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17 Feb 2011
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'Siddhartha', by Herman Hesse, and the 'Metamorphosis', by Franz Kafka: A review

Thesis - 3 pages - Literature

'Siddhartha' by Herman Hesse, and the 'Metamorphosis' by Franz Kafka, are both novels which portray the protagonists, Siddhartha and Gregor, as obedient members of society who undergo momentous, life altering transformations. Both transformations considerably affect the...

17 Feb 2011
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Madness Redefined: Plath's Demystification of Insanity in 'The Bell Jar'

Thesis - 8 pages - Literature

Sylvia Plath's 'The Bell Jar' depicts the mental-breakdown of a privileged and educated young woman in 1950s American society. To this day, the literary merit of the novel remains a topic of intense debate. The majority of critics seem to take the stance that its overall worth lies in the...

17 Feb 2011
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Analysis of 'The Birth of Tragedy'

Book review - 3 pages - Literature

In his work 'The Birth of Tragedy', Nietzsche argues that, “it is only as an aesthetic phenomenon that the existence of the world is eternally justified (Sect. 5, p. 52)”. Simply put, Nietzsche maintains that, without the guidance and creation of art, the terrible truths of the...

17 Feb 2011
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Aristotle & the Hellenists

Book review - 2 pages - Literature

In book I (The Object of Life) of 'Nicomachean Ethics', Aristotle sets out to determine what the concept of good represents for man and, more specifically, what the supreme good for man is. Aristotle asserts that, although there are many different relative goods that humans strive for,...

17 Feb 2011
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Identity Construction in Ibsen's 'Hedda Gabler' and Wilde's 'The Importance of Being Earnest'

Essay - 3 pages - Literature

Both Henrik Ibsen's 'Hedda Gabler' and Oscar Wilde's 'The Importance of Being Earnest' depict the constant conflict between the individual and the society in which they live; and, more specifically, the struggle of the individual to construct his or her own identity in light of...

28 Dec 2010
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The Scarlet Letter - A review

Book review - 2 pages - Literature

The mind is truly valuable, intrinsic, secure and powerful. No entity can take the mind away from a person, nor can anyone control the way it functions. Thus, a society that seeks total control over its people will never flourish and thrive. Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" articulates...

28 Nov 2010
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The significance of age and aging in One Hundred Years of Solitude

Book review - 2 pages - Literature

In the remote town of Mocondo which Gabriel Garcia Marquez vividly depicts in his novel One Hundred Years of Solitude, the process of aging plays an important role in the development of the characters, their development and in the plot as whole. Throughout the aging process, some characters'...

18 Nov 2010
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Wrath of the Gods in the epic 'The Odyssey'

Essay - 1 pages - Literature

The dictionary definition of an epic is “An extended narrative poem in elevated or dignified language, celebrating the feats of a legendary or traditional hero.” In the epic, The Odyssey, the narrator takes the reader on a journey with the epic hero, (or traditional/ legendary hero)...

03 Nov 2010
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The Cause of Samuel Death in Grace Paley's "Samuel"

Book review - 2 pages - Literature

The death of the young boy in Grace Paley's “Samuel” was caused by irresponsible behavior, not by the repetitive interference of the passengers in the games of young people. The brave men in the train did not convey a message of absolute disapproval towards the boys' dangerous games,...

29 Sep 2010
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"Flying Carpet", Steven Millhauser - "flying up to the sky"

Book review - 4 pages - Literature

Steven Millhauser is a writer of realist fiction. However, his work cannot be limited by labeling it only realistic. Another dimension is added to his short stories. They are full of interpretations. In Flying Carpet, though the story seems to be quite casual, even banal - a child trying to reach...

29 Sep 2010
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"From the Diary of an almost-four-year-old", Hanan Ashrawi (1988)

Book review - 2 pages - Literature

The poem, 'From the Diary of an almost-four-year-old' was written by Hanan Mikhail Ashrawi, a Palestinian writer, in 1988. The speaker in this poem is an almost-four-year-old little girl who was fired at by a soldier, during the Israel-Palestine war. She lost an eye and she wonders about...

29 Sep 2010
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"They came for the Jews," Martin Niemoller, and "God loves you anyway" Harold Kushnersay - the care of others

Book review - 1 pages - Literature

The first essay is a poem entitled 'First, They Came for The Jews', written by a German Pastor named Martin Niemoller. It talks about what happened in 1939-1945, during World War II, where many people died, due to the nazi government in Germany. The second essay is an extract of a book...

29 Sep 2010
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Catch-22 : black comedy or satire ?

Book review - 5 pages - Literature

Catch-22, often considered as one of the literary masterpieces of the twentieth century, is also often analyzed as being either satirical, or characteristic of the theater of the absurd, or even both. At first sight, this appears to be totally irrelevant, given the subtle but still significant...

29 Sep 2010
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Paul Auster, The Brooklyn Follies - Overture (Chap. 1) "It was early" - "were lost forever"

Book review - 1 pages - Literature

This text is an extract from the novel The Brooklyn Follies, written by Paul Auster and published in 2005. Earlier in the novel, we discovered the main character, Nathan Glass, a 60 year old man in remission from cancer. He was looking for a quiet place to die. Someone recommended Brooklyn to...

29 Sep 2010
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Paul Auster, The Brooklyn Follies Farewell to the court (Chap. 3)

Book review - 1 pages - Literature

What we are about to study is an extract from the novel The Brooklyn Follies, written by Paul Auster and published in 2005. Here, we are at the beginning of the novel, where Nathan and Tom are having lunch and talking about Tom's activities. We may wonder in what ways the passage is...

29 Sep 2010
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Review of the Rabbits who caused all the trouble by James Thurber in Fables of your times

Book review - 1 pages - Literature

The text we are going to study is entitled “The Rabbits who caused all the trouble”. It is an extract from “Fables of your times” written by James Thurber in 1940. The main characters of this text are the rabbits and the wolves. However, there are other animals involved in the...

29 Sep 2010
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First scene of Doris Lessing's "The Fifth Child"

Book review - 3 pages - Literature

This extract is the first scene of Doris Lessing's The Fifth Child, a book published in 1988 which deals with Ben a monster-like child whose birth deeply alters his parent's life. This first scene introduces us to the main characters i.e. David and Harriet and sets the general tone of the...

29 Sep 2010
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Wife-Wooing, by John Updike

Book review - 1 pages - Literature

In his short story, 'Wife-Wooing', John Updike portrays the life of what seems to be an ordinary family through which he discusses matters related to matrimony. This story centers around two people who seem to have forgotten the meaning of their marriage. Through this essay, I will...

29 Sep 2010
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Marvel's "To His Coy Mistress": a Baroque reworking of conventions

Book review - 4 pages - Literature

Andrew Marvell (1621-1678) was an English Metaphysical poet. Marvell wrote several satirical poems against the corruption of the court, but they were published after his death (for being too subversive). ?To His Coy Mistress', though not about politics, is also a subversive poem. It is an...

29 Sep 2010
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Analysis of the sonnet 'to sleep' by J. Keats

Book review - 3 pages - Literature

One may get the impression that this poem is about pain and agony and troubles encountered throughout life, yet at the same time one expects a sonnet to possess the qualities of romance, adoration, and themes of love. Although this poem may appear to only deal with dark images about the...

29 Sep 2010
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Commentary Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck

Book review - 2 pages - Literature

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is known as one of the author's most powerful novels. Even though the story is completely imaginary, the plot takes place in a very precise historical and geographical context: 1930s California. Moreover, one of the main themes of the novel is humanity and...

29 Sep 2010
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De Lacey Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Book review - 6 pages - Literature

In a disconcertingly candid manner, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein offers its readers a sensible critique on the callous superficiality of human social interaction. Shelley imaginatively introduces a repugnant, yet kindhearted monster into the world of man, who is only to be received, and...

29 Sep 2010
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The theme of the declining Big House in Bowen's The Last September

Book review - 5 pages - Literature

'The Last September', Elizabeth Bowen's second novel, describes the Anglo-Irish life of the provincial aristocracy during the turbulent times of 1920, and deals directly with the crisis of being Anglo-Irish. In this particular context, Bowen makes a combination between social comedy and...

29 Sep 2010
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"Answers to a questionnaire" by James Graham Ballard

Book review - 2 pages - Literature

Answers to a Questionnaire' is a short story which was written by James Graham Ballard, and published for the first time in the English literary magazine 'Ambit', in 1985. Ballard's style of writing is highly important to understand his works, he is a member of the 'New...

29 Sep 2010
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"The Wanderer" by W. H. Auden

Thesis - 3 pages - Literature

What could a layman think about such a poem? When one tries to understand a poem, it is in fact a whole work that must be understood; a whole thought that has to be reached. Whether we are studying a poem by W. H. Auden, E. Bishop, W. B. Yeats, or A. Sexton, it is impossible to understand it...

29 Sep 2010
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Post-structuralism and deconstruction

Essay - 8 pages - Literature

Literary theory has penetrated all spheres of modern day life. It has shifted from being a prerogative of Academia to being a part of a popular culture. Yet, how can the term "literary theory" be defined lucidly? According to McLaughlin, literary theory is the "debate over nature and function of...

29 Sep 2010
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Commentary ' the chimney sweeper ' by William Blake

Essay - 4 pages - Literature

This poem, written in 1789 by William Blake, was published in “Songs of Inno-cence”. Like its fellow poems, it deals with childhood as an epitome for innocence and purity; here, the poet chooses to look into the life of the poor young boys who used to sweep chimneys in London in those...

29 Sep 2010
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The grapes of wrath: analysis of chapter 6

Book review - 3 pages - Literature

This excerpt, taken from Chapter 6 of ?The Grapes of Wrath', deals with Muley Graves's account of the depletion of man, when he is separated from his land. It is the third of many narrative chapters, which move away from the social, economic and historical situations that shape the...

29 Sep 2010
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Analysis of Ode on Melancholy by John Keats

Essay - 3 pages - Literature

Ode on Melancholy is an example of a Pindaric ode, i.e., it is composed in iambic pentameter (we have some occasional spondees too), while the rhyme scheme is a b a b c d e c d e for the first two stanzas and a b a b c d e d c e for the third and last one. We have three stanzas, the first one...

29 Sep 2010
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Literary devices and style in pride and prejudice

Book review - 15 pages - Literature

Sound effects connect the 2 words in the title ?Pride and Prejudice? right from the start of the novelv(also used in Sense and Sensibility). This connection between Pride and Prejudice helps define the 2 main characters of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, and participates in the development of the...