... morning's seminar presentation, today I will be exploring with you the conventions of dystopian literature. George Orwell's 1984 and Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale are prime examples of societies where civilians are forced to live by the totalitarian government's subdual of sexual expression, to safeguard the government's own goals ... as well as in the foundation of the Junior Anti-Sex Party. There is a similar, yet more drastic picture presented in The Handmaid's Tale: sexuality is a controlled, over-regulated act that is wholly deprived of any pleasure from the outset, as it is...

• Word Count: 884
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... . Directed by Andrew Stanton, the story follows a robot named Wall-E, who is designed to clean up an abandoned, waste-covered Earth seven-hundred years into the future. WALL-E presents a cautionary tale by representing a potential future where we face the global impacts of overconsumption, corporate control, total lifestyle automation and cultural conformity. This urges the viewer to stop and look around at ... ...

• Word Count: 1222
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Charles Dickens, author of A Tale of Two Cities, originated from a working class family that had been imprisoned for being in debt as a direct result of their societies strict rules, which favored the aristocracy. Through the ... ...

• Word Count: 753
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" delineates how a man's creative energy is fit for being so vivid that it significantly can influence individuals' lives. The manifestation of the narrators creative energy unknowingly plants seeds in ... ...

• Word Count: 759
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

In Charles Dickens' novel, "A Tale of Two Cities," the character, Madame Defarge, is used to enhance the disturbing entity of the French Revolution. Dickens uses Defarge's evolution as a character to emotionally connect the reader to ... ...

• Word Count: 844
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... Church, feels he is too good to socialize or even minister to those he is called to serve. Additionally, the Summoner is guilty of a multitude of sins against the church, including drunkenness and bribery. In spite of his own transgressions, the Summoner still holds himself in a higher regard than those he summons. Ironically, this sinner who has the responsibility of bringing sinners ... ...

• Word Count: 907
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... Church, feels he is too good to socialize or even minister to those he is called to serve. Additionally, the Summoner is guilty of a multitude of sins against the church, including drunkenness and bribery. In spite of his own transgressions, the Summoner still holds himself in a higher regard than those he summons. Ironically, this sinner who has the responsibility of bringing sinners ... ...

• Word Count: 873
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... of perseverance through their respective works of "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" " and "The Boxer." In Coleridge's literary ballad the reader follows the tale of a mysterious mariner's gothic trip upon a ship which becomes haunted by his penance after he kills a watchful albatross, and his journey to appease his ... guilt and curse. Following a more modern tale, Simon's "The Boxer" tells of a struggling man living in New York City, and his perseverance through his hard times. Through binding elements within ... the guilt control over its inhabitants until the mariner can finally find...

• Word Count: 1103
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... Bath clearly has her own perception of marriage, which Chaucer hints at in his Prologue and fully reveals in the Wife's Prologue and Tale. In both the Prologue and Tale of the Wife, we see the institution of marriage used to control financial and sexual powers. The Wife of Bath displays a complete sense ... of the Wife of Bath's life with five different husbands and the cruelty of some and the kindness of the others are mirrored in the witty tale she tells. She begins by showing how, even under the rule of King Arthur and his chivalrous knights, women are at the mercy of men; ... best....

• Word Count: 1172
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... Bath clearly has her own perception of marriage, which Chaucer hints at in his Prologue and fully reveals in the Wife's Prologue and Tale. In both the Prologue and Tale of the Wife, we see the institution of marriage used to control financial and sexual powers. The Wife of Bath displays a complete sense ... of the Wife of Bath's life with five different husbands and the cruelty of some and the kindness of the others are mirrored in the witty tale she tells. She begins by showing how, even under the rule of King Arthur and his chivalrous knights, women are at the mercy of men; ... best....

• Word Count: 1172
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... the interaction between two siblings? Every individual ranging from child to adult knows the tale of "Cinderella", her misfortunate childhood and the overwhelming victory that seals the fait to the happy ending of this ferry tale. The well established and pronounced author/psychologist Bruno Bettleheim proves how sibling rivalry can ... hidden truths. In order to go deeper into the psyche of a child experiencing sibling rivalry you have to comprehend all the hidden truths in the tale of "Cinderella". Cinderella is a sister of many siblings and in her eyes she is the insignificant child...

• Word Count: 575
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... his behavior? What do the ducks represent? What do the episodes of the trees and the coyote represent?" In the tale of "Iktomi and the Dancing Ducks", Iktomi plays the ever cunning and deceptive trickster role. Through this tale, Iktomi's plan to deceive and kill the ducks succeeds, but another trickster thwarts his overall plan. According to Andrew Widget ... and benefit himself. Iktomi personifies these negative characteristics of societal behavior and uses them to satisfy his desires. While Iktomi uses negative behaviors to achieve his overall goal, throughout the tale he shows great...

• Word Count: 585
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... disguise many underlying conflicts and fears. These conflicts and fears find a voice in the relationship which develops between the Perilous Lady of the tale, Geraldine, and the heroine, Christabel. The key to understanding the complex undercurrents of the poem is to realize that this relationship is ... unlock some of the unconscious material contained in the poem is to explore the interplay between Geraldine and Christabel, and the narrator of the tale. Basically, their relationships gives rise to two major themes: the sexual relationship between the two women, and the desire for a nur...

• Word Count: 1198
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... of the 18th century Victorian era. Dickens was unique in his many very descriptive and imaginative characters usually based off his own experiences in life; but in A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens wrote his first and only story based off actual events in history; causing him to slightly hold back on his extreme characters. Charles ... "The Frozen Deep" by Wilkie Collins, which he participated in. Many elements were used in the story to present a theme and two different plots. In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens uses bitter diction, continuous use of the motif blades representing stree...

• Word Count: 961
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... Einstein once said, "If you want your children to be smart, read them fairytales." The story of Cinderella, perhaps the best-known fairy tale, is told or read to children of all ages. But Cinderella is not just one story; more than 500 versions have been found, and ... Ashella so she might fulfill her plan of vengeance upon a duke who murdered her family. [558-559]. In "The Wonderful Birch", a Russian version of the tale, Cinderella's mother is turned into a sheep by an evil witch [616], and our maiden herself is transformed into a reindeer by the very same witch [620], who is ... their ...

• Word Count: 887
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... in her own way of life. This is the largest socio-economic validation within the story. Dee is the epitome of the economic hierarchy within the tale, as she is clearly seeking to come to terms with returning to the old house where Mama is very poor. Dee represents the higher culture and ... of Dee's character, and how she presents herself as superior to how she was raised. Dee's embarrassment of her upbringing causes the tension that arises in the tale. The family has certain reactions to Dee's behavior, as she is clearly taking an abject liking to her "humble" beginnings when the discu...

• Word Count: 973
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... Chekhov, John M. Synge has chosen a seemingly unbelievable story to create his realist masterpiece, The Playboy of the Western World. Its realism comes from two unlikely sources: joy and a far-fetched tale. Yet, as Synge identifies himself in the preface, these elements in combination are extremely effective in showing the life of the peasantry; more so than any bleak or so-called ... this type of behavior which can draw any audience member into the story. But the happiness alone does not make The Playboy of the Western World. The fantasy of the tale keeps the story from being one of on...

• Word Count: 488
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... of the historical context of its time, specially the facts involving the Cardiff Giant statue, its creators and the profitable use they made out of it. The narrator of the tale describes his experience in a creepy dusty New York City apartment which he had recently moved in. At the very first night he was spending there, supernatural things invaded his privacy ... museum was where laid the giant statue for visitors to watch and the ghost wanted it to be buried again so it would rest, however the character-narrator of the tale informed the ghost that the statue laying in the museum next ...

• Word Count: 364
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... is similar to Genesis, where at the beginning God was in the middle of darkness and emptiness. However, in the Iroquois tale, in the beginning there are birds and a void of air along with the emptiness and darkness. In the Iroquois tale there are a variety of creators which change as the story progresses. For example, in the beginning the gods created the ... the perfect world he had created. Her husband is also punished for having eaten of the forbidden fruit and it is important to recognize that just like in the Iroquois tale they are both aware of their actions. The forbidden action ...

• Word Count: 718
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... and morbid anxiety. The use of inner conflict is also expanded upon and by incorporating this into his story creates an interest in the reader to explore deeper into the tale This particular story does not use the typical, first person point of view where the protagonist tells a personal account of a crime that he or she has committed. Instead, the narrator ... both the tenants and the house of Usher disappear into the tarn, an underworld which is their true home. The house, which in itself is the main setting for the tale is in a state of advanced decay. There is falling, flaking mason...

• Word Count: 1111
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The novel "A Cage of Butterflies" can be read as being "a refreshing tale about the power of love, the strength of the human spirit and the power of good over evil. It is proof that humanity does exist in a world, which seems to ... , happier and more of a cohesive network. Through the information given it is clear that the novel "A Cage Of Butterflies" is accurately described by the reading that the novel is "a refreshing tale about the power of love, the strength of the human spirit and the power of good over evil. It is proof that humanity does exist in a world, which seems to ... by the ...

• Word Count: 528
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... are considered true guardians, retaining the name and at the same time receiving much more magnanimity and responsibility. Plato closes with a famous allegory: the Phoenician tale. It is to be a the basic myth of the State. The tale describes the citizens of a State as the sons of a mother, and thus brothers to one another. They are raised by the motherly State and ... love it dearly. Further, the sons of the State naturally possess varied characters, which their sons usually ¹but are not obliged to ¹share. These characters, the tale goes, are really a mixture of metals, from the most...

• Word Count: 768
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... look for fairy godmothers or magic pumpkins and mice, and Cinderella may not be the demure damsel portrayed by Disney. An updating of one of the world's best-known fairy tale, this retelling has marvelous twists and creative alterations that bring the story in line with more modern thinking about gender roles while staying loyal to the spirit of the story ... of "Cinderella." The changes in gender portrayals seen in this film present a significant challenge to prevailing notions about sex roles and stereotypes. Drew Barrymore's character does not conform to fairy tale conventions. The m...

• Word Count: 772
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... each page of "The Odyssey," unfolds and amazing story is brought to life," The Odyssey," Is more then a book but a satire of perseverance. "The Odyssey," is a tale of a gallant man, Odysseus, and his dauntless crew who have only one whish, to return home. Ten years of war, and ten years of never-ending obstacles, and this heroic ... the test though when he is posing as a beggar and sees his old dog shriveling away in sadness covered in vermin, the dog sees his master and slightly wags his tale happily, odysseys torn with sadness for this poor animal shows no sign of love for the dog be...

• Word Count: 946
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... and feminine gender roles in ancient India. The Ramayana, which has had a decisive influence on Indian civilization, also contains underlying conflict concerning the illustrated society within the tale. The leading females in the tale-Sita, Soorpanaka and Kaikeyi-upon analysis seem to wrestle with patriarchy. Rather than letting society suppress their identity, they are able to manipulate the values of their patriarchal ... ...

• Word Count: 701
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate