carolyn joseph
eNotes Educator
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Recent Activity
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Answered a Question in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
There are several lessons or morals to be learned, as indirectly "stated" as they may be. One is that acceptance of others helps one find self-acceptance as well. For example, when Christopher... -
Answered a Question in An Inspector Calls
Do you mean as an institution or as a philosophy? If you mean the latter, the inspector himself represents socialism (or rather its values) by knocking on the Birlings' door and asking for a... -
Answered a Question in The Country of the Blind
For me this story is neither sad nor pessimistic, even if there is a broken love affair at the end. The protagonist himself has no remorse either but is only glad to have escaped being blinded by... -
Answered a Question in The Giver
You will have to read Lowry's Gathering Blue to find that one out! Although this book is not meant to be a sequel to The Giver, in it the author does give some information about Jonas and... -
Answered a Question in A Streetcar Named Desire
Mitch first comes over to drink and play cards at the Kowalskis, but he is not, because of his breeding, "one of the boys." Suggested throughout the play is that Mitch is more than a blue... -
Answered a Question in Gathering Blue
Simply a mother's love for her daughter and the conviction that such a harsh and exclusive attitude was wrong prompted Katrina to stand up for Kira. (Kira had a leg malformation, or something like... -
Answered a Question in Gathering Blue
A "wild" boy from the Fen (forest), Matt takes a certain personal risk when he salvages Kira's things from her mother's cott before it is burned. (This was half-superstition, but also a measure to... -
Answered a Question in Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Jerry does not exploit the narrator's own vulnerability by exposing his own need and making her feel responsible in some way for his distress. He could have "played pitiful" by making it... -
Answered a Question in The Call of the Wild
Although the main character is a dog, this story is neither an allegory nor a fable since Buck does not representent a character type or take on an interpretative role in any way. During his... -
Answered a Question in Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
The narrator is in the habit of spending her vacations at the cabin because she wanted to spend some time out in the woods by herself. A young boy shows up, coming around from time to time to... -
Answered a Question in The Fall of the House of Usher
The house itself, in its decadence and ruin, represents what many critics consider an unhealthy relationship between Roderick and his sister Madeline. As the narrator approaches the house, he notes... -
Answered a Question in Edgar Allan Poe
For the most part, no statement of moral value or "theme" can be drawn from Poe's horror stories. They were written for the sole purpose of creating a feeling of horror, as Poe himself expounded in... -
Answered a Question in Macbeth
The queen is the catalyst for evil ploying for and then taking territory within Macbeth's heart. She is the one who prompts him to take active choices to fulfil his secret longings. The lust for... -
Answered a Question in The Merchant of Venice
The following three references trace the ring leit motif found in the second half of the story. The recourse to an element of three (three caskets, three rings, three confrontations, etc....) are... -
Answered a Question in The Masque of the Red Death
Poe appeals to both sight and sound to graphically portray the guests in both appearance and attitude. They are extravagantly dressed, given that their host has invited them to a masquaraded ball,... -
Answered a Question in A Thousand Splendid Suns
In order to keep Laila from being strangled to death, Mariam hits Rasheed over the head with a heavy shovel and kills him. She is consequently tried and convicted of murder and sentenced to... -
Answered a Question in If I Forget Thee, O Earth . . .
In this story the Earth has been contaminated with radioactivity in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust. For the story line to be plausible, some explanation of how the colony survived... -
Answered a Question in Gathering Blue
It is not clear, but the story suggests that the Singer who performs the incantations in the annual ritual of "The Ruin" does so against his will. Such is the case of the little girl named Jo who... -
Answered a Question in The Giver
Ah - hah! For that, you will have to read Lowry's Gathering Blue, which is not exactly a sequel to The Giver but mentions both Jonas and Gabe in a different community. Gabe is growing up and... -
Answered a Question in The Adventure of the Speckled Band
Several things evoked Holmes' suspicion that there was indeed foul play going on: -the unnecessary "renovation" of the wing where Julia's room was located. -the strange whistling sound Julia had... -
Answered a Question in Gathering Blue
Kira's first problem is one of survival. As she is both handicapped (she limps) and orphaned, she is excluded from the community. One woman even tries to force her to give up the small... -
Answered a Question in The Pearl
To name a few: In what way is the story a simple folk tale, and in what way is it more universal? Trace the relationship of Juana and Kino from the beginning to the end and how they evolve... -
Answered a Question in Oliver Twist
In the aftermath of England's conflict with France, the people who suffered most from economic instability were of course the poor. Overtaxation, inflation, embargo on French imports, and a... -
Answered a Question in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The scope of the word 'misadventure' is more global than that of a simple prank. I'm guessing that it refers to Tom's (and not Huck's) leading Jim on to think that he still needed to escape to... -
Answered a Question in Death of a Salesman
Miller doesn't just pictorally show how change oppresses the Loman household; he has Willy talk about it. Willy remarks with disgust how the whole place presently stinks and reminisces about how... -
Answered a Question in Native Son
When Bigger sees the opulence of the Dalton mansion, he realises just how "down and out" his family is. In his attempt to better himself (Here, note the connotation of his name....), Bigger takes... -
Answered a Question in The Unknown Citizen
The main idea I suppose is that non-commital people deserve the insignificance of their lives. That is to say that people who "don't want to get involved" in life do just that - they stay on the... -
Answered a Question in The Merchant of Venice
Antonio is the good guy stock character type who takes the rap for another's imprudence. In his preoccupation to take care of his friends, he neglects himself and, in this case, ends up in deep... -
Answered a Question in The Gift of the Magi
The number three is also a recurring element in a fairy tale. (Incidentally, the numbers 5, 7, and 9 come up sporadically, too.) There are often three sisters, three wishes, three challenges, etc.,... -
Answered a Question in Death of a Salesman
At the end of Act Two, Linda is disgusted that her sons had made off with a prostitute in a restaurant while Willy was in the "men's room" (toilet). In the heat of her anger she wishes them "good... -
Answered a Question in Animal Farm
The seating arrangement shows two things: It reveals the hierarchy of the animals, with the pigs escorted by the dogs (later to become Napoleon's secret police) to the very front, just in front of... -
Answered a Question in The Fall of the House of Usher
Does the story line insinuate that the curse over the house of Usher (the house as well as the family) was brought on by an incestuous relationship between the brother and sister? If so, what... -
Answered a Question in Pygmalion
Pygmalion was an artist who created a statue of a woman of great beauty and then fell in love with "her." The goddess of love Aphrodite took pity on him and changed her into a real woman... -
Answered a Question in Death of a Salesman
Willy comes back home unexpected since he had just set off a few hours earlier on a business trip. He doesn't want to tell his wife Linda that he has wrecked the car (again!), but he finally... -
Answered a Question in The Kite Runner
Certain subjects already apparent deal with social hierarchy and ethnic prejudice, loyalty and betrayal in friendship and within the family unit, self-denial and self-acceptance. As the story... -
Answered a Question in The Kite Runner
The tree represents Amir and Hassan's relationship, which grows and blossoms at first, then which, over time, goes sour because of Amir's condescending attitude, his jealousy, and finally his... -
Answered a Question in The Mayor of Casterbridge
The primary element of irony embraces also the main theme of the story - that is, that life is a sum product of consequences of one's personal choices and that of simple destiny, over which one has... -
Answered a Question in The Open Window
The reader discovers that Vera is a convincing liar (and probably with a lot of experience!), since she tells one lie right after another without flinching. If neuvrotic Mr Nuttel was indeed an... -
Answered a Question in The Glass Menagerie
The subdued lighting creates a mood of intimacy, necessary for the confessional nature of the narration of the story. It also shows the subjective nature of Tom's interpretation of past... -
Answered a Question in The Red-Headed League
Compared to Doyle's other detective stories, this one is a light-hearted spoof. Although there is both foil and crime, nobody gets hurt (unless you want to count Jabez Wilson's damaged ego... -
Answered a Question in The Giver
At first glance one might think that being "released" is the most severe punishment one can receive, but this is not so. The worst thing that can happen to a member of the Community is to be... -
Answered a Question in Death of a Salesman
To flesh out the character, the author could have chosen any one of many professions, but the fact that Willy is a salesman is particularly appropriate for two reasons. First of all, Willy embodies... -
Answered a Question in The Snows of Kilimanjaro
The title refers to the snow-capped summit of Kilmanjaro, which is lofty, faraway and, though visible, unattainable. It represents goals or dreams thwarted by unexpected events in life and... -
Answered a Question in The Kite Runner
Under the stress and precarity of immigration, Amir sees his father in a new light. He realizes his father's weaknesses and vulnerability, and the very absence of the aura of omnipotence brings... -
Answered a Question in A Long Way from Chicago
There is no real "problem" in this story other than Grandma's compulsive lying, and even this is portrayed in a humorous way. The lact of a real conflict and the meandering story line (events... -
Answered a Question in Gathering Blue
Given that the windows of this structure were made of stained glass, the reader can suppose that the building had most probably been a church. The mention of a wooden cross on the wall of unknown... -
Answered a Question in Moby-Dick
Ahab seeks revenge for having lost his leg; he also has a long scar running down the length of his face. He offers a sixteen-dollar gold piece (quite a lot of money at the time) to the first man... -
Answered a Question in The Necklace
The two most obvious ones are the following: 1) Use of the third person limited (for Monsieur Loisel) versus the third person omniscient point of view(for Madame Loisel). The reader only gather... -
Answered a Question in The Necklace
In a nutshell, 'Satisfaction comes from within, not without.' Another might be 'Be content with what you've got; more will never be quite enough.' The restlessness and yearning of Mrs Loisel is in... -
Answered a Question in The Great Gatsby
As opposed to denotation or the "dictionary" literal meaning of a word, its connotation refers to the sum total of all the associations the particular word in question conjures up. The connection...
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