How can Winston be considered a heroic figure? What qualities does he possess that could define him as one?

Winston Smith can only be considered a hero in a highly qualified sense. His mixture of the heroic and the mundane is indicated clearly by his name, which combines "Winston" from Winston Churchill (famed for refusing to accept defeat when fighting against seemingly invincible enemies) and "Smith," the most prosaic of surnames.

His heroic traits are his willingness to fight against impossible odds, risking his life in the process, and his stubborn quest to understand not only what was happening to him and society, but why it was happening. Although he tries to "get along" as best he can with the society he lives in, he holds himself apart from it at the same time, attempting to preserve his individuality. It would be ungenerous in the extreme not to concede his struggle some elements of the heroic.

However, he is a deeply flawed hero. To begin with, he is himself part of the apparatus of repression, being engaged in the rewriting of history. He goes too far in his desire to attack the Party, compromising himself morally when he promises O'Brien that he will harm children if he is ordered to by the resistance. He cannot separate his political struggle from his personal feelings, which lead him to become entangled with Julia, friendly with Mr. Carrington, and trusting in O'Brien, all of which decisions are fatal. His thought and actions are already infected by the Party, and since he is thus compromised, he cannot reach a fully heroic stature.

Who is Mr. Frederick Johnson in "In Cold Blood"?

Frederic Johnson (note the correct spelling of the first name) is the brother-in-law of Perry Smith, one of the two men convicted of murdering four members of the Clutter family. His wife, Barbara, was Smith's only surviving sibling.

He is mentioned twice:

1. Capote provides the text of a letter to Smith written and signed by Barbara and Frederic.
2. Capote indicates to readers that he will refer to Barbara as Mrs. Frederic Johnson.

(In the latter instance, Capote may be implying that "Johnson" is not the couple's last name, perhaps to protect their true identity.)

What is the best quote in "The Most Dangerous Game" that indicates that Rainsford is actually intelligent?

Oh, there are so many!  I've listed a few here with brief explanations.  Overall, though, we must see that Rainsford success in defeating the General points to his overall intelligence and skill. 

Rainsford remembered the shots. They had come from the right, and doggedly he swam in that direction, swimming with slow, deliberate strokes, conserving his strength.

Here he is in a dangerous situation, but he is intelligent enough to stay calm and use clues from his experience to lead him to safety.

"I've read your book about hunting snow leopards in Tibet, you see," explained the man. "I am General Zaroff."

This tells us that Rainsford has published a book, showing him educated and intelligent.

Rainsford's second thought was even more terrible. It sent a shudder of cold horror through his whole being. Why had the general smiled? Why had he turned back?  Rainsford did not want to believe what his reason told him was true, but the truth was as evident as the sun that had by now pushed through the morning mists. The general was playing with him! The general was saving him for another day's sport!

Here we see Rainsford evaluating the situation and the person before him to come to a conclusion.

"I'll give him a trail to follow," muttered Rainsford, and he struck off from the rude path he had been following into the trackless wilderness.

And here, Rainsford is clearly making a strategy to win, not just trying to run and survive.

In "A Rose for Emily," does Emily represent the “old South”? Why

Emily is a representation of the old south.  She was raised in an environment of southern gentility by a father who prided himself on being a true southern gentleman. 

"Emily’s father, an arrogant Southern aristocrat who believes that no man is good enough for his daughter."

When her father dies, she refuses to accept it.

"She keeps his body for three days before she finally breaks down and allows her father to be buried."

This can be interpreted as clinging to the old south, as represented in her father, Emily cannot bear to part with him or the old way of life.  

Because of her father's strict nature, Emily is left alone after his death.  She is susceptible to the charms of Homer Barron, who is deemed unacceptable for her by her family and the members of the town. 

"The older people dislike the relationship because they think it is bad form for a Southern woman to associate with a Yankee."

Emily's madness and eccentricity are symbolic and representative of the death and decay of the old south.  Just as the old southern gentility is slipping into the past, so does Emily's ability to focus on reality. 

Emily's obsession with death arises again, she would rather have a dead man in her home than no man.

"Emily’s purchase of arsenic; the awful smell coming from her home after Homer disappears) and the town’s grotesque discovery at the end of the story suggest that Emily is driven to murder."

Describe how and why King Creon might be considered the tragic character.

From my notes:

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Tragic heroes are so much the highest points in
their human landscape that they seem the inevitable conductors of the power about them,
great trees more likely to be struck by lightning than a clump of grass. Conductors may
of course be instruments as well as victims of the divine lightning.  (Northrop
Frye)

According to this
definition, Creon, as king, is the "highest point" of the human landscape and the
greatest "conductor" of divine lightning.  All the tragic suffering is conducted by him
toward others.  He suffers first and makes others suffer by extension.  Haemon and
Eurydice are the lower points of the human landscape, the "clumps of grass," who are
also struck down by the strike.

Death is also a deciding
factor.  Although he doesn't die like Antigone, Creon suffers like Oedipus at the end of
Oedipus the King.  His wife, son, and would-be daughter-in-law die.
 It's a tragic cause and effect: hubris leads to bad law; hubris leads to stubborn
rebellion of bad law; hubris leads to stubborn punishment of rebellion; hubris leads to
hasty suicide.  Creon is left to clean up the pieces: his family's deaths, his subjects'
rebellion, his cursed, lonely rule.

Really, the play
involves two lightning strikes, two tragic heroes who present two extreme cases of
hubris in the exercise of and reaction to law and power.  Sophocles, as much as he wants
to be objective, sides with Antigone, I think.  He gives her the moral high ground, as
she upholds gods' law above man's.

Describe how and why King Creon might be considered the tragic character.

From my notes:

Tragic heroes are so much the highest points in their human landscape that they seem the inevitable conductors of the power about them, great trees more likely to be struck by lightning than a clump of grass. Conductors may of course be instruments as well as victims of the divine lightning.  (Northrop Frye)

According to this definition, Creon, as king, is the "highest point" of the human landscape and the greatest "conductor" of divine lightning.  All the tragic suffering is conducted by him toward others.  He suffers first and makes others suffer by extension.  Haemon and Eurydice are the lower points of the human landscape, the "clumps of grass," who are also struck down by the strike.

Death is also a deciding factor.  Although he doesn't die like Antigone, Creon suffers like Oedipus at the end of Oedipus the King.  His wife, son, and would-be daughter-in-law die.  It's a tragic cause and effect: hubris leads to bad law; hubris leads to stubborn rebellion of bad law; hubris leads to stubborn punishment of rebellion; hubris leads to hasty suicide.  Creon is left to clean up the pieces: his family's deaths, his subjects' rebellion, his cursed, lonely rule.

Really, the play involves two lightning strikes, two tragic heroes who present two extreme cases of hubris in the exercise of and reaction to law and power.  Sophocles, as much as he wants to be objective, sides with Antigone, I think.  He gives her the moral high ground, as she upholds gods' law above man's.

What kind of narrator is used in "Love of Life"?I can't tell if the narrator is third person limited or omniscient. If you could help me understand...

The point of view of the "Love of Life" is omniscient third person. The narrator knows everything, but concentrates primarily on the man and his fight for life against nature. The narrator also knows what the scientific men are saying and doing at the end of the story. This is something the man is probably unaware of and so this makes the narrator omniscient.

Look at the new and ominous connotations linked to the name of Mr. Hyde found in chapter two of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

The name Hyde can represent how Dr. Jekyll's dark side is hidden in Mr. Hyde.  Hide means "to conceal," so Dr. Jekyll's darker, evil side is hidden in Mr. Hyde.  Now that Mr. Hyde has actually murdered someone, an even more evil side of Mr. Hyde (Dr. Jekyll) has emerged, which is disturbing for Dr. Jekyll.  Later, Dr. Jekyll finds himself unable to really control when Mr. Hyde emerges.  He no longer needs the chemicals to make Mr. Hyde come "out."  At the end, he becomes Mr. Hyde once again in order to commit suicide and to not have to go to prison.

How does the diary function as a literary device in 1984?

The diary is a symbol for Winston's desire to be free.  He is unable to speak his mind, think his true thoughts, or do anything that may mark him as a suspicious character.  Even his facial expressions can give him away...he must be in complete control of himself all the time.  In the diary, he can write what he is thinking and feeling without the fear of being turned in by someone nearby.  Of course, there is always the possibility that the diary will be discovered, but as long as he writes in it where the telescreen can not see him and he keeps it hidden, he can be relatively certain that his thoughts are safe. 

It is not until his actions with Julia in the hidden apartment are discovered that the Thought Police search his home and also discover the diary which helps to incriminate Winston.

The diary is a symbol of the freedom he desires.  It represents a time when all people, like the Proles, were able to think and express those thoughts freely. 

Discuss at least two characteristics of Romanticism in John Keat's poem "Ode toa Nightingale".

The poet in Ode To A Nightingale  is an escapist .He
escapes through imagination .On his way the bower of the bliss wher the nightingale is
singing in full-throated -ease , , and returning from the same , he employs Medieval
ism and Hellenism .The references of Ruth , emperors and clowns  and magic casement
opening in the foam , speak of Keats' love for the middle ages . Again Keats had
fascination to Greek arts and culture .The installations like , Flora and country green
festivals , Bacchus and his parade , light winged Dray ad of trees , etc vivify the
poet's love for the ancient Greek -life .

Medieval ism and
Hellenism are the two major branches of Romanticism .

Discuss at least two characteristics of Romanticism in John Keat's poem "Ode toa Nightingale".

The poet in Ode To A Nightingale  is an escapist .He escapes through imagination .On his way the bower of the bliss wher the nightingale is singing in full-throated -ease , , and returning from the same , he employs Medieval ism and Hellenism .The references of Ruth , emperors and clowns  and magic casement opening in the foam , speak of Keats' love for the middle ages . Again Keats had fascination to Greek arts and culture .The installations like , Flora and country green festivals , Bacchus and his parade , light winged Dray ad of trees , etc vivify the poet's love for the ancient Greek -life .

Medieval ism and Hellenism are the two major branches of Romanticism .

Who was the first to address Atticus with his nickname in Chapter 10 of To Kill a Mockingbird?this question is from chapter 10

Miss Maudie is the first to address Atticus by his nickname, "One-Shot Finch".  Having known him when he was a boy, she remembers that he had exceptional skill as a marksman, something that he never told Scout and Jem.  Earlier in the chapter, the children had been lamenting that, being older than the fathers of others their ages, Atticus "didn't do anything" exciting, like go hunting or play tackle football.  Having learned about his exceptional ability with firearms, they find a newfound respect for him, and wonder why he never speaks about it, nor shows any interest in hunting,  Miss Maudie explains that it is because "he's civilized in his heart" - he believes that his talent is a God-given gift and so is nothing to boast about, and he also feels that his gift gives him "an unfair advantage over most living things", so he will not use it except when absolutely necessary.  Scout cannot see why Atticus is not proud of his marksmanship skills, but Jem understands that his humility makes him even more noble as a person.  He declares, "Atticus is a gentleman, just like me!" (Chapter 10).

Why are the Sakanes being threatened in Journey to Topaz?Who is threatening the Sakanes and why are they being threatened?

The Sakanes are being threatened because of the atmosphere
of fear and anger in the aftermath of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The author of the
book, Yoshiko Uchida, sums up the causes of the mass relocation of 120,000 West Coast
Japanese Americans by pointing to "race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of
leadership." Although the government claimed that the removal of all Japanese Americans
from the Pacific Coast area was necessary to ensure the security of the nation, history
proved that the move was completely unfounded. The Japanese Americans were victims of
racial profiling taken to its extreme; in essence, they
were

readability="8">

"imprisoned by (their) own country during World
War II, not because of anything (they) had done, but simply because (they) looked like
the enemy."

Interestingly, in
the narrative, the people who enforce the mass evacuations and relocation do not, for
the most part, appear to harbor hostility towards the Japanese Americans. The FBI agents
who come to arrest Yuki's father as an "enemy alien" are polite, if not almost
apologetic in carrying out the job they have been assigned to do, and Yuki's teacher at
school stresses to the children that "the Japanese born in America...must never be
confused with the Japanese militarists who attacked Pearl Harbor." The many Caucasian
friends and acquaintances the Sakanes have made in Berkeley are sympathetic to the
family's plight, but are powerless to do anything about it. Mrs. Jamieson in particular
is appalled at what is happening, and has written letters directly to President
Roosevelt to protest the injustice of the evacuations, but to no
avail.

The support offered by so many of the Caucasians
with whom the Sakanes deal raises the disturbing question of whether the evacuation had
more to do with racism than with fear. Yuki's classmate Garvis Dickerson,
expresses racial hatred, calling Yuki "a dirty Jap," and Ken points out
that

"there
are a lot of people in California who'd be very happy to be rid of the Japanese
competition in business and on the farms. They'd be glad to see us leave. It's people
like that who spread those false rumors about sabotage in Hawaii when there wasn't any
at all."

Mrs. Sakane,
however, is less condemning of the motives of society. She
says,

"People
can get hysterical when they are afraid...fear sometimes makes people do terrible
things."

Why are the Sakanes being threatened in Journey to Topaz?Who is threatening the Sakanes and why are they being threatened?

The Sakanes are being threatened because of the atmosphere of fear and anger in the aftermath of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The author of the book, Yoshiko Uchida, sums up the causes of the mass relocation of 120,000 West Coast Japanese Americans by pointing to "race prejudice, war hysteria and a failure of leadership." Although the government claimed that the removal of all Japanese Americans from the Pacific Coast area was necessary to ensure the security of the nation, history proved that the move was completely unfounded. The Japanese Americans were victims of racial profiling taken to its extreme; in essence, they were

"imprisoned by (their) own country during World War II, not because of anything (they) had done, but simply because (they) looked like the enemy."

Interestingly, in the narrative, the people who enforce the mass evacuations and relocation do not, for the most part, appear to harbor hostility towards the Japanese Americans. The FBI agents who come to arrest Yuki's father as an "enemy alien" are polite, if not almost apologetic in carrying out the job they have been assigned to do, and Yuki's teacher at school stresses to the children that "the Japanese born in America...must never be confused with the Japanese militarists who attacked Pearl Harbor." The many Caucasian friends and acquaintances the Sakanes have made in Berkeley are sympathetic to the family's plight, but are powerless to do anything about it. Mrs. Jamieson in particular is appalled at what is happening, and has written letters directly to President Roosevelt to protest the injustice of the evacuations, but to no avail.

The support offered by so many of the Caucasians with whom the Sakanes deal raises the disturbing question of whether the evacuation had more to do with racism than with fear. Yuki's classmate Garvis Dickerson, expresses racial hatred, calling Yuki "a dirty Jap," and Ken points out that

"there are a lot of people in California who'd be very happy to be rid of the Japanese competition in business and on the farms. They'd be glad to see us leave. It's people like that who spread those false rumors about sabotage in Hawaii when there wasn't any at all."

Mrs. Sakane, however, is less condemning of the motives of society. She says,

"People can get hysterical when they are afraid...fear sometimes makes people do terrible things."

What is Mother's reaction when she sees Gretel's room decorated with Nazi posters?

Mother's reaction clearly demonstrates fear. As an adult
and with her husband the commandant of a camp, she knows what Hitler and the Nazi party
really stand for and these are not values she wants her twelve year old daughter to
embody. It's also a realisation of just how powerful the Nazi party have become, that
they have been able to influence children through the Hitler Youth and through
education. On some level, Mother is also angry. Isolated from most of the world, Gretel
and Bruno only have limited influences and Mother observes that the indoctrination of
the Nazi agenda and ideas comes from the children's tutor.

What is Mother's reaction when she sees Gretel's room decorated with Nazi posters?

Mother's reaction clearly demonstrates fear. As an adult and with her husband the commandant of a camp, she knows what Hitler and the Nazi party really stand for and these are not values she wants her twelve year old daughter to embody. It's also a realisation of just how powerful the Nazi party have become, that they have been able to influence children through the Hitler Youth and through education. On some level, Mother is also angry. Isolated from most of the world, Gretel and Bruno only have limited influences and Mother observes that the indoctrination of the Nazi agenda and ideas comes from the children's tutor.

My brother had a stroke (speech & thought affected), and got married 24 hours later. Everything goes to wife. Is there any recourse?

In most states, lack of mental capacity to consent at the time of marriage constitutes a ground for the annulment of the marriage.

Does your brother want to get out of the marriage, or are you (and other relatives?) the party considering taking legal action? If your brother opposes an annulment (or divorce), it will be more difficult –- but not impossible -- to annul the marriage. In either case, the first step will be to file a motion for a competency hearing in the appropriate state court. A psychiatric evaluation will then be conducted to evaluate your brother’s mental condition. Then, the court will hold a competency hearing to determine whether your brother was legally competent to enter the marriage contract. If the court rules that your brother lacked the mental capacity to marry, then a motion seeking an annulment can be filed. As noted above, a court's finding that your brother is mentally incompetent will have additional repercussions.

See the links below for information on annulments and mental incompetency. 

You should seek advice from an attorney experienced in family law and competency hearings.

Disclaimer: This post contains general legal information and should not be construed as legal advice to be applied to any specific factual situation. Each reader should consult a lawyer if you want a qualified professional’s assurance that this information, and your interpretation of it, is appropriate to your particular situation.

In scene 1, how does Macbeth react to success? In macbeth act3

In Act III, Scene I, Macbeth reacts to his success, with fear and suspicion and plans for yet another murder.  Although he hosts a banquet, his highest point as King, even that is not happy.  Instead of being able to enjoy the company of his friends and family, he is disturbed by Banquo's ghost.

 In my view, Macbeth never enjoys being King.  He never has a chance to, his mind is too consumed with keeping his crown to really enjoy it.  As a result of his preoccupation with controlling the future, Macbeth continually engages in activities, such as, killing Banquo and consulting the witches for a second time, that cause him to ignore the present.

Macbeth is never truly comfortable with his success, he is haunted by guilt from the beginning, since he murdered to gain the crown.  His personality, that was formerly defined by characteristics such as courage, loyalty, and true hero of Scotland, is lost in his desire for power and his manipulation to get it.

Macbeth loses everything that makes human life enjoyable through his actions.  He is, therefore, unable to enjoy his success.  The simple joys of life are denied him, once he begins his murdering spree. 

He is truly miserable with his "success."

What sort of science is Victor learning from Agrippa?

Cornelius Agrippa (1486-1535) was a German mystic who practiced a "science" that combined alchemy, magic, mysticism, and astrology. Two of his books are Three Books of Occult Philosophy and On Calling Spirits. Through the writing of Agrippa, Frankenstein becomes very interested in alchemy, which is a pseudoscience whose main object is to find a way of turning base metals into gold. You could say that Frankenstein adapted the thinking of the alchemists and instead of transforming other metals into gold attempted to transform a corpse into a living being.

An interesting story about Agrippa concerns sightings of him after his death:

There were rumors that Agrippa had summoned demons on his death bed, and that a black dog roamed the countryside as his familiar. The black dog appears in tales as Faustus, Mephistopheles, and even as a grim in the Harry Potter series.

Visit the links below for more information.

In "Lord of the Flies", what does the assembly platform symbolize?

The assembly platform is where Ralph and Piggy originally sat and used the conch to gather the boys from all over the island.  It is where Ralph is voted leader and where he brings the boys to gather when he wants to "govern" - to give duties and chastise and debate about what should be done. 

One had to sit, attracting all eyes to the conch, and drop words like heavy round stones among the little groups that crouched or squatted. 

Thus, the platform represents the seat of government on the island.  Without the platform - no government, anarchy ensues. 

And htis is exactly what happens.  Slowly, the power of the assembly is undermined by Jack, and fewer and fewer boys gather at the platform.  Before the end, it is only Ralph, Piggy, Sam and Eric.  Then the platform - i.e., the government of the island - is attacked by Jack and the hunters, who take Piggy's glasses.  When this happens, all power has shifted to Jack's group and away from the assembly, and this is the beginning of the end - no more civilization on the island.  

How would you write a reflective essay?

Select a thesis that you would enjoy exploring more.
Remember, essays are an opportunity for you to discover 
yourself.

The best topics for reflective essays are things
that have changed you as a person. For example, The most meaningful thing that has
happened to me is: (I was one way before this event/thing, and now I am a different
way).

Once you have decided your thesis and created a
prewrite outline of points that you would like to include in your essay, move on to the
rough draft.

1st paragraph: Grab your reader's attention
with an interesting opening sentence. Then outline what the rest of your essay will be
about. State your thesis.

2nd-4th paragraphs: These are your body
paragraphs. Start each on off with a different supporting detail for your thesis.
Describe each supporting detail in that paragraph.

5th paragraph:
Concluding paragraph. Restate you thesis in a different way. Leave the reader with a
good feeling.

How would you write a reflective essay?

Select a thesis that you would enjoy exploring more. Remember, essays are an opportunity for you to discover  yourself.

The best topics for reflective essays are things that have changed you as a person. For example, The most meaningful thing that has happened to me is: (I was one way before this event/thing, and now I am a different way).

Once you have decided your thesis and created a prewrite outline of points that you would like to include in your essay, move on to the rough draft.

1st paragraph: Grab your reader's attention with an interesting opening sentence. Then outline what the rest of your essay will be about. State your thesis.

2nd-4th paragraphs: These are your body paragraphs. Start each on off with a different supporting detail for your thesis. Describe each supporting detail in that paragraph.

5th paragraph: Concluding paragraph. Restate you thesis in a different way. Leave the reader with a good feeling.

What is meaning of the title "Just Lather, That's All"?I need to know meaning of the title also, need a reason for that why this title is good for...

Shaving with a long  open razor blade is a highly skilled job  requiring intense concentration:"taking pains to see that no single pore emitted a drop of blood." After lathering  his customer's beard with soap, the barber  begins to shave the beard with the sharpened razor. As the soap lather and the shaven hair collect on the long razor blade the barber will often pause and remove the lather  by stroking the razor on his own bare forearm and will continue shaving. If he pauses every now and then to wash the razor he will take a longer time and more importantly he will lose his concentration.

Although, the narrator-barber is "secretly a rebel, he was also a conscientious barber, proud of the preciseness of his profession."  So, the dilemma he faces now is whether to slit Captain Torres' throat or to give him a clean shave without nicking his skin. After quite a struggle within his mind he decides :"I don't want blood on my hands. Just lather that's all."

He puns on the word "blood" to ironically emphasise the fact that "he is a good barber. The best in town." Blood could either mean the blood when he nicks Torres's skin and collects it alongwith the lather on his forearm in which case he would not be regarded as an expert barber or the blood if he murders Torres by slitting his neck, in which case he would be branded a murderer. 

The narrator is keen to be known only as an expert barber-only lather on his hands.

Can Macbeth's state of mind in Macbeth be compared to Brutus in Julius Caesar? Is Lady Macbeth really a woman with all masculine characteristics?

Macbeth and Brutus, though both are guilty of regicide,
have more differences than similarities. Macbeth is motivated by the prophecies of the
witches and his own personal ambition. He essentially goes a on killing spree, becoming
a cold tyrant willing to sacrifice anyone for his own pursuit of power. Brutus is
motivated by doing what is best Rome, and tries his best to avoid looking like
cold-hearted murders by not killing Antony (though this decision proves to be foolish
and leads to his death).

Both tragic heroes are somewhat
manipulated into their respective situations though, Brutus by Cassius and Macbeth by
Lady Macbeth. Both also show signs of a guilty conscious by seeing ghosts of people they
have murdered (Julius Caesar and Banquo), so they are similar in those
ways.

As for Lady Macbeth, she prays to the gods to make
her have the harshness of a man, and to take away her womanly emotions, in order to do
what she believes her husband cannot do. In the beginning of the play, she is cold and
harsh, and is described as more manly than feminine. However, as Macbeth gets more and
more driven by power, Lady Macbeth succumbs more and more to her womanly emotions,
eventually breaking under the guilt and emotional burden and taking her own
life.

Can Macbeth's state of mind in Macbeth be compared to Brutus in Julius Caesar? Is Lady Macbeth really a woman with all masculine characteristics?

Macbeth and Brutus, though both are guilty of regicide, have more differences than similarities. Macbeth is motivated by the prophecies of the witches and his own personal ambition. He essentially goes a on killing spree, becoming a cold tyrant willing to sacrifice anyone for his own pursuit of power. Brutus is motivated by doing what is best Rome, and tries his best to avoid looking like cold-hearted murders by not killing Antony (though this decision proves to be foolish and leads to his death).

Both tragic heroes are somewhat manipulated into their respective situations though, Brutus by Cassius and Macbeth by Lady Macbeth. Both also show signs of a guilty conscious by seeing ghosts of people they have murdered (Julius Caesar and Banquo), so they are similar in those ways.

As for Lady Macbeth, she prays to the gods to make her have the harshness of a man, and to take away her womanly emotions, in order to do what she believes her husband cannot do. In the beginning of the play, she is cold and harsh, and is described as more manly than feminine. However, as Macbeth gets more and more driven by power, Lady Macbeth succumbs more and more to her womanly emotions, eventually breaking under the guilt and emotional burden and taking her own life.

Discuss the generation gap in Bradbury's "The Veldt".

1) The children seem disintrested with their parent's authority. Lying, coming home whenever they want, telling their parents what to do "I don't think you should consider it any more, father." etc. In this story the children have a sense of authority that should belong to the parents normally.

2) The nature of the children would come a lot from their attitudes towards their parents as well as their wanting to only "look, listen, and smell." Their imaginations and development has been trapped by the sights, souds, and smells, of the virtual reality in the nursery. They have become dead in terms of creativity.

3) This one I'm going to have to leave up to you. It is supposed to be your specific opinion on what is the influence of technology on people today. Shouldn't be too hard. Think of cell phones, microwaves, and the internet.

This should get you started at least.

Best of luck!

Why does Dee change her name in Walker's "Everyday Use?

After going away to college, Dee creates a new life for
herself and tries to create a new personal identity. She changes her name in an attempt
to identify with her African heritage and to leave behind the life into which she had
been born. She rejects her own heritage as a black American and her mother's
daughter.

Dee's behavior reflects the social movement of
the 1960s and 1970s in which the ideas of  "black pride" or Black Nationalism, developed
from the struggle for civil rights, were adopted by some Americans of African descent.
Malcom X, one influential leader in the African-American community, encouraged his
followers to abandon their "slave names," in favor of African names that reflected pride
in their heritage. This theme is also found in A Raisin in the Sun
through the character of Beneatha.

Why does Dee change her name in Walker's "Everyday Use?

After going away to college, Dee creates a new life for herself and tries to create a new personal identity. She changes her name in an attempt to identify with her African heritage and to leave behind the life into which she had been born. She rejects her own heritage as a black American and her mother's daughter.

Dee's behavior reflects the social movement of the 1960s and 1970s in which the ideas of  "black pride" or Black Nationalism, developed from the struggle for civil rights, were adopted by some Americans of African descent. Malcom X, one influential leader in the African-American community, encouraged his followers to abandon their "slave names," in favor of African names that reflected pride in their heritage. This theme is also found in A Raisin in the Sun through the character of Beneatha.

Why does the author leave the narrative at Devon at this point and discuss the war as Gene later experienced it?

Remember that your are only allowed to ask ONE question -
five seems to be taking it somewhat to an extreme, so I will focus on your first
question, which refers to the last page of the novel where the action shifts from the
younger Gene to the older Gene looking back at himself and reflecting on what he learned
from the experience. 

To answer this question you need to
focus on the specific narrative style that is used in the story. It is called first
person retrospective narration, which means it is an older narrator looking back at his
or her younger self. This is a very specialised form of narration used in other novels
such as Great Expectations and Jane Eyre. What
is interesting about it is that we as readers need to remember that alongside the
youthful narrator explaining what is happening to him or her, we have the older, maturer
narrator who also comments on the action, sometimes with
disapproval.

What is fitting about this narrative departure
at the end of this novel is that it reflects what Gene has learned from his experience
and re-states the theme of the novel. Note how the older Gene does not share in the
other boys' disillusionment, because he is able to reflect more deeply on what has
happened. The older Gene reflects that the war is something far deeper and intrinsically
a part of the human condition. The older Gene suggests that war emerges from a kind of
ignorance deep within the human heart. It is this condition of ignorance that causes
people to seek out an enemy and envision the world as a dangerous, hostile environment.
The novel ends with the older Gene questioning the logic and worth of such an
approach:

All
of them, all except Phineas, constructed at infinite cost to themselves these Maginot
Lines against this enemy they thought they saw across the frontier, this enemy who never
attacked that way - if he ever attacked at all; if he was indeed the
enemy.

Thus the end of the
novel marks a narrative departure to give us this maturer ruminations - which would be
unrealistic for the younger Gene to present.

Why does the author leave the narrative at Devon at this point and discuss the war as Gene later experienced it?

Remember that your are only allowed to ask ONE question - five seems to be taking it somewhat to an extreme, so I will focus on your first question, which refers to the last page of the novel where the action shifts from the younger Gene to the older Gene looking back at himself and reflecting on what he learned from the experience. 

To answer this question you need to focus on the specific narrative style that is used in the story. It is called first person retrospective narration, which means it is an older narrator looking back at his or her younger self. This is a very specialised form of narration used in other novels such as Great Expectations and Jane Eyre. What is interesting about it is that we as readers need to remember that alongside the youthful narrator explaining what is happening to him or her, we have the older, maturer narrator who also comments on the action, sometimes with disapproval.

What is fitting about this narrative departure at the end of this novel is that it reflects what Gene has learned from his experience and re-states the theme of the novel. Note how the older Gene does not share in the other boys' disillusionment, because he is able to reflect more deeply on what has happened. The older Gene reflects that the war is something far deeper and intrinsically a part of the human condition. The older Gene suggests that war emerges from a kind of ignorance deep within the human heart. It is this condition of ignorance that causes people to seek out an enemy and envision the world as a dangerous, hostile environment. The novel ends with the older Gene questioning the logic and worth of such an approach:

All of them, all except Phineas, constructed at infinite cost to themselves these Maginot Lines against this enemy they thought they saw across the frontier, this enemy who never attacked that way - if he ever attacked at all; if he was indeed the enemy.

Thus the end of the novel marks a narrative departure to give us this maturer ruminations - which would be unrealistic for the younger Gene to present.

What happened to Donalbain and Fleance after the war between Macbeth and Macduff?

Malcolm, the eldest son of Duncan, becomes King.  Donalbain is the second son, so he would be next in line to the throne should something happen to Malcolm.  However, mostly, the second son is expected to go into the church as a clergy (which is actually what was planned for King Henry VIII of England before his older brother Arthur died) or into the army.  Something that would bring honor to the family, but would not detract from the importance of the first-born son serving as King to the nation.

Fleance, the son of a noble, would also follow in the footsteps of his father, Banquo.  He would be one of the chief go-to men for the King--warrior, advisor, helpmate, friend, confidant.  In return for his loyalty, he would expect to be paid by titles, lands, wealth, and good marriage for himself and his children.  As a member or nobility, he can also be ambitious enough to seek the throne for his children through marriage or appointment as was foretold by the witches.

However, this is all speculation.  We don't know exactly what happened to them as the play ends with Malcolm's "thank you" speech to his loyal followers which brings the play full circle since it opened with a battle and Duncan's "thank you" speech to his loyal followers.

I need help with the social/historical background in Othello. For example, views on the devil during the Shakespearean period.

One aspect you would want to address would be one of race/ethnicity. Othello was a Moor and dark-skinned, and because he loved and married Desdemona, a white woman, this was controversial.  Her father did not initially approve of their union and Iago, the man who betrayed him and brought out Othello's tragic flaw, makes sure that Othello's ethnicity is emphasized to many people to anger them as it relates to Desdemona.

What does the Time Traveller feel is an unexpected consequence of a civilization that has no wants or hardship, and do you agree?

This part of The Time Machine seems to be a satire on the utopian ideas of the time it was written, which concentrated on the elimination of all work and effort from human society, "the machines, our new race of slaves," and the idea that enormous surplus value was being unfairly appropriated from the system by capitalism that could be made available for the benefit of all given some social engineering. 

If you read George Orwell's journalism in the period before he wrote Nineteen Eighty-Four, you can see that the unreality of this type of dream was almost an obsession with him. In another of his books, I think it was The Road to Wigan Pier, he characterized the "progressive" thought of his time as a mad dash toward a goal that people hoped never would be reached, because it would be too boring. It is a little bit unfair, given this criticism in The Time Machine, but most of Orwell's criticism takes H.G. Wells as the chief author of "rush to corruption" utopian thought.

It was in reaction to this type of thought, and the feeling that it could not motivate a ruling class, that inspired Orwell to define the aim of the Party in Nineteen Eighty-Four as a desire for power and a pleasure in causing pain to others to affirm that power. He made O'Brien, the Party spokeman, denouce utopianism of the Wells kind and admit that the Party only felt alive when crushing its adversaries -- and thus, the struggle would never end. 

The achievement of arete (courage) was very important for the Greek citizen, especially a warrior. Do Hector and Achilles achieve arete in the Iliad?

I believe Hector does, in fact, achieve arete.  I have a more difficult time believing that Achilles does.

Hector was everything a Greek hero should be.  He was loyal to his family and country, brave in the face of insurmountable odds, truly a self-sacrificing individual.  He most definitely achieved arete before being killed in battle.

Achilles, however, spends most of the Iliad sitting out of the battles, sulking because of Agamemnon's insult to his pride over the slavegirl, Briseis.  Rather than sucking it up and leading his men as he should have done, he stayed behind, raging over the loss of his honor--causing far more loss to his honor by his own inaction than what was caused by Agamemnon's insult.  Although Achilles could have fought, he chose not to.  In my opinion, that means he did not achieve arete.

Check the link below for more information.  Good luck!

What type of economy did 1984 have and how does this compare to our modern day economy?

The economy in the world of 1984 is constantly recessed and it is referred to as Ingsocwhich is newspeak for English Socialism. There are shortages of commonly used and needed items, buildings are run down with no hope of repair, and the city of Oceania (and probably much of the rest of the world) is dirty. The economy is socialistic. The distribution of wealth and property in the community are controlled by the government. The government controls the means of production of everything in the society, there are no private institutions. With a socialistic economic system there are usually three very distinct classes and rarely any gray areas. The rich, the middle class, and the poor (The Inner Party, the Outer Party, and the Proles).

The society in Oceania is in a constant state of war. Winston questions whether the war is even actually real or it is just present in the media to help keep the economy recessed and the people dependent upon the government. War is also used to explain shortages of everyday use items like razor blades and the reason there is a need for synthetic food.

In comparison the US capitalistic economy it is very different. We have competition which drives the market and not the government. The distribution of wealth is dependent upon individuals and the market. The classes range from the obscenely rich to the poorest of poor with many gray areas between.  

In your opinion, how can one predict the result of the relationship with a roommate? What are some potential challenges a person might face while...

In my experience, the roommates who get along the best are
not the ones who are best friends.  Ironically, roommates who have similar living
expectations in common but don't have a lot of social similarities seem to have the most
mutual respect for each other, the space, and each other's time and
privacy.

One situation that happens a lot with roommates
living with each other for the first time is crossing the boundary with sharing personal
information outside of the house.  If you live with roommates long enough, they almost
become like family.  But because they are NOT family, often disagreements and fights
take place because in sharing a small space you get to know very personal information
about each other, but because you haven't grown up together, often sensitive stuff is
not taken seriously - and people's feelings get hurt.

I was
a resident assistant in a women's dorm for two years in college.  Ironically, the
roommates who got along the best were the ones who saw each other the least.  Another
thing that helped many girls was making a "chore chart" - or at least having a plan of
who would do what and when when it came to housekeeping tasks (ie: cleaning, bills,
food, etc).

In your opinion, how can one predict the result of the relationship with a roommate? What are some potential challenges a person might face while...

In my experience, the roommates who get along the best are not the ones who are best friends.  Ironically, roommates who have similar living expectations in common but don't have a lot of social similarities seem to have the most mutual respect for each other, the space, and each other's time and privacy.

One situation that happens a lot with roommates living with each other for the first time is crossing the boundary with sharing personal information outside of the house.  If you live with roommates long enough, they almost become like family.  But because they are NOT family, often disagreements and fights take place because in sharing a small space you get to know very personal information about each other, but because you haven't grown up together, often sensitive stuff is not taken seriously - and people's feelings get hurt.

I was a resident assistant in a women's dorm for two years in college.  Ironically, the roommates who got along the best were the ones who saw each other the least.  Another thing that helped many girls was making a "chore chart" - or at least having a plan of who would do what and when when it came to housekeeping tasks (ie: cleaning, bills, food, etc).

In To Kill a Mockingbird, what secret does Jem reveal to Scout about what happened the night he went back to the Radley place for his pants?

Jem takes his time before he tells his sister that his pants were mended when he went back to get them. By taking his time before telling his sister, he is showing that he is growing up. He is taking time to think about things that happen to him and trying to put them into perspective. Scout notices this change in Jem and says, “It was then, I suppose, that Jem and I first begin to part company.”

In "The Catcher in the Rye", why has Holden “forgotten” to mention his dismissal from Pencey?

Holden has been kicked out of four schools before Pencey; he's never quite specific about why he was kicked out, though we know that he's flunked out of Pencey because he was failing four out of five classes. He's afraid to tell his parents for two reasons: one, he feels they would be upset, as any parent would be after a child getting kicked out of so many schools; and two, he's afraid to disappoint his parents again.

What attitudes emerge from Lady Macduff's characterization in "Macbeth"?Macbeth act4

Although Lady Macduff has a brief appearance in Macbeth, I don't think her lines really represent her significance in the play.

She is a representative of the death of innocence in Scotland.  Her death is also closely linked with Lady Macbeth's descent into madness.  Lady Macduff's murder, along with her children and servants is heinous and senseless.

Lady Macduff is a good mother, devoted wife and reveals herself to be confused by her husband's sudden departure.  She is suspicious of his behavior. She still has faith in Scotland, she does not want to leave, she feels that she has done nothing wrong. But she realizes that right is wrong in Scotland now and wrong is right, just like foul is fair and fair is foul.

"Whither should I fly?
I have done no harm. But I remember now
I am in this earthly world, where, to do harm
Is often laudable, to do good sometime
Accounted dangerous folly; why then, alas
Do I put up that womanly defence,
To say I have done no harm?"

However, when murderers storm into her house, she is very brave, as are the people of Scotland during Macbeth's tyrannical reign. 

Lady Macduff gives us the opinion of the people of Scotland through her dialogue, her honest loving life and her tragic symbolic death.

In "The Tell-Tale Heart", why did the narrator place his chair over the spot where the old man was buried when the police came?

The narrator is feeling overly confident at this point. He feels he has executed the perfect murder. The police have searched the entire house and found nothing amiss, and the narrator feels he's going to get away with the murder and the lies he's already told. He puts his chair right over the spot where the old man was buried as a symbol of his over-confidence; the police would never suspect he would deliberately sit over the spot he had hidden the body.

What is a simple explanation of "Sonnet 10"?

I tend to think the sonnet is a snapshot into an argument between a man and a woman.

The ups and downs of the relationship have taken their toll on the couple yet the man still has great affection for the woman.

He appears to love her so much that he (still) wants to have kids with her.

The sonnet is about procreation. The child is a product of a man and woman's love. Procreation is also a way to ensure that the man and woman would survive in the future. The child is an image or extension of the couple.

Make thee another self, for love of me, That beauty still may live in thine or thee.

- Sonnet 10, lines 12-14

How does the King of Norway respond to his Nephew's plot against Denmark? What is young Fortinbras new plan of action?

You can find the answer to this in Act II, Scene 2.  It is
found in the passages where Voltemand is reporting to King Claudius the results of his
visit to Norway.

He says that the King of Norway was upset
to hear of Fortinbras's plans.  When he confirmed that Fortinbras was trying this, he
arrested him and made him swear that he would never attack
Denmark.

Instead of attacking Denmark, Fortinbras agrees to
take the soldiers he has gathered and use them to go attack Poland.  The King of Norway
asks Claudius to let Fortinbras and his troops pass through Denmark on their way to
Poland.

How does the King of Norway respond to his Nephew's plot against Denmark? What is young Fortinbras new plan of action?

You can find the answer to this in Act II, Scene 2.  It is found in the passages where Voltemand is reporting to King Claudius the results of his visit to Norway.

He says that the King of Norway was upset to hear of Fortinbras's plans.  When he confirmed that Fortinbras was trying this, he arrested him and made him swear that he would never attack Denmark.

Instead of attacking Denmark, Fortinbras agrees to take the soldiers he has gathered and use them to go attack Poland.  The King of Norway asks Claudius to let Fortinbras and his troops pass through Denmark on their way to Poland.

What is the setting of "A Jury of Her Peers"?

The setting of this story is in a rural American community, Dickson County, at the turn of the twentieth century. This setting is extremely important to establishing the plot and themes of the story. 

The overriding impression we get in this story is of the emptiness of Minnie Wright's life which drives her to despair. In this kind of farming community, at that time, there would be few opportunities for women to do anything but keep the house; that was the only sort of work they could do, while the men were out working the farms. If a woman were happily married, with children to bring up, this would be alright, but for someone trapped in a loveless, childless, and indeed abusive marriage, like Minnie, there really was no escape from a bleak existence. Divorce was not readily available at the time, and much stigmatized. A woman like Minnie would be expected to bear her lot, no matter how lonely and isolated she might be. The loneliness of the Wright farm is emphasized; it is off the beaten track, down in a hollow. It appears as a grim place.

Martha Hale, one of Minnie's nearer neighbours, feels compunction at not having done more for Minnie. She feels guilty that she didn't make the effort to visit her more often:

'Oh, I wish I'd come over here once in a while!' she cried. 'That was a crime! That was a crime! Who's going to punish that?'

Minnie's only recourse, finally, is to kill her husband, by all accounts a thoroughly mean-spirited, domineering man. Her fellow-women, Martha Hale and Mrs Peters, realize the intolerable conditions of her life which finally drove her to extreme action. 

Who is guilty for the death of King Duncan in "Macbeth"?

Macbeth does the physical murdering of King Duncan, but Lady Macbeth, it can be said, succeeded in convincing him that he must murder the King.  Indirectly, the witches are also responsible for the murder.

It is after the prophecy that the witches give Macbeth about his succession first to Thane of Cawdor and then King that ignite his secret ambition, wanting to be king.  So when the witches give Macbeth the prophecy, they expect murder and mayhem.

Therefore, the witches, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are all responsible for the murder of King Duncan. 

I need quotes and ideas from Part III in Fahrenheit 451 that focus on the themes below:Themes: the rights and responsibilites of being a citizen...

I think one place to start when considering these theme
ideas, is to look at the way characters turn on each other at the end of the
book.

Mildred turns on her husband in the name of the law,
but does so out of fear and ignorance.  Beatty turns on his co-worker and friend in the
name of justice, but he is neather fearful nor ignorant.  Montag turns on (and kills) a
once mentor and guide in the name of protection and enlightenment.  The prohibition of
free thinking in this dystopic society create an immediate
comparison to our world of democracy, knowledge, and
growth.

Mildred embodies the effects of mass media
(especially in large doses) by losing her own identity first, and giving up what
our society considers a very important relationship.  Ironically,
Beatty embodies the responsibilities of being a citizen in his own society (as he works
tirelessly at a job he believes is moral), presenting a clear contrast to the rights and
responsibilites our society often takes for granted by abuse or
neglect.  Finally, Montag, the character who seeks most to break out of his societal
mold, is also the most lonely and alienated.  Ironically, he feels this way both before
and after his own conversion to the enlightened side of
humanity.

Keeping these ideas in mind, I think you will
have an easy time finding proof in the form of quotes by looking for  characterization
of Montag, Beatty, and Mildred.

I need quotes and ideas from Part III in Fahrenheit 451 that focus on the themes below:Themes: the rights and responsibilites of being a citizen...

I think one place to start when considering these theme ideas, is to look at the way characters turn on each other at the end of the book.

Mildred turns on her husband in the name of the law, but does so out of fear and ignorance.  Beatty turns on his co-worker and friend in the name of justice, but he is neather fearful nor ignorant.  Montag turns on (and kills) a once mentor and guide in the name of protection and enlightenment.  The prohibition of free thinking in this dystopic society create an immediate comparison to our world of democracy, knowledge, and growth.

Mildred embodies the effects of mass media (especially in large doses) by losing her own identity first, and giving up what our society considers a very important relationship.  Ironically, Beatty embodies the responsibilities of being a citizen in his own society (as he works tirelessly at a job he believes is moral), presenting a clear contrast to the rights and responsibilites our society often takes for granted by abuse or neglect.  Finally, Montag, the character who seeks most to break out of his societal mold, is also the most lonely and alienated.  Ironically, he feels this way both before and after his own conversion to the enlightened side of humanity.

Keeping these ideas in mind, I think you will have an easy time finding proof in the form of quotes by looking for  characterization of Montag, Beatty, and Mildred.

What exactly is Doodle's disease in the story, "Scarlet Ibis?"

From the description of Doodle as being "all head," he might have been born with a birth defect called hydrocephaly. Normally, spinal fluid is produced inside the brain to cushion and protect it. Babies born with hydrocephaly produce too much spinal fluid, which causes their heads to grow too large. Often growth of the head can be controlled with a permanent shunt that drains the excess spinal fluid into the stomach. However, the child will most likely have learning disorders. If the child doesn't receive the shunt, then the head will continue to grow, and the excess spinal fluid will put too much pressure on the brain. Life expectancy would not be long.

I know a young man who was born with this condition. Sadly, his birth mother abandoned him when she saw what he looked like, but he was adopted by wonderful parents who made sure he got the shunt surgeries he needed. He is legally blind, and he has a low IQ, but he is able to take care of himself. He went to auto/diesel school and has a career as a mechanic.

Visit the links below for more information on this birth defect.

What does this quote from Romeo and Juliet mean? "Virtue itself turns vice, being misapllied,/A vice sometime by action dignified."Act ii

In this quote, the friar is saying that good and bad qualities may not be as cut and dried as might be assumed, and that good can turn into bad and vice versa.

The friar is ruminating at this point on the properties of the various plants and herbs he is gathering, observing that a plant not yet fully grown has the potential for both good and bad: 'Within the infant rind of this weak flower/ poison hath residence, and medicine power'. He applies this to human beings also. In essence what he is saying is that living things all have the potential for good and also harm. It really depends on how these qualities are used. If virtue is 'misapplied', that is to say used wrongly, it becomes harmful. Conversely, vice might blossom into something good, given the right circumstances, as a previous answer stated.

As observed in another answer, this analogy can be applied to Romeo and Juliet. Their love is a sweet and positive thing to begin with, all the more so when contrasted with the long-standing hostility between their respective families. However, they let their love dominate them too much; they end up with a surfeit of it.

The human tendency to intemperate emotion (seen in both the love of Romeo and Juliet and the hatred that otherwise prevails between the Montagues and Capulets) is probably what the friar also has in mind when referring to a flower:

For this, being smelt, with that part cheers each part;

Being tasted, slays all senses with the heart.

 The friar is hinting here that it is all right to partake a little of something, but to indulge it too much can be overwhelming and even fatal, as the young lovers' passion proves to be. When they only have a whiff of love, it brings them happiness, but once they actually taste it, indulge it, it becomes too much and overcomes them; it 'slays all senses'. 

What three qualities might paint Rip Van Winkle as a model American Romantic hero?

"Rip Van Winkle," a classic American Romantic tale, presents a hero that embodies several characteristics important to the ideal romantic hero.

Rip is isolated and alienated by his long sleep, and has trouble accessing the new, strange world of the future. Themes of the supernatural and fantasy are very prevalent in Romantic literature, as is the theme of nature. In RVW, these elements are what help to isolate Rip from society, thus creating the sort of iconic loner character so often found in Romantic fiction (see Melville's "Bartleby the Scrivener" for another example).

  Romantic heroes tend to be archetypal rather than well-rounded, realistic characters, and often meant to embody ideas rather than represent humanity (something that changed once Realism came about). In this case, Rip fulfills the classical role of the Romantic prophetic awakener. In this particular instance, the ideal is explored through metaphor (he "wakes up" in the story). Rip also has many antiheroic qualities (the Byronic hero comes to mind), such as laziness -- this tempering helps us separate him from  the neoclassical idea of the perfect hero. A romantic hero often has flaws.

 Rip's heavy involvement with nature -- it works as a setting and more in the piece -- also helps identify him as a Romantic hero. Romantic heroes are almost always seen as having direct involvement with nature, which is sometimes presented as wild, untamed, and dangerous.

How did the scarlet ibis end up in Doodle's backyard? What happened to it once it was there?

I believe that this bird, meant for the tropics from south Florida to South America, was probably driven off its migratory course by the hurricane mentioned as having driven through Old Woman Swamp that July, 1918.  At least, scientifically, this is an explanation.  However, that this bird, with its slender neck and legs and its "bleeding" breast, should find that moment to light in and then die beneath the narrator's bleeding tree, only days before Doodle himself begins to decline and then ultimately die, speaks more to that element of fantastic and symbolic imagery that makes Hurst's "Scarlet Ibis" so memorable.  Doodle, in death, is a human likeness of the dead ibis, slender neck thrown back, slender legs crooked beneath him, his breast red with blood.  

What does this quote mean? "Who in this town did one thing to help Tom Robinson, just who"What doe Jem mean by this and how is he reffering it to...

Jem was angry when Tom was killed trying to escape from
prison. He knew that Tom was convicted not on the evidencebut on the color of his skin.
No one in the town of Maycomb offered to help Tom besides Atticus Finch. When Tom was in
prison and not able to work, no one in the white community took food to his family or
tried to help them in any way. Atticus was the only man who stood guard to keep him from
being lynched. The newspaper editor who watched over Atticus at that did it for
Atticus's sake and those of his children, not out of concern for Tom. The missionary
society, of which Aunt Alexandra was a member, cared more about a far away African tribe
than the well-being of a member of their community. Only Atticus and his family paid
their respects to Tom's family after he died.

What does this quote mean? "Who in this town did one thing to help Tom Robinson, just who"What doe Jem mean by this and how is he reffering it to...

Jem was angry when Tom was killed trying to escape from prison. He knew that Tom was convicted not on the evidencebut on the color of his skin. No one in the town of Maycomb offered to help Tom besides Atticus Finch. When Tom was in prison and not able to work, no one in the white community took food to his family or tried to help them in any way. Atticus was the only man who stood guard to keep him from being lynched. The newspaper editor who watched over Atticus at that did it for Atticus's sake and those of his children, not out of concern for Tom. The missionary society, of which Aunt Alexandra was a member, cared more about a far away African tribe than the well-being of a member of their community. Only Atticus and his family paid their respects to Tom's family after he died.

In A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, how does Francie change because of the death of Johnny; the working world; and meeting and breaking up with Lee? ...

As far as the working world is concerned, Francie learns
about seniority, fairness, and the importance of reputation.  Francie becomes
disillusioned with the world of work after she has to cross the Brooklyn Bridge to get
to work.  She previously thought that the trip would be exciting, but quickly learns
that the commute is draining.  Once at work, Francie is happy that she is getting paid
so much because she has never before earned such a high salary.  However, after talking
to the other girls, she realizes that she is the lowest paid reader and that she has not
been treated fairly.  She becomes especially bitter when she realizes that she is a much
faster worker than many of the highest paid workers.  Francie, even though she feels
used, has no voice in the company and must continue reading for her low salary.  She
often looks at the top reader, who has a relationship with the boss, and wishes that she
could have her position.  So the working world introduces Francie to the hardships of
the "dog-eat-dog" work mentality.

In A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, how does Francie change because of the death of Johnny; the working world; and meeting and breaking up with Lee? ...

As far as the working world is concerned, Francie learns about seniority, fairness, and the importance of reputation.  Francie becomes disillusioned with the world of work after she has to cross the Brooklyn Bridge to get to work.  She previously thought that the trip would be exciting, but quickly learns that the commute is draining.  Once at work, Francie is happy that she is getting paid so much because she has never before earned such a high salary.  However, after talking to the other girls, she realizes that she is the lowest paid reader and that she has not been treated fairly.  She becomes especially bitter when she realizes that she is a much faster worker than many of the highest paid workers.  Francie, even though she feels used, has no voice in the company and must continue reading for her low salary.  She often looks at the top reader, who has a relationship with the boss, and wishes that she could have her position.  So the working world introduces Francie to the hardships of the "dog-eat-dog" work mentality.

In Chapter 11, why is Helmholtz Watson sad when he listens to Bernard's boastings?(I had six girls last week) pp 156~157 Brave New World by...

In his satirizing of Bernard Marx, Huxley shows how
quickly people throw away their attempts to be authentic as soon as people start
treating them as of "outstanding importance."  When Bernard talks with Helmholtz of his
female conquests and growing popularity now that so many are after John, Helmholtz
listens to his boasting "in a silence so gloomily disapproving that Bernard was
offended":

readability="14">

"You're envious," he
said.

Helmholtz shook his head.  "I'm rather sad, that's
all," he answered.

Bernard went off in a huff. never, he
told himself, never would he speak to Helmholtz
again.

The man who was
insulted by the Director's lewd talk of Lenina now has many female partners now,
himself.  The man who wished to look at nature and enjoy the stars, now exploits the
natural man, John.  The man who wished to talk and have a meaningful conversation now
engages in sex with multiple, meaningless partners.  Helmholtz finds this behavior of
Bernard unauthentic and hypocritical since Bernard does
genuinely believe that there are things to
criticize.

However, Bernard is no Helmholtz.  He is weak;
he secretly has always desired to be accepted and respected, instead of having people
whisper behind his back about the alcohol that was accidentally put into his incubating
tube.  Bernard is also deluded:

readability="9">

Intoxicated, he was behaving as though, at the
very least, he were a visiting World Controller. Lighter than
air.

In his delusion, he
writes to Mustpha Mond, lecturing about the "Savage."  The idea of Bernard's lecturing
to him, gives Mond an idea about which he laughs.  Here, indeed, is foreshadowing of the
demise of Bernard.

In Chapter 11, why is Helmholtz Watson sad when he listens to Bernard's boastings?(I had six girls last week) pp 156~157 Brave New World by...

In his satirizing of Bernard Marx, Huxley shows how quickly people throw away their attempts to be authentic as soon as people start treating them as of "outstanding importance."  When Bernard talks with Helmholtz of his female conquests and growing popularity now that so many are after John, Helmholtz listens to his boasting "in a silence so gloomily disapproving that Bernard was offended":

"You're envious," he said.

Helmholtz shook his head.  "I'm rather sad, that's all," he answered.

Bernard went off in a huff. never, he told himself, never would he speak to Helmholtz again.

The man who was insulted by the Director's lewd talk of Lenina now has many female partners now, himself.  The man who wished to look at nature and enjoy the stars, now exploits the natural man, John.  The man who wished to talk and have a meaningful conversation now engages in sex with multiple, meaningless partners.  Helmholtz finds this behavior of Bernard unauthentic and hypocritical since Bernard does genuinely believe that there are things to criticize.

However, Bernard is no Helmholtz.  He is weak; he secretly has always desired to be accepted and respected, instead of having people whisper behind his back about the alcohol that was accidentally put into his incubating tube.  Bernard is also deluded:

Intoxicated, he was behaving as though, at the very least, he were a visiting World Controller. Lighter than air.

In his delusion, he writes to Mustpha Mond, lecturing about the "Savage."  The idea of Bernard's lecturing to him, gives Mond an idea about which he laughs.  Here, indeed, is foreshadowing of the demise of Bernard.

In the play A Doll's House, what is the difference between Torvald's and Nora's definition of a "human being"?

Torvald does treat Nora as a doll.  Ibsen's A Doll's House
has often been used as a rallying cry for the feminist movement, especially during the
second wave when Betty Friedan's Feminine Mystique was a pivotal point in that part of
the movement.  While Ibsen has considered himself more of a humanist instead of a
feminist, there's no denying that he wanted Nora to be an equal to her
husband.

In the final act she says, "But our home's been
nothing but a playpen. I've been your doll-wife here, just as at home I was Papa's
doll-child. And in turn the children have been my dolls. I thought it fun when you
played with me, just as they thought it fun when I played with them. That's been our
marriage, Torvald. [. . .]If I'm ever to reach any understanding of myself and the
things around me, I must learn to stand alone. That's why I can't stay here with you any
longer."

Torvald does not consider his wife his equal, he
considers her more like a doll or a child.  Something to play with, feed macaroons, have
dance for him, and call his "little squirrel" and other diminutive names.  Most likely,
the only others that Torvald considers equal to him are other men of his status as a
businessman (or greater) in society.

Nora, as you can
probably tell, defines being human as someone who understands herself and someone who is
free.  It's not about status or gender to her.

In the play A Doll's House, what is the difference between Torvald's and Nora's definition of a "human being"?

Torvald does treat Nora as a doll.  Ibsen's A Doll's House has often been used as a rallying cry for the feminist movement, especially during the second wave when Betty Friedan's Feminine Mystique was a pivotal point in that part of the movement.  While Ibsen has considered himself more of a humanist instead of a feminist, there's no denying that he wanted Nora to be an equal to her husband.

In the final act she says, "But our home's been nothing but a playpen. I've been your doll-wife here, just as at home I was Papa's doll-child. And in turn the children have been my dolls. I thought it fun when you played with me, just as they thought it fun when I played with them. That's been our marriage, Torvald. [. . .]If I'm ever to reach any understanding of myself and the things around me, I must learn to stand alone. That's why I can't stay here with you any longer."

Torvald does not consider his wife his equal, he considers her more like a doll or a child.  Something to play with, feed macaroons, have dance for him, and call his "little squirrel" and other diminutive names.  Most likely, the only others that Torvald considers equal to him are other men of his status as a businessman (or greater) in society.

Nora, as you can probably tell, defines being human as someone who understands herself and someone who is free.  It's not about status or gender to her.

What reasons does Holmes give for being unable to accompany Sir Henry and Dr. Mortimer to Dartmoor in "The Hound of the Baskervilles"?Anywhere in...

Holmes reasons for not accompanying Watson are false.  Holmes does not accompany Dr. Watson and Baskerville to the hall because he  plans to come disguised to the area.  He wants to investigate alone hoping to discover the secret of the hound and its apparition.  Disguised as a beggar, he not only discovers the possible hiding place of the dog, but also the hiding place of Seldon the escaped convict and his relationship to the servants at the hall.  He implies that he will be available only if worse comes to worse, but he is, in fact, present during the entire time.  He quickly eliminates the red herring of Seldon and the hall's housekeeper and butler and discovers other possible suspects lurking about.

This is not an unusual situation for Holmes.  In many of his stories he has "hiding" places all over London where he quickly disguises himself in order to follow or observe situations and people.  Some times he is so well disguised that even Watson does not recognize him.  It is one more tool in his arsenal of weapons to prevent or solve crime.

How does Poe develop a sense of suspense in “The Cask of Amontillado”?

Poe is the master of suspenseful writing and unique plot twists. He develops suspense through the use of setting and the characters. When Montresor begins the story immediately we know we are dealing with a volatile loose cannon. Poe uses Montresor, the unreliable narrator, to tell this gruesome tale. We know right away that Montresor plans to exact revenge for the "thousand injuries"Fortunato has inflicted upon him. The story unfolds during the carnival season and Montresor happened to come dressed as the Grim Reaper while Fortunato, in stark contrast, comes dressed as a jester. The two meet at night and Montresor speaks to his "friend" very darkly, although Fortunato is too drunk to realize. Montresor lead Fortunato to his empty estate under the auspices of tasting a fine wine. Once there he leads him into the catacombs, which also served as the burial tombs for the family's generations passed. The suspense grows and reaches its climax when we realize along with Fortunato that Montresor plans to bury him alive in the tombs behind a newly built brick wall.

What do the references to mythology and religion have to do with the poem "Sunday Morning"?

The poem contains a dialogue or a conversation between the woman, who is on a journey to try and understand the value of her earthly life as opposed to her spiritual life, and the poet who is helping her decide.

Religion is a part of this poem because the woman is relaxing on a Sunday morning, lingering over coffee and fruit, instead of going to church.  She considers the Christian tradition that requires mass attendance on Sunday and there is a suggestion that it is actually Easter Sunday, the holiest day on the Christian calendar. 

Initially she feels content with her decision to enjoy the beauty of this Sunday by relaxing in the Sun, but then she realizes that her existence is only temporary, and unlike spiritual things which are eternal, her life will fade. 

She then expands her thinking to include Greek mythology, mentioning Jove and how disconnected he was from an earthly life, he had no connections to nature like she does.

In the end, the poet and the woman decide to abandon the traditional Christian form of worship because she feels that it does not hold any promise except the coldness of the grave.

She embraces a life of earthly pleasures, a pagan lifestyle that makes her feel free to seize the day.  

Describe the mother in "Everyday Use"?

Mrs. Johnson, the narrator, describes herself as a large
and strong woman. She lives in the Georgia countryside, in a house that could be
described as little more than a hovel. However, she is proud of her surroundings, and
takes great care of the place both inside and out. She has not had an easy life, having
been burned out of a previous house, and having also watched her younger daughter,
Maggie, suffer severe burns in the fire. She is proud of her family history, knowing the
past so well that she can even identify a patch of blue (Union?) cloth from the uniform
"Great Grandpa Ezra" wore during the Civil War. She is also an acute observer, with
great sensitivity for the wishes and feelings of her two daughters and with a parent’s
wish to treat them both equally; hence she balks at giving Dee the quilts even though
she has no qualms about the butterchurn parts.

Describe the mother in "Everyday Use"?

Mrs. Johnson, the narrator, describes herself as a large and strong woman. She lives in the Georgia countryside, in a house that could be described as little more than a hovel. However, she is proud of her surroundings, and takes great care of the place both inside and out. She has not had an easy life, having been burned out of a previous house, and having also watched her younger daughter, Maggie, suffer severe burns in the fire. She is proud of her family history, knowing the past so well that she can even identify a patch of blue (Union?) cloth from the uniform "Great Grandpa Ezra" wore during the Civil War. She is also an acute observer, with great sensitivity for the wishes and feelings of her two daughters and with a parent’s wish to treat them both equally; hence she balks at giving Dee the quilts even though she has no qualms about the butterchurn parts.

In the story A Christmas Memory, Buddy and his cousin give fruitcakes to almost everyone but who do they not give to?

Truman Capote wrote A Christmas Memory as he was inspired by his own recollection of his childhood. It is a short story with a charming and unassuming tone which is so endearing that it even creates memories and fond thoughts in even the most cynical people. "Buddy's" elderly cousin has noticed the changing season and, despite her tendency to confuse most things she remarks that "It's fruitcake weather," without any prompting. She is an appropriate friend to the seven year old Buddy because, despite her age "she is still a child."

She is anxious to get baking the fruitcakes as they have "thirty cakes to bake" which they bake for their "friends." However, their friends are not the traditional type of friends but rather they are almost strangers and people they barely know. They do not bake cakes for the family members who live with them or even for their neighbors. The reason for this is because Buddy's friend is "shy with everyone except strangers." She even sends a cake to the President's wife and looks forward to receiving a thank you note for her efforts. They also receive thank yous from a missionary couple from Borneo. Some of the other recipients are random people like the "driver of the six o'clock bus from Mobile" or  the young couple from California who took their photograph when they were stuck in town with car trouble and spent an hour chatting. Then there's the knife-grinder and it is all these people who make Buddy and his friend "feel connected to eventful worlds beyond the kitchen." 

There is one last cake as they are making thirty one cakes this year. Money is tight but Buddy and his "friend" always somehow manage to scrape their money together. They are not so desperate thought that when Buddy thinks they may have collected $13 in their "Fruitcake Fund" they purposefully throw away a penny as his friend does not want to take any chances with the number thirteen. They spend much of their money but the most expensive ingredient is the whiskey and although it is prohibited they know they can get whisky from Mr. Haha Jones.

They have always dealt with his wife but today he comes to the door and everything they have heard about him is true. "He is a giant; he does have scars (and) he doesn't smile." However, he is kindly when he realizes that they don't have much money and rather than taking $2 from them, he asks for a fruitcake instead. It takes four days and then the cakes are ready. Mr Haha Jones's cake will have "extra raisins" in. 

Gattaca shows that catergorising people into a hierarchy of castes ("superior" and "inferior") is both false and dangerous. How does this relate to...

Don't forget feminism in thinking about a superior/inferior caste system.  In the movie Gattaca, people were treated differently  based on things they couldn't control-- whether they had natural genetics, or superior, altered genetics.  Similarly, we cannot control our race or our gender, but our society CAN control how we treat people with such differences equally.

If you have ever read The Giver by Lois Lowry, you can apply the lessons in Gattaca to that book as well.  In The Giver people are given jobs based on their ability and there is a very rigid, and widely accepted, caste system.

What is more ethical about their caste system than ours, or the fictional one in Gattaca, is that their rankings are based on ability, and not on things that are out of a person's control.  They are ranked in society by the skills they could perform-- if we are going to rank people, the lesson we could learn is that we should base our rankings on ability and not race, gender, etc.

Refer to lines 42-68 in Act 1, Scene 1: "O, sir, content you...I am not what I am." Discuss what these lines reveal about Iago.

In Act I of Othello, Iago says to
Roderigo:

readability="5">

I am not what I am.
(I.i.57–65)

The
line is verbal irony (understatement)
because, even after Iago admits this secret, Rogerigo continues to trust him and pay him
money, knowing full well that he is a liar, cheat, and traitor!  This is why Iago calls
Roderigo his "fool."

This reveals Iago's
status as a Janus figure.  Janus was usually depicted with two heads facing in opposite
directions. Janus was two-faced, a perfect analogy to describe Iago.
 Iago seems to be honest and loyal to Othello, but in reality, he is a vice character
and a satanic villain.  This line reveals one of the main themes and motifs in the play:
appearance vs. reality.

The line is a spoof
of one of the great verses of the Old Testament.  Yahweh (God) says, "I am that I
am." He means He is what he says he is, and He will do what he says He
will do.  Here, Iago reveals just the opposite: he is not who he says he is, and he will
not do what he says He will do.  Iago and others say he's "honest."  He says to Othello,
"I am your own."  And he says he will kill Cassio.  He is none of these.  He will not do
any of these.  Iago is a two-faced liar.

Refer to lines 42-68 in Act 1, Scene 1: "O, sir, content you...I am not what I am." Discuss what these lines reveal about Iago.

In Act I of Othello, Iago says to Roderigo:

I am not what I am. (I.i.57–65)

The line is verbal irony (understatement) because, even after Iago admits this secret, Rogerigo continues to trust him and pay him money, knowing full well that he is a liar, cheat, and traitor!  This is why Iago calls Roderigo his "fool."

This reveals Iago's status as a Janus figure.  Janus was usually depicted with two heads facing in opposite directions. Janus was two-faced, a perfect analogy to describe Iago.  Iago seems to be honest and loyal to Othello, but in reality, he is a vice character and a satanic villain.  This line reveals one of the main themes and motifs in the play: appearance vs. reality.

The line is a spoof of one of the great verses of the Old Testament.  Yahweh (God) says, "I am that I am." He means He is what he says he is, and He will do what he says He will do.  Here, Iago reveals just the opposite: he is not who he says he is, and he will not do what he says He will do.  Iago and others say he's "honest."  He says to Othello, "I am your own."  And he says he will kill Cassio.  He is none of these.  He will not do any of these.  Iago is a two-faced liar.

What is the story A Rose for Emily about?Please help me out

I don't understand your question.  Have you read
Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" and you don't understand it?  Or have you not read it and
you want someone to tell you what happens so you don't have to read
it?

I'll tell you what's at the center of the story in case
you don't understand it, but I won't give you plot details so you don't have to read
it.

Faulkner often writes about the South in the period
following the Civil War.  The South was devastated by the war:  its economy was
destroyed, and most of the battles and raids and destruction took place in the South. 
This story is about the recovery, or lack of it.  It is a bit of an allegory about
refusing to let go of a glorious past. 

Emily, once a
member of the aristocracy, has been "reduced" to a "commoner," so to speak.  And she
refuses to accept the reduced status. 

The story is
allegorically about the lengths a person will go to in order to hold on to a glorious
past. 

What is the story A Rose for Emily about?Please help me out

I don't understand your question.  Have you read Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" and you don't understand it?  Or have you not read it and you want someone to tell you what happens so you don't have to read it?

I'll tell you what's at the center of the story in case you don't understand it, but I won't give you plot details so you don't have to read it.

Faulkner often writes about the South in the period following the Civil War.  The South was devastated by the war:  its economy was destroyed, and most of the battles and raids and destruction took place in the South.  This story is about the recovery, or lack of it.  It is a bit of an allegory about refusing to let go of a glorious past. 

Emily, once a member of the aristocracy, has been "reduced" to a "commoner," so to speak.  And she refuses to accept the reduced status. 

The story is allegorically about the lengths a person will go to in order to hold on to a glorious past. 

I want to know more about the characteristics in "The Black Cat". Who is the main character and what are the characteristics for all the characters...

The main character would be our unnamed narrator. He is a crazy man who thinks he is sane. He starts out telling the reader that is was once a gentle and docile man who loved animals, and it is the cat that changes him into the monster. He honestly doesn't want to hurt the animal(s), but something from "beyond" entices him to do so, even leading to the death of his wife. If you believe he is a reliable narrator, then he would be a round character (many different traits) that changes over time (dynamic). If you think he is an unreliable narrator, I would still say he is a round character, but a static character (doesn't change over time).

The wife is the other main character. She is kind and understand and an unfortunate victim of her husband's wrath. She's a rather minor character, flat (one characteristic) and static (doesn't change, unless you count death as a change, but it isn't really a personality change).

The police officers are minor, static, flat characters.

You could make an argument that the cats (Pluto and the second black cat) are characters, but it's hard to classify them because, unless you really get to know a cat, it's hard to determine the personality. If you believe the narrator that the cat was spiting him on purpose, the cats could be considered round characters.

What would be the Resolution in A Raisin in the Sun?

Although the outcome doesn't seem very positive, some very important life lessons are learned here.

1. Joseph tells Beneatha that so many people are worse off than she, and that her dreams don't need to be forgotten because of this small bump in the road.  She can still be a doctor, and he would like to marry her and take her back to Africa to practice medicine when she's done.

2.  Momma tells Ruth and Beneatha that the time to love a person is not when everything is rosy, but when they are down and out.  Walter has lost the family's money, and he is in need of love and comfort now.

3.  Walter finds his pride.  The family decides to move into the house anyway--surely four grown people can earn enough to afford to move up in the world.  He tells Linder they don't want his money.  Linder makes a comment, "I hope you know what you're getting yourselves into."  The fact is, the family does.  Their eyes are open and they intend to make things better for their family and future. 

4.  Don't give up.  No matter how bad things look or get, with a little help, all can and will prevail.  Momma's plant at the end of the play represents this.  That poor plant should have long been dead, but it represents the will and determination of the family to survive in the midst of harsh circumstances.

Describe Tom's house in "The Devil and Tom Walker".no

At the beginning of the story, Tom's house is described as a "forlorn looking house that stood alone and had the look of starvation". Because of the stinginess and mistrust of both Tom and his wife, the house was as bad inside as it was out. Tom and his wife never trusted each other, they fought often, and neglected their animals. Their horse is pitifully described as having ribs sticking out, given barely enough food to survive. After Tom makes a deal with the devil, he builds a new, ostentatious home but never finishes it or furnishes it completely because he is too miserly. He still starves his horses and never takes care of his new possessions because that would cost money.

According to Aristotle, is "All My Sons" a real tragedy? If yes or no, please explain.

This would be easier to answer if there was a simple definition of tragedy.  There are several pieces to Aristotle's definition and they are interpreted multiple ways by different critics.  But, in my opinion, "All My Sons" is a tragedy, and can be seen as a classical tragedy.

“Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not of narrative; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its katharsis of such emotions. . .” (translation by S. H. Butcher)

Certainly, the play is serious and complete.  It absolutely attains a fairly high magnitude.  Miller's use of language is very artistic; look at the Doctor's speech about Chris having to be alone to watch his star go out.   In terms of catharsis, several characters can be said to have a catharsis, but most of all, it is Joe Keller who has the catharsis.  He finally comes to understand the true meaning of his actions and is undone by that.  I would also say that an audience would also find the play cathartic, in that there is much to be learned about setting priorities and making ethical choices, even in the face of family need.

Why is Russia at war with Georgia?

These are all excellent answers.  The conflict goes much farther back in time, however.  Georgia became a sort of vassal state to Russia in the 18th Century, partly for protection against the Ottoman Empire and partly because they could not protect themselves against the Russians anyway.  Ethnic and nationalist tensions between Georgia and Russia have surfaced continuously ever since.  Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan united as the Transcaucasion Federation in 1917, Georgia becoming independant the following year.  In 1922 they were forcibly annexed by the USSR.

The disturbing thing about the current unrest to me is the excuse used by Putin to explain the invasion of South Ossetia and Abkhazistan, that of the Russian national duty to "protect" Russians living in these areas.  The Abkhazi are not Russian, neither are the Ossetians, and neither ethnic group has expressed any interest in being part of Russia again.  The North Ossetians, living in Russia, want to seperate from the larger country and unite with the South Ossetians as an independant nation.

The excuse of protecting Russians living in neighboring countries is the same excuse Hitler gave for annexing Czechoslovakia and invading Poland, to "protect" Germans living in a country he wanted.

What comic elements does the play Hamlet contain? What scenes, what characters what exchanges of dialogue?

The most obvious comic scene in Hamlet occurs in Act 5, sc. 1 with the gravediggers (often identified as the "clowns").  The exchange between the two men digging Ophelia's grave is very funny.  The two exchange riddles and the first gravedigger continues to exchange riddles, as well as word-play, when Hamlet and Horatio come upon them.  Then Hamlet asks whose grave it is that the gravedigger is digging.  The gravedigger responds that since he's digging the grave, it's his.  Hamlet asks is it for a man or a woman, the gravedigger says it's for neither since the one who will lie in it is dead.  And on it goes.  There is some humor in Act 2, sc. 2 when Hamlet and Polonius exchange words because Hamlet is making fun of Polonius only he doesn't seem to realize it.  Also, the exchange between Hamlet and Osric in Act 5, sc. 2, when Osric delivers to Hamlet the challenge to the fencing match from Laertes is humorous because Osric is so fawning and pretentious that Hamlet makes fun of him.

What can you infer from the name "Infant Nurseries' Neo- Pavlovian Conditioning Room"?

Ivan Pavlov did experiments in psychology.  He was part of a group called "Behaviorists" who believe that behavior is just about stimulus and response.  He did work with dogs where he "taught" them to salivate by getting them to associate the ringing of a bell to getting fed. He rang the bell before feeding them so often that they began to salivate just at the bell.  He'd taught their bodies to react in a particular way.

The children in this "nursery" are being trained the same way. The government is training them to like or dislike certain conditions, not based on what they truly want or need or enjoy, but based on how the government wants them to react.

There's also a really nasty implication here because the infants are being trained like dogs, implying that have no more value than a dog.  Of course, humans are devalued across the board, the one more case of devaluing human life is not particularly surprising.

Explain the significance of Jim kissing Laura in scene 7 of The Glass Menagerie.

Jim 'the gentleman caller' arrives at the Wingfield apartment in Sc.6.  Laura very reluctantly  and awkwardly after much prodding from her mother goes to the door and lets him in and immediately busies herself with the record player.  Tom defends her saying that she is extremely shy, to which Jim replies: "It's unusual to meet a shy girl nowadays."

The events just prior to and after  Jim spontaneously kissing Laura are significant because they highlight the marked change that has taken place in Laura's personality. From being a shy, nervous and timid girl who found it impossible to go  to the door to let her schoodays infatuation into her house in Sc.6, she at the end of the play after Jim's kiss in Sc.7 has become bold enough to present the broken unicorn(the most treasured piece in her 'glass menagerie') as a souvenir to Jim who has just then disappointed her by saying that he is engaged to another girl. Till then, Laura had been entirely dependent on these glass dolls as a relief from her anxiety attacks. The breaking of the glass unicorn and Jim's kiss clearly emphasize Laura's freedom from depending on her collection of glass dolls as a source of relief from her attacks of nervousness.

The kiss and what follows is the Epiphany which reveals that Laura has been cured of her inferiority complex and will be able to stand on her own 'two' feet and face life boldly without anyone's help.

How are the themes of Lyddie and Bridge to Terabithia the same and different?What role does setting play in each novel? How are the novels similar...

Lyddie and Bridge to Terabithia share many common themes, as do most of Katherine Patterson's books.  Both are coming of age novels, where the protagonists must overcome obstacles both outside themselves and within their own characters in achieving maturity.  For Lyddie, it is stubborn pride that she must reconcile.  Fiercely independent, she faces responsibilities far beyond what she should have to deal with at her age, keeping her family together and fed when her father leaves and her mother sinks towards madness, yet she makes her situation even more difficult than it needs to be by refusing the help of those, like Mr. Stevens, who would come to her aid.  For Jesse, the protagonist in Bridge to Terabithia, it is his tendency to be afraid that her must come to terms with.  Through his friendship with Leslie, and her unconditional acceptance of him, he develops self-confidence and learns to work around his tendency to be reticent.

Family is another theme common to both books.  Both Lyddie and Jess explicitly express their devotion to family through their treatment of their little sisters.  Lyddie takes responsibility for her sister Rachel after her mother's death, and Jess resolves to nurture his sister Maybelle after Leslie is killed in the river.

A third common theme to the two books is the importance of books.  Lyddie, who is barely literate, derives comfort and strength from nightly readings of Oliver Twist as rendered by her friend Betsy, and Jess finds a refuge in the imaginary world based on The Chronicles of Narnia created by Leslie.

Setting plays an important part in both stories.  Both Lyddie and Jess live in rural environments in the eastern United Stattes, and both are profoundly affected by the times in which they live.  Lyddie must deal with the restrictions placed upon women in the mid-1800s, and she experiences firsthand the horrific conditions women faced as part of the workforce in a newly industrial society.  Jess, who lives in the turbulent 1960s, must reconcile the changing value systems presented by the hippie culture as represented by his music teacher and the Burke family as it clashes with the Christian but materialistic culture of his own family.

Both novels are narrated by the main characters, Lyddie and Jess, in a straightforward, honest style.  Through the telling of their stories, the reader is given a sense of both the details of the narration, and the inner thoughts, impressions, and feelings of the protagonists.