Death as reality: A response to Christopher S. Glover's critical analysis of Don DeLillo's White noise
Thesis - 4 pages - Literature
In this essay, I will systematically dissect Christopher S. Glover's categorization of Don DeLillo's White Noise as an example of Baudrillard's third stage of simulacrum while presenting an alternate interpretation that suggests the novel actually represents a deviation on...
The misdiagnosis of postpartum depression in the 19th Century and Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper"
Thesis - 5 pages - Literature
Charlotte Perkins Gilman's “The Yellow Wallpaper,” written in 1892, was originally published as a work of Gothic fiction. Through a biographical analysis - and the author's own admission - we now know that the story contains many real elements drawn from the author's own...
A close reading of The ascetic in a canoe
Thesis - 2 pages - Literature
Through his essay, The Ascetic in a Canoe, Pierre Elliot Trudeau attempts to describe his personal relationship with nature, through imagery, visualizations and deep descriptions of Canada's natural environment. Nature is shown as a companion in the otherwise vast openness. Nature is the great...
A radical faith: The Bible versus Orpheus and poetry - An analysis of Emily Dickinson's poem 1577
Thesis - 3 pages - Literature
In Emily Dickinson's poem 1577, “The Bible is an antique Volume-,” the speaker questions blind adherence to Biblical belief and ultimately proposes the adoption of a new faith. Through skeptical tone and understated form, the poem elegantly demeans the Bible's authority as the sole...
Much ado about nothing: The power of perception in Shakespeare's comedy
Thesis - 5 pages - Literature
Although American culture places great emphasis on the silver screen, the medium has its limitations. Among them are a relatively short length of time in which to work, a broad audience with a short attention span, and several conventions to be observed when making a film in terms of plot...
Indigenous resurgence in the contemporary Caribbean (Chapters 2, 3, 4, 5, 12 & 13)
Book review - 3 pages - Literature
In a contemporary sense, perspectives of the Caribbean have been created in a way that does not speak of the indigenous and aboriginal peoples of the areas as much as they should. This is likely to change though as these indigenous and aboriginal peoples of the Caribbean are once again gaining...
The restless heart: The theme of scattered humanity in Augustine's Confessions
Thesis - 2 pages - Literature
At the very beginning of his Confessions, Augustine states “[men's] hearts are restless till they rest in [God].” However, because of how he views the human condition, Augustine explains that man is continuously “scattered” by his own impermanence and is always moving through...
The middle finger that is Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove"
Thesis - 5 pages - Literature
By the time Churchill dropped the iron curtain across Europe, America was giving up on the idea of a cooperative relationship with the Soviet Union. Foreign policy was being dictated by such blatant anti-communist and anti-Russian works as the Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, as well as the...
The mythological supports of Beckett's Waiting for Godot
Thesis - 3 pages - Literature
In Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, existence made up of binary oppositions, replacing one another in a never-ending cycle. The most prominent--and the most basic-- of these oppositions is that of life and death. Through an exploration of various mythological allusions made in the play, the...
The enigma of 5.1.19 in Richard III
Thesis - 2 pages - Literature
Richard III as a historical play is interesting because of its large focus on questions of the supernatural. The play considers, or forces the reader to consider, such ideas as the power of prophecy and dreams, ghostly interactions, pre-destination, divine intervention, and so on. The...
The ambiguity of motive in Chaucer's Canterbury tales
Thesis - 2 pages - Literature
The reality presented in Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is one that is skewed by both Chaucer, the writer, and his fictional persona of humble narrator, who is the only source of information in the poem. The resulting overlay of these different perspectives and the reader's dependence on...
The effect of the pilgrim's purpose in Chaucer's Canterbury fabliaux
Thesis - 3 pages - Literature
According to Robert E. Lewis in his “The English Fabliau Tradition and Chaucer's ‘Miller's Tale',” the heyday of the French fabliaux lasted from “the late twelfth century to the 1340s.” In addition, as Lewis goes on to point out, the French genre appeared in several...
Roman, provincial and Islamic law by Patricia Crone
Book review - 3 pages - Literature
The basic thesis of Patricia Crone's Roman, Provincial and Islamic Law is that the sharia is, at least in part, derived from what the author calls “Roman provincial law”, and not from pre-Islamic Arabian cultures, other Near-East cultures (Egyptians, Akkadians and Jews among others) or...
Victorian morals in Dracula
Thesis - 3 pages - Literature
Two of the most compelling and interesting themes and elements of Dracula are the themes of “life as a positive and perpetual entity”, and the fleeting, sinful and worthless nature of a life centered around earthly pleasures and indulgences. The theme of the perpetuity of some kind of...
The Handmaid's tale
Thesis - 3 pages - Literature
Margaret Atwood's “The Handmaid's Tale” is described as a classic dystopian novel, presenting the subjugation of women under a theocratic totalitarian social framework in a fictitious future. Atwood's dystopia takes place in the Republic of Gilead and the narrator is the central...
Midwestern poets
Thesis - 2 pages - Literature
There were five famous Midwestern poets in the 20th century. The five were Carl Sandburg, Edgar Lee Masters, Vachel Lindsey, Edna St. Vencent Millay, and Sara Teasdale. Sandburg, Masters, and Lindsey were from Illinois; Sandburg, Millay and Lindsey were first recognized in Harriet Monroe's...
Modern poetry and imagism
Thesis - 3 pages - Literature
Perhaps modern poetry can be traced back to one man, T.E. Hulme. He defined classical and romantic poetry, which helped distinguish what modern poetry really was. Before modern poetry was considered “modern poetry”, there was classical poetry, and there was romantic poetry. In order to...
Harriet Monroe
Thesis - 2 pages - Literature
Harriet Monroe was born on December 23rd, 1860 to Samuel and Amelia Monroe. She was born in Chicago, where she spent most of her life. Her father was a lawyer, and she spent most of her time in his library reading his poetry books. She studied at Dearborn Seminary in Chicago. She wrote a sonnet...
Do androids dream of electric sheep: A review
Book review - 2 pages - Literature
Edward James states in his piece, Science Fiction in the Twentieth Century, that, “Because science fiction deals with imaginative alternatives to the real world, [it] also offers criticism of that world.” In Philip K. Dick's novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, that criticism is...
Monster and man: The contrasting enemies of epic heroes
Thesis - 3 pages - Literature
Epic heroes can be defined by the kinds of enemies against which they battle. Odysseus used his intellect while contending with Cyclops, witches, harpies, and other various horrific beasts. As Greece was renowned for its philosophers and mathematicians, it is not a difficult link to make...
The Tale of Genji and the four major plays of Chikamatsu
Thesis - 3 pages - Literature
The Tale of Genji can be used to show how samurai culture varies from the culture of the Heian courts. The samurai culture is honorable, loyal, and respectful, while the Heian courts were polygamous and corrupt in some aspects. Many of the aristocrats of the Heian courts strive only to gain power...
Young Goodman Brown's despair
Essay - 1 pages - Literature
Evil is mankind's nature: How the use of religious symbolism of faith and the devil caused Goodman Brown's despair from within, in the story of Young Goodman Brown, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It's only natural that our curiosity has caused some, to fall victim to form evil and temptation. Goodman...
The myth and legend of King Arthur
Thesis - 2 pages - Literature
There is a mysterious allure and fantasy that is generated when one hears Excalibur, Knights of the Round Table, and the magic of Merlin which are all a part of the Myth and Legend of King Arthur that has created a blueprint for the heroism and honor: How the Legend of King Arthur defined a culture.
Fahrenheit 451, Dandelion Wine and From the Dust Returned
Thesis - 2 pages - Literature
Having been told I had to choose an author and read three of their novels, I chose the strange and unusual author Ray Bradbury. Bradbury writes about science fiction which interests me. For this reason, I have decided to read Bradbury's novels as a basis for my paper. The novels I chose to read...
The grass dancer
Thesis - 2 pages - Literature
During a lifetime, one will always encounter lies. These lies are road blocks along the journey called life, some being very harmful to one's life while others are hardly harmful at all. Susan Power's The Grass Dancer is filled with the type of lies which are life-altering. The three major lies...
Through the ages
Thesis - 3 pages - Literature
The passage of time influences everyone in one way or another. In her novel, Mama Day, Gloria Naylor illustrates the strength and importance of the connection between ancestry and the present. The title character Mama Day (Miranda) finds personal strength and wisdom through her great...
The innocent man by John Grisham: A review
Book review - 2 pages - Literature
John Grisham has been a favorite author of mine since fourth grade when I picked up A Time to Kill for the first of many times. That fictional novel was the start of my love for his exciting, fast paced storytelling and The Firm, The Client, The Pelican Brief, The Chamber and The Testament...
The daydreamer essay
Thesis - 2 pages - Literature
This story focuses on the repetition in Peter's life that could be applicable on several levels to many people. His days a just a series of motions and this may encourage Peter to create a fantasy world in order to escape. A type of fantasy is an escape for Peter but, as shown by McEwan's other...
Book review of Undress me in the temple of heaven
Book review - 1 pages - Literature
The author Susan and her Ivy League friend Claire declare to each other that they want to travel and experience the world as it is after graduation. Their idealism, youth, and naiveté meet head on with a Chinese culture not used to tourists or any Westerners at all. Claire and Susan are...
Shakespeare's King Lear
Thesis - 3 pages - Literature
William Shakespeare's King Lear tragically ends with the death of many characters in the play's final scene. Act V, scene 3 brings about the confrontation of the opposing characters, resulting in disorder and many untimely deaths. Amidst this chaos is the character Kent. Kent is King Lear's...
