Abstract
This paper examines how Oscar Wilde's "Picture of Dorian Gray" and Thomas Mann's "Death in Venice" are literary works situated in the cultural phenomenon known as decadence. This cultural phenomenon began in the late nineteenth century and involved the production of a range of interrelated aesthetic, social and sexual personae. It looks at how the most prevalent of these in the work of Wilde and Mann are the beautiful boy, the dandy and the degenerate, because they represent the "Other". It also discusses how both novels also deal with the dichotomy of the Apollonian and Dionysian artistic impulses in literature, which serve to define the calm exterior/decaying interior that codifies decadence.

From the Paper
"Felski argues that Decadent literature offers "explicitly feminized male protagonists, who are identified with love of artifice, excess, and everything unnatural." This is certainly true in the case of Dorian Gray. She also mentions the "association of femininity with ornamentation and detail in Western culture." Both Dorian and Tadzio's clothing is described with much attention to the detail and adornments of the garments. Wilde's novel regards the protagonist's cultivation of sense experience, passion and sensation in the pursuit of beauty. Dorian studies exotic perfumes, collects musical instruments and precious stones, and once attended a masquerade ball wearing a costume covered with 560 pearls."

Tags:homosexuality, sexuality, dandy

Abstract
This paper explains that, although John Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums" and Tayama Katai's "The Girl Watcher" are written by authors from two different cultures, they share a literary device called the chance encounter. The author points out that the chance encounter enables the protagonists to reflect on their unfulfilled desires, allowing them a medium to channel their frustrations and to develop a greater awareness of their self-hoods. The paper relates that, in both stories, the chance encounter comes as a break from the routine nature of the protagonists' everyday lives, leading them to reflect on their unfulfilled desires. The author suggests that both characters not only feel unfulfilled in their roles in society, one as a housewife and the other a male magazine proof-reader, but also in their sexual relationships.

From the Paper
"In Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums", the protagonist Eliza reaches a point in her life whereby she is left feeling unfulfilled, particularly in her relationship with her husband. The chance encounter she has, with a traveling male stranger, leads her to imagine an alternative life as she contemplates acting upon her desires. At the start of the text, we get the feeling that Eliza feels lonely and isolated in her country town. The author uses descriptive language to convey Eliza's sense of isolation in the Salina's Valley,..."

Tags:desires, isolation, train, unfulfilled, negative

Abstract
This paper will compare the poetry of Anne Bradstreet and Edward Taylor as they implicitly set forth their perceptions of God and his kingdom and their stance toward divinities in two or three works. By understanding this way of divine poetry, we can see how they use God as a position for inquiry into the matters of theology and the beliefs they have in a higher power.

Abstract
There are many similarities between Gilgamesh, the legendary Babylonian king, and Odysseus, the Greek warrior famous for his cunning and fortitude. The paper shows that both characters' stories are told in poetic epics ("The Epic of Gilgamesh" by an anonymous author and ancient Greek writer, Homer's "The Odyssey"). The paper shows how both characters are engaged in quests - Gilgamesh, who is partially divine, does not wish to die and searches for a way to achieve immortality, whilst Odysseus is fully human and even rejects an offer of immortality in order to continue his struggle to return home after the end of the Trojan war. Both epics also feature the interference of the gods who encourage, assist, or thwart the two heroes and debate among themselves about the courses they should take in regard to the relatively insignificant human beings. The paper shows that the endings of the two epics are different--as might be expected from the differences in the two characters' goals. However, the basic themes of the endings have much more in common than might be expected. Gilgamesh is eventually convinced that immortality is something reserved for the gods. His partially mortal parentage means that he must die and that he should, therefore, take pleasure and pride in what is best about life rather than worrying about living forever. The paper shows that Odysseus is also intent on restoring order by returning home and in doing so, he makes the best of life, accepting fate and eventual death.

From the Paper
"The episodes involving the offers of the goddesses also provide similarities and differences. In the case of Gilgamesh Ishtar "looked with longing" on his beauty and begged him to be her "bridegroom" (6.6-7). But Gilgamesh boldly rejected her, despite the list of beautiful things that she promised him, because he was aware of the sad histories of all the men and animals that she had taken for her lovers in the past. In the case of Calypso and Odysseus, however, the goddess is not accused of falseness and her offers of everything wonderful are quite serious. She does indeed want Odysseus to remain with her forever and makes the offer of immortality. He would be ageless and would "preside in our house with me / and be immortal"."

Tags:Humbaba, Cyclops, Ishtar, Calypso, Enkidu

Abstract
This paper pertains to the techniques within Montaigne's essays and the manner in which they function. The paper discusses several essays including 'On the Cannibals', 'We Reach the Same End by Discrepant Means', 'On the Lame', and 'On Experience'.

From the Paper
"Through the careful and intelligent use of language Montaigne is able to successfully disseminate his didactic. Montaigne utilizes many subtle yet effective techniques to convince to responder, exploiting polemic, displaying bias towards one opinion, yet such a bias is undermined by the continual contradictions within We reach the same end by discrepant means, in addition to the seeming lack of bias within some sections. Montaigne uses the collective within his essays, creating a nexus between himself and the responder, while quoting historical examples and anecdotes, creating a personal tone within the essay, supplemented through the use of Stream of Consciousness in the Narrative form, through the clever use of language Montaigne is able to establish a rapport with the responder, creating the impression of assumed knowledge, while forcing guilt upon the responder should they disagree. In order to create a successful essay one must perceptively utilize language techniques, such that the responder may be manipulated to concur with the disseminated didactic."

Tags:Polemic, Guyenne

Abstract
This paper examines vampire literature and its preoccupation with polymorphous sexuality, homosexuality, gender, compulsory heterosexuality and Christianity. It primarily focuses on Anne Rice's "Vampire Chronicles" ("Interview with a Vampire") and Bram Stoker's "Dracula".

From the Paper
"Anne Rice's debut novel, Interview with the Vampire, presented the moral agony of Louis de Pointe du Lac, the young American French Catholic vampire from New Orleans who had been created by an older and more cynical French vampire, Lestat de Lioncourt. His life story, as told to a young journalist, not only describes life with his maker and especially Lestat's other creature, the six-year-old Claudia, but does so from the perspective of an anguished person who experiences typical vampire blood lust, but cannot bear to take human life. While other vampires in literature, including Lestat, have embraced their evil and murderous natures without conscience, Anne Rice was the first to show the moral ambivalence a fledgling vampire might feel."

Tags:anne, blood, bram, dracula, gothic, rice, sexuality, stoker

Abstract
This paper examines the sexual undertones of the two novels, showing the victorian preoccupation with homosexuality and expiation of sin. The paper shows how each novel explores homosexuality as a factor of its time and place in society. In Faulkner's novel, the idea of "coming out" as we know it is discussed, while James' novel mentions the fear and repression associated with homosexuality at the time.

From the Paper
"In the late eighteenth century, notions of modesty and propriety meant that there were few ways in which sexuality could be discussed openly in a social setting. Gothic narrative served as an outlet. In Victorian Supernatural fiction, the anxieties surrounding homosexuality is a very prominent theme. However, due to the cultural status of homosexuality as taboo, the subject is heavily veiled in literature. In John Mead Faulkner's "The Lost Stradivarius," the story appears to be about a young man's obsession with a wonderful musical instrument and a particular piece of music. Through carefully disguised metaphor's, the story conveys pertinent information regarding the reception of homosexuality in England during the Victorian period. Similarly, Henry James' psychological tale, "The Turn of the Screw" subtly deals with homosexuality as taboo, and elucidates the repercussions of sexual deviance in children."

Tags:decadence, decay, ghost, john, lost, spectres, stradivarius, turn, violin

Abstract
This paper examines how a characteristic common to both novels and films is the spectacularly gripping battle that takes place between good and evil. It looks at how the protagonists of both stories struggle with a powerful, superhuman embodiment of evil - Voldemort in "Harry Potter", and Sauron in "The Lord of the Rings". It also looks at how juxtaposed against these hateful figures are characters possessing magical or mystical powers who command the fight for virtue and justice - exemplified in Dumbledore and Gandalf. Betwixt these two polar opposites are Harry and Frodo -the symbolic heroes, who, even though they fight determinedly against evil, still discover that they are connected to or tempted by the evil figure they are opposing.

From the Paper
"The stifling, materialistic world of the Dursley's, Harry's foster parents in Privet Drive, Little Whinging, and the pettiness and relative inconsequence of life for the Hobbits in the Shire both represent the ordinary world of the middle class. One of the contemporary dissatisfactions to which both stories respond is the general boredom with modern bourgeois existence. The escapism these stories provide is a remedy for the routine that is the curse of secure, stagnant middle-class life. In particular, Harry's repulsion towards the Dursley's provides an exceptionally adverse view of modern bourgeois life. It is this essentially cramped existence that Harry is keenest to escape, made manifest in the tiny dimensions of his cupboard under the stairs turned bedroom. "

Tags:hobbit, medievalism, witch, wizard, dumbledore, gandalf, voldemort

Abstract
A primary source-based examination of the similarities and differences between the understanding and description of 'Ultimate Reality' (or God) as found in the Taoist and Hindu main theological texts, the "Tao Te Ching" and the "Upanishads". History and explanations of the differing religious traditions and the concept of 'Ultimate Reality' are supplied. Cause of creation and nature of reality are discussed. Many textual references included. Includes annotated bibliography.

From the Paper
"Although composed over two thousand years ago, the Upanishads and the "Tao Te Ching" are considered to be the mystical texts par excellence of their respective religious traditions. The content of these documents were foundational to the establishment of Hinduism and Taoism and continue to be highly referenced within these traditions today. Primarily identified for their mystical content, these texts reflect a desire on the authors' behalf to identify through direct contact a reality that transcends their own, an Ultimate Reality."

Tags:brahman, dao, daoism, god, hinduism, religious, taoism, texts, upanishads

Abstract
A comparison of the characters in Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility", Samuel Richardson's "Pamela" and Fanny Burney's "Evelina". The paper begins by reviewing the literature that preceded the 19th century and the changes evident in the 19th century. The writer then explores the roles of the main characters of each of the novels, as a part of their society and times.

From the Paper
"The eighteenth century was a very important time for the development of a new literary form known as the novel. As this literary form progressed, characterizations of femininity changed, reflecting changes in society. Samuel Richardson's Pamela (1741) is a self-consciously moral antidote to the immoral novels of Aphra Behn, Delarivier Manley, and Eliza Haywood. The full title is: Pamela, or, Virtue Rewarded, and the latter part of the title forms the main theme of the novel. Jane Austen published Sense and Sensibility in 1811, nearly a half century later, and her female characters reflect a difference in attitude towards sentiment."

Tags:burney, characterisation, evelina, fanny, pamela, richardson, samuel