Literary Works Essays

  • The Life and Literary Work of Kate Chopin

    739 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Life and Literary Work of Kate Chopin Courageous . . . daring . . . innovative . . . all aptly describe Kate Chopin, American short story writer, novelist, poet, and essayist. Timeless classics, Kate Chopin’s works of the late nineteenth century remain rare jewels and priceless gifts to the literary world today. Born Katherine O’Flaherty on February 8, 1851, in St. Louis, Chopin was the daughter of a prominent Irish merchant and an aristocratic French-Creole mother. Chopin’s roots in

  • Alcoholism and Drinking - Alcoholics Anonymous as an Important Literary Work

    900 Words  | 2 Pages

    Anonymous as an Important Literary Work Alcoholics Anonymous is one of the great unrecognized literary works of the first half of the twentieth century.  It has been through three editions after its first printing in 1939 and at least fifty-three printings in over ninety countries (xxii).  The wide popularity and circulation of the book certainly affirms this claim.  An examination of the contents of the book will show that it also deserves this title.  It is a rich work because it conveys a basic

  • The Life of Leo Tolstoy and its Great Impact on his Literary Works

    2389 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Life of Leo Tolstoy and its Great Impact on his Literary Works "How Much Land Does A Man Need?," by Leo Tolstoy was influenced by his life and times. Leo Tolstoy encountered many things throughout his life that influenced his works. His life itself influenced him, along with poverty, greed and peasant days in 19th century Russia. Tolstoy's eventful life impacted his works. Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy was born into a family of aristocratic landowners in 1828 at the family estate at Yasnaya

  • The Literary Works of Vladimir Nabokov

    2074 Words  | 5 Pages

    More so than that of most other comparably illustrious writers, a number of Vladimir Nabokov’s works beckon near polarizing discrepancies in interpretation and actual author intent amidst literary circles. In a letter to the editor of The New Yorker, he concedes to constructing systems “wherein a second (main) story is woven into, or placed behind, the superficial semitransparent one” (Dolinin). In practice, such an architectural premise is complicated further by his inclination to dabble in the

  • Amy Tan's Literary Works

    891 Words  | 2 Pages

    Amy Tan's Literary Works “My mother believed you could be anything you wanted to be in America. You could open a restaurant. Your could work for the government and get good retirement. You could buy a house with almost no money down. You could become rich. You could become instantly famous.” These are some of the dreams that Jing-Mei’s mother in Amy Tan’s Two Kinds has of America. She is not alone. Millions of people come to America to make these dreams come true, like the Indian’s Tribe in

  • Literary Analysis Of Maya Angelou's Woman Work

    1312 Words  | 3 Pages

    desires and dreams. Angelou's use of imagery and repetition emphasizes the woman's strength and resilience in the face of oppression. Despite the societal expectations placed upon her, the woman in the poem is able to find power and agency in her own work. like a great accomplishment. Angelou effectively uses repetition in the first stanza to convey the overwhelming amount of chores that the housewife must complete. The lack of commas also adds to the sense of breathlessness and urgency in the list

  • Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five

    1003 Words  | 3 Pages

    British play set into William Shakespeare's Hamlet. What are these two literary works similar in, then? It is the central theme. Both works show that we are physically stuck in this world, our future is already given, and we have no way of escaping our destiny. Both writers provide a little room for their character's imagination which is, in my opinion, crucial item of both literary works. In this paper I will try to use Kurt Vonnegut's novel to help me point

  • frankenstein - romanticism

    1521 Words  | 4 Pages

    Frankenstein: A Model of English Romanticism The literary world embraced English romanticism when it began to emerge and was so taken by its elements that it is still a beloved experience for the reader of today. Romanticism “has crossed all social boundaries,” and it was during the seventeenth and eighteenth century, it found its way into almost every niche in the literary world (Lowy 76). From the beginning of its actuality, “romanticism has forged its way through many eras including the civil

  • Can Fiction be Philosophy?

    3901 Words  | 8 Pages

    philosophy. Perhaps her most controversial assertion is that some novels are themselves works of moral philosophy. I contrast Nussbaum’s view with that of Iris Murdoch. I discuss three claims which are fundamental to Nussbaum’s position: the relation between writing style and content; philosophy’s inadequacy in preparing agents for moral life because of its reliance on rules; and the usefulness of the moral work engaged in by readers of novels. The evaluation of these claims requires a discussion of

  • Why We Should Read Great Literature

    583 Words  | 2 Pages

    Should Read Great Literature In Western culture, many literary works have been set apart from the rest by being termed great literature. What qualifies a work to be great literature, and why should we read it? An excellent source on this topic is Mortimer Adler, one of the premier American philosophers of the twentieth century and founder of the famous Great Books List. According to Adler, all great literature meets three criteria: the work is pertinent to contemporary life, is worth rereading

  • Comparing Franz Kafka and Gregor Samsa in The Metamorphosis

    1562 Words  | 4 Pages

    symbolism to relate the theme of their work, not Franz Kafka. He uses a writing method that voids all aspects and elements of the story that defy interpretation. In doing this, he leaves a simple story that stands only for an objective view for his own thoughts and dreams. Kafka focuses the readers’ attention on a single character that symbolizes himself and his life, not Everyman as some authors do. This method is displayed in most of his literary works. To understand how this method is recognized

  • Free Hamlet Essays: Foils of Hamlet

    674 Words  | 2 Pages

    Foils of Hamlet In the classic play Hamlet by William Shakespeare is a work that has and will test time. [SS - 1] In this piece of work there are many characters that contribute as foils. A foil is a minor character in a literary work who by the similarities and differences in what the character does (compared to a more important character) or by simple [sic] being there for another character to talk to which helps the audience understand a more important character. [SS - 1] There are many foils

  • A Deconstructive Glance at Edgar Allan Poe's The City in the Sea

    2439 Words  | 5 Pages

    of a Christian work to create a nihilistic vision” (395). This goes back to Claudel's biblical association, but Thorpe ascribes the city a darker, more sinister meaning. While many critics look at “The City in the Sea” through a Freudian or biblical lens, a deconstructive approach reveals the image of Death's inverted Necropolis. Deconstruction is the art of ambiguity. The theory posits infinite interpretations to literary works, with most of them just as creative as the work itself. With so

  • A Review of Responses to the National Endowment for the Arts Report, “Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America”

    2313 Words  | 5 Pages

    comparison of literary reading surveys from 1982, 1992, and 2002, the National Endowment for the Arts released the following statement. The accelerating declines in literary reading among all demographic groups of American adults indicate an imminent cultural crisis. The trends among younger adults warrant special concern, suggesting that – unless some effective solution is found – literary culture, and literacy in general, will continue to worsen. Indeed, at the current rate of loss, literary reading

  • Viriginia Woolf

    1952 Words  | 4 Pages

    Virginia Woolf, produced a body of writing respected worldwide. Driven by uncontrollable circumstances and internal conflict, her life was cut short by suicide. Her role in feminism, along with the personal relationships in her life, influenced her literary works. Virginia's relationships throughout her life contributed, not only to her literature, but the quality of her life as well. Perhaps the greatest influence in Virginia's life is her mother, Julia Stephen. "Julia Stephen was the most arresting

  • Free Yellow Wallpaper Essays: Oppression of Women

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    Women in The Yellow Wallpaper The Yellow Wallpaper is a story, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Although the work is short, it is one of the most interesting works in existence. Gilman uses literary techniques very well. The symbolism of The Yellow Wallpaper, can be seen and employed after some thought and make sense immediately. The views and ideals of society are often found in literary works. Whether the author is trying to show the ills of society of merely telling a story, culture is woven onto

  • God and Man in Homer’s Iliad, Virgil’s Aeneid, and Dante’s Inferno

    1232 Words  | 3 Pages

    homage to his creator. Three of the classic literary artistic works of mankind, Homer’s Iliad, Virgil’s Aeneid, and Dante’s Inferno, feature—if not focus—on the deity or deities of the respective authors and their relation to the characters of the story in the interaction between the two and the worship practices of the characters. Although religion in general can and does serve simply as background material in a work, in most if not all literary works the inclusion of a divine being as a character

  • Satire in Moliere’s Tartuffe, Voltaire’s Candide, and Swift’s A Modest Proposal

    915 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines satire as: “literary work holding up human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn.” Besides this definition satire can also be seen as the particular literary way of making possible the improvement of humanity and its institutions. In the three works: Moliere’s “Tartuffe,” Voltaire’s “Candide,” and Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” the authors indirectly criticize and ridicule human behavior and characteristics but with the goal for improving these faults rather than

  • The Raw Power of A Streetcar Named Desire

    2244 Words  | 5 Pages

    the reader realizes that statement most likely refers to Blanche's arriving at the place and situation she is now in because of her servitude to her own desires and urges.  What really makes A Streetcar Named Desire such an exceptional literary work is the development of interesting, involving characters.  As the play develops, the audience sees that Blanche is less proper and refined than she ... ... middle of paper ... ...st into a reality which is not his own, yet somehow seems

  • Edgar Allen Poe

    1080 Words  | 3 Pages

    any other writer for the transformation of the short story into a respected literary work. He virtually created the detective story and perfected the psychological thriller. He also produced some of the most influential literary criticism of his time. Although he contributed so much to the writing world, little is known about the Poe himself. Historians have been trying for years to piece together the life of this literary genius. In almost every biographical publication Poe’s life is divided into