Abstract The overarching plots of Homer in "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey" are the focus of this essay, particularly his use of both the first and last chapters, or book-ends. It analyses the techniques Homer used to create a compelling epic story.
From the Paper "Presumably the greatest writer of his era, Homer was way ahead of his time when he pleasured his audience with two epic poems named The Iliad and The Odyssey. Homer used techniques that seemed as if they would be unfathomable when he lived well over two thousand years ago. His character development, use of simile, and overarching plot schemes were unduplicated and unseen centuries after his death. His astonishing feats in poetry have been pondered for an eternity, yet no one can explain his trend-setting style of writing. The two epic poems aforementioned are alike in many ways, putting to rest many critics? claims that both were not written by Homer. His overarching plots are the focus of this particular essay, particularly his use of both the first and last chapters, or book-ends, to reveal his main focus in writing the epics."
This paper analyzes and examines "Recuerdo" and ?Love is Not at All; It is Not Meat Nor Drink,? two of Edna St. Vincent Millay's most compelling and well-known poems.
1,026 words (approx. 4.1 pages), 0 sources, 2002, $ 36.95
Abstract The following essay compares Millay's "Recuerdo" and "Love is Not at All; It is Not Meat Nor Drink" which serve as compelling and vivid reminders that our lives are short and that we have two choices in life-- to ignore our emotional needs in favor of obtaining material possessions or to make finding and maintaining love an integral part of our lives, one which in our darkest hour will provide us with invaluable comfort and serenity.
From the Paper "Edna St. Vincent Millay is one of the greatest twentieth-century playwrights and poets. Unlike most poets who try to (and often succeed at) achieve and maintain success by writing poems which are vague or filled with unnecessary verses and/or words, Millay uses ordinary words to describe one of life's most extraordinary and precious gifts, i.e., love. For while most individuals often place undue weight on attaining material possessions, few of these individuals recognize and nurture love when it is presented to them."
Tags: twentieth-century, playwrights, poets, precious, gifts, material, possessions, nurture, love
Abstract This paper looks at serial killers and the minds that compel them to such evil. This paper will look at addiction and fantasy as a cause, as well as other psychological disorders leading to murder. This paper will conclude by illustrating that, indeed, a serial killer, is , in many forms an addict.
Abstract In this article, the writer introduces, discusses and analyzes the topic of writing fiction. Specifically the writer discusses six techniques for writing a successful narrative, applying these techniques to the short story 'Two Ways of Seeing a River' by Mark Twain. The writer notes that writing a successful narrative depends on several key factors, including a detailed description, a compelling opening, and dramatic action. The writer maintains that by following these techniques, just about anyone can write a successful and compelling narrative. The writer concludes that writing a successful narrative is easier when the writer understands the key techniques that make a narrative compelling and readable. These elements of the narrative are common to all good narratives and include rich and sensory details, a logical progression of events and a basic understanding of literature and literary techniques.
From the Paper "He relates the main occurrences in the order they occurred, but he does use flashbacks in the story to add the rich details and continue reader interest. While the events should follow a logical progression, adding flashbacks can add to the diversity and interest of the narrative and keep the reader interested and anticipating what happens next.
"In addition, the scenes should relate to a specific time and space. In Twain's essay, he writes of a specific time when he piloted a riverboat, before he became a famous author. His essay is a memory, but it takes place in a specific time and place, which helps the reader feel more comfortable and familiar with the setting when they read the work."
Abstract This paper takes a look at a slave uprising as documented in Stephen Oat's book Fires of Jubilee: Nat Turner's Fierce Rebellion. It analyzes the main character of the book, Nat Turner and how his seemingly small scale revolution set the wheels in motion for the eventual abolishment of slavery.
From the paper:
"Stephen Oates, in his book Fires of Jubilee: Nat Turner's Fierce Rebellion, crafts a compelling story. The story of this slave rebellion is indeed so compelling a one that it would be hard to imagine a telling of it that was not fascinating. But in the end Oates, despite his credentials, does a disservice both to Turner and to the larger forces at work in the decades before the Civil War. In order to assess Oates's treatment of Turner, it would be useful to examine what is generally known and agreed to about Turner. He was born on a plantation in Southampton County, Virginia, in 1800 and was from a very early age a popular religious leader among his fellow slaves. In part due no doubt to whatever had motivated him to become interested in preaching and in part because he was so popular with other slaves who came to listen to him talk about God, Turner became convinced that he had been chosen by God to lead his people to freedom."
Abstract One of the most impressive works in the newly reopened Twentieth Century Galleries at the Detroit Institute of Arts is Willem de Kooning's 1959 oil "Merritt Parkway". The bold, rough streaks of brilliant color compel the visitor's attention and, on examining the painting, the broad areas of color and the ragged, undisguised gestures of the painter create a tension and sense of restless movement that is quite intriguing. The paper shows that as the visitor reads the name of the canvas, however, s/he may feel equally compelled to ask why it bears the very specific name of a particular place. The question arises: does the painting truly strike the viewer as a landscape or cityscape, as the title seems to imply? The paper shows that in what is at first taken to be a purely abstract painting, the possibility is now suggested that it might, in fact, have been intended as a representational work. A brief review of de Kooning's career and other works from this period provide some answers in the paper.
From the Paper "Throughout the 1930s and 1940s de Kooning supported himself with various odd jobs while continuing to paint and develop a large circle of friends--most of whom were related to Abstract Expressionist art in some way. The friends included the artists Arshile Gorky, who was "the dominant influence on de Kooning's work of the 1930s," John Graham, Stuart Davis, and David Smith, and the critics Clement Greenberg and Harold Rosenberg (Fineberg 76). Although he worked steadily at his painting during the thirties and forties de Kooning seldom exhibited. He declined to participate in important gallery shows because he was "reluctant to show his work when he had only just begun to find his stylistic voice" (Fineberg 76)."
Abstract This paper introduces and analyzes the book "Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure" by John Cleland (also known as "Fanny Hill"). Specifically, it answers the question, "is Fanny Hill an unrepentant woman or a contrite woman?" The paper draws parallels between another fallen woman in "The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders" by Daniel Defoe. "Fanny Hill" was a highly controversial and compelling novel about a prostitute, written when prostitution was certainly not an everyday topic of conversation. The book was the first to be banned in the United States. Today, it seems tame compared to our modern day versions of sex, but it still tells a compelling story of how women were forced to survive at a time in history when they had little other method of supporting themselves
From the Paper "Both books are the literary products of eighteenth century England, and the two women who tell their stories in these books reflect the life and social behavior of the time in a manner the average history book cannot. While the impressions of their surroundings are colored by their own distinctly different emotional natures and the picture they describe is limited by the boundaries of their own direct experience, both women reflect in their narratives a concern for what was considered proper and virtuous conduct at that time. They also both reflect the general tendency of that period toward a belief in the basic goodness of man. Moll reforms to illustrate both her goodness and her remorse at the wrongs of her previous life. Fanny decries vice at the end of her narrative because her life is ending on a happy note, and all of her sacrifices have led her to happiness. Both of these women have committed less than virtuous deeds, but both are redeemed at the end of their novels because it is clear they are good and decent women, who did what they did in order to survive."
Abstract This paper discusses and reviews the work of Geoffrey Chaucer, whose book 'The Canterbury Tales' is thought to be his greatest achievement and most compelling addition to the English literary canon. This paper goes on to focus primarily on his early poetry, as not only can his pre-Canterbury Tales poems be rich in their own right, but Chaucer's development as a master writer can be seen through them. His development into a narrator of skill and depth is the most astounding path which a reader can follow. Watching as the Chaucer who narrates the early dream-vision poetry readies himself for the multiple and interesting narrators of his later masterpiece is truly compelling.
This essay examines Locke's social contract between people and sovereign and how Locke embraces the people's right of revolution, and assigns the sovereign reciprocal responsibilities to his subjects that Hobbes does not do.
2,160 words (approx. 8.6 pages), 3 sources, 2000, $ 67.95
Abstract To substantiate the social contract as a valid justification for the political order, I will primarily examine Locke's social contract between people and sovereign, rather than Hobbes's social contract among the people, because Locke's theory is generally superior and more contemporarily relevant. I will first examine the pre-political state of persons, which is the state of nature, and demonstrate that rational individuals are compelled to enter society by agreeing to the social contract. Secondly, I will discuss the principal advantage of the social contract, which is that the government is legitimized by the consent of the people. Thirdly, I will discuss the principal advantage peculiar to Locke's formulation of the social contract, which is that the sovereign is held accountable for his actions. To more thoroughly examine the validity of the social contract in justifying a political order, I will discuss a possible objection to the use of the social contract, namely, that the social contract cannot oblige any but those who originally formed such a contract.
From the Paper "After the English Civil War, justifying political authority became a particularly pressing concern. After all, the nation fought a bloody war to determine whether its supreme authority would be King Charles I, who claimed rule by divine right, or the Parliament. Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan was published in 1651, shortly after the Rump Parliament voted to execute the often-intractable Charles I in 1649. The chaos of the Civil War, regicide, and the establishment of Cromwell's Protectorate surely led Hobbes to favor a sovereign with absolute power. In contrast, Locke's Second Treatise on Government, published in 1690, was greeted by a starkly different English political culture. The 1688 Glorious Revolution, a bloodless coup in which the last Catholic monarch, James II, was finally deposed, allowed for the acceptance of the English Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights finally guaranteed the supremacy of Parliament and the political and civil rights of the people. Granted the historical fact of the Glorious Revolution, Locke embraces the people's right of revolution, and assigns the sovereign reciprocal responsibilities to his subjects that Hobbes does not do. Although Hobbes and Locke ultimately design markedly different states, each justifies the political order with a social contract. The social contract does, indeed, provide a convincing justification for the political order."
Tags: government, hobbes, john, leviathan, locke, on, second, thomas, treatise
Abstract In this paper the author examines how Winterson addresses the issues of boundaries and desire. The author specifically looks at "Written on the Body" and tries to convey to us what physical love means through the act of making us complicit. The author suggests that Winterson does this by telling the story via a narrator who is given neither name nor gender. The author suggests the book thus serves as a personal way of investigating new avenues of sexuality and thus of love.
From the paper:
?This book is an investigation of the body of a beloved ? the body as the site of nerve endings that provide us with all the physical pleasures that we will ever know as well as the repository of all the emotional responsiveness that we can desire. One of the most compelling things about this book is that Winterson does not fall into an easy dichotomy between these two kinds of passions as is all too often the case.?
Abstract This paper seeks to reduce some of the issues that are peripherally associated with gun control to look more directly at the issue itself and to argue that while there are certainly legitimate arguments to be made for limiting the ways in which governments can limit gun control, there are far more important and compelling arguments on the side of the importance to all citizens of limiting access to weaponry.
From the Paper "Gun control either has everything to do with the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution or nothing at all. There is very little common ground on the issue and it may be the most politically divisive issue other than abortion rights and capital punishment in American politics. Like one's stand on abortion, one's beliefs on gun control are seen as a litmus test for an entire constellation of other political issues for both those people running for office and for private citizens. And while this view is in some ways simplistic, it is also fairly accurate, for the more tightly a person wants guns controlled, the more progressive she or he is likely to be in all other political matters, while those favoring liberality in terms of gun control tend to be politically conservative. However it is also true that this link between beliefs about gun control and beliefs about other issues makes it difficult for people with differing ideas on gun control to find any common ground."
Abstract This paper examines in brief the history of this monumental stone circle, its construction and the myths that have grown up around it especially during the 20th century. The paper concludes that the monument remains so compelling in large measure because we know so little about it.
From the Paper "Stonehenge, a monumental circular setting of large standing stones surrounded by a circular earthwork, was constructed in several phases about eight miles north of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. It was begun as long as 5000 years ago with the outer bank, the ditch, and the Aubrey holes encircling the main construction dating from probably the late Stone Age or early Bronze Age (circa 2000BC). The main structure dates from between the early Bronze Age and the end of the Iron Age. The sarsen - or sandstone - stones date from the about 1500BC (Chippindale 18)."
The following paper examines one of the most continually compelling arguments about human nature, whether biology really is destiny or whether it is culture that is destiny.
Abstract This paper explores some of the aspects of this nature versus nurture controversy, with reference to Francisco Ayala's Population and Evolutionary Genetics: A Primer. The author argues as Ayala suggests in his discussion on the complex interplay between genotype and phenotype as evidenced in twin studies, that environment, and in particular the aspect of environment usually referred to as culture, are more important in determining human behavior and personality than are genetics. This paper acknowledges the ways in which genetics affects human behavior while still arguing that environment and culture are far more important than genetics in determining behavior.
From the Paper ?Behavior is one of the most complex and interesting of human characteristics and like many other characteristics, such as height or weight, behavior has come to be understood to reflect a combination of influences, some genetic, others environmental. While it had for many years been assumed that behavior was essentially all learned, in recent years advances in a number of techniques have allowed researchers new and provocative glimpses into the genetic basis of human behavior.?
Abstract This paper delivers a compelling discussion about the use of history in David Bradley?s, "The Chaneysville Incident". The author of this paper outlines the importance of the concept of history in the book and explains why it was important to the foundation of the story.
From the Paper "America, as a nation, is still in its infancy when compared to other nations in the world. However, it has evolved so quickly that we would not recognize the days of yesteryear if they stood before us now. With each stride, we move further into the future and further away from the past, but that history ties each leg of the journey to the next one in its path. In David Bradley?s, The Chaneysville Incident, the reader is given the opportunity to see just how important the concept of history can be to the telling of a story."
Abstract This paper explores the meaning of both poems separately. Only then is it possible to compare each poem's similarities and contrast their differences. Given the fact that the subject matter is seemingly identical, studying each poet's different approach to examining this "inner self" evokes a compelling discussion.
From the Paper ""Desert Places" by Robert Frost and "One Need Not Be A Chamber To Be Haunted" by Emily Dickinson portray inner darkness from different perspectives. While Frost describes an acquiescent internal descent into vacancy, Dickinson depicts the plight of escaping the enigmatical unconscious self. Although these poems have contrary standpoints, both coalesce on internal dissent and self-seclusion. The similarities and differences between the two angles originate from their mood, theme and imagery."
