Essays On Books

A good novel entertains the reader. An first-class novel entertains and enlightens the reader. Set in a Cajun community in the late 1940’s. A Lesson Before Dying is a heart-warming narrative of unfairness. credence and salvation. A Lesson Before Dying by Earnest J. Gaines is an first-class novel. Not merely does Gaines inform the reader. […]

In A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest Gaines depicts numerous hints, clues, and symbolism connecting Jefferson and Jesus. While creating his character, Gaines establishes parallels between Jefferson and Jesus, highlighting their similarities. For instance, both Jefferson and Jesus perish around Easter, though their deaths are beyond their control. Both Jefferson and Jesus were unfairly convicted and […]

Symbolism is the voice of the unspoken feeling. There is an abundant amount of powerful symbols exhibited within the novel A Lesson before Dying by Ernest Gaines. The author successfully adds a touch of importance to his symbols; the three most important symbols delineated in this novel are Jefferson’s notebook, the recurring food, and lastly […]

The protagonist and narrator of A Separate Peace by John Knowles, Gene Forester, undergoes significant personal growth throughout the novel. By the end of the book, he matures into an adult compared to his adolescent self at the beginning. Throughout his time at Devon, he experiences events that lead to these self-discoveries. Gene’s maturity is […]

A Separate Peace is a coming-of-age novel about two boys at boarding school and their friendship during World War II. There are three significant scenes of violence that occur in the novel; however, the core of the plot is based upon one. The first and most poignant is the incident where Gene, the narrator, jiggles […]

Theme is in simplest the moral of the story; it is the lesson readers should receive that is significant to the entire text. Theme also can be what the story mostly focuses on. Stories often have a few themes, but typically there Is central theme that ties the entire work together. Within A Separate Peace, […]

Finny, in A Separate Peace, has a flaw of acceptance when conveyed with the painful truth that contributes to the readers positive perception of him. When Finny and Gene are about to head out for their nightly Super Suicide Society meeting, for example, Gene explains to Finny that he has to study to do well […]

Book A Separate Peace he communicates how the war in him was taking its toll on him. He uses the characters in a complicated plot to show the destructive forces of war. The characters, Gene and Finny, are the opposing forces in a struggle between the reality of war (World War II) and a separate […]

“All things truly wicked start from innocence,” is a quote first said by Ernest Hemmingway, an author and journalist from Illinois. This quote is basically saying that innocence may start out as something seen as purity, in a person possessing this attribute, but eventually leads to immoral and sinful events. In my opinion this is […]

In the real world, man is tempted by his inner evil and acts only as he would like, as opposed to what is right. He will sin instead of being virtuous when set alone to do as he wishes. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, and in John Knowles’ A Separate Peace, the fact […]

The novel “A Separate Peace” by John Knowles tells the story of two boys, Gene and Finny, who form a strong bond while attending Devon School. However, Gene’s jealousy drives him to commit a tragic act that ultimately leads to the death of his best friend. When Gene later returns to Devon and apologizes, buried […]

Cry the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton is a novel inspired by the industrial revolution. Paton describes in detail the conditions in which the Africans were living during this time period, 1946. This story tells about a Zulu pastor who goes into the city in search of his son and siblings who left in search […]

By cutting her child’s throat, she is in an effort of taking and putting her children where they would be safe in such a society where he slavery was in practice. For her, this is the only and ultimate way of expressing her deep inner feelings as a subaltern but the question of who hears […]

The opening chapter, which is almost a prose poem, introduces us to two adjacent country sides near the South African village of Ixopo—country sides which represent the two worlds of the novel. Rich damp matted grass on the upland is an indication of the well-tended ground of a well-to-do white farmer. Desolate red soil in […]

The woman’s sole residence had always been this one. Prior to that, she resided on a ground made of dirt and had to take salsify into Mrs. Garner’s kitchen every day in order to have the opportunity to work and feel a sense of ownership. Her aim was to cherish her job and enhance it […]

Dearest Beloved, I still remember you, Beloved, as all mothers always remember their children. You were a tiny, fragile and heavenly body. Your coffee colored skin, big sparkly eyes and silky curly hair still appear in my dreams at night. You were so talented at a young age, you were able to walk. As the […]

Toni Morrison’s Beloved exemplifies the importance of both narrative methods and structure, in addition to the story itself. The opening line, “124 was spiteful,” introduces the reader to a unique approach where the story is started in the middle. Toni Morrison intentionally filled Beloved with “baby’s venom”1 to create a confrontation with the incomprehensible2. Her […]

Anger, in all its sometimes raw, sometimes subtle, sometimes simple and sometimes sophisticated glory is an affect, which from the first line of Toni Morrison’s Beloved (“124 was spiteful”) takes center stage. The true multi-faceted nature of this affect often goes unrealized because we tend to recognize an emotion through its responses. Anger, in most […]

Beloved has been the subject of various interpretations. Some perceive her as the Devil or a savior, while others simply see her as Sethe’s deceased child returning to torment her. In my opinion, all of these notions partially capture her true nature, but they are not entirely accurate. This narrative is not about the concepts […]

Denver has to recognize her dependence on others and start to rely on herself so that she can become her own person and reach her full potential. Before Beloved, Denver had only left the house a few times and needed someone’s help to do something. As Beloved and Sethe grow closer, Denver has the chance […]

In her novel Beloved, Toni Morrison sets up several characters who both love and are beloved. Among them, Paul D stands out through his timidity toward love and the meaning behind love, freedom. Because of the bitter and miserable experiences suffered by him and people around him, he has learned to love just a little […]

“It is the ultimate gesture of a loving mother. It is the outrageous claim of a slave”(Morrison 1987). These are the words that Toni Morrison used to describe the actions of the central character within the novel, Beloved. That character, Sethe, is presented as a former slave woman who chooses to kill her baby girl […]