While the actual value of Toni Morrison's novel, Beloved, is debatable, there is no question that the ending that Morrison provides for her work is an acceptable one. Beloved details Morrison's characters' descent into fantasy, and as is often the case in novels, the ending ties up many of the lo...

'Reading, writing, and arithmetic" seem to be the most simplistic ideals and categories of a child's education. One would think that it would be near impossible to argue against a child showing interest in any of the three. However, as education progresses and society matures problems have heighte...

Within the first paragraph Hemingway establishes his main character Krebs as all American boy with religious values by writing, "Krebs went to the war from a Methodist college in Kansas" (152; all page references are from the same text, The Bedford Introduction to Literature, 6th Ed.). Th...

Ray Carver's character Bub, in "Cathedral," seems irritated and sometimes hostile. His lack of self-endurance is portrayed in his initial actions. The vehemence of his prejudice is surprising. His initial anger and anxiety seem way out of proportion to the situation, as if the blind m...

One of the most important elements in short fiction is the authors' use of characters. They allow the story to exist and often provoke an emotional response from the reader. The most obvious character such as the protagonist and antagonist play very important roles in fiction, however secondar...