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Papers On American Literature
Page 14 of 95
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Jacobs' Incident In The Life Of A Slave Girl
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Harriet Jacobs wrote the
story of her life of enslavement, mistreatment, confinement and eventual
freedom shortly after the end of the Civil War. This 5 page paper
argues that Incidents in the Life of A Slave Girl was intended to be
read as a slave narrative and, as such to provide a historical
documentation of what the reality of slavery entailed - at least for a
young woman. It is also a political manifesto in that it argues that
the realities of slavery were not much different from the Northern
social norms of segregation. No additional sources are listed.
Filename: KTlfslve.wps
Betty Friedan / Gender Roles
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A 5 page commentary on how Betty Friedan contributed to the shift in gender role identification. The writer focuses on both the negative (gender confusion) and positive aspects of her contribution (life-sharing and equal opportunity). Bibliography lists 3 sources.
Filename: Cngenrel.wps
Revolutionaries and the Feminine Mystique
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A 6 page piece which postulates that in 'The Feminine Mystique' and 'Slouching Towards Bethlehem,' Betty Friedan and Joan Didion write (separately) of a women's revolution, Friedan by tracing history toward a thesis, and Didion by adding apocolyptic commentary to the theme by living with the emerging culture, and by observing the unconscious shedding of historical perspective. However true to history their original insights, it can be claimed that both lost touch with their historical perspectives, specifically as they applied to the ongoing social issues for which they fought. As such, they themselves became victims to a 'history mystique' of their own creation. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
Filename: Friedion.wps
Bernard Malamud's 'The Magic Barrel'
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In 5 pages, the writer discusses the meaning & purpose of 'The Magic Barrel' by Bernard Malamud.
Filename: Magicb.wps
Morality and the American Dream in Franklin and Fitzgerald
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A five page paper looking at the way Franklin’s concept of the self-created man, developed in his “Autobiography”, degenerated into the illusory persona epitomized by Fitzgerald’s “Great Gatsby”. The paper suggests that over time, Franklin’s emphasis on morality and personal values was lost, and without it, upward striving becomes purely materialistic. No additional sources.
Filename: KBfrankl.wps
Bobbi Ann Mason's 'Shiloh' / Death of a Child
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A 6 page paper explicating the problems associated with the death of a child for the surviving parents. The writer explores the areas of guilt, reminders, lack of communication and resistance to personal progress related to a child's death in terms of Mason's story. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
Filename: Shiloh.wps
Bobbi Ann Mason's 'Shiloh' vs. Frank O'Connor's 'Guests of a Nation' / Conflict
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A 4 page paper comparing and contrasting the functions of conflict in two short stories. The first story is by Frank O'Connor, titled 'Guests of a Nation.' The second story is by Bobbie Ann Mason, and is titled 'Shiloh.' Each story deals with a completely different topic and both are written from the first person perspective. And while on the surface both of these stories deal will dramatically different topics, they essentially uncover a very similar type of conflict which involves the realization and the acceptance of some type of death or end. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
Filename: Shilohg.wps
Bobbie Ann Mason' 'Shiloh' / Conflicts & The Struggle For Happiness
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4 pages on Bobbie Ann Mason's short story, 'Shiloh.' The writer details the conflicts among the characters in the story and discusses whether the ending is hopeful or not, with references to symbols in the story. No bibliography.
Filename: Shiloh2.wps
Bobbie Ann Mason's 'Shiloh'
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A 4 page discussion of conflicts presented in Mason's story and the possible implications that the ending has for various characters. No other sources cited.
Filename: Shiloh1.wps
Less Than Zero vs. Bobbie Ann Mason's 'In Country'
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A 4 page comparison between the 1980's era film 'Less than Zero' and Bobbie Ann Mason's book 'In Country.' The focus of the thesis/discussion is upon how characters in both stories were affected by 'wars' that ripped the socioeconomic status of their respective surroundings apart. While characters in each story were 'victims of circumstances,' the writer finds great difference in Less Than Zero's youths-- as they conceivably might have had more control over their situations. Several other key similarities and differences are cited. No Bibliography.
Filename: Lesszero.wps
Anorexia in Atwood and Hanauer
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A five page paper comparing and contrasting Cathi Hanauer's treatment of the issue of anorexia in 'My Sister's Bones' with that of Margaret Atwood in 'The Edible Woman.' The paper concludes that both authors show how anorexia is reflected in issues of patriarchal power, although Atwood looks at it more from the standpoint of the individual’s relationship to society, and Hanauer, from the standpoint of the individual’s relationship to family and self.Bibliography lists four sources.
Filename: KBanorex.wps
Anne Tyler's 'Saint Maybe'
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An 8 page paper giving an overview of the novel Saint Maybe. The writer discusses plot, characters and the central theme, and compares it with Tyler's most recent book, Ladder of Tears.
Filename: Annetyle.wps
Arthur Miller's 'After The Fall' / Failure
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A 6 page paper critiquing the 1964 play by Arthur Miller. The paper concludes that in addition to a puzzling theme, After The Fall is burdened with too many characters who have too little characterization and carry too much symbolic baggage. Bibliography lists 6 sources.
Filename: Fallfail.wps
Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman' & August Wilson's 'Fences'
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A 5 page paper which considers whether or not August Wilson's play, Fences (1985), is an African-American version of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (1947). Specifically examined are the similarities and differences between the two plays. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
Filename: Dosfence.wps
Arthur Miller's 'Death Of A Salesman' -- Characters of Biff & Happy
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In this 5 page paper, the writer compares and contrasts protagonist Willy Loman's two sons (Biff & Happy). Specifically analyzed : the young mens' relationship with each other, their mother, and most importantly, their father. No Bibliography.
Filename: Salesmn.wps
Arthur Miller's 'Death Of A Salesman' / Dysfunction
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A 5 page paper analyzing the dysfunctional family as shown in Arthur Miller's play. Defines a functional family and contrasts it to the Loman family of the play. No additional sources cited.
Filename: Deathfam.wps
Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman' / From A Modern Point-of-View
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A 5 page paper addressing the play, 'Death of a Salesman,' and considering it from a modern day perspective. The play deals with many issues which are just as prevalent today, and in that respect not much about the play would need to be changed in order to make it a modern day movie attraction. But an examination of the possibilities is provided, including a brief sketch of possible actors for the 4 lead characters. Essentially this is an examination of a hypothetical situation where the play was being redone in a modern format. No additional sources cited.
Filename: Saledeat.wps
Arthur Miller's 'Death Of A Salesman' / Hopelessness Of Willy Loman
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A 5 page paper discussing the emotional makeup of Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's play, Death of a Salesman. Also analyzes how Loman's doubts, insecurities, and hopelessness affected his relationships. Bibliography lists 2 sources.
Filename: Hopew.wps
Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman' / Importance of Fate
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In 4 pages, the writer discusses the importance of fate in Death of a Salesman and how it brought Willy Loman to his station in life. No additional sources cited.
Filename: Fatesale.wps
Arthur Miller's 'Death Of A Salesman' / Linda Loman As A Perfect Wife
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5 pages in length. Linda Loman, wife of Willy Loman in the play Death of a Salesman, is the epitome of the perfect wife. Her loyalty and devotion would be enough of a testimonial on their own, but Linda's qualifications goes far beyond that. The writer defends the position that Linda is, in fact, a perfect wife by illustrating to what lengths she goes to bolster her husband both in times of crisis and in their everyday lives.
Filename: Lomanwif.wps
Arthur Miller's 'Death of A Salesman' / On The Character Of Willie Loman
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A 6 page paper on one aspect of the illusions of Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's play. The paper argues that Willy's confusion of his two mentors -- a former salesman and his brother Ben -- causes him to create a warped value system, which he then passes on to his sons. Bibliography lists 5 additional sources.
Filename: Liked.wps
Arthur Miller's 'Death Of A Salesman' / Politics
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A 6 page paper looking at the degree to which Arthur Miller's own political activism is reflected in the play Death of a Salesman. The paper argues that although some critics felt the play was Marxist, Miller was in fact reflecting the world the way he, and not Marx, saw it. Bibliography lists seven sources.
Filename: Salesmn8.wps
Arthur Miller's 'Death Of A Salesman' / Setting In The Play
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A 5 page paper on the physical set of Arthur Miller's play. The paper looks in detail at the directions for construction and design of the set for this play, and observes how these details serve to emphasize the theme of the play itself. Bibliography lists three sources.
Filename: Setdeath.wps
Arthur Miller's 'Death Of A Salesman' / Society And The Individual
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A 5 page paper looking at the roles of Miller's protagonist Willy Loman and American society itself in bringing about Willy's downfall. The paper argues that both are equally culpable -- society for inventing the myth of the American Dream, and Willy for buying into it. Bibliography lists 1 source.
Filename: Socsal4.wps
Arthur Miller's 'Death Of A Salesman' / The Tragedy of Willy Loman
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A 5 page paper evaluating Arthur Miller's claim that 'tragedy is the conscience of a man's total compulsion to evaluate himself justly.' The writer argues that Willy Loman's tragedy is, in fact, that he cannot evaluate himself justly; even suicide is preferable to that. Bibliography lists two sources.
Filename: Lomant.wps
Arthur Miller's 'Death Of A Salesman' / Willie Loman As The Author
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A 7 page paper analyzing the extent to which Death of A Salesman can be considered autobiographical -- a reflection of Arthur Miller's own life. Bibliography lists 5 additional sources.
Filename: Salesmn5.wps
Arthur Miller's 'Death Of A Salesman' / Willy Loman & The American Dream
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A 9 page paper on Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman. The writer demonstrates how the plight of the protagonist, Willy Loman, represents the tarnishing of the American Dream, and shows how the play serves as a clear indictment of the American capitalist system. Bibliography lists seven sources.
Filename: Wloman.rtf
Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman' / Willy Loman as a Tragic Hero
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In 4 pages, the writer discusses the tragic hero in Death of a Salesman. The plight of Willy Loman is analyzed as definitively tragic. No additional sources cited.
Filename: Herosale.wps
Arthur Miller's 'Death of A Salesman' Hoffman as Loman In The Film Version
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A 5 page paper comparing the televised version of Arthur Miller's play, starring Dustin Hoffman, with the original work. No additional sources cited.
Filename: Deathsale.wps
Arthur Miller's 'Death Of A Salesman' vs. 'The Price' / Aging & The Family
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This 12 page research paper examines the impact of the aging process not only on the aged family member but also on his family. Specifically discussed is this issue as explored by the plays of Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman and The Price. Bibliography lists 7 sources.
Filename: Famage.wps
Arthur Miller's 'The Crucible'
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A 6 page analytical comparison between two opposite characters : Abigail Williams and John Proctor. Essay is thesis-orientated and includes supporting materials from three sources cited in bibliography.
Filename: Crucible.wps
Biff and Willy’s Destructive Relationship in Miller’s “Death of a Salesman”
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A six page paper looking at the way the protagonist of Arthur Miller’s classic play imbues his son with his warped sociological values. The paper shows that the son’s repeated failures in life are due to his father’s idealization of him, and this in turn is based on the father’s inability to see his own life realistically. Bibliography lists three sources.
Filename: KBsales3.wps
Miller’s “Death of a Salesman”
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A five page paper providing an overview of this classic American play. The paper discusses Willy Loman’s role as hero, Miller’s use of foil characters, dramatic suspense and exposition, and the influence of the play’s set in our understanding of the play’s theme. No additional sources.
Filename: KBsales2.wps
Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” in its Social Context
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A 10 page paper looking at Arthur Miller’s classic twentieth century play in terms of its indictment of capitalist society. The paper shows how the protagonists’ illusions distort his own values and those he teaches his sons, and observes that in that respect little has changed today. Bibliography lists seven sources.
Filename: KBsales.wps
Non-realism in Miller’s “Death of a Salesman”
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A three page paper looking at Arthur Miller’s play in terms of those aspects which are deliberately not realistic. The paper discusses Miller’s intentions in presenting the play in this manner. No additional sources.
Filename: KBsales4.wps
The Crucible / Arthur Miller's Rebuttal to McCarthyism
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An 8 page paper looking at Arthur Miller's play The Crucible in terms of its relationship to the McCarthy hearings of the 1950s. The paper examines the underlying causes of both historical events, and shows how human nobility and honor can stand up against the most ruthless of social forces. Bibliography lists 6 sources.
Filename: Crucmill.wps
Three Plays of Arthur Miller
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A 5 page paper looking at 3 plays by this well-known American playwright -- Death of A Salesman, A View From The Bridge, and After The Fall. The writer argues that the first two plays explore clearly-defined and important themes which have significance and resonance in our society; the third does not, but it represents a sincere effort on the part of a great talent to make sense of his world. No sources.
Filename: Threemil.wps
Women In The Plays Of Arthur Miller
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A 40 page thesis on five plays by this well-known American playwright -- Death of A Salesman from the 1940s, The Crucible and A View From The Bridge from the 1950s, After The Fall from the 1960s, and A Ride Down Mount Morgan from the 1990s. After analyzing the four main types of female characters that appear in these plays, the writer concludes that the tendency of much of Miller's work to focus on the inner thoughts of one male protagonist gives little opportunity for the development of female characterization. Bibliography lists 16 sources..
Filename: Millplay.wps
Maya Angelou/All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes
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A 5 page analysis of All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes by Maya Angelou, which is the fifth volume in her serial autobiography. This volume is an account of Angelou's experiences in Ghana in the early 1960s. This narrative relates how Angelou found a job teaching at the University of Ghana and began working as an editor. While the narrative naturally includes the details of where Angelou worked, and the major details of her life, the motivating force behind the book is how Angelou worked to relate emotionally to Ghana and her African heritage. No additional sources cited.
Filename: 99agcnts.rtf
The Personal Development of Stephen Kumalo
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A 5 page analysis of the protagonist of Alan Paton's 1948 novel Cry, the Beloved Country. The paper points out that Kumalo was already a faithful and devoted priest prior to the traumatic loss of his son, but his loss enabled him to learn new ways to put his faith into action. Bibliography lists one source.
Filename: Skumalo.wps
Emerson's Call to Action in The American Scholar is Answered by Whitman in Song of Myself
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In 6 pages, the author discusses Emerson's speech on 'The American Scholar' and shows how Walt Whitman answered this call using Whitman's 'Song of Myself.' Emerson's call was for intellectual, cultural, and spiritual independence, which are important to transcendentalism. No other sources are cited.
Filename: PCewt.doc
Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman
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A five page paper looking at the thought of these three seminal nineteenth-century American writers as expressed in their works “Nature,” “Civil Disobedience,” and “Preface to Leaves of Grass,” respectively. The paper concludes that all three of these writers relied heavily on nature and natural metaphors to define what is unique about the American experience. No additional sources.
Filename: KBemer.wps
Morrison's The Bluest Eye & Salinger's The Catcher In The Rye
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Morrison and Salinger have both chosen to have the plot revolve around the
misconception of the community and the need for adolescents (innocence)
to find acceptance. A loss of that innocence results in a need to
escape to somewhere or something that is able to fill the void. This 5
page paper argues that the character of Holden Caulfield in The Catcher
In The Rye and several of Morrison's characters in The Bluest Eye
experience a gradual psychic erosion that represents the weakening of
their concept of community. An explanation of epigram is includes as
well as suggestions for an epigrammatic title for the student's essay.
No additional sources are listed.
Filename: KTeyerye.wps
To Kill A Mockingbird / Setting & The Courtroom
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5 pages in length. The significance of the Maycomb setting in Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird and how it affects the courtroom scene demonstrates the way in which a black man's life can be maligned with blatant lies and misinterpretations. Atticus Finch's appointment to defend Negro Tom Robinson is something the town has not witnessed before -- a town in which blacks and whites cohabit together but do not meld their lives beyond the cursory greeting at the marketplace. By Finch taking on Robinson's alleged rape case, it sets a new precedence for the narrow-mindedness of the townspeople and the injustice routinely inflicted upon the Negro community. No additional sources cited.
Filename: Mockset.wps
John Guare's 'Six Degrees of Separation' / Conflict & Class Struggle
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A 5 page paper that discusses the inherent conflict and class struggle in John Guare's play. The characters of Paul, Flan and Ouisa all are products of their class determinations and their social interactions are basic to their personal development. The interactions between the couple, Flan and Ouisa, who are upper class art collectors, creates and interesting contrast to Paul, a self-declared 'student' who lies his way into the homes of New York's elite.
Filename: Sixdegre.wps