Abstract
This paper relates that Susan Glaspell, a reporter, based her one-act play "Trifles" on events that actually happened in Iowa near the turn of the 20th century, which she covered. The author points out that the plot of the play is as if Glaspell didn't like the outcome of the real-life situation and then got to craft her own ending. The paper relates that the themes in "Trifles"are gender relationships, the tug-of-war battles between the sexes, women's perceptive intuition vs. men's bullishness, male chauvinism and the good-old-boy network of criminal justice

From the Paper
"After leaving newspaper work, her writing was strictly fictional; until that is her husband, George Cram Cook (a classics scholar with whom she had been involved during his second marriage in a long affair) urged her to write a play. "Glaspell may have been trying to buoy up Cook's artistic reputation by making him out to be the party responsible" for her literary success, something he, Cook, had never achieved. Meanwhile, even though Glaspell herself carried on an affair with a married man, thus hurting another woman, she painted men in "Trifles" as the bad guys."

Tags:intuition investigation simplicity, real-life incidents, good-old-boy

Abstract
This paper describes how author Richard Wright's autobiography, "Black Boy", explains the way his self-identity was formed through his family relationships and environment. Various Issues in Wrights life, such as violence, abandonment, and hunger are addressed in the work.

From the Paper
"Richard Wright's 'Black Boy' tells the moving story of a young black boy whose self-identity was formed through his family relationships and environment. In Chapter... where the boy Richard describes the beating by his mother, his relentless hunger, his father's abandonment of the family and the assaults on him by neighborhood boys when he tries to go to the grocery to buy food he demonstrates how family relationships both strengthened and undermined his self-identity and how the hostile environment he lived in..."

Tags:richard wright, black, Black Boy, racial, self-identity, violence, abandonment, hunger, starvation, autobiography

Abstract
This essay explores the various facets of authority in Richard Wright's 'Black Boy'. It is found that almost every aspect of authority, whether it be the hegemonic societal view of racism, the restrictive morality of religion or the familial, is shown to promote a necessary egoism in Wright. The writer maintains that he wants to establish his own personality; authority in the novel wants to mold him into a prescribed identity; egoism becomes the only way for him to create a self identity and survive.

From the Paper
"Richard Wright's autobiography Black Boy (1944) shows extreme distrust and distaste for almost all authority. Wright wants to establish himself as a helpful and respectful member of society, but he wants to do this on his own terms, allowing himself to define himself as an individual. However, it is the various authorities in the book, whether they be familial, moral or societal, that keep Wright from achieving his goal; the authority of the hegemonic culture, steadfastly opposed to resistance of any kind, is constantly thrusting an identity on Wright, hindering his own self-integration and causing deeper distrust and resentment. It is the ..."

Tags:black, boy, authority

Abstract
This paper examines Richard Wright's novel "Black Boy" in the larger context of racism in America. The paper describes Wright's view of racism as existing in the very fabric of society. The reviewer further describes Wright as believing it would be virtually impossible to characterize American society in the absence of racism. According to the paper, Wright is quite pessimistic about the future of American society. The reviewer concludes that Wright feels the concrete dreadfulness of racism cannot be overcome on a social level at once, but can be overcome through the individual mindset and self-release.

From the Paper
"The portrait Wright paints of America is a truly bleak one. Escape from the trials of life as a black boy seems almost altogether non-existent. Wright attempts to escape the South only find himself more fearful in the North; he escapes to Chicago only to encounter the same social barriers to success. In the end, Wright's escape is only truly possible through the act of writing--it becomes his one link to an ideal world. Even at a very young age, Wright seems to possess a clue that life, for a black man, may never truly be fulfilling in any tangible way: "At the age of twelve I had . . . a conviction that the meaning of living came only when one was struggling to wring a meaning out of meaningless suffering," (Wright 100). Clearly, the act of writing becomes this struggle for Wright. Unfortunately, writing and literature are the two facets of the world that his own black culture seek to deny him throughout his entire childhood. So in this way, Wright is attempting to critique both black and white culture. Although the dominant, oppressive culture of white America aggressively places limits upon what is attainable for a black man, the oppressed black culture methodically limits the modes of escape for a black man out of the community's need for self-preservation."

Tags:Richard, Wright, Black, Boy, racism

Abstract
This paper, written from a religious Christian perspective, attempts to show that the New Testament writings can be seen as the direct fulfillment of Old Testament Messianic prophesy. The author acknowledges the many problematic issues that surround the theological relationship between the teachings of Christ in the New Testament and the Old Testament Messianic vision. This paper, however, focuses on what the author considers to be the many prophetic statements of the Old Testament regarding a Messiah. Several examples of these statements are given in the text, with most coming from the Book of Isaiah.

Outline:
Introduction
Old Testament Messianic Prophesies
Genesis and Early Prophetic Statement in the Old Testament
Lineage
Isaiah
The Son of God: Psalms and Proverbs
God Nature
Daniel
The fulfillment of Messianic Prophesies in the New Testament
Conclusion

From the Paper
"It is also an important part of the discussion of this subject to be aware of the complexities and problematics of a direct and overly simplistic linkage between Old Testament prophetic statements about the Messiah and the image and message of Jesus Christ in the New Testament texts. As the above quotation indicates, the Old Testament Messianic vision is largely related to the future history of the Jewish people and has historic and political connotations. While these problematics are largely outside of the parameters of this study as such, yet it is also important to take note of the fact that important Old Testament prophets like Isaiah saw the Messiah in possibly a different light to the way that Jesus is portrayed in the New Testament. For example, a study of the prophecies of Isaiah by Patterson (1953) states the following. "

Tags:Old, Testament, Messiah, predictions, savior, Jesus

Abstract
Encountering the Old Testament: A Christian Survey was written by Bill T. Arnold and Bryan E. Beyer, and was published by Baker Academic in 1999. It is primarily intended to be used as a textbook for undergraduate classes in theology and is the second textbook to be published in Baker Academic's Encountering Biblical Studies series. Despite the textbook nature of Encountering the Old Testament, it should be read by Christians of all ages, for it presents an illuminating and captivating narrative that brings ancient Israel to life, which brings the message of the Old Testament to life, which brings the Word of God to life.

From the Paper
Encountering the Old Testament: An Analysis Encountering the Old Testament: A Christian Survey was written by Bill T. Arnold and Bryan E. Beyer, and was published by Baker Academic in 1999. It is primarily intended to be used as a textbook for undergraduate classes in theology and is the second textbook to be published in Baker Academic's Encountering Biblical Studies series. Despite the textbook nature of Encountering the Old Testament, it should be read by Christians of all ages, for it presents an illuminating and captivating narrative that

Tags:encountering, old, testament

Abstract
This paper discusses how Christopher Wright's book, "Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament", examines how the Old Testament helps provide insight into the life of Jesus Christ. In particular, the paper examines how Wright uses the book of Mathew to explore the origins of Jesus' mission on earth.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Summary
Interaction And Assessment
Identity
Covenant And Promise
Other Perspectives
Conclusion
Bibliography

From the Paper
"In the preface to "Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament," Wright informs the reader of his thesis: "The deeper you go into understanding the Old Testament, the closer you come to the heart of Jesus." In approaching the task to write such a book, Wright admits that he "found it hard to decide whether this is a book about Jesus in the light of the Old Testament, or a book about the Old Testament in the light of Jesus. Perhaps it is both." Indeed, Wright has succeeded in presenting both (Jesus and the Old Testament) in such a way as to compel the reader to never again wholly separate one from the other."

Tags:Knowing Jesus, Christopher Wright, Book review, Old Testament theology

Abstract
This paper explains that Steven Lopez's "Third and Indiana" centers around a fourteen year old boy Gabriel who becomes deeply entangled in the world of drugs. The author points out that the progress of the story relies on Gabriel's relationship with Eddie, a runaway father. The paper relates that Eddie takes the place of Gabriel's father when Gabriel's other surrogate father, the drug dealer Diablo, puts a threat on Gabriel's life. The paper suggests that the bond between Eddie and Gabriel reminds Eddie of the love he has for his own children as he begins to see what happens to children raised without a father. The author concludes that the central theme of the novel is that even the worst case scenarios can have a glimmer of hope and even the most seemingly hopeless of people may still have some good in them and stand a chance of survival and success.

From the Paper
"The scene in which Gabriel and Eddie sit around talking allows the reader to see aspects of Eddie's personality that he does not otherwise reveal. A failing jazz musician, Eddie is the type of guy who makes excuses for everything wrong in his life, blaming things on any outside force he can think up. For example, Eddie says that the reason he is not a rich and famous musician like his rival, Paulie Rego, is that he believed real musicians didn't get paid. It was a matter of pride that they did it for the love of music, not selling out playing for the clubs."

Tags:drugs, father, son, thinking, hope

Abstract
This paper explains that the Hardy Boys, in 1964, in "The Shore Road Mystery" are mere boys who can think like crafty adults, can go out and challenge crooks and thieves, and find a farmhouse to call for help with just old-fashioned land-based phones. The author points out that a young man learns that hard work and perseverance plus brainpower and the use of good instincts lead to success, even for kids. The paper relates that "Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Sleeping Dog" leaves the reader wondering how a seemingly normal kid named Encyclopedia Brown could come up with this kind of skullduggery and carry it off.

From the Paper
"The irony here is that Chet is on a research mission seeking information about car thieves, a felony crime that any kid could think about, but few could actually follow through. Still, he can't keep his hands out of the cake Aunt Gertrude gave him to deliver. A reader learns here that young men are always young men in most predictable respects (in this case, Chet is tempted by chocolate cake, and can't keep his hands off the cake notwithstanding the promise to deliver it); but in other areas, Chet is acting more like being a criminal investigator than a green-behind-the-ears / snot-nosed kid who can't keep his fingers out of a chocolate cake."

Tags:sleuthing, aunt, dog, phone, perseverance

Abstract
In this tale, we are met by Pip, first a young boy taken under the wing of a felon who places him with a delusional old maid, then a snobbish young man with expectations of being a member of the aristocracy and finally as a humbled man who has learned the lesson of humility. Childhood is a time in which what we are and do then determines in great part who we will become. Dickens, clearly, employs a significant amount of his own past and dreams for this novel. The themes of good and evil, of right and wrong, of sadness and happiness are all played right along side of each other in a demonstration that life rarely follows a straight and narrow path, that it is important to experience a fall from grace, or to lose one's great expectations, in order to fully own one's life. The hard-working humble man that Pip becomes by the end of the book would have been an insufferable immature boor had a change not taken place. For children, disappointment is indeed a bitter teacher. But, it is a necessary one as well. For it is in later childhood and adolescence that we can begin to fully understand that life will not always go our way. Unfortunately, there are many with lives that protect them from such knowledge. For them, perhaps, connecting with Pip is impossible. For the rest of us, however, we can truly understand what it is to have great expectations and to see them disappear, only to find that we are indeed the better for it. The exploration of childhood, and the symbolic nature of young development, is absolutely essential to this book. We are able to watch as Pip's infantile dreams of greatness, riches and power turn him into a monster, for no one actually gets what they want simply because they want it. Only the fact that he is a child redeems him.