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

85147 total results

Feminism in the Literary Works of Kate Chopin (1619 words, 7 pages)

Kate Chopins FeminismFeminism is the belief in and fight for equal rights for women (feminism), a historical movement now separated into three waves. Kate Chopin lived during the first wave, which started at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 and continued throughout the suffrage and abolitionist movements (Rampton). Second-wave feminism ... Read More

The Influence of the Childhood of Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen King, and H. P. Lovecraft on Their Adult Lives and Works (1324 words, 5 pages)

It is common knowledge that our childhood can affect our adult lives in ways that one can never fully anticipate. We never know how the light of experience will be shaped in the mirrors of our perception. There are those, however, who have captured these mirages of the uncanny brain ... Read More

Judging Based on Physical Appearance in Unspeakable Conversations, an Essay by Harriet McBryde Johnson (1157 words, 4 pages)

Appearance Isnt EverythingOn any given day one person can encounter hundreds of other people just going about their daily lives. These other people we come across are no different than ourselves and yet as a society we tend to judge them based on how they look in turn, they are ... Read More

Pointing a Finger at Herd Mentality in the Salem Witch Trials in The Crucible, a Play by Arthur Miller (602 words, 2 pages)

The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. The trials resulted in the executions of twenty people, fourteen of them women. The Salem Witch Trials were horrible events in American history, and have ... Read More

Dexter’s Desires in Winter Dreams, a Short Story by F. Scott Fitzgerald (658 words, 2 pages)

In F. Scott Fitzgeralds story Winter Dreams, I found a quote from the narrator that emphasizes Dexters desires, including Judy JonesBut do not get the impression, because his winter dreams happened to be concerned at first with musings on the rich, that there was anything merely snobbish in the boy. ... Read More

The Consequences of Extremely Standing by Family and Family Traditions in The Cask of Amontillado, a Short Story by Edgar Allan Poe (993 words, 3 pages)

Family Values in the Cask of AmontilladoThe Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allen Poe is a story not only about revenge, but about family values. It is often said that one should stand by his or her family no matter what, for the reason that family will always be there. ... Read More

The Fight for Equality in Harrison Bergeron, a Short Story by Kurt Vonnegut (546 words, 2 pages)

Harrison Bergerons version of equality doesnt match up to what people are asking for. People fight to be treated the same, not to be the same. Harrison Bergeron is set in a world where everyone is equal after years of clamoring for it, everyone is the same. There is no ... Read More

A Personal Reflection on Looking for Alaska, a Young Adult Novel by John Green (701 words, 2 pages)

"Personal Reflection Why you liked this book and are you glad you read it"I read "Looking for Alaska" by John Green. The novel is a teen fiction book written in first person by the main character named Miles "Pudge" Halter. We follow Miles as he grows bored of his meek ... Read More

Elements of Power of Mind and Paranoia in The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe (2736 words, 10 pages)

Elements of Power of Mind and Paranoia in The Tell-Tale HeartThe short story The Tell-Tale Heart was written by Edgar Allan Poe in 1843 and follows the first-person narration about an insane, or mentally-ill, murderer. The concept of power in all of its forms is important to this particular story ... Read More

The Concept of Conformity and Non-Conformity in a Conforming World in Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Bartleby, the Scrivener by Herman Melville (1054 words, 4 pages)

Conforming to Non-conformityTo fully express ones individualism, one must intercept the social norms bestowed upon them and become free. However, is it quite necessary, or possible to do such a thing when, throughout life, it is taught to follow the social norms? An advocate of breaking this traditional thinking is ... Read More

An Analysis of Elaine Scarry’s View on the Nature of Beauty (551 words, 2 pages)

To Elaine Scarry, beauty is the living image of justice. Perhaps the most important connection between beauty and justice is one of representation the beautiful brings into existence, within the realm of the real as well as within the realm of the visible, what is fairly distributed and just. As ... Read More

Gentrification, Displacement, and the Loss of Culture and Authenticity in American Cities (2343 words, 8 pages)

Gentrification, Displacement, and the Loss of Culture and Authenticity in American CitiesCities have long been some of the most prevalent locations to find a wide array of diversity and cultures. Americas urban areas each have their own unique charm, and along with that, they have an assortment of locals that ... Read More

Conflict and the Theme of Evil in In Cold Blood, a Novel by Truman Capote (421 words, 2 pages)

Rhetorical Analysis Essay Throughout the novel In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, the author amessage about life and the characters. Without prior knowledge of aperson's background family life, childhood, relationships, and medicalinformation, one cannot make assumptions and conclusions about a person orcharacter. This is a statement that Capote made clear ... Read More

The Symbolism of Women Entrapment in The Yellow Wallpaper, a Short Story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (689 words, 2 pages)

BrokenDuring the time of the 1800s, women were not yet taken serious. They were viewed nonetheless to be under mens strict orders. Charlotte Perkins Gilman is an author who wrote a short story called The Yellow Wallpaper. This short story depicts a personal view being inferior in terms of speaking ... Read More

The Depression of Esther Greenwood From The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (3583 words, 11 pages)

Depression is a controlling factor in the lives of many, yet some are unable to escape from drowning. This is true for Esther Greenwood, the protagonist of Sylvia Plaths The Bell Jar. In the novel, Esther is characterized as a typical 1950s middle class girl who aspired to be a ... Read More

The Narrator’s Loss of Identity in A Separate Peace, a Novel by John Knowles (568 words, 2 pages)

Loss of Identity In the beginning of A Separate Peace the narrator Gene is introduced as an academic, rule-following boy. However, as the novel continues Gene starts to lose his identity and portrays acts of violence. Gene describes his experience at Devon as his own war, and much of this ... Read More

An Analysis the Final Chapter of The American Dream by Jim Cullen (434 words, 2 pages)

Interesting Points to Note in Dream of the Good Life ChapterWhen reading the final chapter of The American Dream by Jim Cullen, I found it very interesting to see all of the parallels between what California used to be viewed as versus how it is viewed now. Ever since the ... Read More

The Downfall of Bobby From The End of the Whole Mess by Stephen King (953 words, 3 pages)

The End of the Whole Mess AnalysisIn Stephen Kings short story, The End of the Whole Mess, Bobby, one of the main characters, brings about his own downfall, and that of mankind, due to his values and morals. Howie, the speaker, describes his brother as the kind of child that ... Read More

The Sentiment of Philip Johnson in the Right to End One’s Life (901 words, 4 pages)

Whose Decision Should It Be? Brittany Maynard was 29 years old when she was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. She decided to end her life with dignity, and have an assisted suicide instead of pushing through the hardships of her illness. There is a lot of controversy over whether people ... Read More

Willy Loman’s and Jay Gatsby’s Idea of the American Dream in Death of a Salesman and The Great Gatsby (2695 words, 9 pages)

How do you define a life wasted? Is it someone who does not achieve his or her goals? Someone that does not grow as a person? Someone that dies without a legacy? For me, I define a life wasted by someone that does not find true happiness in his or ... Read More

The Elements of Romanticism and Realism Used to Portray Huck’s Ethical Dilemmas and Conscience in Mark Twain’s Novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (2167 words, 7 pages)

The Heart of the MatterIn 1885, a man named Samuel Clemens better known by his pen name Mark Twain published his novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Cited by Ernest Hemingway as the work from which all American fiction comes from, (American Realism) Huckleberry Finn is widely considered to be ... Read More

All the Wrong Sides of the American Dream in the Novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (922 words, 4 pages)

The American Dream working hard to call something your own. It is a dream throughout America to go from having nothing to everything, and that is something that many can say they have done. Whether or not it is agreed upon, one common idea of the American Dream is working ... Read More

The Experience of Loss and Discovery Portrayed in the American Modernist Literature (2000 words, 7 pages)

Loss and DiscoveryAmerican modernism was born in a time rocked by the Great Depression and World War II. The social upheaval and despair that these travesties left in their wake fostered an equal obliteration of tradition in literature, which adopted the conviction that previously sustaining structures of human lifehad been ... Read More

From Depression to a Sense of Freedom in The Story of an Hour, a Short Story by Kate Chopin (1170 words, 4 pages)

Every human being has experienced loss of someone that was dear to them. Most of the time, the people affected, respond in sadness and have a difficult time accepting the loss. However, the main character in The Story of an Hour has a different perspective on the situation. Due to ... Read More

A Personal Opinion on the Style, Tone, and Imagery of Edgar Allan Poe’s Poetry (753 words, 3 pages)

Poetry Date PaperI first heard of Edgar Allen Poe through my father, he read poetry of his and he really liked a poem called Annabel Lee. When he first read it to me when I was younger I thought it was a cute little love poem and that was it, ... Read More

The Religious and Theological Beliefs of Philosophers in Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, a Book by Annie Dillard (606 words, 2 pages)

In Annie Dillards book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, she references a diverse group of sources which include Albert Einstein, the Karan, and many philosophers, both with secular and sacred beliefs. One which was particularly intriguing was a quote of Jacques Ellul, a French philosopher, law professor, sociologist, theologian, and Christian ... Read More

The Relation Between Coming of Age and Identity in To Kill a Mockingbird, a Novel by Harper Lee (1321 words, 5 pages)

The Link Between Coming of Age and IdentityEvery person in the world has a unique personality that defines their character. This, in short, is called one's identity it defines who an individual truly is and can be affected by numerous factors. Harper Lees novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, specifically shows ... Read More

The Criticisms of Cities People Travel to See in The City in Mind, a Book by James Howard Kunstler (2608 words, 9 pages)

The Atlanta Journal Constitution notes, Kunstler has given thousands of ordinary Americans a vocabulary for articulating what they love and loathe about their surroundings. This is prominent through out James Howard Kunstlers The City in Mind, where he takes a closer look at the cities people travel worldwide to see. ... Read More

The Confessionalist Themes in Daddy, a Poem by Sylvia Plath (1384 words, 6 pages)

Daddy by Sylvia PlathMany psychologists believe that ones personality is completely set for life by age seven, or in some cases even younger. Sylvia Plath was born on October 27, 1932, in Boston, Massachusetts to her mother Aurelia Schober and father Otto Plath. Schober was a masters student at Boston ... Read More

A Preservationist Viewpoint in A Sand Country Almanac, a Book by Aldo Leopold (1436 words, 3 pages)

My ViewpointEveryone in life is able to hold their own personal views of the world. The book "A Sand Country Almanac" by Aldo Leopold holds a strong preservationist viewpoint. Leopold advocates the protection of natural areas, historical sites, and endangered species. This view is different from a conservationists'. A conservationist ... Read More

American Literature Essay Examples