English Literature Essays (Examples)

To die, to sleep;

To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;

For in that sleep of death what dreams may come

When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,

Must give us pause: there's the respect

That makes calamity of so long life;

For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,

The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,

The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,

The insolence of office and the spurns

That patient merit of the unworthy takes,

When he himself might his quietus make

With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,

To grunt and sweat under a weary life,

But that the dread of something after death,

The undiscover'd country from whose bourn

No traveller returns, puzzles the will

And makes us rather bear those ills we have

Than fly to others that we know not of?

Thus conscience does make cowards…

For the poet, Christianity must be devoid of the cultures of corruption and hypocrisy that prevailed during his time. Ideally, a religion, in order to be respected and followed by the people, must maintain a clean image -- that is, an image that reflects the truth of its teachings, wherein its religious principles are embodied by the people who make up the Church.

It is also through "Canterbury" that Chaucer was able to portray the theme of idealism as mirrored in the lives of the people of his times. With the pilgrims representing people from all walks of life in 15th century English society, "Canterbury" acts as a mouthpiece to every member of Chaucer's society, giving the readers a look into the kind of society that existed during that period. Thus, each tale narrated in "Canterbury," like the Pardoner's tale, was Chaucer's way of putting reality (i.e., each tale) against…

English Literature

Death in Venice - Cultural Criticism & eader esponse Criticism

eader-esponse Criticism is a legitimate, proven method for readers to use when digging into the deeper meaning of a piece of literature; it's always a good idea to broaden one's understanding of literature by gaining a grasp at how others view the same work. And meantime, employing the use of Cultural Criticism as research into the meaning of literature is an intelligent formula, as well. In this paper, the two, eader-esponse Criticism and Cultural Criticism, will be examined in terms of reaching a fuller understanding of Thomas Mann's Death in Venice.

Cultural Criticism

What is Cultural Criticism and why is it an important tool for comprehension and understanding? One thing it is not, according to author Naomi itter (172), is a structured university department established in order to examine "high brow" cultural activities such as ballet, symphony, opera,…

Upon first meeting, Albert is not the most noble of men. However, we begin to see aspects of Albert that are more worthy as the novel progresses. e learn that Albert is quite devoted to his father Fernand. hen the Count of Monte Cristo speaks badly about Fernand, Albert reacts in a very noble way, wanting to fight the Monte Cristo for the harsh words he has spoken. Mercedes reveals the truth of Albert's father to Albert and thus he sees that he was wrong to treat the Count of Monte Cristo the way he did. Albert has the humility that his mother possesses and he also has the devotion to his father, even though his father lacks certain moral characteristics. It is this juxtaposition of father and son, two men who though related become totally different men and it shows that men are not the sum of their parents.…

Case in Point: Interview with an Employer: Jon Lurie started his career almost 15 years ago as a sole proprietor of a computer trouble shooting expert who repaired computer connections for private clients by appointment in New York City. He eventually transitioned to installing the first cable modem configurations when they became available, and as more advanced computer technology filtered down to private users, he offered more and more services, such as installing home office routers and wireless interfaces. His business grew, largely by word of mouth from satisfied customers.

While he acknowledges that his technical skills were indispensable, he attributes his rapport with customers to the fact that he often conversed with them throughout much of his assignments, sometimes discussing things that had nothing to do with the work he performed for them. He says that he first became aware of the value of his ability to carry an…

First and foremost, the doctrine of separation of powers handicaps the Executive Branch from maintaining the confidentiality and security of decisions during wartime as well as decisions in postwar and pre-wartime planning in connection with subsequent wars initiated, by necessity, in the timely and efficient response to the global War on Terror throughout the next decade, at least. Understood in relation to the magnitude of the threat to this nation posed by the specter of escalating international terrorism, the voluntary ceding of congressional power to the Homeland Security Secretary in 2005 was a necessary but insufficient first step in this regard. To ensure the timely and efficient prosecution of the War on Terror, we must dispense with the limitation of the Secretary's waiver authority to specific projects, such as fence-related matters, and allow the Secretary to apply it, as deemed appropriately necessary for the War on Terror by the Office…

English Literature

Thin-is-in Culture, Mass Media, & Thin Body Ideals

Mass media affects the people who watch it. In the beginnings of mass media, there was no public research about how it affects people. In the late 20th and 21st centuries, there is now substantial research that shows that mass media affects consumers and that there are a variety of affects. Thus, it is not just that mass media affects people, we must consider how mass media affects people. Thin-is-in culture is fairly self explanatory. It is the elements of the culture that represents what is most popular, most trendy, and what is "in," specifically that excessive thinness is the ultimate physical achievement for women. There is a direct relationship or connection between mass media and thin-is-in culture. Mass media is often the vehicle by which thin-is-in culture is transmitted. Mass media is one of the biggest ways that people…

Listening to the apparent vents reveals no sound emanating from the object; that, and the apparent lack of any internal source of heat both seem to indicate that the object was powered off only relatively recently. The sides and back area of the object feel like hard plastic to the touch. They also respond to the fingernail tap test in the manner expected of hard plastics, producing a higher audible pitch and less vibration and "give" to slight pressure than the glasslike front panel. The hard plastic does not have any specific taste to it, but use of the tongue seems to confirm the prior observation that the surface was warm to the touch.

Likewise, the front panel has no specific taste but feels even cooler to the tongue than to the hand; it also reveals a layer of dust that was not originally perceptible to the hand. A swiping…

When death finally comes it comes as a respite for Aschenbach who is so far pushed by his infatuation with the young boy that he has no control over his conscious or subconscious behavior. He sheds his dignity completely when he decides to recapture his youth with makeup much like the bumbling old fool he had spotted (and secretly laughed at) on the steamship that brought him to the city. The journey from the derisive observer to the silly old hag is painful and uncompromising. The slow collapse, which drags Aschenbach from the one state to the other, is finally completed once death disintegrates him completely.

Like Aschenbach Gabriel Conroy's collapse begins early on in the story. The initial jolt he receives from the caretaker's daughter, Lily, is furthered at every stage of the text. Many of these he seems to bring upon himself. His hesitation over quoting rowning at…

Likewise, Joyce Caol Oates shot stoy, Whee Ae You Going, Whee Have You Been? also involves a basic stoy of violence with a moe symbolic meaning. To summaize Oates' style is to say he woks typically mix the themes of Gothic estangement and high social obsevations with violence being a cental theme, often to a sensationalist point. Inteestingly, she cites William Faulkne as one of he majo influences.

The stoy Whee Ae You Going, Whee Have You Been? is inspied by the Tucson mudes of Chales Schmid, a 1960's seial kille who killed between thee and fou individuals in the Tucson aea. Oates' also claims that the stoy was inspied by Bob Dylan (who she dedicated the anthology by the same name to) song entitled it's All Ove Now, Baby Blue. Futhe, the title of the stoy is in efeence to Judges 19:17 of the Old Testament, which states, "And…

That dynamic was so familiar to the boy that he responded, probably automatically, by adopting the correspondingly appropriate demeanor on his part, as clearly evidenced by the following passage:

The woman was sitting on the day-bed. After a while she said, "I were young once and I wanted things I could not get." There was another long pause. The boy's mouth opened. Then he frowned, but not knowing he frowned. The woman said,

Um-hum! You thought I was going to say but, didn't you? You thought I was going to say, but I didn't snatch people's pocketbooks. Well, I wasn't going to say that." Pause. Silence. "I have done things, too, which I would not tell you, son -- neither tell God, if he didn't already know. So you set down while I fix us something to eat. You might run that comb through your hair so you will look…

The fact that 10 of the first 16 of the students who graduated from the first year of the course went on to continue their education at four-year colleges and that the rest were either attending community colleges or working fulltime strongly suggests that the program was beneficial. Even the fact that the one unemployed student was unemployed because she had tried to form a union at work suggests that she benefited from the course with respect to her confidence and her ability to think independently and to act politically.

Conclusion

There seems to be little reason to doubt that a program such as the Clemente Course implemented by Shorris is extremely beneficial in that it encourages poor individuals to appreciate education and to discover intellectual abilities they may not otherwise have the chance to discover. On one hand, the experience recounted by Shorris seems to prove the initial supposition…

English Literature

Space, Confinement, & Women in "The Yellow Wallpaper"

I sometimes fancy that in my condition if I had less opposition and more society and stimulus -- but John says the very worst thing I can do is to think about my condition, and I confess it always makes me feel bad. So I will let it alone and talk about the house.

~The protagonist in "The Yellow Wallpaper"

Charlotte Perkins Gilman wrote "The Yellow Wallpaper" in 1899. In the western world, this time was a period of significant change in many areas of society. It was the turn of the 20th century, one of the most historic centuries in modern history. It was the eve of the industrial revolution, an event with consequences that would cascade for decades into the future. In countries such as the United States, this was also a moment in history when women began…

Meanwhile, T. was a different kind of leader. He wants his ideas to be followed and he led the gang to a dangerous and cruel mischief. The story also touches on the choice between good and bad as presented by Blackie's decision of whether or not join the destruction of Old Misery's house. Eventually, Blackie chose a purely egoistic choice basing his decision on the need for distinction.

Ironies are also presented in the story are numerous like how T. And Blackie burned the Old Misery's savings instead of dividing it among themselves during hard times when money is essential. Another example of an irony is how Old Misery takes care of his house not wanting to soil it and yet, in spite of his care, the gang destructed it. And towards the end of the story, it was ironic how the truck driver could laugh at Old Misery's misfortune.…

I had my hopes up for the exam and I was well aware of the fact that the competition would be tough. Yet I studies as we had been taught in college, in the most academic way possible. Yet now I realize that it was not enough. More than that, I know now that the world of academic studies is a different world from that of the practical world of politics or of the diplomatic practice. Contrary to my own consideration of my qualities, the grade I had for the exam was sufficient for the next step which was the interview. That moment though was crucial for shaking the reality which surrounded me. Although I wrote everything I considered to be suited for answering the exam questions, it was not enough. Now, years later, I know better.

The interview proved to be another important step in my life and in…

This theory essentially states that myths are designed in order to tell a story, or to explain how, through supernatural means, a particular event took place (Eliade, 1998). Using this definition from Eliade himself, it is much easier to discuss the importance of religious ritual and its tie to myths. Because myths perform the task of explaining what may have only been explainable through sheer faith without myths in place, religions are able to build a somewhat solid foundation for the members of that religion. However, no myth could be expected to merely stand on its own within a religion without some symbolic importance of the myth being demonstrated- this is where the element of religious ritual comes into play. The ritual makes it possible for a logical connection between myth and reality to occur in the mind of a faithful individual. As a quick example, for those of the…

In the Vanderhaeghe story, the old man could have jeopardized his life and that of his horse just because he could not admit that he had injured himself.

The other element of courage illustrated by the story is particularly relevant to the stage of life of high school upperclassmen. By the time we are seventeen or eighteen years old, we are beginning to develop our own ideas about life and personal values. Sometimes, those ideas and values may not necessarily be the same as or even consistent with those of our parents. Joseph refers to the "difficulty of unlearning the things you were taught as a kid" and about his tendency to "backslide" in the "current" of his father's values, even as a middle-aged adult twenty years later. In Joseph's case, he has consciously rejected his father's definition of courage as something that necessarily (and maybe exclusively) relates to toughness,…

Where Connell emphasized myriad consumer items like silk pajamas and finely tailored suits, Lawrence highlights two items: the rocking horse that gives the story its title and money. Before the protagonist, Paul, is even introduced Lawrence attests to the significance of money (in reference to Paul's mother): "There must be more money, there must be more money" (1). Shortly thereafter, the protagonist furiously rides his rocking chair, which endows him with great authority; after riding the horse, Paul is endowed with a castrating gaze: in response to his "big, hot, blue eyes," "The uncle stirred and laughed uneasily" (4). Lawrence takes a complex perspective toward the rocking chair; while it supplies Paul with greater authority, it also makes him forceful to the point of eliciting trepidation in the other characters.

After the rocking horse episode, Paul leaves with his uncle to the race horse -- the parallel between the toy…

English Literature - Flowers for Algernon

Though Flowers for Algernon is a fictionalized account, it addresses genuine issues, many of which are universal. Published in 1966, the novel reflects the less sensitive treatment of mentally disabled people during that time period. Allowing a unique perspective through the eyes of a man who lacks, gains, then loses genius, the novel is both tragic and inspirational, making definitive statements about high intelligence's great impact in some areas and lack of impact in other areas of human life.

How Has the Treatment of Individuals with Mental Disabilities Changed since Flowers for Algernon was ritten?

Flowers for Algernon (Keyes, 1966) was published in 1966. In the 56 years since that novel's publication, the treatment of individuals with mental disabilities has dramatically changed in several ways. For purposes of this paper, the change regarding the word "retarded" will be considered. The attitude expressed through language…

No matter which side of this debate that you find yourself on, there is one thing for sure the interpretation will always be up to whoever is reading it at the time.

The same can be said about which side of the gun control argument that you find yourself on; it is truly a matter of who you are talking to at the moment. Both Thompson and Desuka have made good points in making their arguments. I think that the stronger of the arguments was made by Desuka. Even though I can see both sides of the argument, the idea of controlling the amount of handguns that are available for criminals to use is a good one. Thompson's argument that crimes would go down because everyone would have a gun is somewhat logical. But it does not address the issue of the innocent people who get hurt and killed because…

Achilles is the most prominent character and hero of The Iliad. He is the pride of the Greek army, having nearly god-like capability on the battlefield. His mother was to have been a nymph and his father, a king. Both Hector and Achilles are of notable and prestigious births. Achilles killed a plethora of Trojans over the course of the war, and one of his most notable duels was with Hector, where Achilles, firmly having the upper hand, slices Hector's heels and begins a humiliation of his body that lasts for days after Hector is dead. Ironically, later Paris, Hector's brother, kills Achilles by shooting him in his heel, his only known spot of weakness, which is where the euphemism, "Achilles' heel" comes from. Achilles was capable of great rage and power during battles, and sometimes Achilles could not be adequately calmed by those around him, or even events that…

English Literature

Women's issues in Renaissance England

What are activities today that we still consider more appropriate for men than for women or for women more than men? Why do you think this is the case?

Gender equality is something that has been debated for many years. There are two sides to the argument about the equality of men and women. There are those that believe that men are superior to women, while on the other side there are those that believe that women can do anything that men can. In the reading Female Orations by Margaret Cavendish she tries to show both sides of this argument. She points out that women shouldn't do certain things because it is men's work, but that women do some things better than men because that is the way nature is.

There are many activities today that are still considered as things that are…

It is also more likely to create a constructive rather than a destructive outcome, it is a process of conflict resolution that may aim to arrive at the truth of a given situation rather than simple victory for one side and it is the only technique of struggle that is consistent with the teachings of the major religions (eber and Burrowes, n.d.).

Nonviolent action is a method by which people who reject passivity and submission, and who see struggle as necessary, can have their conflict without violence. Nonviolent acts are not seen as an attempt to steer clear of or ignore conflict. They are one reaction to the problem of how to act effectively in politics, particularly how to wield powers effectively. It consists of acts of protest and persuasion, noncooperation and nonviolent intervention designed to undermine the sources of power of the opponent in order to bring about change…

In this light. Dee represents the most successful fulfillment of the material side of the American Dream (Whitsitt). On the other hand, she is unsuccessful at preserving what is most beautiful about her culture by no longer honoring it in any practical sense. In this, she represents the tragedy of loss in terms of meaning, culture, and heritage in blind pursuit of material gain and social success.

The Red Convertible" by Louise Erdrich

The story by Louise Erdrich similarly demonstrates a dichotomy between the past, the potential of the future, and the scars that cannot be healed as a result of trauma and tragedy. The American Dream and its destruction in this story is represented by two brothers and their initially healthy relationship (boosh). As young men, Henry and Lyman are happy-go-lucky and somewhat irresponsible. Their relationship is healthy and close, represented by a red convertible that they buy restore,…

There must a connection between the teacher and the student beyond the traditional system of work. As stated by Ozer, there are several levels for implementation ranging from class/teacher level to the community level (2006); more precisely, a particular system of teaching must be set in place because preventing school crimes is a complex issue which takes into account both the school environment and the community one.

Research analyses have shown that results in these programs vary. On the one hand, several programs which included the development of a violent prevention curricula registered positive results in the sense that there was a clear reduction in the use of violence in hypothetical conflict situations, "frequency of use of violence in the past thirty days, and frequency of physical fights in the past thirty days" (Scheckner, 2002). More importantly however, the research conducted showed that the conflict resolution programs were more effective…

I am simultaneously jealous of the people at the front of the line, especially when it is obvious that they realize they will be in the next group to ride.

As I finally make it to the same coveted spot at the end of the line, my heart begins to race once again, only this time, it seems to be twice the rate it was racing on the walk over to the ride. My stomach feels like it has constricted to a fraction of its normal size as though sucked out by a vacuum pump and I wonder whether the obese lady in front of me could possibly be experiencing the same thing considering all the cotton candy she just swallowed. I remind myself to take a seat far enough from her to avoid coming off the ride in shades of pink, just in case. The few seconds between the…

In fact, most lawyers practice neither criminal law nor personal injury law; they assist individuals prepare wills, set up their businesses, protect themselves from financial risks, purchase homes, patent inventions, and respond to IS tax audits. Most lawyers spend long hours working at their desks and never actually see courtrooms or accident victims (Haskell 1998). Certainly, some lawyers are dishonest people without moral scruples or ethics who will do almost anything to make money. But more often than not, that is a function of the type of person they are, just as some schoolteachers, postal carriers, and even members of the clergy are dishonest and immoral.

Telemarketers:

Telemarketers suffer from common stereotyping as being dishonest, rude, inconsiderate liars who care only about making a sales pitch. As with other stereotypes, some telemarketers may fit those negative characterizations, but assuming them to be true about everyone who happens to earn a…

Jacob's Unique Mission / Position/Opponent

Perhaps one of the most useful ways to understand the unique position and mission of Jacob, rather than merely thinking of him as someone who could simply do what they wished without consequence, and to think that he was "wrestling" with a merely human opponent, is to look deeper into why Jacob was indulged by God as he was.

If one thinks about a modern situation, such as the deployment of American troops in Iraq, in comparison to Jacob, the issue becomes much clearer. Like the Iraq soldiers, Jacob is playing by rules that no one else is using, against a sort of invisible enemy that may or may not exist. Also like the Iraq situation, Jacob, it seems, is waging more of a symbolic than concrete type of war; in Jacob's case, it appears that a struggle with faith is taking place, while God…

English literature texts

Both Rohinton Mistry's "Squatter" and Ngugi a Thiong'o's "Decolonizing the Mind" utilize literature to challenge the idea of a uniform national and cultural identity, primarily through the means of depicting situations in which there are clashes of culture. Both are cautionary tales that warn against the forsaking of one's initial, primary heritage in exchange for a esternized adaptation. The primary difference between the two works lies in the perspectives of both the authors and the events which affect the characters in the stories: Mistry's does so from the perspective of assimilation, while Thiong'o's does so from the perspective of suppression.

That Mistry's short story, definitely farcical in nature, is a warning to those who risk abandoning their culture in favor of willfully assimilating to another, is evident from the subject matter: that of a triumphant Parsi young man settling into Canada to become a fully integrated esterner.…

Thisclearly implies that this sort of perception was more of a weakness than an advantage.

Samuel Johnson's "The Vanity of Human ishes"

In this poem, the author demonstrates to the audience the reality of struggle in life. The author, just like, he mentions in the poem's title demonstrates how human wishes are, in many cases egoistic and useless. According to Meyers (p 1), Johnson had his reflection long years of human struggle, unavoidable fates, and theerroneous hopes. The author demonstrates some of the common situations that ordinary human being experience under the authority of certain political powers, which seem to have a hand in the sealing of their destinies. The author, in exploring this demonstrates how cruel, humiliating, and unwarranted such treatments are. The actions that the persona witnesses in the society make life to him more of a tragedy than anything else does. He in fact states that the…

Moonstone," a cornerstone in English literature that marks the birth of detective novels

Wilkie Collins published his novel "The Moonstone" in 1868, after a series of novels that had already consecrated him as a genius in the art of sensational fiction. The genre became popular, at that time, in England and abroad, thorough the translations of Collins' novels. "The Moonstone" is written in a narrative form of a detective novel that leads thorough the complicated but well constructed plot built around the theft of a diamond of Indian origin from "a quiet English house" (The Moonstone, p. 46).

In the preface to his novel, Collins emphasizes the fact that the narrative form took over in the construction of The Moonstone, as compared to his previous works: "In some of my former novels, the object proposed had been to trace the influence of circumstances upon character. In the present story I…

In "After Apple-picking," the speaker reflects explicitly only on the feel of picking apples, and the lingering feelings and thoughts that this work leaves in the mind and body. The commonality in theme that this bears to the epilogue Shakespeare wrote for The Tempest might not be immediately apparent, but again the language and diction of the poem provide clues as to what Frost was really getting at in this poem. The speaker mentions sleep and dreams or dreaming several times in the poem, both of which are commonly used as euphemisms for death (including by Shakespeare himself, in several famous speeches). Winter, too, is generally symbolic of old age, making the speaker's mention of "winter sleep" doubly evocative of increasing age and the awareness of mortality. The autumn scene of the apple picking itself is also, of course, indicative of change in the seasons; the ripeness of the fruit…

Even physical relationships are prone to dissolution -- as ebster shows: the lovers are murdered one by one. ebster and the other Jacobeans appear to pine for an era of old world spirituality -- for the new modern world, while full of scientific inquiry and triumph (see Bacon), lacks that sensitivity of soul that could effect true and real humility.

3. For, however, a complete and masterful representation of the many facets of human nature in all its strengths and failings, one need look no further than to the works of Shakespeare, which span both Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. For the folly of kingly pride, there is Lear. For the bitterness of ambition on the murdered conscience, there is Macbeth. For the nature of love and the relationship between man and woman there are the marvelous sonnets 116, 129, and 138: all three of which tackle the subject from a…

Doom in the luest Eye and the Voyage Out Doomed From the eginning:

The Inevitability of Death in the luest Eye and the Voyage Out Commonality is a funny thing. Who would suppose that a young, white twenty-four-year-old, turn of the twenty-first century, English lady might have a great deal in common with a young, adolescent, black American girl? This is exactly the case, however, between Virginia Woolf's main character, Rachel in The Voyage Out, and Toni Morrison's Pecola, in her work, The luest Eye.

Despite their differences in time, location, culture, and circumstance, the characters in the two novels share a common fate based on a common cause. oth characters begin life in unfortunate circumstances that foreshadow the inevitable doom that results from their respective positions in life.

Morrison's The luest Eye, opens with the words, "Here is the house."

It starts out innocently enough -- yet, even before…

(60)

The Norman conquest had forever altered the face of history and the face of the English language.

Middle English

The period thought of as the Middle English period roughly from 1150-1500 is a period that is demonstrative of the massive changes associated with the Norman conquest. Though there is some evidence that French did not completely overtake English in common or official use the language had a great influence upon English via the Normans and the elasticity of the language at its source.

The Middle English period (1150-1500) was marked by momentous changes in the English language, changes more extensive and fundamental than those that have taken place at any time before or since. Some of them were the result of the Norman Conquest and the conditions which followed in the wake of that event. Others were a continuation of tendencies that had begun to manifest themselves in Old…

English Literature

John Dryden, English poet and critics who was is well-known for his political and religious poetry, explicates on the nature of good writing in his essay, "An essay of dramatic poesy." In this discourse, Dryden looks into the qualities that best defines good writing in literature as a literary work created through three important elements: the work must have a purpose, has a well-conveyed message comprehensible to the reader, and is expressed with wit and intelligence in the simplest and easiest language to understand.

For Dryden, works of literature must be created for a purpose, an honest purpose with strong effectiveness, not a literary works written for the writer's benefit only. This kind of writer, which Dryden identifies as the 'first sort of poetry' -- that is, good poetry -- is synonymous with the writer who is "...so much a well-willer to the satire that he spares no…

"O Sylvan ye! thou wanderer thro' the woods, / How often has my spirit turned to thee!" (http://www.uoregon.edu/~rbear/ballads.html) Now, the poet wishes to "transfer" the healing powers of nature that he himself has experienced to his sister. By stating."..Nature never did betray / the heart that loved her" (http://www.uoregon.edu/~rbear/ballads.html) ordsworth assures his sister that she will also find peace in the middle of nature if she believes in the communion with nature. This prediction is an artifice of the poem and is not simple. "ordsworth's ability to look to the future to predict memories of events that are happening in the present is ingenious and complicated. But ordsworth beautifully clarifies this concept by using nature as the ideal link between recollection, foresight, and his relationship with another."(Eilenberg, Susan. Strange power of Speech: ordsworth, Coleridge, and Literary Possession. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992).

Moreover, by imagining the future of his…

" (Frankel, 1963, pg. 122) This is important, because it show how studying Holocaust literature can teach everyone something about themselves that they may not have been fully aware of.

Choose one of the short stories you've read during this lesson and explain how it meets or does not meet the requirements of a modern short story, as explained in your text. Your response should be at least three paragraphs long, explain the criteria you used to evaluate the story, and explain whether or not the story meets the criteria

The story that was evaluated was Mans Search for Meaning. Technically, this fits the definition of short story by: talking about events that actually occurred (in an investigative format). This is important, because it show how this piece of literature would follow pattern of many authors, by discussing various events that had an impact on their lives. (Frankel, 1963)

The…

Without some degree of academic skepticism, one would be influenced by whichever analysis or interpretation happened to be presented first, even though it might be incorrect. In ordinary non- academic life as well, skepticism is an appropriate perspective because the beliefs and claims of others are often ignorant, biased, or questionable in their motivation. The old adage "if it seems too good to be true it probably is" is an example of prudence in ordinary life that is an expression of healthy skepticism..

SKEPTICISM vs. CYNICISM: OUTLINE and NOTES

Skepticism:

Definition

Examples

Negative Connotations:

Difference between Skepticism & Cynicism

Skepticism is more objective

Open-mindedness vs. preexisting negative expectations Cynicism:

Cynicism is subjective

Bias vs. Blank Slate Concept

Skepticism and Literature Analysis:

Appropriate academic perspective

Alternative would mean accepting first analysis of everything

Skepticism in Ordinary Life:

If it seems too good to be true it probably is

Similarly central to Woolf's aesthetic is the tension between the individual's public personae and his or her 'private' self. Through a range of biographical, autobiographical, and fictional strategies, Woolf explore the extent to which the private self can be conceptualised as a fixed, unitary, and bounded identity. ("eflections on the Self," Page 44)

The looking-glass or mirror represents, in a way, the self, and it also is a device by which the self can be explored and articulated. The voice of the narrator is one that is blended. The narrator is both the narrator and the character that is being described. The narrator is also the voice of the author. The blending of these voices into one voice, not always necessarily coherent and smooth, is a technique that underscores the content and the themes of "The Lady in the Looking-Glass: A eflection." eflection upon one's life is not always positive,…

Scout and Jem are likewise tormented by their classmates because of their father's courageous decision to defend an obviously innocent man. Scout already hates school and feels like a persecuted mockingbird in its controlled, conformist environment. She would rather be playing with her brother and her best friend Dill. School is yet another example of the ways in which society can be cruel and persecutory of people who are 'different.'

Scout is not above hurting other people, however. When she is humiliated by her teacher because she explains why a poor boy named Walter cannot afford even to borrow money for lunch and her teacher reprimands her, Scout turns against Walter by beating him up during lunchtime. Before she is saved by Boo, she is frightened of him and she and her friends make up stories about him, because they fear what they do not understand. It is this misunderstanding…

A appreciate the fact that this English course also included sections on writing effective narrative papers. I found narrative papers to be fun to write because they involve storytelling and rich descriptive language. I feel more creative writing narrative papers, which is why I prefer writing them, as opposed to research papers. When we write narrative papers, I can draw from personal experience, which makes the writing process easier than it is during the process of writing a research paper. Also, the techniques of writing narrative papers differ from the techniques of writing research and persuasive papers. Organization and focus is important, but the paper can be less formal in a narrative essay.

A found literary analysis papers to be among the most difficult to write. I found it very helpful to encounter some of the common techniques for approaching literary criticism. Learning about the different formats such as MLA…

Feminism/Humanities

Love and the Developing and Unstable Female Sense of Self

Lord Byron, in his epic poem "Don Juan," famously noted that although love may be an all-consuming passion for men and women, only for women does it provide the reason for their existence, only for women does love constitute their reason for the self's existence alone. Although this point-of-view may be said to be that of a misogynist, both Marguerite Duras' The Lover and Love in a Small Town provide the same textual narrative for the reader, as did Byron's 19th century version of the young, dashing Don Juan. Both author's works suggest that, only by being exposed to a new, sexually awakened sense of body and self, does a woman gains her full identity as a human being.

Marguerite Duras presents a vision of forbidden love that on its surface may seem to challenge the reader's conventional assumptions…

" (Stoyle, 2005)

While the hope was that following the retreat of the Scots was the "...resurgence of English power" would ensue, these hopes were in vain because in October 1641 "Ireland - whose inhabitants were simultaneously appalled by the prospect of a puritan Parliament achieving political dominance in England...burst into rebellion." (Stoyle, 2005) Resulting was that in just a few weeks the power of the English in Ireland "had been reduced to a handful of coastal enclaves." (Stoyle, 2005)

The English government was "paralyzed by internal quarrels" and nothing was left that could remedy the situation. Stoyle writes that "by early 1642 both Scotland and Ireland had achieved a de facto independence, and English power in the Atlantic archipelago was weaker than it had been for centuries." (2005) the self-confidence of the English is stated to have "crumpled beneath the impact of these successive hammer-blows and, as they watched…

River Runs Through Her: River Imagery and Symbolism in Harriet Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl"

Water symbolism, and especially that of the river, is integral to Harriet Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Rivers, with their winding waters, are not just part of the geographic landscape or the natural world. For Jacobs, rivers and all bodies of water have both practical and symbolic functions. The river forms a physical barrier between places; it divides states and physical locations. Rivers divide cites like Philadelphia and they provide natural borders between cities and states. Rivers also help delineate the North and the South, which in Jacobs' time was eminently significant. Therefore, the river is a metaphorical barrier between slavery and freedom. The oppressive plantations of the south are separated from the Free States in the north by these flowing bodies of water. In Harriet Jacobs'…

Great Gatsby

Hamlett

F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" is set against the backdrop of 1920's Long Island. It explores multiple themes about the human condition as experienced through the actions of the story's lead character, Jay Gatsby, and the narrator, Nick Carraway.

I have selected three such themes from the book as the basis for this paper. Each of them revolves around Fitzgerald's core assessment of class differences that existed between the have's and the have not's in the society of excess and indulgence which emerged after America's participation in World War I. The first theme I will examine relates to the promise, pursuit and subsequent failure of the American dream; specifically, the expectation that the acquisition of enough money can buy one's way into all of the right circles and hearts. The second theme is that of the superficiality of the upper classes and how their worth as…

English Literature

The medieval period in English history spans across some 800 years. The Anglo-Saxon period consisted of literature that was retained in memory. The major influence of the literature up until the Norman Conquest was mainly of the religious kind. "Distinguished, highly literate churchmen (Abrams 4) the Ecclesiastical History of England remains our "most important source of knowledge about the Anglo-Saxon period" (4).

The Anglo-Saxons were primarily known for their contribution to poetry. Their alliterative form was, of course, how poetry survived. Sine they wrote nothing down until they were "Christianized," Abrams suggest that that Christian ideals influenced how things were recorded and it would also explain why some non-Christian literature did not survive. Beowulf is what Abrams refers to as the "greatest" German epic, even though it appears to many pre-Christian ideas. (4) Another example of the Anglo-Saxon writing movement would be Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Chaucer brilliantly weaves…

Multiculturalism

Myth, Literature, and the African World

The book Myth, Literature, and the African World, was published in 1976, twenty years before the author, Wole Soyinka, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

In his Preface, he clearly wants to convey that African academia has created a kind of "intellectual bondage and self-betrayal" by not facing up to truths about the fact that African literature must not be merely "an appendage of English literature." This was written twenty-eight years ago, of course, and because the instructions ask that "only this reference" be used, one cannot know if indeed African universities now have a section for "Comparative Literature" -- which would presumably allow for the inclusion of literature about Africa, by Africans. And that literature would, hopefully, be reflective of what African cultures were like during the continent was dominated by European colonial powers -- something that Soyinka clearly would like…

Pearl Poet's Sir Gawain

The Arthurian Legends are one of the most mysterious of Middle English literature. For many years historians have tried to match King Arthur to one of the Early Kings of Britain, however, all attempts have met without success. It is now generally accepted that King Arthur and the other Knights of the Round table represent a composite of the behaviors and attitudes of people of that time period. The same can be said of the character of Sir Gawain in "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight." As social attitudes changed, so do the ideal characteristics that exemplify virtue and purity. The character Sir Gawain appears in many versions of the Arthurian Legends. The characteristics and attitudes of Sir Gawain seem to shoe a shift over time. The most widely accepted version of the character of Sir Gawain is the version that is attributed to the poet…

medieval romance has inspired literature for generations. The magic of the Arthurian romance can be traced to Celtic origins, which adds to it appeal when we look at it through the prism of post-medieval literature. The revival of the medieval romance can be viewed as an opposition against modern and intellectual movement that became vogue in modern Europe. These romances often emphasized the human emotions rather than the human intellect and a return to more classical traditions. Poets and writers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries did not want to feel the oppression from the constraints of their time. Instead, they looked beyond the intellectual to a more mystical and emotional realm. They wanted to achieve another level in their writing -- one that allowed them to stretch their imaginations and their knowledge. The medieval aspects that we find in literature from this era accentuates a different type of thinking…

Thompson "Disenchantment or Default?: A Lay Sermon," The Romantics.

In the article "Disenchantment or Default?: A Lay Sermon," author E.P. Thompson explores the restoration of literary works by Wordsworth and Coleridge. Specifically, Thompson is interested in the moment when the poet became politically aware and disenchanted with the environs around him, turning his distaste into pieces of literature. While making his argument, Thompson delves heavily into the possible psychological profile of the author and his break with Godwinism. By doing this however, Thompson makes a critical mistake which all literary scholars and critics are meant to watch out for: that is confusing the narrator of the literature with the author himself.

Remarkably, Thompson determines that the change in Wordsworth's writings came at a time when he stopped writing towards an ideal and instead directed his writings at a real person. He writes, "It signaled also -- a central theme of…

6). Beattie, like anyone else, was a product of her times.

She is also, again like anyone else, a product of her own individual circumstances. A further interpretation of the bowl as a symbol of the feminine finds a deeper connection between the circumstances of the fictional Andrea and the real-life Ann Beattie. Though she is not especially forthcoming with personal details, there are some facts with which a correlation can be drawn.

Though (presumably) happily married for many years, Ann Beattie and her husband have no children (Frost, par. 1). Again, she has not shared the reasons for this, nor would it be a reasonable question to pose to her. It is a significant fact to note, however, given the resemblance of the bowl to the female womb. Henningfield suggests an interpretation of the bowl, especially of the husband's turning away from it and Andrea's refusal to let him…

British Lit. Romanticism to Present

Following the liberating Age of Reason, the Enlightenment, the age when humanity was triumphing through literature and Rousseau's philosophy was inspiring revolutions, the age of Romanticism saw the birth of some genius writers of its own. Among them, Lord Byron, a man who lived his thirty-six years with the intensity of one who wants to know it all and do it all, was a prolific writer whose works were the expression of his time.

Lord Byron was the restless soul who burnt every resource he had in his inquiries about the meaning of life. He traveled extensively and, like most of his fellow artists, was enchanted with the exotic of the East. Byron was both blessed and haunted by his genius. His image on the seashore, watching the fire lit to burn Shelly's body at Via Reggio, in Italy, is one of those images most…

The poem explicitly expressed the issue of environment degradation, when the protagonist exclaimed, (upon learning that he was to give up the land he tilled for many years), "These fields were burthened when they came to me...It looks as if it never could endure Another Master."

Apart from the theme of environmental degradation, moral degeneration was especially explicit in the works of Tennyson and Carlyle, who discussed the importance of morality in the midst of humanity's success in attaining higher levels of intellectual development and knowledge about the nature of things (living or non-living), in this world. "In Memoriam," Tennyson's religious explication, presented humanity as incapable of achieving further development in life without spiritual guidance. This humble realization showed humanity's intellectual development as a gift from God, not solely based on human capacity and faculties alone: "...we cannot know, for knowledge is of things we see and yet we trust…

Victorian Period Literature- Status of Women

Women in English literature have always found a subservient place akin to that of a second-class citizen. It was more pronounced in the Victorian period when it was believed that marriage was the only possible career for women. They were expected to prepare themselves for courtship, make themselves skillful enough to be liked by men and finally land themselves a good husband. That was the be-all and end-all of their lives. However not everyone subscribed to that viewpoint and some tried to raise a voice against the status of women in the society and how it was contributing to their poor standard of lives and deteriorating lot. Interestingly one such person was Elizabeth Barrett Browning whose ballad "Lord Walter's Wife" was refused publication in 1861 on the grounds that it could lead to public outcry since it talked of man's love for a woman.…

Culture

English writing has taken a new evolutionary path in its development since Independence. India was observed post-colonially by English writers of Indian origin. While new ideas were being developed, emphasis was placed on religious, socio-economic, filial, and political problems as talking points; these issues captured the national movement sensation and attracted the attention of creative writers. Events like the partition and the resulting communal riots following it, coupled with the problems of caste discrimination, misogyny and the squalor in which the proletariat lived, were the major issues of the time. The clamour raised over these issues is massive, with many budding writers boosting the perception of literature as time passes. This paper seeks to evaluate and provide insight into the progress of English writing over a time period ranging from the post- independence period till the present time. Writing veterans who displayed the fifties' realism in their works are…

Relationship of "The Old English Baron" and "Vathek" to 18th Century English Gothic Fiction

The rise of Gothic fiction in English literature coincided with the advent of the Romantic Era at the end of the 18th century and beginning of the 19th century. Gothic masterpieces such as Shelley's Frankenstein, Lewis's The Monk, and Stoker's Dracula would capture the imagination by fueling it with the flames of horror, suspense, other-worldliness and mystery. These elements are significant because the Age of Enlightenment had been characterized by a cold, objective, analytical focus on nature and humankind. It had been based on the concept that reason was sufficient to explain all events in the world and in fact all creation. Yet as Shakespeare's Hamlet reminded readers, "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, / Than are dreamt of in your philosophy" (Shakespeare 1.5.167-168). Part of this interest in the Gothic was inspired…

Second, it provides an excellent introduction "to a unit on the Romantic Era in English literature" with its spirit in line with Coleridge, Wordsworth, Lord yron and Percy Shelley. Third, the novel is truly "the work of a gifted woman writer who merits study and recognition" (62). One aspect of Shelley's life which is quite extraordinary is that she heard Samuel Taylor Coleridge recite the "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" which clearly influenced Shelley's use of the supernatural in her novel.

Fourth, Veidemanis maintains that the novel's central theme, being "scientific aims pursued in reckless disregard of human consequences," has much significance in today's modern scientific age related to biological and genetic engineering and raises the question "Should limits be placed on scientific endeavor?" A reference to Victor Frankenstein and his "reckless disregard" for the possible consequences of his experiments with the dead and the creation of a human monster.…

Through this paper, I will present my personal response to Ayoola's article, 'Challenges to a new generation of Nigerian writers in English', which was first printed in Cambridge University Press's English Today, 85th Edition, Vol. 22, Issue 1, dated January, 2006.

The article's author narrates the challenges new Nigerian writers encounter in an atmosphere that treats rising authors in an unfriendly way. The experiences that are portrayed and analyzed in the article typify the experiences as well as predicament of these new creative writers. Language choice issues -- native tongue or English -- are reviewed, in addition to the many justifications, whether noble or not, presented for aspects like genre choice, audience recognition issues, the writer's reactions to the phenomena of globalization and democracy, and ineffective do-it-yourself (DIY) marketing/promotion and publishing (Kehinde Ayoola, 2006). Through this response paper, I will articulate my standpoint, in writing, with regard to the abovementioned…

Neither lust, nor greed, nor vanity, is necessary to account for betrayal: it is the simple and inevitable reflex of the changeability that is the very life of human beings."(Mann, 19)

Thus, the discourse of the ife of Bath should be seen rather in this light, than as an antifeminist one. In fact, her prologue is to be read rather like a purposeful unmasking of the many antifeminist stereotypes circulated in that epoch. As Jill Mann has noted, the fact that the ife of Bath recounts all the things that her husbands have told her, the specific nagging that takes place between men and women:

That is, she [the ife of Bath] does not live in the insulated laboratory world of literature, where she is no more than a literary object, unconscious of the interpretations foisted upon her; she is conceived as a woman who lives in the real world,…