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Argument: Rubin Rabinovitz writes that Anthony Burgess reuses a motif of libertarian vs. authoritarian in many of his novels. Often times this conflict of the characters is a projection of Burgess' views on morals and ethics as well as a display of Burgess' internal struggle. Rabinovitz refers to his novels A Clockwork Orange and the Tremor of Intent, pegging characters to libertarian and authoritarian personas. Through these comparisons he observes Burgess' own inconsistencies in his writing. Evidence: "The apparent inconsistencies in Burgess's dualistic moral views are sometimes seen as the result of his utilization of the Eastern yin-yang principles" (Rabinovitz). "What the religious novelist often seems to be saying is that evil is a kind of good, since it is an aspect of Ultimate Reality; though what he is really saying is that evil is more interesting to write about than good" (Burgess). "Very often, Burgess's use of Manichean dualism does work to reconcile differences in Eastern and Western thought; but problems arise when a choice must be made between relativism and absolutism...Absolutism seems to demand absolute fidelity, and in this sense Burgess's moral point of view appears ambiguous or inconsistent" (Rabinovitz). Thoughts: Rabinovitz focuses on conflicting ideologies that are not often recognized when reading A Clockwork Orange. He also offers a background on Anthony Burgess' location and how that contributes to his characters. Rabinovitz recognizes many of Burgess' characters as projections of Burgess himself and proposes how the clash of eastern and western philosophy influenced the author.

Argument: Bruce Reeves points out that although "To Have and Have Not" is not one of Hemingway's better-known novels, it has had an insight on issues during the time it was written, and brought with it a new form of writing. The main theme is dealing with pain and hardships, overcoming them to move on with life and existence. Hemingway portrays his own personal struggles and life experiences through his work. Often times his characters experience and go through similar things he did. Evidence: "It was considered a forerunner of the "tough guy" school of fiction, but it has come to be seen more as a unique work…"(Reeves). "To Have and Have Not is arguably his one book in which the sum of the parts does not equal the individual fragments."(Reeves). "He assumes that everyone is equally alone."(Reeves). "Harry Morgan with relentless energy from one situation to another, until he is cornered with no hope of escape."(Reeves). Thoughts: Reeves summarizes the novel and describes the characters to show the main themes and meaning of the novel. I have also found that there are many correlations between Hemingway's characters from one book to another, such as how they act and their personalities. The characters are put in difficult situations that challenge their emotional strength. They all seem to know something bad is going to happen to them in the end.

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.

Argument: The heated passion within Wuthering Heights is a product of the intense relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine. Claim: Passion is an essential element of a Romantic novel. Catherine is, in some ways, addicted to Heathcliff. Catherine's addiction to Heathcliff is bold, especially for society at the time. Catherine is somewhat reckless. Catherine has an empty soul. Evidence: "Intensity arises out of the bond between Catherine and Heathcliff, a bond which can best be described as an addiction rather than as a 'theme' of a traditional Romantic Gothic novel. The addictive nature of the relationship is illuminated by Catherine's cry of 'I am Heathcliff!' (98). Lacking any inner resources, Catherine attempts to capture Heathcliff's psyche to fulfill the emptiness in her own soul. This then is sexual addiction--the need to possess another being." http://go.galegroup.com.lib.chandleraz.gov/ps/i.do?&id=GALE%7CA18290969&v=2.1&u=chandler_main&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w

A thousand Splendid Suns is about women being abused by the men. Many people have read this book but Cheryl Reed saw it as "nearly impossible for a novel a work of fantasy and fabrication to deliver a formidable blow, a pounding of the senses, a reeling so staggering that we are convinced the characters and their dilemmas are genuine" (Reed). The two stories are similar but different at the same time because of the different women and different time periods. Reed goes onto explain that the two stories are about such young women being married off to much older women, while these men have multiple wives. An example of this is would be, "The man who saves her, who digs her from the rubble, is 60ish Rasheed, a shoe salesman, who has a penchant for young girls. His wife, Mariam, was given to him when she was only 15" (Reed). Mariam's mother dies in a hanging and she is married off by her dad. However, they are married to men much older than them and have to deal with the beatings and abuse. Although before they may be married off many things could happen to them. For example when Rasheed wives try to escape and get caught their punishment is brutal. "Rasheed's dissimilar wives team up to offer each other support from the beatings and the verbal lashings. They plan a risky escape but when that fails, the powerlessness of their plight couldn't be more palpable: Strangers turn them in to the authorities, and police officers shrug their shoulders at the likelihood that Rasheed may kill them for causing dishonor" (Reed). However, as punishment for trying to escape from a life of torture, they are brutally beat. Seems all they want is freedom but to get that they have to escape. Reed describes this the best "While The Kite Runner was the story of redemption, of male friendship and the bond between fathers and sons, Suns is a multigenerational story with a larger cast of characters, spanning 45 years and told from the dual perspectives of two powerless women

Argument: In publishing a novel as dark and brutal as Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte broke through the restraints that constricted female authors at the time. Claim: The book was written during the Romantic era. Emily Bronte was heavily influenced by Romanticism, as evident in her novel. Wuthering Heights is clearly a novel written by a woman. Before Romanticism, Wuthering Heights would have been a daring novel to write. Evidence: "'While the book is offensive, even repulsive, it has the repulsiveness of power. Charlotte Brontë's books are unmistakably those of a woman--a woman fretting at and scorning the limitations of her sex and her day, yet in a measure yielding to them. But Emily . . . overleaps the barriers" and ignores her own and her readers' sensibilities. Her purpose was to write the truth about her characters, and as a result she "handles brutality and coarseness as another woman would handle a painted fan.'" "In Wuthering Heights 'there is evident no quiver of feminine nerves in the mind or hand.'"

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."

Joyce Carol Oats is the author of this critical analysis of Wuthering Heights. Oats explains how Emily Bronte's writing is unique and anticipated, but still brings in the basics of a romantic novel. She feels that it evolves well through loss and love. The novel also uses the time period it was written in very well through many examples. The purpose of this critical analysis is to prove Bronte's writing and show how well she can fit everything together. Wuthering Heights has a storyline to it, where it could seem like there are two tales in one. One tale would be of the romance and the second would be of maturing through life's challenges. Oats determines that Bronte includes nature into society, which makes up the theme of the novel. Passion is also incorporated into this romantic, gothic novel through various generations of people falling in love. The purpose of this was to prove the theme, in Oats' eyes. Joyce Oats feels that Wuthering Heights has to be understood on two levels to obtain the entire meaning. Emily Bronte has a writing style that gets her point across, but most of the time has an underlying meaning pertaining to the historical aspect and also the romantic aspect.

Cody Villanueva Jensen AP LIT 24 January 2011 Literary Analysis #3 Yann Martel's novel Beatrice and Virgil, in comparison to his highly praised novel Life of Pi, did not merely meet the expectations of critics. According to MICHIKO KAKUTANI, a New York Times writer, this novel that follows the life of a donkey, monkey and a writer's detailed stories re-telling the Holocaust, is said to be "misconceived and offensive as his earlier book." Mimicking animalistic characters and simple text in Martel's previous novel, Beatrice and Virgil, is a simple metaphor using animals to portray Jewish extinction. Kakutani also points out that Martel's novels also includes a play that is closely resembled to that of "Beckett's "Waiting for Godot."" Not only does Kakutani perceive this as awkward, but do not appeal to the novels ending but making it a "disappointing and often perverse novel." But Kakutani gives little to support such reasoning, but clutters his argument with an overall summary that gives the reader a brief understanding of the novel. His overall purpose for such a criticism, or article one may say, is a list of brief downsides compared to Martel's past novel, possible noting that Martel Life of Pi is a single novel of achievement and that Martel is not a writer that continues eloquence throughout his series of novels. Even though it is hard to assume bias within Kakutani's criticism, it can be perceived that this novel brought no interest to Michoko. Therefore Kakutanis simply sits closely to a neutral position when describing his feelings toward the novel Beatrice and Virgil, simple stating small downsides and flaws the novel has compared to Yann Martel's other literary works.

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.

Argument: To a God Unknown is a novel riddled with the power idea of the something to believe in; faith. Faith is in the forefront of the novel because Joesph, the main character, believes in the universe as whole rather than his brothers strong Christan beliefs. By being an out lier of the family ultimately leads to the farm dramatic drought. Evidence: "the central theme of the novel is belief," Joesph's pagan beliefs are vastly different than those of his brother and of those of the time period. his were somewhat structured on "little more than fluttering of leaves on tree, and the chill breath of wind before it rains. My thoughts: Damian Kelleher is simply criticizing the obvious spiritual differences between the family, however, he allows the reader to understand that the novel gives off a feeling of Steinbeck actually writing of his own life. This is interesting because in a lot of his novels he writes or adds an idea of religion. The addition of religion brings froth the the realization that he is attempting to sway the public to his religion or just to leave what is different becoming eerily close to religious proganda.

Argument: Coupland uses noteworthy pop-culture to name and create his novel Girlfriend in a Coma. The Smiths' a popular band of the '80s was the reason behind the books title while Karen Ann Quinlan was the true reason the teenage girl in the book who slipped into a coma was also ironically named Karen. Starting with the basics Coupland constructed Girlfriend in a Coma to mean more than what was put on the surface. The turning point of Coupland's career as a serious author blossomed after he successfully published Girlfriend in a Coma, a dark and daring book that involves post-apocalyptic events. Difficult overbearing situations was what fascinated Coupland and was one of the main influential reasons Coupland wrote the novel Girlfriend in a Coma; the thrill of watching teenagers and later on adults survive in a world where their only worry was to find their true purpose on Earth. Evidence: "On the surface, the book seems vintage Coupland, taking a cue from pop-culture icons like Karen Ann Quinlan, the New Jersey teenager who spent 10 years in a coma before dying in 1985, and The Smiths, the quintessential band of '80s disaffection from whose song the book takes its title." ". And yet, Girlfriend in a Coma is Coupland's most audacious novel to date, and it marks something of a watershed in his career." "Sitting in a posh Toronto hotel lounge sipping coffee, Coupland struggles to find words to describe the genesis of Girlfriend in a Coma. "It's so weird to talk about this out loud," he says. But eventually, between frequent changes of subject, he remembers that it began with a quote from novelist Thomas Pynchon. "He said the way young people deal with the overwhelming-ness of existence--I'm paraphrasing--is through time travel or sleep," Coupland says. "So what I wanted to do was present sleep and time travel, and the coma as the embodiment of both." "Then there was his fascination with Karen Ann Quinlan. "I just remember in the '70s, every

As a long time viewer of the work of Beckett, Hall brings a sense of credibility to the article due to his long standing relationship with all Beckett's productions. Of them, as he implies, Waiting for Godot was the most challenging of then to figure out. With only a blank stage, a tree, and two characters, so much of the production was left up to the opinions of the audience. In Hall's own opinion, this single play is what shaped the way modern theater is thought of, as something that does not ever need to confine to what may have been put forth by the greatest minds in theater. Hall, even being such an admirer for so long, was actually the only producer willing to put the work into the major theaters of the western society. For so long the production was only put forth in a small Paris theater, and Hall was the only man willing to put his own neck on the line to show the world what he sees in this unknown artists creation. What hits me the strangest is that Hall never thought the work would grow, that he never wanted to make it a global sensation, but merely wanted to expose audiences to what he saw in the metaphorical work. As stated "Waiting for Godot hasn't dated at all. It remains a poetic masterpiece transcending all barriers and nationalities". Which is exactly how the work should be considered in today's work of drama and English literature .

Sean J. Kelly argues that Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter to satirize the Puritan church and how they fail to meet the standards of an ideal Christian community. Kelly's argument, while not very strong, is coherent, consistent and focused. While he does not offer solid evidence for his claim, his argument is very logical and insightful. The author describes The Scarlet Letter in contrast to other seduction novels before the novel's time. He states, "Earlier American seduction novels such as Charlotte Temple (1791) and The Coquette: Or, The History of Eliza Wharton; A Novel Founded on Fact (1797) invited the reader not only to witness the female protagonist's moral struggle and downfall, but also to forgive her transgressions as they were repented, typically in death." The background information provides for his argument and shows how his conclusion might be plausible. He concludes that Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter to criticize the lack of compassion and sympathy in the Puritan society which made them flawed. Irony exists because the Puritan society is supposed to be a Utopia but according to Kelly, the ideal Christian society is one that includes empathy. Kelly's criticism was published in a Christian literature journal which might conclude in some biased interpretations of Hawthorne's novel. The essay was also published in 2008 which explains the enlightened thinking in contrast to the thinking of the previous criticism by Coxe.

This is where I as a researcher would put the main arguments proposed by the criticism, the main claims made by the author, and any potential pieces of eveidence I may want to remember for my research paper. At minimum, you would have one each. http://search.ebscohost.com.lib.chandleraz.gov/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=MOL9820000155&site=lrc-live

Argument: Fitzgeralds use of certain items in the novel are inferred as symbolic from past times to portray the social ranks aswell as trying to illustrate other psychological human qualities. Claim: Mentioning the eggs and the fowls at these Saturday night parties have some kind of resemblence to "The Feast of Trimalchio" in Petronius's The Satyricon. Evidence: "Fitzgerald first pays homage to his classical indebtedness by writing that "his career as Trimalchio was over" when Gatsby stops his Saturday night parties (119). He then adds a satiric bite to the egg and fowl allusions with the aid of the idiomatic meanings of "chicken" when he describes Nick's glimpse of Tom and Daisy "sitting opposite each other at the kitchen table with a plate of cold fried chicken between them and two bottles of ale [...] conspiring together" (152-53). "

Claim:"where his Zen interests coalesced with his emerging themes, where he gave new life to the American short story." Argument: J.D.Salinger reveals what the new American life with the characters and families who chooses to make in his novels. Evidence: "Thornton Wilder published a magazine piece on the declining moral standards of America's youth, and John Cheever, as if to chronicle these uncertain times, published The Enormous Radio and Other Stories--featuring such emblematic titles as "The Season of Divorce," "O City of Broken Dreams," and "Christmas is a Sad Season for the Poor." Nine Stories tapped into this ambivalent milieu [(being in a area where there is a positive and negitive feeling towards one person)]: the stories dealt with genius, spiritual integrity, moral corruption, and the occasional ability of innocence to transform our lives."