One of the most enduring themes in Marxism is the insistence on history and the realization that society and cultural reality are not static. ... A piece of literary work, then, is inevitably conditioned by the society that produced it, thus it cannot be stripped of the value inherent in it. Literary texts are amid a web of cultural relations and so; their meaning lies in their relation to the rest of culture. ... Hence, Marx realised that a literary work served a purpose that exceeded and accomplished something other than what the writer might have initially intended for its readers. This is ...

• Word Count: 694
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

First, individual independence is the theme of this modern world, which Confucianism failed to adapt to. ... Whereas in Confucianism, the teachings are based on ethical norms, individuals possess "neither personal individuality nor personal property".1 Moreover, led by Hu Shi, literary reforms drastically changed the old way of writing, the classical Confucian literary language, to further motivate independent thinking. ... He uses the matchless examples such as essays and poems of writers like Zhuangzi, Tao Qian, and etc. to contrast with the inflexible "eight-legged" pros...

• Word Count: 740
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

It has been such an important factor during our existence that it has influenced enormously also the literary world. ... These two literary pieces, although written a little less than a century apart and in two different countries and cultures, present many similarities that can help us understand how the social stratification was and will always be part of our society. ... Whether it is a social change caused by the fall of an Empire or caused by a new national reform, one thing is very clear: social conflict and social stratification has always been always will be an actual theme. ...

• Word Count: 1327
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Overall, one of the major themes, death, is emphasized in this story clearly to relate it to the death of tradition. ... The next major theme the author addresses is the ignorance of 'tradition'. ...

• Word Count: 1189
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

In the beginning introduction of Literary Theory: An Introduction, Eagleton states numerous definitions of literature to prove the point that there has yet to be one specific definition. ... Mikhail Bakhtin is a critic who studies literary theory, ethics, and the philosophy of language. Bakhtin "[views] language-especially literary texts-in terms of discourses and dialogues. ...

• Word Count: 2612
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

- Simon & Garfunkel, The Boxer, 1970 Pudd'nhead Wilson & Those Extraordinary Sins Interpreting Mark Twain's work within our distinctly American cultural heritage has absorbed the careers of countless literary scholars. ... Oftentimes the best way to approach seemingly unmentionable themes was through the side door of comedy and satire - areas where Mark Twain had few, if any, equals. ...

• Word Count: 3141
• Approx Pages: 13
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate