The Ralph Ellison short story titled Battle Royal, is a great exemplary of this everyday struggle. ... "...I never told you, but out life is a war and i have been a traitor all my born days"(Ellison 230) , "Live with your head in the lion's mouth. ... The narrator takes this moment in his life as of of the most significant because of how shocking the statement was. ... Unlike Battle Royal, the short story Sonny's Blues takes place in the 50's but in the heart of New York city, however it does. ... If you could not already tell the story is focussed around Sonny, y...

• Word Count: 611
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

The authors of "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and "The Lottery" did an astounding job at keeping the audience from guessing what the ending will be by writing the story in such a way that almost distracts the reader from the true outcome. For example "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" was written in anachronic order starting off by telling a story during the civil war era about how a man is about to be hanged. ... If Ambrose Bierce were to tell the story in chronological order the audience would have caught on to what was happening a lot quicker. ... (Jackso...

• Word Count: 903
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Roughly over one hundred and fifty years ago the United States of America fought a civil war to abolish slavery in this country. ... In the time of the Civil War the south prided itself in being the richest and the most beautiful people in the country. ... The town itself is stereotyped by using nicknames to refer to someone " "You tell Looney I"m S"ry. ... " () But it always had some form of heart and true emotion driving the story " "I ask you what would you have done if this was your daughter? ... It tells others that you are shallow and rude and downright unaware of the pain you may be cau...

• Word Count: 750
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

In his short story, "The Things They Carried," O"Brien wrote a sort of autofiction about some of his accounts in the war. This is referred to as an autofiction because it is a story about true occurrences in his life with some fictional incidents intertwined into the story, hence an autobiographical fiction. In order to understand his story, we are going to learn some things about his background and his experiences in the war that influenced his literary style and also try to figure out how we, the readers, are supposed to read this particular text. ... We will dive much deeper than this an...

• Word Count: 1072
• Approx Pages: 4

Point of view also allows one to tell his or her story most effectively. ... The mother in "Everyday Use" tells the story and tries to explain to the reader the great differences between her two daughters, Dee and Maggie. ... When we read the story from Momma's point of view, it makes us conscious of how she feels about herself and how she feels about Dee and Maggie. ... But Dee does not have a true appreciation for those quilts; they are impersonal to her. ... The quilts serve a testament to the family as a piece of history, surviving generations through war and tough times....

• Word Count: 1091
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

"Don't ever tell anybody anything. ... In 1942 Salinger was drafted into the army in which he served through World War II. In the war he served as an interrogator in the Counter-Intelligence Corps and a participant in the D-Day offensive and the campaign to liberate France. ... Salinger focused on this so much is because it was very true in his own life. ... Even from reading just the first couple chapters, I began to get sick of how much Holden complained and just viewing everything from the same way he saw life. ...

• Word Count: 1119
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

The American wants Jig to have an abortion but tells her she does not have to go through with it if she doesn't want to, though believes it would be for the best. ... She feels that regardless of the choice she makes, there will be corresponding consequences, and the long-term relationship she and The American could share will fail in the end, crushing her hopes of finding true love and happiness. ... As time progresses throughout the story and the couple's verbal "tug-of-war," the reader witnesses the irrevocable deterioration of the relationship, giving them uncertaint...

• Word Count: 1134
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate