• HISTORY

Robert F. Kennedy “On the Death of Martin Luther King”. What message did Kennedy send to America…

When Robert Kennedy spoke to a group of African Americans in Indianapolis, Indiana on April 4,1968, he announce the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His message was one of reconciliation and…

1 educator answer

• HOW MUCH LAND DOES A MAN NEED?

What is Tolstoy’s literary approach in “How Much Land Does a Man Need”? Is it a biographical…

“How Much Land Does a Man Need?” is a narrative written in the third-person omniscient point of view. It follows conventional chronological order in its structure. It is biographical in the sense…

1 educator answer

• FAHRENHEIT 451

In part 1, an old woman was burned in her house with the books. Why didn’t she want to get out…

In part one of “Fahrenheit 451,” by Ray Bradbury,the unnamed woman not only refuses to leave her books, she lights the match which burns her books, her house and herself. She won’t leave because…

2 educator answers

• THE LOVELY BONES

How would you describe Susie’s heaven in the first two chapters of The Lovely Bones?

Susie Salmon’s heaven is an amalgamation of her own dreams and wishes as told by Alice Sebold. It is in no way the “traditional” image of heaven (with angels, pearly gates, and clouds). Susie’s…

1 educator answer

• HISTORY

How did Progressives propose to extend opportunities to all citizens? Were they successful in…

The Progressive Movement represented the countervailing force to the Industrialization Movement in the late 19th and early 20th Century America. The hope of the Progressives was to provide a voice…

2 educator answers

• E. CUMMINGS

How does connotation work to develop the theme in the poem “in Just-” by e.e. cummings?

e.e. cummings had very interesting and unique ways of expressing himself, and “in Just-” is no exception to his typical style. He likes to break grammar rules, bending them to create the…

1 educator answer

• THE KITE RUNNER

In The Kite Runner, are there any unexpected parent-child relationships, besides the one between…

I think that most readers would find the relationship between Hassan and his mother Sanuabar near the novel’s end unexpected. Hosseini paints such a distasteful portrait of Sanuabar at the…

1 educator answer

• REFERENCE

How does God demonsrate the concept of equal protection?

If we examine the definition of equal protection it is the prohibiting of states from denying any person within its jurisdiction from the equal protection of the laws. This would mean that states…

1 educator answer

• TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

How is Scout’s name symbolic and appropriate in “To Kill a Mockingbird”?

In “To Kill a Mockingbird,” as a bildungsroman, Scout, whose name denotes a person sent out to obtain information, seeks to learn, she searches for answers to questions about values and…

2 educator answers

• THE SLAVE DANCER

What do you see as the theme of “The Slave Dancer?”

Jessie is a 13 year-old boy that has been imprisoned on a slave ship. The theme of this novel is imprisonment and the fight for freedom. Jessie is taken from his home against his will and put…

1 educator answer

• THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW

In That Was Then, This Is Now, what is M&M worried about having after he finally “comes down”?

After he finally “came down” from his bad LSD trip, M&M worried about having a flashback, which is a return of the hallucinations he experienced as a result of taking the drug. If a flashback…

1 educator answer

• THE ONES WHO WALK AWAY FROM OMELAS

Could you please give me an example of a metaphor in the story, “The Ones Who Walk Away from…

In Le Guin’s story, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” the story itself as a parable is a metaphor. For, the imaginary world of Omelas as an idyllic community is an unstated comparison of the…

1 educator answer

• A DOLL’S HOUSE

How can I write a good introduction for my paper on A Doll’s House?I need something captivating…

Besides captivating the reader’s interest, which is certainly important, your introduction should accomplish two other purposes. It should ground your reader in terms of the facts of the play, and…

2 educator answers

• MADAME BOVARY

What is the purpose of the discussion to convince Charles to take Madame Bovary to the opera in…

The discussion between Homais and Bournisien over the morality of the theatre represents Flaubert’s attempt to display the battle over traditional and modern notions of the good. The pharmacist,…

1 educator answer

• THE GLASS MENAGERIE

Who are two characters in the story that could be foils for each other and why?

There are several possible answers, but two come to mind more clearly: The broken unicorn and Laura are complete foils for each other due to their fragile nature, the fact that they both exist in a…

2 educator answers

• FIRST CONFESSION

What is the theme of “First Confession” by Frank O’Connor?

The central theme of the short story “First Confession” is embodied in its title: Jackie must face a rite of passage into human responsibility by learning the rite of Catholic religious confession…

2 educator answers

• SHOELESS JOE

In the book “Shoeless Joe”, how is Ray’s brother-in-law described and how does he feel about Ray?…

Ray’s brother-in-law, Mark, is a professor at the University of Iowa, specializing in all aspects of the corn weevil situation. His business partner is a guy named Bluestein, and together they own…

1 educator answer

• SHOELESS JOE

In “Shoeless Joe,” both men read Dr. Graham’s obituary. What’s the obituary supposed to tell the…

Moonlight Graham’s obituary reflects the story of an athlete who has a pure love of the game and does not experience the glory of the game. Shoeless Joe Jackson possessed natural talent in the…

1 educator answer

• GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Are there question-and-answer packets available for Great Expectations?

If you subscribe to enotes, you can find exactly what you are looking for. There are quizzes where you can test your knowledge of the book here:…

1 educator answer

• FAHRENHEIT 451

In Fahrenheit 451 who rarely appears but plays an important role and why?

The character Clarisse McClennan does not appear in the story very much but has a dramatic impact on Guy Montag. Clarisse is a young girl who lives in the neighborhood where the Montags live, she…

1 educator answer

• LAW AND POLITICS

Does California deserve to have its own independent government as well as a seat in the United…

Certainly, California has some formidable statistics which would rival other nations’ status. However, the undeniable element is that California is part of the United States, and if the precedent…

3 educator answers

• MY LAST DUCHESS

I need a character sketch of The Duchess in the poem “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning.I would…

Since the duke is in the process of negotiating for his next wife by speaking with the emissary of a wealthy man whose daughter may soon become the next duchess, the reader can safely assume that…

1 educator answer

• THINGS FALL APART

Explain what it means to be a strong person in Ibo society.

There are different definitions of strength within the society, depending on gender and communal roles. For men, strength involves some sort of physical prowess, as demonstrated by the importance…

1 educator answer

• LOVELIEST OF TREES, THE CHERRY NOW

We normally say that a tree is in bloom. But, the poet says, “The cherry now is hung with bloom.”…

This reference is from the closing line of Houseman’s poem. The premise of the poem is that this cherry blossom tree at which the speaker marvels is something beautiful and a memorable experience….

1 educator answer

• ENOTES HELP

I’m a father and I am trying to get my daughter signed up enrolled. How do I go about doing…

I guess you are asking a generic question of how to get your daughter to enroll in something when you are far away. First, I acknowledge the importance of your question. Distance makes things very…

1 educator answer

• WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

Analyze the seventh stanza of Ode on Intimations of Immortality.Explain words by words and line…

Wordsworth’s poem centers on the notion of maturation and how “the child is the father of the man.” The seventh stanza concerns the speaker, presumably Wordsworth, looking at a six year old child…

1 educator answer

• HISTORY

Describe the relationship between physical geography and world cultures.

The geography of a region and the human uses of that are interdependent in a number of obvious ways. For instance, people living along a seacoast tend to fish, so they develop cultures involving…

1 educator answer

• GUIDE TO LITERARY TERMS

What are the key words for first person pov?I decided to brush up on old essays from the past and…

First person point of view, as you say, is when a narrator tells his or her story using the personal pronouns I, me, my, we, our, ours, etc. Second person point of view refers to how we might…

2 educator answers

• THE OUTCASTS OF POKER FLAT

What is the central conflict in “The Outcasts of Poker Flat”?

The central conflict in the short story revolves around the outcasts, who are escorted to the edge of town and warned not to return. The town has decided to purify itself of undesirables, people…

1 educator answer

• THE GLASS MENAGERIE

Do you think Tom’s decision to leave his family is a sign of strength or of weakness?

Any decision involving change and breaking ties who are leading you nowhere are, in my opinion, signs of strength and courage. At face value, you could say that Tom was unfair at leaving his sister…

2 educator answers

• THE NYMPH’S REPLY TO THE SHEPHERD

Compare and contrast the poems “Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd” by Sir Walter Raleigh and “The…

While these two poems are related (specifically, one is the “answer” to the other) and share many things, they are fundamentally two different types of poetry. Let us first look at the superficial…

1 educator answer

• BLESS ME, ULTIMA

In the book Bless Me, Ultima, is there any special significance to the name “Ultima”?

Yes. Ultima’s name has two distinct meanings in the context of the novel, both relating to the English word “ultimate”. The first meaning is “end” or “final point”. For Antonio, Ultima is the last…

1 educator answer

• RIGHTS OF MAN

How does Thomas Paine in Rights of Man contribute to the fact that the taxpayer should be exempt…

Thomas Paine’s fundamental belief is that taxation is a method of control that an external body exerts on an individual or a nation. His basis and operational understanding of this comes from the…

1 educator answer

• HAMLET

I’m finding Act 1, Scene 2 of Hamlet difficult on account of Claudius’ long-winded speech. Anyone…

Yes, Claudius does seem to be long-winded here. In my opinion, when Claudius acts this way, he is putting on a show to cover up the obvious issue that he married Hamlet’s mother far too soon after…

1 educator answer

• PAUL’S CASE

In “Paul’s Case”, what’s the summary of the story?

Paul is a noncomformist adolescent whose passion for music, especially the opera, and for the finer things in life led him to an act of desperation. The desdain he felt extended to every aspect his…

1 educator answer

• DRACULA

Discuss the importance of weather in a specific literary work, not in terms of plot.

Shakespeare places a great level of importance on weather in his works. For example, weather figures prominently in Macbeth. The opening scene when we meet the witches is one where skies are…

1 educator answer

• FAHRENHEIT 451

What did Captain Beatty tell Montag in part 1? What are the 3 (or more) main things in Beatty

This is an important part of the story because it explains how the society seen in “Fahrenheit 451” came about, and speaks to the message that Bradbury was trying to get across with his book which…

3 educator answers

• GREAT EXPECTATIONS

How has Pip changed in Chapter 34 of Great Expectations?

By Chapter 34, Pip has begun to realize that becoming a gentleman or a person of importance is not as satisfying as he imagined. Once a person who longed to escape the drudgery of the forge, Pip…

1 educator answer

• A WORN PATH

What actions or speeches are used to bring out the character traits of Phoenix Jackson in “A Worn…

Phoenix Jackson is an elderly woman, a bit infirm, but feisty and determined. She sets out on a journey to get medicine for her grandson, a journey that takes her through a forest where there are…

1 educator answer

• HISTORY

What did Prometheus teach man to do with fire?

Knowing that fire was forbidden to man, but determined to help mankind anyway, Prometheus took a spark from the hearth at Olympus, used it to introduce fire to man, and then proceeded to…

1 educator answer

• HISTORY

According to Greek Mythology, how did fire change the life of man?

The role of fire transformed the life of men. The symbolic meaning of fire cannot be more evident. “Fire” being representative of light, of sight, and the source of warmth. It was also symbolic…

1 educator answer

• HISTORY

Who were the first people to see fire according to Greek mythology?

According to the myth of Prometheus, the mortals who inhabited dark caves were the first benefactors of fire. Prometheus also gave mankind virtually everything needed to create and become a…

1 educator answer

• HISTORY

What did Prometheus use to carry the fire back to mankind?

According to the vast accounts of mythology Prometheus was responsible for the creation of man. Athena helped Prometheus educate mankind in all areas of art, math, medicine and any area of…

1 educator answer

• HISTORY

How did Prometheus steal the fire from Helios?

According to what I understand about the myth, the connection between Prometheus, Helios the Sun God, and Fire arises from Zeus’ anger. Zeus was upset that Prometheus had given fire to man in the…

2 educator answers

• MYTHOLOGY AND CENSORSHIP

How did Athena help Prometheus to acquire fire?

In this myth Prometheus needed to gain access to the Chariot of the Sun, guarded in an underground vault at Mount Olympus, to be able to steal one of its embers and stealthily carry it back to…

1 educator answer

• JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL

Where is the setting of the story Jonathan Livingston Seagull?i’m so confused

“Jonathan Livingston Seagull” is a wonderful little story about a seagull that has been kicked out of his community for being different. Jonathan wants to be more, see more and live live…

2 educator answers

• HUMBOLDT’S GIFT

What can I do to download the summary of Humboldt’s Gift?

Enotes offers a variety of materials on Saul Bellow’s novel Humbolt’s Gift, including a full summary of the text. You may have to sign up and become a member of Enotes in order to access all of…

1 educator answer

• CASTLE RACKRENT

Is it possible to get a summary of the novella Castle Rackrent by Mariah Edgeworth? I cant find any!

You probably can’t find a summary of this obscure novella for a couple of reasons. Not many people I know have even heard of it, and because it isn’t regularly studied in school, most people won’t…

1 educator answer

• HISTORY

Identify what is meant by Latin America’s Shift to the Left? I have been assigned this topic to…

Essentially, the topic is asking why Latin America (however one defines it) features an embrace of a philosophy that encourages government intervention and principles that seek to nationalize…

3 educator answers

• THE CRUCIBLE

I Need some help with the prompt: Conflict brings the best and the worst in individuals and…

I think that there are plenty of examples from The Crucible to prove that conflict brings out the worst in people. From Proctor’s inability to confess and be transparent about the affair, to the…