The history and genealogy of my family on my father's side is difficult to write. Not because it is complicated or shrouded in mystery or intrigue, but because there is no written history of it; no documents, no diaries, no letters. What little exists has been passed down verbally from my Dad's gr...

I am from an ethnicity and culture that is in the forefront of many political topics in this region today. I am Mexican. When this word comes up most people seem to think of illegal immigrants crossing the border. This thought can bring up much resentment and contempt from certain groups, and ...

Act 1, Scene 1: King Lear in his old age decides it is time to divide up his kingdom among his daughters. In order to decide how much each girl and her husband gets, he makes them each publicly declare their love. The oldest daughter Goneril has no problem doing this, nor does his middle daughter Re...

Two brothers, opposites of each other fight for the love of their father; one is deceitful and the other is truly loyal. In the play King Lear by William Shakespeare the actions of the brothers Edmund and Edgar form the sub-plot that reveals one son's dark side and the other's love and...

Background Gary Soto was born on April 12, 1952, in the farming community of Fresno, California, to Mexican-American parents. In his essay "Being Mean" he talks of how his father and grandfather worked at the Sun Maid Raisin Factory and his mother peeled potatoes at Reddispud. Soto'...

As the 1934 literature laureate of the prestigious Nobel Prize, author and playwright Luigi Pirandello was truly a pioneer in his field. The award was given to him "for his bold and ingenious revival of dramatic and scenic art". He is today known as the greatest Italian playwright of his...

The most exciting event in contemporary Chinese cinema was the emergence of the Fifth Generation filmmakers in the early 1980s. These young filmmakers, who graduated from Beijing Film Academy when it reopened after the Cultural Revolution, were given the opportunity to make films at minor studios in...

There's no vocabulary For love within a family, love that's lived in But not looked at, love within the light of which All else is seen, the love within which All other love finds speech. This love is silent. ~ T.S. Eliot Words not only affect us temporarily; they change us, they s...

Timothy Findley pieced The Wars together much like a puzzle. When piecing together a puzzle it is crucial to first find the corner pieces. As when trying to understand the novel it is necessary to realize what the most important aspects are. Each separate corner holds together and is linked to an...

THE SOUND AND THE FURY William Faulkner's background influenced him to write the unconventional novel The Sound and the Fury. One important influence on the story is that Faulkner grew up in the South. The Economist magazine states that the main source of his inspiration was the passionate history...

To what extent does the novel or memoir you have chosen provide useful insights into the topic mentioned? John Marlyn's 'Under the Ribs of Death' is concerned with the life of Sandor Hunyadi, a young Hungarian living in Canada. The novel follows his life as a young boy, and then as a young man...