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

85147 total results

An Analysis of the Character Corruption in the Novel In the Memory of the Forest by Charles T. Powers (986 words, 3 pages)

Modern politics is all about gaining more power and influence. In Charles T. Powerss novel, In the Memory of the Forest, Jablonski, the local Communist Party devotee, obsesses over controlling the politics of Jadowia, a small town in Poland. Although Jadowia has very few inhabitants, Jablonski prides in being the ... Read More

An Analysis of the Roles of Art and Science in A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Helprin (898 words, 3 pages)

Science and Art Two Halves of a WholeYou cant understand science without art or art without science. Only the idiots in the two disciplines think that they are anything but two different expressions of the same thing (650).People often consider art and science two completely different and separate fields. However, ... Read More

The Evasion of Guilt in Charles T. Powers’s In the Memory of the Forest (1237 words, 4 pages)

It is human nature to simply forget or push away memories that are unpleasant. In Charles T. Powerss In the Memory of the Forest, which takes place in Poland after World War II, the inhabitants of a small town, Jadowia, try to forget the Jews who used to occupy the ... Read More

An Analysis of the Gene’s Transition in A Separate Peace by John Knowles (1110 words, 4 pages)

It is human nature to be competitive and strive to be the best. This concept is demonstrated in John Knowless A Separate Peace. Like most other people, Gene Forrester wants to be superior in the fields that he is good at. However, sometimes, Genes competitiveness drives him to impulsive actions ... Read More

An Analysis of the Use of Hypocrisy in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Novel The Scarlet Letter (1024 words, 4 pages)

Society Breeds HypocrisyThe author of the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a fervent anti-transcendentalist who opposes the nave ideology of the transcendentalists in which they believe that people are always pure and good. Hypocrisy is a dominant theme throughout the novel, Scarlet Letter, as almost all of the main characters ... Read More

The Role of Ultima in the Life of Tony in Bless Me, Ultima, a Novel by Rudolfo Anaya (1053 words, 3 pages)

A Chinese proverb says, "A child's life is like a piece of paper onwhich every person leaves a mark." A child's views and thoughts aredictated by the society and affected by other people. As each childmatures and grows up, he or she each needs a teacher who can guide him ... Read More

An Analysis of the Issue of Morality in Tim O’Brien’s Novel The Things They Carried (1995 words, 8 pages)

Morality in the Midst of WarIn a warzone, soldiers will inevitably experience death, and will even lose a few of the fellow solders that they have built up camaraderie with. When individuals lose someone they were close to, they are often left wondering why that person had to die, and ... Read More

A Comparison of Using Inner Conflict in Literary Works by Sylvia Plath and Abioseh Nicol (1250 words, 4 pages)

Authors often use literary craft to convey their ideas to the audience. In the short story Initiation by Sylvia plath, the protagonist Millicent is debating whether she should join an exclusive sorority or sustain her independence. Her inner conflict eventually causes her to come of age because she realized that ... Read More

An Analysis of The Symbol of Freedom in Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn (388 words, 1 pages)

In the story Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, the river is a symbol offreedom. Huck goes on the river to get free from becoming civilized and toget away from his father and Jim uses the river to escape slavery. Theking and the duke use it to escape from angry towns. ... Read More

An Analysis of the Black Characters in the Novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (503 words, 2 pages)

The black characters of To Kill a Mockingbird are the main target of prejudice in the novel, and although a portion learns to have that racism shown to them, other with differing backgrounds do not.. A number of black characters in the novel exhibit conflicting views towards whites, which stems ... Read More

An Analysis of the Character Georgiana in The Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne (814 words, 3 pages)

Throughout many literary works, the author usually integrates a central symbol or motif to convey a larger message that plays a major role in the plot. Sometimes, a symbol can be minor where, although it does represent an abstract idea as well, its presence doesnt affect the plot on a ... Read More

An Analysis of the Use of Metaphor in Abigail Adams’ Letter of Mother to Son (593 words, 1 pages)

Abigail Adams writes to her son in order to reinforce his determination. She uses metaphor to assert that he must stay open and educated at all times in order to become successful. She also uses hypothetical question in order to assert that he must persevere through hardship, as hardship is ... Read More

An Analysis of Pride in Death of Salesman by Arthur Miller (570 words, 2 pages)

The Tragedy of Death of a SalesmanArthur Miller, in the tragedy Death of a Salesman, uses a choleric tone to demonstrate how blind pride leads to a life of pain. Willy is trapped in his own illusions of being a successful man. Because of this, he will not accept reality ... Read More

Why Edwidge Danticat’s Book The Farming of Bones Is the Best One I Have Ever Read (653 words, 3 pages)

I have read many books since my childhood but The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat certainly inspired me. Edwidge wrote this book as a historical fiction in 1998. The story widely focuses on Amabelle Desir, a Haitian girl who is also the main character. As much as the whole ... Read More

The Dangers of Fatalism Shown in Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five (1779 words, 6 pages)

Fatalism the acceptance of all things and events as inevitable submission to fate. This ideology can be very comforting to some, with its assurance that one is never to blame for any misfortune. But, this seemingly harmless philosophys ideas have severe ramifications, which makes fatalism perilous when applied to reality ... Read More

A Descriptive Analysis of the Ray Bradbury’s Story Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed (737 words, 2 pages)

The story Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed by Ray Bradbury is an intricate weaving of excitement, poetic writing, and imagination.The plot is centered around Harry Bittering, man from Earth who has traveled to Mars with his wife, Cora, and kids, Dan, Laura, and David. Harry is unsettled the minute he ... Read More

The Loyalty of Toby Towards Miss Emily in A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner (312 words, 1 pages)

Faulkner utilizes irony to help construct the theme that people cant be defined by stereotypes. In A Rose For Emily, the character Toby is a testament to how people cant be held to stereotypes. Throughout the story, Toby demonstrates his loyalty for Miss Emily in many ways, such as staying ... Read More

An Overview of the Narrator’s Prejudices in the Short Story Cathedral by Raymond Carver (1039 words, 3 pages)

Throughout the course of our lives, we are forced to interact with all kinds of people. Oftentimes, we make our initial judgments of another person through our first impressions. However, our initial judgments can be deceiving until we begin to talk to the new person and learn more about them. ... Read More

How the Genre of Short Stories Has Changed Over Time in America in the Article “The English Journal” (362 words, 1 pages)

Fagin, N. Bryllion. Sherwood Anderson The Liberator of Our Short Story. The English Journal Vol. 16, No. 4 (1927) 271-279. Print. JSTOR. Web. 18 Feb. 2015.This article was published in The English Journal, a journal of ideas with submissions from English teachers and professors. I could not find anything about ... Read More

An Analysis of the Flaws of Social Rigidity in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter (1015 words, 5 pages)

The Flaws of Social RigidityAdultery A crime that, in modern times, is unfortunately all too common. Yet, its status as a crime has been declining in recent years. In a USA Today article, it is stated that, A 1997 poll showed that 35 of Americans believe adultery should be a ... Read More

Huck and Jim’s Journey Down the Mississippi River in the Novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (419 words, 2 pages)

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Huck Finn is thepoor son of an alcoholic father in St. Petersburg, Mississippi. Huck andJim, a slave, meet after escaping to an island and embark on a journey downthe Mississippi River. During this journey Huck changes from a juvenileprankster to a ... Read More

An Analysis of the Destruction in Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut (947 words, 3 pages)

Kurt Vonnegut has been an exemplary author with most of his works gaining international acclaim from literature pundits. He has been excellent at fictional material which he mostly derives from life experiences of war. His great craftsmanship has gifted him the ability to put his ideas to paper and he ... Read More

The Courage in the Novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1746 words, 4 pages)

The book To Kill a Mockingbird contains many interesting subjects and topics, but the one I want to focus on in my first essay...was courage.One of the first situations in which the subject of bravery comes to the forefront is in Chapter 10 . We learn that, unlike other fathers ... Read More

The Evil Character of Cathy in the Novel, East of Eden by John Steinbeck (1226 words, 3 pages)

Choice of Evil Evil an adjective used to describe profound immorality, wickedness, and depravity. In John Steinbecks novel East of Eden, no character is as emotionally manipulative and promiscuous as Cathy. When first introduced to the reader, Steinbeck equates Cathy to a monster who uses her devious skills to cause ... Read More

The Metaphor of Sight in Cold Mountain, a Novel by Charles Frazier (1421 words, 6 pages)

Sight and Blindness in Cold MountainIn the novel Cold Mountain, the author Charles Frazier uses allusions to sight and blindness multiple times in the novel to make the story interesting. He uses different examples, such as self-analysis by characters, imagery, and metaphorical blindness to expand meaning in the novel.While Inman ... Read More

A Summary of Combat High by Sebastian Junger (480 words, 2 pages)

Combat High Summary ResponseCombat High by Sebastian Junger, begins in the middle of a fire fight in the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan, between the US military and the enemy faction after finding US soldiers in the riverbed on the east side of the valley. The enemy fighters are at a ... Read More

An Evaluation of the Unhero-Like Journeys of Huckleberry Finn (361 words, 2 pages)

Many, but not all, facets of Huckleberry Finn's journey in the novel fit steps of the archetypal "hero's journey." For instance, Huck leaves the Ordinary World, the town of Hannibal, when his father takes Huck into his custody. His father acts as the Call to Adventure because this act leads ... Read More

Arthur Miller’s Portrayal of the Fear Caused by the McCarthy Trials and Its Uselessness in The Crucible (485 words, 2 pages)

What Was Miller's Point in Writing The Crucible?Through his play The Crucible, Arthur Miller aims to show audiences the fear invoked by the McCarthy trials, the trials' futility, and how easily authority figures can influence the minds of average people. By directly comparing the communist hunt of the 1950's to ... Read More

A Style Analysis of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (500 words, 2 pages)

The Scarlet Letter Style AnalysisHawthorne tends to use more commas than grammatical rules deem necessary, as shown in, for example, sentences eight and twelve. The horde of commas reflect the hesitance of the story's protagonist, Hester Prynne. For much of The Scarlet Letter, Hester, though still somewhat enamored with Reverend ... Read More

A Revelation of True Identities in to Kill a Mockingbird, a Novel by Harper Lee (872 words, 3 pages)

In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Mrs. Dubose, Calpurnia and Dill have other identities which are revealed later. To Scout and Jem, Mrs. Dubose is a mean old lady, Calpurnia is their strict housekeeper, and Dill is their friend with a dad that loves him. As the children ... Read More

American Literature Essay Examples