Free essays on literature refer to the writing pieces that are available to everyone online without any charges. These essays can cover a wide range of literary topics, such as the analysis of a character or a theme in a novel, a review of a poem or a play, or an interpretation of a literary movement. They can be written by students, scholars, or literary enthusiasts, and can offer diverse perspectives and insights into the world of literature. Free essays on literature can be useful for those interested in learning more about a specific literary work or genre or for those seeking inspiration for their own writing.
Moral Comparison in Canterbury Tales
"The Knight's Tale" and "The Miller's Tale" differ greatly in Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in their moral values as well as in their perception of heroism and heroes. In their tales there are opposing ideals like adultery and justness as well as conflicting characters like Theseus and Nicholas. Theseus and Nicholas are both smart, but Theseus magnanimously uses his wisdom to better the circumstances of those around him, especially the less fortunate or wronged, while lustful Nicholas uses cleverness to…...
EthicsHeroThe Canterbury Tales
An Analysis of The Knights Tale in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
In the literary classic, The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer includes The Knight's Tale to teach the lesson that breaking the basic societal codes of life leads to suffering and must end in justice. In The Knight's Tale, two knights from Thebes, sworn to brotherhood, fall in love with the same woman, Emily. These two knights are bound by the code of chivalry to protect each other, but when the rules of love come into play, conflict ensues. To prove his…...
ChivalryMiddle AgesThe Canterbury Tales
Into the Wild & Walden: Walking Towards the Edge
As kids, the only reason we are afraid of the edge is because our parents told us we would fall off of if we got too close. Being mere children, our fears overwhelm our curiosities. Little did we know that the older we get, the farther away the edge becomes. At that point, just a sliver of curiosity is all that matters. One can only feel so alive when they feel trapped in a society that doesn't reflect who they…...
Henry David ThoreauPsychologyWalden
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Emerson vs Thoreau
Of all the writers and philosophers who are considered to be transcendentalists, two of the most prevalent are Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Their works have been pondered for over 150 years. It is evident that Emerson is fundamentally a transcendentalist; however Emerson is not as much of a transcendentalist as Thoreau. Emerson believes in a strong connection to nature, focused on an "oversoul," a single soul which is possessed by all life, as well as God himself,…...
Henry David ThoreauRalph Waldo EmersonWalden
Thoreau’s Social Consciousness
Many scholars have tried to distinguish the relationship the individual has with their society as a whole. Some have looked to conformity more, while others, like Henry David Thoreau, have stated that people should be conscience of their society, particularly their government, and enact on the injustice it has served. I agree with this idea, for if man did not question the ethics of their government, who would? In his essay, "Civil Disobedience", Thoreau critiques the American government for taking…...
EthicsHenry David ThoreauPhilosophy
Thoreau’s Walking Message
My understanding of and ongoing experience with nature is reflective upon my youth and continues to modify and deepen as I saunter along life's path. Nature demands pure existence. By this, I mean not just to be alive, but to be "most alive" (Walking, 17), to unleash "the wild savage in us", the flame of wild spirit that burns incessantly within each and every one of us. Just some of the natural world's inherent characteristics, these unmistakable sentiments are expressed…...
Henry David ThoreauNaturePhilosophy
A Detailed Analysis of the Epic of Gilgamesh
The Epic of Gilgamesh is a depiction of an Ancient Sumerian king, with his travels and exploits. The epic is from twelve tablets, although the twelfth is considered more of a sequel to the original epic, and may not have even been written by the original authors (Jastrow, 2011). Various versions of the epic exist, but the most complete and comprehensive version resides now in the British museum, and is the primary source for readings and translations. The tablets were…...
Epic Of GilgameshLiteratureMythology
Gilgamesh vs Achilles
The characters of Gilgamesh and Achilles share many aspects with each other in their separate stories. They are both concerned for their own mortality and glory. They are both drawn into their destiny by their reactions to the death of their friends. They are both great fighters and well respected in their respective positions, and both are tied in with the gods of their own culture but with different motives that do cross paths in some ways. Gilgamesh searches for…...
Epic Of GilgameshFictionLiterature
Women as Guides and Power in Gilgamesh & Iphigenia
In ancient texts, women have pivotal roles as representatives of power. In texts such as The Epic of Gilgamesh and Iphigeneia at Aulis, women are portrayed as guides and powerful deities that have the ability to sway situations in their favor. Supernatural and precognitive guidance plays a huge role in texts, especially when provided by those who have predestined courses. From familial to sacrificial power, the women from these texts are crucial to the development of the main character by…...
Epic Of GilgameshHomerLiterature
The Four Steps of the Cartesian Method of Rene Descartes
Rene Descartes (1596-1650) was a French mathematician and philosopher. (South University Online, 2015, para. 1). Rene Descartes came up with the Cartesian method, which is a four step method for analyzing philosophical ideas. The first step is "Never accept anything as true anything that can be doubted. Even a remote doubt is sufficient to require that a belief/assertion be examined." (South University Online, 2015, para. 4). Many people will take this as a reason to doubt and question everything in…...
Rene Descartes
Descartes’ Discourse and Meditations Comparison
If we take a look at the historical context of the Discourse on Method, it was written around the time the Thirty Years' War was ravaging Europe, and the book was seen as some sort of reaction to this destructive event with a quest to establish an unshakeable foundation for order. The conflict from within of Christendom (Catholics pitted against Protestants) on who has the privileged access to divine truth was still ongoing, and Descartes presented a truly radical idea…...
Rene Descartes
Truth in Rousseau & Machiavelli
In Rousseau's First Discourse, and in Machiavelli's The Prince, there is a shared belief that telling the truth has a circumstantial obligation and some situations require not doing so. Whether it is for the benefit of yourself or others, telling the truth is a decision that must be analyzed for each circumstance. Machiavelli describes a conditional approach to telling the truth as he describes how a prince must be deceptive like a fox in order to gain power. Rousseau offers…...
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Justice and Sustainability in Rousseau’s First Discourse
The First Discourse, written by Jean-Jacques Rousseau offers insight unto the teaching of justice; which is heavily discussed in the inclusion of Cyrus' remarks from his schooling experiences. This marks only the beginning of the dialogue of justice; however it shapes the essence of where Rousseau directs his weight in the topic. Furthermore, Rousseau offers insight as to how justice may replace instinct, which contradicts the theme of Cyrus' reasoning for his actions within the dialogue. This introduces further points…...
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
A Review of Discourse on Inequality, a Book by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
"The moral part of love is an artificial sentiment, born of usage in society, and cultivated by women with much skill and care in order to establish their empire over men, and so make dominant the sex that ought to obey". How does Rousseau explore relationships between love, gender and power in the Discourse on Inequality? Rousseau creates a patriarchist relationship between love, gender, and power in the Discourse on Inequality. This can be easily outlined in a metaphorical triangle;…...
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
A Guide on How to Properly Write a Lesson Plan
Have you ever sat at your desk late at night and stared at a blank lesson plan template that is due for your 8am Education practicum with no idea how to even begin? If you relate to this experience you are probably a first semester Elementary Education student struggling with writing your first lesson plans for your very first practicum experience. You probably have felt the pressure to create a lesson that will keep the attention of the twenty first…...
The Lesson
Fear Paralyzes Bartleby in Melville’s Short Story
Bartleby, the Scrivener is an allegorical short story in which the author, Herman Melville, writes from the perspective of an anonymous narrator. The Narrator introduces himself as a "safe man" who is the owner of a scrivener office on Wall Street in New York (Melville 1103). In need of another "copyist" for his practice, he publishes an "advertisement" for a job opening (1107-1108). The owner is soon approached by an unfamiliar, ominous prospective employee, Bartleby, whom he describes as "motionless"…...
Bartleby the Scrivener
Comparing Characterizations in 3 Works
Throughout the course of an individual's life, obstacles are inevitable. It is not however the substance of the problems, but the process of resolution. Every situation has a different outcome, yet the journey is always more important than the destination. As read in novels, plays and short stories such as, The Revenant by Michael Punke, Hamlet by William Shakespeare and Bartleby by Herman Melville characters have distinct issues that must be solved. Although these pieces of writing have different issues…...
Bartleby the Scrivener
The Motif of Isolation in the Short Stories of Jhumpa Lahiri
I think that isolation is one of the most important motifs in all of Jhumpa Lahiri’s short stories. In all of the stories, people feel isolated and lonely where they are, whether it is because of a move away from their country, or because they feel that they have nothing in common with some other person or people. In “A Temporary Matter", the marriage between Shoba and Shukumar is in shatters, and they both find that they have nothing in…...
FictionIsolationLiteratureLoneliness
The Theme of Isolation in Of Mice and Men
A common theme found in Of Mice and Men is of isolation, the state of being alone and secluded from others. Steinbeck offers many instances in which the characters feel lonely, but I believe that crooks is the loneliest. He has no actual name, due to his lack of importance in the farm, but is given the nickname “Crooks“ by the other ranch hands because he is crippled. In addition, he is commonly referred to as the stable buck or…...
IsolationLiteratureLonelinessRacism
Isolation in The Fall of the House of Usher
In “The Fall of the House of Usher” Edgar Allan Poe shows that living in isolation can lead to madness in Roderick Usher by the way he’s been described as if on opium, and the way that Usher has locked himself in his home for so long “During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year ” starts the story out appropriately. lt eludes to how Roderick Usher’s senses are overly-acute and how…...
FictionIsolationLiteratureRomanticism
My Strengths as a Good Listener and My Strong Persistence to Read Books
When I was growing up my mom would read to me daily, I enjoyed listening to the stories she read and begged for more when one was finished. My strong persistence to read then caused her to set a three-book limit before bed. My mom says that I was a good listener and would follow directions when told to do so. For example we used to play Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes and Simon Says together. I remember that we…...
Harry PotterLanguagePersistenceWriting
Planning To Skydive For Advertising
The film I watched was Beach Blanket Bingo that's was directed by William Asher and was released on April 14, 1965. The film begins with Frankie and his group going to the beach when Sugar Kane plans a skydiving publicity stunt for her album. One of the guys falls in love with a mermaid while there is also a biker gang. The film is overall funny while being childish at the same time but is very confusing to follow what's…...
EntertainmentFictionGenderSkydiving
Cage With Giant Rhinos
But you must leave us alone¨ the girl smiled and went back into the thick brush. The kids found their way home and saw that Meek lay on the ground in a pool of blood. The kids shrieked and their dad came running to them and smiled and said ¨ my children, alive once again¨ they all hugged each other and the dad said ¨I want you to meet your new mom Lacie¨ the kids cheered and hugged Lacie. They…...
BreakfastChildFictionRhino
Salvation in Death Valley: Visiting LSU for a Football Game
Beep throwing my arm across my bed, and hitting the snooze button on my alarm clock. As I rolled, staring at the bright sunshine reflecting on my ceiling, I knew it was going to be a great day, looking out the window. Seeing all my friends knocked out cold on my floor and Lrundied bed. Getting up slowly, not making a sound, wandering off to the kitchen, going cook breakfast for everyone hoping they will get up soon Thinking about…...
Death ValleyFictionTruck
The New Historicism Challenges the Literary Work
Historicism is a literary theory that looks at the life of the author and the time period the text was written in. Specific details matter in this literary theory, such as the type of food they eat, the style of dress and the language used New Historicism challenges the meaning that history places upon a piece of literature. For instance, we might say that people in the Romantic Era were driven by passion or people in the Great Depression Era…...
CultureLiteratureNew HistoricismPhilosophy
New Historicism in Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O’Connor
Flannery O'Connor does an excellent job of providing binaries (structuralism!) centered on Julian's mother's beliefs (white power is good), as well as her son's beliefs (people should be equal). In O'Connor's short story, it is clear that racism is at the center of the plot line, Julian and his mother, people from two entirely different generations, argue about society Julian grows increasingly frustrated with his mother because she is from the generation when Julian's "great-grandfather was a former governor of…...
BeliefNew HistoricismPoliticsRacism
Explicating Lord Alfred Tennyson’s Poem “The Charge of the Light Brigade”
Lord Alfred Tennyson’s poem, “The Charge of the Light Brigade”, is a narrative of the of the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War in 1854. Tennyson frames The Charge Of The Light Brigade as noble and courageous, but subtly criticizes the consequences of following the lead of authority when in doubt. The first, second, and final stanza demonstrate these ideas best. The first stanza opens with the phrase “half a league“ repeated three times, conveying two possible meanings tennyson…...
Charge of the Light BrigadeLiteratureMilitaryPoetry
Comparing Poems: Bayonet Charge & The Charge
‘Bayonet Charge' and The Charge of 'The Light Brigade' are both poems that focus of war specifically the soldiers in the war these poems show the soldier’s bravery and patriotism. At the second stanza in 'Bayonet Charge,' the soldier begins to doubt why he's is fighting the war, while in "The Charge of the Light Brigade” the soldiers remain totally focused on war and not the consequences. In both these poems soldiers are show as patriotic and they will die…...
Charge of the Light BrigadeLiteraturePhilosophyPoetry
The Image of Hell in Dante’s Inferno
In The Inferno, sensory details help to convey the gamut of emotions Dante feels while traveling through Hell. The sounds Dante uses to convey the terrors of Hell are: the plethora of screams containing many different dialects and pitches of those who deserved “neither blame nor praise" the dead souls “teeth began to/ chatter” when they were frightened; the souls “weeping and cursing” at their faith. The details Dante uses to appeal to the sense of sight are: the runners…...
AfterlifeDante’s InfernoMythologyReligion
A Personal Interpretation of Dante’s Inferno, a Poem by Dante Alighieri
In the Inferno, we learn all about hell including the different layers of hell and the different punishments that go along with each layen Dante goes through hell with Virgil to learn all about it. He is timid to go, fearing that he may not make it out alive, but Virgil insists he will be ok with him as his guide as he was sent to guide him through. When Dante gets to the second circle of hell, he finds…...
AfterlifeDante’s InfernoLiteratureLove
Unjust Society in Cry the Beloved Country
In the novel, Cry The Beloved Country, Alan Paton teaches the reader that a hierarchical society is unjust. This story follows Stephen Kumalo around South Africa just before Apartheid. Kumalo starts in the small farm town of Ndotsheni, The story takes him to various places in South Africa, including the town of Johannesburg, where he finds his family, along with some very important information about his son, all during very critical times in the history of the country. South Africa…...
Cry the Beloved Country
South Africa’s Issues in Cry the Beloved Country
Alan Paton's Cry, The Beloved Country is a powerful novel that takes a look at many of the problems troubling South Africa. Segregation, economic inequality, decadence, and the destruction of the family unit are some of the problems discussed in this work. The title of the novel is simply saying that all of these problems are more than enough to bring a person to tears; a person like Kumalo cries for his beloved country; a person like Jacob Jarvis cries…...
Cry the Beloved Country
The Role of Gender in Hedda Gabler and The Importance of Being Earnest
Discuss the "performance" of gender in the plays using one character from each play as examples. Gender plays a great role in both plays Hedda Gabler and The importance of Being Ernest. In both plays there are women playing extremely masculine roles. In Henrik Isben's play, Hedda Gabler, it is Hedda herself and in Oscar Wilde's play, The Importance of Being Earnest, it is Lady Bracknell. They both have characteristics that a man should have had in their time period.…...
Hedda Gabler
Rebellion in Hedda Gabler and Blood Relations
Plays written by Henrik Ibsen and Sharon Pollock provoke Freudian thoughts, namely, the essence or motivations behind our human existence. Henrik Ibsen boldly stated "our whole being is nothing but a fight against the dark forces within ourselves" (as cited in Lahr, 2009). Ibsen's claim accuses the conscious human-self by stating we, as humans, lack autonomy over our own actions, as we are subconsciously driven by the desire to fulfill a grim sense of expectations in our lives. This is…...
Hedda Gabler
By the Bog of Cats vs Hedda Gabler
Though written about a hundred years apart, By the Bog of Cats by Marina Carr and Hedda Gabler by Henrick Ibsen are very similar in that they both end on the death of a main character. In By the Bog of Cats, Hester kills her daughter Josie and in Hedda Gabler, Hedda kills herself. Though there is a level of sadness in both these deaths, Josie's is the much more tragic of the two largely because Hedda is a very…...
Hedda Gabler
The Life and Work of Ralph Ellison
Ralph Ellison was born in Oklahoma City in the year of 1914. Both Ralph and his younger brother were raised by their mother who was a nursemaid, a janitor and a domestic. Ralphs father died when he was only three years old. Ellison originally did not plan on being a famous author, rather he expected to become a musician and composer. At the age of 19, Ellison enrolled at Tuskegee Institute with a major in music. Specifically, he studied classical…...
Ralph Ellison
The Influences of Ralph Ellison in His Book Negro Oklahoma City
In Ralph Ellison's piece Negro Oklahoma City, Ellison's profound interest in music, books and the world around him is expressed through his educated language. As one of the three most "present" influences on Ralph Ellison's work, music holds an important role in Ellison's life. Ellison's attitude toward music can be described best with the phrase "artistic discipline," which he defines as "once one picked up an instrument it was difficult to escape." Ellison goes on to describe music as enjoyable,…...
Ralph Ellison
An Analysis of Ralph Ellisons Works and Its Impact to Its Readers
Ralph Ellison is an African-American author who composed many powerful works during the Jim Crow era, when severe racial inequality was a prominent and pressing issue in the United States. Due to various factors, including Ellison's racial background and the time period in which the author lived, a few commonly recurring topics found in Ellison's work consist of the harsh division and brutal injustices that occurred between whites and blacks in the southern part of the United States at that…...
Ralph Ellison
Daily Struggles of Black Americans in Battle Royal
In "Battle Royal", Ellison gives the reader subtle instruction to maintain their identity while growing up in the racial distorts of America. The characters of interest are the grandfather and narrator, who both face an internal conflict with one selves regarding their place in civilisation. Being black in America was not always easy. Any misstep was a setback for the African American community, being a great challenge as of how to manage life while living in a predominantly white-privileged society.…...
Battle Royal
The Role of the Narrator in Ralph Ellisons Battle Royal
The narrator took the negative ways of Negro life and used it to gain positive results, for him, from his white counterparts. The narrator believes that being asked to give speeches, which expressed the humility that Negroes should have, would serve as a stepping stone towards his goal of gaining their praises; much like that of Booker T. Washington. With respect to his grandfather and to the honor of Mr. Washington, I believe the narrator was right for wanting to…...
Battle Royal
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