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In a literary criticism by Charlotte Hadella, she states that the Eden biblical allusion plays a major part in the development of characters and the American Dream. Nearing the end, the Eden myth haunts Lennie and George because of Curly's wife, a woman dictates the failure of their dream. Hadella claims that even before they enter the ranch that their dream begins doomed. While in the ranch, the fact that the land owners that he wants to buy from have to sell raises a red flag on their dream, that if they could make it off the land, how could they possible accomplish that same feat. Yet, that breaking point fact gets overlooked in the pursuit of their dream because if they think on their plan George will see that they are banished from Eden before they can enter. Usable Quotes: "When George talks about the actual farm that he intends to buy for himself and Lennie, he explains to Candy that he can get the place for a really cheap price, "for six hundred bucks. The ole people that owns it is fiat bust." Apparently, the present owners of George's dream farm are not able to live "off the fat of the land," a detail that both he and Candy conveniently overlook,"(Hadella). "The Garden of Eden myth "looms large" in Of Mice and Men, and Steinbeck appropriates Edenic elements to convey his personal interpretation of the American Dream,".

Argument: That the problem with trying to write a literary criticism on TKAM is that there isn't anything to criticize. Claim: That TKAM is ranked as one of the most influential books in Americans' lives. Evidence: "To Kill a Mockingbird sells about a million copies per year, for a total of 30 million to date, and is consistently ranked in reader surveys as the most influential book in Americans' lives, after, of course, the Bible."

Argument: The theme of the story is derived from the characters' setting and other factors, not the characters themselves. Claim: "Christmas's response to Freedman Town is not the only time heresponds to African Americans in this way. It actually echoes several otheroccasions on which he responds to African Americans, not as a mass, butas individuals whose individuality and language he fails to understand." Evidence: "Focusing on the unstable margins of Jefferson,and presenting the role of African Americans as an unbridgeable gap atthe heart of the text." "Faulkner provides in Light in August an even moreeloquent expression of the southern need for social change."

Dawson, Janis. "Literary Relations: Anne Shirley And Her American Cousins." Children's Literature In Education 33.1 (2002): 29-51. Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 Jan. 2012.

Argument: The American dream is something that George and Lennie want in their lives. Claim: Each of their "dreams" consists of owning a farm

In the literary criticism by Louis Owens, Of Mice and Men: the Dream of Commitment, Owens portrays the American Dream with a biblical Eden. Owens claims that the people in Steinbeck's novel have the curse of Cain, or to wonder in isolation. That's where Lennie and George come into the picture, to defy their curse. Owens states how Lennie and George upon first introduction are different from the other characters in the novel. They have a joint dream that they are committed to see it become a reality. Lennie, according to Owens, resembles the loner of society. He threatens their commitment to the dream that reality fights. George's commitment rises when he kills Lennie, but when Lennie dies their dream dies with him. 2 usable quotes: "George must reenact the crime of Cain to demonstrate the depth of his commitment. It is a frank acceptance of the way things are," (Owens pg. 149). "The dream of George and Lennie represents a desire to defy the curse of Cain and fallen man-to break the pattern of wandering and loneliness imposed on the outcasts and return to the perfect garden," (Owens pg. 146). http://web.ebscohost.com.lib.chandleraz.gov/lrc/pdf?vid=3&hid=123&sid=44d44b9f-8779-4dc6-841c-0ddc9776cc45%40sessionmgr114

Louisa Ermelino's article comprises an interview done with Khaled Hosseini, author of A Thousand Splendid Suns and The Kite Runner. Expressed in the text and through Hosseini's own words, a picture of not only his personality, but his conception of Afghan culture arrives in strong concentration. And although the article focuses on his 'up and coming' novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, the author focuses on both Hosseini and his work. Stated in the article, Hosseini published his first book with 'obscurity.' A book like The Kite Runner had never reached such a great popularity. Hosseini wrote the books as an Afghani-American. His culture comes from that found in Afghanistan, yet he must part his own culture due to the fact he does not believe in the extremes found in Islam. Separating cultures and influences gave Hosseini an unadulterated view of Afghanistan, one filled with both love and misery for such a rich culture with social destitute. Yet, he writes about controversial topics, forced to when much is unknown and hidden in the Afghani culture. Hosseini states this himself, saying when he addresses sex in A Thousand Splendid Suns, "'Sex is such a taboo subject in Afghanistan, but it's a need or a means to something, and I wanted to write about these women in the full scope of their lives, spiritual and physical. In a society where invisibility is modesty, this is scandalous'" he brings out the underlying area in their society in both novels, areas many, even in the States, are uncomfortable with. Through his writing Hosseini plans to redefine Afghan culture, to reintroduce it through the eyes of two young women. Because they are women, burqas come to represent them rather than repress them, though, with some limitations, "For the urban women, the burqa was a disaster, but in the villages, many women wear it by choice, and this is the least of their problems, even though it's so visible to the West" and with new cultural understanding of Afghani

women and the roles their clothing plays when representing them. Khaled Hosseini gives a strong and fresh view of his people and culture in the twenty first century, which helps to shape the book and the characters within.

Argument: The point that "Gatsby and the pursuit of happiness" makes is the different motives that Gatsby had in the book and how his actions were interpreted by other characters such as Nick Carraway. Claims: Even though Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan have acquired wealth, Gatsby acquired it out of his own actions while Buchanan simply inherited it. These circumstances do not truly matter, but instead what matters is what each character does with their wealth, such as their motives. The reason why Gatsby wanted to become rich was so that he could end up being with Daisy. He did illegal business and interacted with gangsters because he was so hopeless and desperate to gain money quickly. Evidence: "The most American, most winning, and most disquieting thing about Jay Gatsby is his casual assurance that nothing is settled merely because it has already happened. If we don't like the hand we're dealt, the world we live in, we have the right and duty to call for a new one." "The matter is more complicated than saying that Nick approves of the wealthy man who acquires a fortune while disapproving of the wealthy man who inherits one." "Nick's circumstances are such that he knows something about both inheriting money and trying to rise in the world."

In Brynie's critical analysis of Steinbeck's book, Tortilla Flat, she stated that Tortilla Flat has similar ideas found in Mice and Me. Yet, in this book Steinbeck establishes a frame that later George and Lenny are built upon. George and Lenny don't have a home or security, yet their dream involves what they do not have currently. Also Brynie comments on how Steinbeck favors the poor or natural man in his book and that Steinbeck closely ties his books to religion. From Brynie's critical analysis, the two books, Tortilla Flat and Of Mice and Men display many similar aspects but they are told in different ways to diversify the way of the American Dream. Usable Quotes: "Steinbeck exalts the natural man, untainted by civilization, unspoiled by either conventional wisdom or conventional morality," (Brynie). "It was the first of Steinbeck's novels to look at life through the eyes of those without homes, possessions, or security, and Danny and his friends foreshadow others of their kind who appear powerfully and poignantly," (Brynie).

Argument: Helena Silva, in her literary criticism of "My Sisters Keeper" argues that the advancements in biotechnology and genetic research are raising ethical questions of scope and the limits of genetic intervention. Claim: Silva argues that the advances in biotechnology and genetic research presented in Picoult's "My Sisters Keeper" are allowing doctors to intervene in the human genome preventing diseases. This intervention is raising concerns in the scientific community that might soon be able to take biological evolution into its own hands. Almost "playing God" in a sense. Evidence: "Playing God" is an expression commonly used to refer to this self-transformation of the species which, from the evidence, might soon be a reality" (Silva). "Jodi Picoult, an American novelist has been devoting her writings to several present-day events and controversial issues such as genetic engineering and the prospect of "savior siblings" with all its ethical implications" (Silva). "Anna wasconceived for a specific purpose and can't be forgotten because she is expected always to be ready for the welfare of her sister" (Silva).

Argument: Matthew Wynn Sivils argues that William Faulkner, in his novel "Sound and the Fury", uses ecological disturbances in his books from real life events. Claim: "The convict was bearing again that sound which he had heard twice before and would never forget-that sound of deliberate and irresistible and monstrously disturbed water." Sivils uses this quote from one of Faulkner's books, "If I Forget Thee, Jersualem", to mimic the forthcoming of a tsunami. Evidence: "The flourishing of Faulkner's literary career coincided with perhaps the worst period of environmental abuse the South has ever known, and it is unsurprising that he incorporates such desolation into his writing." "Faulkner's literary symbiosis between African Americans and the land helps reveal his environmental consciousness-his view of the South as a place of complicated racial and natural conflict." "Anyone who understands the effect of seasonal changes on the land and the relationships between animals, or knows the best place to hunt or fish is thinking not only environmentally but ecologically. This way of knowing the natural world is based upon an understanding of community, and few writers understood community, human or non human, as well as Faulkner"

Argument: The Giver is not just a 'controversial' and 'banned' book, but it also has much more depth in it that meets the eye; set within a distopic setting, Lowry uses the setting to construct a way to see into today's morality code as well as the reader's. Claims: *Irony over the censorship of the book *different views on what the book's meaning(s) are Evidence: *Lowry foreshadows this perplexing but hopeful ending when she describes Jonas as Keeper of the "memories of the whole world." Her message, finally, is that one cannot ignore uncomfortable memories; one must embrace a "whole" vision, which contains joy as well as pain, if one (or one's children) is/are ever to feel "at home" in the world. *Through Jonas, Lowry argues for the preservation of a kind of creative vision, a vision which every community needs if it is to benefit from its citizens' differences and input. *The irony of censorship attacks on the novel is that The Giver dramatizes the plight of an individual living in a society that censors its peoples' language, emotions, and behaviors. This irony is compounded by the fact that most who would like to see The Giver censored confess that they have never read the novel in its entirety.

Argument: Needful Things is a satirical horror story. Claims: Society is too dependent upon the ideas of religion, we are not only ignorant of each other, but we trust each other too much. Evidence: "In every case, possessions bring out the worst in people. They think that acquiring things will make them happy, but they are paying for un-needful things with their precious humanity: They only feel more unhappy and more isolated in their misery. Needful Things is an indictment of the American consumer culture." (delaney)

Argument: King satirizes society and their dependence upon material things. Claims: The use of cell phones in the novel is effective because it is relateable to nearly all modern societies. Evidence:"King's use of cell phones as the mechanism to reduce the vast majority of Americans (the characters assume a worst-case worldwide scenario) to mindless zombies offers the opportunity for observation and commentary about the near-ubiquity of cell phones and society's infatuation with and dependence on them. Rather than develop this richly fertile ground for satire, though, King opts for a serious horror novel" (Avinger)