Category: Literature Review

In the play, Death and the Maiden, Ariel Dorfman employs symbolism through the characters and their actions to reflect aspects of the corrupt Chilean society that Dorfman himself lived through. Act II, scene i illustrates the symbols quite well, with the troubled, unjust Paulina, the professionalism and tranquility displayed by Gerardo, and the unfortunate situation…

Camara Laye’s demonstrative narrative The Dark Child delineates the author’s childhood and adolescence in colonial Upper Guinea in the early twentieth century. Simple in construction, the story gives emotional value to the experiences common among young boys of Laye’s social class as well as to those specific to his family. Laye’s pointedly detailed depictions of…

Traditional qualities of a feminine women usually include a beautiful physique, a gentle, nurturing nature, and a degree of sexual reservation. Throughout literature and film, women that embrace typical ideas of femininity are also portrayed as members of the upper class and the elite, while women who are less feminine and beautiful are represented as…

The Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 represented a triumphant moment of success for the city of Chicago as well as for the entire nation. Yet, the grandeur of the fair was paralleled with an equally great amount of corruption and abuse. During this time known as the Gilded Age, America experienced many extremes—extreme wealth, extreme…

In Jack Kerouac’s novels and poetry he is always searching for something to believe in, be it himself, God, or something else. Surprisingly, he manages to also simultaneously be constantly running away. Fear of responsibility and conformity is present in the majority of his works; this is the reason for his elusiveness, and the constant…

“The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving and “Young Goodman Brown” by are both short stories that illustrate Puritan ideas about the place of evil in human nature. Both short stories revolve around a central character and his personal struggle with the “Devil.” Tom Walker conspires with the Devil for monetary gain, while Goodman…

Station Eleven connects to concepts of Social Justice such as gender equality, human rights and world religion. Examples of the connection between Station Eleven and gender equality can be seen in many ways that those who identify as male are often the aggressors in conflicts with those who identify as female. This can be seen…

Sometimes, the Devil—or, at least, one of his most trusted minions—really is in the details. In Christopher Marlowe’s play The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, the most compelling hero is not the eponymous main character. Doctor Faustus, with his puerile egotism and self-absorbed whining, is as guilty of overreach as any character Marlowe ever wrote.…

George Herbert’s poem The Thanksgiving is a work of a deceptively simple construction. With its repetitive rhyme scheme, its stanzas flow easily and sound almost musical when read aloud. It is written concisely, and despite a few antiquated old English phrases, its content is not difficult to understand. A cursory reading of the poem would…

Throughout the poem, “Listen. This is the Noise of Myth” by Eavan Boland the position of women in Irish History is constantly alluded to and used to portray the disconnection of women and their beliefs, as well as their desires and ideas within their own history. This poem exemplifies Boland’s subversion of mythology and the…