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 of his bike and ran inside. Where he meets his…
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 through the entire…
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…
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…
Herbert George Wells was one of the world’s most talented writers. He was able to write in many styles, whether it be science-fiction or nonfiction. Although talented in many areas and genres of the literary world, it is for his contribution to the realm of science-fiction that he will always be remembered. H. G. Wells…
In the play “Henry the fourth” written by William Shakespeare is triumphant and denial. There is a prince named Hal that does not act like a prince that you think a prince would and fat man named Falstaff that is his friend. In this play we see that the prince changes when his father and…
In Shakespeare’s Henry IV, the character Hal, the Prince of Wales, undergoes a transformation that can be characterized as a redemption. Shakespeare introduces Hal, in the opening act as a renegade of the Court. His avoidance of all public responsibility and his affinity for the company of the Boar’s Head Tavern, have caused serious concern…
Hamlet has a tragic flaw in his personality and behavior. His flaw is that he is overly concerned with death and tragedy. This flaw or weakness in Hamlet leads him into a world of chaotic surroundings and madness. Hamlet’s flaw and his mad personality led to the death of several people, including his mother and…
Symbolism adds depth to the story without casting confusion. The representations are presented and sometimes even explained through the characters. Our own society too has many symbols which reflect who we are in a similar manner as the symbols in the novel did. Although there are many symbols in this book, perhaps one of the…
Of the major themes from Charles Dickens novel “Great Expectations” to be discussed as to their importance concerning its structure, I have selected “Love” in the context of human relationships, “Isolation” and finally “Redemption”. The loneliness isolation brings can only be redeemed by the loving associate of our fellow man, this is a two way…
Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations is a story about a boy, Philip Pirrip, who comes to a point in his life where his life changes drastically from the way it was when he was growing up. Whenever this change occurs, he does his best not to let people know about his past life where he was…
The book, Good Old Boy, was written in 1971 and takes place in the small Mississippi town of Yazoo City. The book contains experiences of the author’s childhood in his small town. The story began by telling many of the legends of Yazoo City. One of these legends involved a woman who lived by the…
“The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop is saturated with vivid imagery and abundant description, which help the reader visualize the action. Bishop’s use of imagery, narration, and tone allow the reader to visualize the fish and create a bond with him, a bond in which the reader has a great deal of admiration for the fish’s…
Gold has many different uses. In John Gardner’s novel Grendel, it is used as a motif to symbolize different aspects of a character. Though it has a constant meaning throughout the novel, it also differs according to each character. Gardner uses gold as a symbol of majesty as well as protection, greed and power throughout…
“Nothing to be done,” is one of the many phrases that is repeated again and again throughout Samuel Beckett’s Waiting For Godot. Godot is an existentialist play that reads like somewhat of a language poem. That is to say, Beckett is not interested in the reader interpreting his words, but simply listening to the words…
