"Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus", Mary Shelley (1818) - letter IV
Text analysis - 1 pages - Literature
This last letter before the first chapter of the book is written at sea. It is composed of three letters (5th August, 13th August and 19th August). The story takes place in the three weeks between 31st July and 19th August; we can know it because the chronology is very detailed. This story...
"Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead", Tom Stoppard (1967)
Text analysis - 4 pages - Literature
In this excerpt from 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead', the two minor characters turned protagonists are reunited with the player they encountered earlier and on whom they walked out as he and his companions were acting out a play form theme. There ensues a lament on the...
"Flying Carpet", Steven Millhauser - "flying up to the sky" - publié le 30/06/2010
Text analysis - 4 pages - Literature
Steven Millhauser is a writer of realist fiction. However, his work cannot be limited by labeling it only realistic. Another dimension is added to his short stories. They are full of interpretations. In Flying Carpet, though the story seems to be quite casual, even banal - a child trying to reach...
"Jane Eyre", Charlotte Bronte (1847) - "But the privations (...) to put in a coffin"
Text analysis - 4 pages - Literature
The excerpt under scrutiny, located in the first part of the novel, comes directly after the protagonist has accepted the harsh lifestyle of Lowood and declared she would rather be there and endure the never-ending privations than back at Gateshead. This passage acts as a sort of pause in the...
"After great pain, a formal feeling comes", poem 341, Emily Dickinson (1955)
Text analysis - 3 pages - Literature
The poem, "Under Scrutiny' is strongly reminiscent of 'Pain has an element of blank' in the way it describes a state of numbness, a sort of in-betweenness placing the subject at the limit between consciousness and oblivion. The two poems echo each other perfectly in their evocation of...
"The Autobiography of my Mother", Jamaica Kincaid (1995) - "What makes the world go round? (...) cocoa tree grew in England"
Text analysis - 3 pages - Literature
Jamaica Kincaid wrote 'The Autobiography of my mother' in 1955. She was from the small island of Antigua located in the Caribbean area. It was colonized by the Spanish and by the British. In this way, the reader easily understands the importance of the colonial theme in the book. The...
"My Antonia", Willa Cather - chapter XIV "I remembered ... any longer"
Text analysis - 3 pages - Literature
Because of his losing his parents, Jim Burden has left Virginia to live with his grandparents in Nebraska. He discovers the Bohemian girl who has arrived to Black Hawk on the same train, on the same day as himself. This excerpt we have to study deals with Mr Shimerda's death. We can assert it...
A Midsummer Night's Dream: Act III, scene 1, l.1- 125
Text analysis - 2 pages - Literature
Remembering their previous apparition, a comic and ridiculous situation is expected. Indeed, once again, it turns out that they are poor actors. Their play is supposed to be tragic and to trigger the pity and compassion of the audience while their acting keeps getting worse like the use of...
The Whitsun Weddings", Philip Larkin (1964) - identity, belonging and rootlessness in "Home Is So Sad", "Afternoons", "A study of reading clothes", "Self's the Man", "Mr Bleaney '
Text analysis - 1 pages - Literature
In his anthology, 'The Whitsun Weddings', Larkin develops several themes, such as the concepts of identity, belonging etc. He expresses his opinions on these themes with the use of certain language features that help set a mood for the poem. In 'A Study of Reading Habits and...
"The Merchant of Venice ", William Shakespeare (1594) - relationships between characters
Text analysis - 2 pages - Literature
In 'The Merchant of Venice', the characters are linked together on account of their love, their friendship and also because of money. The plots thus, have many dimensions and the play itself has many important themes, among which is the bonds. Indeed, this notion is very ambivalent and it...
Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley
Text analysis - 1 pages - Literature
This passage corresponds to a climax in the narrative. It corresponds to the birth of the creature that Victor wanted to give life to. Victor is the narrator of this passage and he has just completed his creation after two years of work. This passage is a key moment in the story and corresponds...
Macbeth, William Shakespeare - the equivocal ambiguities, puns, play with words and mirror effects
Text analysis - 2 pages - Literature
"Oftentimes, to win us to our harm, / the instruments of darkness tell us truths, / Win us with honest trifles, to betray / in deepest consequence? (Act I scene 3, 123-126). Banquo warns Macbeth, who is wandering if he can believe the rest of the three witches' Prophecies, as he just had been...
"From the Diary of an almost-four-year-old", Hanan Ashrawi (1988)
Text analysis - 2 pages - Literature
The poem, 'From the Diary of an almost-four-year-old' was written by Hanan Mikhail Ashrawi, a Palestinian writer, in 1988. The speaker in this poem is an almost-four-year-old little girl who was fired at by a soldier, during the Israel-Palestine war. She lost an eye and she wonders about...
"They came for the Jews," Martin Niemoller, and "God loves you anyway" Harold Kushnersay - the care of others
Text analysis - 1 pages - Literature
The first essay is a poem entitled 'First, They Came for The Jews', written by a German Pastor named Martin Niemoller. It talks about what happened in 1939-1945, during World War II, where many people died, due to the nazi government in Germany. The second essay is an extract of a book...
"Les contes de Canterbury", Geoffrey Chaucer (2000) - "Le conte de la femme de Bath ", un conte protoféministe ?
Text analysis - 2 pages - Literature
"The Wife of Bath" in "The Canterbury Tales", written by Geoffrey Chaucer is a fascinating character. Chaucer the Pilgrim admired her distinguishing characteristics and life experiences. She wanted to fashion her own idea about life. Her sexuality and arrogance make her stand out because those...
Ernest J. Gaines, "Tell them I am a man ", Chapter IX - A review
Text analysis - 2 pages - Literature
This document is an extract of various chapters of the novel A lesson before dying by Ernest J. Gaines. We describe a scene from the novel in chapter VI in this document. Grant the narrator had met the sheriff Sam Guidry at Pichot's house in order to know if he would be given the right to...
Ernest J. Gaines, "Tell them I am a man ", Chapter III - A review
Text analysis - 2 pages - Literature
Published in 1993 by Alfred A. Knopf, A lesson before dying is Ernest J. Gaines' sixth novel. The story is set in the 1940s, in the fictional community of Bayonne, which is clearly based on Gaines' own childhood home, which is called Pointe Coupee Parish, in Louisiana. To understand the...
What is a novel ? A fiction ? Literature?
Text analysis - 2 pages - Literature
For several centuries, the predominant idea, except little exclusions like works by Diderot or Cervantes, was that the main function of novels was simply to tell a story. Reflections about writing itself were essentially reserved to poetry. Novels extol primacy to imagination and their...
Paul Auster, "Brooklyn Follies" - "Double-cross" (chapter 20), de That was when Harry...." a " cradled in the arms of the B.P.M.
Text analysis - 4 pages - Literature
This extract is the 20th chapter, 'Double Cross' of the novel. This is the story of Harry's murder, which constitutes the most tragic moment of the book. Nathan is here the narrator. He and Tom leave the Chowder Inn in order to go back to New York for Harry's funeral. Later will...
Paul Auster, "Brooklyn Follies" - "Dream days at the Hotel Existence" (chapter 19), de "first perusal of the grounds?" a "say nothing to Tom"
Text analysis - 3 pages - Literature
This passage is an extract from the nineteenth chapter of 'Purgatory' from the Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster. The characters arrive at a place to end up finding somewhere to sleep as their car broke down. It constitutes the longest chapter of the novel which is so in a way the linchpin...
Paul Auster, "Brooklyn Follies" - "Purgatory" (chapitre 3), de " No one grows up? " a " would have remained in this purgatory "
Text analysis - 3 pages - Literature
This passage is an extract from the third chapter of 'Purgatory' from the Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster. It's after the first appointment between Nathan and Tom. In this chapter, the story is focused on Tom's recent past, since his arrival in Brooklyn, and that's why we...
A multiple representation of the Shebeen Queen
Text analysis - 16 pages - Literature
"More than a shebeen queen, she is the incarnation of motherhood?: a theme that Peter Abrahams develops in Mine Boy. Xuma, the protagonist, is surrounded by support and advice. Surprisingly, Leah is not the only mother figure in Mine Boy; a white woman called Di also plays this role. In addition...
The origins of the South Africa Shebeen Queen
Text analysis - 18 pages - Literature
What is a shebeen and what is the origin of this term? This is the first question we will try to answer in detail. "The exact origins of the word shebeen are unknown, but it most likely came into popular use in Ireland from the Irish-Gaelic language before spreading to the English-speaking...
The Aunt's Story, Patrick White
Text analysis - 7 pages - Literature
Australian literature includes many different literary genres, from poetry to autobiography, and its history is, like that of Australia, quite recent. Among Australian writers, Patrick White stands out, mainly because contrary to many Australian writers, his works are not solely based on the...
Patrick White's The Aunt's Story
Text analysis - 3 pages - Literature
An epic and psychological narrative art which has introduced a new continent into literature.' This sentence uttered in 1973 when Patrick White won the Nobel Prize for literature. Indeed, not only did he bring on the international scene Australia as a country which produced a great writer but...
Paul Auster, The Brooklyn Follies - On rascals (Chap. 7)
Text analysis - 1 pages - Literature
What we have here is an extract from the novel the Brooklyn Follies, written by Paul Auster and published in 2005. Earlier in the novel, we discovered the main character, Nathan Glass, a 60 year old man in remission from cancer. He was looking for a quiet place to die, but after a moment, he...
Paul Auster, The Brooklyn Follies An unexpected encounter "I lost contact" "happy and rich"
Text analysis - 1 pages - Literature
This text is an extract from the novel Brooklyn Follies, written by Paul Auster and published in 2005. Earlier in the novel, we discovered the main character, Nathan Glass, a 60 years old man in remission from cancer. He was looking for a quiet place to die. In fact, someone recommended him...
Paul Auster, The Brooklyn Follies - Dream days at the hotel existence (Chap. 19) - "A steep dirt road" and "except having children"
Text analysis - 1 pages - Literature
What we have here is an extract from the novel The Brooklyn Follies, written by Paul Auster and published in 2005. Earlier in the novel, we discovered the main character, Nathan Glass, a sixty year old man in remission from cancer. He was looking for a quiet place to die. However, after a moment...
Paul Auster, The Brooklyn Follies A night of eating and drinking - "I'm not talking" - "inside your dreams"
Text analysis - 1 pages - Literature
What we have here is an extract form the novel The Brooklyn Follies, written by Paul Auster and published in 2005. Here, we are in the 1st half of the novel and 3 characters are present: Tom, Nathan and Harry. Nathan, the main character of the book, is Tom's uncle, and Harry is Tom's...
Paul Auster, The Brooklyn Follies Farewell to the court (Chap. 3)
Text analysis - 1 pages - Literature
What we are about to study is an extract from the novel The Brooklyn Follies, written by Paul Auster and published in 2005. Here, we are at the beginning of the novel, where Nathan and Tom are having lunch and talking about Tom's activities. We may wonder in what ways the passage is...
