In "The Crucible," what is the significance of the point made by Danforth that "no uncorrupted man may fear this court"?

The point is significant because it is so ironic. Danforth is basically saying that innocent men should not be afraid of the court because the court will be so fair. Obviously, that is not what happened. By the end of the court sessions, 19 innocent people had been sent to their deaths, including John Proctor and Rebecca Nurse. Danforth allowed "spectral evidence", evidence that could only be "seen" by the girls and ignored warnings from Proctor about Abigail's motives. He also ignored warnings about Thomas Putnam and the Putnam's greed for their neighbor's lands. It seems that uncorrupted men had a great deal to fear from that court.

What happens to the men who go ashore in the Land of the Lotus Eaters in "The Odyssey"?

When Odysseus' men went onto the Lotus Eaters island, they were encouraged by the natives to eat the Lotus plant.  This plant acted as a type of drug, causing the sailors to forget about their home and their goals.  Instead, the sailors only wanted to stay on the island, eating more Lotus plants.  Odysseus had to go onto the island to capture his own men and drag them back to the boat.

• "...the land of the Lotus-eaters, who eat a flowery food....I sent forth some of my comrades to go and learn who the men were....and the Lotus-eaters did not plan death for my comrades, but gave them of the lotus to taste. And whosoever of them ate of the honey-sweet fruit of the lotus, had no longer any wish to bring back word or to return, but there they were fain to abide among the Lotus-eaters, feeding on the lotus, and forgetful of their homeward way. These men, therefore, I brought back perforce to the ships, weeping, and dragged them..."

What is the symbolism of the huts in Lord of the Flies?

As the previous post pointed out, the huts represent the civilization and the law and order that Ralph hopes can be built up on the island. He is eager to be rescued and sees organization and rules as the way to make that happen. He tries to organize the boys to build the huts, but they fail and end up with only a few miserable structures after hours of labor. 

From the very start, Ralph's efforts to organize the boys and maintain order are doomed. Ralph tries over and over again to combat the savagery that exists inside all the boys but ends up failing. Jack manages to see this savagery and their fear of the unknown as the best way to usurp Ralph's power and quickly manipulates the boys to come over to his side.

By chapter 10, when Ralph and Piggy and Samneric are the only boys left on their side of the island, there is some talk of trying to maintain the fire and keeping things going on their side. This, of course, is futile once Jack and the hunters raid and steal Piggy's glasses later that evening.

I'm doing a map for The Great Gatsby. I need to know where the following are: Long Island and Tom and Myrtle's Love Nest.any information, would...

Long Island is a long, finger-shaped island right off the
shore of New York City to the southeast. It is east of Manhattan. It is surrounded by
the Atlantic Ocean. If you look on a map, you will see it jutting out to the east. There
are a lot of Indian named towns on Long Island (Patchogue, etc.). There are four
counties on Long Island. It is kind of a bedroom community to New York City. Many people
that live there work in "the city."

Tom and Myrtle's love
nest was in Manhattan, which is one of the five bouroughs of New York City. If you look
on a map of New York state, you will see Manhattan on it. Manhattan is where the Twin
Towers used to be (lower Manhattan). East and West Egg were both located on Long
Island.

I'm doing a map for The Great Gatsby. I need to know where the following are: Long Island and Tom and Myrtle's Love Nest.any information, would...

Long Island is a long, finger-shaped island right off the shore of New York City to the southeast. It is east of Manhattan. It is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. If you look on a map, you will see it jutting out to the east. There are a lot of Indian named towns on Long Island (Patchogue, etc.). There are four counties on Long Island. It is kind of a bedroom community to New York City. Many people that live there work in "the city."

Tom and Myrtle's love nest was in Manhattan, which is one of the five bouroughs of New York City. If you look on a map of New York state, you will see Manhattan on it. Manhattan is where the Twin Towers used to be (lower Manhattan). East and West Egg were both located on Long Island.

Describe the relationship between Angie and Marlene in "Top Girls" and show to what extent Marlene is an unsuccessful mother.

Marlene has made her career the focus of her life and has not looked back since giving Angie to her sister. Marlene seems to have no maternal instincts, mainly because she's suppressed those and all other types of emotions. Those feelings would show her as a weak woman, and to be a successful businesswoman, Marlene must take on a man's persona. Marlene is truly cold and cruel to Angie, and Angie understandably despises her for it. Marlene isn't supportive of Angie and what she's going through. Angie quits school, and Marlene is angry at her because she says Angie will never be able to support herself. Marlene expects Angie will never be more than a menial laborer who has to struggle just to survive, just like Marlene's sister. Marlene cares nothing for her sister either and looks down on her because she never left the neighborhood. Marlene would never win the mother of the year award.

What is the climax in The Shakespeare Stealer?

The climax of this book is of course when Mr. Armin and
Widge confront Falconer at the point when he has finally gained the copy of
Hamlet that he has been wanting for so long. The duel that Mr.
Armin and Falconer fight occurs in Chapter 27, and it represents the climax of the plot
because this is the conflict that the entire text has been leading up to as Widge
becomes more and more involved in the players and begins to like acting more and more.
The way in which this duel is the climax is indicated through the following quote where
Widge contrasts the fake weapons they use in theatre with the real weapons that are used
in reality:

But this was a grown man's game, and the winner
would not be the one whose weapon survived but the one who lived. And, I thought,
clutchign the play book to my chest, if that one proved to be Falconer, then what would
become of me?

Of course, this climax also results in the
discovery that Falconer himself does not exist, and that he is just another part played
by Simon Bass.

What is the climax in The Shakespeare Stealer?

The climax of this book is of course when Mr. Armin and Widge confront Falconer at the point when he has finally gained the copy of Hamlet that he has been wanting for so long. The duel that Mr. Armin and Falconer fight occurs in Chapter 27, and it represents the climax of the plot because this is the conflict that the entire text has been leading up to as Widge becomes more and more involved in the players and begins to like acting more and more. The way in which this duel is the climax is indicated through the following quote where Widge contrasts the fake weapons they use in theatre with the real weapons that are used in reality:

But this was a grown man's game, and the winner would not be the one whose weapon survived but the one who lived. And, I thought, clutchign the play book to my chest, if that one proved to be Falconer, then what would become of me?

Of course, this climax also results in the discovery that Falconer himself does not exist, and that he is just another part played by Simon Bass.

In Chapter 26, Mrs. Gardiner gives advice to Elizabeth on Mr. Wickham. What are the themes involved, and what is its significance to the plot?

Mr. Wickham is a handsome, charming man who is only interested in upgrading his status and class in society. Mrs. Gardiner, who is much like a surrogate parent to Elizabeth, recognizes this in Mr. Wickham and tells her that he would be an unsuitable match for Elizabeth. Darcy also warns Elizabeth about Mr. Wickham when he tells her Wickham tried to elope with Darcy's sister to get his hands on her money.

Mr. Wickham is an example of the pride and class themes in the book. Wickham's desire to marry for money offends Elizabeth's sense of pride and shows Wickham is willing to put money and class before his own pride. It's ironic that Charlotte Lucas does the same thing as Wickham. Charlotte decides to marry for money rather than love when she agrees to marry William Collins. Both Charlotte and Wickham equate money with the upper class and want to improve their status in society.

When Beowulf arrived at Hrothgar's court, what characteristics does Beowulf reveal about himself in his inroductory speech?What characteristics...

First, it is obvious that Beowulf is very gracious.  He flatters Hrothgar and his mead hall, Heorot, calling it the "best of all mead-halls". He also shows that he is one who is unafraid to help, telling Hrothgar that when it was suggested to Beowulf by his people that he help the Danish people rid themselves of Grendel, he accepted the duty.  He tells Hrothgar that he was chosen because of his strength and fierceness in battle so that tells the reader that Beowulf is a good warrior.  He goes on to tell Hrothgar about a battle he had with five great giants and how he was victorious.  This shows that he possesses a strength beyond normal.  Next he tells Hrothgar that he will fight Grendel with no weapons but his own hands because Grendel uses no other weapons and it wouldn't be a fair fight otherwise.  This shows that Beowulf is very courageous.  Finally he says that the outcome of the battle is in God's hands and he is content with that.  This reveals Beowulf's devotion to God.

What does Thoreau say about a man keeping pace with his companions?This is an extremely important question about Thoreau's Walden Please...

Henry David Thoreau was himself a man who "marched to the
beat of a different drummer."  For him, and for the other Transcendentalists,
individualism was of paramount important.  Another Transcendentalist, Ralph Waldo
Emerson reiterates this precept of individualism in his
line,

Do not
go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a
trail.

Like Emerson,
Thoreau emphasized the importance of nonconformity if one would be an individualist. 
When he goes into the woods to live, as he describes in Walden,
Thoreau observes that people who have fewer possessions have more freedom because they
are not bound to care for what they own.  Instead, they can travel more easily, and need
not worry about anything.

The individual may more easily
communicate with Nature, as well, intuitively experiencing it at his own pace.  In
Chapter 8, "The Village," Thoreau writes that he enjoyed a small amount of gossip, but
too much "numbed the soul."  On one visit to town, he was incarcerated for refusing to
pay taxes, protesting because of his position on slavery.

What does Thoreau say about a man keeping pace with his companions?This is an extremely important question about Thoreau's Walden Please...

Henry David Thoreau was himself a man who "marched to the beat of a different drummer."  For him, and for the other Transcendentalists, individualism was of paramount important.  Another Transcendentalist, Ralph Waldo Emerson reiterates this precept of individualism in his line,

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

Like Emerson, Thoreau emphasized the importance of nonconformity if one would be an individualist.  When he goes into the woods to live, as he describes in Walden, Thoreau observes that people who have fewer possessions have more freedom because they are not bound to care for what they own.  Instead, they can travel more easily, and need not worry about anything.

The individual may more easily communicate with Nature, as well, intuitively experiencing it at his own pace.  In Chapter 8, "The Village," Thoreau writes that he enjoyed a small amount of gossip, but too much "numbed the soul."  On one visit to town, he was incarcerated for refusing to pay taxes, protesting because of his position on slavery.

In "Lord of the Flies", why do most of the bigger boys go with Jack and what does Jack mean by, "Sharpen a stick at both ends"?This is all in...

The bigger boys go with Jack because they want to be part of the hunt and they were former choir boys who think they owe allegiance to Jack. They want to show their bravery in the face of "the beast" and get a chance to experience the death of the pig. When Jack says, "sharpen a stick at both ends," he is getting ready to mount the Pig's head on a stick as an offering for the beast. One end of the stick will be in the ground and one will be in the pig's head. This shows how savage the boys, especially Jack, have become and sets up the "conversation" between Simon and the "Lord of the Flies".

Why do they say that 2 + 2 = 5 in "1984"?i don't understand what is being said when they say 2+2=5 and i don't understand why they say that. can...

In the nation of Oceania, the Party controls all aspects of life, including thought, this is particulary evident in the process of Doublethink. In order to control the minds of the members of Oceania, the Party engages in Doublethink, which engages the mind into holding two contradictory ideas in the mind at once.  It occupies the mind so as not to allow independent thought.  Through total psychological manipulation, the Party is able to make individuals believe anything that it desires.  Such as 2+2 = 5.

Therefore, when the Party tells you to believe that 2+2=5 they are in fact shaping reality and have total control of existence.

Why has Tybalt sent Romeo a letter?

Tybalt was angry that Romeo and his friends crashed the Capulet party.  He originally wanted to confront Romeo at the party, but Lord Capulet told Tybalt to leave Romeo be because he'd just told the Prince that there would be no more fighting between the Capulets and the Montagues.  He'd also heard that Romeo was a good guy, so Tybalt would be better off just holding his temper and not start any trouble.  Tybalt was seething at being shut down by his uncle, and he took matters into his own hands.  The next morning he sent a letter to the Montague house to challenge Romeo to a fight.  Benvolio heard about the letter, but Romeo never got it because he never went home after the party.  He spent a good part of the night in Juliet's back yard talking to her, and then he went immediately to Friar Lawrence to set up the wedding.  By the time he heard that Tybalt wanted to challenge him, Romeo and Juliet were just married.  When Romeo refused to fight him, Mercutio (being the hot head he is and always ready to fight) taunted Tybalt until the two of them got into it.  Tybalt's challenge left both him and Mercutio dead.

How are the dog and "old-timer" foils of the tenderfoot?

The "tenderfoot" approaches the trip in the hostile Arctic wilderness with the arrogance of man separated from nature; he is convinced that his intellect will get him where he wants to go, even though he has no experiential knowledge of the conditions he will face.  The dog and old-timer are different.  Because of his nature and his experience in the wilderness, the dog knows that the man does not belong there and that it cannot work out.  He even knows through some natural instinct that the man would kill him to save himself, and backs off to save himself.  The old-timer doesn't have the dog's instinctual knowledge, but he has experiential knowledge; he has a respect for the natural world that the tenderfoot does not, built on years of experience in the conditions.

The tenderfoot could have saved himself by paying attention to the old-timer, but he did not, so he is a foil in that regard.  The dog is the vehicle that London uses throughout the story to keep us "up to date" on the ever devolving situation of the tenderfoot; the dog's actions/comments tell us how someone in true contact with nature would have reacted were he not so arrogant.

How did the author use descriptions of settings, events immediately prior to the trial to build and intensify a mood of suspens?Everything that...

Harper Lee used a variety of scenes and sub-plots to set
up the drama of the Tom Robinson trial in To Kill a Mockingbird. In
Chapter 14, Jem and Scout feel the stares and hear the gossip from the people of Maycomb
concerning Atticus defending a Negro. Lee adds the runaway Dill to the mix, giving
Atticus one more problem to ponder before the trial. In Chapter 15, Atticus meets with a
group of concerned citizens who warn him about something that Jem and Scout don't quite
understand. When Atticus heads to the jail later that night, the children follow,
setting the stage for their dramatic rescue of their father from the prospective lynch
mob.

The day of the trial is narrated in great detail by
Scout. It is obviously not a normal day in Maycomb. Throngs of people arrive for the
trial: Religious zealots, out-of-towners, and Negroes make up just some of the people as
"the county went by." Women argured in the street, and the "courthouse square was
covered with picnickers" before Jem, Scout and Dill decided to make their appearance as
well.

How did the author use descriptions of settings, events immediately prior to the trial to build and intensify a mood of suspens?Everything that...

Harper Lee used a variety of scenes and sub-plots to set up the drama of the Tom Robinson trial in To Kill a Mockingbird. In Chapter 14, Jem and Scout feel the stares and hear the gossip from the people of Maycomb concerning Atticus defending a Negro. Lee adds the runaway Dill to the mix, giving Atticus one more problem to ponder before the trial. In Chapter 15, Atticus meets with a group of concerned citizens who warn him about something that Jem and Scout don't quite understand. When Atticus heads to the jail later that night, the children follow, setting the stage for their dramatic rescue of their father from the prospective lynch mob.

The day of the trial is narrated in great detail by Scout. It is obviously not a normal day in Maycomb. Throngs of people arrive for the trial: Religious zealots, out-of-towners, and Negroes make up just some of the people as "the county went by." Women argured in the street, and the "courthouse square was covered with picnickers" before Jem, Scout and Dill decided to make their appearance as well.

What do you think is going on with Ponyboy when he says," Johnny didn't have anything to do with Bob's getting killed" in The Outsiders?Chapter 11

Ponyboy is in a state of denial when he says that, hoping that by not admitting the truth he would not have to feel the pain of what had happened.  The trauma of the past week's events, beginning with Bob's stabbing and ending with both Johnny and Dally dying, has left Ponyboy exhausted and ill, both physically and emotionally.  Darry explains to Randy, "Don't ever say anything to him about Johnny...he's still pretty racked up mentally and emotionally.  The Doc said he'd get over it if we gave him time" (Chapter 11). After awhile, Darry confronts Ponyboy, saying, "...you're going to have to cut it out.  Johnny and Dallas were our buddies, too, but you don't just stop living because you lose someone...you don't quit" (Chapter 12).  Ponyboy himself explains best what was going on with him in the closing pages of the book.  He says, "I knew Johnny was dead.  I had known it all the time, even while I was sick and pretending he wasn't.  It was Johnny, not me, who had killed Bob - O knew that too.  I had just thought that maybe if I played like Johnny wasn't dead it wouldn't hurt so much" (Chapter 12).

In "A Thousand Splendid Suns," what did the author mean by the quote, "If it is a girl's name Lailah already said it?"

The quote, "...if it's a girl, Laila has already named her" (Chapter 51), is the last line of the story.  Laila is pregnant, and is remembering a naming game her family had played the night before.  The game only involved boys' names, because if the baby is a girl, Laila already knows what she will name it - "Mariam".

By saving her from their brutish husband Rasheesh, then taking full responsibility for his death and in effect sacrificing herself to the Taliban, Mariam has given Laila and and Tariq the chance to start anew and live life without being fugitives.  Laila remembers Mariam, who had so few to love her in her own life, as "a rock in a riverbed...her grace not sullied but shaped by the turbulence that washe(d) over her...(with) something deep in her core, that neither Rasheed nor the Taliban (could) break" (Chapter 50).  Filled with love and gratitude, Laila will always carry Mariam in her heart, "where she (will shine) with the bursting radiance of a thousand suns" (Chapter 51).  There is no doubt that if her baby is a girl, Laila will give her Mariam's name.

What are some examples of courage in To Kill a Mockingbird?

There are many examples of courage in Lee's fine novel. Two in particular stand out for me. One is Atticus facing the rabid dog. Yes, he has a rifle, but he's an older man, with failing eyesight and a diseased animal coming at him. He stands there, and he faces the threat without flinching or complaining. That's one form of courage, and you can see it in Chapter 10.
Another form of courage is Mrs. Dubose. She's an old woman, and she's dying, but she chooses to face her drug addiction so she can die on her own terms. That's a quiet, private form of courage.

Here is a video about more themes of the novel:

What relationship does the nation of Israel have to Jewish identity and faith?

The nation of Israel is a Jewish state. Historically, the name Israel comes from the twelve tribes of Israel. Each of the tribes was headed by and named for a son of Jacob (who was renamed Israel after an encounter with an angel). During this time, the people were called Hebrews.

Jacob moved his family from Canaan, roughly the area of modern-day Israel, to Egypt to avoid famine. Many years later, Moses, a descendant of Jacob's son Levi, led the Hebrews out of Egypt into the promised land. They named this land Israel, and the people were called Israelites.

The term "Jew" came into use around 900 BCE (see the links below). When King Solomon died, conflict arose among the tribes, and the kingdom split in two to form the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. The people who lived in Judah, later Judea, were called Judahites or Judeans. Thus they began to be called Jews and their religion was Judaism.

The modern nation of Israel is composed of Jewish people whose families have always lived in the Middle East and Jews whose ancestors had been forcibly removed to other nations or who had settled in other countries. Many residents of Israel are Holocaust survivors or their children.

Few modern Jews know what tribe they belong to. Today they identify themselves by religion. They practice Judaism; therefore, they are Jews.

Read the books of Genesis and 1-2 Chronicles.

1. What does Jeanne imagine hatred looks like? A. Heavy Stone B. A dark cloud C. A puff of smoke D. A dense fog

You can find the answer to this question in Chapter 19 --
the one entitled "Reentry."  This chapter describes what happens as the Wakatsuki family
is allowed to leave the camp at Manzanar.

Papa buys a car
and the family heads back to Los Angeles.  As they do that, they start to worry about
what kind of a reception they will get from all the white people.  They worry that they
will be hated.  Jeanne imagines that the hate would look like a "dark, amorphous cloud"
that would come down on them.

So the best answer of these
would be B -- a dark cloud.

1. What does Jeanne imagine hatred looks like? A. Heavy Stone B. A dark cloud C. A puff of smoke D. A dense fog

You can find the answer to this question in Chapter 19 -- the one entitled "Reentry."  This chapter describes what happens as the Wakatsuki family is allowed to leave the camp at Manzanar.

Papa buys a car and the family heads back to Los Angeles.  As they do that, they start to worry about what kind of a reception they will get from all the white people.  They worry that they will be hated.  Jeanne imagines that the hate would look like a "dark, amorphous cloud" that would come down on them.

So the best answer of these would be B -- a dark cloud.

1. What is the difference between ethnic and social diversity? 2. And why does diversity matter? Help-Questions for question 2 : What is the...

In response to the second question: with more diversity
often comes more discrimination.  Discrimination is treating different things (or
people) differently.  It often takes the form of dislike/hatred and
superiority.  Diversity is difference.

An example of this
prevalent right now in North Carolina (and other states I'm sure) is the discussion in a
few school districts of re-drawing the lines for which neighborhoods feed into which
schools.  What is being said is that they are trying to increase diversity by drawing
from a variety of different socio-economic neighborhoods.  One of the reasons given is
to raise the average test scores of each school (as low socio-economics is statistically
linked to lower test scores).  What is not being directly said, but certainly implied,
is that the "rich white" schools don't want the integration.  It is the mostly white
parents of the upper class neighborhoods who are most opposed to
redistricting.

It is a wonderful thing when increased
diversity is met by open-mindedness and tolerance.  Too often however, increased
diversity only brings out the worst in homogenous cultures.

1. What is the difference between ethnic and social diversity? 2. And why does diversity matter? Help-Questions for question 2 : What is the...

In response to the second question: with more diversity often comes more discrimination.  Discrimination is treating different things (or people) differently.  It often takes the form of dislike/hatred and superiority.  Diversity is difference.

An example of this prevalent right now in North Carolina (and other states I'm sure) is the discussion in a few school districts of re-drawing the lines for which neighborhoods feed into which schools.  What is being said is that they are trying to increase diversity by drawing from a variety of different socio-economic neighborhoods.  One of the reasons given is to raise the average test scores of each school (as low socio-economics is statistically linked to lower test scores).  What is not being directly said, but certainly implied, is that the "rich white" schools don't want the integration.  It is the mostly white parents of the upper class neighborhoods who are most opposed to redistricting.

It is a wonderful thing when increased diversity is met by open-mindedness and tolerance.  Too often however, increased diversity only brings out the worst in homogenous cultures.

What news does Scout overhear about Atticus' defending Tom Robinson? Does it give her any comfort?In Chapter 16.

Having spent a tense night before the trial by standing up
to the angry mob, Atticus makes his way to the courthouse.  Outside this courthouse,
Scout overhears the old men in khaki pants and white shirts with suspenders
talking,"resentful of the interruption of their comfortable
routine."

Scout overhears one say that the court appointed
Atticus Finch to defend Tom Robinson.

readability="6">

'Yeah, but Atticus aims to defend him.  That's
what I don't like about
it.'

Scout reacts  to this
news by saying that it puts a different light on things.  Atticus could have used this
as an excuse. But, she is baffleded by the town's being upset with him and having come
as a mob last evening:

readability="9">

He had to, that's why he was doing it, equaled
fewer fights and less fussing.  But did that explain the town's attitude?  The court
appointed Atticus to defend him.  Atticus aimed to defend him.  That's what they didn't
like about it.  It was
confusing.

While this news is
confusing to Scout, it is not to the reader.  For the conventional wisdom is that Tom
Robinson should be convicted because he is a black man who interfered in the lives of
white people.  He simply had no business on the Ewell property.
Period.

What news does Scout overhear about Atticus' defending Tom Robinson? Does it give her any comfort?In Chapter 16.

Having spent a tense night before the trial by standing up to the angry mob, Atticus makes his way to the courthouse.  Outside this courthouse, Scout overhears the old men in khaki pants and white shirts with suspenders talking,"resentful of the interruption of their comfortable routine."

Scout overhears one say that the court appointed Atticus Finch to defend Tom Robinson.

'Yeah, but Atticus aims to defend him.  That's what I don't like about it.'

Scout reacts  to this news by saying that it puts a different light on things.  Atticus could have used this as an excuse. But, she is baffleded by the town's being upset with him and having come as a mob last evening:

He had to, that's why he was doing it, equaled fewer fights and less fussing.  But did that explain the town's attitude?  The court appointed Atticus to defend him.  Atticus aimed to defend him.  That's what they didn't like about it.  It was confusing.

While this news is confusing to Scout, it is not to the reader.  For the conventional wisdom is that Tom Robinson should be convicted because he is a black man who interfered in the lives of white people.  He simply had no business on the Ewell property. Period.

What is the significance of the setting in Hamlet? Why does it take place where it does?

The setting is defined by the origins of the tale which are to be found in Saxo Grammaticus's Historia Danica, but I think also that it is important because it buttresses the feeling of dissension.

We must not forget that the king used to represent the divine authority on earth. Thus, his castle is the throne of that power. Being what it is, that place must remain pure, never to be corrupted or stained. Nevertheless it becomes the theatre of murders, poisoning, betrayal and the very place reeks of corruption, symbolized by Polonius's hidden body.

Thus, the "throne of power" is totally disrupted, it loses its sanctity and is corrupted. The result is the spreading of an atmosphere of anarchy everywhere in the kingdom (remember the war taking place) that goes hand in hand with Hamlet's apparent insanity and the anarchy swaying his mind.

To put it in other words, if the royal castle is corrupted and disturbed, so is the whole country. And this overwhelming insanity intensifies the effect of the madness of Hamlet on the reader. By the way, Hamlet is the one who is supposed to bring back traditional order, yet he is in chaos over traditional order as it conflicts with the new order he learned in Wittenberg, and we have to wait for another, a traditional saviour at the end of the play.

How is the happiness in stanza 3 related to the assertion in lines 11-12 in "Ode on a Grecian Urn"?"Heard melodies are sweet,/ But those unheard...

When the speaker speaks of the happiness of the lovers who never will grow old, and who are always just at the point of highest expectation of that first sweet kiss, and of spring which will always remain warm with leaves on the trees and birds singing in them, he is also leading up to imagination.  He imagines how all these things feel as he is comparing how he has felt in similar situations.  It is also true, then, that the "heard melodies are sweet..."  these are the ones which are played that we can all hear and pass judgment on--do we like it or not? But "those unheard are sweeter" alludes to the ones we imagine the lute player is playing...if we imagine it, it will always be a beautiful and sweet tune.  There is nothing to judge, and it will be sweet to EVERY listener because every listener imagines that which is beautiful to him or her.  Therefore, we are all guaranteed a lovely and sweet melody...how can we not be happy then?

Discuss the terms "hulihudu" and" heimongmong" in Joy Luck Club. How did Rose show she acquired some "wood"?

The terms "hulihudu" and "heimongmong" are Chinese words indicating confusion.  Rose says that the closest translation for "hulihudu" would be "confused", and "heimongmong" might be best described as "dark fog".  In describing her emotions while working through a painful divorce, Rose realizes she has "been feeling 'hulihudu'", or confused; "everything around (her) seem(s) to be 'heimongmong'", or a dark fog.

Rose's mother once told her that she was confused all the time because she was "without wood...born without wood so that (she) listened to too many people".  Her mother says that the only way for a young girl to "grow strong and straight" is to listen to her mother, and that if she chooses to listen to others, she will only "grow crooked and weak".  Caught between American influences and her Chinese upbringing, Rose is confused by her mother's advice.  Her ambivalence has left her truly "without wood", and she lacks the confidence to assert herself and say what is on her mind.

Rose's husband Ted wants a divorce so he can marry someone else.  He condescendingly and coldheartedly dictates what he wants the terms of the divorce to be, and expects Rose to quietly sign the papers and accede to his wishes.  When Rose decides to fight back, defying her husband and asserting her opinion on what she wants as well, she shows that she has acquired some "wood" ("Without Wood").

What is the significance of the vocative "my daughter" in T.S.Eliot's "Marina"?

The vocative "my daughter" in "Marina" is, in my opinion, the speaker's ship or boat. It is rather difficult to tell, but the poem suggests that the speaker is a sailor in all aspects of the word. He has found himself in another marina, and he is unable to make a distinction between this and the many other marinas he has been to. Here, he asks:

What seas what shores what grey rocks and what islands 
What water lapping the bow 
And scent of pine and the woodthrush singing through the fog 
What images return 
O my daughter.

The use of "what" is not necessarily illustrative of this "unknown"place. Rather, the attitude of the stanza is one of indistinct elements. There are "grey rocks" and water is "lapping the bow." This is a similar image wherever the sailor goes. He can't distinguish between one marina and the next.

To take this idea further, he knows his boat very well. He knows the exact details of it:

Bowsprit cracked with ice and paint cracked with heat. 
I made this, I have forgotten 
And remember. 
The rigging weak and the canvas rotten 
Between one June and another September. 
Made this unknowing, half conscious, unknown, my own. 
The garboard strake leaks, the seams need caulking. 
This form, this face, this life 
Living to live in a world of time beyond me; let me 
Resign my life for this life, my speech for that unspoken, 
The awakened, lips parted, the hope, the new ships.

He describes his boat exactly as he sees it. It is very distinct to him. In this way, it seems that he's taking "his daughter" whom he knows very well, on voyages the world round.

Why does the nurse stand lamenting in the first scene of Medea?

In Medea, the nurse stands lamenting as a way to set the tone of the play and to introduce the situation to the audience.  The nurse recounts the events that have happened before the immediate scene of the play so that the audience understands the grievances that Medea has against Jason.  The nurse's lament does seem to "ask" for the audience's sympathy towards Medea's situation.  At the end of the lament, the nurse fears what Medea might do to set her course straight, and with this comes the tone of suspense as the audience becomes expectant and also tries to foresee how Medea will handle this situation.

According to Hindu beliefs, what river brings life to its people?

The holy river Ganges, originating from the Gangotri
glacier in the Himalayas, is believed to be a source of life to the Hindus in India. The
river is popularly called Ganga which is the name of a goddesss appearing in the epic
Mahabharata.

In popular belief, bathing in the river leads
to remission of sins and attainment of salvation. The Gangetic basin has been extremely
fertile, and thus the river is associated with agricultural prosperity. So many Hindu
pilgrimages such as Rishikesh, Hardwar, Varanasi & Allahabad are located in the
shore of the river.

It is said that the river used to flow
in the heavens, and was ordered to go down to earth. Forceful descent of the river might
have washed the earth away. Lord Shiva broke the fall of Ganga by capturing her in his
mighty locks.

According to Hindu beliefs, what river brings life to its people?

The holy river Ganges, originating from the Gangotri glacier in the Himalayas, is believed to be a source of life to the Hindus in India. The river is popularly called Ganga which is the name of a goddesss appearing in the epic Mahabharata.

In popular belief, bathing in the river leads to remission of sins and attainment of salvation. The Gangetic basin has been extremely fertile, and thus the river is associated with agricultural prosperity. So many Hindu pilgrimages such as Rishikesh, Hardwar, Varanasi & Allahabad are located in the shore of the river.

It is said that the river used to flow in the heavens, and was ordered to go down to earth. Forceful descent of the river might have washed the earth away. Lord Shiva broke the fall of Ganga by capturing her in his mighty locks.

How does the structure develop a character in the novel? (choose a character)Can you please explain what exactly is meant by "structure" and how...

The written format of the book or rather the narrative technique used by Alvarez is a deliberate structure used to support character development. The chapters are narrated by the four Mirabal sisters. Alvarez arranges events in roughly chronological order, and jumps from one narrator to another to expand on their own perspectives and in turn help develop their character.

For example, in Part I, the novel opens in 1994 with Dedé. The second chapter is narrated by Minerva and depicts events in 1938, 1941, and 1944. The third chapter consists of María Teresa's diary entries between 1945 and 1946 and chapter four is narrated by Patria and begins in 1946. Her use of multiple points of view allows Alvarez to create her fictional Mirabal sisters and to intimately explore the sisters' contrasting personalities.

The books structure or use of individual perspectives, proves central to generating human characters. For instance, they each have different motivations for joining or not joining the underground movement against Trujillo, and their individual narratives reveal the development of their political beliefs. They also reveal the quality and depth of their love for others, as well as the difficulties they have maintaining their strength in the face of extreme adversity.

Describe Antinoos’ plan to destroy Telemachos in "The Odyssey".This question is from the odyssey - Book IV and i need help with it!!

Antinoos and some of the suitors plan to ambush Telemachus as he returns from his journey to visit Nestor and Menelaus. These men will lie in wait in a narrow channel that separates Ithaca from a nearby island so that when Telemachus' ship appears they can launch a surprise attack. Because they plan to carry out this devious attack well away from the palace, they assume no one else will know what happened to Telemachus. It will probably be decided that his ship was lost at sea.  What Antinoos wasn't taking into account, of course, is that Telemachus has Athena on his side to protect him. The suitors' plan is foiled, and Telemachus arrives home safely.

Do the values of polynomials go on infinity or stop at a certain value?

A polynomial is an expression of finite length formed of
variables and constants  using only operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication
and non-negative whole number exponents. Some examples are
:

p(x) = a0+a1x+a2x^2+a^3+.....an*x^n, is a polynomial is a
sigle vwriable with n terms.

p(x) = x.  A polynomial with a
single term . (Alsocalled monomial).

p(x) = a+bx.  Also
called binomial.

The following are not
examples:

p(x) = 5/x. Reason 1/x or x^(-1) has no
non-negative whole number exponent.

p(x) =  x^2+ x^3/2. The
second term has an exponent which is not a whole
number.

Question:

"Do the
value of a polynomial go on infinity ?..." Hope  you mean whether the polynomial goes on
increasing and approaches infinity as x tends to
infinity.

To decide whether a polynomial increases or
decreases depends on the leading term (or the term with highest exponent) and its
coefficient. If the coefficient of the leading term is positve, the polynomial increses
otherwise it decreases along with x.

The polynomial 
aproaches infinity as x --> infinity if the leading term has a positive
coeffcient. It aproaches minus infinity as x-->infinity ,if the leading term has
a negative coefficient. A plynomial p(x) cannot go for a definite limit when the x (or
the variable) approaches plus or minus infinity.(Please do not get confused with
convergence of a series for |x| <1 and  limit of the nth term a, x^n for large
n). P(x) does not take a finite limit as x--> infinity (or minus infinity).
unless it is polynomial with only a constant
term.

Example : p(x) = x approaches infinity
as x-->inf.

p(x) = x^2  - x approaches ifinity as
x-->plus ifinity or x --> minus infinty, as the  term is x^2 has a
positive coefficient and x ^2

Do the values of polynomials go on infinity or stop at a certain value?

A polynomial is an expression of finite length formed of variables and constants  using only operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and non-negative whole number exponents. Some examples are :

p(x) = a0+a1x+a2x^2+a^3+.....an*x^n, is a polynomial is a sigle vwriable with n terms.

p(x) = x.  A polynomial with a single term . (Alsocalled monomial).

p(x) = a+bx.  Also called binomial.

The following are not examples:

p(x) = 5/x. Reason 1/x or x^(-1) has no non-negative whole number exponent.

p(x) =  x^2+ x^3/2. The second term has an exponent which is not a whole number.

Question:

"Do the value of a polynomial go on infinity ?..." Hope  you mean whether the polynomial goes on increasing and approaches infinity as x tends to infinity.

To decide whether a polynomial increases or decreases depends on the leading term (or the term with highest exponent) and its coefficient. If the coefficient of the leading term is positve, the polynomial increses otherwise it decreases along with x.

The polynomial  aproaches infinity as x --> infinity if the leading term has a positive coeffcient. It aproaches minus infinity as x-->infinity ,if the leading term has a negative coefficient. A plynomial p(x) cannot go for a definite limit when the x (or the variable) approaches plus or minus infinity.(Please do not get confused with convergence of a series for |x| <1 and  limit of the nth term a, x^n for large n). P(x) does not take a finite limit as x--> infinity (or minus infinity). unless it is polynomial with only a constant term.

Example : p(x) = x approaches infinity as x-->inf.

p(x) = x^2  - x approaches ifinity as x-->plus ifinity or x --> minus infinty, as the  term is x^2 has a positive coefficient and x ^2

Offer three reasons why the title of the play does not fairly represent the action of "Julius Caesar".

First, lets compare Julius Caesar to some other tragedies written by Shakespeare - such as Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and Macbeth.  In these three examples, the tragic character[s] of the plot are the title characters.  However, in Julius Caesar, Brutus is the tragic character, the one who is brought down by his own failings and whose decisions affect the action of the play.  The title character, Caesar, is a static character, experiencing no persoanl growth throughout his time in the story.

Also, in the three examples given, the title characters - being central to the play - are all killed off in the last act.  Caesar is killed off in Act III, scene i.  He is obviously not at the center of what the play is most concerned with.

The play, in fact, is not concerned with the life and death of this man.  It is concerned with the motives and men behind his murder and the consequences of his murder.  The characters at the center of this focus are Brutus, Cassius, and Marc Anthony.  These are the dynamic characters, and the majority of the play follows their progress from initial idea, to murder, and through the aftermath.    Caesar is only in three scenes, and thus is not the focus.

What depresses Holden?He is always depressed about things, but what is the truth behind all of these little things that depresses him?

A. "Now he's out in Hollywood, D.B., being a prostitute.
If there's one thing I hate, it's the movies. Don't even mention them to me"
(2).

1.   So begins Holden Caulfield’s caustic assault on
the Hollywood studio, a symbol of burgeoning 1950s
materialism and artistic
hypocrisy and, closer to home, the corruptor of his brother's
fiction.

2. Since Catcher in the Rye
was published in 1951, Salinger has always refused film rights to his work, especially
his highly demanded novel, saying in short that Holden Caulfield wouldn't like
it

3. Paradoxical love/hate relationship: Holden rarely
misses a chance to see a movie

4. After Maurice punches
him, Holden role-plays a movie gangster pretending to be shot in the gut, a masochistic
homage to Film Noir

5. But what caused Salinger to turn his
back on film was the 1950 Samuel Goldwyn Studio release of My Foolish
Heart, based on his New Yorker story, "Uncle Wiggily in
Connecticut"

6. Salinger’s agent received bid from Steven
Speilberg

B. Holden hates autobiographical details about
his childhood and psychoanalysis.  He therefore, hates the adult world
intruding on childhood.

readability="10">

“If you really want to hear about it, the first
thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was
like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me”

C.
Holden is also depressed by the old World: he's Anti-European: “…and all that David
Copperfield kind of crap” (Dickens)

1.     most European
characters define themselves in context of family

2.    
Holden is saying that he doesn’t define himself with others or the past (birth of the
American rebel)

a.     Not defined by
family

b.     Not defined by
society

c.     Not defined by old world
values

d.     Not defined by old
literature

e.     Not defined by old
movies

D. Holden is depressed
by “Phonies”

1.     Glad-handing adults
(headmaster)

2.     Over-sexed teens
(Stradlater)

3.     Pretentious snobs
(Luce)

4.     Celebrity-obsessed girls (in Lavender
room)

5.     Materialistic artists
(D.B.)

What depresses Holden?He is always depressed about things, but what is the truth behind all of these little things that depresses him?

A. "Now he's out in Hollywood, D.B., being a prostitute. If there's one thing I hate, it's the movies. Don't even mention them to me" (2).

1.   So begins Holden Caulfield’s caustic assault on the Hollywood studio, a symbol of burgeoning 1950s materialism and artistic hypocrisy and, closer to home, the corruptor of his brother's fiction.

2. Since Catcher in the Rye was published in 1951, Salinger has always refused film rights to his work, especially his highly demanded novel, saying in short that Holden Caulfield wouldn't like it

3. Paradoxical love/hate relationship: Holden rarely misses a chance to see a movie

4. After Maurice punches him, Holden role-plays a movie gangster pretending to be shot in the gut, a masochistic homage to Film Noir

5. But what caused Salinger to turn his back on film was the 1950 Samuel Goldwyn Studio release of My Foolish Heart, based on his New Yorker story, "Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut"

6. Salinger’s agent received bid from Steven Speilberg

B. Holden hates autobiographical details about his childhood and psychoanalysis.  He therefore, hates the adult world intruding on childhood.

“If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me”

C. Holden is also depressed by the old World: he's Anti-European: “…and all that David Copperfield kind of crap” (Dickens)

1.     most European characters define themselves in context of family

2.     Holden is saying that he doesn’t define himself with others or the past (birth of the American rebel)

a.     Not defined by family

b.     Not defined by society

c.     Not defined by old world values

d.     Not defined by old literature

e.     Not defined by old movies

D. Holden is depressed by “Phonies”

1.     Glad-handing adults (headmaster)

2.     Over-sexed teens (Stradlater)

3.     Pretentious snobs (Luce)

4.     Celebrity-obsessed girls (in Lavender room)

5.     Materialistic artists (D.B.)

What is an example of parallelism in Brutus' speech?

In Act III, scene ii of Julius
Caesar, Brutus uses much parallelism (parallel construction: using the same
pattern of words to show that two or more ideas have the same level of
importance.)

He begins his speech
thusly:

Then
follow me, and give me
audience, friends.

Notice the
repetition of "me" in the object placement in both
clauses.

Later, he says:

readability="7">

Those that will hear
me speak, let 'em stay here;
Those that will
follow Cassius, go with
him;

Notice the repetition of
the "those that will" at the beginning of each
clause.

Still later, he returns to the "me" as object
coupled with the "that you may":

readability="13">

hear me for
my
cause, and be silent, that you may hear:
believeme
for mine honour, and have respect to
mine honour, that
you may believe:
censure me in your wisdom, and
awake your
senses, that you may the better
judge.

The speech builds as
the level of parallelism increases.

What is an example of parallelism in Brutus' speech?

In Act III, scene ii of Julius Caesar, Brutus uses much parallelism (parallel construction: using the same pattern of words to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance.)

He begins his speech thusly:

Then follow me, and give me audience, friends.

Notice the repetition of "me" in the object placement in both clauses.

Later, he says:

Those that will hear me speak, let 'em stay here;
Those that will follow Cassius, go with him;

Notice the repetition of the "those that will" at the beginning of each clause.

Still later, he returns to the "me" as object coupled with the "that you may":

hear me for my
cause, and be silent, that you may hear: believeme
for mine honour, and have respect to mine honour, that
you may believe: censure me in your wisdom, and
awake your senses, that you may the better judge.

The speech builds as the level of parallelism increases.

What is a character analysis of Bob, Don, and Teach in the story American Buffalo by David Mamet?

David Mamet's play American Buffalo
can be said to be a character study of three different types of men. The personalities
of Teach, Don and Bobby are revealed under the pressure of Don's confined and cluttered
junk store.

Teach appears to be the dominant figure of the
trio, vivid, volatile and eventually violent.  He wants to be the leader of the pack but
is always in competition with Don for the position. Teach respects Don more than he
likes him; (there is also a sense that he physically fears the store owner).  He
despises Bobby, and he resents -- and is, possibly, jealous of -- Don's strong emotional
tie to the troubled young man.  The chip on Teach's shoulder is considerable; he is
definitely, in his own estimation, "a man more sinned against than sinning" (cf.
Shakespeare's King Lear).  He is a bundle of nerves and
insecurities.  His entrance into the play, an explosive tirade against a woman named
"Ruthie," reveals far more about himself than it does about his female
nemesis.

Don is seemingly mellow, but he is the true
backbone of the group.  The reader senses that he, not Teach, is the one who would not
crumble in the crucible, not faint under fire.  He likes his buddy Teach but doesn't
respect him beyond someone who can help him better his own position financially.  Don
seems to tolerate him - wary of, but also amused by, his antics.  Don's obvious love and
concern for Bobby is honorable, at times even moving.  He is aware of the young man's
problem with drugs but refuses to focus on it and doesn't allow Teach to.  Don is "a
stand-up guy." (Perhaps if there were ever honor among thieves, he would be its
poster-child.)

Bobby is clearly the youngest and least
stable of the three.  There is little explicit reference to his drug addiction, but
Teach maliciously touches on it now and then, (despite Don's protests).  He loves and
respects Don and wants badly to please his mentor.  (There is the slightest hint of a
homo-erotic involvement between the two, but Mamet never underscores it.)  Bobby is, in
a way, the catalyst to the action; his instability and failings push the threesome to
its crisis.  He always means well, but his circumstances (particularly, perhaps, his
substance abuse) do not allow him actually to do
well.

Teach, Don and Bobby are a combustible combination. 
Their diverse personalities, crystallized under pressure in the claustrophobic setting
of the crowded basement junk store, clearly clash.  Teach's bravado, Don's paternalism
and Bobby's instability lead the three men to what feels like an inevitably violent
conclusion.

What is a character analysis of Bob, Don, and Teach in the story American Buffalo by David Mamet?

David Mamet's play American Buffalo can be said to be a character study of three different types of men. The personalities of Teach, Don and Bobby are revealed under the pressure of Don's confined and cluttered junk store.

Teach appears to be the dominant figure of the trio, vivid, volatile and eventually violent.  He wants to be the leader of the pack but is always in competition with Don for the position. Teach respects Don more than he likes him; (there is also a sense that he physically fears the store owner).  He despises Bobby, and he resents -- and is, possibly, jealous of -- Don's strong emotional tie to the troubled young man.  The chip on Teach's shoulder is considerable; he is definitely, in his own estimation, "a man more sinned against than sinning" (cf. Shakespeare's King Lear).  He is a bundle of nerves and insecurities.  His entrance into the play, an explosive tirade against a woman named "Ruthie," reveals far more about himself than it does about his female nemesis.

Don is seemingly mellow, but he is the true backbone of the group.  The reader senses that he, not Teach, is the one who would not crumble in the crucible, not faint under fire.  He likes his buddy Teach but doesn't respect him beyond someone who can help him better his own position financially.  Don seems to tolerate him - wary of, but also amused by, his antics.  Don's obvious love and concern for Bobby is honorable, at times even moving.  He is aware of the young man's problem with drugs but refuses to focus on it and doesn't allow Teach to.  Don is "a stand-up guy." (Perhaps if there were ever honor among thieves, he would be its poster-child.)

Bobby is clearly the youngest and least stable of the three.  There is little explicit reference to his drug addiction, but Teach maliciously touches on it now and then, (despite Don's protests).  He loves and respects Don and wants badly to please his mentor.  (There is the slightest hint of a homo-erotic involvement between the two, but Mamet never underscores it.)  Bobby is, in a way, the catalyst to the action; his instability and failings push the threesome to its crisis.  He always means well, but his circumstances (particularly, perhaps, his substance abuse) do not allow him actually to do well.

Teach, Don and Bobby are a combustible combination.  Their diverse personalities, crystallized under pressure in the claustrophobic setting of the crowded basement junk store, clearly clash.  Teach's bravado, Don's paternalism and Bobby's instability lead the three men to what feels like an inevitably violent conclusion.

Comparisons between The Tempest and Twelfth Night?Would be very grateful if I could have some specific scene comparisons?

Well, the most obvious comparison is that both are
"shipwreck" plays.  Both plays begin with a shipwreck, though The Tempest
actually depicts the shipwreck (Act I, Scene i) and Twelfth Night
simply shows the results of the shipwreck, with Viola and the Captain on
shore (Act I, Scene ii).

Both plays involve shipwrecked
family members who go through the whole of the play imagining that their loved ones are
dead (Alsono and Ferdinand assume this about each other in Tempest,
Viola and Sebastian in Twelfth
Night).

Both plays also derive a great deal of
their comic relief from characters who spend a great portion of the play drunk --
Stephano and Trinculo in Tempest (Act II, Scene ii),  Sir Andrew
and  Sir Toby Belch (Act II, Scene iii) in Twelfth Night.  In
contrast, however, these drunk characters are servants (low born) in
Tempest, but high born (Sir Andrew,
Sir Toby) in Twelfth Night.  However, the
relationships between these comic characters are similar.  Both Stephano and Toby are
leaders, know-it-alls.  Both Trinculo and Andrew are followers -- silly and not very
intelligent.

An interesting case for comparison could be
made between Caliban in Tempest and Malvolio in Twelfth
Night.  Both are in service to their lady love, and both are thwarted in that
love.  Both plays end with the fate of each of these comic villains unresolved.  It is
worth noting that, generally, the audience feels a certain sympathy for both characters
which is almost uniformly NOT felt towards them by the other characters on
stage.

Both plays also end with reconciliation in Act
Five.  Those separated by shipwreck are reunited, and marriage is anticipated for the
lovers in each play.

Comparisons between The Tempest and Twelfth Night?Would be very grateful if I could have some specific scene comparisons?

Well, the most obvious comparison is that both are "shipwreck" plays.  Both plays begin with a shipwreck, though The Tempest actually depicts the shipwreck (Act I, Scene i) and Twelfth Night simply shows the results of the shipwreck, with Viola and the Captain on shore (Act I, Scene ii).

Both plays involve shipwrecked family members who go through the whole of the play imagining that their loved ones are dead (Alsono and Ferdinand assume this about each other in Tempest, Viola and Sebastian in Twelfth Night).

Both plays also derive a great deal of their comic relief from characters who spend a great portion of the play drunk -- Stephano and Trinculo in Tempest (Act II, Scene ii),  Sir Andrew and  Sir Toby Belch (Act II, Scene iii) in Twelfth Night.  In contrast, however, these drunk characters are servants (low born) in Tempest, but high born (Sir Andrew, Sir Toby) in Twelfth Night.  However, the relationships between these comic characters are similar.  Both Stephano and Toby are leaders, know-it-alls.  Both Trinculo and Andrew are followers -- silly and not very intelligent.

An interesting case for comparison could be made between Caliban in Tempest and Malvolio in Twelfth Night.  Both are in service to their lady love, and both are thwarted in that love.  Both plays end with the fate of each of these comic villains unresolved.  It is worth noting that, generally, the audience feels a certain sympathy for both characters which is almost uniformly NOT felt towards them by the other characters on stage.

Both plays also end with reconciliation in Act Five.  Those separated by shipwreck are reunited, and marriage is anticipated for the lovers in each play.

Calculate the value of the sum 1+3+5+....+2n+1. Use the mathematical induction to verify the result of the sum.

We observe that the terms of the sum are the terms of an
arithmetical progression. The ratio of the progression is r=2 and it's calculated using
the first and the second
term.

3-1=2

The number of
terms is n+1.

The sum of n+1 terms of an arithmetical
progression could be written:

Sn = (a1+a(n+1))*n/2, where
a1 is the first term of the progression and an is the last
term.

In our case, a1=1 and a(n+1)=(2n+1). By substituting
them into the formula of the sum, we'll obtain:

Sn =
(1+2n+1)*(n+1)/2

Sn =
(2n+2)(n+1)/2

After factorizing, we'll
get:

Sn = 2(n+1)(n+1)/2

Sn =
(n+1)^2

To demonstrate that the value of the sum is
(n+1)^2, we'll  use the method of mathematical induction, which consists in 3
steps:

1) verify that the method works for the number
1;

2) assume that the method works for an arbitrary number,
k;

3) prove that if the method works for an arbitrary
number k, then it work for the number k+1, too.

After the 3
steps were completed, then the formula works for any
number.

We'll start the first
step:

1) 1=1^2 => 1=1
true.

2) 1+3+5+...+(2k+1)=(k+1)^2 ,
true.

3) If 1+3+5+...+(2k+1)=(k+1)^2,
then

1+3+5+...+(2k+1)+(2k+2+1)=(k+2)^2

Let's
see if it is true.

We notice that the sum from the left
contains the assumed true sum, 1+3+5+...+(2k+1)=(k+1)^2. So, we'll re-write the sum by
substituting 1+3+5+...+(2k+1) with (k+1)^2.

(k+1)^2 +
(2k+3) = (k+2)^2

We'll open the
brackets:

k^2 + 2k + 1 + 2k + 3 = k^2 + 4k + 4
true.

4) The 3 steps were completed, so the identity is
true for any value of n.

1+3+5+...+(2n+1) =
(n+1)^2

Calculate the value of the sum 1+3+5+....+2n+1. Use the mathematical induction to verify the result of the sum.

We observe that the terms of the sum are the terms of an arithmetical progression. The ratio of the progression is r=2 and it's calculated using the first and the second term.

3-1=2

The number of terms is n+1.

The sum of n+1 terms of an arithmetical progression could be written:

Sn = (a1+a(n+1))*n/2, where a1 is the first term of the progression and an is the last term.

In our case, a1=1 and a(n+1)=(2n+1). By substituting them into the formula of the sum, we'll obtain:

Sn = (1+2n+1)*(n+1)/2

Sn = (2n+2)(n+1)/2

After factorizing, we'll get:

Sn = 2(n+1)(n+1)/2

Sn = (n+1)^2

To demonstrate that the value of the sum is (n+1)^2, we'll  use the method of mathematical induction, which consists in 3 steps:

1) verify that the method works for the number 1;

2) assume that the method works for an arbitrary number, k;

3) prove that if the method works for an arbitrary number k, then it work for the number k+1, too.

After the 3 steps were completed, then the formula works for any number.

We'll start the first step:

1) 1=1^2 => 1=1 true.

2) 1+3+5+...+(2k+1)=(k+1)^2 , true.

3) If 1+3+5+...+(2k+1)=(k+1)^2, then

1+3+5+...+(2k+1)+(2k+2+1)=(k+2)^2

Let's see if it is true.

We notice that the sum from the left contains the assumed true sum, 1+3+5+...+(2k+1)=(k+1)^2. So, we'll re-write the sum by substituting 1+3+5+...+(2k+1) with (k+1)^2.

(k+1)^2 + (2k+3) = (k+2)^2

We'll open the brackets:

k^2 + 2k + 1 + 2k + 3 = k^2 + 4k + 4 true.

4) The 3 steps were completed, so the identity is true for any value of n.

1+3+5+...+(2n+1) = (n+1)^2

In "Heart of Darkness", who says, "I authorize you to take all the risks," and why does he say this?

As the boat approaches Kurtz's station, the men see natives gathering on the banks of the river. Fearing they will attack, the manager tells Marlow that he is "authoriz[ing] him to take all the risks" by making a pre-emptive attack on them. Marlow, however, responds with, "I refuse to take any."

How does the author quickly set the tone of the story "The Yellow Wallpaper"? Give an example.short answer please think you

The author uses words to draw a picture of isolation, depression, mental anguish.  The story takes the main character to an isolated home away from their usual lives in order to let her "rest" and "recover". 

The yellow wallpaper drives her crazy, literally, and she thinks she "sees" someone behind the paper "creeping" and "crawling." She ends up creeping and crawling along the floor herself.

So, look for descriptions that show the narrator has a mental disturbance or that other characters in the story think she has a mental disturbance. 

She does keep talking about how "they" think she's "crazy".  All of this lends to the tone and mood of the story and sets us up as readers for the ending.

What are the three wishes & the consequences in "The Monkey's Paw?"

While the first two answers portray the Whites as making the first wish in “The Monkey’s Paw” as a joke, I disagree.  The Whites are driven by greed and ambition, just as most people are.  It may be that they do not fully believe that the paw will grant their wish, but they cannot prevent themselves from wishing.  It is sort of like buying a lottery ticket knowing that you will almost surely not win, but being unable to forego the chance.

To show that this is the case, we can see at least two pieces of evidence from the story. First, when Sergeant Major Morris throws the paw on the fire, Mr. White cries out in astonishment and grabs it out of the fire.  You do not reach into a fire to rescue something that you think is a joke.  Second, Mr. White forces money on Morris in exchange for the paw.  If you really think something is a joke, you are not going to force someone to take money for it when they are already ready to burn it.

In whatever spirit the first wish is made, it is for two hundred pounds.  Herbert White suggests this particular amount because it would be enough to pay off the mortgage on their house.  The consequence of this wish is that the parents get the money, but that Herbert dies.  He is killed in an accident when he is “trapped in the machinery” at his workplace.  A man from the workplace comes and gives them the money as compensation.

The next wish stems from the first.  Ten days later, Mrs. White realizes that they have two wishes left and could use one to bring Herbert back from the dead.  She pushes her husband until he gives in.  As the story tells us, “He raised his hand. ‘I wish my son alive again.’”  The consequence of this is that Herbert’s corpse is (apparently) reanimated.  All we know for sure is that some hours later something starts knocking on the Whites’ door in the middle of the night.  We never “see” what is knocking, but the Whites are sure it is Herbert. Mrs. White thinks Herbert will be normal again, but Mr. White does not.  He remembers that Herbert was mangled beyond recognition in the accident and he knows the corpse has been rotting for 10 days.  He is sure that the knocking is coming from Herbert’s corpse, and not from a Herbert who has been brought back to life as he was before the accident.

Just as we are not told for sure what is knocking on the door, we do not know for certain what the third wish is.  Mrs. White has been getting a chair so she can open a bolt on the door that is too high for her to reach.  Mr. White is frantically looking for the paw because he does not want “the thing outside” to get in.

He heard the creaking of the bolt as it was slowly opened, and at the same moment he found the monkey’s paw and frantically breathed his third and last wish. The knocking stopped suddenly, though it still echoed in the house.

When Mrs. White opens the door, there is no one there and the road is quiet and empty.  We can assume that Mr. White wished for his son to return to the dead and that the consequence of his wish was that Herbert did so.

Did Anton Chekhov ever meet Sigmund Freud?

There is no evidence that Anton Chekhov ever met Sigmund Freud. Although they were born around the same time, their lives were separated by country and by politics, so the likelihood of their meeting is slim; I could not find any evidence or report of their meeting in my research.

Anton Chekhov lived most of his life in Russia, with periods in France and visits to various parts of Europe, but he is not recorded as having visited Austria, where Freud lived and worked. In addition, Chekhov was a doctor of the body, not of the mind, and so he would not have been likely to seek out Freud, at the time still developing the theories of psychoanalysis. Chekhov died in 1904, 35 years before Freud's own death.

Sigmund Freud was born in Příbor, a town in Moravia which is now part of the Czech Republic. He lived and worked in Vienna for most of his life, and although he was likely aware of Chekhov as a literary figure, I could not find evidence that he ever sought a meeting. Freud's life was marked by struggles with the academic community and finally the rise of Nazi Germany, which occupied Austria. When Chekhov died in 1904, Freud was still working on his theories and running a discussion group for psychiatrists.

Both figures had many famous meetings, such as Chekhov's meetings with Leo Tolstoy and Maxim Gorky, and Freud's meetings with Salvador Dali and Virginia Woolf. However, if the two ever met each other, I could not find evidence of it.

How does The Lovely Bones connect to the world in regards to social issues, historical issues, and values/ethics?

There are of course obvious connections (as it is modern
fiction and could have very well taken place in real life, even yesterday): unsolved
crimes, the secrecy of psychopathic rapist killers, feelings of anger/loss/helplessness
from the victim's family and close friends, etc.

I also
think it poses some other big questions: Is there life after death?  Is communication
with Earth possible from the afterlife?  Is that communication
directly affected by injustice?

How does The Lovely Bones connect to the world in regards to social issues, historical issues, and values/ethics?

There are of course obvious connections (as it is modern fiction and could have very well taken place in real life, even yesterday): unsolved crimes, the secrecy of psychopathic rapist killers, feelings of anger/loss/helplessness from the victim's family and close friends, etc.

I also think it poses some other big questions: Is there life after death?  Is communication with Earth possible from the afterlife?  Is that communication directly affected by injustice?

What is Clarisse's function in Fahrenheit 451, and how does she affect Montag?

Clarisse is a seventeen year old young woman who walks with Montag on his trips home from work. She is unusual sort of person in the bookless society: outgoing, naturally cheerful, and unusually intuitive. She is unpopular among her peers and disliked by teachers for asking "why" instead of "how" and focusing on nature rather than on technology. She often skips school because she thinks it is a pointless routine, a repetition. She shows Montag that he is not in love with his wife, Mildred, whom Montag has been married to for ten years. This embarrassed Montag and he tries to deny it, but inside, he knows it is true. Only a short time after meeting Montag she disappears without any explanation, although Mildred and Captain Beatty claim she was killed in a car accident.

 Clarisse represents innocence. In a society based upon blind acceptance of government policy, constant search for raw, immediate gratification, she likes "to smell things and look at things, and sometimes stay up all night, walking, and watching the sunrise". Clarisse does not accept the values set forth for her by society, and rarely takes part in activities, such as jet car racing, which appeal to the need for constant unthinking stimulation and are most preferred by the majority. Clarisse is an individual who is in touch with her own soul, and she is able to see the world around her and honestly evaluate its worth.

Her affect on Montag is huge. She is Montag's "inspriation". She is responsible for Montag's change. She also made him realize that he wasn't happy.

What do understand by formal and informal groups in a firm?

The more common terms used are formal and informal
"organizations" rather than groups. Formal organization refers to the groupings of all
he persons working for a firm in different divisions, department, sections, etc., that
is formally defined and specified. The formal organization also defines haw the total
work of the firm is divided among such different organizational units or groups and
among persons within each group. The formal organization also determines the
relationship between people within a group and across the group. These relationships are
primarily in terms of boss-subordinate reporting relationships. Work within the
enterprise is carried within the framework of formal organisation
structure.

However the effectiveness of work within any
firm is influenced significantly by informal organization that exists side by side with
the formal one. The informal organization is not designed or implemented by any one
purposely. It develops spontaneously because of interaction between people working
together. The informal organizations is based on personal relationships that exists
between people, rather than on work requirement. The primary purpose of informal
organization is to serve the personal need of the people. However, it invariable impacts
the basic work of the enterprise, and consequently its performance. For example,
friendship between a sales person and someone working in production planning, may enable
the sales person to get information on delivery commitments faster. This will help the
sales effort of the company. However, this may also result the production planning
person playing favourites in delivery of selected orders based on considerations of
friendship. This may hurt the interest of the firm.

In view
of statement made in the post above, it is desirable to clarify that neither the formal
or informal groups need to be ad hoc. Also the informal relationships in firms tend to
be longer lasting than the formal organization structures. Thus, though in some other
settings ad hoc informal groups may form, in firms the informal organizational groups
are not ad hoc.

What do understand by formal and informal groups in a firm?

The more common terms used are formal and informal "organizations" rather than groups. Formal organization refers to the groupings of all he persons working for a firm in different divisions, department, sections, etc., that is formally defined and specified. The formal organization also defines haw the total work of the firm is divided among such different organizational units or groups and among persons within each group. The formal organization also determines the relationship between people within a group and across the group. These relationships are primarily in terms of boss-subordinate reporting relationships. Work within the enterprise is carried within the framework of formal organisation structure.

However the effectiveness of work within any firm is influenced significantly by informal organization that exists side by side with the formal one. The informal organization is not designed or implemented by any one purposely. It develops spontaneously because of interaction between people working together. The informal organizations is based on personal relationships that exists between people, rather than on work requirement. The primary purpose of informal organization is to serve the personal need of the people. However, it invariable impacts the basic work of the enterprise, and consequently its performance. For example, friendship between a sales person and someone working in production planning, may enable the sales person to get information on delivery commitments faster. This will help the sales effort of the company. However, this may also result the production planning person playing favourites in delivery of selected orders based on considerations of friendship. This may hurt the interest of the firm.

In view of statement made in the post above, it is desirable to clarify that neither the formal or informal groups need to be ad hoc. Also the informal relationships in firms tend to be longer lasting than the formal organization structures. Thus, though in some other settings ad hoc informal groups may form, in firms the informal organizational groups are not ad hoc.

In Beowulf, how does the poet create distance between the characters and himself, and how does he express their own sense of a distant past?

bemmer,

In the epic poem "Beowulf", the author or authors created a world which was very distant from their own. Distance is created through the use of events such as feasts and celebrations, symbols representing a dark and unknown forces, and by only alluding to other events gone by.

Beowulf seems to have come from southern Sweden to England with the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, who started arriving in the 5th century C.E. It seems to have survived orally for several centuries before being written down somewhere between the 8th and 10th centuries C.E. It survives in a single manuscript which was damaged in a fire.

The plot of the poem has three climaxes with each featuring a great fight between Beowulf and a monster; but the poem includes a great deal of other material as well. A great portion of the poem is given over to feasts and celebrations. Beowulf digresses off into about 10 other stories from Germanic history and legend—stories which are only allusively referred to, so footnotes are needed to sort them out.

Beowulf is essentially a pre-Christian poem with a few inadvertent Christian details, unavoidable because the poem was written by a Christian looking back at a pre-Christian past with admiration and some nostalgia. The poem’s definition of a “good king” is solidly Germanic, emphasizing fighting, winning treasure, and being remembered after one’s death. Beowulf’s principal enemies—trolls and dragons—are creatures from Germanic mythology associated with cold, darkness, and the wilderness; they are enemies of human values and achievements, and they reflect the hostile environments from which Germanic people came.

Beowulf’s death during his battle with the dragon is no surprise; for these Germanic peoples, all stories end in death and destruction, as does their mythology about the world itself. What makes Beowulf a hero is that he takes the dragon with him when he dies. Beowulf’s death means the destruction of his people—another reminder of the gloomy Germanic world view that is underscored by a favorite device of the poet: understatement. This creates more distance in showcasing the end of a society.

Beowulf, like all good literature, creates distance by demonstrating its richness in the number of different readings it can support. It can be a poem about humankind’s losing battle with the universe. It can be a meditation on the futility of a culture that defines itself in terms of war. It can also be an analysis of the uses and misuses of heroism within the human community.

These all support the idea that the poem creates distance.

Where is shakespeare's hometown?

William Shakespeare (also known as the "Bard of Avon") was
an English poet and playwright. He was born in 1564 although the exact date is not known
for sure. It is known that he was baptized on April 26th. He lived in
Stratford-upon-Avon and it is believed that he grew up on Henley Street where his
father, John Shakespeare, lived. His father was believed to be a town official and a
businessman. Most scholars agree that Shakespeare was educated at Kings New School that
was in Stratford. Here he would have had an intensive education that included Latin
grammar and classics.

Where is shakespeare's hometown?

William Shakespeare (also known as the "Bard of Avon") was an English poet and playwright. He was born in 1564 although the exact date is not known for sure. It is known that he was baptized on April 26th. He lived in Stratford-upon-Avon and it is believed that he grew up on Henley Street where his father, John Shakespeare, lived. His father was believed to be a town official and a businessman. Most scholars agree that Shakespeare was educated at Kings New School that was in Stratford. Here he would have had an intensive education that included Latin grammar and classics.

A highly developed civilization that developed in what's now Pakistan is referred to as the what?

I believe you are referring to the Indus Valley
Civilization, also known as Moha-jo-Daro and Harappa civilization, so named after the
first two sites at which remains of these civilization were excavated. The exact history
of origin and development, and decline of these civilization is not very clear. Earlier
these civilizations were supposed be the part of Aryan civilization who were supposed to
have migrated to India displacing the supremacy of the Dravidian people who were
supposed to have been original resident of India, and who were forced to migrate to
south India because of Aryan invasion. However now other alternate theories have also
been developed.

Most probably the Indus valley civilization
is a part of a phase of civilization that might have originated about fifteen thousand
years back in eastern Afghanistan at Mundigak and western Pakistan at Mehrgarh, Starting
from there a string of civilization sites have been found to indicate that people from
this civilization successively abandoned their older locations and moved toward east and
south over a period extending more than ten thousand years. In this way they reached
many places in in central India beyond Delhi (Alamgirpur)  and North Maharashtra India
upto Daimabad. With passage of time and place changes took pace in their ways, but the
signs that these represent gradual evolution of the same original civilization are very
clear.

A good comprehensive description of this
civilization is given at the web site referred below.

A highly developed civilization that developed in what's now Pakistan is referred to as the what?

I believe you are referring to the Indus Valley Civilization, also known as Moha-jo-Daro and Harappa civilization, so named after the first two sites at which remains of these civilization were excavated. The exact history of origin and development, and decline of these civilization is not very clear. Earlier these civilizations were supposed be the part of Aryan civilization who were supposed to have migrated to India displacing the supremacy of the Dravidian people who were supposed to have been original resident of India, and who were forced to migrate to south India because of Aryan invasion. However now other alternate theories have also been developed.

Most probably the Indus valley civilization is a part of a phase of civilization that might have originated about fifteen thousand years back in eastern Afghanistan at Mundigak and western Pakistan at Mehrgarh, Starting from there a string of civilization sites have been found to indicate that people from this civilization successively abandoned their older locations and moved toward east and south over a period extending more than ten thousand years. In this way they reached many places in in central India beyond Delhi (Alamgirpur)  and North Maharashtra India upto Daimabad. With passage of time and place changes took pace in their ways, but the signs that these represent gradual evolution of the same original civilization are very clear.

A good comprehensive description of this civilization is given at the web site referred below.

What motivated the two towns to engage in the wall competition in "The Golden Kite, the Silver Wind"? What are the negative effects of the...

We're not really told why Kwan-Si first changes their
walls into the shape of a pig, but the messenger bringing the news seems to think that
by doing so, they have made themselves the more powerful town. A pig will eat an orange,
and so it looks like they are the town of strength. So, the Mandarin immediately orders
the shape of the walls changed to look like a club, to beat the pig away.
The towns prolong this competition because the town with the "strongest"
wall shape would be the winner, and therefore the more prosperous and successful
town. Think of it as a giant game of "Rock, Paper,
Scissors".

Because of this competition, the
townspeople have no time to tend crops or run businesses; instead they are constantly
building and rebuilding the walls. So, they fall ill, lose
money, and begin dying. Even the Mandarins are sick and weak at the end
of the battle. Because of their greed, and refusal to work in cooperation rather than
competition, their towns have suffered greatly.

What motivated the two towns to engage in the wall competition in "The Golden Kite, the Silver Wind"? What are the negative effects of the...

We're not really told why Kwan-Si first changes their walls into the shape of a pig, but the messenger bringing the news seems to think that by doing so, they have made themselves the more powerful town. A pig will eat an orange, and so it looks like they are the town of strength. So, the Mandarin immediately orders the shape of the walls changed to look like a club, to beat the pig away. The towns prolong this competition because the town with the "strongest" wall shape would be the winner, and therefore the more prosperous and successful town. Think of it as a giant game of "Rock, Paper, Scissors".

Because of this competition, the townspeople have no time to tend crops or run businesses; instead they are constantly building and rebuilding the walls. So, they fall ill, lose money, and begin dying. Even the Mandarins are sick and weak at the end of the battle. Because of their greed, and refusal to work in cooperation rather than competition, their towns have suffered greatly.

Why does Nora abandon her children in A Doll's House?

I'm not sure "abandon" is the right word for Nora's actions--we ultimately don't know whether Nora restores a relationship with her children after leaving Torvald or not. Nora does leave her husband at the end of Act III after she is forced to face his true nature and realizes how selfish he is. She also realizes that, as Torvald's wife, she has lived more of a child's life than an adult's. After her confrontation with Torvald, she most wants to reeducate herself to live as an independent woman. About her role as a mother, Nora says to Torvald:

"I am not fit for the task. There is another task I must undertake first. I must try and educate myself--you are not the man to help me in that. I must do that for myself. And that is why I am going to leave you now."

Nora's decision is not so much to abandon her children as it is to put herself first for the first time in her life. In addition to motherhood, Nora believes that:

"I have other duties just as sacred. . . duties to myself. I believe that before all else I am a reasonable human being . . . or, at all events, that I must try and become one."

In The Glass Menagerie, why did Laura give the broken unicorn to Jim as a souvenir?

Symbolically, the Unicorn represents Laura.  Once she has her romantic interlude with Jim, even though it doesn't work out, she feels changed, like the unicorn.

Technically, Laura becomes normal after she has been kissed by Jim, and like the unicorn, who now looks like a regular horse, can fit in with the other horses.  Laura has passed a threshold in life, she is changed by her experience with Jim.

"LAURA: Haven’t you noticed the single horn on his forehead?
JIM: A unicorn, huh? —aren’t they extinct in the modern world?
LAURA: I know!
JIM: Poor little fellow, he must feel sort of lonesome. 
JIM: Aw, aw, aw. Is it broken?
LAURA: Now it is just like all the other horses.
JIM: It’s lost its—
LAURA: Horn! It doesn’t matter. . . . [smiling] I’ll just imagine he had an operation. The horn was removed to make him feel less—freakish!" (pg. 86-87, Williams) 
  

Kindly name the 8 kings shown to Macbeth while greeting the witches for the second time.

When In Act IV Sc.1  Macbeth meets the witches  he  demands that they answer his question: "Shall Banquo's issue ever/Reign in this kingdom?" Initially the witches refuse but just before they vanish they remark, "Show his eyes and grieve his heart." immediately, "Eight kings appear, and pass over in order,the last with a glass in his hand; with Banquo following."

Shakespeare does not name the eight kings, because historically not much is known about Banquo, in fact some historians even doubt his  very existence! However in Shakespeare's own time King James I of England was believed to have been a direct descendant of Banquo. Macbeth's speech, "Thou art too like the spirit of Banquo.....And points at them for his" is thus meant to flatter the new Stuart King James I.

After Queen Elizabeth died childless, King James VI of Scotland a Stuart was crowned  the King of England as King James I. Two  coronations were held, one in Scotland where one  scepter was used and one in England where two scepters were used: "That two-fold balls and treble scepters carry." Scholars also interpret "treble scepter" to mean that King James' coronation united the three kingdoms of Scotland, England and Ireland. 

Thus, the eight kings would refer to all the monarchs of the Stuart dynasty who ruled England from 1603-1714. However,historically there were only six Stuart kings.

In The Mayor of Casterbridge, what is Michael Henchard's tragic flaw, and how can I describe it in a thesis statement?

Michael Henchard's heroic tragic flaw is related to
Hardy's theme of how a person's inner character traits interact with blind Fate. Hardy's
point is that for every choice a person makes, future choices are either broadened or
narrowed and Fate is either advanced or forestalled. An example of this is that early
on, Henchard resisted disencumbering himself of Susan and the baby, even though he
believed they were holding him back. With these moral choices, Fate was forestalled. Had
Henchard continued in this path of moral choice, Hardy suggests, his end in life would
have been a different one. Conversely, at the drunken moment that he agrees to a drunken
opportunity to sell Susan and their baby, Henchard makes a decision that so curses and
narrows his future choices that a blind destructive Fate is aided and hastened. It takes
some mental effort to keep the threads of Fate and Choice separate, especially when
Hardy is showing their interaction, but the message is that had Henchard displayed
different character traits, Fate would have brought forth different opportunities, or
the opportunities Fate did bring forth would have been rendered
powerless.

That being said, Henchard's tragic character
flaw is the dichotomy within his nature. He is honest to a fault as seen when he doesn't
deny the furmity woman's accusations. Yet he is also self-protective to a fault as seen
when he disencumbers himself of his family because they are holding him back and when he
lies to Newson by saying Elizabeth-Jane is dead.  He is faithful to his word and always
conducts his business on the highest standards. Yet he can explosively declare rash and
cruel things the pursue them as though they were reasonable and right things, again as
in the sale of Susan and the baby. He has determination and will power and can keep a
promise for years and decades. Yet he can't think with foresight and foresee disastrous
ramifications of impulsive thoughtless acts. He has a deep sense of justice, as in his
attitude toward himself when his is alone and forsaken at the end of his life. Yet he is
petty and mean spirited as was the case in his feelings toward the loving and accepting
Elizabeth-Jane the morning after the two paternity revelations. It is this unintegrated
duality, this combination of light and dark, that constitutes Henchard's tragic flaw:
though he has high values, he lacks the ability to think through and foresee future
affects of present choices and acts.

A good thesis
statement might incorporate this dichotomy and duality, this combination of light and
dark impulses, and relate it to Hardy's theme of interaction between personal choice and
Fate. Possibly something like this might work: Henchard's tragic flaw is the dark versus
light dichotomy of his nature that proves character-determined personal choice spurs on
or forstalls the realization of Fate.

In The Mayor of Casterbridge, what is Michael Henchard's tragic flaw, and how can I describe it in a thesis statement?

Michael Henchard's heroic tragic flaw is related to Hardy's theme of how a person's inner character traits interact with blind Fate. Hardy's point is that for every choice a person makes, future choices are either broadened or narrowed and Fate is either advanced or forestalled. An example of this is that early on, Henchard resisted disencumbering himself of Susan and the baby, even though he believed they were holding him back. With these moral choices, Fate was forestalled. Had Henchard continued in this path of moral choice, Hardy suggests, his end in life would have been a different one. Conversely, at the drunken moment that he agrees to a drunken opportunity to sell Susan and their baby, Henchard makes a decision that so curses and narrows his future choices that a blind destructive Fate is aided and hastened. It takes some mental effort to keep the threads of Fate and Choice separate, especially when Hardy is showing their interaction, but the message is that had Henchard displayed different character traits, Fate would have brought forth different opportunities, or the opportunities Fate did bring forth would have been rendered powerless.

That being said, Henchard's tragic character flaw is the dichotomy within his nature. He is honest to a fault as seen when he doesn't deny the furmity woman's accusations. Yet he is also self-protective to a fault as seen when he disencumbers himself of his family because they are holding him back and when he lies to Newson by saying Elizabeth-Jane is dead.  He is faithful to his word and always conducts his business on the highest standards. Yet he can explosively declare rash and cruel things the pursue them as though they were reasonable and right things, again as in the sale of Susan and the baby. He has determination and will power and can keep a promise for years and decades. Yet he can't think with foresight and foresee disastrous ramifications of impulsive thoughtless acts. He has a deep sense of justice, as in his attitude toward himself when his is alone and forsaken at the end of his life. Yet he is petty and mean spirited as was the case in his feelings toward the loving and accepting Elizabeth-Jane the morning after the two paternity revelations. It is this unintegrated duality, this combination of light and dark, that constitutes Henchard's tragic flaw: though he has high values, he lacks the ability to think through and foresee future affects of present choices and acts.

A good thesis statement might incorporate this dichotomy and duality, this combination of light and dark impulses, and relate it to Hardy's theme of interaction between personal choice and Fate. Possibly something like this might work: Henchard's tragic flaw is the dark versus light dichotomy of his nature that proves character-determined personal choice spurs on or forstalls the realization of Fate.