Notes

There are a few reasons why it is highly unlikely that Tom Robinson is Calpurnia’s long forgotten brother. The first reason is that when Tom Robinson becomes a minor celebrity during the trial, his face becomes well known in Maycomb, Alabama. A large percentage of Maycomb’s white and African American population attends the trial. At no point does anyone mention a resemblance between him and Calpurnia. Another reason is that Tom Robinson has a home and family in the African American part of Maycomb. It is reasonable to believe that he and Calpurnia live close to one another. If they were long-lost siblings, it is hard to think that they or their families have never crossed paths. Finally, in the recently published “Go Set a Watchmen,” an adult Scout visits the elderly Calpurnia. At no point does Calpurnia or any member of her family suggest that they are related to Tom Robinson.

Macbeth fails to leave the murder weapon in the room where Duncan's body lies. He was supposed to kill Duncan with the daggers belonging to Duncan's chamberlains, smear Duncan's blood all over these servants, and then leave the daggers there so it would look like the grooms actually committed the murder. Lady Macbeth purposefully got them very drunk the night before, as well as slipped them some kind of drug in their drink, with the hope that they would be so drunk that they would pass out and have no recollection of the night (and would not wake if they heard Duncan make noise as he was being killed). In his panic and fear, however, Macbeth brought the daggers from the room and then refused to return them; Lady Macbeth must do it herself.

The most obvious use of hyperbole in "The Gift of the Magi" occurs when the narrator describes Della's and Jim's evaluations of their two treasures—her long, luxuriant hair and his gold watch. Had the Queen of Sheba lived in the flat across the airshaft, Della would have let her hair hang out the window some day to dry just to depreciate Her Majesty's jewels and gifts. Had King Solomon been the janitor, with all his treasures piled up in the basement, Jim would have pulled out his watch every time he passed, just to see him pluck at his beard from envy. This is the wildest kind of hyperbole. This passage claims Della's hair is more precious than all the Queen of Sheba's jewels and her fabulous gifts to King Solomon. The excerpt also says Jim's gold watch is more precious than all the treasures of King Solomon. O. Henry, of course, does not intend his hyperbole to be taken at face value. He only wants to convey an idea of how much Della treasures her be...

A diamonte poem is a diamond shaped poem.  It has a specific format.  It either compares two similar things or contrasts two different (yet related) things.  You will find the format below:               First thing          Adjectives of thing   Verbs showing thing's actions Nouns that will describe the thing     Verbs for the other thing        Adjectives of thing             Second thing If you want to write about Frindle, consider the story.  Nick is a boy who likes to distract his teachers in class.  He tries to do this by to asking his fifth grade teacher where words come from.  She does not fall for his trick, and instead assigns him an oral report on the topic.  She tells him that people decide where words come from.  He has an idea one day to start calling pens "frindles."  It becomes a phenomenon.  Soon the word frindle is famous.  Here is an example of a diamonte poem for Frindle:                  Frindle             Small, slender     Writing, doodling, drawin...

Johnny and Ponyboy slept while on the train. Johnny and Ponboy were in a very difficult situation.  After a fight with the Socs in the park, Johnny had killed Bob, a Soc.  He killed him because he thought the Socs were drowning Ponyboy in the fountain.  Johnny panicked because he had been jumped by Socs before and it left him traumatized. The boys go to Dally, because he has had run-ins with the law and they know he will help them.  Dally tells them to hide outside of town.  The boys jump onto a train in order to get to an abandoned church where they will lay low.  In the boxcar, the boys get to stop and think for the first time.  It hits Ponyboy what has happened.  Johnny killed someone and they are on the run.  He is scared, but he is also so exhausted from the events that he falls asleep. I stretched out and used Johnny's legs for a pillow. Curling up, I was thankful for Dally's jacket. It was too big, but it was warm. Not even the rattling of the train could keep me awake, ...

In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird , we first meet Scout when she is six years old. Though Scout has not yet started school, she already knows how to read. This fact is reported by Jem when he and Scout first meet Dill. Scout knows how to read because her father, Atticus, has read to her every night since she was an infant. Yet, already knowing how to read puts Scout at a disadvantage. On Scout’s first day of school, her teacher, Ms. Caroline, makes it her mission to undo the "damage" Atticus has done by teaching a different way of reading than how Scout reads. At the end of the day, Scout tells Atticus she never wants to go to school again. Atticus makes a deal with his daughter: the two of them will continue to read together every night as long as Scout keeps going to school. Scout agrees to try.

I have included a number of images below to indicate the strength of Othello and Desdemona's love for each other. After Brabantio accused Othello of abducting Desdemona, Othello is given an opportunity by the Duke to explain his position, and he tells them: So justly to your grave ears I'll present How I did thrive in this fair lady's love, And she in mine. Here, Othello is metaphorically saying that he grew and flourished in Desdemona's love, and she in his. It is as if the two of them provided sustenance through their love for one another, making them grow. In another metaphor in the same speech, Othello declares, She loved me for the dangers I had pass'd, And I loved her that she did pity them. In this instance, Othello is providing the reason for why he and Desdemona fell in love. He is implying, metaphorically, that Desdemona loved him for the hardship, pain, and struggles he had to endure and that he, in return, loved her for showing pity. She did not pity the...

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The green light at the end of Daisy's dock is symbolic, in many ways, of the American Dream.  It represents hope for the future, that if a person works hard enough and long enough, they can prosper and be happy.  Nick sees Gatsby reaching out toward the light at the end of the first chapter, and in the final lines of the novel, he calls the light "the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us.  It eluded us then, but that's no matter -- to-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther. . . . And one fine morning--."  We can, put simply, never actually reach the light.  No matter how hard we work or try or dream, we can never really reach that American Dream, and its elusiveness ought to make us pity Gatsby, and even Myrtle and George Wilson, as victims of its unattainability. In Chapter IV, having been reunited with Daisy after five years, Gatsby almost breaks a clock at Nick's house when Nick invites them both for tea at Gatsby's request. ...

A conflict is a struggle between opposing forces. Four major types of literary conflict appear in John Steinbeck's novella Of Mice and Men . These conflicts could be labeled person vs. fate, person vs. person, person vs. society and person vs. self. Person vs. fate is revealed in the book's title which comes from the Robert Burns' poem "To a Mouse." The poem suggests that fate often intervenes in the plans "of mice and men" and those plans go astray and are unrealized. In the book, George's, Lennie's and Candy's plan of buying their own "little piece of land" is shattered by fate when Lennie accidentally kills Curley's wife. In fact, Steinbeck imposes a rigid determinism on the character's of the book and none of them are able to break free of their individual fates. The major person vs. person conflict appears in Chapter Three when Lennie, who has been innocently smiling over the dream of the farm, is challenged and attacke...

Depending on how one reads the story "The Swimmer," there could be several reasons why in his cross-suburbia swim Neddy speaks only with women, never with men. If one reads it with the ending in mind and assumes that the swimmer is really Neddy in the days when he has lost his home, his wife and children, and his social and financial status, then perhaps he only speaks with women because women historically have been the ones to distribute charity in the community toward those who are down and out. Even though at least two of the women he speaks to are unkind to him, presumably their male counterparts would have had even less patience with the former neighbor and friend who has become an alcoholic and beggar.  If, on the other hand, one reads the story as Neddy's dream, Neddy may sense subconsciously that women will be more supportive and cooperative, or that women will be more likely to give his ego the strokes he is looking for. Women are less threatening to him than men...

Ken Kesey's novel  One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest tackles a great deal of sociopolitical issues, which is unsurprising given his personality and professional trajectory. One issue in particular that shapes many of the conflicts and relationships within the novel is racism.  In the ward, the men are sharply divided between white and black: the patients are white and the aides are black. The inherent power structure sharply contrasts the stereotypical power structures of 1960s America, in which black men rarely, if ever, held positions of power over white men. As a result, there is an inordinate amount of hatred and humiliation expressed by the white patients, who perceive their situation as exponentially worse because they are subordinate to black men. Kesey's commentary does little to objectively combat these issues, instead characterizing the black men as small-minded and amoral.  The sole exception to this racial divide is Chief, the narrator, who is half white, half Na...

The princess is passionate and semi-barbaric, but there is just as much reason for her to choose the lady as the tiger.   The princess made the mistake of choosing a lover that her father did not approve of. Like her father, the princess has a semi-barbaric side.  She is a very passionate person, and although she seems infatuated with her lover, she also seems mercurial.  This semi-barbaric king had a daughter as blooming as his most florid fancies, and with a soul as fervent and imperious as his own. As is usual in such cases, she was the apple of his eye, and was loved by him above all humanity.  Just how close is this princess with her lover?  She knows that her father has a bizarre system of justice where the accused is thrown into an arena and has to choose between two doors.  If he chooses the tiger, he is killed instantly.  If he chooses the lover, he will marry her.  That is the problem.  Although the princess is “well satisfied with her lover,” does she love him enough to save...

Physically, almost nothing is wrong with Holling Hoodhood's perfect house.  It's right in the middle of town, it has a perfectly manicured lawn, and everything is painted to perfection.  The furniture is neat and orderly as well.  Everything is set to look and feel like a powerful architect is in control of every aspect of his house.  And that's exactly how it is.  Mr. Hoodhood is obsessed with having his house reflect him and his business.  The  only  thing that is physically wrong with the house is mentioned about halfway through the book.  In February, the entire newly plastered ceiling fell down and smashed all of the furniture underneath it.   Emotionally though, Holling Hoodhood's perfect house is a mess.  It's a mess because it is a house, not a home . People live there, but the family doesn't act supportive or loving to each other.  Mr. Hoodhood doesn't care about Holling unless Holling might be able to help him get another contract.  Heather Hoodhoo...

An herbicide is defined as a chemical designed to kill off unwanted plants. These are used domestically to deal with scenarios ranging from the removal of pesky weeds around the house to more industrial agricultural uses. The most commonly used herbicide in the United States is a compound called Glyphosate. Glyphosate is a chemical that inhibits the production of certain amino acids, preventing a plant from being able to create proteins used in growth. It doesn't work as a pre-emergent (plant preventer), but is well-formulated for killing off already growing plants. The most common product that uses Glyphosate is Roundup which is used domestically and commercially. The product is made by Monsanto, a bio-chemical and agricultural research company that also holds patents for Roundup resistant crops, or crops that are unaffected by Glyphosate. This allows for the broad spraying of farms to destroy unwanted plants without damaging crops.  Glyphosate is under pretty intense scrutiny for...

Madame Loisel has a most successful evening, dancing the night away while her husband dozes in a corner. When it is time to go home, Monsieur Loisel gathers up some of her everyday things to cover her when they go outside, since it is cold.  She does not want anyone to see her in these clothes, since they are not as nice or as fancy as she would like, so she hurries out, and then the couple cannot find a taxi. Eventually, they find a humble carriage, which deposits them at home.  When Madame Loisel pauses to admire herself in front of the mirror, reliving her glorious evening, she realizes the necklace is missing.  They search everywhere in the house, and then Monsieur Loisel goes out to try to retrace their steps, but he comes home in failure.  Thus, Madame Loisel's actions, her haste, her unwillingness to live happily within her means, and her dishonesty set the stage for many years of hard work and grinding poverty.