• SCIENCE

In DNA copying, the bonds between the nitrogen bases are broken by a(n)?

DNA is an amazing substance which contains the genetic code of an organism. Since it is a double helix, either side can serve as a template that can be copied. Because of this feature, new cells…

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• SCIENCE

Saliva begins to change starch in food into ______.

Saliva in the mouth contains an enzyme called amylase that catalyzes the breakdown of dietary starch into simple sugars. This is the first chemical step in digestion. Amylase is made by the…

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• THE BRONZE BOW

In The Bronze Bow, who does Daniel think of while he considers that Rosh might be right about the…

In The Bronze Bow, Rosh accuses Daniel of having a ‘soft streak.’ He tells Daniel that this softness is like ‘a bad streak in a piece of metal.’ Here, Rosh is using the language of the blacksmith:…

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• OTHELLO

What insight do we get into Othello’s thoughts and state of mind?

Shakespeare lets us know Othello’s thought process through monologues, conversations, and actions. Othello reveals his inner thoughts at the end of the play in a soliloquy when he contemplates…

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• THE MONKEY’S PAW

In “The Monkey’s Paw” how does Herbert’s attitude toward the paw shift after his experience with…

Herbert sees images in the fire that change his mind about the paw. One stormy night the White family is playing chess in their isolated house when a stranger shows up. He is actually…

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• THE PRINCE

What was Machiavelli’s opinion of mankind?

Throughout his writings in The Prince, Machiavelli discusses people in a rather scientific way, the idea being that if you take a certain action the people will respond a certain way. If you take…

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• THE CAY

How did Phillip end up getting separated from his mother in The Cay?

Phillip’s ship is torpedoed and he is separated from his mother getting into life boats. Phillip’s mother is concerned that they are not safe. It is decided that the two will leave Curacao….

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• ONCE UPON A TIME

In the short story, Once upon a Time, by Nadine Gordimer, what does Gordimer express about South…

Nadine Gordimer is a renowned South African writer and her short story Once Upon A Time traces events such as they may have been in some places in South Africa during the Apartheid years. The…

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• ANIMAL FARM

How could the revolution in Animal Farm have succeeded?

If the revolution had any chance of succeeding, a few important actions should have been taken. First, the revolution was almost doomed to fail from the beginning, because the other animals did…

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• THE LONDON EYE MYSTERY

What are the clues in Siobhan Dowd’s The London Eye Mystery?

In chapter 36 of Siobhan Dowd’s The London Eye Mystery, Ted lays out all of the clues that helped him reach the conclusion that the reason why he and Kat did not see Salim exit the pod is because…

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• THE CANTERBURY TALES

What causes the group to gather at the Tabard Inn in The Canterbury Tales?

The Tabard Inn is the starting point for the pilgrims’ journey to Canterbury. Traditionally, the Tabard is meant to be located in Southwark and the beginning of the road leading to Canterbury. In…

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• TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

Why is Scout empathetic in To Kill A Mockingbird?

This is a good question. Scout was not always empathetic in the novel. In fact, it was just the opposite. At first, she had no clue about empathy. We see this in two clear examples. First, she…

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• THE WEDNESDAY WARS

Who is the main character in Gary Schmidt’s The Wednesday Wars?

The main character, also called the protagonist, in Gary Schmidt’s The Wednesday Wars is Holling Hoodhood. We can tell Holling is the central character based on a few different clues: he grows and…

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• TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

Describe a time in the beginning of “To Kill a Mockingbird” where Scout shows empathy.

In Chapter 3 of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Scout shows empathy towards Miss Caroline after she is verbally abused by Burris Ewell. In the previous chapter, Miss Caroline had upset Scout by…

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• THE WESTING GAME

In the book the Westing Game why did Judge Ford have no doubt that the clues she and Sandy…

Judge Ford thinks that Westing is insulting her personally with the clues because they have a past together. There are several clues in this chapter that Judge Ford knew Samuel Westing well. First…

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• A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM

What is the meaning of the following quote from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream? “I’ll…

Puck is talking to Lysander and Demetrius (although they cannot hear him) as he plans to get them each tired and lost in the forest so they can have magic worked upon them when they eventually drop…

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• THE CRUCIBLE

In The Crucible, who was hanged with John Proctor? What did this individual say before he/she was…

It appears that Rebecca Nurse was hung with John Proctor. Before her death, Rebecca shouts out: Let you fear nothing! Another judgement waits us all! Rebecca means that none of the condemned need…

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• BARN BURNING

Barn Burning: What picture of the Snopes family life can you deduce?

In William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning,” readers get very little detail on the lives of the Snopes’ family. Much of the action is focused on Abner and his son, Sarty—the conflict between…

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• SWEAT

What is the significance of Delia being a washerwoman?

Delia is a hard working washerwoman in Zora Neale Hurston’s story, “Sweat.” This job was a difficult one and represents how hard she works to support both she and her husband, Sykes. Because this…

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• THE CRUCIBLE

In The Crucible, why does Reverend Parris become upset at the thought that Betty’s illness is a…

Reverend Parris’s anger and concern are both the result of real concern for his child and concern for himself and his status in the town. Abigail, his niece, tells him that “Betty’s not witched…

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• THE GIVER

How did The Giver explain the visual phenomena that Jonas witnessed in The Giver?

Jonas has the Capacity to See Beyond, including the ability to see color, which no one else can see. One of the first ways that Jonas knows that he is special is when he has a vision. At first, he…

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• TREASURE ISLAND

In Chapter 5, how does Stevenson reveal Pew’s character though dialogue and action?

Pew is a pirate, characterized by his blindness, cruelty, and the contradiction between his helplessness and aggression. According to Long John Silver in a later chapter, Silver lost his leg in the…

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• HISTORY

What social classes were involved in a power struggle during the Middle Ages?

This sounds like a question about Karl Marx’s idea that all of history is the history of class struggle. Marx says that in every time period of history, there is a struggle between a dominant…

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• THE CHASER

Why has Alan gone to see the old man?

Alan does not say exactly what he wants at first, although it becomes obvious that he is in love and wants a love potion. He is pursuing a girl appropriately named Diana (after the virgin Greek…

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• FAHRENHEIT 451

In Fahrenheit 451 what does Beatty say is the real beauty of fire?

Beatty says that fire’s real beauty is that it destroys consequences. When Montag steals the book, he does not really think about the consequences. It is like the book is asking him to take it,…

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• THE WAY TO RAINY MOUNTAIN

What does the geography of the land of Rainy Mountain represent to Momaday and to his Kiowa culture?

There is a very important quotation that Momaday shares with us at the very beginning of The Way to Rainy Mountain that can help you understand why this real mountain is important to the Kiowa…

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• THE OUTSIDERS

What advice does Dally give Pony as they go to the hospital after winning the rumble in The…

Dally tells Pony to look sick, to fool the cop. Pony and the rest of the greasers have a definitive rumble with the Socs. The purpose of this rumble is for both sides to get even after what each…

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• THE NECKLACE

What will Madame Loisel do now that she knows the diamond necklace was a fake?

Maupassant leaves us without any clue as to what Madame Loisel might do after she is told that the diamond necklace was a fake. It is a tribute to the talent of that great French author that he…

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• A DOLL’S HOUSE

In A Doll’s House, describe Nora’s attitude toward her children in Act one. What does this show…

In A Doll’s House, Nora is preparing for Christmas and is looking forward to giving her children a surprise when they see the Christmas tree that she has bought. Her old friend Christine Linde…

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• THE BET

What is the main concern of “The Bet”?

The main concern of “The Bet” is whether any man can stand to spend fifteen years in solitary confinement, and if so, how he can manage to do it. Some people could not stand to spend more than a…

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• THINGS FALL APART

What is the role of justice in Igbo society ?

One of the things that Chinua Achebe did in the novel Things Fall Apart was portray the nuanced way that crime and punishment worked in Igbo society. Many of the customs seemed to be primitive or…

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• ROMAN FEVER

What is the epiphany in this story?

In Edith Wharton’s “Roman Fever,” two women sit at a cafe and have a seemingly harmless conversation. As the story progresses, Mrs. Slade reveals that she knew Mrs. Ansley was going to meet her…

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• STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING

Why does the horse give his harness bells a shake in “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening?”

The horse is shaking his harness bells to ask if stopping is a mistake. This poem describes a person that is driving a horse-drawn carriage on a snowy evening through some woods. The clue to why…

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• THE INTERLOPERS

Should Ulrich and his grandfather stop the feud ?

It would have been great if Ulrich von Gradwitz or his grandfather (or even his father) had the sense to stop the feud. The reason for this is twofold. First, the text states that the von…

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• OEDIPUS REX

Why does Oedipus believe that Teiresias can provide him information on the death of Laius?

Oedipus believes that Teiresias can provide him with information on the death of Laius because Teiresias is a respected blind seer in Thebes. Teiresias is the prophet of Apollo. The people of…

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• THE NECKLACE

Is there any irony or symbolism in “The Necklace”?

The necklace might be considered a symbol of wealth, of vanity, of deception, of illusion, of false values, high society, an illusion to Cinderella, or something else. The story is bitterly ironic….

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• THE CRUCIBLE

At what point does the rising action begin in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible?

“Rising action” refers to the events in a story that precede the climax and build tension and suspense. Therefore, I would argue that the rising action begins the moment the play does. The first…

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• SAKI

What did Gortsby associate dusk with in Saki’s “Dusk?”

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• THE BLACK CAT

How can I write a thesis statement about perverseness in “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe? I…

A thesis statement is merely your answer to a question about the story, so what sorts of questions about perverseness can you ask about the story? What triggered the narrator’s perversity–alcohol…

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• TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

What information does Sheriff Tate give on the witness stand in To Kill a Mockingbird?

In Chapter 17, the first witness called to the stand is Sheriff Tate. When Mr. Gilmer, the solicitor, asks him to state the events “in his own words,” Sheriff Tate says that he was…

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• LES MISÉRABLES

What does the following quote mean, found in Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables: Nature sometimes…

At the moment the narrator says the sentence in question, Jean Valjean has entered the Bishop of Digne’s bedroom with the purpose of stealing his silver, and Jean Valjean may even be prepared to…

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• LORD OF THE FLIES

How do the boys in the Lord of the Flies by William Golding represent humanity as a whole?

The first way in which the boys in Lord of the Flies by William Golding represent humanity is by subverting the equation of childhood with innocence and moral purity. Once freed of the restraints…

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• THE SNIPER

In “The Sniper,” does the sniper experience an external or an internal conflict?

The sniper experiences mostly external conflict during the course of the story; we might assume that his greatest internal conflict comes afterward. By “external” conflict, we can assume that this…

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• THE BET

In “The Bet,” how did the imprisoned man begin his letter? Were you shocked by his words and how…

In “The Bet,” the imprisoned man (the lawyer) begins his letter by stating that he must say some things to the banker before he is freed and rejoins society. Specifically, he says he has come to…

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• NIGHT

In Night, where does the train take author Elie Wiesel?

From the little ghetto, Elie, his family and the rest of the Jewish people being held there were loaded onto cattle cars, 80 people to a car. The beginning of Chapter Two has the trains starting…

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• EMILY DICKINSON

Can you provide an explanation of Emily Dickinson’s poem “I dwell in Possibility”?

In Emily Dickinson’s “I dwell in Possibility,” she writes through a first person narrator who lives with the understanding that all things are possible. This seems a contradiction because…

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• THE SCARLET LETTER

Why did Hester go to Governor Bellingham’s mansion?

As previously explained in chapter 5, “Hester at her Needle,” the woman was quite versed and extravagant in the art of embroidery. She had sewn and made garments for the most important people of…

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• LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER

What is the text structure of Roald Dahl’s “Lamb to the Slaughter”?

When we speak of text structure, we’re referring to the ways in which an author has organized information in a work or passage. The following are some of the common text structures: chronological,…

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• SINNERS IN THE HANDS OF AN ANGRY GOD

As a preacher, for what purpose does Edwards use his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”?

Puritan preacher and theologian Jonathan Edwards used his famous sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” as a “jeremiad,” meaning he was calling his congregation to repentance from their…

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• THE DEMON LOVER

What is disturbing about the location of the letter in “The Demon Lover”?

Mrs. Drover was surprised and puzzled to find a letter “addressed to her” on “the hall table” when she arrived at her London home. This letter had no stamp on it. Her house had been vacant and…

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