Jamie Wheeler
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About
I hold a M.A. and B.A. in literature, currently writing my Ph.D in American Literature, specifically John Steinbeck's female characters. I have been teaching both Freshman and Sophomore literature at the college level for about ten years.
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Recent Activity
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Answered a Question in The Scarlet Letter
In addition to the other excellent answers, I would add that one must consider the beliefs of the Puritans. They were constantly looking for verification that someone was or was not a... -
Answered a Question in The Cask of Amontillado
Fortunato is easily persuaded by flattery, so much so that he fails to hear anything sinister in Montressor's voice or in his motives. he wants to believe he is thought of as a great wine... -
Answered a Question in Twelfth Night
Hi- We are not an essay writing service, but I can give you some direction. Olivia refuses the Duke's proposal because she is has unwittingly fallen in love with Cesario, who is really Viola... -
Answered a Question in Hay Fever
I looked for a definitive quote from Noel Coward, but couldn't find one. My best guess is that it is just a clever word play. "Hay Fever" as an allergy typically associated with... -
Answered a Question in Pride and Prejudice
Elizabeth does not believe in arranged marriages. She willl marry for love or not at all. She refuses to marry the weasley Mr. Collins for this very reason, though doing so would have solved... -
Answered a Question in Young Goodman Brown
Arguably, the tragedy of Hawthorne's story is the loss of innocence and the realization of the reality of evil. As you'll find on the "themes" page here at eNotes: "Unfortunately,... -
Answered a Question in The Gilded Six-Bits
You can get a lot of good ideas for thesis statements by visiting the "Themes" link to Hurston's story (below). One suggestion I can offer you, however (and one that is discussed on the "Themes"... -
Answered a Question in Sister Carrie
Yes, they did. The word Dreiser uses is "yield" which means that she submitted. What makes Carrie's sexual desire unique, as Sybil B. Weir argues in her article, "The... -
Answered a Question in Ode on a Grecian Urn
Surfacely, the tone seems very light...a poet describing a sublime piece of visual art. The speaker calls the beauty of the object, “A flowery tale more sweetly than our... -
Answered a Question in The Rocking-Horse Winner
In addition to tthakker's excellent answer, the overarching irony is of course the child's death. What was supposed to have been lucky turns out to be tragedy for all involved. -
Answered a Question in A Jury of Her Peers
Because the "jury" judging Minnie Wright (Foster) have acquitted their peer of murder. The women, her neighbors and friends, understand that Minnie has been overworked, abused, and neglected.... -
Answered a Question in Beowulf
Beowulf kills Grendel in a great battle, and as proof of his conquest, hangs the monster's arm and claw over the rafters of Hrothgar's Great Hall. Grendel had terrorized the kingdom for a... -
Answered a Question in A Narrow Fellow in the Grass
This is a sexual poem if you look at some of the symbols. There is the "spotted shaft" and the snake that "divides the grass as a comb"... references to the sexual organs and the act of... -
Answered a Question in To Kill a Mockingbird
Tom is a "dead man" because a white woman is accusing him of rape. In Tom's era (1930s) such a thing was an automatic death sentence. A "fair trial" as you will see, cannot be had and... -
Answered a Question in Fahrenheit 451
The promise is that a new era is about to begin and that humanity is not completely doomed. At the end of the novel, Montag recalls the biblical passage, "To everything there is a... -
Answered a Question in The Masque of the Red Death
In addition to the excellent answer above, I would point out the symbolism of the name "Prospero," a take, of course, on the word "prosperous." However, (as Rene mentioned) none is immune from... -
Answered a Question in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
I would say that the major mesage is the ramifications of deception. The soldiers and government repeatedly trick the Native Americans into signing unfavorable contracts, steal their... -
Answered a Question in Life of Pi
In Part II, it is hunger that brings Pi out of his hoplessness. He is physically driven to find food and water, and the movement brings him around spiritiually and emotionally as well. ... -
Answered a Question in A Girl Named Disaster
The cholera epidemic is one historical event. The disease killed at least 51 people and hospitalized hundreds and hundreds of others. The lives of the Shona are given accurate... -
Answered a Question in The Outsiders
Remember similes are figures of speech comparing two things, frequently using "like" or "as." In Hinton's novel, the protagonist often uses similes to help his readers identify with his situation.... -
Answered a Question in A Doll's House
I do think Nora made the right decision. While the loss of her children is a shame, a greater loss would be her loss of identity. When the children were grown, what would Nora... -
Answered a Question in In the Time of the Butterflies
Dede, the surviving sister, is described by her father as a "hard shoe." On the exterior, she does seem hard, but after her journey of remembrance, she becomes much more pliant. Minerva... -
Answered a Question in The Epic of Gilgamesh
In this ancient tale, good and evil reside side-by-side. Gilgamesh faces many challenges of good vs. evil. The battle of the giant Humbaba is one of those hurdles, but Gilgamesh overcomes the... -
Answered a Question in My Side of the Mountain
Sam Gribley is the main character. Sam lives in the woods for an entire year, fending for himself. Almost as much a "central" character as Sam are the wild animals with whom he... -
Answered a Question in A Rose for Emily
Emily is the daughter of a famous war veteran. Because of his service, his family was granted special privledges, like not paying taxes, that continued to benefit Emily even after her... -
Answered a Question in The Tell-Tale Heart
The unnamed narrator lives with an old man who has a spookily cloudy eye. The narrator appears to be crazy. He puts up with the old man for a long time, but the eye drives him further... -
Answered a Question in The Chrysanthemums
Huh! Well, I learned something myself today! I had never heard this word, ever, but I think the explanations are probably right. At the time Steinbeck was writing this, he... -
Answered a Question in The Cask of Amontillado
In Latin, "montresor" means "no one provokes me without impunity." We never know what exactly Fortunato has done to so enrage Montresor (although some guesses may be his borish nature and... -
Answered a Question in Beowulf
Beowulf knows his time has come. He is physically older, and not mentally as sharp has he had been in his heyday. He accepts his imminent death but has some natural human reluctance to... -
Answered a Question in Pride and Prejudice
It is at this ball when Elizabeth develops her prejudice for Darcy. She fully believes that Darcy is responsible for Wickham's flight to London. When Darcy asks Elizabeth, she is... -
Answered a Question in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Maya finds Ms. Flowers remarkable because she posseses a sense of self and self-confidence that is rare among the black women Maya has known. She is elegant and assured, kind... -
Answered a Question in In the Time of the Butterflies
Butterflies are the beautiful yet remarkably strong, tenacious creatures who, despite their outward fragility, are capable of remarkable feats. Butterflies can travel hundreds of miles, a... -
Answered a Question in Girl
The central theme is the idea of what it truly means to be a woman in all of her manifestations: wife, mother, daughter. The "self" is neglible as defined by the mother, and is... -
Answered a Question in In the Time of the Butterflies
Alvarez uses lots of figuritive language throughout the novel. In the very first chapter, Dede's father says of his daughter, "Every foot needs a hard shoe," meaning that someone has to be... -
Answered a Question in William Shakespeare
The actual date of Shakespeare's birth is not certain, though it may be April 26, 1564. It is more traditionally celebrated on St. George's Day, April 23rd. He was born in Stratford, in England,... -
Answered a Question in Beowulf
I thoroughly agree with the answers above, but want to add that Grendel is integral to Beowulf achieving his status as an epic hero. Joseph Campbell, in his classic work, The... -
Answered a Question in Macbeth
Macbeth indeed murders Duncan, but Lady Macbeth is equally responsible. Macbeth considers that he will be doing away with a good and beloved king, and his cousin, to boot, but Lady Macbeth's... -
Answered a Question in A Separate Peace
Differences: Gene is more scholarly (Gene is near the top of his class, Phineas average in his studies) , Finny is (Phineas) the better athlete, Finny is more self-confident (able to step... -
Answered a Question in Silent Spring
It is called "Silent Spring" because pesticides and other chemically altering substances could very well kill all the insects and other life forms hat bring songs of life to the planet. In... -
Answered a Question in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
I would say a major turning point is when black and white people work together to put out the fire. The whites, of course, are the same people who had threated the lives and businesses of the... -
Answered a Question in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
There is not a "pat" answer to the conclusion of the novel. Although all of the Logan's have an inner strength and have come through violent storms (both weather-related and emotional), the... -
Answered a Question in Beowulf
Grendel primarily wants the noise coming from Hrothgar's hall to stop. He is bothered by the cacophony and its implications of men having a good time (he is miserable in his watery... -
Answered a Question in The Tell-Tale Heart
There is very little evidence that the narrator has just cause for murder. The narrator, without evidence, believes that the old man with whom he lives wishes him harm. His sole... -
Answered a Question in Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
The popularity lies in the poem's egalitarianism and in its reminder "Memento Mori" (Remember you will die). In the end, possessions and fame will mean nothing. "Far from... -
Answered a Question in The Merchant of Venice
Aside from, of course, Venice, the other major setting is Belmont, a city for the very elite where everyone is wealthy and ostensibly happy (as opposed to the working class/business world of... -
Answered a Question in The Merchant of Venice
There is definitely a tragic element in the character of Shylock. The rampant anti-semitism of the age provoked lines like "hath a Jew not eyes...If you prick us do we not bleed?"... -
Answered a Question in A Rose for Emily
Emily is plagued by isolation and loneliness. She is set apart from the town as an "other,"; her father was a well-to-do military official during the Civil War and the famiy enjoyed... -
Answered a Question in Walk Two Moons
Tthakker's answer is definitely correct; I just wanted to add some information for you on how to identity points of view. In this novel, first person is evident from the opening sentence: ... -
Answered a Question in The Bronze Bow
In addition to gbeatty's excellent answer, I would add an additional reason for the presence of the Romans: the contrast to their rule and that of Jesus. It is Jesus who de-emphasizes... -
Answered a Question in Twelfth Night
Reductively, the theme of Twelfth Night is the joy and pain of love. The play was written in Shakespeare's older years and he attempts to see love for all that is both good and bad about...
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