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The Trade Winds of Change: Emily Cartwright’s Ignorance and Corruption in the Novel "Cambridge&
Copyright 2019 by Michael W. Rickard II Editor's Note: Last fall I took a class on neo-slave narratives. Here is an essay I wrote on...
Michael W. Rickard II
Feb 22, 20195 min read
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I Waiting Until the Cows Come Home: Male Sexuality in Toni Morrison’s "Beloved."
Copyright 2019 by Michael W. Rickard II Editor's Note: Last fall I took a class on neo-slave narratives. Here is an essay I wrote on Toni...
Michael W. Rickard II
Feb 16, 20194 min read
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I Hadn’t Knowed: Intersectionality and the Synthesis of Dessa Rose and Miss Rufel
Copyright 2019 by Michael W. Rickard II Editor's Note: Last fall I took a class on neo-slave narratives. Here is an essay I wrote on the...
Michael W. Rickard II
Feb 9, 20193 min read
19 views
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“Faithful Are the Wounds of a Friend”: How Harriet Jacobs Is Not Afraid to Offend Her Audience in &q
Copyright 2019 by Michael W. Rickard II Editor's Note: Last fall I took a class on neo-slave narratives. Here is an essay I wrote on...
Michael W. Rickard II
Feb 1, 20194 min read
7 views
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The Big Announcement Revealed!
My first novel, Flunky: Pawns and Kings debuts on Amazon.com on November 25, 2018. You can purchase it through Kindle or order a...
Michael W Rickard II
Nov 2, 20181 min read
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A Real-Life Highway through Hell: Crafting a Mosaic in "The Devil’s Highway"
Copyright (c) 2018 by Michael Rickard II Editor's Note: Illegal border crossings are more controversial than ever, something discussed in...
by Michael Rickard II
Oct 12, 20184 min read
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Destruction and Diaspora: Life in "Their Dogs Came with Them: A Novel"
Copyright (c) 2018 by Michael Rickard II Editor's Note:The border is a hot topic right now thus my class in borderland literature...
by Michael Rickard II
Sep 20, 20184 min read
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Chick Lit on the Border: Unheard Voices in "Loving Pedro Infante"
Copyright (c) 2018 by Michael Rickard II Editor's Note:The border is a hot topic right now thus my class in borderland literature...
by Michael Rickard II
Aug 31, 20185 min read
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Death by Culture and Waste in "Desert Blood: The Juarez Murders"
Copyright (c) 2018 by Michael Rickard II Editor's Note:The U.S./Mexico border is a hot topic right now but there are many issues besides...
by Michael Rickard II
Aug 17, 20185 min read
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Not So Safe Spaces in "Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories"
Copyright (c) 2018 by Michael Rickard II Editor's Note: Here's an essay I wrote on Women Hollering Creek and Other Stories for a class I...
by Michael Rickard II
Jul 28, 20184 min read
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The Subalterned Life in "Bless Me Ultima."
Copyright (c) 2018 by Michael Rickard II Here's an essay I wrote on Bless Me, Ultima. Spoilers abound: Rudolfo Anaya employs magical...
Michael W Rickard II
Jul 20, 20184 min read
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“'Quit Asking Questions and Do What You Are Told': Questioning the Hardscrabble Reality of A
Here's a copy of an essay I wrote in 2017 about Richard Wright's novel Black Boy. The reality of post-Reconstruction life is brilliantly...
Michael Rickard II
Feb 5, 20184 min read
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"Damned By My Fellow Americans: Examining the Horrors of Xenophobia, Racism, and Hybridity in &
It's been said war is hell, but hell can be found on the homefront as well as the battlefront overseas. Julie Otsuka's novel When the...
Michael Rickard II
Jan 29, 20184 min read
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"The American New Man: Crèvecœur and the Promise of early America."
As America celebrates its independence, I thought I'd share an English project I wrote two years ago about one of America's earliest...
Michael Rickard II
Jul 4, 20173 min read
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“If We Don’t Have the Hardest Luck of Any Two People I Ever Heard of.” How Fate Dooms Frank Norris&#
In naturalist novels, secondary characters also suffer bad fates. Continuing naturalism’s theme of life’s unpredictability and tendency...
Michael Rickard II
Apr 19, 20172 min read
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“If We Don’t Have the Hardest Luck of Any Two People I Ever Heard of.” How Fate Dooms Frank Norris&#
Mac is burdened by his laziness. While environment contributes to Mac’s downfall, hereditary plays a significant part. Mac is...
Michael Rickard II
Apr 12, 20176 min read
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“If We Don’t Have the Hardest Luck of Any Two People I Ever Heard of.” How Fate Dooms Frank Norris&#
Frank Norris' novel McTeague exemplifies naturalism with its examination of character through a slice of life storytelling technique, and...
Michael Rickard II
Apr 5, 20175 min read
3 views
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