American Literature

The world of today has several issues, which may be controversial. Sometimes these issues may have major support leading to the other section getting marginalized. Homosexuality and gay marriage is one such issue that despite getting increasing support, still has a long way to go. The discrimination against homosexuality has to end. There are many gay activists around the world who stand up for the cause of the homosexuals. These people highlight the plight of the gays and spearhead their aspirations...

Washington Irving tells a folkloric tale of fantasy in his short piece Rip Van Winkle.  In this story a narrator chronicles the experiences of a young family man, Rip, who, after being discontented with his life, goes up the Catskill Mountains with his trusty rifle and his dog to hunt squirrel.  Sitting under a tree, Rip is visited by a little man who fits the description of a dwarf.  The little man asks Rip for help and takes Rip into a world in the Catskills that was previously...

The Beloved by Toni Morison is a detailed account of events that embody thoughts and memories of the past days. It holistically serves as a meditation on the lasting effects of slavery as personified by the Beloved and the resulting mother-daughter bond. In addition, the novel  invests greatly in the heterosexual relationship of a couple in the historical shape and meaning. It extensively mirrors the notion of memory and consciousness as underscored by Patricia Hampl and Marcel Proust in Memory...

The main reason for carrying out this research is to look into the compounding issue of illegal immigration in the U.S and how they have contributed to the labor market. With thousands of illegal immigrants making inroad to the United States every year, there have been concerns regarding the social, economical, and political impact of this influx (Hedges 24).  In order to understand the issue well, I choose to look at the case of Brand Tyson Company because the company has been involved with...

Patriotism written by Yukio Mishima (year) is a powerful short story that revolves around patriotism and honor, the bizarre expressions of love and suicide.  It talks about a lieutenant in the Japanese army, Shinji, who comes home and informs his wife, Reiko, about his closest friend becoming a mutineer.  They make a decision to end their lives together and for the last time, makes love before the seppuku, which is a Japanese ritual suicide that is done through disembowelment of the samurai...

Wealth can be  too irresistible that only a few are able to resist. It is irresistible in the sense that for some people, it becomes the instrument to happiness. Most people generally think that acquiring wealth can make ones life more comfortable, exciting, and fulfilling. With those attributes comes contentment. And to some people being contented means happiness. Too many fiction and real-life stories rings true to that statement. And one of the best examples are renowned author F. Scott...

Frederick Douglass narrates the story of his live as a slave in the slave-holding states of the south. Throughout the narrative, slavery is portrayed as a monster that dehumanizes both the slave and the master. It robs the slave the dignity of being human, and corrupts the character of the slaveholder by making him insensitive to human suffering. By referring to the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, the paper examines how slavery was destructive to slave masters and their subjects in...

In the essay, Richardson explores the beliefs Emerson wrote about his conviction for what nature was to him. He records that Emerson believed nature is our ultimate judge and dictates to us the final laws. He observes that many still refute this claim by Emerson and believes that our lives are governed by forces outside our nature like the police, the community, economy or the genetics. He emphasizes this view Emerson had by explaining the concept of universe as being made up of the soul and nature....

Throughout the course of the play Othello changes from a confident and wise man to a guilty and fallen man.  The transformation is founded in his love for Desdemona and the seed of jealousy that Iago plants in his heart.  The character portrayed to the audience in the beginning of the drama, is a far cry from the beaten and broken character that is found at the end of the drama.  The audience watching the changes and knowing that they are unfounded makes one pity Othello for his trust...

The short story Everyday Use by Alice Walker plays a significant role in understanding the way different African American reinvented their lives.  Even thought slavery had been over for over 100 years, the African Americans often still allowed the White Americans to keep them in the lower rungs of the societal and economic ladder.  This is where Walker comes in explaining the lives of both the African Americans that want nothing more than to live and those that dream of something more. ...

According to philosophers Idealism refers to any philosophical thinking that proposes that realism is largely influence by our school of thought rather than other independent events occurring around us. Therefore, the way we perceive the world and things around us reveals the inner thought process occurring in our mind. They records that the appearance of the things around us have little significance in the way they we perceive them in the mind. They shares the view that it is all in the way we...

Herman Melvilles novella, Bartleby the Scrivener illustrates the theme of how isolation can lead to insanity.  The narrator chronicles the details of the demise of Bartleby with both humor and an almost hurtful, emotional tone.  This lawyernarrator unveils a great deal of detail regarding the stages of isolation that Bartleby embarks upon and through using textual analysis the reader can begin to understand the ultimate effects of Bartlebys isolation.  The effects of the scriveners...

    A mothers choices are never easy. In Shiloh, Mabel Beasley tries to help so much that she drives a wedge between Norma Jean and the past, the real world, and her husband, Leroy. In The Leap, Anna Avalon chooses the life of her child and herself over her husband. Ironically, both Norma Jean and Anna Avalon end up losing their husbands with their children.     Mabel is the antagonist. She is a living, breathing, relentless reminder of all of the events that led to...

    Authors have historically used various literary works to reflect the societies in which their live. To this end,  the actions of characters in literary works reflect existing social concepts whereas the surrounding societys behavior  mirrors on specific characters behaviors. In essence, societies and communities are normally depicted as mutually affecting each other.  Notable cases of literary works in which such reciprocal interaction is demonstrated are the three...

The African-American experience speaks explores the way of life of African-Americans during time when they were not treated as equals in American society. Even during that time of oppression, African-American authors rose up and were able to express their struggle and hardship through their literary works. For most acclaimed African-American authors of that time, this was done through the explicit expression of the struggle in the plot, characterization and progression of their literary works. However,...