Do the arguments of Karl Marx or Max Weber better represent society in the present moment?

August 26, 2018 Educator

OTHELLO

How does Othello understand the power that he holds and where does he express this in…

In Shakespeare’s Othello, Othello understands that he has held great power in the military, and he calls on this power in order to have himself heard after it becomes clear to all that he has…

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SCIENCE

What are the compounds found in food items, medicines and agricultural supplies?

I believe you are asking about the type of compounds commonly found in food items, medicines and agricultural supplies. All of these categories and many more similar ones utilize “organic”…

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BUSINESS

How are efficiency and effectiveness related?

Ideally, we accomplish tasks efficiently and effectively, and they work hand in hand to achieve the very best results. However, it is possible to be efficient and ineffective, or, conversely, to be…

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LITERATURE

In the poem, “To the Doctor who Treated the Raped Baby and Who Felt Such Despair,” what is the…

In Dowling’s sad and disturbing poem, she uses the heinous crime of raping a child to juxtapose how a child should be loved and cared for. Dowling plays with the opposite of tenderness vs….

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THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO

What kind of person is Montresor?

Montresor is the narrator of “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe. The story is written in the first person, enabling us to see the events of the story through Montresor’s eyes and also to…

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THE PLOUGH AND THE STARS

Describe the relationship between Bessie and Nora in The Plough and the Stars by Sean O’Casey.

The relationship between Nora Clitheroe and Bessie Burgess in Sean O’Casey’s The Plough and the Stars is complicated. They are neighbors and clearly have known each other for a long period of time,…

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THE TAMING OF THE SHREW

How does Shakespeare want us to feel about Katharina being tamed by Petruchio?

It is always difficult to determine authorial intent. We are not able to ask Shakespeare what he wants us to feel; even then, audiences might react very differently to what the author intended….

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THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

In “The Canterville Ghost” by Oscar Wilde, why does Sir Simon create the blood-stain and why is…

After Washington Otis removes the blood-stain in the library with Pinkerton’s, Sir Simon is forced to find a way of recreating it. As real blood is a “very difficult thing” to get hold of, Sir…

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EMILY DICKINSON

Was Emily Dickinson a feminist poet?

Whether Emily Dickinson was a feminist poet depends on the definition of feminism one uses. In one sense, “feminism” means to participate in organized activity advocating for women’s rights and…

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BLACK BEAUTY

How would one write a character sketch of Jeremiah Barker in Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty?

A character sketch is a description of a character written in such a way that the reader gets to know the character as a person, like creating a written snapshot of the character. A character…

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THE GREAT GATSBY

How is the notion of death or mortality presented or treated in The Great Gatsby?

Fitzgerald uses foreshadowing to point to the deaths of both Myrtle and Gatsby at the end of the novel. Myrtle will die in the Valley of the Ashes when Gatsby’s car hits her, and ashes themselves…

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LAW AND POLITICS

Examine Rousseau’s attempt to bring about a reconciliation between liberty and authority.

Jean Jacques Rousseau’s most influential work, The Social Contract (1762), opens with his famous phrase “Man is born free, yet everywhere he is in chains.” Rousseau’s ideas went against the grain…

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SCIENCE

Why do elements in the same column have same chemical properties?

Representative elements that are found in the same column of the periodic table have the same number of valence electrons. Valence electrons are the electrons that are located in the outermost…

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TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

What is Atticus’s role in the children’s relationship with Arthur (Boo) Radley in Harper Lee’s To…

In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus’s primary role in his children’s relationship to Arthur (Boo) Radley is to teach his children to treat Arthur respectfully.Atticus tries to get his…

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SCIENCE

How is biology used in criminology? Is it more important than chemistry to take in high school? I…

The most important role for biology in criminal justice is DNA evidence, which has revolutionized forensic science and fundamentally changed the way we solve criminal cases, particularly major…

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REFERENCE

In “Who Gets to Graduate?” Paul Tough examines a problem: low-income students are much less…

Reasons for lower graduation rates among lower-income students are multi-faceted. In the United States, school systems are not created equally. Middle- and upper-class students have access to safe…

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TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

How does Atticus treat Walter?

Atticus treats Walter Cunningham respectfully like he does everyone else in Maycomb. Later in the novel, he even calls Mayella Ewell, “m’am” when cross-examining her during the Tom Robinson…

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MACBETH

Interpret yourself as Macbeth, and then write your thoughts about your first encounter with the…

If I were Macbeth and met the Weird Sisters upon “a blasted heath” (as the stage directions of Act 1, Scene 3 describe it), I would no doubt feel many emotions. First of all, based on Banquo’s…

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SCIENCE

Where do you think is the damage caused by an earthquake greater? Is it near or far from the…

The epicenter of an earthquake is the point on the Earth’s surface, directly above the “focus,” or the location at which a fault ruptures in the Earth’s interior. The damage caused by the…

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THE ROCKING-HORSE WINNER

What is the root of evil in “The Rocking-Horse Winner”?

The root of evil in “The Rocking-Horse Winner” is the mother’s desire for more and more money. Although the family lives comfortably in a large house with servants, the mother expected more from…

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THE BLACK CAT

What makes “The Black Cat” a Gothic Romance?

A “Gothic Romance” is a story that adheres to certain conventions and techniques that represent its genre. In this sense, a “romance” is not necessarily a love story but refers to stories of…

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A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN

Give a critique of James Joyce’s Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

For being such a slim novel, James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is open to a wide variety of interpretations. I think it’s helpful to approach it from a broad perspective to…

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THE LION AND THE JEWEL

How did Baroka win Sidi’s affection in The Lion and the Jewel?

Throughout the play, Baroka wishes to marry Sidi, who views him with contempt. When Baroka initially asks for her hand in marriage, she refuses to accept and begins to ridicule the Bale. Sidi does…

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SOCIAL SCIENCES

What is the role of journalism in society?

The most important thing to understand about journalism is that its entire purpose is to serve the citizens—all the citizens—of a democratic society. When you keep that in mind, you can better…

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THE CITY OF EMBER

What are the physical traits of the characters in Jeanne DuPrau’s The City of Ember, including…

We learn quite a bit about the physical descriptions of many of the characters throughout Jeanne DuPrau’s The City of Ember. We learn many character descriptions in the opening chapter and others…

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HISTORY

What is the importance of learning history?

Learning about history provides us with two kinds of lessons, helping us to understand what has worked and what has not worked in the past, which is vital in decision-making about the present and…

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LANGUAGE

What is the difference between the terms “text” and “context?”

The term “text” refers to the written words in literature or other verbal communication; this includes dialogue, description, narrative comment, and everything else contained in the words of…

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THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS

In The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne, what did Bruno think Herr Roller should do, and…

First, it is important to realize that Herr Roller is more often called Franz within The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. (This should clear up any character confusion.) In answer to your question, we…

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FAHRENHEIT 451

In Fahrenheit 451, who gets incinerated by Guy Montag?

Guy Montag is a fireman who burns people’s houses when they are reported to authorities for owning books. When he turns away from that life to preserve books, he gets caught by his boss, Captain…

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A SEPARATE PEACE

What role does resilience play in A Separate Peace by John Knowles?

Resiliency means that someone can bounce back to their original state of being after experiencing a traumatic event. The three boys who experience traumatic events are Gene, Phineas, and Leper….

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TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

What are the overall most important events from chapters 8-14 of Harper Lee’s To Kill a…

One of the most important events in Chapter 8 of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is the moment Miss Maudie’s house catches fire, because it leads to further character development.During the…

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THE CRUCIBLE

What does Abigail say about Elizabeth Proctor?

In Act One, when her uncle, Reverend Parris, asks about Abigail’s reputation in town, she promises that her name is good. She insists that Elizabeth Proctor “hates [her]” because Abigail “would not…

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HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS

What is the conclusion to “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ends with a final battle at Hogwarts (not counting the epilogue, which I will discuss at the end, too). While Harry searches the school for the final horcrux…

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TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

Why does Aunt Alexandra accept that the Cunninghams may be good people, but are not our kind of…

In Chapter 23, Atticus tells the children that one person in the Cunningham family was in favor of acquitting Tom Robinson during the jury’s deliberation. Jem tells Atticus that he’ll never…

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A ROSE FOR EMILY

What general observations about the society that Faulkner depicts can be made after reading “A…

The first general observation we can make is that there were distinct gender roles in this society. Miss Emily, as a southern woman, is expected to be generally passive and to fulfill her destiny…

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HISTORY

How did the Treaty of Versailles affect the world at the end of World War I?

The Treaty of Versailles was the peace treaty that ended World War I. This treaty tried to deal with various issues that led World War I and that were involved in the start of the war. One factor…

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SCIENCE

Does the moon change its shape every night?

No, the shape of the moon stays fixed. It is only the appearance of the moon (as seen from the earth) that changes every night. This perceived change in its shape is due to its rotation around the…

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ODE TO THE WEST WIND

What aspects of the wind does Shelley emphasize? What is his tone in this section?

Shelley emphasizes different aspects of the wind, but in four out of five of the poem’s sections, Shelley focuses on the west wind’s power to cause movement and change. In the first part, he…

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ANTIGONE

What are some of the challenges of producing a play like Antigone in our modern society?

Antigone is one of the classic Greek tragedies and many contemporary plays continue to draw inspiration from it. In the play, Antigone faces off with Creon, the new king, who orders that she cannot…

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YOUNG GOODMAN BROWN

In “Young Goodman Brown,” what is the wickedness that Brown witnesses and how are he and Faith…

In the story, the wickedness that Young Goodman Brown witnesses is a witches’ Sabbath, a meeting of those in Salem who are in league with the Devil. There were a number of people there, “all of…

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REFERENCE

What are some examples of lexemes in a sentence?

A lexeme is a basic unit of meaning in a language. A lexeme can be a single word or set of words; any unit that depends upon all its morphological components to be understood qualifies. In other…

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THE GREAT GATSBY

What favor does Gatsby ask of Nick?

Toward the end of Chapter IV, after Jordan has told Nick the story of the history between Gatsby and Daisy as well as the fact that Gatsby bought the house directly across the bay from Daisy’s on…

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A CHRISTMAS CAROL

“I will live in the past, the present, and the future”: Scrooge’s redemption proves that… 2 images

Crucial to this story is the idea that individual actions can transform the future, for good or ill. Supernatural events—the multiple appearances of ghosts—break into Scrooge’s life, causing…

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HISTORY

How can I research the true identity of Druids by comparing the perspectives of Julius Caesar,…

The Romans were quite chauvinistic, so it’s hard to say how accurate any of these Roman accounts of the Druids actually were. But we can at least compare them and note where they are consistent or…

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THE LOVE SONG OF J. ALFRED PRUFROCK

Take a close look at how some poetic elements work in the poem, such as figurative language,…

“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” has earned its position in the canon of literature largely through T.S. Eliot’s sheer mastery of poetic language. Out of Eliot’s oeuvre, the poem is…

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HEALTH

Can low air pressure cause dizziness and headaches?

Low atmospheric pressure can cause headaches and dizziness, especially for someone not used to being in an environment with low atmospheric pressure. The lower atmospheric pressure means that the…

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HISTORY

Are there any primary sources regarding Druids, especially related to Emperor Claudius banning…

There is, indeed, primary source material on Emperor Claudius and the Druids. The problem, however, lies in the perennial difficulty surrounding ancient texts, the transliterations and translations…

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SPEAK

What are the mascots at Merryweather High School in Speak?

Merryweather High School (the school which is attended by Melinda, the protagonist of Speak) undergoes several changes in mascots over the course of the book. The first mascot featured in the book…

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TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

What does the “business” part of the missionary circle consist of in To Kill a Mockingbird?

The greatest insight given into Aunt Alexandra’s missionary circles is found in chapter 24. Scout helps Calpurnia in the kitchen while the “business” part takes place. Aunt Alexandra told her that…