Kathryn Tyson
eNotes Educator
Achievements
10
Educator Level
578
Answers Posted
98
Answers Bonused
About
I was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but lived most of my young years in Los Angeles, California. After graduating from the University of California in Santa Barbara, I moved to Oregon where I started my teaching career and completed my Masters in Literary Criticism. Six years later, I decided to add a little adventure to my life and traveled to Anaco, Venezuela, to teach grades 6-9 in an oil field school. It was a great experience and allowed me to indulge in my favorite pastime, travel. Returning to the United States, I taught middle school in Houston, Texas. I also taught English and writing on the Texas A&M ship, the Clipper II, during its maiden voyage. Careers and writing were two areas that interested me, and I presented inservices on both in Maryland, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Texas. It finally came to an end after 38 years when I decided to retire last year. I am totally enjoying my retirement, but I enjoy working with enotes and keeping in touch with students. I am, unfortunately, a widow. My husband, Tony, who was from England, died of heart disease. In England, I have two stepchildren, Jay and Lisa, and two grandchildren, Emily and Charlotte. If you haven’t guessed, they were named after the Bronte sisters. I still live in Houston, Texas, but love to travel and have visited every continent except Africa. A frequent visitor to the Caribbean islands, I am definitely a beach person – a part of California that will never leave me.
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Recent Activity
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Answered a Question in The Leap
Elizabeth is correct. The author's mother and father met while her mother was in the hospital. Her mother, a trapeze artist, had a terrible fall when lightning stuck the pole of... -
Answered a Question in The Hunger Games
Chapter 11 starts the Hunger Games. The tributes,all equi-distant from a Cornucopia that contains survival equipment, fight fr survival gear. Katniss has been told not to go... -
Answered a Question in Touching Spirit Bear
The spirit bear is actually a subspecies of a black bear. They are called Kermode Bears after the man who studied them. They are NOT a form of polar bear; their white color comes from a... -
Answered a Question in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
One comes from Bruno's father when Bruno asks him who the people are on the other side of the fence. He says , "Those people ....well... they're not people at all, Bruno....Well, at least... -
Answered a Question in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
The important passages I have chosen have to do with the Germans and what they thought at that time. When Bruno's new teacher arrives, he tells the boy that history and geography are the only... -
Answered a Question in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
When Bruno's new teacher arrives, he tells the boy that history and geography are the only subjects worth studying. Of course, Bruno likes reading and art. When Bruno tells ... -
Answered a Question in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Almost every person in this novel has been made to do something they did not want to do. When Bruno talks to Maria about how unhappy he is to have moved to Out With, she tells him,... -
Answered a Question in The Old Man and the Sea
Santiago is a naturalist. He has been a fisherman for a long time, and he has a strong respect for the birds, the fish, and the sea. On page 19, the author says, "He was very fond of flying... -
Answered a Question in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
On Christmas Day, before Father became Commandant of the concentration camp, he wore his new uniform for the first time. The whole family applauded, and Bruno noticed that the soldiers seemed... -
Answered a Question in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Actually, Bruno knew it was not a farm. Gretel told him that was a possibility, but they both agreed that there should be cows and pigs and horses if it was a farm. If they grew food,... -
Answered a Question in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Bruno does not give Shmuel a candy bar in the book. When he first meets Shmuel, he wishes that he had brought some chocolates with him or pastry, but he didn't. Later, when Schmuel asks him if he... -
Answered a Question in The Outsiders
It is a matter of social class. The Socs are rich. They have cars, and party for kicks. They beat up Greasers, generally when they are in a group, like they did Johnny. But they... -
Answered a Question in The Red-Headed League
Mr. Merryweather is the bank director. He is sure that his bank is safe and this is a wild goose chase. He even remarks that "I hope a wild goose may not be the end of our chase" ... -
Answered a Question in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Maria is the family's maid. She is very subservient and always keeps her head bowed and her eyes on the ground. This is shown in the first paragraph in the book and when the young blond... -
Answered a Question in And Then There Were None
There are many animal images in this novel. Agatha Christie reduces them all to animals as they fight for survival. As Lombard is getting ready for dinner, he moved "like a... -
Answered a Question in And Then There Were None
A protagonist is not always the hero of the story. He is a central figure of a story. It is common for the story to be ABOUT the protagonist. In this case. It was about... -
Answered a Question in And Then There Were None
They were all shocked. Their immediate reactions were: Mr. Rogers dropped the coffee tray. His face turned white and his hands were shaking. Mrs. Rogers fainted. When she awoke,... -
Answered a Question in The Storyteller
This is actually a story within a story, so you have two of everything above. Introduction: An aunt and her three charges are on the train and the children are being disruptive. She... -
Answered a Question in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
This event actually happened in Chapter 4, page 40. Even though Maria is a servant and has been working for their family for a long time, things have happened in Germany that did not allow... -
Answered a Question in Speech to the Virginia Convention
Patrick Henry was trying to convince the delegates at the convention to go to war against the British. He needed to evoke emotional responses of justified anger from them to win them over to... -
Answered a Question in The Red-Headed League
Mr. Wilson failed to recognize that it was his assistant, whom he had only known for three months, who introduced him to the "job", pushed him through the crowd to the front of the line, and... -
Answered a Question in After Twenty Years
The external conflict has to do with the twenty years that have passed since the two men have seen one another. People change a lot in twenty years, and both men have no idea what to... -
Answered a Question in The Landlady
According to the American Heritage Dictionary,a double entendre is A word or phrase having a double meaning, especially when the second meaning is risque (See link) In the story "The Landlady" the... -
Answered a Question in The Silver Sword
Joseph Balinki was confined in a prisoner of war camp in Zakyna by the Nazis for turning a picture of Hitler to the wall during a scripture lesson. Zakyna was in the mountains of South... -
Answered a Question in Fahrenheit 451
Influenced and encouraged by his discussions with Clarisse, Montag asks Beatty what happened to the man “whose library we fixed.” (pg 33) Beatty tells him that he was taken off... -
Answered a Question in And Then There Were None
Mr. Lombard is having a discussion with Dr. Armstrong. They are trying to determine if Mr. and Mrs. Rogers were responsible for the death of the old woman, Miss Brady. Dr. Armstrong found out... -
Answered a Question in The Pearl
Juan Tomas, Kino's brother, tells him to make sure that the pearl buyers don't cheat him. The Indians only deal with the pearl buyers in town, and they do not know what is being paid in... -
Answered a Question in The Most Dangerous Game
Zaroff wants to be known as a sophisticated, well-educated, cultured gentleman. Therefore, he dresses and acts the part. When Rainsford first meets Zaroff, it is evening and... -
Answered a Question in If—
The poem "If—" lays out several pieces of life advice from an older man to a younger one—likely from father to son. The ultimate meaning of the poem deals with how one should approach life's... -
Answered a Question in The Drunkard
Larry is the protagonist. He has a man vs. man conflict with his father. Larry would have preferred to stay home and take care of his brother, but his mother needed him to act as a... -
Answered a Question in The Drunkard
The first perspective is that of Larry Denahy, the poor young man who got drunk. His age is never given, but it does say that he was old enough to stay home alone and care for his younger... -
Answered a Question in The Most Dangerous Game
This quote is early in the story. Rainsford has fallen off of the boat he was on and has been lucky enough to have survived the swim to shore. The pistol shots he heard when he was in the... -
Answered a Question in Robert Louis Stevenson
A Vagabond is a wanderer. Some people call them tramps, but they like to travel the roads, never settling anywhere. This is important to understand if you want to understand this poem.... -
Answered a Question in The Monkey's Paw
Even though the Monkey's paw allows its owner three wishes, it was not meant to be a blessing. A spell was place on the monkey's paw by a holy man. According to the sergeant major, he... -
Answered a Question in Maniac Magee
Maniac remembered how clueless Grayson was concerning blacks and their home. The McNabs were planning a war against the blacks and had built a pillbox for protection. A military pillbox is a... -
Answered a Question in Maniac Magee
Maniac is very hungry by this time. He obviously hadn't been eating well since Grayson noticed that "Wherever his body showed through (his tattered clothes) it was bony..." (pg... -
Answered a Question in Frost at Midnight
Have you ever been in a place that was so quiet and so calm that it was disturbing to you? Colerdige, who was a good friend of Wordsworth lived for a while near him in the lake district... -
Answered a Question in If—
The poem is a father defining for his son the qualities of a good man.. He is setting the parameters or boundaries for his son and giving him a goal to achieve. The poem deals with life’s... -
Answered a Question in The Most Dangerous Game
The two meanings are based on the word "Game". A game can be something played for enjoyment, or " animals under pursuit or taken in hunting; especially : wild animals hunted for... -
Answered a Question in Fahrenheit 451
Man vs. Self: Montag is experiencing inner turmoil. The night that the firemen go and burn the house of the unidentified woman, Montag watches her burn with her books. He suddenly... -
Answered a Question in Fahrenheit 451
The only time weather is even mentioned is during the time Montag and Clarisse walk to the corner. On page 28 --- my edition -- you may need to look in the general area in your edition... -
Answered a Question in Fahrenheit 451
Bradbury has purposely separated the word into two parts. Dis- is a prefix meaning "not" and ease is a word meaning "comfort" (Webster's New World Dictionary). He and Clarisse had been... -
Answered a Question in Fahrenheit 451
The pages quoted are from my edition of the book which is ancient. If you cannot find the exact quote in the book, you may need to look at the page ahead or behind it. When Montag tries to... -
Answered a Question in Fahrenheit 451
Fahrenheit 451 is filled with conflict. Man vs. man: It seems that Captain Beatty is out to get Montag. He knows he has been taking books, and he seems to be setting him up for the... -
Answered a Question in Tears of a Tiger
The external conflict is that Andrew has killed his best friend, Rob Washington, in a car accident because he was drunk. Their lives have been tied together since seventh grade. He now... -
Answered a Question in The Hunger Games
At the beginning, Katniss is: 1. Adventurous: She hunts in an area in which "poaching carries the severest of penalties". Others hunt but they do not venture as far into the woods as... -
Answered a Question in If—
Nowhere in the poem does Rudyard Kipling say the word "God". I do not believe that he was trying to give Christian values to anyone. He was saying, if you do these things, you will be a... -
Answered a Question in The Most Dangerous Game
I think he would be a great scout or leader of a hunting expedition. He knows his animals, he knows how to survive, and he has already written articles as Zaroff has read some of them. ... -
Answered a Question in The Sniper
1. It shows that in times of war, human beings become objects. They have no face, no family, no history, and no importance to the other side. It is very much like a ... -
Answered a Question in The Road Not Taken
We all make certain choices in life. Some of those choices make life harder, and some make it easier. For example: You have a choice whether to go to college or start working after high...
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