S/LI/283. Explore the power of language in E.B. White's 'Charlotte's Web'

The paper examines the language of the characters in E.B. White's children's novel 'Charlotte's Web' reflecting on the telling names, scientific words, etc. Speech characteristics of Wilbur the pig, Templeton the rat, Dr Dorian, etc. are discussed analysing their play on words and word meanings.

S/LI/196. Themes of femininity and masculinity in The Yellow Wallpaper by Gilman

The paper examines the portrayal of women in the novel The Yellow Wallpaper by a feminist author Charlotte Gilman discussing the challenges to the contemporary female and male stereotypes, the conflict between femininity and masculinity, and the characters of the protagonists.

C/LI/14. Female Sexuality in F. Scott Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night: The role of female sexuality in the story of the decline of Dick Diver.

The essay examines the way female sexuality figures in the larger story of a failed society. The moral failures in the novel are frequently expressed in sexual terms. Nicole's psychological problem originates in her father's abuse of her, and her love for Dick is intricately connected with her powerful transference of feeling to him in her treatment. Similarly, Rosemary, the star of the film "Daddy's Girl", idolizes Dick as a substitute father while being emotionally infantile, so that his sexual relations with both women have something incestuous about them. Both Nicole and Rosemary have great sexual power which Dick finds hard to resist. Rosemary becomes an emblem of "sex appeal", and Nicole's recovery from her illness finds its greatest expression in her new sense of herself as a sexual being in her adultery with Tommy Barban.

C/LI/13. To what extent does James Agee's politicization of Let Us Now Praise Famous Men succeed? You may wish to focus on a particular section in order to respond succinctly.

This review deals with the themes and concepts used in the book Let us Now Praise Famous Men by James Agee. The focus is on the political and social value of the book which found tremendous success as a classic 20th century literary masterpiece. In what began as a journalistic intervention, James Agee's book along with walker Evans's photography represented the life of three families of sharecroppers living in shacks of central Alabama. Contrary to what the title suggests the book is not about famous men but about the poorest of the poor who are largely ignored by society. Agee's highly poetic descriptions and original literary narrative style gives a new dimension to journalism and creative expression.

C/LI/12. Urban Environment & Dislocation in Modern American Fiction – Gender, Culture and Community in the City versus Small Town America Toni Morrison's Paradise and Carson McCullers The Ballad of the Sad Café:

The urban environment has many different roles in literature, from a place of business and power to a place of poverty and sadness. The one theme that seems to be present in a majority of literature in regards to the urban environment, which is there, is a lack of community and the individual is in a state of dislocation. This paper is going to examine the theme of the lack of community, as a key factor to this sense of dislocation and not belonging. The key factor in the Ballad of the Sad Café are three individuals looking for love, a person to belong with and too, a small community outside the urban disarray and the danger is the convict that invades their town from out there – the Big City. Paradise is similar in that it refers to an African American town that biggest threat is the culture of out there – the cities of mainstream America. In many ways these books see city life a threat to their culture, morals and beliefs. This is an interesting concept, because what the town and the characters are concerned about is the Americanization of their town in small town America. Usually when one considers the resistance to Americanization the resistance is from other nations, but writers such as Toni Morrison and Carson McCullers illustrate that there is an internal conflict as well. This internal conflict raises some interesting cultural and political thoughts in regards to culture and politics within the USA, including the role of women where cities do not bring their liberation, but oppression. It is in the small communities through discourse that women find freedom in both books, not in the soulless dislocated urban environment of the city. In a way there is almost a sense of Diaspora within the country, a sense of separation from culture and belief when a city engulfs the culture and belief of small towns.

S/LI/194. 'Go Down, Moses Way down in Egyptland Tell old Pharaoh 'Let my people go'. (African American Spiritual). Explore the treatment and significance of religion in any text(s).

The paper examines the reflections of the African American history and tradition in literature analysing the novel 'Paradise' by Toni Morrison and discussing the themes of Christianity, the Afro-American spiritual tradition, the relationship between man and nature, etc.

S/LI/193. American central characters may be men beset by impotence and failure, but there is no doubt that they are heroes, (Sam Smith). What kind of images and questions have you found about 'the hero' AND/OR the 'anti hero' have you found most interesting in any relevant American text(s)?

The paper examines the heroes and anti-heroes of modern American fiction analysing the protagonist of Kerouac's novel 'Dean Moriarty' and discussing the features of the Beat generation.

S/LI/191. 'The struggle of the black writer is to create a sense of black identity'. Discuss in relation to Black American writing

The paper examines the traditions of Afro-American literature discussing the issues of race and gender faced by black women and analyzing the novels of Toni Morrison and Alice Walker.

S/LI/190. To what extent might it be said that The Color Purple offers an alternative history of modern America?

The paper analyses Alice Walker's novel 'The Color Purple' discussing the problem of a black woman's fight against restrictions and abuse in the Deep South of the USA in the first half of the 20th century. The issues of racism and its influence on African American families are addressed.

S/LI/181. In the period between 1980 and the present day, the US has been of increasing social and economic volatility. How do the texts 'Glengarry Glen Ross' by David Mamet and 'The Corrections' by Jonathan Franzen engage with these changes?

The paper critically analyses 'Glengarry Glen Ross' by David Mamet and 'The Corrections' by Jonathan Franzen examining the theme of instability of everyday lifestyles in the US over the past few decades.

S/LI/180. 'No One Writes to the Colonel' - Discuss the story as a commentary on social injustice and underdevelopment

The paper examines the novel of Gabriel García Márquez 'No One Writes to the Colonel' focusing on the portrayal of social injustice in Colombia during the 1950s known as the period of 'La Violencia' and exploring the political views and the position of García Márquez in Latin American literature.

S/LI/179. Consider how one of the post-wart literary texts on the course engages with and represents a particular social or political issue

The paper offers a critical analysis of the novel 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest' by Ken Kesey focusing on the portrayal of the political concept of McCarthyism, communism and the right of political expression in the US over 1950s - 60s.

S/LI/192. Discuss the treatment of slavery in American literature

The paper examines the theme of slavery in American literature reviewing academic approaches to the formation of New World culture and the history of slavery, and discussing the literary portrayals of slavery by white and African-American authors of the 19th and 20th centuries.

S/LI/175. "The Mirabal Movement in the Dominican Republic" Injustice and Leadership in Alvarez in the Time of the Butterflies

The essay critically analyses the Julia Alvarez's novel, In the time of the Butterflies, where she uses her brilliant descriptions to combine with the severe reality that Trujillo's regime imposed on the Dominican Republic from the 1930's to the 1960's. Julia Alvarez humanizes the story of violence and injustice in the Dominican Republic and opens doors into the souls of the Mirabal sisters.

S/LI/171. Close Reading of Hemingway's "An Alpine Idyll"

This paper closely examines one of Hemingway's lesser-known short stories, "An Alpine Idyll". In conjunction with a critical article published in the Hemingway Review, this essay strives to get at Hemingway's deeper meaning in this bizarre little story. This is a thoughtful essay.

S/LI/170. Gender Issues in Hemingway's Fiction

This paper considers gender issues in Hemingway's fiction going beyond the typical analysis of male characters as overtly masculine. Considering Hemingway's childhood and personal adult life, there tends to be several patterns surrounding the behaviour of his male characters. This paper discusses specifically "For Whom the Bell Tolls", "The Sun Also Rises", and "The Garden of Eden" and moves through these texts chronologically in an effort to draw some conclusions paralleling Hemingway's own life.

S/LI/172. "Discrimination in the Dominican Republic" Injustice and Suffering in Danticat's 'The Farming of Bones'

The paper presents an analysis of the novel The Farming of Bones, by Edwidge Danticat, which is set in a terrible time during the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo in the Dominican Republic, where race, discrimination and politics are among its theme.

S/LI/173. "Oppression on the Oppressed" Lineage and Identity in Alexie "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven"

The paper critically analyses and discusses the Sherman Alexie's collection of short stories, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, where he strives to subvert and critique stereotypes about Indians that are maintained by mainstream culture.

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