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

931 total results

The Admirable Characteristics of Mersault in the Stranger, a Novel by Albert Camus (350 words, 1 pages)

Billy Joel stated in his song The Stranger, we all have a face that we hide away forever, and we take them out and show ourselves when everyone has gone, and he was right, however this did not apply to the fictional character of Meursault in Camus book of the ... Read More

Corruption and the Purpose of the Panopticon According to Foucault (1082 words, 3 pages)

In this particular section of the passage, Foucault begins discussing the implied corruption within this given society and how the Panopticon serves many purposes, all focused on controlling the knowledge of the people and making sure they are acting as those in power want them to. This system seems to ... Read More

The Complexity of Panopticism by Michael Foucault (1049 words, 3 pages)

Assignment 1 Michael Foucaults Panopticism is easily recognized as being one of the most complex works to English literature. It encompasses many multifaceted ideas and intertwines them by the end of the passage to one, throwing readers for a loop and often leaving them only more confused after reading it ... Read More

The Relation of Albert DeSalvo in the Boston Stranger Killings (1804 words, 6 pages)

The Boston Strangler is believed to have strangled and sexually assaulted thirteen women in their own homes from 1962 to 1964. To this day the identity of the Boston Strangler still remains unconfirmed, with very few suspects, over fifty years after the killings occurred. However, at the time the authorities ... Read More

The Manipulation of Orgon in the Play Tartuffe by Jean Baptiste Poquelin Moliere (567 words, 2 pages)

In the play, Tartuffe, Orgon is swindled by the villainous Tartuffe, who manipulates Orgon into giving him his estate, wealth, and almost his daughters hand in marriage. Written by Jean Baptiste Poquelin Moliere, the work is an important piece of comedic work and, like Shakespeare, borrows ideas from commedia dell ... Read More

A Review of the Play A Flea in Her Ear by Georges Feydeau (858 words, 3 pages)

I believe A Flea in Her Ear was a very funny and attention-capturing story. I thought the actors did really well not breaking character the entire time, because if it was me, I wouldve been dying laughing. When I first heard about the play, I thought it was going to ... Read More

An Analysis of Estelle’s Deserved Punishment and Suffering in No Exit, a French Play by Jean-Paul Sartre (1325 words, 3 pages)

Why did Estelle deserve the punishment and suffering she endured in the room as it fit her crimes? Estelle deserved the punishment and suffering that she endured in the room in No Exit because the crimes she committed during her life were born from evil. In the beginning of the ... Read More

Thoughtful Laughter in the Play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand (445 words, 2 pages)

CyranoWithin the play, Cyrano de Bergerac, the writer Edmond Rostand induces thoughtful laughter through the utilization of frivolous and relaxed tone, a satirical diction, and unexpected circumstances which oppose general social paradigm. Your nose is..very big. Yes, very. Ha! Is that all? Cyrano is mocked for his abnormally large nose, ... Read More

The Motif of Death in the Novel The Stranger by Albert Camus (1098 words, 2 pages)

Death's connection to Absurdist Existentialism in The Stranger by Albert CamusThe Stranger by Albert Camus has been captivating readers with a man's journey from free man to death row inmate for generations. The novel follows the debatably-protagonistic Mersault throiughout this journey, and is well known for it's unusual tone and ... Read More

An Argument Against Albert Camus’s Assessment on the Punishment of Sisyphus (546 words, 2 pages)

Sisyphus was a mortal who betrayed the gods, as shown in an essay by Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus. Since doing so, he was punished to forever push a rock up a hill. In this essay, Camus expresses his opinion that Sisyphus is actually happy. Camus says that the ... Read More

The Idea of Constant Surveillance in The Hunger Games and Foucault’s Concept of the Panopticon (1175 words, 5 pages)

Foucault and The Hunger GamesThe Hunger Games is an incredible young adult novel about a post-apocalyptic world in which children ranging from the ages of twelve to eighteen are forced to fight to the death. There are many huge issues throughout the book but one of the largest concepts in ... Read More

The Impact of the French Revolution in Literature (746 words, 3 pages)

The French Revolution, lasting from 1789 to 1799 can be described asan age of varying emotions. Ranging from wars to Robespierre's Reign ofTerror and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, it could be described as abloodied era. During this time, Voltaire - one of the men of Enlightenment- wrote Candide, a ... Read More

Character Analysis of Phileas Fogg in around the World in Eighty Days, a Novel by Jules Verne (382 words, 2 pages)

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne begins in England and follows the life of Phileas Fogg. Fogg goes to a Reform Club every night on one particular night, he visits the club to play cards. The men belonging to the Reform Club begin a conversation about the ... Read More

The Difference between Agrarian and Industrial Urbanism in Strangers in a Strange Land, a Book by Douglas Massey (2304 words, 8 pages)

1. In his book, Strangers in a Strange Land (2005), Douglas Massey discusses the difference between agrarian urbanism and industrial urbanism. Provide a short summary of Masseys argument and explain why the difference between the two forms of urbanization matters.As we have discussed in lecture, urbanism is a relatively new ... Read More

An Analysis of Meursault’s Emotions in the Novel The Stranger by Albert Camus (731 words, 3 pages)

Hidden EmotionsThe novel The Stranger by Albert Camus is about a troubled man, Meursault, who is perceived as unemotional and unaware of the situations he is in. After closely analyzing the book, more is revealed about Meursault. The fact that Meursault is more aware and emotional becomes more apparent. This ... Read More

The Causes of the Problems of Candide in Voltaire’s Novel Candide (899 words, 3 pages)

While Voltaire, like Swift, critiques corrupt institutions as well asreason, logic, and philosophy in his still-popular satire Candide, thesociety Candide finds himself in is not the only cause for his problems.With his ignorance towards how the world really works, mostly influenced bythe conditions of his adolescence, he is almost unable ... Read More

The Element of Surprise in the Story The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant (863 words, 3 pages)

Surprises within literature are made through the structure of the story, and are the key to the development of the exposition, complication, crisis, climax and dnouement also, the paramount role of literary elements such as foreshadowing, motif, irony, symbols and characterization. There is no exception within the literary works of ... Read More

Character Analysis of Meursault in the Stranger, a Novel by Albert Camus (767 words, 3 pages)

In the novel The Stranger, author Albert Camus gives expression to the absurdist philosophy. The novel is a first hand account of the protagonist Meursaults life from the time of his mothers death to right before his execution for the murder of the Arab. The central idea of this novel ... Read More

Optimism and the Best Possible World in Candide by Voltaire (1702 words, 6 pages)

Optimism represents a philosophical position inCandideand during the Enlightenment, a position which claims that despite the errors and appearances of Gods creation it remains as good as it could possibly be. It states that despite all of its flaws, the world around us is indeed the best of all possible ... Read More

Albert Camus’ Definition of the Absurd Man (1189 words, 4 pages)

Camus defines the absurd man as He who, without negating it, does nothing for the eternal (Myth, 66). The absurd man uses courage and reason in order to live without appeal and to recognize his limits. He is aware of and comfortable with his mortality and does not long for ... Read More

The Destruction of Emma in Madame Bovary, a Novel by Gustave Flaubert (1140 words, 4 pages)

Madame Bovary The Destruction of Emma In Madame Bovary by the French author Gustave Flaubert, the death ofEmma Bovary, of course, occurs in Chapter Eight of Part Three of the novel,several hours after she imbibes large amounts of arsenic from Homais'pharmacy. There is no doubt that Emma poisoning herself was ... Read More

The Ideas of the Enlightenment Period in Candide,a Novel by Voltaire (1436 words, 5 pages)

Voltaire is viewed as one of the leading philosophers and most well known writers of the Enlightenment period. Throughout his novella, Candide, we can see represented in both direct and ironic reflections the ideas and characteristics that became prominent during this period in history. Though Candide serves to demonstrate many ... Read More

Thematic Progression of The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant (1145 words, 3 pages)

Close Reading of a Text Thematic Progression of The NecklaceMisconceptions are often made throughout literature to deceive the reader, yet are often intentionally made to eventually develop a message at the end. An example of this would be The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant in which we are continually led ... Read More

Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne: Character Development of Phileas Fogg (309 words, 2 pages)

Fogg DynamicThe book Around the World in 80 Days tells a tale of a man and his servant, traveling around the world. Phileas Fogg (the man) and Passepartout (his servant) have many adventures in their quest to travel around the world. As such, both men become different men (than they ... Read More

The Age of Exploration in the Book Around the World in 80 Days (450 words, 2 pages)

In the 1600s, the Age of Exploration began in earnest. Europe began to explore the Atlantic Ocean and the Americas. This started began an age of explorers. For centuries, people held a rapt fascination with all things that related to world travel. This sparked the idea for the book Around ... Read More

An Analysis of the Plot, Characterization, and Narration in Guy De Maupassant’s Short Story The Necklace (1492 words, 3 pages)

One of Guy De Maupassant's literary influences was Gustave Flaubert, who taught him to write. Flaubert's teaching principles suggested that the "writer must look at everything to find some aspect of it that no one has yet seen or expressed," thus providing the reader a new or different view of ... Read More

Character Analysis of Nourvady in the Princess of Bagdad, a Play by Alexander Dumas (581 words, 3 pages)

Within Alexandre Dumas' The Princess of Bagdad play, Nourvady comesout as a cruel character in two key instances, Nourvady fails to treat hisfellow characters with kindness. In the first instance, Nourvady usesviolence to separate Raoul from Countess Lionnette de Hun. Moreover, whileat a dinner event at the de Hun residence, ... Read More

The Garden and the Importance of Self-Determination in Voltaire’s Candide (1477 words, 5 pages)

The Garden and the Importance of Self-Determination in Voltaires CandideThe Age of Enlightenment was an era of great influential change that spread like wildfire across the Old World of Europe and in turn affected the lives of the citizens of the New World. The famous thinkers of this era stressed ... Read More

The Importance of Carefully Choosing Friends in the Play The Princess of Bagdad by Alexandre Dumas, Fils (639 words, 2 pages)

Alexandre Dumas fils' The Princess of Bagdad play counsels readers tochoose friends carefully four characters are betrayed by fellow characterswho are supposedly trusted friends. To this end, Baroness de Spadettadisinherits Countess Lionnette de Hun. Similarly, while dining at CountJohn de Hun's house, Nourvady persuades Count de Hun's wife to leave ... Read More

The Impractical Character of Count John de Hun in the Play The Princess of Bagdad by Alexandre Dumas, Fils (622 words, 3 pages)

Within Alexandre Dumas fils' The Princess of Bagdad play, Count Johnde Hun comes out as an impractical character Count de Hun handles twotroubling situations in an illogical manner. To this end, after discoveringthat Nourvady has settled all of Countess Lionnette de Hun's debts, Countde Hun accuses the Countess of being ... Read More

French Literature Essay Examples