Susan Hurn
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About
I have a Master of Arts degree in English and taught college-prep high school English literature and composition.
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Recent Activity
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Answered a Question in The Aftermath of World War II
The post-war explosion in the production of consumer goods created an explosion in the advertising industry to sell them which led to an increased desire to own them which led to more production... -
Answered a Question in Macbeth
The afternoon of the evening's banquet when Lady Macbeth is alone for a moment, she expresses feelings of depression and anxiety, even though plans have been realized and Macbeth now rules Scotland... -
Answered a Question in Heart of Darkness
The title of the novel suggests major themes developed through Marlow's journey toward Kurtz and his ultimate confrontation with him. In the novel, Marlow actually makes three journeys, each one... -
Answered a Question in Twelve Angry Men
Making the jury foreman a weak and ineffective character works to strengthen the theme of the play. In the American system of justice, a jury has the duty to examine and weigh the evidence, without... -
Answered a Question in The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
I read the story as a metaphor for evil, one that explores the evils of society but transcends the social elements to address the underlying evil present in humanity itself. The society in the... -
Answered a Question in Anne Bradstreet
This question is perplexing! Unless you consider the entire poem to be an expression of verbal irony (hardly Bradstreet's style), its content and employment of various poetic elements create a... -
Answered a Question in Macbeth
Macbeth's army consists of soldiers who stand in "forced affection," meaning they do not support Macbeth willingly or serve him out of respect or loyalty. In Act V, Angus describes Macbeth's army:... -
Answered a Question in To Kill a Mockingbird
Jem and Scout's relationship with their neighbors in Maycomb creates a great deal of the conflict and tension in the novel. As they watch events unfold in Tom Robinson's case, they often cannot... -
Answered a Question in Araby
Like the narrator, Mangan's sister lives on North Richmond, literally and figuratively a quiet, dead-end street. The neighborhood consists of Irish families living "decent lives," within houses... -
Answered a Question in A Worn Path
"A Worn Path" is essentially a love story, the story of Phoenix Jackson's love for her grandson. The little boy is never seen in the story, and some critics have suggested that he is no longer... -
Answered a Question in A Rose for Emily
The aldermen try several times to collect Emily's taxes, finally going in person to see her at home. They don't succeed in collecting them because Emily refuses to pay them. She believes that her... -
Answered a Question in A Raisin in the Sun
The play is set in the mid-1900s in a small apartment in a Chicago tenement. In her author's notes at the beginning of the script, Lorraine Hansberry describes the Youngers' home in detail. A home... -
Answered a Question in Dr. Heidegger's Experiment
The dramatic climax of a short story occurs when the central conflict is resolved with one opposing force winning over the other. When Dr. Heidegger gives water from the Fountain of Youth to his... -
Answered a Question in The Glass Menagerie
In the scene, Tom's anger and frustration boil over in a confrontation with his mother about his activities. Amanda believes that Tom has been "doing things that you're ashamed of." When he says,... -
Answered a Question in A Farewell to Arms
This is an interesting question for two reasons: Traditionally, Hemingway's heroes are male, and many reviewers interpret Catherine as an undeveloped character in the novel, merely an idealized... -
Answered a Question in Babylon Revisited
The heart of a short story lies in its central conflict. The central conflict in "Babylon Revisited" exists between Charlie Wales, Fitzgerald's protagonist, and Marion Peters, his former... -
Answered a Question in Beowulf
The text does support this idea. First of all, Beowulf is an epic poem and Beowulf is an epic hero in the tradition of the genre. He is strong and courageous, fighting for the benefit of others;... -
Answered a Question in To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee's use of language in the novel is varied in style and masterful in achieving her various literary purposes. Descriptive passages are rich in imagery and sensory language; narrative... -
Answered a Question in Hamlet
You might consider writing an essay in which you compare Hamlet's relationships with Claudius and with Laertes. There are some definite similarities. For instance, Hamlet's relationships both of... -
Answered a Question in Song of Myself
This section of Whitman's poem is filled with sensory writing; imagery is the most predominant poetic technique found throughout. Many of the visual images are those of nature: "Where the panther... -
Answered a Question in A Farewell to Arms
Passini and the priest both abhor the war, and they both allude to a ruling class that makes war and to the officers that support it. Their opinions differ, however, in regard to why wars continue.... -
Answered a Question in The Masque of the Red Death
I think you are on the right track. The emotional effect Poe intends to create in the reader surpasses the frightening, however, and would be interpreted more accurately as one of horror--the... -
Answered a Question in Hedda Gabler
Hedda Gabler is a fascinating woman, and the flaws in her character are obvious and dramatic. She is narcissistic, willful, and manipulative, acting beyond the bounds of ethical behavior. Cold and... -
Answered a Question in The Holocaust
Finding a rational explanation for madness is perhaps an impossible task, but Hitler's perverted exercise of political power is more understandable in its perpetration of evil. Making the Jews... -
Answered a Question in Ethan Frome
The lack of communication is a major motif in the novel. Wharton explores it in terms of both literal physical communication and the more subtle aspects of emotional communication between and among... -
Answered a Question in The Grapes of Wrath
The novel is social realism at its finest and most powerful, full of detail and full of truth--so effective that it was banned in two states, Oklahoma and California. No surprise there, considering... -
Answered a Question in The Great Gatsby
Although he possesses some of the characteristics of the hero created by Lord Byron in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, Gatsby is not developed as a classic Byronic hero. For instance, he is not... -
Answered a Question in The Great Gatsby
The passage appears in Chapter II during Nick's visit to Tom's apartment in New York where Tom carries on his affair with Myrtle. Nick has spent the afternoon at the apartment, first alone with Tom... -
Answered a Question in The Crucible
The Crucible is an outstanding drama by Arthur Miller. The play is set in Salem, Massachusetts, at the time of the infamous Salem witch trials, a sad chapter in American history. Before the... -
Answered a Question in The Great Gatsby
To support the idea with quotations from the novel, you will need to provide some context, I think. For instance, in Chapter VII Myrtle Wilson is killed on the road. Gatsby drives Daisy home, but... -
Answered a Question in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
A ballad in literature is a narrative poem that usually tells a dramatic story. Early ballads in English and Irish literature that were handed down orally are folk ballads; their authors are... -
Answered a Question in A Farewell to Arms
Most usually in fiction an antagonist is a human character who opposes or works against the protagonist; however, sometimes an antagonist can be an entity, such as an organization or some type of... -
Answered a Question in Segregation and the Civil Rights Movement
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is most noted for making racial segregation illegal and for extending/protecting voting rights. Provisions in the act also extended protection of the rights of women.... -
Answered a Question in Sailing to Byzantium
Here is the text of the poem: That is no country for old men. The young In one another's arms, birds in the trees - Those dying generations - at their song, The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded... -
Answered a Question in To Kill a Mockingbird
Your question makes me smile, katemckay, when I think of all the books I've read numerous times to fully understand them. The truth is, I'm not sure a really profound novel will ever be fully... -
Answered a Question in Tartuffe
In the drama, Moliere draws a sharp contrast between conventional behavior and morality. This is seen most clearly through the character of Orgon. As the head of his household, Orgon wields... -
Answered a Question in The Grapes of Wrath
Uncle John is haunted by the death of his young wife many years before. They had been married only four months. She had been pregnant. When she complained of pain in her stomach, John dismissed it,... -
Answered a Question in Ethan Frome
Ethan and Mattie's love for each other is not selfish or carnal; it represents instead the deep human longing for spiritual connection with another. When Ethan and Mattie first meet, each lives in... -
Answered a Question in To Kill a Mockingbird
For quite some time, Aunt Alexandra is the scourge of Scout's childhood. As a proud daughter of the Old South, Alexandra has very definite opinions of appropriate behavior for "young ladies" and... -
Answered a Question in To Kill a Mockingbird
Burris Ewell's confrontation with Miss Caroline on the first day of school is dramatic and very revealing of his character. When Miss Caroline finds lice in the boy's hair, she tells him he must go... -
Answered a Question in Macbeth
Equivocation: A statement that is not literally false, but is designed to mislead. Macbeth is led to his destruction by the equivocation of the witches, particularly as it is demonstrated through... -
Answered a Question in The Great Gatsby
Several film makers have brought Fitzgerald's novel to the screen, generally without a great deal of success. The 1974 version with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow demonstrates the problems inherent... -
Answered a Question in The Kite Runner
The circumstances of Hassan's birth, antecedent action in the novel, directly or indirectly drives the events of the narrative. His guilt over fathering Hassan but not claiming him determines... -
Answered a Question in To Kill a Mockingbird
Atticus influences his children's lives every day through his words, but more significantly, through his actions and the example he sets for them. His primary influence is observed in how he shapes... -
Answered a Question in Hills Like White Elephants
As I recall, the railroad station sits in a vast expanse of open land in Spain. On one side of the station, the land is barren. On the other side, the land is not barren. I think a stream cuts... -
Answered a Question in Hamlet
Hamlet is surely one of the most complex and well analyzed characters in literature. To describe him in two or three words is challenging, but consider these. He is conflicted, introspective, and... -
Answered a Question in Walden
Thoreau develops his themes in Walden primarily through figurative language, rather than symbolism. Frequently, he develops analogies. Ideas are communicated by comparing one thing to another and... -
Answered a Question in Flight
Pepe Torres is the oldest child of Mama Torres, her nineteen-year-old son. He is tall, "loose and gangling, all legs and feet and wrists." Steinbeck describes his appearance in detail: Pepe had a... -
Answered a Question in Russell Baker
"Gumption" is a great word! It means a lot of things: strong will, drive, initiative, guts, spunk, and courage. Somebody with gumption takes on the world to accomplish a purpose or achieve a goal.... -
Answered a Question in Rappaccini's Daughter
It could be argued that Giovanni does not love Beatrice at all. Giovanni does not love and accept Beatrice as she is; he cannot look beyond the poisonous elements in her physical nature in order to...
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