But when viewed from both a critical and emotional standpoint, children's literature occupies a very dense subgroup of the Literary Canon. ... Such is the complexity of children's literature. ... This virtue is just one I will focus on, in consideration of length restrictions, but it's important to note that Little Women deals with a broad spectrum of emotions and ideas. ... Whereas Alcott seeks to grapple with the hardships of everyday life, putting her characters through common situations and conflicts, Barrie writes to escape from reality (class notes, 4/3/03). ... So whi...

• Word Count: 1473
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

A hundred years after Bradstreet pushed the boundaries with her captivating poetry and paved the way for future women to take over, Judith Murray broke through with her use of unfiltered literature and she continued the fight for women's equality. ... (Bradstreet 549) This line in particular highlights her radical views; she looks honestly at her own abilities and then notes that the culture she lives in will disregard her success by calling her a thief, which is slander, or saying she just got lucky. ... Murray takes this radical avocation for female education to another level, almost hi...

• Word Count: 2469
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The play, she argues is told in the rhetoric of the commercial world, even, she notes, in Belmont where life is generally free of direct commercial involvement, but the love alliances forged there are a representation of exchange in the commodity of women. ... The first essay Newman names is that of Marcel Mauss who notes that one of the most significant exchanges is that of gift-giving. ... The main subplot, Bassanio's acquisition of Portia, strengthens homosocial bonds between the ghost of Portia's father and as it is precluded by financial agreements between Antonio and Bassani...

• Word Count: 772
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Stereotypes and gender roles had a strong hold on society in the late 1800's, and because many women silently desired independence above all else, their wish for equality was a common theme in literature of that era. ... " In this account, Freeman uses a variety of symbolism, along with the character of Louisa Ellis, to give women of the late 19th century a unified voice - to express through literature their desire for liberation and their quite pursuit of freedom from what men had determined them to be. ... It is also worth noting, Freeman never mentions the loss of Louisa's...

• Word Count: 2223
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

As Perry Miller explains, in an era that subordinated women to men and men to God "women who stepped beyond their domestic defines through literature "by reading or writing "were considered dangerous to themselves and to society Puritans expressed considerable scorn for women who wrote or published- (360-61). ... Wendy Martin and Ann Stanford each note the subtlety with which Bradstreet has to write and practice feminism to avoid Puritan censure. ...

• Word Count: 886
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

As Perry Miller explains, in an era that subordinated women to men and men to God "women who stepped beyond their domestic defines through literature "by reading or writing "were considered dangerous to themselves and to society Puritans expressed considerable scorn for women who wrote or published- (360-61). ... Wendy Martin and Ann Stanford each note the subtlety with which Bradstreet has to write and practice feminism to avoid Puritan censure. ...

• Word Count: 887
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

This time period is extremely important to the birth of American Literature, and it was thanks to many settlers coming to this New Land, now the United States, that we have great literary works to refer back to when speaking about the beginning of our nation. ... These women are Anne Bradstreet and Mary Rowlandson, who were the authors of some of the most prestigious Early American Literature works referred to today. ... In this statement Rowlandson's words almost portray a suicidal note. ...

• Word Count: 1702
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Examining the portrayal of women and men in literature offers insight into what societies deemed as appropriate gender roles during certain time periods. ... It is worth noting a detail from the Brother's Grimm's version to show the portrayal of women as dependent on the decisions of men. ...

• Word Count: 1149
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Both readings are not particularly masculine-in Shakespeare's contemporary literature, blushes are often associated with young maidens and their rosy cheeks, while fashion and clothing are womanly pursuits. ... Indeed, the meter sets the melancholic tone of the poem, ending each line on an unaccented syllable and, quite literally, a "down note". ...

• Word Count: 1124
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The theme of clandestine goings-on in the household has particular resonance for Dutch culture because it suggests the potential breakdown of the domestic order, an issue that dominated the didactic literature so prevalent in seventeenth-century Holland. ... Whether or not this reading is satisfactory, the tableau of the present and potential disorder does strike a discordant note in the otherwise quiet scene. ...

• Word Count: 1285
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate