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 a 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 the when the mother dies, and moving gradually backward to when the daughters were young girls. It begins with the daughters sitting in…
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 last phase of vegetation but…
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 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…
Chapter 1: The narrator (Gene) returns to the Devon School in New Hampshire, that he graduated from 15 years earlier. He goes to a certain tree and switches back to the past. Phineas dares everyone to jump from a branch in the tree into the river. Phineas, and Gene both jump. On the way back…
John Milton, a poet who was completely blind in 1651 wrote “Sonnet XIX” in 1652; this sonnet is his response to his loss of sight. The theme of the sonnet is the loss and regain of primacy of experience. Milton offers his philosophical view on animism and God. Furthermore, “Sonnet XIX” explores Milton’s faith and…
James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a novel of complex themes developed through frequent allusions to classical mythology. The myth of Daedalus and Icarus serves as a structuring element in the novel, uniting the central themes of individual rebellion and discovery, producing a work of literature that illuminates the…
Written in free verse, this poem dramatizes the chance confrontation of a groundhog and terrier. As the speaker relates the setting, the poet uses the design of the groundhog den to provide an alternative, “option”, to the latent conflict. Morgan, asserts the layout of the groundhog den “always has a back door”, and in doing…
Mrs. Sommers, of Kate Chopin’s “A Pair of Silk Stockings” faces a major Man-vs.-Society conflict. She is a perfect example of how humans are tempted by material gain, “the life of luxury”, and the vicious way society judges things (or people). Society views people who live in the lap of luxury as “gods”, they are…
Willa Cather was born in Virginia in 1873, but moved to Nebraska where the population was diverse. She attended school and also was educated at home. She planned on becoming a doctor early in life. She accompanied a local doctor on his house calls and assisted in many of the examinations. By the time she…
In the book One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, the main character Ivan and the other prisoners in the camp are treated very badly. Ivan tries to make himself warm and to get enough food to keep himself alive. He does only what is necessary to please the guards and the commanders of…
In the summer of 1960, Carlos Casteneda, a UCLA anthropology student traveled to the southwest to do research on medicinal plants. While at a bus station, he met an extraordinary man. His name was don Juan Mateus, but I will refer to him as don Juan. Don Juan, a Yaqui “brujo” or shaman, decides to…
The differences between eighteenth-century literature and romantic poems, with respect to history is constituted here. This is seen through the influential works of John Keats and Alexander Pope. These works are acknowledged as, “The Rape of Lock” and “The Eve of St. Agnes.” Alexander Pope takes his readers on a hatred filled epic. A robust…
