Nicole Scherder
eNotes Educator
Achievements
7
Educator Level
274
Answers Posted
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About
I currently teach Sophomore English, but I have previously taught Freshman English, Junior English, and Senior Writing. My areas of expertise are writing and literature. My strongest pieces of literature are To Kill a Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Of Mice and Men, The Odyssey, Antigone, and various other novels, short stories, and poems.
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Recent Activity
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Answered a Question in The Catcher in the Rye
The first thing that comes to mind when answering this question is the theme of isolation and the inability to connect with others in The Catcher in the Rye. Author J. D. Salinger led a... -
Answered a Question in Oedipus Rex
Most would argue that Sophocles views the gods as in complete control of a man’s destiny. The prophecy from the gods drives the entire play. While characters spend their lives trying to defy it or... -
Answered a Question in The Catcher in the Rye
A theme of a work of literature is the message the author would like to convey. Most pieces of literature—especially novels—have multiple themes. When stating the theme of a novel, it is important... -
Answered a Question in John Donne's Holy Sonnets
The most notable literary device Donne uses in this poem is personification. Personification is when an author attributes human characteristics to non-human things. He carries personification of... -
Answered a Question in Anthem
A central theme of Anthem is that a person must live for himself and be an individual. The society that Ayn Rand sets up is one that focuses on brotherhood, unity, and conformity. It is the epitome... -
Answered a Question in Literature
The previous post has some great tips! I just wanted to add a strategy that works well for my students. To find tone, it is helpful to use an acronym called DIDLS (I did not come up with this... -
Answered a Question in The Cold Equations
This is a matter of opinion, but personally, the most difficult part for me (assuming you mean emotionally difficult rather than challenging to read) was when the girl says goodbye to her brother.... -
Answered a Question in The Cold Equations
In this story, a girl stows away on a space ship in hopes of seeing her brother. Unfortunately, there is only enough fuel on the ship for the captain, and the captain has no choice but to... -
Answered a Question in The Crucible
Many characters manipulate each other in order to make personal gain. Reverend Parris, whom we first meet in Act I, seems to care more about his reputation than about the well-being of anyone in... -
Answered a Question in The Devil and Tom Walker
Irving portrays the dark side of religion and wealth through the actions of the main character, Tom Walker, who uses both very selfishly. When Tom makes his deal with the Devil to give high... -
Answered a Question in To Kill a Mockingbird
Scout notices that many people treat the trial of Tom Robinson like a party, or gala, especially those who may not be close with Tom Robinson and thus see it as more of a form of entertainment. On... -
Answered a Question in Anthem
Diction is, by definition, an author’s choice of words. There are many ways to go about finding examples of diction in a work because all words are, essentially, diction. With Anthem, though, there... -
Answered a Question in The Crucible
At the end of Act II in The Crucible, John Proctor makes Mary Warren promise that she will go to the court and tell the truth- that Abigail has been lying this whole time about being bewitched.... -
Answered a Question in Things Fall Apart
The outcasts, also called Osu by the Igbo people, were some of the first to convert to Christianity upon the arrival of the missionaries. Achebe describes and Ibo outcast as a person who... -
Answered a Question in Oedipus Rex
Though this play was written ages ago, it still holds important messages that people can learn from today. One important lesson that the tragic hero, Oedipus, learns is that a person cannot escape... -
Answered a Question in Behind the Beautiful Forevers
This is a great question, and one that could easily be argued either way. Personally, I would say realities have more power over the lives of the slum dwellers. Though some individuals in the slums... -
Answered a Question in Heart of Darkness
Kurtz’s last words, “The horror! The horror!” have been widely debated by critics and could have multiple meanings. On the surface, it seems that he is referring to the horrors he has witnessed... -
Answered a Question in The Cold Equations
One important difference this story shows between life on Earth and life in space is that on Earth, there is room to make mistakes and rules are not so harsh. On Earth, people are allowed to try... -
Answered a Question in The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
The humor of this story lies in the answer to this question, so it’s a very important one. First, it’s important to understand the overall narrative structure of this short story. It’s a frame... -
Answered a Question in Antigone
Creon speaks these words to the Chorus about Antigone (and in the presence of Antigone). Prior to this speech, Antigone explains why she went against Creon’s orders and buried her brother. The... -
Answered a Question in A Streetcar Named Desire
Many characters experience loneliness in this play, but the one who could be said to be the most lonely- and who acts upon that loneliness- is Blanche DuBois. Blanche spends all of her time in the... -
Answered a Question in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is a sermon in which Edwards instills fear into his congregation to persuade them to experience a conversion of faith. The premise of his sermon lies in one... -
Answered a Question in Mending Wall
The speaker of this poem is a man who questions the importance of the walls we put up- both physical and emotional. He starts the poem with the contemplation, “Something there is that doesn’t love... -
Answered a Question in Still I Rise
Angelou's poem, "Still I Rise," addresses attempts to oppress and suppress African Americans. Therefore, the words, "I rise" is repeated throughout the poem in different contexts to show that she... -
Answered a Question in To Kill a Mockingbird
Atticus gives Scout advice frequently throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, but probably the most well-known and most often referenced is when he says: You never really know someone until you consider... -
Answered a Question in Cinema
Wall-E is a dystopian film that depicts the dangers of the overuse of Earth’s resources. Many entities contribute to the Earth’s condition and get in the way of the protagonist, a robot named... -
Answered a Question in Mother Tongue
Your answer to this question will depend on your own perception of language and whether language should be changed according to audience. Amy Tan, according to her essay, believes that language can... -
Answered a Question in The Crucible
Tituba, a slave in the Parris household, has no power and is the most susceptible to punishment when people start to make accusations of witchcraft. Initially, Tituba and the other girls, led by... -
Answered a Question in The Crucible
As with most film adaptations of literature, the movie version of The Crucible has many differences from the play, so I will focus on what I think are the most significant. First, though the... -
Answered a Question in Hills Like White Elephants
Earnest Hemingway was well known for his “iceberg” writing style, where most of the meaning is “below the surface.” A modernist writer, Hemingway wanted to depict things as they really were without... -
Answered a Question in Letter from Birmingham City Jail
Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote his letter from the Birmingham jail cell in response to criticisms made by a group clergymen who claimed that, while they agreed with King’s ultimate aims in trying to... -
Answered a Question in Julius Caesar
The answer to this question can be found in Brutus's funeral speech in Act 3, scene II, where he tries to explain to the Roman citizens why Caesar needed to die. He explains that no one loved... -
Answered a Question in The Crucible
From the beginning of The Crucible, Arthur Miller makes it clear that Reverend Parris is concerned about his reputation above all else. If it is found out that his niece, Abigail, was dancing in... -
Answered a Question in Huswifery
In “Huswifery,” Edward Taylor uses the activity of spinning thread on a loom as a metaphor for how he wants God to work in his life. He asks God to make him a “spinning wheel complete,” meaning... -
Answered a Question in Cinema
Aside from the obvious wealth separating the royal family from ordinary people in Coming to America, there are several other things used in the movie that creates a divide. The rose bearers... -
Answered a Question in A Psalm of Life
This line comes from the poem "A Psalm of Life" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Longfellow wrote the poem as a sort of response to the belief, often expressed by the Psalms in the Bible, that this... -
Answered a Question in Emerson
Intuition, one of the traits highly valued by transcendentalists like Emerson, is the idea that a person should “go with his gut,” so to speak. Emerson believed in the importance of trusting... -
Answered a Question in The Crucible
Mrs. Putnam’s jealousy of Rebecca Nurse stems from the fact that Mrs. Putnam has had many children die in childbirth, while Rebecca Nurse has had no problem bearing children. Ultimately, this leads... -
Answered a Question in Things Fall Apart
In Things Fall Apart, the Igbo people are deeply religious and follow their customs and traditions very strictly. One of these religious customs is to consult Oracles when any major decision needs... -
Answered a Question in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Satire is the use of irony and humor to criticize some aspect of society. Twain uses satire often throughout The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to criticize, for example, the South’s treatment of... -
Answered a Question in Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
Like the Puritans of his time, Jonathan Edwards believed that all sinners were destined to damnation and that the only way toward salvation was a true conversion to the church. The title, "Sinners... -
Answered a Question in Things Fall Apart
From the start of the novel, Okonkwo, the protagonist, is described as very prideful and someone who adheres very closely to the customs and the traditions of his people, the Igbo. He is someone... -
Answered a Question in Shooting an Elephant
A qualifier is a word or phrase the puts limitations on a statement. Instead of saying something is absolutely true or not true, a qualifier will indicate a possible exception or a specification.... -
Answered a Question in Shooting an Elephant
Part of what allows Orwell to gain readers’ trust in his essay is his candid tone throughout. He is completely honest about his role as oppressor in Burma. He acknowledges his belief that... -
Answered a Question in The Miracle Worker
Answers to this question will vary from person-to-person, just as it would with any work, as each individual takes something different to the reading experience. The Miracle Worker is a story... -
Answered a Question in Anthem
The society that Ayn Rand depicts in Anthem is one in which individual thought is condemned and all men must live for their brothers. The first sentence is "it is a sin to write this," because... -
Answered a Question in The Crucible
The re-seasoning of the soup, though a small gesture, can signify many things between the marriage of John and Elizabeth Proctor. In the first act of the play, readers learn through an interaction... -
Answered a Question in The Great Gatsby
To understand Gatsby's proverbial roller coaster of emotions during his reunion with Daisy, it's important to know the events in the years leading to the reunion. Gatsby and Daisy haven't seen... -
Answered a Question in Social Sciences
People love talking about themselves. A simple "how are you today?" can invite them to go into detail about themselves, which takes the pressure off of you to do the talking. Also, pay attention to... -
Answered a Question in Philosophy
A tricky subject, indeed. I have to say that no, we don't, have complete free will. While I do believe we should take responsibility for our actions and that we should take charge of our own lives,...
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