American novels

Michael W. Rickard II

Feb 22, 2019
5 min

The Trade Winds of Change: Emily Cartwright’s Ignorance and Corruption in the Novel "Cambridge&

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Michael W. Rickard II

Feb 16, 2019
4 min

I Waiting Until the Cows Come Home: Male Sexuality in Toni Morrison’s "Beloved."

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Michael W. Rickard II

Feb 9, 2019
3 min

I Hadn’t Knowed: Intersectionality and the Synthesis of Dessa Rose and Miss Rufel

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Michael W. Rickard II

Feb 1, 2019
4 min

“Faithful Are the Wounds of a Friend”: How Harriet Jacobs Is Not Afraid to Offend Her Audience in &q

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Michael W Rickard II

Nov 2, 2018
1 min

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 paperbac...

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by Michael Rickard II

Oct 12, 2018
4 min

A Real-Life Highway through Hell: Crafting a Mosaic in "The Devil’s Highway"

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by Michael Rickard II

Sep 20, 2018
4 min

Destruction and Diaspora: Life in "Their Dogs Came with Them: A Novel"

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by Michael Rickard II

Aug 31, 2018
5 min

Chick Lit on the Border: Unheard Voices in "Loving Pedro Infante"

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by Michael Rickard II

Aug 17, 2018
5 min

Death by Culture and Waste in "Desert Blood: The Juarez Murders"

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by Michael Rickard II

Jul 28, 2018
4 min

Not So Safe Spaces in "Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories"

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Michael W Rickard II

Jul 20, 2018
4 min

The Subalterned Life in "Bless Me Ultima."

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Michael Rickard II

Feb 5, 2018
4 min

“'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 ...

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Michael Rickard II

Jan 29, 2018
4 min

"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 Emp...

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Michael Rickard II

Jul 4, 2017
3 min

"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 lite...

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Michael Rickard II

Apr 19, 2017
2 min

“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 t...

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Michael Rickard II

Apr 12, 2017
6 min

“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 simple-mind...

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Michael Rickard II

Apr 5, 2017
5 min

“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...

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