Abstract
This paper discusses how when it was published in 1897, "Dracula" ,as a novel, engaged with many contemporary debates. In particular, it looks at the idea of colonial anxiety and how the character of Count Dracula serves as an appropriate metaphor for the fear of invasion, the fear of otherness and also the fear of becoming "other." It also examines how his physical invasion, that is, his violation of women, gives rise to sexual anxiety, mainly focusing on concerns about the rise of the "New Woman," and how it manifests itself in the hyper-sexuality of the character Lucy Westenra.

From the Paper
"Dracula also represents a Victorian fear of the past. The Count symbolises aristocratic tyranny and superstition: in his first journal, Harker records the Count's speech about his tyranic ancestry, in which he reveals himself to be descended from Attila the Hun, "What devil or what witch was ever so great as Attila, whose blood is in these veins." Dracula also says that "the old centuries had, and have, powers of their own which mere "modernity" cannot kill." This directly threatens the bourgeois modernity and rationality of Victorian Britain at a time when the Industrial Revolution was in full swing. In light of this fear of regression, it is quite ironic that while, as Dracula's main enemy, Van Helsing embodies science and religion "two bastions of modern Victorian ideology" Dracula is in fact defeated by neither blood transfusions or the Cross, but instead through occult lore and primitive weaponry."

Tags:blood, lucy, westenra, woman

Abstract
This paper examines Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe" and focuses on a range of distinctive puritanical motifs by exploring the 'profoundly religious' climate that saw the emergence of this pioneer of fiction. It looks at how the novel essentially takes the form of a spiritual biography whereby Defoe's prodigal embodiment in Crusoe follows a pattern of punishment for the disobedience to his father, repentance and consequently deliverance from his affliction on the island. It also explores how it is by means of this design that Crusoe grows in spiritual faith to become the mythical hero who possesses an immediate resonance of association in the twenty-first century's heritage of the English novel.

From the Paper
"This idea of religious father and prodigal son may be traced back to Defoe's The Family Instructor that was published in two volumes shortly before Robinson Crusoe. This example of Puritanical guide literature was primarily for didactic purposes and would have been recognized amongst Defoe's contemporaries. The 1715 volume presents a boy who tires of his father's attempts to Christianize and tether him, debatably portraying an embryonic Crusoe. Such treatise helped in forming the minds of fiction's first creators, but Robinson Crusoe actualizes the symbolic aspects of life observed by a puritan."

Tags:disobedience, god, punishment, solitude, spiritual, friday

Abstract
The "Tragedy of Mariam" focuses on Elizabeth's Cary's desire to develop a platform from which women can speak, thereby offering a fuller understanding of women as individuals. This paper examines Cary's exploration of gender, language and silence in "The Tragedy of Mariam". It looks at how the play's expression of these themes is sometimes open and at other times covert. By concentrating on the issues of public and private speech, it attempts to determine the effect that crossing patriarchal boundaries had on women in early modern England.

From the Paper
"The Tragedy of Mariam is often categorized as a Senecan closet drama; Cary, it seems, had no intention of taking the play to the public stage. This allowed Cary to distance herself from the popular theatres associated with lower social classes and associate herself with elite, aristocratic groups of writers. Prior to 1660, women had no role in public theatre; even the simple act of writing pushed the boundaries of acceptable female behaviour. By creating a closet drama, Cary becomes a perfect example of how early women dramatists created acceptable spaces for their dramatic voice, using theatrical settings, which helped them to justify female self-expression."

Tags:private, public, transgression, class

Abstract
This essay explores and evaluates Katherine Mansfield's literary style with reference to her short story Bliss. It discusses the ways in which Bliss demonstrates her desire to break with the past and experiment with new methods of writing. The paper evaluates the story as an example of Modernist literature and reviews Mansfield's importance in the Modernist movement. The paper also provides a detailed analysis of Mansfield's original and distinctive delivery of the short story.

From the Paper
"An important figure in the modernist movement, Katherine Mansfield was a highly experiential writer who sought to find new ways of representing the world. The beginning of the twentieth century was a time of terrific change due to technological advances, scientific theories and capitalism. The First World War compounded this disturbance and literally shattered the universal values which held society together. Society was left fragmented and disillusioned and the Modernists felt that the traditional mode of representing the world in literature, specifically realism, was outdated and no longer appropriate. Mansfield's short story Bliss, 1918, demonstrates the desire to break with the past and experiment with new methods of writing which would express this transformed society more aptly."

Tags:literature, mansfield, modernism, modernist, short, story, women, writers

Abstract
This paper explores the purpose and usage of flowers in poetry using William Wordsworth's "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" as an example. It focuses on Wordsworth's choice of words and also on the greater profound concept that he is trying to depict. The first part of the paper focuses on interpreting the poem. It shows how Wordsworth eloquently uses figurative language, imagery, and personification to describe a scenic display of daffodils. The second part of the paper offers an analysis of the poem. In particular, it examines the concept of the futility of the individual when compared to the collective good of society, as shown in the context of man versus nature.

From the Paper
"Wordsworth overwhelms us with collective images in stanza 2, relating the daffodils to stars, describing them as stretching "in never-ending line" (9) and also expressing that he sees "ten thousand ... at a glance" (11). In the last line of stanza 1 he personifies the daffodils to be "fluttering and dancing in the breeze" (6). We can elaborate on Wordsworth's many collective images through this line. Frequently, communities or groups of people have trouble working together, but through Wordsworth's personification of the daffodils, also seen in line 12 where the daffodils are "tossing their heads in sprightly dance," (12) we recognize that the daffodils are working together in unison with no trouble at all. Their "dance" is in complete coordination."

Tags:figurative, imagery, nature, personification

Abstract
This paper examines how critics have argued that 'much of the novel's great appeal derives from its hostility toward female sexuality' and how arguably, there are instances in the text where female sexuality is indeed viewed negatively: It is seen as animalistic, masculine and frightening. It critically discusses the way gender roles are portrayed, including attraction and repulsion between the sexes and the ways in which Stoker uses images to signify religious themes and sex.

From the Paper
"Contrastingly, after Lucy's transformation, it is precisely her womanliness that is focussed upon, with Seward observing that 'she was, if possible, more radiantly beautiful that ever' (p. 240). In fact, Lucy's fate epitomises the treatment of female sexuality in the novel. She is considered to be sweet and 'pure' (p. 253) until Dracula awakens her sexuality, then the men hate, fear her and cannot believe she is the same person: 'the remnant of my love turned into hate and loathing; had she then to be killed, I could have done it with savage delight' (p. 253). Literally, she rejects stereotypical femininity, as 'with a careless motion, she flung to the ground, callous as a devil, the child that up to now she had clutched strenuously to her breast' (p. 253)."

Tags:evil, gothic, rape, religion, stereotype, vampire

Abstract
This essay includes analysis of the way Friday is described by the author in comparison to the way he is described in 'Robinson Crusoe' by Daniel Defoe, a look at the importance of Friday's feet and what they represent, discussion of class implications,and the symbolism within the novel.

From the Paper
"In this essay, I intend to discuss the opinion that the character of Friday is central in the book Foe by the South African writer, J. M. Coetzee. I will look at the importance of his character and how he influences the story as a whole. I feel that the quote below is very true, and I shall go on to prove this in this essay. ""J. M. Coetzee deconstructs the text of Robinson Crusoe in his novel Foe, which subtly centralizes the character of Friday" (James McCorkle) Foe is a book in which Coetzee raises many interesting issues. The four main areas that are dealt with are: the treatment of the truth in narratives, pro-feminism, race and the treatment of ethnic minorities, and the truth about history. It also contains ideas about society and the class struggle. At one point when Susan speaks, it is almost as if Coetzee is talking about his own writing: "Alas my stories seem always to have more applications than I intend"" (Foe, 81) "

Tags:character, class, coetzee, crusoe, defoe, foe, island, race, robinson, symbolism

Abstract
This paper discusses and evaluates Woolf's unique literary style with reference to her pioneering novel 'To The Lighthouse'. It discusses Woolf's revolutionary theories which underpinned the Modernist movement in English literature. It also explores Woolf's unique style which contravenes reader expectations and the conventions of traditional story writing.

From the Paper
"Through Woolf's unique devices of style, To the Lighthouse becomes a richly layered montage and, consequently, reading it creates a constant sense of uncertainty and confusion. Her aim is to reflect the feelings of disorientation and chaos experienced by people in real life at that time, as their world was rapidly changing due to technological advances, scientific theories and capitalism. The First World War compounded this disturbance and literally shattered the universal values which held society together. Through her inspired portrayal of simultaneity of thought and events in the novel, Woolf leaves her readers feeling almost lost within it."

Tags:feminist, modernism, Virginia, woolf, lighthouse, women, style, literary

Abstract
Using the presentation of London in 'Mrs Dalloway,' this essay argues that the advent of modernism had a profound effect on post-war Britain. Using many examples from the text, modernist notions of commercialism, Freudian theory, individuality and science, as well as traditional markers of religion and royalty are all encompassed.

From the Paper
"Set in 1923, Mrs Dalloway portrays a period of great social upheaval in England. For some it was an exciting, promising time: the war had been over for five years, and there was a feeling of exuberance in the nation. Modern forms of transport and commerce changed the very face of the country; and developments in social reform and the literary, scientific and arts worlds made people consider life in a different way. Others did not find this modernization so appealing, however; as England was bombarded with the "new", traditional values and the old order were challenged, enhancing the nation's sense of loss. Woolf employs London, the very heart of the country, as a metaphor to convey these contradictory feelings. The city is, therefore, used to represent the unstable mixture of optimism and fear rife in society at the time."

Tags:britain, city, modernism, post, war, commercialism, freud, individuality

Tags:colonialism, colonist, defoe, otherness, religion, socialism