Great American Novel

In the respective stories, Hamlet and The Great Gatsby, their symbols give meaning to their story; they add depth to quite simple stories of revenge and the fight for the American dream. One of the most commonly recognized symbols of Shakespeare is the skull Hamlet speaks to in Act V, Scene I. This skull eloquently summarizes the theme of death and the contemplation of untimely demise of the human race Hamlet contemplates throughout the play.…

and Huck: The Road to Freedom Mark Twain wrote The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn published in 1885 primarily for an adult audience. The novel was written two decades after the Emancipation Proclamation but slavery was still a big part of life during the 1880’s because of the Jim Crow laws which limited the rights of African Americans. Along the banks of the Mississippi River, a 14 year old boy named Huckleberry Finn (Huck) lived with his “pap”. Huckleberry Finn’s father was a…

The book entitled ‘The Prophet of the Great Smokey Mountains’ is one of the famous works of Mary Noailles Murphy. Written using the pseudonym of Charles Egert Craddock, the book tries to offer insights about the mountain life in Tennessee. One of the notable portrayals of the novel is made through the character of Dorinda Cayce. Her role as the beloved of the main character creates depth and direction as to how Dorinda reacted to the situations happening in the story. Using the qualities of…

England Transcendentalism blended native American tradition with foreign influences. Development Ralph Waldo Emerson published Nature in 1836 which represented a new way of intellectual thinking in America. “The Universe is composed of Nature and the Soul. Spirit is present everywhere.” This new voice led American Romanticism to a new and mature period, the period of New England Transcendentalism. This was the most significant development of American literature in the mid-19th century.…

character played by Gregory Peck clearly depicts the daily American hero. I guess that most Americans of his time would easily identify themselves with Atticus Finch. Therefore, I also liked how the film intends to modify the view of the Americans on the rights of the African Americans. It may have had an impact on the American society of the first half of the twentieth century similar to the effect caused by the novel Uncle Tom´s Cabinbefore the American Civil War. Finally, I also liked the…

or the recurring theme of the Supernatural playing an important part of the novels I plan on discussing throughout, specifically, ‘The House of the Spirts’. I chose this theme since this was the theme I found most prominent throughout, ‘The House of the Spirts’, the main novel I’ll be discussing, hence the title, since Clara’s home really did become a house dominated by spirits. It can also be noted that most of novels we’ve read have had some sort of dealings with or mentions of some sort of…

In the novel Geographies of Home, written by Loida Maritza Pérez, there are copious references to New York City and its importance to the plot of the story. Published in 1999, the novel follows a Dominican family in its migration to NYC and the challenges they face. As readers, we see problems involving Lliana, Marina, Rebecca, Papito, and Aurelia. Between rape, violence, and abuse, Pèrez does a great job incorporating Brooklyn into the plot of the story. A lot of the wild stories written about…

historical thrillers by Pulitzer Award winning journalist turned novelist William Dietrich. One of the most popular of the Dietrich series of novels, the series is composed of 8 novels and two collections of the same. A prolific writer, the author released all eight titles between 2007 and 2014 releasing a book every year. The chief protagonist in all the novels is Ethan Gage, a jack-of-all-trades being an opportunist, idealist, womanizer, romantic, treasure hunter, savant, electrician,…

The Impact of Rick Riordan on American Culture Rick Riordan once said “writing is like a sport, it’s like athletics- if you don’t practice, you don’t get any better.” In a fan-crazed Harry Potter era, the 2000’s consisted of an “Urban Fantasy” phase. In the article “2000s: Print Culture,” Reed Wilson (et. al.) explains it as a genre “juxtaposing our own modern urban world with elements of the fantastic” (2012). The young adult population was craving a new series to latch onto and obsess over…

there may be just one. As for literature, many complex novels possess multiple themes, but, commonly, short stories and other pithy pieces of writing possess a single theme shown throughout the book. Be that as it may, wild animals also possess the inclination to rival each other; themes acquire the same inclination. Two themes common in American literature that are subject to polarization are the theory of Naturalism and the theme of the American Dream. Naturalism states that human nature is…