Literary Criticism essays

1413 samples in this category

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3 Pages 1491 Words
Is change always positive or is it negative, and can it hurt societies? The Author of the book, Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe exposes different reactions to people and change. Things Fall Apart is based in an Igbo village in Nigeria in the late 1800s to early 1900s. The story is based around a strong independent man named Okonkwo who...
2 Pages 1147 Words
Macbeth’s self-awareness and grasp of reality deteriorate as the play progresses. How far do you agree? Notably, the witches have an instant effect on Macbeth’s self-awareness from when he first meets them in Act 1, Scene 3. At the beginning of this scene, Macbeth has a firm grasp on reality and refers to the witches as the “weird sisters”. When...
1 Page 666 Words
'Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires.' This soliloquy by Macbeth displays a conflict of ideas and his desire for ambition against all things right. He is asking not to be judged for his wrongdoings. His actions, brought about by prophecies lead to death and have a domino effect throughout families and the kingdom....
3 Pages 1194 Words
“Girl”, by Jamaica Kincaid, is a short story teeming with literary merit. Jamaica Kincaid, whose original name was Elaine Potter Richardson, was born on May 25th, 1949 in St. John's, Antigua. Kincaid is a Caribbean-American writer whose works focus on representing familial relationships, as seen in this short story. The short story “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid, was published in the...
2 Pages 1048 Words
The Life of Pi, directed by Ang Lee focuses on the main protagonist, Piscine Molitor Patel, or Pi. Pi in his older age explains the tale of his life and the series of events that lead up to this current point. He comes from an area in India where his parents owned a zoo which is crucial to this movie...
1 Page 609 Words
The prison industrial complex is a term used to describe the massive increase in prison population across the nation due to a rapid increase in privatized prisons, and big businesses that supply different goods and services to these private prisons for profit. Angela Davis describes the prison industrial complex as the government and certain industries having an overlapping interest in...
2 Pages 796 Words
Rather than respecting people for whom they are based on personality, society chooses to judge people based solely on looks. Given all they have been through as a group, why do the boys in ‘Lord of the Flies’ see Piggy as a nuisance? Piggy’s physical appearance leads him to be the subject of many jokes, and even after offering advice...
3 Pages 1392 Words
During our daily lives, people face tribulations from time to time. But how do individuals deal with those challenges? William Golding illustrates how Jack in the novel ‘Lord of the Flies’ faced his predicaments apart from adversity by indicating the true form of human nature, that humans are wired to think instinctively rather than wisely, more savage than civilized. Jack...
2 Pages 763 Words
The main idea in ‘Lord of the Flies’ is Golding’s understanding of human nature. Golding argues that human nature, unleashed from the pressure of society, departs people away from sensibleness to fierceness. The application of allegory, character development, illusions, and setting are individual rhetorical techniques that the writer uses in ‘Lord of the Flies’ to interpret that all humans are...
2 Pages 894 Words
Are all children born evil? In ‘Lord of the Flies’ by William Golding the main character, Jack, is an innocent young boy that slowly transforms into a complete savage. Throughout this novel, Jack and the other children get stranded on an unknown island. This slowly makes Jack a have progressive and obsessive desire for power and killing through the events...
2 Pages 899 Words
Discrimination comes in different forms, it is a unique pattern of harming and humiliating others, specifically those who are in some way smaller, weaker, younger, or more vulnerable. ‘Lord of the Flies’ is translated by William Golding. In the novel, discrimination leads to Piggy’s abuse. Despite all of Piggy’s leadership qualities, his physical appearance, social class, and personality help lay...
2 Pages 912 Words
The goodness expressed in people influences their actions and behaviors throughout their life. Everyone has internal goodness and some form of morality that is shown throughout human culture. William Golding uses representations to display how the forces of internal goodness against disorganization and madness affect society as a whole. In his novel ‘Lord of the Flies’, Golding uses Simon to...
1 Page 654 Words
‘Lord of the Flies’ by William Golding is portrayed by an abnormal take on leadership skills and logic. The two main characters are Ralph and Jack, and both have two completely opposite personalities, resulting in conflict regarding who is the main leader of society. From the start, there is one character that stands out, his name is Piggy. He is...
1 Page 580 Words
Children need order and rules, and someone to enforce those rules. When no adults are present to enforce these rules, there has to be a leader. Who is the best leader? In ‘Lord of the Flies’ by William Golding, British schoolboys were going to Australia for safety because of the war. When their plane crashed and they were stranded on...
1 Page 425 Words
In William Golding’s novel ‘Lord of the Flies’, Ralph is described as a leader, companion, and a civilized person, who runs on a democracy. That is why all the people from the island chose Ralph as their leader. Ralph also helps run the island. If the people had a different leader, I think that everyone's viewpoint would change. Ralph crafted...
2 Pages 1052 Words
In Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel 'The Scarlet Letter', Hester is the perfect example of one who experiences alienation alongside her daughter from the Puritans she lives around. She separates herself from them to work and take care of Pearl. Dealing with the guilt from her grave sin, Hester grows to learn how to cope with a judgmental society, where everyone around...
3 Pages 1289 Words
In the world of literature, Roger Chillingworth stands, somewhat unceremoniously, as a symbol of true evil. In ‘The Scarlet Letter’ he is the living embodiment of the Black Man, who is, in the Puritan faith, a representation of the devil. He shares similar physical features to the Black Man and even shares similar desires. In ‘The Scarlet Letter’, the Black...
2 Pages 1142 Words
Chinua Achebe published his first novel ‘Things Fall Apart’ in 1958. Achebe wrote his novel in response to European novels that depicted Africans as savages who needed to be enlightened by the Europeans. Achebe presents to the reader his people’s history with both strengths and imperfections by describing, for example, Igbo festivals, the worship of their gods and the practices...
1 Page 558 Words
To understand the theme of communication, two appropriate stories to use are Tobias Wolff’s short story ‘Bullet in the Brain’ and Flannery O’Connor’s ‘A Good Man is Hard to Find’. In Wolff’s short story, Anders communicates with a bank robber cynically and sarcastically until he gets shot in the head. During the robbery, Anders is continuously mocking the robber's choice...
1 Page 669 Words
The author intends to explain how the character rejects his mental state and appreciation of mortality. The character of ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ exhibits signs of mental issues through a series of events described by the author. In the short story, the narrator doubts his sanity from the beginning. He says, “…but why will you say that I am mad? The...
4 Pages 1839 Words
William Golding was a British novelist, playwright, and poet, best acknowledged for his novel 'Lord of the Flies', which turned out to become a huge success mainstreaming globally. Golding made it one of his main focuses to tackle many themes in his novel. One of those themes is Christian allegories, in which he puts emphasis on the fact that certain...
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