
Jill O'Brien
eNotes Educator
Achievements
18
Educator Level
4252
Answers Posted
2838
Answers Bonused
About
Twenty years of teaching experience in public schools grades 6-12. I have a desire to provide my students with the skills they need for success. I am a lifelong learner, and knowledge is power. I love to learn and to be challenged intellectually, and I enjoy sharing what I have learned with others. I also believe there are no shortcuts to achieving true success, whatever your goal. Hard work pays off.
Earned Badges
-
eNotes Educator
This badge is awarded to all eNotes Educators. Only official Educators can answer students' questions on our site. Educators are teachers, professional researchers, and scholars who apply to our... -
Hall of Fame
Educators can earn this badge by contributing over 1,000 answers on eNotes. -
Quiz Taker
This badge is awarded when an Educator has completed 10 quizzes. -
10K Points Earner
Educators earn points for every question they answer. This Educator has earned over 10,000 points. -
25K Points Earner
Educators earn points for every question they answer. This Educator has earned over 25,000 points. -
50K Points Earner
Educators earn points for every question they answer. This Educator has earned over 50,000 points. -
100K Points Earner
Educators earn points for every question they answer. This Educator has earned over 100,000 points. -
Expert
An expert badge distinguishes Educators who demonstrate strong knowledge in a particular topic, such as Hamlet or Math. It is awarded when an Educator has posted more than 25 answers on a given topic. -
Scholar
The scholar badge recognizes Educators who are especially knowledgeable about a particular author. This badge is awarded once an Educator has posted more than 50 answers on works by a specific author. -
Poetry Whiz
Bonuses are awarded when an Educator has gone above and beyond and impressed the editorial team by offering an especially lengthy, nuanced, or insightful answer. This badge is given to an Educator... -
Literature Whiz
Bonuses are awarded when an Educator has gone above and beyond and impressed the editorial team by offering an especially lengthy, nuanced, or insightful answer. This badge is given to an Educator... -
History Whiz
Bonuses are awarded when an Educator has gone above and beyond and impressed the editorial team by offering an especially lengthy, nuanced, or insightful answer. This badge is given to an Educator... -
Science Whiz
Bonuses are awarded when an Educator has gone above and beyond and impressed the editorial team by offering an especially lengthy, nuanced, or insightful answer. This badge is given to an Educator...
Recent Activity
-
Answered a Question in To Kill a Mockingbird
In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, society attempts to shape and influence Scout (and all children, we can infer), and how she sees the changing world around her, while characters such as... -
Answered a Question in Heart of Darkness
Conrad's Heart of Darkness includes numerous examples of internal and external conflict. Marlow is hired by the company that also employs Kurtz, their most successful harvester of ivory.... -
Answered a Question in Fahrenheit 451
In Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, Montag meets Faber the first time by chance. The second time, after Montag has stolen books and watched the old woman die in her burning home at 11 N. Elm, he... -
Answered a Question in Hamlet
There many aspects of Shakespeare's Hamlet that make the story relevant to modern audiences, which is what makes Shakespeare's work so timeless. Hamlet's father has died, and Hamlet misses him... -
Answered a Question in The Alchemist
In Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist, Santiago is a young boy with whose life consists of dreaming of finding a treasure and tending to his sheep. He has no sense that the universe holds any mysteries... -
Answered a Question in Macbeth
At the beginning of Shakespeare's Macbeth, Macbeth was a loyal subject, an excellent warrior, and well-loved by Duncan, the King of Scotland. In Act One, scene two, the Sergeant reports how Macbeth... -
Answered a Question in Beowulf
In Beowulf, the sense of one's destiny at God's hands is prevalent, but also is the influence of "wyrd." Fate is referred to as "wyrd." The Anglo-Saxons did not believe that they were controlled or... -
Answered a Question in Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
In Joyce Carol Oat's "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?," Arnold seems to have some kind of hypnotic control over Connie. It is not so much that he does something purposeful as if literally... -
Answered a Question in Macbeth
Shakespeare presents the supernatural in Macbeth in a variety of ways. In the first scene of Act One, witches appear to not only introduce the element of the supernatural (that his Elizabethan... -
Answered a Question in The Seafarer
In "The Seafarer," the sailor experiences a great many conflicts. Many of these conflicts arise from his struggles with nature, as well as his loneliness in being away from those he loves: That man... -
Answered a Question in The Alchemist
In Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist, the crystal merchant is a man who once had many dreams, as does Santiago. For all of his life, the merchant wanted to go on a pilgrimage. However, work and... -
Answered a Question in To Kill a Mockingbird
In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Aunt Alexandra does not mince words with regard to how she feels about the Cunninghams. She says they are not people with which the Finches associate, and... -
Answered a Question in Two Kinds
In Amy Tan's "Two Kinds," a mother and daughter disagree about the child's ability to excel to the height of a prodigy: the mother believes anything is possible with hard work; her daughter... -
Answered a Question in The Lottery
In Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery," there are two rounds in the lottery that the town holds. The first round determines from which family the "winner" will be selected. It is during... -
Answered a Question in Sonnet 29
In Shakespeare's lovely Sonnet 29, the author uses the structure of an English sonnet (also known as an Elizabethan or a Shakespearean sonnet) to organize his ideas. This kind of sonnet has a... -
Answered a Question in Journey of the Magi
In T.S. Eliot's "The Journey of the Magi" there are several sections that appear to reference biblical elements, especially from the story of Jesus's birth as told by Matthew and Luke in the New... -
Answered a Question in The Lesson
In Toni Cade Bambara's short story "The Lesson," the character of Miss Moore has personality traits that the narrator, young Sylvia, thinks are strange and especially out of place in her poor... -
Answered a Question in Literature
There are a number of similarities and differences between the protagonists in the heroic stories of Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Beowulf is a hero known for his prowess in battle;... -
Answered a Question in Literature
In both Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Beowulf, the main halls are places of community and celebration. While both welcome visitors, the two halls are very different in... -
Answered a Question in Sonny's Blues
In James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues," the most dominant conflicts in the story are those faced by each brother with his personal demons (man vs. self), those that arise between the brothers (man vs.... -
Answered a Question in Sonny's Blues
There are several conflicts in James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues." One of the main conflicts in the story is between the narrator and his brother Sonny: man vs. man. The narrator has worked hard to... -
Answered a Question in Beowulf
In all three battles in Beowulf, which include Grendel, Grendel's dam (mother) and the dragon, several elements are present in each. Beowulf faces seemingly insurmountable adversaries in each... -
Answered a Question in Fahrenheit 451
Connotation is defined as follows: Suggestions and associations which surround a word as opposed to its bare, literal meaning. Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 uses connotations masterfully,... -
Answered a Question in Beowulf
In the epic poem Beowulf, Beowulf is the Geatish hero of the story, while Grendel is humankind's archenemy. Beowulf, the story's protagonist, arrives to assist Hrothgar, King of the Danes,... -
Answered a Question in The Metamorphosis
In Kafka's The Metamorphosis, the use of an insect is particularly significant because of all the things in this world, the insect is often seen as bothersome, disgusting, and easily squashed.... -
Answered a Question in The Most Dangerous Game
In Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game," the author uses several allusions. The first reference is that Zaroff and Ivan are Cossacks. In 2016, The Washington Post referred to the historical... -
Answered a Question in Beowulf
In the epic poem Beowulf, there is a consistent theme of good versus evil. The theme of good versus evil is first introduced when the narrator reveals that Grendel is descended from Cain—the first... -
Answered a Question in The Canterbury Tales
Chaucer's narrative art is most prominently displayed and praised in his epic poem The Canterbury Tales. While many sources cite Chaucer as the father of poetry, he was also keenly observant... -
Answered a Question in To Kill a Mockingbird
In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Miss Maudie refers to "foot-washing Baptists" not to criticize the Baptists necessarily, but to point out the hypocrisy of those who considered themselves as... -
Answered a Question in Beowulf
Assonance is the repetition of a similar vowel sound in a group of words. [Assonance is r]epeating identical or similar vowels (especially in stressed syllables) in nearby words. It is important to... -
Answered a Question in Fahrenheit 451
In Ray Bradbury's cautionary tale Fahrenheit 451, the author may introduce Clarisse before Montag's wife Mildred because the women are so different—more specifically, their differences are highly... -
Answered a Question in The Seafarer
In "The Seafarer," I do not get the sense that fate drives the seaman as much as the call of his heart and his mind, so I would suggest that his heart and mind are stronger than fate. If one is... -
Answered a Question in Rhetoric
A very long time ago, the philosopher Aristotle . . . composed his treatise on Rhetoric to help truth and justice prevail over falsity, to show how persuasion and reason can be used to convince an... -
Answered a Question in Sonny's Blues
In beginning "Sonny's Blues" in the manner he does, Baldwin is able to at once imbibe a sense of how deeply the author is still attached to his brother Sonny. The author conveys to us that in... -
Answered a Question in To Kill a Mockingbird
In chapter 11 of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus provides an example of a simile when he greets nasty Mrs. Dubose: Good evening, Mrs. Dubose! You look like a picture this evening.... -
Answered a Question in The Most Dangerous Game
While Rainsford may be foolish to go so near the side of the boat (an event that causes his fall into the water and eventual capture by Zaroff), there are quite a number of things about Rainsford... -
Answered a Question in The Alchemist
Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist uses magic figuratively. The author tells a wonderful story about a boy named Santiago, who believes he is searching for treasure. His journey takes him to unknown... -
Answered a Question in American Revolution
The American Revolution galvanized political and social change, not only in America, but also around the world. The Revolutionary War brought about three major social changes in the colonies. The... -
Answered a Question in Colonial America
As people traveled to the Americas to build new lives—to experience freedom of religion and have the opportunity to become economically successful— indentured servants and slaves made up a large... -
Answered a Question in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Medieval romances are rooted in the tradition of Greek romances: The stories, often about faithful lovers separated and reunited after perilous adventures, were carried on in the oral... -
Answered a Question in European History
The Medieval worldview was drastically different than that of the Renaissance era. In the Medieval period, feudalism was a way of life: there was no middle class. Instead, feudal lords... -
Answered a Question in Frankenstein
In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, perhaps the most notable of all the many themes of this supernatural tale is man acting like God. It is Victor's hubris that eventually destroys the lives of almost... -
Answered a Question in Romeo and Juliet
Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is described as a tale of two young people whose lives have been preordained by fate: Two star-crossed lovers fall hopelessly in love despite the heated feud between... -
Answered a Question in The Masque of the Red Death
In Edgar Allan Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death," the people enclosed in Prospero's abbey have gathered there to evade the plague, which is raging outside, all around them: It was toward the... -
Answered a Question in The Veldt
In Ray Bradbury's short story "The Veldt," the conflict that comes immediately to mind is that between the husband and wife, George and Lydia. George is thrilled by the programmed landscape (and... -
Answered a Question in Macbeth
In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the theme "Fair is foul and foul is fair" is expressed throughout the play's five acts. The Weird Sisters (the witches) introduce the theme in the very first scene: ALL:... -
Answered a Question in Lamb to the Slaughter
In Roald Dahl's "Lamb to the Slaughter," a great deal of what the reader learns about Patrick Maloney comes from the reactions of Mrs. Mary Maloney. We learn that Patrick is a man of steady... -
Answered a Question in Of Mice and Men
In Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, the setting at the start of Chapter One is "a few miles south of Soledad." Lenny and George have been walking for what (to George) seems like four miles. George is... -
Answered a Question in History (General)
In terms of history repeating itself, there are two examples that come to mind. During World War II, the Nazi regime in Germany systematically attempted to annihilate not only the Jewish... -
Answered a Question in The Lesson
In Toni Cade Bambara's short story "The Lesson," the reader is introduced to the narrator, Sylvia, who has a standing (though quiet) feud with Miss Moore. Miss Moore has moved into the neighborhood...
Showing 1-50 of 2355