In Chapter 7, why does Tom refer to the laison between Daisy and Gatsby in terms of "intermarriage"?

We learn early in the story that Tom is a racist. His comment “next they’ll throw everything overboard and have intermarriage between black and white” is another example of his expression of this. The context, however, is Tom’s awareness that Daisy and Gatsby have a relationship, that Gatsby is, in his terms, “making love” to his wife. The statement of interracial marriage indicates that Tom views Gatsby as an “other,” that he looks down upon him as much as he looks down upon black people. Tom’s racism speaks to his arrogance and need to make himself appear and feel better than others. His racial slur in reference to Gatsby is an insult as well as embarrassing, for the narrator then comments that Tom saw himself “standing alone on the last barrier of civilization,” with Jordan murmuring “We’re all white here.”

In "Jane Eyre," what function does Jane's interest in drawing serve in the story?

Remember, this is a novel written by a woman who broke tradition with the writing of Jane Eyre, a highly feminist work for the era. On the literal level, Jane as an artist illustrates her eye for beauty and being able to translate that beauty into art. On a deeper level, Jane as an artist accomplishes a few of Bronte's objectives. First of all, it raises Jane's social status, for even though she is a poor governess, as an artist, she is talented. Secondly, as an artist, she can see the world in a unique, observant way which sets her aside from the other women in the novel. Lastly, it serves to make Jane a very well-rounded woman who finds self-realization at the end of the novel and is more than worthy of her own independent life and marriage to Rochester

In "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", how does the Chief feel about the black boys? How do they feel about Nurse Ratched?

The chief does not like the black boys and sees them as extensions of Nurse Ratched. He says that the Big Nurse purposely chose them and trained them so they would follow her orders without question. This seems to be the case because not only do the black boys show disrepect towards the Chief, but they also seem to detest McMurphy as much as the Big Nurse. All four of these characters see that McMurphy is a threat to their total control of the Ward and to their power. Since the Chief, at first, is incapable of taking any action against Nurse Ratched and the black boys, it is up to McMurphy to begin to challenge their behavior and authority.

What would be a good thesis statement that can be used for "My Papa's Waltz" by Theodore Roethke?I always seem to get stuck on thesis statements!

I usually encourage my students to pick two or three
closely-related poetic elements on which to focus in a thesis,
like:

1. Speaker, Audience, Tone


2. Metaphor,
   Imagery, and Theme


3. Prosody: Meter and Sound
   Effects

"My Papa's Waltz" presents a quandary
among readers: younger readers fear the father, while older readers see him as
relatively harmless.  Do you see him as an alcoholic child-abuser or a fun-loving,
though rowdy, father?  So, take a position and, using approach #1 or #2 above, support
it with textual support.

I find the poem interesting from a
structural level: the first two lines of each stanza seem to be carefree, but the last
two lines have slight turns to a darker side.  Why does Roethke do this?  Is there a
musical or metrical connection to this approach?

Also, look
what other editors have said about how to analyze the poem.  The TPCSTT method always
leads to a good thesis as well.  Again, only focus on two or three of
these:

readability="18">

Title: Ponder the
title before reading the poem

Paraphrase:
Translate the poem into your own
words

Connotation: Contemplate
the poem for meaning beyond the literal
level

Attitude: Observe both
the speaker’s and the poet’s attitude
(tone).

Shifts: Note shifts in
speakers and attitudes or
form

Title: Examine the title
again, this time on an interpretive
level

Theme: Determine what
the poet is saying

What is Tony's first reaction when he meets Ultima ?

When Tony first spends time with Ultima he is overwhelmed in her presence. He knows her before he ever meets her. The curandera was present at his birth, and he has dreamed of her before the actual meeting.

When the priest needs assistance in lifting a curse, he sends for Ultima. Tony is with her as she lifts the curse, adn he is overwhelmed. This will start his journey of discovery and the conflicts that go along with it.

Johne Donne is a typical metaphysical poet.Discuss the features of metaphysical poetry in two of Donne's poems.

John Donne's poetry has two major
phases:

Early Donne: poetry is
about physical love and the physical union of the male and
female

Late Donne: poetry is
about sin and guilt and the spiritual union between man and
God

He uses metaphysical
("above," "beyond" the physical; spiritual; erotic; supernatural)
conceits: elaborate and extended metaphors about the
following subjects: alchemy, horticulture, astronomy, navigation, neo-Platonism,
military, microcosm/macrocosm, law, and
mathematics.

• "The Flea" uses the conceit of
  blood exchange to represent physical union (sex).  The poem is a grand pick-up line:
  he's trying to convince her to go to bed.  The conceit compares physical death to a kind
  of orgasm.


• "Forbidding Mourning" uses the conceit of a
  compass (geometrical instrument).  The female is the fixed point and the male is the
  traveling pencil.  He is away while she is at home, but if she waits for him, he will
  come "full circle" to form a symbol of love: the
  ring.

In Macbeth Act IV scene i, describe the role of the supernatural elements of the scene.

In addition to the excellent answer above, the
supernatural in act 4.1 of Macbeth serves functions such as
contributing to the play's imagery and adding
unity.

Blood is often present in
Macbeth, from the description of the battle by the bloody Captain
in Act 1.2 to the bloody dagger Macbeth envisions in Act 2.1 to both Macbeth and Lady
Macbeth obsessing over blood on their hands, etc.  In Act 4.1, blood
imagery is contributed to in the form of the Bloody Child. This Second
Apparition also adds to the play's imagery of children: 
most notably, the slaughter of Macduff's son in Act 4.2, in which imagery of blood and
imagery of children come together, just as they do in Act
4.1.

Repetition adds
unity to any work, of course, and this play is no
exception.  The theme of the supernatural is repeated in
Act 4.1, after having been first introduced in Act 1.1, as is the capacity of the
witches for making predictions.  The theme of
equivocation is repeated here, as well, which will become
evident later in the play.  The idea of Banquo's heirs
reigning is repeated and made concrete by imagery, as well.  And, of
course, the imagery of blood and children adds
unity.

These are some of the roles, or functions, of the
supernatural in this scene. 

What is the climax of the story "The Ambitious Guest"?

The climax of the "Ambitious Guest" occurs after the family and Guest have disclosed all their "fancies" and the roaring sound of the Slide is upon them. They rush from the safety of their cottage to death.

Afterwards, it is ironically clear that once the family gave into their undisclosed fantasies and left the simpleness of their life behind, there was nothing left of them!

In "Flowers for Algernon," how did the doctors know that the operation was not going to be permanently successful?

The first indication that the doctors, Nemur and Strauss, have ambivalence about the success of Charley's operation comes in "Progress Report 10."  Charley overhears the colleagues arguing.  Nemur wants to present their "experiment" at a conference.

Nemur:  "We've predicted the pattern correctly so far.  We're justified in making this interim report.  I tell you Jay, there's nothing to be afraid of.  We've succeeded.  It's all positive.  Nothing can go wrong now."

Strauss:  "This is too important to all  of us to bring it out into the open prematurely."

Nemur's claim that "(n)othing can go wrong" serves as both foreshadowing and irony.  It foreshadows the fact that Charley will regress; it is ironic because nothing could be further from the truth.

As the novel progresses, there are hints that the Strauss and Nemur are unsure of the permanency of Charely's improved cognition.   In Progress Reports 13, Charley notices Algernon's waning ability to navigate the mazes.  Finally, in Progress Report 15, Charley demands to know the doctors intentions and his fate.  Nemur admits that they did not know what would happen, but "we decided to risk it with you, because we felt there was very little chance of doing you any serious harm and we wanted to do you some good."  Horrifically, for Charley, Nemur tells him that when his faculties fail, he will be sent to the Warren State Home. 

In The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, whose good opinion of Charlotte gains her the license to be liked?Also, what does Charlotte decide to...

In the novel The True Confessions of Charlotte
Doyle by Avi, the member of the crew who tells the rest that Charlotte
"believes in honor" and is "the vey soul of justice" is  Zachariah.  Fisk later tells
Charlotte that Zachariah said this.  Charlotte decides to apologize and to help the
crew. She believes she has left them short of help when she told Captain Jaggery about
the round robin that she found, and Captain Jaggery punishes Zachariah harshly.  The
crew aks her climb to the top of the main mast to prove that she was serious and to gain
the respect of the crew, which she does successfully.

In S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders, why doesn't Dally want Johnny to turn himself in?

Johnny thinks he has "a good chance of bein' let off easy", for killing the Soc because he has no police record and the murder was in self-defense, but Dally is not so sure about that.  He points out, "Us greasers get it worse than anyone else", meaning that from his experience, the court system will most likely be hard on Johnny because he is from the "wrong side of the tracks".  Dally, with a tenderness uncharacteristic of him, really cares about Johnny and is worried what time in jail would do to him.  He says, "I just don't want you to get hurt.  You don't know what a few months in jail can do to you...you get hardened in jail.  I don't want that to happen to you.  Like it happened to me..." (Chapter 6).

What is the theme of "Rip van Winkle"?

Another theme that runs through Rip Van Winkle is  lazines. Rip's laziness is eventually punished.  His punishment was to remain asleep for 20 years.  As a result of his 20 year nap, he misses watching his children grow up, his wife dies, and the village changes. He also sleeps through the entire American Revolution.

However, the story also suggests that laziness has been rewarded.  His wife, who was very critical of his lack of initiative, when he wakes up, is dead, and, therefore, he is freed from her nagging and her constant criticism.  He no longer has to run and hide in the woods to find peace in his life.

His life, after he wakes up, is better than it was before he fell asleep. 

Give several reasons why the Putnams resented the nurse.

One reason that Mrs. Putnam would resent Rebecca Nurse is the fact that she had 11 children, and is now grandmother to 26.  Mrs. Putnam's loss of seven babies shortly after birth, leaving her only Ruth, has made her bitter and suspicious of Mrs. Nurse.

Mrs. Putnam is very quick to suggest that there is witchcraft at work in Salem, while Mrs. Nurse is the character who asks everyone to remain calm and not jump to conclusions.

Mrs. Nurse asks Reverend Parris to send Reverend Hale back to Beverly as soon as he arrives in Salem.  While Mrs. Putnam is happy to see him because he will give her suspicions of witchcraft validity.

Mr. Putnam does not have a very good reputation in the town.  He is a greedy, angry man who can't wait to buy up the land of the accused at a discounted price.  Putnam and his wife are the exact opposite of the gentle kind Nurses.

"Several other conflicts are set up in this scene as well. We learn that the Nurses have been involved in a land war with their neighbors, one of whom is Putnam. The Nurse family was also among those who kept Putnam’s candidate for minister out of office in Salem."

"Further, a group of people related to, or friendly with, the Nurses had broken away from the authority of Salem and set up their own independently governed town. The split was resented by many of the older members of the Salem community. The Nurses, in short, had many silent enemies in Salem."  

What are the Romantic elements in "Rip Van Winkle"?

In Washington Irving's descriptions, there are evident certain elements of Romanticism:

The awe for the beauty of nature

In his descriptions of the resplendent Catskills Mountains, Irving elevates them and the other elements of nature with personification:

[van Winkle] threw himself...on a green knoll, covered with mountain herbage, that cowned the brow of a precipice.  From an opening...he could overlook all the lower country for many a mile of rich woodland.  He saw at a distance the lordly Hudson, far, far below him, moving on its silent but majestic course, with the reflection of a purple coud, or the sail of a lagging bark here and there sleeping on its glassy bosom, and at last losing itself in the blue highlands.

The Dream, or the inner world of the individual

The use of the visionary, fantastic, or drug-induced imagery characteristic of Romanticism introduces Rip van Winkle's dream.  He is greeted by a

a short, square-built old fellow, with thick bushy hair and a grizzled beard.  His dress was of the antique Dutch fashion, a cloth jerkin strapped round the waist, several pair of breeches...He bore on his shoulder a stout keg that seemed full of liquor, and made signs for Rip to approach.

Van Winkle drinks from this keg and then in his inebriated state, he sees "a company of odd-looking personages playing at ninepins" whose faces are odd.  The group remindes Rip of the characters in old Flemish paintings.  Oddly, the little people are amusing themselves, but they maintained serious faces and a "mysterious" silence.  As he becomes drugged by the contents of the flagon, Rip van Winkle falls asleep for twenty years.  When he awakens, Rip's inner world does not match what he sees.  No traces of the amphitheater are there or the little men.  And as he approaches the village he is met by strangers.

A nostalgia for the past

After Rip van Winkle enter the village, he finds it much altered.  The old inn is replaced by the Union Hotel with its tall naked pole from which a strange flag flies.  The usual picture of King George was replaced by another visage, that of General Washington.

There was as usual a crowd of folk about the door, but none that Rip recollected.  The very character of people seemed changed.  There was a busy, bustling disputatious tone about it, instead of the accustomed phlegm and drowsy tranquility.

Disturbed by all the changes, Rip van Winkle yearns for the old desultory colonial days where he and Van Bummel the schoolmaster sat around and echanged stories.

What is the meaning of the title "Far Cry from Africa?"

The poem's title references the history of imperialism and colonization of Africa by other countries, particularly the British. 

"Between this Africa and the English tongue I love?
Betray them both, or give back what they give?
How can I face such slaughter and be cool? How
can I turn from Africa and live?" (Walcott)

The poet speaks of the struggle between the white forces that rule Africa in this period and the uprising in the communities that attempted to free themselves from British domination. 

"It is likely that Walcott's West Indian origins, linked back to part of his family's original homeland in Africa, and the domination of both his country and Kenya by Britain spurred him to take special note of events in Kenya"

That is why he wrote the poem, to chronicle the events occurring in Kenya, which were similar to those happening in other British colonies, which suggest that the cry for freedom from these nations echoed through and beyond the continent of Africa.  

A shared struggle that deeply affected the poet who has both black and white ancestry. 

What is an appropriate tag line for the character Hamlet in Hamlet, with an explanation?

I assume you want a tag line to describe
Hamlet?

I would say, "Hamlet: a man with a plan...kind
of."

He knows that he needs to take revenge on his uncle,
so first he makes a plan to see if his uncle is really guilty.  He tries to get Ophelia
to tell him, but just ends up treating her really badly, leading her to kill
herself.

Then he has the players act out his father's
murder.  That goes okay and he does find that his uncle killed his father.  After that,
the plan goes somewhat off the path he has chosen.

Hamlet
cannot seem to bring himself to actually kill his uncle, even when he knows he is
guilty.  Hamlet tries to stab Claudius, but he does so through a curtain (not the plan)
and ends up killing Polonius!

No matter what, Hamlet seems
to make a plan, but he can never actually follow through all the way.  He is a man with
a plan, but it never works out for him and he dies tragically.

What has become of Cassio's hope to appeal to Othello through Desdemona by the end of Act III?

Cassio hopes to have Desdemona put in good words for him (to Othello) concerning his position.  Cassio is hopeful that by Desdemona pleading his case, it will help him.  However, he is unaware that Iago has already made him a part of Iago's evil plot to make Othello jealous, although there is actually nothing for Othello to be jealous of.  Desdemona, too, is unaware that by her pleading Cassio's case, she is setting the stage for her own murder by Othello.

In "Flowers for Algernon", why is Charlie chosen for the operation?

Charlie is chosen for the operation because of his tremendous drive and motivation to improve himself and smarter. He is probably the most motivated student at the Beekman University Center for Retarded Adults where he takes classes with Alice Kinnian. She is so impressed with Charlie's drive that she recommends Charlie for the procedure. The doctors obviously want someone with strong motivation because there will be so much work after the operation. "Before the operation, Charlie is perceived as a 'good, simple man' and a 'likeable, retarded young man.' His main goal in undergoing the operation is "to be smart like other pepul so I can have lots of friends who like me.'"

What is the name of Antigone's sister?

Antigone's sister is named Ismene. At the beginning of the play, Antigone tries to persuade Ismene to help her bury their brother Polyneices, whose body was left to rot on the battlefield. However, their uncle Creon, who is now the king, and decreed that anyone who dares to give his nephew a proper burial will be stoned to death. So Ismene is too afraid to help Antigone and tries to talk her out of her plans. When Antigone gets caught, Creon blames Ismene too for not telling him what her sister was planning to do.

What a family!

Why would it be extremely difficult to effectively limit campaign spending?If campaign spending limits were effective, who would be hurt more those...

One reason that it would be very difficult to limit
campaign spending is that the Supreme Court has pretty much said that campaign spending
cannot be limited in any serious way.  There can be limits on what is given to
candidates, but you essentially can't limit what people spend on their own (not
coordinating with the candidate).

In general, unlimited
spending helps incumbents.  People who spend money on campaigns generally want something
in return (at the very least, they want access to power).  The incumbents are the ones
who have the power and are more likely to keep the power than the challengers are to win
the power.  So people will generally spend more money to help incumbents than to help
first time challengers.

In "The Odyssey," what is the reaction of the messenger god to seeing the beauty of Calypso's cave?

Hermes, the messenger god, is enchanted by Calypso's cave. It's such a beautiful spot that even a god can be captivated by its charm. The cave contains sweet, beautiful flowers, "great" birds , vines full of grapes, and four flowing fountains. In the midst of the cave, Calypso is at her loom weaving luxurious cloth, singing as she works. Hermes stands at the entrance of the cave to appreciate and revel in its beauty.

What is the importance of Crooks' character in Of Mice and Men?Please, can you include some quotes as well? I'm really struggling with of mice and...

In Of Mice and Men, Crooks is used to
juxtapose Lennie as the two "weak ones" left behind by the men when they go to the
cathouse.  As such, Crooks and Lennie are the lowest
ranking men in the Social Darwinian hierarchy of the
ranch.

Whereas Lennie the mentally weakest of the men,
Crooks is the strongest academically.  He is surrounded by
books and lives the life of an academic in his spare time.  Crooks repeatedly calls
Lennie "crazy."

Whereas Lennie is the strongest of the men,
Crooks is among the weakest (he's probably stronger than Candy).  As such, he feels
threatened by Lennie.

Crooks, then, is the lowest member on
the ranch: lower than Lennie, Curley's wife, and even Candy.  At least these characters
have partners: Crooks is completely alienated.  As such, he is an
outcast.  Observe:

readability="11">

"S'pose you didn't have nobody. S'pose you
couldn't go into the bunk house and play rummy 'cause you was black. How'd you like
that? S'pose you had to sit out here an' read books. Sure you could play horseshoes till
it got dark, but then you got to read books. Books ain't no good. A guy needs
somebody-to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't make no
difference who the guy is, long's he's with you. I tell ya, I tell ya a guy gets too
lonely an' he gets sick"
(80).

Whereas
Lennie is the keeper of the dream, Crooks is the realist, killjoy, prig,
straight man: the one who sees through the dream.  He knows the false
idealism of the Dream Ranch:

readability="12">

"I seen hunderds of men come by on the road an'
on the ranches, with their bindles on their back an' that same damn thing in their
heads. Hunderds of them. They come, an' they quit an' go on; an' every damn one of 'em's
got a little piece of land in his head. An' never a God damn one of 'em ever gets
it. Just like heaven. Everybody wants a little piece of lan'. I read plenty of books out
here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land. It's just in their head.
They're all the time talkin' about it, but it's jus' in their head"
(81).

Whereas Lennie is an
alazon (thinks he's better able than he really is), Crooks is an eiron,
(one who is capable of more than he has
done).

readability="6">

Maybe you guys better go. I ain't sure I want you
in here no more. A colored man got to have some rights even if he don't like 'em"
(90).

Justify the title "Things Fall Apart" in relation to the text.In terms of 'Community' and refering closely to 'Okonkwo'

The title of the novel is taken from W. B. Yeats’s poem “The Second Coming,” which describes history as a succession of spirals. Achebe alludes to the third line of the poem which reads, "Things fall apart; the center cannot hold" This is what occurred in Africa in the nineteenth century as "the center", traditional world of the Igbo people, collided with the colonial forces of the twentieth century. Okonkwo, once a leader in the Ibo culture, is banned from his clan for seven years. When he returns, his culture is being attacked by the influence of the missionaries and English bureaucrats. Okonkwo cannot adapt to the changes and kills himself. Ironically, this is what brings his tribe back to honor custom. Achebe uses Okonkwo to show how things fall apart when tradition clashes with change.

Where and when does Holden get the red hunting hat?

You can find the answer to this question right at the
start of Chapter 3.  It's about one page into that chapter (page 17 in my copy of the
book).

Holden Caulfield gets the red hunting hat while he
is in New York City on the day that the novel starts (this is when he is in with the
fencing team and loses all their stuff).  Right after he loses the swords, they get out
of the subway and he sees the hat in the window of a sporting goods
store.

He likes it and buys it for one
dollar.

What actions does Dexter take as a result of his first two meetings with Judy in "Winter Dreams"?

Dexter's first meetings with Judy Jones are the impetus for his "Winter Dreams." A lowly caddy, Dexter meets the haughty little girl, all of eleven years old, on the golf course. Her derision of him makes him rethink his life. When Judy bangs up her clubs in a fit of temper, the caddy-master demands, "What are you standing there like a dummy for? Go pick up the young lady's clubs."

Instead of suffering her insults, Dexter impetuously declares:

"I think I'll quit.

The enormity of the decision frightened him. He was a favorite caddy and what he earned through the summer was not to be made elsewhere in Dillard. But he had received a strong emotional shock and his perturbation required an violent and immediate outlet.

Dexter works hard to prove to Judy Jones that he is one of the elite, if not by birth, and her equal. By the end of the story though, Dexter realizes how hollow, like a dry twig in winter, that his lifelong dream, has been.

Besides Romeo killing himself over Juliet, what 2 other events prove that Romeo is passionate about love?

Romeo's opening scene, in which he is pining over his love for Rosalind, is the first indication of his passion.  Despite Benvolio's attempt to cheer him up, Romeo insists that he has been forever injured by Rosalind's rejection.  He confirms what we have already been told, that he has spent his nights awake and walking, unable to sleep because his love is too powerful.

Going into the Capulet's garden also proves that Romeo is passionate about love.  He is the enemy of the Capulet's, and is likely to be killed if found there.  The audience already knows that Tybalt wishes to attack him for having attended the party.  Juliet warns him away at first, fearing for his life.  But Romeo refuses to go.  He is too eager to first see, and then speak, with his new love to care about the danger he is putting himself in.

I would argue that there is another event that shows Romeo's passion, although in a very different way.  When confronted by Tybalt, Romeo refuses to fight because he knows that Tybalt is the cousin of his wife.  Despite all Tybalt's inflammatory words, Romeo will not be angered into drawing his sword.  However, when Tybalt kills his good friend Mercutio, Romeo instantly goes on the attack.  The love he has for his friend pushes him into the action he had been so steadfastly avoiding.

What is religious idealism?

Americans are pretty good at looking at things with an idealistic viewpoint. We try to trust in the good of every situation.  We even attempt to teach in our schools with the ideals with which the nation was founded.  Despite what you might have believed or heard otherwise, America was founded on religious idealism.  We believe that our ideals are correct because we believe in the sovereign authority of God and His laws.  Our justice system is also founded on that premise.

I have attempted to attach a link to this post so that you can read an article I found on Google about religious idealism.  I hope it works for you.An Explanation of Idealisim 

In "The Odyssey", what significance might the first two episodes have as trials for Odysseus?Book 9 thanks a bunch :]

The first two situations Odysseus faces (as described in Book 9) show two sides of his character. The land of the Lotus Eaters shows readers his power of will—his focus. His men eat the lotus, but he does not. Instead, he masters them, forcing them to go back on ship. This shows self-control. This is contrasted to the second instance, where Polyphemus can be blinded because he allows himself to get drunk (out of control). Odysseus shows that he is cunning here, by blinding the Cyclops and then through his means of escape. He also shows he is not perfect by taunting the blinded Cyclops as he's leaving.

What is Gatsby's dialogue like in this chapter? (Chapter 5) And what does it tell us about Gatsby?

One of the most striking aspects of Gatsby's conversation
in Chapter five is the secretive nature of much of it.  When he talks to Nick about
getting him a job or putting him in a good position to make more money (having seen the
rather humble circumstances Nick is living in) he can't tell him anything about it,
avoiding questions and saying it is a rather confidential
thing.

He is magnanimous and withdrawn at the same time,
totally afraid of what will happen when he meets with Daisy again.  He extends himself
to Nick and then completely withdraws once he thinks that Daisy isn't going to show
up.

So we learn that he is involved in some shady business
that he can't tell anyone about up front, and then once Daisy shows up, we see that he
is buoyed by what he sees as the possibility of their future
romance.

What are the general events that occur in Chapter 5 of The Monk?

Volume III, Chapter 5 represents the resolution of this complex, gothic novel, which titilated its audience and is so famous for shaping the gothic genre. In this section of the novel, Ambrosio and Matilda are taken in front of the Inquisition. Because they declare they are innocent, they are both tortured, until Matilda finally declares her guilt and then she is sentenced to be burned to death. Ambrosio however maintains his innocence. Whilst he is awaiting his second bout of torture, Matilda comes to him in a vision and urges him to sacrifice himself ot Satan, just as she decided to do, telling Ambrosio to sell his soul and therefore escape more torture:

Let us for awhile fly from divine vengeance. Be advised by me; Purchase by one moment's courage the bliss of years; Enjoy the present, and forget that a future lags behind. 

She leaves behind the mystic tome that allows him to perform the ceremony of giving his soul to Satan. Ambrosio confesses his guilt when faced with the instruments of torture of the Inquisition. He is told he will burn too. However, at this moment, he summons Lucifer, who tells him his life can be saved, but only for the price of his soul. Ambrosio hopes for God's pardon, but eventually, after being told that this does not exist, he signs the contract and is removed from his prison and taken to a barren plain. 

Here, Lucifer tells Ambrosio that Elvira was his mother, which makes Antonia his sister, making his sins even worse, as he committed incest as well. Lucifer reveals it was his plan to gain Ambrosio's soul, and he used Matilda to help him gain his objective. Ambrosio is then dropped on the rocks below and is tortured for six days before dying and being damned forever. 

In "Pride and Prejudice," does Austen purposely use comedy to highlight the folly of her characters?

One character who is humorous at times is Lydia, Lizzy's youngest sister. She is portrayed as a what we used to call an "airhead"; all she thinks about is clothes and parties and flirting with boys, preferably soldiers. Her nonsense leads her to fall for Wickham and his stories, so much so that she runs away with him. She is a younger version of her mother, who overreacts and is given to histrionics.

Mr. Collins is a comical character as well. He is so prim and proper and always chooses his words carefully. For a minister, who should not care for worldly things, he is overly concerned with status and appearing more important than he is. He constantly quotes Lady Catherine de Burgh to impress people and make them feel as if he is on her level.

I think Austen very definitely meant to make her characters "funny." She uses Lydia and Mr. Collins to satirize marriage. It was so important for a woman to marry in Austen's time, but Austen wanted us to see how that was not necessarily a good thing for everyone.

How does Nick describe himself at the beginning of "The Great Gatsby"?

We learn a lot about our narrator, Nick, in the first few pages of the novel, don't we?  In short, we learn that at one point, he was young and vulnerable.  (In many ways, he is STILL quite vulnerable and able to be taken advantage of, especially by Gatsby himself.)  Let's look at some quotes from the very beginning:

In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.

“Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.”

This also tells us that Nick wasn't born poor.  He was born in the Midwest into a good family and with the prospect of a good education.  Therefore, here he also describes himself as having a great respect for his father.  Still, Nick was vulnerable and as such, he says, "made me the victim of not a few veteran bores." Yet, as a young man who has respect for his father, Nick was "the only honest person" he knew.

It is also at the beginning of the novel that Nick describes himself as being completely bored of the honest Midwest and looking for more excitement in life, so he decides to move to New York to become a "bond man."  Nick, then, as an honest person, is not above looking for exciting risks.  Moving to New York, and moving next to Gatsby, was one of them.

What strategy did the Allies use to defeat Japan?

My history class just went over this last week
:)

Since naval confrontation with Japanese war ships proved to be too
costly for the US and its allies, they eventually resorted with aerial assults on enemy
ships. Ofcourse, the Japanese had their kamikaze planes to take out destroyers or
aircraft carriers. It was primarily that reason the campaign in the Pacific led to
mostly bombing Japanese ships while US destroyers would go after Japanese
subs.

In 1946, when Truman came into office, even he wasn't
aware of the atomic bombs production nor was he sure they would even work. But in his
decision to end the war, he gave the go ahead to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Air strike
was the way to go since the Japanese had bigger and better guns than the
Allies.

Explain the irony contained in chapter 10

I think that the most likely irony that you are referring
to is the irony of what the Director is saying and what the director has
done.

Before Bernard Marx is brought in to be publicly
humiliated and punished the Director is giving this big speech about how bad it is to be
unorthodox.  He says that unorthodoxy of behavior destroys
society.

But even though he is talking about this, we know
(and everyone else will know soon) that the Director himself has been completely
unorthodox.  The proof of that is Linda and she will be revealed
soon.

What is the narrative point of view of “Babylon Revisited”? Give examples from the story to support your answer.

As no character is telling the story him/herself, this is 3rd person point of view.  Fitzgerald cheats a little, though.  A story in 3rd person should either be limited - through the eyes of a single character - or omniscient - through the eyes of multiple characters.  Fitzgerald does both.

He mainly uses limited, gearing the narrative through Charlie's perspective.  Everything that happens is portrayed as Charlie sees it, allowing the audience to both be removed from Charlie, but exposed to his "vision".  Since the conflict is Charlie's and is very personal (dealing with grief), this choice of point of view makes sense.  Here is an example:

• "He would come back some day; they couldn't make him pay forever. But he wanted his child, and nothing was much good now, beside that fact.... He was absolutely sure Helen wouldn't have wanted him to be so alone."

In the above passage, it is Charlie's hopes and plans that the audience hears.  In contrast, here is an example of Fitzgerald breaking the rules and letting in another character's perspective:

• "...part of her [Marion] saw that Charlie's feet were planted on the earth now, and her own maternal feeling recognized the naturalness of his desire;"

This occasional break from the technique allows readers momentary glimpses into how Charlie is viewed by others, broadening our understanding of the protagonist.

What materials were used in the movie October Sky when they built the rockets?And also maybe even the steps or procedure followed? It's for a...

The movie October Sky doesn't tell the audience everything the "Rocket Boys" used to construct their rockets but they did reveal a couple of ingredients.

They switched their fuel from black powder to potassium chlorate. They also experimented with potassium nitrate & sugar; a zinc – sulfur powder mix, and various binders.

Each switch the boys made was in response to a test failure that demanded a modification in their engineering design. The use of scientific method is fabulous. They identified a problem, came up with a probable solution, tested it, then either revised their approach or tossed it for a new one.

After finding that their nozzles could not take the heat inside the rockets, they had to special order a steel called S.A.E. 1018 bar stock. They learned to make new nozzles that could withstand the heat and eventually were completely successful in launching their rocket.

What is the correct pronunciation for Rosaline?Rozlyn? Rose-a-line with a long I? Rose-a-leen? Roz-a-line with a long I? Roz-a-leen? Something...

The other pronunciation I often hear, Roz-uh-lehn, is most often associated with the spelling "Rosalyn" rather than "Rosaline." Although there are several "correct" pronunciations of the name Rosaline, the most commonly accepted in regards to  Romeo and Juliet is "Rose-ah-lyne."

What is ironic about Mercutio's lines in Act 2 Scene 1?Lines 17-21

There is no mention of fighting in this scene other than by Tybalt which is not spoken in Romeo's presence. However, keep in mind that Romeo has been depressed that his love, Rosaline, has taken a vow of chastity. Therefore, his cousin, Benvoliohas offered to show Romeo all of the other women Verona has to offer so he will think Rosaline is a crow not a swan. When the opportunity to attend the Capulet party arises and Rosaline's name is on the guest list, Benvolio plans on having Romeo attend. En route to the party Mercutio tries to lift Romeo's spirits even though Romeo insists he has a soul of lead. Once at the party, we can assume Romeo sees Rosaline since her name was on the guest list. Yet we know he meets and falls for Juliet. After the party, Romeo is so enamoured with Juliet and so in shock as he has just found out she is a Capulet, that he wants to be alone with his thoughts (similar to his desire to be alone to ponder Rosaline's chastity vow instead of being his love). He quickly climbs a wall without considering the owner of the property in order to escape his friends who he hears approaching according to the lines and stage notes. As his friends approach they yell his name but do not get a response so Mercutio, beingthe attention seeking clown he is, conjures Romeo to appear by using the "magic" of Rosaline's body. This is ironic because at this point Romeo has met Juliet and in turn seen Rosaline as a "crow" which would be the last thing that would cause him to appear.  

Why was the Step Pyramid built?

Pyramids are big structures which looks like a big heap or
a a hill with a square bases and four sloping sides. These sloping sides are triangular
and meet at a point at the top.  Several ancient peoples used pyramids as tombs or
temples. The Egyptians thought that a person's body had to be preserved and protected so
the soul could live forever. The pyramids could have smooth sides or stepped sides.
Stepped pyramids are pyramids with stepped sides. Also "step pyramid" is a proper name
assigned to a specific pyramid.

The first known stepped
pyramid was built in Egypt for King Zoser at Saqqarah about 2650 B.C. It was built by
Imhotep, a great architect and statesman. The tomb rises about 60 metres in six giant
steps and is called the Step Pyramid. This pyramid is still
existing.

Several ancient peoples of Central and South
America also built pyramids.  They built stepped pyramids that had flat tops.  They used
the flat tops as platforms for their temples.

The Mochica
of Peru built pyramids made of large bricks. The ancient Maya of Central America built
pyramid-shaped mounds of earth with temples on top. The Toltec of central Mexico also
built big stepped pyramids.

In "The Scarlet Letter," why is Ann Hutchinson sent to prison?

Anne Hutchinson disagreed with the religious authorities in Salem in several ways, including whether a person needed a minister to direct his religious life. Contrary to the teaching of the church at that time, she held religious gatherings in her home and led discussions that countered the church's emphasis on "preparation," a concept that concerned how a sinner considered his sin and the state of his soul to earn divine grace. An intelligent and gentle woman, she was a midwife and therefore had contact with many women in the community. The authorities feared her influence would spread. Eventually she was expelled from Salem.

Will a homeowner be held responsible if invited guests of drinking age injure themselves while intoxicated without the homeowner present?More...

It is possible.  Homeowner liability cases are based on a few details:

1) Is the injured party an invitee, a licensee, or a trespasser.  In this situation, the victim is a social guest of the homeowner, and there is a licensee.  "The homeowner is usually liable only for willful or wanton injury to a licensee."

This would sound like the intoxicated individual is on their own. However, the second component to this case is:

2) Negligence.  When the victim broke his arm, was it because of some negligence of the homeowner?  A loose floorboard?  An exposed pipe of some kind?  If the court finds that the homeowner is negligent in some way, then she could be responsible. 

All of this would depend on the exact wording of the Maine statutes and on the other circumstances surrounding the breaking of the visitor's arm (how, where, etc.). 

Explain the irony of the missionary circle and the "squalid lives of the Mrunas" in chapter 24.

Irony is when the opposite of an intended action happens. The supposed purpose of Aunt Alexandra's missionary teas is to discuss how they can help and/or convert people to their religion--the Maycomb Alabama Methodist Episcopal Church South. During the refreshments time, Scout asks the women what they discussed and Mrs. Merriweather was not afraid to declare that pastor J. Grimes Everett has been working with a tribe called the Mrunas who have camped out in a jungle area. She brags that he goes down to help or proselyte to the Mrunas, but no "white person'll go near 'em but that saintly J. Grimes Everett" (230). The irony is that she praises this man for helping these people, but she won't go herself. Not only that, but there are people in her own community who might need help and she will only discuss and berate them rather than go out and actually help them. If she's a missionary attending missionary meetings, shouldn't she act like one and go out herself and visit the people she's discussing?

Mrs. Merriweather continues her hypocritical and ironic claims as she says anyone who is not Christian must be living in "sin and squalor;" but again, she hasn't visited them to find out for herself. She only knows what J. Grimes Everett has told her. She even goes so far as to call Tom Robinson's wife, Helen, a "darky" and that she should live more like a Christian, as in the following paragraph:

"Thing that church ought to do is help her lead a Christian life for those children from here on out. Some of the men out to go out there and tell that preacher to encourage her" (231).

Basically, all Mrs. Merriweather suggests is that other people (men) should go out to the black community and tell Reverend Sykes to encourage Helen to lead a Christian life. Unbeknownst to her, the Robinsons are a church-going family. Also, Scout attended Sykes's church and saw for herself that they collected money to help Helen during her time of stress and need. That's the Christian way--not sitting on one's duff criticizing others for what they should be doing. But that's Maycomb--hypocritical and ironic to the very last.

Explain the solving of the equation 3x+15=0?

In order to solve the linear equation, we'll have to find
a value for x so that the equation to hold, even after the substitution of the unknown x
with the found value was made.

A proper manner to solve
this type of equation would be to subtract, both sides of the equation, the opposite
value of the one of the left side, so that, in the end, the left side to contain only
the unknown x.

3x+15-15 =
0-15

3x=-15

Now, to move 3
across the equal sign, we need to divide both sides of the equation with
3.

3x/3 =
-15/3

x =
-5

Which country was most affected by the Black Death?

Because of the lack of good demographic information it is very difficult to say which country was most affected by the black death.  It came to Europe through Sicily and moved quickly to Italy.  High centers of population were hit particularly hard.  Florence lost over 65,000 people, probably more than 1/2 of its population. If you read the statistics you often see a staggering number of deaths in the Italian cities quoted, but to draw the conclusion that Italy was the hardest hit can be misleading, since Italy had the best statistical information it is frequently quoted.  English estimates say that their country lost 1.5 million inhabitants out of an estimated 4 million.  Whole villages and monasteries were lost while other villages were spared.  Estimates of deaths vary greatly from 1/4 if the population to over 1/2 of the population of Europe.  The number of deaths overflowed any recordkeeping of the times.  The dead were often just flung into pits and covered with lime, never being named or recorded.  Many times there were no funerals for the dead as the rest of their family's had died too, and priests and monks died in higher percentages than the rest since doing their duty put them in contact with those from the plague.  While most accounts of the plague focus on Europe, the plague came from Asia and we have little idea of how many deaths it caused there.  Below are some good sites to check.

Why did Edna commit suicide at the end of the story?

The question of Edna's suicide is a subject of wide debate among critics.

Edna struggled with the role of wife and mother. The constrictions placed on her left her unhappy. While it could be argued that she loved her children, she was not truly involved with them. Her decision to leave, in some part, is that she believes they are better off without her.

It can be seen that her choice to commit suicide is her only measure of control left to her. Her ideas of freedom and a new and exciting life do not go as planned. The passion and sexual freedom she was seeking do not meet up to her expectations. She still pines for what she does not have, which is Robert. Her dreams of being an artist are cut short with the realization that she does not posses much talent in that area.

Edna's failure to create a new life are shattering to her. While she left the constraints of the role of wife and mother, society still controls much of her life and what she could accomplish. It was not an option to her, to try and return back to the life she had with her husband and children. Suicide was the only option that she had full control over, and she took it.

Provide a character sketch of any good character in Black Beauty by Anna Sewell.

A delightful character, the pony named Merrylegs is, like
most ponies, very clever. When the Vicar Blomefield's children visit along with their
father, it is Merrylegs who is called upon to entertain them. Round and round they are
all ride up and down the fields and all around the orchard.  After a couple of hours,
the boys think that they should ride Merrylegs and fashion whips out of large hazel
sticks to make him go as fast as possible.  However, little Merrylegs is too smart to
allow them to abuse him.  So, when they whip him, he simply rears up and they slide off
his back.

When he is returned to the stable, his handler
James scolds him, "There, you rogue, mind you behave yourself, or we shall get in
trouble."  So, when Beauty asks him what has happened, Merrylegs explains.  The pony is
yet another character who illustrates the intelligence of horses and how important it is
to treat animals humanely. 

How does Squealer justify the milk and apples going to the pigs in "Animal Farm"?

Squealer, who is in charge of propaganda, insists that when good food goes to the pigs and dogs, everyone benefits. The pigs and dogs do very important work, they run the farm.

He also continues to remind the other animals that they receive more food than when Mr. Jones ran the farm.

Propaganda is a tool used by a totalitarian government to keep their people in line.  This is used in conjunction with terror, censorship.

What is the story's point of view, how does it best show the central conflict, and would a different perspective be as effective?

The point of view is third person limited and it is appropriate since only with third person are we able to see what happens on both sides of the door which keeps Gregor in his room. Most of the events are shown through Gregor's eyes which is how we come to understand and witness the main conflict--Gregor's discontent with his sacrifice and working so hard a a job he hates to support an ungrateful family.  The viewpoint shifts from Gregor and his room and thoughts to the family and their reactions and happenings.  Obviously, with a first person point of view this would not be possible...where would the point of view go after Gregor's death?  With third person, we see Gregor's death and then shift once again to the family to see that they have moved on and are all working, healthy, and looking with hope to the future. 

Why is "The Crucible" an apt (fitting) title for Miller's play?

"Crucible" is defined as a vessel for melting substances together requiring extreme heat.   This is exactly what the people accused of being witches go through...extreme heat and questioning giving what is perceived as inferior answers in the face of a stern court which is determined to "get to the bottom of this" and move on.  The girls are good at acting their parts and seeing the "spirits" of the accused flying at them in menacing ways, and before you know it, many innocent and formerly respected members of the community of Salem are hanging or crushed and dead.

The "Crucible" is also the name given by US Marines to one of their obstacle courses during basic training.  It is supposed to be a tough course that one can only succeed in mastering through determination, strength--both physical and mental, and perserverance.  That sounds appropriate for this play as well.

Good Luck!

To what does the speaker compare the relationship between man and sea in "The Seafarer"?

The narrator explains the relationship between the man and the sea as the experience of life itself.  The sea, like life, is a dangerous and unpredictable place.  It is ice-cold, full of storms and "smashing surf".  It causes the seafarer to feel isolated and "wretched".

And yet, the seafarer continues to return to the sea, claiming that it has an undeniable pull:

The time for journeys would come and my soul
Called me eagerly out, sent me over
The horizon, seeking foreigners' homes.

This is representative of the pull of life, the drive of the human to push on through the troubling pains that come with every existence, to continue to seek and grow.  The narrator uses this comparison to reinforce the power of God and the need for the human to rely on God's power and mercy:

but nothing
Golden shakes the wrath of God
For a soul overflowing with sin, and nothing
Hidden on earth rises to Heaven.
We all fear God. He turns the earth,
He set it swinging firmly in space,
Gave life to the world and light to the sky.
Death leaps at the fools who forget their God.

That narrator suggest that, just as the seafarer maintains a delicate balance in his relationship with the sea, humans must maintain a similar balance in life.  They must strike forward to assert themselves, while always conscious of God's judgement and will.

What does the author want to symbolize by the two main characters, the narrator and his girfriend, in "Autumn in the Oak Woods"?

Since the narrator and his girlfriend in "Autumn in the
Oak Woods" are unnamed, they symbolize in one sense the men and women of Russia in the
1950s (publication, 1961). It is also possible that they also represent the "Russian
soul"; all Russian and post-Revolution Soviet writers were in quest of defining, or of
"finding," the Russian soul.

The girlfriend is a city girl
from a harbor town. She discovers that she values the gifts and opportunities afforded
by life among the realities of a natural world, a natural world that is not idealized in
a Romantic period sense. The harsh realities of life in the wild meet her at every
instance, such as is demonstrated by the dark of night that she comes to shore in, the
chicken feather, and the snow. She thus symbolizes the connection of the female Russian
soul to the land of Russia. This connection stands in contrast to the denaturalizing
urbanization of Russian/Soviet city life.

The narrator is a
Russian man who feels the call of carving a life out of the beautiful though
realistically harsh essence of the Russian soil. He symbolizes the psychological
benefits derived that accrue (are naturally added to/from) from the Russian soil even
when it is covered by harsh, killing winter snows.

Yuri
Pavlovich Kazakov was among the writers who were affected by what is called the thaw
period in Soviet literature that occurred in the 1950s and 1960s during which time
censorship and government control of writers slackened its pace. During the the thaw,
two primary groups of writers developed.

One group was
comprised of authors devoted to revealing the social, cultural, political, and
technology realities of Soviet cities in the most realistic terms, something akin to
19th century English writers. The other group presented the struggle of peasants as they
sought to preserve their moral beliefs, which Tolstoy lauded in his stories, against
urbanites who aimed at urbanizing the peasantry. Kazakov took an independent route and
depicted individuals who resist denouncing the city but nonetheless choose the rural,
country life, with a similarity to the English writers of the Romantic period, only most
decidedly without their idealism of nature and the pastoral
life.

What signifigance does the phrase "Angela's Ashes" aquire by the end of the book?

An ash represents something that has burned up or been destroyed.  I think this represents Angela's family.  It has been destroyed.  There is no home.  Her husband is gone and her sons have died or left.  All that remains is her, and her cigarettes with the ashes falling.  The term "Angela's Ashes"  may also represent the destruction of all of her hopes.  When she met and married her husband, she had hopes of a family, a home, and a life.  All these hopes were gone now.  The only hope that she had left to her, Frank took with him when he went to America.  Her dreams, her family, they were as gone to her as the cigarettes were when she was finished smoking them; all that was left was ashes.

What makes the conclusion so surprising?

The conclusion of "The Lottery" is so surprising because
the matter-of-fact, objective narrator manipulates the setting and other character
details to make it so.

The word, manipulation, here, is not
a negative.  All art is manipulation.  In this story, the narrator speaks matter-of-
factly about the weather ("The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh
warmth of a full summer day;...); and about the town and the townspeople (the lottery
takes only a mere two hours, and people will be home for lunch, school just let out for
the summer, the boys are playing, the men talk of tractors and taxes, and the women
gossip). 

The matter-of-fact narration contrasts with the
ending of the story, when what the lottery really is, is revealed. 
The reader is set up (again, not a negative) by the narrator.  What is revealed as a
normal day in a normal town filled with normal people, is not any of the above.  That's
how the surprise is created.

Details such as the gathering
of stones that appear harmless enough when first revealed, provide foreshadowing.  In
other words, once the surprise ending does occur, it makes sense because of the
foreshadowing.  The ending is made plausible because of the use of details (like the
gathering of stones) that are included in the story prior to the
ending. 

Foreshadowing is not really the same as a narrator
giving the reader hints.  The word, hints, suggests that the narrator wants the reader
to figure out the ending before the ending occurs.  This, of course, would destroy the
surprise.  Foreshadowing makes sense out of the ending once it does occur. 
 

The speaker in "The Lottery" narrates in a matter-of-fact
manner and objectively, with no interpretation or character thoughts included.  The
horrific ending contrasts with the tone of the story and creates the surprise.  And that
surprise is made legitimate by the foreshadowing. 

In "The Canterbury Tales," what is the weaver's job and what does he wear?

The Weaver is not a he.  The Weaver was the Wife of Bath.  Weavers made clothes and The Wife of Bath was famous for her clothing.  Chaucer describes her as written below:

“Her head-dresses were of finest weave and ground; I dare swear that they weighed about ten pound Which, on a Sunday, she wore on her head. Her stockings were of the finest scarlet red, Tightly fastened, and her shoes were soft and new. Bold was her face, and fair, and red of hue. She'd been respectable throughout her life, Married in church, husbands she had five, Not counting other company in youth; But thereof there's no need to speak, in truth.Three times she'd travelled to Jerusalem; And many a foreign stream she'd had to stem; At Rome she'd been, and she'd been in Boulogne, In Spain at Santiago, and at Cologne. She could tell much of wandering by the way: Gap-toothed was she, it is the truth I say.Upon a pacing horse easily she sat,Wearing a large wimple, and over all a hat As broad as is a buckler or a targe; An overskirt was tucked around her buttocks large, And her feet spurred sharply under that. In company well could she laugh and chat. The remedies of love she knew, perchance, For of that art she'd learned the old, old dance.”

What is the author's purpose in "The Scharts-Metterklume Method"?

In this funny short story by Saki, Lady Carlotta, is traveling to visit a friend in the English countryside.  Because she intervened when she saw someone mistreat a horse, she missed her train.  A very pretentious woman approaches her mistaking Lady Carlotta for a governess.  Lady Carlotta, who the reader has already seen is a woman not easily intimidated, decides to play along.  The snooty woman, Mrs. Quabarl, pompously tells Lady Carlotta, whom she thinks is Miss Hope, how she wants her children taught.  Lady Carlotta does not have the submissive demeanor typical of a governess and she shocks the Quabarls.  She makes up a phony teaching method, the Schartz-Metterklume Method, because both Quabarls are supercilious snobs and Lady Carlotta knows that if they think she is being innovative, they'll believe what she's saying. They finally fire Lady Carlotta the next day when they see their children acting out a history lesson in an outlandish way.  Of course, Lady Carlotta did this to prove her point.  The Quabarls were simply pretentious snobs.  The story is social satire meant to expose the aristocracy as empty-headed, gullible social climbers.

What are Theseus’ expectations about the Craftsmen’s play? Why are those expectations in some measure ironic?

When Philostrate gives Theseus the summaries of the choices of plays, Theseus reads that the play the craftsmen plan to perform is both "tedious" and "brief" as well as both "tragical" and "merry".  The opposites intrigue Theseus and asks Philostrate who the actors are.  Upon learning that they are craftsmen from the area he says this is the play he wants to see because he says that something won't be bad when it's done by simple people who give it much effort.  When Hippolyta says she doesn't want to make fun of people and laugh at them at their expense, Theseus says that's not the case at all.  He tells her that they are actually honoring these craftsmen by letting them perform.  The craftsmen, he says, are simple people, and by giving them this chance to perform, even if the performance is bad, is a good deed because it is acknowledging that the people at least tried to do their best. Theseus is probably just saying this to get on Hippolyta's good side and he does not really want to see a bad play just to make some common people feel good.  Still, he does not expect the play to be good by any means.  Naturally, the play is not good and when Theseus dismisses the players and tells them they don't need an epilogue, he calls the play "palpable-gross" meaning that it was an obviously bad play.  His expectations were for a bad play and that's what was delivered.

The Crucible shows that conflict is often a struggle between the powerful and the powerless. Give examples.

I would modify this. This play shows that conflict is a struggle between those who have officially sanctioned power and those who lack it, some of whom are willing to use other methods to gain power. The best example of this is the girls who take part in the "witchcraft." They are young and female in a time and place where power belonged to the older males. If they went through official channels—direct appeal, community action, the church—they would have little power and effect. By shifting the field of conflict to one where their claims could not be answered, they shifted the battle, so that it became between several different types of power. Abigail's sexual allure is another example. As a young woman she lacks formal power, so she uses John's attraction towards her.

In Of Mice and Men, why did George want to camp overnight instead of going another quarter of a mile to the ranch?How would you describe George?

John Steinbeck planned to have George kill Lennie at the end of the story. That was to be the dramatic climax. He had to devise his plot in such a way that the closing scene would be workable and plausible. He wanted George and Lennie to be alone at the end, so that they could have some conversation and he could create a moving scene--which he did. In order to have George and Lennie alone at the end of the story, he felt it necessary to establish that they would have a meeting place away from the ranch. For this reason he created the opening scene. It does a lot of things, but its main purpose is to establish a setting where the two men will meet at the end and George will kill his friend.

Steinbeck invented several reasons to explain why George decided to camp by the river when the ranch was only a short distance away. The fact that there are so many reasons makes the decision more implausible than if there had only been one strong reason. The bus driver lets them off ten miles from the ranch. This is implausible. They ought to be able to see that there are no ranch buildings anywhere in sight. George claims that he wants to sleep out under the stars for one more night before they have to go to work. This is implausible. They must have had plenty of nights under the stars already. Even stupid Lennie thinks it would be more sensible to go to the ranch that evening because they could sleep in bunks and get a good dinner instead of eating beans out of cans. By not showing up when they are supposed to, George causes trouble with the owner of the ranch. So he has to do more explaining in Chapter Two.

Candy tells them: "The boss was expectin' you last night...He was sore as hell when you wasn't here to go out this morning."

And when the boss shows up he berates them. George blames it on the bus driver. Finally the boss says: "Well, I had to send out the grain teams short two buckers. Won't do any good to go out now till after dinner."

George and Lennie will probably lose a full day's wages, plus a dinner and a breakfast. All this because Steinbeck wanted to establish the setting where George  knew Lennie would be hidiing after killing Curley's wife. The author makes the best of it by using the opening scene for a lot of exposition. We are introduced to the two main characters and learn about their relationship and the trouble they escaped from in Weed. But all of this could have been covered at the ranch. And in fact most of it was recapitulated at the ranch--except for the fact that they slept overnight in a certain spot by the river, where they will reunite in the final chapter.

What literary elements are used in "Two Kinds"?

Your question touches upon a wide range of techniques that
Amy Tan uses in this short story mapping the inter-generational conflict between a first
and second generation immigrant. I am going to look at one of the motifs which is used
by the author throughout the story, though it is worth looking more closely at the short
story and seeing how the author uses figurative language in her narration as
well.

One of the most important motifs in this short story
is that of the American Dream and the power it exerts throughout the story, on both
Jing-Mei and her mother, but also on the other characters mentioned (for example
Waverley and the other Chinese families that Jing-Mei's mother brags
to).

The American Dream is expressed most succinctly by
Jing-Mei's mother who says "you can be anything you wanted to be in America." Coming to
the land of unfettered possibilities gives so many more opportunities to immigrant
families - far more than we know Jing-Mei's mother had in China. Thus we can understand
the power this has on immigrants, and in particular the pressure there is for
second-generation immigrants (immigrants who have been born in the States) to make the
most of these opportunities. Thus we can perhaps understand the pressure that Jing-Mei
is under.

The problem that Jing-Mei's mother does not
forsee that although there are unlimited choices in the States, those choices also
include the choice to not excel and the choice to be normal, which is what Jing-Mei
chooses to do. Coming to a land of freedom necessarily involves more freedom than
perhaps we would expect.

What do we learn of the political situation between Denmark and Norway in "Hamlet"?

From several scenes in Hamlet, we know that the political situation is tenuous and delicate between the two countries. In Act I scene i, we learn that Hamlet's homeland is under threat from Denmark because young Fortinbras seeks to regain lands lost to Hamlet's father by Fortinbras' father years before. 

The appearance of the elder Hamlet's ghost seems to fortell of the upcoming war since ghosts are considered to be omens to such things.  The ghost is also dressed in armor, which makes the sentries wary of the future. 

In Act I scene ii, Claudius informs the court of the aggression from Norway and sends messengers to the King of Norway (the uncle of young Fortinbras) to curb the boy's zeal. 

Later, in Act IV sc iv, young Fortinbras, discouraged from attacking Denmark, now has his sights on Poland.  Hamlet remarks on his on inability to act while young Fortinbras and the Polish are willing to actively fight and die in the name of honor.   

Finally, in Act V sc ii, young Fortinbras enters and realizes with sorrow that he now has the opportunity to assume the Danish throne.  Horatio comments that Hamlet spoke in favor of Fortinbras' rule.  Fortinbras orders Hamlet’s body carried “like a soldier” to the stage, and says if Hamlet had had the chance, he would “have proved most royal.” As the new King of Denmark, he orders appropriate funeral rites for Hamlet, including the firing of ordnance, which marks the ending of the play.

Why does Bassanio select the lead casket in The Merchant of Venice?

The reason that Bassanio selects this casket over the gold
one and the silver one is because he thinks that you cannot judge a book by its cover,
essentially.

He thinks that, these days, people are too
concerned with appearances.  They think that what looks good really is good.  But
Bassanio is not fooled.  He thinks that it must be the lead one because no one would
really expect that.

He says that both the gold one and the
silver one look too valuable.  They are just
tricks.

Because he figures this out correctly, he gets to
be the one to marry Portia.

In Chapter 47 of "Great Expectations," what is Pip’s financial situation and his state of mind?

Financially, Pip is in trouble, and he sells some jewelry pieces in order to have some spending money. He refuses to spend any more of Provis' money, feeling "that it would be a heartless fraud to take more money from my patron. . ." Pip feels good about himself for making this decision, and this signals a positive change in Pip. Even though his bills are growing, he now knows that having money doesn't make a person better.

Fear is the one emotion that consumes Pip in this chapter. He has the uneasy feeling that Estella has married, but he doesn't want to know whether it's true, so he refuses to read the newspaper and tells Herbert not to mention her name to him. Pip's biggest fear, however, is that Compeyson will find Provis. His concern becomes much greater after he attends Mr. Wopsle's play, and Mr. Wopsle tells Pip that one of the convicts from long ago was sitting behind him. Pip knows this must be Compeyson, realizing that he was right to think that Compeyson would follow him. This increases Pip's angst about getting Provis out of the country, and he shares his anxiety with Herbert. They decide all they can do is to be ever vigilant in making sure that they don't lead Compeyson to Provis.

What is the term that describes what happens before a climax in a novel?

There are two possibilities for the term you're looking for. One is "exposition," which is the basic narrative or story line. The other, which I think is what you want, is called "rising action." All of the story up to the moment of the climax is referred to as rising action. Visualize a short story or a novel as a triangle. The rising action begins at the lefthand base, and it rises up to the climax. The falling action and resolution descend down from the right side of the climax.

Visit the links below for more information on the novel genre.

In "Fahrenheit 451," what is Bradbury's purpose in having Mildred turn Montag in to the authorities?Part 3: Burning Bright

Bradbury has Mildred call in the alarm to show the absence of loyalty to family in Montag's society. She doesn't even think twice about it and as soon as Beatty shows up on Montag's doorstep she flees without a glance in Montag's direction.

"Mildred came down the steps, running, one suitcase held with a dreamlike clenching rigidity in her fist . . . She ran past with her body stiff, her face floured with powder, her mouth gone, without lipstick."

She was just a body, no mouth (yes without lipstick) metaphorically she does not even speak for herself, she is just wearing the mask of society or perhaps has become that very mask. She was simply cohabiting with him but there was no love, there was no depth, there was no marriage. Montag didn't realize when he married Mildred but after being exposed to the wonder of the written word he begins to develop as a human being. He begins to have depth to soul and meaning in his life. Bradbury write Mildred as his accuser to show the stark difference in their personalities. Mildred is loyal to the rules she's been brainwashed to follow and Montag is loyal to his friends Clarisse, the Professor, and the books.

What is the symbolism of the glass paper weight in the book 1984?

George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984 tells the story of a future society that is controlled by Big Brother and the Party in a country called Oceana. The novel’s main character, Winston Smith, struggles to hang on to his sense of personal identity as the Party tries to meld everyone into blindly obedient citizens.

At one point early in the novel Winston takes a trip to a part of the city where people called “proles” live. These people are generally left alone by the Party and allowed to live their lives relatively free of Party influence. While among the Proles, he goes into a junk shop and purchases a beautiful old paperweight.

To understand the significance of the paperweight, the reader needs to look at what Winston was doing just prior to buying it. As he walked among the Proles, he tried to strike up a conversation with and old man who would have been alive well before the revolution that installed the Party and Big Brother into power. After he bought the man a few drinks and questioned him about the old days, he gave up in frustration because the old man could not answer him with anything other than relatively meaningless details of his life before the revolution.

At this point Winston is looking back on those old days as something idyllic, a time when people had rights and access to a meaningful life. When he goes into the junk shop and sees the paperweight, it seems to be the physical manifestation of that time:

What appealed to him about it was not so much its beauty as the air it seemed to possess of belonging to an age quite different from the present one.

Winston has been unable to satisfy his curiosity about the past. All that is left to him is to acquire something that symbolizes an idealized notion of his perception of the past. Later the paperweight will also symbolize his affair with Julia and will be destroyed when their relationship is discovered and brought to an end.

Why did Starbuck protest Ahab's intention to kill Moby Dick in Moby Dick?

Starbuck understands two things about Ahab's quest that
lead him to protest. He sees that Ahab is bent on overthrowing the natural order (and
defying God in the process) and he recognizes the extreme danger that this pursuit will
bring to the crew.

Starbuck is the most devout member of
the crew and also the senior officer. It falls to him to bring the challenge to Ahab,
which he does on these grounds. 

Starbuck's protests are
overwhelmed by the maniacal Ahab in the end. 

readability="11">

In the soliloquy, “Dusk,” Chapter 38, Starbuck
explains to himself that Ahab has “drilled deep down, and blasted all my reason out of
me! I think I see his impious end; but feel that I must help him to
it.”

Though Starbuck feels
that it is illogical to take revenge on an unthinking animal that acted on "blindest
instinct", he is not able to convince Captain Ahab of this perspective. He is also not
able to match or truly challenge Ahab's dedication and resolve.

Did people like the District Commissioner truly civilize the Ibo, or was the clan better off before the colonizers came? Give examples as support.

This question is an opinion question, but Achebe gives us several indications of his feelings on the subject through the experiences of the characters. When the missionaries first come into the area, their interactions with the tribe does improve the lives of some of the tribesmen. The outcasts are accepted by someone, and the missionaries rescue the twins that are cast out by the superstitious tribesmen. Others in the tribe, such as Nwoye, don't feel they fit into the tribe and are converted by the missionary message and the church that welcomes them instead of rejecting them as the tribe does.

Unfortunately, early missionaries and colonizing governments did not accept everything about the tribesmen. The new government brought new laws, completely disregarding the laws already established by the tribe. The District Commissioner would send men in to arrest tribal members who broke the white man's laws. These men would be tried before a white man's court, even though they did not understand or agree with what was taking place.

In this novel, Achebe accurately portrays the clash of cultures that existed when established countries began colonizing. With the act of civilizing the Ibo, the British did bring some humane practices (rescuing twins, etc), but they destroyed the culture of the Ibo. "Was the clan better off before the colonizers came in?" - yes and no - Achebe shows the complex struggle that has existed for African tribes such as the Ibo.

In "Night," how does Eliezer describe death?Mainly what keeps him going?

Death is a pervasive element in a story about death camps. Death is fundamental to human society—anthropologists cite burial practices as the foundation of civilization. The Nazi "slaughterhouses" and "factories of death" are antithetical to this civilized practice of death; the Final Solution is an absolute mockery of human rights and values.

This moment of prayer comes right after arriving at Auschwitz—"Haven't you heard about it?"—when the group is being marched "to the crematory." They will not be killed (not yet) but the terror this welcome march inflicts serves to instill despondency, melancholia, and separation of the prisoners from each other. The Germans knew this, they knew that their prisoners could not have empathy: the faster the prisoners live for themselves alone, the faster they die together.

Eliezer grasps the message of their first walk, saying, "[h]umanity is not concerned with us." There is no one to witness their death and no one to mourn them with the right prayer except themselves. Later, when Akiba Drumer is selected for death, he asks them to recite the Khaddish for him—they forget to do so because they are preoccupied with survival.

What symbolism is connected in the story "Cane"?

There is considerable symbolism in "Cane." The numerous references to cotton accent the powerful place this plant holds in African-American history. The fires that move through the story are symbolize loss and cleansing. However, I am most fond of the relationship between human bodies and buildings. The house that sits on Rhobert's mind is one, and the old man sitting below Halsey's shop is another. Toomer even labels the old man as a symbol, saying, "That old man as symbol, flesh, spirit of the past, what do you think he would say if he could see you?" These connect because the flesh persists, even as a culture is built on silent black bodies.

In "Great Expectations," why does Pip want to be a gentlemen? Why does he feel ashamed around Joe?could anyone help me with these question please...

Pip wants to be a gentleman because he wants to impress Estella.  Pip has fallen in love with Estella and she thinks of him  "Why he is a common labouring-boy!"  Estella plays with Pip but looks down on him.  When Pip is given the chance to become a gentleman, he embraces the process. 

Pip is ashamed of Joe because he is a common working man, a blacksmith.  He is not educated, but he is a good judge of character.  Joe is a kind man, he helps Pip as much as he can with Pip's sister, his wife.  But when Joe comes to London, Pip is uncomfortable to have him in his environment.  Joe's commonness is very obvious and it makes him refer to Pip as Sir. Which makes Pip even more uncomfortable.

Why were Midway, El Alamein, and Stalingrad important turning points in the war?

The Battle of Midway, which resulted in the loss of four
Japanese Aircraft Carriers, was the first major defeat for the Empire of Japan, and was
the farthest their forces would advance in the Pacific.  From 1942 on, there would be
campaign after campaign aimed at "island hopping" back towards to the Japanese home
islands.

At El Alamein in North Africa in 1942, British
General Berland Law Montgomery ended any last chance the German Afrika Korps under Irwin
Rommel had of taking control of Egypt and the Suez Canal.  He then had to stage a 1500
mile retreat that ended with his leaving North Africa permanently the following
year.

Stalingrad was perhaps the most significant of these
three battles in terms of its affect on the war's outcome.  This battle was massive in
terms of the size of the German and Soviet Armies involved, the amount of material
needed, and the obscene losses suffered by both sides.  After five months of frozen,
bloody hell, the entire German Sixth Army under Field Marshall Friedrich Von Paulus
surrendered.  115,000 German soldiers were marched off to Soviet POW camps.  Only 5000
ever returned home to Germany, and it was the last major offensive they could make on
the Eastern Front.

How does Odysseus' conversation with Athena in Book 13 of "The Odyssey" reveal her motive for helping him?

In many ways, Athena admires Odysseus for his lack of emotion.  She believes that he is worthy because he is a calculating soldier, who must examine each situation before just rushing in.  She feels that she must watch over him, not only because these are admirable traits, but because his shrewdness leads him to be almost too cautious.  He struggles to trust that he is actually at home, for instance.  This is what Athena says in response: 

“You are always taking something of that sort in your head,” replied Athena, “and that is why I cannot desert you in your afflictions; you are so plausible, shrewd and shifty. Anyone but yourself on returning from so long a voyage would at once have gone home to see his wife and children, but you do not seem to care about asking after them ..."

Athena also reveals why she has not revealed herself to him.  She explains that, because Poseidon was on the war path, she herself had to be subtle in providing help to Odysseus, so as not to enrage the sea god further.

Explain how the audience feels and what they expect right from the start of the play, "Romeo and Juliet."

Well, right from the very start, you have the chorus giving away the ending of the play with "a pair of star-crossed lovers take their life".  The audience is told that they will be seeing a play about two feuding families who hated each other so much for a very long time that it took the death of their two children to end the fighting.  This leaves the audience with "How did all this happen?" and "Why did they kill themselves?" going through their minds before Samson and Gregory even make their entrance.  This prologue is the same as any television prologue that gives the background of the plot, introduces the main characters, and foreshadows main events, leaving the audience to sit back and enjoy how this all unfolds.  Just look at "The Ballad of Gilligan's Island", "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air", "The Beverly Hillbillies", or "The Brady Bunch".  In each prologue you get characters, main conflict, and foreshadowing.  Shakespeare's prologue is no different except that it's written as a sonnet.  I actually have my students choose a TV show that doesn't already have a written prologue and create one.  I just collected about 15 prologues for "Lost" and at least a dozen each for "American Idol" and "House".