Literature Analysis notes

Lord of the Flies
Ralph, Jack, Simon, and Piggy are the characters
Ralph - Is the leader of the boys and is more focused on solving problems for each other and is the main character. The other two boys are just interested in playing.
Jack - sorta has a fetish for power.
Simon - is the good kid out of the 3
Piggy - is a fat kid who is introduced within the first chapter, is physically weak but part of the working class.

Scarlet Letter

1. The Scarlet letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a about a women (Hester Prynn) whom commits adultery and the child she conceived from the crime (Hester's daughter Pearl). Through out the book Hester and her daughter struggle through adversity. Whether it be kids teasing or Hester's Husband who as embarked on a quest for revenge against the man which Hester committed adultery with. Most of all, coping and living with a huge scarlet letter "A" that is embroidered on her chest, and hence where the title comes from.
2. Theme - Some secrets are just unbearable to with hold to yourself. An example of this would be Dimesdale dying after confessing his sin. Its
3. Tone: Gloomy - Descriptions of the people within Boston Massachusetts are gray colored, wearing gray clothes, etc...
                          - Overgrown vegetation around the jail and Massachusetts.
4. Symbols : - Rosebush growing near jail door, means that happiness can be found within the most odd places.
                    - Scarlet Letter, a symbol of shame
                    - Pearl, a consequence of Hester's actions
   Situational Irony : Dimesdale being a minister, a person of God and who interprets the meanings of Gods words is the man that which commits adultery with Hester.          

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

1)The book begins with the introduction of Chief Bromden. Bromden wakes up as a patient in a psychiatric ward run by Nurse Ratched. He is a tall man who is perceived to be a push over. The 3 black aides take advantage of this and make Bromden clean. While Bromden is in the ward he pretends to be slightly deaf and dumb in order to obtain secret information. The ward in which Bromden lives in is divided into 2 groups. The acutes and the chronics. "The Acutes" are considered curable where as "The Chronics" are not (the group Bromden belongs in). While at the ward the patients seem to all have problems with masculinity and the women tend to be an overpowering factor.
2) The theme of the novel is The over powering factor of women. Women play a prominent role in the Cuckoo's Nest. And they seem to deprave the patients of their own masculinity due to the fact that the ward only treats men.
3) Paranoia is one of the main tones in the book.

Catch-22

Catch-22, by Joseph Heller is about a bombardier named Yossarian in World War II, 1943. Yossarian tries everything to relieve himself of duty to return home, but fails every time because of the rule Catch-22. The rule states that a pilot has to ask to be grounded for insanity, but a pilot that ask must be sane because the sane people would never fly the bombing missions.

The centralized theme in Catch-22 is that war is irrational and completely absurd. Heller symbolizes this theme perfectly through the soldier in white. "Sewn into the bandages over the insides of both elbows were zippered lips through which he was fed clear fluid from a clear jar. A silent zinc pipe rose from the cement on his groin and was coupled to a slim rubber hose that carried waste from his kidneys and dripped it efficiently into a clear, stopper jar on the floor. When the jar on the floor was full, the jar on his elbow was empty, and the two were simply switched."

Joseph Heller uses a satirical tone through out the novel. Never stating directly whats funny and pointing out the bizarre in between the characters and situations. An example of this would be when the chaplain is interrogated in the cellar. The Officer states, "We accuse you also of the commission of crimes and infractions we don't even know about yet. Guilty or Innocent?" The chaplain replies, "I don't know, sir. How can I say if you don't tell me what they are first?"  A second example of Joseph Heller's satirical tone in Catch-22 is when Doc Daneeka is declared dead because of the flight list that Yossarian was putting his name on so he could get flight time without actually being on the plane. The military then gives the Doc's wife money because of his

The Invisible Man

1. Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison is about an African American  man (the narrator) who perceives himself to be invisible. During this time the narrator reflects on his past explaining why he is underground. We first find out that the narrator is living in the beginning of the Great Depression, where segregation is still eminent. At first the narrator is going to college, but soon gets expelled for showing a white trustee the wrong way African Americans are suppose to live their lives. After being expelled he goes to Harlem New York where he meets Mr. Emerson, one of the trustee's son. Mr. Emerson helps find him a job for a paint company. While on the job he passes out and losses his memory. This resulted in having electroshock therapy to help him regain is memory. Shortly after, he is offered to be a spokesmen for the Brother hood, a club that helps the oppressed. The Brother hood then moves him into an apartment and puts him in charge of all the brother hoods interest. In Response to moving up the chain pretty fast he receives a racist letter that tells him to remember his place. After he is soon moved to the Women's Rights organization branch. He then gets in trouble from the brotherhood for not asking permission to hold a funeral. Having found this out the narrator also figures out the brotherhoods intentions to beat him up. He runs and escapes the people sent to beat him up. As he is returning into Harlem he comes upon a riot. An anti brother hood member wants to hang the narrator. As the narrator is running yet again he falls down a manhole (where he is now). The narrator then tells the read of how he is ready to come out of the man hole and face his fear.

2. The theme of "Invisible Man" is don't ever be the person people expect you to be.