Essays and Research Papers on British Literature

A 5 page paper examining the exceptionally high level of education displayed by the Creature in Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein. The paper explains why such intellectuality would have been so important to Shelley, and what it proves about the Monster himself. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

A seven page paper looking at the issue of gender and its impact on behavior and personality as developed in Virginia Woolf’s 1928 novel. The paper explores Woolf’s argument that gender quite literally does not matter, and the fact that society makes so much of it is what is wrong with society. No additional sources.

A six page paper which considers how far it is accurate to say that these two works illustrate male domination and female passivity, with reference to the social and cultural themes which are also a vital element in the texts.

This 9 page paper considers the role of gender and race in Caryl Churchill's play 'Cloud Nine'. This play uses disruptive gender performances to illustrate the way in society has repressed and enforced its ideals on those who should have bee free to develop without the interference of pressurised expectations and enforced social perceptions. The ...

A five page analysis of E.M. Forster's extremely complex work. The paper shows how Forster's illustration of the colonizing process in 1920s India lays bare the deeply-lived ideology of both the imperialist and patriarchal British and the indigenous Indians themselves. Bibliography lists three sources.

This 5 page paper considers the issue of gender roles presented in Milton's Paradise Lost. This paper outlines some of the central views of Milton regarding the role of women in society and their subjugation through societal perspectives.

This 4 page paper discusses the way men are presented in the novels Middlemarch and Things Fall Apart. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A five page comparison of Mary Shelley's novel "Frankenstein" and Evelyn Fox Keller's nonfiction book "Reflections on Gender and Science." Particular stress is placed on the degree to which each author believes empiricism is gendered, and how the scientific community -- both in the nineteenth century and today -- has constructed and directed its own ...

A 10 page paper which examines how Thomas More’s “Utopia” can be read as a reflection of early Tudor society and as a commentary on the transition from Medieval to early modern Europe. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

4 pages in length. The writer discusses overall story adaptation as it relates to John Galsworthy's The Japanese Quince. No additional sources cited.

The Victorian Era – Its Gender Rules and Roles: This 10-page analytical essay examines the 19th century issues relevant to gender roles during the Victorian Era in Middlemarch, George Eliot’s novel, and E. M. Forster’s A Room with a View. Multiply examples of the morphing society are given, in addition to historians’ postulates relative ...

This 5 page report discusses Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s (1797-1851) “Frankenstein” and the ways in which serves as a metaphor for the social realities regarding gender in the early 19th century. The premise is that women are rejected in their efforts to be whole as surely as the monster was. In fact, the circumstances of the early 19th century would appear ...

This 3 page paper discusses the issues of gender, not necessarily female, in the works of Alice Walker and Virginia Woolf. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

4 pages in length. The writer discusses overall story adaptation as it relates to John Galsworthy's The Japanese Quince. No additional sources cited.

An 8 page paper which looks at D.H. Lawrence's book "The Rainbow" as well as the author and critical response. Bibliography lists 5 sources.

A 5 page paper which examines the similarities of these novels, such as how they are representative of their time periods, how they feature women who were clearly before their time, and how rigid socioeconomic class conventions dictated gender roles and marital compatibility. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

This 10 page paper examines the role of women in Virginia Woolf's novel "To the Lighthouse" and Shakespeare's play "Hamlet," and argues that in each work women are portrayed in both traditional and non-traditional gender roles. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

This 12 page paper considers the notion of authority and control in Chaucer's The Wife of Bath and Margery Kempe's autobiography The World of Margery Kempe. This paper recognizes the social, religious and legal limitations that were imposed on women, but also suggests that both Alison, Wife of Bath, and Margery Kempe took a ...

A seven page paper which takes a New Historicist critical perspective on Shakespeare's history plays, with particular reference to the Henry plays and Richard III. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

A 5 page paper which examines how the book can be understood in terms of the “isms” it discusses – Behaviorism, Utilitarianism, Communism, Darwinism, Freudianism, Atheism, Historicism – and how it considers the notion that history is nonsense and whether or not this conclusion is right or wrong. Bibliography lists 6 sources.

A 4 page research paper/essay that discusses a character--Jack--from William Golding's Lord of the Flies. Examination of this novel shows that the character of Jack demonstrates the traits that history attributes to Hitler. Like Hitler, Jack is an opportunist who takes advantage of his opponents' weaknesses in order to destroy them. Bibliography lists ...

This 10 page paper discusses three works by Virginia Woolf: A Sketch from the Past, A Room of Her Own, and Professions for Women. Quotes Cited from text. Discussion of feminism, themes, personal history, influences, style and voice offered. Bibliography lists 11 sources.

This 4 page paper explores this infamous novel. How the protagonist makes the case that the two worlds are in fact uniting is noted. No additional sources cited.

A 6 page overview of the life and accomplishments of Henry James, the author who although born American spent most of his time in London and other parts of Europe. Discusses the many factors which shaped James' literary style and concludes that, as his own brother observed, James' was a native to no country, ...

This 6 page paper compares Laura in The Glass Menagerie with Mabel in The Horse Dealer’s Daughter. Bibliography lists 5 sources.