Alex Bloomingdale
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About
I love English Literature, writing, and journalism.
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Recent Activity
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Answered a Question in Siegfried Sassoon
Text of the Poem: "Hero" by Siegfried Sassoon 'Jack fell as he'd have wished,' the Mother said, And folded up the letter that she'd read. 'The Colonel writes so nicely.' Something broke In the... -
Answered a Question in Slavery in the Nineteenth Century
The most obvious way of showing opposition to slavery is also one of the best documented-- running away. "Runaway slave" or "fugitive slave" were the terms given to slaves who tried to escape... -
Answered a Question in Essays
If you're looking for essay ideas, try Othello Essays. These are written by famous literary critics, so they're on a very high level, but they will give you some great ideas to get started with... -
Answered a Question in Literature
I think you can identify the folk elements of any story by thinking about what makes a folk tale different or special from another kind of story. A quote that I love is: "A folktale is a poetic... -
Answered a Question in Seedfolks
Three of the problems with the garden that Sam notices in chapter 6, when he famously says that the "garden was turning back into Cleveland", meaning that the garden was taking on the problems of... -
Answered a Question in The Oregon Trail
Summary of Chapter 1: The Frontier The first chapter introduces you to the narrator (Francis Parkman) and his relative (Quincy Shaw), who are on a ship near St. Louis, preparing to leave on a long... -
Answered a Question in Lucky Jim
Certainly the author of Lucky Jim, Kingsley Amis, has been accused of misogyny in his later works, and indeed it was difficult for him to find an American publisher in the 1970's when he... -
Answered a Question in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
I would say in a nutshell, Bruno understands that Maria is a human being. She is not an extension of his needs, but a fully formed person with her own past, needs, wants and desires. You... -
Answered a Question in The Modern Essay
The best quotes come directly from either the source material, or from a respected critic/writer and are highly relevant to the subject at hand. For example, if you're writing about Animal... -
Answered a Question in Thomas Alva Edison
Thomas Edison didn't invent the light bulb, but he did invent a practical, useful incandescent light system that became the world standard. The light bulb already existed in several forms before... -
Answered a Question in Violence in Literature
When thinking about Aristotle, the key word is "catharsis". The definition of the word is "the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions." Aristotle... -
Answered a Question in Nationalism
The eNotes Guide to Nationalism says the following: Nationalism is the doctrine that "the rulers should belong to the same ethnic (that is, national) group as the ruled" (Gellner, 1983, p. 1).... -
Answered a Question in US History (General)
To be controversial, one must stir passions on both sides. The person must also, to some degree, court controversy by making decisions that a large number of people dislike. In recent history, the... -
Answered a Question in The Seagull
The link below has extensive criticism of the Seagull from a variety of eminent sources, including Virginia Scott, who writes: Close observation of the text reveals several structural patterns.... -
Answered a Question in Holes
The main theme in Louis Sachar's Holes is the theme of Justice. Justice is what Stanley wants and expects, and the way it plays out is what makes the story work. The book says that justice will be... -
Answered a Question in Philosophy
Speaking of Martin Luther and his anti-semitic views, you can read his tract The Jews and Their Lies online. It's available in many places, including at the Jewish Virtual Library. Here is one... -
Answered a Question in History
I think you've quoted me a little out of context. I said The value of money isn't real. Gold has no value. Dollars have no value. Nothing has any genuine monetary value. Gold has no... -
Answered a Question in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
If you break down the phrase into the two words, it's easier to figure out. Hidebound or hide-bound means someone who is extremely conservative or inflexible. A pedant is someone who makes a show... -
Answered a Question in History
The civil rights movement is an area you could spend a lot of time on. It came to a head during the 1960's (after much work in the 1950's) and the effects are still being felt today. One could... -
Answered a Question in The Cask of Amontillado
I would imagine that Poe's personal story runs through everything he writes. I wonder if this story relates to some sort of feeling of being wronged, and is a revenge fantasy. We don't know enough... -
Answered a Question in The Ecstasy of Rita Joe
The main theme that comes from the work is the theme of white society's inabilty to understand or appreciate Native Americans and their culture. Some critics have suggested that play is "about the... -
Answered a Question in History
One thing very much on people's minds in the 1970's was America's addiction to oil, especially foreign oil. This came to a head during OPEC's embargo during the 1973 oil crisis. At the time there... -
Answered a Question in Henry VI, Part 2
in Henry VI, Part 2 Act IV, Scene 2, the following lines are spoken: CADE I thank you, good people: there shall be no money; all shall eat and drink on my score; and I will apparel them all in one... -
Answered a Question in Literary Terms
An alliteration always arrives after artfully arranging all alphabetical alterations allowed and aligned. Basically, building bidding bound by beta bits. From the eNotes guide: Alliteration... -
Answered a Question in The Cask of Amontillado
I think the lines are spoken to emphasize that Montressor is truly evil-- the line is ironic, as the customary "rest in peace" is being inverted to refer to the peace of the narrator and not his... -
Answered a Question in Everyday Use
On my father's side there is a German line and an English line. The German line came to the USA in the 1850's. The English side emigrated to Australia in the early 1900's and to the USA in the... -
Answered a Question in Acting Shakespeare
The group was originally called The Lord Chamberlain's Men but the group went through two name changes and were additionally named for Hunsdon and James I. The name was first changed to Lord... -
Answered a Question in History (General)
It's almost an impossible question to answer, but I think you'd just have to pick someone who represents a lot of things in one person. Alexander the Great is one whose life shows: education, war,... -
Answered a Question in Animal Farm
This is said by Squealer, the full passage is: "Comrades'" he cried. "You do not imagine, I hope, that we pigs are doing this in a spirit of selfishness and privilege. Many of us actually dislike... -
Answered a Question in Colonialism
Neo-colonialism can be defined as colonialism through other means. Under neocolonialism, the more powerful country will not actually have its soldiers occupying a country or running its government,... -
Answered a Question in The Horse and His Boy
I would say that one of the main themes is independence and indpendent thinking. Shasta, for example, spends much of the book learning to think for himself and "shedding his slave mentality", and... -
Answered a Question in Poetry
At first I hated this poem, but reading it a few more times I think it has a certain power. I'm not sure if there's a "moral" but it seems to be saying that love takes many forms, and don't expect... -
Answered a Question in The Hairy Ape
Tough question, because this play brings up so many ideas. I would say that there are 2 major themes, one is a political theme which is the role of Socialism. At the time the play was written,... -
Answered a Question in A Doll's House
Ah I see, that's a good point. Is Nora a doll or not? This may be the central idea behind the story. Either title could work but the one you suggest "The Dollhouse" is more of a stark contrast,... -
Answered a Question in Plagiarism
Due to some sort of clerical problem, a friend of mine was just a couple of credits away from graduating at the end of 4 years in University. Desperate to get the final credits in Summer school so... -
Answered a Question in Macbeth
I think he is evil in the final analysis. Just because the witches give him a prophesy, does not mean he needs to act. He kills wantonly, sometimes when it doesn't even necessarily benefit him at... -
Answered a Question in William Shakespeare
One way of looking at it is through the lens of honor. Both Macbeth and Hamlet fight and ultimately are killed, but only one is honorable-- Hamlet. While Macbeth kills many people in pursuit of... -
Answered a Question in Romanticism
The romantics felt that rationalism was taking man away from nature, and they exalted nature and the emotions, themes, and images that are associated with it. They also thought that while... -
Answered a Question in The Canterbury Tales
Knowing Chaucer's background and life history, it's possible that his intentions in writing The Canterbury Tales was simply to make his name known for a long time. Chaucer was arrogant and... -
Answered a Question in Night
I think 8th graders can probably handle it, but wonder if the book isn't selected at that level for reasons of "ease-of-reading" and length as opposed to how appropriate it is. Personally I think... -
Answered a Question in A Midsummer Night's Dream
If you wanted to get a bit creative, you could potentially say that there is no one protagonist in the play, and focus on some of the couples and how their relationships form the interecting... -
Answered a Question in Tess of the d'Urbervilles
There are a few different themes, but if you had to pick just one, I would say: Fate and Chance. So much of the novel revolves around the idea of fate, chance, etc. and what that might mean to life... -
Answered a Question in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Here are three quotes about Jekyll: "He was wild when he was young" from the end of the "Search for Mr. Hyde" chapter. And later, in beginning the "Dr. Jeckyll was quite at ease" chapter: "a large,... -
Answered a Question in The Necklace
It's a tough question, actually, and more difficult then it appears at first. On the one hand, she equates money with happiness, and thus is a victim of her own value system. On the other hand, she... -
Answered a Question in The Great Gatsby
Good question! It's a good one for discussion because it can also be asked: is Gatsby "great" at all? I'll kick things off by saying Gatsby is great, especially within the time he lives, for making... -
Answered a Question in A Jury of Her Peers
The characters are: John and Minnie Wright: John's murder (his wife is the main suspect) is what sets the story in motion. Neither of them actually appear in the story. Martha Hale: The only... -
Answered a Question in Romeo and Juliet
It's very difficult to say because both of them are somewhat untrustworthy, but at the same time both of them present the only adult figures who offer to help Romeo or Juliet. Know what we know... -
Answered a Question in The Birthday Party
A good way to make your own summaries is to read carefully, and make a note everytime something happens. Then, look over your notes and decide what was the most important event or revelation of... -
Answered a Question in Hunger of Memory
Richard himself is the scholarship boy. He means someone who gets a scholarship to a school and is known for that within the school. He says of his auto-biography: ‘‘the story of the... -
Answered a Question in Lord of the Flies
I think that the most important quote is " “There isn’t anyone to help you. Only me. And I’m the Beast…Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt and kill! You knew, didn’t you? I’m...
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