Essays on Literature

Dialectic Writing Entry #3 A Rose for Emily, a short story by William Faulker, is a timeless classic about a woman trapped in time. Miss Emily Grierson, who will be referred to as Emily, was a beautiful southern belle who never found a husband; her…

James Joyce’s novel, “A Portrait of The Artist as a Young Man,” chronicles the adventures of Stephen Daedalus as he navigated adolescence in and around the Irish city of Dublin during the late 19th century. He uses his experiences with religion, family, and sexuality to…

If You Don’t Have Anything Nice To Say, Say It Passive Aggressively Virginia Woolf’s essay, A Room of One’s Own, discusses the importance of money, food, and privacy when it comes to an individual’s success. More importantly, she shines a light on the idea that…

The Structural Capabilities of Water and Air in the “Bird-Girl Scene” In Book V of A Portrait of A Young Artist, Stephen Daedalus decides to explain his personal theory of esthetics to his friend Lynch, analyzing perception (primarily sight, but including hearing and touch)and articulating…

“I was angry with my friend; I told my wrath, my wrath did end. I was angry with my foe; I told it not, my wrath did grow.” (‘A Poison Tree’ in Songs of Experience) William Blake, the son of a London hosier, did not…

In Chapter 3, Woolf takes up the question of why have there not been many great female writers, starting with the Elizabethan age. What are the external obstacles that stand in the way of a woman who might want to write? What are the internal…

Human beings, along with the ability to reason and question, possess the capacity to hate, and yet also to forgive. Unfortunately, forgiving someone is not always as easy as holding a grudge against them, and this lack of control over ones actions is inherent to…

In A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving, puny Owen tortured by his Sunday school mates has a sincere love for life. Even though in many ways he was disadvantaged, in his short stature, nasally voice, and family’s unfortunate economic situation, he still seeks…

A SEPARATE PEACE The literal meaning of “A Separate Peace” is a tranquility unaffected by the uproarious events of the outside world. The novel takes place during World War II, however, Finny and Gene have a quiet little world of their own unmoved by the…

In all five of William Blake s poems there is a clear connection between the outward subjects and the deeper truths they express. The Tiger and The Lamb are actually about a wild and a tame animal, but are really about God’s power in creation…

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving is full of symbols that help reveal information about the characters and themes in the novel. The most prominent symbol is Owen Meany. Owen is directly and indirectly represented as Jesus throughout the novel. In a Christmas…

Views on Hester: Choice of Diction Can Change Views In the novel, A Prayer for Owen Meany, written by John Irving, characters such as Hester are described uniquely to show the audience that females can also have male attributes. Irving’s diction varies as he continues…

Lorraine Hansberry grew up on Chicago’s South Side. She used this setting in her writing of “A Raisin in the Sun”. Lorraine Hansberry uses her life events in her writing because she had no one to talk to when she was little since all of…

James Joyce’s The Dead reveals characteristics of frustration, restraint, and violence. Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun reveals dreams as the main characters struggle to deal with the oppressive situations that overrule their lives. With these negative aspects of the stories, both authors incorporate…

How are the characters in A Passage to India represented? A Passage to India, reveals that most characters are round characters who have the capacity for development. This is similar to human beings because people do change with time and Forster tries to build authentic…