American Literature Essays Examples For College & High School Students in PDF

85147 total results

The Importance of Reputation in The Crucible, a Play by Arthur Miller (314 words, 1 pages)

The CrucibleIn the play, The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, there are many possibilities for themes of this play, one that comes to mind while reading this book is the theme of reputation. Reputation is greatly worshipped in Salem, where standards are very important. The people of Salem are focused ... Read More

The Concept of War in The Things They Carried, a Novel by Tim O’Brien (1403 words, 4 pages)

What is War?Imagine being in a war, you dont know what is going to happen, and each moment might be your last. In the novel, The Things They Carried, by Tim OBrien, he explains what the war is truly like. The war follows many characters through their experiences in the ... Read More

Randle McMurphy as a Psychopath in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a Novel by Ken Kesey (997 words, 3 pages)

Randle Patrick McMurphy Psychopath?When most people envision a psychopath, they think of mental hospitals, and what they have seen in the movies, but it is much more than that. A psychopath is someone who is unstable and aggressive, they have an odd ambiance to them. In the novel One Flew ... Read More

An Analysis of Realism in American Literature (883 words, 3 pages)

Realism in American LiteratureThroughout the timeline of American literature, trends that mirror the issues and problems of the day appear in the work of popular authors. Each text has its own mold for how an idea, tangible or intangible, should be displayed in writing. The molds of the late nineteenth-century ... Read More

The Symbolism of the Character of Pearl in The Scarlet Letter, a Novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1241 words, 4 pages)

Nathaniel Hawthorne is famed for the way in which he paints an extremely vivid picture of his characters. Each character has an incredible number of layers that are exposed as the work unfolds. The Scarlet Letter, by far Hawthornes most well know work, is a flawless example of his character ... Read More

Tom Sawyer as a Representation of Walter Scott’s Romanticism and Tradition in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a Novel by Mark Twain (1447 words, 4 pages)

Two Extremes Tradition and Progression in Adventures of Huckleberry FinnThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a picaresque novel about a boy who travels down the Mississippi River with his Aunts escaped slave, Jim. Before he leaves on his journey, Huck encounters an old friend, Tom Sawyer. Tom forms a gang ... Read More

A Journey to Life Transformation in Young Goodman Brown, a Short Story by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1363 words, 4 pages)

Young Goodman Brown's TransformationGoodman Brown in the short story Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne goes on a journey into the woods to meet a stranger which ultimately changes his life. His blind faith in his religion makes him believe that all people are good. Goodman Brown is a trusting, ... Read More

The Roles of Women in the Feminist Era in Mushrooms, a Poem by Sylvia Plath (514 words, 1 pages)

With her poetry, Sylvia Plath explores the joys and sufferings of family, and the roles of women within them. In the poem Mushrooms, the tightly crafted stanzas of free verse mirror the quiet stealth of the growing mushrooms the feminist era. The meek submissiveness that 1950s housewives were meant to ... Read More

The Courage of the Minor Characters in To Kill a Mockingbird, a Novel by Harper Lee (985 words, 3 pages)

Bravery in the MinorityHarper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic coming of age novel about the very young protagonist, Scout, and her life in Alabama around the time of the 1930s. Throughout the course of this novel, Scout comes across many conflicts in her life, however these trials ... Read More

The Elements of Postmodernism in Slaughterhouse Five, a Novel by Kurt Vonnegut (404 words, 2 pages)

Slaughterhouse Five as a Postmodern WorkSlaughterhouse Five is a novel written by Kurt Vonnegut that could be considered to be a contemporary, or postmodern, work of literature. Vonneguts novel follows the postmodern structure of having district of grand theories and ideologies, especially those that are seem as the normal way ... Read More

The Story of the West in the Little House on the Prairie, a Novel Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder (2567 words, 9 pages)

Westward ExpansionDuring the mid-1800s, relocating to the west was a popular movement for American citizens. Many people migrated out west in hopes of a new, better life where they could cultivate their own land and live peacefully. Life on the frontier was trial and error, as there were many unexpected ... Read More

Character Analysis of Pecola Breedlove in The Bluest Eye, a Novel by Toni Morrison (3595 words, 11 pages)

Morrison's first novel, The Bluest Eye, looks at the appalling impacts of forcing white, working class American beliefs of excellence on the creating female character of a youthful African American young lady prior to the mid 1940s. Roused by a discussion Morrison once had with a grade school colleague who ... Read More

The Suffering of Billy Pilgrim from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Slaughterhouse Five, a Novel by Kurt Vonnegut (585 words, 2 pages)

Billy Pilgrims Post-Traumatic Stress DisorderIn Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Billy Pilgrim, the protagonist, is a veteran from World War II and a prisoner of war survivor from the firebombing of Dresden, Germany. Billy is said to have become unstuck in time, saying he can walk through a door one ... Read More

The Element of Racism in To Kill a Mockingbird, a Novel by Harper Lee (1110 words, 4 pages)

Racism in To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper LeeTo Kill A Mockingbird is marvelous and unforgettable novel. Not only show how dramatic, sad in and old town Maycomb be like, but through her unique writings, some big conflicts about politics and critical is going on through this tired old Southern ... Read More

A Short Review of The Road, a Book by Cormac McCarthy (1032 words, 3 pages)

The Road, a post-apocalyptic, survival skills fiction book written by Cormac McCarthy and published in 2006 is part of the Oprah Winfrey book club. During an interview with Oprah, McCarthy answered questions about The Road that he had never been asked before because pervious to the interview he had never ... Read More

The Depression of Holden Caulfield Caused by Loneliness in The Catcher in the Rye, a Novel by J.D. Salinger (901 words, 3 pages)

The Depression of Holden CaulfieldThere are many factors that can go into causing a person to be depressed, according to webmd.com, a few of those things are abuse, conflict, death or a loss, loneliness or major events such as moving. Holden Caulfield from J.D. salingers The Catcher and the Rye ... Read More

The Definitions of Safety by Chief and Murphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a Novel by Ken Kesey (539 words, 2 pages)

Finding Safety in One Flew Over the Cuckoos NestIn One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Ken Kesey shows the life of the narrator, Chief Bromden living in a mental institution. Very early on in the novel, a new patient is introduced into the mental ward, R. P. McMurphy, who contrasts ... Read More

Goodman’s Journey to Challenge His Faith in Himself in Young Goodman Brown, a Short Story by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1098 words, 4 pages)

Faith in Young Goodman BrownIn Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown," Hawthorne introduces Goodman Brown, who doubts himself and reiterates his false confidence to himself repeatedly. His struggle between the evil temptations, the devil, and the proper church abiding life, is a struggle he does not think he can handle. This ... Read More

Relatable and Emotional Symbolism in The Catcher in the Rye, a Novel by J.D. Salinger (852 words, 2 pages)

The Catcher in the RyeThe Catcher in the Rye is a novel by J.D. Salinger. It is narrated by Holden Caulfield, a cynical teenager who recently got expelled from his fourth school. Though Holden is the narrator and main character of the story, the focus of Salingers tale is not ... Read More

The Southern Gothic Elements in To Kill a Mockingbird, a Novel by Harper Lee (674 words, 2 pages)

Southern Gothic ThemeTo Kill A Mockingbird has many southern gothic elements throughout the book that develop the plot. Those elements are the foreboding of evil, ghosts and ghost houses, innocence, imprisonment, taboos, forbidden secrets, and violence. The southern gothic elements are shown through the characters, setting, and animals in the ... Read More

The Upbringing and Literary Works of F. Scott Fitzgerald (1346 words, 5 pages)

F. Scott FitzgeraldAs American authors became more present within the realm of literature, they changed everything and forged a distinctive path for the authors of today. Literary elements such as diction, voice, and structural organization were all transformed by the works of American authors. Though style and voice varied from ... Read More

The Relationship Between Personality and Troops in Baboons in Sapolsky’s Novel (2101 words, 5 pages)

Sapolsky 74And I thought how sad it was that, for all our sophisticated intellect, for all our noble aspirations, our aggressive behavior was not just similar in many ways to that of the chimpanzees it was even worse. Worse because human beings have the potential to rise above their baser ... Read More

The Use of Weather in My Antonia, a Novel by Willa Cather (441 words, 2 pages)

Weather in My ntioniaDuring the entirety of My ntonia, Willa Cather uses weather to reflect events and emotions. This is quite apparent to the reader throughout the novel, as it seems to be one of Cathers main literary techniques here. And though the weather can reflect all characters emotions, it ... Read More

A Short Analysis of Children of a Lesser God, a Play by Mark Medoff (1207 words, 4 pages)

An Analysis of Children Of A Lesser GodThe play, Children Of A Lesser God, written by Mark Medoff, was the winner Tony Award winner for Best Play in 1980, and also won the Laurence Olivier Award and the Drama Desk Award. In essence, the play is about a deaf girl ... Read More

The Concept of Female’s Limitation in Society in The Awakening, a Novel by Kate Chopin (2212 words, 7 pages)

The "unlawful mixing between sexes leads to the arrest of the violators and criminal charges" is just one example of how Saudi Arabias laws are protecting the women of the country (Eleven Things Women in Saudi Arabia Cannot Do 1). Throughout history, women have been viewed as inferior to their ... Read More

The Early Life of Christopher McCandless (802 words, 3 pages)

Everyone perceives Chris differently, whether that is an arrogant fool who went into the wilderness with no idea what he was doing, or if he was a hero who went on an odyssey to find himself amongst the wilderness. I believe the latter with the idea that Chris just wanted ... Read More

The Role of Flashbacks in My Antonia, a Novel by Willa Cather (608 words, 2 pages)

Flashbacks in My ntioniaIn the first half of My ntonia, by Willa Cather, the reader is introduced to James Jim Burden, who is shown as two different versions of himself one as his current, wiser, and older self, and the other as his younger self, taking place in a flashback. ... Read More

A Review of Musee Des Beaux Arts, a Poem by W. H. Auden (308 words, 1 pages)

Musee des Beaux Arts ResponseI find myself relating to Musee des Beaux Arts by W. H. Auden. His poem is talking mainly about how as humans, we shrug destruction that does not affect us off, as if it never even happened. He talks about how it is our nature to ... Read More

The Symbolism of Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire, a Play by Tennessee Williams (1684 words, 6 pages)

The symbolism of Blanche in A Streetcar Named DesireThe scripts written by Tennessee Williams have been known to be full of symbolism through the use of characters. Williams is purposeful as he names characters and as he composes his or her lines to make sure they match up with the ... Read More

The Pivotal Moments in Ralph Ellison’s Novel Invisible Man (578 words, 2 pages)

A Pivotal MomentMost of us tend to make decisions in our lives that can shape a significant portion of our futures, and there are many literary exemplars that showcase this effect on a character. A common trait of these works is the inclusion of a pivotal moment a moment where ... Read More

American Literature Essay Examples