Many works of literature feature characters who have been given a literal or figurative gift. The gift may be an object, or it may be a quality such as uncommon beauty, significant social position, great mental or imaginative faculties, or extraordinary physical powers. Yet this gift is often also a burden or a handicap. Select a character from a novel, epic, or play who has been given a gift that is both an advantage and a problem. Then write a well-developed essay analyzing the complex nature of the gift and how the gift contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole. You may choose a work from the list below or another work of comparable literary merit. Do not merely summarize the plot. The Aeneid Alias Grace All the Light We Cannot See Beloved Beowulf Crime and Punishment Death in Venice Dracula Frankenstein The Goldfinch Great Expectations Heart of Darkness Homegoing The Iliad Kindred King Lear Madame Bovary Mama Day Man and Superman The Metamorphosis Midnight's Children A Passage to India The Picture of Dorian Gray The Portrait of a Lady The Power of One A Raisin in the Sun The Return of the Native The Tempest Things Fall Apart To the Lighthouse