Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are both famous novels about a man who experiences a change in character due to the influence of another mysterious person, Frankenstein explores Victor Frankenstein’s life before his transformation, while Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde focuses on how each character interacts with one another. Frankenstein is Frankenstein’s story … Read more
Macbeth manipulates everybody that he comes into contact with. Macbeth is a tragic hero because he starts off his manipulation of others as an innocent bystander, but eventually Macbeth feels forced to manipulate others in order to save himself from the guilt for what he has done. Macbeth needs Lady Macbeth’s help throughout this tragedy … Read more
The Birthmark, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a story about using science for good and evil. The main character, Aylmer , loses his wife Georgiana because he wanted to rid her of a “birthmark” that she had on the right side of her cheek. The symbolism in The Birthmark is symbolizing how man will try … Read more
“The Cheater’s Guide To Love” features a main character that struggles with finding love again after ruining his first. The main character is described as a young man who was considered the catch in college due to his good looks, charm, and athletic physique. The story tells of how this main character meets someone that … Read more
Oscar Wilde was on the one hand the first man who lived in homosexual relationship in public and on the other hand he represented the theory of new hedonism. New Hedonism is a life philosophy, which was inspired by Oscar Wilde. New hedonism as an ethical doctrine combines the wishes to achieve the momentary as … Read more
Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) was an American poet and one of the leading female poets of her time. Emily lived a quiet life and spent most of her adult life in seclusion, only leaving her home for occasional visits to friends. Emily wrote almost all of her poems during this period of seclusion and had them … Read more
“The Great Gatsby,” a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is set in the summer of 1922, during a boom time in America as well as a period of economic decline for The West and The South. This is important to understand because The Great Gatsby was first published in 1925, which means The Roaring … Read more
The poem The Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe is written in a very melancholic tone that evokes feelings of sorrow and sadness. The actions of the narrator throughout the story also exude these sad emotions. The setting helps to create this tone as well because the focus on death and darkness adds to the morbid … Read more
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape is a 1993 film directed by Lasse Hallstrom and starring Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis, Darlene Cates, and Leonardo DiCaprio. What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (film) was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1994. The movie What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (film) – based on the novel – is about … Read more
Antigone, by Sophocles, is a tragedy about family loyalty and respect for the dead. Antigone respects her brother’s wishes to be buried where she thinks he should be laid to rest. Antigone follows her moral code in these actions, not realizing that she will be severely punished. The use of the chorus was very important … Read more
Fate is a recurrent theme in Beowulf. Fate has many faces and affects nearly every character in some way. Fate cannot be altered, it can only be accepted or denied. Fate is both self-fulfilling and inevitable. The characters in the poem who seem to master fate are those that come closest to fate’s true nature: … Read more
Antigone (Greek: Antígona, “acting against”) is a tragedy by Sophocles written in or before 441 BC. It portrays the conflict between Antigone and Creon, two rulers of Thebes. Antigone has been condemned to death because she has illegally buried her brother Polynices who attacked the city of Thebes as part of the war that led … Read more
Ray Bradbury’s The Veldt has many examples of symbolism that tie into the story, but the most prominent one is the “virtual” African veldt. The story discusses how George and Lydia Hadley can’t control their children Peter and Wendy, because they are always playing games in their “nook,” which is a room-sized play area with … Read more
In A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry uses a variety of literary devices to explore conflicts that come up when a family moves from an all-black neighborhood to a predominately white one. One of these major conflicts is between Walter and his family. Walter Lee Younger is the designated protagonist in Lorraine Hansberry’s A … Read more
The Crucible , by Arthur Miller, is a story of injustice and the consequences that follow. The characters are thrown into situations where they are forced to look deep inside themselves to decide how their actions will affect others. The results can be seen as good or evil depending on the point of view of … Read more
Emily Dickinson’s poems explore the realms of spirituality and transcendentalism. Emily Dickinson’s poems explore concepts such as God, eternity, eternal life, and death in a transcendentalist way. Emily Dickinson was a strong believer in a spiritual world which transcended the physical one. She wanted to live forever because she felt that there were not enough … Read more
Andrew Jackson was the 7th President of the United States, serving from 1829 until 1837. Andrew Jackson served in the field of battle for over 20 years before he became president. Andrew Jackson began his career as a politician at the young age of 26 when he was elected to serve in both houses of … Read more
The setting and time of A Rose for Emily coincide with the telling of the story, as it is an important part of the story. A Rose for Emily takes place during a short period and in one specific area. A sense of isolation and discord creeps into this Southern Gothic short story establishing that … Read more
The Odyssey is an epic poem attributed to Homer. The protagonist, Odysseus, spends much of the poem pursuing his vengeance against those who attacked his home and killed his wife’s relatives ( The Odyssey, Bk I). The wrath of Achilles is a central theme in The Iliad; however, The Odyssey takes on a decidedly different … Read more
The school to prison pipeline is a term used to describe the alarmingly increasing number of students having contact with the juvenile criminal court systems, because of the implemented zero-tolerance policies by the educational institutions. Zero-tolerance policies are implemented in schools around the United States, and through these policies, students are at risk for having … Read more
The movie The Patriot movie review states that The Patriot is a movie about the American Revolution and that it is rated as one of the best Revolutionary War movies ever made. The Patriot follows Benjamin Martin (played by Mel Gibson) as he leads his family to safety, while trying to stop the violence between … Read more
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry portrays the life of a black family living in a bad section of Chicago. A Raisin in the Sun is full of symbolism. A couple of examples are, “The man” representing Death and the house representing the American Dream. The first example of symbolism is The Man … Read more
Antigone can be summarized as a play where Antigone and her uncle, Creon, have different ideas on how to properly do certain things. Antigone is the tragic hero of the story is crushed by Creon for her beliefs. In Antigone, Sophocles shows that Antigone is a good person who does what she believes to be … Read more
When looking at Young Goodman Brown, one of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s only novels, it is important to distinguish between the literal story being told and any underlying symbolism. Young Goodman Brown is a short novel that has been interpreted as an allegory by many scholars. Young Goodman Brown lives in Salem Village during its witch-hunting days. … Read more
School lunch is a great time for students to socialize. School food is often of lesser quality than commercially-produced food, and making school lunches more available will improve the lives of our children. School lunches are provided every weekday by most schools throughout the United States. School lunches provide students with an opportunity to purchase … Read more
The John Augustus Massachusetts Reporting Center is a program for those released from incarceration and put on probation. The Reporting Center focuses on altering former offenders’ behavior so they can stay out of prison and not commit any more crimes. The Reporting Center uses monitoring equipment, such as GPS devices and alcohol detectors, to supervise … Read more
In her poem “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” death is portrayed as a gentleman who comes to give the speaker a ride to eternity. Because the poem is in first-person narration, Death also serves as a metaphor for depression; Death would be an escape from the pains of life. One day, I was … Read more
” The Grapes of Wrath ” is a novel written by John Steinbeck that was published in 1939. The story involves the Joads, an Oklahoma family forced to leave their farm during The Great Depression and migrate throughout California working, unable to find steady jobs. The novel focuses on the plight of the poor during … Read more
Oedipus the King Oedipus is a man who learns that he has committed two terrible crimes, without understanding how. His ignorance of the truth torments him and leads him to ruin. Oedipus curses his existence upon learning that he killed his father and married his mother; yet not only does Oedipus try to embrace his … Read more
Emily Dickinson’s poem, “Hope” is the Thing With Feathers, it includes a comparison of hope to a bird. Emily Dickinson uses symbolism throughout the poem to help convince the reader that hope can be found in laughter and birds. In “Hope” is the Thing With Feathers, she uses many of her techniques to make the … Read more
A Dedication is a dedication of an entire work, or sometimes part of it, to some person or group of persons. A Dedication can be written by the original author at any time regardless of when the work was first published. This includes before or after publication. However, if you are using worldwide Dedications then … Read more
Huckleberry Finn often struggles to understand Miss Watson’s continuous criticism and lack of love. Huckleberry Finn is a young boy who runs away from his abusive, drunk father with an escaped slave named Jim. These two unlikely characters become the best of friends. Huckleberry Finn learns from Jim that he is a free man – … Read more
The story The Lottery was first published in The New Yorker magazine in the June 26, 1948 issue (Jackson). The setting of The Lottery takes place in a small town called ‘Jackson’. The author Shirley Jackson got her inspiration for The Lottery from various isolated village rituals that were carried out as an annual event. … Read more
Odysseus is one of The Odyssey’s most memorable characters. The king, husband, father figure who left Troy and didn’t make it back to his family for twenty years. When he finally did get home, there were numerous obstacles in his way. The first that Odysseus faces isn’t a person but the land itself (Marshall). The … Read more
Beowulf is not a hero, although he seems to fit the criteria. Beowulf is brave, strong, and has good intentions in his heart. Beowulf knows what he must do, but it does not make him heroic. Beowulf comes from an era where there are no guidelines for heroism or honor. He cannot see that by … Read more
Odysseus is one of the main heroes in Homer’s epic, The Odyssey. Odysseus is a character that people often find to be the epitome of the classical epic hero due to all his noble and heroic qualities and deeds that represent an epic hero. Odysseus starts as a normal man with flaws and weaknesses just … Read more
The Lottery is one of the many short stories written by Shirley Jackson. The story takes place in a small village, which was unnamed in the text so it remains nameless today. The story begins with an introduction to the setting where there are lush green fields and old-fashioned houses everywhere, “The morning of June … Read more
In “A Rose For Emily”, William Faulkner suggests that isolation from society can cause people to do unspeakable acts because they are lonely. The story takes place in the fictional town of Jefferson, Mississippi. A man named Homer Barron who Emily has been seeing falls off a ladder and dies when he is supposed to … Read more
Written by Henrik Ibsen, A Doll’s House contains many instances of irony. A few of these instances are when Nora says that she believes that a Doll’s House does not reflect reality, when in fact the whole point of A Doll’s House is to show how different it is from REALITY. A Dolls House also … Read more
Throughout literature, many writers have alluded to stories in the Bible. Whether it’s from the Old Testament or the New Testament, biblical references have been used to enhance storylines. Beowulf is no exception, as it makes several allusions to the Old Testament and even provides a possible explanation for Grendel’s attack on Heorot. After Beowulf … Read more
Othello, a play by William Shakespeare, is a tragedy that follows Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian army as he falls prey to his own insecurity and jealousy after being manipulated by Iago which leads him to kill his wife Desdemona who Othello falsely believes is having an affair with Othello’s lieutenant Michael Cassio. … Read more
Jane Eyre is an 1847 novel written by Charlotte Bronte. Jane’s story follows her life as a young orphan, Jane’s time at the Lowood School for Girls and at Thornfield Hall, Jane’s love interest Rochester, Jane’s marriage to Rochester and Jane’s life with him in England. Jane Eyre explores the limits of religion, morality, social … Read more
Symbolism is the practice of representing things using symbols or of attributing meaning of significance to objects, events, or relationships. Beowulf, the epic poem of Beowulf, has many instances of symbolism. Beowulf is about Beowulf who comes to the aid of Hrothgar, king of Denmark against a monster named Grendel. Beowulf is represented as an … Read more
Hyperbole is the use of exaggeration to make a point. Look at the first paragraph. The speaker says that he has been planning this for “years,” which is an exaggeration, but really means a long time. The use of hyperbole to convey the speaker’s intent in writing this story is important because it gives the … Read more
Rappaccini’s Daughter is a novella considered to be Nathaniel Hawthorne’s first foray into symbolism. Rappaccini, Rappaccini’s daughter, and Dr. Rappaccini are all symbolic of various things which the author has presented subtly throughout the story. Rappaccini represents science gone wrong, Rappaccini’s favorite garden symbolizes humankind gone wrong through unchecked scientific advances, and Rappacdni’s daughter Beatrice … Read more
The poem The Most of It by Robert Frost is an excerpt from a longer poem called The Tuft of Flowers. The poem The Tuft of Flowers was written in 1913, but the excerpt The Most of It was published in 1916. The full text for The Tuft of Flowers can be found here. The … Read more
Hamlet is an interesting tragedy written by William Shakespeare. Hamlet deals with Hamlet, prince of Denmark who discovers that his uncle Claudius killed Hamlet’s father in order to become king. Hamlet then decides to get revenge on Claudius for killing his father (Act 1, Scene 5). Hamlet starts acting crazy because he thinks it will … Read more
The Birthmark on Aylmer’s wife was an obsession of his, so much so that he became mad with the desire to rid her of it. The story revolves around this concept and the consequences of Aylmer’s actions. The name Nathaniel Hawthorne himself is analogous to The Birthmark . The ‘praise’ given by other scientists/philosophers in … Read more
” Medea ” is a tragedy written by the Greek playwright Euripides, who won his first victory for this work. The story is about Medea, a princess from Colchis (modern Georgia) who marries Jason of Iolcus and becomes a prominent person in his kingdom. Medea gives up her status as Queen to exile herself with … Read more
Future technology will enable us to travel faster than light and master the power of gravity. Future technology includes robots, new energy sources and materials science. Future technologies like quantum computers may enable time travel as well as teleportation. Future Technology is also about building smarter cars which drive themselves and appliances that can predict … Read more