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

27201 total results

A Review of the Book Bullet in the Brain by Thomas Wolff (683 words, 2 pages)

The whole story seemed a joke at the beginning with the main character snickers and critics on everything, but when all of a sudden he was shot cold-blooded in the head, matters turned serious. In a moment his entire life was wiped out and only little pieces remained of his ... Read More

A Comparison between the Views on the Future of Orwell and Huxley and Their Relevance to the Modern Society (850 words, 3 pages)

In Neil Postmans essay On Orwell and Huxley, he asserts both Orwell and Huxleys view on the future. His general theme is the vision of the future and he assumes that Huxleys vision is more relevant today than Orwells vision. However, refuting others opinions can slow the process of development, ... Read More

Authenticity and Action in the Play Hamlet by William Shakespeare (546 words, 3 pages)

Crippled by Conscience Authenticity and Action in HamletAs Hamlet and Claudius contemplate the consequences of their intended or past actions, they must decide between forcing themselves to take inauthentic action or feeling guilty about taking no action whatsoever. Both Hamlet and Claudius are held paralyzed by morality Hamlets conscience makes ... Read More

A Reflection on the Play Macbeth by William Shakespeare (764 words, 3 pages)

Reflection on Macbeth by William Shakespeare William Shakespeare wrote many plays in his life. Tragedies, comedies, and historical plays are on his resume. One particular play, Macbeth, just so happened to be the play we read in class. And I loved it. At first upon reading it, I couldn't get ... Read More

The Naivety and Victimization of the Characters of Ophelia from the Play Hamlet by William Shakespeare and Eveline from Dubliners by James Joyce (745 words, 3 pages)

Ophelia, Eveline, and the Great Glass CeilingBoth Shakespeares Ophelia and Joyces Eveline are naive and victimized women, taken advantage of by the men in their lives. This life of repression and control is a physical, mental, and emotional reality. Both Ophelia and Eveline are dominated by the men in their ... Read More

A Review of the Dystopian Tale Machine Stops by E.M. Forster (1498 words, 5 pages)

The Machine stops is one of the greatest Dystopian tales Ive ever read. As a race humans love Dystopias and so its no surprise I hear about so many people, including myself, enjoying this short story about Vashti, Kuno, and the Machine. In this tale Vashti is a mother who ... Read More

The Comparison of Snowball to Napoleon in Animal Farm, a Novel by George Orwell (530 words, 2 pages)

Napoleon The TyrantBetween Snowball and Napoleon, the ideas of Animalism were different. Snowball followed the creator of animalisms (Old Majors) footsteps and ideas, while Napoleon twisted it into something new. Old Major would have been ashamed of Napoleon. Animalism was supposed to make all lives for animals better, but under ... Read More

The Discrimination and Undervalue of Women in the Play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare (959 words, 5 pages)

In the past, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, famous American suffragist and social activist, once said, I would have girls regard themselves not as adjectives but as nouns (GoodReads). Women in history were constantly discriminated and undervalued. They were often seen as an it rather than a she. In the play Julius ... Read More

A Comparison of the Similarities Between William Shakespeare’s Macbeth and The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus (1585 words, 6 pages)

German Romanticism was a movement that influenced many different art forms in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries. One of the most prolific Romantic literary figures was Goethe, who also happened to be a playwright. His most famous work is Faust, and it represents everything quintessentially Romantic about the ... Read More

Understanding the Meanings of Heart and Darkness in the Novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (755 words, 3 pages)

In class darkness was defined as many things such as evil, danger, misery, unknown, absence of light, and blindness.Heart was also defined as many things such as center, thecenter of life, thecenter of emotionslove, and the pumping organ. When trying to figure out what Heart of Darkness means as a ... Read More

The Theme of the Characters’ Embrace of Reality or Retreat Into Illusion in the Play A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams (3187 words, 9 pages)

Throughout Tennessee Williams play, A Streetcar Named Desire, there is a prominent and continuous theme of characters who either embrace reality or retreat into illusion. In particular this theme manifests itself deeply in one specific main character, Blanche DuBois. In the play, Blanche finds herself in a consistent struggle with ... Read More

An Analysis of the Questionable Parent Character of Polonius in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet (1368 words, 5 pages)

The character of Polonius, in Shakespeare's Hamlet, proves himself to be a questionable parent at best when he asks "his man" Reynaldo to search out Laertes in France in order to examine Laertes' behavior. In other words, Polonius wants Reynaldo to be a devious spy. Laertes, of course, is Polonius' ... Read More

The Theme of Supernatural in the Novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (2138 words, 7 pages)

In the pre-1914 novel Jane Eyre the author Charlotte Bronte utilises the theme of the supernatural throughout. Charlotte Brontes fiction is seen by feminist critic Rosmary Jackson (1981) as a prime example of female Gothic, in which the author explores woman's roles within society and their home, which leads to ... Read More

Symbolism and Imagery in the Characterization of Jane Eyre by Emily Bronte (1059 words, 3 pages)

Firstly, Bronte sets the scene in Janes return to Thornfield as a turn of a new chapter in her life with the sentence There was a gate. The use of the symbol of a gate is used to represent the start of something new in Janes life and something that ... Read More

The Power of Imperialism and the Stripping of a Landscape in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Assie Djebar’s Fantasia (1717 words, 6 pages)

A Vision of Power and The Landscape It CreatesThe overruling power of imperialism becomes the primary target for the incoming change within the Congo in Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness, similar to the incoming French power to conquer the Algiers in order to inherit their land as described by Assia ... Read More

An Evaluation of Oedipus Rex as a Non-Tragic Hero (767 words, 3 pages)

Oedipus Rex as a Tragic Hero A tragic hero can be someone who dies for a cause. A tragic hero is a character from a literary work who makes judgements and decisions which lead to their own destruction. A tragic hero doesn't always necessarily die however. Oedipus ends up blinding ... Read More

The Spiritual Experiences of Wilda in Julia Elliott’s Bride (1562 words, 6 pages)

Writing is a Spiritual ActReading Julia Elliotts Bride is like glimpsing into the secret notes of a mystic whose revelations were never exposed. The story centers on a female nun and scribe, Wildas, spiritual experiences at a medieval convent during a period of springtime plague. Since her parents and brother ... Read More

The Lack of a Reliable Narrator in the Novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (1175 words, 5 pages)

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bront is a novel that is untouched by time and contains a series of events from various individuals about a tragic love story that occurred in the 1800s. Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff are in the first generation love story but because their love is not meant ... Read More

Blurring the Lines of Racial Identity in Erasure, a Novel by Percival Everett (2176 words, 8 pages)

Erasing Borders of Racial Identity Through NarrativePercival Everetts Erasure is a unique novel in that it cannot be fully understood unless investigated beyond its borders. The multiple layers of characterization and self-referential plot make readers want to know more about Pervical Everetts biography and intentions for his novel. The central ... Read More

The Propaganda of the Omnipotent Government in George Orwell’s 1984 (572 words, 2 pages)

Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past. These are words by George Orwell written in a time of totalitarian reign. He wrote in a time of totalitarianism of Russia over Europe just at the end of World War II. Orwell also spent time ... Read More

The Representation of Factual History in Hear of Darnkess, a Novel by Joseph Conrad (2529 words, 8 pages)

Historical novels emerged back at the start of storytelling and have become an important genre in the world of literary and historical writings. According to Webster dictionary, a definition of a historical novel is a novel having as its setting a period of history and usually introducing some historical personages ... Read More

A Suspicious View of the Mother, Gertrude in the Play Hamlet by William Shakespeare (2114 words, 6 pages)

Mothers our guardians and our guiders they are the ones who guide us to the light when we experience darkness. They are the ones who are automatically thought to radiate purity for their children whom they love dearly. But in Hamlet, the mother of Hamlet, Gertrude, is viewed with quite ... Read More

Verona News: Romeo and Juliet are Married! (309 words, 1 pages)

Verona News 1300Today, we have learned that Romeo (the son of the Montagues) and Juliet ( the daughter of the capulets) are actually married. The two enemies had become lovers. This is very shocking as we found Juliet, Romeo, and County Paris all dead in the Capulets monument. I got ... Read More

The Theme of Nature in Frankenstein as a Representation of the Effect Romanticism Had on Mary Shelley (732 words, 2 pages)

As I read the second half ofFrankenstein, I began to notice how key a role nature begins to play. This is quite exemplary of Romanticisms effect on Mary Shelley she was intrigued, like most writers of the time, with the sublimity of nature and its ability to affect humanity deeply. ... Read More

An Analysis of Satan in John Milton’s Paradise Lost (1111 words, 4 pages)

Satan The Hero of Paradise LostJohn Miltons Paradise Lost continues the epic tradition developed by the ancient Greek and Roman poets. Composed in exact imitation of its predecessors, the work depicts all characteristics of a traditional epic poemincluding the epic hero, a powerful embodiment of societal values. Milton presents his ... Read More

An Analysis of the Preface in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (523 words, 2 pages)

How do you read the preface in light of the story so far? Throughout both the preface and the original story of Frankenstein, it is clear to the reader that Shelley reveals vital information, leading us to future insight. Whether the reader predicts the danger, loneliness, or in this case, ... Read More

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Helping the Readers of Fiction Develop a Sense of Sympathy (619 words, 2 pages)

There have been multiple studies showing that reading fiction can help readers have a greater sense of sympathy. Mary Shelly'sFrankensteinwould definitely be one of those books. Since the first encounter with the monster, it is hard not to feel sympathy for the monster. The monster had a "lockesque" brain in ... Read More

Adam Smith’s View on the Humans’ Sense of Sympathy in Relation to the Novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (367 words, 1 pages)

When Adam Smith defines sympathy as a sentiment that is not"confined to virtuous and humane people"that even"the greatest ruffian, the most hardened criminal, has something of it", it makes us further question Frankenstein's and his monster's humanity or lack thereof. If as Smith suggests that moral sentiments are so deeply ... Read More

Why is Frankenstein a Male Centered Novel and Why Does the Monster Develop Sympathy for Its Creator Only Upon Seeing Him Lifeless? (785 words, 2 pages)

Why is it that only once the monster views the lifeless Frankenstein that he is able to sympathize with his creator? I brought up in class last time that there issome sort of selffufillingreward that is a factor when we are presented with the chance to be empathetic, and I ... Read More

The Parallels between Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (522 words, 1 pages)

Smiths theory of Moral Sentiments runs at an interesting parallel to Frankenstein because their discrepancies ask what the source of empathy is. According to Smith, empathy is something instinctual, animal even, that we feel at a level more basic than emotion or logic. Regardless of what the mind or what ... Read More

English Literature Essay Examples