-
Literature
In the novel, the border between the United States and Mexico is not just a border, but a wall. Referred to as "el otro lado," or the other side, the border divides families forever. It separates...
-
Literature
Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye and Esther Greenwood in The Bell Jar are both miserable in the midst of academic privilege and material wealth. Esther Greenwood says at the beginning of...
-
Literature
One of the main themes in the novel Across a Hundred Mountains by Reyna Grande is the strength of family ties. Juana's father, Apá, travels across the Mexican-U.S. border to "el otro lado," or the...
-
Literature
"Puerto Rican Obituary" is the obituary speech that the poet might have given for the five Puerto Rican people he gives only first names--Juan/Miguel/Milagros/Olga/Manuel"--in his poem. He wants to...
-
Literature
I believe that this question is asking about Juana from John Steinbeck's novel The Pearl. Juana is Kino's wife. One thing to note about Juana is that she is both physically and emotionally...
-
Literature
On the surface, there may seem to be sharp and distinct social differences between the United States and Algeria. The lives of Algerian people are generally defined by the rules of Islam. The...
-
Literature
Homer, being Greek, wrote the The Iliad from a viewpoint mainly favoring the Greeks. Yes, he created some admirable Trojans, such as King Priam and Prince Hector, but it was Greek culture to admire...
-
Literature
If you were to go through the trash of the main character in Noggin, Travis Ray Coates, you might find the whiteboard that he used to write on when he was in the hospital and was regaining his...
-
Literature
Marie de France's "Lay of the Werewolf," a courtly romance, focuses on upper-class people: aristocrats and royalty. The story presents us with a baron, a lady, a knight, and a king as the main...
-
Literature
"The Raven" and "Annabel Lee" are both poems by Edgar Allan Poe that address the desolation experienced by a man who has lost his love. In both of these poems, the speaker is experiencing profound...
-
Literature
There are so many images and ideas in the book that you might find affecting, emotionally and intellectually. For example, Paul Karasik does a very touching job of portraying the way in which his...
-
Literature
The idea of the "hero" is a little difficult to pin down. Most people tend to think of a hero as someone of great physical courage who is not afraid to risk death in order to save others or to...
-
Literature
Grace Nichols's and Kamau Brathwaite's poetry is about claiming a distinct Caribbean identity separate from that of Western Europe and the United States. To this end, the poets use local vernacular...
-
Literature
There are similarities in the ways Plath, Redfield Jamison, and Styron portray mental illness. For example, they all feel fraudulent and doubt themselves. Plath, who is living in New York City to...
-
Literature
In Three Ages of The Woman and The Death, there are four figures. The central figure is a fair-skinned young woman, seen admiring herself in a mirror. Also the brightest figure in the painting, the...
-
Literature
Throughout much of the canon of postcolonial literature, the clash of cultures one character experiences leads to mental and/or physical trauma. Some examples are Okwonko in Chinua Achebe's Things...
-
Literature
In Hedda Gabler, there are several different types of greed. George Tesman, Hedda's husband, and Eilert Løvborg are greedy for a certain type of esteem as writers and scholars and for greatness in...
-
Literature
Dystopian stories arise from imagined settings in which a society has sought to create a perfect way of life—a utopia. However, because trying to create perfection tends to result in a loss of...
-
Literature
When Jesse visits the 7th floor of the prison, where everyone is forced to lie down, he reflects that "all of the inhabitants lived in a position that was at total odds with the rest of the world,...
-
Literature
In the novel, the devastating effects of war and prison negatively impact the main characters. In my answer, I will discuss two characters from the novel: Jesse Pasadoble and Anvil Harp. Jesse...
-
Literature
Time slows down in the prison scenes of the novel, and while the body is inert, the mind travels. Véa writes of men in prison: Their beds were geared for long distances, for trips to Alpha...
-
Literature
In the novel, the author demonstrates the debilitating effect of poverty through the character of Calvin Thibault (whose streetname is Biscuit Boy). As the story progresses, we discover that Calvin...
-
Literature
Repeated trauma in the characters' lives in Gods Go Begging makes them hardened and incapable of experiencing real joy or human connection. For example, the chief medical examiner in the coroner's...
-
Literature
In the first scene of the book, the two dead people cling to each other as if they are embracing. Véa writes: Pronounced dead on a cold city sidewalk, they held on to each other as the gurney...
-
Literature
When Jesse visits the prison, he goes to the ward in which the prisoners have to remain recumbent. In this strange environment, it's almost as if time is slowed down. Véa writes that the prisoners...
-
Literature
The late American historian James Truslow Adams famously originated the phrase, if not the concept, of "the American Dream." As Adams defined it, "The American Dream is that dream of a land in...
-
Literature
It sounds like you have a great understanding of the structural differences between graphic and traditional novels, including uses and effects of such differences for the author's purposes. Perhaps...
-
Literature
Assmann distinguishes between two forms of communal memory, the shared memories of a group of people. Communicative memory goes back only about 80 years and is the group memory of events at least...
-
Literature
Chapter 16: 1) Mrs. Turner is very clearly prejudiced. How does Janie react to her? Janie humors Mrs. Turner and indulges the older woman's behavior. Janie doesn't try to change Mrs. Turner's views...
-
Literature
In Fences, Troy is against his son, Cory, playing football in college because Troy believes that the white players and coaches will never allow Cory to succeed in football, just as Troy was kept...
-
Literature
In the poem, the author uses masculine end rhymes to emphasize her complete devastation after a painful breakup. I keep recalling the messages in my head, Making me wish that I was dead.So here I...
-
Literature
Stamp Paid is a complex character. He is a giving and altruistic character who helps ferry escaped slaves across the Ohio River to freedom as part of the Underground Railroad. He helps Sethe across...
-
Literature
You should read the poem to determine which words are unfamiliar to you. One word that is used in a slightly different way than usual is "contesting." In this poem, the word "contesting" means to...
-
Literature
What you think of this story is up to you. Did you find yourself relating to Yunior, or did you find him too cynical? Many readers enjoy the story's sense of realism; Yunior seems like a real guy...
-
Literature
Helen Stoner in The Adventure of the Speckled Band is a particularly independent and brave woman for her time. After her mother's death, she lives with her stepfather, Dr. Roylott, and is...
-
Literature
While a thesis statement might not seem like a big deal, it is absolutely critical to the paper that you will eventually write. The thesis statement guides the entire paper. When reading your...
-
Literature
The title of the poem, "Snaps," refers to two snapshots of a female: one when she is a little girl and one taken when she is 17. Photos are silent: they cannot speak in literal words. The figure in...
-
Literature
At first sight, the most notable difference between the two poems is the difference in structure and length. Whitman's short poem represents a brief foray into the mind of the speaker, while...
-
Literature
As Laertes is heading off, Polonius gives him the following advice in Act I, scene iii: 1. "Give thy thoughts no tongue,/Nor any unproportioned thought his act." This means don't say what you are...
-
Literature
In "Snaps," Espaillat contrasts the conventional expectations of how a family wants a young woman to act with her subtle signals that she is rejecting their conventions. "Good" is the pivotal...
-
Literature
In "Snaps," Espaillat presents conventional images of womanhood in the first two stanzas of her poem and then presents the defiant stance of the girl behind her outward poses. For example, the poet...
-
Literature
In "Snaps," Espaillat starts with a series of snapshots of a girl that symbolize the way in which she presented one reality to the camera while harboring a different reality. The conventional scene...
-
Literature
The theme of "Snaps" is the way in which the girl who is the poem's subject defies gender norms, and to show this theme, the poem moves from conventional images to unconventional images. For...
-
Literature
To start any kind of essay like this you need to figure out what point you want to make to your readers. You want to be able to summarize your point in a single sentence. Teachers often refer to...
-
Literature
"Five Ways to Kill a Man" is a fairly straightforward poem in terms of what events are taking place. The first stanza opens with a bold statement about there being "many cumbersome ways to kill a...
-
Literature
"Portrait of Our Death" was composed in free verse, which means there is no rhyme or regular meter. For instance, the first stanza's four lines have 13, 14, 11, and 14 syllables; the second...
-
Literature
The wording of the question seems to assume that there is a single theme to this poem. I don't believe that is the case. I believe a reader could see several themes emerge from this poem. I...
-
Literature
You have to come to your own interpretation of the events portrayed in the film. There is no doubt that Jack's story and perspective contrast with Jill's at every turn. For example, he feels at the...
-
Literature
Especially with the recent political turbulence across Western Europe and in the United States tied to the issue of legal and illegal immigration, the question of integrating new culture-based...
-
Literature
Empathy is the ability to understand another person and to put yourself in another person's shoes. Having an empathetic understanding of others is necessary to create real, full characters, as...