Edgar G. Ulmer

Walt Whitman, the “‘bard’ of American democracy” (Reynolds, Walt Whitman: Lives and Legacies ix) was born on May 31, 1819 in the Long Island village of West Hills, some fifty miles east of Manhattan. The poet’s mother was Louisa Van Velsor Whitman and his father, Walter Whitman. Walt’s ancestors were two branches of early American settlers, English on his father’s side and Dutch on his mother’s (1). The poet’s father was a “taciturn man with a knack for ill success and possibly a drinking…

Court Case Mr. Smith The killer, Mr. Smith has left the court wondering if he was sane or insane at the time he commited the murder of Mr. Johnson. Mr. Smith stated that he can hear many things in heaven, earth, and hell and that the madness has driven his senses further. A typical sane person would not state that they can hear things in heaven, earth and hell and try to convince people that they are sane. Mr. Smith is showing the court that he is clearly insane by stating that madness has…

I think one of the most interesting kinds of stories are true stories that relate things that really happened in life and also offer people a look into a bit of history. My dad Eriks Raisters was a popular Latvian poet, writer and editor. He and my mother were both among the people who had to escape from their homeland Latvia during WW II. I would like to relate some of their story and particularly tell you about my dad. This is the beginning of the journey. One of the most difficult things to…

Killer is the third in the series Pretty Little Liars. It was written by Sara Shepard, and was published by HarperTeen on June 30th, 2009. This book can be classified as a mystery, drama, crime-fiction, or suspense book. It contains a total of 321 nail-biting pages. This is the third book I have read in the series out of 16 in all. I enjoy reading this series because I never have a boring time reading them. The writer's purpose for composing this book is to bring down the rate of children that…

Fagin represents a time in London that was corrupt, disorganized, and old. Dickens emphasizes the old London in Fagin by connecting him to the streets, he states, “The mud lay thick upon the stones, and a black mist hung over the streets; the rain fell sluggishly down, and everything felt cold and clammy to the touch. It seemed just the night when it befitted such a being as the Jew to be abroad. As he glided steadily along, creeping beneath the shelter of the walls and doorways, the hideous old…

Thomas De Quincey introduces Confessions of an English Opium Eater, as an extract from a longer autobiography entitled, Life of a Scholar. De Quincey’s primary reason in writing this autobiography is, he hopes it will be “instructive” to his audience. That reason is also why his writing goes into such explicit detail about his personal life. He tried to resist opium, but due to the fact that opium was a major and effective pain reliever at the time, it was difficult, seeing as he suffered from…

In this essay, I decided to choose a poem that got my attention in a mystery and shocking way. The poem I chose was "Richard Cory" the reason why is for the way this poem gives a strong message that really got my attention and motivated me to look forward the poem, also the thought of never finding out what occurred through his mind or life event that motivated him to harm himself. I honestly enjoy the way how in the beginning of the poem,it explains how in everybody's view his perfect,…

Narrator: As I’m in bed sleeping, around midnight, I wake up hearing a voice, a deep, raspy voice. It takes me to the top of a mountain, where I encounter a man with a clown costume. It never said its name, but it told me that the world would end in 13 days, right at midnight. I went back home in the morning to firetrucks and ambulances surrounding my house. I see my friend, Melissa, standing beside a tree crying. I went up to her to ask her what had happened. In great relief she hugged me and…

Women in Edgar Allan Poe’s Literature We are what we know. That statement couldn’t be any truer when describing Edgar Allan Poe. To understand this uniquely grim and tragic man’s literature you’d have to understand the pieces of his life that resurface time and time again in his work. Almost like a ghost, there are themes within his works that seem to haunt his settings and characters; women and death being the most tightly correlated themes. This essay will analyze the events in Edgar Allan…

“Music is the mediator between the life of senses and the life of the spirit.” (Beethoven) The story in the book The Soloist by Steve Lopez is a well-presented plot through which we can learn a lot. While the story of the book can be said to be covering a variety of themes; music, homelessness, mental illness, and friendships, I am of the opinion that the themes of mental illness and music are the base of the story. Nathaniel Ayers suffers from schizophrenia, a mental illness that affects his…