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

85147 total results

The Unreliable Narration of Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby, a Novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1099 words, 4 pages)

The Great Gatsby Nick Carraway is UnreliableIn The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway is a narrator who tells the story of Jay Gatsby and his life, but can you really trust everything that he says? The Great Gatsby takes place during the Roaring Twenties, the decade of lavish parties, bootlegging and ... Read More

The Life of the Author Shirley Jackson and Her Influence on Dystopian Literature (1232 words, 5 pages)

Shirley Jackson and Her Influence on Dystopian Literature Shirley Jackson had a major impact on the world of dystopianliterature. Her writings were greatly revered and criticized. Although sheoffended many, she was a brave author who inspired other writers to followher footsteps to dystopia. Dystopia can be defined as a place ... Read More

An Argumentative Essay: Martin Luther King Jr. vs. Atticus Finch from Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (698 words, 2 pages)

Argumentative Essay MLK Jr. vs. Atticus Finch In To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus Finch fights a strong argument against racism. The author, Harper Lee, used many examples to persuade the overcoming of racism when the book was published (1960). At this time not many people were open to change their ... Read More

The Supproting Character of Boo Radley as a Hero in To Kill a Mockingbird, a Novel by Harper Lee (777 words, 3 pages)

Boo Radley the Hero Harper Lee creates a supporting character in her novel To Kill AMockingbird who is unique because the reader does not meet him until theend of the story. Throughout the book, we discover qualities about him bymeans of rumor, fact and observance. Boo Radley is a neighbor ... Read More

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller: Willy Loman as a Tragic Hero (847 words, 3 pages)

In Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller a major character, Willy Loman, struggles with finding the right aspirations, making him the novel's tragic hero. If he would have valued acknowledgment in his job over regard to his family, individuality over materialistic belief he would have been rich. Willy Loman ... Read More

An Analysis of the Writing Elements in the Works of Martin Luther King Jr (1597 words, 5 pages)

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was an activist for the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and was the elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, both of which were for the equal and fair treatment of African Americans. He promoted peaceful demonstrations aimed at ending segregation in America. ... Read More

Architecture as a Daydream in A Place of My Own, a Book by Michael Pollan (805 words, 3 pages)

A Place of My Own Book Essay Besides the dictionary definition, architecture can be very difficult to put into ones own terms. Some may speak it into more literal terms and synthesize architecture as the artistic way that buildings are constructed, or one could go on a more inspirational route ... Read More

An Analysis of Society’s Flaws in Partials, a Book by Dan Wells (579 words, 3 pages)

The End of the WorldThe Partials, by Dan Wells, truly shows the importance of many aspects in our society that are not flawed that could potentially have a significant detrimental effect on human kind. For instance, Wells explores everything from what a lack of art and variety, to lack of ... Read More

The Theme of Loneliness in A Streetcar Named Desire, a Play by Tennessee Williams (431 words, 2 pages)

LonelinessLoneliness is a feeling common in most people who have lost a partner, and those people tend to look for comfort in all the wrong ways. The loneliness within a person can take a negative toll on their life and overall wellbeing. In the book A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanches ... Read More

The Rebellion of Edna against Societal and Natural Structures in The Awakening, a Novel by Kate Chopin (482 words, 2 pages)

In Kate Chopins The Awakening, the main character, Edna upset many nineteenth century expectations for women and their supposed roles. This is the important social issue throughout the novel because of what gender roles looked like during this time period. Edna is fighting against the societal and natural structures of ... Read More

The Admirable Traits of Jim in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a Novel by Mark Twain (1015 words, 2 pages)

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Jim is more admirable than Huck. Jim is admirable for his truthfulness throughout the book, for being a father figure to Huck, and for giving up his freedom for Tom. Jim was always very truthful throughout his journey with Huck. Dah you goes, de ... Read More

The Effects of Personal Items on Soldiers in The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien (1086 words, 4 pages)

The Things They Carried is a touching story about soldiers and the items that they deem important enough to carry with them throughout the war. Tim OBrien explores the effects of how personal items give soldiers hope and security. The readers experience this sense of hope, and security when the ... Read More

The Sensation of Timelessness and Deja Vu in Once More to the Lake, an Essay by E. B. White (621 words, 2 pages)

In E.B Whites Once More to the Lake, he takes his son to the same lake his father took him. Once there, White starts having flashbacks of his time at the lake with his father. He starts wondering if he is his father or if he is past self in ... Read More

An Analysis of Extreme Egalitarianism in Harrison Bergeron a Short Story by Kurt Vonnegut (995 words, 4 pages)

Harrison Bergeron AnalysisIn the short story Harrison Bergeron, Kurt Vonnegut uses satire and irony to mock extreme egalitarianism by allowing Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General, to create the ideal society based on one person Hazel. In the eyes of Glampers, dull-witted Hazel Bergeron is perfection because she cannot formulate ... Read More

An Analysis of the Major Themes in Proof, a Play by David Auburn (3158 words, 10 pages)

The story of David Auburns play, Proof, has a countless number of lessons to teach about life. There are a few varying themes throughout the play, including, genius and madness, the power of heredity vs the power of free will as well as the belief in the proof versus belief ... Read More

The Theme of Racism and Prejudices in To Kill a Mockingbird, a Novel by Harper Lee (1343 words, 3 pages)

The novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee reveals the story of two siblings named Jem and Scout who grow up in the small, Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama. For widowed father Atticus Finch, raising his children in this racist and corrupt community makes it all the more difficult ... Read More

The Unnoticed Actions of Sammy in A & P, a Short Story by John Updike (769 words, 4 pages)

Paper 1 Character, Conflict, and Central IdeaA P by John Updike AnalysisIn the story AP by John Updike, Sammy begins as an observant, repressed, shallow, teenage boy, working as a cashier at a local store called AP. He notices three girls walk into the store in bathing suits and begins ... Read More

A Review of Who Speaks for Margaret Garner? a Book by Mark Reinhardt (968 words, 3 pages)

I was instantly interested in this book, Who Speaks for Margaret Garner by Mark Reinhardt, because of the story behind Margaret Garner. I find it hugely inspiring and fascinating that Margaret Garner killed one of her kids and eventually tried to kill all her kids so they wouldnt have to ... Read More

A Summary, Historical Accuracy, and a Personal Opinion of Going After Cacciato, a Novel by Tim O’Brien (1059 words, 2 pages)

Going After Cacciato is a non-fiction novel written by Tim OBrien. It is about a boy, named Cacciato, who goes AWOL towards Paris and his squad is determined to track him down and bring him back through the many challenging obstacles they face to get to him. The upward climb ... Read More

An Analysis of the Epistolary Style of Max Brooks’s Novel World War Z and the Benefits/Drawbacks of the Alternative Use of the Narrative Style in It (1551 words, 6 pages)

Analyze and critique the epistolary style of the Brooks novel. Is this effective for the subject genre? Or would the novel be better served if written in a narrative style like Harold and Maude? Argue for or against the epistolary style in Brooks book, using Higgins book as a critical-thinking ... Read More

A Study on Kurt Vonnegut’s Use of Death in His Novels and Short Stories (1912 words, 6 pages)

Kurt Vonneguts Views on DeathKurt Vonnegut was one of the most influential writers in American history. He was born on November 11th, 1922 and lived until 82 years of age before dying in 2007. Vonnegut has a large array of short stories in which he used to express his views ... Read More

The Use of Diction and Tone to Portray Madness in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, a Novel by Hunter S. Thompson (1999 words, 7 pages)

In Hunter S. Thomass work, (an excerpt from) Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, diction is used in a way to really complement the imagery that it portrays. Thompson also uses diction and tone to relate the many negative connotations within the text, and to express his overall point of ... Read More

The Purpose of Hope in Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination Through African American Literary Criticism (2174 words, 7 pages)

This paper will go in depth about African American literary criticism, what it is, and how we can apply it to the introduction of Robin D.G. Kelleys, Freedom Dreams The Black Radical Imagination as well as a short summary and interpretation of the text. Another work that we will discuss ... Read More

The Impossible Dream in The Great Gatsby, a Novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1088 words, 2 pages)

Has anyone ever truly achieved the American dream? Is the American dream achievable? In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald there is a strong longing to achieve the American dream. Fitzgerald moves through a series of ways to express how the American dream is in fact impossible. He uses ... Read More

Inequality as an Obstacle in Achieving the American Dream (1700 words, 7 pages)

Who can achieve the American Dream?The American Dream is to be wealthy, to work your way up from the bottom and own things such as a car, house, or a small business. Really though everyone has their own version of their American Dream. Everyone lives different lives and are exposed ... Read More

A Comparison between the Characters of Alan from Peter Shaffer’s Play Equus and Billy Bibbit from Ken Kesey’s Novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (763 words, 3 pages)

In Shaffers, Equus, Alan is a young boy of 17 who has deep troubling issues. Alan keeps all these feelings to himself he holds these secrets dear. In Keseys, One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, Billy Bibbit is a thirty one year old voluntary psychiatric patient, and he too, fights ... Read More

Willful Ignorance in M. Butterfly, a Play by David Henry Hwang (1795 words, 6 pages)

Ignorance is one of many traits that can lead an individual to theirdownfall. Being uneducated and unaware of the struggles and experiences ofothers can cause undue misunderstanding and hatred for those unlikeourselves. When falling into this type of mindset, we can easily findourselves referring back to stereotypes of people, instead ... Read More

The Push of Philosophy over Altruism in The Fountainhead, a Novel by Ayn Rand (1379 words, 5 pages)

A Balancing Act How Ayn Rand Pushes Her Philosophy Objectivism over AltruismIn Ayn Rands The Fountainhead, the author uses her protagonist, Howard Roark, to represent the ideal man. Roark is characterized as static, passionate about architecture, and indifferent towards others. If he displays benevolence, it is because it benefits him ... Read More

A Personal Review of The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez, a Book by Alan Lawrence Sitomer (734 words, 2 pages)

Alan Lawrence Sitomer the author of the book The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez lived in Loyola through high school and college even after college he became a professor there and won many awards such as educator of the year , classroom room excellence, and teacher of the year. He ... Read More

Breaking the Tradition in The Lottery, a Short Story by Shirley Jackson (426 words, 2 pages)

The title of this short story is called The Lottery. the lottery was written in 1948 by Shirley Jackson. I think the big idea of this story is that we look blindly following tradition and the consequences of that.In The Lottery the setting and plot of the story plays a ... Read More

American Literature Essay Examples