This short story, as well as Poe's other works, reveals his upbringing and focuses on sick mothers and guilty fathers. Gothic literature, the form of the short story, became known in Britain in the 18th century. It delves into the dark side of human experience and there finds death, alienation, nightmares, ghosts and haunted places. It was Poe who brought the literary form to America. American Gothic literature present a

And yet, of course, this is a far better fate than served out to so many. And so they are allowed to live. (Except for Oskar's beloved Roswitha, who is killed by the "good guys" -- the Allied troops at Normandy.) Can Art Save Us? Oskar appears to grow up when he converts his childish toy to a professional instrument and becomes a jazz player. Jazz was anathema to the Germans

Truth and Memory in the Things They Carried Tim O'Brien's novel, The Things They Carried, is more than a novel because it allows the reader to experience the Vietnam War in a personal way and it allows O'Brien the opportunity to bring closure to the entire war experience. Throughout the novel, O'Brien reminds readers he is telling a story and that the story may or may not be fiction. The point

We may look at King Lear and see a bunch of messed up people but those people are some of the most realistic characters Shakespeare ever created. The best piece of advice to be gleaned from the play is to simply not allow any amount of wealth to blind one from truth. This is difficult because wealth attracts all kinds of people who feign affection. However, Lear illustrates that

He blames his father his personal failure because he, "blew me so full of hot air I could never stand taking orders from anybody! That's whose fault it is!" (1108). Willy's failure extends beyond the workplace and spills over into his family life. This should come as no surprise since the two are closely connected when we think of the American Dream. Willy does not want to change and this

While he pretended, she was "elusive on the matter of love" (1). While she might have signed her letters with love, Jimmy "knew better" (2) but the idea made him feel better so he allowed himself the luxury of living in the fantasy. Jimmy's guilt for Ted's death was "like a stone in his stomach for the rest of the war" (16). Jimmy must work through this emotion, which