Kendall Bartell, M.A.
eNotes Educator
Achievements
7
Educator Level
237
Answers Posted
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Answers Bonused
About
I have taught in both the public and private school setting. I have teaching credentials in both California and Ohio in multiple subjects. Studied Literature, Philosophy and Theology in Grad School. I love teaching and coaching. My wife and son are what makes me smile most. Can't wait to visit Alabama this Spring Break. Favorite quote from literature. "The audience knows what to expect and that is all they are prepared to believe." Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
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Recent Activity
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Answered a Question in The Catcher in the Rye
Well, an overall ironic element is Holden's desire to preserve the innocence of the young. Yet while he goes about trying to accomplish this, he cannot help bringing corrupting influences into... -
Answered a Question in The Great Gatsby
To piggyback on that excellent answer, I would like to add the following. "Her voice is full of money" is absurd as a definition, but provocative as a meta-physical description. For Nick, this... -
Answered a Question in The Scarlet Letter
Remember that this society, the Puritan Separatists, defined themselves as the pure example of Christianity in the world. They, therefore, could not tolerate imperfection within their midst. The... -
Answered a Question in The Catcher in the Rye
Holden roomed with him for two months at Elkton Hills. He was a bore with a very raspy voice. But he could whistle great.Holden never told him he thought he was a great whistler (123). Through the... -
Answered a Question in To Kill a Mockingbird
To add to the previous response, the author puts this episode as a divider between Jem and Scout. Miss Maudie will act as a female role model for Scout. The fact that Dill and Jem are fascinated by... -
Answered a Question in Ethan Frome
Well put, mshurn. I agree that he is strong, but not courageous. He lacks that American spirit to strike out on his own, however unlikely that opportunity seemed. With the his father getting kicked... -
Answered a Question in To Kill a Mockingbird
The Ewells are meant as a foil to the exclusion of the african american citizens of Maycomb. The Ewells are so repugnant that society deems their recovery as a worthless enterprise. The question... -
Answered a Question in A Rose for Emily
I agree about the notion of control. "She clung to that which had robbed her, as people do." This is a potent thought. Her father had robbed her of any chance to be courted, yet she clung to her... -
Answered a Question in A Separate Peace
I agree that the last pages of the novel present a hopeful image of growth and ownership over his actions. But I see the end of the frame narrative as the true "end" to the novel. It is the... -
Answered a Question in History
There should be a clear definition between an unanswered question of history and the study of misunderstood controversies in history. The actions of King Richard III in his betrayal of his brother... -
Answered a Question in A Separate Peace
It is rather obvious that Gene is to be seen as an unreliable narrator. The opening of the frame narration has him take a journey to the two locations of his highest guilt. The hardness of the... -
Answered a Question in Macbeth
There is a cold blooded, chilling nature to the ambition awoken in Lady Macbeth. The lengths to which she says she is willing to go to fulfill a prophecy that she finds self serving go against the... -
Answered a Question in Hamlet
It is a potent moment. I would like to add that it also calls into mind the clown makeup that Yorick would wear as he captured the attention of the court. This would speak to the end of Hamlet's... -
Answered a Question in Hamlet
I agree that it is difficult to tell from the dialogue of the accusation. "To kill a King?!" The actor might have great latitude in how to act this line. The queen might be fretting over the... -
Answered a Question in The Outcasts of Poker Flat
There is also a great deal of hypocrisy in their decision. Charles Oakhurst is exiled not for any moral lack but for being a successful gambler. The author is making the point that society will... -
Answered a Question in Of Mice and Men
George is initially insulted by the question, but then is provoked into a more secure feeling and he confesses his cruel joke. George needs forgiveness and to be heard. It truly IS unusual for guy... -
Answered a Question in The Catcher in the Rye
The irony of the moment is that Holden is taking a moral stand in the midst of a highly immoral moment. A "throw" refers to sexual intercourse. He spends the novel fretting over a possible sexual... -
Answered a Question in Hamlet
The previous answer is great. I just wanted to add a few thoughts. Hamlet says directly to his mother a potent and powerful line, "Seems madam? Nay is." His mother claims that Hamlet "seems" to be... -
Answered a Question in A Rose for Emily
A round character is a major character in a fictional work who encounters conflict and experiences change. They are also fully developed. You should pick the obvious, Emily Grierson. She... -
Answered a Question in The Lottery
I think the most powerful motivation evident is a group's desire to create a scapegoat. Finding an internal flaw and removing it, even if randomly, moves a groupd towards a more perfect sense of... -
Answered a Question in The Crucible
The dramatic version of Parris shows him to be personally stilted and politically inept. He is incapable of relating with children, especially those in his own home. He is paranoid about sects with... -
Answered a Question in To Build a Fire
The fate of the dog turns into a greater concern as the man struggles to accept his fate. Even as he realizes that death is his fate, the man imagines being able to tell this story to people he... -
Answered a Question in Of Mice and Men
The ranch hands are described in terms of beasts of burden throughout the novel. Lenny receives this treatment the most. His hands are paws. He apes George's actions. He moves in a "bear-like"... -
Answered a Question in The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
Twain shows humanity and lazy and cruel. The characters are looking for an easy buck at the expense of anyone else. The gag is the extraordinary lengths to which people go to be that lazy. Twain... -
Answered a Question in A Worn Path
This plays upon the reader's own preconceived notions regarding the description of Phoenix. Welty gives the reader a known gap or lack of information. This is called a "lacuna" and the reader is... -
Answered a Question in To Build a Fire
The old timer from Sulfur Creek warned him not to travel outside alone when the temperature is below a certain point. The man's arrogance takes over and he feels the advice is "womanish". His pride... -
Answered a Question in Of Mice and Men
The connection between the men and the beasts of burden on the ranch are obvious. Both Candy and his dog were shepherds. Curly's wife and Slim's dog are both referred to as "Lulus" and bitches.... -
Answered a Question in The Catcher in the Rye
Holden develops this sense that he is supposed to be a protector of innocent young people. His imagined destiny as a catcher in the rye is juxtaposed by his true impact on his little sister. He... -
Answered a Question in To Kill a Mockingbird
It is obvious that the children do not look upon Boo as a person desrving respect but instead as a convenient prop to manipulate in their cruel puppet theater. They objectify Boo, using him as a... -
Answered a Question in The Catcher in the Rye
The previous answer is wonderful. I just wanted to add one aspect. The previous generations had specific hurdles and obstacles to overcome. WWI, the Great Depression, unemployment, social strife... -
Answered a Question in To Build a Fire
There is a great disconnect between his feelings and thoughts. While he is enduring the cold, the wind and the shrinking capacity to feel his own limbs, he is unable to think beyond the repeated... -
Answered a Question in The Minister's Black Veil
In a society based on the holy pursuit of perfect and election by God, Mr. Hooper dons a veil that provokes a wide range of reactions from his parishioners. The reader never knows the specific... -
Answered a Question in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
The root of the term "irony" comes from ancient Greek theater, where a stock character, called the "eiron" played a foolish overlooked character. The "alazon" would be a character who brags or... -
Answered a Question in To Build a Fire
I agree that Man v. Nature is a central conflict to this story. However, the most crucial conflict is Man v. Self. This man's overblown sense of capacity is what leads to his death. London is... -
Answered a Question in A Rose for Emily
Emily Grierson is the most drawn out character. She is described as an idol for the town to worship or tear down, an out-of-touch, isolated woman and the last member of a family whose time has... -
Answered a Question in Of Mice and Men
They all are incomplete or broken workers. Candy is lacking a hand, Crooks' back is broken and Lennie is mentally deficient. They are de facto dependants on the system that allows them to survive.... -
Answered a Question in Of Mice and Men
This chapter serves as a point for all the most broken, forgotten and expendable characters to get together. Crooks, Candy and Lenny get together and portray the weakest and most dependent parts of... -
Answered a Question in A Rose for Emily
I am a bit unclear on your question but I will try. The town of Jefferson has a strict social structure. This structure has changed a bit over time, yet Emily's family has lived in a state of... -
Answered a Question in Winter Dreams
Dexter is driven to have what he cannot attain. He is both enamored with the young beauty in front of him and repulsed by her self-absorption. The reader must allow Dexter some room to shape his... -
Answered a Question in The Odyssey
This is the fundamental difference between this epic and The Iliad. The Iliad was an epic based on absolutes. If one was to be victorious, one would have to have a good heart, mind, body and soul.... -
Answered a Question in To Kill a Mockingbird
The theme of the novel is about learning to see things from someone else's perspective. Atticus talks about being in someone else's skin. In the unfortunate events of the first day of school, Scout... -
Answered a Question in The Tell-Tale Heart
It is a similar setting as "A Rose for Emily" which you may someday encounter. The inside of one's house is metaphor for the inner self. While investigators are poking and prodding through his... -
Answered a Question in Death of a Salesman
As the above answers address, Willy has a mistaken sense of the American Dream. (Or the modern world has stream-lined and distorted the original "Puritan Work Ethic" into a sales pitch and quick... -
Answered a Question in The Lottery
Let's take the internal conflicts first. Mrs. Adams seems to be questioning the lottery in a subtle way. She asks questions that would provoke thought and discussion about the usefulness of... -
Answered a Question in A Rose for Emily
The town of Jefferson changed a great deal during the timeline of the story. It is Emily and her family that do not change. Faulkner was always critical of the South's view of itself. In this case... -
Answered a Question in Hamlet
Horatio is the one character without agenda in the play. He is set up as an obvious witness/testifier to tell the inner workings of Hamlet. We are to assume that Hamlet's dying words provide a lens... -
Answered a Question in Plagiarism
In college, my friends and I took a writing class from the funniest professor on earth. But we had to write two pages of creative writing a week. One guy took the class for the laughs and... -
Answered a Question in The Great Gatsby
Daisy is so flippant about planning for the future that she shows her desire for only immediate gratification. Her greatest concern is always for only that moment. All things she wishes for have... -
Answered a Question in The Great Gatsby
From the beginning of the novel, the reader sees Tom’s mistaken sense of himself. He finds himself superior and bases his twisted, self-serving beliefs on pseudo-science. His inability to correctly... -
Answered a Question in The Great Gatsby
Both Wilson and Tom have wives that are being unfaithful to them. They either don’t suspect their wives or they are ignoring evidence that is overwhelming. Regardless they should have a sense of...
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