What is the thing that doesn’t change in the poem “Pied Beauty”?
- PIED BEAUTY
What is the thing that doesn’t change in the poem “Pied Beauty”?
The entire poem is spent praising all of God’s beautiful creations. The poem opens to God, saying, “Glory be to God”, and then ends with a similar note, saying, “Praise Him.” The poem, with its…
1 educator answer
- LYCIDAS
Which poem follows the terms and requirements of an elegy better, Lycidas or “Elegy Written in a…
The essential characteristics of the elegy, which are: invoke the Muse express the shepherd’s (or poet’s) grief praise the dead inveigh against death tell the affects of death on a personified…
1 educator answer
- THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN
In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, why does Huck assume Tom Sawyer’s identity?
When Huck goes to free Jim at the Phelps Plantation, he doesn’t realize that the Phelps are the aunt and uncle of Tom Sawyer. They are also expecting a visit from Tom. So, when Huck shows up, Sally…
3 educator answers
- A NORTHERN LIGHT
In A Northern Light, why do you think Grace asks Mattie to destroy her letters?
While Mattie is working as a maid for the Glendale Hotel she is asked by a guest, Grace, to burn some letters. Mattie puts the letters into her apron pocket and doesn’t give them another thought…
1 educator answer
- HAMLET
In Act 2.2 of Hamlet, is there is evidence that Hamlet is acting?How is this evidence made more…
The beauty of Hamlet’s “madness” is that it is a feigned “antic disposition” to baffle his adversaries, gain proof of his Uncle’s regicide, and have free reign to act in any manner he wishes….
1 educator answer
- FEVER 1793
Explain the differences between Dr. Deveze and Dr. Rush and how they treat Yellow Fever patients…
Dr. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was a prominent doctor in Philadelphia in 1793. He believed that Yellow Fever could best be cured by ridding the body of toxins that…
1 educator answer
- FEVER 1793
In Fever 1793, Matilda has many ideas for how to improve the coffeehouse. By the end of the…
In the beginning of the book, Matilda wants to expand the coffeehouse’s business. She thinks they should buy another coffee urn “to serve customers with more haste”. She also believes they should…
1 educator answer
- FEVER 1793
What is the story of Matilda’s parents that is told in Chapter 2 of Fever 1793?
Matilda’s mother married Matilda’s father against her parents’ wishes. The family essentially “washed their hands of her when she ran off to marry a carpenter, a tradesman…when she was…
1 educator answer
- FEVER 1793
How would you characterize (describe) the relationship between Eliza and Nathaniel in Fever 1793?
Eliza is a free black woman who works alongside Mattie’s mother Lucinda in running the coffeeshop. Nathaniel is a young apprenctice to the painter Charles Wilson Peale who has a crush on Mattie….
1 educator answer
- OF MICE AND MEN
Why does Curley attack Lennie at the end of chapter 3? What happened to Curley?
Curley attacks Lennie because he assumes that Lennie is smiling at him. Curley thinks that Lennie is enjoying the insults made at Curley’s expense. The insults are about the hand that Curley keeps…
2 educator answers
- TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
Scout compares the atmosphere in the courthouse before the jury returns to another time and…
What Scout compares it to is the day that they had discovered the old, rabid dog Tim Johnson heading down their street, and were all just tense, watching and waiting, seeing what would happen….
2 educator answers
- LOVE MEDICINE
I need to know all there is about Zelda in Louise Erdrich’s Love Medicine.
The character of Zelda in this excellent novel is not one that features too prominently in the action. It is important to remember how she is related to the other characters. She is the sister of…
1 educator answer
- THE ODYSSEY
In The Odyssey, what plans do Odysseus and Telemachus make for going home, and what will be done…
Telemachus is to go ahead home and act as though he never found his father. Then Eumaeus will bring Odysseus back to his home dressed as a beggar. Telemachus is not to protect or react if…
1 educator answer
- GENERAL PROLOGUE TO THE CANTERBURY TALES
How is “The General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales” a satire of medieval society?How does…
Chaucer uses indirect characterization to build the satire of his Tales. He describes the people using their social position, starting at the highest ranking (the Knight). The audience sees there…
1 educator answer
- PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
Why does Darcy verbally distance himself from Elizabeth? How is she any harm to him?
Darcy is a very wealthy young man who believes that people of character and breeding should behave a certain way. When he encounters Mrs. Bennet and her younger daughters at a party, he finds…
1 educator answer
- THE ODYSSEY
In The Odyssey, how is Odysseus destined to die?
When Odysseus visits the Land of the Dead, Tiresias tells him he will die a “seaborne death.” No further details are provided. When Odysseus returns to Ithaca and restores after taking care of the…
1 educator answer
- MACBETH
In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, what do the ingredients in the cauldron in Act 4, Scene 1 represent?
Great question. There are three main properties to the ingredients: The first witch puts in ingredients which are hallucinogenic, creating (presumably) the apparitions which appear to Macbeth. The…
2 educator answers
- ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST
What are some of the motifs in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest?
Ken Kesey’s impeccable writing talent means that One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is packed with symbols and motifs. One of the most prominent motifs in this novel is laughter. The power of…
2 educator answers
- PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
What sort of diction and imagery occur in Pride and Prejudice?
Jane Austen most assuredly uses high diction in Pride and Prejudice, although Kitty and Mary are not above using middle diction that is sprinkled with colloquialisms. Diction differs from…
1 educator answer
- A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE
Discuss the function of Alfieri in A View from the Bridge.
Alfieri functions as the chorus of the play, commenting on the action and the characters carrying out the action, but ultimately set apart and serving as a medium between the audience and the…
1 educator answer
- THE HOBBIT
In The Hobbit, what name does Bilbo give his sword and why?
Bilbo names his sword “Sting”, after he uses it to kill the giant spider. He does this by himself in Mirkwood, and in doing so frees himself and his friends from the spider. This leaves him feeling…
3 educator answers
- THE GOLD-BUG
Who is the antagonist of “The Gold Bug” by Edgar Allan Poe?
This story of Poe’s is more of an adventure/mystery tale than a horror tale like many of his other stories. The mood is also just that; the reader feels like there is a good mystery to be solved,…
1 educator answer
- THE GREAT GATSBY
Why is Nick an outsider in The Great Gatsby?
Nick is definitely an outsider. This is important to the reader so that we can see the different personalities and traits of the West Egg people, the East Egg people, and even the Valley of Ashes…
3 educator answers
- MACBETH
Who is really responsible for the death of Duncan?
I’d say, without any ambiguity, that it is Macbeth himself. He lifts up the knife and plunges it into Duncan, and he does it because he wants to be king. There are other factors that might have…
2 educator answers
- EDMUND SPENSER
What is the main theme in sonnet 75 by Edmund Spenser?what is the main theme in sonnet 75 by…
The poem presents a “dialog” between Spense and his lady. He attempts to immortalize her by writing her name in the sand, but the waves (time) relentlessly erase what he writes. He writes again,…
1 educator answer
- TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
In the novel To Kill a Mokingbird, describe the church service at Calpurnia’s church.
Although there is so much more to this chapter than the actual church service you are inquiring about, the service itself does give us a very personal window into the “Negro world” of the Finches’…
1 educator answer
- THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME
If Rainsford wins, Zaroff says he can leave the island. Do you think Zaroff will keep his promise…
You are referring to “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell, in which Zaroff is a character who has tired of hunting animals who cannot think or reason. He has decided that hunting men is the…
1 educator answer
- THE GREAT GATSBY
I read the information that the East Egg citizens are corrupt, but I think the West Egg is, too….
Yes, Jay has earned his money through illicit business dealings–you’re correct. However, we have to examine his motive to see, I think, the main difference between him and the Buchanans. Gatsby…
1 educator answer
- THE GREAT GATSBY
Is the Valley of Ashes the result of East Egg or both Eggs?
The Valley of Ashes contains the waste ashes created by coal burned by trains and by residents for heat in New York City as well as by those who live in East and West Egg. In addition, horse manure…
1 educator answer
- THE GREAT GATSBY
Gatsby is a prime example of a West Egg resident. What is the difference between his mansion and…
Good question. The East Egg mansions were built long ago; they’ve been there for many years. About them is an air of refinement and upper-class respectability–even if people like the Buchanans,…
1 educator answer
- TITHONUS
Can somebody please give me the tone/style of the poem “Tithonus” by Lord Alfred Tennyson?
It is a beautifully written poem filled with a tone of longing and pleading, enhancing the sad and lonely plight of Tithonus, whose message is that immortality is not a blessing, but a curse, and…
1 educator answer
- THE GREAT GATSBY
Do East Egg citizens see West Egg citizens as a danger? How do they react?
If we were to label the East Egg person as Tom Buchanan, and the West Egg person as Jay Gatsby, it might be easier to explain the possible feelings of the East Egg person towards the West Egg…
1 educator answer
- THE GREAT GATSBY
Are the valley of ashes citizens disappointed? What do the valley and ashes mean?
The Valley of Ashes alludes to T. S. Elliot’s long poem The Waste Land, which depicts a post-apocalyptic world. This is furthered by the eyes of Dr. T. J. Eckelburg as the omnipotent being who…
1 educator answer
- JOHN KEATS
Can someone please help me with the tone, structural style and theme of the poem “Ode on the…
The tone of Keats’ poem “Ode On The Poets” is one of cheerful, optimistic enlightened enthusiasm. It’s an uplifting poem because the poet is uplifted and inspired by his contemplation of the great…
1 educator answer
- THE GREAT GATSBY
Is it true that Jay likes to show off his money to other people to impress them? Isn’t he…
Jay Gatsby is not a snob, nor is he showing off his money just to show it off. The only reason he went and “raised” (however illegal it may have been) his money, he did it for Daisy. Jay…
1 educator answer
- THE GREAT GATSBY
Which landscape is called the Middle West? Chicago?
Yes, Chicago is the Middle West referred to in the novel. Both Nick and the Buchanans are from Chicago, and they have moved to New York, which is the East. Fitzgerald is contrasting solid…
1 educator answer
- THE CRUCIBLE
From what paradox did the Salem tragedy develop according to Act 1 of The Crucible?
A paradox is, “an assertion or sentiment seemingly contradictory, or opposed to common sense; that which in appearance or terms is absurd, but yet may be true in fact.” The paradox in Act I…
1 educator answer
- PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
What is the major conflict in Pride and Prejudice?
One of the major conflicts that is introduced at the beginning of the book is how difficult it is for a young woman to marry well with little or no dowry. The other conflict that exists from the…
1 educator answer
- POETRY
Can somebody tell me the tone and form of the poem “The Soul’s Prayer” by Sarojini Naidu? Click…
In “The Soul’s Prayer,” Sarojini Naidu’s speaker has asked the Lord to “reveal to me/ Thine inmost laws of life and death.” The soul has asked this question of God with “childhood’s pride” which…
1 educator answer
- A SEPARATE PEACE
The adult Gene explains the rationale for his “rivalry” with Finny. Do you think Knowles means…
Absolutely! Gene is anything but a reliable narrator. He rationalizes his sense of competition by essentially saying “Finny started it.” He feels that Finny tries to sabotage his studies, so that…
1 educator answer
- A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
How does Shakespeare use character, language, and themes in Act 5, scene 1, to engage the…
A big question! Here are some points to hopefully get you started. Act V Scene i commences with Theseus’ famous speech about imagination in response to the lovers’ stories. A key theme of the play…
1 educator answer
- OTHELLO
How does Brabantio’s attitude toward Roderigo change in the course of Act I, Scene I of Othello?
At the start, Brabantio is really not very pleased to be roused from his bed, and even less pleased to see Roderigo. Brabantio asks who is calling to him, and here’s what happens: RODERIGO: My…
1 educator answer
- THE BRONZE BOW
What do you think Jesus means by the words he spoke in the synagogue in Chapter 4 of The Bronze…
When Jesus speaks in the synagogue, he says that “the kingdom of God is at hand”. Although many in the crowd assume that he is talking about a kingdom for the Jewish people released from the…
1 educator answer
- LAW AND POLITICS
I have put my girlfriend on my deed to rights to survivorship. She wont sign off, so how do I get…
It sounds like you put the property in both your names as joint tenants with rights of survivorship. This means she is the legal owner of a half-share of the property, and if you die first the…
1 educator answer
- THE JAPANESE QUINCE
What is the author’s intention in “The Japanese Quince”?
In “The Japanese Quince”, John Galsworthy is pointing out the ideal of a same, well-ordered, and familiar life has alienated men from both the enjoyment and the beauty of the natural world. Both…
1 educator answer
- GUY DE MAUPASSANT
What are the point of view, conflict, setting, and theme of the story “Moonlight”?
The point of view is perspective from which the story is told. In this story, the narrator is outside the characters, looking in. We call that the 3rd-person point of view. Additionally, the…
2 educator answers
- THE KITE RUNNER
Is Amir entirely at blame for the suffering of Hassan?I need ideas how Baba is at blame and how…
Amir’s blame for the suffering of Hassan is more obvious than the blame of Baba. Amir was a boy who wanted his father’s love. He knew what he had been taught and he believed that Hassan, even…
1 educator answer
- LITERATURE
Hattie Big SkyI love this book!
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson is one of those stories that has potential for greatness, the only problem is that no one notices at first. This story is founded upon elements of abandonment, female…
2 educator answers
- TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
In Chapter 28, why does Jem say that Boo must not be at home, and what is so ironic about this…
By now, Jem and Scout know that Boo “means no harm.” But because of the specific night and the darkness, they need for him to be “gone.” In the second paragraph of the chapter Jem says, “Bet…
2 educator answers
- WAITING FOR GODOT
What is the significance of the tree in “Waiting for Godot”?
‘A country road. A tree’ is all the setting for WFG. And, in Act 1, the tree has no leaves: ESTRAGON: Where are the leaves? VLADIMIR:It must be dead. ESTRAGON: No more weeping. VLADIMIR: Or…