Tonya McQuade, M.A.
eNotes Educator
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127
Answers Posted
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About
High school English teacher of 20 years. I currently teach English 9 Honors and English 11 (American Literature). I have also taught English 10 for many years. Prior to teaching high school, I taught middle school for 1 year and English conversation in Japan for 2 years.
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Recent Activity
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Answered a Question in The Son From America
The central conflict in "The Son from America" concerns the cultural differences and misunderstandings that have arisen between Samuel, a Jewish man who moved to America 40 years ago, and his... -
Answered a Question in Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
Frederick Douglass presents several examples throughout his narrative of how slavery is not only injurious to slaves, but also to the slave owners themselves. The first example arises as he... -
Answered a Question in To Kill a Mockingbird
Walter is reluctant to follow Scout and Jem home to dinner as a matter of pride. His family does not believe in taking anything they can't pay back, and while they might sometimes pay people... -
Answered a Question in Siddhartha
The fourth chapter of Siddhartha begins just as Siddhartha has left behind the greatest teacher he has ever met, the Buddha, as well as his devoted friend, Govinda, and set out on a path to an... -
Answered a Question in Siddhartha
In the first chapter of the novel Siddhartha, author Herman Hesse describes just how much Siddhartha is loved and admired by those around him. Though he is still a young man, for some time he... -
Answered a Question in As You Like It
In As You Like It, Act III, scene v, Rosalind's monologue is written in Blank Verse, also know as unrhymed iambic pentameter, which is what Shakespeare used most frequently in his... -
Answered a Question in The Gift of the Magi
As related in O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi," Jim and Della are very poor and don't have many fine possessions to their name. With Christmas approaching, Della is desperate to come up with... -
Answered a Question in The Pearl
Two examples of disease imagery come up fairly early in The Pearl, with the first appearing just after Coyotito has been stung by the scorpion. In response to his injury, Juana immediately... -
Answered a Question in As You Like It
Orlando, as the youngest son of Sir Rowland de Boys in Shakespeare's As You Like It, has known the elderly Adam for as long as he can remember, for Adam has been a loyal servant... -
Answered a Question in The Tell-Tale Heart
In more modern American language, the narrator is basically asking his audience: "Why do you insist on saying I'm crazy?" Edgar Allen Poe capitalizes the word WILL in this line because he wants to... -
Answered a Question in If—
As Rudyard Kipling portrays in his poem "If," there are many qualities that go into being a "man." In the first stanza of his poem, Kipling says that a man needs to be able to "keep (his)... -
Answered a Question in The Most Dangerous Game
The event that sparks the main conflict in "The Most Dangerous Game" and sets the rising action in motion is Rainsford's realization that General Zaroff means to hunt HIM that night, and that... -
Answered a Question in Fahrenheit 451
When the fire engine comes to a stop in the "Burning Bright" section of Fahrenheit 451, it doesn't take long for Montag realize they are in front of his house. He also quickly figures out, as... -
Answered a Question in The Great Gatsby
When Catherine first gets the news of her sister Myrtle's death in chapter 8 of The Great Gatsby, she is in disbelief: When she arrived she was stupid with liquor and unable to understand that the... -
Answered a Question in Everyday Use
Maggie and Dee hold very different attitudes toward "heritage" in the story "Everyday Use." For Dee, heritage is something to put on display, to show others who she is and to celebrate where... -
Answered a Question in Romeo and Juliet
Shakespeare uses many types of figurative language in Acts I and II of Romeo and Juliet. If you look at the first link below, you will see one of my previous answers, where I list... -
Answered a Question in Romeo and Juliet
Here are a couple examples of similes from Act III of Romeo and Juliet. In the first, Benvolio is explaining to the Prince in scene i how both Mercutio and Tybalt came to be killed. ... -
Answered a Question in A Raisin in the Sun
At the beginning of Act I, Hansberry spends a significant amount of time describing the Younger's apartment. This apartment in many ways reflects the problems the family faces - it is... -
Answered a Question in A Raisin in the Sun
The plant in A Raisin in the Sun represents Mama's dream of someday having her own house, with her own little garden in the back. The dream has been a long time coming, and at times she's... -
Answered a Question in A Raisin in the Sun
A major external conflict in Act III of A Raisin in the Sun is between Walter and his sister, Beneatha. As the scene opens, Beneatha is feeling lost and depressed about the loss of the money... -
Answered a Question in Romeo and Juliet
When Romeo refuses to fight in Act III, scene i, Mercutio thinks that Romeo is being a coward. Tybalt had earlier sent a "challenge" to Romeo's house, and Mercutio expects Romeo and answer... -
Answered a Question in War Is Kind
The poem "War Is Kind" presents the horrors of war through its powerful and graphic imagery, while continually repeating the verbal irony "War is kind" to show the ways we try to lie to ourselves... -
Answered a Question in To Kill a Mockingbird
Uncle Jack learns two important lessons about children at the end of chapter 8 in To Kill a Mockingbird. The first is taught to him by Scout; the second, by Atticus. The first lesson comes... -
Answered a Question in Stephen Dobyns
The poem "Loud Music" is a great example of free verse - not only is it not structured in stanzas, as you mention, but it also is without any consistent meter or rhyme pattern. While the... -
Answered a Question in Langston Hughes
In both of these poems, Langston Hughes expresses his concerns about how Whites are not truly seeking to understand Blacks, and how White culture is appropriating and using the products of the... -
Answered a Question in Poetry
There are quite a few literary devices used in this poem First, the visual images stand out: a field, snow angels, a frozen lake, a "photograph of water," the snowy outdoors, a room "blasted to... -
Answered a Question in To Kill a Mockingbird
Since the Radley house in To Kill a Mockingbird is described as being "droopy and sick" and having a "drunken picket fence," the author implies the house is very run-down, not maintained very... -
Answered a Question in A Worn Path
There are several reasons the author might have set the story during December and the Christmas season. First and foremost is that Christmas brings to mind love and sacrificial gift-giving,... -
Answered a Question in To Kill a Mockingbird
Atticus tells Jem and Scout his definition of real courage in chapter 11, soon after Mrs. Dubose dies. Jem had just recently finished with his punishment of having to read to her because of... -
Answered a Question in A Raisin in the Sun
Here are a few quotes about Walter and his conflict with fate that come to mind. In Act I, when Walter is frustrated that Ruth does not want to speak to Mama on his behalf about Mama... -
Answered a Question in To Kill a Mockingbird
Here are a few ideas for photos, symbols, quotes, etc. that would work well for a scrapbook project: A picture of "Scout" all dressed up for her first day of school - include an explanation of how... -
Answered a Question in A Worn Path
After her long, laborious, perilous journey to town, Phoenix is able to get the "soothing medicine" her grandson needs for his throat. As the nurse explains to the attendant at the desk, "his... -
Answered a Question in The Gift of the Magi
The situational irony in "The Gift of the Magi" arises from the fact that both Jim and Della sell their most prized possessions in order to buy the other a special Christmas gift, but the gift each... -
Answered a Question in Vikram Seth
This poem "All You Who Sleep Tonight" is written in iambic trimeter, meaning that every second syllable is stressed (as I've marked in bold below). There are three iambs per line (each with... -
Answered a Question in Sonnet 130
In Shakespeare's Sonnet 130, the speaker compares his love to various other images of beauty and shows how she falls short in many ways. Her beauty cannot hold up to the magnificent colors,... -
Answered a Question in The Tables Turned
In the poem "The Tables Turned," the author presents a "carpe diem" message about the importance of getting out and enjoying life to the fullest. Specifically, the author encourages people to... -
Answered a Question in Lord of the Flies
Simon is a Christ Figure for many reasons: Compassion for others - Just as Christ showed compassion for others in his healing of the sick and feeding of the hungry, Simon shows compassion in... -
Answered a Question in The Great Gatsby
As Nick explains in chapter one, he moved East in order to start a new job and to experience a new llifestyle. He had grown up in the Midwest, and he felt ready for a change. ... -
Answered a Question in The Great Gatsby
For years Gatsby lived with the dream of winning Daisy back - everything he did, he did for her. The piles of money, the fashionable wardrobe, the extravagant house, the endless parties - all... -
Answered a Question in Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats
"The Naming of Cats," at its most basic level, talks about how cats have three different names. However, at a deeper level, the poem talks about identity and how people present... -
Answered a Question in A Wagner Matinee
The farm in "A Wagner Matinee" is described in a way that sets it up as an extremely sharp contrast to the the city life the narrator now experiences. He spent his early years living on the... -
Answered a Question in The Great Gatsby
Since he first heard about Gatsby, Nick has been hearing rumors about all the illegal and underhanded activities Gatsby is possibly involved in - even, perhaps, killing a man. Nick... -
Answered a Question in Everyday Use
I would say that the best answer is B. Both women are definitely strong-willed. Dee shows this in her determination to make a new life for herself away from her hometown and famiily -... -
Answered a Question in To Kill a Mockingbird
Several similarities exist between these two novels. First, in their contexts, both are set in the South during times of segregation. In both, Blacks and Whites live in separate... -
Answered a Question in Romeo and Juliet
Many classical allusions come up in the play Romeo and Juliet. One of the first is seen when Romeo and Benvolio are talking, and Romeo is complaining that Rosaline does not return his... -
Answered a Question in Lord of the Flies
The first "real" beast the boys see on the island comes up in ch. 6 when Sam and Eric are watching over the fire on the mountain. As they are sitting and talking, Eric sees something that... -
Answered a Question in The Crucible
The opening conversation between Elizabeth and John in Act II, scene i, shows that they are very tense and uncomfortable around each other. They are both trying to be on their best behavior,... -
Answered a Question in The Crucible
In Act III, scene i of The Crucible, Abigail accuses Mary of lying in her testimony because she wants to keep her own ruse going. She still hopes that somehow, these false... -
Answered a Question in A Bird came down the Walk—
To understand the last stanza of Dickinson's poem, you really need to read the last two stanzas together and understand the structure of the poem as a whole. The first three stanzas describe... -
Answered a Question in The Yellow Wallpaper
When the narrator in "The Yellow Wallpaper" first arrives at the rented country home with a prescription to "rest," it is because her husband has determined she has a "temporary nervous...
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