Why is Ponyboy kind throughout the novel The Outsiders?

August 22, 2018 Educator

THE GIVER

What happens at the Murmur-of-Replacement Ceremony in The Giver?

We learn about this ceremony in Ch. 6. The Murmur-of-Replacement Ceremony is performed when someone has died and a new child is given to a family and that new child has the same name as the person…

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THE DEVIL’S ARITHMETIC

In The Devil’s Arithmetic, how does Hannah change from the beginning to the end?

The Devil’s Arithmetic is a coming-of-age story (otherwise known as a bildungsroman) in that the character of Hannah changes as she comes of age. Hannah begins the novel as an immature young…

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A CHRISTMAS CAROL

What does it mean in A Christmas Carol when it says Marley has no bowels?

When Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol saying someone had no bowels was similar to saying today that someone has no heart. They meant the the person did not show caring or compassion to others. The…

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TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

How did Tom Robinson influence Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird?

At most, Tom’s influence is entirely indirect. It’s more what surrounds Tom and his trial, the testimony about what he allegedly did, that begins to change Scout’s mind about what her peers and the…

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ROMEO AND JULIET

How does dramatic irony contribute to the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet?

In William Shakespeare’s dramatic tragedy Romeo and Juliet, dramatic irony plays a significant role in the events that lead to the play’s tragic conclusion. Dramatic Irony is a literary device…

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A CHRISTMAS CAROL

What is the yes and no game in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens?

The ‘Yes or No’ game appears in stave 3 of A Christmas Carol, when Scrooge is visited by the ghost of Christmas present. During his visit, the ghost takes Scrooge to the home of his nephew, Fred,…

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MACBETH

What does the following quotation from Macbeth mean in modern English: “By the pricking of my…

At the beginning of Act 4 in Macbeth, the witches are gathered in their lair, and soon Macbeth arrives to see them to get a new prophecy. Just before he enters the scene, one of the witches says,…

3 educator answers

THE DEVIL AND TOM WALKER

The imaginative world of the supernatural and, in contrast, the celebration of America and her…

In his story “The Devil and Tom Walker” Washington Irving revels in both America and its history and in the world of the supernatural. Both of these themes are frequently found in Irving’s stories…

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SCIENCE

Describe the method of inquiry used by Aristotle.

That would be logic. Aristotle’s logic was based largely on the establishment of two statements having an equivocal relationship and their relationship of a possible third statement. The first…

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HISTORY

How can we prevent the Holocaust from happening again?

There are lessons to be learned from the Holocaust. One of these lessons is to learn how to prevent an event like this from happening again. There are several ways to do this. One way is to prevent…

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THE TELL-TALE HEART

How should a conclusion be written when someone is writing a paragraph expressing the character…

If a short essay or paragraph is written on the traits of a literary character, it should begin with a thesis statement similar to: the character X in the book Y shows the traits 1, 2, and 3 (the X…

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ARABY

Are “Araby” by James Joyce and “La Belle Dame sans Merci” by John Keats two good pieces to do a…

At first I thought that this might not be such a good idea because one is a short story and the other is a poem, but it occurs to me that you might enjoy the challenge of comparing and contrasting…

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THE GIFT OF THE MAGI

Why does the author repeatedly refer to Della and Jim as “the James Dillingham Youngs?”

The name “Dillingham” has money and upper-class connotations. Jim’s last name is Young. The “Dillingham” must have been a sort of tribute to Jim’s grandfather, who was evidently an important man,…

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TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

How is The Help (movie) related to the book To Kill a Mockingbird character-wise?

One of the great characters in TKAMB is Atticus’s housekeeper, Calpurnia. Calpurnia’s story is not at the center of novel, but we see bits and pieces of it around the edges. There is, for example,…

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CRISPIN: THE CROSS OF LEAD

In what ways was Crispin unconfident?

For much of the novel Crispin: The Cross of Lead, we know Crispin to be lacking in any sort of confidence in himself. This is directly the result of how he has spent his childhood—his whole life,…

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ETHNICITY

To what extent are race and ethnicity social constructed categories, versus something…

General the term “race” is used to denote biological groupings and “ethnicity” cultural ones, but both concepts are not ones that can be established by clear, empirical demarcations. On a…

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SOCIAL SCIENCES

Should we define minorities in terms of gender as well as race and ethnicity?

I think that the answer to this is a function of our purpose in so defining and also a function of what is meant by “we.” As a general matter, I would say that if our purpose is in protecting…

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A CHRISTMAS CAROL

In the book A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, what does the the junk dealer’s shop look like?

The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come shows Scrooge a junk shop in a dirty, tucked away part of London. This area is known for crime and other unsavory activity. The shop is “below a pent-house…

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SCIENCE

Genes are found on ___?

Genes are located on chromosomes. Genes direct the production of proteins that are needed by the body for life activities. Proteins can act as structural parts, enzymes, hormones, signaling…

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BY THE WATERS OF BABYLON

What truth is revealed at the end of the story?

The main truth revealed at the end of the story, “By the Waters of Babylon,” is that “the gods” were just men living in a more technologically advanced society than the narrator’s, and that…

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SCIENCE

What are neurons? Please answer ASAP!

Neurons are nerve cells. They are found in eukaryotes, specifically multi-cellular organisms. They are found in animals. They are specialized to carry information quickly from one part of the…

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SHADES OF GRAY

List some details that describe the historical time period.

A couple of specific details that show accuracy in regards to the time period have to do with the character of Will and his Uncle Jed. These two characters are the central focus of the damage the…

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FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON

In “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes, how does Charlie’s understanding of his past make him…

In “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes, Charlie is given an operation to increase his intelligence. As he becomes smarter, he begins to understand a lot of things about himself and about the…

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SHADES OF GRAY

Do you think that the author accurately described a particular historical period in the novel?…

Yes, the “particular historical period” that Reeder accurately describes in Shades of Gray is the late eighteen hundreds (or late nineteenth century) in the United States of America. Specifically,…

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TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

In To Kill a Mockingbird, what are some quotes about racism during the trial?

Some obvious ones come from Ewell himself. For example, when he’s giving his testimony about the night in question, he stands up and points his finger at Robinson, “–I seen that black nigger…

2 educator answers

THE GIVER

What does it mean by “feelings” in the book The Giver?

Well, the definition of the word is not any different in the book than it is in real life, but the range of feelings seen in the community is certainly more limited than in the real world or even…

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FREAK THE MIGHTY

True or False: Dramatic transformations (changes in the characters) are not always caused by…

This is quite a deep question, and the answer is one word: true. We can see this through the character of Max. His transformation is one of lack of self-confidence to self-confidence. Although…

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THE PEARL

How does the theme “knowledge versus ignorance” present itself in the novella “The Pearl” by John…

Consider the priest, the Father, who knows the theology and doctrine of Christianity but does not know how to apply them to real life. Instead of pity and compassion, greed overtakes him, as well…

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TANGERINE

In Tangerine, where does Gino go to school?

Gino Deluca, an excellent soccer player and the captain of the team, goes to Lake Windsor Middle School. Paul describes Gino as strong, fast, and hungry to score goals, capable of leaping up like a…

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ANIMAL FARM

How does Orwell illustrate man’s inhumanity to man in Animal Farm? Please include quotes with…

How does Orwell illustrate man’s inhumanity to man in Animal Farm? Give three examples and quotes with page numbers to support it. George Orwell’s Animal Farm is an allegory displaying the…

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TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

On what page does Atticus say to Scout, “if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along…

In Chapter 3, on page 39, Atticus teaches Scout the importance of understanding others’ perspectives. Scout is a naive child with a quick temper at the beginning of the novel. Like most children,…

1 educator answer

THE HUNGER GAMES

What are some facts about Suzanne Collins’ (author of the Hunger Games) later life?

Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games, has a quite interesting background. Although she eventually wrote books, she started off working on children’s television shows. After this, she…

1 educator answer

THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS

In Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, what are some examples of different characters’…

In John Boyne’s The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Bruno interacts with a few characters who have different perspectives on the historical events they experience during World War II. First of all,…

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THE OUTSIDERS

Why are Darry, Dally, and Johnny considered heroes?

The characters of Darry, Dally, and Johnny in the novel The Outsiders can be considered heroes for various reasons. Darry can be considered a hero because despite being an athletic, intelligent…

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THE VELDT

Give two examples of how George and Lydia raise their children poorly.

George and Lydia do not discipline their children very well. After being frightened by the lions, Lydia asks George to lock up the nursery for a few days until she settles down. George protests,…

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MACBETH

How does Macbeth show great strength throughout the play?

Macbeth’s strength is best seen at the beginning of the play when he is described as a fearless warrior, full of valiance and loyalty to his king. He appears to be the one deserving all the praise…

2 educator answers

HARRISON BERGERON

In “Harrison Bergeron,” what is the significance of the dance that Harrison performs with the…

Harrison Bergeron’s dance with the ballerina is performed without their artificial “handicaps”. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.’s short story “Harrison Bergeron” is set in the year 2081, when everyone was…

1 educator answer

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

Can Atticus from To Kill a Mockingbird be considered a “mockingbird”?

It would be hard to make the argument that Atticus is a mockingbird. Although he does have some of the qualities of a mockingbird, he does not have others. First, let’s look at what we know about…

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STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING

In the Robert Frost poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” how does the rhyming help…

A common interpretation of Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” is that the poem is in contemplation of death, or at least the finality of death. Some critics who subscribe…

1 educator answer

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

In A Christmas Carol, why does Scrooge have any doubts that he will change the future he saw?

He is most uncertain because of the reaction, or perhaps the lack of reaction, he gets from the Ghost of Christmas Future. The spirit has shown Scrooge many disturbing things, and Scrooge is…

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THE MONKEY’S PAW

What is the point of view in “The Monkey’s Paw?” Provide textual support for proof.

To start with, we can tell that the point of view in “The Monkey’s Paw” is some sort of third person point of view. We know this because the narrator in this story constantly refers to the…

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THE CAY

Was the storm in The Cay by Theodore Taylor a hurricane or tornado?

In The Cay by Theodore Taylor, when Timothy and Phillip had been on the island for a few months, one day they were out gathering calico scallops, and they heard a noise that sounded like a gunshot….

1 educator answer

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

What are two different plot elements in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird?

All plots are made up of five different elements. The first element is the exposition, which is found at the beginning of the story and is the moment the author introduces all major parts of the…

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THE DEMON LOVER

Why did the Drover family leave London?

The Drover family left London to escape the bombings from German planes during World War II. These bombings were called the Blitz. Blitz was short for “Blitzkrieg,” which meant “lightning war.”…

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FAHRENHEIT 451

In Farhenheit 451, why don’t the authorities bother the hobos?

There are two explanations as to why the government doesn’t bother those in the hobo camps: 1. According to Faber, the government doesn’t bother these people because they “never considered them a…

1 educator answer

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

What do the eighteen hundred brothers represent in A Christmas Carol?

In stave three of A Christmas Carol, Scrooge meets the Ghost of Christmas Present and learns that he has more than eighteen hundred brothers. On one level, this refers to the number of Christmases…

2 educator answers

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

How does Scout become more mature after listening to Tom Robinson’s testimony in Harper Lee’s To…

The whole novel chronicles the events in Scout’s life that lead her out of childhood innocence into a more understanding mind of the ways of the world. Scout’s experiences with kids at school, Miss…