De minimis

World Literature has many things to offer as a college class. For instance, a student has the opportunity to obtain knowledge of different authors and their culture as well as the impact their works had on literature, however, some works has bigger impacts than others and therefore are critical to be taught in a World Literature course. If I were a World Literature instructor, The Iliad, The Prince and Don Quixote would be the three works that I would have to include into my curriculum. These…

There are many effects prejudices have on both historical and modern societies. These prejudices are apparent in Price of Love and La Traviata, where the female protagonists are each harshly judged by society for their professions. Montaigne thoroughly addressed such prejudices and decoded societal perceptions of “barbarous” acts. Modern societies as a whole, however, are often quick to place judgements without offering resolutions. In both Price of Love and La Traviata, the female protagonists…

Existentialism is a philosophy that the choices individual makes should be responsible for it and should accept their own act without consent of other people. Its beliefs are centred on the idea of finding the meaning of life through different choices and situations. In the view of existentialist, this world is meaningless and absurd. It is the way that let external factor affect us that determine who we are. As individuals we have freedom to make our own choices and that’s what life's all…

Throughout the poem “Alone” by Maya Angelou, the speaker implies that no one can last long in the world with no one on his or her side. The poem starts off as the speaker yearns for a home where she can quench her thirst and where food is always offered, then soon realises that she and everyone who is on their own cannot live with joy for long, since time will soon leave that joy behind. Even the rich, who have all the wealth in the world, cannot survive alone, as happiness is an emotion…

Phonies, or a fake people are those with multiple identities. These people act different in public and private, or in different groups of people. Phonies have been criticized in literature for hundreds of years, but one of the most notable times, and possible the first time it was criticized was in Shakespeare's Othello. Shakespeare uses characters in Othello, such as Iago, Othello and Desdemona, to show how the worst of people usually have an extreme difference in their identities, while the…

The plot is unexpectedly very much complex and dramatic. The author prefers a family with many friends and associates, she tries within its limited range in order to make it as difficult as possible and she is not pleased with plainly writing two or four characters in isolation. There is clearly an initial situation in the plot because the Bennets have five daughter, none of them is married, no money and a very overly pushy mother who is keen to marry them off to a wealthy man. Then comes…

Mathlide Loisel, who was born on the opposite side of the economic spectrum that she believes she should have been. Madame Loisel was never comfortable with who she was. “The Diamond Necklace” is a short story written in 1884 by a French writer Guy de Maupassant. The short but interesting story is about a “pretty and charming” young lady, Mathlide might have been gorgeous but she was still full of greed and stubbornness. Mathlide was never comfortable with who she really was. She always…

Feminism is the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes. While the Feminist Movement is important in the present day, the play written in 1947 by Tennessee Williams became known for its portrayal of the dynamics between men and women. In the play, Streetcar Named Desire, feminism plays the main role. Taking place after the second world war, the men of this play assume that they have more power than women. While, in reality, the women have the same or greater strength…

Miguel de Cervantes’ universally known work, Don Quixote of the Mancha, uses zany characters and outrageous adventures to comment on the old art of chivalry and its absence from contemporary society. The protagonist of the tale, Don Quixote, and his squire, Sancho Panza, venture 17th century Spain following the codes of chivalry, as any Knight-errant should. Chivalry values loyalty, self-control, perseverance, generosity, respect, and honor. Though he cherishes chivalry, Don Quixote, ironically…

Loyalty is not a word, it is a lifestyle. This is shown time and again by the characters in The Godfather by Mario Puzo. The Godfather is a crime novel written by Mario Puzo and was first published in 1969 and later inspired a film of the same name in 1972, sequels to which were made in 1974 and 1990. The story of The Godfather follows a mafia family in New York over the span of a decade. The family in the novel…