What is Bryon’s main problem with Cathy in That Was Then, This is Now?
- THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES
Despite the sharpness of Lily’s memory of her mother, why can’t she make out her face in The…
To remember the faces of loved ones, we must be around them for a while. Lily was only four when her mother died. And, we learn later in the book that Deborah was gone for three months before her…
1 educator answer
- THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW
What is Bryon’s main problem with Cathy in That Was Then, This is Now?
Byron’s problem with Cathy stems from his growth and necessity to take responsibilty for his life. In the beginning, Byron loves Cathy and depends on her emotionally when his father-like best…
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- THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME
What are the places that Rainsford goes on the island in The Most Dangerous Game?after the chateau
After leaving the chateau, Rainsford knows that he has to win this “hunt” in order to survive. He got a 3 hour head start, and doubles back a few times and then rests in a tree. He waits there…
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- THE TELL-TALE HEART
In “The Tell-Tale Heart” what does the narrator hope to accomplish by telling his story? Does he…
At the beginning of the story, the narrator asks, “(B)ut why will you say that I am mad?” So one of the reasons for telling the story is to show that he is sane. He says he is sane because we can…
2 educator answers
- HISTORY
Why did the Greeks build temples?
Ancient Greek temples were built in order to house the many sculptures of the various deities. The ancient Greeks used the temples as the sacred place whereby they would be able to leave specific…
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- THE NINE TAILORS
How did Lord Peter become acquainted with Fenchurch St. Paul in The Nine Tailors?
Lord Peter Wimsey and his valet Bunter are traveling back to London from Wimsey’s family seat of Duke’s Denver when Lord Peter drives his car into a ditch. It is the dead of winter, and the two…
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- THE LADY OF SHALOTT
How does the weather echo the mood of the poem?
In the beginning of the poem, when the Lady is content to remain in her tower, alone, cursed, and isolated, but happy, the weather is calm, “Little breezes dusk and shiver” (Tennyson) But…
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- THE GREAT GATSBY
In “The Great Gatsby”, what does Gatsby think about Daisy’s relationship with Tom?
Jay honestly thinks that Daisy married Tom only for money. It was her only security into the East Egg way of life. He told her that he would return, and he finally did. He knew that she had…
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- A TALE OF TWO CITIES
Why do you think Defarge shows Dr. Manette to the Jacques?
Defarge states his reasoning for showing off Dr. Manette to the Jacques to Lucie Manette by saying he shows him to those “to whom the sight is likely to do good”. It is clear that Defarge is using…
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- A TALE OF TWO CITIES
What is Sydney Carton’s motive for marriage?Please provide text evidence with page numbers
As I am sure you know, Sydney Carton never marries in the book, but in chapter XIII of Book Two,( I do not give pages because my copy is old and outdated and would not do you any good) he lets down…
1 educator answer
- FAHRENHEIT 451
In Fahrenheit 451 what is the literal meaning of “burning bright”?
There are two possible literal meanings. 1. Montag’s house burning to the ground. 2. Montag’s entire city burning brightly as it is torched in the war. There are more figurative meanings, or…
3 educator answers
- THE ODYSSEY
Who is Eurymachus in the Odyssey?
Eurymachus was one of the men who hoped to be chosen as Penelope’s husband. It was thought that Odysseus was dead, and “suitors” from all over Greece gathered to offer themselves as husband. Of…
2 educator answers
- MACBETH
In Macbeth, please cite some quotes that show Macbeth’s situation at the end of the play.
A messenger comes to warn Macbeth about the army carrying limbs and branches of trees as they make their way to the castle. “Within this three mile may you see it coming;I say, a moving grove.”…
2 educator answers
- TWILIGHT
In Twilight, Bella doesn’t like to be called Edward’s fiancee, but what does she like to be called ?
Bella is Edward’s girlfriend in private, but she dislikes acknowledging this in public. Why? She is not a vampire and Edward is…having this become public knowledge is damaging to their…
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- MACBETH
In “Macbeth”, how would I sum up how Macbeth has changed and how our feelings are affected?quotes…
After being crowned King, Macbeth changes rather quickly. When he orders men to kill Banquo and his son, and the fact that he didn’t even consult his wife about it, we know that he is losing his…
1 educator answer
- BUSINESS
What is a corporation’s social corporate responsibility for each of the four areas of corporate…
According to the Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility, the ultimate responsibility of a corporation is its economic performance. This is to make and provide income to workers and in turn…
1 educator answer
- THROUGH THE TUNNEL
A ticking clock is good for adding suspense. What device does Lessing use to create a sort of…
There are two ways Lessing creates a “ticking-clock” effect in the story. The first is the realization by Jerry that he must learn to hold his breath at least two minutes. Each day he counts the…
2 educator answers
- HANDS
What are the major conflicts of the story “Hands”? And what is the irony?
The main conflict in the story stems from the fact that Wing Biddlebaum is different. He is a man who by nature expresses himself with his hands, and because of this, he is vilified and…
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- HAMLET
Is “Hamlet” primarily a tragedy of revenge?
On the surface, it is a tale about revenge, that ends in devastating tragedy for most of its main characters. Think of all the people that died: Polonius, Ophelia, Claudius, Gertrude,…
1 educator answer
- MACBETH
How can I find out the family history of the real Macbeth?
What a great question! I love to research this kind of stuff. There is a web site called The Real Macbeth. I’ve placed a link to it in the Sources section. According to this site, the historical…
1 educator answer
- GREAT EXPECTATIONS
In “Great Expectations”, is Miss Havisham a victim for her own bitterness and anger?Need Help…
Miss Havisham thinks so. After Estella marries Bentley Drummle, she asks Pip to come to Satis House. During their conversation, she says to Pip,”until I saw in you a looking glass that showed me…
1 educator answer
- TWILIGHT
In the Twilight series, why is it that Stephenie Meyer’s vampires sparkle in the sun instead of…
Meyer never gives an exact explanation for this variance from the traditional vampire other than the fact that she got the idea for the story from a dream. She dreamt of the meadow scene where two…
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- MITSUYE YAMADA
What is the meaing of the last line of the poem “To the Lady” “All are punished”?
Yamada spends the poem describing the different responses that she could have had to the injustice of the Japanese being put into internment camps. She goes over various possible reactions:…
2 educator answers
- THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE
How does Stevenson create a sense of evil in Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde?
The author creates tension and evil with the creation of Edward Hyde, the product of Dr. Jekyll’s experiment. “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is based on the story of Edinburgh’s…
2 educator answers
- INTO THE WILD
How does Ken Sleight believe that Everett Ruess died in Into the Wild?Ken Sleight is an expert of…
Ken Sleight believes that Everett Ruess drowned in the San Juan River. Sleight is a professional river guide who has visited all the places Ruess visited, having lived and worked in the area for…
1 educator answer
- THE GREAT GATSBY
Does this separation between East Egg-West Egg-valley of ashes also exist in the current…
Since our big economic crisis, I think we can find all three of these today. Looking at the East Egg people, I would say that the Wall Street people who have been taking in these huge bonuses,…
2 educator answers
- LORD OF THE FLIES
In Lord of the Flies, why does Jack Merridew become so evil that he wants to kill Ralph in…
The idea of killing Ralph is the culmination of a transformation that begins when Ralph is elected chief instead of Jack. Jack felt he should have been elected chief because he was head of the…
1 educator answer
- HISTORY
What were some new technologies that occurred during the Civil War?They have to be things I can…
Some inventions that would be easy to replicate for a time capsule would be the air balloon, which was introduced as a weapon during the civil war. In addition, the first submarines, called…
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- FRANKENSTEIN
In Frankenstein, what is the effect of Victor’s return to the present?this is from the book…
Walton hopes that he can convince Victor to return to the real world, give up his hunt for the monster, and try to enjoy living again. Unfortunately, Victor is unable to live for anything but…
1 educator answer
- TRIFLES
Compare and contrast the issues about gender that are implied in “Trifles” and “Sure Thing”?
In each of these plays, “Trifles” and “Sure Thing,” the relationship between women and men is examined. In “Trifles,” the men are clearly in charge, pursuing their heavy-handed and rather obtuse…
1 educator answer
- LITERATURE
What were the popular subjects in American literature in the 1940s?It would be wonderful if you…
That’s kind of a tricky time in American Literature–first of all you get quite a few disaster narratives (mostly in the naturalist mode) during the depression. Actually quite a few graphic novels…
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- THE RED CONVERTIBLE
What do the Native Americans have to do with the story “The Red Convertible”?
The whole story of “The Red Convertible” has to do with Native Americans. This story is mostly about the interaction and relationship between two Native American brothers. “Lyman Lamartine, a…
1 educator answer
- THE HIDING PLACE
In The Hiding Place, why did Corrie especially worry at mealtime about the possibility of their…
During the war, as the Germans were taking over, everyone had to have ration cards to buy food. Each family was given just enough ration cards for their family. When the Ten Boom family began…
2 educator answers
- ARABY
Who are the characters in “Araby”?
The main characters in the story are the narrator, his uncle, his aunt, Mangan’s sister, and the dead priest, a man who used to live in a back room in the house. Even though the priest is dead, he…
1 educator answer
- THE SCARLET IBIS
Cruelty in ChildrenDoodle’s brother speaks of the “knot of cruelty” that caused him to push, and…
I recall a story about two 9 or 10 year old boys in Britain who lured a 3 year old boy out of a shopping center to the railroad tracks nearby and killed him by throwing stones at the child and…
2 educator answers
- HAMLET
What are your views of how Fortinbras revenged his fathers death, and was King Hamlet the one who…
Fortinbras is the son of the king of Norway. His uncle took over the throne when his father died. It is the uncle to whom Claudius sends the note telling Fortinibras’ uncle that his nephew ( the…
1 educator answer
- THE ODYSSEY
What are Athena’s different manifestations in The Odyssey?
Athena appears several times in this epic as Mentor, who is an old family friend. She chose someone who could be trusted by Telemachus. She appeared to him this way so that she could put it into…
1 educator answer
- THE CRUCIBLE
In “The Crucible”, what two pieces of evidence regarding his Christian nature are presented…
In Act Two of “The Crucible”, Rev. Hale comes to the Proctor’s house to question them since Elizabeth Proctor’s name had been mentioned in court and she may be the next to be accused. Hale…
1 educator answer
- SIR PHILIP SIDNEY
To whom is Sir Philip Sidney’s “Sonnet 31” addressed?
Sir Philip Sidney’s “Sonnet 31,” as a perfect example of apostrophe (the figure of speech in which the speaker talks to an absent person or an inanimate object), is a direct address to the…
1 educator answer
- SCIENCE
Problems With Increasing Human Life Span?If the human life span is increased by 20 years, what…
That depends on a lot of things. If people just manage to cling to life longer, there could be greatly increased health care costs. While that would help the economy in some areas such as…
2 educator answers
- TWO KINDS
Who were the two main characters in “Two Kinds”?
The two main characters in this story are the narrator, Jing-Mei “June” Woo, and her mother, Suyuan Woo. Jing-Mei is a young woman who tells tells the story in the aftermath of her mother’s death….
2 educator answers
- A TALE OF TWO CITIES
What was Dickens trying to accomplish by writing A Tale of Two Cities?
Charles Dickens had several reasons for writing “A Tale of Two Cities.” One reason, and the basic reason any author publishes a novel is to earn money. Dickens had this novel published in a…
1 educator answer
- MACBETH
In The Tragedy of Macbeth, do you think Macbeth would have done all the misdeeds if he had not…
I don’t think so. There is nothing in the play to suggest that he would have become such a vicious traitor, and there is much to suggest that he would not have. Macbeth had been a friend and…
2 educator answers
- ROMEO AND JULIET
Analyze Lord Capulet as father, husband, friend and citizen.Analyze Lord Capulet as father,…
Lord Capulet Father: Means well but is often overbearing and mean. In Act I he arranges a marriage between Juliet and Paris and says that he only wants the marriage to take place if Juliet falls…
1 educator answer
- CHEMISTRY
How do you work out moles?I need an explanation. My teacher isn’t helping me on it…
How many moles of silicon are in 4.60 g of Si? This is the first venture into one of the most common chemical calculations, finding the number of moles present in a given mass of substance. Restate…
2 educator answers
- THE UNKNOWN CITIZEN
Is there any symbolism in the poem “The Unknown Citizen”?
The poem itself is pretty direct; the increase in technology in the world, and the ability of government to be able to “track” a man’s life based on that data gathered from that technology, is all…
1 educator answer
- AN INSPECTOR CALLS
What are the main points of the play An Inspector Calls?The play by J.B. Priestley.
Do you mean themes? The main idea Priestley is focusing on is the observation that the people most likely to criticize or even condemn are those who are “guilty” themselves…. In this story,…
1 educator answer
- TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
After Scout begs Atticus not to make her return to school, what advice does he give her for…
Scout doesn’t want to go to school because she and the teacher cannot get along. Scout is proud that Atticus has taught her to read, but Miss Caroline Fisher is not impressed and tells Scout,…
1 educator answer
- THE STORM
In “The Storm” as a whole, how do setting and plot reinforce each other?
The setting is a tumultuous storm that comes in suddenly and takes over the small house, then disappears as quickly as it came, leaving a sunshine-filled day in its stead. This reinforces the plot…
3 educator answers
- THE STORM
What details in “The Storm” emphasize the fact that Bobinot loves his wife and also how…
After Bobinot and Bibi get home from walking through the rain and muddy fields, he goes to great lengths to clean them both off before they enter the house. The text states that “He scraped the…