Anne Tyler Well-known contemporary novelist and short story writer, Anne Tyler, was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1941 to Lloyd, an industrial chemist, and Phyllis Tyler, a social worker. Soon after her birth, her family ... , although now widowed, and where many of her novels and short stories are set, especially Baltimore's Roland Park-the "epitome of upper-middle class waspdom in all its glory" (DISCovering Authors). Most of Tyler's time in Baltimore has been spent raising her two daughters, running her household, and publishing twelve more novels, a children's book, numerous short sto...

• Word Count: 834
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... of relationships among women. According to Sherry Lee Linkon, Animal Dreams has a main theme of the importance of women's relationships with each other and states how several other women authors with a contemporary writing style have dealt with connections and trials between women in their own works of fiction (3). In Animal Dreams, Codi Noline has strong relationships with many women. Codi and her ... ...

• Word Count: 1050
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... 's way of thinking. Given these examples, it can be seen how Voltaire, a writer from the Enlightenment period, used methods of writers centuries before him to effectively communicate his point to contemporary readers. The times and issues may be different, but his writing style seems equally effective as the ... ...

• Word Count: 604
• Approx Pages: 2

... more intrinsically it is a piece of writing that contains a self-referential element. The topic of metafiction in the post-modernist era of writing has certainly gained a lot of talk, but authors have long written in a way as to make the reader take an introspective and self-conscience look at their work. Don Quixote, and even Shakespeare's Hamlet, have been labeled as ... order to pose questions about the relationship between fiction and reality" (2). The gray area then becomes how to differentiate classical writing that contains elements of self-reflexivity from post-modernist contemp...

• Word Count: 1165
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... Trail" where the protagonist overcomes mental and physical obstacles to obtain an understanding of unknown mysterious and understanding within himself. There are three examples of text on this cover, the authors name, the title and a phrase "Not all journeys have an ending", which may suggest the overall theme of the novel. The author's name and the title "The Ivory Trail" are ... of these historical structures suggests power and mystery. The book cover appears to be set in a modern era but the pictures of the sphinx and pyramid imply that perhaps although contemporary this novel has an...

• Word Count: 732
• Approx Pages: 3

The short story First Confession is about a problem, which is very relevant to be occupied with in our contemporary society. It gives an evidently picture of the situation, most families more or less would end up in, if a grandmother suddenly moved in. In this story the grandmother does not ... the majority of the population in Ireland are Catholics, and therefore it would be a naturally place to set the story. Secondly Frank O"Connor is one of the well-known Irish authors, and the story can very well be a incident from his own life and native country. The story is probably set in newer time...

• Word Count: 618
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School