Greatness came with a strong nation and thousands of poems and stories that shaped our nation. ... If ever wife was happy in a man, compare with me ye women if you can." ... (The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allen Poe) As a short-story writer, Poe was a fascinating man of imagination. In theme, Poe places the human mind under investigation and probes insanity beneath the surface of normal existence. ... He wrote in a plain style so that everyone could understand and relate and "see" his viewpoint, therefore giving them to courage to stand up for themselves and fight back. ...

• Word Count: 902
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

One characteristic of a thriller novel that is exemplified in Emmy Laybourne's Monument 14, is the ominous atmosphere that gives the novel a foreboding undertone. ... A finale, repeated theme in many thriller novels, particularly Monument 14, is the constant risk of danger and death. ... "By the hair on my f--- chin, let me in or I'll blow your effin' Greenway down" (67). When the insane stranger starts reciting twisted versions of children's story's, readers realize other characters are in a dangerous situation: his actions cannot be predicted. ...

• Word Count: 625
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

The novel does not present a purpose, theme, or message, but rather draws interest unto itself through style and imagination. ... In his letters to Louise Colet, he explains his plans for Madame Bovary: "What seems beautiful to me, what I should like to write, is a book about nothing, a book dependent on nothing external, which would be held together by the strength of its style, just as the earth, suspended in the void, depends on nothing external for its support; a book which would have almost no subject, or at least in which the subject would be almost invisible, if such a thing is possible...

• Word Count: 943
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate