Literary Criticism essays

1268 samples in this category

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2 Pages 953 Words
The Salem Witch Trials come to life on stage when paranoia, hysteria, and deceit grip this Puritan town. The play, The Crucible has overarching themes of truth, respect, and redemption. It is clear that truth matters less than reputation, while respect outweighs redemption. The Crucible frames truth, respect, and redemption respectively within three topics: to begin, God needs men on...
Literary CriticismLyingThe Crucible
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2 Pages 709 Words
Democracy gives one many rights, but when they are taken away; it creates a system where the only people prospering are the ones making the laws. Animal Farm is a symbolic novella by George Orwell. It is a story about the evolution of Communism in Russia, with each animal representing a different social class of that time period. Benjamin is...
Animal FarmCharacterLiterary Criticism
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2 Pages 1035 Words
If we were to combine strong leadership with strong workers, what could we achieve? It has been proven time and time again, that we as a human race have the capacity to stand up against times of crisis. Whether it be famine, hunger, or natural disasters, time and time again have we seen humanity stand firm together in times of...
Animal FarmCharacterLiterary Criticism
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2 Pages 846 Words
The quest to find one’s path and beliefs is a very convoluted journey. Whether or not one chooses to believe in something or not is solely up to them. In the novel, The Life of Pi believability is a key idea as the protagonist sixteen-year-old Pi Patel survives 227 days at sea on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. At...
CharacterLife of PiLiterary Criticism
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2 Pages 836 Words
Introduction Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" is a poignant exploration of the American Dream's promises and failures, carefully constructed through its complex characters. Among these characters, Charley stands out as a figure of pragmatism and stability, providing a stark contrast to the play's protagonist, Willy Loman. Charley represents a grounded approach to life, embodying the ideals of hard work...
CharacterDeath of a SalesmanLiterary Criticism
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2 Pages 877 Words
Introduction George Orwell's "Animal Farm" is a nuanced allegory that delves into the complexities of power, control, and social dynamics. Within this microcosm of society, Clover, a diligent and motherly cart horse, serves as a crucial character whose development reflects the broader themes of the novel. As a representation of the proletariat, Clover embodies the working class's endurance and vulnerability...
Animal FarmCharacterLiterary Criticism
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3 Pages 1257 Words
Recalled... “Things Fall Apart is a novel written by a Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. Published in 1958, its story chronicles pre-colonial life in the south-eastern part of Nigeria and the arrival of the Europeans during the late nineteenth century.” The novel serves as a mirror to me; I’m from West Africa, Liberia. I came to the United States as an...
Literary CriticismNovelThings Fall Apart
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1 Page 460 Words
In this last passage of the novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe declares that stories told from an outside perspective that neglects to delve into the culture are often incorrect. The actions and events within a culture can be easily misunderstood without full understanding. It is important to note how the last paragraph is written from the District Commissioners’ point...
Literary CriticismThings Fall Apart
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1 Page 542 Words
In this essay, I'm going to write about how Katniss’s role in her family affects her behavior in the games by giving examples from the novel The Hunger Games (2008), written by Suzanne Collins, and finishing the essay with a conclusion. The novel The Hunger Games (2007), written by Suzanne Collins has its main character Katniss Everdeen who is only...
Literary CriticismThe Hunger Games
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2 Pages 991 Words
Introduction Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, first performed in 1944, remains one of the most studied plays in American literature, renowned for its delicate balance between illusion and reality. The play is a "memory play," a term coined by Williams himself, where the past is reconstructed through the unreliable lens of memory, shaping the narrative's form and content. This essay...
Literary CriticismThe Glass Menagerie
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3 Pages 1470 Words
The idea of revenge as a means of catharsis in Shakespeare’s The Tempest is revealed in the prison setting of Hag-Seed through the characterization of the prisoners and Felix. Prospero’s magical performance on the island enables his discovery of an ethic of forgiveness and eventually the relinquishment of the control he has over others through renouncing his magical powers thus...
Literary CriticismRevengeThe Tempest
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1 Page 411 Words
‘Night Walker’ by Brent Staples is a personal narrative in which the theme is considered to be don’t assume who they are just on the appearance of a person. ‘Night Walker’ is about an African American man who has insomnia. To cope with this, he takes walks throughout the city he lives in to tire himself so that he can...
Literary CriticismLiterature Review
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2 Pages 1041 Words
In Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel 'The Scarlet Letter', Hester is the perfect example of one who experiences alienation alongside her daughter from the Puritans she lives around. She separates herself from them to work and take care of Pearl. Dealing with the guilt from her grave sin, Hester grows to learn how to cope with a judgmental society, where everyone around...
CharacterLiterary CriticismThe Scarlet Letter
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3 Pages 1257 Words
In the world of literature, Roger Chillingworth stands, somewhat unceremoniously, as a symbol of true evil. In ‘The Scarlet Letter’ he is the living embodiment of the Black Man, who is, in the Puritan faith, a representation of the devil. He shares similar physical features to the Black Man and even shares similar desires. In ‘The Scarlet Letter’, the Black...
CharacterLiterary CriticismThe Scarlet Letter
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2 Pages 1130 Words
Chinua Achebe published his first novel ‘Things Fall Apart’ in 1958. Achebe wrote his novel in response to European novels that depicted Africans as savages who needed to be enlightened by the Europeans. Achebe presents to the reader his people’s history with both strengths and imperfections by describing, for example, Igbo festivals, the worship of their gods and the practices...
Chinua AchebeLiterary CriticismThings Fall Apart
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1 Page 445 Words
Edgar Poe is famous for his Gothic style of poetry. One of his most popular poems is ‘The Raven’. It is impossible to read this poem without wondering whether the narrator is insane or not. Insanity is exhibited as the narrator of the poem imagines a raven entering his room in December at midnight. The narrator proceeds to lose his...
Edgar Allan PoeLiterary CriticismThe Raven
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1 Page 544 Words
To understand the theme of communication, two appropriate stories to use are Tobias Wolff’s short story ‘Bullet in the Brain’ and Flannery O’Connor’s ‘A Good Man is Hard to Find’. In Wolff’s short story, Anders communicates with a bank robber cynically and sarcastically until he gets shot in the head. During the robbery, Anders is continuously mocking the robber's choice...
1 Page 658 Words
The author intends to explain how the character rejects his mental state and appreciation of mortality. The character of ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ exhibits signs of mental issues through a series of events described by the author. In the short story, the narrator doubts his sanity from the beginning. He says, “…but why will you say that I am mad? The...
2 Pages 727 Words
Both 'America' by Allen Ginsburg and 'I Am Waiting' by Lawrence Ferlinghetti respond to their American mainstream societies through the use of anaphora, form, and allusions. To begin, both poems effectively use anaphoras found in their titles that greatly emphasize their sentiments and opinions towards the society they lived in. For example, Ginsberg uses the term 'America' at the beginning...
Literary CriticismPoetry
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1 Page 576 Words
Children need order and rules, and someone to enforce those rules. When no adults are present to enforce these rules, there has to be a leader. Who is the best leader? In ‘Lord of the Flies’ by William Golding, British schoolboys were going to Australia for safety because of the war. When their plane crashed and they were stranded on...
CharacterLiterary CriticismLord of The Flies
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3 Pages 1205 Words
It can be said that animals bring out the best in humans. Paul Muldoon when introducing us to his anthology ‘Faber Book of Beasts’ believes this, but also feels that poetry does, so it so no surprise that there are volumes of poems published where animals are used literally and metaphorically as an elaborate link between themselves and humans. In...
Literary CriticismPoetry
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2 Pages 1095 Words
The existence of paradoxical literature can be traced back to the birth of literature. However, there are works and instances in which paradox explodes and it is almost impossible to pass them. Virginia Woolf’s ‘The Death of the Moth’ is a paradoxical piece of such, and her analysis would obviously overflow the particulars of limits or descriptions of inventory. Based...
Literary CriticismVirginia Woolf
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3 Pages 1383 Words
In ‘The Death of the Moth’, Virginia Woolf creates three clarifications to the story, where it’s the world outside the window, the moth trapped between the window panes, and her observing everything as it’s happening. At the beginning of the story, she stated: “It was a pleasant morning, mid-September, mild, benignant, yet with a keener breath than that of summer...
Literary CriticismVirginia Woolf
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2 Pages 809 Words
All people are born evil. It is the environment and society that people grow up in that causes them to seem like they are virtuous and moral. However, in pressured situations, Golding claims that the natural evilness that is within people reveals itself. In his novel ‘Lord of the Flies’, William Golding paints the setting as an unknown island in...
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1 Page 562 Words
In the novel ‘Lord of the Flies’, Golding uses many symbols that foreshadow the boys, mirror them, and give a deeper meaning to the story. The conch is one of many in the story that has its own meaning and importance in the story as it is a symbol of order and hierarchy amongst the group and boys. Later, this...
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1 Page 591 Words
“Maybe there is a beast… maybe it’s only us” (Golding, 89). In the novel ‘Lord of the Flies’ by William Golding, a group of schoolboys fights to the death to escape their fear of themselves. Golding uses the scene where Simon is murdered to show how fear can dehumanize a man. Throughout the novel fear becomes a much bigger idea...
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2 Pages 773 Words
William Golding encompasses an abundance of symbolism in his book ​‘Lord of the Flies’.​ From the island to each and every kid, all are symbolic representations of Golding’s notion of the true nature of mankind. Mankind, depicted in an allegorical novel of a couple of boys from England between the ages of six and twelve who have crash landed on...
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1 Page 418 Words
In William Golding’s novel ‘Lord of the Flies’, Ralph is described as a leader, companion, and a civilized person, who runs on a democracy. That is why all the people from the island chose Ralph as their leader. Ralph also helps run the island. If the people had a different leader, I think that everyone's viewpoint would change. Ralph crafted...
CharacterLiterary CriticismLord of The Flies
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2 Pages 783 Words
Rather than respecting people for whom they are based on personality, society chooses to judge people based solely on looks. Given all they have been through as a group, why do the boys in ‘Lord of the Flies’ see Piggy as a nuisance? Piggy’s physical appearance leads him to be the subject of many jokes, and even after offering advice...
CharacterLiterary CriticismLord of The Flies
like 432
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