In the novel Deliverance, by James Dickey, the themes of man and his mind set are pondered upon many times. The theme “the passing of the torch” seemed to stand out in my mind more and more as the novel concluded. Throughout the novel, three of the characters seemed to rely on the fourth character…
Dr. Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States might be better titled A Proletarian’s History of the United States. In the first three chapters Zinn looks at not only the history of the conquerors, rulers, and leaders; but also the history of the enslaved, the oppressed, and the led. Like any American History…
Conrad Richter presents a historic fictional work describing the colonial frontier in The Light in the Forest. True Son, born as John Butler, was captured by the Lenni Lenape Indians at the age of four. He was adopted by them and raised as the son of their chief, Cuyloga. He became a part of the…
The Island of Dr. Moreau is a story that questions the ability of men playing God. The balance of nature is put to the ultimate test as a man by the name of Charles Edward Prendick stumbles across an out-of-control experiment that fuses man with animal. At first glance, this tropical paradise seems idyllic. But…
“The House of the Seven Gables” is a romantic novel set in a grand and rustic, old house with seven gables in New England town. The story opens with its history, beginning in the 1690’s, when witch-hunting was rampant. Afterwards, it revolves around the course of one summer in the 1850’s. At his housewarming party,…
In the Epitaph, Thomas Gray shows his discontent toward the way that life and death are categorized on this planet. He speaks of earth as a place which holds people for the time being that they are going through this grand cycle of what is called life. When somebody only “rests his head upon the…
THE CLIENT by John Grisham is an action, suspense novel about boy who learned to much from a Mafia lawyer. Mark is an eleven-year-old boy who is growing up in a trailer home with his mom Diane, and his nine-year-old brother Ricky. The incident all began when Ricky stumbled over a pack of cigarettes Mark…
Author Theodore Taylor is an American writer who also makes documentary films. His inspiration to write “The Cay” came from his research into German submarines that fought in the Second World War. He is now married with three children and lives in California. Setting This novel is set in the 1940s on a small island,…
Stephen Edwin King is one of today’s most popular and best selling writers. King combines the elements of psychological thrillers, science fiction, the paranormal, and detective themes into his stories. In addition to these themes, King sticks to using great and vivid detail that is set in a realistic everyday place. Stephen King who is…
When one begins to analyze a military novel it is important to first look at the historical context in which the book was written. On the nights of February 13-14 in 1944 the city of Dresden, Germany was subjected to one of the worst air attacks in the history of man. By the end of…
Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson, is an emotional story in which we see the life of a man who could not move on and a woman that did. The man, Ishmael, is hopelessly in love with the woman, Hatsue. His love for her cannot be dissuaded by anything; not her words, her wishes,…
Rosemary Well’s When No One Was Looking is a suspenseful story of a girl’s ambition, friendship, and love of tennis, that takes her to the top. Although she is not beautiful, rich, or good in school, fourteen year old Kathy Bardy has a natural talent for tennis. One day, Kathy loses a match against Ruth…
Jane Austen’s Persuasion depicts a young woman’s struggles with love, friendship and family. Anne Elliot who is pretty, intelligent and amiable, had some years before been engaged to a young naval officer, Frederick Wentworth, but had been persuaded by her trusted friend Lady Russell to break off the engagement, because of his lack of fortune…
The book, Napoleon by Felix Markham, is a biography about Napoleon Bonaparte, one of the greatest historical figures and legends of all time. He was born on August 15, 1769 at Ajaccio in Corsica, which is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. In 1779, when Napoleon was nine years old, he began his schooling in…
With the words “more weight” Giles Corey, from The Crucible by Arthur Miller, becomes a true hero. Throughout the play, Corey changes from a foolish old man, into a hero who courageously dies for his family’s well-being and honor. With just those two words, the character of Giles Corey is defined. Before the witch trials…
The novel The Long March by William Styron is a prime example of anti-war, anti-government, and anti-military writing. William Styron uses marine reserves, which are forced to make a 36 mile march that they are not prepared for, to show the brutality and hypocrisy in the leaders of this country. The reserves are people that…
The novel, McTeague, written by Frank Norris has many ways to understand the events. The relationships between the characters in the story are strange. First, it seems that the first half of the story many of the characters come together. For example, Marcus and McTeague become friends, Trina and McTeague get married, Maria and Zerkow…
Faulkner’s Light in August is a metaphor. In fact it is many metaphors, almost infinitely many. It is a jumble of allusions, themes, portraits, all of them uniquely important, many of them totally unrelated. In fact no 20th century writer has even approached the sheer quantity of symbolism Faulkner packed into every page, with, perhaps,…
Walt Whitman‘s Live Oak, With Moss, is an intricate portrayal of love, both physical and mental. Throughout the poem, Whitman incorporates an array of metaphors symbolic of love and the many characteristics associated with love. Dissimilar to mainstream poetry, Whitman introduces a friend-lover relationship between two men, describing the pain and happiness associated with their…
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…