Paul Laurence Dunbar

The book The Alchemist, by Brazilian writer Paolo Coelho, tells the story about a boy named Santiago who changed a lot through his journey as he discovered that he was the Alchemist and became a spiritual leader. Similarly, the novel The Deportation of Wopper Barraza, by Chicano writer Maceo Montoya, introduces us to a character named Wopper who also changed as a result of his journey and was surprised to learn that he would become a political leader, a Municipal Representative. However, even…

King Lear and Hamlet are two of William Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies that contain equally famous lines. “The ripeness is all” in King Lear (5.2.11), and “The readiness is all” in Hamlet (5.2.160), are both taken from the speeches of two apparent madmen, and both share similar meanings. Whatever is meant to be, will be, is one interpretation of these lines. Another is that man can live to the fullest once he realizes that death is a reality, and that the important thing is to be prepared…

Themes are universal lessons and subjects in a piece of writing or book. Both Hamlet and the Twelfth Night have universal themes. The two plays teach valuable lessons throughout the actions going on. Readers are able to recognize themes throughout the plays based on the specific characteristics of each of the plays. The two books have some clear differences. The Twelfth Night was written in 1601 while Hamlet was written in 1599. The different times of being written can allow the reader to…

Political corruption is seen in various tragedies by William Shakespeare. However, what are the effects of politics of the state on the individual and identity of character? As Marcellus says to Horatio “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” (1.4.), it becomes clear that on some level the Political corruption and transformation of morality in Hamlet’s Denmark is noticed. As a political body is poorly managed there are consequences. One should see it as a ripple effect. The choices of…

In 1847 Emily Brontë published Wuthering Heights; a novel as eccentric as it is unsettling, its themes including the oppositional natures of horror and beauty, dreams and reality, hate and adoration, fused into one strange and dark novel. This essay is a comparative analysis of two film adaptations of Brontë’s novel; the thesis being the 1939 film adaptation, titled Wuthering Heights and directed by William Wyler, presents the story within the romance genre. By comparison the 2011 adaptation…

As people set out on their personal legend only few will achieve their ultimate goals. People are scared to achieve these goals because of the fear of failure, love, fear of realizing the dream they have fought for all our lives, and from childhood people are told everything they want is impossible. In Paulo Coelho’s novel The Alchemist, a young boy named Santiago, who was a shepherd decides to follow his dreams in finding treasure at the pyramids in Egypt. Santiago is faced with many obstacles…

Star-Crossed Lovers The Shakespearean play, Romeo and Juliet, is one of the worlds most known tragedies. Rather than the use of a bright setting, director Franco Zeffirelli uses techniques using music to support their love in the scene, while another director by the name of Baz Luhrmann primarily uses setting rather than the film’s music. Both cinematic versions of the same play are different from each other in the way they are directed. Franco Zeffirelli and Baz Luhrmann use cinematic…

Although, as Richard the Third, both Laurence Olivier and Benedict Cumberbatch speak straight to the camera in a fashion that makes the viewer feel as if they are complicit in their plots and schemes, and although both costumes show physical indications of Richard’s deformity, the two portrayals tell a considerably different story about Richard’s wicked origins. Laurence Olivier’s Richard is an infamous legend; the film does its best to tell a story about one of many in search of the English…

after witnessing the death of his dad “Slick Will” at one of these races. He wants to be the one in charge the one everyone idealized or as the movie portrays it, “The King of Cali.” The label is currently being held by his biological father “Smoke” (Laurence Fishburne). This movie tries to depict something that happens in the underground world of the biker gangs. The end of the movie tells the full aspect of the entire movie when Kid said, “the difference between men and boys is the lessons…

Historically, it is evident that masculine and feminine authorities display their power in contrasting ways. Three recent studies have concluded that only eighteen percent of men share similar personality traits with women, supporting the common standard that women are more “sensitive, attentive to others and apprehensive, while males are more forceful and aggressive.” (Rettner) While looking at the tragedy King Lear by William Shakespeare, the theme of gender division is outlined throughout the…