Essays on Literature

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.
An Introduction to the Parable of the Sower
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The Parable Of The Sower This parable is about a sower who went out to sow grain. As he scattered the seeds in the field some seeds fell along the path, where the seed was smashed and eaten by the birds. Some of the seeds fell on rocky ground. When the seeds sprouted on the rocky ground they died from lack of moisture. Some of the other seeds fell in thorn bushes. As they grew with the thorn bushes they…...
Parable Of The Sower
A Critique of the Play Fiddler on the Roof Presented by El Dorado High School
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Fiddler on the Roof Critique I went to see Fiddler on the Roof presented by El Dorado High School on Saturday November 7th at 7:00 pm. The playwright is Sheldon Harnick, the composer is Jerry Bock, and the performance was authorized by Music Theatre International. The play was directed by Katie Banks-Todd who also directed the music. The choreographer was Joshua Larson. The stage construction was by Matt, Guthrie, Evan Unruh, and the EHS Drama Crew. The lighting designer was Arthur Reece. The light board…...
Fiddler On The Roof
Justice in The Count of Monte Cristo
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The great amount of suffering that Dantes deals with throughout The Count of Monte Cristo is something that would be impossible for the average person to handle, yet he perseveres and comes out on top of his situation. In Alexandre Dumas' "The Count of Monte Cristo” the Count's revenge can be justified through what has been done to him, his reluctance to hurt those uninvolved, and the sensibility of his beliefs on justice and punishment. Villefort's schemes against Edmond to…...
The Count Of Monte Cristo
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A Review of Alexandre Dumas’ Old Story, The Count of Monte Cristo
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The Count of Monte Cristo is an old story of revenge by Alexandre Dumas. In the book the main character, Edmond Dantes is betrayed by the people who he called his friends. He spends the next fourteen years of his life in jail, but then escapes and spends the next few years planning to take revenge on him. Although he never actually physically hits or punches his enemies, he does hit them with his plan, n, and Dempsey and Firpo…...
The Count Of Monte Cristo
Edmond Dantes’ Newfound Power
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Count of Monte Cristo In Alexandre Dumas's novel, The Count of Monte Cristo, Edmond Dantes receives a newfound power given to him by his "God," which he uses to restore balance and justice to whoever deserves it. Much like how Abraham Lincoln believes that "nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power," Edmond gradually changes from seeking out and finding the riches on the Isle of Monte Cristo, which ultimately symbolizes competence and…...
The Count Of Monte Cristo
Mercedes: A Character Analysis
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In The Count of Monte Cristo, we are introduced to Mercedes a young Catalan beauty, who is engaged to Dantes. After Dantes' imprisonment and supposed death, Mercedes marries her cousin and friend, Fernand. When she discovers Dantes is still alive she continues to love him, but is faithful in her marriage, unlike some other characters. Mercedes is a wonderful mother to Albert but is soon left with nothing when Fernand kills himself leaving her and Albert little to live on.…...
The Count Of Monte Cristo
Monte Cristo’s Revenge Theme: My Experience
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Count of Monte Cristo Reflection Honestly, the first impression I had of the movie was “boring” because when I saw the scenes of the movie, it reminded me of the 17th century when soldiers still wore that red uniform. The hairstyle of the characters was good-fashioned and people still rode on carriages but that impression faded little by little after a while. I started to enjoy watching the film as if I were the actual scenes. The part that I…...
The Count Of Monte Cristo
The Dark Elements in The Count of Monte Cristo, a Novel by Alexandre Dumas
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This novel was set in the eighteen-hundreds, so there are strong democratic leanings evident in Dumas's literary works. Through the use of the Faust, architecture, and doppelganger, Alexandre Dumas reflects the dual nature of man in The Count of Monte Cristo thus expressing .that even the best of men can have a dark element In Dumas novel, The Count of Monte Cristo he expresses many gothic motifs. For example the use of architecture in the descent of madness, “He descended…...
The Count Of Monte Cristo
The Power of Communication Lessons from Dale Carnegie
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When I was a little bit younger, I read Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friend and Influence People, and the clear evidence that the ability to communicate to people effectively was able to create success even in the domain of business sparked my curiosity about the mind. Since then I had always been interested in what the little things are that make people so much more inclined to help each other out. People who understand people have better relationships with…...
Carl Rogers
Impact of Personal Centered Theory in Multi-Cultural Counseling
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Paper Type:Personal essays
Introduction Person-Centered Therapy was developed by the renowned psychologist Carl Rogers. This therapy is also called client-centered therapy, it allows clients to open up and talk about their problems creating an environment of empathy, nonjudgmental, and more so let the client lead the discussion. The approach allows for framing with more consequent psychotherapy and understanding the interpersonal exchanges that occur during the psychotherapy process. The Customer-Centered approach deviates from this idea and instead relies on the fact that human beings…...
Carl Rogers
Personality Examination Relfection Paper
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Carl Rogers was a well-known psychologist who furthered the findings of Abraham Maslow on the idea of personality theories in self-actualization. Humans have been observing other human's behavior and personalities for as long as mankind has been alive (Feist & Feist, 2009). Rogers coined the idea of 'growth' in a person. An individual's environment (self-disclosure and openness), acceptance (unconditional positive regard), and empathy (understanding and communication) provide genuine self-actualization. A variety of factors come into play to determine a person's…...
Carl Rogers
Getting Personal with Carl Rogers
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As I dive into the theories of psychology and understand the different approaches I’ve uncovered several misconceptions about the client-therapist relationship, but also see the same misconceptions within the average population. We often think of psychology as laying on the couch with the counselor asking, “how do you feel about that?”. We continue to see this same representation within the MediThe mediadia has failed to change the representation of counseling and for many people, that’s the only experience they have…...
Carl Rogers
Carl Rogers and His Contribution to Psychology
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Abstract This paper explains how Carl Rogers has had an impact on psychology. Rogers had a major influence not only on psychology but in other fields as well. He was a humanist thinker and worked in client-centered therapy (1951). Roger is ranked number six out of the top one hundred illustrious psychologists of the twentieth century. A result of Rogers's work was a psychological theory and to prove his clinical work, he wrote sixteen books as well as other articles…...
Carl Rogers
Analyzing Connie in Where Are You Going Where Have You Been
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In "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” by Joyce Carol Oates, Connie concludes that the well-being of her family is more important than her safety. Connie's story begins with detailed imagery about herself, how she perceives her situation with her family, and how she decides to cope with her mother's disapproval. Later in the story, diction plays an important role in how Connie's opinion of her family changes. A mood is set throughout the story, and the reader's…...
Joyce Carol Oates
Suspense in Three Girls
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Joyce Carol Oates' romantic short story "Three Girls" describes how societal rules are meant to be broken. By using foreshadowing and selection of detail, Oates can create suspense throughout the story. Oates uses foreshadowing to give the readers a sense of suspense. The story is based around the narrator and “you,” who the reader discovers is a friend of the narrator. “I adored and feared you knowing that you'd break my heart, my heart that had never been broken because never before so exposed”…...
Joyce Carol Oates
Neglect and Mistreatment in Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?
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“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates portrays the story of a fifteen-year-old girl named Connie who leads a rather miserable life. Between her nitpicky mother and passive father, Connie has no choice but to seek other sources of attention. She spends a lot of time with friends and immaculately enhances her appearance when she goes on dates. Eventually, Connie is made to choose between two fires when a stalker named Arnold Friend shows up one day while she's home…...
Joyce Carol Oates
Car Symbolism in Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?
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The first time Connie notices Arnold Friend is when she is out with friends. In reality, she notices his car before him. The car is a significant symbol in the work and helps to display the character of Friend more clearly. At first glance, Connie describes the car as a “convertible jalopy painted gold” (Oates 723). The car is described as old, junky, and not expensive; however, Friend has had the car painted gold, a color synonymous with wealth and luxury. If…...
Joyce Carol Oates
Oates’ Where Are You Going: Review & Analysis
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Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been Essay Generally, pieces of work that require creative thought, whether they are pieces of art or literature, are reflective of their time; this is one of the things that makes a story written 100 years ago different from a story written today. With this in consideration, there are also topics in the literature that are classic, or always relevant; it doesn't matter when the piece was written, because the themes and ideas will always…...
Joyce Carol Oates
Elements of the Past in Where Are You Going Where Have You Been
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The life and times of Joyce Carol Oates dynamically impact impact the short story “Where You Are Going; Where Have You Been” where music, myth, history, and society shape this context to fit in with the 1960s period. The 1965 rock song, "It's All Over Now Baby Blue” lyrically and historically harmonizes with the Oates' short story, “Where are you going; Where have you been.” First of all, the eerie main antagonist of the story, Arnold Friend, serial killer-rapist is a fictionalized version…...
Joyce Carol Oates
Unreliable Narrators in Poe’s Stories
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Paper Type:Narrative essays
As literature has been around from the beginning of time, many people like to find a deeper meaning in the text. When one reads the text but does not "read" the text, he/she is looking at the subtext. The subtext is essentially the deeper, but the less obvious meaning of a text. When looking at the subtextual level of a literary pie manytimeliness, one finds hints of unreliability, which people find and look for through age and experience. When a…...
Annabel Lee
Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe: The Difficulty of Accepting Death
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The Difficulty of Accepting Death Many people have difficulty accepting the death of others; some people are not even able to accept death, usually because they are close to the deceased. Edgar Allan Poe is an example of one of these people. He is a very well-known poet, and one of his works was titled "Annabel Lee". Annabel Lee was a person who he loved very much but died, and his poem is dedicated to showing his inability to let go of Annabel…...
Annabel Lee
The Role of the Poet in the Poem Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe
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“The Role of a Poet in the Poem Annabel Lee" In Edgar Allen Poe's poem “Annabel Lee” Ralph Waldo Emerson's ideas about the role of a poet are embodied just as they are in his work "Nature". The role of a poet according to Emerson must have the capacity to interpret, prophesize, and must have the ability to color and accompany life. (VCU) All of these three ideas are personified in Poe's poem “Annabel Lee”, which explores the theme of…...
Annabel Lee
The Human Disfigurement of Love in the Poem Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe
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Explication of "Annabel Lee" Love's Distortion from Pure to Grotesque In what is thought to be Edgar Allan Poe's final poem, "Annabel Lee", Poe accurately expresses a particularly tragic trait of human nature. While "Annabel Lee" is about love, throughout the poem the sacred value of this love becomes progressively degraded. Poe reveals through this poem that humans can take something as pure and beautiful as love, and distort and twist it beyond recognition into something grotesque. In Poe's tragic and grotesque narrative poem," Annabel…...
Annabel Lee
Death’s Effects on a Lover’s Heart in Annabel Lee, a Poem by Edgar Allan Poe
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Creative Analyses "But we loved with a love that was more than love-/I and my Annabel Lee" (lines 9-10) are the lines within Edgar Allen Poe's Annabel Lee that create the synopsis of his poem. The poem creates a theming of how a man's love never stops. However, through careful analysis, we can look at the poem from a new angle. In the poem Annabel Lee, Edgar Allen Poe is not writing about a man's love for his girl, he however creates a…...
Annabel Lee
Coping with Death Varied Responses
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Everyone copes with the death of a loved one in different ways. Some celebrate, some send their belongings with them through the fire, and some grieve. Grievance for a loved one can be so strong at times, that even life can seem like it is taunting them. Their sadness becomes so overwhelming that a desire to find an explanation for their death is an adventure that can lead to irrational conclusions. In the poem "Annabel Lee", Edgar Allen Poe utilizes allusion, personification, and diction…...
Annabel Lee
An Analysis of the Film Adaptation of The Crucible Directed by Raymond Rouleau
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Film Analysis - The Crucible The film “The Crucible" portrays the events of the Salem witch trials in the late 1600s. The Crucible was originally a historical fiction play written by Arthur Miller but later received a movie adaptation directed by Raymond Rouleau. The story begins with the town girls dancing around a fire in some kind of ritual when they are spotted by Samuel Parris. After these events, children around the town begin acting strangely and the town members conclude that Lucifer,…...
AdaptationThe Crucible
Views on Modern World in Goblin Market and A Carcass
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Christina Rossetti and Charles Baudelaire, in their respective poems “Goblin Market” and "A Carcass," voiced different, though sometimes intertwining, views on the conditions of the modern world. "Goblin Market” describes the troubles that arise from pure women giving in to the temptations of “goblins” – a metaphor for men – while "A Carcass” describes the beauty and liveliness of a decomposing corpse, lamenting that in time, even his lover will become like the corpse. Rossetti describes a life that can be good and pure,…...
Christina RossettiPoemsPoets
Poetic Imagery in Japanese, Sea, Song
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For a poem to create an image in a reader's head, the language and descriptions throughout must be clear enough to paint a picture. Details about who a subject is, what they are feeling, touching, and doing, and where they are located all contribute to this ability to draw up an image through simple words. In Billy Collins' poem Japan, he uses the objects that the character is touching such as a piano, a painting, and an empty shelf. These physical objects are common and…...
Christina Rossetti
Victorian Gender & Sex in Goblin Market by Rossetti
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Gaining Redemption Christina Rossetti's poem, “Goblin Market,” offers a lesson regarding Christianity and provides the reader with a story about gender and sex during the Victorian period. Rossetti uses the characters within her poem to represent characters from the story of Adam and Eve, from the Book of Genesis, as well as to demonstrate how women and men were portrayed within Victorian society. With regards to Christianity, Rossetti demonstrates how human sin can occur as a result of omnipresent temptations, but because of the sacrifices…...
Christina Rossetti
A Personal Interpretation of the Poem of Christina Rossetti
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Christina Rossetti has a very passive way of writing about the inevitable aspects of life. Her Song beginning with “She sat and sang away”, seems to be a reflection by the speaker of her perspective during two different points in her life-- a past self and a future self. The first quatrain seems reflective of a simpler time of the speaker's life, perhaps childhood, when she has hope for better days (her past self). The second quatrain is referring to a time of…...
Christina RossettiPoets
Rossetti’s Character Usage in Babylon & Maude Clare
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Explore how Christina Rossetti creates a character in Babylon the Great and one other poem. Within Rossetti's poetry,ry she uses character adeptly to represent ideas or symbols. Babylon the Great is a poem based on a passage of revelations 18:8 where a queen of sin appears in her dreadful awe and Rossetti makes her character a temptress to communicate the ideas that Babylon communicates in the bible. Another poem in which Rossetti creates a character is also Maude Clare where…...
Christina RossettiPoets
Victorian Views on Love and Gender in After Death by Christina Rossetti
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From the Inside, Out In "After Death" by Christina Rossetti, the cultural views of the Victorian era are challenged. Rossetti uses different styles of writing to portray her abnormal perspective —at the time regarding love and gender during the late nineteenth century. In the poem, Rossetti uses wordplay such as the use of active verbs and polysemous words and phrases to reject the strict Victorian views on love and gender. The voice of the poem comes from a female who…...
Christina Rossetti
Animal Farm
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Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, Hussein, these are some of the most horrible and despicable men in history. By the end of the book Napoleon is exactly like all these men. But he was not only like this, in the beginning all he wanted was for animalism and animal farm to prosper. In the early days of animal farm Napoleon very much believed in the cause of animal farm and only wanted the best for the farm and the citizens of the…...
George Orwell
Experimentation in the Poem The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot
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One of the main characteristics of modernist poetry is experimentation. Arguably the best example of this that we have read so far is T.S. Eliot's “The Waste Land.” This poem is broken up into different sections that do not seem to correlate with each other in any way. There is a common theme throughout the poem, that society has become a desolate land in which people have drifted away from their spiritual roots. This is largely evident in section 3 of the…...
The Waste Land
WWI’s Impact on Lives in The Waste Land
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Herbert George Wells, an English author, once said, “If we don't end the war, war will end us." This explains exactly how the author T.S. Eliot felt about World War I because he feels as though the war, World War I, stripped Western Civilization of its traditions. Therefore, he feels Western Civilization remains in shambles. In The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot, these opinions of Western Civilization's loss of tradition are displayed by illuminating hell on earth with different people’s…...
The Waste Land
The Use of Fragmentation in The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot
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Fragmentation In Eliot's “The Waste Land" The fragmented symbolic connections and mythic method of allusion in T.S Eliot's “The Waste Land,” creates a disconnected sense of imagery and a distinct style surrounded by the self-referential narrative. The tone and mood of Eliot's work resemble the current thoughts of the time among the many returning from war and living with the self-alienating conflicts suffered after witnessing the atrocities on the field of battle; this insular form of hermeticism or disconnection from mainstream society became…...
The Waste Land
Journey in The Waste Land
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From Starnbergsee to London: Understanding the Narrative Route of The Waste Land When I first booted up Google Maps and entered the first location that was named in T.S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land, I thought the research might take no longer than a few minutes. Yet as I went on, I began to feel a little overwhelmed by the deluge of information that became available to me and I had to narrow my focus a bit. Who were the most prominent names I…...
The Waste Land
The Theme of Destructive Lust in The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot
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Throughout his poem, Eliot uses imagery to depict the world as a place devoid of any real life. Each section of his poem creates a different image of the world, each one just as barren as the last. Such images include Part 3's description of a barren place of overgrowth and Part 5's world of no water. In Part 1 Eliot alludes to Dante's depiction of Limbo, another type of wasteland, to describe the world around him, specifically London. In London, as in Limbo,…...
The Waste Land
Book vs Movie: The Reader
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Changes for Good in The Reader Movie Adaptation In The Reader, by Bernhard Schlink, fifteen-year-old Michael Berg meets and starts an affair with, thirty-year-old Hanna Schmitz when she helps him as he becomes sick on his way home one day. After a summer together, she mysteriously moves away and he does not see her again until he is working on his law degree years later. He watches as she gets convicted of heinous war crimes, and realizes how so many…...
Novels
The Enslaved Mother in Beloved, a Novel by Toni Morrison
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"When Beloved comes back to haunt Sethe for murdering her, Beloved becomes the incarnated memory of Sethe's guilt. Moreover, she [Beloved] is nothing but guilt...” (Ashraf Rushdy 578). Freed by Law, Enslaved by the Past A slave who gains her freedom from prison finds herself in a situation that holds her prisoner emotionally. Sethe may have been freed by law, but her past holds her captive. One way Sethe's past incarcerates her comes from murdering her child. Because Sethe kills her…...
Beloved
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FAQ about Literature

Analyzing Connie in Where Are You Going Where Have You Been
...“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been” is a roller coaster of emotions, a careful analysis of how a stalker could present themselves, and a sharp reminder not to focus so much on one's physical appearance. The story is a representation of th...
Neglect and Mistreatment in Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?
...Sadly, Connie's detachment from her family and inadequate support system is what leads her to seek attention from boys and what causes her to make potentially dangerous decisions. The risk of staying home alone is illustrated when Arnold Friend com...
Car Symbolism in Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?
...The gold color and convertible top are also used to attract attention to the car and the Friend convertible is a symbol of freedom, and being carefree and young. A friend uses this feature of the car to portray youth, especially to attract young girl...
Oates’ Where Are You Going: Review & Analysis
...Overall, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been," is relevant to both its time and our time. It highlights ideas that were present back in the time that it was written, as well as timeless topics like a happy family life or mentally disturbed sta...
Elements of the Past in Where Are You Going Where Have You Been
...Johnson, Greg. "Joyce Carol Oates: A Brief Biography." A Reader's Guide to the Recent Novels of Joyce Carol Oates 1966." Excerpt reprinted in Celestial Timepiece: A Joyce Carol Oates Home Page. 15 Jul. 2005 < http://www.usfa.edu/fac-staff/...
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