Free essays on books are academic papers that analyze various aspects of literature such as the plot, characters, themes, motifs, symbols, and literary devices used by authors to convey their messages. These essays can be found online and cover a wide range of literary genres including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, and biographies. They offer insights into the literary techniques employed by authors, the cultural and historical contexts that inform their work, and the relevance of these texts to contemporary audiences. Students, researchers, and avid readers can use these essays as study materials, examples for their own writing, or sources of inspiration for their literary analysis.
The Inequality of Female Characters in the Poem A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell
In Susan Glaspell’s “A Jury of Her Peers," the female characters face inequality in a male-dominated society. Because of the deep rooted stereotypes held on by the men in this story, they cannot step into Minnie Wright’s shoes in order to solve the crime, They unsuspectingly are bested by the women because of their blind eyes and inability to connect and relate with Minnie. The men, the county attorney, Mr, Hale, and Sheriff Peters only view their wives, the women,…...
A Jury Of Her PeersCultureFictionMarriage
The Character of Abner in the Short Story “Barn Burning”
Have you ever read a story with a character who is just so obviously flat and see through, there is no other way the character can possibly be round? This is not one of those cases, which might be odd. Abner from the short story Barn Burning, no doubt is hard-headed, angry, and very unmannered... People may think. But what if really he isn't anything at all what is first thought of him. Abner just really wants his family to…...
Barn BurningLiteracyPhilosophy
An Analysis of Sarty in Barn Burning by William Faulkner
William Faulkner's "Barn Burning" is a short story whose main character is an uneducated boy who can't read named Sarty. The opening paragraph of the work provides us with an insight into the at first seemingly uncomplicated consciousness of Sarty, but through the use of signs via the food that Sarty sees, we come to understand the true complexity of Sarty's consciousness as we realize that the hunger he has for the sealed food in the store symbolizes the same…...
Barn BurningPhilosophySymbol
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A Discussion About the Theme of Realism in My Antonia
My Antonia is a book about realism of the late 19th and early 20th century. The Webster's Dictionary defines Realism as "Picturing and seeing people and things as they really are." That is what this book does; it shows "people as they really are." It does not glamorize what pioneer life was like. It tells us the hardships that these people dealt with, and gives us the sense of the meaning of family and friendship they had. Because without friends…...
FictionLiteratureMy Antonia
An Analysis of Willa Cather’s My Antonia
In everybody's life, there is always someone that has a greater influence on him or her more than anyone else would. In Willa Catheri's My Antonia, Antonia Shimerda is that person in Jim Burden's life. I'd have liked to have you for a sweetheart, or a wife, or my mother or my sister-anything that a woman can be to a man. The idea of you is a part of my mind; you influence my likes and dislikes, all my tastes,…...
FictionLiteratureMy Antonia
An Analysis of My Antonia by Willa Cather
My Ántonia, by Willa Cather, illustrates pioneer life narrated through the eyes of Jim Burden. Throughout the novel he continually places Ántonia, his dearest childhood companion, at the center of his prospective memory. A combination of Ántonia's company with majestic descriptions of the Nebraska prairie forms the basis of Jim's nostalgic recollection that comprises My Ántonia. Just as history tends to repeat itself, certain patterns also emerge in Jim's memory, events parallel to one another that define his experience and…...
My AntoniaPhilosophyPsychology
Jim Burden’s Unsuccessful Growth as an Individual in “My Antonia”
Characters in novels often experience an epiphany that occurs during their evolution throughout the novel. However, the epiphany takes time or may not even occur at all. This slow process is evident in the novel, My Antonia. Jim Burden, the main protagonist in the story has a difficult time growing as an individual. At the beginning of the novel, he is unsure of himself and passive whereas his friend, Antonia shows a bright, passionate energy. As Jim grows in age,…...
CultureMy AntoniaPsychology
An Analysis of the Concept of Escape in The House on Mango Street
In the book, The House on Mango Street, each individual character has to face the concept of escape. Whether the characters escape from simple things, such as a controlling relationship to things that are more complicated, such as how to escape a lifestyle. Although all of these conflicts are very important, I believe that one of the biggest people to mention would be Esperanza, who simply needs to escape from Mango Street. In my opinion, Mango Street is not just…...
FictionLiteratureThe House On Mango Street
The Gender Barriers Faced by Women in Society in “The House on Mango Street”
What does it mean to be a female? The definition can change depending on time, place and wealth. Women in all societies face gender barriers, whether at home, work, or school. These barriers range from unequal wages to sexual harassment. For the women who live on Mango Street, their gender barriers are built on an overwhelming dependence on men. In The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros, the women are both financially and emotionally dependent on the men or…...
GenderSocial IssuesThe House On Mango Street
The House on Mango Street and Esperanza’s Experiences With Gender Inequality
To many, their first sex experience was the fulfillment of lust, satisfaction, and pleasure, but to some, it was pain, deprive of innocence and inequality. In "The House on Mango Street," by Sandra Cisneros, Esperanza grows up in a street where men are the takers and women are providers, this place is full of inequality and discrimination of women. When Esperanza goes to the Carnival, she experiences rape, but the rapist did not experience the punishment of justice. The rape…...
EthicsPhilosophyThe House On Mango Street
The Different Methods of Coping with the War in “The Things They Carried”
While the soldiers all have different methods of coping with the war, each method is crucial to allowing them to recover from the emotional stress that the war builds upon them. Rat Kiley, the medic of the troop, copes with the emotional burdens by carrying lighthearted items such as candy and comic books to distract himself from the actuality of the horror in the war. However, as these distractions are too trivial of a method of coping, Rat Kiley eventually…...
Mental HealthPsychologyThe Things They Carried
The Emotional Feelings Carried by the Soldiers in “The Things They Carried”
In the story, "The Things They Carried," Tim O'Brien tells the story of a company in Vietnam. With his own experiences, O'Brien conveys the hardships and fear that characterizes the soldiers lives and the weight of the war. Everything the soldiers of the company carried had a physical and mental impact on them causing them to emotionally or physically break down in one way or another. Pain, loss, and fear were probably the most challenging emotional, and psychological feelings for…...
FictionPsychologyThe Things They Carried
An Opinion That Revenge is Not the Answer in The Things They Carried
People mistake punishment for revenge. When you think of getting revenge on someone for them doing something bad to you or a loved one, the first thing some people think of is a way to get back at them and hurt them the way they hurt you. When someone you think someone has lied or cheated on you talk to them because getting revenge isn't the first thing you should do. People tend to act on something before thinking about…...
PsychologyRevengeThe Things They Carried
The Tragic Time of the 1960’s in Tim O’Brien’s “The Things They Carried”
The short story "On The Rainy River" is a great example which represents a tuff time in 1968. This time was where many men were drafted into war with the mentality that both the men and the society were forced to be afraid to show fear or emotion. It made them all feel ashamed of being "softer", which then forces them to sexist ideals towards the level of women. Tom O'Brien, a 21-year-old man who graduated from Macalester College in…...
PhilosophyPsychologyThe Things They Carried
Making Choices in “On the Rainy River” from “The Things They Carried”
In the chapter "On The Rainy River" in the novel, The Things They Carried, the narra- tor Tim O'Brien delineates himself as a smart, promising man who has big dreams. But O'Brien's dreams are crushed when he receives a draft notice to Vietnam; he finds himself plotting an escape plan from the Vietnam War. O'Brien uses repetition of the phrase "I remember", to not only prove his feelings and consequences of his coura- geous acts, but also the phrase "I…...
FictionLiteratureThe Things They Carried
Analyzing Soldiers’ Personal Belongings in “The Things They Carried”
"The Things They Carried” is a touching story about soldiers and the items that they deem important enough to carry with them throughout the war. Tim O'Brien explores the effects of how personal items give soldiers hope and security. The readers experience this sense of hope, and security when the main character Lieutenant Jimmy Cross relies on letters and pictures during his time in the war. Cross often spends his days fanaticizing about a college aged girl named Martha instead…...
PhilosophyPsychologyThe Things They Carried
A Focus on the Character Peyton in Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”
In the story An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge written by Ambrose Bierce the main character is Peyton Farquhar. Farquhar is a wealthy plantation owner and a confederate supporter, who was incapable of joining the army. He is a husband and a father, the story does not incorporate how many children he has. At the beginning of the story the scne of Farquhar entwined in a noose, standing on wooden planks, and dangling over a raging river. During this scene…...
An Occurrence At Owl Creek BridgeFictionLiterature
An Analysis of An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce
The plot is about a man who has been wrongly accused and is now being hanged by an organised military group. The man gradually is deprived of oxygen as the noose is tightened. He then begins hallucinating and the reader is lead astray to thinking that the man is escaping, when in reality he is simply distorted due to the rope is structured in a very manipulative way. The story begins at a point which is just before the end…...
An Occurrence At Owl Creek BridgeExperienceThought
A Comparison of “An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge” and “The Snows of Kilimanjaro”
Death is an intriguing thing. From time immemorial we have feared it, used it, pondered it. Frequently, stories allow the reader into the minds of those immediately surrounding the one who will die; but all of us "will die." Our morbid interest is in dying, the going, that threshold between death and life. What happens there? There are similarities and differences in how death appears to the protagonist, written by Ambrose Bierce in An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, and…...
An Occurrence At Owl Creek BridgeFictionMind
An Analysis of “Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” and “Young Goodman Brown”
For an author, time is a tool manipulated for specific purposes. In the story "Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce, time is condensed and shifted in accordance with the changes of the main character's reality. In "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne it is not time that is altered but Goodman's dreaming mind. Both time and the subconscious mind affect reality in varying ways. How does time-manipulation or dreams affect a character's reality, and how does this affect…...
An Occurrence At Owl Creek BridgePhilosophyPsychology
An Examination of the Author’s Point of View in An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
Being my second time reading this macabre tale, I had not expected it to have the same effect as it did when I was a high-school junior. However, as I knew how the events played out, I was able to note several things I missed on my first read-through. Ambrose Bierce is quite an illustrative and descriptive writer, almost tiringly so; however, I had not considered that by intentionally neglecting a second dialogue, he was weaving another side to the…...
An Occurrence At Owl Creek BridgePhilosophyPsychology
Realism and Prisoners of War in “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”
Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” demonstrates realism for prisoners of war. The story takes place during the American Civil War. The main character is Peyton Farquhar, a farmer and family man in his 30's. Farquhar lives' in northern Alabama, he is also a slave owner devoted to the southern cause. In the first section of " An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" Peyton Farquhar is standing on railroad bridge surrounded by his executioners. Ambrose uses great detail…...
An Occurrence At Owl Creek BridgeConflictFiction
An Analysis of We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks
According to Gwendolyn Brooks the poem We Real Cool was written about the attitude and thoughts of a group of young men who skipped school to play pool at a local pool hall. This was an actual occurrence witnessed by the author and she was curious as to what went on in their heads, sparking her to write the poem. In the line We sing sin I think she is referring to their character, meaning they are enthusiastically, without shame,…...
FictionLiteratureWe Real Cool
The Making of Our Video of the Poem, We Real Cool by Gwendolyn Brooks
When we first were given this assignment, I was genuinely excited because I love making iMovies and taking pictures. I did not realize the level of difficulty this project was going to entail. This multimedia project was enjoyable but it was also stressful and difficult. When we were given the list of poems I started to analyze them and search for the one I would want to use to explain a cultural problem. The first time I read, We Real…...
EntertainmentFictionWe Real Cool
The African American Oppression in Their Eyes Were Watching God
Upon its release in 1937, long overdue from the age of African American expressionism that materialized during what we now know as the Harlem Renaissance, Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God drew widespread criticism from many prominent and contemporary writers for Hurston's failure to take on racial tensions and racial discrimination. Perhaps the most trenchant of criticism came from Richard Wright, a fellow contemporary author and civil rights activist who typically used his writing as a means of…...
PoliticsSocial IssuesTheir Eyes Were Watching God
The Journey of Janie to Find Herself in Their Eyes Were Watching God
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston is a world renowned novel about a woman's journey to find self revelation. Along this journey Janie, the protagonist of the novel, encounters many gender stereotypes. As if being a woman isn't tough enough, Janie is also black making it even harder for her to persevere. Though the odds are against her she manages to pre- vail. When reading the novel, one could conclude that Janie is a feminist yet others…...
FeminismSocial IssuesTheir Eyes Were Watching God
A Question on the True Path and the Moral Ambiguity
Moral ambiguity is a decision making problem between two possible moral imperatives, neither of which is unambiguously acceptable or preferable. In other words, it is when there is insufficient information on whether something is correct or incorrect. Their Eyes Were Watching God, written by Zora Neale Hurston, is a book set during the early 1900s. Hurston has a character named Janie Crawford who goes through tough relationships. Many questions were raised when Janie acted a certain way in her relationships.…...
CulturePsychologyTheir Eyes Were Watching God
Sensory Language, Idealism and Realism in Their Eyes Were Watching God
Zora Neale Hurston enriches our sense of her childhood world by using sensory language and manipulating the reader's view by articulating the contrast between her mother's idealism and her father's realism. Hurston's diction and syntax come together to create a vivid image of the beautiful Garden of Eden that held all her needs. Hurston's first steps into the city are identifiable by the "fleshy, white, fragrant blooms," that were too common to charge for in the countryside, but were a…...
CultureExperienceTheir Eyes Were Watching God
Janie’s Feelings About Joe in Their Eyes Were Watching God
In the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, author Zora Neale Hurston uses metaphor and imagery to express Janie's feelings about Joe and her marriage, which was characterized by neglect, misogyny, control, and labor. When Joe assaults her after a disappointing meal, she finally articulates to herself the lie of her marriage, that she felt "no more blossomy openings dusting pollen over her man, neither any glistening fruits where the petals used to be" (Hurston 68). Throughout the novel, Hurston…...
EthicsSexualityTheir Eyes Were Watching God
Identity and Self-Actualization in Their Eyes Were Watching God
In the novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, written by Zora Neale Hurston, the concept of identity and self-actualization is prominent throughout the life of the protagonist Janie Crawford. The novel depicts the trials, tribulations, and triumphs that Janie experiences in life and love in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Hurston depicts Janie's life as a mixed-race woman living in a time when women were kept cleaning and cooking in the home, however, Janie goes through life wanting…...
PoliticsSocial IssuesTheir Eyes Were Watching God
Character Analysis of Connie in Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been
In the short story "Where are you going? Where have you been?" written by Joyce Carol Oates, the main character and protagonist Connie is expressed throughout. In the highly sexualized society in which she is surrounded by, she follows the stereotypical role of the American teenager. She fits this role by showing her vanity, lacking a sense of independence and being ignorant in her encounter with the antagonist Arnold Friend. Her personality and view of herself shift throughout the story…...
CultureExperienceWhere Are You Going Where Have You Been
The Lifestyle of the Teens in the 1960’s in Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been
The story "where are you going where have you been" is showing us the teenagers life style in 1960s: movie theaters, shopping malls, drive-in restaurants, ranch-style homes. The author is talking specifically about a girl named Connie. But there is many weird stuff in the story like the creepy guy named Arnold Friend, and the way he showed up suddenly. What was all these things? The author is considering Connie as the credulous girl, and Arnold as the malign person…...
BibleLiteratureWhere Are You Going Where Have You Been
The Important Role of Irony in Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been
"My sweet little blue-eyed girl," he said, in a half-sung voice that had nothing to do with her brown eyes..." (Joyce Carol Oates 466) Irony has a funny way of expressing itself. It could be conveyed as comical or it could be elucidate as enraging. Either way, irony plays an important role in the success of Joyce Carlos Oates "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been." In a way, Connie herself is ironic. Some may say that she is…...
CultureFictionWhere Are You Going Where Have You Been
The Major Use of Motifs and Symbolism in Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been
In the short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" there is are an extensive use of symbolism and motifs. The story is significant with topical criticalness and symbolism. In her article "Existential Allegory: Joyce Carol Oates 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" Marie Mitchell Olesen Urbanski argues, "few have acknowledged the allegorical nature of her work. Veiling the intent of "Where Are You Going ..." in realistic detail, Oates sets up the framework of a…...
AllegoryCultureWhere Are You Going Where Have You Been
The Symbolism and Imagery in Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
Analyzing the Symbolism and Imagery in "Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?” Evil nature and/or spirits can come in many different forms, just as Joyce Carol Oates has proven in her short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?". The story is said to be "a chilling modern fable that uncovers the bleakness and emptiness of contemporary life and values." (Werlock). Oates utilizes skillful symbols to help add visuals and significance to her stories. In the…...
CulturePsychologyWhere Are You Going Where Have You Been
A Character Analysis of Arnold Friend within the Work of Joyce Carol Oates
With the world being full of people who portray themselves as someone or something they are not, people hide their identity to obtain things they desire. In Joyce Carol Oates's, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been," Arnold Friend is an example of someone trying to trick another individual into believing he is someone he is not. Arnold Friend is a mystery to the readers and scholars because it was not stated whether he is a boy, a man,…...
DreamPhilosophyWhere Are You Going Where Have You Been
Poverty and Forgotten Issues in “Nickels and Dimes”
Dr. Barbara Ehrenreich was a journalist, however she was formally educated and held a Ph.D. in cellular biology. She wrote Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, after coming up with the idea to investigate what it is like to live in poverty in America. She argued that the government does not distribute aid properly and doesn't ensure that welfare recipients are able to find jobs, and that living on minimum wage is not possible. Ida B. Wells-Barnett…...
Nickel And DimedPovertySocial Issues
The Social Experiment in Nickel and Dimed, a Book by Barbara Ehrenreich
The book Nickel and Dimed was created by a journalist who wanted to make her own news. Barbara Ehrenreich, a social change writer with a Ph.D. in Biology, did this by putting herself in shoes many people don't want to be in. In her book, Ehrenreich reflects in her social experiment of stripping away her comfortable life style and survive as a low-wage working class citizen. She would work various low-wage jobs and live off those paychecks. Her paychecks would…...
EmploymentNickel And DimedSocial Issues
An Overview of the Sociological Theories in “Nickel and Dimed”
All Sociological theories can be discussed through Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed and much can be demonstrated. The length of this paper will have brief overviews of Nickel and Dimed while going over sociological concepts presented by sociologist such as Marx, Weber, and Wright. The author's opinion, while present in writing, will be compared to Ehrenreich's experiences as well. Barbara Ehrenreich is a journalist who focuses on socio- political issues and holds a Ph.D. in Biology. The novel Nickel and…...
EmploymentNickel And DimedSocial Issues
The Lives of the Working in “Nickel and Dimed”
In the year of 1776, with a total population of roughly 2.5 million people, the United States of America was founded on the moral premise that, "by working hard, you would have a good life." And yet 237 years later, with a staggering population of roughly 314 million people, does that premise still hold true? This highly debated question was answered in the novel Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich. Here, she explores the…...
EmploymentNickel And DimedSocial Issues
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