Within this novel Alexie manages to merge together the mythical and romanticized view of Native Americans (although Alexie "has been at pains to deflate just such romantic myths, whether steward of the earth, stoical warrior, shaman or savage") with a more realistic, and perhaps somewhat depressing, account of Native Americans regarding matters such as racism, religion, the commodification of Native American culture and life on the reservations including alcoholism and health services. ... Also Alexie writes that "Indian women had never paid much attention to him, because he d...

• Word Count: 2551
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Achilles as the son of Thetis has a special relationship which allows him to communicate with the gods by way of Thetis's favor in the eyes of Zeus (Il. 1.490) Both characters are headstrong warriors; the epics do relate their preeminence in battle. ... Enkidu undergoes a process of civilizing when he sleeps with the woman Shamhat, and is then disturbed by Gilgamesh's right at weddings to be the first to sleep with the new wife. ... In book I, Patroclus is shown to be obedient to Achilles (Il. 1.408), but slightly before that Achilles refers to him as diogenes, which is an obvious s...

• Word Count: 4256
• Approx Pages: 17
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Normally the Bildungsroman is decisive; contrastingly Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit remains open and ambiguous as Jeanette wishes to be saved by 'a woman in another place' and this possibility leaves the novel in a state of limbo because the reader doesn't know if she finds it. ... Indeed, the full title of the book is "Jane Eyre: An Autobiography" and it is therefore written in first person. ... Feminists may disagree with this view that women are the weak, gentler figures and therefore are unable to cope with their own emotions thus having to lean on each other, ...

• Word Count: 3018
• Approx Pages: 12
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Marlow and his crew come across a hut with stacked firewood, together with a note saying that the wood is for them but that they should approach cautiously. ... The pilgrims bring Kurtz out of the station-house on a stretcher, and a large group of native warriors pours out of the forest and surrounds them. ... A beautiful native woman, apparently Kurtz's mistress, appears on the shore and stares out at the ship. ... At the very least, the incidental scenery of the book offers a harsh picture of colonial enterprise. ...

• Word Count: 3088
• Approx Pages: 12
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

One can easily imagine the state of mind of a warrior or any freeman whose condition through defeat in war radically changes from one day to the next, as he becomes a slave: as in classical antiquity, prisoners of war were automatically subject to being sold. ...

• Word Count: 5359
• Approx Pages: 21
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate