Fate Oedipus in “Oedipus the King” by Sophocles and the servant in “The Appointment in Samarra” by W. Somerset Maugham learn ironically that they cannot run away from their individual fate. The destiny of Oedipus and the servant is foreseen. Oedipus and the servant attempt to run away from their destiny. The servant and Oedipus learn that they cannot escape their fate by running away. The servant in “The Appointment in Samarra” and Oedipus in...

Failed Dreams in the Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby, a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is about one man’s pursuit of the American Dream and his downfall as he tries to reach this imaginary goal. Although the dream is different for each person, the principal idea behind the dream is if an individual is determined to reach a goal, he or she has of chance of achieving wealth, and the happiness that accompanies it. In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby believes that one can acquire happiness...

]‘If thou didst ever thy dear father love Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder’ ‘In spite of the ghost’s injunction, to a modern audience revenge doesn’t provide the main interest of the play’.] ‘Hamlet’ is a play categorized by its nature as a Revenge Tragedy, a categorization that was established in the 16th century at its primary production at the Globe Theatre, London. Yet, To a modern audience the idea of a revenge tragedy is no...

Things Fall Apart: Significance of title and the events that led up to Okonkwo falling apart What does the title means? Things Fall Apart is a tragic novel which is set in the Igbo community of Africa. Chinua Achebe, who is the author of this novel, portrays how an ambitious, well known, and respected African, Okonkwo, life falls apart. He was a man with great intensity and personality. He had accomplished his goal to become rich and famous, an advantage that was unseen before in his family. ...

Animal Farm: the Movie Animal Farm, a movie starring the voices of Kelsey Grammer, Ian Holm, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Julia Ormond, Pete Postlethwaite, Paul Scofield, Patrick Stewart, and Peter Ustinov, is directed by John Stephenson. Although the movie was very well put together, it leaves out several different aspects of the book. Stephenson uses settings, events, and characters to bring the book to life. The setting in the movie is somewhat different than what is portrayed in the book. The...

The Duplicitous Nature of Hamlet In William Shakespeare's,’ Hamlet,’ the protagonist exhibits a puzzling, duplicitous nature. Hamlet contradicts himself throughout the play as he attempts to deal with his internal conflicts. He endorses both the virtues of acting a role and that of being true to one's self. He supports both of these conflicting endorsements with his actions. This ambiguity is demonstrated by his alleged madness, for he does behave madly, only to become...

Frederick Douglass' Dream for Freedom The Civil War was really a war between European-Americans Frederick Douglass' Dream for Equality Abolition stopped Frederick Douglass dead in his tracks and forced him to reinvent himself. He learned the hard central truth about abolition. Once he learned what that truth was, he was compelled to tell it in his speeches and writings even if it meant giving away the most secret truth about himself. From then on, he accepted abolition for what it was...

Julius Ceasar Themes and Plot Development Act I: The play opens humorously with a little word play between Flavius, Marullus, and a few workers. The workers are on their way to see Julius Caesar who has recently returned from his victorious battle against Pompey. The reader immediately sees the dislike the tribunes have towards Caesar and on the other hand, the favor of the commoners. The scene moves to a large gathering where Caesar is the focus. As Caesar converses with Mark Antony, we...

Twelfth Night - Character Study: Malvolio The character Malvolio (meaning literally “I mean ill will) is immediately affected by the implications of his name. His personage is implied directly to be one of negative and somewhat disagreeable nature, which is continued and supported throughout the play, leading to his downfall and mockery which both initially seem to be thoroughly deserved, due to his numerous defects of personality. The first evidence of Malvolio’s undesirable...

Dracula - Easily the best horror novel ever written Bram Stoker's Dracula is, hands down, the greatest horror novel ever written. In addition, it is also an enduring classic of literature. You may have seen every Dracula movie ever made, but you do not know the real Count Dracula until such time as you have read Stoker's book. Of course, unless you have been living under a rock, you will know the general plot line, but I assure you there is a wealth of rich material buried throughout the text...