Literary Criticism essays

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3 Pages 1274 Words
The plot: The story is about a class of schoolchildren on Planet Venus. The atmosphere of Venus is such that it is constantly raining. The sun is only visible for two hours every seven years. Margot is a little girl who moved to Venus from Earth just five years before the story takes place, so she is the only one...
All Summer in a DayConflictLiterary Criticism
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2 Pages 1082 Words
Introduction In Lorraine Hansberry's seminal play, A Raisin in the Sun, the character of Beneatha Younger stands out as a multifaceted individual striving to define her identity amidst the socio-economic and racial challenges of mid-20th-century America. As the Younger family's younger daughter, Beneatha's journey is emblematic of the broader African American quest for self-actualization and cultural affirmation. Her character is...
A Raisin in the SunCharacterLiterary Criticism
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2 Pages 1129 Words
Introduction Kate Chopin's The Awakening, published in 1899, is a seminal work that explores themes of identity, autonomy, and self-discovery. The novel's intricate use of symbolism serves as a powerful tool in elucidating these themes, offering readers deeper insights into the protagonist's inner world. Through symbols such as the sea, birds, and clothing, Chopin weaves a narrative that challenges societal...
Literary CriticismSymbolismThe Awakening
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2 Pages 893 Words
Romanticism was an artistic movement created in the 18th century in which writers were encouraged to adulate emotion, imagination, free thinking, the supernatural, mystery, optimism, and love. This period produced the most impeccable place for author, Edgar Allen Poe. Poe constructs a chilling and sinister tone through his writing to generate suspense and frighten the reader. He desired to make...
Literary CriticismRomanticismThe Tell Tale Heart
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3 Pages 1560 Words
Throughout the 1950s life was very limited for African American women. They were racially discriminated against and classified as second-class. African American people were afraid to stand up for their rights, and the limited freedoms they had were lost. In the 1950’s colored people were mistreated and abused by white people because of their lower status. 'A Raisin in the...
A Raisin in the SunCharacterLiterary Criticism
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2 Pages 913 Words
Director Matt Edgerton writes ‘Great plays provoke us they disturb and confront us’. Macbeth continues to have relevance to audiences today because … of the universal themes that are still relevant today. Two of the biggest themes in the plays are the corrupting power of the unchecked ambition and guilt and remorse. Both can be found widely across our current...
Critical ThinkingLiterary CriticismMacbeth Guilt
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1 Page 577 Words
Introduction: Lorraine Hansberry's play, 'A Raisin in the Sun,' explores several prominent themes that resonate with audiences even today. Among these themes, the pursuit of dreams and the search for identity stand out as central to the experiences of the Younger family. This theme analysis essay will delve into the significance of dreams and identity in the play, examining how...
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4 Pages 1783 Words
In this essay, two stories “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “The Tell-Tale Heart” will be analyzed focusing on how Edgar Allan Poe employs the themes of physical and mental sickness to reflect fear, mystery as well as death. Both stories present many similarities in which the characters are not only physically ill but also mentally and this...
3 Pages 1316 Words
The play opens on the scene of an abandoned farmhouse. Glaspell might have chosen the kitchen of the Wright home as the setting for Trifles because she wanted to make a hint that the theme and the plot are about the past. The key to this crime answer is in the past. Because things around them look unpleasant and unfinished....
Critical ReflectionLiterary CriticismTrifles
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2 Pages 1137 Words
Introduction Susan Glaspell's one-act play, Trifles, is a quintessential example of how setting can play an integral role in narrative development. First performed in 1916, the play is set in a rural farmhouse, which becomes more than just a backdrop to the unfolding drama. It becomes a character in its own right, reflecting themes of isolation, gender roles, and the...
Critical ReflectionLiterary CriticismTrifles
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2 Pages 1031 Words
Introduction Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights, first published in 1847, remains a masterpiece of English literature, renowned for its intricate narrative style and atmospheric depth. The novel's unique composition is characterized by its complex narrative structure, vivid imagery, and potent themes of passion and revenge. Brontë's writing style in Wuthering Heights defies the conventions of her time, blending gothic elements with...
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1 Page 538 Words
'Rose for Emily' by William Faulkner, is about a girl named Emily. She is not very social, and some would even call her crazy. She has been isolated from the world for the majority of her life. Her father isolated her from the world. Even after his death, she continued to isolate herself. Due to the isolation, she has been...
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4 Pages 1688 Words
John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath (1939) is a novel that explores and highlights modern gender roles of the decade and also portrays Steinbeck's modernized ideology towards the traditional patriarchal system during a time of great change. The proletarian novelist displayed his ability to perfectly portray the hardships faced during his experience of The Great Depression, allowing his readers to...
CharacterGrapes of WrathLiterary Criticism
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3 Pages 1570 Words
Wuthering Heights is a novel written by Emily Brontë and published in 1847. It tells the story of what had been happening at the Wuthering Heights manor but through a servant's experience called Nelly Dean. This servant says what she knows and what she saw in the past to Mr Lockwood, a man who wants to rent the place. The...
Literary CriticismProtagonistWuthering Heights
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2 Pages 844 Words
Introduction Emily Brontë's novel, "Wuthering Heights," is replete with complex characters and intricate narrative structures. Among these, Mr. Lockwood serves as both a peripheral character and a crucial narrative device. His role as the initial narrator provides a lens through which readers first encounter the tumultuous world of Wuthering Heights. Lockwood's seemingly detached and often bewildered perspective is instrumental in...
CharacterLiterary CriticismWuthering Heights
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5 Pages 2082 Words
It could suggest that the past is not ‘dead’, due to its emphasis and depth of portrayal, as well as its common reoccurrence throughout both texts. Ishiguro and Williams both use their first-person narratives to explore themes and central character depictions, by creating a retrospective, backward-looking tone, reflecting the strong emotional attachment characters have to their past. ‘Never Let Me...
DystopiaLiterary CriticismNever Let Me Go
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2 Pages 903 Words
Identity is a fickle thing it could lead you in a straight path through life or lead you to your death. Shakespeare creates doubt in both his play Hamlet and the character Hamlet in regard to identity through a form of self-referentiality. Shakespeare, the author himself, struggles with his identity that ultimately affects the identity of the play. Hamlet’s hamartia...
HamletHamlet MadnessLiterary Criticism
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1 Page 595 Words
There are different reasons to send and receive roses. Certainly, they are not only used to convey sympathy and love, but they are even more present in events of tragedy and sorrow. Moreover, A thorny rose needs a special way to deal with it. In William Faulkner's 'A Rose for Emily” the word “rose” rarely appears but an attempt to...
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3 Pages 1567 Words
A continuous theme in Dracula is marriage and the gaining of status following it, starting with letters between Mina and Lucy. Their correspondence takes the reader back to the novel’s starting moment, giving us another angle into the lives of these characters, then tangled together with the main Gothic storyline through the plot’s development (McCrea 254). But even before these...
DraculaLiterary CriticismNovel
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3 Pages 1138 Words
Victorian literature was dominated by female writers; the Brontë sisters. The three of them, Charlotte, Emily, and Agnes made a name for themselves with several novels of their own, debuting with many unique traits. Despite the others’ popularity, Wuthering Heights, Emily’s novel about a post-gothic heart-wrenching drama stood out the most. Because of its complicated composition, Emily Brontë succeeded in...
Literary CriticismNovelWuthering Heights
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2 Pages 696 Words
Lady Macbeth is cunning and manipulative. When first introduced to her in the play she is already plotting the murder of the king. Her ambition to be Queen and her power-hungry nature pushes her to manipulate her husband, Macbeth. Lady Macbeth calls her husband’s manhood into question, taunting his lack of courage when he begins having second thoughts on committing...
Literary CriticismMacbeth GuiltPerspective
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3 Pages 1236 Words
The American Dream has played a pivotal role in the aspirations of many Americans. Although the American Dream has been traditionally represented by the idealistic symbol of the “white picket fence”, the dream is perceived differently by different people. For many, this dream resides in the acquisition of money. However, for the characters in literary works such as A Raisin...
A Raisin in the SunCharacterLiterary Criticism
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1 Page 649 Words
A Hope in the Unseen is set in the city of Washington, D.C., in the 1990s, where Cedric Jennings works to elevate himself out of hardship as well as the pathway to attending Brown University. The book showcases Cedric’s accomplishments and failures along the way, centering on the strife that African Americans all over the world face when they strive...
CharacterHopeLiterary Criticism
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1 Page 491 Words
Introduction: In 'The Man behind the Myths: The Spiritual Autobiography of Abraham Lincoln,' author Stephen B. Oates provides readers with a comprehensive examination of the life and character of one of America's most revered figures, Abraham Lincoln. Oates delves beyond the popularized image of Lincoln and presents a nuanced and multi-dimensional portrait of the man behind the myths. In this...
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1 Page 516 Words
Satire is the use of humor, irony, or exaggeration to expose and criticize people’s immoral behavior, usually when it has to deal with politics or other controversial topics. It can also be described as any piece of writing or media that was designed to make the reader feel critical, whether it be of themselves, their peers, or their society. It...
Gulliver’s TravelsLiterary CriticismSatire
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4 Pages 1745 Words
Prometheus Unbound, a lyrical drama depicting the resistance of Prometheus against the supreme ruler of Jupiter, was published by Percy Bysshe Shelley in the early 1800s. This drama depicted the punishment Prometheus received on a mountaintop since he gave fire to humanity. Shelley published this story in 1820, which was during a period of great social upheaval in England due...
ForgivenessLiterary CriticismPerspective
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1 Page 561 Words
Another tool Geoffrey Chaucer includes in his fabliau tale centered around immorality is an engaging love story. The plot revolves around an unorthodox love triangle. Both men involved in this threesome attempt to win Alisoun’s hand by any means necessary, as discussed in the previous paragraph. This story about romance and courtship helps Chaucer in his purpose to uncover the...
CheatingLiterary CriticismThe Canterbury Tales
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1 Page 661 Words
Urban decay is the setting. Why is this important? Urban decay is very important as a setting in 1984, as it is another example of an unjust social system. The Inner Party doesn't care about the living conditions of the Outer Party and the Proles, it shows they don’t have their best interests at heart. If the people they govern...
1984Literary CriticismNovel
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1 Page 474 Words
“Is this a dagger I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible To feeling as to sight, or art thou but A dagger of the mind, a false creation, Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?” This is a reflection...
Literary CriticismMacbethWilliam Shakespeare
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1 Page 406 Words
In a harsh future, a firefighter whose obligation is to demolish all books starts to scrutinize his assignment. Fellow Montag is a fireman who lives in a desolate, confined society where books have been banned by the government who are in fear of a freethinking society. In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury uses weather to display character’s emotions and to foreshadow events...
Fahrenheit 451Literary CriticismRay Bradbury
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