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Purpose: The author shows how Lady Bertram's pet Pug is a symbol of society and the role of Women at the time. She argues that Austen demonstrates the indolence and growing modernization of society and its roles by means of the lapdog ever so present throughout the novel (although a subtle presence). Evidence: "she [Austen] also subtly highlights most of the revolutionary issues of the day: women's nature and place, social class, nationalism and the Empire, Darwinian physiognomy, religion and morality, urbanization, and slavery." "She shows Lady Bertram treating her pug like a baby, always in her lap or in her arms…much as a young mother spends her afternoons watching a toddler." "All this, added to the failures of Lady Bertram's children, serves to illustrate the moral that a woman's duty is to mother her children not to waste her time with pets." "Katherine McDonogh's argument that pet dogs in the French Revolution were shown to be superior to kennel dogs, in being pedigreed and therefore elite, and to symbolize the idle and dissolute aristocracy." "Yet the pug also symbolizes the decadence and laziness of the idle rich." "Beth Dixon points out that women being connected to animals in literature shows that women are bodily, natural, and emotional, therefore closer to being animals themselves than men are." "the pug, while an understandable presence, still evokes and symbolizes the evils of modernity which it has been adopted to alleviate" "it also reprimands traditional culture for keeping women like her daughters Maria and Julia repressed to the point where they erupt in rebellion against strictures of all kinds, especially those prescribing lives as human lapdogs for themselves." Thoughts: I agree with the arguments presented in this criticism and I also find it interesting that such a subtle thing as a lapdog can have so much to say about Austen's purpose or at least one of her purposes to Mansfield Park.

Analytical Criticism- Heroic Duty Noted as a timeless classic, The Iliad by Homer portrays a vast array of emotions through detailed imagery and character concentration. However, it has become evident that much of the emotions portrayed by each character are of similar origin to that of other Greek Mythology, this emotion being of helpless humans at the mercy of powerful, vengeful gods. Set in a time of war and destruction between both the Trojans and the Achaeans, writers from CMLC argue that it is not only the men that fight one another but also the gods that persuade the humans to do so. "Although Homer presents an extremely harsh world in which human beings appear destined to suffer as the mere playthings of the gods and fate…" (CMLC). CMLC claim that Homer is quite stereotypical in his use of Greek Gods and their relations with humans. They also claim that the contrast between the harshness of Gods and the susceptibility of humans demonstrates mans gentle nature even in a time of war. Overall writers of CMLC critique Homer's use of Greek Mythology and the common portrayal of man. The structure of this critique is weak at best and demonstrates a choppy analysis of The Iliad. This is so due to the tendency of this article to jump from one topic to another with a lack of transition. The ill-prepared structure of the article inadvertently has a negative impact on the focus as well leaving it poorly adjusted and inconsistent. However, the topic of the article is well thought out and continues to make intelligent and unobvious observations about both Homer and The Iliad throughout the piece. It is of my conclusion that the writers of this critique have the belief that Homer although renowned for his unique stories is more unique in his writing technique than he was of his stereotypical stories. There is unfortunately some bias that these writers face, being of the twentieth century much of Greek Mythology is easily accessible unlike in the age of Homer

Argument Steinbecks main influence from the Pearl was drawn from the oppression and pain he saw during and after world war 2. The Pearl takes on many darker tones than his previous works, showing steinbeck had lost a lot of faith in humanity, and the corruption of man due to greed. Evidence -novella is "permeated with the special sort of impotent and sullen bitterness which only an oppressed and subject people know." - "organismal view of life, his belief that men can work together to fashion a better, more productive, and more meaningful life, seemed less and less applicable to the world he saw around him." -denied basic human rights; they have been marginalized and disenfranchised. The money they earn from diving for pearls is not enough to adequately feed, shelter, and educate themselves and their families -This doctor was not of his people. This doctor was of a race which for nearly four hundred years had beaten and starved and robbed and despised Kino's race Analysis Steinbecks pessimism is clearly seen throughout both of his novels, however thier is a more melancholic tone within The Pearl. Although Grapes of Wrath displays many sad mooments, the death of Kino's son and the opression his people face is unparralled to what the Joads suffer through

References Dolls house, which describes "Women on a pedestal" and views of women.

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a book about women in Afghan and their struggles. In the article Harvey Thompson discuses the problems women face in Khaled's book A Thousand Splendid Suns. "At first, Mariam shows only contempt towards the "interloper," but slowly a friendship develops between the two women. They make common cause and endure degradation, starvation and brutality at the hands of their husband until they are forced to take up a desperate, joint struggle." This shows how women are treated. These women lives are mostly like property being married off to much older men, and having their children. Why have to be a mother at the age of 15 is beyond me but this it's their religion and they are not able to change this life. Thompson also discusses the problems of relationship destroyed at such young ages. For example, Mariam and her father. "The story begins in 1974, as Mariam, an illegitimate child of a wealthy businessman from Herat, is growing up. Her father did not have the courage to marry her mother after "dishonouring" her" (Thompson). The tragedy behind this lost relationship is that her father was the one to marry her off Mariam. Many problems are seen throughout both of Khaled's book. The main factor of both is relationship problems. "Hosseini was born in Kabul, where his father worked for the Afghanistan Foreign Ministry. In 1970, the family moved to the Iranian capital where Hosseini's father worked for the Embassy of Afghanistan. In 1973, Hosseini's family returned to Kabul" (Thompson). It almost seem that he has had some problems within his own family making him want the world to know what happens behind close doors.

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.

Estella is generally viewed as a mean and heartless character, which is what she was raised to be. She was cruel to him, as she was to all men. Though, according to Lucille P. Shores, Pip fails to realize that Estella really shows her affection for him in her own way. Pip is subject to her constant mockery and insults, and yet when he fights over her with Herbert she rewards him with a kiss. Estella knows all too well that she has been warped by the demented Miss Havisham, this is why she warns him away from her. She has strong feelings for him, maybe not of love but certainly of admiration, and that is why she cannot subject him to her grating personality. Shores submits that Estella "knows that she cannot make Pip happy, and she has too much affection for him to link her unhappy life with his", she refuses to ruin his life by her presence. Therefore her rejection of him is possibly her greatest gift to him, at least in her own eyes. When Pip sees hatred and scorn, Estella is really trying to show her admiration and fondness of him. When Estella and Pip first meet as adults, Estella looks at Pip, looks at her shoe, and then back to Pip and laughs. Shores states that at this point Dickens perfectly captures a woman's subconscious feelings toward a man she feels attracted to, and yet to the naïve Pip it is just more rejection from Estella. Shores, Lucille P. "'The Character of Estella in Great Expectations." Massachusetts Studies in English (Fall 1972): 91-99. Rpt. in Novels for Students. Ed. Marie Rose Napierkowski. Vol. 4. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Literature Resource Center. Web. 23 Jan. 2011.

TIME Magazine's "Books: The Strength of One" draws similarities between Kesey's McMurphy from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Hank Stamper from Sometimes a Great Notion. Both characters possess strength not often seen in one person and characteristics that could categorize them as antiheros. They are rough and tough and seek to stand up against what the feel is wrong and will use force to do so. This article presents the theme of Sometimes a Great Notion to be "the weakness of the strong and the persistent tensility of the weak". The townspeople within the novel can't stand to see Stamper win in the final "battle", but they are confused when he begins to lose. Kesey understands that intolerable as a good man may be to men, his defeat is even more so. This is the major paradox presented within the novel and explains the prominence of strength captured in both books. This article presents strong ideas that are tied in with the plot very well, however the author did not include quotes, which would have provided more support for the conclusions. The connections to the author included in the article suggest that the author has thorough knowledge into Kesey's background and his motives for writing each novel. It was almost as if the author was in Kesey's mind while writing this piece. The author drew parallels between Kesey's works and Greek mythology that posed interesting thoughts for the reader. Overall, Ken Kesey's ideas are transferred well in this article and are analyzed with a fresh outlook.

John Steinbeck portrays a committed man in many of his works, as he struggles through the hardships presented to him to acheive happiness. This ortrayal of the common man is a recurring theme within his novels, as these men are then tortured by outside forces, such as those representing capitalism. Evidence - "committed man" who develops a conscious responsibility for his own behavior coupled with a conscience that is at the service of his people -Steinbeck's talent for combining undistorted perception with a conversational narrative style, one that deals so serenely with issues often approached hysterically that readers suffering from wartime pressures frequently missed the understated points -portrayal of man's slow metamorphosis from victim to victor -new kind of hero for a war-weary and disillusioned world is evident only in retrospect Analysis This portrayal of steinbeck parralles that of his socialist agenda, a common recurrence in many articles I have previously read. Throughout the Pearl the main character is taken advantage of, most of the forces symbolizing the wealthy.

Argument: The argument is that Jane Austen's purpose for writing Pride and Prejudice is to help to show social idealism and the question "the system" of the time period in regards to politics, marriage, feminism, and other social problems. Evidence:"Austen subtly and ironically points out faults in the system, raising questions about the values of English society and the power structure of the country." "the novel seems to work toward an ideological balance and an alteration in the fundamental aspects of these characters" "the most prominent trends in criticism of Pride and Prejudice have derived from the perspectives of literary feminism, including analysis of the novel's view of female oppression," Thoughts: The criticsim discusses the main themes of Austen's novels and points out her attempt to pursuade and her idealism on the consepts of marriage, and social standing. The critic also stresses the idea that Austen's books protesteed male dominance and the amount of power that men had in society compared to women. also talked about is Austen's control over language and the way that she makes her points with eloquence and captivating plots.