Genre Essays

Themes of The Stranger Several themes in The Stranger serve as the foundation to the novel. Detachment, the first theme, is evident through Meursault’s overall attitude, Salamano’s situation, and Meursault’s desire to bury his mother without seeing her body. Meursault detached himself from the rest of “normal” society, doing what he pleases and not expressing […]

Written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The Great Gatsby” is a novel. Within Scott Fitzgerald’s narrative, Daisy is portrayed as a leader through various descriptions. At the start of the tale, Daisy is labeled as “by far the most popular of all the young girls in Louisville,” indicating that her exceptional beauty has dazzled many men […]

A Wizard of Earthsea Ursula K. Le Guin Sparrowhawk, the greatest sorcerer in all earthsea, was eager for the power and knowledge in his reckless youth. With his talent of magic, he saved his village from the invaders. However, what the gift gave him was arrogance and impatience. At the wizard school, he made a […]

The use of third person omniscient point of view following Grenouille in certain sections of Perfume contributes to both plot development for dramatic irony and heightened tension throughout the story. Grenouille’s life will lack purpose without the scent of the girl from Rue de Marais. He kills her to obtain it and finally experiences happiness […]

The Most Effective Literary Element in “Cathedral” and Reasons for its Effectiveness Raymond Carver uses the literary elements of characterization and point of view to make Cathedral an effective story. While Cathedral appears to just be a story about a visit between two old friends and the narrator, I see it as a journey between […]

Upon finishing James Joyce’s ‘Eveline’, my initial response was one of discontentment, wondering if that was all there was to the story. The cause for this dissatisfaction stemmed from inadequate depiction of vital components like Eveline’s father, her mother’s passing, and her brother Ernest’s fate. My impression of Eveline is that her life and the […]

In the short story, The Story of an Hour and the novel The Awakening, the author Kate Chopin uses the characters Mrs. Mallard and Edna to portray the lives of women in the 1800s. Both characters are very similar to one another, but the differences though a little abstract balance the similarities. Also the author […]

Katherine Mansfield’s short story “The Garden Party” presents the Sheridan family as stereotypical wealthy individuals who hold themselves above common people. However, Laura Sheridan stands out as a more relatable character who shows concern for others despite the self-centeredness of her family. Growing up in a sheltered environment, Laura lacked exposure to poverty, hunger, labor, […]

Compare and contrast the sisters, Elinor and Marianne, in Sense and Sensibility to Cecily and Gwendolyn in The Importance of Being Earnest. Be sure to consider the personalities of each woman as you analyze how the demands and requirements of courtship dominate her attention and her interactions with others. Elinor and Marianne Dashwood VS Cecily […]

In D. H.’s “Rocking Horse Winner,” Lawrence delves into the greed inherent in humanity and the lengths individuals will go to appease others, drawing parallels between his work and the introductions of traditional fairy tales. In fact, the opening line reads, “there was a woman who was beautiful…”. H. Lawrence utilizes traditional storytelling techniques to […]

Mr. Gabriel John Utterson is one of the major characters in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. He witnessed many exhilarating events through the story, yet he has a very dull and odd personality. As it states on the very first page of the novel, “…that was never lighted by a smile,” […]

“Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment”: A Glimpse into Nathaniel Hawthorne’s View Being a classmate of with such greats which included future president Franklin Pierce and future poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow one could make the assumption that Nathaniel Hawthorne would be greatly successful as well. A great writer too many, Nathaniel Hawthorne has become one of America’s greatest […]

The Novel “The Last Unicorn” by Peter S. Beagle is a timeless classic story about love and loss. The story has a mesmerizing hold on the reader, drawing you in on its beautifully simplistic storyline. A unicorn learns that she is the last of her kind and sets out to find out what happened to […]

Characterization Don Vicente is the landlord who appears as the central figure in the story. He is also Luis Asperri’s father. However, his character is nothing but a stereotype of the rich – powerful, thus, usually hated and who also had an affair with a poor tenant. Luis Asperri is the product of the abovementioned […]

Plot: I believe that the plot in this book is a very true to life plot, and I actually very much enjoyed the way that it was told and laid out, because the book’s whole theme was very realistic and believable. I cannot even imagine being Melinda and having to deal with something as horrible […]

Kate Chopin, the author of “Regret”, was born on February 8, 1850, in St. Louis, Missouri. She was born to Thomas and Eliza O’Flaherty, as Katherine O’Flaherty. Chopin’s father died in a train accident when she was five years old and she grew very close to her mother and great grandmother. She was one of […]

Roald Dahl was a British author, but he also had deep roots in Norway since both his parents were Norwegian. He was born in Llandaff, September 13th, 1916. “Boy” is a book which tells about an important part of Roalds life, his childhood. It is set in France, England, Wales and Norway from the time […]

Sherman Alexie’s What You Pawn I Will Redeem Reading Response #1 How has Sherman Alexie managed to detach Jackson Jackson from his present predicament, and what is the effect of this on the reader? Throughout Sherman Alexie’s short story, What You Pawn I Will Redeem, the narrator, Jackson Jackson, manages to distance himself from his […]

Frank O’ Connor’s short story, “Guest of the Nation”, exemplifies an effective plot as all good writing does through the utilization of rising and falling action. With the implementation of the major components integrated to form the plot, O’Connor is able to construct an alurring and exciting series of situations for his readers to enjoy. […]

The text pertains to a story written by John Updike called “A&P”. It explores the notion of immature judgment among adolescents during the 1960’s. “A&P” follows Sammy, a young boy employed at a nearby grocery store of the same name. Sammy, working at the register, regularly observes the individuals entering the store. Sammy is surprised […]

Have you ever seen someone get mistreated or treated cruelly? Like when people you think are fair and kind convict an innocent man just because he was African American. Experiences like these can lead to people realizing the world is far from perfect. This is called losing your innocence. In one book 3 children experience […]

Born in Brooklyn, New York on August 9, 1927, Daniel Keyes started working as a ship’s purser for the Marine Service at just seventeen years old. Daniel Keyes began his professional journey as an associate editor in fiction, but eventually left the role to pursue fashion photography (H. Keyes, Daniel Keyes Bio). It is likely […]