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

85147 total results

The Crime of Rape and Its Effects Portrayed in We Were the Mulvaneys, a Novel by Joyce Carol Oates (4310 words, 14 pages)

A young woman walks along the sidewalk of a mostly deserted street, pushing at the flapping, billowing length of her long dress in the breeze. The bank where she works closes late on Fridays, forcing her to make the trek back to her little apartment in the dim evening light. ... Read More

An Analysis of the Flat, Dynamic, and Static Nature of Characters in The Story of an Hour, a Short Story by Kate Chopin (1000 words, 4 pages)

Character analysis In this story, the story of an hour by Kate Chopin, we are introduced to one round and or dynamic character and a few flat and or static characters. I will exhibit traits from each character to show what type of character is depicted by either being round ... Read More

How a Desire for Wealth Leads to Immoral Actions in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1013 words, 3 pages)

F. Scott Fitzgeralds novel, The Great Gatsby, encompasses a multitude of characters that live in upper class Long Island- a city focused on status and wealth. Through the depiction of cultural dynamic, Fitzgerald illustrates how a strong desire for wealth will lead to immoral actions. Jay Gatsby, the title character ... Read More

The Birth Mark as a Challenge of the Views of Science in The Birth-Mark, a Short Story by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1033 words, 4 pages)

Many readers would have different understanding of Nathaniel Hawthornes The Birth-Mark because throughout the whole story, it is difficult to understand the sole meaning of the birthmark. Nathaniel Hawthorne used many figurative languages like metaphors, symbols and personifications to vividly describe to the readers about the birthmark. This story is ... Read More

A Personal Response of an Aspiring Writer to The Great Gatsby, a Novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1132 words, 3 pages)

The Great Gatsby Essay The novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald takes place in a time period filled with jazz, sex, and alcohol The Roaring Twenties. Written in first person point of view from Nick Carraway, the story recounts the events of a summer filled with parties hosted ... Read More

The Lives of the Higher Social Class in The Age of Innocence, a Novel by Edith Wharton (1377 words, 5 pages)

Not all fields are full of perfect grass some have weeds growing in different directions, and later spore, and create more of those malicious weeds. In the jejune book The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton takes place in New York, but it can also be renamed as old New ... Read More

The Life, Struggles, and Works of Joyce Carol Oates (3455 words, 12 pages)

Dragged, shoved, pushed. Countless arms and legs surrounded her, too many to discern which body they belonged to. Laughter and jeers rebounded through the air as she fought against the many limbs forcing her toward the boys outhouse. Struggling was useless. The black abyss of the outhouse doorway swallowed her ... Read More

A Critical Review of In Cold Blood, a Novel by Truman Capote (678 words, 2 pages)

Mental Instability, Bias, and What Makes a Murderer HumanEvery experience in your life has a psychological impact. Children who are exposed to neglect and abuse while growing up are more likely to develop anti-social behaviors. According to a National Institute of Justice study, abused and neglected children were 3.1 times ... Read More

The Meaning of Words in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a Novel by Mark Twain (1095 words, 4 pages)

Change a Word, Change the MeaningAlong with absorbing language though my childhood, I also obtained the idea that there were bad words. Words that, if spoken aloud, would grant you a one-way ticket to H-E-double-hockey-sticks. Having attended a private, Catholic school for the first 9 years of my education, I ... Read More

The Hidden Truths in Cat’s Cradle, a Novel by Kurt Vonnegut (2351 words, 8 pages)

Hidden Truths Cats Cradle What is offensive? Violence? Sex? Profanity? Such things might offend people if they were in violation of their most sacred moral or ethical beliefs. In Cats Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut effectively ridicules almost every institution that Americans hold sacred, but softens the blow through the strategic use ... Read More

An American Mythology in the Short Story Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving (505 words, 2 pages)

Creating an American Mythology Rip Van WinkleRip Van Winkle is a short story written by Washington Irving. The story was published in 1819. During the time this short story was written, Irving was living in Birmingham, England. Even though this story is based in New Yorks Catskill Mountains, Irving later ... Read More

The Different References of The Bible in the House of Leaves, a Novel by Mark Z. Danielewski (1451 words, 5 pages)

The Bible as in the House of LeavesThe novel, House of Leaves, creatively scribed by Mark Z. Danielewski, drives the reader into series of atypical yet fascinating narratives of an uncanniness of a house. Voiced by multiple narrators, the novel centers around the stories of Johnny Truant, footnoting and introducing ... Read More

The Trauma of War in The Things They Carried, a Book by Tim O’Brien (1594 words, 4 pages)

Tim OBrien, the author of The Things They Carried and a member of the Alpha Company, writes stories of occurring events during, and after the Vietnam War. He launches his book by illustrating a list of objects the soldiers brought to the war, including safety pins, candles, razor blades, and ... Read More

Santiago’s Heroism in The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway (908 words, 3 pages)

Santiago is the main character in The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. Santiago believes that a man can be destroyed but not defeated. I think that the term of heroism relates to his belief because in many stories the hero, usually a man, is completely destroyed in ... Read More

Fear and Success in the Plays Fences by August Wilson and Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller (679 words, 2 pages)

In order to succeed, your desire for success, should be greater, than your fear of failure -Bill Cosby.In the play ,Fences by August Wilson,Troy let fear consume him, instead of trying to push himself more toward his dream, he dragged his son Cory down with him,crushing his hopes and his ... Read More

True Friendship Between Huck and Jim in the Novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (764 words, 2 pages)

One of the most wonderful aspects about true friendships is trust and how two people can overcome the flaws in the other. Friendships are built on huge amounts of trust. One must be honest and overcome the truth. Friendships should never be based on race. Those sort of relationships are ... Read More

The Circus of Capitalism in Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (968 words, 3 pages)

The Circus of CapitalismSara Gruens Water for Elephants is a story of love, empathy, overcoming obstacles and surviving the great depression. One major theme of Water for Elephants is the capitalist greed of the powerful maintained by the sacrifices of the weak. In the book, Uncle Al and August whose ... Read More

The Protector of Children in Random Family, a Book by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc (1028 words, 3 pages)

A Miracle Among Chaos Milagros, the Child Protector The environment in which a person is born into plays a critical role in the type of life that a person will have. Among drugs, extreme poverty, teenage pregnancy, absentee fathers, neglectful parenting, malnutrition, uninformed sexual interaction and high rates of child ... Read More

The Different Ways to Handle Death in The Lovely Bones, a Novel by Alice Sebold (940 words, 2 pages)

Reading Response Journal Essay The Lovely Bones The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold is a haunting fictional tale that begins with the murder and rape of a girl named Susie Salmon. The story is narrated by Susie from where she is in Heaven. She watches the earth from above, seeing ... Read More

The Absence of Honesty in the Relationship of Daisy and Tom in The Great Gatsby, a Novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald (2031 words, 6 pages)

Honesty A Simple Word With A Complex MeaningHonesty. A seven letter word that is familiar to most everyone. Children from the time they can talk, are raised with morals that include not to lie and to always tell the truth. Society, however, has fallen into a pit where it is ... Read More

The Poor Choices of a Fearful Girl in The Crucible, a Play by Arthur Miller (1527 words, 5 pages)

Abigail Williams The Real VictimOn a typical, calm and peaceful night, a young girl laid by her parents, asleep. Suddenly, she jolted awake, only to see her parents brutally murdered. Abigail Williams, the antagonist of The Crucible by Arthur Miller, had gone through more in her childhood than most adults ... Read More

The Social Outcast in Light in August, a Novel by William Faulkner (1874 words, 6 pages)

Faulkners Idea on Social Outcasting in Light in August One of the key beliefs that were prominent in the South was the Agrarian Ideal, in which Americans could successfully thrive on small farms and escape the temptation of the city. Unlike todays society, women during that time period were looked ... Read More

The Consequences of Passion in The Scarlet Letter, a Novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne (435 words, 1 pages)

Passion has always existed within life, as a foothold to grasp and hold on to whether it resulting in good or bad. In the 1600s, in Boston, where Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter, takes place there was a story of powerful emotions causing rash events to take place, resulting in ... Read More

The Mental Illness of Montresor in The Cask of Amontillado, a Short Story by Edgar Allan Poe (958 words, 5 pages)

The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge. This is the line that opens up Edgar Allen Poes short story, The Cask of Amontillado. It shows the audience what the story is about, which is a conflict ... Read More

Abigail Williams as a Static and Powerful Character in The Crucible, a Play by Arthur Miller (641 words, 2 pages)

Abigail Williams is a Static, mean, and mighty Powerful for such a child. Which led Abigail Williams to accuse and get away with everything she did in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Abigail Williams is very static in the book. She tends to be the towns villain. Shes very powerful ... Read More

The Powerless Victim of Society in The Crucible, a Play by Arthur Miller (1005 words, 3 pages)

Evil requires the sanction of a victim. While reading the story The Crucible by Arthur Miller, Abigail Williams is one of the main characters, who is known as a troublemaker. She is accused of doing evil and also being an extreme instigator of the Salem witch trials. There really has ... Read More

The Dangers of Secrecy in The Scarlet Letter, a Novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1507 words, 6 pages)

The Harmful Outcomes of SecrecySecrecy can be a deadly act that ruins relationships and also the reputation of the people involved. Puritans in the 15th and 16th century were harsh and often had an obsession with controlling peoples personal virtue and lives. Ones punishment for committing a wrongdoing was intense ... Read More

The Desire for Freedom in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a Novel by Mark Twain (1251 words, 4 pages)

Societal Limitations and How They Play a Role in Characters Desire For FreedomAs early as 1607, when the first colonists ventured over to the New World, Americans have desired something more in their life, freedom. Freedom can come in many forms, however. For many people the eagerness for freedom consists ... Read More

The Weaknesses and Insecurities of Emily in A Rose for Emily, a Short Story by William Faulkner (1459 words, 5 pages)

Analysis of "A Rose for Emily" from a Feminist Point of ViewPsychology proves that how one acts and lives in their adult life can trace back to their childhood. This fact is visible all throughout William Faulkners short story "A Rose for Emily. The book opens up by explaining Emilys ... Read More

Salient Moments in The Poisonwood Bible, a Book by Barbara Kingsolver (711 words, 2 pages)

Salient Moments and the Perspective of the EndingA salient moment in a story can be defined as a significant or prominent moment in the storyline or a characters life. The book The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver begins with the main character Orleanna Price telling the reader that her story ... Read More

American Literature Essay Examples