Newest Literature Essays

Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" explores the difficulties of moral progressiveness due to character's inherent desires to fulfil the ludicrous demands of contemporary society which are rooted in traditional values. The unattainable...

“The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” Formulated by James Truslow Adams, this is the first official definition...

In the Anglo-Saxon poetic tradition, the feast is the epitome of order in society. Feast scenes such as those scene in heroic poems like Beowulf give leaders the opportunity to solidify their retainers’ bonds through generosity and gift-giving,...

The accentuation of a period in history where intuition and intimation were used to condemn individuals is reflected in Sidney Lumet's 12 Angry Men, which stands in stark counterpoint to these injustices, typified by the oppressive power of...

Time is the scarcest resource and it affects society and people by causing extremely major changes either positive or negative; time is as well indefinite and continuous. In “A Streetcar Named Desire”, the readers face and observe the considerable...

Poets Robinson Jeffers and Robert Frost were early modernist poets who had strong feelings towards nature and believed people should act accordingly to keep it safe. The poems "Carmel Point" and "Shine, Perishing Republic" by Jeffers show his...

The film, Maybe I’ll Come Home in the Spring, illustrates a clear distinction between two different generations through the lens of a suburban family's life. The movie starts with Denise and her journey back home to her parents after abruptly...

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a profound and emotionally challenging movie that attacks various nuances within the high school educational and social setting. While it is specific to one individual, Charlie, and his navigation of this new and...

Lack of familial support is the primary reasoning behind low self-esteem and insufficient development in children. In Catherine Hernandez’s Scarborough, poverty is the root cause of neglect. In the novel, Sylvie displays the obstructive impact of...

In a society today that idealizes perfection, many find themselves forming a façade to hide their flawed reality. In “Dressing Up for the Carnival” by Carol Shields, a disguised truth prevails, showing that those who are posed with domestic issues...

In When the Emperor Was Divine, Julie Otsuka takes us through the journey of a Japanese-American family that is displaced to internment camps along with many other families because of the war. The novel is told through the different perspectives...

Immigrants often face social alienation and exclusion from the society they are trying to enter, causing them to feel powerless. In Michael Ondaatje’s In the Skin of a Lion, it is shown that the hardships of entering a new cultural space cause an...

Viktor Frankl, a neurologist, psychologist and Holocaust survivor once quoted, “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” This suggests that sometimes a person might find himself in a dangerous...

When viewed unironically, “The Revenger’s Tragedy” may appear to be a misogynistic play. However, upon viewing it through a satirical lens, it seems unlikely that the playwright shares the motifs and ideas that the story seemingly promotes....

Given that Shakespeare’s primary motivation for writing Richard III was less fueled by a desire to accurately depict the objective truth regarding the title character’s short-lived tenure as England’s monarch, than it was by the intention of...

Hunter S. Thompson’s novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream is his magnum opus and in it, that is exactly what he does, which is to endure a “savage journey to the heart of the American dream”....

‘Gattaca’ (1997) directed by Andrew Niccol, follows the life of Vincent Freeman. Vincent was born with mutations in his DNA, therefore illegally purchases the DNA of genetically superior Jerome Morrow, to fulfill his career aspiration of space...

We emotionally respond to a text as it has been intentionally set up to manipulate the audience into behaving and thinking in a particular manner. The Help is a historical fiction film set during the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement and outlines...

Universal among all human groups, from co-workers to entire nations, is a particular way of behaving. As we socialize and engage with one another, we develop characteristic methods of thinking, feeling, acting, and judging. This is what we know as...

Identity is a force that has the potential to both unite and alienate groups and individuals. While belonging to a group can enrich one’s value of their own identity and foster meaningful connections, it also creates barriers that minimize...

The Epic of Gilgamesh took place in ancient Mesopotamia, during a time where people were transitioning from a nomadic lifestyle to one where people were settled. Although this was a huge leap in the development of civilizations, women’s roles in...

My Fair Lady, the 1964 musical film written by Alan Jay Lerner and directed by George Cukor, is a somewhat effective adaptation of the 1913 play Pygmalion written by George Bernard Shaw. Although slight changes in the characterization of central...

Both Amy Tan and Willa Cather, in the books The Joy Luck Club and My Antonia, convey the challenges foreign immigrants undergo when attempting to assimilate to the new language and culture of America and the disconnect that forms as a result while...

“The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.” Such is the dogma that underlies the social and economic theories laid out by German philosopher Karl Marx in his political pamphlet, The Communist Manifesto. In...