Paul Bäumer, the narrator and protagonist in All Quiet on the Western Front, is a character who develops extensively within the course of the novel. As a young man, he is persuaded to join the German Army during World War I. This three year ordeal is marked by Paul's short, but tragic trek into adu...

Alice walker's approach to writing is in many ways dissimilar to the many types of authors in the world of literature back when she began, and even today. There are authors of horror, romance, suspense, and then there is the type that Alice Walker writes, through personal experiences. Althoug...

If it were not for the title of the novel, we might well start to assume that the story has very little or nothing to do with Captain Corelli. Moreover, de Bernières introduces the reader to so much material, that very soon we have probably forgotten about him long, before he is actually cite...

When a book is published today that includes the story of an affair between a married man and/or woman, hardly anyone raises an eyebrow in protest. After all, this is 2003, and extramarital affairs occur regularly in real life and even more so in literature and films. However, the situation was ...

Beyond The Chocolate War, a novel written by Robert Cormier is the compelling sequel to The Chocolate War. Robert Cormier is a successful writer who pictures the typical lives of everyday people with extraordinary talent. He is also the author of After The First Death the set novel for year 10 thi...

Christianity in the Lives of Unfortunate Women Christianity is known to be one of the most universal doctrines of religion practiced throughout the world. It has been seen through the years as the basis of cultural identity in many societies as well as the basis of self-identity in respects t...

Close inspection of The Setting Sun by Dazai Osamu allows one to see a particular family battle changing times that are affecting a whole nation of people. Paralleled in many ways by the author's own reality, we see how this deep message is more than just a fiction story. As a nation, Japan had ...

Mary Shelley: The Gothic Queen It is commonplace for famous authors to write about things that they know about, and have experienced in their own lives. Many of the situations and characters in Mary Shelley's works can be traced back to things that happened in and people that had an influence on...

We may not realize the importance of minor characters while reading novels, but as a matter of fact, they are the main catalysts in most novels or plays! Their characters have a lot of depth to them and they have significant effects on other characters and events in the novel or play. I am going ...

Jane Austen wrote the novel "Sense and Sensibility" in the 19th century whereas "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" was written by Muriel Spark in the 20th century. The fact that these novels were written at different times means that the societies that they portray are diff...

Fate and Destiny in Tess How do our fate or destiny effect our lives? Some of the people do not believe in fate or destiny. In Thomas Hardy's "Tess of the D'Urbervilles which was written in 1891, we see a young girl who becomes a fallen woman at the end. Tess is the victim of her destiny and al...

A Date with Kosinski Being James Bond is every man's dream. The beautiful women, fancy cars, dangerous journeys, and beautiful women. Many men would love to be in his place where all the danger and excitement take place. We don't have that capability to become an international spy, but in...

The novel, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and The Matrix directed by the Wachowski brothers, are very similar with respects to their characters, and settings, and yet so different at the same time. A futuristic society, based on the three principles of the state COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, and STABILITY...

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, written in 1857 and The Awakening by Kate Chopin, written in 1899, both show the life of two women who unconsciously look forward to accomplishing their dreams but not knowing what it is they are seeking. Edna and Emma, the protagonists of Madame Bovary and The Aw...

"To you I am neither a man nor a woman. I come before you as an author only. It is the sole standard by which you have a right to judge me- the sole ground on which I accept your judgement." - Charlotte Bronte, to a critic (Oates, V) Charlotte Brontë's reputation may be explained in part by the...

Darl's Insanity In the novel As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner, Darl sees the world as a corrupt place filled with a crooked society. Through symbolism, Darl's multiple points of view, and simple diction plus illogical syntax, Faulkner shows that Darl views society as corrupt which...

"Amis' Antiheroes" Books and fairy tales often contain heroes that do heroic acts such as slaying dragons or saving other's lives, but Kingsley Amis' novels are about the opposite. Kingsley Amis, the author of Lucky Jim and One Fat Englishman, is one of the best comic nov...