Jennie Bshara
eNotes Educator
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2065
Answers Posted
420
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About
I've been a high school English and Journalism teacher for 36 years. Currently, I teach AP English Literature and AP English Language. I also have an MBA and a history degree.
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Recent Activity
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Answered a Question in Flowers for Algernon
The style of the story is probably the most important narrative technique that the author uses to characterize Charlie and give perspective to the events of the novel. Daniel Keyes, the author,... -
Answered a Question in The Masque of the Red Death
The abbey is described as being "castellated", which suggests that it might represent both government and religion that people often turn to for safety. As both a castle and an abbey, it is... -
Answered a Question in In Another Country
One of the first things you notice in the story is the loneliness of the characters. This loneliness is reinforced by the setting of the story. First, it is told by an American who is isolated in... -
Answered a Question in The Great Gatsby
Even though Daisy was driving Gatsby's car when she ran over Myrtle, Gatsby allows Wilson to think that he was driving the car. Tom Buchanan reinforces that belief to Wilson. To further protect... -
Answered a Question in Othello
I think it would be very interesting to write a journal for Othello. You could begin with his feelings of both pride and self-doubt beginning with his marriage to Desdemona. Those feeling of pride... -
Answered a Question in The Great Gatsby
A simple thesis would be that F. Scott Fitzgerald uses flower imagery to enhance the characterization of various people in the novel. For example, the name "Daisy" suggests a white flower ... -
Answered a Question in Great Expectations
Magwich never really states three reasons directly why he wanted Pip to be a gentleman. However, one can infer that 1. Magwich wanted to make up for his criminal life in one way or another. 2. He... -
Answered a Question in Native Son
Good question. The act of flying has been used for centuries as a symbol for freedom. Since humans cannot fly under their own power, the symbolism of flight is associated with superheros, angelic... -
Answered a Question in A Raisin in the Sun
Good question. When the play opens, The American Dream differs for each member of the Younger family because each one has different dreams forged from their life experiences.However, by the end of... -
Answered a Question in In Another Country
I want to clarify your question. The men in the story are walking through a part of Milan during World War I. Milan and Italy were not Communist countries, but the soldiers are walking through a... -
Answered a Question in I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
Wordworth's poem, "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" is "reputed to be the most anthologized poem in the world." That means that this particular poem has been included in more textbooks and collections... -
Answered a Question in Romeo and Juliet
Ultimately, human responsibility played a greater role in the two lover's deaths. Both chose to disobey their parents and become involved with each other. And both eventually choose death over... -
Answered a Question in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Beside being a satire on frontier feuds, many critics also see this episode as a commentary on the youths that died needlessly during the civil war. The Grangerfords and Sheperdsons have been... -
Answered a Question in Animal Farm
The animals saw Snowball's heroism for themselves. However, after Snowball is expelled, Squealer tries to tell them that Snowball was really not a hero afterall. This foreshadows the rewriting of... -
Answered a Question in Things Fall Apart
Okonkwo's participation in the death of Ikemefuna shows how insecure Okonkwo still is. Okonkwo's greatest fear is that he will end up like his father, who was considered weak and died having no... -
Answered a Question in Antigone
Polyneices was the brother of Eteocles. Their father was Oedipus. When Oedipus left Thebes in exile after finding out he had killed his father and married his own mother, he put both brothers on... -
Answered a Question in My Oedipus Complex
Although the story is told through a child's eyes, it contains the universal theme that eventually every boy must learn to be separated from his mother. Usually, the person responsible for the... -
Answered a Question in The Devil and Tom Walker
The "bargain" is what many call a Faustian pact. This takes its name from several version of the story of Faust, a man who sold his soul to the devil in exchange for riches in this life. The story... -
Answered a Question in The Crucible
The play "The Crucible" depicts a dark incident in American history, the Salem Witchcraft Trials. However, it also revealed some universal lessons about human behavior. That is why the author of... -
Answered a Question in Of Mice and Men
Steinbeck shows Curley's wife's prejudice during the time she visits Crook's room to talk to Candy and Lennie. Crooks, who is Black, asks Curley's wife to leave his room. She angrily replies that... -
Answered a Question in A Lesson before Dying
Wiggins is not sure he can improve Jefferson's life in the short time before Jefferson is executed. However, Jefferson's godmother, Emma Glenn is a close friend of Grant's aunt. Grant lives with... -
Answered a Question in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
There are several possible explanations for the black satin underwear that contains a pattern of white whales with red eyes. The most obvious reference is to the white whale in Moby Dick. The white... -
Answered a Question in The Red Badge of Courage
Naturalism is a view that man is often controlled by forces he cannot control. There are many examples of this view in "The Red Badge of Courage", but several incidents are often used to support... -
Answered a Question in Cat in the Rain
The war monument can symbolize several things in the story. First, it contrasts with the public gardens. Gardens are often symbolic of new life. The war monument reminds people of death. These two... -
Answered a Question in The Great Gatsby
Generally, light colors in "The Great Gatsby" represent dreams or goals. Gatsby himself wears either white or pink suits, which seem to represent his pure, and naive nature. However, the color... -
Answered a Question in Great Expectations
When Dickens first introduces Magwitch in Chapter 1, he is an escaped convict who uses fear and intimidation to frighten young Pip into doing what he want. Magwitch threatens to cut out Pip's heart... -
Answered a Question in The Snows of Kilimanjaro
The tiger represents an attempt at both purity and immortality. When Hemingway wrote this story, he was very concerned with his own lack of discipline and ability to write something honest and... -
Answered a Question in Cat in the Rain
"Cat in the Rain" is like many Hemingway stories. It has a very simple plot and the reader must read between the lines in order to understand the story's theme. The plot centers around two... -
Answered a Question in Things Fall Apart
I'm not sure whether the death of Okonkwo is a sacrifice or an act of desperation. Okonkwo has tried to save the Ibo traditions but he realizes that too many people have converted and they will not... -
Answered a Question in Cat in the Rain
There are many symbols in this short, two page story. The first thing you probably noticed is that George and his wife do not have the greatest relationship. This is symbolized in the opening of... -
Answered a Question in A Raisin in the Sun
Walter is caught in a world where he has a job, a wife and child and still lives with his mother who considers herself the head of the family. He believes that neither Ruth, his wife, nor... -
Answered a Question in Macbeth
The conversation between Malcolm, the Doctor and Macduff accomplishes several things. In Act IV, Scene 3, Malcolm and Macduff who have be exiled from Scotland praise King Edward of England, known... -
Answered a Question in The Glass Menagerie
The one symbol that seems to represent reality is the picture of the father who is grinning from during the entire play. He has been the only person to really escape his circumstances by running... -
Answered a Question in The Glass Menagerie
Of all of the characters in "The Glass Menagerie", Laura's situation is the most tragic. Tom is able to escape his circumstances by joining the Merchant Marines. Jim leaves the apartment and,... -
Answered a Question in Things Fall Apart
The problem for Okonkwo is that he is unable to change and that is what brings on his destruction. Okonkwo grew up being embarrassed by his father who was not considered a successful man in Igbo... -
Answered a Question in Night
Elie knows that if he gives his true age he will be considered too young to be able to stay with his father. He will probably be marched off to the gas chamber. He also knows that he needs to find... -
Answered a Question in The Scarlet Ibis
The story is told by a first-person narrative told by the brother of Doodle. However, Brother is looking back from an adult's perspective when he tells the story and thus has the advantage of... -
Answered a Question in A Good Man Is Hard to Find
In order to understand the part religion plays in the story, you must first understand a little about the author. Flannery O'Conner was a devout Roman Catholic and considered the idea of "grace" as... -
Answered a Question in Frankenstein
Justine Moritz who had been adopted by the Frankenstein family after being abandoned by her mother, was accused of killing William, Victor's younger brother. A locket that William had was found in... -
Answered a Question in Brave New World
Linda is a product of the world of "Our Ford". She had been embarrassed by even giving birth to John because "motherhood" was a dirty word in the Brave New World. During her time at the... -
Answered a Question in The Grapes of Wrath
Once of the main themes of the novel is that men need to work together if they are to succeed in overcoming the things that threaten them. This idea is first seen in Casy's idea of the oversoul in... -
Answered a Question in Macbeth
Most of the action of the play takes place in Scotland. The play was most probably originally written for King James I of England who had originally been King James VII of Scotland. When Elizabeth... -
Answered a Question in The Grapes of Wrath
The first five chapters are designed to set up the narrative technique Steinbeck will use during the course of the novel. He will give a large picture of masses of people who left the Dust Bowl and... -
Answered a Question in Things Fall Apart
Ironically, the death of Okonkwo brings back traditional Igbo customs, at least for a while. During his life, Okonkwo had fought against British colonialism and its religion. However, he could not... -
Answered a Question in Brave New World
As with most novels, there are several themes. Huxley wrote a satire of a totalitarian society where the values of his day were totally reversed. Probably the most important theme is the idea of... -
Answered a Question in Hamlet
Hamlet begins this soliloquy with a question about whether or not he should kill himself. However, by the end of the speech he does not believe he is capable of this action. At first, he... -
Answered a Question in Othello
In Act IV, Iago convinces Othello that his wife has had an affair with Cassio. At first, Othello wants to poison his wife but Iago tells him to strangle her in bed. Iago suggests that he be the one... -
Answered a Question in An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
The fact that Farquhar is hanged on a bridgeintensifies the irony and symbolism of the entire story. We are told that Farquhar is a Southern plantation owner who somehow was rejected for service by... -
Answered a Question in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
In Chapter 32 of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", Aunt Sally whose nephew is Tom Sawyer, shows a total disregard for the lives of African Americans. When Huck, pretending to be Tom, tries to... -
Answered a Question in Frankenstein
Just before Robert Walton meets Victor, he has written his sister about the need for a friend. He writes his sister: "I have no friend, Margaret: when I am glowing with the enthusiasm of success,...
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