... upon various different themes. The early writings of Louisa May Alcott were rarely recognized. In the first phase of her writing, 1840's-1860's, she wrote some short stories. Most of them featured a mysterious, vengeful woman bent on manipulation and destruction (Schafer 1). Common themes that Louisa often used included self-sacrifice, duty, ... for her writing. She took what she knew and what she likes and used them to write, which showed in the themes. Her stories defied nineteenth-century values of womanhood again brought on by how she was treated by her father (MacDonald 10). She wo...

• Word Count: 1188
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... writer, he writes driven by the old spin: the "just-because" spin. This is easy to notice in his poetry as well as in his prose. Yes, he builds his short stories from segments, from bits of thoughts, yes, he uses self-reflexivity and his writing has all the main characteristics of the Scottish writing. But this is inevitable; these are choices ... these are merely the appearances, because the real dilemmas come afterwards. The little boy's toy-yacht sails by its own, driving him into the arms of despair, towards his aunts insanity, towards fear. The widower's kids alienate him and, far ...

• Word Count: 953
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School