John Steinbeck always makes it a point to know about his subjects first hand. His stories always have some factual basis behind them. Otherwise, he does not believe that they will be of any value beyond artistic impression. Therefore, most of his novels take place in California, the site of his birth and young life. …
The Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf is the most important work of Old English literature, and is well deserved of the distinction. The epic tells the story of a hero, a Scandinavian prince named Beowulf, who rids the Danes of the monster Grendel, a descendent of Cain, and of his exploits fighting Grendel’s mother and a Dragon. …
When he arrived at the Danish land, Beowulf was a young man seeking adventure and glory. Beowulf was distinguished among his people, the Geats, for his bravery. As a young man Beowulf fought in many battles and as a result showed his great character to others. Beowulf had many characteristics which helped him to succeed…
She is dead. She does not appear physically but haunts mentally. She is Codi and Hallie’s mother Alice, the late wife of Homero Noline. Throughout the novel Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver, Alice impacted the characters, action, and theme(s). When Alice passed away she took part of Homer with her. What she left was a…
In Macbeth, a play by William Shakespeare, Banquo’s soliloquy at the beginning of the third act explains some of his present feeling towards Macbeth. He believes that Macbeth killed to become the King of Scotland. He explains that he is the one who will start a chain of kings, not Macbeth. Strangely enough, Banquo makes…
In “Babi Yar”, Yevgeny Yevtushenko pays tribute to the victims of the Holocaust in general, and particularly to those who perished in his homeland of Russia. Although he himself is not a Jew, Yevtushenko writes this poem with hopes of bettering his country’s society by deprecating anti – Semitism. In achieving this, Yevtushenko uses various…
“There is no exquisite beauty without some strangeness in the proportions” (Biography on Poe 8). Edgar Alan Poe endured a very difficult life and this is evident in his literary style. He was once titled the “master of the macabre.” One of the aspects in his life with which he struggled was social isolation. He…
One of the greatest city states of all time was the city state of Athens from which we take many of our modern ways. Their government was a full democracy in which they had an assembly was all male citizens over 25 years old, they had the council of five hundred which was chosen by…
Caius Julius Caesar, a Roman consul, was a great leader and a terrible dictator. Many of his reforms were excellent, but he also was hungry for the power of Roman Dictator, which would give him absolute power for as long as he required it. Throughout his life he did many things including creating the calendar…
The Middle Ages of Europe were governed by a system which is referred to as feudalist. The people of this system flow together well; society in these times require noble people to set the example for the younger. The ranks of the noble include counts, lords, knights, kings, queens, etc. These noblemen can be compared…
The title of the novel, Around the World in Eighty Days, is pretty much self explanatory. An Englishman, Phileas Fogg, places a wager that he can circumnavigate the world in 80 days. The events that occur throughout the novel describe his journey around the world. Phileas Fogg, the protagonist, was a lonesome person who lived…
The movie Arsenic & Old Lace is based on the play about a movie critique who’s two aunts , choose to put lonely men out of there reason by poisoning them . Little do they know that there nephew, Jonathan, who left them when he was young, has killed just as many people as they…
In Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” critics argue whether the character of Arnold Friend, clearly the story’s antagonist, represents Satan in the story. Indeed, Arnold Friend is an allegorical devil figure for the main reason that he tempts Connie, the protagonist, into riding off with him in his car.…
The Lion King is a story containing many archetypes. Archetypes are patterns or models of literature that reoccur in many stories. They are the hero, death & rebirth of the hero, and the symbolism and associations of water vs. desert. These archetypes can be noticed easily and help things come together. The Lion King has…
Archetypes are, by definition, previous images, characters, or patterns that recur throughout literature and though consistently enough to be considered a universal concept or situation. Archetypes also can be described as complexes of experiences that come upon us like fate, and their effects are felt in our most personal life. A Rose for Emily by…
In James Joyce’s short story “Araby,” several different micro-cosms are evident. The story demonstrates adolescence, maturity, and public life in Dublin at that time. As the reader, you learn how this city has grown to destroy this young boy’s life and hopes, and create the person that he is as a narrator. In “Araby,” the…
The personalities of the two sisters; Antigone and Ismene, are as different from one another as tempered steel is from a ball of cotton. One is hard and resistant; the other: pliable, absorbing and soft. Antigone would have been a strong, successful 90’s type woman with her liberated and strong attitude towards her femininity, while…
“Autobiography: Story of one’s life, written by oneself.”(Halsey 64). Everyone knows what an autobiography is, but not so many people realize that although not all authors write a book that can be called a factual autobiography, many authors frequently allow personal, real life experiences to influence their fictional writings. An excellent example of such an…
Anse Bundren is one of the most exceptional characters in “As I Lay Dying”. He was the husband of Addie Bunden. In the Story, he portrayed himself as being a very selfish individual. During his journey to the burial site of his wife, he always was worrying about his well being before the family’s well…
In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee addresses many controversial issues. Such issues as, racism, discrimination, and social class are explored. During the 1930’s in the small county of Maycomb, the mentality of most southern people reflected that of the nation. Most of the people were racist and discriminatory. In the novel, these…