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

85147 total results

Spiritual Isolation in Bartleby by Herman Melville (717 words, 3 pages)

The spiritual isolation of BartlebyUsually, humans seek companionship from others. However, some do not for many reasons, and live in isolation as a result. In Bartleby, by Herman Melville, the title character frequently does not interact with others and prefers to remain disconnected from society. Oftentimes, Bartleby physically isolates himself ... Read More

A Clean Well Lighted Place by Ernest Hemingway (698 words, 3 pages)

Ernest Hemingways A Clean Well Lighted Place was published in 1933 in Scribners Magazine. This was not the first nor the last critically acclaimed short story Hemingway would write. This storys plot and characters are influenced by Hemingways life and existential crises that act as a window into the mind ... Read More

Military Individuals in A Red Badge of Courage (692 words, 3 pages)

The impact of the red badge on military individuals in A Red Badge of CourageThe red badge of courage is a symbol of glory that a soldier receives from war. It is physically represented by a wound from battle, like a bullet wound. This is why Henry wishes "that he ... Read More

The Many Relations of the Scottsboro Incident in the Harper Lee’s Classic “To Kill a Mockingbird” (506 words, 2 pages)

Author Harper Lee wrote the American classic To Kill a Mockingbird around the same time period as the Scottsboro incident. Ms. Lees novel relates in many ways to the Scottsboro Boys case that happened in Alabama 1931. In both cases, Scottsboro and To Kill a Mockingbirds racial and socioeconomic prejudice ... Read More

An Analysis of the Theme That “Money Cannot Buy Happiness” in the Play, The Great Gatsby (434 words, 1 pages)

The Great GatsbyOne of the greatest pieces of american literature of all time, The Great Gatsby presents several themes to its audience, the most prominent would be the theme that Money cannot buy one happiness. This theme is present throughout the entire novel, highlighted by several characters, including Nick and ... Read More

The Limited Intelligence of the Main Characters in the Short Story, Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut (1116 words, 3 pages)

Being equal to everybody else would be a tough thing for people to do, considering we always want to continue to get better and be better than everybody else. In the short story "Harrison Bergeron" written by Kurt Vonnegut the main characters freedom and ability to think for themselves is ... Read More

The Effects of an Assault in the Life of Melinda in the Book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (882 words, 3 pages)

Many of you have probably seen the Law and Order shows or C.S.I or even seen an assault and not thought deeply about it. You might not realize how much an assault can actually change somebodies live. In the book Speak, written by Laurie Halse Anderson, Melinda is under the ... Read More

The American Dream as an Illusion in the Novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (415 words, 2 pages)

The American Dream symbolizes a hope for success, it is an idea viewed by many who hope to reach it. In the novel The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald, the American Dream is portrayed to be just an illusion. It is revealed through the characters lives and actions. There are ... Read More

Masculinity and Machismo in the Novel Drown by Junot Diaz (1757 words, 6 pages)

Masculinity revolves amongst most societies, and has been passed down from generation to generation. In Latino culture gender roles have been set by society and have ultimately held men as superior to women. In the novel Drown by Junot Diaz, the author portrays in two of the stories Fiesta and ... Read More

The Struggle with New Found Freedom in the Play, Gem of the Ocean by August Wilson (595 words, 2 pages)

Since the inception of society as a unit the people of the world have been obsessed with the idea of a modernized promise land that somewhere in the world there was a place where freedom and equality were of the highest moral importance. For many, the United States was, and ... Read More

Willy Loman’s Pursuit of the American Dream in Arthur Miller’s Play, Death of a Salesman (477 words, 2 pages)

Willy Loman The Ill-fated DreamerWhat is the American Dream? According to animal activist Jill Robinson, The American Dream, the idea of the happy ending, is an avoidance of responsibility and commitment. In Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, this appears to be wholeheartedly correct, especially in the case of ... Read More

A Comparison of the Male Characters in the Short Story Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway and the Poem My Last Duchess by Robert Browning (652 words, 2 pages)

Hills like white elephants My last duchess In the story Hills like White elephants by Ernest Hemingway the male character has a lot of common things and differences with the male figure in the poem My Last Duchess by Robert Browning. Both stories are about loving couples that also have ... Read More

An Analysis of Ethan’s Predicament in Ethan Frame by Edith Wharton (1191 words, 5 pages)

The Progression of Ethans Predicament in Ethan FromeIn the novel, Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton, a man named Ethan Frome is faced with the misfortune of his mothers illness. Zeena, Fromes cousin, aids Fromes mother until his mothers death during the winter, which causes Frome to realize his solitude and ... Read More

The Influence of Doubt in Miracle by Judy Budnitz (1547 words, 4 pages)

Starting a family is a beautiful thing. Creating another life to care for on your own the same way your parents cared for you brings on a whole different level of love that is yet to be experienced. When a couple has a child and starts a family of their ... Read More

The Importance of Self Loyalty in the Novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (1085 words, 5 pages)

Self Loyalty in Adventures of Huckleberry FinnIn the novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, slavery is popular in the south in the 1830s. Huckleberry Finn, a thirteen year old white boy, is adopted by Miss Watson and Widow Douglas after his neglectful alcoholic father has disappeared. The women ... Read More

An Essay on the Novel, Broken April by Ismail Kadare (396 words, 2 pages)

Reflective Statement Broken AprilBroken April is a translated novel written by Ismail Kadare that compares the life of people in the Rrafsh and the people who live in the cities outside of it through the story of Gjorg and Diana. In the novel one of the concepts I found difficult ... Read More

An Essay on the Point of View of an Author Like Toni Morrison (997 words, 4 pages)

Writing about Point of View The Position or Stance of the Work's Narrator or SpeakerMany writers use certain motives in their stories to portray a major point or theme. When trying to doing this, authors go about it in many different ways. Some may be very blunt, coming right out ... Read More

Character Analysis of Rip Van Winkle in the Story Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving (632 words, 3 pages)

Within Washington Irving's "Rip Van Winkle" story, Rip Van Winkle isan irresponsible character Winkle consistently fails to take charge ofsituations. For instance, Winkle drinks wine that is offered by a strangeman. Moreover, unlike his neighbors, Winkle grows only potatoes and maizewithin his farm. In addition, Winkle spends all his days ... Read More

An Individual’s Need for Comfort in the Play, A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams (2834 words, 10 pages)

Comfort in Reconciliation with Societal Duties Most people possess an innate need for comfort, to feel secure and stable in their daily endeavors. A person can achieve this through a plethora of methods, including activities like establishing a routine or partaking only in events that they know will have a ... Read More

The Depiction of the American Dream in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Novel The Great Gatsby (1241 words, 5 pages)

In the novel, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nick Carraway is introduced to the upper socioeconomic class of 1920s New York. Carraway resides in the West Egg surrounded by others of new wealth. He observes the class discrepancy between those of the East Egg, who have been raised ... Read More

The Failures and Pointless Journey of the Knights in El Dorado by Edgar Allan Poe (962 words, 3 pages)

The Fall of the Knight in El DoradoEl Dorado by Edgar Allen Poe discusses the shift from optimism to despair in regards to a knights quest for El Dorado. In the opening stanza, the knight searches for El Dorado with extreme optimism, sure of his ability to find the city ... Read More

Denver’s Quest for Connection to the Past in the Novel, Beloved by Toni Morrison (1767 words, 5 pages)

Tony Morrisons Beloved deals with the hardships of slavery in post-Civil War America-but does this through the interactions of its characters and Beloved, a baby ghost come back to haunt the community and who, by representing the past, affects everyones lives. One of the characters that Beloved affects is Denver, ... Read More

An Analysis of the Story of a Young Boy’s Journey Along the Mississippi River in the Novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (661 words, 2 pages)

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn AnalysisWritten in 1884 by Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is about a young boy who attempts to make sense of the world as he makes his journey along the Mississippi River. Huck and Jim, the slave with whom he makes his travels, live ... Read More

An Analysis of the Secondary Characters and Their Roles in the Story “Red Badge of Courage” (416 words, 2 pages)

Importance of Secondary Characters in Red Badge of CourageThe characters are given these descriptive names because personal details about the characters, like physical descriptions, are unimportant. The characters are rather used mainly for the ideas they represent. This is shown by the colonel never directly confronting the army, but rather ... Read More

A Character Analysis of Holden Caulfield Through His Relationship With His Siblings in The Catcher in the Rye (932 words, 4 pages)

Holdens Character through His Relationships with His Siblings in The Catcher in the RyeIn the novel, The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, Holden Cauffield discloses his experiences after being expelled from Pencey Prep School, around the time of Christmas of the previous year. His ejection, in conjunction with ... Read More

The Coextending of Grapes of Wrath With a Bug’s Life (1494 words, 5 pages)

Synthesis of Grapes of Wrath with A Bugs LifeThe characters a reader experiences contain universal qualities these characteristics often appear outside of books. A great similarity exists between books and movies many link on numerous levels, including characters. The characters in The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, face a ... Read More

An Examination of the Unimaginative Personality of Old Man Warner in the Short Story The Lottery by Shirley Jackson (748 words, 4 pages)

Old Man Warner Illustrates Unimaginative Personality in The Lottery Within Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" story, Old Man Warnerdemonstrates his unimaginative personality in several ways. In other words,Warner believes that events should happen according to some rigidguidelines. To this end, Warner encourages fellow villagers to be quickwith regard to stoning Tess ... Read More

A Warning Against Engaging in Deceit by Washington Irving in the Short Story, The Devil and Tom Walker (682 words, 3 pages)

Washington Irving uses "The Devil and Tom Walker" story to cautionreaders against engaging in deceit. This is because each character whoengages in deceit suffers some sort of harm. For instance, after deceivinga certain speculator, Tom Walker is claimed by the devil and thus dies.Similarly, Walker's wife deceives the husband and ... Read More

An Analysis of the Short Story Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O’Connor (450 words, 1 pages)

Everything that Rises Must Converge ResponseEverything That Rises Must Converge is a short Southern Gothic story, authored by Flannery O Connor, centralising the moral decay which beset an American woman and her eccentric son, Julian in the style of the limited third person. An overpowering sense of imprisonment can be ... Read More

The Things Carried by IB Students (1315 words, 5 pages)

The Things IB Students CarryFirst my friend and fellow IB student Aaron carried text messages from a girl named Genie, an Honors Student at the same school. These text messages were often boring conversation about school and homework, but Aaron wished they could be more than that, so he always ... Read More

American Literature Essay Examples