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"The Odyssey", 2008.
An analysis of Homer's use of literary devices and the characterization of Telemachus in "The Odyssey."
791 words (approx. 3.2 pages), 1 source, APA, AU$ 46.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses the search of Telemachus for his father Odysseus, in the classic ancient Greek play, "The Odyssey" by Homer. It discusses the way that Homer crafts persuasive dialogue and speeches in order to convey what Telemachus learns in his travels and why he is searching for his father. In addition to these literary devices, the paper explains the manner in which Homer characterizes Telemachus in this play and how it too a is method he uses to explain the motivation the son has for finding his father.
From the Paper
"According to Lattimore (1999) this mistake demonstrates that Telemachus has not yet inherited his father's foresight or caution, and the scene in which he tries unsuccessfully to string his father's bow reveals that Telemachus has not yet attained his father's skills with weapons either. But his homecoming was the turning point in his young life, for by the time Telemachus got back to Ithaca, he was a much more self-confident and assertive young man and had acquired the psychological and physical maturity necessary for defeating the suitors. He took advantage of his newly acquired maturity when he joined his father in slaughtering the suitors and then defied their furious relatives in The Odyssey's final scene."
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Carlo Ginzburg's "The Cheese and the World", 2007.
This paper discuses Carlo Ginzburg's book "The Cheese and the World" as a micro-history of the less considered aspects of 16th century Italy.
5,000 words (approx. 20.0 pages), 10 sources, MLA, AU$ 204.95
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Abstract
This paper explains that Carlo Ginzburg's "The Cheese and the World"
relates, in the style of micro-history, the life of miller Menocchio (1532-1599) from the Italian district of Friuli, who was brought before the Inquisition in 1584 and 1599 on charges of heresy owing to his peculiar religious beliefs and was eventually burned at the stake. The author points out that Ginzburg, who is a noted micro-historian and expert on the Italian Renaissance and early modern European history, comments that Menocchio's predicament owed much to two great historical developments of his day: the advent of the printing press and the Reformation. The author suggests that most readers' perception of the Reformation and its surrounding culture will be upset by the way this book telescopes the arrival of the printing press into the thoughts of the later Renaissance as if these forces immediately changed consciousness.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
The Printing Press
The Reformation
1599 - What a Heretic Said
On Micro-History
Concluding Remarks
From the Paper
"In a manner much ahead of his time, Menocchio had argued that a religious person believed his faith to be true, just as the Christian believed that Christianity was the correct religion, with a remark too on people believing they embraced a superior culture when, in fact, who was to know this was true, or what an inferior culture might be. The inquisitor asked about the Three Rings and where Menocchio had encountered it, referring to a title as a prohibited book. Ginzburg explains how the Roman Catholic Church was by this time engaged in a "two-front war" against both high culture that would not conform to Counter-Reformation ideals and against popular culture that was showing more signs of questioning..."
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The Rites of Manhood in "The Odyssey", 2008.
An examination of the issue of marriage and the rites of manhood for Telemachus in "The Odyssey" by Homer.
856 words (approx. 3.4 pages), 1 source, APA, AU$ 49.95
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Abstract
This paper looks at why marriage and the rites of manhood are central reasons for the journey that Telemachus must undertake in search of his father, Odysseus, in "The Odyssey" by Homer. Telemachus is a young adult that desperately desires to see his father return, since his mother, Penelope, is under great pressure to remarry due to his 20-year absence. It examines Telemachus' journey into manhood to find his father, preventing his mother from remarrying and the loss of family honor.
From the Paper
"The first appearance of Telemachus in The Odyssey relates directly to his defiance of the suitors that wish to marry is mother, Queen Penelope. He is a young man of around twenty years old, and has played a crucial part in the denial of the suitors' admission into his house. In this regard, Athena has already intervened with Telemachus, which has given him the courage to speak against the suitors. This provides a forum for Telemachus to stand up to the greedy and insolent men that only want to marry Penelope because of her power. Telemachus begins his passage into manhood by speaking to the suitors in Book I."
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The Mexican Migrant Worker, 2008.
This paper reviews how Tomas Rivera addresses the issues of class, gender and ethnicity in "And the Earth Did Not Devour Him."
822 words (approx. 3.3 pages), 0 sources, AU$ 47.95
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Abstract
The paper discusses Tomas Rivera's collection of short stories, "And the Earth Did Not Devour Him", that paints a dark picture of physical hardship, social struggles and spiritual enlightenment. The paper looks at how Rivera demonstrates the separation of classes between Americans and Mexicans, as well as the racial biases and stereotypes that have been placed upon the Mexican people since their migration post-World War II.
From the Paper
"The history of Mexican culture has steadily gained popularity in the United States. With the population steadily increasing throughout the years, it is no surprise that its integration has made it to the public school classroom. However, the Mexican people struggle to battle stereotypes and generalizations. While there are many characteristics that typify a native Mexican, or even a Mexican American, their ethnicity and class divisions are significantly apparent in modern America. Tomas Rivera addresses the issues of class, gender and ethnicity in And the Earth Did Not Devour Him. Taking place in post-World War II, the novella tracks the year in the life of a young Mexican boy, traveling with a group of migrant workers in search of work. Topically, the novella is about the young boy's internal struggle to find meaning behind the life events of the year. However, the undertone reveals a great deal about the prejudice and American perspective on the Mexican Migrant worker."
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Zhu Tianwen and "Notes of a Desolate Man", 2007.
A review of the book "Notes of a Desolate Man" by contemporary Taiwan writer Zhu Tianwen.
1,168 words (approx. 4.7 pages), 1 source, MLA, AU$ 65.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses the book "Notes of a Desolate Man" by Zhu Tianwen and relates that the author's way of fitting in so many non-Chinese influences, past and present, his homosexuality, and the death of an old friend in Japan due to AIDS, fit together to produce a deliberately disjointed psychic environment in which the narrator can only feel thankful for small reminders of a world that seemed normal. The writer points out that throughout "Notes on a Desolate Man", the past continues to be mixed up with the present. The writer believes that this book leaves the reader with no doubt as to the narrator's emotions, sense of being displaced and that his life has been rather pointless, though one wishes the narrator could also see through this state of ennui to find the answers of purpose that were suitable for modernists.
From the Paper
"Like many a post-modern character, the narrator, Xiao Chao, can observe his own isolation, well aware of what is happening, amid Western consumerism and media influences. His friend, Ah Yao, is a former lover, a person with whom he has been able to discuss Chinese poetry but also the culture arriving from the West including 1960s avant garde films and thought. Set in the 1990s, Xiao Shao reflects on his 20s as a well to do young Taiwanese in Europe and in America just as countless other persons at mid-life tend to reflect on how they spent this earlier interval in their lives. Like Ah Yao, he had known the gay scene in New York, Paris and Rome, and also the complications of being a gay Chinese male in a conservative Taiwanese society where both men's families were known in Taipei."
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Intelligence and World War II, 2008.
This paper discuses intelligence during World War II, as presented in Barton Whaley's "Codeword Barbarossa" and Roberta Wohlstetter's "Pearl Harbor - Warning and Decision".
1,640 words (approx. 6.6 pages), 8 sources, MLA, AU$ 86.95
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Abstract
This paper explains that Barton Whaley's "Codeword Barbarossa" has long been considered the definitive study of Hitler's ability to hoodwink Stalin, the Soviet Union's intelligence service and other Allied intelligence networks. The author relates that Roberta Wohlstetter's "Pearl Harbor" conveys that, although rarely has a government been so well informed as to what to expect, this government had "expected wrong". The paper suggests that these books indicate that histories of intelligence or espionage are only tentative as new evidence or new capability in assessing primary sources emerge. The paper concludes that these volumes underscore that, during wartime, uncertainty freezes planning: Stalin responded to the possibility of a German invasion of the Soviet Union; whereas, Pearl Harbor generals waited, puzzled by information from Washington.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Operation Barbarossa
Pearl Harbor
Reflection
Conclusion - 'Surprise' and History
From the Paper
"On June 21, 1991, a German soldier on the Russian border defected to the Soviet forces and stated that Germany was about to invade the Soviet Union. The warning arrived too late. The June 22 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union proceeded as one of history's worst instances of military surprise, the Soviet forces soon surrounded by the Germans as the Luftwaffe destroyed the Soviet air force, on the ground. At the end of World War II, Whaley had a fair amount of the forerunning intelligence story assessed, to which he added what was gained from various forms of evidence concerning European intelligence networks' activities ..."
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Use of the Persona, 2008.
This paper discusses the use of the persona in James Frey's 'A Million Little Pieces' and Thomas De Quincey's 'Confessions of an English Opium Eater'.
1,957 words (approx. 7.8 pages), 5 sources, MLA, AU$ 101.95
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Abstract
In this article, the writer discusses that the construction and use of a persona in works of literature is both an ancient and controversial literary strategy. This essay explores the employment of this strategy in two works that use the device of a persona in detailing struggles with drug addiction: Thomas de Quincey's 'Confessions of an English Opium Eater' and James Frey's 'A Million Little Pieces'. Beginning with a historical background of the theory and practice of the persona in literature, the essay moves to a detailed analysis of its use in both texts. The thesis is argued that the persona is used by both authors to undermine authorial presence in supposedly autobiographical texts in order to heighten both romantic and photo realistic literary effects.
From the Paper
"In Thomas de Quincey's Confessions of an English Opium Eater the use of a persona allows the author to set what are presumably autobiographical experiences in a romantic framework. This is apparent early in the text - before the reader reaches the discussion of opium and its effects - when we see the de Quincey depicting his persona's relationship with the impoverished Ann. This sad and touching story clearly creates sympathy for the reader with the persona. It may be argued that de Quincey is employing it for precisely this effect in the story in order to offset any initial distaste the reader may have for a persona that gradually slips into opium addiction. Thus, we can see how even in a supposedly autobiographical work, the persona may be understood in literary terms as a device set within a literary framework to achieve specific purposes in the minds of the audience."
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Psychology of the Holocaust, 2008.
This paper takes a look at Christopher Browning's 'Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland', which discusses a mass killing during the Holocaust.
3,372 words (approx. 13.5 pages), 6 sources, MLA, AU$ 154.95
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Abstract
In this article the writer explores Christopher Browning's controversial 1992 text, 'Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland'. The writer both summarizes the text's salient points as well as discusses the opinion of the academic community as to its veracity and merit. Every bit as importantly, this paper examines the methodology employed and looks at why Browning's text, if not a great book, can at least be described as an important one. In the end, by looking at the psychology of the killers as he does, the writer maintains that Browning forces the reader to confront "the banality of evil" which made the Holocaust possible on such an unimaginable scale.
From the Paper
"The book is, simply put, a vivid portrayal of a horrifying event. It begins with the first mass-killing at Jozefow in the early morning hours of July 13, 1942. On that day, the members of Reserve Force Battalion 101 were roused from their bunks - they were effectively sequestered in a school building in the town of Bilgoraj - and ordered into waiting trucks. After a short time, they stopped at the small, aforementioned town of Jozefow and were ordered into a semi-circle around their 53-year old commander, Major Wilhelm Trapp. At this point, the first bit of horror in Browning's narrative unfolds. As he describes it, a tearful and badly-shaken Trapp tells his troops that the 1800 Jews in the small community were to be rounded up and separated into two groups - males of working age and everybody else."
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Culture, Society and Gender in 17th Century England, 2008.
An analysis of the letters between Henry More and Anne Conway and what they reveal about the characteristics of seventeenth century English society.
2,280 words (approx. 9.1 pages), 7 sources, MLA, AU$ 114.95
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Abstract
This paper looks at what the personal correspondence between noblewoman Anne Conway and intellectual Henry More - as well as at least one letter from her brother - reveal about the characteristics of seventeenth century English society. More specifically, the paper looks at the social ramifications of the age, the religious predilections of the period, the preferred consumption patterns of upper-class women, and the proximity of death to those alive during the period as all of these items are touched upon by the private letters exchanged between friends and family. Ultimately, the paper argues that Anne Conway was saddled with a variety of social conventions and burdens that even her social status could not help her evade.
From the Paper
"Moving onward, the correspondence between Henry More and Anne Conway is marked (in many, but not all, instances) by an abiding interest in religion - one very good example of this occurring in one of the early letters sent by More to Conway shortly after she had been married (More, "21: Henry More to Anne Conway," 53-55). In any case, it should be borne in mind that the seventeenth century was an age of high religiosity - not unlike the century before it which produced the Reformation and then Counter-Reformation - and More's religious sentiments are extraordinary manifestations not only of his own interest in, and believe in, the Christian faith, but of the extent to which the thought of the age among even the most lettered persons was informed by Christian sensibilities. "
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Loman, Hamlet and Death, 2008.
A comparative analysis of the theme of death in William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman".
1,438 words (approx. 5.8 pages), 3 sources, MLA, AU$ 77.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses the contention that the families of Hamlet and of Willy Loman drove them to their deaths. It looks at how, in the first instance, the faithlessness of Queen Gertrude, the stern injunction of the vengeful ghost of Hamlet's father and the evil-doing of Claudius push Hamlet towards the commission of a terrible crime that ultimately costs him his own life. It also looks at how, Willy's pain at seeing his son Biff fall short of his full potential drives the elder Loman to first melancholic madness and thence to death. In the end, the plays both reveal how the environmental stimuli provided by those around us are often the very stimuli which push us into the abyss.
From the Paper
"In Hamlet, it is soon enough apparent that the young prince's family is the chief cause of his descent into brooding madness. For example, Hamlet's mother, Gertrude, has married the sly and sinister Claudius - the brother of Hamlet the Elder and the man who has profited handsomely from his brother's death (Shakespeare, 154). For Hamlet, who would seem to venerate his father as only a son can, the decision of his mother to join hands in holy matrimony with a fellow Hamlet finds repugnant (Shakespeare, 163) is basically beyond the earthly power of Hamlet to endure."
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Deception and 'The Glass Menagerie', 2008.
This paper analyzes the theme of deception in 'The Glass Menagerie' by Tennessee Williams.
860 words (approx. 3.4 pages), 2 sources, MLA, AU$ 49.95
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Abstract
In this study, the writer examines the theme of deception in the Wingfield family in 'The Glass Menagerie' by Tennessee Williams. By analyzing the roles of Laura, Tom, and Amanda the writer notes that the crucial elements of self-deception can be realized within Williams' text. The writer points out that by critically analyzing how these characters deceive themselves, we can see that they also have a damaging impact on the very people they are trying to hide from within the play's storyline. In essence, the the writer maintains that the fantasy escapism of Laura, the sexist attitudes of Tom, and the materialism of Amanda are three aspects of deception that occur within 'The Glass Menagerie' by Tennessee Williams.
From the Paper
"In this vital narrative, it is Laura that is deceiving herself through an obsession within unreal or fantasy objects in her glass collection. Self deception in this case is by far more damaging to the spirit, since Laura is incapable to finding a relationship with anyone else but her glass objects. This perspective comes in the realization that she cannot escape the insular world she has created, and in unable to reach outside of her fantasy world. This is the mot damaging aspect of this character's self-deception, as it denies her any type of relationship with real people."
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"Surfacing" by Margaret Atwood, 2008.
This literary study analyzes the dualistic gender roles within the main character of Margaret Atwood's novel "Surfacing."
979 words (approx. 3.9 pages), 2 sources, MLA, AU$ 56.95
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Abstract
The paper examines the gender conflict of the main character in "Surfacing" by Margaret Atwood. The paper explains the ecofeminist position that allows the main character to integrate male gender role attributes into her own life. The paper illustrates the power of natural environments to reconstruct a woman's divided psyche.
From the Paper
"The main issue for Atwood's Surfacing is the conflict between gender roles that are present within the main character. The novel is set within the Northern Quebec, where the main character had grown up in an isolated cabin. She has suffered a divorce, the death of her father by drowning, and an abortion. Atwood creates this past history to help build the character around a return to her childhood, which forces the protagonist to face her fears and family history. The central aspect of Ecofeminism within this novel is defined by the main character's victimization of patriarchal domination."
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"In the Deathroom", 2008.
A review of the themes in Stephen King's story "In the Deathroom" from his collection "Everything's Eventual."
946 words (approx. 3.8 pages), 1 source, MLA, AU$ 54.95
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Abstract
This paper analyzes Stephen King's story "In the Deathroom" from his collection "Everything's Eventual." The paper discusses the theme of the story and King's own views on its plausibility. It argues that prior to the point in the story when its implausibility became apparent, King's story represents a remarkable exploration of the theme of human survival amid adversity.
From the Paper
"Such details of the inner-workings of Fletcher's consciousness amid the horrifying circumstances and imminent threat of death with which he is faced embody the theme of survival in the story "In the Deathroom". These are also the qualities that render the story most effective as a fictional work, for through them we can see Fletcher as an individual such as ourselves. The strategies that Fletcher employs for survival are those that we employ as part of our lives as well. Thus, this survival theme reinforces the plausibility of the story. This theme only ceases to be effective when Fletcher assumes a James Bond-like persona, at which point there is no longer any question of survival for we know that as with all superheroes everything will work out miraculously."
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The Industrial Revolution and Literature, 2008.
A look at some literary representations of the Industrial Revolution.
962 words (approx. 3.8 pages), 1 source, MLA, AU$ 56.95
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Abstract
This paper looks at how poets and other writers of the Romantic and Victorian era were affected by the Industrial Revolution in England just as was the rest of the population. In particular, it discusses how in the Victorian era, Charles Dickens analyzed many aspects of the Industrial Revolution in books like "Hard Times" and how aspects of the era were addressed by poets such as Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Matthew Arnold.
From the Paper
"The anonymous poet who wrote "Poverty Knock" captured much of the angst of the era as faced by workers who could barely afford to keep their jobs let alone lose them. Work for this new class of worker was a "dreary old drive" (line 8). Many of the writings of note from the era were produced not by writers as such but by the workers themselves, as in the letters of Ada Nield Chew asking for a living wage for the girls working in the factory (Greenblatt 1579). "
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Evolution and the Romantic Poets, 2008.
An analysis of the relationship between Darwin's theory of evolution and the romantic poets in the nineteenth century.
1,107 words (approx. 4.4 pages), 2 sources, MLA, AU$ 62.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses the conflict between evolution and religion since the publication of Charles Darwin's work in the mid-nineteenth century. It specifically focuses on the way in which this conflict affected the romantic poets. The paper shows how the romantic poets displayed a sense of physical change in the world, of the evolution of nature and of man over time. It suggests that their perceptions were not identical to Darwin's ideas.
From the Paper
"The Romantic poets had some sense of physical change in the world and of the evolution of nature and of man over time, though not in the way that Darwin would describe. Many also had a mystical link with Nature whether more as observers like Wordsworth or as spiritualists like Coleridge. Evolution and religion would conflict more in the next generation, but the Romantic poets found ways to accommodate both at a time when ideas about evolution were only just gaining strength."
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"Portrait of the Poet As Landscape", 2008.
An analysis of "Portrait of the Poet As Landscape" by Abraham Moses Klein.
1,898 words (approx. 7.6 pages), 0 sources, AU$ 98.95
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Abstract
The paper explains how A.M. Klien's title "Portrait of the Poet As Landscape" is suggestive of the loss of self and alienation from this world of falseness and that it reflects on the life of the poet. The paper then portrays the poem's apt images of bitter social critique, sardonic irony, self-flagellation and some good humor.
From the Paper
"The title does not use an article. The word landscape is left undefined, so where and who is the poet? He has blended into a landscape bereft of himself like a child blundering through a strange country, never knowing why. The title is an effacement, and the poem commences and continues as such with apt images of bitter social critique, sardonic irony, self-flagellation, some good humor, but in the end a nihilistic plunge into the depths he deprecates."
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