Symbolism Essays

In most classic American literature, symbolism is ingenuously present and undoubtedly praised. In the novel The Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane depicts the Civil War in a blatantly authentic manner. At the same time, he purposely creates a much deeper message through the usage of symbols. The novel is …

“The Scarlet Letter” is a beautifully written novel that includes many different literary elements to tie the events together and to draw the reader in. Mainly, the novel is a combination of realism, symbolism, and allegory. The realistic story takes place in colonial America, involving many possible events, in a …

Romanticism, the biggest theme in The Scarlet Letter, can be seen in every page that is turned throughout the novel. Examples of romanticism can be found from the beginning with the air of authenticity to the end with the element of a moral. Nathaniel Hawthorne is hands down the most …

Among many contemporary poets, Gabriel Okara makes his stand as one of the most influential Nigerian lyricists. Okara speaks of the same impressions of the controversial novelist Chinua Achebe. In the poem “Piano and Drums,” Gabriel Okara shows the contrasts between the past life and the modern world. Some aspects …

When reading Ernest Hemmingway’s A Farewell to Arms, I was struck by the vivid images he conveys with his descriptions of nature and the world. Hemmingway’s stark prose lends an air of bleakness to the story that truly puts the horrors and emotional turmoil of war into perspective. Although I …

“Do human beings have free will or free choice and if not who or what shapes human destiny?” (McSweeney 9) Herman Melville utilizes Father Mapple’s sermon in his nineteenth century epic novel Moby Dick, to illustrate the duality of mankind. Mortal man pursues his own singular interests with selfish intent; …

As is well known, the famous storytale “Cinderella” has many variants across cultures and time periods. These variants have been found to have the same general plot, which is characterized by the persecuted heroine, the meeting with the prince, the revealing of an inner identity, and marriage with the prince. …

1) “Always” and “never” are not words that have much meaning in literary study. For one thing, as soon as something seems to always be true, some wise guy will come along and write something to prove that it’s not.” pg.8 2) “there’s no such thing as a wholly original …

From the onset Joan Didion explicitly denounces the ‘comfortable’ and ‘happy’ lifestyles of the turn of the last century’s industrial rich as she takes us beyond the ‘handwrought gates’ of their Newport, Rhode Island mansions to expose an ugly, harsh reality that she sees as born from the very belly …

The male hero could be said to be portrayed in Atwood’s poem “Backdrop addresses cowboy” by the cowboy. The cowboy is a clichéd symbol of masculinity made famous by the Western film industry of America. One can immediately conjure him up, square-jawed and handsomely rugged in Stetson and spurred boots, …