What role did the Navigation Acts play in Great Britain's mercantilist policies toward the American colonies?

Mercantilism is an economic policy between the colonies and the mother country. The system was based upon the accumulation of gold and silver, collecting natural or raw materials, denial of any colonial manufacturing, and restricting colonial trade with any other nation other than the mother country. The Navigation Acts were a series of laws which established a framework for this economic system between great Britain and her colonies. Most of these acts promoted the mercantilistic policies and in addition restricted shipping policies. Although these laws date from as early as 1650 they were not strictly observed until after The French and Indian War, which England won in 1763 but had left the country bankrupted. The renewed enforcement of these acts led to colonial discontent that ultimately changed the course of British history.

In "The Crucible", what accusation does Hawthorne make of Martha Corey?

Martha Corey stands before Judge Hathorne in the beginning of Act III.  She is accused of reading fortunes, technically she is accused of witchcraft.

"Hathorne: Now, Martha Corey, there is abundant evidence in our hands to show that you have given yourself to the reading of fortunes. Do you deny it."

"Martha: I am innocent to a witch.  I know not what a witch is."

"Act Three is set in the side room of the Salem meeting house, which has now become the General Court. The proceedings of the court, taking place in the next room, are audible. Judge Hathorne questions Martha Corey, who has been accused of reading fortunes and harming the accusing children."

Martha is also accused later on of bewitching Mr. Walcott's pigs.  Martha Corey raises pigs and sold pigs to Mr. Walcott, unfortunately for Walcott, the pigs he bought from Mrs. Corey died.  His subsequent pigs died, and he has accused Martha Corey of putting a spell on them.

Martha's response is that Walcott does not take proper care of his pigs, and if you don't feed a pig properly it will die.

Who are the main characters in "A Woman on a Roof" by Doris Lessing?

How far will a man go to get the attention of a woman? “A Woman on a Roof” by Doris Lessing evaluates this question.  If the woman does not respond to the man’s overtures, good sense would tell the man that she is not interested. Apparently, to some men, rejection has to hurt before it can be accepted.

The story’s narration is third person point of view.  The narrator is an involved limited omniscient narrator. The setting of the story is London in June in a building complex.  It is hot and the men find the working conditions uncomfortable.

The only distraction for the men  is a lady who is sunbathing on a nearby roof almost in the nude.  The woman comes out every day to lay out in the sun, so the men begin to watch for her.  Their obsession goes to the extreme of moving around on the roof top so that they can see more of her. 

There is no clear protagonist until the end of the story. The young workman Tom then asserts himself as the character that the reader follows with interest to see how he handles himself in the sexual conflict with the woman on the roof.

Tom, a young worker, is at his sexual peak. Tom seems to have little experience with females. He romantically dreams about naked women.  The woman on the roof becomes his sexual focus.  

After having several nights of these pornographic dreams, Tom goes up on the roof where the woman is lying.  He tries to start a conversation with her but is completely rejected.  She tells him to get lost.  With his feelings hurt, he joins the other men and gets drunk.  Now, he hates the woman.

When Tom comes to try to get to know her, she completely rejects him:

…if you get a kick out of seeing women in bikinis, why don’t you take a sixpenny bus ride to the Lido? You’d see dozens of them, without all this mountaineering.’

Then she totally ignores him.

The other two men are involved with the whistling and yelling at the woman. Stanley has just been married and keeps asserting that he would never let his wife do what the woman is doing. However, he also, tries to get her attention.  Stanley feels the rejection by the woman more intensely and personally.

Harry, the older man, stays on the fringes of involvement with the woman.  He wants to get the job done.  As the voice of reason, he tries to get the other younger men to concentrate more on work and less on the woman. 

Little is known about the woman.  Apparently determined   to get a tan, she comes out every day.  She is aware that the men have been running around on the roof based on her comment to Tom.

With no one there to hold the reigns of common decency, the men continue to try to get her attention. It does not matter how foolish they look.  The men are upset by the fact that she chooses to ignore their demonstrative behavior.  

The theme of the story stems from the male perception of women.  Men too often think it is okay to objectify women. The whistling and yelling to the men were complimentary to the woman.  To the men, a woman should feel glad that they men find her sexually attractive.

Of course, most of the time, this is not the case.  A woman wants to be accepted as a total person, not just  for her outward persona. It has never been okay to stereotype a woman as a sexual object.  Just as a man wants to be perceived as a total person, so does a woman.  Kudos to this woman, who despite the challenges presented by the men for privacy, she ignores them and takes care of herself. 

In The Lord of the Flies how does Jack give the boys a feeling of protection?When they join in Jack’s tribe why are they less scared?

I think the answer to this question comes most clearly at the assembly when Jack breaks off from Ralph and starts his own tribe, installing himself as chief. Ralph shouts...

“Because the rules are the only thing we’ve got!”
But Jack was shouting against him.
“Bollocks to the rules! We’re strong—we hunt! If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down! We’ll close in and beat and beat and beat—!”
He gave a wild whoop and leapt down to the pale sand. At once the platform was full of noise and excitement, scramblings, screams and laughter.

Fear has gripped the boys: they are all terrified of the beast, and of danger - though, ironically, not at all terrified of the prospect of never being rescued: it's only Piggy and Ralph who really understand that fear.

Ralph's insistence on the signal fire and on being rescued is rational, and, in fact, the best way to get them rescued. But it doesn't address the boys' fear of the beast.

Because Jack can hunt and kill pigs, he's in a position to claim he can better defend the boys against the beast. He's got violence on his side: he can "hunt it down! We’ll close in and beat and beat and beat—!”". He draws the boys together into a strong team of hunters.

And that's why Jack's tribe seems to provide more security against the beast - and reduce fear.

How do Edgar Linton and Heathcliff compare and contrast in Wuthering Heights?

The contrast of these two characters, Edgar and Heathcliff, really exemplifies a common conflict in literature, that of forbidden love.  Simply put, Edgar's love for Catherine provides her with safety, security, and a comfortable lifestyle; he can even be credited, perhaps, with having turned her into a lady during her stay at his home.  Heathcliff loves her in a way that borders on the obsessive, and he isn't really capable of the empathy, commitment, and/or sacrifice required to make a long term relationship, i.e. marriage, work.  However, this very quality in him seems to draw Catherine to him, as well as the romantic notion that they were/are/will always be soulmates.  Catherine didn't seem to have much interest in the notion that they were soulmates when she first returned from her stay at the Lintons', but when Heathcliff returns after a three year absence as a handsome and strapping man, she seems to have an epiphany of sorts.

The conflict in this novel is not unlike the conflict found in Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence, where Newland Archer marries one woman for reputation, appearances, and social stability, while he secretly adores another.  It is also similar to the conflict found in the pop culture phenomenon of the Twilight vampire saga by Stephenie Meyer; Bella struggles throughout much of the series with her feelings for Jacob, which tend to be platonic in nature, versus her passion-to-the-point-of-obsession for Edward.

In Hard Times, who are the "little pitchers" waiting to be filled with facts?

This question relates to one of the key central themes of the novel, which is the educational philosophy of Thomas Gradgrind and how he hopes to educate his charges as well as his children using an extension of his Utilitarianism philosophy, that only focuses on facts. This philosophy is summarised effectively at the very beginning of the novel:

"Now, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else, and root out everything else..."

Chapter 2, then, in which your quote occurs, humorously refers to Mr. Gradgrind readying himself to pour forth his facts and describes him as a "cannon loaded to the muzzle with facts" and ready to "blow them [his students] clean out of the regions of childhood at one discharge." Dickens uses a metaphor to describe his students as "little pitchers" who are "waiting to be filled full of facts." Note how this approach to children imagines that they are "empty" and needing to be "filled." It does not identify or accept that children have their own way and approach to life and rather treats them as empty vessels in need of being filled.

It's been years since I've read Jane Eyre and I wanted to ask how long it should take a student to read it? Thanks in advance!

What level of students are you having read this book? For my AP English class I generally assign them about 75-100 pages per week of outside reading. I would probably count on it taking them 6 or 7 weeks assuming that you are getting deep into character development, setting, theme and symbolism. The book can be read more quickly if you are not planning on getting so in depth though. I also assign "guided reading" questions, so that the students can be aware of the plot, character, symbols etc...on which I need them to focus. Such a good book!

What news did Wilse bring in Across Five Aprils?

Wilse brings "news of the Kentucky country where (Jethro's mother) had been born, and of the relatives from whom she so seldom heard".  He also brings news of the feelings of the Kentuckians towards the Civil War which seems imminent.

Wilse Graham is Ellen Creighton's sister's son.  Ellen and the family are glad to see him, and to hear what has been going on with the family back home.  At supper, "the talk for a while (is) of family affairs...there had been a death of someone in Kentucky who (is) only a name to Jethro, but a name that (brings) a shadow to his mother's face...there (are) reports of weddings and births, of tragedies, and now and then a happy note of good fortune".  After sharing the news of the everyday lives of the relatives, however, Wilse and the Creightons begin to talk about what is on everybody's mind during these times - "the troubles of the nation".

Wilse says it is likely that Kentucky will "go secesh".  He makes a good case for his own opinions on the matter, voicing the Confederate stance that the South only "wants...the right to live as it sees fit to live without interference".  Although he cannot quite justify slavery, he points out that the North has no plan about how to take care of the slaves if they were all of a sudden to be set free.  Matt Creighton admits that, in Southern Illinois, a majority of the people have roots in the South, but his own feeling is that dividing the union of states is wrong.  Wilse argues that a division is inevitable, because "half of the country has growed rich...but (is) jealous and fearful that the other half is apt to find good fortune too".  Wilse expresses the Southern belief that it is the arrogance of the North towards the South that is the underlying cause of the conflict (Chapter 2).

Summary of the poem "Gus The Theatre Cat" by T.S. Elliot?

Gus, although not one of my favorites from Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, is an interesting character nonetheless.  After reading this summary, I would suggest watching the excerpt from the movie adaptation of Cats, or at least listening to the musical version of the song.  It's worth it. 

Gus could always be found at the theatre door.  His name is really "Asparagus," but too many people couldn't pronounce that, so his nickname became "Gus."  Gus is an old cat: shabby, thin, and shaky.  He was supposedly quite a cat in his youth, though.  The exploits of his old days are what Gus likes to talk about with his friends, especially his adaptation of "Firefrorefiddle, the Fiend of the Fell."  He boasts of the roles he played in his prime.  And if someone gives him a bit of gin, he'll go on and on about roles he doesn't usually speak of.  He is "old school" theatre (as it were), and he doesn't trust these young lads that "do not get trained."  He thinks that naught can compare to his greatest role (which he repeats many times) and admits that "Theatre's certainly not what it was." 

What is a related sentences for this equation? a - +5 =+35

Do you mean a minus a positive 5 and it will equal to a positive 35.

If that is so, then it is simple, you need to find the unknown (a) by making it as a subject and removing other numbers to one side like this:

a-(+5)=+35

a-5=+35

a=+35+5

= +40

So, a equals to a positive 40/ plus 40

What mistakes did Ralph make that led to his loss of power?

Ralph made several mistakes in the novel, leading to his alienation from the other boys. First, he underestimated Jack and the power of mob mentality. Essentially, Ralph didn't know how to deal with Jack. He tried to force the hunters to his will, but Jack convinced them to form their own group. Once the meat was offered, the other boys couldn't resist. Ralph's logical desire to keep the fire going seems unreal to the boys, unlike the meat which they can smell and taste. He also fails to rally the boys in any way. Unlike Jack, he has no concrete results to show. The fire goes out, he can't fight the terror of the "beastie", his shelters collapse, the boys lose all sense of hygiene, etc. Jack, on the other hand, offers a real alternative; in his group, you can do whatever you want, and eat as much meat as you want. You just have to be willing to obey Jack. The other boys are willing to do this, and it almost seems as though they've been waiting for someone to step in and take control. Ralph tried to be democratic in his leadership, but Jack's empirical rule works much better on the island.

In Antigone, what does Creon's exchange with Teiresias reveal about Creon's view of himself and others?

In his conversation with Teiresias, Creon reveals himself to be arrogant, stubborn, and cynical. Because the prophet advises him to reverse himself, bury Polyneices, and free Antigone, Creon assumes that Teiresias has been bribed and hurls insults at him:

Teiresias, it is a sorry thing when a wise man

Sells his wisdom, lets out his words for hire!

Creon also shows his arrogance when he declares that "if the great eagles of God himself" should intervene, he would not change his ruling: "I would not yield."

Teiresias tries again, warning Creon that his prophecy is so awful that Creon would not want to hear it. Even in this, Creon's arrogance asserts itself as he challenges Teiresias: "Whatever you say, you will not change my will." After hearing the prophecy, however, and remembering that Teiresias has never been wrong, Creon relents. It is very difficult for him to overcome his enormous pride. He declares, "Oh it is hard to give in!"

Interpret the closing passage in "Araby."

"Araby" ends with this passage:

Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger.

The narrator speaks these words as he leaves the bazaar after failing to find a gift for Mangan's sister that will impress her and win her love and approval. The passage expresses his disillusionment and the end of his dreams. The bazaar, Araby, had lived in the narrator's mind as a place of beauty and enchantment in contrast to the drabness of his life on North Richmond Street. To him it held the allure of romance. He says, "The syllables of the word Araby [sic] . . . cast an Eastern enchantment over me."

The narrator's illusions about Araby coincide with his feelings of first love for Mangan's sister. When he learns she wants to go to the bazaar but cannot, he promises to bring her a gift from Araby. He thus goes on a quest to win the heart of the woman he loves, a romantic adventure.

Araby turns out to be a cavernous warehouse filled with cheap goods. There is no enchantment. Araby is ordinary. Arriving at closing time, the narrator finds the lights going out and the help going home. He leaves, angry and disillusioned. He blames himself for being so foolish in believing that somehow his life could become more beautiful and exciting than the circumstances in which he lived.

I don't understand why the story is called "Shooting an Elelphant"?

The short story, "Shooting An Elephant," is so named because the plot revolves around a working elephant that breaks free from its master and rampages through a market, killing a man, a slave.

The authorities are called, and a Colonial Policeman arrives to discover that the elephant has moved away from the market and is now in a field, quietly grazing.  Because the crowd that observed the elephant's wild behavior demands that the animal be shot, the Colonial Policeman has no choice but to shoot the now calm working elephant.

The Colonial Policeman feels very uncomfortable with his job in Burma, he knows that the people resent him because he represents the British government who is ruling their country at this time.  Even though he does not want to shoot the elephant, to satisfy the crowd and the keep a measure of respect with the people he shoots the elephant because the local culture demands its destruction.

What is the significance of "Greasy Lake"?

On its surface, "Greasy Lake" is a story concerned with one night in the lives of three teenage buddies out of school for the summer, cruising around their small town, feeling pretty dangerous and looking for excitement. By the time the night ends, they have found more trouble than they had anticipated and enough excitement to last a lifetime. The narrator, who tells the story in retrospect, remembers they also behaved in disturbing ways they could not have imagined when they set out for the evening. The events at Greasy Lake include a violent fight, an attempted rape, an escape into the marsh, an underwater encounter with a corpse, and the destruction of the narrator's car--which doesn't belong to him.

The story works on a deeper level, however. It is an initiation story in which the narrator grows up during the course of one night. Telling the story in the voice of a mature adult, the narrator makes clear the distinction between the irresponsible boy he was at the beginning of the evening and the very shaken young man he becomes by the next morning. The boys who set out thinking they were "bad characters" emerge from Greasy Lake no longer looking for adventure. When some girls show up to offer them drugs and more adventure, the narrator is not enticed; instead, he feels like crying and can't leave fast enough.

In The Great Gatsby, what did Tom do after he and Daisy returned from their honeymoon?

Jordan remembers seeing Daisy in Santa Barbara as a new bride madly in love with Tom after their honeymoon in the South Seas. Daisy would "sit in the sand with his head in her hand by the hour, rubbing her fingers over his eyes and looking at him with unfathomable delight." But Tom betrays this devotion by having an affair with a hotel chambermaid. There's a scandal when he has a car accident one night with the chambermaid and rips "a front wheel off his car." The chambermaid appears in the news along with Tom, because she breaks her arm in the crash.

The story comes down to us from Jordan and then through Nick, but we have reason to believe it is true because Daisy, the first night she has Nick over to her home, alludes to being made miserable in her marriage and the fact that Tom is currently having an affair with a lower-class woman. Tom's earlier love affair, so soon after his marriage, lends credence to Nick's conclusion that Tom and Daisy are careless people who damage people and things and then move on, retreating into their vast fortune. This Santa Barbara car accident involving a lover foreshadows the later, more tragic accident with Myrtle, and also is more or less a repetition of the accident with Owl Eyes leaving Gatsby's.

Further, despite Tom's steadfast conviction that he and Gatsby have nothing in common, the circumstances of Tom's extravagant wedding, unlike anything Louisville had ever seen, the $350,000 strand of pearls he gives Daisy (expensive now, but stupendously expensive then) and the three-month honeymoon, sound not all that different from Gatsby's way of trying to woo Daisy with his wealth.

Comment on this quotation from The Pearl that begins, "The thin dog came to him and threshed itself in greeting like a wind-blown flag . . . ."

This passage takes on significance when it is contrasted with an earlier one. In the beginning of the story, Kino arises at dawn as another day begins. He steps outside to watch the sunrise, which is quite beautiful on the Gulf of Mexico. Alone on the beach, hears Juana inside preparing their breakfast while their baby sleeps. At this point, Kino is joined by a dog:

A thin, timid dog came close and, at a soft word from Kino, curled up, arranged its tail neatly over its feet, and laid its chin delicately on the pile [of sand]. It was a black dog with yellow-gold spots where its eyebrows should have been. It was a morning like other mornings and yet perfect among mornings.

Thus in the beginning of the story, Kino's life is beautiful and peaceful; he lives in harmony with the world around him.

Kino encounters the dog a second time in Part III of the story. At this time, Coyotito's illness has forced Kino and Juana away from their home and into the world at large. Kino has found the great pearl with its promises of riches beyond his previous imaginings. Kino is caught up in a new world of possibilities; his very identity has changed in the village. He is no longer Kino; he is the one who possesses The Pearl of the World as news his discovery spreads throughout the village and beyond. Alone on his beach at night, after all the neighbors have left, the dog approaches Kino again:

The thin dog came to him and threshed itself in greeting like a windblown flag, and Kino looked down at it and didn't see it. He had broken through the horizons into a cold and lonely outside. He felt alone and unprotected, and scraping crickets and shrilling tree frogs and croaking toads seemed to be carrying the melody of evil. Kino shivered a little . . . .

Kino's reaction to the dog, who greeted him as a friend, emphasizes to what extent Kino's world has changed. The warmth and harmony of his life has been destroyed, and he finds himself living in fear and isolation.

Please provide a short summary of "Pinballs."

"The Pinballs" by Betsy Byars is a wonderful story. The story begins with three foster children who are sent to live with the Masons, a married couple who cannot have children on their own. The children are removed from their home for different reasons.

When Harvey first arrives at the Mason home, he has two broken legs. His father had accidentally hit him with his new car during an argument. Harvey's mother left the family to live on a commune and he has not seen her since he was about 7 or 8-years-old. His father became a functioning alcoholic soon after.

 Thomas J finds himself with the Mason family when the 90-year-old twins who have been raising him both fall and break their hips (on the same day at the exact same time). Thomas J has no memory of his family. He was told by the twins that he simply wandered into their yard when he was about one year old. They meant to take him into the city to child services, but in their old age, they just never got around to it.

Carlie is the most outspoken of the three children and no longer lives at home because of the violence between her and her mother's boyfriend. Carlie is very rough around the edges and despite the violence in her home, she still believes that she will be back at home in a matter of weeks. The book gets its name because Carlie refers to herself and the other foster children as pin-balls that get bounced from one place to another.

The children are dealing with their own issues while trying to find a place in their new surroundings. Although they all come from different backgrounds, with the help of the Masons, the children learn that being a family means standing by each other in hard times and standing up for one another. It ends with them realizing that they are no longer pin-balls, because they have found one with each other.

This is an excellent novel to use when teaching characterization as the characters do change and grow from the beginning to the end of the story. It teaches themes like friendship, forgiveness, and of course family.

What is the summary of "The Nightingale and the Rose" by Oscar Wilde?

“The Nightingale and the Rose” is a story in which the first character that appears is a Student. This boy is sad because a girl promised to dance with him on condition that he brought her red roses, but he did not find any red rose; there were white roses and yellow roses, but he could not find red roses. While he was moaning because her love would not dance with him, four characters from nature started to talk about him. A little Green Lizard, a Butterfly and a Daisy asked why he was weeping, and the Nightingale said that he was weeping for a red rose. The first three characters said that weeping for a red rose was ridiculous. The Nightingale, who understood the Student, started to fly until she saw a Rose-tree. She told him to give her a red rose, and she promised, in exchange, to sing her sweetest song, but the Rose-tree told her that his roses were white, and he send the Nightingale to his brother that grew round the old sun-dial. The Nightingale went to see this new Rose-tree, and after promising the same in exchange for a red rose, the Rose-tree told her that his roses were yellow, but he send the Nightingale to his brother, who grew beneath the Student's window, so the Nightingale went there, and when she arrived, she asked the Rose-tree to give her a red rose. The Rose-tree said that his roses were red, but that the winter had chilled his veins and the frost had nipped his buds, so he could not give her a red rose. The Rose-tree gave her a solution: he told her that if she wanted a red rose, she had to build it out of music by moonlight and stain it with her own heart's blood. She had to sing to the Rose-tree with her breast against a thorn; the thorn would pierce her heart and her life-blood would flow into the Rose-tree veins. The Nightingale said that death was a great price to pay for a red rose, but at the end, she accepted. The Nightingale went to see the Student and told him that he would have his red rose, that it was her who was going to build it up with her own blood; the only thing she asked him for in return was to being a true lover. Although the Student looked at her, he could not understand anything because he only understood the things that were written down in books. But the Oak-tree understood and became sad because he was fond of the Nightingale, and asked her to sing the last song and when she finished, the Student thought that the Nightingale had form, but no feeling. At night, the Nightingale went to the Rose-tree and set her breast against the thorn. She sang all night long. She pressed closer and closer against the thorn until the thorn finally touched her heart and she felt a fierce pang of pain. The more the rose got the red colour, the fainter the Nightingale's voice became, and after beating her wings, she died. The rose was finished, but she could not see it. The next morning, the Student saw the wonderful rose under his window. He took it and went to see the girl and offered her the rose, but she just say that the rose would not go with her dress and that the Chamberlain's nephew had sent her real jewels and that everybody knew that jewels cost far more than flowers. After arguing with her, the Student threw the rose into a gutter, where a cart-wheel went into it, and he said that Love was a silly thing and that he preferred Logic and Philosophy.

In "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," where is the spell of the albatross broken, and what occurrence illustrates the breaking of the spell?

After tremendous suffering, the mariner, alone one night in the moonlight, watches water snakes moving in "tracks of shining white." He notices their beautiful colors, "[b]lue, glossy green, and velvet black" in a "flash of golden fire." At this moment, the mariner's ignorance and selfishness drops away as he opens his heart to the glories of God's creation. It is at this moment of spiritual awakening that the spell of the albatross is broken:

O happy living things! no tongue

Their beauty might declare:

A spring of love gushed from my heart,

And I blessed them unaware;

Sure my kind saint took pity on me,

And I blessed them unaware.

The selfsame moment I could pray

Once the spell is broken, the albatross falls from the mariner's neck and drops into the ocean. The mariner sleeps peacefully, awakens to rain, and hears the roar of the wind. The wind itself does not materialize, but the ship moves under sail. Then the dead men on the deck groan, stir, and arise. One event transpires after another, until the mariner's voyage ends in his understanding of this truth:

He prayeth best, who loveth best

All things both great and small;

For the dear God who loveth us,

He made and loveth all.

What is Winston's greatest pleasure in his life in 1984?

Winston's greatest pleasure in life is his work.  His job at the Ministry of Truth is to rewrite history, doctoring documents so that they correspond with Big Brother's version of the truth.  Most of Winston's work is

"tedious routine, but included in it there (are) also jobs so difficult and intricate that you could lose yourself in them as in the depths of a mathematical problem - delicate pieces of forgery in which you had nothing to guide you except your knowledge of the principles of Ingsoc and your estimate of what the Party wanted you to say".

Winston likes his job because he is good at it, and he looks upon it as a challenge and a diversion in his drab life.  He is so skilled at what he does that he has even on occasion been entrusted to rectify the Times leading articles.  Winston no longer thinks of what he does as forgery - the materials he works with have so little connection "to anything in the real world, that to him, it is "merely the substitution of one piece of nonsense for another" (Part I, Chapter 4).

In Kidnapped, describe how much Stevenson creates a whole world of hipocrisy through his language.

This is an unusual question. I've modified the language a little bit to make it more logical. The question assumes Stevenson did "create a whole world of hypocrisy in Kidnapped" though it can be well argued that such is not the case. The reason for this is that Stevenson took great pains to introduce the story as one founded in a life and community of sincerity, honesty, genuine emotions and loving admiration.  In the opening narration and first conversation, between Mr. Campbell and David, Stevenson's language reveals a world of forthrightness and sincerity, the opposite of hypocrisy:

I will begin the story of my adventures with a certain morning early in the month of June, ... out of the door of my father's house. ...
Mr. Campbell, the minister of Essendean, was waiting for me by the garden gate, good man! ... he took my hand in both of his and clapped it kindly under his arm.
"Well, Davie, lad," said he, "I will go with you as far as the ford, to set you on the way."

Yet, having said this, it is true that David's trials and tribulations all come from a man who is as hypocritical as can be, Mr. Ebenezer Balfour of Shaws, his uncle. On the one hand, Ebenezer throws distrustful glances at David, then next moment says, ""We'll agree fine yet!" while following that with every gesture of distrust, like locking him into a cold, dark bedchamber: "

"I'm unco feared of fires. Good-night to ye, Davie, my man." And before I had time to add a further protest, he pulled the door to, and I heard him lock me in from the outside.

This early exchange between Uncle and nephew shows how Stevenson's language creates the whole world of hypocrisy that is to ensue in all their dealings. For example, on the one hand, Ebenezer says he will take Davie to his lawyer to make permanent arrangements for David's well fare, while, on the other hand, he has made secret arrangements with the sea captain, Captain Hoseason, to kidnap David and sail away with him to either kill him outright or abandon him.

I don't see how hypocrisy applies to David's adventures with Alan Breck Stewart ("Alan Breck, they call me.") as they visit the Highland chiefs and outrun the British on moonless nights. Yet it is true that Uncle Ebenezer's hypocritical plans permeate all things, at least in the background. With this in mind, it might then be said that the world in which David sojourns is one of hypocrisy, if one carefully delineates the parts of that world that are not representative of hypocrisy.

In chapter 4, how does the episode in the elevator portray the robot-like characteristics of the lower-caste workers?

The elevator operator's features are described as "monkey like" indicating the low evolutionary position of the lower caste worker.  "He" responds mechanically to the sun, cheered, presumably, by its warmth.  But "he" has no desire to remain there because he has been trained to do a simple task --- operate the elevator, and that is what he does, and it won't function well if it stays at the top floor in the sun.  (Interestingly, in our world he has been replaced by an even "lower" caste --- an electronic system which does what he does and makes even fewer demands on the system than the operator does.  Of course, perhaps lower caste workers assemble the elevator mechanism.)

This is a clear example of how beings in their society are "bred" for one task, a task they do without complaining and, supposedly, without error.

What are the values of the greasers' code?

The greasers value being "tuff" in themselves and other people they admire.  One reason they care about their hair so much is it is their trademark, and one can't be tuff without great greaser hair.  Another element to being tuff is being cool and tough.  The greasers admire Cherry Valance because she never shows any fear, even when Dally is harassing her.  To show weakness or disloyalty marks one as a coward, thereby taking away the "tuff" title.

However, the greasers value loyalty above all else.  Even when they might get into trouble, they still stand by the members of the group.  For example, at the trial, Darry refuses to speak against Dally, even though his association with Dally could threaten his custody of Soda and Pony.  As Pony runs toward the burning church, he finds Johnny right along beside him, even though the situation is highly dangerous.  The greasers stick together because, without each other, who else do they have?

How does the author potray Assef's character throughout the novel?

Assef is simply a bully. This is shown through both direct and indirect characterization. Assef carries around his legendary set of brass knuckles, which he uses to pummel anyone weaker or deemed to be less worth than him. He also has his two cronies that follow along and "co-sign" on all of his malicious deeds.

Indirectly we hear tales about the brutalities he inflicts on other children, including one that is disabled.  We also find out about the sexual abuse of Hassan's son indirectly at the end of the novel.

Directly we see the rape of Hasssan through the eyes of Amir and his cruel, murderous, vengenful side when he and Amir are fighting at the end of the novel.

We also directly see that Assef's outer appearance does not truly show his inner character. At Amir's birthday party, it is clear that Baba admires Assef and wishes that Amir were more athletic, outgoing and attractive like Assef, and like Baba in his youth.

Assef is also shown to love Hitler and to believe in ethnic cleansing, which is supposedly one of the motivating factors for his sadistic behavior.

In The Necklace, what might be Madame Loisel's thoughts and feelings right after she learns that the diamond necklace was only paste?

After finding out that her last 10 years of poverty and hard labor were worth nothing, Madame Loisel was most likely devastated. She struggled so much to be a part of the upper class society and was too embarrassed to admit her failure when she lost the necklace.  She was probably in complete shock, and she probably did not know how to react at first when she learned it was only a fake necklace.  In fact, the story is even more effective because we don't see the initial reaction of Loisel.  All of her hard work and years of living in squalor would race through her mind as she relived the bad experiences all over in front of the still youthful and beautiful Mrs. Forestier. By not showing the reader her reaction, we put ourselves into the shoes of the character and react in our own personal ways.

What is the symbolic meaning of "like a goddess of victory" from the story "The Story of an Hour"?

In the story, Chopin uses a lot of imagery and symbolism to represent the freedom and joy that Louise Mallard feels after the initial shock of her husband's death.  She uses symbolism in the weather outside of the window as Louise sits in the chair in her room.  Out the window, she sees "the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life. The delicious breath of rain was in the air. ...and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves."  One would expect a stormy sky, lightning and thunder, but Chopin uses the setting to foreshadow the freedom that Louise feels at her husband's death.

As she rises to leave the room, "There was a feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory."  The goddess of victory represents Louise's triumph and victory over "repression", over the "powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature" which she had felt so restricted by in her marriage.  It represented the coming years and how "Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own."  She was victorious, a strong, independent woman who would thrive on her own, just like goddesses are strong, independent, and rulers in their own right.

What Is Montag doing at the beginning of Fahrenheit 451?

As the story opens, Montag and his fellow firemen are burning books.  Montag enjoys the act of burning and at this point in the story, he has not given any real thought to what the act of burning truly is beyond it being merely an activity.  He has not thought about the implications of his job and he has not thought about why they (the firemen, the government) burn books.  He just knows that owning books is illegal and as a result of that illegal activity, he and the other firemen burn books and arrest people.  It is Clarisse who begins to get Montag to consider what he is doing.  She has singled him out to talk to.  She asks him questions and he lives in a society where questions, real, thought-provoking questions, are seldom asked of people.  The main question she asks that starts him on the road he takes through the story is "Are you happy?"  It's after this that he begins to question what he is doing and why he is doing it.

What are three major points in "A Modest Proposal" that Swift advocates and was his plan met to free babies?

To respond further to the satirical approach in "A Modest Proposal,"  Swift suggests that the English and Irish landowners are literally killing the poor Irish by causing the poverty and misery of the population.  That his "modest proposal" is directed at England is unquestionable when Swift writes that since the meat of the babies would not withstand preservation in salt for long sea voyages, he could suggest a country that would be glad to eat up the entire nation.  And, like all good satire, Swift does provide a realistic list of alternative solutions to Ireland's problems of poverty and neglect:

...Of utterly rejecting the materials and instruments that promote foreign luxury;  Of curing the expensiveness of pride, vanity, idleness, and gaming in our women:  Of introducing a vein of parsimony, prudence and temperance:  Of learning to love our country,....Of quitting our animosities and factions, nor acting any longer like those who were murdering one another at the very moment their city was taken:  Of being a little cautious not to sell our country and consciences for nothing;...Lastly, of putting a spirit of honesty, industry, and skill into our shop-keepers,...

Unfortunately, this great work of satire did not obtain the reaction that it desired, for none of Swifts's real and truly "modest" proposals were followed.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, who presides over Tom’s trial?

In chapter 16 it mentions that Judge Taylor is the judge during Tom Robinson's trial, so he is the one presiding.  Scout describes him as "a sleepy old shark" who was "amiable, white-haired, slightly ruddy-faced" who ran his court "with an alarming informality".  She goes on to say that he is a good judge who "kept a firm grip on any proceedings that came before him".  She also mentions a very quirky habit that he has:  he bites off the ends of cigars, chews them, then hacks it all up later on.  Pretty disgusting if you ask me, and Scout thinks so too because she wonders how his wife can stand to kiss him.  But, as the trial proceeds, you will see that Judge Taylor is very fair, and a likeable guy all-around.