Born in 1876, in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Gertrude was the fifth child, and youngest, to Daniel and Amelia Stein, German-Jewish immigrants. She was a bright girl, but was noted for “her lifelong indifference to rules” (Gombar 41), especially in school. The early death of her mother was the cause of this. Her father was the king…
Introduction This story takes place in a state called Oceania. The main characters introduced are Winston Smith who is a worker on one of the four branches of government in Oceania. These four branches are “The Ministry of Truth” where they falsificate or remove all past documents such as books, newspapers, magazines, records, tapes and…
In George Dawes Green’s, The Juror, He summarized the events and, thoroughly explained the pain and anguish Annie had to go through. The woe in which her life revolved after mentioning those lousy words ¨I need a little excitement in my life ¨1, well, if Annie needed to add a touch of excitement to her…
John Winslow Irving stands out as one of the finest contemporary American authors. Born in Exeter, New Hampshire in July 1942, Irving attended an Exeter prep school at which his stepfather taught history. Although he excelled at English, he was discouraged by the fact that he was dyslexic, a condition which wasn’t recognized back then…
By consistently weaving the theme of motherhood into her literature, Maya Angelou creates both personal narratives and poems that the reader can relate to. Her exploration of this universal theme lends itself to a very large and diverse audience. Throughout Angelou’s works, she allows her followers to witness her metamorphosis through different aspects of motherhood.…
The Author George Bernard Shaw -he later dropped the name George- was born in Dublin in 1856, the third and youngest child of an alcoholic father and an undomestic mother. He developed an interest in literature, music, and painting at a very early age, but was never enabled to go to university. At the age…
My first impression of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café was that it was a “woman’s” novel. This was because the movie, which was more popular than the book, was advertised as a “chick flick”. To say the least, I was wrong. The novel poses many issues that face the people of the…
Although humans have the tendency to set idealistic goals to better future generations, often the results can prove disastrous, even deadly. The tale of Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, focuses on the outcome of one man’s idealistic motives and desires of dabbling with nature, which result in the creation of a horrific creature. Victor Frankenstein was…
Shakespeare’s dynamic use of irony in King Lear aids the microcosmic illustration of not only 16th century Britain, but of all times and places. The theme that best develops this illustration is the discussion of fools and their foolishness. This discussion allows Shakespeare not only to portray human nature, but also to elicit a sort…
In her short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find” Flannery O’Connor’s seems to portray a feeling that society as she saw it was drastically changing for the worse. O’Connor’s obvious displeasure with society at the time is most likely a result of her Catholic religion and her very conservative upbringing in the ‘old…
In the play Fences, which was written by August Wilson, Bono, Gabe, and Alberta are all very important people in Troy’s life. Bono is Troy’s best friend, and through him, the reader learns that Troy is a very strong character. Through Gabe, people can see some of the guilt Troy has inside. Alberta helped Troy…
In the play “Faust” by Johann Goethe, Gretchen’s character envelops extreme aspects of Virgin Mary and of Eve. Mary acts as the symbol of the mother of mankind, the pure woman who makes men’s salvation possible. She has no evil in her at all. In contrast, Eve is the archetypal figure of the fallen woman,…
Though Faulkner’s The Unvanquished is set during the Civil War, another war is being fought simultaneously. This second war is not one of guns and thievery, but one of beliefs. It is a conflict between two philosophies: idealism and pragmatism. This war rages on throughout the novel, but is decided by one event: Bayard’s decision…
In modern times, and in the Elizabethan era, fate plays an important role in people’s lives. Many people believe it to be written in stone, and unchangeable. Many others believe it to be controlled by a person’s own actions. In Romeo and Juliet, fate is one of the main themes, described as having power over…
Sharon Olds’ poem “Late Poem to My Father” exposes the profound effect that childhood trauma can have on someone, even in adulthood. The speaker of the poem invokes sadness and pity in the reader by reflecting on the traumatic childhood of her father and establishes a cause-and-effect relationship between the abuse he endured as a…
Irony: incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the expected results. Huh? Well take the short story “Lady with a Dog” written by Anton Chekhov as an example. First let’s get a look at our main characters, Dmitri Gurov and Anna Sergeyevna, and how they met. Then we will take a…
Eudora Welty’s writing style and use of theme and setting aided her in becoming one of the greatest writers of all time. Welty credits her family for her success. “Without the love and belief my family gave me, I could not have become a writer to begin with” (Welty, IX). Eudora Welty’s writings are light-…
Elizabeth Bishop’s skill as a poet can be clearly seen in the thought-provoking poem entitled Filling Station. She paints the different language levels of poetry with the skill of an artist– she seems to have an eye for detail as she contrasts the dark and dim reference of a filling station to a more homey,…
The book Night opens in the town of Signet where Elie Wiesel, the author, was born. He lived his childhood in the Signet, Transylvania. He had three sisters Hilda, Bea, and Tzipora. His father was an honored member of the Jewish community. He was a cultured man concerned about his community yet, he was not…
E.E Cummings was an unusual, yet highly acclaimed writer of the 20th century. His style of writing was much different than that of any other contemporary or even 18th and 19th century writers. Although difficult to understand at times, E.E Cummings is a very profound and inventive writer. E.E Cummings was born Edward Estlin Cummings…