.... that allowed Chaucer to delve into the character of the individual and examine the relationship between human ideals and human realities. Chaucer lived in a unique position through out his life that allowed him to bridge the wide canyon between the remote aristocracy and the sometimes volatile lower class. Chaucer was born into the upper middle class, a social strata that was mostly unacknowledged. The Medieval middle class was neither aristocracy nor Plebian; however, the middle class was increasingly important to medieval society and culture. As the son of a well to do wine merchant, Geoffrey Chaucer lived in close proximity with the lower classes, no doubt becom ....

.... his concern. The novel opens in 1775, with a comparison of England and pre-revolutionary France. While drawing parallels between the two countries, Dickens also alludes to his own time: "the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only" (1; bk. 1, ch. 1). The rest of the chapter shows that Dickens regarded the condition to be an 'evil' one, since he depicts both countries as rife with poverty, injustice, and violence due to the irresponsibility of the ruling elite (1-3; bk. 1, ch. 1). As the novel unfolds, however, England becomes a safe haven ....

.... as in the nurseries and schools. Competitive individualistic approaches to life, with their hostility toward connectedness, disappear in Herland, and its women are able to relate to each other without dominating each other. It is no wonder that the three American explorers--Terry, Jeff and Van --who stumble on Herland are shocked and confused. Before they arrive, they joke about the mythical land, assuming that there must be men it, since women could not possibly cooperate well enough, or be competent enough, to run a country. When they see how successfully Herland is run, only one of them, Va ....

.... or leadership roles in society. Legend holds that when Abraham Lincoln met Stowe in 1682 he said, "So you're the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war". The impact of Uncle Tom's Cabin did more to arouse antislavery sentiment in the N orth and provoke angry rebuttals in the south than any other event in antebellum era. Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896), born Lichfeild, Connecticut, was the daughter, sister, and wife of liberal clergymen and theologians. Her father Lyman and brother Henry Ward were two of the most preeminent theologians of the nineteenth century. This extremely devout Christian upbringing, focusing on the doctrines of si ....

.... son with his wife Sarah. An angel prophesied to Hagar. “his hand shall be against every man, and every man’s hand against him.” (Genesis 16:12). The name “Ishmael” has since become used commonly for an outcast, which is “quite timely since he is nothing more than a tenderfoot when it comes to whaling and is viewed as n outcast to the other sailors upon the Pequod.” (Donahue 18). Another biblical allusion is that of the prophet Elijah and Captain Ahab. Elijah warms Queequeg and Ishmael of Ahab. Ishmael says that he and Queequeg and boarding the Pequod because they have just “signed the articles” (Melville 68) and ....

.... 1863, James and his older brother William attended Harvard. James left his studies to pursue his writing career. William graduated from Harvard and became one of the most prominent American philosophers and psychologists of his time. James began his professional writing career with book reviews for the North American Review. His first short story, “The Story of the Year,” appeared in Atlantic Monthly in 1865. In 1866, the James family moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts. James had his first novel, Watch and Ward serialized in Atlantic Monthly in 1871. In 1877, James wrote The American, while visiting Paris and Rome. In 1878, The Watch and Ward appeared in bo ....

.... novel we see fully how fear can turn into murder and rape. Not just murder and rape in the physical sense, but in the emotional and mental sense as well. Not only is Bigger Thomas and the life that he lived an example but the very language that is used by the people around him. They are living in fear of what they have created and contribute to everyday. The mere fact that they do not see a problem is evidencing enough of this fear. As bigger thinks, they are fearful of losing control. I cannot help but think about a zookeeper putting himself in danger to imprison an animal of the wild. It is basically the same thing. The zookeeper has captured some wild animal and tried to ....

.... but a raft don't. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft. He resents the objectives and beliefs and the so-called "civilized" people of the society around him. He disbelieves what societal beliefs have been ingrained in his mind since his birth, which is shown by his close friendship with Jim, a runaway slave. The river is the only form of separation from this society which Huck has access to, but it still does not completely separate them from what they disbelieve in. Although the river allows them some measure of freedom at once, the moment they set foot on Jackson's Island or the raft and although only on the raft do they have a chance to practice that ....