Purity By Jonathan Franzen: A Literary Analysis

To truly understand a great novel and its author, the reader must dig deep inside the life

Analysis: Compare chapter 20 :How to Read Literature Like a Professor-“…So Does Season” to part four (chapter 1) of The Fountainhead.

Unbroken is mainly set during World War II, in the Pacific and several other places. The story mostly focuses on Louie's life growing up, in the barracks, and in the several POW camps he had to endure during his time as a captive. The setting has a huge effect on the story because the war is what really drives the main plot through Louie's enlistment through the mental aftermath of the war that he has to work through. It's also interesting to look back at how the men at the time perceived the war effort, and how it impacts their morale. For example, after a successful air raid the men in Louie's unit believe “With the dawn of 1943 and the success at Wake, the men felt cocky. It had all been so easy. One admiral predicted that Japan might be

In the short story, “Desiree’s Baby,” Kate Chopin exposes the harsh realities of racial divide, male dominance, and slavery in Antebellum Louisiana. Although written in 1894, Chopin revisits the deep-south during a period of white privilege and slavery. Told through third-person narration, the reader is introduced to characters whose individual morals and values become the key elements leading to the ironic downfall of this antebellum romance. As Chopin takes the reader through the unfortunate circumstances and unexpected twists of Desiree’s life, a Southern Gothic tale emerges. While Armonde is Chopin’s obvious villain, one should not assume that the other characters are not antagonists themselves, as

In the novel, A Lesson Before Dying by _________, the main character, Grant, is trying to console Jefferson. Jefferson has just been framed for a murder he did not commit, and many believe it is because he is black. Two drunk, white men went into a liquor store, already drunk, and attempted to shoot the owner who, in turn, shot back. In the end of the firefight, Jefferson was the only man standing. When at the trial to convince the jury Jefferson did not actually shoot the people, his attorney realizes his attempts at proving Jefferson’s innocence were futile, and says, “What justice would there be to take this life? Justice, gentlemen? Why, I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this” (8). He is asking the jury to spare the life of Jefferson, by implying that Jefferson is no more intelligent than a hog. The attorney is white, and is voicing the common belief among whites that all blacks are animals. Throughout the novel, Jefferson becomes haunted by the

In the short story “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, there is a great deal of literary elements used to enhance the story. For example, imagery is used to draw the reader 's attention further into the story by having them see it happening in their head and allegory is used to pull the reader away from the story by referencing things that happened somewhere else. While these two literary elements are both used to magnify different parts of the story, as well as counterbalance each other, the literary device that this essay will be focused on is symbolism. While it appears in many parts of the story one of the most obvious uses of

Power and control plays a big role in the lives many. When power is used as a form of control, it leads to depression and misery in the relationship. This is proven through the themes and symbolism used in the stories Lesson before Dying, The fun they had, The strangers that came to town, and Dolls house through the median of three major unsuccessful relationship: racial tension between the African Americans and the caucasians in the novel Lesson before Dying, Doll’s House demonstrates a controlling relationship can be detrimental for both individuals and The Stranger That Came To Town along with The Fun They Had show that when an individual is suppressed by majority they become despondent.

A novel is only as great as its author’s efforts. The ability to tie everything together in the end of a novel without leaving any unsolved questions, or relying on the ex machina technique, is the goal in which all inspiring authors reach for. Novelist Edith Wharton once said, “At every stage in the progress of his tale the novelist must rely on what may be called the “illuminating incident” to reveal and emphasize the inner meaning of each situation. Illuminating incidents are the magic casements of fiction, its vistas on infinity.” This idea came from Wharton’s own work, The Writing of Fiction. In a different work of hers, a novel by the name of Ethan Frome, Wharton explores the concept of the illuminating incident very thoroughly. I have

Along in with the author’s use of metaphors is the frequent use of imagery. In this reading, it is simple to envision the scenes as the different scenarios are explained and the audience can easily picture Staples in the places he is describing and also the people he comes across. Perhaps the most powerful and memorable imagery is provided in the author’s description of people’s different reactions and faces when they come into contact with him. Actions speak volumes and an immediate change of facial expression is possibly one of the

Anderson’s story contains a four-page description of the events that led to Melinda, the main characters, rape scene. These four pages were enough for Scroggin and Swier to challenge this novel in its entirety and hide it from students, hindering their horizons of literature.

In past years, as well as, in the twenty-first century, African Americans are being oppressed and judged based on the color of their skin. In, A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, this is the primary conflict that plagues Jefferson’s as well as Grant’s everyday life. By pleading guilty to a murder that he did not commit, Jefferson has to choose to die just as he is, a hog in the white’s eyes, or die a man. On the other hand, Grant, who is his teacher, is faced with being looked down upon by his community all because of his race and status. He is graced with the challenge of turning Jefferson into a man before his execution date. It is only a matter of time before they both realize that they cannot change the past and they have

“Is there, then an evil that is innate, that is the little piece of monster in all of us.” (Cusatis). Every person has two sides, no one is completely good or completely evil. In the East of Eden, John Steinbeck uses a biblical metaphor to illustrate the innate good and evil that humans encounter. The novel includes several characters that are purely evil or do evil deeds. The Trask family is directly correlated to the Garden of Eden and other biblical narratives. “Steinbeck puts more into his stories than Genesis 4” (Fontenrose). Steinbeck illustrates the concepts of good and evil, family, and love to describe the frailties of the human experience.

In the book Everything I Never Told You, there are many different elements and techniques used within the book. The technique that I want to go into more depth on is the use of symbolism. I specifically want to focus on the symbolism in regards to Lydia, Hannah, and Nath’s love of astronauts and space.

Although all three of the “Demon/Daemon Lover” short stories and “Daemon Lover” ballad occurred under very different circumstances they did in fact share a common quality; a quality that contributed to the demise of each of the poor souls that these tales revolved around. Each of these ladies was burdened with a dissatisfying reality which they desired to escape or leave behind, whether it be an uneventful life, unfulfilling enough to leave a husband and son over, or the depressing memories of an old lover that had long been repressed. In some way or another, by the end of these tales the protagonist and/or reader is confronted with the harsh sudden realization that reality isn’t something that can be successfully eluded.

Chinua Achebe was a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor and critic. He is mainly known for his trilogy that investigates, using fiction, the history of Nigeria. The trilogy begins with Things Fall Apart, followed by No Longer at Ease and ended with Arrow of God. Furthermore, in this critically analytical essay, through a feminist perspective, a chapter of his second novel, No Longer at Ease, published in 1960, will be discussed. The setting of the novel is Lagos, Nigeria and Umuofia, Nigeria during the 1950s, before Nigeria attained independence from Great Britain. The novel, No Longer at Ease begins with Obi Okonkwo on trial, charged for accepting a bribe. However, using flashback, the author takes us back to the point before Obi’s departure