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Critical Essay on The Glass Menagerie

Tennessee Williams’ play The Glass Menagerie is about undergoing the transition from childhood to adulthood and the decision to leave home and become independent. The decision is made with the understanding of the difference between reality as well as illusion.

Tom makes the decision to leave home, aware that there are things in life he can control and others which are beyond his control. This story revolves around persons who are not aware of themselves or their true identity.

Paul tries to encourage his family members to be more aware of their true selves. People tend to run away from reality and create illusions that they believe in. These illusions blind them, encouraging them to live in a dream world. So many people live this kind of life, and by the time they become aware of reality, they are too late or unable to revert to their true selves.

A major them in Williams’ The Glass Menagerie is that people live a dream life by making any effort to understand their potentials and capabilities.

Throughout the play, the characters try to create illusions because they find reality very painful. This makes the characters believe too much in their illusions, which results in them being accepted by their society in a way that they should not be accepted. Believing in illusions is a psychological problem because these people are no longer in control of their senses.

Illusions cause, people to become more of dreamers and this can affect their relationship with the family members who perceived life from a different perspective. A dreamer is unlikely to agree on many issues with a person who bases his life on reality. A dreamer will always remain a dreamer, and his or her ideas are unlikely to produce anything important.

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Critical Essay on Beowulf

Beowulf is an epic poem in which the plot is intended to portray the unique heroism of German warriors. As the poem’s main personality, Beowulf displays exceptional boldness and extraordinary strength whenever confronted by fierce enemies. Additionally, he takes pride in his glorious actions that have earned him great fame throughout the poem. The reader can easily recognize in the epic the great heroic values of a society, such as the commitment to honor the responsibilities of a leader, whilst at the same time disregarding the safety of his warriors in an effort to defeat a dangerous foe. For instance, Beowulf allows Grendel to kill some of the warriors in an effort to surprise Grendel when he reaches for Beowulf. Beowulf also sets aside prudence when he pursues and fights with Grendel’s mother. Basing on the heroic nature of the poem, one would have expected Beowulf to put the safety of his men before anything else. On the contrary, Beowulf’s intent to defeat the monster supersedes his concern for lives of his men. Clearly, Beowulf focuses more on what is expected of a hero from his people than he does for personal safety or the safety of those who serve under him.

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Critical Essay on “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver

A first glance of Carver’s “Cathedral” gives one the impression that a religious theme is involved in the story. However, this perception is far from the actual content of the story. For instance, no cathedrals are mentioned until in the story’s third section. Even when a cathedral is introduced into the story, it is clear that no single character is actively religious. From this, one can argue that the title does not fit this particular story.

Furthermore, the narrator in Carver’s story uses a conspiratorial tone to present his thoughts and experiences. To the reader, the story appears as if the narrator merely talks to the reader, not to pass any vital message, but rather to keep the reader amused. Additionally, from the narrator’s tone, one gets the feeling that the narrator is attempting to relate certain happenings in terms that are clear as well as precise. In recounting his feelings, the narrator does not get emotional or attempt to persuade the reader to develop a liking for him. A further implication from the narrator’s tone is that the story is about relating the incidents from a particular time, without influencing the reader’s feelings concerning the incidents. However, the reader can detect some sincerity in the narrator’s tone. The narrator does not attempt to hide the desperate situation he is in, nor does he attempt to deceive the reader into thinking that he is highly optimistic about recovering from what befalls him.

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Critical Essay on The Scarlet Letter

Hawthorne is just that, the tragic story of Hester Prynne, a women found guilty of adultery, her rejection, public humiliation, and her inner feelings and the effect on her community in 1850. It is a tragic story. Hawthorne tries to bring some hope into the story, but largely it is a book of despair. With skill, he shares the paradox in human nature and sets off his romantic ideas against the rigid religious Puritan culture. The main question is why Hawthorne had to give it a tragic end? Was it essential to the success of his communication? I do not think so.

Hester is the principle character in the story line. She is branded and adulteress and must wear a scarlet A on her dress. Yet she is a strong likeable person. As Hawthorne develops his story, she goes through difficult times. We are given insight into her conflict and herself rejection. This creates an empathy for Hester and creates the desire that she finds happiness. As she is the tragic hero in the story, it becomes clear that she will not find happiness. Her downfall is inevitable, but such is Hawthorne’s power that you keep hoping she will overcome. Hawthorne deliberately hints to possible redemption.

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Critical Essay on Shakespeare’s sonnets

Many people read Shakespeare’s sonnets because they find them to be very relevant in their lives. They know Shakespeare’s sonnets for the manner in which they articulate ideas about love and relationships. Though many people try to identify the message and apply it in their lives, they find it very difficult to do so. The reason is that they find poetry hard to understand since they are not used to the poetic devices of written literature.

In order to write a good critical essay on Shakespeare’s sonnets:

  • Message of several poems: The writer can identify the situation that best fits the message identified from a number of poems. In this case, the writer can use several poems that have a similar message for analysis, and the writer needs to understand that different groups of people can use a single sonnet for different purposes. People interpret messages depending on the situations that they are facing at any one particular time.
  • Identify the suitable sonnets: Choose the Shakespeare’s sonnets that suit the situation at hand. This is important in preparing a good critical essay on the same.
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