Analyze the symbolic and ironic significance of these following passages:1. I didn’t go to the…
- THE GLASS MENAGERIE
Analyze the symbolic and ironic significance of these following passages:1. I didn’t go to the…
In the first quotation, Amanda has just angrily told Tom to “go to the moon”. Of course, she expects Tom to return as he usually did. However, her anger over the events of the evening and her…
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- THE GLASS MENAGERIE
Analyze the paradox of adventure and memory in Tom’s last soliloquy(Scene 7). To what extent does…
The paradox that is illustrated through Tom’s heartfelt speech in Scene 7 describes his long sought after adventure as if it were a prison. He is imprisoned by his memory of his sister, the…
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- ANNE BRADSTREET
What are several poetic elements in Anne Bradstreet’s “To My Dear and Loving Husband,” and what…
Bradstreet’s poem is rich in poetic elements. Consisting of twelve lines, it is structured in six rhyming couplets. Some of the couplets feature perfect rhymes, such as we/thee in lines one and two…
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- TEARS OF A TIGER
What is the theme of Tears of a Tiger?
The theme of this novel is teen suicide and the effect that it has on everyone involved. Andy Jackson lost his friend, Rob Washington in a terrible car wreck. Andy feels guilty because he was…
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- FAHRENHEIT 451
In “Fahrenheit 451” people haven’t time to read books and digests the information. Can you also…
In “Fahrenheit 451” the conflict wasn’t that people didn’t have time to read books and digest the information, the conflict was that it was illegal for people to even own or look at books. All…
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- RIKKI-TIKKI-TAVI
In “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi”, what type of animal is Darzee?
In the children’s story “Rikki-tikki-tavi” Darzee is a Tailor-bird and the helpful friend of Rikki who is the protagonist of the story. They must fight and defeat the King cobra Nag. A Tailorbird…
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- THE ROAD
How is the writing in The Road by Cormac McCarthy in some ways more like poetry than narrative…
McCarthy’s The Road is more like poetry than narrative prose for a couple of reasons, at least. Firstly it is entirely meditative. We see this post apocalyptic world through the meditations of the…
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- OF MICE AND MEN
What motivates Curley’s anger?
Curley is a very angry young man. If you check out the Enotes summary, you will find an excellent summation of Curley. Now, on to your two questions: One, Curley is described as a former boxer, but…
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- THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW
In what ways is the novel realistic as far as being a teenager?
There are many ways a teenager can relate to this novel given the way someone who reads this story grows up. I am a young teacher (26) so I remember high school quite vividly. I grew up in an urban…
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- THE KITE RUNNER
Why do the Afghans gather at Lake Elizabeth Park in The Kite Runner?
The Afghans gather at Lake Elizabeth Park in Fremont, California, to celebrate the Afghan New Year, which occurs during early March, and coincides with the first day of spring. The Afghans in the…
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- THE KITE RUNNER
In Chapter 25 of The Kite Runner, describe Sohrab for the first seven months he is in San…
Sohrab wraps himself in the silence of deep depression during the first seven months he is in San Francisco. He had come to the United States with Amir because he had no other options; traumatized…
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- THE KITE RUNNER
In Chapters 21-22, the cruelty of the Taliban is clearly in evidence. Give two or three examples.
Hosseini uses these two chapters to portray the cruelty and heavy-handed law of the Taliban in Afghanistan and sharply contrasts the Kabul that Amir returns to with the Kabul that he grew up in. 1….
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- THE ODYSSEY
What are Menelaus and Agamemnon fighting about after the war in Book 3?
According to Nestor, in Book 3 of the Odyssey, Athena stirs up the quarrel between the two brothers, Menelaus and Agamemnon. “Athena set them feuding, Atreus’ two sons” (Book 3:153) Her anger…
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- LORD OF THE FLIES
To what extent does Simon amplify the following theme in “Lord of the Flies”:”Humans cherish…
Simon always questions and seems to want to desire “the truth”. He even builds his own shelter to get away from “the mob” of boys and to be able to think for himself. However, his first words…
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- A TRUE STORY
Can someone explain the plot and setting of Mark Twain’s “A True Story”?
The plot of the story, as told by the narrator, is the anecdotal account of Aunt Rachel, a former slave with a terrible past of violence, injustice, racial oppression, separation from family, and…
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- FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON
Besides becoming smarter, how does Charlies Gordon’s intellect change as the experiment unfolds?
He also develops the developmentally-appropriate stages of emotional growth that are particular of a man of his chronological mental age. For instance, he is now interested in women, develops his…
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- GREAT EXPECTATIONS
In chapters 32 to 33 of “Great Expectations,” what happens when Pip and Estella drive by the…
Having parents who were sent to debtors’ prison and having spent time there himself, Dickens often writes into his narratives scenes that express his repulsion for them. Also, since he perceived…
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- THE LOVE SONG OF J. ALFRED PRUFROCK
Where can I find the themes of alienation and urbanization in “The Love Song of of J.Alfred…
Theme is a main message that tends to come through in a piece of writing. It is the underlying point, meaning, or focus of the entire poem. So, that is how you can explain what theme is; I also…
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- FAHRENHEIT 451
What are, in general, the consequences when a society gives up the right to read?
In general, we learn from “Fahrenheit 451” that when a society gives up the right to read they lose their abilities to reason. Many of our abilities to think through problems and work through…
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- BRAVE NEW WORLD
How do you would describe the societies in Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451?
Both novels are set in the future, a convention of the science fiction genre, and the societies they create and explore share strong similarities. Both societies are controlled by the state through…
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- SOCIAL SCIENCES
What does mass entertainment generally mean?
The idea of mass entertainment most certainly has been around since the gladiators fought in front of thousands of people as a form of leisure for rich and poor alike. America seems to have…
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- LORD OF THE FLIES
In Chapter 8 of “Lord of the Flies,” why does Jack think they are beaten?
In Chapter 8 of “Lord of the Flies,” it is Ralph, not Jack, who says, “So we can’t have a signal fire…We’re beaten.” He makes this remark because he believes that the beast on the mountain will…
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- RIP VAN WINKLE
What are the differences between “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Fall of the House of Usher”?
Washington Irving and Edgar Allan Poe along with Hawthorne and Melville make up America’s first great quartet of fictional writers. All four used similar romantic elements in their work and…
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- GEOLOGY
What happens at the boundaries of tectonic plates?
The simple answer of what happens at the boundaries of plates is that they are constantly moving and their movement defines them. There are three different types of plate boundaries: convergent,…
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- MACBETH
Time in Act II of Macbeth seems to be considerably compressed. Explain Shakespeare’s purpose for…
Major events do happen quite fast in this act. In order for Macbeth to take over the throne quickly (to fulfill the prophesy), he must be rushed to Scone to be invested. There are all sorts of…
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- FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON
How does Charlie feel toward Algernon before and after the operation?
Both before and immediately after the operation, Charlie sees Algernon as a competitior. Charlie thinks Algernon is a “pretty smart mouse” before his operation because the mouse can beat him by…
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- THE CATCHER IN THE RYE
In “The Catcher in the Rye”, how does Holden describe his mother? What is their relationship?
Holden is emotionally distant from his mother. The loss of her younger son has locked Mrs. Caulfield in a state of nervous exhaustion that is characterized by constant headaches and anxiety which…
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- TO AUTUMN
Give two examples that “To Autumn” by John Keats is a nature poem.
Nature poems tend to focus entirely on nature-on how it looks, smells, feels, makes people feel, how it inspires fear, love, dread, awe and amazement in people. In the poem “To Autumn” by John…
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- BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
Can someone explain the climax of Benjamin’s Franklin’s “Autobiography”?What important events…
After a heated quarrel with his brother, Benjamin Franklin relates in his “Autobiography” that he went to sea because he could not find work in the printing business of which his brother was a…
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- ROBERT FROST
In “The Death of the Hired Man,” how does Frost’s choice of words affect the tone?
The tone of the poem is both somber and poignant as it relates in dramatic narrative form the final hours of Silas’s life. Silas, Warren and Mary’s former farm hand, has returned to the only home…
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- ANIMAL FARM
Mollie returns to her old life of comfort, ribbons and sugar. What does Mollie lose through her…
By returning to her old life of comfort, Mollie gives up her freedom. The ribbons, sugar and comfort are all provided by humans whom she must please in order to maintain her status as a pampered…
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- LORD OF THE FLIES
What is Piggy’s contribution and his insight in Golding’s “Lord of the Flies”?
In a moment of introspection in Chapter 5, Ralph reflects that “Piggy could think. He could go step by step inside that fat head of his….Piggy had brains.” Ralph realizes that it is Piggy who…
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- JULIUS CAESAR
In “Julius Caesar,” what is meant by Marc Antony’s saying, “their names are prick’d”?Why are…
This line is from Act IV, Scene I. In this scene, some time after the death of Caesar, the Republic is in turmoil. With Antony, Lepidus, and Octavius in charge–the triumvirate–Antony and…
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- BARN BURNING
What is stream of consciouness in “Barn Burning”?stream of consciouness
Stream of consciousness is a narrative style that is typical of Faulkner, in which the narrator just speaks his mind, how he feels, and what he fears with long, continuous sentences, sometimes with…
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- DUBLINERS
How are women portrayed in Joyce’s Dubliners?
I couldn’t tell you the stories itself because they are complex and extensive, but the stories do portray women as victimized members of society. In some stories, they are victims of disease…
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- THE MARK ON THE WALL
What does the snail in Virginia Woolf’s “The Mark on the Wall” stand for or symbolizes?
In this short story by Woolf,a character, probably a female, is sitting in a chair by the fire and notices a spot on her wall. She begins a stream of consciousness though pattern about how…
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- SEAMUS HEANEY
Describe the theme of Seamus Heaneys poem Sunlight:
The theme of Seamus Heaney’s poem, “Mossbawn: Sunlight”, appears to be the love between mother and child, depicted in the familiar scone-baking activity. Although there is a “sunlit…
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- HOMELESS BIRD
From where does Koly get her strength?
Koly gets her strength from a combination of sources. One such location is from her own sense of self. In the opening lines of the book, we are made aware of the idea that Koly does possess an…
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- AS YOU LIKE IT
Give a character critique of the character of Orlando in As You Like It.
Orlando is a strong young man who is greatly gifted in the physical art of wrestling and who is full of energy and enthusiasm. Yet his education in academic subjects, the arts and manners has been…
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- MACBETH
Comment on Macbeth’s confidence and how it eventually destroys him.I am a grade 8th student and…
Macbeth puts his complete confidence in the witches prophecies, or more specifically in his interpretation of the witches prophecies. When the tell him that he can only be killed by a man NOT born…
3 educator answers
- PYGMALION
In Pygmalion, what effect does Shaw get from referring to the characters in Act I as Mother and…
in Act I of Pygmalion, Shaw introduces all the characters, except Freddy, by their descriptive labels rather than by their names, such as The Note Taker for Professor Higgins. This departure from…
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- THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
“Comedy is a serious business.’ In what ways does Wilde’s play present serious meaning?
Wilde’s play present serious meaning in that he is drawing facts and mocking them, but they are facts nevertheless. The facts are: a. The Victorian “polite society” is hypocritical, amoral,…
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- A ROSE FOR EMILY
What is Miss Emily’s father’s name?
Miss Emily was Miss Emily Grierson. Her name is provided in the first line of the story. Therefore, we can conclude that her father was Mr. Grierson. That is all the information that the story…
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- MACBETH
In Macbeth, why does Macbeth think that he should not kill King Duncan?
Macbeth has high regard for King Duncan. He knows that Duncan has been an excellent king, wise and fair, and that the people love him. Macbeth says that “tears shall drown the wind” when Duncan…
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- GUIDE TO LITERARY TERMS
What literary device/part of language is “a wink of sleep”?Thank you for your help.
A “wink of sleep” is a metaphor. Metaphor is an unstated comparison between two unlike things or ideas. That is, the comparison is not expressed, but is created when a figurative term is…
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- THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES
How do the words brave and motherly describe August in The Secret Life of Bees?
August is brave and motherly for many reasons. She takes in Lily and Rosaleen and mothers them as though they were her own children. She mothers her sisters and Zeke, too. She even mothers the…
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- MACBETH
Please explain the following quote from “Macbeth”: “Doubtful it stood, as two spent swimmer that…
This question has already been answered. Here is a link for you: http://www.enotes.com/macbeth/search?q=Doubtful+it+stood%2C+as+two+spent+swimmer+that+do+cling+together+and+choke+their+art
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- HAMLET
Can you compare and contrast Hamlet, Laertes and Fortinbras from “Hamlet”?I want to compare and…
In seven soliloquies Hamlet deliberates with himself over such things as what the meaning of life is, how his mother could be so disloyal to her king and husband, why he cannot bring himself to…
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- I FELT A FUNERAL, IN MY BRAIN
In “I Felt a Funeral, In My Brain”, what do these lines mean: “creak across my soul with those…
In this poem, Dickinson relays metaphorically the possible mental breakdown of a person’s sanity. It is a startling poem, and frightening, as she aggressively describes thoughts that incessantly…
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- THE GLASS MENAGERIE
In The Glass Menagerie, what is the symbolism of lightning and candlelight?
In his introduction to the play, Tom establishes that the setting is the 1930s. At the end of the play, Tom makes his reference to the world now being “lit by lightning.” This is an allusion to…