... Hathorne A judge who presides, along with Danforth, over the witch trials. Herrick he marshal of Salem. Mercy Lewis One of the girls in Abigail's group. Themes, Motifs & Symbols Themes Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. Intolerance The Crucible  is set in a theocratic society, in which the church and the state are one, and the religion is a strict, austere ... . By refusing to relinquish his name, he redeems himself for his earlier failure and dies with integrity. Motifs Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that c...

• Word Count: 4038
• Approx Pages: 16
• Grade Level: High School

... this way, Hughes is declaring Cubism to be a style representative of the elite, white classes. This is key to the understanding of the whole poem. The stanza ends with the literary equivalent of a Cubist subject. The narrator, an African American, meets an African. Two different perspectives on the same theme, looking at each other face to face. This reflection of the ... is implicitly arguing that the Western, American ideals of freedom and equality can and should be expanded to include people who are not white. In using a Modernist style like this literary Cubism, he is both condemnin...

• Word Count: 2547
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

The variety of passionately displayed themes, interactions, and events presented in The Bluest Eye provide an understanding of Toni Morrison's inner thoughts and beliefs which were ... responses from the readers. Often, her stories discuss a character trying to understand the truth about the world they live in. She writes about several different themes including good and evil, love and hate, beauty and ugliness, friendship, and death. In 1996, Morrison received a Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters ... and understandable job demonstrating the aspect of African Americans d...

• Word Count: 2626
• Approx Pages: 11
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... -stricken lady. They are comic characters because they are both wearing masks, metaphorically speaking. Orsino glories in the proper moodiness and fickleness of the literary lover; only our own romanticism can blind us to the absurdities in his opening speech (Summers, 1955). Orsino acts like he is in love ... seems all the more trustworthy because its limits have been felt and recognized (McCurdy, 1953). He does not emphasize any one of his themes at the expense of the rest. He pays much attention to the comedic subplot in this play. Shakespeare distributes the interest more evenly ... ...

• Word Count: 3301
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... controlling his drinking problem in the late 1970s, he taught for several years at the University of Texas at El Paso and at Syracuse University, and in 1983 he won a literary award whose generous annual stipend freed him to again focus on his writing full-time (Encyclopedia Britannica). In his last decade Carver taught creative writing at Syracuse University, living with ... we meet Robert we learn that even though his vision is closed off to the world, he is actually open-minded and understand life better than narrator (Allan SImes, 2008). Themes Prejudice and Ignorance In this short ...

• Word Count: 3978
• Approx Pages: 16
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... , "Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway, and the novella, "The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka, both contain covert alternate meanings that emanate from the authors' literary style preferences. The alternate meanings can be considered "hidden meanings" as they do not directly convey any information that overtly states the hidden meaning. The information that does ... 's and Hemingway's works are similar in that they both stray from the grander narrative. Analyzing different aspects of each narrative reveals information supporting the hidden meanings. Both of the literary works' h...

• Word Count: 3072
• Approx Pages: 12
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... period, when most major writers were concerned with a very different set of interests and values. Romantic poets confronted the hopes and failures of the French Revolution and formulated new literary values centered on individual freedom, passion, and intensity. In comparison, Austen's detailed examination of the rules of decorum that govern social relationships, and her insistence that reason and ... The revelation of Jane's secret engagement to Frank makes Jane seem more human, just as Knightley's humanity is brought out by his love for Emma. Themes, Motifs, Symbols Themes Themes are...

• Word Count: 4896
• Approx Pages: 20

... Mercutio believes that specific people are responsible for his death rather than some external impersonal force. Themes, Motifs & Symbols Themes Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. The Forcefulness of Love Romeo and Juliet is the most famous love story in the English literary tradition. Love is naturally the play's dominant and most important theme. The play focuses on romantic ... and Juliet's choices, as well as fate as a force that emerges from Romeo and Juliet's very personalities. Motifs Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or lit...

• Word Count: 13391
• Approx Pages: 54
• Grade Level: High School

... but for a long time it remained an isolated example, even though the ecological movement developed strongly in the 1960's and 1970's. Its main literary expression was, like most forms of utopia/dystopia, to be found in science fiction. Frank Herbert's Dune (1965) is one of the ... , of course, nothing can equal space fiction for its vast perspectives and cold beauty, as any s-f film or comic strip demonstrates, but a literary form requires more complex idea to sustain it. The spaceship simply doesn't provide these" Ballard claims that accuracy, science fact, does not matter at ... refuge ...

• Word Count: 5247
• Approx Pages: 21
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... during his second period, and characters took on whole new meanings. Shakespeare's comedic characters really distinguished themselves from his other characters, and at the same time, broadened Shakespeare's literary perception of humanity. The comedic characters in Shakespeare's plays each are well-developed personalities, each possessing foibles and strengths. The interesting thing about this is, in Shakespeare's tragedies ... entertaining and accepted for hundreds upon hundreds of years. So, I think it's safe to conclude that Shakespeare has remained popular for so many years because h...

• Word Count: 3345
• Approx Pages: 13
• Has Bibliography

... . The end is where we start from." T.S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (1888-1965), was an early twentieth century poet, dramatist, publisher, playwright and literary and social critic", one of the twentieth century's major poets." and a leader of the modernist movement in literature T.S. Eliot is described by the editors ... follows the legend of the Holy Grail and the Fisher King combined with vignettes of the contemporary social condition in British society. Eliot employs many literary and cultural allusions from the Western canon  and from Buddhism. Because of this, critics and schola...

• Word Count: 4134
• Approx Pages: 17
• Grade Level: High School

Major Themes, Historical Perspectives, and Personal Issues If students are to appreciate the work of Edith Eaton fully, they must be given its historical and ... but she refrained from identifying herself out of a delicate sense of modesty. "In the Land of the Free" is typical of Edith Eaton's short fiction. Her themes are of utmost importance: racial insensitivity, the human costs of bureaucratic and discriminatory laws and the humanity of the Chinese. The creation of rounded characters is a secondary ... populated with characters rich and diverse in their complexity. This study builds on Wh...

• Word Count: 2633
• Approx Pages: 11
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in 1965. This well respected translation is considered one of the finest and most accurate among the literary world. John Gardner was extremely talented and continuously wrote works of all different genres. He wrote plays, novels, poetry, criticism, and fiction, ... is the definition of a knight. With his every step, he continuously represents the pinnacle of loyalty, honor, integrity, and chivalry. Though these immortal themes are a part of Gawain, he remains a mortal man. Gawain's character is as good as it can be, considering the circums...

• Word Count: 2582
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... , racism and corruption are rife in society and government. Hunter Thompson chronicles the "fear and loathing" he experiences in Las Vegas, but his themes are much farther reaching. By an unspoken caucus he became the leader of the disenchanted generation of late 60's America. Staunchly anti-Nixon, Thompson ... such stature as Tom Wolfe, but he remains for many the one true icon of New Journalism. One of Thompson's fans in the literary circle, Kurt Vonnegut, present at the bombing of Dresden (which gives him much ammunition with which to attack war and suffering), is perhaps ... that is...

• Word Count: 4213
• Approx Pages: 17

... all, it could happen physically. Thus, this paper aims to analyze the story literary and provide necessary illustration. The major characteristics of a short story are considered in which we discuss about plot, conflict, characters, themes, tone, and personal value. In each aspect, we develop and prove with good ... who knows the truth and should be asked for mercy. This is considered his first step towards the great spiritual transformation. 6. Themes Many significant themes are found in God Sees the Truth but Waits. The most important ones are presented below: 6.1. Faith and Forgivenes...

• Word Count: 4087
• Approx Pages: 16
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... the "beast." The Lord of the Flies comes to symbolize the primordial instincts of power and cruelty that take control of Jack's tribe. Themes Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. Civilization vs. Savagery The central concern of "Lord of the Flies" is the conflict between two competing impulses that exist within all human beings: ... beast has disrupted the paradise that existed before-a powerful symbol of innate human evil disrupting childhood innocence. Motifs Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, and literary devices that can help to ...

• Word Count: 11237
• Approx Pages: 45
• Grade Level: High School

... good and evil the priests and all people must struggle with is present throughout the novel. Willa Cather superbly incorporates both imagery and symbolism to convey these and other significant themes. Often considered one of Willa Cather's finest novels, Death Comes for the Archbishop is a series of sparsely powerful snapshots in time that portray the awkward and slow transition of ... vehemently that it is not a novel. Myself, I prefer to call it a narrative" (On Writing 12). Cather's preference anticipated an important reformulation of the criticism of fiction: the body of literary th...

• Word Count: 7335
• Approx Pages: 29
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... from a deep respect for human beings" (West 53). Lord Byron's social empathies are aggressively given to causes of liberty (Knight 207). Byron's attitude towards life inspired him to approach themes of liberty in his works; these attitudes were also reflected his deeds as well (Knight 208). He greatly admired his ancestors who fought in the Crusades and Byron himself eventually ... in the acceptance of suffering; there is an unsteady balance between responsibility and resilience against consequences" (West 57). The Byronic Hero has no single literary form or fashion but instead an am...

• Word Count: 2505
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... literature forever. As Bennet notes in his survey of Hemingway in the discipline of creative writing, "In the union of his persona and his writing, Hemingway reconciled competing emphases in literary study, and the reconciliation contributed to the rise of a coherent, collegiate pedagogy for creative writing " Hemingway is often misunderstood as serious, unfeeling and harsh, but Hemingway was a deeply ... ambulance driver on the Italian front until he was wounded. This experience - both the war and the wounding - would deeply affect the themes and direction of his future work. Impotence...

• Word Count: 5359
• Approx Pages: 21
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... and prudent actions. This was accomplished through the study of the studia humanitatis, today known as the humanities: grammar, rhetoric, history, poetry and moral philosophy. M.H. Abram's 'A Glossary of Literary Terms' defines Renaissance Humanism, stating that some of the key concepts of the philosophy centered around "the dignity and central position of human beings in the universe' as reasoning creatures ... twists within the manuscript are meant to entertain and inform the audience of the absurdity of Faustian ambition. The humor contained within the text serves a larger purpose to...

• Word Count: 4242
• Approx Pages: 17

... in the reading public. The Education Act of 1870 made elementary education compulsory for everyone between the ages of 5 and 13. This led to the rapid expansion of a largely unsophisticated literary public, the rise of the popular press, and the mass production of 'popular' literature for a semi-literate 'lowbrow' readership. By the time of the First World War ... described as 'an open sewer', because of its theme of hereditary syphilis. George Bernard Shaw, a champion of the Norwegian Ibsen, himself began to write plays on similarly controversial themes: MrsWarren's Profe...

• Word Count: 10566
• Approx Pages: 42

... is true upon contemplating To The Lighthouse. In doing so, an audience may agree that through careful reflection, dramatic and literary devices used likewise by both playwright and author allow them further understanding of the texts. Devices such as imagery, themes and motifs and also characterisation, along with settings and the language employed by the writer, grant audiences the ability to examine ... so without acknowledging the poetry and symbolism within, and thus the poetic and symbolic nature of the play. In order to do this audiences must then pay careful attention to literary ...

• Word Count: 2581
• Approx Pages: 10

... cover of the Oxford edition of Bram Stoker's Dracula, "Dracula is a mirror of its age (published in Victorian Era, 1897), its underlying themes of race, religion, science, superstition, and sexuality never far from the surface." 3.1 Victorian Age's Men The man was protector, chief breadwinner and ... against evil forces. In the first few seasons, the most prominent monsters in Buffy are vampires, which are based on traditional myths, lore, and literary conventions, but, as the series continues, the "Scooby Gang" fights an increasing variety of demons, as well as ghosts, werewolves, ... ...

• Word Count: 3602
• Approx Pages: 14
• Has Bibliography

... made visible and audible (Lodge, 1993:196-200). In the process of dramatization, there is inevitably a certain amount of re-accentuation and refocusing of themes, characters, and plot. The most evident challenges of adapting of a novel to the screen could be gathered in four branches, which are listed and ... above comparison the average age shift is increased in ten years. Such a translation from page to screen is not accidental. This development of literary characters is influenced by the set of modern stereotypes and perception aspects. In the twenties century a seventeen years old gir...

• Word Count: 3105
• Approx Pages: 12
• Has Bibliography

... of Kafka even exert themselves in peculiar realm of postmodern theory. His nightmarish worlds of oppressive, bureaucracy and alienation are seen in society and culture. Today we see his existentialist themes in the works of such diverse writers as Arthur Miller and Norman Mailer. Eleventh, Jean Paul Sartre was an existentialist philosopher. He proposed that there was no God, no ethic ... but there may not be an apparent right one and man will have to face the consequences. Sartre's work served as a vehicle for the existentialism in our world. The existentialist themes have prevailed in h...

• Word Count: 3568
• Approx Pages: 14
• Has Bibliography