The thesis examines isolation and caritas, or charity, in The Confidence-Man as polar themes which express, respectively, withdrawal from and suspicion of the human community and integration within and appreciation for that community. Isolation is considered a negative theme; caritas, an affirmative theme.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the evidence of Shakespeare's satire in certain plays written during the years 1593-1603. The study examines only the satire which deals with other writers and actors and events that are connected in some way with the theater.

The American Dream is an established theme in much American literature from the beginning to the present. In dealing with this major theme, three critics, Leo Marx, Henry Nash Smith, and R. W, B. Lewis have evolved a cohesive definition of this complex and ambiguous vision. Three major components define the Dream: a pastoral dream of a new, fertile Eden, a success dream of financial prosperity, and a dream of world brotherhood to be realized in the new continent. These three components are examined individually in three novels by Bernard Malamud, A New Life, The Natural, and The Assistant. In these novels, Malamud asserts the failure of the American Dream, but envisions the rise of a new humanity and morality that could lead to the salvation of the American people and to a time where dreams could be reborn.