Alan Rice
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About
I hold a Bachelor's degree in literature and drama from Earlham College, and a Master's in dramatic arts from the University of Connecticut. I've worked variously as an actor, shop clerk, civil rights investigator, stage director, and high school English and drama teacher. I presently work and live in Connecticut.
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Recent Activity
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Answered a Question in Lamb to the Slaughter
How you conclude your essay depends on what you've written so far, right? Clearly there's tremendous irony in the story - the fact that the police are eating the evidence that is "right under... -
Answered a Question in To Kill a Mockingbird
If I may add to that, Miss Maudie specifically states that Judge Taylor's choice was deliberate. Ordinarily a case like this would have been defended by the beginning lawyer Maxwell Green. Miss... -
Answered a Question in A Raisin in the Sun
Linder and the people he represents "dream of the kind of community they want to raise their children in." They are not wealthy, but probably working-class folk who see Clybourne Park as their own... -
Answered a Question in A Raisin in the Sun
One of the most significant differences is how these two characters see themselves. George is an assimilationist. He acts white, embraces white values, and even dresses like a white man, down to... -
Answered a Question in Hamlet
There is an interesting set of lines that build on the idea of "heart." Hamlet orders his mother "Look here upon this picture and on this, - The counterfeit presentment of two brothers. . . This... -
Answered a Question in Death of a Salesman
AThe answer by allyson (above) is good, but it should be noted more that Dave Singleton was respected. It was more than a matter of money; people came from all over to see him; they came from the... -
Answered a Question in To Kill a Mockingbird
Scout is not aware of the importance of Atticus' advice until she stands on the Radley's porch at the very end of the novel. She doesn't respond to Walter Cunningham because she is seeing things... -
Answered a Question in Julius Caesar
Note the other answers concerning Caesar's vanity, his arrogance, his over-confidence. Decius knows precisely which buttons to push. On the other hand, perhaps this is the day that Caesar will die,... -
Answered a Question in The Odyssey
The answer to your question is explored in depth in Bernard Knox's introduction to Robert Fagles's translation. According to Professor Knox, the earliest examples of Greek writing go back to around... -
Answered a Question in The Odyssey
Penelope has little status and no power as a woman, though she does have great wealth. Telemachus, though he is now over 20, has never proven his manhood. In one respect, neither "needs" Odysseus.... -
Answered a Question in The Odyssey
Athena appears first as Mentes, an old family friend. But after she gets Telemachus to tell her about the situation in Odysseus's house, and she exhorts Telemachus to confront the suitors, she... -
Answered a Question in To Kill a Mockingbird
A more appropriate question is, "How does Scout's understanding of Atticus's courage change?" Atticus is not a dynamic character; he is essentially the same person at the end of the novel as he was... -
Answered a Question in The Glass Menagerie
The word "escape" is used repeatedly in the play, and the fire excape is the physical manifestation of the escape which is central to all the characters. Tom escapes to the movies, before literally... -
Answered a Question in Hamlet
Two distinct points of view are correct in that (1) the grave-digger scene makes Hamlet out to be 30, yet (2) his character suggests someone considerably younger. Is this an inconsistency? The... -
Answered a Question in Oedipus Rex
A very good - and extremely difficult - question. Jamie_Wheeler's response is a good synopsis of the background. But the play itself is about how Oedipus discovers this background. Oedipus' birth,... -
Answered a Question in Antigone
Although the play is titled "Antigone," the protagonist is arguably Creon. He is the one who is destroyed as a result of his actions arising from his tragic flaw (rather like his brother-in-law... -
Answered a Question in The Odyssey
You need to remember that The Odyssey straddles the line between legend and myth. Though scholars generally agree that there was once a city of Troy that was conquered by Argive forces (which... -
Answered a Question in The Odyssey
The poem ends unexpectedly, in my opinion. Homer finishes off the story with the suitors' appearance in the underworld, where Agamemnon makes a final appearance, rounding out the parallels between... -
Answered a Question in The Odyssey
This question could provoke considerable discussion. Odysseus was a reluctant combattant in the Trojan War; he pretended to be mad in order to avoid his sworn service bo Menelaus. (Note that this... -
Answered a Question in The Odyssey
Note the two answers above. In addition, though, note that Athena could, supposedly, tell Telemachus that his father is safe, and protect Telemachus with her godly powers. But that's aside from the... -
Answered a Question in Lord of the Flies
Angelacress (above) has very articulately brought out the major events leading up to the rift between Ralph and Jack. What is especially interesting is Jack's choice of words: "I'm not going to... -
Answered a Question in Lord of the Flies
One reasonable approach to the novel is to regard it as a political work. Golding sugests that reasonable, benelovent, "fair" governments are ineffectual compared to the compelling dynamism of an... -
Answered a Question in Lord of the Flies
Both Ralph and Piggy understand, at some level, what has happened to Simon. Ralph tells Piggy, "That was Simon . . . That was murder," and struggles to comprehend the enormity of their action.... -
Answered a Question in Brave New World
One significant difference is that the two highest castes - Beta and Alpha - are not mass-produced, and thus have a degree of individuality. That individuality extends, logically, to physical... -
Answered a Question in Brave New World
Huxley uses an outside, effaced narrator. In other words, the narrator is not a character in the story, and has limited access to the consciousness of the characters. He rarely tells us what a... -
Answered a Question in Hamlet
The simple answer is that as a result of the play-within-the-play, Hamlet has definite proof of his uncle's guilt. He comes upon Clausius alone, and it would seem logical that the only thing that... -
Answered a Question in Hamlet
The answer is in the lines immediately following: "There is a special providence in the fall of a sparrow. . . " What will augury—fortune-telling—tell Hamlet that will be of any use to him? This...