Something about Charles Dickens and his ability to take his reader to unbelievable places with his imaginative powers allows him the honor of being the most popular English novelist of the 19th century. Dickens has thrilled his readers for many years with his down-to-earth stories about real people ...

The modern society, influenced by both political corruption and moral scrutiny, will eternally exist as long as we continue to ignore its imperfection. However, two people who don't accede to the flaws of our society are Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Kate Chopin. In both their literature, we ...

J. M. Coetzee's novel Foe is a postmodernist and postcolonial retelling of Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. Coetzee keeps some the main characters in Robinson Crusoe's novel- Cruso and an African named Friday, but makes two very important additions: the two authors of the novel are Sus...

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 Bernieres introduces the reader to so much material, that very soon we have probably forgotten about him long, before he is actually cited .In t...

The Things They Carried is a novel written by Tim O'Brien in the late 1980's in Massachusetts. It is a collection of interrelated short stories, mainly about the Vietnam War. The story took place in Vietnam in the late 1960's and in Massachusetts in the late 1980's. The time and...

"Enduring Love," as written by Ian McEwan is the story of a disturbing incident, and how the central protagonists deal with the consequent events. The reader is told this story through its main protagonist, Joe. Through out the novel there is a lack of trust between the reader and Joe as h...

Herman Melville, an American author best known today for his novel Moby Dick, was actually more popular during his lifetime for some of his other works. In 1837, at the age of eighteen, Melville signed as a cabin boy on a merchant ship that was to sail from his Massachusetts home to Liverpool,...

There is no doubt that Stephen King is an incredibly popular author of horror stories and novels. People who have not read his novels have probably seen movies based on these novels or may have seen movies that he has written the screenplays for. Because of his popularity, having his stories as an a...

Heart Of Darkness: Themes in Garden of Evil and Heart of Darkness Independent Novel Study- Theme Theme: is the central topic or dilema in the story. The theme directly involves the main character. The story of the Garden of Evil relates to Heart of Darkness in the...

Throughout Katherine Anne Porters Old Mortality, a variety of elements are present. Some of which consist of romance, memories and the illusions instilled upon the legendary status of Amy. All of these elements play a solid role towards the persuasion of Miranda. They persuaded her into acting on ...

Ray Bradbury is an accomplished American novelist, short-story writer, essayist, playwright, screenwriter, and poet. His writing style is like none other. Some say he is a science fiction writer; however, others argue that he merely uses the far-out setting to criticize racism, censorship, technolog...

Mary Shelley's masterwork, "Frankenstein," tells the gothic tale of a curious scientist, Victor Frankenstein, yearning to mimic the life-giving act of Mother Nature. His creature does not turn out to be all that he expected, and the story deals with the conflict between Victor and his creature...

In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O\'Brien is a novel that shows the way the Vietnam War still holds a grip on the American psyche and some of the reasons why this is so. The novel illuminates issues that ar reflected in other literature, both fictional and non-fictional, regarding the war and its ef...

William Faulkner's novel, As I Lay Dying is the story of one family's experiences of the death of their mother and wife, Addie Bundren, and the experiences the family members go through in an attempt to fulfill what they think is a simple wish she had for her funeral arrangements. Addie ...

My Independent reading book that I choose for the book of the month was "Dark Secrets; Legacy of Lies", by Elizabeth Chandler. The main purpose the author wrote this book was mainly she enjoys writing stories that are mysterious or romantic. She loves to write stories that she knows the pu...

Stephen King is one of the most influential authors of today. His award-winning novels and short stories are known world -wide. His many awards and nominations have created a space for him in the literary world. King is a true ¡§Horror King¡, for his books, turned movies, have scared millions...

Twentieth century American literature illustrates the emergence of stories and characters that reflect real lifeâ€"that is, a respite from romantic or idealistic notions of people's lives, as depicted in literary works. In Sherwood Anderson's "Winesburg, Ohio," readers are ...

Ondaatje's novel, In the Skin of a Lion, reflects the situation of immigrants and the political power structure in Canada earlier in the century. The writer argues that those at the top of society's power hierarchy during that period, from both a political and financial standpoint, were disregarding...

Herbert George Wells was born in Bromley, Kent, a suburb of London, to a lower-middle-class family. He attended London University and the Royal College of Science where he studied zoology. One of his professors instilled in him a belief in social as well as biological evolution which Wells later c...

Jazz Paper The Relationship of Dorcas and Felice In the novel Jazz, written by Toni Morrison, the relationships formed among the characters highlight the idiosyncrasies of the characters themselves. Morrison created Felice in the novel to portray the negative side Dorcas to the reader an...

Graphic novels have gained popularity over the past several years and can take many forms such as fiction, memoirs, documentaries, nonfiction, fairy tales, and mythology. These texts fill the shelves of most public and school libraries. Media specialists have noted the increase in circulation of g...

SPARTACUS The story of Spartacus is much more than an historical account of the man who led the slave revolt in Rome. It is a story of universal appeal and through the texts this is portrayed as we learn the life story of a relatively minor historical figure who develops into a powerful symbol...

The meaning of the character of Beloved in Toni Morrison's Beloved The character of Beloved in the novel Beloved, by Toni Morrison, is symbolic of several important ideas that are essential to a complete understanding of the novel. In the context of the story itself, Beloved is a specter t...

It's Just Syrup and Water There is a grand war going on in today's world that many of us are unaware of, but are affected by everyday. This war takes place at home, on the highways, in magazines, and in stores. It is the war of marketing. Just about every company t...

The Horses of All the Pretty Horses In his novel, All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy presents us with a young man's journey through the regions of the unknown into adulthood. This novel, at once a western, a coming of age story, and a picturesque adventure, gives the story of John Grady...