In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, what color was the sky and what did it represent?

August 24, 2018 Educator

BY THE WATERS OF BABYLON

What was the Great Burning in “By the Waters of Babylon?”

At the beginning of “By the Waters of Babylon,” we do not really know what the Great Burning was in any precise way. However, near the end of the story, we find out that the Great Burning was…

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HEALTH

Is it true that that virtually any substance with some effect on a person’s mental or physical…

The amount of scrutiny that a substance receives and the amount of controversy it is susceptible to from both science and society seems to be tied to two issues. The first issue is how great the…

HEART OF DARKNESS

In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, is there any moral to the first section of Marlow’s tale?  

There’s a lot going on in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, and much of what the author has to say includes some kind of moral judgment. However, I believe that the first section of Marlow’s tale,…

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ANIMAL FARM

In “Beasts of England,” from Animal Farm, what and where is the potential foreshadowing for the…

The main example of foreshadowing in “Beasts of England” is found in the lines “Soon or late the day is coming/Tyrant Man shall be o’erthrown…” (12). This foreshadows the events that occur on…

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CHARLES

Why didn’t Laurie’s mom realize that Laurie was really Charles in Shirley Jackson’s short story…

Shirley Jackson is most widely known for her chilling short story “The Lottery” but she also wrote the very charming, and in some ways disturbing, short story “Charles.” From the beginning of the…

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MONSTER

In the beginning of Monster, what would be 2 good characteristics for O’Brien?

Two characteristics to define O’Brien at the beginning of Monster could be “focused” and “unemotional.” As the novel opens, O’Brien is incredibly focused. She wants to make sure that she does the…

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CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE

In “Self-Reliance,” Emerson lists several men who defied unjust laws and suffered the…

In the fourteenth paragraph of his essay “Self-Reliance,” Ralph Waldo Emerson writes: Is it so bad then to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther,…

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YOUNG GOODMAN BROWN

Young Goodman Brown begins “doubting whether there really was a heaven above him.” Why? What…

Like many elements of Hawthorne’s classic short story, there are two meanings to this line. The first is because Goodman is doubting himself. What he has heard (the holy men talking) makes no…

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SCIENCE

How would spring tides be affected if the moon were in perigee during the full or new moon?

Spring tides are a periodic phenomenon that occurs when the sun, moon and Earth are aligned. If you drew a radial line outward from the sun, it would pass through the center of both the Earth and…

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THE LOTTERY

What do you think of when you think of the short story, The Lottery?

When I think of the short story “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, I think of the people standing and waiting to hear their fate. It reminds me of The Hunger Games scene where all of the people…

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THE FAULT IN OUR STARS

What is expected and unexpected in John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars?

Two themes can be discussed in regards to prediction and expectation: love and death. First, if you are in the beginning chapters of the book, you might be pondering what happens in regards to the…

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THE SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON

Can you give me a summary of Chapter 3 of The Swiss Family Robinson?

In Chapter Three, the family successfully get themselves off the wreck of the ship and to the island. In Chapter Two, they had already spent the day making a raft with some large wooden tubs that…

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HISTORY

How much did Great Britain, Russia and France spend in 1890 and in 1914?

There are two questions you could be asking here, but it’s simple enough to answer both.The first is how much they spent in general, which is by definition their GDP.I’ve used the work of Paul…

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THE GIVER

Calculate how the past famine and war may have contributed to the community’s structure.

The Giver explained to Jonas that centuries before, there was a famine: “The population had gotten so big that hunger was everywhere. Excruciating hunger and starvation. It was followed by…

2 educator answers

LAW AND POLITICS

How has the president’s power as the chief executive grown?

The powers of the President have grown much over the years. The Constitution originally gave the president powers in several areas. It appointed him Commander in Chief of the military. The founders…

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SCIENCE

Who discovered bacteria? How did he discover it?

Dutch microscopist, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek is credited with the discovery of bacteria. Leeuwenhoek did not receive any formal higher education and got interested into glass grinding (after a…

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ROMEO AND JULIET

What warning does the prince give to anyone who breaks the peace again in Romeo and Juliet?

Prince Escalus warns that the next one to disturb the peace of Verona with another civil brawl, will be sentenced to death. If ever you disturb our streets again,Your lives shall pay the forfeit…

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IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK

When Tish refers to “crossing the Sahara” in James Baldwin’s If Beale Street Could Talk, what…

In Chapter One of James Baldwin’s novel If Beale Street Could Talk, his 19-year-old African American female protagonist and narrator, Clementine, or Tish, as she is called, is describing her…

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HISTORY

What is Andrew Jackson’s idea of being common man and tyrant?

Andrew Jackson represented the interests of the common man. His detractors also called him a tyrant. Andrew Jackson believed the common man’s interests weren’t being represented in the…

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THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME

Is General Zaroff insane?

General Zaroff, the antagonist in Richard Connel’s short story “The Most Dangerous Game,” is most assuredly criminally insane. After all, the general hunts men. He must be considered one of the…

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ROMEO AND JULIET

What are some quotes that demonstrate Romeo’s impulsive personality?

Romeo’s behavior throughout Romeo and Juliet is marked by impulsivity. At the beginning of the play, he is besotted with Rosaline, an unseen character, but quickly falls out of love with her after…

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HAMLET

How, according to Hamlet, could Alexander become the “stopper for a bung hole?”

This quote is from Act V, Scene 1 of Hamlet, where the prince, having returned from England, encounters the gravediggers. After seeing the skull of Yorick (the late court jester who Hamlet knew as…

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A RED, RED ROSE

In “A Red, Red Rose” by Robert Burns, is there any evidence the trip is real or does it only take…

The separation here is not a literal trip. Instead, Burns is using the traditional idea of separation from a love to underscore the tenderness and purity of the speaker’s feelings for his beloved….

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RIP VAN WINKLE

How would you film the opening settings in Washington Irving’s Rip Van Winkle?

Washington Irving placed his stories in the New York that he knew well, especially the lush woods and hills along the Hudson River. Any film based upon his 1819 short story Rip Van Winkle, then,…

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SCIENCE

The Queen Elizabeth the second takes 5 days (120 hours) to make a transatlantic crossing of 3840…

Speed is the ratio of distance traveled and time taken for the journey. It can also be written as: speed = distance traveled/time taken In this case, the Queen Elizabeth the second or QEII travels…

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OF MICE AND MEN

How can I write a topic sentence, concrete details, and commentary for a paragraph about the…

One of the major themes in Of Mice and Men is the quest for the American Dream. George and Lennie, along with Candy and briefly Crooks share the quintessential dream of owning “a little piece of…

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THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW

There’s a question in my homework on That Was Then, This is Now that asks how has Bryon’s…

I think that Bryon’s change towards Cathy reflects the challenges of growing up in That Was Then, It Was Now. Let’s start off by tracing what might be Bryon’s feelings towards Cathy. We know that…

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TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

Why is Scout ashamed of her father?

At the beginning of Chapter 10, Scout laments about her father. She mentions that Atticus is old and feeble. Atticus is nearly fifty which is much older than her friends’ parents at school. Atticus…

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THE THIEF LORD

What are the important details from Chapter 30 of The Thief Lord?

Chapter 30 Summary: Victor Getz is continuously growing fonder of Prospero and Bo. He arrives late for his meeting with the Hartliebs, who are hysterical about not having caught Bo yet. Victor…

HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH PLANTATION

How does Bradford’s analysis of the events relate to the purpose of the book History of Plymouth…

To answer this question we need to carefully consider the purpose of William Bradford’s History of Plymouth Plantation. This book is generally thought of as a history of life in early colonial New…

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HISTORY

What was Russia called between 1922 and 1991?

The most likely answer to this question is that Russia was called the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) during the time period from 1922 until 1991. However, this is not quite accurate as…

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THE SNIPER

In the short story “The Sniper” by Liam O’Flaherty, what is the sniper’s internal conflict and…

In Liam O’Flaherty’s brilliant anti-war short story “The Sniper” I do not believe the reader can tell whether the Republican sniper has an internal conflict. The story is told from a detached,…

2 educator answers

HISTORY

Why did the founding fathers choose a government based off of a confederation?

The American colonists had just fought a war with England to escape the tyranny of a strong central government. When discussion took place in the Continental Congress for the shape of a new United…

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BY THE WATERS OF BABYLON

What does John resolve to do after he becomes chief priest in “By the Waters of Babylon?”

The answer to this can be found at the very end of “By the Waters of Babylon.” At the end of the story, John resolves that he will make fundamental changes when he is the chief priest. His…

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HARRISON BERGERON

How is radical mediocrity achieved and enforced in “Harrison Bergeron?”

The government and society in “Harrison Bergeron” feel that in order to achieve happiness or a utopian way of life everyone needs to be equal. They have skewed the meaning of what equality…

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LYDDIE

What are some advantages and disadvantages/hardships in pages 122-182 of Katherine Paterson’s…

In the second half of Lyddie, the main character experiences several hardships, although some good things happen as well. First, Lyddie is suddenly given the responsibility of caring for her…

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TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

What is the setting of Chapter 2 of To Kill a Mockingbird?

Chapter 2 of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is set in the Maycomb school. In this chapter, Scout attends school for the first time, where she meets her teacher, Caroline Fisher. Scout describes…

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TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

In To Kill a Mockingbird, what scared Miss Caroline after lunch?

After lunch on the first day of school, Scout sits at her desk, lost in thought. Suddenly, she “looked up to see Miss Caroline standing in the middle of the room, sheer horror flooding her face”…

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COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

I’m in 10th grade and we just finished our first-semester finals. Will taking a regular English…

Taking one non-Honors English course, especially if is simply is not offered at your school, will not adversely affect your ability to get into a good college. Looking at the totality of the…

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JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH

In Journey to the Center of the Earth, what island did they resurface on?

Originally published in French in 1864, Jules Verne’s “Journey to the Center of the Earth” is a classic science fiction adventure tale, praised for its meticulous research and prose style….

THE MERCHANT OF VENICE

Discuss the relationship between Antonio and Bassanio in William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of…

Bassanio and Antonio have a very close friendship. When Bassanio needs money to court Portia, he goes to Antonio. Even though Bassanio already owes Antonio a great deal of money, the merchant…

2 educator answers

HOLES

In the novel Holes, what are the plot and climax?

The book Holes, by Louis Sachar, tells the story of 14-year-old Stanley Yelnats, whose family has been cursed with bad luck for generations. The curse began when his great-great-grandfather, Elya…

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THE LION AND THE JEWEL

How would you describe what happens in the dance of the lost traveler in The Lion and the Jewel?

Lakunle plays the role of the traveler who gets lost and ends up visiting the village of Ilujinle. At the beginning of the mime scene, the traveler is driving through the jungle when his car…

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THE LION AND THE JEWEL

What happens in the “dance of the lost traveler” in Wole Soyinka’s The Lion and the Jewel?

At the beginning of the “dance of the lost traveler,” Lakunle plays the role of the foreign photographer who is driving through the jungle. The four girls who are miming and acting as the wheels of…

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HARRISON BERGERON

In “Harrison Bergeron,” what are the difficulties that Hazel and George experience in simply…

The premise of “Harrison Bergeron” is that everyone has been made equal. This is done by agents of the Handicapper General, who ensure that people wear artificial handicaps. These handicaps include…

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THE INTERLOPERS

In what way or ways does H.H. Munro (Saki) provide examples of irony in his short story The…

The main type of irony H.H. Munro, also known by his pseudonym as “Saki,” employed in his short story The Interlopers is situational. In fact, situational irony is present throughout this story…

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MACBETH

Who are the speakers and what is the context for the quote “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” in…

The witches speak this line, in the first scene of the play. They have just announced their intention to “meet again,” specifically with Macbeth, after the “battle’s lost and won.” We do not know…

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THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM

What does the narrator think about death in the second period of “The Pit and the Pendulum”?

In the second period of The Pit and the Pendulum, the narrator reveals that he has a very interesting opinion regarding death: he considers it immortality. At first, he is talking about losing…