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 Analysis of Lady Lazarus by Sylvia Plath
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In Sylvia Plaths poem, Lady Lazarus, she horrifically describes the yearning for attention she has always wanted. By using the most expressive ways possible she entrances the audiences imaginative minds by unleashing this literary work. She uses symbolism, theme, and imagery throughout this poem to help see the true meaning of this piece. Lady Lazarus is a poem meant to open the audiences eyes to the world of evil and shame. Perhaps the significance of death in this poem is…...
Lady Lazarus
A Short Review of Lady Lazarus, a Poem by Sylvia Plath
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“Lady Lazarus”, written by Sylvia Plath in 1962, was a poem gathered posthumously through her collection Ariel published in 1965. The poem is about death or, more specifically, suicide. It is written to an unnamed "you" from the perspective of a suicidal woman who shares a significant amount of similarities with the poet. Sylvia Plath was born in 1932 in Boston, Massachusetts to Aurelia Schober and Otto Plath, the latter of whom died when Sylvia was eight. Despite deep depression…...
Lady Lazarus
A Description of Lady Lazarus By Sylvia Plath
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Lady Lazarus by Sylvia Plath is a well written autobiography of her life. She cleverly uses words to describe her innermost thoughts and revelations of how she perceives her life. In Protean Poetic, Broe states that Plath spoke of her later poems, I speak them to my self.and what ever lucidity they may have come from, the fact that I say them to myself, I say them out loud.(160) Writing to herself was a type of therapy, as was her…...
Lady Lazarus
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Gender Roles in Beowulf and Leigh Sir Launfal
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According to J.R.R. Tolkien, ​Beowulf ​was most likely written by an 8th-century Anglo-Saxon poet shortly after England converted to Christianity. Many of its characters are historical figures from Scandanavian and Anglo-Saxon descent. A tightly woven tapestry of paganism and Christianity, the epic reveals much about social issues of the day. ​Beowulf provides insight into being a brother’s keeper and the steadfast courage required to do so. On the other hand, the lais of Marie de France point out flaws of…...
BeowulfBeowulf Hero
“Monomyth”: What Is It
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Heroes go on journeys and through obstacles that shape them in every possible way no matter the talents or skills that they have. Many stories such as Beowulf, The First Knight, and The Once and Future King all prove that the monomyth is correct. Joseph Campbell succeeded in making his argument that heroes develop in stages and coined the term “The Monomyth” because it is widely accepted by psychologist, followed by authors, and seen within several famous movies. Joseph Campbell’s…...
BeowulfBeowulf Hero
Revenge Is the Dominant Theme in Beowulf
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Vengeance has been a major theme in Beowulf and in John Milton’s Paradise Lost and it brings to question the real reason as to why these characters committed these acts of revenge. In Beowulf, revenge is principal to to the culture of warriors. Specifically, revenge was taken as a “blood-feud” which included fighting those who killed your kinsman, king, or lord. In Paradise Lost, Milton’s story is a revenge cataclysm. Satan tries to seek vengeance against God while Adam and…...
BeowulfBeowulf Hero
Beowulf Must Protect His People
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In chronological order, Beowulf’s most important plot points can be broken down into four crucial events: Beowulf’s weaponless battle with Grendel, Beowulf’s vindictive battle with Grendel’s mother, the stealing of the Dragon’s goblet, and ultimately, Beowulf’s fatal encounter with the Dragon. These four fundamental events in Beowulf contribute greatly in the shaping of an epic poem, as they typically consist of a valiant hero, some sort of contact or conflict with extraterrestrial or other-worldly beings, as well as references to…...
BeowulfBeowulf Hero
Guide Dog and Walking Stick
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People think of blind people, they tend to picture a person with dark sunglasses, a seeing “eye dog”, and a walking stick. These are stereotypes and obviously do not remain true in the case of all blind people. It is impossible to know absolutely what is going on in another person’s life, so to judge others is simply ignorance. Moreover, not all sight people can see and realize all that they are looking. These ideas the author develops in the…...
CathedralDogRaymond Carver
Change The Way You Look at Things And Watch The Things You Look at Change  
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The one thing people are entirely in control of in in their lives is how they view things in it. Raymond Carver’s, “ The Cathedral,” is about a bind man (Robert) who’s wife recently died and he goes to meet up with an old employee/ friend but the woman’s husband isnt fond of the visit. He thinks blind people are sad and depressing, with his opinion of course coming from movies. Sherwood Anderson’s, “Death in the woods,” is about an…...
HusbandRaymond Carver
A World Of Vision
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While fully able to view and sense the world, does one truly see it in its full color and glory, or in a mere black and white? Without emotion and devotion, the world can possibly be perceived as flat, as if with an edge where a ship could just fall off where the horizon ends. In Cathedral, the narrator has all of his senses intact but still sees the world in a very sterile manner. A visitor named Robert, a…...
LifeRaymond CarverVision
Prejudice And Prejudice of The Diversity of People’s Daily Life
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In today’s society prejudice and preconception seem to be a major issue due to the diversity in people’s everyday life, such as their religious views, race, sexuality, and disabilities. However, in some cases, a life-changing event occurs that makes one recognize the errors of judging someone based solely on appearance and/or beliefs. In the story “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver, the narrator undergoes a major transformation which changes his perspective of life. Through the interactions with his wife’s friend Robert, who…...
DiversityLifePrejudiceRaymond Carver
The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas Utilitarianism Analysis
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Every one of us have ask at some point of our life that what is the price of happiness and its value. Should it be achieved at the expense of others’ happiness? This type of question is called moral question and the study of moral is called moral theory. In this essay I’ll be mainly focusing on the sub part of moral theory called utilitarianism. As describe by John Stuart Mill utilitarianism is the view that dictates if an action…...
The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas
Speculative Fiction Definition And Examples
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 Speculative fiction explores not only the future but visions of life itself, expressing a warning of the the way human societies are headed. Yeats wrote the poem 'The Stolen Child' that combines mystery and irish mythology into the fantasy world of mythical creatures and a so called ‘better life’. The magical realism that the authors of speculative fiction try to project through narratives of things that can potentially happen in future taking things from the present reality and expanding on…...
The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas
Reflection On The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas Essay
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Paper Type:Reflective essays
Our deep-down happiness is an individual work, but some of the people believe that happiness depends on other’s actions and behavior. This belief is the reflection in the story “ The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” by LeGuin. The author describes Omelas was a perfect and peaceful society, containing an evil within. When I read further, the scene that I reacted to was the child gets locked in the cellar. The child experienced the aspect of physical and mental.…...
The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas
‘The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas’ Analysis
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 The narrator in Ursula K. LeGuin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” is communicating that happiness is possibly more complicated than suffering and is more worthy of continued analysis; The author also contrasts our own society and way of life to the society of Omelas, where happiness governs. The narrator disputes that in our society happiness is something that isn’t hugely valued and is deemed as something that is “stupid.” We consider such things like evil and pain as…...
The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas
Sarasota County Car Accidents
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Car Accident Attorney in Sarasota, Florida A couple of decades back nobody thought of chatting on the telephone while driving. Telephone lines just weren't sufficiently long enough. Quick forward to 2019 with the advances in innovation and different technologies and you've likely encountered a distracted driver. Have you at any point seen a driver applying cosmetics or having a Facetime discussion? Or then again, maybe you've seen a vehicle swerving from lane to lane or sitting at a green light?…...
A Jury Of Her PeersCar Accident
The Novel by Ernest J. Gaines “The Lesson Before Death”
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Taking on a task is like taking care of a flower. One must look after it, make sure it grows in the right direction, and ultimately guarantee it turns into what it is supposed to be. In the novel, A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, Tante Lou, the main protagonist’s aunt, forces Grant Wiggins, the main protagonist who is a teacher at a plantation school, to visit Jefferson, a young African American man on death row, in jail…...
Novels
Levittown’s Film “Levitt And Sons”
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A city built with 15,000 homes for a population of 60,000, it was possible to note several historical and social factors connected to the motives of the construction of this city. The apartments were only 75 square meters, but were complete, equipped with refrigerator, stove, everything a person, and a small family needs to live. The houses were neighbors, very close to each other. In addition, all the propaganda of this city was focused around these factors, and in the…...
American DreamCharles MansonDocumentary
Power in War Photog & Ozymandias
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The War Photographer is written in the third person and the author is describing what is going on in the poem. The first line of the poem sets the scene for the poem. The phrase ‘he is finally alone' refers to how before the war photographer was taking photographs when he was in the war surrounded by soldiers and civilians but now he is alone in his house developing the pictures that he took that day. 'Spools' are what thread…...
Ozymandias
Egyptian Motives & Personal Glory in Ozymandias
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The beginning of the 1800's in England saw a spark of interest in all things Egyptian; from discovering new monuments to an influence on poetic style. The colossal bust of King Ramses II arrived at the British Museum in 1821, where it remains, and is said to be the subject of Percy Shelly's poem "Ozymandias". It was Ramses II who had declared, in words less rhythmical than Shelley made them, "Should any man seek to know how great I am…...
Ozymandias
Knowledge vs Instinct in To Build a Fire
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Knowledge Vs. Instinct In Jack London's "To Build a Fire” he tells a story that compares a dog's natural instinct versus a man's knowledge which acts as his instinct. The story is based upon a man and his four legged companion walking several hours crossing the storm ridden tundra, in goal of meeting a few of his friends by a fire. The man is warned by others in the beginning that no one has successfully traveled by foot in such…...
To Build A Fire
Life’s Harsh Realities
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Reality is one of the harsh struggles of life that humans have to deal with. The harsh reality of life is inescapable to mankind and there is no way to avoid it. Authors choose to manipulate this idea of a harsh reality in their writings to convey certain messages to readers. Many stories including "To Build a Fire," "Genesis of the Tenements,” and “Men in the Storm” are all stories that manipulate the use of realism in their own individual…...
To Build A Fire
The Elements of Naturalism in the Short Story To Build a Fire by Jack London
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"To Build a Fire” is a short story by author Jack London, and it relates to some admittedly dark subject matter. In said short story, a man and his dog become lost in the Alaskan wilderness, while they are trying to get back to a gold operation; the man does not follow the advice of a wizened older man he had met, who had provided advice on how to survive in the harsh nature of the wilderness. The man builds…...
To Build A Fire
Man Versus Nature in To Build a Fire, a Short Story by Jack London
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In "To Build a Fire", the author is against nature, and thinks he can overcome it without any outside help. He is traveling with a dog that he isn't close to and doesn't own, through the snowy mountains. He doesn't have supplies and didn't expect to be out there long, and thought he would be fine. What he didn't know was that the temperature was in the negatives, and without a fire and shelter, he would freeze to death. The…...
To Build A Fire
Men in To Build a Fire and Trap of Gold: Similarities and Differences
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Compare and Contrast “To Build a Fire” and “Trap of Gold”, two stories which tell of two men who have the odds of nature stacked against them, from which only one man makes it out alive. Both men are very alike but at the same time very different. They have different characteristics and intentions. “To Build a fire” by Jack London and “Trap of Gold” by Louis L'Amour have some similar qualities. The characters in them, the man in "To…...
To Build A Fire
An Analysis of Nature in To Build a Fire
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Nature The story "To Build a Fire" features two distinct characters: the man and the dog, and one character that is often overlooked. That character is Nature. This character is often not even listed as a character in the story "To Build a Fire". Even though it is often ignored, nature is the most important character in the book and is more important than any other character in any story we have studied this year. Nature is the most important…...
To Build A Fire
A Review of the Short Story To Build a Fire by Jack London
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The man acts upon his instinctive pride rather than his actual instincts. He would much rather prove something and nearly die attempting to cross the trail than wait a day and make it across the trail with ease. The dog acts on the second of his instincts instead of the first, “It knew that it was no time for travelling. Its instinct told it a truer tale than was told to the man by the man's judgement." His first instinct…...
To Build A Fire
Spirituality and Religion in Disney Movies 
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In the world of Disney, there is a common practice of including religion and spirituality into their films. the religions that are used in the films range from Christianity to Buddhism and Islam and Confucianism as well as polytheistic beliefs. the films that portray these religions and spiritualities include Mulan the lion king Moana Pocahontas Aladdin and snow white. The religion that is portrayed in the Disney film Mulan is Confucianism which is the system of philosophical and ethical teachings…...
Movie ReviewReligionSnow WhiteSpirituality
The Deep Reason For the Characters in Some Stories
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A character can simply be a person in a novel, play, or movie. However, there may be a deeper reason for characters in certain stories. The Grimm brothers translated the Grimm Tales to teach children that they can overcome any obstacle in life, if they only utilize their brain. Characters are strategically placed in the Grimm Tales stories as an embodiment of a specific human trait, such as evil, greed, or guidance. Ashputtel’s two stepsisters display greed and are a…...
ReasonSnow White
Teach Children And Adults That They Should Not Trust Everyone
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Snow White’s message may partly be to teach both children and adults that the world can be an ugly place, and that they should not trust everyone. Another message is about finding happiness without the aid of material things and that true happiness comes from within us. Maybe fairy tales were not created solely to teach children moral standards, but to feed their imaginations and introduce them to the way stories and life sometimes works. The use of strong character…...
AdultSnow WhiteTrust
Lord of The Flies By William Golding
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When people have contrasting priorities, it is not as easy to work together and get things done because of different opinions. In Lord of the Flies, by William Golding the two main characters Ralph and Jack have contrasting goals on how to survive on the island. Ralph wants to aid the other boys whereas Jack only thinks about himself by attempting to kill a pig to prove himself. Their differences on how to go about surviving on an island with…...
AmbitionLord Of The Flies
Victor Frankenstein: The Dangers of Ambition
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Prometheus and Victor Frankenstein may share one similarity, in that they both figuratively and quite literally steal fire from the gods, but that is where their similarities end. This paper will explore the character of Victor Frankenstein, pitting him up against the figure of Prometheus and explaining why the two share a stark difference in terms of character and motive for their actions. The differences they share, seen through the lens of the scientific revolution, will show why Victor’s actions…...
AmbitionFrankenstein
Emotions Throughout The Play
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“Death of a Salesman” has various ways of showing the reader many emotions throughout the play but happiness is the key component within. The pursuit of happiness and living the so-called American Dream is a big part of the play “Death of a Salesman”. “The US Declaration of Independence guarantees the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to all citizens. These promises are not about guaranteed outcomes, but about opportunities to seek fulfilling lives” (Graham 1). This…...
Plays
Famous Psychological Thriller “Vertigo”
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Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, which tells a story of an acrophobic detective, Scottie, who is in search for the answer of a mystery of a woman that has been assumed to have mental issues. As the spectators, we are irresistibly engaged with Scottie and his investigation on the mystery thanked to the formal choices made by the director. These formal choices applied in Vertigo include elements of narrative, motif, mise-en-scene, which correspond together to create suspense through the film that…...
FlowersSuspense
Failed Relations in Jhumpa Lahiri’s “Interpreter of Maladies”
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Jhumpa Lahiri is an American writer who is mainly famous for her short stories and essays in English. Her collection “Interpreter of Maladies” was launched in 1999. These collection of stories highlight the perplexity that exist in the lives of Indians and their households, with significant subject matters, such as marital distances and difficulties. Lahiri is able to portray all the characters in the various short stories in a way that directly connects them to the Indian culture. The characters…...
Interpreter Of MaladiesRelationship
The Path to Living Fully in Tuesdays with Morrie
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Making Life Worth Living It may be hard to face it, but someday we will cease to exist. One day our lungs will stop breathing, and our hearts will refuse to beat. The sun in the sky will lose its shine, and the moon its glow. And although we are often consumed by this lingering fear of death and termination, why do people continue to live life without full purpose? How can masses of indifferent individuals continue to thrive on…...
Tuesdays With Morrie
The Inevitable Death in Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom
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Death Comes Too Quickly (“Tuesdays with Morrie") “Tuesdays with Morrie", by Mitch Albom gives the account of Mitch's meetings and interactions with his old college professor Morrie Schwartz, who has been slowly dieing over the course of several months of a disease called ALS. This makes Morrie's situation unique in the fact that he knows roughly when he will pass away, giving him incentive to pass all his advice and experiences before it leaves with him. Throughout the book they…...
Tuesdays With Morrie
A Review of Tuesdays with Morrie, a Book by Mitch Albom
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Mitch Albom thought that he was just going to visit an old sick friend; he didn't realize that over the next fourteen weeks he would learn the lesson of a life time. Mitch accidentally heard about his old professor's bad luck in getting ALS, a deadly disease with no cure. He went for one visit, which turned into their last class together. The two men decided to create a course with one teacher and one student, with one lesson in…...
Tuesdays With Morrie
Anne Sullivan: Helen Keller’s Teacher & Friend
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When I think of powerful women from the past, Anne Sullivan is one of the first women to pop into my mind. Anne Sullivan was born on April 14, 1866 in Massachusetts. Her real name is Joanna, but she was called Anne throughout her life. When Anne was still young she suffered from a serious illness that left her nearly blind. Anne's mother died when Anne was only eight and her father left Anne and her two siblings two years…...
Helen Keller
The History of Anne Sullivan Macy and Helen Keller
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Anne Sullivan Macy was born on April 4, 1866 in Feeding Hills, Massachusetts. Her parents were poor Irish immigrants. Anne had trouble with her eyes her whole life. When Anne was eight years old her mother died and two years later her father left. Annels younger sister went to live with relatives and Anne and her younger brother Jimmie were sent to the State Infirmary, the almshouse at Tewksbury. They were sent there because Anne was too blind to be…...
Helen Keller
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FAQ about Literature

“Monomyth”: What Is It
...Joseph Campbell succeeded in making his argument that heroes develop in stages and coined the term “The Monomyth” because it is widely accepted by psychologist, followed by authors, and seen within several famous movies. Many stories such as Beow...
The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas Utilitarianism Analysis
...At the end, though I gave all this example or more one can still argue that it is fine for one citizen of Omelas to suffer if all other people living there are having a good life or that Batman should have killed the J...
Reflection On The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas Essay
...The story modified my perception because they still have sympathy and morality. The child’s existence and being mistreated that affect the Omelas people.“ Sometimes also a man or a woman much older falls silent for a day or two, then leaves home�...
‘The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas’ Analysis
...The narrator is attempting to highlight the happiness of the people of Omelas through trying to predict our responses to it and contend that our own preference in our world for suffering and pain shouldn’t aid us in ...
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