Newest Literature Essays

"I want my writing to present Caribbean people as real people, with dreams and hopes and fears and courage..." -Olive Senior. In the first section of her poetry collection, Olive Senior explores issues of migration and diaspora in an attempt to...

As time passes, plants grow, people age and eventually the ones who hold most dear will leave your side. In the myth of Ceres and Persephone, the God of Harvest loses her matured daughter to the King of the Underworld. The tale continues on to...

"The Lady of Shalott" was published in 1832, during the early Victorian epoch. It explores a series of themes that trigger the reader to question the societal prejudices that occurred during Queen Victoria’s reign. In order to stimulate thought,...

One might say that Dante’s meeting with Lucifer is an anti-climax because of the contrast between it and the trials he has faced throughout the rest of Hell. Having been shut out of the city of Dis and only allowed in through the intervention of a...

Symbolism is a reoccurring theme in the Iliad; one commonly takes note that after the death of Patroclus, Achilles’ old armor transforms from representing “divine Achilles” to the symbolism of death, or Patroclus symbolizing the sacrificial...

Fifth Business fixates on Dunstan Ramsay, a man stricken with profound guilt that stems from a childhood accident. At only ten years old, he dodges a snowball aimed at him, that instead strikes Mary Dempster, the young, pregnant woman next door....

Religion plays a huge role in many of the works of the Middle Ages. This is certainly true in Christine de Pizan’s The Book of the City of Ladies. De Pizan knew that in order to get through to men, using God and the Bible was the best way. Through...

All four gospels of the New Testament share the news of Christ and his life on Earth. Simply, this news is that through Jesus Christ, those who believe in him can eventually enter the kingdom of God. Jesus states that the commandments from the Old...

The innate innocence of individuals can sustain an optimistic outlook, despite the exposure to conflict and corrupt realities. Through the manipulation of truths, one's innocence is preserved in order to protect and provide an escape for an...

North by Northwest explores contextual concerns of the Cold War Era by the deliberate depiction of domestic law enforcement agencies as corrupt and suggested that law enforcement agencies are imbued with evil. By capturing the social and political...

William Blake, in his work There Is No Natural Religion, and William Wordsworth, in his poem 1799 Prelude, challenge John Locke’s understanding of the nature of the self by offering alternative theories as to the ways in which we as humans...

There are many things that children do not understand. Their lack of experience makes them ignorant to what is happening around them, and even oblivious to the presence of death. When someone a child knows dies, it is a really rough transition:...

During war, men and woman are swept by emotions that make it difficult to overlook their experiences in war. Jack Croasdile, a prisoner of war, drew under his captivity in 1941 by the Germans a picture titled Anticipating 1942. Featured in the...

Even in present day, people are still striving toward equality, whether through equal pay for equal work initiatives, the Black Lives Matter movement, or anti-immigration protests. The world of Utopia, the idea of which was conceived several...

When considering Primo Levi’s Survival in Auschwitz, one is immediately struck by his deadpan tone, emphasis on factual descriptions and blunt presentation of his content. Levi comments on the events he describes and offers his own insight, but...

In “Triangular Desire,” René Girard uses his theory of mimetic desire to describe the nature of the self through the desires of individuals and the motives through which these desires manifest themselves. Girard asserts that desires are rooted not...

During the industrial revolution in America, many immigrant families migrated from countries in Europe and Asia in hope of finding a better life in the land of the free. However, when they arrived by the boatload, they were met with poor working...

Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace presents masculinity through several characters throughout the book. In the majority of these cases, the men are portrayed as untrustworthy or dependent on a woman. A few characters that allow the reader to understand...

In “The Weary Blues”, Langston Hughes uses negative language to create a generally discouraging atmosphere. The relentless dark imagery makes the reader overlook an underlying message, as the poem actually encourages its readers to push against...

To most people, the brand of religion they follow, as well as the God they believe in, are the two most important factors of their religion. Most religions have similar philosophies, with guidelines that involve being kind, being honest, not...

The conflict between a conventional lifestyle and the desire to follow individual passion is a struggle that pervades both E. M. Forster’s A Room with a View and Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day. Despite differing in subject matter and...

Muscles tensed, nostrils flared, the beautiful feline creature eyes its soon-to-be prey, a harmless antelope drinking from the watering hole. Without a moment of hesitation, the black and orange striped tiger breaks out into a full stride and...

Jackie Kay has created a topic of controversy regarding gender identity in the novel Trumpet. Through the difference in perspectives on the gender of Joss Moody and Millie Moody, the novel contests the absoluteness of one’s identity by proving...

“Let him hurl his twin-forked lightning bolts down on my head.. let him make the wildly surging sea waves mingle with the pathways of the heavenly stars... he cannot make me die,” says Prometheus after his suffering gives him the hope to withstand...