Tutor profile: Charles B.

Explain the what a thesis statement is, and it's role in an essay.

A thesis statement is basically the "main point" of an essay. It outlines the main argument of the paper, and can even outline sub-points that work together to support the main point. I.E: High Schools should use modern language adaptations of Shakespeare's work because there is no educational value in struggling to read 17th century English, Iambic Pentameter is completely unused in the modern world, and because Shakespeare's greatest contribution was his insight into the human condition, and older language obscures or outright blocks those insights for modern readers. This thesis provides an overarching point: That high schools should used modernized translations of Shakespeare. It also provides an analytical framework by telling the reader what points I'm going to cover in my attempt to convince them of my main point.

In John Steinbeck's, "The Chrysanthemums," what is the significance of the flowers?

In Steinbeck's, "The Chrysanthemums," the flowers represent Elisa Allen's wilting feminine youth. This is why, toward the end of the narrative, she becomes so upset when she finds them discarded by the side of the road. When she pots them as a gift for the traveling handyman, she expects that he will at the very least value the flowers the way she does. Instead, he is using flirting to woo Elisa into making a purchase, and to that end, accepts her gift. Their initial interaction has a flirtatious tone, but it's all hidden in subtext. It isn't quite enough to suggest that there was a real possibility of infidelity, but Elisa is definitely enjoying the attention. When she sees her gift, carelessly discarded, it signals to her the death of her femininity.

What is a metaphor, and why do writers use them?

Metaphors are best described as symbolical allegory. Basically, metaphors are phrases or sentences that compare two things based on a similar quality, without directly saying that the two are alike. For example,"Her eyes were an ocean," would be a decent metaphor to describe the blue color of someone's eyes.