Literature & the arts
Literary interpretation, creative work, culture and artistic choices.
Macbeth and the Witches’ Prophecy: Does Fate Require Action?
An analysis of how Macbeth rejects the possibility of waiting for the witches’ predictions to unfold and instead turns them into motives for violence, while the play leaves room for fate without making it an excuse.
The Scarlet Letter: Hester Prynne’s Memory of the Past
An analysis of how Hester’s remembered relationship with Dimmesdale shapes her choices after returning to the settlement, and how Hawthorne connects memory with responsibility, identity, and change.
Heart of Darkness: Colonialism and the Myth of a Civilizing Mission
An interpretation of how Heart of Darkness exposes the violence beneath European claims to civilize, through Marlow’s narration, the suffering of African laborers, and Kurtz’s possessive authority.
Public Arts Funding and Unmet Basic Needs
An argument that governments should protect urgent basic-needs support while judging arts funding by its costs, purposes, and effects rather than suspending it automatically during hardship.
Edmund’s Rebellion in King Lear: Ambition and Injustice
A literary analysis of how Edmund turns resentment over illegitimacy into a campaign against family and political authority, and what his rise and defeat suggest about inheritance in King Lear.
The Picture of Dorian Gray: The Curtain and the Hidden Portrait
An analysis of how the concealed portrait connects Dorian Gray’s public image to his private moral life and shapes the novel’s structure.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: Utterson’s Search for the Truth
An essay on how Utterson’s measured investigation, Lanyon’s refusal, and Jekyll’s concealed life shape Stevenson’s treatment of knowledge and denial.
Should Public Money Support the Arts?
An argument for limited, accountable public support for arts access, with attention to education programs, competing public needs, and the limits of workforce data.
Othello’s Jealousy and Iago’s Deception
An analysis of how Iago turns uncertainty into jealousy in Shakespeare’s Othello, and what the tragedy reveals about trust and judgment.
Wuthering Heights: Catherine’s Memory and Heathcliff’s Grief
An analysis of how Catherine’s remembered presence shapes Heathcliff’s grief, his response to her ghostly return, and the novel’s portrayal of love as destructive fixation.
Should Art and Music Be Required School Subjects?
An argumentative essay defending a place for arts education in a broad curriculum while distinguishing its educational value from unsupported claims about test-score effects.
Hamlet’s Rebellion Against Claudius’s Court
A literary-analysis essay arguing that Hamlet’s resistance to Claudius is driven by grief, moral uncertainty, and a need to test appearances, while also showing how his rebellion contributes to the tragedy’s wider disorder.