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'The Island at the Center of the World', 2008.
A critique of Russell Shorto's book "The Island at the Center of the World".
1,327 words (approx. 5.3 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 44.95
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Abstract
This paper introduces and analyzes the book "The Island at the Center of the World: The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony that Shaped America" by Russell Shorto. The paper explains that the main thesis of Shorto's book is the early history of New York, focusing specifically on the New Netherlands Dutch colony and its influence on the city and state of New York. The paper concludes that Shorto's book is an interesting and informative text on early New York history that offers up information not as common as many other history texts.
From the Paper
"This books contribution to the issue of United States history is great. In fact, it looks at an area of American history that is often forgotten or overlooked, and helps show how the Dutch influence in New York has permeated many things we take for granted today in society, such as using Santa Claus as a Christmas symbol, and how Dutch politics helped influence the Revolutionary War and revolutionary ideals (Shorto 314-315). This book shows how American settlement in New York began as a scheme of the Dutch West India Company to gain control over more land and riches they could export to Europe, and how pervasive these companies were in settling (and subjugating) nations and peoples around the world. We often think that most people came to America to gain religious freedom (and many did), but they also came hoping to find prosperity and even great wealth by discovering new items to export to Europe. New Amsterdam was a settlement created out of commerce, rather than religious survival, and that is an important distinction to remember in American culture and history. As far as weaknesses, if there are any weaknesses in this book, it may be the way the author attempts to "tell a story" in a nonfiction text, such as the beginning when he speculates about Henry Hudson's travels in London. Historians might not approve of this approach, because it cannot really be historically verified, but I think it made the book more interesting and appealing to the lay reader. You do not have to be a student of history to appreciate this book, and that means that it is appealing to more readers and more people may read it and learn more about American history."
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Defeating Dracula, 2008.
An examination of the ways that one could find and destroy Bram Stoker's vampire, Dracula.
2,244 words (approx. 9.0 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 69.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses Bram Stoker's famous vampire, Dracula. It specifically focuses on ways that a vampire can be defeated. It compares modern audiences' familiarity with the traditional means of fighting and killing vampires with the ways presented in the book. The paper then examines Dracula's strengths and weaknesses and develops the writer's plan for finding and destroying the vampire.
From the Paper
"I also have reservations about including Seward in the hunting party. At first blush, seems as if he would be helpful in a vampire expedition. After all, he studied Renfield, and would be able to recognize the same type of influence and infatuation if Dracula chose another minion. However, one might hesitate before choosing Dr. Seward for such an expedition because of his reliance on chloral to sleep. (Stoker, 161). Dependence on any drug is a potentially fatal weakness, and Dracula appears adept at exploiting personal weakness. Therefore, Seward could possibly be a liability in hunting. However, if one were to be certain that Seward did not use any drugs while on the expedition, his experience would prove invaluable. After all, Seward saw the steps that Van Helsing took to counteract Dracula's impact on Lucy. Therefore, if Van Helsing were to fall victim to the vampire, the hunting party might still have some chance of success."
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Twain's "Good Little Boy", 2008.
A description of the concepts of reward and punishment in Mark Twain's story, "Good Little Boy."
1,662 words (approx. 6.6 pages), 5 sources, MLA, $ 54.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses Mark Twain's story, "Good Little Boy." It describes the plot of the story and the motivation of Twain in writing it. The paper compares the idea of the good little boy encountering troubles with the concepts and religious beliefs of Twain's time. It also discusses how the reader may be disappointed with the outcome of the story and why this would be so.
From the Paper
"The boy goes on to realize that everything turned out the opposite of the way it was depicted in his church literature. It wasn't the good little boys who were rewarded and never broke their legs or had bad things happen to them, but the other way around. He saw that when he tried to do good, bad things happened to him. When he tried to help people or animals, they weren't grateful and blessed him. They were angry and he was the one who got hurt. When he tried to instruct the boys who were disobeying the law, he was punished, but he was still determined to be good."
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"The Republic", 2008.
An analysis of the theme of justice in Plato's "The Republic".
793 words (approx. 3.2 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 28.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses how the main concern of Plato's "The Republic" is justice. The paper notes that the term 'justice' had often been used as morality or, in other words, moral behavior had been described in terms of justice. In fact, Plato, Socrates and others apply the term justice to morality on many occasions. However, today, justice and morality are considered two different things. They may be connected to each other but cannot be used interchangeably. The paper examines how, in contrast, this is not the same with Plato and this distinction is important when examining how Glaucon in "The Republic", describes injustice as immoral behavior and calls it injustice.
From the Paper
"Socrates refuses to accept this logic and said that only an immoral person would be so deluded. If a person commits acts of injustice because he cannot be seen, he is still hurting his soul and that's the worst thing anyone can do to himself. But his views are again rejected by Adeimantus who supports Glaucon and says: "Both Glaucon and I, Socrates, are saying to you, "My friend, we can start with those original heroes whose writings are extant and end with our contemporaries, but we find that not a single one of you self-styled supporters of morality has ever found fault with immorality or commended morality except in terms of the reputation, status, and rewards which follow from them." (p. 55)"
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"Somewhere I Have Never Traveled", 2008.
An analysis of love as a transforming force in E.E. Cummings' "Somewhere I Have Never Traveled".
1,062 words (approx. 4.2 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 37.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses how Cummings' poem, "Somewhere I Have Never Traveled", offers a compelling depiction of love as a total, transforming experience that has a life and death power over the person that is in love. It examines how the power of love, although immeasurable, is subtle as the power of nature and its influence on the lovers is overwhelming and how the poem thus translates the experience of love as one of the most crucial elements in the life of man. It also looks at how the significance of the poem resides primarily in the fact that it offers an insight into the way in which love acts as a commanding force on man, being part of the intimate rhythm of life, along with birth and death.
From the Paper
"First of all, love is apt to transform the self and to penetrate into its innermost recesses. The woman lover to whom the poem is addressed as well as love itself are seen as agents or mysterious forces. The first line hints at a displacement of the self through a miraculous, previously unknown experience or sensation: "somewhere i have never traveled, gladly beyond any experience". The idea of a journey into the unknown suggests the overpowering and new sensations brought by the intrusion of love into the poet's life. The next two lines emphasize powerful mastery of love, which is able to 'enclose' or entrap the poet's self: "in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me, /or which i cannot touch because they are too near." "
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Frankenstein, 2008.
An analysis of the relationship between creator and creation in Mary Shelley's book "Frankenstein."
1,047 words (approx. 4.2 pages), 2 sources, APA, $ 36.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses the relationship between the doctor and his creation in "Frankenstein," by Mary Shelley. The writer examines how it parallels the relationship between God and man and God and Satan in the Bible, being sometimes a father-son and sometimes a creator-creation one. The writer discusses how Frankenstein's creature, like Satan after being rejected by his creator, becomes angry and embittered and blames others for his own choice of evil over good. The writer concludes that the overwhelming regret and remorse shown by both Dr Frankenstein and his creation seems to reflect Shelley's belief that God created the human race with a conscience and a sense of guilt that would always restrain mankind from attempting to become God.
From the Paper
"Dr. Frankenstein's creature finds himself in much the same circumstances, pursuing a crash course with the doctor, haunted by the fact that his creator is so horrified that he wishes he had never created him. The creature, throughout the entire story seeks to justify his existence through acts of violence directed towards those individuals the doctor loves most. It's ironic that the creature seems to be espousing the principle, 'if you won't love me, you won't get to love anyone else.'"
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Emile Zola's "Nana", 2008.
A discussion and review of the book "Nana" by Emile Zola.
965 words (approx. 3.9 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 34.95
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Abstract
This paper introduces and analyzes the book "Nana" by Emile Zola. Specifically, the paper discusses mid-19th century society and its values as they are depicted in the first five chapters of the book. The paper notes that "Nana" is a critique on Parisian society during the Second Empire, and it shows a society that is self-adsorbed, shallow, and devoid of just about any intellectual thought. The paper comments that it is a sad society, concerned more with how people look and who they know than anything else, and it is quite clear Zola does not approve of this decadent and disappointing society.
From the Paper
"According to Zola, the values of society during this time leave much to be desired. The theater owner puts Nana on the stage for her "other good points" rather than her talents. Zola writes, "'Must a woman know how to act and sing? Oh, my chicken, you're too stoopid. Nana has other good points, by heaven!-- something which is as good as all the other things put together. I've smelled it out; it's deuced pronounced with her, or I've got the scent of an idiot'." The audience recognizes she is terrible, but when one member shouts, "Bravo!" the entire city embraces her, even though she has no talent."
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Oedipus and Fate, 2008.
An examination of the struggle between fate and man's will in Socrates' story "Oedipus".
982 words (approx. 3.9 pages), 0 sources, $ 34.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses the story of "Oedipus" and the struggle that the character Oedipus encountered between fate and his own will and determination. The paper shows how the more Oedipus tried to avoid his fate the more it became a reality. The paper also discusses the symbolic reasons that Oedipus blinded himself and the choices that he made in order to punish himself.
From the Paper
"Oidipous's multiple identities integrated when he struck himself in the eyeballs with a pair of gold-wrought pins. He initiated his own blindness when faced with a dilemma--he couldn't look at his children in the present life and couldn't bear seeing his parents in the afterlife. In an attempt to escape the realities of grief and despair he could have killed himself but instead he chose blindness. This way he could stay alive, not have to see his children, and still evade seeing his parents in the afterlife. In lines 1322-1323 one might interpret that Oidipous experienced a significant milestone by inflicting his own blindness. "But the murderous hand that struck me was no one's but my own..." At this point he comes to the realization that God did not inflict this pain upon him--he struck his own eyes on his own accord. He demonstrates that he is able to confront his misfortunes and be a peace with God; therefore, the two conflicting axes are fate and man's will. Throughout the literature these two axes are directly related--constantly interchanging with one another."
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'Josephine: A Life of the Empress', 2008.
This paper discusses the work 'Josephine: A Life of the Empress' by Carolly Erickson.
2,700 words (approx. 10.8 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 80.95
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Abstract
In this article, the writer introduces and analyzes the book "Josephine: A Life of the Empress" by Carolly Erickson. Specifically, the paper contains a review and summary of the book. The writer explains that "Josephine" covers the life of de Beauharnais Bonaparte, the Empress of France and wife of Napoleon. She was born Yeyette Tascher in Martinique, and she grew to be one of the most well-known and powerful women on earth. The writer notes that it was not an easy journey, which is one of the things that makes this central character so important and so interesting. How she came to be Empress is almost a fairy tale story, but her fall from grace makes it more of a melodrama and tragic tale of woe. The writer maintains that the author handles both quite well, for the most part.
From the Paper
"Josephine was Empress, but Napoleon never trusted her or loved her completely again. She gave up her lover, but he was still bitter, and he often treated her with cruelty or patronization. He took mistresses, treated her harshly, and criticized her for aging after she turned forty. As Napoleon gained more power, he became more ambitious, more dictatorial, and crueler, certainly to his wife.
"Josephine discovered him with another woman, and he became so furious he struck her and threatened to ban her from his homes. He actually told her that when she was no longer politically suitable for him, he would abandon her, and because she had nowhere else to go, now that she had abandoned her lovers, she stayed on. It was a low point in her life, and in their relationship."
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"That Evening Sun", 2008.
A review of William Faulkner's short story "That Evening Sun".
2,440 words (approx. 9.8 pages), 2 sources, MLA, $ 74.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses how William Faulkner's "That Evening Sun", is filled with the references to his fictional characters Yoknapatawpha and Jefferson who find themselves appearing in a variety of stories and novels. It examines how the purpose of this particular story's is not to expand upon these characters so much as it is to express a singular purpose - to illustrate, through the example of Nancy and Jubah, the stark destructive reality of what it means to be an oppressed person and the absolute, crippling fear that an inability to control one's life and fate has upon not only the victim, but upon the victimizers as well.
From the Paper
"What Faulkner clearly tells us in this story is that while there is some feeling of continued responsibility on the part of Jason Compson Sr's part for Nancy, that sense is maintained because of their close personal relationship. Nancy has taken care of the Compsons in various ways, and therefore the Compson's owe Nancy at least the minimum of respect and care. Jason Compson Sr. treats Nancy as a person in their relationship, in their discussions. But, he does not take responsibility for her, nor does he find fault in the manner in which she lives. This character, then, demonstrates a very Southern way of viewing race - that blacks live the way they live because that is in the nature of things. While this story touches on these issues - it absolutely acknowledges the fact that there is no immediate remedy, that equality, better housing, health care, opportunities for success are all secondary and even tertiary concerns. For Nancy, Dilsey, and Jubah, survival is paramount. "
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