Mark O'Connor

Emotions are what drive us, for one cannot be persuaded without understanding emotions. Learning new words might help us when feeling emotions because we can identify them. Words are the most powerful force available to humanity because we can choose what words to say depending on the situation. Antony’s speech at Caesar’s funeral was more effective than Brutus’ because Antony used genuine emotion to sway the crowd. Brutus’ speech rationalized Caesar’s murder by using logic and reasoning…

Relative Morality In the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn written by Mark Twain, the author explores the relativity of morality through the main character Huckleberry Finn by placing him in many situations where the difference between right and wrong is difficult to clarify. Through the reactions of Huckleberry in these situations, Twain deeply emphasizes the importance of one’s own moral conscience and also the fact that what one holds to be moral based on their own experiences is most…

Poets use various poetic devices in their pieces to express more meaning than the words do alone. Each poem is different in the way it uses these poetic devices and illustrates an idea. Alfred Lord Tennyson and Edgar Allen Poe are two great poets with very different styles of poetry. Despite using some of the same literary techniques, they each incorporate poetic devices to express meaning in their poems. Both Tennyson’s “Charge of the Light Brigade” and Poe’s “The Raven” use narrative,…

What is a tragic hero? According to Aristotle, a tragic hero is a literary, noble character who makes a judgment mistake that eventually leads to his/her downfall. In the book Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is our tragic hero. Okonkwo is considered a tragic hero due to his leadership and eventual nobility, his big reverse as a character, and his tragic flaws that lead to his downfall. First of all, Okonkwo starts off as a poor child as shown when the book states “Okonkwo did not have the start in…

Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister and a leader of the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He delivered his famous “I have a Dream” speech, at the Lincoln Memorial on 28 August 1963 in order to call for an end of racism in the United States. In his speech Martin Luther King Jr. attempted to convince the majority white United States government to give African Americans equal rights through the use of biblical and historical allusions, alliterations, and imagery. King…

The Last Voyage? Analysing “Crossing the Bar” by Alfred Lord Tennyson. Alfred Lord Tennyson was a highly popular writer during his time. He was tutored in classical and modern languages by his father, a minister prone to violent outbursts (Greenblatt 613). He was viewed upon as a peculiar character, who wore a wide brimmed hat, sported a bushy beard, and preferred solitude to company. Tennyson was…

Setting: 1940s Bayonne, Louisiana Tone: Grant’s narrative voice shows anger and racism in his society Style: Theme: Grant couldn’t stand the racism in his society. He wants to run away and leave the society he lives in because of its racism acts that he thinks will not change. He wants to live his life in a society that will not judge him based on his skin color. Grant could see that the trail is just a performance with a predictable ending; Jefferson would be found guilty because of this…

Huck’s Journey to Maturity in “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the author Mark Twain uses his main character Huckleberry Finn to display his coming of age. Huck goes through several identities and lively adventures through the whole novel. This idea of Huck’s journey to maturity has a huge impact on the novel as it portrays him as the main protagonist and problem solver. Twain returns to this theme several times by helping the reader…

What Were the Primary Reasons for the “Fall” of Rome? The many problems in Rome caused it to cripple - the soft belly city, destroying faster and faster - and finally “vanishing” after laziness of Emperors and the Roman people. Before the Romans decline: before 200 CE, it was the world’s greatest empire - an unremarkable settlement - a “powerhouse!” “This rise to power came with the thrust of a spear and the slash of a sword.” (Background Essay) The Roman army conquered many territories, gained…

In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, The Great Law of Human Action plays a big role in the behaviors of the main characters. Tom Sawyer is a trouble maker. After he gets in trouble, he is ordered by his Aunt Polly to whitewash their fence. When his friends see him painting the fence, Tom pretends he loves the chore to make his friends beg to help. This is an example of the trouble he gets into. Part of the novel is devoted to the romance between Tom and Becky Thatcher. An event from…