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

85147 total results

The Use of Symbolism to Show the Theme of Preservation of Innocence in To Kill a Mockingbird, a Novel by Harper Lee (1039 words, 4 pages)

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD SYMBOLISMThroughout the course of the novel, Harper Lee used the Mockingbird as a symbol to convey the theme of the novel which is preservation of innocence. The mockingbird symbolizes innocence because mockingbirds don't harm humans, but instead sing their hearts out for people to enjoy. The ... Read More

The Path to Redemption in The Scarlet Letter, a Novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1037 words, 3 pages)

Sinners SalvationPuritans ideology is based on the belief of everyone being born a sinner and will burn in hell if they commit an act of sin. Because of this, the society treats those who sin as already damned to hell, and acts such as adultery is often punishable by being ... Read More

A Comprehensive Analysis of the Road, a Novel by Cormac McCarthy (688 words, 2 pages)

Key Passage The RoadThe Road is a fundamentally agnostic novel, meaning that some characters seem to believe in God and others seriously doubt God's existence. The protagonist of the novel flips back and forth on whether he believes in God. Yet, McCarthy himself doesn't weigh in himself. For long stretches, ... Read More

American Voice Throughout the Time Periods (1126 words, 4 pages)

American Voice Throughout the Time PeriodsDavid Brin once said, Change is the principal feature of our age and literature should explore how people deal with it. Change is an unstoppable force and an essential asset to human advancement. Either human beings change or they get left behind. This is even ... Read More

The Seven Deadly Sins in The Crucible, a Play by Arthur Miller (511 words, 2 pages)

Seven Deadly Sins- The CrucibleThe Crucible written by Arthur Miller is set in a Puritan society in Salem, Massachusetts. During the time period of the play there is mass hysteria about witchcraft which is a sin in Puritan society, but the real sins being committed by many of the people ... Read More

The Life of Cholly in The Bluest Eye, a Novel by Toni Morrison (570 words, 2 pages)

Chollys early life in The Bluest Eye is told and a significant event that takes place during that time is when Cholly and Darlene have sex, but are caught by two white men. The passage that will be analyzed is the day after, when Cholly is reflecting on the situation ... Read More

Lack of Responsibility and Family Time in The Veldt by Ray Bradbury (1122 words, 4 pages)

The Psychological ViewMany psychologists will tell you that family neglect can lead to psychological problems within the children. Set in the future, two parents spoil their kids with mind-blowing technologies instead of spoiling them with their time. The lack of responsibility and family time is demonstrated in Ray Bradburys The ... Read More

A Summer Reading Project Report on The Giver, a Book by Lois Lowry (318 words, 1 pages)

The GiverThe book I chose to do for this summer reading project is The Giver by Lois Lowry. The protagonist of the story is an eleven year old boy named Jonas, who lives in a rigidly controlled society with no war or suffering in the future. The antagonist of the ... Read More

The Act of Self Defense in The Outsiders, a Novel by S.E. Hinton (1086 words, 2 pages)

Johnny's Act Self DefenseJohnny should not be charged with anything because of his history with the Socs and his reasonable actions that prove that he was acting in self defense. In The Outsiders, by S. E. Hinton, Bob and four other Socs ran into Johnny and Ponyboy at the water ... Read More

The Progression to Manhood in The Virginian, a Book by Owen Wister (561 words, 2 pages)

The VirginianThe Virginian was written in 1902, by Owen Wister, and has 293 pages. Set in the Wild West town of Medicine Bow, Wyoming full of good cowboys, bad cowboys, crooks, and card players. This story shows the later life of The Virginian, to whom no other name is given, ... Read More

A Review of Mother Tongue, a Short Story by Amy Tan (2552 words, 4 pages)

Mother Tongue Amy TanI am not a scholar of English or literature. I cannot give you much more than personal opinions on the English language and its variations in this country or others. I am a writer. And by that definition, I am someone who has always loved language. I ... Read More

Freedom in the Characters of Huck and Finn in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (1271 words, 4 pages)

Corrupted families, a flawed society, and conflicting opinions- this is just half of what Huck Finn faces throughout his journey with Jim in Mark Twains novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The readers follow the unlikely pair, and an imaginative boy, Tom Sawyer, as they face their battles. Through these characters ... Read More

The Consequences of Technology in Flowers for Algernon, a Short Story by Daniel Keyes (1893 words, 4 pages)

Too Good to be TrueThere is no such thing as a free lunch, an old adage says there are often hidden costs behind seemingly harmless offers. Bars in the late 1800s often advertised free lunch if a customer bought one of their drinks. However these complimentary items were often high ... Read More

The Feeling of Sympathy Provoked by Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (2453 words, 7 pages)

In both Frankenstein and The Scarlet Letter it is clear to see how sympathy would be created for the outsiders in each novel, the creature through its active rejection from everyone it faces in society as a result of its appearance. As for Hester she faces rejection from society as ... Read More

A Short Review of Bartleby the Scrivener, a Short Story by Herman Melville (2782 words, 10 pages)

As the titular character of Bartleby, the Scrivener, Bartlebys influence on literature is encapsulated within the cryptic terseness of his trademark phrase I would prefer not to. Bartlebys striking brevity in speech and in action has lead generations of readers down many different paths of interpretation. The confusion that is ... Read More

The Path to Using the Most Out of Life in Tuesdays with Morrie, a Novel by Mitch Albom (925 words, 4 pages)

Making Life Worth LivingIt may be hard to face it, but someday we will cease to exist. One day our lungs will stop breathing, and our hearts will refuse to beat. The sun in the sky will lose its shine, and the moon its glow. And although we are often ... Read More

The Issues Regarding Human Relation in The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor (1027 words, 4 pages)

The Real Deal with RelationshipsTo the women of Brewster Place, the dilapidated apartments that overlooked a terminating run-down street was no promised land. Compared to the rest of the city, Brewster Place was nothing but a dead-end street, where those who lived there either ended up there because of certain ... Read More

The Issues on Both Ends of the Social Spectrum During the Industrial Era in the United States in How the Other Half Lives and The Yellow Wallpaper (1939 words, 7 pages)

How the Other Half Lives and The Yellow Wallpaper impart valuable historical insight into the troubles that came to bear on both ends of the social spectrum within the era of industrialism. Along with the emergence of distinct class structures that were coded in this new and unregulated economic system, ... Read More

The Use of Symbolism in the Book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1142 words, 5 pages)

Use of Symbolism in The Great GatsbyWhen it comes to any novel, there is always a deeper meaning or message that can be found to reveal the authors purpose of creating that piece. Beyond the superficial understanding of a plot and setting, the reader can dive further into the novel ... Read More

The Altering Effects of Decision Making in the Past in A Sound of Thunder, a Short Story by Ray Bradbury (1319 words, 5 pages)

Making Decisions Lifes True GamblingPeople may not recognize it, but the greatest power that one can possess is the ability to make decisions. Some choices are made with diligent planning, while others are done in haste. And yet, no matter how careful or careless a choice is made, it nonetheless ... Read More

The Forms of Discrimination in the Book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1141 words, 4 pages)

Discrimination Intolerance Toward ToleranceDiscrimination, its very existence can be considered one of civilized societys ugliest and permanent scars. Like most other sins of its kind, rooting back to the potential moral corruption of the person, discrimination has no preference or boundary. Discrimination is a poison to humanity that comes in ... Read More

The Key Role of Puritanism in the Witch Trials in The Crucible, a Play by Arthur Miller (1050 words, 5 pages)

Looking back on the events taken place in Salem during the infamous witch trials, one may deem the accusations of witchcraft made by a group of adolescent girls to be quite outrageous. Yet contemporaries of the time believed in such a travesty as witchcraft. How did the malicious accusation made ... Read More

Reasons Why Lennie Had to Be Killed in the Novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (710 words, 3 pages)

Lennie had to be killed by Curly and George had no power to stop Curly from killing him. This is the first reason why George had to kill Lennie. Lennie had killed curlys wife by stroking her hair. During this time, Curlys wife was in pain as she screamed but ... Read More

An Analysis of the Impact of the Mississippi River by John M. Barry (586 words, 2 pages)

Rising Tide The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It ChangedAmerica is a book written by John M. Barry that describes the complexmechanics of the Mississippi River. Through personifications and variousappeals, Barry communicates his fascination with the Mississippi River. Barry expresses his profound fascination with the Mississippi River byusing ... Read More

The Literary Techniques Used to Create Dramatic Tension in A Streetcar Named Desire, a Play by Tennessee Williams (1522 words, 3 pages)

How does Tennessee Williams create dramatic tensions Throughout the Play A Streetcar Named Desire? Within the play a streetcar named desire by Tennessee Williams dramatic tension is created throughout in order to maintain the audiences attention. Tennessee Williams uses an array of literary techniques within dialogue to help maintain this ... Read More

The Independent Princess in The Paper Bag Princess, a Book by Robert Munsch (948 words, 3 pages)

Using illustrative elements such as perspective and composition, the illustrations aid in depicting the main idea of the books by featuring the princesses as independent women who do not need their prince to free them or save them. In the beginning of The Paper Bag Princess, Elizabeth is placed behind ... Read More

Class Identities and Mental Diseases in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Other Half Lives (1924 words, 4 pages)

How were the mental diseases of the late nineteenth century specifically class- related disorders? How does comparing The Yellow Wallpaper and How the Other Half Lives demonstrate the consolidation of particular class identities in this period?Within the realm of American history, there have been few agents that have cultivated as ... Read More

The Grandmother’s Journey and the Virtues and Qualities of a Person in A Good Man is Hard to Find, a Short Story by Flannery O’Connor (729 words, 3 pages)

OConnors moral sense coincides with the dramatic sense and endless fiction of this story in which grandmothers journey from serpentine to self-centeredness of Divine grace symbolizes Christians journey towards salvation. The OConnors story shows a sense of cynicism which is largely influenced by hypocrisy, divine grace and racism. A person ... Read More

A Selfish Path to Get More Power and Its Consequences to the People in Plague Riders, a Book by Gabriel Goodman (1562 words, 5 pages)

Power Versus PeopleSelfishness is not an option when it comes to life or death, and one person that chooses to be selfish can affect other peoples lives in a negative way. Plague Riders by Gabriel Goodman conveys the lesson that when people are in a tough situations the way they ... Read More

The Influences of Ralph Ellison in His Book Negro Oklahoma City (426 words, 2 pages)

In Ralph Ellisons piece Negro Oklahoma City, Ellisons profound interest in music, books and the world around him is expressed through his educated language.As one of the three most present influences on Ralph Ellisons work, music holds an important role in Ellisons life. Ellisons attitude toward music can be described ... Read More

American Literature Essay Examples