes The Tell Tale Heart (1843) and The Fall of the House of Usher (1839), and Hawthornes The Birthmark (1843) and Rapaccinis Daughter (1844) Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne are two renowned authors who have already established a name in the...

A Critical Analysis and Interpretation of Hawthornes Rapaccinis Daughter (1844) and The Birthmark (1843), and Poes The Fall of the House of Usher (1839) and The Tell Tale Heart (1843) Seldom do writers of clichd subject matters as death, loneliness, love and beauty stand out today. Nowadays, it appears like a writer would have to really make a difference in terms of literary style and subject matter before making a considerable impact. However, this does not appear to be the case when it comes to...

Internal Conflicts (within a person) 1. Sunny struggles being a mother. She has not given a name for her child and calls him whatever the situation is or her feelings are. 2. She has lost her vigor to live ever since her and Daltons band was disbanded at the peak of their career. 3. She does not stand up for herself. 4. She thinks of giving up her child by leaving her somewhereto be dropped off accidentally at the river or be eaten by the snow leopard at the zoo. 5. She is afraid of Dalton leaving...

Joseph Swetnams work The Arraignment of Lewd, Idle, Froward, and Unconstant Women cannot be seen in a very positive light. It gives a very shallow and one-faced picture of women at those times. If at all they were ladies, they were the worst of the lot. They are like Eagles which will always fly where the carrion is. is what he thinks of these kind of women. These words might be true but arent the men fools enough to lose themselves to the charm of such women Strangely enough Swetnam never raises...

Blackberry Winter by Robert Penn Warren is a short story narrated by a man recalling his past. It is  based on the life of a forty four year old man narrating the events that occurred when he was nine.  Based in the writers homeland of rustic Tennesse , the storys events show the tough and grueling life led by the narrator (Bohner 169). The story has strong undertones of religion as Biblical references make a constant appearance in the text. This is coupled with specific examples like...

This popular novel by George Orwell entitled 1984 is an excellent work that is able to depict totalitarianism, a form of government which exercise absolute and centralized control of power.  At the first chapter of the novel, the world of distortion and manipulated humanity has been described very intensely.  People here like Winston Smith have to live by submitting under authoritarian regime. The Partys slogan goes to say WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, and IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH. The...

Jean Passerat invented the Villanelle.  This is a poem that consists of a pattern of only two rhymes, and is marked most distinctively by its alternating refrain, which appears initially in the first and third lines of the opening tercet. In all, it comprises five tercets and a concluding quatrain.  (Rios)  This form of poetry is reminiscent of French rustic songs hence it was very popular during its time. (Rios) Do not Go Gentle into that Good Night by Dylan Thomas is an example...

Washington Irvings Rip Van Winkle is an interesting read of American short story. It perfectly symbolizes or stands for the confusion of thoughts, senselessness of actions during that time. Rip Van Winkles escapism and lost image symbolized the American commoners feelings at one point.  I think the short story is a brilliant one, with Irvings romantic traits very clearly and aptly brought out through Rips character  a longing to go back and remove all traces of conflict and decision making...

This book deals with the life of the young Zlata Filipovic during the Bosnian War. Zlata Filipovic was just 10 years old when she started writing the diary, which she called Mimmy, during the autumn in 1991. Through her own thoughts and feelings, Zlata recorded the events that happened in her life until 1994 (Moses, n.d.). According to Zlatas writings, she had a happy life at Saravejo with her loving parents. She attended school like many other girls and enjoyed the time with her friends. In 1992...

What function does it play in literature What function does it play in poetry Thesis statement In the Samuel Taylor Coleridges Kubla Khan imagery is used as a means of achieving a dreamy and somewhat surreal quality to the poem other than this, it is also used to make the poem more vivid because most of what is described in the poem are mythological or fictional, so imagery makes these immaterial objects more tangible for the reader. Imagery as a means of achieving tone in Kubla Khan Definition...

A Good Man is Hard to Find is a short story written by Flannery OConnor in 1955 that focuses on the grandmothers perspective of events. The story primarily revolves on the humorous portrayal of a family embarking on a vacation. It is a confrontation of a family with violence and surprised death. It says that Flannery OConnor is one of the best and the most inspiring writer in the Southern authors that captures her own religious beliefs and conviction. The story begins when a typical Southern family...

To become a part of an institution that has a well-established background in liberal arts and is considered as one of the best colleges in the United States can be contemplated as a crucial step in further educating oneself. On a personal note, such perspective is a definitive means to fulfill my objective of obtaining high quality education which eventually would help me in securing a strong application in the future practice and would introduce me to various activities that are strongly related...

According to Dennis G. Jerz (2010) in his weblog A thesis statement is the single, specific claim that your essay supports. A good thesis statement is not simply an observation, a question, or a promise. It includes a topic, a precise opinion, and reasoning. ( HYPERLINK httpjerz.setonhill.eduwritingacademicthesis.htm httpjerz.setonhill.eduwritingacademicthesis.htm) The following are thesis statements of the four short stories The Tell-tale heart and The fall of the house of Usher by Edgar Alan...

Effective time management is the most important factor for succeeding in life. This is because it minimizes chances of loosing success opportunities in our day-to-day activities. This also saves time, allowing one to do more each day. Surprisingly enough however, effectively managing my time has been a major concern in my life. What with attending classes, doing and submitting assignments on time, being punctual in meetings, name them most times I am a victim of poor timing. Nevertheless, just as...

There are concurrent themes running through each of these four stories  Hawthornes Rappaccinis Daughter and The Birthmark, and Edgar Allan Poes The Fall of the House of Usher and the Tell-Tale Heart. Some of the themes are the unhappiness of ones inner life, and the havoc one wreaks on ones outer life. This mirroring is present in all of these stories. In Poes Fall of the House of Usher, gloom and fungi grow on the walls of a house, and are reflected in the water of the lake. The heaviness...

Charles Dickens novel Hard Times is sharp commentary on the values and practices of English society in the nineteenth century.  Dickens tackles a number of important issues in his novel, including education and the public good.  In the novel, the hypocrisies of the culture are exposed.  Using the characters of Gradgrind, Bounderby and Cecilia, Dickens exposes the potential harm of blind obedience to a particular set of values or philosophy.  While Gradgrind and Bounderby reflect...

Reaction Range (LIST) According to the Reaction Range concept, the genetically determined behavior of an individual is influenced by the existing environment. In addition, the environment can influence an individuals behavior depending on a persons genetic predispositions (DEFINE). If two people with different genetic makeup are put into the same environment, one will respond differently from the other, or otherwise, they may also respond similar when put into different environments. The concept...

Two writers offer an insightful interpretation concerning the historical heritage and cultural identity of Native Americans as referenced from their personal experience. In Indian Cartography, Deborah Miranda describes indigenous struggles as referenced through the apperception of her father, whom throughout his life, purportedly witnessed a tumultuous reality, subject to American colonization. Poignant, personalized and reflective, she establishes an immediate rapport with the Native American challenges,...

The streetcar named Desire bangs through the Quarter, up one old narrow street and down another.  It connects to another car called Cemetery, and from there one proceeds to a part of New Orleans called Elysian Fields.  This tells us something about life.  When people live, they do everything because they desire.  It keeps them moving.  Then it kills them, or maybe they just die, and then its on to the Elysian  Fields, the name the Greeks called their equivalent of Heaven....

One of the ruinous effects of human conflicts, war has a detrimental impact on the human society. War not only has an effect on the lives of the victims but also on the lives of soldiers fighting those wars. In the precarious and life threatening circumstances of war, human beings tend to behave in a contradictory manner. This contradictory behavior continues even when these soldiers return to civilian life. The negative effects of war on the soldiers prevent them from leading a normal civilian...