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

85147 total results

The Portrayal of Verism Through the Novels, The Pearl and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (575 words, 2 pages)

On being a writer, American author John Steinbeck says, In utter loneliness a writer tries to explain the inexplicable. As a writer, Steinbeck effectively centralizes on society and its vices and virtues like in his novels The Pearl and Of Mice and Men. In both stories, Steinbeck accomplishes the portrayal ... Read More

An Analysis of the Morals in The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (483 words, 2 pages)

Characters in literature always must have driving morals, otherwise they are lifeless, and the story neither progresses and the character has no reason to act the way that they do. In the case of Edith Wharton's novel, The Age of Innocence, the morals of each character are often hard to ... Read More

An Analysis of Narration in The House of The Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne (728 words, 3 pages)

In "The House of The Seven Gables," Nathaniel Hawthorne reflects theimpact of mesmerism on society and the implications involved when combiningscience and spiritualism. The narrative doesn't confine the relationship ofmesmerism to the exterior world exclusively through language, but stylizesthe underlying sentiment and effect of hypnosis over the narrative. Thestory slides ... Read More

The Tragic Events of Jay’s Romance in the Passage in the Novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (657 words, 3 pages)

There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond everything. He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it all ... Read More

An Examination of the Unique Writing Style of Flannery O’Connor on the Short Story, Good Country People (1394 words, 5 pages)

Mary Flannery O'Connor was an American author and writer. She contributed many writing in American literature for her entire life. She wrote 32 short stories, two novels and a number of commentaries and reviews. Mary Flannery O'Connor is one of the most preeminent and more unique short story authors in ... Read More

An Analysis of Imagery in Home by Ken Burns (341 words, 2 pages)

Ken Burns creates an artistic view and greater understanding of baseball and how it really is, Americas pastime. Through imagery and deep description within the poem, Home, Ken Burns demonstrates the true culture of baseball among our society and country.Imagery is used throughout this poem in order to paint an ... Read More

The Three Ideas and Goals in My Mind for My Future (616 words, 2 pages)

Every student is supposed to have at least a few goals in life. These goals can be very different work on the Wall Street, work as a doctor, teacher, or a tourist guide. The most important thing here is to establish a goal and try to make your dream come ... Read More

A History of Salt Usage in Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky (828 words, 3 pages)

Kurlansky argues in the first chapter of the book that salt is theonly commodity in the world consumed by nearly all individuals. He alsoaddresses the ancient global utilization and procurement of the substance.The view of the book is that Egyptians and the Chinese were the firstpeople to use it. For ... Read More

The Long Term Effects of War on People in the Books, Soldier’s Home by Ernest Hemingway and The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien (1896 words, 7 pages)

Wars in general are probably the worst events in the history of human existence. Not only from the perspective that millions of people have lost their lives in this matter, but also from the perspective that even people who survived them, experienced mental change which usually shapes their future. Moreover, ... Read More

An Examination of the Symbolism and Theme in the Poem, The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe (1127 words, 4 pages)

Picture being thrown into a cave of darkness where there is little light. There is a door, but fearful of opening it, you hesitate, and the only words heard are those in your head. Youre going crazy and youre so paranoid that you think you would be better off in ... Read More

An Analysis of New Historicism in Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O’Connor (444 words, 2 pages)

Flannery O'Connor does an excellent job of providing binaries (structuralism!) centered on Julian's mother's beliefs (white power is good), as well as her son's beliefs (people should be equal). In O'Connor's short story, it is clear that racism is at the center of the plot line. Julian and his mother, ... Read More

An Analysis of the Media in White Noise by Don DeLillo (2122 words, 7 pages)

When the television was invented, an age of media was born. People were able to access information in a faster and more convenient way, and a new age of entertainment had begun as well. Watching television had become part of the daily lives of people all around the world, especially ... Read More

An Analysis of One’s Own Reality in They by Robert Heinlein (1514 words, 6 pages)

Our day to day experiences are what shape our understanding of the world we know. Every moment of existence shapes the person we will become. However, what if the world as you know it is merely an illusion? How would this affect your behavior, and would you be even able ... Read More

An Analysis of Emily Grierson’s Sanity in A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner (774 words, 3 pages)

In A Rose for Emily, a short story written by William Faulkner, Miss Emily Grierson is deemed crazy after the citizens of her hometown, Jefferson, Mississippi, found out she has been sleeping with a corpse for the past few decades. Raised up in a single parent home, Emilys father was ... Read More

The Masque of Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe Through the Lens of Psychoanalysis (439 words, 2 pages)

I had read this short story in high school, so it was very nice to be able to revisit it for a different purpose to analyze it psychoanalytically. To begin, I would have to argue that this story contains the two Freudian elements of "eros" and "thanatos." After discussing these ... Read More

An Analysis of Women in The Angel Over the Right Shoulder by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps (1663 words, 6 pages)

Women have one of the toughest jobs in the world they have to deal with men. America has not always been the kindest to women, in terms of equal rights and respect. It has not even been a full hundred years since women were finally allowed to vote. In American ... Read More

An Analysis of Torture in The Yellow Wall-Paper (953 words, 3 pages)

In the short stories we have read up to this point, there seems to have been quite a bit of turmoil in terms of the idea of torture. We read about this in The Yellow Wall-Paper, in which the woman is slowly deteriorating until she finally becomes insane at the ... Read More

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (872 words, 4 pages)

Imagine a time where bank robbers are trendy, criminals are handsome, and no one is held accountable for running over someone with their car. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald portrays a setting in America where greed and crookedness rule New York, and where cheaters and liars are excused ... Read More

Children in As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (876 words, 3 pages)

Children usually represent the joy and hopefulness of a family in todays world. If parents were to get divorced, the blame very rarely is put onto the children, and is instead primarily put onto the mother and father for not being able to work through their own issues. Kids provide ... Read More

An Analysis of Racism in Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O’Connor (439 words, 2 pages)

Thus far in our literary theory class, we have analyzed a plethora of different theories. In particular, with New Historicism, we had great discussions, especially our discussion about O'Connor's "Everything That Rises Must Converge." When we analyzed this short story as a class, it was quite easy for us to ... Read More

An Analysis of Ruth and Her Children in Ruth Hall by Fanny Fern (1408 words, 6 pages)

In Fanny Ferns Ruth Hall, Ruth and her children struggle for much of the story before Ruth eventually becomes a successful writer. One particular passage that contributes to the overall understanding and meaning of the work comes from Chapter XLV of Ruth Hall, a passage that displays the financial struggles ... Read More

Societal Pressure in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey (1018 words, 3 pages)

Societal pressure is a theme present in the novels Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, and One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest by Ken Kesey. The terminology true self serves to mean whom the person really is without having their values or personal identity compromised. Better ... Read More

Moby Dick by Herman Melville (1001 words, 4 pages)

Moby Dick, by Herman Melville, is the tale of a man, Ishmael,as he sets about the world by a whaling vessel. During his venture out tosea, Ishmael attains and dispatches information about the world of whalingand the nature of whales. Along the way, Captain Ahab's revenge inslaughtering the whale, Moby ... Read More

Norms in At the Funeral by Mark Twain (477 words, 2 pages)

In the well - written piece At the Funeral, Mark Twain takes an unorthodox way to ridicule the norms, surrounding the processions of a funeral. He utilizes satire and diction in order to diffuse the situation and advance his arguments, propagating the idea that the funerals no longer retain their ... Read More

A Biography of Nathaniel Hawthorne a Writer (887 words, 4 pages)

Nathaniel Hawthorn was born on July 04, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts. He died at the age of 59 on May 19, 1864 inPlymouth, New Hampshire. His death was caused by a downward spiral of his health over the course of many years (nndb.com). Hawthorne graduated from Bowdoin College and soon ... Read More

An Analysis of the Characters in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (354 words, 1 pages)

In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, everything done by the wealthy characters is done for the sake of appearances. They try too hard to be perfect and end up doing themselves little good. Reuniting with Daisy in Nicks house, both Daisy and Gatsby try to act ... Read More

The Perspectives of Mexican and American Women in Woman Hollering Creek by Sandra Cisneros (1400 words, 4 pages)

Woman Hollering Creek, by Sandra Cisneros explores the perspectives of Mexican and American women growing up in a poor and traditional society. The stories discuss the struggles these women face as teens and adolescents, and the similar struggles they face as adults. The themes explored in the book are predominantly ... Read More

Cannery Row by John Steinbeck (1658 words, 5 pages)

The novel Cannery Row by John Steinbeck is set in the close knit community of Cannery Row, off the shore of Monterey, California. Steinbeck spends a great deal of time explaining Cannery Row and those who inhabit it, because understanding the environment in which Cannery Row is based is crucial ... Read More

The Conflict of Capitalism and Communism in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (630 words, 2 pages)

History has shown us to be a conflict of ideologies, as soon in the Cold War where communism faced off against capitalism. The time has passed and it deeply engrained the American conscious with a distrust of communism. Yet, even back then the fear of communism was alive, perhaps even ... Read More

Natural Born Killers in Unnatural Killers by Grisham (976 words, 4 pages)

Ever since the 1920's, the film industry in Hollywood has expanded anderupted into a massive media tool in American society. Hundred of movies,from Selznick's Gone with the Wind to Hitchcock's Pyscho have providedquality entertainment over decades for Americans. As society progressed, sodid the themes within movies, such as the evolution ... Read More

American Literature Essay Examples