Sophie's Spectacular Speculations

The Remains of the Day Prologue: Darlington Hall One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Part 1: Thoughts and Observations Characters Own Questions, Allusions and References, and some more Character Descriptions Reliable Raconteur? Allegory: Laughter On the Topic of Flashbacks and Imagined Insanity Part 2: ASDFGHJKL Part 3: LET’S GO FISHING!!!! Irony Cat on a Hot […]Read Post ›

Doolittle on Middle Class Morality and Wealth

What is Doolittle’s initial reason for visiting Wimpole St? Doolittle is initially very clear about his intentions: “DOOLITTLE [menacingly] I want my daughter: that’s what I want. See?”However, we soon learn that he has ulterior motives to visiting Wimpole St. and the wellbeing of his daughter is not one of them. What arguments does he use […]Read Post ›

Tension in A Raisin in the Sun

Walter and Ruth: Walter wants to invest in a liquor store, something Ruth disapproves of. She does not believe in the American Dream, and this is a source of conflict between the two. Beneatha and Asagai: Beneatha sees Asagai as a way to find her identity. He is from Nigeria and treats her like an “African Queen,” […]Read Post ›

Mrs Strang’s Diary Entry

Write a short diary entry from the perspective of one of the characters. Dear diary, Frank disappeared for a few hours today. He thinks he managed to keep it a secret, but I always see straight through his lies. He went to see the psychologist, I know it. He acts strange whenever I talk about Alan, […]Read Post ›

Reputation

Choose an important scene and explain how it develops a theme. Levene: John… (Pause.) Listen. I want to talk to you. Permit me to do this a second. I’m older than you. A man acquires a reputation. On the street. What he does when he’s up, what he does otherwise. [Act 1, Scene 1 (7)] The […]Read Post ›

Dialogue in Prose

Choose 10 lines from the play and write in prose filling in the blanks. Act 2, page 54. “I can’t negotiate,” he says, looking down at his shoes. The admission makes him blush; it’s embarrassing to admit to not being in control, especially in front of these macho-men. Roma explodes. “What does that mean?” he […]Read Post ›

Scenes & Symbols

Scene changes As Death of a Salesman is not divided into formal scenes, Miller uses different techniques to show a change of time and place. Light. By making the light fade on one character and rise on another, the audience understands that time, space, or both have changed. An example of this is in Act Two, when […]Read Post ›

Setting described in prose

The silence was deafening. The wind shook the trees in the distance but here, with the buildings looming overhead, not even a breath could be felt. It was as though the forces of nature had decided to give the abandoned yard a rest. Many years ago, it had been not been a yard but a football pitch. […]Read Post ›

The Who’s Who of the Loman Home

Willy Loman, the play’s titular salesman. He wears the mask of a successful man in order to hide his failures, even to himself. However, as the play progresses, Willy descends into insanity. He becomes unable to distinguish between past and present and these flashback impress upon him how unaccomplished he is in his professional life. Although his job […]Read Post ›

Historical Notes: Atwood’s Unsettling Dystopian Spectrum

What is the purpose of the historical notes in the novel? Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale is a work of speculative fiction that imagines a world in which a totalitarian regime has taken control of the eastern coast of the United States. A major feature of the new Republic of Gilead is the oppression of people, particularly of […]Read Post ›

Control in the Republic of Gilead

Salvaging can be seen as a method of control. Explain how it can be seen as a method of control, and what other methods are there and how are they portrayed. The Republic of Gilead is a totalitarian state that aims to control its citizens completely. To do so, it divides its citizens into different […]Read Post ›