All Quiet on the Western Front is a graphic depiction of the horrors of war. In the short note before Chapter One, Remarque lets the reader know exactly what themes he intends. War is a savage and gratuitous evil, war is unnatural, and war is responsible for the destruction of an entire generation. Remarque is…
A shot was heard throughout the Keller home as Joe ended his guilty, worthless life. Miller criticizes that American society has become corrupt- a place of selfishness, where people care too much about themselves, and that which benefits them, and will go to any lengths to achieve that goal; even if the repercussions of their…
In the story “Misery” by Anton Chekhov, I identified despair and misery as a theme. The surroundings amplify the sentiment of the main character, Iona Potapov. Cold and gray surrounds’ Iona Potapov and he is extremely miserable. Iona Potapov wants to speak to another human about his son’s death but no one will listen. Failing…
All Fur is a 19th century German tale written by the Brothers Grimm. The tale deals with incest and how a young lady can escape an abusive father. When the King’s wife dies it becomes imperative that he was to marry again. However, he would not settle on any woman unless she was as beautiful…
In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston shows how the lives of American women changed in the early 20th century. Zora Neale Hurston creates a character in her own likeness in her masterpiece, Their Eyes Were Watching God. By presenting Janie’s search for identity, from her childbirth with Nanny to the…
The Arab League is a regional organization that was founded on March 22, 1945. The league’s function is to promote political cooperation among it’s member states, and to deal with disputes or any breaches of peace in the region. The league’s official name is the League of Arab States. The founding members of the league…
The plot of The Mayor of Casterbridge, by Thomas Hardy, can often be confusing and difficult to follow. The pages of this novel are filled with sex, scandal, and alcohol, but it provides for a very interesting and unique story. It all begins one day in the large Wessex village of Weydon-Priors. Michael Henchard, a…
Catch 22, by Joseph Heller, is a critique of the society that we live in. Whoever is proud of what we have advanced to, and is unwilling to look at it in a negative light, would find this book very subversive. It threatens and criticizes the way of living of most who pride themselves in…
Every company has what is known as a “signature piece,” that is, a work which expresses something about the artistic direction and the spirit of the company. For the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater that piece is Revelations. Choreographed and set to traditional music, Revelations was first performed at the Ninety-second Street YM-YWHA New York, NY.,…
ALLEGORY, pronounced AL uh gawr ee, is a story with more than one meaning. Most allegories have moral or religious meanings. Famous allegories include the fables attributed to Aesop, an ancient Greek writer. Aesop’s fables seem to describe the adventures of animals and human beings. But the author actually wanted to teach his readers something…
Alice Munro’s short story, “Boys and Girls,” has a very interesting detail written into it. The narrator’s brother is named Laird, which was carefully chosen by the author. Laird is a synonym for lord, which plays an important role in a story where a young girl has society’s unwritten rules forced upon her. At the…
The ancient Kingdom of Macedonia, situated in the north of modern Greece, was established by Perdiccas I about 640 B.C. Perdiccas was a Dorian, although the Macedonian tribes included Thracian and Illyrian elements. Originally a semibarbarous and fragmented power, Macedon became tributary to Persia under the Persian kings Darius I and Xerxes I and thereafter…
Acquired Deficiency Disease is a deadly disease that has claimed many lives, both young and old, across our nation and throughout the world. Due to the lack of education concerning this disease, many myths as to how AIDS is contracted is spread. Contrary to what people believe, there are many precautions that can be taken…
Agamemnon is a confusing tale of the people that are waiting for the soldiers to get home from the Trojan War. Most of the play is the chorus singing about many of the things that happened during the war. The play also shows the disrespect the men had for women in that time period. In…
A Chinese medical technique; acupuncture is a medicine originating in the orient over four-thousand years ago. Used primarily for pain relief, but also in curing disease and general health improvement. Oriental Medicine views (illness and pain) as an imbalance of one’s energy. With Acupuncture the energetic balance can be restored, thus helping the body to…
“A Woman Mourned by Daughters”, by Adrienne Rich, is a very descriptive poem in which two women are speaking to their dead mother. There are several parts to this poem starting from when the mother dies and moving gradually backward to when the daughters were young girls. It begins with the daughters sitting in their…
In “Ode to the West Wind,” Percy Bysshe Shelley tries to gain transcendence, for he shows that his thoughts, like the “winged seeds” (7) are trapped. The West Wind acts as a driving force for change and rejuvenation in the human and natural world. Shelley views winter not just as the last phase of vegetation…
This story takes place in London, England. The time is winter and it starts the day before Christmas, also known as Christmas Eve. The settings of the book include Scrooge’s Counting House, Scrooge’s Home, Bob Cratchit’s home, assorted places throughout Scrooges childhood like the schoolhouse and the Fizziwig’s place where Scrooge was an apprentice, this…
Wordsworth’s poetry derives its strength from the passion with which he views nature. Wordsworth has grown tired of the world mankind has created, and turns to nature for contentment. In his poems, Wordsworth associates freedom of emotions with natural things. Each aspect of nature holds a different meaning for Wordsworth. ‘The beauty of morning; silent,…
In the short story “A Story of An Hour” by Kate Chopin, the whole range of emotions are felt by the main charter Louise Mallard. Upon learning of her husband’s death she is immediately overcome by sadness. However, once she is alone she allows herself to experience her feelings of joy at the prospect of…