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Life
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What is Life?

Life as an academic topic appears across nearly every discipline because it touches the fundamental conditions of human existence — how individuals develop, make choices, navigate systems, and find meaning. In personal issues courses, sociology, nursing, literature, and ethics, students are asked to examine what shapes lived experience and how institutions, relationships, and culture either support or constrain individual ability. The topic resists easy definition, which is precisely what makes it intellectually rich: it forces writers to clarify terms, interrogate assumptions, and connect abstract concepts to concrete human realities.

The papers archived here reflect a genuinely wide range of approaches. Literary analysis appears in essays on works such as Bernice Morgan's fiction and Bessie Head's "The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses," where writers examine how characters construct identity, belonging, and personal freedom. Policy and ethical frameworks drive essays on abortion, DNR legislation, and prison overcrowding, while sociological and cultural analysis informs work on parenting styles, family therapy, and soccer hooliganism. Observational and practice-based writing — such as operating room reflections and evidence-based nursing — grounds the topic in professional experience, showing how the concept of life plays out in direct care and institutional settings.

A strong essay on this topic begins with a focused, arguable thesis rather than a broad statement about life in general. Evidence drawn from specific texts, case studies, policy documents, or observed practice carries far more weight than vague generalization. The most common pitfall is treating "life" as self-evident — a compelling essay defines its scope early, specifying which dimension of individual experience or social process it actually intends to examine.

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Paper Undergraduate

Mariam's character and social powerlessness in A Thousand Splendid Suns

The main character of the novel A Thousand Splendid Suns is a woman named Mariam. She is a harami, or illegitimate child and thus has very little rights in her society. The very first description the reader gets of…

Research Paper Masters

Crime and punishment in Baldwin, McPherson, and O'Connor

This paper discusses three short stories, "A Good Man is Hard to Find," "The Story of a Scar," and "Sonny's Blues." In each, a crime has been committed and the perpetrator goes more or less punished. However, it becomes apparent that there are secondary crimes in each story which reveal a hidden culprit and a secondary criminal which has more meaning than the original.

Paper Doctorate

The purpose of life in Buddhism and Islam: ending suffering and ignorance

Islam and Buddhism are counted as the most widely spread and major religions of the world1. The origin of Islam was in Arabia, based on the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be upon Him) while the later is based on the teachings of Lord Buddha in Northern India. Researching these two major religions in detail helped me to formulate the following thesis statement.

Paper Undergraduate

Antigone's defiance of Creon's law in Sophocles' tragedy

An analysis of how Antigone's views on what is right differ from Creon's. In the play, by Sophocles, Antigone believes that divine law should be upheld above all else and consistently defies Creon in order to make sure that these laws are not broken. Antigone believes that her actions are noble and that she will be rewarded in the afterlife, whereas Creon will be made to suffer in this life and in the next.

Paper Undergraduate

Satan's portrayal in Twain's "The Mysterious Stranger" and Goethe's "Faust"

This story is meant to be a comparison and contrast between to books, written by different authors, who have something in common in the tales they have told. The paper looks at "Faust" by Goethe and "The Mysterious Stranger" by Mark Twain. The two authors tell classic tales of Satan and they have some very different views about him and his influence.

Paper Doctorate

Tupac Shakur's poetry in "A Rose Grows From Concrete"

This study after having examined the work of Dorothy West has been informed and enlightened about the miserable way that human beings, and in this case African American human beings have been historically pushed around by those in the higher socioeconomic classes to do their bidding, just as the little boy in ‘The Penny'. The use of human beings in this manner can be likened to the use of animals in tilling the land or making their last journey to the butcher house to wind up as food on the tables of those wealthier than are they. West did an excellent job

Research Paper Doctorate

Hinduism, family, and traditions in Indian culture

India's culture has been evolving for more than five thousand years. It began with the start of human civilization. It's a reflection of human history that carries with it a story of great people and amazing history. Indian culture uses rich and beautiful colors in all aspects of life, whether you see it through rugs and paintings, or through textiles and architecture.

Paper Doctorate

Mozart's portrayal of female characters in two operas

This paper compares two arias. Both are from operas written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In the first, the Countess is despondent because her husband the Count wishes to seduce a young woman named Susanna. In the other, Donna Elvira vows revenge against Don Giovanni for seducing her and then abandoning her. Both women deal with the sexual needs of a man and are left despairing over them.

Paper Undergraduate

Gender roles and family dynamics in Kafka's Metamorphosis

This paper discusses Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis." In the story, a young man turns into a giant insect. Reading this story through the lens of psychoanalytic literary theory, it can be read as a man who has to use his body to work until he cannot stand his body. At that point, his sister is forced to sell her body to support the family.

Essay Undergraduate

The American education system and social mobility inequality

This paper discusses the topic of education and its relation to the empowerment of the individual. In the United States, there has been a proven link between the education that a person receives and their ability to climb the social ladder. The more educated a person is, the more they will be empowered in the rest of their life.

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