Today's Date:
January 17, 2025
Thematic Analysis and Summary of “The Republic” by Plato
The view Plato and Socrates hold about the role of women in society is at times easy to confuse with a more modern sense of gender equality because he advocates a mostly equal upbringing, but closer examination reveals that this →
Realism in American Literature
There have been several ways of examining not only the emergence of American realism in literature, but how it has been sustained throughout the decades. One of the most important first steps to understanding realism is by contemplating how it →
Identity, Race, and Disguise in “Puddn’head Wilson” by Mark Twain
Throughout Twain’s “Puddn’head Wilson” disguises are employed not only in the literal sense, but also in a more slippery rhetorical manner. These numerous instances of concealed or confused identity function on the level of narrative and plot certainly, but more →
Gothic Qualities in the Works of Poe
What makes the work of Poe gothic? Gothic fiction, particularly that written by Edgar Allan Poe has a number of common themes, motifs and structures that make his work easily recognizable and more importantly, fits his stories into the classification →
Comparison of “MS Found in a Bottle” and “A Descent into the Maelstrom” by Edgar Allan Poe : The Role of Nature
In Poe’s tales, “MS Found in a Bottle” and “A Descent into the Maelstrom” the role and power of nature is greatly underestimated, even though throughout each story it is the signal for potent supernatural events that occur in lives →
Pamela Or Virtue Rewarded by Samuel Richardson: The Role of Appearances
In the novel “Pamela Or Virtue Rewarded” by Samuel Richardson, Pamela plays the part of the poor martyr and uses her clothing to incite pity from those of a higher class than her. As this essay on “Pamela Or Virtue →
Prejudice in Shakespeare’s Othello and The Merchant of Venice
In both of Shakespeare’s plays, “Othello” and “The Merchant of Venice”, there are several instances in which the non-white and non-Christian characters are marginalized and are often the victims of prejudice and outright racism. This occurs in both “Merchant of →
Comparison of “Doctor Faustus” and “Othello” : Sin and Villains in Marlowe and Shakespeare
There are many points of valid comparison between “Doctor Faustus” by Christopher Marlowe and “Othello” by William Shakespeare, both in terms of similar themes between the two plays as well as a more general basis of comparison in terms of →
Perceptions of Race in Othello by Shakespeare
A cursory reading of the first act of Othello would lead the reader to believe that it is an inherently racist text since there is no description of the protagonist given other than his racial difference. There are several disparaging →
Narrative Strategy and the Construction of “Otherness” in Oroonoko by Aphra Behn
One of the key themes present throughout Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko is “otherness” based solely on the concept of racial identity. In the course of presenting the tale of the “noble slave,” this theme is highlighted through distinct narrative techniques as opposed to →
