Thursday, October 10, 2013

How do you include quotes, traits and summary in a character analysis of Bella from the novel Twilight?

A character analysis is not just a physical description; it uses text from a piece of literature in order present a complete picture of a character's personality and their role in the work. Since Bella Swan is the protagonist of Twilight, you will have a lot to work with.


I would suggest you first begin with a summary of Bella's character traits.  Make a list of the ones you feel are most prominent or influence the action most.  For instance, her clumsiness causes Edward to feel extremely protective.  She is also pretty brave...though some may argue that it is foolishness rather than courage.


Also consider how Bella changes throughout the course of the novel.  Does she grow up in any significant way, does she gain or lose any of her characteristics?  How is she different from the beginning of the book?


Once you have a list of three or four important personality traits, return to the novel and find lines of text which describe those traits.  Twilight is certainly long enough that you should have no problem finding lots of examples!

What emotion does Oberon show he is capable of? How does he show this?In Act III, Scene 2

In the second scene of Act II of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer's Night Dream," Oberon tells Puck,



But we are spirits of another sort:


I with the morning's love have oft made sport (II,ii,404-405)



Oberon is a mischievous fairy, but he only wishes to have fun.  When the mistaken identities occur, Oberon instructs Puck that they can hurry and "effect this business ere day"; that is, they can rectify the errors made by Puck in placing the nectar on the eyes of the wrong young man. 


That he is not malicious is evident when Oberon tells Puck to imitate Lysander to Demetrius and Demetrius to Lysander in order to tire them so that they will not be able to duel because they are both in love with Helena.  While Oberon may enjoy "What fools these mortals be!" as Puck declares, he does not want them to suffer bodily harm.  So he instructs Puck to exhaust the men and correct the errors when they fall asleep.  Likewise, Oberon has enjoyed his sport with Titania who has fallen in love with Bottom wearing the head of an ass, but he wishes to have her restored to her senses so he again can have his queen.


A fairy who delights in sporting with the foibles of both human and fairy, Oberon yet has a sense of fairness and even kindness, so he restores all situations to normal.  His sense of fair play is in contrast to that of the mortal who do not acquire such knowledge until the end of the play.

What does P.B.Shelly mean when he says that the moon is "wrapped in a gauzy veil" in his poem "The Moon?"

Literally speaking all that the poet means when he writes this line is that the moon is not very distinct or clear, at least not on this night.  You can see this when there are clouds in front of the moon.  Often in such cases the moon does not look like a solid round object but instead looks like it is wrapped in a veil.


More figuratively, I think that Shelley is saying that the moon looks mysterious and perhaps weak when he sees it.  This is in keeping with the overall mood of the poem.

In chapter 6 of The Great Gatsby describe the effect of rain on the plot

The weather in The Great Gatsby  is worthy of note as it echoes the emotional tone of the story. Gatsby and Daisy’s reunion begins in pouring rain suggesting an awkward and melancholy event; their love reawakens just as the sun begins to come out.  This happens in Chapter 5.


At the end of Chapter 6 Nick and Gatsby talk to each other. Gatsby tells Nick that he is worried that Daisy did not like the party; moreover he talks a lot about the past, especially about the moment when he kissed her for the first time and fell in love. Nick tells the reader of an evening Gatsby and Daisy spent together in their youth. The moment was so perfect and beautiful to Gatsby that he has spent all of his time trying to recreate that moment. It is this recreation that he believes will make him happy. In a novel which contains such images of heat, ashes and other images of inferno, rain also suggests an opportunity for regrowth and renewal. Rain washes clean, this echoes the imagery of grubbiness and corruption.


 At Gatsby’s  funeral, the rain represents more than just sadness. What is most significant about this rain is a quote one of the attendants or the minister at the funeral says: “Blessed are the dead that the rain falls on” (183). This is clearly an allusion to either the English poet Edward Thomas or the famous 17th Century English proverb, “Blessed are the dead that the rain rains on”

What does the scarlet letter mean to Pearl?

Since Pearl as at the very least a mischievous child, when her mother does not answer her in regards to its meaning, Pearl seems to enjoy making up meanings for it. Pearl also happens to be intelligent beyond her years, and so her guesses for what it could stand for are quite impressive.

For instance, one of Pearl's answers is that the letter means the same reason why the minister holds his hand over his heart. Since we know why Dimmesdale gets sicker and sicker, indeed, the letter means exactly what Pearl thought it did, though certainly in a figurative sense.

Dave Becker

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

What devices does Golding use to create suspense in Lord of the Flies?

Most pointedly, it has to be atmosphere.  Think about the night that Simon is killed.  Golding describes a group of boys with painted faces and bodies dancing around a fire while thunder crashes and bolts of lightning sporadically light up the sky.  As the boys get more and more worked up, they form rotating circles and being their chant.  As the storm gets closer and louder so, too, does their chant.  The louder the chant gets, the faster the circle spins.  Then just as the boys are worked into a frenzy, a littlun spots a "beast" struggling to get out of the jungle thickness, and, without warning, the mass descends upon Simon.

In the poem "The First Snow Fall" by James Lowell, how do we know what happened to the speaker?

The speaker's daughter has died, she must have died recently, and been very young.  We know because he describes the beauty of the snowfall and talks about "a little headstone" (line 18), our "first great sorrow"(line 27), and the fact that it is the first snowfall (title) that hides "the scar that renew(s) our woe" (line 32).  In the latter part of the poem the speaker is addressing another daughter, "our little Mabel" (line 21). It is her sister who has died and is now "folded close under deepening snow" (lines 38-9).

Discuss at least two characteristics of Romanticism in John Keat's poem "Ode toa Nightingale".

The poet in Ode To A Nightingale  is an escapist .He escapes through imagination .On his way the bower of the bliss wher the nightingale is ...