Newest Literature Essays

In John Gardner’s Grendel, a few key interactions between Grendel and other characters mark the paradigmatic shifts that spur his philosophical evolution. Despite Grendel’s self-proclaimed isolation, his response to these interactions demonstrates...

In their formative years, Henry Clerval and Victor Frankenstein lead parallel lives; they share experiences, morals, and a love for knowledge. When Frankenstein leaves for Ingolstadt, however, their once-similar traits and values diverge. Clerval...

The infamous scene portraying an individual on their deathbed has been recreated numerous times in films, literature, and poetry. Some showcase a peaceful, tranquil death, while others depict pain and grief. However, in the 19th century poem, I...

In Ottessa Moshfegh’s novel Eileen, the first person point of view creates a duality between the narrator, Lena, and the younger version of herself, who is the protagonist of the story. This duality allows Lena to pass judgment on her younger...

In Renata Adler’s novel Speedboat, dynamic syntax is juxtaposed with images of violence to create an urgent, or anxious, tone in the narration. The narrator, Jen Fain, reveals details about her life through short bursts of anecdotal information...

The gods as depicted in Christopher Marlowe’s Hero and Leander are beings that exist outside of the realm of morality, living near humans but bound by separate rules and ideas. This is especially true in relation to sexuality, and the senses of...

Heritage appears as a central theme both to ‘Translations’ and ‘District and Circle’. Heritage can be described within the context of these texts as a set of ideas, traditions or explicit values that gives a sense of identity or belonging to a...

In The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, the Time Traveler travels from the late 19th century to the future–802,701–to find both heavenly and hellish, both beautiful and sickening environments. The earth at that time is inhabited by the Eloi,...

In her novel Changes, Ama Ata Aidoo carefully portrays Esi, Opokuya, & Fusena as the prominent female roles and the different levels of oppression that they face in urban Ghanaian society. Given some of her accomplishments, it is apparent that...

Samuel Richardson’s novel, Pamela, is an epistolary work of fiction that exposes the hypocrisy of eighteenth century England’s high class citizens. The disparity between the upper class and the lower classes of society, though traditionally...

Though Robbie Turner knows he is innocent of his purported crime, this knowledge hardly relieves his inner turmoil. Much of his time spent fighting in the war is also spent fighting with himself; he is unable to escape the constant fantasies of...

Benjamin Scott Grossberg, in “Coverdale’s Queer Utopia,” responds to what he posits as “attempts to contain [Miles] Coverdale’s erotic desire,” attempts that consequently “lead to strange contortions of the text” (24). Other critics, according to...

In James Baldwin’s novel Giovanni’s Room, references to wealth are juxtaposed with moments of sexuality in order to comment on how economic standing influences gender identity construction, while making a larger critical statement about the...

The concept of how a person’s view of themselves can be comprised up of many influences and experiences is effectively explored throughout Kate Grenville’s The Secret River. The broad range of experiences and influences that impact upon William...

Through in-depth studying and interpretation of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, the two voices of Lavinia and Tamora are not only visibly present to the audience, but completely different of how women’s voice were portrayed during that time in...

Anthem for Doomed Youth is a poem written by Wilfred Owen. Anthem is written as a piece of mourning about the soldiers lost in WWI, this being especially ironic as Wilfred Owen himself died in World War I, two weeks before the Armistice. Anthem...

In the lyric poem Neutral Tones by Thomas Hardy, the speaker reflects back to a particular moment in their life when they realised that the love had died between them and the person they were in a relationship with. They consider what this moment...

Women in the nineteenth century were often considered less than men. Consequently, they depended on the men in their lives, usually their fathers or husbands. Nevertheless, there were women who did not have a husband or father to depend on, yet...

The Digging Skeleton and Bone Dreams are poems written by Seamus Heaney during a time of conflict between England and Ireland. He writes poems in hope to bring peace and to stop the fighting and bloodshed. He reflects this mindset in his poems...

Modern renditions of classics are notorious for misrepresenting the cherished old works they try to depict, but when they are successful they add modern twists and embellishments while still maintaining the timeless message. In O Brother, Where...

Every society has unwritten rules that everyone respects, and it is momentous when these boundaries are crossed. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee develops the argument that love creates a loyalty that can overcome any standards. The author...

The most fundamental human beliefs are often expressed in unconventional ways, and Holden Caulfield is the embodiment of this aspect of human nature. In J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is an easy character to relate to...

Xenophon’s account of the life of Cyrus the Great tells the story of one of the world’s most successful leaders. Cyrus, king of Persia, established one of the largest empires in the world. He was also a leader in establishing human rights when he...

The Federalist was written at a time when republican government, historically, was not popular. It had failed throughout history, and monarchies were thriving in Europe. Yet the Americans, with their extraordinary potential as a nation, proposed...