"A Soldier’s Home" by Ernest Hemingway

“So his mother prayed for him and then they stood up and Krebs kissed his mother and went out of the house. He had tried so to keep his life from being complicated. Still, none of it had touched him. He had felt sorry for his mother and she had made him lie. He would go to Kansas City and get a job and she would feel all right about it. There would be one more scene maybe before he got away.”

So many times we are forced to overcome the consequences of mental and emotional burden after we have dealt with impacting and shattering moments in our lives. A Soldier’s Home is a look into a returning soldier from World War I who is in a state of severe emotional distort. It is obvious to him and his family that he is struggling with finding peace and compromise within himself as he puts up barricades to hide the fact that he can’t move on from the damage the war had done him. It is in the recovering phase that we lose ourselves the most. However, eventually we end up having to find our identity, no matter how much resistance we put forth.

"Son" by John Updike

"I love touching him, but I don’t dare.


"He feels the boy with his talent, should be more aggressive”

The strategies of parenting naturally change over time, but all fathers of all generations have the same thing in common when it comes to their relationships with their sons, all want a compromise and an understanding to exist between them. Maintaining a stable relationship and remaining on good terms with a parent and child is an obstacle and Updike shows all the aspects that many fathers and sons have most likely seen in their lifetimes. A son may feel antagonized by a well-meaning father, while a father may feel more and more disconnected when his intentions aren’t fulfilled, and their relativity goes astray. Either way, it is shown that both son and father hold imperfections in the way their thoughts are interacted, but ultimately the most wanted goal between the two is a happy medium.

"Nature" by Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and the heart of the child. The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other; who has retained the spirit of infancy even into the era of manhood. His intercourse with heaven and earth becomes part of his daily food. In the presence of nature, a wild delight runs through the man, in spite of real sorrows.”


Discovering yourself for many can mean venturing out in the outside nature to truly get away and have your personal time to analyze who you are and what meaning you can hold. Emerson describes in nature that a genuine and real impacting time of self-discovery can occur in nature, because of its innocent surroundings, and its unaffecting youthfulness that one achieves when being in a state of solitude. So often, as we age we take for granted the small and natural essences of life that we once so much appreciated before. So eventually as time progresses, nature to only a few, or perhaps even those who allow themselves to accept a moment of separation from the materialistic dilemmas they have, can really see and appreciate rare experiences nature can offer.

"Winter Dreams" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

“At a little after seven Judy Jones came down-stairs. She wore a blue silk afternoon dress, and he was disappointed at first that she had not put on something more elaborate. This feeling was accentuated when, after a brief greeting, she went to the door of a butler's pantry and pushing it open called: "You can serve dinner, Martha." He had rather expected that a butler would announce dinner, that there would be a cocktail. Then he put these thoughts behind him as they sat down side by side on a lounge and looked at each other.”

Being overly ambitious with your goals will always lead you to disappointment and a bitter ending. Many will admire Fitzgerald’s style because it all revolves around one theme, the obtaining of the American dream. The main character, Dexter sees the only to solution to his unhappy life through one woman, Judy Jones. His dreams involve her as the perfect and angelic wife, with an established name, a lavish lifestyle, and the envy of the many men that had Judy once before. As Judy is the epitome of promise and vitality, her imperfections eventually reveal. Dexter however does not marry her, which in the long run is more beneficial than if he decided to engage in a commitment with her. It is really a lesson than you shouldn’t be so discontent with life because if a person can only be happy when all their visions and greedy goals can be attained, and then life will just continue to remain a pure fantasy instead of a crisp reality

"Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway

'And you think then we'll be all right and be happy.'
'I know we will. Yon don't have to be afraid. I've known lots of people that have done it.'
'So have I,' said the girl. 'And afterwards they were all so happy.'
'Well,' the man said, 'if you don't want to you don't have to. I wouldn't have you do it if you didn't want to. But I know it's perfectly simple.'

The subject of abortion lays sensitive upon many couples. For some it’s a way out and a solution that can be grasped in a quick agreement. Hemingway’s story is in itself is a lesson of how the push and pull between a serious matter that can sometimes be a never-ending decision that leads to ultimate sacrifice. The couple Hemingway describes is torn on whether they should carry on with abortion while waiting at a train station in Barcelona. As the woman looks around, the scenery captures her. Hills that look like white elephants emphasize the purity and lost innocence of a baby, while many other surrounding elements represent the couple’s situation. Mostly, the man is for the idea of abortion and convinces her that abortion is a good plan that will help in their future. The waiting of the train does eventually come to an end which foreshadows the decision the two must make now and never look back on. Sadly, like most things in life, the two do not come to a resolution.

William Faulkner, Banquet Speech 1950

“Our tragedy today is a general and universal physical fear so long sustained by now that we can even bear it. There are no longer problems of the spirit. There is only the question: When will I be blown up? Because of this, the young man or woman writing today has forgotten the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself which alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about, worth the agony and the sweat.”

As Faulkner accepted his Nobel Prize in Literature in 1950, he made it clear that present writing was in a predicament. Writing by now had drifted away from internal feelings and issues concerning personal conflict. Instead writers focused on modern quandaries and harsh realities that were occurring in their era. True literature for a while for Faulkner had been lost and disoriented from the writing that once pertained to the problems of the human heart and spirit. Deep issues were in fact being avoided during the transition of classic literature into contemporary view. While the fear of retrogressing back to classic literature occupied writers in that time, Faulkner stressed the importance of relearning the old tools of good writing which are, exploring into human conflict.

“The Strenuous Life” by Theodore Roosevelt

“A life of slothful ease, a life of that peace which springs merely from lack either of desire or of power to strive after great things, is as little worthy of a nation as of an individual. I ask only that what every self-respecting American demands from himself and from his sons shall be demanded of the American nation as a whole.”


America is a nation of ideals that constantly tries to perfect its society by striving for excellence among its peoples. In his speech Roosevelt stresses the significance of embracing effort while working to benefit the nation and take responsibility of the conflict America faces. The strenuous life, of which he describes, is reality with all its obstacles and hindrance that we have to be prepared to overcome with great toil in order to obtain victory. Roosevelt had one message to convey to his citizens and that was for America to be a healthy nation, people had to defeat difficulties and not avoid them and let past mistakes improve present strategy to achieve success. Unlike how many values are today, Roosevelt people needed to embody not the life of ease, but effort to be accomplished.

“Why Literature Matters” by Dana Gioia

“Reading is not a timeless, universal capability. Advanced literacy is a specific intellectual skill and social habit that depends on a great many educational, cultural, and economic factors. As more Americans lose this capability, our nation becomes less informed, active, and independent-minded.”

It is already known that reading has many advantages, but not only with the lack of fundamentals from literature do we not acquire knowledge, we also miss opportunities. Gioia proves that the decline in reading will later affect young adults later with life problems. Characteristics such as fully understanding works of writing and being an overall good reader is expected in the real world. Though it may be an infinitive element in education, literature is still at risk because for many, it is not something to get enthusiastic for. The significance and comprehension of literature should never perish because it’s not just another capability to have, or another obligation to fulfill, it is a much needed skill in which we can all benefit from.

“A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift

“. . . these children are seldom the fruits of marriage, a circumstance not much regarded by our savages therefore one male will be sufficient to serve four females.”

Swift incorporates very humorous and outrageous propositions in his satire towards Irish economy. He proposes that the only way to aide and stabilize Ireland’s poor conditioned economy is to put poor children good use by being sold for labor and refers to them during his entire proposal, as animals to be sold. The overall purpose was to mock the courses of action taken by Ireland because at the time the conditions of the country were not strong, and the only possible solutions thought were ridiculous . To further add more sarcasm and comical relief, Swift admits that he would never even consider such a proposal.

“The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age” by Sven Birkerts

"A combination of new technology, new habits, and untold hours once available for books given over to screen activities, such as surfing, gaming, e-mail, and instant messaging, have made reading less prevalent."

While time has changed, so has the generation with all its new contributions and inventions to society. Technology and media have replaced new habits making the act of gaining knowledge through literature more easily attainable with electronic shortcuts. People in this age have now become so reliant on the conveniences of technology, and I don’t think ignoring the values of reading should be completely put aside, even if reading isn’t your main priority. Birkerts writes that with technology and media replacing the old habits and activities of comprehending literature for most young adults, they lose the process of connecting with writing and consequently have a hard time in their future because the skill of reading was lost.

“The Love Song of Alfred J. Prufrock” by T.S. Elliot

“We have lingered in the chambers of the sea
By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown
Till human voices wake us, and we drown.”

Eliot demonstrates in his poem how modern society has lost the genuine signification of a hero. Heroes of before were people of action fulfilling their potentialities, but now people have lacked in their heroism by becoming observers, while the adventures of life are only being watched.

“what if a much of a wind” by E.E. Cummings

“what if a much of a which of a wind
gives the truth to summer's lie;
bloodies with dizzying leaves the sun
and yanks immortal stars awry?”

“what if a much of a wind” reveals the determination of the human spirit and its ability to avoid destruction and to live through devastation. With all the misfortunes life will offer, the will to sustain it all becomes the absolute survival. Cummings uses the element of individualism to portray in his art, that the virtues and wants of a person, can easily shape the meaning of poetry.

“Birches” by Robert Frost

“Summer or winter, and could play alone.One by one he subdued his father's treesBy riding them down over and over againUntil he took the stiffness out of them,And not one but hung limp, not one was left For him to conquer. He learned all there wasTo learn about not launching out too soonAnd so not carrying the tree away Clear to the ground.”

The main focal point of “Birches” is the image of life and its tribulations as time passes and as a person ages. The symbolism of aging and weakening birches portrays that being older comes with more hardships compared to the carefree life of childhood that many wish they could revert to. Frost uses realistic depictions by nature to further describe afflictions in life that everyone has faced.

“somewhere i have never travelled” by E.E. Cummings

“nothing which we are to perceive in this world equalsthe power of your intense fragility: whose texturecompels me with the colour of its countries,rendering death and forever with each breathing”

Cummings explains the complexity of love in “somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond”. Finding the one who completes you achieves not only happiness but fulfills the desire to be close and exist as one with another. Travelling to and experiencing another level of joy is where one usually goes when identifying another aspect of who they are, through another person.

“Design” by Robert Frost

"And dead wings carried like a paper kite. What had that flower to do with being white,The wayside blue and innocent heal-all?What brought the kindred spider to that height,Then steered the white moth thither in the night?"

Frost wanted to expose the dark realities of life through nature. The mystery of why the moth had to be captured by the spider on the delicate heal-all shows that in the ironic design of nature, violence and sudden death happen everywhere, even in the small and insignificant things in life.

“The moon is distant from the sea” by Emily Dickinson

"The Moon is distant from the Sea—And yet, with Amber Hands—She leads Him—docile as a Boy—Along appointed Sands—"

Dickinson describes her own personal relationship between her and a man that she once loved by comparing their affiliation to the distant sea and the moon. Herself the distant sea, and her lover the moon. Simply written, Dickinson writes with hidden complexity expressing the love she shared. As they both fall in love, she tries to keep their relationship well and alive and tries to lead them to everlasting happiness. While the moon stays distant and away from her for all of her life, they are forever attached as long as the moon shines upon the sea.

"Through the Tunnel" by Doris Lessing

Soon he was clear inside. He was in a small rock-bound hole filled with yellowish-gray water. The water was pushing him up against the roof. The roof was sharp and pained his back. He pulled himself along with his hands—fast, fast—and used his legs as levers.


A true story of determination and stepping out of the comfort zone is exactly what Jerry pursues when he tries to tackle swimming under the long underwater tunnel for himself alone. In this short story Jerry exemplifies the great amount of courage and preparation it takes to battle personal fears to gain personal pride. As dangerous as it may seem for a young boy his age, Jerry overcame his underwater anxiety and swam through the tunnel, almost dying on the way up. Through the Tunnel demonstrates the great amount of endurance we all had when it came to dealing with our obstacles.

"The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst

"He didn't answer so I gently lifted his head. He toppled backward onto the earth. He had been bleeding from the mouth, and his neck and the front of his shirt were stained a brilliant red."

Perhaps one of literature’s most true to life short story, The Scarlet Ibis looks into the life of two brothers, one named Doodle born with unfortunate disability that wasn’t even expected to live. The older brother is constantly disappointed in his weakness and normalcy but realizes how great his little brother’s worth and love is when he dies in the field because his lungs collapsed after playing in the rain. Just like a fragile and beautiful scarlet ibis, Doodle died of complete innocence with bright red surrounding his body.

"The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe

“My friend no. It is not the engagement but you are the sever cold with which I perceive you are afflicted.”

Revenge is a lightly used term in The Cask of Amontillado as mad man Montressor seeks vengeance on his nobleman friend Fortunado. Intoxicating Fortunado and promising him a show of the finest sherry in town, Montressor entombs his friend alive in the damp and inaccessible wine cellars leaving him to die a slow and painful death. The whole story revolves around several puns and ironic situations that occur to give the reader a sense of what fate the two men will meet.

"The Interlopers" by Saki

“The two enemies stood glaring at one another for a long silent moment. Each had a rifle in his hand, each had hate in his heart and murder uppermost in his mind. The chance had come to give full play to the passions of a lifetime.”

The consequences of holding a never-ending feud are highly emphasized in the short story that Saki warns his readers about. Two men, Georg and Ulrich have hated each other ever since the dispute of land possession had erupted and had never been decided between the two. When both men go into the forest to kill each other both are instead attacked by nature when a birch tree falls on them leaving them helplessly pinned to ground. As they lay in the night their hatred dies down, and they eventually reach a compromise. However, no happy ending is gained, when suddenly a hungry pack of wolves approach the two stuck men. A story of man versus man, man versus nature, and man versus himself, Saki leaves the reader shocked and perplexed at the sight they just read.