Muriel Perreault, Ph.D.

There are many allusions in part 1 of Thomas King’s Green Grass, Running Water. In the opening of part 1, we are introduced to Coyote, who is the narrator. In the mythology of Native American oral...

Norman is consistently treated as the older, more serious, sensible, and cautious brother throughout the book. He also has a more professional career in academia than Paul’s career in newspapers....

The unnamed sniper ties in to the theme of war decreasing the humanity of those who fight in war or are affected by it. Humans become objects, or just dots on a map. In this vein, it is important...

The climax of The Hunger Games is during the would-be double suicide of Katniss and Peeta. Previously, the Gamekeepers had announced that there could be two victors if they were from the same...

Late 1800s administrative reforms to keep politics out of government was an important issue of the time and in many ways still has ramifications today. Around this time, the United States was in...

In J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, Draco Malfoy is a clear foil for Harry. From the very beginning of the first novel, we see stark contrasts between Draco and Harry. When Harry first goes to...

Yes, The Trial of Dedan Kimathi is definitely a historical play. The piece, written by Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Micere Githae Mugo, endeavors to reframe the trial and death of Dedan Kimathi, who was a...

In Oliver Twist, Fagin and the boys play a pickpocket game. Fagin walks about with items in his pockets, and the object of the game was for the boys to take things out of his pocket without him...

Since Morrie has ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, he has to deal with debilitating physical symptoms that progressively get worse. Earlier in the book, he is able to walk on his own. As...

Chapter nine plays an important role when it comes to the clothes that Scout chooses to wear. Her Aunt Alexandra was, in Scout’s words, "fanatical on the subject of my attire." (92) On page 92 of...

Many of these have already been listed in the previous answer, but I am going to include a more extensive list, in order, with page numbers from the 1997 version of the text. An aphorism is a...

Post WWII, Europe was entirely devastated, meaning the European economy was also in ruins. Many countries worried that if the European economy did not strengthen after the war, then the world...

In Cold Blood tells the tale of a Kansas family that was brutally murdered for what, at the time, seemed like no reason at all. Late at night on November 15, 1959, two ex-convicts Richard Hickock...

A works cited page is the Modern Language Association’s name for a reference page. Other citation styles, such as APA, would use the title References rather than Works Cited. Having a works cited...

James Joyce’s The Dead exemplifies modernism largely due to the main character in the story—Gabriel Conroy. He leads an empty, outcast, and seemingly insignificant life, which aligns with the theme...

World War I and its aftermath greatly curtailed civil liberties in the United States, with everyday citizens and dissidents who were not in support of the war being most greatly affected. The main...

In The Three Musketeers, the Three Musketeers and D'Artagnan salute Bicarat with their swords because, according to the text, “Bravery is always respected, even in an enemy.” The context of this...

In general, most people think no—Hamlet would not have been a successful ruler because of his dithering ways. Furthermore, when he does take action, he appears to do as such imprudently and is...

Things Fall Apart and Hamlet are timeless and universal because they are both tragedies, with both heroes having tragic flaws that eventually contribute to their deaths. Okonkwo is the tragic hero...

The Nurse is not exactly “blamed” in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet; however, the Nurse plays an important role in the plot and is essentially the equivalent of a mother to Juliet. Additionally, in...

As readers, we never find out the real name of the island Robinson Crusoe is shipwrecked on. He calls it "The Island of Despair," saying, I, poor miserable Robinson Crusoe, being shipwrecked...

Chapter four of From Slavery to Freedom details eighteenth-century slave societies. As the author notes, there was “no one single black slavery experience.” Instead, enslaved people’s lives were...

Wes’s quote “I was becoming too ‘rich’ for the kids from the neighborhood and too ‘poor’ for the kids at school. . . . Thinking way too much in each situation and getting tangled in the...

Nora is the one character who makes a major transition throughout A Doll’s House – arguably one from selflessness to selfishness. She displays a diverse assortment of character traits in the course...