The Elizabethan period is primarily known for its drama and poetry rather than its prose fiction, particularly since the advent of the English novel proper does not occur for another century. However, critics have increasingly stressed the importance of prose fiction in the seventeenth century and its role in the development of the novel. Several factors have played an important role in the emergence of […]

Callie Dahlhauser Lora Devereaux Composition II April 3, 2013 A Picaresque Novel The picaresque novel is an early type of novel originating from the Spanish word picaro. Picaro means a rogue or an adventurer. This type of novel describes the journeys that the main character or “picaro” take part in. The main character is usually of low social class and manipulates their way through life […]

Scottish novelist, short story writer, and Journalist whose real name was Hector Hugh Munro. Saki wrote humorous essays and stories that are frequently described as flippant (lacking proper respect or seriousness), witty, ironic, and cynical. The Open Window “My aunt will be down presently, Mr. Nuttel,” said a very self-possessed young lady of fifteen; “in the meantime you must try and put up with me. […]

The opening of the novel is at the beginning very quiet and kind of strange, it describes the shark ‘Jaws’ as the great fish and it describes how it moves ‘propelled by short sweeps of it’s crescent tail. It raises a kind of tension already because you don’t yet know what is going to happen and that is quiet scary in itself. It makes out […]

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a novel written in the past. The characters chase visions of the future that are determined by their past, which leads them to tragedy. The protagonist, Jay Gatsby, has dedicated his entire life to recapturing the perfect past with his soul mate, Daisy. Even though he believes that recreating the past is his life’s goal, this leaves […]

The novel All The Pretty Horses, written by Cormac McCarthy, is filled with much sorrow and negativity. The main character, John Grady Cole, faces plenty of hardships throughout his journey from his home in Texas to Mexico. On the other hand, McCarthy writes this award-winning book in a positive way, demonstrating the balance between optimism and pessimism in our world. He shows how John Grady […]

The   Broken   Boot by John  Galsworthy The English novelist and playwright John  Galsworthy  (1867-1933) was one of the most popular writers of the early 20th century. His work explores the transitions and contrasts between pre-and post-World War I England. As his popularity increased,  Galsworthy  published other novels of the Forsyte series: Indian Summer of a Forsyte (1918), In Chancery (1920), Awakening (1920), and To Let […]

Born from a white mother and a black father, Bessie Head grew up in the early stages of Apartheid South Africa. In Maru she reflects upon her own experiences of love, loneliness and prejudice. Prejudice spreads as one discriminates against another and creates false images. Love contradicts loneliness, which diminishes as the plot progresses. Prejudice affects love and promotes loneliness. Initially one may assume that […]

Many people in our culture misunderstand the function of myth. We usually assume that there are two kinds of narrative, completely different from one another: a journalistic compilation of facts, all literally true and verifiable, or stories spun by a fiction writer for the purpose of entertainment only. Myth, we assume, falls resoundingly into the latter group. While primitive and superstitious people may have once […]

Write about: •Why some characters feel insecure •How language contributes to a sense of the characters’ insecurity •How the settings contribute to a sense of insecurity •Other features which create a sense of insecurity You must: Explore how Steinbeck creates a sense of insecurity through the presentation of insecure characters, eg through: Lennie, Crooks and Curley’s wife •Look at language/settings, eg the situation of Curley’s […]