American Literature

This paper is based on Arthur Millers Death of the Salesman and will examine whether the play adheres to the edicts of Aristotle on characteristics that define a tragedy. My thesis is that the play does not fully ascribe to the requirements of a tragic play though it borrows some of the qualities of the type. Through this paper, the differences between the play and a classical tragedy will be examined and the effects on the audience will be looked at.            ...

Benjamin Franklin, the tenth son of Josiah Franklin and Abiah Folger was born on January 17th 1706 in Boston. His father wanted Benjamin to become a clergyman but he was not in a position of paying him school fees. Franklin liked reading so much but lack of fees made him not go to school.  Benjamin Franklin opted to help his brother James does set typing work and by the age of twelve years he could sell the products in the streets. Benjamin was one of the common prominent people who were taken...

Oedipus the King is one of the most controversial and the most interesting Sophocles creations. The story of betrayal and love, fate and will, the story of prophecy and denial - Oedipus the King has turned into a source of numerous literary interpretations. Throughout centuries, this piece of Sophocles writing has been an interesting object of literary analysis, and whether Sophocles wanted to emphasize the relevance of supernatural elements in our lives or to stress the complexity of human relationships...

Although Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird presents a number of themes, such as racism and social class in the American south, it is the coming of age of Jem and Scout that provides perhaps the most powerful theme in the entire novel.  The theme that arises from this coming of age of Jem and Scout relates to the essential nature of human beings more specifically, the novel explores in a very dramatic way whether people are essentially good and just or whether people are instead fundamentally...

One of the rather consistent critical comments which has been made in reference to Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman is that the play is difficult to categorize.  Even the author mentioned in interviews that many of his themes and political points were implied rather than explicitly presented.  Indeed, As Miller himself has said,  Death of a Salesman is a slippery play to categorize because nobody in it stops to make a speech objectively stating the great issues which I believe it...

A critic has very rightly remarked about Williams, In his writing, in his eternal defense of those who think differently, who have different ways of being, Tennessee Williams represents a far higher morality, a far higher and more developed humanity, than do those who accuse him of immorality and lack of faith in humanity. WILLIAMS BELIEFS - Words are often what we want to express, what we want the world to know, what we ourselves want to realize about our own selves. This holds true for Williams....

Oranges Are the Not the Only Fruit is about the story of a middle class girl struggling to come to terms with her own sexuality, creativity and passion versus her family or communitys inflexible formed or fixed opinions. Though the story of the persecution of a girl because of her sexual preference is not new but this novel also offers insights about the real meaning of spirituality, as the main protagonist struggles to break free from what she perceives pretentious lives of her religious loversher...

Kate Chopins The Awakening has been one of the most reviewed and evaluated fictions under the feminist genre (Telgen and Hile 3). The main character, Edna Pontillier has been perceived to represent a lot of women from different walks of life in several aspects. Because of this, the book has acquired positive remarks from literary critics and the readers themselves due to its ability to touch the varying emotional levels of female readers (Kniss). Its feminist nature as well as its literary qualities...

While at first glance the Kite Runner might give the impression of a tale of friendship, closer introspection reveals that it is the voice of the author conveying the complex socio-political, economic and religious upheaval in Afghanistan and its gradual decay into an obscurantist country. It gives a voice to the unique, yet tragic reality of Afghanistan. While our perspectives of Afghanistan have largely been shaped by the media, The Kite Runner tells us what the actual ideals of the Afghan society...