Jonathan Ryan
eNotes Educator
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175
Answers Posted
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Answers Bonused
About
I am a high school English Language Arts and social studies teacher who enjoys exploring literature from a historical perspective. I am a curious person and interested in learning about practically anything regarding literature and history!
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Recent Activity
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Answered a Question in Heart of Darkness
Meeting Kurtz was a life-changing moment for Marlow; the fact that Marlow tells the tale of Heart of Darkness is evidence of the meeting’s dramatic impact on his psyche. Marlow’s meeting with Kurtz... -
Answered a Question in Night
Moshe the Beadle is a religiously devout Jewish mystic who appears in the first sentence of Elie Wiesel’s Holocaust memoir Night. Moshe's character is significant because Wiesel opts to spend the... -
Answered a Question in The Playboy of the Western World
J.M. Synge’s three-act drama “The Playboy of the Western World” employs unique stage directions. For starters, there are a lot of them! Synge had a vary specific tone in mind for the dialogue... -
Answered a Question in Sundiata
Thanks for the interesting and complex question! I have never read the Popul Vuh, but I am familiar with both Sundiata and Paradise Lost, so perhaps I can provide some aid with those two works. As... -
Answered a Question in A Doll's House
Foreshadowing is a literary device where the author of a text drops small clues that hint toward coming events in the plot. With foreshadowing, an author can steer a reader’s expectations and... -
Answered a Question in The Importance of Being Earnest
I think that your selection of Lady Bracknell’s interview and the tea-time with Gwendolen and Cecily’s fighting over a fictional “Earnest” are both great selections! There are numerous scenes from... -
Answered a Question in Noh Drama
Great question! Noh Theater is a form of Japanese drama that originated in ceremonial performances at shrines and temples in the thirteenth century. Deriving its name from a word meaning “skill” or... -
Answered a Question in The Importance of Being Earnest
The primary comedic device that Oscar Wilde uses is irony; there are numerous examples of dramatic and verbal irony in this farcical comedy. Focusing on Wilde’s use of irony for comedic effect... -
Answered a Question in The Great Gatsby
In chapter 7 of The Great Gatsby, tensions between Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan finally erupt to the surface. Tom receives the explosive revelation that Gatsby and his wife Daisy are former lovers.... -
Answered a Question in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
A dominant theme of Philip K. Dick’s 1968 novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, is the question of what it means to be human. Human identity is blurred in this futuristic society because... -
Answered a Question in Shooting an Elephant
In “Shooting an Elephant,” Orwell doesn’t appear to employ foreign words with abnormal frequency, but the language of the essay does reflect its Burmese setting. George Orwell uses South Asian... -
Answered a Question in Why Don't You Dance?
Let’s start with a definition of minimalism and a brief history of the style to provide context for Raymond Carver's story and the answer to your question. Minimalism is broadly defined as a... -
Answered a Question in Antigone
The simple answer is no. Let me explain. Let’s assume that by “feminist” you mean an adherent or follower of feminism. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, feminism is the “advocacy of... -
Answered a Question in Dover Beach
A thesis is a central argument or main idea of your essay. If you hope to craft a stellar thesis statement about Matthew Arnold’s poem “Dover Beach,” you should narrow your scope and select a... -
Answered a Question in Richard II
In the opening scene of Richard II, Shakespeare launches his audience into the middle of a charged argument between two prominent nobles: Henry Bolingbroke and Thomas Mowbray. The quarrel is... -
Answered a Question in Julius Caesar
You would think that this would be a simple question to answer. In fact, scholars and literary critics debated the exact timeline of Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar for centuries! The source of... -
Answered a Question in The Monkey's Paw
I think you can attack this question from two angles: characterization and symbolism. From a characterization perspective, the opening scene of any story is vital because it introduces the... -
Answered a Question in Roman Fever
Edith Wharton’s short story “Roman Fever” is written in a third person omniscient point of view. This means that the narrator, and by extension, the readers, can see and hear the characters’... -
Answered a Question in Shooting an Elephant
In “Shooting an Elephant,” George Orwell reflects on what he refers to as an “enlightening” episode from his time as a policeman in the small town of Moulmein in the British colony of Burma. In the... -
Answered a Question in Dracula
The section of chapter 18 you refer to is from Mina Harkers’s journal. It records a meeting between an eclectic mix of people seeking to end Dracula’s tyranny. Van Helsing, the Dutch academic and... -
Answered a Question in Things Fall Apart
Chinua Achebe’s three novels Things Fall Apart, Arrow of God, and No Longer at Ease are so similar in theme that they are occasionally referred to as the African Trilogy. The conflict of all three... -
Answered a Question in Othello
Iago is one of the most memorable villains in all of Shakespeare’s drama. Iago provides an interesting contrast to other famous Shakespearean antagonists because, unlike the bloody deeds of Richard... -
Answered a Question in Old Man at the Bridge
The setting of Hemingway’s story “The Old Man at the Bridge” is a temporary pontoon crossing on the Ebro River in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. Hemingway’s narrative documents an encounter... -
Answered a Question in The Odyssey
At the beginning of book 22 of the Odyssey, many of the suitors are armed and possess swords. However, they are woefully unprepared for the violent onslaught of Odysseus and his small band of loyal... -
Answered a Question in Lord of the Flies
Simon, first introduced as a member of Jack’s choir, is generally viewed as a symbol of goodness or morality in Lord of the Flies. Particularly when contrasted with the savagery of Jack and the...
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