The Grapes of Wrath is clearly a controversial novel that challenges predominant themes and ideas in contemporary American life, together with the time in which it was written. Two of these themes may be seen to be the relationship between economic freedom and individual happiness and the idea that the...

In John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, having a dream helps the men by giving them hope and meaning. George and Lennie both talk about their unique dream of the farm they hope to own, and it becomes clear that this dream is something that keeps them moving forward...

Viktor Frankl’s book Man’s Search for Meaning describes his experiences in the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz (Frankl 1985). These experiences inspired his ideas concerning meaning and meaninglessness. In a sense what makes Frankl’s ideas so powerful is that he was able to himself find—and to stress the importance of anyone,...

Ann Moody’s book Coming of Age in Mississippi is a powerful memoir that describes what it is like to develop into a full-fledged civil rights activist in Mississippi during a difficult time. Moody is a person who would eventually become a powerful voice for equal rights, but it did not...

Introduction In a very real sense, Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is a novel completely centered on symbolism. The mark of the title, so critical to the life and identity of Hester Prynne, dominates every page, as Hester's fate is the crux of the novel. This is not unexpected in...