Newest Literature Essays

The theme of contrast is key to A Streetcar Named Desire as it is so obviously displayed in every aspect of the play. Most importantly, Blanche is in a stark contrast with Stanley – a contrast which ends up being very problematic – and there is...

Icarus decided to fly too high. Stephen decided to sin. Icarus decided to fly too low. Stephen decided to pursue a more selfish path. Icarus fell. Stephen grew. Icarus’s story is a warning for any man with too much hubris. Stephen Dedalus, from...

The World Wars, being some of the most important events in history, changed society and created the modern world we know today. The Catcher in the Rye, by JD Salinger, is a critic of the new, modern world that was created in the post war era....

Tragedies are often emotionally draining, whether they are classic or contemporary. The word itself implies heartbreak; a soldier lost at war or a ship wrecked at sea would be described as tragic. Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand is...

In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the love juice is a liquid so potent that no being can resist its effects, not even the fairies, who wield a considerable amount of power over nature. This love juice can be seen as a device that Shakespeare uses as a...

I consider myself a recovering patriarchal woman. By patriarchal woman I mean, of course, a woman, who has internalized the norms and values of patriarchy, which can be defined, in short, as any culture that privileges men by promoting traditional...

Maya Angelou’s series of seven autobiographies collectively captures the various sections of her enthralling and turbulent life. The Heart of a Woman (1981), as her fourth autobiography is an account of the beginning of her writing career, her...

The plays The Rez Sisters and Les Belles Soeurs both deal with groups of women, united in sisterhood, who experience social challenges within the story. Through a comedic lens, we accompany the characters in both stories as we are given insight...

Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid appears to be a light-hearted film about companionship, fighting, and trickery, but an examination from a cultural standpoint reveals the film’s intellectual depth. Chaplin illustrates the will to survive despite the...

Fin amors, or refined loving is a staple within medieval literature. Showcasing the romantic relationships of noblemen, fin amors expresses the struggles and games that are played between a man and woman during courtship. Similar to unrequited...

On page 496 of Samuel Richardson’s Pamela, the young woman ponders her account of God’s mysteries. Her story’s strange circumstances provide sight of both personas of Mr. B___: one foul, one noble. Her successful endurance through frightening...

Sherman Alexie’s “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” is a collection of short stories all having to do with the relationship between Indians and white people or the growth and development of the main character, Victor. In the short...

In Albert Camus’ novel The Stranger, different women can be seen as having achieved various levels of enlightenment when compared to the final, ‘complete’ enlightenment Meursault achieves at the end of the novel. In the end, Meursault embraces...

Isobel was not responsible for her mother’s unjust actions when she was a child but as a result of Ms Callaghan’s distortion and sadistic manipulation, Isobel closed herself off emotionally grappling for control over her own life. Through the...

The 1920’s and 1940’s were economic boom periods in American history; in the 20’s this was due to the rapid growth of investment in consumer economics, in the 40’s it was due to the increased industrial production demanded to fight world war two,...

In White Teeth, Zadie Smith develops characters who obsess over preciseness, categorizing, and decisions. This is why Samad’s punishment for making the sole decision to send their son off to Bangladesh is Alsana leaving him in a constant state of...

In Friedrich Durrenmatt's play, The Visit, the notions of corruption begin with the arrival of billionairess, Claire Zachanassian to the poverty stricken town of Gullen, where she is originally from. Claire arrives with the intention of seeking...

Through war torn villages and billowing sorghum fields, author Mo Yan depicts the subtle joys and harsh realities of the life of a Chinese family during the Second Sino-Japanese War in his novel, Red Sorghum. The intensity of the challenges and...

The concept of the antihero is central to both Jerusalem and The Wasp Factory. By exploring their identities, the writers expose issues related to the society their protagonists are surrounded by. In his modern, realist play, Butterworth creates...

Manfred, in the dramatic poem of the same name, written by Lord Byron, is a character that possesses many flaws. As Manfred mourns the loss of his beloved sister, it is revealed that their incestuous relationship was deemed illegal by and...

When one considers the word 'divine,' the next word that comes to mind is not naturally 'average.' Something divine is holy, otherworldly, and godlike - the exact antithesis of something average. Why, then, in his poem "Starting from Paumanok,"...

As a human there are certain rights we believe we have. It is not uncommon for one group to believe themselves superior to another, or for each group to believe they have certain rights and the other group to disagree. This was the case when large...

Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian is seen by critics as a uniquely violent and powerful work of modern literature, and McCarthy achieves such an arresting mood through the sheer depravity of the deeds described, in conjunction with the contrast...

From his childhood in Gaza to achievements in the medical field, Izzeldin Abuelaish has a unique life story. Against the odds, which included poverty, refugee camps, isolation and discrimination, he still managed to become the first Palestinian...