
S.L. Watson
eNotes Educator
Achievements
8
Educator Level
597
Answers Posted
59
Answers Bonused
About
English Literature/Writing Professor . Published author of fiction, regional articles (Florida) and scholarly articles in journals. BA/MA in English specialty MA in Tolkien and Fantasy. ED.D. Leadership/Culturally Relevant Pedagogy. Odet award for nonfiction Prose 2017; Seven Hills Literary Review Award 2017 and 2018, fiction and nonfiction prose.
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Recent Activity
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Answered a Question in Brownies
In the short story "Brownies," by ZZ Packer, many examples of irony exist. In fact, the entire racial situation in the story is ironic. Generally, we assume that racism and discrimination exist in... -
Answered a Question in Recitatif
In the short story, "Recitatif," by Toni Morrison, the protagonist and main character is Twyla as the narrative is told through her perspective. When the story opens, Twyla introduces Roberta and... -
Answered a Question in Toni Morrison
In Toni Morrison's essay, "Strangers," the author explores the notion of strangers, folks we do not know, and their impact on our psyche. She uses an example of a fisherwoman as a stranger who... -
Answered a Question in The Leap
In the short story, "The Leap," by Louise Erdrich, the narrator begins her detailed flashback in paragraph three. She states at the onset of that paragraph, "I owe her [her mother] my existence... -
Answered a Question in Essays
First of all, you must choose a person who has had a special influence on your life. This person could be a relative; however, this person could also be a teacher, a coach, a faith leader, or a... -
Answered a Question in Songs of Innocence and of Experience
In Blake's poem, "The Lamb," from his Songs of Innocence, the poet explores the innocence of childhood and the benevolence of God framed within a pastoral setting. The child poses rhetorical... -
Answered a Question in A Poison Tree
Blake's poem, "A Poison Tree," published in 1794, comes from his Songs of Experience. This poem is an extended metaphor; that is, the entire poem compares the speaker's anger and wrath to a tree... -
Answered a Question in Seedfolks
In Seedfolks, Leona helps the garden through her intelligence and perseverance. She is appalled by the garbage that has been dumped in the "vacant" lot. In fact, there is so much garbage on the lot... -
Answered a Question in Hamlet
From the onset of the play, Hamlet considers the notion of suicide. This thought process seems to have been brought about by the untimely death of his father and his mother's hasty marriage to his... -
Answered a Question in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
In Mary Wollstonecraft's essay, "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman," published in 1792, the author takes the position that women are more than those who were made to be both "docile" and... -
Answered a Question in A&P
In Updike's short story, "A&P," the theme of lost innocence is explored through the main character, Sammy. Sammy works in the "third check-out slot" (para 1) at the A&P grocery. When three... -
Answered a Question in Romeo and Juliet
In Romeo and Juliet, the audience meets the Nurse in act 1, scene 3. It is discovered that the Nurse has known Juliet since infancy. In fact, the Nurse actually was a wet nurse to Juliet; she... -
Answered a Question in Macbeth
In the play, Macbeth, Banquo is a character foil for Macbeth. At the onset of the play, the audience meets the three witches who share their predictions with Macbeth and Banquo. Banquo tells the... -
Answered a Question in To an Athlete Dying Young
In A.E. Housman's poem "To an Athlete Dying Young," the poet uses the metaphor of the runner, an athlete, to represent all those who have died young while still in their prime and glory.... -
Answered a Question in The Witch of Blackbird Pond
In Chapter 13 in the book, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Judith is excited about attending the husking bee. Unfortunately, Kit thinks it just sounds like more work, husking corn. However, Judith... -
Answered a Question in The Demon Lover
In the short story, "The Demon Lover," Bowen uses imagery to build suspense. First of all, the house itself embodies the image of darkness and decay. When Mrs. Drover enters the house, "dead air... -
Answered a Question in A Separate Peace
A Separate Peace is a novel told in flashback as Gene revisits the Devon School in New Hampshire. It was at this school and during this time in his life that Gene underwent the rite of passage that... -
Answered a Question in I Stand Here Ironing
In the short story by Olsen, "I Stand Here Ironing," one of the themes is a mother's regret. As the mother stands at her ironing board pressing a dress, she recounts the childhood of her eldest... -
Answered a Question in This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona
The two main characters, Victor and Thomas Builds-the-Fire, in "This is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona" by Sherman Alexie, illustrate the plight of the present day Indian. Victor views the... -
Answered a Question in Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal
One important quote from chapter two likens Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald's, to Walt Disney. Both men had charisma and were excellent salesmen. However, their ability to market to children... -
Answered a Question in The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World
In the short story "The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World" by Gabriel García Márquez, it is important that the children discover the drowned man's body first. Instead of being frightened by the... -
Answered a Question in John Steinbeck
In Steinbeck's essay, "Paradox and Dream," one of the main generalities is the American Dream of owning your own home (paragraph 5). He states that Americans "hunger for a home." They spend their... -
Answered a Question in History
In Jourdon Anderson's letter dated August 7, 1865, the main theme is the benefit of freedom. Jourdon was once a slave in Tennessee. His former owner, Col. Anderson, has tried to persuade him to... -
Answered a Question in A Haunted House
In Woolf's short story "A Haunted House," the author explores the permanence of love through the existence of the two ghosts. Unlike conventional ghost stories, the ghosts of the dead couple are... -
Answered a Question in Hamlet
Hamlet is a complex character who is best described as brooding and introspective, impulsive, and isolated. When the audience first meets Hamlet, his father, King Hamlet, has met an untimely death... -
Answered a Question in Maniac Magee
A metaphor usually compares two things that are, in fact, unrelated, in order to add emphasis or a clearer understanding of just what is being expressed. For example, when someone says, Life is a... -
Answered a Question in A Day's Wait
In Hemingway's short story "A Long Day's Wait," the mood on the part of the young boy is that of anxiousness. Schatz, a nine year old boy, spends the day lying in bed waiting to die. The doctor has... -
Answered a Question in Anne Bradstreet
In the poem "Verses Upon the Burning of Our House, July 10th, 1666" by Anne Bradstreet, the poet ponders the burning of her earthly, physical house, yet finds strength in knowing she will have an... -
Answered a Question in Pygmalion
In Act I of the play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw, the audience meets Eliza Doolittle, the flower girl. The setting is Covent Garden during a torrential rain storm. Freddy, hurrying to do his... -
Answered a Question in Satyajit Ray
The short story "Fritz," by Satyajit Ray, a Bengali filmmaker, writer, and composer, delves into the childhood memories of Jayanto. In this chilling tale, Jayanto, who works for a newspaper, is... -
Answered a Question in The Nightingale and the Rose
In the short story "The Nightingale and the Rose," the nightingale does symbolize goodness, virtue, and sacrifice. The nightingale realizes that love is "more precious than emeralds" (para 3). For... -
Answered a Question in Dorothy Parker
The short poem, "Solace," by Dorothy Parker explores the theme of loss through its title, Solace. By definition, solace means to give comfort or to console. In this first person narrated poem, the... -
Answered a Question in O. Henry
In the short story "Compliments of the Season" by O. Henry, the main character, Fuzzy, is a tramp who restores the rag doll Betsy to its rightful owner: a spoiled rich girl. Fuzzy has had too much... -
Answered a Question in James Kirkup
In the poem "No Men Are Foreign," the poet, James Kirkup, emphasizes that people are alike, no matter their nationality. In stanza one, the poet tells us that "no men are strange, no countries... -
Answered a Question in Langston Hughes
In the short story "Berry" by Langston Hughes, the author illustrates the themes of racism and inequality. The main character of the story, Milberry Jones—whom the children call Berry—is hired to... -
Answered a Question in The Shakespeare Stealer
In Gary Blackwood's The Shakespeare Stealer, the reader meets the narrator, Widge, who is an orphan born in 1587 during the era of Queen Elizabeth. Widge is adopted by Dr. Timothy Bright at the age... -
Answered a Question in Margaret Atwood
In the poem "Gathering," by Margaret Atwood, the poet addresses the physical and mental changes brought upon people through the process of aging. In stanza one, Atwood uses metaphors comparing an... -
Answered a Question in Macbeth
In Shakespeare's Macbeth, it is clear from the onset of the play that what appears good is not always so. In the first scene, the three witches announce that "Fair is foul, and foul is fair"... -
Answered a Question in The Dead
In Joyce's short story, "The Dead," the Three Graces are Gabriel's aunts and cousin and are likened to the three graces from Greek mythology. The setting of the story is Dublin at the Misses... -
Answered a Question in A Doll's House
In Act II of A Doll's House, the audience becomes very aware of Nora's subservient role to Torvald, her husband and a man of authority. Nora begs Torvald to allow Krogstad to keep his job. In fact,... -
Answered a Question in Marriage Is a Private Affair
In Chinua Achebe's short story, "Marriage is a Private Affair," when Nnaemeka's father, Okeke, receives the wedding photo from his son, he rips the picture in half. After ripping out the image of... -
Answered a Question in A Lesson before Dying
In A Lesson Before Dying, Grant Wiggins is an educated school teacher who has returned to his small town in Bayonne County, Louisiana, to teach African Americans at the plantation school. However,... -
Answered a Question in Hamlet
From the onset of the play, Hamlet, the motif of the ear and hearing is woven throughout the plot. When Hamlet encounters his father's Ghost in Act I, Hamlet tells the Ghost to "Speak, I am bound... -
Answered a Question in Essays
Paragraphs and Essays share a common link: The paragraph is the building block of all essays. Paragraphs begin with a topic sentence that organizes the rest of the paragraph. The sentences... -
Answered a Question in The Veldt
Ray Bradbury's short story, "The Veldt," explores the results of parents who spoil their children and rely on technology to take the place of family. In this story, George and Lydia Hadley have... -
Answered a Question in The Rocking-Horse Winner
The short story "The Rocking-Horse Winner" begins like a fairy tale to set the scene for the remainder of the story, which incorporates many elements of the fairy tale genre. First of all, many... -
Answered a Question in The Demon Lover
In the short story, "The Demon Lover," by Elizabeth Bowen, Kathleen, the protagonist, finds herself questioning the promise her fiancee made twenty-five years earlier. The promise is that "I shall... -
Answered a Question in Rules of the Game
Amy Tan's short story "The Rules of the Game" concerns the struggle between a Chinese mother and her daughter, Waverly. The family lives above a bakery in San Francisco's Chinatown. This setting... -
Answered a Question in The Red-Headed League
In the short story "The Red-Headed League," even the great detective Sherlock Holmes thinks the events that occur to Wilson are bizarre. Holmes even tells Watson they both share a "love of all that... -
Answered a Question in The War of the Wall
In the short story "The War of the Wall" by Toni Cade Bambara, the first main character is the Narrator. It is through the Narrator's eyes that the reader is introduced to the central conflict in...
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