Although there is very little exterior action in John Galsworthy's very short, short story, "The Japanese Quince," the perceptive reader knows that an opportunity has been passed by, and that the protagonist has chosen to stay closed to the beauty of life rather than risk change. Some readers may no...

The poem After Apple-Picking by Robert Frost is a poem that illustrates implicitly the process of human life in the worldâ€"that is life begun, lived through hardships and failures, and eventually ended with death. These primary themes in the poem, namely life, failure, and...

The Grapes of Wrath combines Steinbeck's idolization of the land, dislike for corporeality and belief that people can survive the malicious influence of their atmosphere. These substantial concepts are woven into the book by the use of inter chapters, the telling of the Joads story and the use ...

Death is always an interesting topic and two poets that allow us to look at death in a different way are John Donne and Emily Dickinson. Donne's "Death be not Proud, Though Some Have Called Thee" and Dickinson's "Because I Could not Stop for Death" offer a different perspectives on the subjec...

Little Birds and Chained Up Dogs In many of the stories read today, symbolism is used to give the story or specific characters a special or hidden meaning. One of the most popular items used as a symbol are animals. Because they alive and have some ability to have feelings, they give a mor...

There are many people and objects in Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" that hold an alternate meaning that makes them important to the story. . Many of the names of the characters in the story also hold meanings that are not spoken in the story. One is the setting of the story and t...

This love story, written by D.H. Lawrence, has many symbols, which show hidden meaning. There are some main symbols within the story that allow us to better understand the meaning behind the actions. As the story progresses we understand it not just thru the characters and their actions, but also ...

Darker side of Robert Frost Robert Frost is often referred to as a poet of nature. Words and phrases such as fire and ice, flowers in bloom, apple orchards and rolling hills, are all important elements of Frost's work. Remove them and something more than symbols are taken away. These '...

Robert Frost is often referred to as a poet of nature. Words and phrases such as fire and ice, flowers in bloom, apple orchards and rolling hills, are all important elements of Frost's work. Remove them and something more than symbols are taken away. These 'benign' objects provide an alt...

In "The Story Of An Hour," a short story written by Kate Chopin, the desire for independence from male domination was illustrated. This theme represents a common sentiment from oppressed women in the nineteenth century. Louise Mallard, the protagonist, reveals her true feelings about h...

Themes across Genres To every story, poem, or play we can always find a central idea or meaning. This theme provides a unifying point around which the plot, characters, setting, point of view, symbols and other elements are organized. In some works the theme is explicitly stated and in others it...

After reading \"The Other Side of the Hedge\" by Edward Morgan Forster, one may get the impression that the author\'s message to his readers is that life is a long and hard journey. The main character in this story goes through an ordeal that is interpreted to be the passage of life to that of after...

Like all epics, Gilgamesh contains both historical and mythic elements in all its versions, and is meant to be interpreted on several levels. In addition to its very human themes of friendship, courage, the problem of death, and the meaning of life, it is also an initiatory tale about the quest for ...

Emily Dickinson wrote as if there were no tomorrow and she had to express herself today at the very moment of every thought. Dickinson often wrote these feelings down no matter what the mood or feeling. The reader can see this when reading through her many poems. Often times critics see Dickin...

The ducks, the red hat, and Allie are used as symbols in The Catcher in the Rye. Another frequent topic in The Catcher in the Rye is Holden's younger brother Allie. Holden adores Allie and is very distressed about his premature death. It is easy to say that Allie's death was the beginning of ...

Lucy Stowe's Journey When Lucy Stowe boards a ship to travel to Villette, she is asked "Are you fond of a sea-voyage" by (the yet to be known) Ms. Fanshaw. Since this was Lucy's first trip abroad, she answers that her fondness is yet to be experienced. Nonetheless, Lucy's partiality for the...