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

85147 total results

Being Happy as Our Highest Value in A Clean, Well-Lighted Place, a Short Story by Ernest Hemingway (717 words, 2 pages)

The traditional The American Dream consists of having a family, having a job, and making money. It is often thought that if one has these things, one will be happy. Many writers in the early 20th century questioned this ideal. In A Clean, Well-Lighted Place, Ernest Hemingway argues that our ... Read More

Doubt and Certainty in the First Sermon of Father Flynn in Doubt, a Play by John Patrick Shanley (1060 words, 4 pages)

Father Flynns first sermon in Doubt, a play by John Patrick Shanley that is about a priest who is accused of child molestation, foreshadows the main theme of the play- doubt and certainty. Doubt is so prevalent throughout the play, even the audience experiences the emotion. Sister James experiences the ... Read More

Familial Connections in Sonny’s Blues by James Baldwin (1104 words, 4 pages)

Familial connections are part of what makes us human. They can also be what makes us successful in life. In the short story Sonnys Blues, James Baldwin shows us the true importance of family through the lives of Sonny and his brother. Baldwin uses their dad and his brother as ... Read More

A Character Analysis of The American in Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway (860 words, 3 pages)

HIlls Like White Elephants AnalysisReaders often enjoy characters than they can relate to or look up to. For example, heroes and characters with good intentions are commonly found to be the readers favorites. However, characters who are insensitive or rude can also be memorable characters. In Ernest Hemingways short story, ... Read More

Amory Blaine’s Struggles in This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald (765 words, 3 pages)

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote This Side of Paradise in 1920. This novel is a combination of fictional, non-fictional and autobiographical events. The book is about a young boy named Amory Blaine who lives with his mother, he calls Beatrice. He was a rich boy that got everything he wanted in ... Read More

Is Jack London a Nature Faker for Writing The Call of the Wild? (627 words, 2 pages)

Jack London, a Nature Faker or not?Do you ever hear of nature fakers? Well, if not, a nature faker is an author that gives animals, from the wild, human characteristics and personifies them. In Jack Londons novel, The Call of the Wild, he writes about an extremely tough and confident ... Read More

The Use of Diction in the Story The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1421 words, 5 pages)

In the short story The Yellow Wallpaper written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Gilman uses many different techniques in order to cogently critique the gender roles of nineteenth-century America. One example of this would be her use of diction in the story, Gilman strategically uses language that displays the intensity of ... Read More

An Analysis of the Novel Forrest Gump by Winston Groom (794 words, 2 pages)

Forrest GumpForrest Gump is a novel written by Winston Groom 1986. Its a story about a man called Forrest Gump. Forrest is a stupid boy and his IQ is below average. He lives alone with his mom in Greenbow Alabama. He was born on June 6 and he was named ... Read More

Holden’s Desire to Stay Out of the Adult World for as Long as Possible in The Catcher in the Rye, a Novel by J.D. Salinger (860 words, 3 pages)

Between Two WorldsThe years between childhood and adulthood are a time for renewal and self-discovery, the time for us to shed our innocent eyes and enter the blurry and uncertain path that will take us into the world of adulthood. This transition period can be frightening and confusing, a journey ... Read More

The Realist Techniques of Mark Twain, Jack London, and Kate Chopin in Their Work (838 words, 4 pages)

Truths About HumanityRealism was a subject that dominated American literature from the late 19th century to the middle of the 20th. Realist writers wanted to portray real life without filtering it through personal feelings, romanticism, or idealism, in hopes of revealing a truth about the world. Writers such as these ... Read More

An Independent Reading Project of Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller (532 words, 3 pages)

Death of A Salesman Independent Reading Assignment EssayThe play that I chose to read for this independent reading project is Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. This play is a modern take on the themes portrayed by Sophocles in Oedipus Rex. The reason that Arthur Miller wrote this play ... Read More

The Characterization Through Andrea in the Short Story Janus by Ann Beattie (1112 words, 3 pages)

Our choices have always defined us. Janus was the two-faced Ancient Roman God recognized as the God of choices and doorways. The story Janus, written by Ann Beattie is named after him. It is about Andrea, a woman who has to deal with the consequences of making a choice which ... Read More

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Use of Dark Romanticism in The Scarlet Letter (865 words, 3 pages)

American RomanticismWhen one hears the words American Romanticism, they should think of a genre that personified the American public after the Great Awakening. American Romanticism moved away from political matters and focused more on the idea of valuing feelings and intuition over reason and that nature is the path to ... Read More

Holden’s Attempt to Preserve Innocence in The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger (860 words, 3 pages)

Between Two WorldsThe years between childhood and adulthood are a time for renewal and self-discovery, the time for us to shed our innocent eyes and enter the blurry and uncertain path that will take us into the world of adulthood. This transition period can be frightening and confusing, a journey ... Read More

The Vow of Silence in Speechless, a Book by Hannah Harrington (1978 words, 6 pages)

A picture can tell a thousand words, but a few words can change its story (Young, 1). Words can kill people, but they can also heal people. Words have the power to change the world, but sometimes the lack of words can be just as powerful. Sometimes all someone needs ... Read More

The Socio-Politic Importance of War and Death in the Works of Ernest Hemingway (620 words, 3 pages)

Death and Ernest Hemingway the socio-politic importance of war in the most important writer of the twentieth centuryErnest Hemingways year of birth marked his whole writing career. 1899. Being born in that year meant that Hemingway was fit to participate in both World Wars. By the end of the First ... Read More

An Introduction to the Character of John in The Yellow Wallpaper, a Short Story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (349 words, 2 pages)

Who is John?John is the husband and the doctor of the narrator, who is suffering from an illness called nervous depression, which is a slight hysterical tendency. One might think that John is the antagonist in the story The Yellow Wallpaper, but there are a few reasons why one would ... Read More

Comparing the Similarities and Differences with the Men in To Build a Fire by Jack London and Trap of Gold by Louis L’Amour (643 words, 1 pages)

Compare and ContrastTo Build a Fire and Trap of Gold, two stories which tell of two men who have the odds of nature stacked against them, from which only one man makes it out alive. Both men are very alike but at the same time very different. They have different ... Read More

The Unhappy Lives of the Women in the Play Trifles by Susan Glaspell (1558 words, 5 pages)

A Spirit Stripped AwayIn the play Trifles, Mrs. Wrights joy for singing was diminished by her husbands selfish personality her life before marriage completely forgotten and it slowly destroyed her. Mrs. Wrights actions were that of someone who had been shut down since her marriage started, not unlike Mrs. Mallard, ... Read More

The Symbol of Darkness in A Farewell to Arms, a Novel by Ernest Hemingway (811 words, 3 pages)

A Farewell to ArmsThere are many uses of symbolism in Ernest Hemingways A Farewell to Arms. Most of the symbolism is hidden so that the reader must fully comprehend the novel before realizing and understanding the symbolism. Could darkness be one of the symbolism uses in this novel? Could darkness ... Read More

An Analysis on Three Women Living in Different Times Facing Similar Circumstances In “The Hours”, a Novel by Michael Cunningham on 1998 (1453 words, 4 pages)

In Michael Cunninghams novel The Hours, written in 1998, Cunningham uses a third-person omniscient perspective to recount a day in the lives of three women living in different times but facing similar circumstances. He opens the novel in Richmond, England, 1941 with the well-known literary figure Virginia Woolf. She leaves ... Read More

The Writing Career and Success of Edgar Allan Poe (1654 words, 6 pages)

Edgar Allan PoeMany times, in the case of writing stories or poems, the author may write depending on their life. Authors often write things that relate to their life and experiences, or use a certain tone that theyve known or experienced throughout their life time, as a way to express ... Read More

A Review and Analysis of the Book Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson (884 words, 2 pages)

Snow Falling on CedarsCompelling... heart-stopping. Finely wrought, flawlessly written, says The New York Times Book Review about Snow Falling on Cedars. David Guterson captivates his audience by mixing suspense with romance and history in this award-winning 1 bestseller. The strongly developed characters and sincerity of this novel, told partially in ... Read More

The Elements of Film in To Kill a Mockingbird, a Movie by Robert Mulligan (925 words, 3 pages)

Elements of FilmTo Kill a Mockingbird is not only an award-winning novel, but was also made into a great movie. The movie, To Kill a Mockingbird, uses a great mixture of film elements, which creates many different feelings and thoughts throughout the movie. Using film elements in movies creates an ... Read More

The Debate of Social Acceptance Versus Personal Choice in the Short Story A&P by John Updike (1005 words, 3 pages)

Has anyone you know ever been forced into an issue where they had to chose whether to follow what they believe or what society thinks is right? In John Updike's short story "AP" he introduces a debate of social acceptance versus personal choices in which he puts the main character, ... Read More

Man Versus Nature in To Build a Fire, a Short Story by Jack London (652 words, 2 pages)

In To Build a Fire, the author is against nature, and thinks he can overcome it without any outside help. He is traveling with a dog that he isnt close to and doesnt own, through the snowy mountains. He doesnt have supplies and didnt expect to be out there long, ... Read More

The Father and Daughter Conflict in The Secret Life of Bees, a Book by Sue Monk Kidd (651 words, 1 pages)

Secret Life of Bees 1990 Prompt Conflict is a tool used in literature to help authors make theirstories relatable to the reader, whether it is in their own life, or whatthey know of the world. Conflict can be found between a person and afriend, an idea, an object, or even ... Read More

The Conscientious Battle of Huck in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a Novel by Mark Twain (932 words, 3 pages)

Huck FinnIn the American classic, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, author Mark Twain uses a playful approach to the budding friendship between a white southern boy and an escaped slave. However, underneath the mischievous adventures shown in many chapters, lay the moral dilemmas that make the novel one of the ... Read More

The Criticism in The Purloined Letter, a Short Story by Edgar Allan Poe (2747 words, 10 pages)

In the short mystery The Purloined Letter by Edgar Allan Poe, the character Dupin criticizes the Prefect in his difficulty in finding the so sought-after letter around which the tale revolves. He does this by astutely critiquing the characteristic flaws concerning the depth by which the Prefect analyzes certain situations ... Read More

The Transformation of Self in Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf and As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (2518 words, 8 pages)

I will come, said Peter, but he sat on for a moment. What is this terror? what is this ecstasy? he thought to himself. What is it that fills me with extraordinary excitement? It is Clarissa, he said. For there she was, explains Peter Walsh in the exploratory stream-of-consciousness novel ... Read More

American Literature Essay Examples