Literary Analysis Essay

Passions drive people, and the townspeople in “The Lottery” and Paul in “The Rocking-Horse Winner” are no different. Each of the members of the unnamed town has a strong passion for tradition. The original black box used for the lottery is described as being, “lost long ago, and the black box now resting on the stool had been put into use even before Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, was born” (Jackson 251). This sentence gives the reader an understanding that the lottery is an ancient tradition that has become an integral part of the town’s lifestyle. Such a tradition can only be carried on for this length of time if the people are passionate about preserving the tradition. Paul had a passion to be wealthy as a way to prove to his mother that he was lucky. From a young age, he saw that his family always wanted more money to support a better lifestyle, yet

The short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, by Joyce Oates, (1966), and the poem, “What it’s Like to Be a Black Girl”, by Patricia Smith, (1991), are both about the coming of age of young girls and the conflicts that they encounter. The two pieces explore issues that most young girls have with their bodies and others during their puberty years. The literary elements that will be compared in this essay is imagery and symbolism. The main conflict in both pieces that will be explored is individual versus self. These literary elements and conflict will help us to explore the issues that these two individual young girls

Power and control plays a big role in the lives many. When power is used as a form of control, it leads to depression and misery in the relationship. This is proven through the themes and symbolism used in the stories Lesson before Dying, The fun they had, The strangers that came to town, and Dolls house through the median of three major unsuccessful relationship: racial tension between the African Americans and the caucasians in the novel Lesson before Dying, Doll’s House demonstrates a controlling relationship can be detrimental for both individuals and The Stranger That Came To Town along with The Fun They Had show that when an individual is suppressed by majority they become despondent.

Television psychologists and pop culture self-help gurus tell us that marriage is hard work; marriage is compromise; marriage is a choice between being right, and being happy. All of these statements are true. What these experts don’t tell us, however, is that marriage is also about putting on blinders, or looking on the bright side, or one of a hundred other trite phrases to explain the art of self-deception. In marriage, there are times when we may find it necessary to look the other way from our spouse’s faults or indiscretions, in the interest of self-preservation. For if we examine these problems too closely, our darkest, most secret fears may come true. Therefore, it can seem easier to focus on the positive. In her poem “Surprise,” Jane Kenyon uses denial, selective perception, and fear of betrayal to illustrate the self-deception that can occur in marriage.

The poem Audit is about a married couple that has suffered at the hands of time. After however many years, the pair have fallen apart. The two were at one point both very much in love, and although the man still loves his wife or at the very least feels affection towards her, she no longer feels that their relationship is profitable or enjoyable. The only hope to save the relationship is for the man to change his disagreeable behavior. The major themes of this poem are love – but not in the ‘love conquers all’ view that is often present in poems, plays, and novels, quite the opposite. In fact, if anything, love can be compared to a business in this context. In addition, this poem contains a bounty of literary devices and poetic forms that contribute to the themes and purpose of the poem.

Which of the following words from the poem “Home Burial” give the reader insight into the relationship between the man and woman? Mark all that apply.

Throughout the context of “Bless Me Ultima,” it is evident that there are many motifs and examples of dichotomy. I believe that Anaya uses the previously mentioned elements of literature in order to provoke his readers’ thinking and help embody a struggle of understanding the world we live in. Motifs in this novel include: family, dreams, religion, education, and the list continues. For examples of dichotomy, the idea of good versus evil is the most vivid in this novel.

The piece titled ‘getting our future back on the rails – slowly’ is written by a member of The Grow Slow organisation who believes that the most convenient occupant for the land of the abandoned railway yards is a community garden. The author begins the article in a confined toned aiming to convince the reader that a community garden is the right choice and later transfers on to a more critical tone when talking about convenient foods. The author’s main arguments include firstly that community gardens are a global trend and that their community should be one to follow such a trend, secondly a community garden will be beneficial to everyone and is the most efficient option and lastly community gardening will bring the whole community

Each character in this story is experiencing an emotional battle which they try to find healing but for some it will be too late. The narrator in the story is Sheppard. Sheppard is a widow, his wife died in less than a year before the story began. Sheppard experiences emotional distress by trying hard to change a troubled teen, Rufus, into an honorable young man while teaching his son, Norton, to be selfless. Instead

McCullers fully examines the “immense complexities of love”(104) in depicting both the conflict an love within one family, and how this can tear a family apart. Problems such as drinking excessively cause relationships to deteriorate. The dependence on each other and love for one

Many people have their own culture, wouldn’t you agree? Some feel more strongly about their culture than others. Culture is something that is a large part in everyone’s life. It determines who you are and how you handle situations. When two cultures interact with each other and start mixing up, it results in something called a cultural collision. A cultural collision can be seen as a good thing or it can become something negative within both cultures. In the novel, Things Fall Apart culture is used everywhere. Culture is the main topic that is introduced throughout the novel. The novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Nwoye has a huge part in the cultural collision that is occurring, between

In the beginning, Achebe states that, “Fortunately among these people a man was judged according to his worth and not according to the worth of his father” (Achebe 8). This quote is a solid structure in defining what this book is truly about. Okonkwo was not to be judged by his father's lack of integrity, and incoherent thinking abilities, but by whom he is. Reputation plays a key role as a theme in this novel, along with Okonkwo’s fear of following his father’s footsteps and the internal conflict that comes along with Okonkwo’s battle with himself and to keep the tribe united.

Once Mignon McLaughlin said, “A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person” (Positive). We can somehow relate to McLaughlin’s quote as certainly falling in love is accidental, but staying in love is a choice that we make. A successful marriage may be the product of an almost fairytale like romantic story, however, after tying the knot there is harder work and commitment needed from both sides. Throughout human civilization expressing love has generated countless literature and intellectual work in every language and culture known. While many of these works will come to rejoice love, others will address it with resentment and bitterness. In her poem “Cinderella”, Anne Sexton offers us a different version of the traditional Cinderella story. Sexton uses sarcasm and paradox through her poem arguing the sham of happily ever after as portrayed in certain fairytales stories and how it always has been represented through media. On the other hand, Anne Bradstreet celebrates the love of her life, her newly wedded husband in her poem, “To My Dear Husband”. Till this day, Bradstreet’s poem is read in many weddings, due to its sincerity, beautiful expressions, and simple yet elegant language that Bradstreet applied. Sexton’s opinion about love sheds a different light on Bradstreet’s believes, by putting a materialistic value on love, how society affects the way we look at marriage and love, and finally the reality of happily ever after.

C.J. Mahaney, born in Takoma Park, Maryland is an American Christian author and is also a Pastor. Mahaney is the Senior Pastor of Sovereign Grace Church, which is located in Louisville Kentucky. Mahaney, born into a Roman Catholic household was brought to salvation by a friend at the age of eighteen. He has been involved in ministry since 1977 and published his first book in 1994. Mahoney and his wife, Carolyn, have four kids and currently reside in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Literature is a class that every student should take because it would better them as students and as humans in society. It helps by your writing skills and grammar gets better and you become a better writer and those skills goes a long in life. Many of those skills would come helpful when trying to communicating with people in the workforce. When applying for a job your writing skills would come out helpful. As well as when needed to send an email you want to sound professional in what you’re going to say you the person. However that not the only things that would come out from taking the literature class as well as taking about subject that no one else what to. Therefore you get a sense of understanding on subjects that no one else what to talking about, and what everyone else thinks about the subject as well. Literature is a subject that can be taken back many years ago that can still be related to today’s issues. Literature is like history where we can learn from it and make the situation better. Many college students may argue that their field of study may not need it, however literature is a class where you can have discussions with different people from different backgrounds, and get their view of the subject.  However it is understanding that they may not want to take it, because it will cost them money for a class they do not need it. When taking a literature class you may be required to read books and talk to the classroom about it, and that is why it is a benefit