What does Brian's fish spear look like in Hatchet?

Brian makes a two-pronged spear for fishing by whittling it out of willow wood.

When the small plane Brian is flying in crashes into the Canadian wilderness, Brian is on his own.  He realizes that one of the first things he is going to need to do is find some food.  He has nothing with him and almost no survival tools, except for a hatchet.

Brian decides to make himself a spear for fishing.  He...

Brian makes a two-pronged spear for fishing by whittling it out of willow wood.

When the small plane Brian is flying in crashes into the Canadian wilderness, Brian is on his own.  He realizes that one of the first things he is going to need to do is find some food.  He has nothing with him and almost no survival tools, except for a hatchet.

Brian decides to make himself a spear for fishing.  He has “no hooks or string” so a spear is the best he can do.

He would have to find the right kind of wood, slim and straight—he had seen some willows up along the lake that might work—and he could use the hatchet to sharpen it and shape it while he was sitting by the fire tonight. (Ch. 11)

Brian makes a staff out of the willow wood by peeling the bark off.  The result is a “straight staff about six feet long and just under an inch thick at the base, the thickest end.”  He uses the hatchet and a rock wall to refine the end of the spear “until the thick end tapered down to a needle point.”  He then refines the spear to be two-pronged, because he thinks it will be easier to catch a fish.

Unfortunately, the fish spear does not work as well as he thought.  Brian jabs at the water but he is always too slow.  He decides a bow and arrow will work better.  After much trial and error, Brian learns to aim low and is able to catch fish.

Brian's making of the tools recalls early man's attempts to solve problems.  He understands that if he does not succeed at something at first, he has to keep trying something new until he is successful.  Brian is persistent, but his survival depends on it.

What truth of human nature is presented in William Blake's poem "London"?

In "London," one of William Blake's "Songs of Experience," the depressing moral flaws of mankind are presented. The persona in the poem notes "marks of weakness" on every face. Given the qualities discussed in later stanzas, the weakness is likely moral, not physical, and therefore it leads to "marks of woe." The common note in the cries of men and babies, and in every voice and every proclamation is oppression--"mind-forg'd manacles." People are being victimized...

In "London," one of William Blake's "Songs of Experience," the depressing moral flaws of mankind are presented. The persona in the poem notes "marks of weakness" on every face. Given the qualities discussed in later stanzas, the weakness is likely moral, not physical, and therefore it leads to "marks of woe." The common note in the cries of men and babies, and in every voice and every proclamation is oppression--"mind-forg'd manacles." People are being victimized everywhere in the city. Even the Church, which should be a moral beacon, is darkened by the cruel poverty endured by the chimney sweeps because society is too selfish to provide a decent living for them. And the State, which could be a pillar of society, acts instead as a murderer of soldiers. Worst of all, the family unit is corrupted by immorality as a newborn baby is born blind because the father had contracted venereal disease and passed it on to his unknowing wife. Now their marriage is nothing more than a hearse to bear along their ruined relationship. This poem decries the moral darkness that plagues mankind and corrupts even the most central institutions of society.  

What devices does Poe use to create and heighten the suspense in the story? Is the outcome ever in doubt?

Poe builds suspense starting with the first paragraph, in which he has his narrator tell us he will get revenge on Fortunato but doesn't tell us how or why. How has Fortunato wronged him? What will he do to him?

Suspense builds as we enter the cold, damp vaults beneath a home where all the servants are gone for the night. It grows as we enter, with the characters, a smaller crypt, "lined with human...

Poe builds suspense starting with the first paragraph, in which he has his narrator tell us he will get revenge on Fortunato but doesn't tell us how or why. How has Fortunato wronged him? What will he do to him?

Suspense builds as we enter the cold, damp vaults beneath a home where all the servants are gone for the night. It grows as we enter, with the characters, a smaller crypt, "lined with human remains." We worry, for we know Fortunato is drunk, and now isolated from all help. The upside-down frame of the Carnival, a time when normal restraints are cast off, is a literary device which also adds to our sense of unease. 

The narrator chains Fortunato to a wall, but like the victim, we still don't know exactly what is going to happen: we are still in suspense. Then, rather than just telling us he has walled up Fortunato, he takes us through it step by step, as if in slow motion: "I laid the second tier, and the third, and the fourth; and then I heard the furious vibrations of the chain."

The narrator continues to drag out the work of the walling, while revealing that nobody can hear the screams of Fortunato. But will the narrator actually go through with his plan, or is his revenge simply to play a cruel joke? We are in gradually lessening suspense until the last brick is mortared in place. 

We never learn what Fortunato has done, if even anything, to warrant this fate. But by using the technique of carrying the reader step by step through the grisly scene, we are kept in suspense as to its final outcome.

There never is any doubt that the narrator will exact a cruel revenge. The suspense lies not in the "if" of the revenge but in the specifics of "how" it will occur. 

What is the theme of the poem "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time," by Robert Herrick?

The theme of "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time," is that young women should make the best of their beauty and passion while they are young because once they are past their prime, no one is going to want them.

In the first stanza, the speaker addresses "virgins" directly, imploring them to entertain many suitors in their youth because their beauty will inevitably fade as time goes on.  He uses "rose-buds" as a...

The theme of "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time," is that young women should make the best of their beauty and passion while they are young because once they are past their prime, no one is going to want them.

In the first stanza, the speaker addresses "virgins" directly, imploring them to entertain many suitors in their youth because their beauty will inevitably fade as time goes on.  He uses "rose-buds" as a metaphor for young lovers and a "flower" as a metaphor for the virgin herself.  Likewise, flowers are often associated with spring, and spring with youth.

In the second stanza, the metaphor of the day for a human life (sunrise = birth, noon = peak or prime, sunset = death) conveys the idea that, as the sun rises higher toward the apex of its path, we reach our prime and grow that much closer to our deaths.

In the third stanza, the speaker says, "That age is best which is the first, / When youth and blood are warmer."  In other words, youth is the best age because our blood is warm then: a way of saying that we are most passionate when we are young (think of the term "hot-blooded" to signify lustiness).

In the fourth and final stanza, he advises young women not to be standoffish but to use their time wisely and "go marry" (in essence, catch a husband now; this is also the thing that will make them "merry" -- a pun because they sound the same and both meanings work), because once they are past the age where they are most beautiful, there's a good chance that no one will want them.

In "To Build a Fire" by Jack London, what value assumptions about animals underlie the man's interactions with the dog? How does the story's plot...

There is the anthropocentric assumption that humans are more intelligent than all other animals, including dogs. Therefore, the reader would perhaps assume that the man knows best and that the dog is merely operating under its own simplistic instincts. The plot of this story proves this notion to be incorrect. The man is too proud. He recognizes this too late. The old-timer on Sulphur Creek had told him to take a companion with him but...

There is the anthropocentric assumption that humans are more intelligent than all other animals, including dogs. Therefore, the reader would perhaps assume that the man knows best and that the dog is merely operating under its own simplistic instincts. The plot of this story proves this notion to be incorrect. The man is too proud. He recognizes this too late. The old-timer on Sulphur Creek had told him to take a companion with him but the man refused. His pride overrides his supposed higher intelligence (relative to other animals) and he uses this pride to override his instinct as well. Meanwhile, the dog's instinct is correct: 

The animal was depressed by the tremendous cold. It knew that it was no time for traveling. Its instinct told it a truer tale than was told to the man by the man's judgment. 

When the man decides that his only chance for survival is to cut the dog open and warm his hands in the carcass, the story shows that the man has become the more savage creature. To be sure, he is out of options and is now acting on instinct and reason in order to survive. But note that, after the man has died, the dog doesn't feed on him or harm him in any way. The dog simply heads toward the camp. So, the assumption that this wolf-dog is more wild and therefore more savage than a man is overturned as well. 

Is it true that expository essays often embody an extended definition of a complex concept?

Expository essays explore a concept in depth.

An expository essay is a type of nonfiction writing used to discuss a topic in detail. This is the type of essay you might find in a scientific journal or written by an expert in a field.  An expository essay can be used to explain or expound upon a definition of a concept at length.

Expository writing describes, defines, explains, or explores a concept. When you read an...

Expository essays explore a concept in depth.

An expository essay is a type of nonfiction writing used to discuss a topic in detail. This is the type of essay you might find in a scientific journal or written by an expert in a field.  An expository essay can be used to explain or expound upon a definition of a concept at length.

Expository writing describes, defines, explains, or explores a concept. When you read an expository essay, you are reading an expert’s description of or understanding of an idea. You can also write an expository essay yourself if you know a lot about a concept or do research on an idea.

Expository writing comes in many forms. An expository essay usually includes some kind of argument that is then explained or defended with evidence. For example, if you were writing an expository essay on banned books, you could give examples of books that had been banned and then describe why they were banned and the effects of banning them.

Like most essays, expository essays begin with some kind of introduction. They also have a thesis, the statement that describes what the essay is proving. Then the thesis is supported with evidence. The evidence can take as many forms as there are types of expository essays. If you are writing about a personal experience, you might describe details of what happened to you. If you are writing a research paper or an argumentative essay, you might give evidence from experts on the subject.

To say that an expository essay is a definition might be a little narrow. Expository essays might define and then explain a concept. What all expository essays do is explore a concept in depth. This contrasts with a fictional piece of writing, which primarily tells a story rather than describes a real idea.

Provide a quote from Lord of the Flies showing how Jack puts fear into people or how people are afraid of Jack.

In chapter 5, after the meeting has broken up into chaos and Jack has led most of the boys down to the beach in a "random scatter," Ralph, Piggy, and Simon remain in the meeting place and discuss Ralph's leadership—or lack thereof. Both Simon and Piggy encourage Ralph to go on being chief. For Piggy's part, speaking of Jack, he says, "I'm scared of him... and that's why I know him... When you see him......

In chapter 5, after the meeting has broken up into chaos and Jack has led most of the boys down to the beach in a "random scatter," Ralph, Piggy, and Simon remain in the meeting place and discuss Ralph's leadership—or lack thereof. Both Simon and Piggy encourage Ralph to go on being chief. For Piggy's part, speaking of Jack, he says, "I'm scared of him... and that's why I know him... When you see him... it's like asthma an' you can't breathe." He goes on, telling Ralph, "He can't hurt you: but if you stand out of the way he'd hurt the next thing. And that's me." 

In chapter 8, Jack has become the chief of his own band and has killed a sow. Before the feast, as Piggy and Ralph are talking about why things have deteriorated so severely, this conversation and commentary show how fear of Jack is growing:

"I dunno, Ralph. I expect it's him."

"Jack?"

"Jack." A taboo was evolving around that word too.

In chapter 11, when Piggy, Ralph, and Samneric make plans to go to Jack at Castle Rock to demand Piggy's glasses back, Samneric say that they should all take spears "because we may need them." Piggy says he won't take a spear, but that he will simply take the conch and tell Jack Merridew what he wants. Sam or Eric warns him, "You'll get hurt." Ralph insists that they go as they are, without paint. Eric protests that the others, including Jack, will be painted. In response, "The others nodded. They understood only too well the liberation into savagery that the concealing paint brought." They are afraid of how Jack and the boys act when they are painted. Jack was the first one to paint himself, and he demanded that the others also wear paint.

After Samneric have been captured by Jack, Ralph manages to speak to them while they are on watch. They fearfully tell Ralph to leave. They explain that Roger is a terror. Then they add: "And the chief—they're both—" "—terrors—" They have actually been kidnapped by Jack and have been physically forced to comply with Jack's wishes, so they have reason to fear him.

These passages reveal how fear of Jack begins relatively early in the book and grows significantly by the final chapter.