Recently Active Questions
7,577 questions
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Who is Mr Epstein?
In book "Five little pigs", there is line Miss Williams says to M. Poirot in book 1, chapter This little pig had none
Possibly, So is one of Mr Epstein's statues, I believe
Whom is she ...
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What was Danglars' plan for imprisoning Dantès in "The Count of Monte Cristo"?
In The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, Danglars is jealous of his crewmate Dantès and denounces him to the magistrate Villefort as a Bonapartist. This leads to Villefort sending Dantès to ...
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Was his name really “Faustus” in “Clouds of Witness” by Dorothy L. Sayers?
In Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers, the Dowager Duchess of Denver makes the following remark:
“Well, dear, I thought so. What oft was thought and frequently much better expressed, as Pope says—...
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Where did Stephen King get the word "Shawshank" from?
I just watched "The Shawshank Redemption" for the first time. I was surprised that it took place in a U.S. prison because I had assumed for years based on my ignorance that "Shawshank" was derived ...
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Canon and classification of Shakespeare's plays
The First Folio of 1623 classifies Shakespeare's plays under three heads: Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies. Some modern editions of the complete works, such as the RSC's, retain this classification. ...
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Why is the Macbeth quote about "doth unfix my hair" so important?
I'm confused about what this quote means and why it's popular. Could someone explain it?
From Act 1 Scene 3:
Macbeth If good, why do I yield to that suggestion
whose horrid image doth unfix my hair
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Point of view in Nella Larsen's Passing
Most of Nella Larsen's Passing is narrated from the third person limited point of view of Irene Redfield. We see people and events as she sees them. Her thoughts and feelings are described, but not ...
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How does Passing make use of its epigraph from Countee Cullen's "Heritage"?
Nella Larsen's novel Passing (1929) uses as its epigraph the following quotation from Countee Cullen's celebrated poem "Heritage":
One three centuries removed
From the scenes his fathers ...
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In what ways is Rudolph Fisher the model for Dave Freeland?
One of the minor characters in Nella Larsen's Passing is a writer named Dave Freeland, whom the narrator describes as "the author of novels that revealed a man of perception and a devastating ...
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What does it mean by "if frappés were plant-based" in Holly?
In chapter 1 (October 17,2012) of Holly by Stephen King, Jorge Castro was kidnapped and put in a cage by his colleagues in the college. And Jorge was provided by Mrs. Harris with something called Ka’...
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How is 11:22 four minutes slow if it's actually 11:29?
In the first chapter of Around the World in 80 Days, Phileas Fogg meets Jean Passepartout, his new servant, and they introduce themselves. As part of this, Fogg asks Jean what time it is:
“...
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What does "B-I-T-sweetie" mean in Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes's play "The Mule-Bone"?
This question was originally asked in EL&U but after almost two years sitting in that Stack Exchange no one has been able to offer a definitive answer, although there are some interesting ...
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Was it a norm in 19th century Britain to call an uncle by his last name?
In the 1843 novel A Christmas Carol by British author Charles Dickens, Fred always calls his uncle by his last name: Uncle Scrooge.
He doesn't call him Uncle Ebenzer even once.
Was it a norm back then ...
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What was this dubious medical facility by the salt lakes?
When Herman and Olga were trying to straighten out the paperwork for the gas station, they realized they need to track down a director of an oil depot for some help with some paperwork. However, they ...
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Is "The Street of the Involved" available outside of Ukraine?
Looking at Women Looking at War by Victoria Amelina mentions a newly-published nonfiction book The Street of the Involved by Vira Kuryko, which
...told the story of ordinary Soviet people who lived ...
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