• WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

In “London 1802” by William Wordsworth, what are some of the figures of speech, and what does the…

Wordsworth’s poem is an apostrophe to the great English poet, John Milton. It is written as a sonnet: Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour: England hath need of thee: she is a fen Of…

1 educator answer

• TO SIR, WITH LOVE

To Sir With loveI have this novel as a literature book. I am finding it very difficult. Can…

Here is an enotes site which is very helpful in terms of providing a summary of the book: http://www.enotes.com/sir-with-love-salem/sir-with-love From my own recollection, the film is also a good…

3 educator answers

• HISTORY

Who is Thomas Hobbes and why is he a notable philosopher? What philosophical ideas influenced him?

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) is one of the most influential moral and political philosophers of the early modern period. His most famous work, Leviathan (1651) most clearly and thoroughly elaborates…

1 educator answer

• FEAR

What is the central idea of the poem “Fear” by Gabriela Mistral?

Central to the poem “Fear” by Gabriela Mistral is a mother’s anxiety about losing her child. This is, in part, a selfish apprehension as the mother worries that the child will become like a…

3 educator answers

• THE SCARLET IBIS

How does Doodle respond to the Scarlet Ibis and to its death?

Doodle acts strangely–even for Doodle–but seems to almost immediately identify with the “red, dead bird” that falls from the bleeding tree in the James Hurst short story, “The Scarlet Ibis.”…

2 educator answers

• BENJAMIN FRANKLIN

What is the literal and also the figurative meaning of Benjamin Franklin’s “Rules by Which a…

In “Rules by Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One,” Benjamin Franklin literally indicates those areas that will make great empires into small ones. Franklin offers advice to the…

2 educator answers

• BUSINESS

Explain the role of “Positioning” in services marketing.

Positioning is a process that companies use in business marketing to create an image in the mind of the consumer. With all of the media and the mass marketing we have in today’s society,…

2 educator answers

• OTHELLO

Why are The Crucible and Othello still relevant reading today?

In order to answer this question, it’s probably more helpful to look at the themes of the piece, rather than the plot events. In “The Crucible,” Arthur Miller takes on some pretty hefty themes,…

2 educator answers

• OTHELLO

Why are “The Crucible” and “Othello” still relevant reading today?Why are “The Crucible” and…

In order to answer this question, it’s probably more helpful to look at the themes of the piece, rather than the plot events. In “The Crucible,” Arthur Miller takes on some pretty hefty themes,…

3 educator answers

• LORD OF THE FLIES

In Lord of the Flies, why is Roger more sadistic than Jack?

In this allegory of “The Lord of the Flies,” Roger and Jack are analagous to Ralph and Piggy in the sense that of the two pairs of boys, one is more representative of a “pure” trait that the other….

2 educator answers

• STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING

What conflict do the bells and the wind present in “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”?

In Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” the bells represent time and society’s obligatory creations while the wind is representative of Nature. The horse gives “his harness bells…

1 educator answer

• ANTIGONE

What did Antigone’s father do?

Antigone’s father, Oedipus, placed a curse on his entire family. The story is told in the first play of the triology, Oedipus Rex (Oedipus the King). Briefly, when Oedipus was king of Thebes, he…

1 educator answer

• THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME

At the end of the story, does Rainford hunt the general, kill the general, or escape from the…

Since Rainsford appropriated his bed for the night, it is implicit but fairly clear that he “did Zaroff in.” It is even stated that he couldn’t remember when he had ever slept so well, suggesting…

2 educator answers

• ANGLOPHILES WHO TEACH SPANISH

Audiovisual materials for Spanish language teachersHi everybody! Bablingua is a new website, made…

I have a similar website called www.lingechguistics.wordpress.com. I will add you to my blogroll- You are welcome to make comments as well, and I hope we can be working together sometime!

1 educator answer

• OTHELLO

Why did shakepeare put othello in a position of power in the play othello?was it to show how…

It may very well have been to bring to light the racism of the time. Shakespeare has been known (as are other authors–Chaucer, Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift, Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde, Edith…

2 educator answers

• ESSAY LAB

How can I develop the following rough paragraph into a coherent, more developed piece?George…

Perhaps the most effective way to develop this paragraph is to combine the details of your various sentences into a more fluidly-devised narrative. For example, you could say: “As a resident of…

1 educator answer

• JACOB HAVE I LOVED

In “Jacob Have I Loved”, who does Louise marry and what does she see in him?

Louise marries Joseph Wojtkiewicz, who works at a college, and has a reputation for being a ladies’ man. She met him when he came asking for help so she could treat his 6 year old son who had a…

1 educator answer

• MATH

Are two opposite rays with common endpoint considered to have an angle? Why?

Yes. Any two rays joined with an endpoint always have, by definition, an angle between them. Two opposite rays form a straight line. The angle of a straight line is 180 degrees. To see this,…

1 educator answer

• TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

Why does Dolphus Raymond “drink” in “To Kill a Mockingbird”?I need help getting inside his head…

First, we will establish that he actually doesn’t drink. The bottle in the brown paper bag that he has is a bottle of Coca-Cola. However, he uses the brown paperbag to maintain for the town the…

1 educator answer

• OSCAR WILDE

How does “The Nightingale and the Rose” highlight human selfishness?

This seemingly simple story, when examined closely, develops several meaningful themes in regard to human nature, one of them being that of blind selfishness. The student is selfish in that he is…

1 educator answer

• ROMEO AND JULIET

What is the line in which the Friar advises Romeo against loving violently? What is he trying to…

Good question – let’s go through this little speech from Act 2, Scene 6, line by line and find out what the Friar is trying to say to Romeo: These violent delights have violent endsAnd in their…

1 educator answer

• TO SIR, WITH LOVE

How does Rick begin to react to not getting a job in the book To Sir With Love?The answer must be…

Rick begins to react to not getting a job by beginning to strike out “in unreasoning retaliation”. He had been jobless for nearly eighteen months, and the disillusionment with which he had…

1 educator answer

• ROMEO AND JULIET

In “Romeo and Juliet” Act 2, Scene 5, why is Juliet increasingly frustrated by the Nurse’s…

In Act 2, scene 5, Juliet is awaiting the Nurse’s arrival with news from Romeo of whether or not he will marry her and, if he will, where and when the wedding will take place. By nature, Juliet,…

2 educator answers

• ROMEO AND JULIET

In Romeo and Juliet Act 2 Scene 5, Juliet’s opening speech again highlights the theme of youth…

In her opening soliloquy in Romeo and Juliet Act V Scene 2, Juliet, having sent her nurse with a message to Romeo, is burning up with impatience waiting for her return. She first considers that the…

1 educator answer

• LORD OF THE FLIES

According to Golding, is it possible to cover our instincts by law, order etc.?

It is not that law covers our insticts- it simply aids to control them. We cover them with ethics and etiquette, with civility, and with our socially-learned behaviors (and our personal…

1 educator answer

• THE ROAD

List all of the themes found in “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy.

When you are looking to find a theme of a piece of literature, keep in mind that themes can ususally be stated in one word, and that word describes something pretty major that is evident in the…

1 educator answer

• JOHN BERRYMAN

What is “The Ball Poem” by John Berryman talking about in a paragraph or so.Thank you in advance!!!

“The Ball Poem” by John Berryman is talking about the irreversability of loss and the need to accept loss and move beyond it as one matures. Some actions simply cannot be taken back, no matter how…

1 educator answer

• A DOLL’S HOUSE

Can U think of another character that is like Nora?I love Doll’s House so much, and I always love…

The Age of Innocence is one example. Ellen Olenska is someone who lives life on her own terms. May Welland eventually learns how to gain some control, although she operates within the bounds of…

1 educator answer

• PARADISE LOST

Paradise Lost Books one and fourWhat are the epic qualities in the settings, characters, and…

The epic is appealing to everyone who loves the beauty of words. Surely that also includes non-Christians? Even people who don’t necessary believe in the story of Adam and Eve and other Bible…

2 educator answers

• THE GIVER

What are some of Jonas’ Physical Traits Other Than His Eye Color?I know that Jonas has lighter…

Jonas is not described in detail, but we do know that the most important thing about him is that he looks like everyone else other than his eye color. His eyes make him different, but not enough…

1 educator answer

• MACBETH

Shakespeare aims to have his audience identify with Macbeth and then become involved in his pain…

Since Macbeth is the protagonist of the play and is not presented in an uncompromisingly negative light (as Iago is, for instance), we are safe in assuming that Shakespeare intended his audience to…

2 educator answers

• THE LIFE OF LANGSTON HUGHES: VOLUME 1, 1902-1941

Why does langston Hughes answer his main question with a list of questions?

I will assume that you are asking about the poem “Dream Deferred”. Authors use rhetoical questions to force their audience to direct their thoughts inward and reflect on how they feel about the…

1 educator answer

• HISTORY

Any useful sources that you know of for Education during the Meiji Restoration?For Modern History…

During the period called the Maiji Restoration (or Meiji Revolution) a compulsory education system was instituted. The era began in 1868, when the Tokugawa shogunate ended in a coup on January 3,…

1 educator answer

• WHY I LIVE AT THE P.O.

How can I write a character analysis for Sister in “Why I Live at the P.O.”?

Also, please check out the free guide on eNotes called, How to Write a Character Analysis in 10 Easy Steps.

1 educator answer

• HISTORY

How do you feel about Hitler?What was the holocaust?

Adolph was deeply disturbed. His mother died young in 1908 and left him an orphaned adolescent. He was a talented artist and wanted to paint, but because he could not paint portraits he was denied…

11 educator answers

• THE LOVE SONG OF J. ALFRED PRUFROCK

Why does Eliot describe the fog as a cat in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock?” What is the…

The main purpose would be to simply be poetic, and use an interesting metaphor for the fog. Cats are known to be quiet, stealthy, adept, and able to scale and inhabit places that other creatures…

2 educator answers

• DEATH OF A SALESMAN

What causes Biff to run-off and not graduate in “Death of a Salesman”?

When Biff fails math, he immediately runs to his father. Willy has always told Biff that he is special, that his athletic ability and his good looks are all that he need. Biff believes that the…

2 educator answers

• THE WINTER ROOM

What is a important scene in “The Winter Room”?The book is a John Newberry award winning.

The book is divided into 3 parts that carefully develop specific moods rather than one continuous plot. Within each section, there are subsections. The middle section is divided into the four…

1 educator answer

• THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS TO SAY PHOENIX, ARIZONA

In “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona,” how do the different settings affect Tom’s…

In “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona,” Victor and Thomas Builds-the Fire had stopped being friends a long time ago. The setting changes introduce new situations for Thomas and Victor…

1 educator answer

• HISTORY

War Ever JustifiedIs War Ever Justified?

Is murder ever justified? Yes–in self-defense. A person has the inherent right to protect his own life from anyone who would take it. Applied to the national perspective, then, a nation has the…

7 educator answers

• THE YEARLING

What can be learned from the character of Twink Weatherby in The Yearling?Every character in a…

I am not sure that there is any lesson to be taken from the character of Twink Weatherby, but her purpose in the book seems to be to illustrate the similarities between humans and animals in the…

1 educator answer

• TWILIGHT

“‘I suppose you’re going to tell me that your boyfriend will avenge you?’ he asked, hopefully it…

She is saying that there is a sense of hope in the way James asks the question. We know this because of the way the sentence is structured. The comma separates the two descriptions of the…

2 educator answers

• AN OCCURRENCE AT OWL CREEK BRIDGE

Which of the quotations from this story reveal an objective point of view?

The objective point of view is limited to what the narrator sees or hears. He can not project into others thoughts or motives. Much of an objective point of view is dialogue so any point in “An…

1 educator answer

• THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS TO SAY PHOENIX, ARIZONA

What would be the theme for “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona”?

Any number of themes are possible but one of the stronger themes in this Sherman Alexie story is that of family and tribal identity. Victor’s journey to Arizona to retrieve the remains of his…

1 educator answer

• ROMEO AND JULIET

How does the hateful relationship between the families in “Romeo and Juliet” affect their…

The most blatant example would be Romeo & Juliet’s deaths, and the deaths of relatives young and old. This one factor- the families’ hate and long-standing feud- results in each new plot twist….

2 educator answers

• FAHRENHEIT 451

Is Fahrenheit a temperature at which books burn? What does this have to do with the story?

Fahrenheit is a temperature scale invented by a scientist named Daniel Fahrenheit. What this has to do with the book is that it is a story about book burnings that are carried out by fireman who…

1 educator answer

• LITERATURE

What do you think the greatest challenges are when writing a biography of a person who has been…

historical fiability: Representing the person as closely as possible to his/her real personality and being. representative credibility: Making the person seem alive and believable today, with both…

7 educator answers

• THE SCARLET LETTER

In “The Scarlet Letter” do you think Dimmesdale actually has a scarlet letter on his chest?In the…

Dimmesdale did indeed have a scarlet letter on his chest. And, it was he himself that put it there. He gave himself a tattoo of sorts. The guilt of not bearing Hester’s burden of shame with her,…

1 educator answer

• THE SUN ALSO RISES

How are women represented in The Sun also Rises?

Hemingway is often considered by feminists to be a misogynistic writer. While I think this label might be a bit severe at times, in this novel Hemingway portrays his few female characters as…

1 educator answer

• THE SCARLET IBIS

Do you think the narrator makes any discoveries at the end of the story as he cradles his…

I think that Brother is overcome with grief and remorse at the end of the story. He feels guilty over always having wished that Doodle could be normal and do all the things that average boys could…