It could be hectic, stressful, mind-racking or a piece of cake. I am talking about the different emotions that one may portray when writing a biographical essay.
At one point or another, you will come across biographical essays, which are not as difficult as some people make it out to be.
However, the obstacle usually begins from how to start a biography essay. This is no surprise as some writers try to avoid being biographies at all costs and try writing about a different subject, rather than the one chosen to represent themselves.
However, just because you can write about something else does not mean that it is a worthy subject to include in the biographical essay and the more you try and avoid it, the more you will go against your own biases and preconceived ideas.
When you’re looking to start a biography essay, keep a close eye on the topics, writers and subject line choices. What are the authors’ stories they want to tell.
Is it an interesting take on a subject or is it about a man or a situation? Are you writing about the author’s life of self-actualization or are you writing about an author who has died?
To give you an idea. In my experience, the main topic of most books I read before writing my biographical essays is suicide.
Teresa was always her own person, startlingly independent, obedient, yet challenging some preconceived notions and expectations. Her own life story includes many illustrations of her willingness to listen to and follow her own conscience, even when it seemed to contradict what was expected. This strong and independent Slavic woman was born Gonxha (Agnes) Bojaxhiu in … Read more
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev was born in 1894 to an illiterate peasant family in Kalinovka, a village near Russia’s border with Ukraine. To supplement his family’s meager income he began working at an early age, but despite this, and despite his father’s second job as a coal miner, Khrushchev’s family was unable to survive as farmers. … Read more
Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts; He was orphaned as a child and raised by John Allan, a successful businessman of Richmond, Virginia. The Allan Family took Poe to England and placed him in a private school. When he returned to the United States in 1820, he continued to go to private schools. … Read more
Robert Hutchings Goddard was a futurist. He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts on October 5, 1882. He was the son of a machinist and his father was known for his brilliance with machinery and tools. The Goddards moved from Worcester to Boston while Robert was just an infant, because his father went in half and … Read more
All literary critics and sources that give accounts of Edith Newbold Jones Whartons life seem to agree on the basic facts. Wharton was born in 1862 into a wealthy family and raised during Americas Guilded Age. She was born into the lavish world of inherited wealth, one which she benefited from greatly. This life of … Read more
Albert Einstein was born in Germany on March 14, 1879. As a kid he had trouble learning to speak. His parents thought that he might be mentally retarded. He was not smart in school. He suffered under the learning methods that they used in the schools of Germany at that time so he was never … Read more
In my opinion, no other man in the history of the world symbolizes military and political strength as much as Julius Caesar does. Caesar was born on July 12, 100 BC in Rome, Italy (Encarta 2000). His father belonged to the prestigious Julian clan (Internet Explorer) His uncle by marriage was Gaius Marius, leader of … Read more
Martin Brian Mulroney became the 18th prime minister of Canada on September 17, 1984, after his party, the Progressive Conservatives won the greatest parliamentary victory ever in Canadian history. Mulroney was born in 1939, the son of an electrician, in the paper mill town of Baie Comeau, Quebec. Mulroney attended a very strict military type … Read more
On May 18, 1952 George Strait was born into a loving family in Poteet Texas, U. S. A. Strait the second son of a schoolteacher was raised in Pearsall, Texas. As a young teen he developed an interest in farming after his father took over the family ranch. Strait had listened to country music his … Read more
William (Bill) H. Gates III is co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft Corporation, the world’s leading provider of software for personal computer. Bill Gates was born on October 28, 1955. He and his two sisters grew up in Seattle. Their father, William H. Gates II, is a Seattle attorney. Mary Gates, their late … Read more
Louis Braille was born in the Coupvray, France on January 4, 1809. His mother and father were Monique and Simon Ren Braille. Louis was the youngest of four other children. Their names were Louis-Simon, Catherine-Josephine, and Marie-Celine. Louis father, Simon Ren, was a saddler. He made saddles and harnesses for horses. His father had also … Read more
This report will talk about the life of a famous author, Charles Dickens. It will tell you about his early, middle, and later years of his life. It will also talk about one of his great works of literature. In conclusion, this report will show a comparison of his work to his life. Charles Dickens … Read more
Jimmy Carter’s parents, Earl and Lillian Carter, owned a peanut farm and warehouse and a store outside the small town of Plains, Georgia. Earl was bright, hardworking, and a very good businessman. “Miz” Lillian had been trained as a nurse. Jimmy Carter was born in a house that lacked electricity and indoor plumbing. By the … Read more
Aristotle was born in 384 BC and lived until 322 BC. He was a Greek philosopher and scientist, who shares with Plato being considered the most famous of ancient philosophers. He was born at Stagira, in Macedonia, the son of a physician to the royal court. When he was 17, he went to Athens to … Read more
Benjamin Franklin was a remarkably talented man. He started his career as a simple printer apprentice, but went far beyond the printers shop. He developed products that were far beyond the time. The Franklin stove for example, for cold winter nights and bifocal lenses for reading. Franklin tracked storm paths to help understand the wicked … Read more
Andrew Warhol was born August Sixth, 1928, in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. He was the youngest son of Julie and Andrej Warhola, both immigrants from Czechoslovakia. After a quiet childhood spent alternately alone and in art classes, Andrew went to college. He then got a job doing commercial art, largely advertisements for large companies. Over time his … Read more
I do not agree with a word that you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. (Lowers, p. 6) In a way this quote by Voltaire describes the way he lived his life. He was a freethinker who believed that everybody should be able to say and write what … Read more
Niels Bohr studied at the University of Copenhagen which he entered in 1903. He won a gold medal from the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences for his theoretical analysis of vibrations of water jets as a means of determining surface tension. He received his Master’s degree from the University of Copenhagen in 1909 and his … Read more
Pappus was born in approximately 920 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was the last of the great Greek geometers and one of his major theorems is considered to be the basis of modern projective geometry (“Pappus”). Pappus flourished in the fourth century, writing his key work, the Mathematical Collection, as a guide to Greek geometry (“Biography”). … Read more
The man himself never stood taller than five feet, six inches tall, but in the realm of American literature, William Faulkner was a giant (Faulkner, American 101). The background and early years of Faulkners life sets the stage for his outstanding success in literature. He is unique in his works due to the various types … Read more
Chiang Kai-shek, also known as Chiang Chung-cheng, was the son of a middle-class wine merchant who lived in the village of Chikow in Chekiang Province. When he was fourteen years old, following the Chinese custom of that time, he was arranged to be marry by his mother (the brides name is not mentioned). His bride … Read more
“I am not a man. Those evil influences, those lusts, whose non-destruction would have individualised me as… a man, I have completely annihilated. Know, therefore… that I am a Buddha. ” – Gautama Buddha, from the Pali scriptures (Goddard, page 5) Throughout history there have been hundreds of influential figures. Some are well-known for their … Read more
William Shakespeare was a great English playwright, dramatist and poet who lived during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Shakespeare is considered to be the greatest playwright of all time. No other writer’s plays have been produced so many times or read so widely in so many countries as his. Shakespeare was born to … Read more
Intrigued by the notions of inalienable rights, John Locke became known as a 17th century English philosopher of the enlightenment. Born on August 29,1632, Locke possessed a good deal of influence because of his connection with England and the United States. John Locke had a plethora of Philosophical theories. I will further elaborate on the … Read more
“I just paint things I always thought were beautiful, things you use every day and never think about I just do it because I like it. (Beckris 110) I just do it because I like it is Andy’s philosophy on life. Andy might just be the most interesting and and at the same time the … Read more
Nam June Paik was born in Seoul, Korea on July 20, 1932. He was the fifth and youngest child of a textile merchant. In 1947, at the age of 14, he studied piano and composition with two of Korea’s foremost composers. The family moved to Tokyo, Japan in 1950 to avoid the havoc of the … Read more
Eduard Munch (1863-1944) was a Norwegian painter, engraver, and printer. He is often reputed to have been a loner and a misogynist. Many of his works revolve around a motif concerning women and their obscene vulgarity. The two works that will be described here are Vampire (1893) and Jealousy (1896). These two depict women as … Read more
Something about Charles Dickens and his ability to take his reader to unbelievable places with his imaginative powers allows him the honor of being the most popular English novelist of the 19th century. Dickens has thrilled his readers for many years with his down-to-earth stories about real people forced into real situations. Charles Dickens has … Read more
Irene Curie was a brilliant dedicated scientist who accomplished many things throughout her life but was overshadowed by those around her throughout her life. She was overshadowed by Nobel laureate parents Maire and Pierre Curie, by co-laureate and husband Jean Frederick Joliot, by her physicist daughter Helene, who was married to Paul Langevin’s grandson, and … Read more
Melville, Herman (1819-91), American novelist, a major literary figure whose exploration of psychological and metaphysical themes foreshadowed 20th-century literary concerns but whose works remained in obscurity until the 1920s, when his genius was finally recognized. Melville was born August 1, 1819, in New York City, into a family that had declined in the world. The … Read more
