Academic papers on American Literature

Malamud's "The Natural": Novel and Movie.
(5 pp). Bernard Malamud's (1914-1986) first novel, The Natural, an allegory about the rise and fall of a baseball player, was published in 1952. According to Rothstein (1986), it is different from most of his work in that there are no Jewish...
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"Stopping by the Snowy Woods."
(5 pp). Our goal during this discussion will be to examine the sound and meter of Robert Frost's "Stopping by woods on a snowy evening." Choice of words and the sounds they make as the slide over the tongue, can enhance a piece of poetry,...
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Power and Conflict in the 'nest' -One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey.
(5 pp). On one level this book is about society's dislike for, and eventual destruction of the unrepentant non-conformer. But on another level it is exactly what the story line portrays - a brilliant look at the abuse, oppression and even...
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Robert Penn Warren: All the Kings Men.
(5 pp includes 0.5 pp outline) This discussion will examine the statement by Machiavelli, "The fact is that a man who wants to act virtuously in every way, necessarily comes to grief among so many who are not virtuous" and its relationship...
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Robert Penn Warren/ "All the King's Men"
A 6 page analysis that compares the use of political power in Warren's All the King's Men to Machiavelli's Renaissance commentary on the use of political power in The Prince. No additional sources cited.
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An Analysis of "Death of a Salesman"
A 5 page research paper that examines Arthur Miller's award-winning play Death of a Salesman. The writer considers thematic material, as well as such points as how the play is typically produced. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
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An Analysis of the Character of Victor Frankenstein
A five page paper which looks at the character of Victor Frankenstein in the early chapters of Mary Shelley
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Kate Chopin/ Finely Crafted Characterization
A 5 page research paper that argues that Chopin's finely crafted characterization of her main protagonist, Edna Pontellier, in The Awakening is the factor of the novel around which everything else revolves. Bibliography lists 5 sources.
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Herman Melville/ "The Lightning-Rod Man"
A 5 page analysis of Herman Melville's short story "The Lightning-Rod Man." The writer examines how Melville contrasts the point of view of the unnamed protagonist with the lightning-rod salesman. No additional sources cited.
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Willy Loman as a Tragic Hero
A 5 page research paper that examines the criteria for determining a 'tragic hero' and then argues that Willy Loman fits this concept and that Loman the common man's tragic hero. Bibliography lists 2 sources.
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Anzia Yezierska: The Bread Givers.(1975)
(6 pp) Anzia Yezierska's novel Bread Givers(1975) is an extensive observation of relationships in an immigrant family of early 20th century America. All the characters fight their own battles to find in their place between the New Worlds...
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Better Their Lives/The View of 3 Authors
A 5 page analysis that examines That Evening Sun by William Faulkner; Trifles by Susan Glaspell; and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston as to how the protagonist in each attempted to better her life. No additional sources cited.
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Mary Moody Emerson
A 5 page research paper that explores the writing and the influence that Mary Moody Emerson had on her famous nephew
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Bontemps and the 1800 Richmond Slave Revolt
An 11 page research paper that examines how Arna Bontemps' novel Black Thunder differs from the historical account of the 1800 Richmond slave revolt, and why. Bibliography lists 6 sources.
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John Steinbeck/The Grapes of Wrath
A 5 page summation and analysis of Steinbeck's classic novel. The writer argues that this is a novel of transition as it chronicles the changes in the Joad family, and also discusses the novel relative to Depression history. Bibliography lists 2...
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