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

85147 total results

A Comparison of Attitudes of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois (3556 words, 11 pages)

When your entire race is controlled through unjust treatment,prejudice, and a regrettable history, how do you overcome this obstacle? Doyou fight? Talk it out? Is it possible to rise above and beyond the lowstandard that is facing you? And will you lend a helping hand to those whowant to rise ... Read More

The Importance of Stories by Terry Tempest (490 words, 1 pages)

Honestly, I have never really heard of Terry Tempest, but Im glad that I went to her convocation. From the beginning, I enjoyed it. She said it is easier to come and go, but like she did with the convocation, I stayed. It was interesting to hear her family line. ... Read More

Richard Wright’s Unique Art for Writing and Communicating His Opinions to Others (397 words, 2 pages)

Being a good Communicator and Principlist means being able to express yourself fully and take full responsibility of your actions. These two traits work together and rely on one another. For this years Black History Month essay, Richard Wright should be remembered for his work which helped change race relations ... Read More

Antonio’s Loss of Innocence in the Book Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya (574 words, 2 pages)

Is innocence forever?In Rudolfo Anayas Bless Me Ultima Antonios loss of innocence is being revealed through the loss of pureness and imagination in his dreams. Antonio is a rather serious boy compared to others of the same age. He is very unsure of whether to become a priest like his ... Read More

The Struggle of a Young Black Male in the Book Black Boy by Richard Wright (1154 words, 4 pages)

Today many people struggle to reach self-actualization because they have not met many of their lower needs. Self-actualization is the desire or motivation to achieve ambitions and become everything that one is capable of being reaching ones full potential. The book Black Boy by Richard Wright is about the struggle ... Read More

An Analysis of Problems in Paul’s Case by Willa Cather (1326 words, 5 pages)

More Money, More ProblemsAn Analysis on Pauls Case by Willa CatherWilla Cathers Pauls Case uses the tragic story of a young boy named Paul to send the reader a message in a unique way. A troubled teenager in Pittsburgh, Paul hates his life. The only two things he truly loves ... Read More

A Comparison of The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen (1195 words, 4 pages)

Comparative Analysis Research EssayCharlotte Perkins Gilmans The Yellow Wallpaper and Henrik Ibsens A Dolls House are two forms of literary art that depict the struggle of oppression and misogyny experienced by women in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Although the first is a short story and the latter ... Read More

Arranged Marriages in the Book A Bride in Renaissance Florence by Alessandra Macinghi (301 words, 1 pages)

Perspective is a persons point of view. It is important to the study of history because a persons interpretation of the facts and or situation can sway the tide of events. Selecting a Bride in Renaissance Florence was written by Alessandra Macinghi Degli Strozzi in 1464-1465. Marriages were often brought ... Read More

The Negative Consequences of Making Serious Changes at a Young Age in the Book Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates (455 words, 2 pages)

ConsequencesIn Where Are You Going, Where have you been, by Joyce Carol Oates the message of coming of age is revealed by displaying the negative consequences of making serious changes and decisions at a young age that completely alter your life leaving you alone in darkness.A fifteen year old girl ... Read More

The Use of Animal Motif in the Book Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya (362 words, 2 pages)

CryIn Rudolfo Anayas Bless Me, Ultima the animal motif is used to symbolize the altruistic and nefarious qualities of human beings. The obstacle in Antonio's life was mainly his religion choice. He didn't have much of a choice because his parents had but one dream for him, for him to ... Read More

The Reality of the American Dream in the Modern Period in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Claude McKay’s The Tropics in New York (1040 words, 3 pages)

Before and AfterModernism released us from the constraints of everything that had gone before with a euphoric sense of freedom. -Arthur Erickson. Modernism reflects a loss of faith in traditional values and beliefs which also include the American Dream. The American Dream, by definition the ideal that every US citizen ... Read More

The Depiction of Slavery in the Book Beloved by Toni Morrison (1481 words, 5 pages)

The Consuming PastIn Beloved by Toni Morrison, the past, specifically slavery, is depicted as a destructive force that people are forced to deal with in order to move on. This is illustrated by the interactions that the characters have with Beloved who is seen as both the physical representation of ... Read More

The Use of Tralfamadorian Perspective on the Predetermination of Life in Slaughterhouse-Five, a Novel by Kurt Vonnegut (860 words, 3 pages)

We concluded that Vonneguts overall message in the book is that one cant always control things in life because they are already predetermined (fate vs. free will), and that even in horrific situations life continues to go on. We came to this conclusion by understanding Vonneguts techniques in his writing ... Read More

Richard’s Way of Life in the North in the Book Black Boy by Richard Wright (596 words, 2 pages)

Everyone struggles to make ends meet in their lives. Everyone has a dream to be more than what they are. Those dreams arent always realistic. But, in Richard Wrights Black Boy, Richard finds a way to follow his dreams of becoming a successful writer. As he moves North he finds ... Read More

Realities in We Can Remember It For You Wholesale by Philip K. Dick (727 words, 3 pages)

Shifting Realities!An analysis on We Can Remember It for You WholesaleThe short story We Can Remember It for You Wholesale, written by Philip K. Dick, introduces Douglas Quail, an ordinary clerk with an unusual longing to go to Mars, in a way that makes this story unique. In the story, ... Read More

The Tradition of the Lottery in Shirley Jackson’s Story The Lottery (363 words, 1 pages)

Tradition Can KillIn the story, The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, the tradition of the lottery has a desensitizing effect on the villagers. This tradition involves picking a name from a black box and whoevers name comes out is stoned for better crops although nobody actually knows where or how this ... Read More

The Life of Antonio in the Book Bless me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya (422 words, 2 pages)

What I wantIn Rudolfo Anayas Bless Me Ultima as Antonio grows up his gain of independence is revealed by the actions that happen in the dreams. Antonio has witnessed and is force to deal with many deaths. In addition, throughout his life he has been unsure on what to become ... Read More

The Theme of Coping with Loss in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, a Novel by Jonathan Safran Foer (677 words, 2 pages)

Coping with LossIn Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Johnathon Safran Foer expresses the theme of coping with loss. Even though it seems difficult to cope with loss at first, it will eventually become something to cope with. Oskar, and his grandmother are both examples of how people cope with their ... Read More

Making a Difference to Someone Who Needs Help in Ghost Boy (1590 words, 5 pages)

Ghost BoyGhost Boy was a very fascinating read for me. Before reading it, I had only heard about Martin in passing. I didnt really focus on it since I was paying attention to other things at the time. It was just someone mentioning this kid who was awake in a ... Read More

The Conflicts Through Story Elements as Portrayed in the Novel “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” (1072 words, 5 pages)

The Perks of Being a Wallflower Novel and Film Portraying The Conflict Through Story ElementsA picture is worth a thousand words but there has always been a danger to adopting a novel to the screen the director often doesnt know what to cut out, or even whether or not the ... Read More

An Examination of Reverend Dimmesdale’s Guilt in the Novel, A Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (636 words, 2 pages)

Guilt in A Scarlet Letter They mostly do, said the clergyman, griping hard at his breast, as if afflicted with an importunate throb of pain. Many, many a poor soul hath given its confidence to me, not only on the death-bed, but while strong in life, and fair in reputation. ... Read More

An Analysis of the Selflessness of Lennie Snopes in William Faulkner’s Short Story Barn Burning (684 words, 4 pages)

Within William Faulkner' s "Barn Burning" story, Lennie Snopes comesout as a selfless character Lennie sacrifices her comfort for the benefitof her compatriots. To this end, Lennie allows her daughters to relax asshe cooks the family meals. Further, even before her children and husbandare out of the family's wagon, Lennie ... Read More

The Aristotle’s Theory of a Tragic Hero in Crucible and Macbeth (1711 words, 5 pages)

Both Macbeth and the crucible have a universal relevance to the Aristotles theory of a tragic hero. Macbeth was created by Shakespeare with king James 1 this was a big influence which lead to the play being about how kings could let their ambitions and power take over them. The ... Read More

A Report on Examples of Figurative Language in the Novel My Antonia by Willa Cather (658 words, 3 pages)

Examples of Figurative Language in My Antonia The engine was panting heavily after its long run (14). This sentence shows an example of personification. The engine compares the steam emitting engine to human tiredness.The train and person both tire and physically show their fatigue. This informs the reader that Jim, ... Read More

The Rebellious Character of Emily Grierson in the Story A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner (713 words, 3 pages)

Within William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" story, Miss EmilyGrierson is a rebellious character Miss Grierson refuses to abide toestablished societal conventions. To this end, Miss Grierson kills HomerBarron because Barron declines to marry her. Further, Miss Griersonprevents federal postal service officers from fixing a number tag on herhouse. Moreover, ... Read More

The Negative Effects of Tom Robinson’s Trial in “To Kill a Mockingbird” (691 words, 4 pages)

The Negative Effect of Tom Robinson's Trial A small town in Alabama is having its personality changed fromadmirable and friendly to unjust and prejudice, simply because of oneimportant trial. Back in the 1930's there were many trials that involvedAfrican Americans being falsely accused. To Kill a Mockingbird by HarperLee is ... Read More

An Analysis of Moral Conflicts in Barn Burning, a Short Story by William Faulkner (1188 words, 5 pages)

Moral dilemmas can sometimes become complex. In Barn Burning, there are several different scenes where a character is in a moral dilemma. Most of the moral conflicts take place from the perspective of Sarty. His father travels around with their family in attempts to provide for them. He knows that ... Read More

A Review of Rigoberto Gonzalez’s Novel “Butterfly Boy” (930 words, 4 pages)

Born in to a culture of work (Gonzlez, 55), the pressures to go into manual labor at a young age and support the family are very real for Rigoberto in Rigoberto Gonzlezs novel Butterfly Boy. Most of his family have not even made it through elementary school, let alone high ... Read More

Character Analysis of the Girl in the Book The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston (297 words, 1 pages)

Even when faced with physical and verbal abuse, the silent girl in A Song for a Barbarian Reed Pipe refused to speak. By this act, the silent girl is the most sympathetic character in The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston.Asian children, especially daughters, have a tendency to listen to ... Read More

A Look at the Many Illegal Activities in the Play “M. Butterfly” by David Henry Hwang (955 words, 3 pages)

In M. Butterfly, there are a lot of illegal and forbidden activities being talked about and done. Even though there are already precedents to these taboo activities, the characters are still destined to repeat it. Gallimard expresses that while we men may all want to kick Pinkerton, very few of ... Read More

American Literature Essay Examples