When he reaches the next kingdom, he learns that the king has mysteriously died, and Oedipus himself becomes king, marrying the former king's wife, who of course is his mother. ... The affair between Metzger and Oedipa emerges out of simple desire. In layering the scene with Freudian images through the comedic venue of the Paranoids--Freud being a man deeply engaged in the effort, among other things, to clearly explain sexual desires--Pynchon engages in and mocks the effort to impose interpretation on that which cannot entirely be interpreted. ...

• Word Count: 2590
• Approx Pages: 10

After that day, he began to gradually lose the desire to preach. ... His stepfather soon died and Baldwin took up writing as his sole profession. ... David's mother died when he was five years old. ...

• Word Count: 2515
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School

"All's fair in love and war" said Francis Edward Smedley. Such could be the summarization of - according to critics - the greatest classic of our time, L.N. Tolstoy's War and Peace. Themes of dedication to one's homeland, war strategies, fate, bravery, rebirth, religion and love are portrayed in the novel as seen both through the eyes of the aristocracy and the peasantry. The theme that carries throughout the entire novel is the coming together of the classes to protect their motherland. ...

• Word Count: 2809
• Approx Pages: 11
• Grade Level: High School

"Lunar Park," by Bret Easton Ellis is an exciting and thrilling novel. Most of all, however, it is a thinker. Throughout the novel, Ellis did a tremendous job by keeping the reader interested, wanting to read more. The average reader is left wondering which details are true of the author's real life...

• Word Count: 3723
• Approx Pages: 15
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School