Utilitarianism is the assumption that human beings act in a way that highlights their own self interest. It is based on factuality and leaves little room for imagination. Dickens provides three vivid examples of this utilitarian logic in Hard Times. The first; Mr. Thomas Gradgrind, one of the main characters in the book, was the…
Many authors write books about events, their lives and their environment, and their corrupt government. One satirical author who wrote a novel about living in a corrupt society is Jonathan Swift who wrote Gulliver’s Travels. The places the protagonist had visited reflected on the author’s English government. The life of the author will be shown…
Authors often have to choose between concentrating on either plot or social commentary when writing their novels; in John Gardener’s Grendel, any notion of a plot is forgone in order for him to share his thoughts about late sixties-early seventies America and the world’s institutions as a whole. While Grendel’s exploits are nearly indecipherable and…
In life, symbolism is present all around us. Whether it is in the clothes we wear, the things we do, or what we buy, everything has a meaning. Symbolism is also present in literature and it is shown in Charles Dickens Great Expectations. The symbols of isolation, manipulation, the tragic hero, and wanting to be…
First of all, I liked the way that The Glass Menagerie was not specifically dated. What I mean by this, is even though the play was written in the forties, today we (people in general), can still relate to some of the issues in it. Like take for example the disability issue. Laura was so…
FRIDAY: A handsome, in about 26 years old, with straight and strong limbs, tall and well shaped fellow who bare name Friday which he got for the memory of a day he was rescued. The native who was saved from a certain death by Robinson Crusoe during one of the cannibal rituals of a local…
“Flowers for Algernon” is about a man named Charlie Gordon who is mentally retarded. Charlie signs up for an experiment that is supposed to make him smarter. He wants to be like every one else. To do the experiment he has to keep a journal showing his progress. Charlie starts out spelling almost every word…
Many critics have compared the character of Simon in the book Lord of the Flies to a Christ figure. After reading this book I also found out that Simon and Christ had a lot in common. The first time we, readers start considering Simon a special person, different from the others is when we see…
Since the beginning of time, man has been on a quest to find his inner self. This topic has been the theme of many books and researches. This is no exception, in the 1959 book, Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. In this particular story the main character, Siddhartha, is trying to find his ‘inner self’. He…
Jorge Luis Borges possesses writing styles unlike others of his time. Through his series of works, he has acquired the title of “the greatest living writer in the Spanish language.” The particular example of work is titled “Ficciones,” was a definite portrayal of his culture. The book was not merely a list of facts from…
CHAPTERS 1-V What memories are stirred in the narrator’s mind when he sees the warm gray eyes of the friendly old hound? Answer: The narrator had fond memories of his past, wonderful memories. He earlier stated when he saw the dog-fight and looked at the “old hound fight against such odds”, “he remembered on old…
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe builds a dramatic poem around the strengths and weaknesses of a man who under a personalized definition of a hero fails miserably. A hero is someone that humanity models themselves and their actions after, someone who can be revered by the masses as an individual of great morality and strength, a…
His voyage towards individualism in the novel Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev, Arcady plays a major role both in his own life and the lives of others. Arcady, despite the shield he surrounds himself with, is not a true Nihilist like his friend Bazarov through his thoughts and actions we see his change. To…
Far From The Madding Crowd centers around the beautiful Bathsheba Everdene, and the three who love her and try to win her over. Gabriel Oak, Mr. Boldwood, and Sergeant Francis Troy find them selves intertwined in their quest to win Bathsheba. Bathsheba is headstrong, feminine, and beautiful. She inherits her uncle’s farm, and tries to…
Author Ray Bradbury Ray Bradbury was born in Waukegan, Illinois on August 22, 1920. Ray Bradbury is an American novelist, short-story writer, essayist, playwright, screenwriter, and poet. Bradbury’s first book that got published was “Hollerbochens Dilemma”. Bradbury’s most popular novel, was Fahrenheit 451, it was released in 1953. Ray Bradbury has been awarded the O.…
The main theme of Snowbound is that no-matter what happens, family will be there to help and comfort. This theme is demonstrated widely throughout the poem and even more so in the last stanza of this excerpt. Another, less prominent, theme of Snowbound is the meaning and involvement of God in the lives of people.…
There is an absolute theme of integration in “Everything That Rises Must Converge” by Flannery O’ Connor. Through the experience of reading this short story, we can depict the characters’ past experiences. There are two incompatible personalities in the passage, Mrs. Chestney, the mother, which represents the transition from the old South, and Julian, the…
Ethan Frome is a story of ill-fated love, set during the winter in the rural New England town of Starkfield. Ethan is a farmer who is married to a sickly woman named Zeena. The two live in trapped, unspoken resentment on Ethan’s isolated and failing farm. Ethan has been caring for his wife for six…
“Eleven” by Sandra Cisneros, uses many literary devices to characterize a complex eleven-year-old. Rachel, the ingenuous 1st person narrator, relates the details of her humiliating eleventh birthday. Although her diction reflects her age, Rachel conveys the difficulty of growing up with adult precision. She is embarrassed and feels helpless, but knows she will soon be…
The poem “Easter Wings” by George Herbert is a poem full of deep imagery not only in its words but also in the visual structure of the stanzas. In Herbert’s poem why does he use a shape poem? Because he wanted this poem to have many different levels and meanings. Herbert also used huge amounts…
