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- Southern literature (6)
- To Kill a Mockingbird (6)
- A Streetcar Named Desire (2)
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Articles 1 - 13 of 13
Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
Washington Irving And The Not-So-American Myth, Haydn Jeffers
Washington Irving And The Not-So-American Myth, Haydn Jeffers
English Class Publications
Washington Irving has often been revered as the father of American literature, and, more specifically, the father of the American myth. He was one of the first American writers to make a real living off his writing, and as such was considered to be America’s personal declarer of independence within the literary world. Having been viewed as so undoubtedly American in his writings, one might find interest in the fact that Irving drew very heavily on European sources in his inexplicable creation of this nation’s fiction, as it appears “he was not all that at ‘home’ with American life” (“Background: …
A Place For Poe: The Foreign In Two Tales Of The Gothic, Shelby Spears
A Place For Poe: The Foreign In Two Tales Of The Gothic, Shelby Spears
English Class Publications
There are certain words we use so often in life that they begin to lose their meaning—buzzwords, or broad categorical ones, like millennial. These words, too, crop up in literature: Here I would like to explore one of these in particular, Gothic. We talk often of Gothic literature, Gothic writers, Gothic horror, Gothic post-core triphop—but our definition is so often fuzzy. We know that to be Gothic means to be scary, to be full of the strange and terrifying, but where exactly do we draw the line between Gothic and other forms of horror fiction? Is Stephen King Gothic? Is …
Flannery O'Monsters, Shelby Spears
Flannery O'Monsters, Shelby Spears
English Class Publications
The most startling definition of monsterI have encountered belongs to Mandy-Suzanne Wong: “It’s what people say when they can’t think of any way to describe [something] that stands a chance of being accurate” (6). Yet there are many other qualities of monsters, such as duality—a monster is never whole, but discrete pieces that have been lurched together haphazardly; the most iconic example of this is Frankenstein’s monster, assembled out of bits of corpses and animated with a sacrosanct, unmentionable power. No less worthy as examples, however, are the strange characters of Flannery O’Connor’s short stories—contradictory beasts whose struggles seem …
Atticus The Man, Jessica Saunders
Atticus The Man, Jessica Saunders
English Class Publications
What makes a man, a man? One could argue biology and physical appearance. One could say a certain age determines manhood, or his independence, success in the world, power or achievements. However, masculinity is not fixed, but rather fluid; it is a social construct and what it entails to achieve manhood differs according to culture (Motl). Lee comments on the roles of race and gender dynamics in the early 20th century South throughout her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. American stereotypes of masculinity include, but are not limited to: competition, power, aggression, and stoicism. Furthermore, manhood is often considered merely …
The American Dream: Fantasy Or Reality?, Ellie Quick
The American Dream: Fantasy Or Reality?, Ellie Quick
English Class Publications
“Rags to Riches”; “Home of the Free”; “Land of Opportunity.” For centuries, the idea of the American Dream has been ingrained into the ideology of many Americans in the United States and a faraway dream for those wishing to be a part of it. The idea of anyone, rich or poor, being able to freely achieve his or her dreams and pursue happiness became enticing to not only colonists coming to the New World and immigrants wishing to leave their home countries, but as the country developed, also to individuals living in the United States. The concept of the American …
The Making Of A Southern Man, Morgan Howard
The Making Of A Southern Man, Morgan Howard
English Class Publications
What exactly makes a man? Could it have anything to do with appearance, strength, or interests? Does it occur at a specific age, or does it happen differently for every boy? Each culture decides these ideas for itself, and the American south is no different. Southern ideals shape a boy’s upbringing and guide his transition to adulthood. The father-son relationship plays an especially crucial role in the development of a white southern man.1 A male’s development has to do with his father’s example—the ideals with which his father raised him. Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Harper Lee’s To …
The Accessibility Of The American Dream To Racial Minorities In America, Kimberly Wong
The Accessibility Of The American Dream To Racial Minorities In America, Kimberly Wong
English Class Publications
For centuries, people have had the American Dream. It has permeated the media in various forms: Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel “The Great Gatsby,” and even the movie “An American Tail,” where animated Russian mice sing, “There are no cats in America and the streets are full of cheese!” The term “the American Dream” was first made popular in 1931 by James Truslow Adams in his book The Epic of America. Adams believed the American Dream was a “dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller …
From Scout To Jean Louise, John Sivils
From Scout To Jean Louise, John Sivils
English Class Publications
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, and its controversial sequel Go Set a Watchman, seem to revolve around similar events in the lives of the Finch family and the community of Maycomb. However, despite both being set in the same town and both being narrated by Jean Louise Finch, Lee uses different structures for the novels to serve different literary goals. Through Mockingbird, Lee uses Jem’s coming of age to criticize the social and political climate of the 1950s, though she does so through the ostensible 1930s setting of the novel. Through Watchman, Lee uses Scout’s …
Purely American: How Art From Harlem And Broadway Shaped American Culture, Emily Knocke
Purely American: How Art From Harlem And Broadway Shaped American Culture, Emily Knocke
English Class Publications
The United States of America is a relatively young country, if you consider its foundations established in the late eighteenth century. For this reason, the art forms of visual art, theatre, and literature were already well-developed by the time America had established a unique voice. Although their beginnings were segregated by race, socioeconomic status, popularity, and a couple of streets in New York City (see Figure 1), two musical styles stick out as entirely American art forms: the Broadway musical and jazz. While Harlem Renaissance writers and artists argued for a separate but valued black culture, the unique American art …
Birdwatching: A Closer Look At The Imagery Of Chopin And Lee, Victoria Anderson
Birdwatching: A Closer Look At The Imagery Of Chopin And Lee, Victoria Anderson
English Class Publications
All birds tweet or chirp, but a mockingbird collects over 200 unique songs throughout its life and beautifully sings them for everyone to enjoy (Oldham). Not surprisingly, this can inspire some interesting symbolism. Kate Chopin is known for her use of bird imagery in The Awakening. The main character, Edna Pontellier, as well as a few other characters, are associated with several different birds throughout the novel. These associations are important in conveying the novel’s theme of flying against society’s ideals. I think another author to note who uses the image of a bird to convey a significant idea is …
The Times Are-A-Changin': Portrayal Of Atticus Finch Across Harper Lee's Novels, Kacy Alaina Earnest
The Times Are-A-Changin': Portrayal Of Atticus Finch Across Harper Lee's Novels, Kacy Alaina Earnest
English Class Publications
In Harper Lee’s 1960 novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch is the most successful lawyer in Maycomb, AL during the 1930s. When he takes a rape case defending an African American man against a white woman, the town doubts his sanity. The townspeople speculate that Atticus has taken the case for the sake of justice, possibly even racial equality. He goes against the town’s unspoken racial stigma to defend Tom Robinson. However, Atticus’ views on race relations seem to have flipped one-hundred-eighty degrees in Lee’s 2015 novel Go Set a Watchman. Readers see a dark side of …
It's Reigning Men: American Masculinity Portrayed Through Stanley Kowalski, Nina Hefner
It's Reigning Men: American Masculinity Portrayed Through Stanley Kowalski, Nina Hefner
English Class Publications
“Be a man!” Popular culture shouts this seemingly innocent command at males of all ages. Throughout the twentieth century, both men and women experienced shocking changes to society’s expectations of their gender norms. With the rise of the feminist movement during the twentieth century, women were able to leave the home and embrace the workforce. More opportunities opened up for women, such as factory jobs and secretary positions, making America’s society more egalitarian between the sexes. On the other hand, after the trauma of WWII and the onset of the Cold War, men experienced a twist in society’s expectations during …
Huck Finn And The Tragedy Of Being Banned, Peyton Harris
Huck Finn And The Tragedy Of Being Banned, Peyton Harris
English Class Publications
Mark Twain once said, "I am perfectly astonished--a-s-t-o-n-i-s-h-e-d--ladies and gentlemen--astonished at the way history repeats itself." This opening line of Twain's speech at the Papyrus Club in Boston of February 24, 1881 is proof of his fascination with the patterns of humanity. As the already famous author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Twain's commentary on social hypocrisy and moral social maturation was well known. After writing this novel and confessing his interest in humanity, it is no surprise that Twain chose to once again delve into the world of fiction and produce what would become an instant classic …