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In ‘Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit’, it could be said that Jeanette Winterson explores the true nature of femininity without it being contrived. Feminist critics have shown how often literary representations of women repeat familiar cultural stereotypes, yet the portrayal of the female characters in this novel, especially of Mother and Jeanette herself, defy […]

“To the lighthouse” is a novel full of symbols and parallels that hold significance in exploring the themes and focus of the book. These symbols can be found in various elements such as objects, characters, setting, and plot. In this essay, we analyze the repeated development of objects, characters, setting, plot, and symbols in “To […]

‘The play was written in the 1600s, at this time the role of women was vastly different than their role in today’s society. The woman was to be the dutiful housewife, is expected to run the house cook meals, and look after the children. In wealthy families, girls were subject to their father’s will. Marriage […]

Act three scene five is one of the most important scenes in the play Romeo and Juliet. The reason for this is, is the fact that it is an effective piece of drama. It has meaningful lines which are well written and well acted to make it so effective. Romeo and Juliet is read in […]

In The Prologue of Romeo And Juliet, the fate of the “star-crossed lovers”, the title characters, is already told. They have been doomed to “take their [lives]” before the play has even begun. This foretelling of what the audience is about to see displays that the play is about how and why the events unfold, […]

‘Romeo and Juliet’ was a play written by William Shakespeare in 1595. William Shakespeare died on St. George’s day, 23rd April, 1616, making ‘Romeo and Juliet’ one of his earlier plays; written in what is now described as his second period, from his joining the Lord Chamberlain’s men in 1594 to the opening of the […]

If you were to ask people what the greatest “Love Story” of all time was, you can bet that, most of them would say Romeo and Juliet. However, it is not actually a love story, more a play with excessive, contrasting passions, including the most obvious. Love. This is where people get the idea that […]

It has been said that writer’s use memento mori to represent how the prospect of death serves to emphasise the emptiness and fleetingness of earthly pleasures. Compare and contrast the ways in which authors use momento mori and the extent to which they can be seen as delivering a moral message.In many texts writers use […]

“Set In Darkness” by Ian Rankin is a novel with a dramatic and socking ending. Rankin creates this effect by portraying the protagonist, John Rebus as willing to do anything in order to arrest the criminals in the story. During Rebus’s investigation into a body found in a fireplace in Queensberry House and also the […]

The following extract is from a novel and explores the writer’s depiction of falling and how this experience is expanded and reflected upon. The description, taken from Iris Murdoch’s ‘The Sea, The Sea,’ initially appears fatalistic with references to the controlling forces of the narrator’s mind, body and the sea. However, it ultimately portrays the […]

‘Spies’ the riveting novel written by Michael Frayn is narrated by Stephen Wheatley himself as he realises that he must take a trip to the destination: Memory Lane. He’s looking for “the last house before you go round the bend and it turns into Amnesia Avenue,” because of something sensual that triggered a remembrance, in […]

The play opens with Gregor and his family entering the stage one by one. His transformation into a beetle is narrated. As he wakes up for work, he looks at his clock, and the ticking of this that marks the idea of time forever moving on recurs throughout the play.It is made clear that Gregor […]

Ruby grew up without a mother and with an alcoholic father who had encounters with the law, but she managed to become resilient and self-sufficient. Her challenging upbringing taught her to acquire all the skills needed for taking care of herself since she had no one else to depend on. Stobrod thought that Ruby should […]

My response is that I do not agree with this statement. Indeed there are points in Williams’ theatrical piece where Blanche is perceived negatively by the audience. However, it is through his clever dramatic structure, in which we learn about Blanche step by step, her character revealed as sometimes things are revealed against her will […]

“Steerpike and Fuchsia are more than narrative devices. There are means by which Peake can examine the very nature of humanity”. Discuss.”Tradition becomes our security, and when the mind is secure it is in decay”- Jiddu KrishnamurtiSuch has been the case with Gorhmengast over the many years of its existence. Many Earls came and went, […]

Although the book contains passages in un-translated Latin and covers a variety of topics, including medieval history, theological philosophy, and mystery, it has the potential to interest a diverse range of readers. Despite its complexity, readers who are willing to explore all aspects offered by the author can gain valuable knowledge from this thrilling story […]

In the short story “Job History” Annie Proulx uses its mid-western setting to explore key aspects of theme and characterisation. It tells of fifty years of the life and tribulations of a man named Leeland Lee set against the harsh backdrop of Wyoming life in mid-western America.Proulx’s fiction has a habit of bestowing less than […]

In the opening chapters of “Spies”, I believe that Frayn wished to present the young Stephen so that he would, as a character, evoke various different feelings and opinions from his readers. As a result, there appear to be a range of different emotions that a reader could have towards Stephen; from pitying him to […]

On a cold and misty night, during a trade journey that was going smoothly, a sudden storm blew the ship off course and left them lost at sea. Despite their misfortune, Captain Blewit ordered Johnny to take the lookout position while they navigated the murky waters. Although exhausted from anxiety, Johnny climbed up the mast […]

The two short stories I have chosen to study for this essay show an incredibly rich use of language and imagery to depict both the atmosphere and emotions of the characters. The first Prose is called Odour of Chrysanthemums by D.H.Lawrence and the second piece is Eveline by James Joyce.In the short story the Odour […]

In this novel, Barnes makes little reference to love in any of the ‘main’ chapters of the novel, however he explores the concept in some depth in the ‘parenthesis’ chapter. He seems to display very confused and contradictory views of love, his opinion oscillating wildly as the chapter progresses.Julian Barnes, at the beginning of the […]

The victims were all men who had a negative reputation. Elle Haddock questions whether the existence of individuals such as arms dealers, child porn merchants, and irresponsible business men justified the killer’s decision to end their lives. The protagonist of Ian Banks’ novel ‘Complicity’, the sinister character Andy, also contemplates this same dilemma. The website […]