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1st claim= Othello is related to God, through the trials of the story, Othello is superior to others and is looked up to like God. 2nd claim= Iago is represented as Judas or Peter. He is looked upon as a constant secretive and mischievous evil. 3rd claim= christian culture ties in with the culture of Othello's time period. debate= Shakespeare is satirizing religion and culture. This concludes that Othello's time period and culture with religion is based on the biblical text in the bible text.

In Elaine Ware's criticism of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ware focuses analytical attention to Bromden's character and the idea that he might be experiencing identity crisis. After all, Bromden is torn between the desire to maintain his Indian heritage and the pressure to develop behavior acceptable to the dominant white culture. The insane asylum therefore could be a symbol of this identity crisis and the overwhelming pressure to fit into a specific culture. Kesey sets Bromden's childhood in the 1920s and 30s, a time when the U.S. government was struggling to decide whether Indians should maintain tribal customs or should adopt white culture. As the narrator from the novel, Bromden never reveals his first name which should have been precious to him, as it is in his native culture. His identity crisis is further complicated because he is the son of a white woman. Ware uses sufficient evidence not only from the novel, but outside sources as well. There is historical data connected to many of Ware's claims in addition to textual evidence. This critical analysis provides thorough character analysis that state Bromden's personality traits and the reasons for his actions, such as silence as a technique for survival. Ware's suggestion that Kesey is criticizing white establishment in the American society might very well be true. After all, Kesey was famous for delving into the 1960s hippie culture. This novel presents the downside to the "mixing pot" of the U.S. society because cultures end up swallowed and gone forever.

purpose: Bahareh Bahmanpour wrote her article to identify the struggles of female characters that are caught between Indian culture and the transition into Western culture in Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies. Bahmanpour uses various critical terms such as Self/Other Confrontation, Hybridity, Liminality, Female Subaltern, and Diasporic Identity to classify the roles and transitions of three women's identities, Mrs. Sen, Bibi Heldar, and Miranda, in three separate stories. These terms help solidify Bahmanpour's argument that when confronting a new culture, one undergoes feelings of Diaspora, in which must choose between their culture, called Self, or their new environment's culture, called Other. Evidence: 1."Stories that deal with the suffering, pressure, and possible failure or success in the adaptation-process of these female characters in (re-)constructing their subjectivity, (re-)asserting their agency or negotiating their identities through either silence, resistance, negotiation, acculturation, or assimilation." 2. "Hence, subjects of Diasporas are snared in a process of transformation, and repositioning of new identities-identities which are always in the process of becoming and transition but never complete." 3. "There is no single way of representing the diasporic trauma involved in negotiating female identities either as female immigrant or female natives. Each individual from Mrs.Sen to Miranda has their own means of survival; one resists while the other accepts; one acculturates whereas the other escapes. Female characters of Lahiri's fiction negotiate their new unstable identities through their own different means and their own individual voice." Thoughts: Bahmanpour is logical, focused, coherent, and consistent in her argument; although she uses terms that are at first unknown, she clearly defines them and provides examples of them which recognize how the characters are redefining their identity. While the evidence is understa

Argument: The argument for the Joy Luck Club is that there is only a culture barrier in the novel, nothing else is keeping them apart. The critic claims that, since Chinese culture can be classified as high context culture and American culture can be claimed as Low context culture, the mothers are having a difficult time understanding why their children aren't as respectful towards them as they were towards their parents. Evidence: "The mothers in The Joy Luck Club expect their daughters to obey their elders and so learn by obedience, by observation and by imitation, as they did in China" (unknown). "Because the mothers internalized values and knowledge, they seem to assume that knowledge is innate and that it is present in their daughters and only has to be brought out or activated" (unknown). Thoughts: This critic provides the reader with so much background information about Amy Tan as well as her book, The Joy Luck Club, so that the reader is able to understand where the author is coming from. I believe that this critic gives a lot of information because he or she doesn't want the reader to take Amy Tan in the wrong way. In my opinion, this critic really admired The Joy Luck Club, and probably, still, admires Amy Tan.

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.

ARGUMENT: Jhumpa Lahiri's central theme in both The Namesake and Interpreter of Maladies is Diaspora, isolation, and search for identity and fulfillment. Jhumpa Lahiri is the "voice from the gaps" because she puts the "in between" identity feeling into a compelling story that many can relate to. SUPPORT: "Both Interpreter of Maladies and The Namesake contain themes of conflict in relationships between couples, families, and friends. Through these relationships she explores ideas of isolation and identity, both personal and cultural. The characters in both works frequently encounter crises of identity, which are tied to their inabilities to reconcile their American identity with their Indian identity. " "She often correlates her characters' cultural isolation with extreme personal isolation, suggesting that the cultural isolation causes the personal." "In their isolation, these characters feel that they are missing something vital to their identities. It is this missing "something" that defines them. It seems that few characters in these stories have any idea of who they are or where they are going in life." THOUGHTS: The authors Gipe, Greco, Spencer and Yang provide key facts about Lahiri's background in India and why she chooses to write novels about Diaspora because she relates to the feeling of being "in between" cultures. The article is concluded well by referring to the ending of The Namesake where Gogol finally realizes that he doesn't have to choose between cultures, his identity is both of them meshed together.

Argument: Fitzgerald used characterization to uphold his view on the American culture during the Jazz Age. Claim: Fitzgerald is able to establish a clear reflection of a large society through one or two characters. His approach to writing a culturally reflective novel is shown through brightest by character interactions. Evidence: "Echoes of the American Dream pervade the novel, which contrasts the supposed innocence and moral sense of the "Western" characters with the sophistication and materialism of the "Eastern" characters" (Palvovski).

Argument: Despite raging criticisms that Fitzgerald work as a American writer had failed miserably, but analyzing his success after his death, the importance and significance of his novels are proven prevalent when observing American Culture during the Jazz Age. Claim: There was much critical neglect during Fitzgerald life, much ridicule and shame brought upon Fitzgerald. His life ended with misery, yet does not lessen the writers contribution to literary representation of American culture. Evidence: "...the days and months of his private world began to descend into tragedy. He could not bring the order into his life that would allow him to write his next novel. By the end of the twenties he was living too high and drinking too much" (Shain). "...he did the final complexity of our society and to recognize that we create a large part of our moral selves as we become engaged in that society. This is the theme that runs through his fiction · and through his life" (Shain). http://go.galegroup.com.lib.chandleraz.gov/ps/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=RELEVANCE&inPS=true&prodId=LitRC&userGroupName=chandler_main&tabID=T001&searchId=R1&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=6&contentSet=GALE|H1479001146&&docId=GALE|H1479001146&docType=GALE&role=Scribner

Argument: Beowulf is a classic hero that portrays parts of the Norse culture that created him and the Christian culture who edited his exploits.
Claim 1: Beowulf is Norse, not English.
Evidence: Norse warriors settled on the British Isles in the 500's and brought their oral traditions with them.
Claim 2: Christianity was an integral part in Beowulf's character and setting.
Evidence: The Monks who wrote down Beowulf used allusions to Cain when describing Grendel. Quotes: "Beowulf's actions speak of selfless sacrifice; if he is violent, it is because, like people of his age, the times required violent action to secure peace and bring about prosperity."

Argument: I might be mistaken, as I have not read all 80 pages of this magazine, but the argument for pages 79-80 is certainly that people enjoy literature they perceive to be real. Good writers give their plots 'Authority'.
Claim 1: Crichton demands 'moral attention' by using scientific facts.
Evidence: The Velociraptor of "Jurassic Park" is considered an accurate representation of a predator, and after the publication of the novel, the dinosaur entered popular culture.

Argument: Khaled Hosseini gives a face to the Afghan people in The Kite Runner. It humanizes the culture and gives outsiders to the culture a little insight to the fact that we may not be that different from each other after all. The novel offers the theme of personal redemption that many have dealt. Literary critics have seen this book as being an allegory but Jefferess takes this a step farther by pointing out how this novel is really a political allegory that uses a humans shot at redemption in comparison to that of the country Afghanistan's chance to fix itself. Evidence: "Hence the novel "humanizes" Afghan culture, providing depth and meaning to the sign "Afghanistan" for the non-Afghan reader, otherwise a mere signifier of post-9/11 conflict" (Jefferess). "While Amir's quest for personal redemption may be read as an allegory of Afghanistan's national project of healing, I read the novel as a political allegory that reflects the way in which the "third world", marked by its difference from the "West", becomes a site to be transformed through the project of nation-building" (Jefferess). "This project is presented in the West as an ethical demand that is paradoxically conceived of as both a humanitarian project and a disciplinary one; to be recognized as human, Afghanistan must conform to particular western expectations of democracy, liberalism, and multiculturalism. While the novel's reception reflects an openness to, and a desire for, understanding the Other, it also reflects the limits of acceptable difference"(Jefferess) Thoughts: The view that Jefferess took on The Kite Runner is extremely interesting. Not many have seen the novel as merely an ethical allegory, but he argues this point well. The fact that since the US has entered the war in Afghanistan, many people view that the end of the war will be when Afghanistan becomes a democracy and adopts western ideals, but what isn't always understood is that with change, comes

Argument: The references to western culture and the similarities as well as the differences between Temple of My Familiar by Alice Walker and Gravity Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon. During an interview Alice Walker made a comment that said, "Why would they want to?" in regards to "Why write a novel like the one Pynchon wrote? ". Walker refers to her book as "a romance of the last 500,000 years" when according to Adam (writer of the literary criticism) Walker's novel has the "ambition" of Pynchon text. Throughout the text, Adam uses quotes from Walker's novel to relate it to Pynchon's. His purpose for writing this literary criticism was to judge or prove to the public that Walker's novel is in fact similar the Pynchon's. Also, he writes about the difference they have in social views towards the government, and the culture of families. Evidence: "Walker has in common with Pynchon and Wallace a sweeping distrust of the current political, religious, and economic systems of domination prevalent in the world" (Adam). "The world view of The Temple of My Familiar also differs from that of Gravity's Rainbow and many other postmodern texts in its belief in the power of the spiritual to redeem and nourish, even in the midst of oppression and tragedy" (Adam). "Another difference between Walker's novel and Gravity's Rainbow is its concern with communal relationships. Families, tribes, and cultures are of primary importance to the novel, both in the ways that they support the various characters and in the ways in which the characters choose to perpetuate them" (Adam).

The Immigrant Generations Argument: In this article the author, Mandira Sen, focuses on the major themes that Lahiri presents in her short stories found in her novel "Unaccustomed Earth." Sen focuses on the Indian immigrants desire to distance themselves from their families and the Bengali traditions. There are several different short stories, and in each, although detailing various lifestyles and events, common themes and ideologies can be found. For example, Sen reveals that all the short stories generally tell of tragic, unhappy, and sometimes depressing actions, contrary to a lot of writers. Lahiri's characters tend to grow distant from their family and in some cases break all ties with them. And in other cases, their American friends, spouses, etc. do not fully understand them because they are living in between two cultures, and it becomes hard to relate to/follow both cultures at the same time. Evidence: "Lahiri depicts uncertainty, betrayal, cruelty-and the looming presence of death in a culture that shies away from it" (Sen). "Does being torn asunder between two worlds, the one left behind, the one sought, heighten a consciousness of loss and death, as the fragments of existence do not quite come together?" (Sen). "Consisting of five short stories and a novella in three parts, Unaccustomed Earth focuses on relationships in which communication is often partial, and what is unsaid is perhaps more important that what is said. This is especially so between the generations; both seek refuge in concealment" (Sen). "The children are embarrassed at being different and are careful almost never to reveal any details of their home life to their American friends" (Sen). "Despite Sang's emotional turmoil, obsession, and isolation, she refuses to ask for help, perhaps because she has not informed her family that she has dropped out of graduate school at Harvard--Asian families would see this as unacceptable 'failure,'" (Sen). "J

Argument: Bram Stoker's relgious and cultural customs influence the characterization of the women in his novel Dracula; there are two types of women he writes about - the New Woman and 'classical' woman - and makes clear distinctions between the two. Claim: Stoker choses to salvage the only woman pure at heart - Mina - and condems the other women because of the characteristics associated with the New Woman, reflected in the Vampire character. Evidence: "The living woman is full of 'sweetness and purity,' while the un-dead vampire is associated with voluptuousness, carnality, and wicked desire." http://search.ebscohost.com.lib.chandleraz.gov/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=48218147&site=lrc-live.

Argument: Bram Stoker's relgious and cultural customs influence the characterization of the women in his novel Dracula; there are two types of women he writes about - the New Woman and 'classical' woman - and makes clear distinctions between the two. Claim: Bram Stoker condems the New Woman in Dracula by making the four of five women in the novel Vampires, however, he saves the 'classical' nature of Mina harker and uses her as a key factor that leads to the death of dracula. Evidence: Bram Stoker makes the vampire women out to be savage in order to exaggerate the difference between the New Woman and more traditional female. "Accustomed to seeing themselves portrayed in literature as either angels or monsters, women may wonder why Dracula is the single male vampire in the novel while four of the five women characters are portrayed as vampires - aggressive, inhuman, wildly erotic, and motivated by only an insatiable thirst for blood." http://search.ebscohost.com.lib.chandleraz.gov/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=6888397&site=lrc-live.

Argument: Thomas Hardy often wrote novels set in locations familiar to himself, allowing him to know their true culture and thus write more true, compelling, profound plots. Claim: Thomas Hardy based the locations in his novels off real locations. He channeled the reputations of the real cities in order to write his novels. The locations not only correspond with real places, but with distinct portions of the plot. Evidence: "Hardy freely constructs a partly real and partly fictional locale to accommodate a series of 'local' novels." "This village [Marygreen] is based on Great Fawley, Berkshire, where some of Hardy's ancestors are buried and where his grandmother lived." "This town [Christminster] is modeled on Oxford with its many colleges and exclusive intellectual atmosphere." "Christminster represents a typical university institution." "Village [Shaston] modeled after Shaftesbury in Dorset that Hardy uses as the backdrop for Jude and Sue's troubled reunion." http://search.ebscohost.com.lib.chandleraz.gov/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=MOL0300100593&site=lrc-live

Literary Analysis #2 Argument: In his work analysis, Kellman argues about the difficulties that Indian/East Indian immigrants face in the course of their American lives. Most of the characters in Lahiri's novel were either born in the United States or immigrated at a young age. Kellman argues that through the transition, these characters have lost their Bengali roots. Kellman critiques the thoughts and actions between the main characters and their familes who have retained a strong hold on their Bengali roots and ideals. He depicts the clash of cultures and how Lahiri's charcters struggle to thrive in "Unaccustomed Earth." Evidence: "If her Indians are everywhere, they are at home nowhere"(Kellman). "Lahiri's characters strike their roots in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Washington State, corners of the earth unaccustomed to Bengalis. However, the transplantation does not produce the vigor Hawthorne expects in relocated tubers. Most of the characters in these pensive stories are transplants who never find a soil in which to thrive" (Kellman). "Her characters belong to generation 1.5; children of immigrants, they were either born in the United States or arrived too young to have formed an Indian identity" (Kellman). "Though dragged along on family visits to Calcutta, they lack an appetite for Indian foods, languages, and spouses" (Kellman). "For Lahiri's characters, the tension between Old World and New World identities is often embodied in the generation gap between parents who look back to India for models of behavior and of thought and of children who strive, however futilely, to pass for unhyphenated Americans" (Kellman). "Nevertheless, even those children who manage to attain worldly success are haunted by a sense of loss"(Kellman). "However, the problem for Lahiri's characters is only in part an unbridgeable chasm between cultures. She depicts a world in which to be human is to fail" (Kellman). Thoughts: Kellman present

Argument: Cultural customs influence the characterization of the women in Bram Stoker's Dracula and The Mystery of the Sea; there are two types of women he writes about - the New Woman and 'classical' woman - and makes clear distinctions between the two. Claim: Stoker bases his characters off of two different types of women to emphasize the differences between characters, and to introduce suspense into the plot. Because Stoker writes about 'classical' women like Mina Harker and Gormala (to a certian extent), these women clash with the New Woman characters because of the different lifestyles. Evidence: The New woman wanted to "acheieve self-determination through life, growth, and experience." The New woman developed through an uprising feminist movement, a rebellion that involved woman's "refusal to heed the abstraction of womanhood." "Feminism sought to change human consciousness about male dominance". Because the qualities in the 'classical woman' and New Woman were opposites, it creates suspense and conflict between characters that helps to set the mood and move the plot forward.

As the title suggests, "Oscar Wilde: Aesthetics and Criticism" focuses on a very important subject in Oscar Wilde's books: the purpose of art. During this time, Wilde was a very avid supporter of Aestheticism, which was the idea that art had no other purpose than being beautiful. This criticism is one that also highlights the works that Wilde has done that focuses on Aestheticism, such as "The Picture of Dorian Gray", "The Portrait of W.H", "The Decay of Lying", "The Critic as Artist", etc. It also enforces the fact that all of Wilde's works are intertwined, and work towards the goal of promoting aestheticism. Also, this criticism backs up Wilde's argument that "art in its highest form is something more and other than a mere reflection of the natural world" and praises Wilde, saying that he holds a "prominent place…in our cultural landscape to this day." After all, we see his words and influence everywhere, whether it be on cards or in movies. Wilde truly was the face of the Aesthetic movement, and continues to be so through his one and only novel ("The Picture of Dorian Gray") and other short works.