Abstract
The four texts to be discussed here - "Ben's Trumpet", "The Slave Dancer", "Sounder", and "Huckleberry Finn" - are all well-known works of children's literature, and all have been challenged on the grounds of racial bias against African-Americans. All focus to a great degree on the lives and experiences of African-Americans in the United States from the slavery era of the 18th and 19th centuries, into the segregationist era of the 20th century. Given the nature of this focus, it is clear that questions of gender must be secondary in this analysis, much as they are secondary in the texts themselves.

Tags:children's, literature, suffering

Abstract
This paper examines three statements about war, namely, "Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die," by Herbert Hoover; "Wars have never hurt anybody except the people who die," by Salvador Dali; and "You can't say that civilization don't advance, however, for in every war they kill you in a new way," by Will Rogers. The paper then applies these statements to the book, "All Quiet on the Western Front," by E.M. Remarque, focusing on the character, Kantoreck. The paper then discusses how these words are incorporated into the works of W. Owen, who wrote poetry with strong anti-war sentiments, including his famous "Dulce et Decorum Est" and "Anthem for Doomed Youth".

From the Paper
"Owen expressed the futility of lost lives in his poem Anthem for Doomed Youth, "What passing bells for those who die as cattle/Only the monstrous anger of the guns/Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle/Can patter out their hasty orisons." (Owen) Owen cursed the emptiness of the lives and unsung deaths of the youthful soldiers, and cried for their lost lives. Dali makes his statement partly in jest as he is fully aware that the whole of society and culture are hurt by war and by the deaths of so many courageous young men. At the very least their families are affected. Dali means for his words to ring sarcastic while Owen means for them to be vivid recollections of the internal and external losses of those who engage in war."

Tags:Paul, Baumer, Pro, Patria, Mori

Abstract
This paper explores the concept that love as portrayed in literature may affect one's personal expectations of romance. The paper analyzes an article by Robert J. Sternberg, who suggests that individuals can write their own love stories. Additionally, he cites the impact of childhood stories of love on adults' expectations. Sternber's article cites three literary works--a poem by James Dickey entitled "Cherrylog Road," a short story by Susan Glaspell entitled, "A Jury of Her Peers", and the famous play by Oscar Wilde, "The Importance of Being Earnest." In each of these works an important message about love is conveyed.

From the Paper
"Within literature there are countless replayed stories of romantic or sometimes not so romantic love. The stories we see in our heads, as children that dictate our expectations of the future are according to Sternberg reflective of how our lives, and more specifically our love lives will eventually be played out. Literature is a reflection of the stories we know of love, the good the bad and the indifferent, through the eyes of the writer and through the memories of the reader. "At some level, lay people recognize what many psychologists don't: that the love between two people follows a story. If we want to understand love, we have to understand the stories that dictate our beliefs and expectations of love." (Sternberg 52)"

Tags:James, Dickey, Cherrylog, Road, Susan, Glaspell, A, Jury, of, Her, Peers, Oscar, Wilde, The, Importance, of, Being

Abstract
This paper analyzes the roles and importance of nature, within four famous American literary works. The paper reviews "The Storm" by Kate Chopin, "The Open Boat", by Stephen Crane, "To Build a Fire" by Jack London and the novel 'Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' by Mark Twain. According to the paper, all four show nature as being important to the lives and circumstances of their respective characters.

From the Paper
"In Jack London's short story "To Build a Fire", nature is even more unforgiving. The solitary hiker in this story neither understands nor respects nature's ability to physically overpower him. The hiker finds himself, due to stubborn stupidity, in lethally freezing weather. This story points out that nature is stronger than humanity, and, therefore, will prevail. Humans must respect nature and never underestimate it, as this hiker does, and freezes to death. The dog with the hiker instinctively knows not to defy nature in this way, and is uncomfortable that the man does so. London states: "The animal was depressed by the tremendous cold. It knew that it was no time for traveling. Its instinct told it a truer tale than was told to the man . . ." (p. 903). Here London implies that an animal's instincts, unimpeded by prideful human stubbornness, are sometimes superior to people's instincts. "

Tags:Mississippi, River, fates, freezing, weather, waves, sea, instinct, sharks

Abstract
This paper explains the typical elements found in the literary genre known as Bildungsroman and then looks at the influence this particular genre had on English Victorian novels. The paper discusses three famous English novels and explains how they are examples of this genre.

From the Paper
"When you read early nineteenth century novels, you notice some similarities between them with regard to construction and development of their characters. These similarities are due to the genre in which many Victorian novels fall, widely known as Bildungsroman. Bildungsroman as a genre took birth in Germany from where it came to England and affected literature of that time so much so that despite the uniqueness of each novel of that era, there are many similarities that force us to put them all under one single category."

Tags:Charlotte, Bronte, Jane, Eyre, Charles, Dickens, Great, Expectations, Mary, Shelley, Frankenstein

Abstract
The three children's novels to be challenged in this paper all display signs of race bias. This paper will argue, however, that there are important qualifying factors to be considered in each case. While it would be easy to reject all three novels wholesale, this would be the same as throwing the baby out with the bath water. Therefore, this paper will show how each work can be challenged as to its display of race bias, and what mitigating factors exist that may cause us to reconsider our judgment.

Tags:challenging, racism, literature

Abstract
This paper looks at the theme of social change illustrated in the writings of Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Edith Wharton. In particular, the paper looks at the central theme, found in all three of the novels, of society's changing views about racial differences. The changing views written about refer primarily to society's views of the African-American community.

From the Paper
"Langston Hughes' poem entitled, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" is a short poem that conveys the historical significance of the Negro race to human civilization. As a poet of Harlem Renaissance, Hughes possesses the skill to illustrate effectively the importance of black Americans to the society through the depiction of their long and rich history as one of the earliest human races alive on earth. The story is primarily composed in defense of the black American race, and a protest against the inhumane treatment of black Americans in the dominantly white society. The first three lines of the poem establish the identity of the speaker, in which Hughes claim to be as one with the Negroes by saying: "I've known rivers/ I've known rivers as ancient as the world" These lines establishes the reader's race and identity, and the main part of the poem can be found in the middle stanza, wherein Hughes cites many instances wherein rivers played a big part in cultivating human civilization."

Tags:harlem, renaissance, woman, poem, racial, discrimination, race, oppression

Abstract
This paper examines works by William Faulkner, Jack Kerouac, and Mark Twain. "As I Lay Dying," "On the Road," and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" are discussed in terms of their common theme of the "journey." In each story, the characters are analyzed and shown to undergo growth and development which enables them to achieve their goals.

From the Paper
"As I Lay Dying is a representation of the Bundren family's search to Jefferson to bury their dead matriarch. The novel explores the nature of sorrow, community, and family where among people Addie fought against the journey threats of flood and fire (As I Lay Dying: Commentary).
The book On the Road by Jack Kerouac's explores an alluring, sincere and emotional story of a friendship and four trips across America. The narrator in the story is Sal Paradise who is a young novelist-to-be living with his aunt in Paterson, New Jersey. As most of his friends were out west already, he on invitation of a college friend went to live with him in San Francisco, as well as went on a journey and visited Denver to meet his crazy friend Dean Moriarty (Literary Kicks).

"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain is about a young boy called Huck who was in quest of freedom and adventure. The shores of the Mississippi River provide the backdrop for the complete book. The book explores the nature, freedom and during his journey he leaned many things from his surroundings (Book Rags)."

Tags:Twain, Kerouac, Faulkner, travel, journey, quest, growth, development, friendship, freedom, adventure

Abstract
This paper presents an examination of tragic figures. The writer compares and contrasts Macbeth and Arthur Dimmesdale as "tragic figures". Their lives, their ideas and the things that happen to them all contribute to the tragic figure persona

From the Paper
"Throughout history authors of literature have used their works to make their characters evoke emotion in the readers hearts. One of the most emotion evoking characters in works of literature is the tragic hero. The tragic hero is a hero in actions and tragic in the flaw that makes him or her human after all. The tragic hero is the character that struggles with human flaws or emotions while at the same time acting in heroic ways. The ways of a tragic hero are often about warriors and the ability to fight but this is not always the case."

Tags:tragic, hero, william, shakespeare, scarlett, letter, nathan, hawthorne

Abstract
This paper explains the anthropological significance of "Ramayana", "The Epic of Gilgamesh", and "The Art of War" and points out the contribution these works have had toward a better understanding of complicated social, moral, and military aspects of human nature.

From the Paper
"Literature has always served the purpose of connecting the reader with the time period in which it was written. This is why the writings of the distant past, even in translation, are among the most fascinating to modern scholars. Anthropologists such as Saussure, Joseph Campbell and others were seminal in uncovering mythological themes in ancient texts. As archeology supplemented legend, the literary world found evidence that the mythical worlds evidenced by the works of antiquity was in some cases based in fact. Three of the most intriguing works of antiquity are Ramayana, The Epic of Gilgamesh, and The Art of War. Each provides the reviewer with insight as to the origins of a particular culture or geographic region."

Tags:mythological, themes, indian, ayodhya, ravana, rama, babylonian, sumerian, enkidu, uruk, ishtar, strategic, tacticians