Newest Literature Essays

Racism is the main plot theme in the novel ‘Noughts and Crosses’ by Malorie Blackman, through her story of lovers of opposite skin colours in a universe where racism and racial superiority is displayed to the reader through the setting of an...

In the late 1920s, before Nazi occupation, Germany was “crippled” (History.Com Editors) by debt, mainly caused by World War 1 and the Treaty of Versaille; however, the Wall Street Stock Market Crash in 1929 only helped to weaken the already...

The year is 2029. The world has seen no new mutants in 25 years; the few mutants who remain live in hiding, fearful of being found out by a world who doesn’t see outsiders in a positive light. Among those in hiding are 90-year-old Charles Xavier...

Are eyes windows to the soul? In Silas Marner, George Eliot describes the changes in Silas’ eyes in order to metaphorize the changes in Silas’ soul. In the beginning of the novel, Silas’ eyes are nearsighted, symbolizing his narrow view of life....

Poets have long argued over what constitutes real and decent poetry, but how well do these poets exemplify their arguments in their own work? In William Wordsworth’s 1802 “Preface to Lyrical Ballads,” the English Romantic poet outlines two major...

The English novel is a mode that is highly sympathetic to the inequalities of sex. At its inception, it was considered a very feminine form, unworthy of serious academic consideration. The novel had to struggle to establish itself as a legitimate...

Aside from the truly remarkable and breathtaking technical achievement, what is most remarkable about They Shall Not Grow Old is how it told the story of WWI through the voices of those who fought in it, something that is so rarely done (and...

In Dan Gilroy’s Nightcrawler (2014), Jake Gyllenhaal plays a man named Lou Bloom. Lou is an eccentric but driven man who stumbles upon the world of late night T.V. Specifically, he becomes a nightcrawler – someone who tapes breaking news stories...

The nature of the environment around us is governed by the sciences. Chemical reactions can be represented by equations, specific bonds form between certain molecules, and organisms act based upon biological processes. In a world where people can...

In Shakespeare’s play King Lear, King Lear tells his daughter Cordelia that, “Nothing will come of nothing”(Shakespeare 1.1.99). This idea of nothingness plays a major role in Shakespeare’s King Lear and As You Like It. King Lear is a tragedy that...

‘Audiences are not only entertained; they are made to engage with the social concerns explored in the play.’

Two significant plays, ‘The Removalists’ by David Williamson and ‘Norm and Ahmed’ by Alex Buzo, portray the social concerns of past but...

There are many inevitable aspects of life that society attempts to suppress: heartache, loss, hatred.According to James Baldwin, it is an artist’s job to confront and “to correct the delusions to which we fall prey in our attempts to avoid this...

An ego-centered person will always make their decisions based off what will conserve their reputation. Creon, an ego-centered ruler, feels that he must obey the laws set in place by the Gods and does not try to be open minded for his family....

Family ties are an extremely common topic of emphasis in young adult novels, particularly those that focus on immigrant or minority narrators. Mother-daughter relationships are clearly dominant issues in both Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club and Maxine...

In an effort to shed light on the horrid realities surrounding industrialization and capitalism in America during the 1800s, Rebecca Harding Davis wrote a brilliantly realistic prose that captured the tragically enlightening story of a Welsh...

Although previously reprimanded by Henry for her overactive imagination, Catherine’s initial judgment of the General having the “air and attitude of a Montoni” proves to be true when she is ejected from Northanger Abbey. Montoni is the villain of...

Clint Eastwood, the director of the film ‘Gran Torino’, plays and stars as Walt Kowalski, a Korean War veteran and retired autoworker living in a changing society in the 1990’s neighbourhoods of Detroit. This film, informed by a graphic...

When we think of Native Americans, we think of the fictionalized version we were taught as children: those who were met by the pioneers of the Mayflower, the founders of Thanksgiving, the hippy-dippy spiritualists. These ideas, much like the rest...

Todd Phillips's film ‘Joker’ and Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver both follow isolated, mentally ill protagonists, Arthur and Travis, as they explore the significant shift in the protagonist’s identity provoked by a callous society. However, Arthur a...

Sherwood Anderson sets up the premise of Winesburg, Ohio, a novel of interlocking vignettes about citizens of an archetypal small American town, with a short literary sketch about an old, male writer. This sketch’s omniscient narrator describes a...

At its surface, Rian Johnson’s Knives Out (2019) is a simple movie about the murder – and subsequent investigation – of Harlan Thrombey, the elusive 85 year old writer responsible for some of the world’s best and best-selling mystery novels. While...

In attempting to maneuver the changing modern world, early 20th century poets struggled to reconcile ‘old’ world views with the new normal. In a letter to his brothers, English Romantic poet Keats mediated this pervasive sense of inner conflict by...

Most have heard motivational speakers, teachers, or grandmothers proclaim: “Dream big!”, “Shoot for the stars!”. In a small town like Endora, Iowa, “You believe it. You can achieve it!” is matched with an adversarial, “It’s easier said than done.”...