What is the climax in William Golding’s novel “Lord of the Flies”?
- THE ODYSSEY
Why do you think the invocation was a convention used in classical literature such as Homer’s…
The first issue here is one of periodization. Although Homer’s epics were composed in ancient Greece, they were not composed in the “classical” period which is usually described as running from…
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- THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME
The island has an evil reputation. What role do you think it will play in the story, “The Most…
The island does have an evil reputation. It is introduced as Ship-trap Island right from the beginning of the story. Here is what Whitney says: “OFF THERE to the right–somewhere–is a large…
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- LORD OF THE FLIES
What is the climax in William Golding’s novel “Lord of the Flies”?
Lord of the Flies begins with the boys landing on a deserted island and having to establish social rules to form a society without the presence of adults. The plot picks up the pace as the conflict…
- TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
What life lessons did Jem learn from Mrs. Dubose and the rabid dog incident, in To Kill a…
We need to be nuanced in answering this question. First, Atticus wanted Jem to spend time with Mrs. Dubose to learn what true courage was. So, even though Jem did not want to read to Mrs. Dubose,…
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- THE JILTING OF GRANNY WEATHERALL
How is “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” narrated? I know it is in third person, but is it…
The story is told from the mind and thoughts of Granny in “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall.” Granny lays in her bed and contemplates death and the other things around her as well as circumstances…
- THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER
What are some negative traits about Huck Finn in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer?
Huck has a strong need for adventure in the book “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.” Huck does not live by the social mores and rules like other people. Therefore, many of the rules, such as stealing…
- HISTORY
Why did Andrew Jackson want Native Americans to move to the West?
Andrew Jackson had a strong dislike for the Native Americans, and he wanted them to be relocated to lands that were west of the Mississippi River. Andrew Jackson wanted our country to grow and…
2 educator answers
- GENERAL PROLOGUE TO THE CANTERBURY TALES
What are the features of characterization in the “General Prologue” of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The…
There are five different methods of, or features to, characterization: physical traits, actions/attitudes, inner thoughts, other characters’ reactions, and things the character says. These five…
2 educator answers
- THE FEDERALIST
Did the Federalist Constitution refute the principles of the American Revolution?
It could be argued that, to some extent, the Constitution refuted the principles of the American Revolution. The Revolution, inspired by Locke’s social contract, advocated that a government should…
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- THE DEVIL AND TOM WALKER
In Washington Irving’s short story The Devil and Tom Walker, is Tom Walker a conventional or…
There is really little about the definition of a “protagonist” within the literary context that suggests that Washington Irving’s protagonists are particularly unconventional. Certainly, the most…
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- BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH—
What is a good thesis statement for “Because I could not stop for death”?
Emily Dickinson, poet, demonstrated an acceptance of death throughout several of her poems. In her poem “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” she personifies death by making him a man coming…
- SAMSON AGONISTES
Is Samson Agonistes by John Milton a tragedy?
Modern critics often refer to Samson Agonistes by John Milton as a “closet drama”, meaning a work in dramatic form intended to be read rather than performed. For Milton, however, the crucial…
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- SCIENCE
Are the chlorine atoms hybridized in BeCl2?
Hybridization occurs when atomic orbitals blend to form new atomic orbitals. Covalent bonds form when the atomic orbitals of two atoms overlap. According to VSEPR theory, BeCl2BeCl2 has a linear…
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- WILD GEESE
What do wild geese symbolize in the poem “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver?
In literature, wild geese are symbolic of compassion, community, and caring but also symbolize taking an individual path in life. If you apply this to Mary Oliver’s poem “Wild Geese,” she…
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- TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
How does Harper Lee create suspense on page 63 of To Kill a Mockingbird?
Chapter 8 of To Kill a Mockingbird is a pivotal chapter because of the foreshadowing by Harper Lee that something isn’t right in Maycomb. An unusual winter storm comes in and temperatures drop….
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- TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
In Chapter 31 of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, how did Scout make sense of Atticus’ remark,…
As Scout stands on the Radley porch in the last chapter, she finally understands what Atticus meant when he said, “you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.”…
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- THE GARDEN PARTY: AND OTHER STORIES
In The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield, How has Laura grown? What has she learned from her…
The way Laura grows in “The Garden Party” is by experiencing the first paradigm shifts of her life. Rather than changing the way that she sees life by going through a ceremonial “coming of age”…
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- ESSAY LAB
I need to write a small essay about history and legend.
This is such an interesting assignment! What I do not know is the kind of course you are writing this essay for or what text sources you might be expected to focus on. No matter what, you will…
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- THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
Compare Robert Frost’s “Birches” and “The Road Not Taken.”
Both “Birches” and “The Road Not Taken” are naturalist poems that deal with interactions between man and nature. More specifically, they use nature to explore man’s contemplation of choices made in…
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- THE TELL-TALE HEART
Is the old man’s eye in “The Tell-Tale Heart” evil? Justify your answer.
Although the narrator hates the old man’s “vulture eye” and the way that he feels when it lands on him, there is no evidence within the story that the eye really is evil. At the beginning of the…
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- THE GREAT GATSBY
What are Gatsby’s good and bad qualities?
The title of the novel The Great Gatsby indicates the dual nature of Jay Gatsby’s characteristics. The name “The Great ______” calls to mind an illusionist, whose sole purpose is keep the audience…
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- HISTORY
What was the nature of Japanese propaganda in the Philippines during World War II? 1 image
All of the combatants of World War II were masters at propaganda. Propaganda was meant to discourage troops, rally support for your cause, and cause general confusion and disorganization amongst…
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- RELIGION
How can we tell that Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Christian?
One way that we can tell Dr. King is a Christian is to examine his writing. Dr. King makes repeated appeals to Christianity in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” In the letter’s opening, he states…
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- THE HELP
What are common themes between novel The Help by Kathryn Stockett, and To Kill a Mockingbird by…
Common themes that exist between To Kill A Mockingbird and The Help can be seen in how both address racism and the role of the individual. The theme of intolerance is a critical element to both…
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- THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER
How does Emerson’s “The Rhodora” compare to Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner?”
One point of comparison between Emerson’s and Colerdige’s poems surround the individual’s relationship with the natural world. Both poems explore this in different ways. In Colerdige’s poem, a…
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- ESSAY LAB
I have an assignment which requires me to answer the following questions: A biographical…
There are two major goals your instructor has in assigning this essay. The first is simply trying to find out more about students in the class. The better an instructor knows the students, the…
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- A BIRD CAME DOWN THE WALK—
Do you think Emily Dickinson “has conveyed beauty, abundance, and freedom as well as danger” in…
This quote does a good job of summarizing Emily Dickinson’s poem “A Bird came down the Walk.” Let’s look at each of the four adjectives separately to see how they work in the poem. Abundance:…
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- SCIENCE
Apart from causing acne what do hormones do
Hormones are chemical messengers that are sent from the endocrine gland into the bloodstream in order to affect another part of the body. The area of the body that a hormone affects is called the…
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- THE ODYSSEY
Why does Odysseus tell a lie to Polyphemus in the Odyssey?
This episode takes place in book nine, where Odysseus reluctantly tells the Phaeacians about his plights at sea. Odysseus and his men sail to an island inhabited by one-eyed giants. Odysseus,…
2 educator answers
- CORIOLANUS
Did Coriolanus have a tragic flaw or was he flawed by upbringing?
Having a tragic flaw does not necessarily mean that the flaw is innate from birth. There are various interpretations of what a tragic flaw is. Though fate often plays an essential role in tragedy,…
3 educator answers
- HISTORY
Where did Captain John Smith proclaim “he who shall not work, shall not eat”? Is it in a speech,…
We do not know exactly how Captain John Smith communicated this message to the people of Jamestown. We do not have the written laws from that colony or records of the speeches that were given….
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- THE GREAT GATSBY
The Great Gatsby was nearly called Under the Red, White and Blue. Does the title affect how we…
By calling the novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald keeps the reader focused on the character Jay Gatsby. In this ensemble piece with so many prominent characters (Nick, Tom, Daisy, Jordan, George,…
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- RELIGION
Do you agree that religion is a tool that gives power to certain individuals? Explain your views…
I think that religion can be a tool that gives power to certain individuals. Theoretically, I don’t see religion as a means to empower specific people. It is meant as a way for individuals to find…
2 educator answers
- ROMEO AND JULIET
In Romeo and Juliet, why did Shakespeare make Romeo and Mercutio contrast in character, behaviour…
Shakespeare contrasts Mercutio’s crassness with Romeo’s naiveté in order to emphasize Romeo’s youth and inexperience. Romeo and Mercutio are both immature, but they demonstrate their…
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- THE ROAD TO MECCA
Compare Helen and Marius’s differentiating views on spirituality.
Pastor Marius is a pastor in what would be considered the standard Judeo-Christian tradition. For him, spirituality is centered on a belief that Christ died on the cross in order to take…
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- THE POSSIBILITY OF EVIL
Why does Miss Strangeworth take time to greet so many people in “The Possibility of Evil”?
Miss Strangeworth has lived in this unnamed town all her life. She was seventy-one, Miss Strangeworth told the tourists, with a pretty little dimple showing by her lip, and she sometimes found…
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- THE POSSIBILITY OF EVIL
Why does Miss Strangeworth take time to greet people?
Miss Strangeworth has lived in this town all her life. She knows everybody in the town, and she also knows a lot about everybody in the town. One of her reasons for greeting people is to pick up…
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- THE ROAD TO MECCA
How do the three women (Elsa, Miss Helen and Katrina) encounter oppression? What do they do to…
Miss Helen encounters oppression in two ways. The first way is not overt oppression. After her husband’s death, Miss Helen no longer attended church. Consequently, many members of the community…
2 educator answers
- THE WIFE OF BATH’S TALE
”My fifth husband, I look for love and not richness.” What does this statement reveal about the…
Think about the Wife’s position in her time period: married off at the age of twelve to an old man, learned that to have any power at all she’d have to manipulate each man she married (because she…
- THE LADY OR THE TIGER?
Comment on the author’s use of language
In his narrative, Frank R. Stockton manipulates language in order to create an ambivalence and light satire so that at the end when he poses his question to readers–“Which came out of the unopened…
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- BUSINESS
Is delegation more likely to occur in an organization with a wide or narrow span of control?
Delegation involves the appointment of power or responsibility. The more complex a company or organization, the greater the need for delegation. In larger companies without delegation, the people…
- SCIENCE
“You are probably sitting in a chair as you read this book. Explain in detail why the two forces…
To answer this question, we first have to understand what is meant by “the two forces in the same interaction pair.” This refers to the pair of forces by described by the third Newton’s Law. The…
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- ROMEO AND JULIET
How does Shakespeare illustrate that the relationship between friends is a form of love?
One way Shakespeare illustrates this is through the quality of loving friendship we see in Benvolio. He cares deeply for his group of friends, and he only wants to see good things happen to them….
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- THE GARDEN PARTY: AND OTHER STORIES
How is the theme of discovery explored in the novel The Garden Party?
Discovery is at the epicenter of “The Garden Party.” As a literary work under the genre of bildungsroman, its main purpose is to analyze or follow the development of the main character, including…
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- SCIENCE
Which of the following organelles is not present in an animal cell? a. Nucleus, b. Cell…
Let’s look at each option individually. A nucleus is present in all eukaryotic cells and absent in prokaryotic cells. Animals are eukaryotic, thus animal cells have nuclei (an exception to this…
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- SOCIAL SCIENCES
Why will losses for firms in a perfectly competitive industry tend to vanish in the long run?
There are two important phrases to note in this question. One is “for firms” and the other is “in the long run.” These two phrases shape the answer to this question. In the short run, it…
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- HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW
What are the different types of poetic devices in the poem “How Beautiful is the Rain!” by Henry…
The poem “How Beautiful is the Rain!” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is written in stichic as opposed to stanzaic form. It uses both rhyme and meter flexibly in the manner of an ode rather than…
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- UPHILL
Why is the speaker in “Uphill” by Christina Rossetti so sure that the journey will be dark?
“Uphill” by Christina Rossetti is written in the form of a dialogue, with one speaker asking questions and the other speaker answering. Although it does not use quotation marks or identify the…
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- HAMLET
What technique is Shakespeare using when Hamlet says that “a king may pass through guts of a…
After Hamlet has killed Polonius and hidden the body, he’s being purposely difficult in refusing to reveal where the body is. The king, his uncle, tries to press him for an answer, and Hamlet is…
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- THE DOLL’S HOUSE
Describe the attitude of the teacher towards the Kelvey girls in “The Doll’s House.”
In the story “The Doll’s House,” by Katherine Mansfield, the reactions of the school teacher toward the Kelvey sisters essentially describe someone who has very little compassion toward those who…
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