Winter Dreams" the tension between democratic and aristocratic values in America "Winter Dreams" depicts the struggles of a middle-class character who is attempting to prove himself 'worthy' of a woman of American, blue-blooded aristocracy. At the beginning of the story, the hero Dexter is acting as a caddy at a golf course where most of the patrons are of a far higher social class than the caddies. Dexter, a member

In Trifles, the country house where the plot takes place is also the scene of a murder. Mrs. Wright kills her husband over a "trifle," because he has killed her canary. The bird, as the house itself, symbolizes entrapment and prison-like life. The lonely country woman feels trapped in her role as a country farm wife, whose only concern must be the trifles of daily life, such as the preserves,

West There are three major religions that have established themselves in China: Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism; and of the three, only Buddhism is not indigenous to China. Buddhism found its way to China along the Silk Road, brought by missionaries from India. For centuries, the three religions have co-existed with many Chinese adopting elements of each in their daily lives. Whatever similarities, or symbiotic elements each contains, the three religions

He is a selfish man who cares only about his well-being and nothing about others who are dying from the red death. However, there are also literary scholars who say that this story is much more than what it appears to be. Poe may have meant something quite different about Prospero's actions. Says Canada, for example, while literary scholars have analyzed all of these aspects of Poe's work, they have

Darkness and Decay Within the Walls: Poe's Architecture Ligeia, The Fall of the House of Usher, and The Masque of the Red Death present a gothic setting, within which the action of the tale takes place. Each of the houses is not only decaying, but somewhat bizarre. As the tale unfolds, an unhealthy relationship between the structure and its inhabitants is revealed. The story Ligeia takes place in two Gothic locations: first,

English Literature Race, Regionalism, and Rights: in Snow Falling on Cedars Literature is an art form, which can convey love, hate, beauty, and ugliness. Literature, in the form of novels, has the capacity to challenge and reflect upon cultural and societal dilemmas. The David Guterson novel, Snow Falling on Cedars, and the 1999 film adaptation, illuminate the issues that a young Japanese-American man faces when he is accused of the murder of