http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/character Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Sun, 26 Jul 2026 13:35:16 -0400 Sun, 26 Jul 2026 13:35:16 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1638/divinity-in-the-disguise-of-mental-illness-in-william-faulkners-the-sound-and-the-fury By Rebecca Berezin - The character of Benjy Compson from William Faulkner’s 1929 novel The Sound and the Fury is a mythic and Christ-like figure with the divine gift of prophecy rather than the retarded man-child that the other characters in the novel view him to be. To see the world through Benjy’s eyes, you must be part of a very exclusive club with a two prong membership: that of autism and that of synesthesia. Autism is a developmental disorder most often characterized by impairments in forming normal social relationships and impairments in being able to communicate with others. Synesthesia itself... Mon, 01 May 2017 10:02 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1638/divinity-in-the-disguise-of-mental-illness-in-william-faulkners-the-sound-and-the-fury http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1496/the-role-of-minor-and-ephemeral-characters-in-shakespeares-henry-v By Muhammad Suffian - Henry V is an unusual play in the sense that it is centred on one major personality. Therefore, the play often has to rely on the dramatic effect of its minor and ephemeral characters. These characters are extraordinarily compelling and their importance cannot be exaggerated; they provide critical perspective of the King, and his interactions with them are designed to undercut and comprise the heroic perception of his character. (Erickson, 1979, pg. 14). Thus, the aim of this paper is to demonstrate and critically analyse the salient role minor characters play in deflating the heroic myth of Shakespeare... Tue, 15 Nov 2016 10:17 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1496/the-role-of-minor-and-ephemeral-characters-in-shakespeares-henry-v http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1052/feminism-in-death-and-the-maiden-and-like-water-for-chocolate By Justine M. Baek - Tita, the protagonist from Esquivel's novel, grows from a submissive, suffocated girl into a strong, independent woman. In contrast, Paulina, the progtagonist of Dorman's play, becomes suffocated and paranoid after her torture. However, interestingly, through torturing Roberto, Paulina demonstrates her abrupt change into a dominating, vindictive woman through her possession of a gun. But in spite of the restrictions they are subjected to because of their gender, the female protagonists of both works are able to overcome their limitations and become strong and independent women. The two heroines... Sat, 27 Jun 2015 09:17 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1052/feminism-in-death-and-the-maiden-and-like-water-for-chocolate http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/920/characterization-in-john-updikes-youll-never-know-dear-how-much-i-love-you By Greta B. Reichert - Despite Updike's personal beliefs, various scholars argue that his works tend to be character driven rather than plot driven. The protagonist is an integral component in Updike's “You'll Never Know, Dear, How Much I Love You.” Updike's characters are perhaps the most important elements of his stories, especially this story, because they embody traits that bring them – and the stories – to life. Though Updike asserts characterization is not his main focus, his narrative “You'll Never Know, Dear” is an example of a short story that is driven and directed by its... Tue, 30 Sep 2014 11:06 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/920/characterization-in-john-updikes-youll-never-know-dear-how-much-i-love-you http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/770/mycobacteriophage-meru-isolation-and-characterization-of-a-novel-mycobacteriophage By Merit P. George - Mycobacteriophage are the most prevalent type of microorganism present in the biological universe. In fact, since the first mycobacteriophage was isolated in 1947, well over 2000 new viruses have been identified (Mycobacteriophage Database). The vastness in number lends itself to widespread genetic diversity and variation, making phage research one of the most compelling modern-day fields of research in microbiology. Specifically, the recognition of the immense numbers of bacteriophages in the planet has contributed to a renewed interest in understanding their morphological and genetic diversity... Thu, 10 Oct 2013 09:04 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/770/mycobacteriophage-meru-isolation-and-characterization-of-a-novel-mycobacteriophage http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1694/reevaluating-the-role-of-women-in-beowulf By Catori Sarmiento - This essay explores the roles of women in Beowulf in a contextual assessment. It is often an incorrect assumption that women within Beowulf and Anglo-Saxon culture are subservient to a patriarchal culture that places little to no value on them. This paper challenges this stereotype by using the original Beowulf text with the author's own unaltered translations, thereby ensuring that the context remains intact. By limiting the influence of a modern translation, this essay avoids stripping the poem of its Anglo-Saxon verbiage, inflection, power, and meaning. Doing so allows a return to the original... Sun, 30 Sep 2012 12:54 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1694/reevaluating-the-role-of-women-in-beowulf http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/577/antifertility-effects-of-aqueous-extract-of-phyllanthus-niruri-in-male-albino-rats By Valentine U. Ezeonwu - The effects of aqueous extract of P.niruri on epididymal sperm characteristics, fructose and testosterone levels in male albino rats were investigated. The treatment of the extract for 14 days resulted in appreciable decrease in the fructose level of the seminal fluid, sperm motility, sperm count, and sperm viability of the treated groups (p<0.05) when compared with the control. These decreases were dose dependent. Testosterone levels were lower in the treated animals as compared to the control but not significantly different. These findings suggest that the aqueous crude extract of phyllanthus... Mon, 26 Sep 2011 09:57 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/577/antifertility-effects-of-aqueous-extract-of-phyllanthus-niruri-in-male-albino-rats http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/219/ivans-transformation-and-coming-to-terms-in-leo-tolstoys-the-death-of-ivan-illyich By Michael C. Wiseman - In Leo Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Illyich, the story's protagonist--Ivan--is dead before the story begins. The first chapter concerns itself with some of Ivan’s work associates. With the exception of a posthumous cameo, Tolstoy completely omits the title character from the first chapter. He does this to show that Ivan was shaped by the flaws of his society. By displaying Ivan’s friends at a significant time, Tolstoy shows us what Ivan’s society was like, and vicariously shows the readers what kind of man Ivan was. In short, Ivan lived as a vicious bureaucrat: living life to... Tue, 30 Mar 2010 09:51 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/219/ivans-transformation-and-coming-to-terms-in-leo-tolstoys-the-death-of-ivan-illyich http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/194/shakespeares-apemantus-the-amazing-changing-flat-character-in-timon-of-athens By Lindsay L. Lichti - Apemantus is described as “a churlish philosopher” in the Persons of the Play list, and, as a flat character, remains ill-natured throughout the play, although there is an illusion of his change: “It is not that he changes or develops as a character; his voice is consistent from beginning to end. But what are we to make of him and the light he sheds on Timon are much less clear than his nature, and our perspective on him shifts as the play goes on” (Pierce). Apemantus shifts from Timon’s foil to someone similar to him in outlook. He wonders how “men dare trust... Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:14 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/194/shakespeares-apemantus-the-amazing-changing-flat-character-in-timon-of-athens http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/183/analyzing-reader-response-in-jd-salingers-the-laughing-man By Nicole Holmen - J.D. Salinger’s “The Laughing Man” is a classic frame story which displays the parallels between a storyteller and his real life.  The narrator of the story, along with his friends, acts as the “readers” of this story and respond psychologically to it, just as a reader of Salinger’s story will respond psychologically to the events presented to them.  This article will analyze “The Laughing Man” using psychological reader-response theory to discover the similarities between Salinger’s readers and his “readers” within the... Thu, 25 Feb 2010 08:58 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/183/analyzing-reader-response-in-jd-salingers-the-laughing-man http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/163/michael-cassio-as-a-foil-to-shakespeares-othello By Veronika Walker - Theodore Spencer wrote of Shakespeare's Othello, “In presenting the character of Othello to his audience, Shakespeare emphasizes very strongly his grandeur, self-control, and nobility” (Spencer 127-28). This observation demonstrates that these three main traits—grandeur, self-control, and nobility—are key to understanding Othello's complex character, and even more helpful in understanding the contrasts between him and his subordinates. Most notably in this comparison is young Michael Cassio, a beautifully written foil character to the general in the fact that where Othello... Wed, 10 Feb 2010 09:50 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/163/michael-cassio-as-a-foil-to-shakespeares-othello http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/157/comparing-female-characters-in-christabel-and-the-eve-of-st-agnes By Alina Saminsky - Despite both being the leading female characters in their respective pieces, Christabel from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Christabel and Madeline from John Keats’ The Eve of St. Agnes have many striking similarities. Throughout both poems, the two women are constantly referred to as pure, innocent, generally good girls.  They are praised by the other characters and by the narrators.  However, both women engage in behavior that defies their descriptions.  Occasionally, this behavior even disrupts gender roles, and the position of the girls in their respective texts is questioned... Fri, 05 Feb 2010 09:23 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/157/comparing-female-characters-in-christabel-and-the-eve-of-st-agnes http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/119/perceptions-of-heroes-and-villains-in-european-literature By Katherine Blakeney - It is tempting to classify literary, cinematic, and historical characters into groups. The trouble, of course, is that such labels can be misleading at best, and severely subjective and variable. When using terms such as hero, villain, anti-hero, anti-villain, or adventurer, it is important to remember how vague and movable the borders really are, and to ask why a certain label is or should be placed on a specific character. It is never enough to simply classify a character or a person. One must take into consideration what the creator of this character had in mind, what circumstances affected... Tue, 12 Jan 2010 09:41 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/119/perceptions-of-heroes-and-villains-in-european-literature http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/110/swagger-and-soul-analyzing-the-music-from-oceans-11 By Justin D. Wright - It would be entirely inappropriate for this movie to beat the nostalgic side of Las Vegas into the audience’s head, but even more inappropriate for the film to ignore it. David Holmes is successful in his portrayal of a modern Las Vegas in that he melds the two worlds in his own compositions by mixing the sounds of a classic acoustic jazz combo with studio produced drum and bass grooves, but by also using external sources with the same variety, using clips from Elvis and Perry Como all the way to the current hip-hop group Handsome Boy Modeling School. Soderbergh’s numerous montages... Mon, 04 Jan 2010 10:29 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/110/swagger-and-soul-analyzing-the-music-from-oceans-11 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/70/anton-chekhov-and-the-development-of-the-modern-character By Sawyer A. Theriault - One of the most prominent literary elements in Chekhov’s work is that of character; he was a writer who had “great feeling for the inner emotions of his characters” (Freedman 1). This becomes evident through Ochumelov, a police inspector, in the story “Chameleon”. Ochumelov is walking through a marketplace when “all of a sudden the sound of a voice came to [his] ears”(Chekhov 1). After following the voice he discovers that it is Khryukin, who has come by the lumberyard to pick up wood. Khryukin claims to have been bitten by a stray dog and demands compensation... Fri, 27 Nov 2009 11:55 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/70/anton-chekhov-and-the-development-of-the-modern-character http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/20/allows-itself-to-anything-poor-tom-familiarizing-and-enacting-chaos-in-king-lear By Leslie S. Lee - In Act 1, scene 2, Edmund responds to Edgar’s entrance with the following: “Pat he comes, like the catastrophe of the old comedy. My cue is villainous melancholy, with a sigh like Tom o’Bedlam. –O, these eclipses do portend these divisions. Fa, sol, la, mi.” (134-137) Edmund’s introduction of the Tom o’Bedlam character is preceded by his disparagement of astrological superstitions, which he then performs for Edmund as if in the voice of Tom o’Bedlam. Thus these lines create an association between the Tom o’Bedlam figure and a belief in astrological... Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:13 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/20/allows-itself-to-anything-poor-tom-familiarizing-and-enacting-chaos-in-king-lear