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World Literature

Question: An Analysis of Hero of Our Time by Mikhail Lermontov

Answer: The portrait of the Hero of Our Time, as defined by Mikhail Lermontov, is actually that of a villain. Though, to be accurate, not of a single person but rather “of the vices of our whole generation in their ultimate development.” And even the most conventional of villains, as François Truffaut once put it, “always has a reason.” Pechorin, as a “superfluous man” disenchanted from a m......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: Discuss how Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of The House of Usher and Walt Whitman’s Live Oak, With Moss are transgressive.

Answer: My interpretation of a transgressive text is something that exceeds a limit or a boundary especially of social acceptability, and for the purposes of this essay, acceptability of Nineteenth Century American society. With this definition in mind, I have decided to look at Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of The House of Usher and Walt Whitman’s Live Oak, With Moss, for a number of reasons. Both......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: How is the idea of Jewish national identity portrayed in Meir Shalev’s “The Blue Mountain”?

Answer: In order to answer this question effectively, it is first necessary to define what I mean by the term “Jewish national identity”. It implies the bond between the Jewish people, based on religion and race that has always existed but which in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries became focused on territorial acquisition.......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: Song of Solomon is a novel of hope while Wide Sargasso Sea is a novel of despair. Discuss this assertion with particular comparison to the representation of culture and society.

Answer: The quest for self identity is extremely important in defining whether Song of Solomon should be considered as a novel of ‘hope’ whilst Wide Sargasso Sea is epitomised as a novel of ‘despair’. Both Rhys and Morrison recognize self identity being vital for the protagonists to fully realise their roles and live a more contented life. In fact Song of Solomon is considered a novel of ‘hope�......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: Kafka\'s work has often been described as dealing with problems of German-Jewish identity in the period in which he wrote. How much can Die Verwandlung tell us about these problems?

Answer: One of Kafka’s most famous works is Die Verwandlung; the story of Gregor Samsa who wakes up one morning to discover that he has metamorphosized into an (Ungeziefer), or type of vermin. The story charts his rejection from society and his own family because of what he has become and is mainly about the themes of alienation and isolation.......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: ‘In a universe where decay is inevitable, suffering and death come unexpectedly, war and social divisions are human traditions, personal ethics are humankind’s saving grace.’ Discuss this thesis with particular emphasis on the decisions taken by and the behaviour and operation on the consciences of Kabuo, Hatsue and Ishmael.

Answer: The novel Snow Falling on Cedars, written by David Guterson, revolves around a racially charged court case involving an innocent Japanese man accused of the murder of a German fisherman. The author explores the human traditions of war and social division and the inevitability of decay, suffering and death, using the murder trial of Kabuo Miyamoto as a focal point. Guterson investigates the way i......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: Dostoevsky’s ‘Crime and Punishment’ – An analysis.

Answer: The primary conflict in Crime and Punishment is the internal development of Raskolnikov\'s character. In Raskolnikov\'s mind are two contrasting personalities, each demanding control over him. One side, brought out by poverty and egoism, is the murderer who kills the pawnbroker. The other side, inspired by the love of others and his inner goodness, is his benevolent conscience which desires to hel......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: Show how Ngugi uses his narrative to contrast the inner emotional qualities in his characters.
Ngugi wa Thiong\'o ‘A Grain of Wheat,’ 1967 (1992) - chapter 7 pages 99-107

Answer: After a long hard struggle, In 1963 Kenya was finally on the verge of grasping their long awaited independence from the British. The novel, ‘A Grain of Wheat’, takes the reader back to the period between the fighting and the so-called ‘new world’. It is a true manifestation of emotional individuality of both the colonized and colonizer alike, where they reflect on what has been gained by t......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: Both the Satyricon and Daphnis & Chloe have a dense literary texture. What similarities and differences are there in the ways that previous literature is exploited in the two novels?

Answer: It is clear upon reading these novels that both Petronius and Longus draw deeply on previous literature to enhance their texts. However, the two novelists differ considerably in their handling of these literary predecessors. Longus, for example, mainly based his work on the poems of Theocritus, whilst there do not appear to be any Greek or Roman antecedents for The Satyricon. Possibly because o......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

Question: How do Heller in ‘Catch 22’ and DeBerniere in ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandolin’ use humour to create dramatic effect?

Answer: All four types of humour are used in Heller’s ‘Catch 22’ and DeBerniere’s ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandolin’: satire, farce, absurdity and slapstick. Satire is a dry, mocking humour that exposes vice, making the serious seem ridiculous. Farce involves misunderstandings and improbable events and uses exaggerated movement in times of stress, which was popular of theatre in the late ninet......(short extract) to download the full answer, please Sign in or Register then make a payment or submit an essay

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World Literature

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