Genre Essays

The Secret Agent, a renowned novel published in 1908, was authored by Joseph Conrad. Based on a true story of the 1984 plot to destroy the Greenwich Observatory, the book centers around Mr. Verloc, a spy from France residing and employed in London. Throughout the majority of the story, Winnie, Verloc’s wife, is portrayed as […]

The general prologue of the story “The Canterbury Tales,” begin in April, as the narrator (Chaucer) begins a pilgrimage from the Tabard Inn at Southwerk to the famed Canterbury, where Sir Thomas a Becket, a martyr for Christianity, is supposedly buried. The General Prologue is a basic descriptive list of the twenty-nine people who become […]

Although Macbeth is ultimately responsible for his fall from greatness, the witches’ prophecies and Lady Macbeth’s manipulation assist in his downfall in Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth. The ultimate downfall of Macbeth would not take place without the initial prophecies of the witches. His demise is outlined in the suggestive words of the witches when they first […]

In the thought provoking novel ‘Krystyna’s Story’ by Helina Ogonowska-Coates, Krystyna underwent a dramatic change from her beautiful loving home in Poland to the harsh & inhumane conditions of the Siberian Labour camp – Camp Niechodnile. This change is important as it makes Krystyna a better person and helps others to realise the brutality of […]

Alexander McCall Smith, the author of the award winning novel The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency spoke in a recent interview in The Sydney Morning Herald (December 2006) about his famously optimistic views of Africa and its people. The works of many African authors express rather grim and bleak views in comparison to McCall Smith’s […]

Wayson Choy was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1939. As a Chinese-Canadian he grew up and lived in Chinatown. He attended Gladstone secondary school, and then went on to attend the University of British Columbia studying creative writing. He was the first writer of Chinese ancestry to study creative writing. He studied under Earle […]

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 […]

Humans have a monster inside of them that is subdued by society, and if society is taken away, then that “monster” will consume them. This is true for most people, but not all humans are like that. One of the most notable humans to overcome the “monster” is Simon, a character from the book “Lord […]

In Slaughterhouse Five, Vonnegut uses satire in the topics of war, aliens, fate and the reasons for life itself. In Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, the author uses many literary devices to bring across his point including black humor, irony, wit and sarcasm. He mainly uses satire throughout the book. Satire is a literary device […]

The use of Epiphany through Isolation In the stories, Eveline, Araby, and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, by James Joyce, Joyce concludes these three stories in his trademark literary style of epiphany; this is achieved through the protagonist’s direct isolation from his/her own bleak reality. Joyce interprets an epiphany as a […]

Flat characters are minor characters in a work of fiction who do not undergo substantial change or growth in the course of a story. A minor character in a story is not the leader of the story, they are a supporting character to the protagonist and they give a contrast to the protagonist in a […]

In Stephen King’s raw and fascinating novel Carrie, the author exercises vivid details, creates striking characters, and includes a suspenseful plot. This is what keeps the reader interested and horror-struck. An example of vivid details is on page 123 where the author describes Carrie’s prom dress. “The dress itself was nearly floor length. The skirt […]

I wasn’t really drawn into their world as much as I was with The Stranger. It’s not that Ragtime was more compelling than The Stranger, I just found Camus’ to be much more ‘readable’. I thought Mister Meursault was the most intriguing character I’ve come across in a book in some time. I don’t really […]

In the novel, ‘ I Heard The Owl Call my Name’ by Margaret Craven, the young twenty-eight year old vicar Mark Brian is sent to a remote village of Kingcome by the Bishop. In this he has no choice. However, it changes him. This essay will explain why this change is important to Mark. When […]

In various works of literature characters can undergo changes which affect them as well as those around them. An example of this can be seen in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C. S Lewis. The character of Edmund goes through a character transformation as his journey through Narnia progresses. At the start […]

Kate Chopin “The story of an hour” When you wake up from a dream sometimes your palms are sweaty, your heart is racing you feel as if you just ran a marathon. Other times you want to close your eyes peacefully and fall back into the place you just were. A dream is a surreal […]

I wasn’t exactly thrilled to hear we were studying this book in class but I found that I really enjoyed it. I really liked it because of the fact that the prominent theme of racial prejudice is so controversial. I found it very hypocritical that the gossiping friends of Aunt Alexandra could be so concerned […]

The story “On the Danger of Reading Fiction”, Thomas Jefferson clearly shows his dislike for the world of fiction novels. Jefferson has stated that fiction novels are “time lost in that reading” and thinks it should be instructively employed. It’s apparent that anyone who is a fiction novel enthusiast could indeed become offended by the […]

Upon analyzing two different pieces of literature, it is evident that although they share various similarities and differences, they also possess numerous distinct qualities. By comparing and contrasting the short stories Two Kinds by Amy Tan and The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, we can observe their similarities and differences. Both authors drew inspiration […]

For One More Day by Mitch Albom begins with a sports writer approaching a former professional baseball player, Chick Benetto. The first thing Chick says is “Let me guess. You want to know why I tried to kill myself. ” This short fiction novel continues from this point in Chick’s voice, as if you were […]

William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily – A Gothic Horror Tale William Faulkner is widely considered to be one of the great American authors of the twentieth century. Although his greatest works are identified with a particular region and time (Mississippi in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries), the themes he explores are universal. […]

Ernest Hemingway’s “Indian Camp” from “In Our Time” (1925) follows Nick, his father, and Uncle George as they are rowed across a lake by indigenous locals at dawn. During an emergency medical call, Nick, his father, and his uncle arrive on shore and discover a series of shanties. They enter the one closest to the […]