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I'm having some issues with the website, but I do have the analysis saved if you end up needing a hard copy :)

argument: Orwell's Burma experience heightened his suspicions of social inequities and his sympathy for oppressed peoples. On his return to England in 1927 he aggressively transferred this suspicion and sympathy to the British class structure. Claim: In 1936 Orwell wrote that his desire to "submerge myself, get right down among the oppressed" reflected the " bad conscience" he had acquired from the Burma experience. Evidence: where the narrator is employed as a dishwasher. Here Orwell reverted to a favorite strategy: illustrating through analogy so that British readers might apprehend a lesson about class structure.

This article takes the coping mechanisms in the lovely bones and is connecting it to real life and gives more insight to why the acted the way they did and also how their different ways of coping lead to a divided family. 

Argument: The author, Foote, argues that the novel "Little Women" wasn't in fact about gender but about class. The "little women" in the novel are present in an ambiguous class position. Foote gives examples of why she feels there isn't a presence of solely gender issues but that of social class too. The March family lives by the Laurences' which in contrast is a very large estate. The fact that all the girls work also lends significance to the idea of the March family struggling in the economic aspect. Also, Foote brings attention to the fact that the market and the home were slowly starting to mix. Evidence: "The garden separated the Marches' house from that of Mr. Laurence. Both stood in a suburb of the city, which was still country-like, with groves and lawns, large gardens and quiet streets. A low hedge parted the two estates. On one side was an old brown house, looking rather bare and shabby, robbed of the vines that in summer covered its walls, and the flowers which then surrounded it. On the other side was a stately stone mansion, plainly betokening every sort of comfort and luxury, from the big coach-house and well-kept grounds to the conservatory and the glimpses of lovely things one caught between the rich curtains (Alcott 1993, 42)." Thoughts: It was very interesting to reexamine Little Women. When first read through the book takes on an aura of a children's book but when unearthed it is actually much more. There is the forefront of the gender roles in the novel that can easily be understood but it is the social class struggle that captivated me. The time period of this novel was around the time when women had to be more proactive in certain households in order to stay afloat. This was a sign of economic instability and was for the lower classes.

C. L. Chua analyzes A Thousand Splendid Suns in an attempt to find out if it was as much of a success as The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini's first novel. The different literary devices that Hosseini used are mentioned to perhaps give validity to the various arguments Chua makes. A shortfall of the critique is that perhaps not enough emphasis was actually placed on an argument; a majority of the essay was a very well written summary of the novel with only a light touch at the very beginning and end of the essay on the actual argument. "He [Hosseini] felt impelled to tell an Afghan story different from The Kite Runner's. That book had been about men-fathers and sons, male friendship, male treachery. Hosseini now felt drawn to tell a contemporaneous story about Afghanistan's women." Chua uses a clear and logical argument to assert his opinion that Hosseini really delved into the life of an Afghanistan woman in the current times. The critique remains coherent but I wish it was more focused and consistent in the argument. It would have been overall better if Chua has also given more of their insight of this novel. I'm not sure if the author of this article is male or female but depending on their gender, it could create a bias. Another bias that may exist is that the author of this critique really enjoy Hosseini's first novel The Kite Runner so they may be more inclined to say that his second novel was just as good since they are already a fan. "Hosseini's two women are strategic contrasts physically, socially, and psychologically. Socially, Mariam is from the rural lower class; Laila, the urban middle class. Psychologically, Mariam is accustomed to humiliation; Laila, to consideration. Physically, Mariam's features are "unshapely," "flat," "unmemorable," "coarse," while Laila is a green-eyed blond beauty." The stark differences that Chua notes about Hosseini's protagonists help to understand a main theme of the novel which could

Argument: Animal Farm is a modern satire. Claim: -The novel satires Russia's perversion of socialism -The animal's revolt is a symbol for any modern revolution -Any revolution is ultimately self-defeating Evidence: -"The use of multiple historical references gives a universal quality to this work." -"The rise of a ruling class of intellectual workers, the development of a leader figure, the use of scapegoats, and, above all, the rewriting of history and the misuse of language for party purposes, all figure in this satire" http://search.ebscohost.com.lib.chandleraz.gov/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=MOL0089900020&site=lrc-live

Argument: In her article, "Anthony Burgess: An Overview," Mary Lowe-Evans asserts that in A Clockwork Orange Burgess displayed his deep concern for the epidemic of violence and freedom to choose between write and wrong. She forms her argument by mentioning unethical studies that influenced Burgess' writing in A Clockwork Orange. She also refers to the Nadsat language in the novel, stating that Burgess revealed his feelings towards free-will, good and evil through the main character, Alex.Evidence: "More troubling for Burgess was the failure of Skinner's behavior modification strategies to recognize the importance of free will (a primary tenet of Catholic theology) in a properly functioning human being." "Our pockets were full of deng, so there was no real need from the point of view of crasting any more pretty polly to tolchock some old veck in an alley and viddy him swim in his blood while we counted the takings and divided by four, nor to do the ultra violent on some shivering starry grey-haired ptitsa in a shop and go smecking off with the till's guts," (Burgess).Thoughts: The citations Mary Lowe-Evans uses further support her assertions; by demonstrating concerns the time period she adds another dimension towards Burgess' motive in writing. Her argument is coherent and organized, maintaining a logical explanation of Anthony Burgess' beliefs shown throughout his work. 

Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture was Coupland's first novel. This article describes it has a "Serious" novel, that is actually popular! Such a surprise that people would like a serious novel about the middle-class. The journey that Andrew Palmer goes through culture degrading.

Arguement: This article addresses Women's influence in society and therefore the importance of their upbringing and upkeeping. Claim: It claims that women played a role in defining European national identity at the end of the 18th century and that nation, gender, and genre of theatre can result in distinct characters because of their influences and duties. Support: " Documents and facts, commentary and cartoons are scrutinized in the context of these genres, which themselves carry connotations of class, education, and gender."

AP Literature Analysis 3 Although George Bernard Shaw had the standing of a classic dramatist, people still question how good he truly was. This is in fact the purpose of the author writing this criticism. Morgan wanted to look into Shaw's work to see if he was justly able to have that prestigious standing. The critique was very well written, and supported the argument throughout. To back up her argument Morgan referred to not only his great works, but also situations in his life that shaped his writing. The author uses substantial evidence in order to support Shaw's standing. In his works Shaw focused on marriage, genius, and class distinctions. He wrote about these things in a satiric way in order to show society during that time period. And when he was unable to keep people interested, he changed the way he wrote by adding more of a comedic element to his work. The author of this criticism concludes that Shaw did in fact deserve that prestigious title, and he was in fact an amazing writer. She shows this by describing how he was able to change his work when he needed to appeal to his audience. Morgan also points out how Shaw put heartrending human emotions in the center of all of his plays. His plays showed the pure grain of true feelings amongst the irrationalities. Morgan states "…Shaw's comedic brilliance and his geniality tend to enliven the mind and break down prejudice". Morgan may in fact be a fan of the Great Shaw's works making it very easy for her to see Shaw as a classic dramatist.

Argument: Author Sarah Hackenberg presents the opinion that women are only hiding behind their servant attitudes in order to get where they would like. She presents the sequence of events that led up to the initial true image of Jean Muir, not that of a nineteen year old but in fact of a haggard old woman. Hackenberg also gives certatin prominence to the idea of womens' highest achievement would be their marital status. The entire story epitomizes a servant of a governess that exhibits the standard female behaviors up until the very end where the maanipulative and devious women unmasks her self, hypothetically and literally. Evidence: "Most critics of "Behind a Mask" attend closely to the tale's radical gender and class dynamics: the way Alcott overtly aligns operating behind a mask with female power" (Hackenberg) "the fact that the governess's ultimate ambition, despite all her formidable powers of artistry and perception, is to "trick" a man into marriage..."(Hackenberg) Thoughts: Hackenberg raises many interesting points. Jean Muir was the ultimate woman. She only lacked in one area and that area was her status. Her only hope of climbing up in the world would to be marrying someone of a higher class. She said multiple times in the story that if this did happen to her that she would be completly content and only honor and follow her husband's rules. However, with the history that she has and what we know of her from reading this story we can be almost certain that Jean will not be content and will have to stir up some troulbe somehow. The story leaves off at a crucial point that leaves the readers contemplating all the different outcomes it could have.

Dacia Di Gerolamo Ms. Jensen AP English 12 26 January 2011 AP Literature Analysis 4 Pygmalion was not a single genre book, but a book with genres intertwined. Not only was it a romance but also a comedy. Not a traditional romance with the fairy tale ending, but a story in which love is used, but not in the sense it is usually portrayed. It was a comedy not in a humorous way but in a way in which Shaw used satire to shed light on social issues. Issues such as division between the classes during the 1800's. The purpose of this article was to evaluate dramatic comedies in the 1800's. It examines the satire used in the early works. The author is able to clearly express his view. He constructively criticizes dramatic comedies of the time. The author uses the traditional ideas of the genre a long with how the authors built their works around the genre. Enough evidence is definitely provided for the reader to get the point of the paper. The author points out that the works are defined by the characters actions. The author is able to make the characters a certain way in order to fit a genre. In Shaw's case the genre was not only a comedy, but a romance as well. The author can easily have bias especially on the romance genre, whether good or bad. And also the sense of humor can affect it. All his bias can affect his view on all pieces of romantic criticisms.

Argument: H.G. Wells writes about science fiction, more specifically, a higher power or a powerful controller in his books War of the Worlds and The Time Machine. Claim: Wells socialist views show his concern for the future of the world. Evidence:"Since the Morlocks on one level stand for the late nineteenth century proletariat, the Traveller's attitude towards them symbolizes a contemporary bourgeois fear of the working class."

Argument: Marxism in both reality and fiction typically represent African Americans as a lower class, ignorant, disrespected race. Claim: Ellison develops his characters, of dark ethnicity, as a person reaching outside of an animalistic portrayal, and exposes an intellect, developing a bridge between race. Evidence: Perhaps, Ellison's maritime experience, led him to..."took a moral responsibility for democracy" and who represented African Americans in a way that few had--"as a symbol of Man."