Newest Literature Essays

Cannery Row by John Steinbeck is a novel that allows “the stories [to] crawl in by themselves” (Steinbeck 3). Set in Monterey, California during the Great Depression, this piece of fiction follows various characters, all of whom are different from...

Aphra Behn’s The Rover (1640-1689) set in Naples, Italy during the Restoration Period, loosely based on Thomas Killigrew’s Thomaso centres primarily on two couples – Wilmore, Hellena and Florinda, Belvile, similar to Shakespeare’s Much Ado about...

Virtue is behaviour showing a high moral standard. In both Henry IV and Astrophel & Stella, virtue (or honour) is acknowledged but self-interest is shown to consistently dominate, with characters using varying modes of dishonesty to achieve or...

Fairy tales like “Cinderella” have been passed down and reimagined through centuries, with each retelling distinctly redefining the character’s actions, motivations and traits. These stories often push a moral message that highlights the...

The immigrant narrative has been unpacked over multiple generations, yet they often remain stigmatised as "the other" - a threat. Maxine Beneba Clarke's "Foreign Soil" encapsulates a broad spectrum of these experiences, challenging the...

Amidst all the enchanted quests and ardent love affairs of Sir Thomas Malory’s seminal 15th-century romance Le Morte d’Arthur, it’s often easy to forget that the thrilling adventures of King Arthur and his famed Knights of the Round Table...

A phantasmagoria of implicit messages, morals, and meanings, William B. Yeats grapples with the chaotic Irish society of the 19th and 20th century in his works. At first, Yeats is full of optimism and affection partly due to meeting his first...

In his book, “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me” Sherman Alexie gives readers a different look of reading and writing as well as the value of education. While different individuals give different inspiring and meaningful stories...

In Raymond Carver’s “What We Talk About When We Talk As About Love”, Mel McGinnins, Teresa, Laura and Nick (the narrator) hold a discussion about love. They attempt to typify love, but, each one of them has a different understanding of what love...

Shirley Jackson’s “The Daemon Lover” is analogous to a dream that explores the narrator’s fundamental psychological issue: Fear of being abandoned by her lover and the aspiration to find a man to love her. The narrator’s apprehension is revealed...

Undoubtedly, religion is theme which permeates Brighton Rock, acting as backdrop for significant events which symbolise morality, or with regards to antagonistic Pinkie, the lack thereof. In the genre of crime, it is conventional that religion...

In his play Hamlet, there is no question that William Shakespeare crafts complex and distinct characters. However, because the story is a play, the reader is left to guess the reasoning for many of the character’s actions and the truth of what is...

Often, when we think of the word justice, legality comes to mind. Although justice is found in almost all laws, it is “exhausted in none” (Vecchio 176). I believe legality and justice are not necessarily synonymous for justice does not exist...

Intimacy is a topic widely discussed and desired. Many think of intimacy as a sort of spectrum, and most hope to experience something as close to the real thing as possible. In Giovanni’s Room, Baldwin says that intimacy is not a spectrum, but...

Ray Bradbury’s “The Will Come Soft Rains” is a science fiction that focuses on house that is purely ran by technology. Some of the automated activities that can be performed by the house include: waking the occupants; issuing alerts on meal times,...

To the average human, happiness lives as a personal goal. If we may not receive any of our desires in life, may we, at the least, possess happiness in the lives that we lead. St. Augustine, however, would argue the fruitlessness of this pursuit....

In Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes, Charlie’s experience as part of a psychological experiment demonstrates the importance of the freedom of choice. Charlie’s freedom of choice is neglected from the beginning, as he is not allowed to consent...

It’s hard to believe a book full of farting and penis jokes could have themes that are applicable to the modern world. The Clouds by Aristophanes though, has a mix of immature comedy, and rather serious commentary on generational differences....

Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home has the polished surface appearance of a charming comic about a young girl’s coming of age and struggles with self-identity. Bechdel’s strong personal voice emanates from the text with a captivating candor that renders ...

In Colson Whitehead’s Sag Harbor, Benji is an embodiment of a changing definition of blackness despite his father’s attempt to orient his son to a desirable blackness. Thus I contend that racial socialization for privileged black boys does not...

In Richard Selzer’s “Imelda”, Dr. Franciscus guarantees Imelda that he will repair her cleft the following day. Unfortunately, she succumbs to “Malignant hyperthermia” before he fixes her cleft. The aftermath of Imelda’s death gives Richard Selzer...

Prajwal Parajuly’s “The Cleft” discusses the theme of gender experiences in detail; the theme is intertwined with physical disability. Kaali’s adverse experiences stem from the cleft on her lips. Even though this short story seems like a casual...

Edith Wharton’s choice of the title The Age of Innocence for her novel is jam-packed with irony with regards to innocence and our understanding of it—naivety, harmlessness, and lack of guilt. The book depicts cases of irony related to innocence,...

In contemporary America, Emily Dickinson is considered among the most meritorious, preeminent, and superlative poets, particularly with regards to American sentimentalism and Romanticism as depicted by her rather compelling and fecund body of work...