Discuss the respective self-deceptions in “The Glass Menagerie”. How do these, as Tom says,…
- THE GLASS MENAGERIE
Discuss the respective self-deceptions in “The Glass Menagerie”. How do these, as Tom says,…
The self-deception that exists for the Wingfield family is illustrated in the conflict of illusion vs reality. For Amanda Wingfield, who lives in her memories more than in the present, she deludes…
1 educator answer
- DAMBALLAH
What exactly is “Damballah” by John Edgar Wideman about?I must have read the entire story a…
A slave named Orion (Ryan) completely resists the ways of the white masters and has a mystical connection to the ancient African god Damballah which is emphasized through the Classical allusion to…
1 educator answer
- BEOWULF
What are some differences in the characters of Grendel, Beowulf and Hrothgar in Beowulf the poem…
Beowulf the poem and Beowulf the movie (the 2007 adaptation by Robert Zemeckis) differ greatly when it comes to the characterizations of Beowulf, Grendel, and Hrothgar. In a sense, the movie…
1 educator answer
- ANIMAL FARM
In the book “Animal Farm,” how many chapters go up to page 50?what chapter starts/ends on page 50
I’m afraid the answer to that is going to vary depending on what version of the book you have. For example, I have the Signet Classic version (the paperback). In it Chapter IV starts on page 54….
1 educator answer
- HISTORY
What are the positive and negative effects of imperialism in Africa during World War I?
During the second half of the nineteenth century and proceeding through the end of the First World War, European imperialism in Africa significantly altered much of the continent, both for better…
1 educator answer
- A DOLL’S HOUSE
In Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, what is the dramatic impact of Torvald reading Krogstad’s…
The dramatic impact would be any dramatic moment in a play that further directs the plot. In the final act of the play, the most intense dramatic moment is when Torvald reads Krogstad’s letter….
1 educator answer
- TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
Through various types of judgment in To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee points out that things…
One of Harper Lee’s main themes in her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is the need for a second reconstruction of social consciousness in the slow-to-change Deep South of the 1930s. She crafts many…
1 educator answer
- VIETNAM WAR
Did we lose the Vietnam War on television or because of television?
This question is currently being discussed here: http://www.enotes.com/history/group/discuss/do-you-think-tthe-vietman-war-was-war-we-lost-37359 Please add your perspective.
1 educator answer
- THE OUTSIDERS
In The Outsiders, when and how did Ponyboy’s parents die?
Ponyboy’s parents died in a car accident a few years before the events in the novel take place. The novel never actually tells when the accident occurred but Ponyboy does have a memory of his…
2 educator answers
- THE CELEBRATED JUMPING FROG OF CALAVERAS COUNTY
In “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” what does such a tale suggest about the…
Overall, most of the characters in “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” are not painted in a very flattering light. The characters demonstrate ignorance, laziness, an addiction to…
1 educator answer
- NIGHT
In Chapter 5 of Night, why did the camp evacuate, and what happened to those who stayed behind at…
In Chapter 5, the camp was to be evacuated because the Russians were approaching. Those who stayed behind in the hospital “were quite simply liberated by the Russians two days after the…
2 educator answers
- THE PASSIONATE SHEPHERD TO HIS LOVE
What references to youth and spring can be find in “The Passionate Shepherd To His Love”? What…
The very first line of the poem “Come live with me and be my Love,” (line 1) implies the youth of both parties. Since neither of them currently has a spouse (and are thus free to marry each other)…
1 educator answer
- HISTORY
What is the nature of the totalitarian regimes of the 20th century and how did they impact the…
By their very natures, totalitarian regimes focus power into a highly centralized authority, generally a single individual. Such an individual exercises power over every aspect of society and over…
1 educator answer
- NIGHT
In Chapter 5 of Night, what did Akiba Drumer ask the others to do for him, and did they do it?
Akiba Drumer asked the others to say the Kaddish for him after he had gone. The others promised that they would, but when the time came, they forgot. Akiba Drumer was a victim of the selection….
2 educator answers
- NIGHT
In Chapter 4 of Night, what makes Elie and the other prisoners cry over one particular hanging?
During this section of Elie’s story he relates the affect that a hanging has on them. They arrive back from a work detail and they are called into formation to witness a hanging of three…
3 educator answers
- NIGHT
During one of the preliminary “ceremonies” for a hanging, what did Juliek whisper to Elie? What…
The quote you are after is one of the key quotes in Night that directly relates to the theme of God and religion in the context of the holocaust. It comes as the prisoners watch a child, beloved of…
1 educator answer
- MACBETH
When Macduff reveals the details of his birth, and Macbeth realizes he is doomed, is that the…
Yes, it is! For the specators as well as Macbeth realize absolutely what they have presumed beforehand: from the moment of Duncan’s murder, there has been ‘no way out’ for Macbeth, there is no…
1 educator answer
- TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
Describe the illogical thinking patterns of some of Maycomb’s citizens and what Harper Lee is…
Apart from the ones mentioned above, what about Mrs. Merriweather and her Missionary Circle? These good Christians supposedly want to propagate the Gospel in a primitive society but actually revel…
1 educator answer
- FRANKENSTEIN
In “Frankenstein”, what discovery does the creature make when approaching another human?
The creature realizes that people are automatically revulsed, even terrified, in its presence. This sets off a chain of events in which the creature really does become the monster it appears to be….
1 educator answer
- TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
Who is invisible in this novel? Why? To whom?
Their next door neighbour’s son “Boo” Radley is the “phantom” in this story simply because he never comes out. Although he is a young man, he lives at home under the iron thumb of his father since…
1 educator answer
- TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
Critics believe that the children in “To Kill a Mockingbird” represent “bridges”. What do they…
This is an interesting question. The children bridge the gap between the innocence, simplicity and more happy and serene world that children live in, and the bitter, racist, hateful world that…
1 educator answer
- TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
In “To Kill a Mockingbird” why does Harper Lee not focus on Dill’s background, but his humanity?
This is an interesting question that hits on one of Harper Lee’s major moral points in her novel: people are their actions and kindness, not their backgrounds. Take for example the contrast…
1 educator answer
- TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
Doesn’t racism destroy the lives of many people, black and white, in “To Kill a Mockingbird”?…
If you think about Tom Robinson and his family, you can see how racism destroyed him and his family. Even though Tom was obviously innocent, and a much, much better man than Bob Ewell, because of…
2 educator answers
- FAHRENHEIT 451
In “Fahrenheit 451” after Captain Beatty visited Montag at his home, what decision finalized in…
Montag is even more confused after Beatty leaves. He is restless and pacing, and tells Millie, “I don’t know what it is. I’m so damned unhappy, I’m so mad and I don’t know why…I might even…
1 educator answer
- TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
What is ironic about the last gossipy words of the ladies of the missionary group since the…
I never really thought about it, but this last section is pretty clever. It’s like changing radio stations and then linking what one station is saying and tying it into the next phrase of the next…
1 educator answer
- LORD OF THE FLIES
How does Golding convey to the reader that Simon is not unfamiliar with the terrain?
At the end of chapter 3, Simon goes off by himself into the the trees and other flora of the island. The narration says that he “…walked with an accustomed tread through the fruit trees…”…
1 educator answer
- SCIENCE
Can you prove evolution with DNA research?My lecturer says the information stored in DNA tell us…
Proof by belief creates truth vacuously. Proof by fact defines truth incompletely, yet provides a consistent frame to expand understanding. Where theory crosses into fact may be a function only of…
9 educator answers
- JULIUS CAESAR
In Act 2 of Julius Caesar, why does Calphurnia want Caesar to remain at home?
In Act 2, Scene 2 of the play, tension mounts not only among the conspirators but also between Caesar and his wife Calphurnia. The scene takes place on the dawn of Caesar’s assassination, and…
1 educator answer
- UNCLE TOM’S CABIN
In Uncle Tom’s Cabin, who are Tom and Mr. Haley, and why was St. Clare murdered?
Tom, also called Uncle Tom, is the protagonist of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. He is a devout Christian man who believes in God’s love regardless of earthly circumstances of sorrows or horrors. Even thou…
1 educator answer
- OTHELLO
In Shakespeare’s play Othello, is the villian Iago a racist? Is there anything to suggest that…
Certainly, yes! Iago refers to Othello (behind his back) as “thick lips” and warns Barbantio in regard to Othello’s attraction to his daughter Desdemona: “Even now, now, very now an old black ram…
3 educator answers
- MACBETH
How is Macbeth a weak man who brings suffering upon his own head?
Macbeth is a weak man because he is easily tempted and convinced by forces outside his own thinking and moral code. Macbeth’s trouble starts with his own internal desire to possess power, however,…
1 educator answer
- THE GRAPES OF WRATH
In chapters 17-20, Steinback uses the word “family” to convey more than the traditional family…
At the beginning of the story, Tom Joad and his family, are concerned about their family, meaning their immediate family consisting of Grandpa, Granma, Ma, Pa, Uncle John, Noah, Rose of Sharon, Al,…
1 educator answer
- THE GRAPES OF WRATH
Why is the death of Grampa in chapter 13 not tragic?
Grandpa’s death isn’t tragic because it is not unexpected. Grandpa didn’t want to leave his house. He says that it is his home and he won’t leave it. The family has to drug him to get him on the…
1 educator answer
- SCIENCE
How can we continue to eat fish but lessen the danger of mercury poisoning?
Fish is a highly nutritious food and a much healthier choice than other meats when engaging in a healthy diet, low in fats and high in protein. The key to avoiding mercury poisoning is to choose…
1 educator answer
- A WHITE HERON
What are the genre and theme of “A White Heron”?
“A White Heron,” first published in 1886, belongs to the local color movement in American literature which flourished after the Civil War. Although it is primarily romantic in tone and theme, the…
1 educator answer
- ROMEO AND JULIET
Can anyone help me translate a modern sentence into Shakespeare language?Here’s the sentence:…
How about this? Yea, mayhaps to-day I shalt; for sooth, methinks I should have done it long ere now! I’ve pasted a link to the Elizabethan Online Dictionary below. Check it out sometime!
1 educator answer
- A SEPARATE PEACE
What has the dining room in his family’s home come to symbolize for Leper in A Separate Peace?…
The dining room in his family’s home has come to symbolize safety, a refuge from the real world. It is kind of a retreat, back to the security of childhood where Leper knows all his needs will be…
1 educator answer
- TWILIGHT
In New Moon, before Edward gave into Bella’s demand, what was his condition?
If you are referring to her demand that he be the one to turn her into a vampire, he said he wanted her to marry him first, as a human. Carlisle had already promised Bella that he would change her…
1 educator answer
- MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
How would you explain the dramatic function of the language in Act One, Scene One of…
You need to read this question and think what it is that the language does to contribute to the drama in this scene – how is language used to establish themes, relationships and character in this…
1 educator answer
- A JURY OF HER PEERS
What does the crime scene look like in “A Jury Of Her Peers”?
The actual crime occurred in the bedroom as Mrs. Peters, the protagonist, claims that someone came to the bedroom and put a rope around her husband’s neck and strangled him in his sleep. Not much…
1 educator answer
- THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME
What clues at the start of “The Most Dangerous Game” foreshadow danger ahead for Rainsford?
The first intimation of danger on the island occurs before Rainsford even swims to shore. He hears the cry of an animal being hunted; it is a piercing sound of an animal with which Rainsford is not…
2 educator answers
- ROMEO AND JULIET
What is an example of hubris in Romeo and Juliet? I need two of them.
Hubris, or the idea that humans can out-cheat and be better than the Gods, is perhaps best discussed in the character of Friar Lawrence in this play. One of the major themes within this play is…
1 educator answer
- REFERENCE
Is wordprocessing software for secretaries alone?can other people use it?
Word processing software is for everyone! Doctors, lawyers, kindergarteners and college students all use word processing software today. In fact, one of the problems created by word processing…
1 educator answer
- PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
Why do you suppose Mr. Bennet teases his wife instead of telling her directly about his visit to…
In Chapter 2, Mr. Bennet hides the news of his calling on Mr. Bingley because he enjoys the momentary power he holds in the household, a home that is dominated by women. In the Bennet house, the…
1 educator answer
- TO BUILD A FIRE
Can you Summarize the main idea of the first paragraph in “To Build a Fire”?
In that first paragraph we are given the setting of the story (Yukon, 9 o’clock and we only know its daytime b/c it says that it was a “clear day” but with “no sun, or hint or sun”). We also get…
1 educator answer
- JANE EYRE
Describe how even though Mr. Rochester appears to be an unloving and stern person he by nature is…
The character of Mr. Rochester in Jane Eyre is a bit of an enigma. He is a classic Byronic hero, displaying many gothic qualities of such characters, such as being dark and moody, having a secret…
1 educator answer
- MACBETH
How does nature appear to react to unnatural deeds in “Macbeth”?
People in Shakespeare’s day believed in a concept known as the Chain of Being, an idea in which all of live is connected with God at the top of the chain and nature at the bottom. The king is…
2 educator answers
- REFERENCE
What is the climate of Saudi Arabia? the teacher told us to give lota info on climates and i…
This country is indeed a desertic one, with very low rainfall but with temperatures vacillating from very hot to cold, depending on the time of day and the season. There are some regional…
1 educator answer
- THE CLOUD
How does Shelley desribe “the Sky after the rain” in his poem “The Cloud” using his skill of…
Shelley uses the following lines: For after the rain, when with never a stain The pavilion of Heaven is bare,And the winds and sunbeams, with their convex gleams, Build up the blue dome of Air –…
1 educator answer
- TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
Why do the Cunninghams go to reform school in Chapter 1?
The young Cunninghams go to a reform school in Chapter 1 as their punishment for disturbing the peace. This story is part of the gossip about Arthur (Boo) Radley as a youth told by Miss Stephanie…