Tutor and Freelance Writer. Science Teacher and Lover of Essays.
Article last reviewed: 2020 | St. Rosemary Institution © 2010-2022 | Creative Commons 4.0
Trainspotting is a captivating story of the random events that occur during a critical time in a group of Scottish junkies’ lives. Irvine Welsh illustrates the confusion, anger, and turmoil many drug addicts are subjected to and what happens once they try to quit. The story is centered around Mark Renton, an ordinary twenty-two-year-old who…
“The Wanderer” is an Anglo-Saxon poem about a lonely wanderer hopelessly alleviating his woes in the posthumous period of his fallen lord. Characteristic of the Anglo-Saxon period, the poem portrays themes of fraternity and loyalty, allegiance, and the tradition of a warrior’s passing. The imagery of the warrior, “the byrny-clad warrior, / The prince in…
“The Trip to Halawa Valley,” is a short story written by Lynne Sharon Schwartz. The story is about a son succeeding and getting married in Hawaii, and the reunification of his divorced parents. The parents become the main focus of the story when the son suggests that they go on a trip to Halawa Valley.…
In Ernest Hemingway’s story “Hills Like White Elephants” an American couple is sitting at a table in a train station in Spain. They are discussing beer, travel, and whether or not to have an abortion. The train station and its surroundings are symbolic in this story. The station itself represents the choice on whether or…
Jean Valjean was an alluring hero of Les Miserables for many reasons, one of which was his drastic conversion from a miserable criminal into a heroic, peaceful man. Jean Valjean seems like a three-dimensional character at first. But deep inside his emotions, he shows a defined viewpoint on life making him a flat character. One…
The story takes place in Colorado and begins with Jack Torrance, going to a place by the name of “The Overlook Hotel” to be the caretaker over the winter months. To get the job as the caretaker of the hotel, he would be alone for five months, and have free food, and also free stay…
The movie “The pit and the Pendulum” was nothing at all like the book. The movie started out as a man walked along the ocean to enter a huge castle. His sister had moved there when she married Dom Madena, but now she was dead. The castle was used to torture Catholics during the Inquisition.…
The mystery of the Monkey’s Paw is a cleverly thought-out short story. This story had three main parts. These parts were the first wish, the second wish, and the third wish. The first wish was the only tragic wish that was granted. Mr.White, his son Herbert, and an old man were sitting around playing chess.…
The story The Last of the Mohicans takes place in eastern Canada and in the area of modern New York State. This area is also called the St.Lawernce Low Lands. The book takes place in the year 1757 during the third year of the colonial wars between England and France. The books main character is…
Of Dogs was written by Elizabeth Thomas who is currently well known and highly respected for her books. Elizabeth Thomas was born in America and currently lives in New Hampshire. This is a book that is unlike any book ever written as it takes the perspective from a different angle. It was first published in…
Douglas Noel Adams has successfully tried to show us another aspect of our daily-life routine. By using many cynical elements, he creates extremely funny situations which represent much deeper aspects. The destruction of Earth in order to create Inner-Galactic Highways as the definition of Earth in the universe encyclopedia both represent the smallness of human-beings,…
The purpose of this book was to show us a possible version of a “Utopia”. It was a fantasy-oriented book, that was supposed to make you think about the possibilities for the future. The setting is a supposedly perfect society where everyone is taken care of and no one is different. The author Lois Lowry…
The story describes the life of its main character Edmond Dantès. He is promoted to captain of his ship. This promotion ignites the jealousy of his fellow shipmate Danglars. Dantès is then falsely accused of being a Bonapartist. This means he sides with Napoleon Bonaparte and is committing treason against his own king. He is…
Throughout the opening paragraph of “The Black Cat,” the reader is introduced to a narrator who, because of his grotesque actions, has become mentally deranged and very untrustworthy, ” . . . my very senses reject their own evidence.” The narration of this story is in the first person, which would lead you to believe…
The book starts with the setting in New York as the main character is pondering the execution of the Rosenbergs. Esther the main character is in New York because of contest held by a fashion magazine. While in New York Esther tells about her life by the encounters she’s had. She is a college student…
As Nicholas came into power in 1894, Russia was enjoying a mild industrial boom, thanks to Sergius Witte, the current prime minister’s policies. But the world price of grain had dropped and the discontent among the peasantry was growing. Nicholas was reigning in a time when political controversy was sparking under the noses of the…
1. Compare and Contrast Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Although Tom and Huckleberry Finn have many things in common and are very good friends, they also live a life of two totally different lifestyles. Tom, who is a dreamer, lives a life out of romantic novels, and can be amusing and exasperating at the same…
The First of the three-part series, Star Wars, is the tale of a band of heroes who team together for the good of the universe and the money. The story begins as Princess Leia is held hostage by the Galactic Empire in order to crush the rebellion against them. During the attack on Leia’s ship…
Ray Bradbury’s, Something Wicked This Way Comes, is a chilling and suspenseful thriller, making a boy’s secret dream come true right before his own eyes and that of his friend’s too. The story in this book continually jumps back and forth between three characters; two which are always together and the other the library janitor…
Two major people in To Kill A Mockingbird are prejudged; Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. One man is the victim of prejudice; Atticus Finch. These men are mockingbirds. For a mockingbird has never hurt anyone, and neither has Atticus Finch, Boo Radley, nor Tom Robinson. Boo Radley is prejudged because he chooses to stay in…