Please consider the following question from To Kill a Mockingbird:Scout says, "the full meaning of the night events hit [her] and she began...

She has seen her father at his best, at his moments of
greatest challenge. This is what the night in front of the mob was like, as it was when
Atticus was shooting the mad dog. These were moments of Atticus' life that she didn't
know would exist. Each one revealed parts of his character. She learns of Atticus'
humility and humbleness through these experiences. She also learns of his strengths. She
learns of how the town depends and relies on Atticus to protect and defend them
physically, emotionally and morally. Atticus is always the man who for the town stands
in between good and evil.

This time, she is realizing that
he has been the one to deal with defending Tom Robinson's trial, knowing that it was
ill-founded. She is realizing that no matter how hard Atticus works, it feels like
little achievement. This comes very clear when Tom is
shot.

Alexandra too realizes that Atticus can never do
enough for this town and it kills her to know that.

Please consider the following question from To Kill a Mockingbird:Scout says, "the full meaning of the night events hit [her] and she began...

She has seen her father at his best, at his moments of greatest challenge. This is what the night in front of the mob was like, as it was when Atticus was shooting the mad dog. These were moments of Atticus' life that she didn't know would exist. Each one revealed parts of his character. She learns of Atticus' humility and humbleness through these experiences. She also learns of his strengths. She learns of how the town depends and relies on Atticus to protect and defend them physically, emotionally and morally. Atticus is always the man who for the town stands in between good and evil.

This time, she is realizing that he has been the one to deal with defending Tom Robinson's trial, knowing that it was ill-founded. She is realizing that no matter how hard Atticus works, it feels like little achievement. This comes very clear when Tom is shot.

Alexandra too realizes that Atticus can never do enough for this town and it kills her to know that.

How do the men in Emily Grierson's life reinforce her actions?

Emily's family was evidently once wealthy and prosperous, as evidenced by Faulkner's description of the neighborhood in which the house is located. For whatever reason, Emily is now poor and due to her upbringing, she has no useful skills whatsoever to earn any reasonable income.

However, she comes from an era and region in which it would be improper for a lady of her social class to work. Colonel Sartoris knows she has no money for taxes so he manufactures a tale about the town actually owing money to the late Mr. Grierson, thereby cancelling her taxes. In this way, Colonel Sartoris enables her to cling to meaningless (and unfair) traditions with no consequences. She believes she is exempt from taxes because she is special. When new people are elected to run the town, they have to carry on this tradition because it would be improper to evict a quality person like Miss Emily from her home.

Judge Stevens and the aldermen allow her to get away with murder because it would be rude to confront her--a lady--about the horrific smell coming from her house. Finally, the druggist won't even stand up to her and effectively breaks the law by dispensing arsenic to her without her disclosing the intended use.

According to Douglass, what is the hypocrisy of the internal slave trade?from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass book

Douglass does not talk about this in his autobiography. 
Instead, he talks about it in the speech he gave in Rochester, New York on the Fourth of
July 1852.

In this speech, he says that the American view
of the internal slave trade is hypocritical because Americans think that it is in some
way different than the external slave trade.

He points out
that people say bringing new slaves from Africa is horrible and that the US spends a lot
of money preventing this trade.  But, he says, there's no difference between that and
selling slaves within the US.

So he says it's hypocritcal
to criticize one kind of slave trade and condone another.

According to Douglass, what is the hypocrisy of the internal slave trade?from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass book

Douglass does not talk about this in his autobiography.  Instead, he talks about it in the speech he gave in Rochester, New York on the Fourth of July 1852.

In this speech, he says that the American view of the internal slave trade is hypocritical because Americans think that it is in some way different than the external slave trade.

He points out that people say bringing new slaves from Africa is horrible and that the US spends a lot of money preventing this trade.  But, he says, there's no difference between that and selling slaves within the US.

So he says it's hypocritcal to criticize one kind of slave trade and condone another.

What does Miller mean in "The Crucible" when he says: "A Proctor is always marked for calumny"?

Here is the quote from Miller in the text of the play:

“In Proctor’s presence a fool felt his foolishness instantly–and a Proctor is always marked for calumny therefore.”

A calumny is a false statement made specifically for the reason of hurting someone's reputation.  Miller is trying to point out two things:  both the strength of Proctor's character and the susceptibility of the town to fear, envy and paranoia.  Proctor is a man who know his own mind.  He does not fear the attitudes of others and he refuses to do things just to "look good."  The best example of this is Proctor's refusal to attend church, not because he lacks faith, but because he recognizes the hypocrisy of Parris.  Therefore, because Proctor is so strong in his own beliefs, those around him quickly feel foolish for giving into social pressure and hysteria.  The natural result of these "fools" is to criticize and impune Proctor, in order to make Proctor look worse and for the speaker to look better. 

In other words, calumnies are the work of insecure bullies.

What are the two types of reflex actions?

Reflex actions are automatic or involuntary movement of
living organisms provoked by a sensory stimulus. For example, will if a person
accidentally touches a very hot object, he or she will jerk away without thinking about
what action to take. Reflex actions aer of two types - unconditioned reflexes and
conditioned reflexes. The unconditioned reflex are the reflexes that are part of the
basic bodily functions which are not dependent on individuals past experiences with a
particular type of stimulus. For example the pupil of our eyes automatically expand in
darkness and contract in light.

Conditioned reflexes, in
contrast are reflexes, which an individual learns from previous experiences with similar
stimulus. These reflexes work by individuals learning to associated the stimulus with
something else. For example, a dog may begin to salivate with smell of food because the
dog has learnt to associate the smell with the food.

What are the two types of reflex actions?

Reflex actions are automatic or involuntary movement of living organisms provoked by a sensory stimulus. For example, will if a person accidentally touches a very hot object, he or she will jerk away without thinking about what action to take. Reflex actions aer of two types - unconditioned reflexes and conditioned reflexes. The unconditioned reflex are the reflexes that are part of the basic bodily functions which are not dependent on individuals past experiences with a particular type of stimulus. For example the pupil of our eyes automatically expand in darkness and contract in light.

Conditioned reflexes, in contrast are reflexes, which an individual learns from previous experiences with similar stimulus. These reflexes work by individuals learning to associated the stimulus with something else. For example, a dog may begin to salivate with smell of food because the dog has learnt to associate the smell with the food.

What is the significance of the setting of "A Midsummer Night's Dream"?What major shifts in locale take place in the play, and why do they occur?

I think the setting of the play, Athens, is really important when you consider the changes that take place within the play between the action that occurs actually in Athens itself, and the action that happens out in the woods.

Athens represents order and education, government and civilization at its finest, and the play begins right in the middle of a dispute regarding Athenian law. If Hermia refuses to marry the man of her father's choosing, he has the right to put her to death. And Duke Theseus is willing to go along with this because it is the law of the land. So Athens represents not only order and law, but also the older generation's unbending desire to uphold said laws.

The woods outside of Athens, where the lovers escape and run wild while having love potion put on the wrong sets of eyes by Puck, represent disorder and chaos, as well as the youthful energy of the younger generation that has fallen into this pastoral setting.

I saw this play recently at our local college theater, and they had tall Greek pillars in the back of a very simplistic stage setting. When the action was happening in Athens, all the pillars were perfectly upright. However, during the scenes in the woods, one of the pillars was tilted about 45 degrees, to represent that things are a bit kooky and off-center in the woods among the fairies!

Check the link below for thematic information about the play!

In a dystopian film, which is better, truth, or happiness? In dystopian films like 1948, THX, Soylent Green, The Matrix, War of The Worlds, etc.,...

Unfortunately I didn't realise that I had to move this
question to a different group, so here is my answer
again!

Very interesting question! I think your proposed
thesis statement would be an excellent one if you look at a variety of dystopian films
and consider how this conflict is presented and resolved. Certainly from my point of
view the overwhelming verdict from dystopian films would be that truth is better than
happiness. Think of how unaware humans are presented, for example, in films
like The Matrix. It is clearly suggested that it is much better to
be aware and fighting for your life rather than ignorantly happy and not really living
life at all. In all dystopias, both film and novels, this seems to be the clear message
- yes, you can live a happy life, but the protagonists of these dystopian worlds
strongly suggest that in these world you are not actually "living" a "life" at all, as
that happiness is only achievable through the destruction of what we think of as "life"
in the first place.

In a dystopian film, which is better, truth, or happiness? In dystopian films like 1948, THX, Soylent Green, The Matrix, War of The Worlds, etc.,...

Unfortunately I didn't realise that I had to move this question to a different group, so here is my answer again!

Very interesting question! I think your proposed thesis statement would be an excellent one if you look at a variety of dystopian films and consider how this conflict is presented and resolved. Certainly from my point of view the overwhelming verdict from dystopian films would be that truth is better than happiness. Think of how unaware humans are presented, for example, in films like The Matrix. It is clearly suggested that it is much better to be aware and fighting for your life rather than ignorantly happy and not really living life at all. In all dystopias, both film and novels, this seems to be the clear message - yes, you can live a happy life, but the protagonists of these dystopian worlds strongly suggest that in these world you are not actually "living" a "life" at all, as that happiness is only achievable through the destruction of what we think of as "life" in the first place.

Is there any common pattern of behavior exhibited in Oedipus's encounters with Laios, Teiresias and Kreon? Justification for his anger with...

Oedipus is hotheaded and quick to anger.When he encounters Laios at the intersection of three roads, Oedipus believes that the king is trying to force him off the road so he retaliates violently, killing the king and all but one of his entourage. Teiresias offers information that Oedipus doesn't want to hear---he is the murderer that he seeks--so he is angry with the old man. Oedipus even accuses of the prophet of conspiracy with Kreon to overthrow him as king. Kreon is completely innocent of any such designs on the throne; he's been sent by Oedipus to the Oracle at Delphi for information about how to solve the plague in Thebes. Kreon even explains to Oedipus that he has no need to be king because he currently enjoys all the benefits of royalty without the responsibilities, yet Oedipus becomes paranoid and accuses him, too, of conspiracy. When Oedipus is confronted by anything he doesn't like, he is likely to respond with anger and even violence.

In "The Raven" how does the speaker try to comfort himself about the strange events in his study?getting at meaning

This poem begins with sorrow,
then moves into fright and
terror as the late night visitor freaks out the nearly
napping narrator. Think about that time between sleep and wakefulness when you aren't
exactly sure what's going on. When you hear a noise or see something, your mind stirs in
wonder about what just happened.

By about the seventh and
eighth stanzas, we begin to hear comforting language about
the events occuring in the house. He finds himself studying this bird that just sits
there. He notes it turned his "sad fancy into smiling." As he continued he uses words
like marvelled and blessed.

Finally, he combines comfort
with a pensive attitude in the verse:

readability="11">

But the raven still beguiling all my soul into
smiling, Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird and bust and door; Then
upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking, Fancy unto fancy, think what this
ominous bird of yore... meant in
croaking 'Nevermore.'

We can
tell he is in a comfy chair, just sitting and wondering what this bird meant by the
phrase he keeps uttering: nevermore. He seems to enjoy the wonder of pressing his mind
to come to a conclusion about this. There is indeed something wonderful in moving to the
answer, the journey toward the answer, but not the answer itself. This is the moment of
confusion it seems to me that he finds himself comfortable in.

In "The Raven" how does the speaker try to comfort himself about the strange events in his study?getting at meaning

This poem begins with sorrow, then moves into fright and terror as the late night visitor freaks out the nearly napping narrator. Think about that time between sleep and wakefulness when you aren't exactly sure what's going on. When you hear a noise or see something, your mind stirs in wonder about what just happened.

By about the seventh and eighth stanzas, we begin to hear comforting language about the events occuring in the house. He finds himself studying this bird that just sits there. He notes it turned his "sad fancy into smiling." As he continued he uses words like marvelled and blessed.

Finally, he combines comfort with a pensive attitude in the verse:

But the raven still beguiling all my soul into smiling, Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird and bust and door; Then upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking, Fancy unto fancy, think what this ominous bird of yore... meant in croaking 'Nevermore.'

We can tell he is in a comfy chair, just sitting and wondering what this bird meant by the phrase he keeps uttering: nevermore. He seems to enjoy the wonder of pressing his mind to come to a conclusion about this. There is indeed something wonderful in moving to the answer, the journey toward the answer, but not the answer itself. This is the moment of confusion it seems to me that he finds himself comfortable in.

I am curious about the poem "To His Coy Mistress" by Andrew Marvell. What is the argument made by the person to his lady?

The poem is divided into two sections with an obvious change of tone/mood in between.  In the first several lines, the speaker woos his "mistress" by telling her that if there were time enough, he would spend ages on each and every part of her...giving her the rapt attention she deserves since she is so wonderful.  The longest period of time would be spent on her heart which is the most beautiful part of her...he is appealing to her physical and emotional spirit.  Her coyness "would not be a crime"--would be tolerated until the "conversion of the Jews" to Christianity (which will never occur).

However, he argues that "Time's winged chariot" flies swiftly and near to them.  In other words, they don't have all the time in the world.  So, she needs to quit waiting so long to be his lover.  Now is the time, or the only creature to enjoy her "long-preserved virginity" will be the worms in the grave. Her beauty will fade, her honor and his lust will be dust.  So, he argues, let the time be now that we give the sun a run for its money...

This poem is an example of the carpe diem school of thought--act now while you're still young and beautiful.  Most of the poems written in this school of thought deal with the young man attempting to get the young woman to give in to him intimately.

What is some symbolism that is used throughout "Winter Dreams"?

Several symbols recur throughout Fitzgerald's fine story. The overwhelming symbol that runs throughout the story (beginning with the title) is that of seasons. Winter isn't just a time of literal physical cold; it is a time when Dexter feels "a feeling of profound melancholy." When the story ends, it is essentially winter forever, with the summertime dreams of love gone.

 

The land is another recurring symbol. Notice how Dexter moves freely across the land early in the story, but realizes at the story's end " The gates were closed." Freedom and access matter deeply to him, and they represent social and emotional realms.

Give a detailed 5 paragraph comparison of greasers and Socs in the novel, The Outsiders. Include specific examples from the novel. Plus answer...

You'll have to write the five paragraph essay yourself,
but I'll be happy to help you with your
questions.

THE
HEATER.  A heater is, of course, slang for a gun. We know
that Dally possesses one, and Pony and Johnny will return it to him after they return
home. It foreshadows Dally's own death, when he commits "suicide by cop" by waving an
unloaded gun at the police.

BEGINNING
& END.  The beginning of the story
starts with the line "When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of
the movie house..." The last chapter of the novel ends the same way. We find in the end
that the story we are reading is Pony's essay for his English
class.

LOYALTY.  (1) Johnny
uses his knife to save Pony from drowning by the Socs. (2) Johnny follows Pony into the
burning church; Dally follows later to save them. (3) Pony helps Dally during the
rumble, and then Dally helps to fight off a Soc who is beating
Pony.

LOSS.  (1) The Curtis
brothers, particularly Pony, mourn the loss of their parents, who were killed in an auto
accident. (2) The boys mourn the deaths of Johnny and Dally. (3) Cherry mourns the loss
of her boyfriend, Bob. (4) Soda misses his girlfriend, who has moved to
Florida.

Give a detailed 5 paragraph comparison of greasers and Socs in the novel, The Outsiders. Include specific examples from the novel. Plus answer...

You'll have to write the five paragraph essay yourself, but I'll be happy to help you with your questions.

THE HEATER.  A heater is, of course, slang for a gun. We know that Dally possesses one, and Pony and Johnny will return it to him after they return home. It foreshadows Dally's own death, when he commits "suicide by cop" by waving an unloaded gun at the police.

BEGINNING & END.  The beginning of the story starts with the line "When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house..." The last chapter of the novel ends the same way. We find in the end that the story we are reading is Pony's essay for his English class.

LOYALTY.  (1) Johnny uses his knife to save Pony from drowning by the Socs. (2) Johnny follows Pony into the burning church; Dally follows later to save them. (3) Pony helps Dally during the rumble, and then Dally helps to fight off a Soc who is beating Pony.

LOSS.  (1) The Curtis brothers, particularly Pony, mourn the loss of their parents, who were killed in an auto accident. (2) The boys mourn the deaths of Johnny and Dally. (3) Cherry mourns the loss of her boyfriend, Bob. (4) Soda misses his girlfriend, who has moved to Florida.

Do the class-distinctions in The Kite Runner show elements of Marxism?

Marxism preaches the removal of all class systems, with only a neutral government to oversee collective labor. In The Kite Runner, the various class systems are a integral part of the Afghanistan culture, leading back thousands of years. Since their culture is overpowered by Russia, and so their own class system becomes subordinate, they can't be said to have Marxist leanings; besides, their class structure came about years before Marxism. However, the Russians of the time show Marxist tendencies, especially when they use their authority to abuse the Afghan people.

What is the 7-word summary for chapters 11-15 of To Kill a Mockingbird?

Well, I don't know if this is the
seven-word summary you're looking for, but here is one summary
statement of those five chapters:  Jem and Scout break through some
stereotypes.

Before this summer, Jem and Scout have been
fairly well insulated from some of the world's harsher realities.  They see different
classes and different races of people, but they have not really had to see some of the
ugliness that happens when people start acting on their prejudices and their
ignorances.  In each of these chapters, the kids learn some new reality about living in
this time and place.

Chapter 11 is a revelation to Jem,
especially, about stereotypes and courage.  He realizes Mrs. DuBose is not just a mean,
cranky old woman; instead he sees her courage as she weans herself from morphine even
though she has no need to do so.

Chapter 12 is eye-opening
for both kids, as they attend church with Calpurnia.  They've assumed all black people
are like Cal and can read; instead, their eyes are opened to the truth and the beauty of
"linin'."  They encounter a rude, low-class black woman, as well--a reminder that
boorish behavior is not specific to race.

Chapter 13 is
trouble for both kids, but primarily for Scout, as Aunt Alexandra has come to town with
the intention of turning her into a stereotypical  "lady."  For both of them, this is a
term associated with corsets and teas and being "proper."  Aunt Alexandra tries to
instill upon both kids the importance of 'family' and 'heritage,' but her efforts fall
flat.  Atticus finally tells them to ignore the whole thing--the concept of the
stereotypical family legacy, tradition, and heritage is not the only important thing
about who a person is.

Chapter 14 represents a change in
the relationship between the siblings.  Until now, Jem had been the stereotypical
defacto "boss of her."  In this chapter, Scout has come of age and now only has to obey
her older brother if he can make her do so.

In chapter 15,
Scout and Jem (and now Dill) are faced with the ignorance of blind prejudice.  They're
too naive to see what the gathering at the jail was really about, but Scout broke
through by treating this clan of Cumminghams as if they were neighbors and friends. 
This is the very attitude which diffuses the potentially violent
scene.

These are pivitol "coming of age" chapters for them
both as they are faced with diverse stereotypes, and it is much needed as they prepare
to face what's ahead of them in the days and weeks to come.

What is the 7-word summary for chapters 11-15 of To Kill a Mockingbird?

Well, I don't know if this is the seven-word summary you're looking for, but here is one summary statement of those five chapters:  Jem and Scout break through some stereotypes.

Before this summer, Jem and Scout have been fairly well insulated from some of the world's harsher realities.  They see different classes and different races of people, but they have not really had to see some of the ugliness that happens when people start acting on their prejudices and their ignorances.  In each of these chapters, the kids learn some new reality about living in this time and place.

Chapter 11 is a revelation to Jem, especially, about stereotypes and courage.  He realizes Mrs. DuBose is not just a mean, cranky old woman; instead he sees her courage as she weans herself from morphine even though she has no need to do so.

Chapter 12 is eye-opening for both kids, as they attend church with Calpurnia.  They've assumed all black people are like Cal and can read; instead, their eyes are opened to the truth and the beauty of "linin'."  They encounter a rude, low-class black woman, as well--a reminder that boorish behavior is not specific to race.

Chapter 13 is trouble for both kids, but primarily for Scout, as Aunt Alexandra has come to town with the intention of turning her into a stereotypical  "lady."  For both of them, this is a term associated with corsets and teas and being "proper."  Aunt Alexandra tries to instill upon both kids the importance of 'family' and 'heritage,' but her efforts fall flat.  Atticus finally tells them to ignore the whole thing--the concept of the stereotypical family legacy, tradition, and heritage is not the only important thing about who a person is.

Chapter 14 represents a change in the relationship between the siblings.  Until now, Jem had been the stereotypical defacto "boss of her."  In this chapter, Scout has come of age and now only has to obey her older brother if he can make her do so.

In chapter 15, Scout and Jem (and now Dill) are faced with the ignorance of blind prejudice.  They're too naive to see what the gathering at the jail was really about, but Scout broke through by treating this clan of Cumminghams as if they were neighbors and friends.  This is the very attitude which diffuses the potentially violent scene.

These are pivitol "coming of age" chapters for them both as they are faced with diverse stereotypes, and it is much needed as they prepare to face what's ahead of them in the days and weeks to come.

In Great Gatsby, what does the meeting between Tom and Gatsby reveal about them? How did Gatsby measure the success of his party?Chapter 6

Tom and Gatsby meet when Tom and two friends drop in at Gatsby's house on horseback to get a drink.  Gatsby greets them cordially, even though they are not interested in his company; refreshment "was all they came for".  Gatsby is at first flustered, recognizing Tom as Daisy's husband, and Tom doesn't remember meeting him before.  When Gatsby recovers from his surprise, he becomes bold, telling Tom "I know your wife".  One of the group invites Gatsby to join them for supper, but it is obvious Tom and the other visitor don't want him to accept.  Gatsby, oblivious to their animosity, prepares to go with them.

In this meeting, Tom is revealed as self-centered and rude. He has stopped by only because he wants a drink, and when Gatsby accepts the invitation to come along, he says, "My God, I believe the man's coming...doesn't he know she doesn't want him?"  Gatsby, not understanding that he is not wanted, is revealed as naive.  His singleminded and unrealistic obsession with Daisy also comes to light, as he "almost aggressively" begins the process of initiating his case with her husband.

Later, Gatsby considers his party a failure, because of Daisy's reaction.  His expectations are wildly unrealistic, however.  He "wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say 'I never loved you'" so that she could pick up with Gatsby again where they left off five years ago.

How long did Gatsby wait for Daisy?in terms of years

In the book, Nick Carraway puts together that the last time Gatsby saw Daisy was five years before.  In that time, Gatsby spent his life learning how to amass money, purchasing his huge home across the bay from Daisy's, and thinking of ways to impress her so that she would leave Tom Buchanan, her present husband and run away with him, Jay Gatsby.  Of course, when Daisy learns how the wealth was amassed, she can not allow herself to love Gatsby...his money is dirty and although she doesn't love Tom like she loves Gatsby, at least Tom has earned his money in a clean, honest occupation.

What happened to Syme? How is his fate connected to the secret O'Brien reveals to Winston and Julia?

Syme was eliminated by the party because he was
intelligent. The author says,

readability="10">

“One of these days, thought Winston with deep
conviction, Syme will be vaporized. He is too intelligent, he sees too clearly and
plainly. The party does not like such people. One day he will
disappear…”

After a while,
Syme went missing and Winston was sure that Syme had been vaporized because not only did
he fail to show up at work, but his name was also missing in the chess committee list of
which he was part. After O’Brien cunningly affirms the belief of Winston and Julia in
the brotherhood and its founder, the two pledge their allegiance to the Brotherhood and
state that they would go to any length to advance the course of the Brotherhood in
fighting the Party, even commit murder and suicide. O’Brien, who was an inner party
member, cautioned them that if the Thought Police found them out the Brotherhood would
not intervene and they would have to face the inevitable consequence. In the end after
their release from the Ministry of Love, Winston awaits the bullet that will extinguish
him.

What happened to Syme? How is his fate connected to the secret O'Brien reveals to Winston and Julia?

Syme was eliminated by the party because he was intelligent. The author says,

“One of these days, thought Winston with deep conviction, Syme will be vaporized. He is too intelligent, he sees too clearly and plainly. The party does not like such people. One day he will disappear…”

After a while, Syme went missing and Winston was sure that Syme had been vaporized because not only did he fail to show up at work, but his name was also missing in the chess committee list of which he was part. After O’Brien cunningly affirms the belief of Winston and Julia in the brotherhood and its founder, the two pledge their allegiance to the Brotherhood and state that they would go to any length to advance the course of the Brotherhood in fighting the Party, even commit murder and suicide. O’Brien, who was an inner party member, cautioned them that if the Thought Police found them out the Brotherhood would not intervene and they would have to face the inevitable consequence. In the end after their release from the Ministry of Love, Winston awaits the bullet that will extinguish him.

What did Jem learn from his encounter with Mrs. Dubose in "To Kill a Mockingbird"?

From his encounter with Mrs. Dubose, Jem learns that there is more to people than just what they show on the surface.  He also learns the value of self-control.  Mrs. Dubose is rude and cantankerous, cruel to the children and openly and vehemently critical of Atticus's defense of Tom Robinson.  Jem hates her, and destroys her flowers in retaliation of her treatment of him and his family.  When Atticus punishes Jem by making him read to Mrs. Dubose every day for a given period of time, Jem must discipline himself, bite his tongue, and be civil to the old lady.  By learning to control his impulses and show kindness even though he may not necessarily feel it, Jem takes a giant step towards adulthood.  He also discovers that Mrs. Dubose is in reality a woman of extreme courage, and he comes to respect her determined strength.  Mrs. Dubose is battling morphine addiction, and facing the challenge with tremendous bravery and tenacious will power.  

How does observing another audience (Theseus, Hippolyta, lovers) help understand the relationship between audience and performers (rude...

When you observe a play, you may or may not understand how
well the characters know one another through the script alone. When they listen or
comment (unbenownst to the other performers), you might learn subtle insights into the
true feelings of certain characters as opposed to the feelings they express openly to
the same characters. If there is an undertone of strife or hypocrisy, you can gain
understanding through the reactions of characters who are listening in on other
characters.

I am not certain if this answers the question
you intended. Hope it helps!

How does observing another audience (Theseus, Hippolyta, lovers) help understand the relationship between audience and performers (rude...

When you observe a play, you may or may not understand how well the characters know one another through the script alone. When they listen or comment (unbenownst to the other performers), you might learn subtle insights into the true feelings of certain characters as opposed to the feelings they express openly to the same characters. If there is an undertone of strife or hypocrisy, you can gain understanding through the reactions of characters who are listening in on other characters.

I am not certain if this answers the question you intended. Hope it helps!

How does Shakespeare's use of blood imagery in "Macbeth" enhance the depiction of atmosphere, character, and theme?

Shakespeare's use of blood imagery  is a representation of the overwhelming guilt that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth feel after the murders.  Like the use of weather to enhance the drama of the presence of evil in the early part of the play.  The blood is a constant reminder of the wrongful acts that have been committed. The actions are so vile that they imprint Macbeth and Lady Macbeth with a new identity. They are vicious murders who are now being consumed by their guilt and being dragged into madness.

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth experience total isolation from everything that makes us human.  Their existence is dominated by the forces of darkness they have unleashed. 

Evil, once unleashed tarnishes everything in nature, therefore, a greater act of good is needed to put order back  into the physical world. This act of good comes in the form of Malcolm who claims the throne of Scotland and the death of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Thereby closing the circle of evil they opened with the surrender of their lives and the temporary gain they received by placing their trust in evil forces.  

Once again, Shakespeare challenges us to recognize that if one accepts the invitation of evil, the cost that is paid will be much higher than the reward.

In Chapter 7, find evidence that Jem is beginning to understand more than Scout about Boo. If so where and how do you see Jem understanding?

Early in the chapter, Jem reveals to Scout why he was so shaken by finding his pants crudely mended at the end ch. 6 this:  "'Like somebody was readin' my mind . . . like somebody could tell what I was gonna do.  Can't anybody tell what I'm gonna do lest they know me, can they, Scout'" (58)?  Jem is realizing that while they have been trying to sneak peaks at Boo, he really has been watching them all the time.

This interaction continues in ch. 7 with Jem and Scout finding presents in the tree.  Jem and Scout discuss what to do with their findings.  Jem asserts that they should write a letter and leave it in the tree to thank whoever is leaving the presents.  Then he recalls that a similar plan was how he lost his pants in the previous chapter.  He seems to realize this and stops the idea immediately, which only confuses Scout.  This passage shows us that Jem realizes it is Boo leaving the gifts.  Scout observes, "He had been on the verge of telling me something all evening; his face would brighten and then he would lean toward me, then he would change his mind" (61).  Jem seems to want to tell Scout that it is most likely Boo leaving the presents.

Jem's suspicions are confirmed when Mr. Radley seals the hole with cement.  Jem ends the chapter much like the previous one, alone and in tears.  It is clear that he realizes Mr. Radley is trying to put an end to the innocent communication between the kids and Boo. 

Why were women not allowed to act in Shakespeare's plays back in the Elizabethan Era?why were the women roles played by boys?

Players and playwrights were not considered the optimum careers in this time period.  In fact, most of the playwrights and actors had full time jobs doing something else...writing wasn't even considered a career, and writers were sneered at as wasting time.

Because of this, actors were people of usually low social status.  True, the good ones performed for many upper class members of society, including the Kings and  Queens of England as well as other countries.  However, women were not allowed to act as a matter of law--it was illegal.  Actors in Elizabethan England are probably best compared to porn stars today--many are popular and "fun" to watch, but no one would want to bring these stars home to meet momma. 

Boys, therefore, were the best substitute for playing female parts.  Boys were used because their voices had not yet turned due to puberty and as they moved toward maturity, they could gargle with lemon juice to produce the more feminine voice of girls and women.  Older women were played by men who had to shave in order to hide their true gender.

In "Fahrenheit 451," how did Beatty describe the decline of civilization that led to the public's taste for mediocrity in the media?

Beatty's clearest explanation for the decline of civilization came in the Hearth and the Salamander when he says of houses in comparison to people, "If you don't want a house built, hide the nails and wood."

Beatty had just explained to Montag that the world was becoming too impassioned about politics and literature. People were offended by everything. The society decided to take everything offensive and emotional away from the society so that no one would be upset. It became the ultimate politically correct society.

He is talking of society and how the leaders of this society decided just to make people happy and give them illusion of knowledge without truly giving them any of it, happiness or knowledge. Everyone will be mediocre, but no one will realize there is anything more than that because everyone will be pumped full of nonsense that excites the senses and dull emotions. The reason this society has chosen this path is so that everyone is even keel, no one thinks, and therefore no one is unhappy- they aren't happy either, but at least they are satisfied. People are easier to control this way, which is why literature, which is expressive, is illegal.

How can I become a good salesman? acyually i am working for a islamic bank in consumer banking in credir cards so send me some tips so that i can...

Being a good salesman is a very valuable skill in life, not only for for sales persons, but for every individual.

For acquiring such a valuable skill, it is necessary and worthwhile to put in substantial amount of work. This includes acquiring the knowledge about methods of effective selling, and practicing to develop skills in those methods.

All the knowledge about good selling methods you will need is too vast to be given here. It is best to read a few good books on salesmanship. I do not wish to recommend any particular book. There are thousands of books available on this subject. Choose some books like from the the ones you have easy access. Only caution here is that it is best to avoid the kind of books that promise to make you an expert salesman in just three days.

In addition to books, if you can find some experienced sales persons to guide you nothing like it.

Also you must constantly strive to improve yourself and practice to acquire skill necessary for your job.

Just to get you started on the right track I am giving below some of my thoughts on salesmanship.

1. Salesmanship is all about helping the customer to see how your product will help him to meet his needs. It is not about fooling your customer into buying your product whether or not customer will benefit from it.


2. Salesmanship is as much about listening to and understanding the customer as it is about talking to customer. You need to understand the needs and situation to be able to see how your product will be useful, and hoe you can convince the customer about it.


3. A salesman also need to be well informed about many other things like his product, his company, competitors and their products, what is happening in the market place and so on.


4. A good salesman sells benefits to the customer and not just the product. This means emphasizing on how the product will benefit the customer, rather than on physical features of the product.


5. Finally a salesperson is a link between the customer and the company. He must protect the interest of both.

What trick did the Cid play on the Jews? Why did the Infantes of Carreon marry the Cid's daughters? Why did the two Infantes treat the Cid's...

El Cid and his companion, Martin Antolinez, trick the money lenders by giving them two ornately carved chests filled with sand.  They let the money lenders believe that there is something of value in the chests and borrow 600 marks against the chests while making them agree not to open the chests for a year. 

The Infantes marry the the Cid's daughters because they believe that marriage to a daughters of a man who had risen so quickly in the king's favor would be advantagous to them.  Although the marriages began well, the Infantes were humiliated when they hide in terror after the escape of the Cid's lion.  After the Cid recaptures the lion the Infantes are mocked and taunted at court.  Even their subsequent bravery in battle did not repair their tarnished reputations.  They then plan to humiliate the Cid by beating his daughters and leaving them in the woods.  The daughters are found alive and recuperate, and the Cid takes revenge upon the Infantes.

What were Napoleon's foreign policies?Information needed for an essay. Thanks!

You mean besides conquering everything in sight?  Outside
of literally working to bring the whole of Europe under his rule, Napoleon generally
used any means he could, including his relatives, marriage to key royalty in other
countries, and threats to manage his neighbors and
allies.

One notable policy of Napoleons was the
re-institution of slavery in the French colonies and subsequently was defeated in Haiti
as his expeditionary force was unable to contend with an army of slaves.  This, some
speculate, led him to decide that trying to maintain some of these colonies was not
worth the expense and he then looked favorably upon the sale of the Louisiana Purchase
to the United States.

What were Napoleon's foreign policies?Information needed for an essay. Thanks!

You mean besides conquering everything in sight?  Outside of literally working to bring the whole of Europe under his rule, Napoleon generally used any means he could, including his relatives, marriage to key royalty in other countries, and threats to manage his neighbors and allies.

One notable policy of Napoleons was the re-institution of slavery in the French colonies and subsequently was defeated in Haiti as his expeditionary force was unable to contend with an army of slaves.  This, some speculate, led him to decide that trying to maintain some of these colonies was not worth the expense and he then looked favorably upon the sale of the Louisiana Purchase to the United States.

In relationship to "The Crucible", what did Senator Joseph McCarthy have to do with the Red Scare of the 1950s?

McCarthy led the accusations that swept through hollywood and gave rise to mass hysteria, fearing communist infiltration in films, tv shows, commercials, etc. This fear of communist infiltration was known as the Red Scare.  Those accused included Arthur Miller (who wrote a play, The Crucible, as a commentary on what was happening at that time), Walt Disney, and Lucille Ball.   McCarthy's accusations led to the accused having to go before the HUAC (House of Unamerican Activities Committee) and either confess and provide the names of other communists, or not confess and risk imprisonment, fines, blacklisting (meaning you could not be employed in any aspect of show business), etc.  There was no way to deny an accusation and the only way to go free was to provide names, which many did including Walt Disney.  Hundreds of actors, producers, directors, writers, etc., were accused, many of which lost their careers and/or suffered irreparable damage to their lives.

In The Merchant of Venice, what reason does Shylock give for wanting the pound of Antonio's flesh?

Revenge, hate, pure and simple. He says this when they offer him three times the money and he refuses it.
(Act IV Part 1 Line 60-61) "So can I give no reason, nor will I not, more than a lodged hate and a certain loathing" In other words, what reason do I need to hate him?
~

Tell me if this was sufficient

What are Travis' character traits?

The first and most remarkable character trait of Travis is
his trustworthiness.  His father feels comfortable leaving him in charge of the work of
the farm and the homestead, and Travis succeeds admirably in being able to take care of
everything entrusted to him.

Another might be his quick
ability to adapt according to the situation, sometimes for good sometimes not.  If you
look at his reaction to Old Yeller's death, he is at first unwilling to bond with a new
animal, unwilling to form that attachment only to have it broken again.  But he is also
willing to listen to his father and to try to "participate in life" rather than simply
observing it.

One other trait you could point to is his
willingness to work hard.  You might just contend that it was a necessity for boys at
the time, but Travis appears to be particularly willing to put incredible efforts into
his work and takes great pride in it.

What are Travis' character traits?

The first and most remarkable character trait of Travis is his trustworthiness.  His father feels comfortable leaving him in charge of the work of the farm and the homestead, and Travis succeeds admirably in being able to take care of everything entrusted to him.

Another might be his quick ability to adapt according to the situation, sometimes for good sometimes not.  If you look at his reaction to Old Yeller's death, he is at first unwilling to bond with a new animal, unwilling to form that attachment only to have it broken again.  But he is also willing to listen to his father and to try to "participate in life" rather than simply observing it.

One other trait you could point to is his willingness to work hard.  You might just contend that it was a necessity for boys at the time, but Travis appears to be particularly willing to put incredible efforts into his work and takes great pride in it.

Why is Act III, scene 4 so important in "Macbeth"?

Act III, Scene IV, is important because it is Macbeth's high point as King.  Once he sees the ghost, his image as king is changed, tarnished with questions of madness. 

"Then comes my fit again: I had else
been perfect;
Whole as the marble, founded as the rock,
As broad and general as the casing air:
But now I am cabin'd, cribb'd, confin'd, bound in
To saucy doubts and fears. But Banquo's safe?" (Act III, Scene IV)

"Can such things be
And overcome us likes a summer's cloud,
Without our special wonder? You make me
strange
Even to the disposition that I owe,
When now I think you can behold such sights,
And keep the natural! ruby of your cheeks,
When mine are blanch'd with fear." (Act III, Scene IV)

Macbeth begins to question his sanity, he can't believe his eyes, yet he cannot look away from Banquo's ghost.  In front of his dinner guests, he acts in an unstable, irrational manner, causing Lady Macbeth to make excuses for his behavior.  At this point, King Macbeth has lost some of the respect and admiration of his court. 

His subjects do not look at him the same way after this scene, it is a turning point for Macbeth. His manner and attitude becomes more tyrannical, he decides after this scene to consult the witches again, to seek their guidance.

Macbeth begins the slow descent into madness after this scene, losing his ability to control the future, something that he has killed to achieve. 

In The Red Badge of Courage, how had the young soldier, Henry Fleming, imagined war?

Before he leaves home, Henry as a very romantic idea about war. He envisions himself coming home as a hero and having all the girls admire him. His mother is more realistic saying,""'Yer jest one little feller amongst a hull lot of others, and yeh've got to keep quiet an' do what they tell yeh. I know how you are, Henry.'" However, she knows Henry must learn about war for himself. Henry never thought about how cold, dirty and sometimes tedious war can be, especially when his regiment is waiting in training camp. As he begins to think about his real situation, he begins to be afraid that he might run when actually called to fight.

What is unspoken between Herbert and Pip in their ironic discussion in Chapter 41 of "Great Expectations"?

The thing that remains unspoken between Herbert and Pip in their ironic discussion is that they both have a deep dislike for Pip's benefactor, the convict Abel Magwitch.  Pip says that Herbert

"had no occasion to say...that he had conceived an aversion for my patron, neither had I occasion to confess my own.  We interchanged that confidence without shaping a syllable".

Despite their feelings, Herbert and Pip are both basically good-hearted young men, and they speak of their dilemma in deciding how to deal with the convict delicately and with civility.  They actually do not know a lot about the specifics of Magwitch's past, but because of his reputation and demeanor they feel they may have reason to fear him.  Nevertheless, Pip understands that the convict is risking his life by returning to London on his behalf, and because of this, Pip feels a sense of responsibility towards him despite his revulsion.  Pip and Herbert devise a plan by which they will spirit Magwitch out of London, and once the man is safe, Pip will discreetly leave him and have nothing more to do with him (Chapter 41).

What were the different outcomes of European interactions with Africa, India and the Americas?European's had interaction with many countries such...

To me, the impact of Europeans on these areas were quite
different.  The Americas came out the worst, especially in North America.  Africa was
hurt badly by colonialism, but not as badly as the Americas.  India was relatively
unharmed (but only relatively).

India came out pretty well
because it was colonized by only a few Europeans with much of the work (even of
governing) being done by Indians.  So the Indians kept their country and much self
rule.

Africa was hurt badly by having so many people taken
as slaves (West Africa) or by having people subjugated (South
Africa).

North America's natives were essentially all
killed, which is why I say the impact on them was the worst.

What were the different outcomes of European interactions with Africa, India and the Americas?European's had interaction with many countries such...

To me, the impact of Europeans on these areas were quite different.  The Americas came out the worst, especially in North America.  Africa was hurt badly by colonialism, but not as badly as the Americas.  India was relatively unharmed (but only relatively).

India came out pretty well because it was colonized by only a few Europeans with much of the work (even of governing) being done by Indians.  So the Indians kept their country and much self rule.

Africa was hurt badly by having so many people taken as slaves (West Africa) or by having people subjugated (South Africa).

North America's natives were essentially all killed, which is why I say the impact on them was the worst.

What does Gatsby mean when he says Daisy's voice is "full of money"?

    On one level, Gatsby's comment reveals his crassness, the lack of culture behind his facade. To fully understand Gatsby's description of Daisy's voice we must look, in comparison, at how Nick describes Daisy's voice: "I looked back at my cousin, who began to ask me questions in her low, thrilling voice. It was the kind of voice that the ear follows up and down, as if each speech is an arrangement of notes that will never be played again" & "there was an excitement in her voice that men who had cared for her found difficult to forget: a singing compulsion, a whispered “Listen,” a promise that she had done gay, exciting things just a while since and that there were gay, exciting things hovering in the next hour". Both of these references highlight the intense sensitivity of Nick's eyes and ears. They also hint at a form of feeling towards Daisy, his cousin, that goes beyond the mere familial.

    Again, later in the first chapter Nick describes Daisy's voice as "glowing and singing", a synaesthetic description merging the impressions of both his eyes and his ears again.

    Only a few lines on, Nick again eulogises about Daisy's voice: "a stirring warmth flowed from her, as if her heart was trying to come out to you concealed in one of those breathless, thrilling words" - the stirring here is ambiguous, but the deep emotion perceived by Nick within her words (she is speaking about Nick at the time) suggests that he luxuriates in her attention, almost improperly.

    When Daisy and Gatsby are reunited, Nick's first impression is that her voice is "artificial" towards Gatsby, perhaps a manifestation of his jealousy now that her attention has been diverted. Only a few lines on from this Nick again damns her feelings towards Gatsby, and their bond, via his description of her voice - a voice that once glowed - as "her voice as matter-of-fact as it could ever be".

    Fascinatingly, Nick changes his tune once her perceives the change in Gatsby - and note the echo of words with Daisy's voice: "He literally glowed". After this impression, Nick alters his description of Daisy's voice from artificiality and triviality to a profound admiration once more: "[h]er throat, full of aching, grieving beauty, told only of her unexpected joy." Nick is clearly struck by their encounter and no longer belittles it. In fact, within a chapter Nick is back to his old, hyperbolic ways: "Daisy began to sing with the music in a husky, rhythmic whisper, bringing out a meaning in each word that it had never had before and would never have again...her voice broke up sweetly, following it, in a way contralto voices have, and each change tipped out a little of her warm human magic upon the air."

    On the one hand, Nick happily discusses the fact that Daisy's voice is an affectation, designed to lure men in, on the other he lets himself be lured and his various rich rhapsodies on her voice detail not only its power but also his power as a narrator. Her voice is, if we believe Nick, her most defining feature, and for Gatsby it is "full of money" because Daisy & money are one and the same. Gatsby has conflated his dream of wealth with his dream of Daisy, he chose her rather than the white steps leading to a more rarefied world. Yet her world is "artifical", suggesting any dream of wealth for a poor kid in 1920s America was as elusive, as undefinable, as a beautiful girl's voice.

Define the word coincidence. Discuss four coincidences that occur throughout the book

A coincidence simply defined is a chain of events that seem to appear by accident yet are somehow connected.There are quite a few of these events in Jane's life that add to the Gothic element in this work and serve to illustrate the idea of fate between Jane and Rochester. First of all, Jane meets Rochester, coincidentally, while she is out on a walk. His horse "slipped on the sheet of ice" (Chap. 12), and neither one of them knows that Jane is his new governess nor Rochester is her new boss. She helps Rochester to recover from the fall from his horse. Coincidentally, Jane cannot sleep on the night that she believes Grace Poole is attempting to harm Rochester. She rushes into his room to find "the very sheets [of his bed] kindling" (Chap. 15). Once more she rescues him; this time from burning alive while he slept. Next, coincidentally, on their wedding day, Mason, Rochester's first wife's brother, appears to "declare an impediment" (Chap. 26) to their marriage. Jane discovers Rochester is married to a madwoman.The biggest coincidence in their relationship occurs , however, when Jane hears  a cry, "Jane! Jane! Jane" (Chap.35). It is Rochester's voice from far away when Jane was nearly going to make the decision to accompany St. John. So, the purpose of these coincidences is to illustrate that Jane and Rochester are fated or meant to be together.

What is the setting of "The Open Window"?

Setting is the time and place in which a story occurs. Sometimes settings are directly stated, other times the reader infers the setting from clues in the story. In the story “The Open Window,” by Saki, the setting is not specifically described or stated. We know that it is in a country area because it is referred to early in the story as a “rural retreat.” We also know that it is on a “moor” which, according to The Free Dictionary (an online dictionary), is a “A broad area of open land, often high but poorly drained, with patches of heath and peat bogs.” We also know that people go hunting nearby, based on the story that the niece tells Framton Nuttel.

The fact that the house has large windows that can be opened and walked through tells the reader that the people who live there are probably pretty well-off. That’s not the kind of thing you’d see in a simpler house.

Although this isn’t a lot of information, it’s really all the reader needs. We can assume that the story is set in the period of the writer’s own life (1870-1916) since there is nothing in the story to indicate otherwise.

In act I of "The Crucible", why did Putnam oppose Proctor?

In Act 1 of "The Crucible", Miller introduces the problems between the characters of John Proctor and Thomas Putnam.  These problems foreshadow the problems that will occur shortly after this introduction. The problems that the two men have are based on land and the ownership of land.  The land problem will be the root of much of the conflict introduced into the play.  In Act 1, when Proctor goes to leave, he speaks of working on his land and retrieving firewood for his family. Thomas Putnam retorts by asking what land Proctor plans to take that wood from. Proctor states that it is from the land he just purchased whereas Putnam claims that he had no right to buy this land because the seller never owned it and therefore did not have the right to sell it.  Giles Corey then pipes in and says that Putnam's father was in the habit to drink too much and will his land away, land that was never his.  This prompts the fight between the two men.  Later, Putnam will have his daughter and wife accuse other women of witchery to try to claim their land after they are hanged.

Who was the first person to orbit Earth?please describe briefly

The first person to orbit the earth in a spacecraft was the Russian Cosmonaut YURI ALEXEYEVICH GAGARIN (9th March 1934 to 27th March 1968).

On 12th April 1961 he became the first human to be in space and the first to orbit planet earth. The name of the spacecraft was Vostok I. The spacecraft was launched on 12th April 1961 at 6.07 hrs. and it landed back on the earth on 12th April 1961 at 7.55 hrs. He orbited once around the earth in 1hr 48 mins. The spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and it landed in Engels close to the Saratov region.

Gagarin's 'call sign' during the mission was "Cedar."

Explain how Malcolm tests Macduff`s loyalty in the play "Macbeth".

Malcolm is suspicious of Macduff when he arrives in England because he is not sure if he has come as a spy for Macbeth.   When Macduff asks Malcolm to join him in an effort to rescue the ailing Scotland:

"Let us rather
Hold fast the mortal sword, and like good men
Bestride our down-fall'n birthdom; each new
morn" (Act IV, Scene III)

Malcolm replies:

"What I believe I'll wall,
What know believe, and what I can redress,
As I shall find the time to friend, I will.
What you have spoke. It may be so perchance.
This tyrant, whose sole name blisters our tongues,
Was once thought honest: you have lov'd him
well;
He hath not touch'd you yet. I am young; but
something
You may deserve of him through me, and wis-
dom
To offer up a weak, poor, innocent lamb
To appease an angry god." (Act IV, Scene III)

And the other reason he is not sure is because Macduff has left his wife and children back in Scotland.  A fact which gives Malcolm reason to believe that Macduff is secure with that situation. 

"Perchance even there where I did find
my doubts.
Why in that rawness left you wife and child—
Those precious motives, those strong knots of
love—
Without leave-taking? I pray you,
Let not my jealousies be your dishonours,
But mine own safeties: you may be rightly just,
Whatever I shall think." (Act IV, Scene III)

Malcolm questions Macduff's feelings for Macbeth and why he has left his wife and children in Scotland.

In A Tale of Two Cities, what does Mr. Lorry do in reaction to the doctor's condition in Book 2, chapter 18?

It is not what Mr. Lorry does but what he decides he must not do: He must not let anyone know about Dr. Manette's condition. Earlier in the day, he had noticed that Manette did not look well, but he didn't make much of it. When Manette goes off to his room, Mr. Lorry decides to let him rest while he visits Tellson. On his return, Mr. Lorry hears a knocking sound. Miss Pross tells him that the doctor doesn't know her and is making shoes. Lorry goes to Manette's room and, seeing his condition, decides he must keep it secret.

Two things at once impressed themselves on Mr. Lorry, as important above all others; the first, that this must be kept secret from Lucie; the second, that it must be kept secret from all who knew him. In conjunction with Miss Pross, he took immediate steps towards the latter precaution, by giving out that the Doctor was not well, and required a few days of complete rest. In aid of the kind deception to be practised on his daughter, Miss Pross was to write, describing his having been called away professionally, and referring to an imaginary letter of two or three hurried lines in his own hand, represented to have been addressed to her by the same post.

List at least five images or events from Odysseus's battle with the suitors.

In The Odyssey Book XXI there is the
following weapons imagery:

readability="15">

the bow and with the iron
axes

the quiver, with the many deadly
arrows

Telemachus girded on his sword, grasped
his spear...

four shields, eight spears, and
four brass helmets with horse-hair
plumes.

Then there's the
great animal imagery and metaphors for how the suitors
die:

As
eagle-beaked, crook-taloned vultures from the mountains swoop down on the
smaller birds that cower in flocks upon the ground, and kill them, for they
cannot either fight or fly, and lookers on enjoy the sport- even so did
Ulysses and his men fall upon the suitors and smite them on every side. They
made a horrible groaning as their brains were being battered in,
and the ground seethed with their blood.

And this
choice nugget:

readability="9">

he found them all lying in the dust and weltering
in their blood. They were like
fishes which fishermen have netted out of the sea, and
thrown upon the beach to lie gasping for water till the heat of the sun
makes an end of them. Even so were the suitors lying all huddled up one
against the
other.

And then there's this
one:

the
corpses bespattered with blood and filth like a lion that has
just been devouring an ox, and his
breast and both his cheeks are all bloody, so that he is a fearful sight; even
so was Ulysses besmirched from head to foot with gore. When she saw all the
corpses and such a quantity of blood, she was beginning to cry out for
joy

Taken together, Homer's
imagery here is bloody, vengeful, and anthropomorphic.  Ordained by the gods, Odysseus'
revenge re-establishes him and Telemachus to their King and Prince statuses and reduces
the suitors to animals helplessly awaiting slaughter.  Not only is this one of Odysseus'
more cunning tricks, but it echoes the theme of guest-host relations.  Just as Odysseus
and him men were invasive guests with the Cyclops and the Cicones, so too are the
suitors punished for their arrogance.

List at least five images or events from Odysseus's battle with the suitors.

In The Odyssey Book XXI there is the following weapons imagery:

the bow and with the iron axes

the quiver, with the many deadly arrows

Telemachus girded on his sword, grasped his spear...

four shields, eight spears, and four brass helmets with horse-hair plumes.

Then there's the great animal imagery and metaphors for how the suitors die:

As eagle-beaked, crook-taloned vultures from the mountains swoop down on the smaller birds that cower in flocks upon the ground, and kill them, for they cannot either fight or fly, and lookers on enjoy the sport- even so did Ulysses and his men fall upon the suitors and smite them on every side. They made a horrible groaning as their brains were being battered in, and the ground seethed with their blood.

And this choice nugget:

he found them all lying in the dust and weltering in their blood. They were like fishes which fishermen have netted out of the sea, and thrown upon the beach to lie gasping for water till the heat of the sun makes an end of them. Even so were the suitors lying all huddled up one against the other.

And then there's this one:

the corpses bespattered with blood and filth like a lion that has just been devouring an ox, and his breast and both his cheeks are all bloody, so that he is a fearful sight; even so was Ulysses besmirched from head to foot with gore. When she saw all the corpses and such a quantity of blood, she was beginning to cry out for joy

Taken together, Homer's imagery here is bloody, vengeful, and anthropomorphic.  Ordained by the gods, Odysseus' revenge re-establishes him and Telemachus to their King and Prince statuses and reduces the suitors to animals helplessly awaiting slaughter.  Not only is this one of Odysseus' more cunning tricks, but it echoes the theme of guest-host relations.  Just as Odysseus and him men were invasive guests with the Cyclops and the Cicones, so too are the suitors punished for their arrogance.

To what extend does suffering lead to insight for the characters in Hamlet? Claudius Hamlet Ophelia Laertes GertudeRephrased questions: To...

The big gun of insight gained in Shakespeare's
Hamlet is, of course, Hamlet.

His
father's death and mother's hasty remarriage lead him to melancholy and depression, and
a sense that existence is not inherently meaningful.  The revelation by the Ghost that
King Hamlet was assassinated by Claudius leads him to rage, but also to the weighing of
evidence against Claudius, and to the thought that evil can disguise itself in order to
do us harm.    The speech by the 1 Player leads him to despair, when he compares his
inaction to the player's appearance of great emotion, but also leads him to a concrete
plan whereby he can determine Claudius's guilt with certainty.  The discovery of
Yorick's skull leads him to long for the past, but also to once again contemplate
existence.  The death of Ophelia leads him to proclaim his love for her for the first
time in the play. 

Hamlet is a thinker, and suffering leads
him to thinking.  He particularly is led to the contemplation of existence.  And what is
his specific insight concerning existence?  That existence isn't worth the trouble,
except for the fact that we don't know what lies on the other side of death; that, great
or small (figuratively speaking), we all end up rotting in the grave, eaten by
worms.     

To what extend does suffering lead to insight for the characters in Hamlet? Claudius Hamlet Ophelia Laertes GertudeRephrased questions: To...

The big gun of insight gained in Shakespeare's Hamlet is, of course, Hamlet.

His father's death and mother's hasty remarriage lead him to melancholy and depression, and a sense that existence is not inherently meaningful.  The revelation by the Ghost that King Hamlet was assassinated by Claudius leads him to rage, but also to the weighing of evidence against Claudius, and to the thought that evil can disguise itself in order to do us harm.    The speech by the 1 Player leads him to despair, when he compares his inaction to the player's appearance of great emotion, but also leads him to a concrete plan whereby he can determine Claudius's guilt with certainty.  The discovery of Yorick's skull leads him to long for the past, but also to once again contemplate existence.  The death of Ophelia leads him to proclaim his love for her for the first time in the play. 

Hamlet is a thinker, and suffering leads him to thinking.  He particularly is led to the contemplation of existence.  And what is his specific insight concerning existence?  That existence isn't worth the trouble, except for the fact that we don't know what lies on the other side of death; that, great or small (figuratively speaking), we all end up rotting in the grave, eaten by worms.     

What characteristics do the underdogs have in common? Candy, Curley's wife, and Crooks?Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

In John Steinbeck's novella, Of Mice and
Men, the characters Candy, Curley's wife, and Crooks are all social pariahs,
isolated by some shortcoming.  For old Candy it is age and disability, for Crooks, it is
his race, and for Curley's wife, it is her gender and social
status.

Having been injured, Candy is unable to work
outside the bunkhouse.  Like the old dog that he owns, he stays in one spot and sweeps
and straightens it.  Crooks, too, stays at night alone in the barn with the mules,
having no human company.  And, Curley's wife is isolated, too, as their are no women
with whom she could socialize.  As a consequence, she wishes to talk with the men, but
they reject her as dangerous since she is married to the son of the ranch's
owner. 

Each character voices his/her anxiety. Crooks tells
Candy and Lennie,

readability="7">

A guy needs somebody--to be near him....Aguy goes
nuts if he ain't got nobody.  Don't make no difference who the guy is,  long's he's with
you.

 Candy worries that the
ranch owner will get rid of him when he is no longer useful. He remarks
to Crooks,

readability="7">

Everybody wants a little bit of land, not much. 
Jus' som'thin' that was his. Somethin' he could live on and there couln't nobody throw
him off of it.

Curley's wife,
too, expresses her dismay at being alone. Standing in the doorway, she tells Candy,
Crooks, and Lennie,

readability="6">

Ever'body out doing' som'pin'.  Ever'gody! 
An'what am I doin'?  Standin' her talkin' to a bunch of bindle stiffs...an' likin' it
because they ain't nobody
else.

Lonely and insecure and
isolated, the men and Curley's wife share lives of "quiet desperation" as Henry David
Thoreau once remarked.

What characteristics do the underdogs have in common? Candy, Curley's wife, and Crooks?Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

In John Steinbeck's novella, Of Mice and Men, the characters Candy, Curley's wife, and Crooks are all social pariahs, isolated by some shortcoming.  For old Candy it is age and disability, for Crooks, it is his race, and for Curley's wife, it is her gender and social status.

Having been injured, Candy is unable to work outside the bunkhouse.  Like the old dog that he owns, he stays in one spot and sweeps and straightens it.  Crooks, too, stays at night alone in the barn with the mules, having no human company.  And, Curley's wife is isolated, too, as their are no women with whom she could socialize.  As a consequence, she wishes to talk with the men, but they reject her as dangerous since she is married to the son of the ranch's owner. 

Each character voices his/her anxiety. Crooks tells Candy and Lennie,

A guy needs somebody--to be near him....Aguy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody.  Don't make no difference who the guy is,  long's he's with you.

 Candy worries that the ranch owner will get rid of him when he is no longer useful. He remarks to Crooks,

Everybody wants a little bit of land, not much.  Jus' som'thin' that was his. Somethin' he could live on and there couln't nobody throw him off of it.

Curley's wife, too, expresses her dismay at being alone. Standing in the doorway, she tells Candy, Crooks, and Lennie,

Ever'body out doing' som'pin'.  Ever'gody!  An'what am I doin'?  Standin' her talkin' to a bunch of bindle stiffs...an' likin' it because they ain't nobody else.

Lonely and insecure and isolated, the men and Curley's wife share lives of "quiet desperation" as Henry David Thoreau once remarked.

What are some examples of dark imagery in Macbeth?

In William Shakespeare's Macbeth the
ambition for power leads to the dark and mysterious realm of
witchcraft, murders, insomonia, and madness.  And, the imagery used to inspire the
experiences of darkness and evil are abundant.

Certainly,
the weather connotes sinister acts. For instance, the play opens with "fog and filthy
air" as the three witches stir their cauldron and the captain describes the actions of
the dauntless Macbeth:

readability="11">

For brave Macbeth--well he deserves that
name--

Disdaining fortune, with his brandished
steel,

Which smoked with
bloody execution.
(1.2.16-19)

And, throughout
the play there are storms, dark castles in which the candles are out (2.2,5), and
murders in the night. As Lady Macbeth prepares to "unsex" herself in order to encourage
Macbeth in his deadly deeds, she asks that heaven not "Peep through the blanket of the
dark" (1.53)

Enthralled by the prophecies of the
"instruments of darkness" as they win him with "honest trifles," Macbeth spends many a
night of "curtained sleep" (2.2.51).

When Macduff and
Lennox arrive at Macbeth's castle in Act II, Scene 3,  Lennox describes the night as
"unruly," speaking of confusion.  He describes the earth as shaking the livelong
night."  Ironically, Macbeth agrees, "'twas a rough night"
(2.3.63).

The many dark images of night and its
predominance in the play clearly suggest that evil
abounds:

That
darkness does the face of earth entomb.
(2.4.

Banquo says in Act III
that he

must
become a borrower of the
night

readability="5">

For a dark hour or
twain.(3.1.27-28)

And, as he
sends his murderers to kill Banquo, Macbeth comments,

readability="5">

Good things of day begin to droop and drowse
(3.3.53)

In Act IV, Malcolm,
determined to return to Scotland tells Macduff, "The night is long that never finds the
day" (4.3.240). And, so it is for Macbeth whose many nights of murder have finally
caused the madness of Lady Macbeth as well as that of Macbeth
himself. 

What are some examples of dark imagery in Macbeth?

In William Shakespeare's Macbeth the ambition for power leads to the dark and mysterious realm of witchcraft, murders, insomonia, and madness.  And, the imagery used to inspire the experiences of darkness and evil are abundant.

Certainly, the weather connotes sinister acts. For instance, the play opens with "fog and filthy air" as the three witches stir their cauldron and the captain describes the actions of the dauntless Macbeth:

For brave Macbeth--well he deserves that name--

Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel,

Which smoked with bloody execution. (1.2.16-19)

And, throughout the play there are storms, dark castles in which the candles are out (2.2,5), and murders in the night. As Lady Macbeth prepares to "unsex" herself in order to encourage Macbeth in his deadly deeds, she asks that heaven not "Peep through the blanket of the dark" (1.53)

Enthralled by the prophecies of the "instruments of darkness" as they win him with "honest trifles," Macbeth spends many a night of "curtained sleep" (2.2.51).

When Macduff and Lennox arrive at Macbeth's castle in Act II, Scene 3,  Lennox describes the night as "unruly," speaking of confusion.  He describes the earth as shaking the livelong night."  Ironically, Macbeth agrees, "'twas a rough night" (2.3.63).

The many dark images of night and its predominance in the play clearly suggest that evil abounds:

That darkness does the face of earth entomb. (2.4.

Banquo says in Act III that he

must become a borrower of the night

For a dark hour or twain.(3.1.27-28)

And, as he sends his murderers to kill Banquo, Macbeth comments,

Good things of day begin to droop and drowse (3.3.53)

In Act IV, Malcolm, determined to return to Scotland tells Macduff, "The night is long that never finds the day" (4.3.240). And, so it is for Macbeth whose many nights of murder have finally caused the madness of Lady Macbeth as well as that of Macbeth himself. 

Atticus asks Mr. Ewell if he called a doctor for Mayella. What point is he trying to make?

This is from Chapter 17 in the
book.

What Atticus is trying to do here is to prove that
Bob Ewell knew exactly how hurt Mayella was.  He knew exactly what had happened to her
because he was the one who beat her.  He beat her after seeing her hugging Tom
Robinson.

If he had really thought that Robinson had beaten
and raped her, he would have called for a doctor to find out how badly she was hurt. 
But he did not need to do that because he already knew.  That is what Atticus is trying
to show.

Atticus asks Mr. Ewell if he called a doctor for Mayella. What point is he trying to make?

This is from Chapter 17 in the book.

What Atticus is trying to do here is to prove that Bob Ewell knew exactly how hurt Mayella was.  He knew exactly what had happened to her because he was the one who beat her.  He beat her after seeing her hugging Tom Robinson.

If he had really thought that Robinson had beaten and raped her, he would have called for a doctor to find out how badly she was hurt.  But he did not need to do that because he already knew.  That is what Atticus is trying to show.

1. What in the chapter “The Shell and The Glasses” is the human meaning of Jack’s raid?

Jack and his group do not take the conch from Piggy.  In
fact, Piggy is holding the conch when he dies:  "The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow
from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to
exist."  

When Jack and his group first raid Ralph's camp
earlier in Chapter 9, they take fire.  In the subsequent chapter (The Shell and the
Glasses), they take Piggy's glasses.  It's important to note that Jack does not want or
need Piggy's conch.  The conch represents a democratic order, a type of organization in
which anyone can have a say, a voice.  Jack rules his tribe as a dictator.  He makes all
the rules.  Unlike Ralph, he does not seek input from the group when decisions are
made.  During this raid, Piggy mistakenly believes that Jack wants the conch.  However, 
Jack really wants Piggy's glasses.  When he has these in his possession, "he was the
chief now in truth."  His group is completely independent of Ralph's because now he can
make fire on his own. 

Piggy's glasses do to some extent
symbolize intelligence and rational thinking.  But when Jack has them, they represent a
means to create fire for cooking, and later in Chapter 12 fire becomes a weapon.  Jack
rules by whim, not rationality, so when Jack holds the glasses, their previous
association with intelligence is lost. Now they represent a means to satisfy more primal
instincts.  This raid is particularly important in that Jack  assumes complete dominance
on the island.  With glasses in hand, he does not need Ralph or Piggy.  He has the
island under his control.  He can  have Winfred tortured at will; he can hunt as he
pleases; he can have feasts; he can kill whomever he deems his
enemy. 

1. What in the chapter “The Shell and The Glasses” is the human meaning of Jack’s raid?

Jack and his group do not take the conch from Piggy.  In fact, Piggy is holding the conch when he dies:  "The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist."  

When Jack and his group first raid Ralph's camp earlier in Chapter 9, they take fire.  In the subsequent chapter (The Shell and the Glasses), they take Piggy's glasses.  It's important to note that Jack does not want or need Piggy's conch.  The conch represents a democratic order, a type of organization in which anyone can have a say, a voice.  Jack rules his tribe as a dictator.  He makes all the rules.  Unlike Ralph, he does not seek input from the group when decisions are made.  During this raid, Piggy mistakenly believes that Jack wants the conch.  However,  Jack really wants Piggy's glasses.  When he has these in his possession, "he was the chief now in truth."  His group is completely independent of Ralph's because now he can make fire on his own. 

Piggy's glasses do to some extent symbolize intelligence and rational thinking.  But when Jack has them, they represent a means to create fire for cooking, and later in Chapter 12 fire becomes a weapon.  Jack rules by whim, not rationality, so when Jack holds the glasses, their previous association with intelligence is lost. Now they represent a means to satisfy more primal instincts.  This raid is particularly important in that Jack  assumes complete dominance on the island.  With glasses in hand, he does not need Ralph or Piggy.  He has the island under his control.  He can  have Winfred tortured at will; he can hunt as he pleases; he can have feasts; he can kill whomever he deems his enemy. 

How does Benedick rationalize his change of heart regarding love and marriage in "Much Ado About Nothing"?

In Act II, scene 3, Benedick overhears Don Pedro, Leonato, and Claudio's staged discussion of Beatrice's love for him. He then admits his love for her, and rationalizes it this way:

"I may chance have some odd quirks and remnants of wit broken on me, because I have rail'd so long against marriage. But doth not the appetite alter? A man loves the meat in his youth that he cannot endure in his age. Shall quips and sentences and these paper bullets of the brain awe a man from the career of his humor? No, the world must be peopled. When I said I would die a bachelor, I did not think I should live till I were married."

This is one of the most comic scenes in the play because Benedick's attitude changes so quickly and so violently.

Why do you think Mansfield does not give Miss Brill a first name?

Miss Brill is a very lonely woman, so lonely that “when she breathed, something light and sad–no, not sad, exactly–something gentle seemed to move in her bosom” just by putting on her fur collar. In fact, her fur collar is her best friend. Rather than participating in conversations, she instead eavesdrops on those of others, “sitting in other people's lives just for a minute while they talked round her.”Such women in our society are considered odd, to the extent we think of them at all, and certainly do not get to know them.  By telling the story from third person limited point of view of Miss Brill, Mansfieldallows us into this lonely woman’s world, just a little.  However, just like everyone else, her narrator stays removed from her character, although she presents her with compassion and respect. Those qualities are best conveyed through the formal “Miss Brill” rather than speaking about her intimately through a first name, for surely no one is on a first name basis with this woman.

Is Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" considered part of transcendentalism?

Lets first define.  Romanticism focused on the imagination, human spirit, an idealization of nature, and emotional freedom.  Transcendentalism was characterized by a belief that emotion, as opposed to reason and logic, could help transcend the human beyond a merely physical existence; it also emphasized the belief that humanity was essentially good.  Dark Romanticism grew out of both movements and showed the style of Romanticism with the spiritual expression of transcendentalism, but showed a strong belief that man was flawed by faulth and sin. 

"Fall of the House of Usher" represents Dark Romanticism at its core.  It has the symbolicm representation of nature in the description of the house and the storm.  The natural elements are intertwined with the narrator, who has "sympathetic vibrations".  He is so in tune with humanity and nature that he withdraws himself from both, claiming to suffer from "nervous exhaustion."  He gets beyond these instinctual reactions, however, choosing to try to explain them through intellectual pursuits.  Contrarily, however, he refuses to allow science to examine the condition and "death" of his sister, believing that science is flawed.  In truth, however, it is both he and his sister who are flawed, who suffer from insanity that is the result of intermarriage.  The story is related to trancendentalism in the fact that trancendentalism has influenced dark romanticism.

Can someone please explain to me the myths of Tantalus and Sisyphus told in Book 11 of "The Odyssey"?

This story is important because it illustrates the epic similie.  The reader should be able to predict what will happen to Odysseus if he journeys home without the help of the gods. He should befall the same tragic fate as Agamemnon, the great grandson of Tantalus.

Tantalus boiled his son Pelops and fed his mortal flesh to the gods. Enraged, the gods sent him to Hades and punished him by putting him in a pool whose water receded each time Tantalus tried to get a drink near a tree with boughs that swayed away each time Tantalus reached for a fruit.

 Tantalus' son Pelops had two children, Atreus and Thyestes.

Atreus' sons are Agamemnon and Menelaus.

Menelaus marries Helen who is stolen away by Paris to Troy which is why the Acheans sail to Troy for the Trojan War (basic plot of the Iliad).

Agamemnon's wife is Clytemnestra. Their children are Iphigenia, Orestes, and Electra.

Thyestes stole Atreus' wife.  In return Atreus killed two of Thyestes' sons. Thyestes' surviving son, Aegisthus, courts Clytemnestra while Agamemnon is off fighting the Trojan War for almost ten years.

Upon returning from Troy, Agamemnon is killed by Aegisthus & Clytemnestra. He is avenged by his son Orestes.

Odysseus meets Agamemnon in the Underworld in Book 11. He learns that Agamemnon's wife betrayed him and Agamemnon warns Odysseus of returning home to Ithaca to meet a similar fate.

Describe John's quest in "By the Waters of Babylon": what does he seek, his challenges and obstacles

In "By the Waters of Babylon", John seeks knowledge in the Place of the Gods.  While on his way, he first tries to determine whether or not his is a "good" journey.  When he sees the eagle and then the deer going east, he takes these as good omens.  He has to avoid the Forest People, though, because his tribe (the Hill People) are enemies with the Forest People.  He must also cross the Oudison (Hudson) River to get to the Place of the Gods.  John is able to build a raft in order to cross the river, but he almost doesn't make it because he has never been on a raft before.  In the Place of the Gods, he is stunned to find that is is in ruins instead of some enchanted place.  After exploring the area, he has a vision in which he sees the "gods" with their magical things being destroyed by fire that fell from the sky (it was New York City being bombed).  He learns that the gods were merely men; however, he does not tell his people right away because the knowledge would destroy thier faith and the society of the Hill People.

When Beowulf arrived at Hrothgar's court, he introduces himself to the Danish king and his thanes (lines 163 to 211). 1. What is Beowulf's motive...

One reason Beowulf cites for coming to help the Danes is that his father fought alongside Hrothgar when the two of then were younger.  Beowulf says he has heard of the terror Grendel has inflicted on a once well-known hall, Heorot, so that now the mead hall sits idle and empty.  Also, he tells Hrothgar that he is considered a brave and fierce warrior and so one equipped to fight a monster like Grendel.  Beowulf comes off, in this speech to Hrothgar, as somewhat boastful.  He sings his own praises as a warrior.

In chapter 7, what comparisons can be made between Wilson and Tom in The Great Gatsby?

Both Wilson and Tom have wives that are being unfaithful to them. They either don’t suspect their wives or they are ignoring evidence that is overwhelming. Regardless they should have a sense of it, for their wives are barely making an effort to hide it. This reinforces the fallacy in Tom’s belief of superiority. He is just as lost and foolish as a man that he feels is barely aware, “…that he is alive.”

Both men use cruel, brute force in confronting the situation. Wilson chases his wife to her own death and Tom arrogantly forces the mistress and lover ride home in the same car. The plots then become intertwined.

Earlier in the novel, Nick noticed that these arrogant, wealthy, careless people would create messes and have other clean up the mess. This is what Wilson does for Tom. Tom doesn’t have to exact revenge on Wilson. His hands stay clean as he gets Wilson to do it for him.

Why does Billy's grandfather need a brace and bit to catch the raccoon in Where the Red Fern Grows?

A brace and bit is a hand tool used to drill holes.
Grandpa knows a trick that is effective in catching raccoons, and all he needs to do it
is a brace and a bit.

When Billy gets his pups, he realizes
he needs a coon skin to teach them to hunt, but, try as he might, he cannot catch a
coon. Grandpa tells him about an old trick he used as a child that rarely failed in
helping him get one of the ring-tailed animals. Grandpa gets a brace and a bit about an
inch and a half in diameter. He tells Billy to go down by the river where the coons are
known to live, and drill a hole about six inches deep in a log. At the bottom of the
log, Billy needs to put something shiny, like a piece of tin, and then, around the hole
made by the brace and bit, he should pound nails in about an inch apart and at a slant,
so that the points stick out about halfway down the hole. The raccoon will then be drawn
by the shiny tin, and, curious, stick his hand in to grab it. Because his hand will be
closed around the piece of tin, it will be larger than when it was thrust into the hole,
and because of the nails, the raccoon will be unable to get his hand out. It will not
occur to the raccoon to let go of the tin so that he can extricate his hand; he will be
trapped, and Billy will have his raccoon.

Billy follows his
grandpa's instructions carefully, and makes fourteen traps. For the first week, he
catches nothing, and is angry and discouraged, thinking his grandpa had been fooling
him. Billy's father, however, points out that perhaps Billy has left too much of his
scent around the trap area. Sure enough, after about a week, the scent has worn off, and
Billy catches a large coon, "trapped by his own curiosity" (Chapter
7).

Why does Billy's grandfather need a brace and bit to catch the raccoon in Where the Red Fern Grows?

A brace and bit is a hand tool used to drill holes. Grandpa knows a trick that is effective in catching raccoons, and all he needs to do it is a brace and a bit.

When Billy gets his pups, he realizes he needs a coon skin to teach them to hunt, but, try as he might, he cannot catch a coon. Grandpa tells him about an old trick he used as a child that rarely failed in helping him get one of the ring-tailed animals. Grandpa gets a brace and a bit about an inch and a half in diameter. He tells Billy to go down by the river where the coons are known to live, and drill a hole about six inches deep in a log. At the bottom of the log, Billy needs to put something shiny, like a piece of tin, and then, around the hole made by the brace and bit, he should pound nails in about an inch apart and at a slant, so that the points stick out about halfway down the hole. The raccoon will then be drawn by the shiny tin, and, curious, stick his hand in to grab it. Because his hand will be closed around the piece of tin, it will be larger than when it was thrust into the hole, and because of the nails, the raccoon will be unable to get his hand out. It will not occur to the raccoon to let go of the tin so that he can extricate his hand; he will be trapped, and Billy will have his raccoon.

Billy follows his grandpa's instructions carefully, and makes fourteen traps. For the first week, he catches nothing, and is angry and discouraged, thinking his grandpa had been fooling him. Billy's father, however, points out that perhaps Billy has left too much of his scent around the trap area. Sure enough, after about a week, the scent has worn off, and Billy catches a large coon, "trapped by his own curiosity" (Chapter 7).

Why can "Because I could not stop for death" be considered a Metaphysical poem?

The tendency of metaphysical poetry is toward psychological analysis of the emotions of love and religion. The poet's intent is to speak honestly yet unconventionally of life's complexities.

Dickinson takes the fearful event of dying and makes it seem almost charming and undaunting.  He "kindly stops" for her. She put away her schedule--both work and leisure--for his gentile behavior.

He took his time with her, they passed by so many places and things, and then after what seemed a long time to her, the horses turned toward eternity and they rode off calmly, like friends, together with Immortality.  The afterlife in heaven.

She takes the fear out of the experience and makes it seem more like an afternoon visit for tea. 

A look at something that is considered a complexity of life which usually people react to with fear and anxiety--she has taken it apart and turned this from a psychologically frightening event to something much less daunting and more doable.  From this viewpoint, this poem could be considered an example of metaphysical poetry.

Why is the title of the book "The Outsiders"? I want to know how the title links to the story?

The title of the book refers to the social position of the Greasers, Ponyboy's "gang".  Handicapped by their lower socio-economic status, the Greasers are looked down upon; shut out from the advantages that are open to their more wealthy counterparts, the Socs.  Although members of both groups get in trouble - the Socs "jump Greasers and wreck houses and throw beer blasts for kicks", while the Greasers "steal things...and rob gas stations and have a gang fight once in awhile" - the Greasers are more frequently identified by their transgressions against the law because they come from "the wrong side of the tracks".  They are the "outsiders", the ones for whom access to opportunity is perpetually more complicated, because of preconceptions and stereotypes (Chapter 1).

One of the central themes of the story, however, is that, underneath it all, the Greasers and the Socs are more alike than they are different.  As Cherry Valance observes to Ponyboy, "things are tough all over", and, after talking with her, Ponyboy realizes that there are individual differences within both groups, and, despite the gulf that separates the classes, they all "see the same sunset" (Chapter 2).

What is the relationship between semiotics and the plot of Foucault's Pendulum? What are some examples?

In Foucault's Pendulum, semiotics plays an integral role in the construction of the narrative, as it does in all of Umberto Eco's novels.  The two book editors employ a computer program into which they feed various pieces of information, and the program produces a narrative based on that information.

The editors, Belbo and Diotallevi, feed mountains of information from various often esoteric sources into a computer program, and the program sifts through the information, constructing a coherent narrative.  This activity forms the very basis of the plot.  In sifting through the information, the computer program is employing semiosis, the interpretation of signs.  The program must determine not only what a given piece of information means but also how it connects with the other pieces of information.  Taking the information to mean a collection of signifiers, the computer determines what those signifiers signify.

One example of this activity involves the Knights Templar.  The editors input various pieces of information, from the rounding up and torture/execution of the Templars in the early fourteenth century, to the role of the Templars in the Holy Land during the Crusades, to the supposed location of the legendary Templar treasure.  Inputting other forms of information concerning the Holy Grail - its nature, its potential resting place, et al. - allows the program to synthesize this information and essentially conflate the two narratives into a coherent whole.  It can only do so by considering the meanings of the various pieces of information and any consistencies in the two narratives.

Belbo and Diotallevi also find themselves inputting information from the Kabbalah and secret societies, and the program conducts the same interpretive activity, decoding the various symbols and stories and adding it to the growing collection of information.

With Foucault's Pendulum, it is not really possible to point out very specific examples of semiotics, because the very nature of what the characters are doing throughout the novel stems from semiotics and semiosis (the interpretation of signs).  The resulting narrative is not distinct from semiotics.