All Questions
Tagged with nausicaa-of-the-valley-of-the-wind nausicaa-of-the-valley-of-the-wind or character-analysis
283 questions
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3
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In the Brothers Karamazov, did Dostoyevsky take those characters out of real life?
In the novel The Brothers Karamazov, did the writer take those characters out of real life? Or did he just build the characters with time?
- 49
3
votes
2
answers
437
views
In the novel "Of Mice and Men", was Lenny Small a fundamentally good person?
It is easy to see Lenny as an innocent who had simple longings, an unfortunate due to his disability but fundamentally a sympathetic character; however, it seems to me that while most of his violence ...
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2
votes
0
answers
873
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In The Great Gatsby, is Nick Carraway's name intentional?
Nick's surname sounds a lot like care-away, and I've seen a number of online sources that state that this Fitzgerald intended for this to be so. I find this hard to believe, considering that Nick isn'...
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2
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0
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175
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Freudian/psychoanalytical interpretation of the triangular relationship in Toradora!
The central theme in the Japanese light novel/manga Toradora! (とらドラ!) around which the entire story unfolds is the love triangle between the male protagonist Takasu Ryuji and his two girl friends, ...
- 1,436
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votes
1
answer
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Who are the main characters of "A Study in Emerald"?
Neil Gaiman calls his "A Study in Emerald"* a Lovecraft/Sherlock Holmes fanfiction. And indeed it is exactly that: it uses the narration and story structure pretty characteristic to one from ...
- 2,170
3
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1
answer
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Is Harry Potter a coming of age story?
When talking about the coming of age genre a friend of mine mentioned Harry Potter as an example. I found myself incapable of sharing this idea since not only I do not think that the core of the plot ...
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2
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967
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Why is the not-so-wicked Which called Faintly Macabre?
In Norton Juster's witty wacky fantasy The Phantom Tollbooth, during their stay in the Dictionopolis dungeon Milo and Tock meet a witch Which. She used to be in charge of selecting which words to use, ...
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How is Enoch's story relevant to the rest of Wise Blood?
I understand Enoch's character arc somewhat, some vague notion of missing human connection and having a more animal nature, and the parallel between putting on the gorilla costume and the Biblical ...
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2
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438
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Does Othello have impostor syndrome, or any other problem because his background is different?
Is there any implication in Shakespeare's text that Othello had impostor syndrome, or any feeling of inadequacy (in love, or another aspect of interpersonal relationships) because his background is ...
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3
votes
1
answer
193
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What did Miss Bentley see in "A Month By The Lake" by H. E. Bates?
In H. E. Bates' novella "A Month By The Lake", Miss Bentley and Miss Beaumont have to get changed in the same hut to go swimming (because most huts are occupied). Miss Bentley emerges ...
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3
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1
answer
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How powerful is Willems in the beginning of An Outcast of the Islands?
I'm first time reading a novel by Joseph Conrad; I was inspired and revered him since I saw Apocalypse Now. But as Mr.Joseph is regarded as a very skillful, detailful and prolific writer so I must ...
- 1,659
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0
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107
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Was Snow still following his morality in the Hunger Games series?
Related: Why does Tigris call Coriolanus Snow a "good person"?
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes contains the following:
Coriolanus felt disconnected from their "romantic notions"...
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vote
1
answer
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Does "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" present Coriolanus Snow as a narcissist?
Throughout the book, Snow is seen repeatedly trying to manipulate other characters, such as him appearing to fake friendship with Sejanus Plinth (and his unsuccessful attempt to manipulate Plinth for ...
3
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1
answer
287
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At what point did Leontes become jealous?
The Winter's Tale, one of Shakespeare's last plays, depicts the character of Leontes, King of Sicily, as someone who suddenly becomes jealous. Scholars and readers have often criticised the play ...
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4
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1
answer
856
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What is the exact social status of Alexei Vronsky?
Alexei Vronsky is first mentioned by Stepan Oblonsky, in Part One chapter XI. This is how he is presented there by Stiva (Pevear translation):
Vronsky is one of the sons of Count Kirill Ivanovich ...
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0
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283
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What does Mr World represent in the American Gods book?
The American Gods Wikia site claims that Mr World is a personification of globalisation. That definitely seems to be true in the TV series (see the creepiest rant ever made about salsa), but in the ...
- 77.1k
2
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1
answer
318
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In "A Midsummer Night's Dream", do opposites attract?
In Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream, do opposites attract? or do similars attract? What evidence is there either way?
I thought about how the characters are opposites in many ways, ...
anon
3
votes
1
answer
323
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Why are only some characters in Petrushevskaya's Hygiene given names?
HYGIENE, By Ludmilla Petrushevskaya, in There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried to Kill Her Neighbor’s Baby: Scary Fairy Tales, published this fall by
Penguin. Translated from the Russian by Keith Gessen ...
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0
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33
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To what degree is Charles Darnay’s decision to go to Paris at the end of Book the Second a noble or virtuous decision?
I am having trouble with this question from "A Tale of Two Cities." Just wondering if someone could help with this. If anyone could bring up quotes as well, that would be great!
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1
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Is Snoopy a telepath?
So throughout the comic strip Peanuts by Charles Schulz, Snoopy has been seen doing a fair number of ... shall we say unusual activities. These range from being a WWI Flying Ace, to his obsession with ...
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79
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Why does Carton feel so bad about himself?
Carton throughout A Tale of Two Cities is shown as a man who hates who he is, and wishes he could be someone different but cannot. I think one of the best quotes to represent this is in "Fellow of No ...
- 2,315
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1k
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Was Frederick Lawley based on a real figure in British India?
The fictional character of Frederick Lawley, a prominent British figure in colonial India, is the main object of R. K. Narayan's "Lawley Road" (a short story first published in 1956 in the eponymous ...
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Who is R. K. Narayan's "Talkative Man"?
While reading online R. K. Narayan's 1943 collection of short stories Malgudi Days, I've noticed the character of "the Talkative Man" appear several times so far in apparently unrelated stories.
In "...
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3
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315
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Portrayal of Henry Bolingbroke through different Shakespeare plays
King Henry IV of England, also known as Henry Bolingbroke, appears in three Shakespeare plays, with two of them being named after him. In Richard II, he can be seen as the main antagonist of the play, ...
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1
answer
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What attracted Howard Roark to Dominique in The Fountainhead?
I can understand why Dominique was ultimately attracted to him. He really was the "Superman" she wanted, although it took her almost the whole novel to realize it.
But Dominique disdained Roark for ...
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1
answer
815
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Who is Gugalanna?
In this question I originally used the name Gugalanna for the Heaven-Bull slain by Gilgamesh and Enkidu, following Wikipedia. After a query in comments, I edited the question since the name Gugalanna ...
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2
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0
answers
18
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Who is Brenner in The Secret Generations?
I just finished The Secret Generations, a British spy novel set around 1910 by John Gardner, and one character I am wondering about is Brenner.
It is clearly mentioned that this is a codename for ...
2
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0
answers
332
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Is Odysseus a hero in the Odyssey?
Is Odysseus a hero in the Odyssey? From what I’ve read, the answer seems to be a pretty clear yes. The definition of an Ancient Greek hero seemed to revolve around pure talent and ability to fight. ...
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108
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Common reoccurring themes in The Canterbury Tales?
I'm currently reading The Canterbury Tales for school and I'm struggling to find a common reoccurring theme for the tales. More specifically the Wife of Bath and Prioress tales. I thought about ...
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What does Athena’s statement to Zeus at the beginning of The Odyssey reveal?
I was told to analyze this passage in book 1 of The Odyssey, having read only books 1-4:
And sparkling-eyed Athena drove the matter home: “Father, son of Cronus, our high and mighty king, surely he ...
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Who is the mysterious stranger at the end of Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying"?
Faulkner's As I Lay Dying is, on the whole, a realistic novel which seeks to portray the misery of poverty in the deep south.
However, the ending very much took me by surprise. Anse, the father of ...
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2
answers
2k
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Why does Pennywise Kill Patrick Hockstetter?
In Stephen King's IT, we are introduced to some particularly evil characters such as Beverley's husband Tom Rogan, Henry Bowers, and most notably Patrick Hockstetter. King delves into this maniacal, ...
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3
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710
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How is “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck still relevant to readers of today?
I guess isolation and social exclusion of different groups is something of relevance. e.g.
Crooks: racism
Curley's wife: misogyny
Candy: ageism
Lennie: ableism
But I still can't think of any ...
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1
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Was the N.I.C.E. director modelled on H. G. Wells?
Wikipedia claims that the character of Horace Jules in C. S. Lewis's That Hideous Strength - ostensibly the Director and boss of the N.I.C.E. organisation, in reality a figurehead manipulated by those ...
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4
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1
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Why does the boy-next-door raise objections about the racist remarks that the others are making?
Why does the boy-next-door raise objections about the racist remarks that his yippie friends make in the introductory chapters? Bateman does it twice in quick succession as if to show the reader that ...
user7343
6
votes
1
answer
432
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Inconsistencies in the character of Horatio in Hamlet
In the Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet, Horatio is a friend and "fellow student" of the eponymous prince. A meticulous reading of the text will reveal certain apparent inconsistencies in the depiction ...
- 541
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2
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Why did the Witches give the prophecy in the first place?
The 3 Witches prophecied to Macbeth that he would be king, thus setting the play into motion. Why did they do that? Did they realize that they were basically giving a self-fulfilling prophecy, and ...
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0
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116
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How is the theme of innocence featured in the Turn of the Screw?
I noticed that in the novel The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, there is a theme of innocence. It's really shown through how the governess perceives Miles and Flora at first, but then as she ...
4
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1
answer
298
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In Penelope Fitzgerald’s short story The Prescription, significance of "Knowledge is good, but what is the use of knowledge without honesty?"
In Penelope Fitzgerald’s short story The Prescription (1982), Dr. Mehmet Bey almost kills his 14-year-old apprentice, Alecco, by forcing him to drink a poisoned prescription after discovering the boy ...
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17
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1
answer
920
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What is the significance of Sauron never having a physical presence in the Lord of the Rings?
So I noticed that in Lord of the Rings Sauron acts as a very interesting villain. He never makes a corporeal appearance, nor does he have any acting dialogue. He's mentioned plenty of times through ...
- 2,315
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0
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220
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Why does Liesel ignore Max at first in "The Book Thief"?
In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Liesel Meminger and Max Vandenburg have an interesting relationship: at first, Liesel ignores Max and is hesitant to to talk to him. Then, for some reason, the two ...
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What was Faust's purpose?
It seems like at the end of Goethe's Faust II, he has realized what he should do. Shortly before that, he kills humans on his quest to help humanity. So what exactly is his new purpose, except that he ...
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0
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Could Becky Sharp in "Vanity Fair" be considered a Byronic heroine?
I was recently rereading William Makepeace Thackeray's novel, Vanity Fair as it follows the lives of two distinct female characters, Becky Sharp and Emmy Sedley.
I also have read that Thackeray ...
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2
answers
2k
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Why does Sammy feel sorry in Updike's "A&P"?
In John Updike's short story A&P, the narrator Sammy has been ogling a group of customers at the A&P store:
In walks these three girls in nothing but bathing suits. I'm in the third check-...
- 41
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1
answer
666
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What makes Elizabeth Bennet "life-like" in "Pride and Prejudice"?
This is an essay prompt from my literature class:
"The women in Jane Austen's novels are more life-like than men". How far is this comment applicable to Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice?
What ...
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0
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67
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How has Okonkwo succeed in resisting the colonizer through word-play in "Things Fall Apart"?
In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo refuses to speak the language of the colonizer (the white man) , rather he uses his own language (Ibo) to deconstruct the language of the colonizer. So, how has Okonkwo ...
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Are the homoerotic hints in "La Reine Margot" intentional?
La Reine Margot by Alexandre Dumas can be read as the story of two guys, and their two girlfriends: the alpha couple is Marguerite de Valois (Margot), who's having a passionate affair with the ...
2
votes
1
answer
653
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Purple Hibiscus: The death of Eugene
How was Kambili affected by her father's death? I understand that she was the only one in the household who was able to love and see past the image of a violent father but she was also physically and ...
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Is there any evidence Mat Cauthon was inspired by Matthias Corvinus?
Matthias Corvinus, also known as the Raven King, was King of Hungary and Croatia for a while in the 1400s. He was a noted general, and extensively made use of Hussite mercenaries in his battles. He ...
user72
7
votes
1
answer
810
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How is Daisy Buchanan from "The Great Gatsby" a controversial character?
I have to gather a list of some controversial characters in English Literature. As a result, I came up with a small list. A few characters were suggested by my friends, but one I found a bit confusing....
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