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

85147 total results

An Evaluation of the Passages in the Book The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingstone (578 words, 2 pages)

Independent Reading Process ResponsesResponse 1To avenge my family, Id have to storm across China to take back our farm the Communists Id have to rage across the United States to take back the laundry in New York and the one in California. Nobody in history has conquered and united both ... Read More

Literary Contexts in The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston (1327 words, 3 pages)

Author and EraThe social and historical context, along with Kingstons childhood life and philosophies greatly influenced The Woman Warrior. As it is a memoir and is non-fiction, theses elements greatly influenced Kingstons childhood along with her parents lives, the subject of her memoir. Kingstons mother and father came to America ... Read More

An Examination of the Controversy Surrounding the Affordable Care Act (446 words, 2 pages)

This case deals specifically with specific language in the Affordable Care Act that may or may not provide grounds for federal premium subsidies for individuals purchasing insurance plans through Marketplaces set up not by the state directly but by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. These federally-facilitated marketplaces ... Read More

The Effects of the Racial Discrimination in the Short Story No Witchcraft for Sale by African American Author Doris Lessing (699 words, 3 pages)

The Love is Lost With the Innocence Racial Discrimination Effect on PeopleThroughout the short story No Witchcraft For Sale by Doris Lessing, Gideon, an African American, is perceived as a humble cook who loves his job, which is one of his masks he portrays. Gideon has a special bond with ... Read More

The Theme of Sacrifice in the Novel The Treasure of Lemon Brown by the American Author Walter Dean Myers (658 words, 1 pages)

The Treasure of Lemon Brown Theme EssayImagine giving up your chance to go to college in order to provide for your family. You take a job that pays minimum wage because no notable employer will hire you, on account of your lack of education. You are only doing this for ... Read More

The Materialistic Character of Daisy in the Novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (642 words, 2 pages)

Daisy, a very seemingly-materialistic woman, actually values individualism and independence although she hides these feelings for the sake of keeping her high-class state.Daisy, Nick Carraways cousin, is shown time and time again as someone who values materialistic things, such as Gatsbys silk shirts or just money in general, shown by ... Read More

Characterization of Happiness in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (353 words, 2 pages)

Make-up Fishbowl 1The definition of happiness, although explicitly stated in dictionaries, actually tends to vary from person to person. Everyone has their own distinct view of happiness and unique way of achieving it. For some, wealth translates to happiness while for others, family and friends will do the job. The ... Read More

A Summary and Analysis of a Part of the Book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (444 words, 1 pages)

F451 RR3SummaryIn this part of the story, Montag and Beatty get into an altercation because Beatty finds out that Montag has been storing and keeping books in his house. The one who pulled the alarm, however, were Mildred and her friends, which thoroughly surprised Montag but did not surprise Beatty ... Read More

The Reasons for the Acts of Murder in the Novel of Mice and Men by the American Novelist John Steinbeck (665 words, 2 pages)

It is a simple task to commit the act of murder it is ultimately impossible to justify it. In the novel of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck illustrates a beautifully tragic scene of a madmans murder. The serenity that accompanies the grave and outrageous actions of George is completely inexcusable ... Read More

The Events and Symbols from Blanche’s Past in A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams (816 words, 3 pages)

Final Essay A Streetcar Named DesireHave you ever had a time where life begins to decline and deteriorate, and there is no sign of turning back? Blanche Dubois is an intelligent, fragile, talkative, and genuinely annoying individual who descends into her insanity in a Streetcar Named Desire. Throughout the play, ... Read More

The Various Characteristics of Romanticism Found in the Novel the Scarlet Letter by the American Novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne (879 words, 4 pages)

The Scarlet Letter Characteristics of Romanticism. The line between emotions and rationality was vast in the early Romanticism and one of the biggest characteristics. In Nathaniel Hawthornes book The Scarlet Letter he uses emotion rather than rationality in his characters actions to make the book appeal more to the imagination ... Read More

An Analysis of the Actions of Chris McCandless in the Novel into the Wild by the American Author Jon Krakauer (675 words, 2 pages)

Not as Crazy As We ThinkChris McCandless Refusal to ConformNo man ever followed his genius till it misled him. Though the result were bodily weakness, yet perhaps no one can say that the consequences were to be regretted, for these were a life in conformity to higher principles. If the ... Read More

The 1930’s in Alabama in To Kill a Mockingbird, a Novel by Harper Lee (1630 words, 7 pages)

In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee, the author, draws upon influences in her life to weave a parallel storyline that pulls from many aspects of her experiences growing up. Harper Lee melds together fact and fiction is a well-immersed novel that resonates of many moral and ethical ... Read More

Paul’s Struggle in the Short Story Paul’s Case by Willa Cather (616 words, 2 pages)

The oppression of mediocrity in all its guises and the narrowness of Pauls surroundings in Pauls Case leads Paul to hurl himself away from Cordelia Street and reality. Cather implies the difficulty of achieving happiness for Paul, analogizing Pauls struggle to that of a train. Cather writes, The eastbound train ... Read More

An Analysis of the Scrutiny of the Public’s Judgement of Girls in Swimsuits in A&P by John Updike (516 words, 2 pages)

APSarcastically and dramatically, Updike contrasts the protagonists veneration of three women in swimsuits at an AP with the crowds fear of the womens deviation from accepted conduct for females. Although taken aback by near-nudity, Sammy scrutinizes the publics judgment of the girls. Dramatizing his descriptions of the three, he says ... Read More

An Analysis of the Character Quentin Compson in The Sound and the Fury, a Short Story by the American Author William Faulkner (1322 words, 5 pages)

Quentin Literary AnalysisQuentin senses the lofty shadow that his ancestors cast on him, recognizing the present as an even more pathetic version of the past . Faulkner uses shadows to open Quentins meditation of time as a critical and destructive agent in his life. From the onset of his day, ... Read More

The False Appearance of War in The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien (1061 words, 3 pages)

The Things They Carried by Tim OBrien is a Vietnam War novel that forces the reader to question the false appearance of reality. However, the war doesnt stop once the fighting is over, but just begins in that the mental battle starts to become apparent. Through the presentation and manipulation ... Read More

A Letter on the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as a Reading Requirement for High School Classrooms (2183 words, 7 pages)

A Unique Visit to the Beginning of Modern LiteratureAdventures of Huckleberry Finn as a Required ReadingDear Reader,Choosing just a single novel for a high school classroom to read out of the innumerable American works available to a teacher is a difficult task that boils down to answering a single question ... Read More

The Dangers of Being Consumed by Materialistic Wealth in Dreiser’s Sister Carrie (4426 words, 17 pages)

American society has always upheld the idea of achieving the American Dream as a sign of success in life and as an easy means to achieve happiness. However, does achieving success through materialistic wealth truly make humans happy? Are there unforeseen consequences as a result of being so focused on ... Read More

The Open Letter from William Lloyd Garrison to the Public (310 words, 1 pages)

William Lloyd Garrison To the PublicIn one open letter, William Lloyd Garrison easily proves the public that the abolition of slavery is necessary by confirming his opinion using both ethos and allusion, and he also illustrates his devotion towards the subject by applying metaphor in his words. The Audience can ... Read More

The Use of Shadows in The Sound and the Fury, a Novel by William Faulkner (1534 words, 6 pages)

Leading to his eventual suicide, Quentin senses the shadow cast on him by his regret and realizes that light and comfort only exists in his past.Faulkner uses shadows as a means of establishing constancy between Quentins past and present. In his encounter with the Italian girl that he calls sister, ... Read More

An Assessment of the Moral Level of Huck Finn in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (308 words, 1 pages)

Hucks Moral LevelKohlbergs six stages of morality are simply philosophy, and are without hard and fast walls that keep a one person only within one stage versus another. Huck Finn, while exhibiting the traits and thought processes of both high and low moral stages at different times throughout the novel, ... Read More

An Analysis of the Imagery of Fiddle Playing in Jesse Ball’s the Way through Doors (434 words, 2 pages)

In the passage from Jesse Balls The Way Through Doors, the implied author makes use of three visual images that symbolize the influence that fiddles can have on the minds of an audience. The author primarily utilizes images relating to nature, all of which create comparisons between natures ability to ... Read More

An Analysis of Lou Gehrig’s Optimistic Speech About How Wonderful Life Is (300 words, 2 pages)

Although he has been diagnosed with the tragic ALS, during his hopeful speech, Lou Gehrig continuously uses optimistically uplifting diction to celebrate the humanly wonderful life he was able to fulfill, instead of having his audience feel mournful because of his suffering. Ignoring the fact that he has fallen into ... Read More

The Influence of Race in To Kill a Mockingbird, a Novel by Harper Lee (1584 words, 5 pages)

To Kill a Mockingbird Research Paper Members of our society would like to think that the influence of raceas a prejudice is an issue of the past, but this idea only serves thepurpose of covering up our fallacies. Regardless of how modern and humanewe claim our culture to be, it ... Read More

Struggles in Life Help Us Develop More Sympathy in Life Proved True in the Novel Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom (940 words, 3 pages)

Tuesday's with Morrie Critical Lens Johann Wolfgang van Goethe once said "Life teaches us to be lessharsh with ourselves and with others." This quote is saying that theexperiences we face during our lives can lighten our hearts and help usdevelop more sympathy. Struggles and misfortunes let us appreciate the goodtimes ... Read More

A Rhetorical Analysis of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1143 words, 5 pages)

Wealth is Not ComfortThe Great Gatsby Rhetorical AnalysisTo the common American, affluence is the paramount sign of a persons success a wealthy man with a wealthy wife is successful, and a poor man is a failure. In order to challenge this prevailing ideal, F. Scott Fitzgerald builds The Great Gatsby ... Read More

The Criticism of Huckleberry Finn by Leo Marx (311 words, 1 pages)

Leo Marx, The Uncomfortable Ending of Huckleberry FinnSummaryLeo Marx responds to the arguments that critics Lionel Trilling and T.S. Eliot make regarding the somewhat banal and superficial ending of Mark Twains Huckleberry Finn in the article, The Problem of the Ending. He refutes their defense that the burlesque ending was ... Read More

Leo Marx’s Analysis of the Ending of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (872 words, 2 pages)

Leo Marxs Analysis of Huck Finns Ending The Way to Go.Since the Samuel Clemens first wrote his novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, critics, readers, teachers, and experts of the time have all wrangled with a single question What really happened in the ending of this novel, and why? Samuel Clemens ... Read More

Granting Freedom of the Scarlet A for Hester Prynne From The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (967 words, 4 pages)

Hester Prynnes RetrialAs a Contemporary Magistrate, I understand the complexity of moral systems developing through time, but I believe that the values outlined in the United States Constitution and assessed by the Supreme Court are of utmost importance in assessing a governments ability to pass certain laws and determine punishments ... Read More

American Literature Essay Examples