Our understanding of the literary achievements of King Alfred depends very much upon what we believe about his early education. If we are content to accept the stories of Asser, the famous biographer of Alfred, that he reached his twelfth birthday before he learned to read (Keynes 75), then we must reckon his literary career…
The short story A & P, by John Updike, can be broken down into a number of components, which include characters, setting, plot, point of view, and the theme. A & P is a story about a young man, about 19, named Sammy, who is a cashier at a local supermarket. His supporting characters are…
Lionel Red Dog, one of Thomas King’s characters in his novel Green Grass, Running Water, was an employee of the government. He worked in Indian Affairs, and his job took him all over North America. It was in South Dakota that Lionel had his last assignment. Lionel was sent to Utah to deliver a…
The topic of Langston Hughes’ “Negro” deals with an extremely general description of the history of African Americans or blacks from the pre-1922 era until 1922. Hughes lets the reader know about the historic experiences of blacks to show us the impact that blacks have had in past eras. He touches on past, historical events,…
Though seeming to simply be a minor character, Laertes is of great importance in the play, Hamlet, and much more than one would initially believe, due to his extensive inner conflict. He is good, loyal, and honorable, seeming to possess the greatest virtue of all the characters, yet he still is doomed to die along…
In a play that is abundant in evil occurrences, Lady Macbeth is the overriding source of evil in the first act. Lady Macbeth persuades Macbeth to kill Duncan, despite Macbeth listing eight reasons against the murder. When Macbeth is alone, we discover that he is a loyal thane to Duncan, not a murdering savage. When…
Kurt Vonnegut Jr., was born November 11, 1922, in Indianapolis, Indiana(Dictionary of Literary Biography). Kurt is often known for his science-fiction writing. He often uses space travel and technology within his novels (World Book Encyclopedia). Vonnegut attended Cornell University from 1940 to 1942. Next, he attended the University of Chicago from 1945 to 1947. He…
Kathrine Hepburn, the winner of more acting awards than any other actress in history, is a very dynamic woman. She was born in Hartford Connecticut, on May 12, 1907. She was the second oldest child of six. Kate,as she was called by her family members, had two sisters, Peg and Marion, and three brothers, Tom,…
Aeschylus is primarily concerned with the nature of justice. In the trilogy The Oresteia, the Akhaians evolve from an older, more primitive autocratic form of justice, to a new concept of civil justice devised by Athena. He confronts the contrast between the old and new orders, the lives of the members of the House of…
One day, twelve-year-old Alan Parrish was riding down the main street when he hears “Prepare to die, Parrish!”, he starts riding much faster, as Billy Jessup and four of his friends chase after him. Alan heads for his father’s shoe factory. He jumped off his bike and ran inside. Where he meets his friend, Carl…
Joseph Andrews is a novel written in the middle eighteenth century by Henry Fielding. In this novel, Fielding talks of human nature and of the need for control of sexuality. He does not just come right out and say it, but instead expresses his concern through examples of the constant sexual advances throughout the entire…
John Joseph Gotti was born into one of the poorest families in New York on October 27, 1940. His father was a sanitation worker, his Mother didn’t work. John was the youngest of five children. There was barely enough food to go around, and meat was a luxury, only to be eaten once a week.…
Jealousy causes many of the characters in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar to commit dangerous and foolish acts. Cassius’ jealousy drives him to kill Caesar. All the conspirators, except the noble Brutus, kill Caesar because they feel threatened by his power. Brutus is the only conspirator who murders Caesar for more honorable reasons. Jealousy is…
Saki’s novella, “The Interlopers”, explores the intricacies of friendship and rivalry. The story takes place in a European forest one night during the winter. The setting of the story is analogous to the plot; the trees have to bind together for warmth to brave the fierce winter, the same way Ulrich and George have to…
A recurring theme in Sir Thomas Malory’s Morte d’ Arthur is the use of imaginative descriptions of characters and settings. Imagination is what the reader of the story must use to form his or her own mental images of a situation, and the better the storyteller is, the clearer the mental image. His descriptions, ranging…
Iago is a “moral pyromaniac.” Harold C. Goddard writes that Iago consciously and unconsciously seeks to destroy the lives of others, especially others with high moral standards (Goddard 76). However, Iago is more than just a “moral pyromaniac,” he is a moral pyromaniac whose fire is fueled by pure hatred. He is a hungry powermonger…
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is about the trials and tribulations of Hester Prynne, a woman living in colonial Boston. Found guilty of adultery, Hester’s punishment is to wear a visible symbol of her sin: the scarlet letter “A.” Through the book, the reader comes to know Hester, the adulteress; Dimmesdale, the holy man…
There are four main steps involved in setting the timing on a normal engine utilizing a distributor. Setting the timing on an engine synchronizes the spark timing with the engine’s compression stroke for maximum efficiency. First, pull the vacuum line off of the distributor and plug the end of the line. Next, mark the Top…
The WB was created by the Bretton Woods Conference and evolved by adding additional institutions as additional tasks were identified. The initial objective of the WB was to provide loans for the rebuilding of Europe after WWII, later lending is provided to developing countries to foster development. Membership in the IMF is a prerequisite to…
Throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book The Scarlet Letter, Hester’s attitudes toward her adultery are ambivalent. This ambivalence is shown by breaking the book into three different parts. In each part her attitudes change significantly. Hester starts by seeing her act as a sin that she is sorry for committing. She changes and no longer feels sorry…