How can I analyze the use of symbols in "The Garden Party"? What is the way to analyze symbolism?

Analysing symbolism takes a little work and a little digging. First, the definition of a symbolic word, object, statement or concept is that it is one that stands for itself (e.g., a rose is a rose; a budding flower is a budding flower) and for something greater at the same time (e.g., a rose is love; a budding flower is a new and growing understanding or relationship ). With this is mind, notice anything (e.g., word, phrase, image, characteristic, scenes) that seems to have more meaning than others. For example, in a coming-of-age story, if the heroine lives at the top of hill, that may symbolically mean she is remote and isolated. If, on the other hand, she has to climb a steep hill to get to some important destination, that may symbolically mean that she is faced with a difficult and challenging situation to overcome.

Along with that, look for imagery words, like colors, shapes, sounds, smells, textures, etc.. and descriptions that may symbolically represent concepts that are important to the story's meaning, theme, motifs, character development, or plot development. For instance, in "The Garden Party" the colors and light and flowers and food at the Sheridan home stand in stark contrast to the darkness, gloom, flickering candle light of the cottages in the lane. This symbolically represents the very different lives the people therein live, one of sheltered luxury and the other of bleak survival and necessity. This is important to the theme of the story because it is in the bleak surroundings of survival, not the surroundings of pampered luxury and plenty, that Laura encounters immortal peace and happiness.

Also look for significant names of things. For example, in "The Garden Party" the flowers that are ordered and delivered in profuse abundance are not just "flowers," they are "lilies." Lilies are a classic symbol of death, therefore the lilies symbolically represent death that Laura will encounter. This points out another element of how to analyze symbolism in a work of literature. Be aware that some things have a tradition attached to them of a convention of symbolic meaning. For instance, something symbolically associated with a lion in a positive manner is being symbolically represented as mighty, kingly, powerful, majestic, like Aslan the Lion in the Narnia series by C. S. Lewis. Red has a convention of being associated with anger or passionate love or of death, as is the case in Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death."

What are the best quotes in the story "The Yellow Wallpaper"?

In order to maintain control over women and to ensure that they remain second-class citizens, men attempted to prevent women from achieving their intellectual and creative potential. Treating women as children, men were able to usurp their human rights and have complete authority over them. John patronizes and dominates over his wife in the same way that many husbands did during this time period. Treating her as though she is an incompetent child, Gilman’s character writes,  “John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage.” She is stripped of all autonomy. With no intellectual or social stimulus, she retreats completely into her own imagination and finally loses touch with reality altogether.

Historically, “the resting cure” was a treatment prescribed at the turn of the nineteenth century to women who had a tendency towards “hysteria”. Developed by Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell this treatment essentially imprisoned women, isolating them from any social contacts. Intellectual stimulation, such as reading, writing, drawing or painting was expressly forbidden. “John has cautioned me not to give way to fancy in the least. He says that with my imaginative power and habit of story-making, a nervous weakness like mine is sure to lead to all manner of excited fancies, and that I ought to use my will and good sense to check the tendency. So I try.” All activity was limited to the extent that some women were restrained initially until their protests ceased.

Gilman’s character is forced to hide her frustrations and passively comply with her husband’s intolerable “treatment plan”. Her work, her writing, even the care of her own baby, is forbidden. Any sane person placed in this atmosphere eventually would lose their mind. Her desire for an emotional and intellectual connection with life are so compromised that in her isolated state she focuses on the patterns on the yellow wallpaper where she sees all the women struggling to get out. But she knows all too well that any attempt at escaping is futile for “the pattern strangles them off and turns them upside down and makes their eyes white.” Finally, she finds herself inside the pattern and “shakes the bars hard.” Inside the wallpaper was the only place she was safe to express her anger, fear, and frustration. This was her only freedom.

Dylan Thomas' poem "Fern Hill" reflects on the joys of childhood. What are the negative aspects of childhood that he touches?

The poem discusses a carefree and joyful childhood, where time doesn't seem to matter, the sun shines, and life is easy. However, the last line states, "Time held me green and dying/though I sang in my chains like the sea." this last stanza discusses the fact that, though the author or speaker had a "carefree" and "heedless" childhood, time eventually runs out. The same concept of time that in stanzas one and two lets the speaker "hail and climb" and "play and be," eventually no longer allows him these freedoms. The comparison of Adam and Eve's fall from the Garden of Eden shows the boy's fall from the paradise of childhood ("before the children green and golden/followed him out of grace...). Time holds him "green and dying" as an adult, yet he still "sang in (his) chains like the sea." It is a beautiful metaphor, although he is chained by life, by only the certain amount of time that is given him, he can still sing in those chains. The knowledge and experience that comes with adulthood teaches us that time is fleeting and ignorance cannot last forever.

In Chapter 3 of "A Separate Peace," state two of Finny's major character traits.

In Chapter 1 Gene explains one character trait of Phineas: 

Phineas...considered authority the necessary evil against which happiness was achieved by reaction, the backboard which returned all the insults he threw at it...[he]combined a calm ignorance of the rules with a winning urge to be good,,,and never more than when he was breaking the regulations..and in the truant's corner.

Somehow Finny is able to disobey without angering the faculty too much.  The faculty "threw up its hands over Phineas" and loosen the grip on all the boys.

There is a carelessness (insouciance) to Finny.  He forms the "Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session," tempting fate as the boys jump off tree limbs into the water; persuasive and influential, he is able to induce Gene to do things that he does not want to do, such as jumping.  Gene reflects, "Every time, when I got myself into position to jump, I felt a flash of disbelief that I was doing anything so perilous."

Phineas perceives sports as the "absolute good."  Phineas declares that when "you play a game you win," never permitting himself to realize that when he and his team win, the others lose.  He creates the game of "blitzball" after Germany's blitzkrieg, the tremendously fast-moving army crushing whomever was in their way.  In blitzball everyone is the enemy to be knocked down.  This game "brought his own athletic gifts to their highest pitch," Gene comments. "Finny sould shine with everyone, he attracted everyone he met." His confidence, athleticism, and leadership in sports have powerful influence on others.

Compare and contrast the setting and irony in O. Henry’s “The Last Leaf” and “Ransom of Red Chief".

Similarities in setting:  They are both set in the past.  And, that's about it. To contrast, Red Chief is set in an old western location and time-frame, mostly in the desert and in a cave, where three males make camp for a few days.  In The Last Leaf, it is in a highly civilized city, in an artist's studio that belongs to two women.  There are more differences in setting than similarities.

As for ironic events, they both have endings that are rather unusual for the situation; in "The Last Leaf" it is that Behrman turned out to be an unlikely hero, tragically sacrificing his life to help Johnsy.  You do not expect that the gruff Behrman, who mocked Johnsy's silly notion about the leaf, would take such pains to validate her fantasy by painting a leaf on.  The ending of Red Chief is ironic in that the ransomers pay to get rid of their troublesome charge; usually, the ransomers walk away with the cash, not the other way around.  So there are a couple instances of irony in the stories.  To contrast the ironic moments in the stories, Red Chief is a lot more predictable as the ransomers slowly, throughout the course of the story, lower the ransom price.  So, having to pay to get rid of him isn't as big of a surprise as the ending to "The Last Leaf".  There isn't much foreshadowing on that ending, and it is definitely more tragic too, and less comical.

What is a summary for the story "A Piece of String"?

M. Hauchecome is on the road to the market one day and picks up a piece of string from the dirt.  As he bends down he notices that his arch enemy M. Malandain is watching him from his shop window, so Hauchecome pretends to be looking for something valuable on the ground to cover up his shame at being seen picking up the piece of string.

When he goes to the local tavern for lunch, everyone is talking about a purse that was lost on the road with 500 francs inside.  Malandain tells the authorities that he saw Hauchecome picking up something from the road at the same time, so he is accused of taking the purse.  Hauchecome pleads with the authorities that he did not find the purse, and he only picked up a piece of string.  No one believes him, even though he does not have the purse.

Shortly after, the purse is returned, and Hauchecome is accused by the townspeople of having had an accomplice who returned the purse to clear his name.

Hauchecome thinks that once the purse is returned that his name will be cleared, however, the townspeople still suspect that he stole the purse and no matter what he says they don't believe him.  This process exhausts him and makes him ill.  To his dying breath, which comes shortly after his ordeal, he utters, it was only a piece of string.

At the end of the story, Hauchecome dies a broken man, exiled by the town because of assumed guilt, even though he is innocent.    

In th book The Giver, why has Asher beeen punished for confusing the words snack and smack?

In the Community of that book, precise word usage is very important.  We see this in the beginning, when Jonas struggles to figure out how he feels about the upcoming ceremony, finally settling on "apprehensive."  Children are taught from an early age to only say things they truly mean.  Asher says he wants a smack, so they smack him; this shows him that he should be careful what he asks for, and to be correct in his pronunciations and word usages. 

Though this example seems a little extreme, especially for a toddler just learning to talk, it illustrates a philosophy of their community.  In another scene, we learn that Jonas was scolded for using the word "starving," when he really just meant "hungry."  The community does not want its citizens to ever think they could starve; they are self-sufficient and so thoroughly organized that starvation has become an impossibility.  But to be reminded of this, children are taught not to use that word.

Later, when Jonas becomes the Receiver, he learns that most of the community misuses words, especially emotional words.  He understands that only he and the Giver have ever felt any real, strong emotions; everyone else has only felt a faint glimmer of that.  Their lives are so sheltered, so orderly, that they don't ever experience anything extreme enough for a true range of emotions.  So really, even though the community strictly enforces correct word usage in some ways (the smack vs. snack issue), in other ways they gloss over it (emotions).

How do you build 4 equilateral triangles from 6 sticks? I've tried but the result is always the same! I can only get 3 equilateral triangles!...

Firstly, use all these sticks to make the edges of a tetrahedron figure.

Then, use three of the similar sticks to make a equilateral triangle.

Later, attack sticks to each  corner of the triangular face. Join them up, glue them together securely, so the sticks meet at their ends.

Presto, you create a tetrahedron, a pyramid with four faces, with four equilateral triangles with just six sticks.

An another easier method, too easy I say, is to follow what Croons 101 say, and just create a square with 4 of the sticks , and make other two sticks as diagonals of the square. Yoiu will still get the same result, but this method is not challenging enough.

What is the relationship between Nick and his father in "Indian Camp"?Everything.

Nick admires his father and seems very close to him. At the end of the story, he is crossing the lake back to shore after witnessing a senseless death, caused by Nick's father. His tries to console Nick about the incidents that have just occurred and tries to make it seem like the Indian father was weak in taking his own life. His father tells Nick that dying is "pretty easy". As his father rows, Hemingway writes,"In the early morning on the lake sitting in the stern of the boat with his father rowing, he felt quite sure that he [Nick] would never die." This sentence reinforces the idea that Nick feels his father will steer a sure and steady course and will always know what to do.In his boyish naivete, Nick has not yet realized his father's imperfections or the realities about life and death.

In Act 1.1 of Romeo and Juliet, in what ways has the feud between the Montagues and the Capulets affected the city of Verona?And what warning does...

Not only does the continuous fighting show that there's no control, the Prince himself doesn't control the situation correctly. If he had done so correctly, there wouldn't be 4 fights. He also decides to give a 4th warning and avoid actual punishment. For that many times, I doubt that warnings are acceptable anymore. Also, when the prince gives out the warning, he doesn't even bring the two heads of the families together. He takes them each separately. If you're going to solve a feud, bring the two opposing sides together to see what's wrong! Not only this, the Prince comes completely late into the scene to come even close to stopping the feud from ever starting...

He does give the warning that their lives will be taken, but the real thing to look at is that he doesn't actually deal the punishment and it's been 4 straight times.

Main point: The Prince can't control the fighting and has bad timing and doesn't know how to control various situations, showing his lack of autonomy...and his warnings, don't actually help the city and only lead to more fighting which only bloodies the streets even more.

I do realize that this entire answer doesn't completely have to do with the question, but it does give you a compare contrast to the ending when the Prince actually does the correc things and this could give more depth to an essay anyways...

What is Orwell trying to say about "clever" and ordinary people in "Animal Farm"?

In 'Animal Farm' the pigs are considered to be clever because they can read.  They also demonstrate other leadership abilities needed to run the farm. For example, some farm implements have to be modified to be used by animals instead of humans. Snowball even draws up a blueprint for a windmill to produce electricity.

The pigs are also able to think in abstraction and ideals. Of all the farm animals, it is Snowball and Napoleon who formulate the concept of "Animalism" and set up the Seven Commandments.

Another aspect of their intelligence comes to the fore later on with Napoleon's craftiness. He takes Bluebell's puppies away to be trained as his secret police and he recruits Squealer as his "middle man" and representative. A pig himself, Squealer proves to be an excellent orator can persuade the animals every time to come around to his point of view. It is said that Squealer can turn 'white' to 'black' and 'black' to 'white.' The pigs are not only apt leaders but excellent manipulators as well.

In this political allegory as in the upheaval of the Russian Revolution and its aftermath, these aspects make the distinction between those who seize power and take control and those who are subjugated.

What is the main reason Ralph is worried about the boys not coming back to the meeting?

This bit comes just after Jack has shouted "Bollocks to the rules!" and run away from the assembly. Ralph and Piggy are left standing there, wondering what to do next. Piggy encourages Ralph to stamp his authority on the assembly and re-call the meeting with the conch.

“Blow the conch, Ralph.”
Piggy was so close that Ralph could see the glint of his one glass.
“There’s the fire. Can’t they see?”
“You got to be tough now. Make ’em do what you want.”

Ralph, however, knows that not everyone respects the democratic principle of the conch in the way that he and Piggy do:

Ralph answered in the cautious voice of one who rehearses a theorem.
“If I blow the conch and they don’t come back; then we’ve had it. We shan’t keep the fire going. We’ll be like animals. We’ll never be rescued.”
“If you don’t blow, we’ll soon be animals anyway. I can’t see what they’re doing but I can hear.”

Ralph is worried that the crack which has been opening up in him and Jack's relationship might become a permanent schism. He knows that he's potentially on the brink of disaster if he doesn't react in the right way.

If he blows the conch, and no-one returns, the conch has lost all its power. "We've had it", he says. If he leaves it, and lets them go, then potentially the conch might continue to work in the future. There might be a chance of reconciliation.

What exactly is the theme of Dracula?

As the above posts have noted, there are many possible themes to Bram Stoker’s Dracula. All of them are reasonable and defensible. This is often the case with good literature—it can be experienced and understood on many levels.

To understand Stoker’s central meaning, it’s important to look at how danger is presented in the novel. Where does it come from? What do we know about it? It’s not likely that Stoker was really concerned about the danger posed by vampires. Obviously there is something else Stoker is getting at.

Dracula, as the primary antagonist in the novel, comes from Old World Europe. He represents a deep, dark, and mysterious past—a time and place that the West has lost touch with (if it was ever “in touch” with it in the first place). While the West has made great scientific advances, it has not kept its knowledge of the more primal, natural side of existence. The vampire is able to capitalize on modern man’s ignorance and establish itself in the West, much to the detriment of his neighbors.

With this in mind, we could state the theme as a warning: Forget the past at your own peril.

When Van Helsing saves the day, he does not do so by applying modern science, but by using what he has learned about vampires. Thus, the modern man must learn about the ancient man to successfully defeat him.

Stoker lived in an era when technological innovation was still relatively new and slow moving, at least compared to the whirlwind of invention and change we live in now. Writers like himself, Mary Shelley (Frankenstein), and H. G. Wells (The Time Machine, The Invisible Man) were all concerned about where science would take us if we were not able to foresee the consequences of our expanding knowledge and capabilities. Stoker’s Dracula is a little different than Shelley and Wells in the sense that it emphasizes the need to keep our knowledge of where we come from more than just looking at what scientific advancement will bring.

In "A Lamb to the Slaughter" how is Mary different at the end of the story?

At the beginning of the story, Mary is a docile, loving, subservient housewife who lives to please her husband.  She thrives on routine, stability, and making sure that her husband his happy. Her personality is also not very evident separate from him; she doesn't seem capable of independent thought, or making decisions on her own without his okay first.

After "the incident", some unexpected aspects of her character come out.  Instead of weeping in despair as her entire world crumbles around her, and confessing her brutal crime of murdering the man she worshipped so much, she calmly takes action to cover her tracks so that she can continue on without him.  Her first lucid thought is, "All right...so I've killed him," not hysterics.  She puts dinner in, does her hair, practices her smile, comes up with a plan.  She is making all sorts of decisions on her own, calmly, all ensuring that she can live an independent life without him.  She has the audacity to feed the cops lamb, and the confidence to have them in her house for so long, lying the entire time.

In short, she changed from a docile, meek, seemingly clingy woman incapable of independent thought to strong, lucid, independent, capable woman.  The real question is did she change at all, or did the circumstances bring out traits that had lain dormant?  Either way, the Mary that emerges from this story is much more strong than the one we see originally.

What is the climax in the story "The Lady, or the Tiger"?

The story actually ends in the climax, unlike most short stories.  Usually there is a complete plot diagram that is followed.  However, this story has a hanging ending.  That is why the climax is at the very end.  We do not know what is behind the door the princess has him open.  Because the story does not officially end for the reader, the falling action/resolution of the story is not presented to us.  The reader must choose his or her own ending.  Most students feel strongly one way or the other because of this ending.  They either love having the choice of the ending, or they hate that the story doesn't officially end for them. 

How does Caesar feel about Cassius and why does he feel this way?

Caesar feels suspicious of Cassius and somewhat apprehensive, although Caesar twice denies that he is afraid of him. Caesar explains to Antony in detail what he thinks of Cassius and how he feels about him. Caesar shows himself to be a shrewd judge of character, because his appraisal of Cassius is close to what we have seen to be the truth. Cassius is already plotting to organize a group of similar-minded men to assassinate Caesar.

Would he were fatter! But I fear him not,
Yet if my name were liable to fear,
I do not know the man I should avoid
So soon as that spare Cassius. He reads much,
He is a great observer, and he looks
Quite through the deeds of men. He loves no plays,
As thou dost, Antony; he hears no music;
Seldom he smiles, and smiles in such a sort
As if he mock'd himself, and scorn'd his spirit
That could be moved to smile at any thing.
Such men as he be never at heart's ease
Whiles they behold a greater than themselves,
And therefore are they very dangerous.
I rather tell thee what is to be fear'd
Than what I fear, for always I am Caesar.

Caesar is certainly right in thinking that men like Cassius are very dangerous. He feels this way especially about men who read much, are great observers, and who look quite through the deeds of men. Caesar is especially sensitive about having a man like Cassius look through his own deeds because he has been directing all his efforts towards the goal of becoming the sole ruler of the Roman Empire. He is intensely ambitious, although he tries to hide his ambition from others and is successful in doing so with most people. However, he knows that Cassius can see right through him. Caesar can't fool everybody. Cassius understands him through and through. Cassius is "very dangerous," therefore, in being able to inform others about Caesar's intentions and probable actions. And, of course, Cassius is dangerous in being capable to plotting to have Caesar killed--which he does. Cassius seems to want Brutus to become a member of the conspirators partly to lend them a facade of honor and patriotism, but also to allay Caesar's suspicions and his caution. Brutus is Caesar's best friend. Caesar would naturally think that anyone who was a good friend of Brutus could not be a secret enemy of himself. Cassius is not only disliked by Caesar, but he is not well liked by anyone. He knows he needs someone like Brutus to dignify and justify the assassination he has in mind.

There are many people like Cassius, and we can meet them today. One striking characteristic which Caesar notes about such men is:

Seldom he smiles, and smiles in such a sort
As if he mock'd himself, and scorn'd his spirit
That could be moved to smile at any thing.

What happens in Chapters 2 and 3 of "The Outsiders"?

In Chapter 2 of “The Outsiders”, Ponyboy, Johnny, and Dally go to the movies and while there they meet Cherry Valance and her friend Marcia.  Dally does not make a very good first impression on them, however later on in the novel the reader finds out that Cherry does secretly like Dally.  Ponyboy, on the other hand, seems to make friends with Cherry which gets her boyfriend, a Soc named Bob, very mad.  Also in this chapter, Cherry tries to explain the similarities and differences between the Greasers and the Socs when she is alone with Ponyboy.

In Chapter 3, Johnny, Ponyboy, and Two-Bit walk the girls home and are followed by Socs.  Cherry and Marcia decide that the best idea would be for them to go home with the Socs because they don’t want any fights to start.  Ponyboy and Johnny end up falling asleep outside of Johnny’s house and when Pony finally wakes up and goes home in the middle of the night he gets in big trouble from his brother Darry who slaps him.  Ponyboy and Johnny then run away and end up in the park. 

Who was the Roman praetor in Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar"?

When, in Act 1, Scene 3, Cassius gives Cinna some letters, he tells him

...look you lay it in the praetor's chair,
Where Brutus may but find it; and throw this
In at his window.

Brutus is one of the praetors, then - though in traditional Roman history there were sixteen praetors. The Soothsayer, later on, in 2.4, says

Here the street is narrow:
The throng that follows Caesar at the heels,
Of senators, of praetors, common suitors,
Will crowd a feeble man almost to death:
I'll get me to a place more void, and there
Speak to great Caesar as he comes along.

There you have it. There are lots of praetors, in Shakespeare's mind, at least. But Brutus is one of them.

In "The Devil's Arithmetic", who does Chaya say can be her second best friend because she already has one?

The girl who suggests to Chaya/Hannah that they can be best friends is named Rachel. They meet her at Shmuel's wedding. Rachel introduces her to other girls and, thinking that Hannah is Chaya, a young girl whose parents have died and who is new to the village, says that she will be her best friend. But Chaya/Hannah tells Rachel that she already has a best friend named Rosemary. She tells Rachel that she can be her second best friend.

What does the banker value in life in the story "The Bet"?

The banker values personal pride, power, material possessions, and money. In all things, the banker is a powerful man. He would choose the death penalty as being the most humane simply because it would be better than dying by degrees.

"I don't agree with you," said their host the banker. "I have not tried either the death penalty or imprisonment for life, but if one may judge à priori, the death penalty is more moral and more humane than imprisonment for life. Capital punishment kills a man at once, but lifelong imprisonment kills him slowly. Which executioner is the more humane, he who kills you in a few minutes or he who drags the life out of you in the course of many years?"

The banker's pride is so strong that he contemplates killing the young lawyer rather than paying the prize of 2 million rubbies which would bankrupt him.

At the end of the story we see that while the banker has lived excessively and perhaps squandered his monetary wealth, the young lawyer has studied, read, and filled his head with great literature. However, the young lawyer has aged far quicker than he would have if he had been free to go about his daily life in the company of people. He has grown weary of humanity and life altogether.

"And I despise your books, I despise wisdom and the blessings of this world. It is all worthless, fleeting, illusory, and deceptive, like a mirage. You may be proud, wise, and fine, but death will wipe you off the face of the earth as though you were no more than mice burrowing under the floor, and your posterity, your history, your immortal geniuses will burn or freeze together with the earthly globe.

"You have lost your reason and taken the wrong path. You have taken lies for truth, and hideousness for beauty. You would marvel if, owing to strange events of some sorts, frogs and lizards suddenly grew on apple and orange trees instead of fruit, or if roses began to smell like a sweating horse; so I marvel at you who exchange heaven for earth. I don't want to understand you.

"To prove to you in action how I despise all that you live by, I renounce the two millions of which I once dreamed as of paradise and which now I despise. To deprive myself of the right to the money I shall go out from here five hours before the time fixed, and so break the compact. . . ."

In the end, I think the banker values his reputation above all else.

Desperate gambling on the Stock Exchange, wild speculation and the excitability which he could not get over even in advancing years, had by degrees led to the decline of his fortune and the proud, fearless, self-confident millionaire had become a banker of middling rank, trembling at every rise and fall in his investments. "Cursed bet!" muttered the old man, clutching his head in despair "Why didn't the man die? He is only forty now. He will take my last penny from me, he will marry, will enjoy life, will gamble on the Exchange; while I shall look at him with envy like a beggar, and hear from him every day the same sentence: 'I am indebted to you for the happiness of my life, let me help you!' No, it is too much! The one means of being saved from bankruptcy and disgrace is the death of that man!"

If something happened to the young lawyer, the banker had the letter the lawyer had written tucked safely away in a vault. Why?

What effect does the first sentence of "The Tell-Tale Heart" have on the reader?

"TRUE! nervous, very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why WILL you say that I am mad?"

By starting the story with the narrator asking the audience to judge his sanity, Poe is creating an atmosphere of mystery and suspense. Immediately the reader begins looking for signs of true insanity. The result is a short story that is more psychologically oriented than externally oriented. As the narrator continues to defend his sanity by showing the rational thoughts and actions he had in dealing with the gray eye, the reader is made more and more aware of the mental disease plaguing the narrator. While there is much external conflict, the focus remains on the mental state of the narrator, and to the driving force behind the action. Through this focus, Poe is able to create a story that is horrific both in the physical action and in the mental implications, appealing to multiple audiences.

What are Richmond's thoughts when preparing for battle with Richard, and after meeting the ghosts in his tent?I have to write a paper on this and...

Well, it's a little bit black and white, even for a history play. Richmond has a few meetings, with Stanley, and with his lords about the plans for the next day's battle, and goes to sleep with a head full of "troubled thoughts". Yet his last thoughts on preparing for battle come in - a suitably angelic - prayer, contrasting with Richard as Vice, as devil, as demonic:

O Thou Whose captain I account myself,
Look on my forces with a gracious eye;
Put in their hands Thy bruising irons of wrath,
That they may crush down with a heavy fall
The usurping helmets of our adversaries!
Make us Thy ministers of chastisement,
That we may praise Thee in Thy victory!
To Thee I do commend my watchful soul
Ere I let fall the windows of mine eyes:
Sleeping and waking, O, defend me still!

When, after the ghost scene, Richmond awakes, he feels fantastic:

LORDS.
How have you slept, my lord?

RICHMOND.
The sweetest sleep and fairest-boding dreams
That ever enter'd in a drowsy head
Have I since your departure had, my lords.
Methought their souls whose bodies Richard murder'd
Came to my tent and cried on victory:
I promise you, my heart is very jocund
In the remembrance of so fair a dream.

Richmond has a jocund, happy heart: the dream has lifted his spirit. And then his oration to his troops is similarly godly, juxtposing him as God's agent with Richard as a demon. It concludes with a promise to share the spoils if he wins:

Then, in the name of God and all these rights,
Advance your standards, draw your willing swords.
For me, the ransom of my bold attempt
Shall be this cold corpse on the earth's cold face;
But if I thrive, the gain of my attempt
The least of you shall share his part thereof.
Sound drums and trumpets boldly and cheerfully;
God and Saint George! Richmond and victory!

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

A nightingale overhears a young student lament that he only needs a red rose to give to a girl he loves to win her heart. This cannot be done since it is not the season, but the nightingale finally founds roses but white ones. To make the young man's wish come true, she presses her breast against a thorn on the most beautiful white rose she can find and sings to allow a magical spell make the blood go from her heart into the rose. The nightigale manages to transform the white rose into a red one but dies by doing so. As things turn out, the girl in question does not appreciate the rose because another young man has offered her jewels instead (and they are a more expensive present). The student feels rejected but doesn't waste his time mourning his loss, but rather goes back to his books and lessons in philosopy. Nobody even thinks about the nightingale and the fact that she has sacrificed her life.

Describe Lord Capulet’s personality by giving three different personality traits with examples from Act I?

In "Romeo and Juliet" Lord Capulet is of a choleric temperament.  That is, he is 1)extremely quick to anger and (2) emotional change.  For instance, when he first hears the citizens expressing frustration over the feuding and violence as they shout, "Down with the Capulets! Down with the Montagues!" (l.48) he demands his sword (he is dressed for battle) and is immediately ready to fight against his foe, Lord Montague, who tells him, "Thou villain Capulet,--Hold me not, let me go" (l.52) as Capulet flourishes his sword threateningly.  (3)This bellicose nature of Capulet who is ready to "do battle" manifests itself later with Juliet when he threatens her after she refuses to marry Paris. 

Compare and contrast ''Beowulf'' and ''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight''.

Similarities:  They are both adventure stories where a hero accepts a challenge, sets off on a quest, and for the most part succeeds in that quest.  They are both about legendary characters who are serving their kings.  They both face dangers and foes along the way but survive and come out triumphant.  They both succomb to temptation from the ladies.  They both receive laud and honor for their deeds.  The stories themselves are both oral traditions that were eventually written down, surviving the ages.  They both have great feast-halls with mighty kings.  Both stories have Christian overtones.

Differences:  Beowulf succombs to vice on a much larger scale than Gawain.  The foe Beowulf faces is an evil creature, whereas Gawain faces a mythical, noble knight that teaches him a valuable lesson.  Beowulf's deeds save many people and resuscitates a kingdom whereas Gawain's quest is more to defend his and his king's honor; it's not such a dramatic situation.

Those are just a few ideas to get you started, and I provided links to more thorough discussions on both stories.  I hope that helps!

How does the setting in "The Cask of Amontillado" function in creating atmosphere and an antagonist?

Poe, the master of creepy stories about creepy people, in the setting of this story, found what is perhaps the creepiest possible setting.  They are in dark, mazey, damp, rat and insect-infected tombs.  It doesn't get more eerie than that.  Ironically, the setting isn't for a sudden zombie-uprising, as modern Hollywood might make it today, but rather the setting for the twisted plans of Montresor to commit his premeditated act of revenge. One can easily imagine his success in this setting, and sense the feeling of doom and despair.  The setting can also represent Montresor's mind, which is full of ill-intent, death, and revenge to be buried forever.

The setting itself works against the unfortunate Fortunado, as an antagonist: The damp and cold impacts his cough, the narrow and winding passageway disorients him, and the depth of their penetration into the old catacombs ensures he won't be discovered in his tomb.  In this way, the setting aids and abets Montresor in his crime, and becomes a supplementary force for evil in the story.

How and why does Macbeth go from war hero into evil murderer?please help me with this queston (thanks alot):)

We see the transitional period of hero-villain from Macbeth as I believe the witches prophecy were a catalyst to have that vaulting ambition to become thane of Cawdor. However as  this was his Achilles heel, Shakespeare represents Macbeth as a tragic hero as his wife lady Macbeth is very eager for the killing of Duncan to emerge quickly, the use of reverse psychology encourages his ‘vaulting ambition’ which drives him on to become a degenerated Macbeth. Add quotes

Shakespeare characterizes Macbeth as a man who has fatal flaw in his egotistical mind. ’the greatest is behind’ we see he clearly commits acts of hamartia, however knowingly he senses he is in  danger of his throne killing innocent friends such as banque Macbeth  degenerates  slowly becoming a power hungry animal. Lady Macbeth exploits his weakness to kill and making Macbeth a tragic hero. The Witches spark the ambitious nature in Macbeth and whisper ‘like the devils to his ear’ the words that open his greed.

As the say ‘power begets power’ we see clearly the moral decline of Macbeth in act 1 because the prophecy reassures his authority of becoming thane. However we see his guilty conscience coming into play, thus affecting his mind, unsure whether to kill Duncan or not or face the consequences (quote).

In Animal Farm, tell how the animals were forced to accept Napoleon's changes.Once Napoleon gains absolute dictatorial control, he changes laws to...

You have three questions here, so I will answer your first one:  Tell how the animals were forced to accept these changes.

Napoleon changes the rules at will, as you have noted.  He does so for his own benefit; for example, the pigs move into the farmhouse and sleep in beds, and they take more than their fair share of milk.  Whenever the other animals think about protesting these changes, Squealer comes around to deliver the daily message of propaganda from the pigs.  He reminds the other animals that the pigs need more benefits because they do more of the work (well, the thinking work anyway; they certainly don't do any of the manual labor).  He also reminds the animals that if the pigs weren't in charge, the farmer would return, and they would all be miserable.  Usually, this reminder serves to quiet the protests from the other animals.  However, if the need arises, Napoleon can always bring out his dogs, to provide the muscle behind the message.  With these large dogs growling in their menacing way in support of Napoleon, none of the other animals dare to protest further.

What is established in the first exchange between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth?

Good question. I think, first of all, you see that Lady M really is Macbeth's "dearest partner of greatness" as he calls her in the letter she reads out at the start of the scene. Look at teh way she greets him:

Great Glamis! Worthy Cawdor!
Greater than both, by the all-hail hereafter!

She's desperate for him to be big news, desperate for the crown. And you see this again at the end of the scene, when she actually makes a longish speech telling Macbeth exactly what to do. You're left in no doubt about who's got control over who, who wears the trousers in this relationship:

                                He that's coming
Must be provided for; and you shall put
This night's great business into my dispatch,
Which shall to all our nights and days to come
Give solely sovereign sway and masterdom.

So there's the ambition, and the power dynamic. Yet more than that, you see their closeness. Without saying many words, each knows what the other means. It's a short conversation, but a lot is understood, even if not a lot is said:

MACBETH:
                                  My dearest love,
Duncan comes here tonight. 

LADY MACBETH:
                                 And when goes hence?

MACBETH:
Tomorrow, as he purposes. 

They actually do finish each other's sentences. Despite everything, they're very, very close.

Hope it helps!

What was the cause of John Henry Berry's death in Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry?

John Henry Berry was set afire by drunken white men, and died of his injuries.

John Henry Berry was the owner of an old Model-T pickup, and had stopped for gas at a filling station in Strawberry.  Some drunken white men came up and accused John Henry of flirting with Sallie Ann, a white woman.  To avoid trouble, John Henry and his passengers Henrietta and Beacon got in the truck immediately and drove away, but after John Henry and Beacon had dropped Henrietta off at her home, the white men caught up with them and began ramming their truck.  Afraid that they would run out of gas before they could get home, John Henry and Beacon stopped at their uncle's place, but the men came and dragged the two young men and their uncle out of the house and set them afire.  John Henry died of his injuries, and Beacon and the uncle were left horribly maimed.

In the social climate in the South during the 1930s, blacks were largely at the mercy of bigotted whites.  When Henrietta went to the sheriff and told him what happened, she was called a liar and sent home (Chapter 2).  Although "everyone knows" that the Wallaces, who own the only local grocery and supply store, were the ones who "poured kerosene over Mr. Berry and his nephews and lit them afire", nothing is ever done about it (Chapter 4).  All the black community can do is endure, and commiserate with "angry, hopeless words" (Chapter 2).

In "A Midsummer Night's Dream," what part of her appearance does Hermia believe Helena has exploited to win Lysander's love?

Hermia and Helena are described as opposites of one another. They are both beautiful, but in different ways: Helena is seen as tall, thin, and fair of skin, and Hermia is seen as voluptuous and has darker hair. When Hermia discovers that her sweet Lysander has fallen in love with Helena, she believes that Helena has used her height to gain Lysander's affections:

HERMIA:

‘Puppet!’ why so? Ay, that way goes the game.
Now I perceive that she hath made compare(300)
Between our statures; she hath urged her height;
And with her personage, her tall personage,
Her height, forsooth, she hath prevail'd with him.
And are you grown so high in his esteem
Because I am so dwarfish and so low?(305)

How did earth get its color?

The Earth has its color because 70% of the earth’s surface is covered by water. Our oceans and other bodies of water appear blue because of the way our sunlight is scattered as it goes through our atmosphere.  The size of oxygen and nitrogen molecules is almost the same, and they are similar to the wavelength of blue light.  This makes it possible for waves of blue light to pass through oxygen and nitrogen molecules in the atmosphere and are then reflect in all directions causing the scattering effect.  Wavelengths of red light are somewhat bigger, and they get around the oxygen and nitrogen molecules without being entirely blocked. This allows the red light part of sunlight to more easily pass through the atmosphere, while blue light doesn't get very far before being scattered.  It is much like the effect of an ice-berg which also looks blue.  All of the different colors in the light wave are absorbed except the blue, so the icebergs look like they have a blue light bulb inside them.  The water on earth reflects all the blue light and mostly absorbs the other colors.

Does Golding work in contrasts? What might be some examples?

Yes, I think he probably does. It's not like the whole novel is built entirely around contrasts, but there are key contrasting dynamics set up in the play.

For example, you might juxtaposes Ralph with Jack as symbolic of one of the central contrasts in the novel. Ralph as a chief believes in democracy: he enforces assemblies and the conch, and allows everyone to speak. He wants everyone to vote on key decisions, and his priority is to keep the signal fire lit in order that the boys might get rescued.

Jack, on the other hand, believes in a dictatorship:

“Conch! Conch!” shouted Jack. “We don’t need the conch any more. We know who ought to say things. What good did Simon do speaking, or Bill, or Walter? It’s time some people knew they’ve got to keep quiet and leave deciding things to the rest of us.”

You can pretty much contrast what Jack believes against what Ralph believes. So Jack believes in tyranny, Ralph democracy. Ralph believes in signal fires, Jack believes in hunting. Ralph believes in assemblies, Jack in dances and pig-hunting. Ralph is associated with the conch, Jack with the symbol of a sharpened stick. Ralph is advised by Piggy, an outsider but with a heart of gold and true wisdom, Jack is advised by Roger, an outsider but with a cruel, sadistic streak. And so on.

Yet let me make one caveat to this. It's not as absolute as that: Ralph too is drawn to the hunting and the pig-killing (he, of course, is involved in the murder of Simon). Jack doesn't start off obsessed with hunting - he initially acknowledges the importance of the signal fire. So the contrasts are not black and white. But they're definitely there to be found.

What is the point of Hamlet's long speech?

It is a long contemplation of suicide to end Hamlet's problems.  Is life worth it?  What do we get for all we suffer?  Why do we let those in power make ill use of us?  Wouldn't it be better to just end it so that we no long suffer what he calls "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune"?

Yes it would be, EXCEPT for what may happen after we are dead ... "what dreams may come."  Suicide was traditionally considered the unforgiveable sin because, in the Christian belief system, suicide abandons hope in God's help and mercy.  So if suicide puts us in hell for all eternity, might it not be better to suffer those slings and arrows?

Obviously, Hamlet decides it is.

In "Games at Twilight" by Anita Desai, what causes Ravi to lose the game even though he wasn't caught?

He stayed in the garage for too long. He was delighted with his awesome hiding place; there are a couple moments when he almost decided to bolt and take his chances, but then he heard kids screaming as they were found in succession, so he decided "to hold out a bit longer."  He then started daydreaming about how great it was going to be when he emerged victorious, the last one not found.  He though about "what fun if they were all found and caught—he alone left unconquered! He had never known that sensation...that would be thrilling beyond imagination."  This daydream lead him onto others; time passed, and he still wondered if he heard the kids playing and screaming, and thought he did.  But then, with a cold start, he realized that he had forgotten that he needed to touch home base to win.  So, "with a whimper he burst through the crack... he flung himself at the white pillar and bawled, 'Den! Den! Den!'" but he was much too late.  The kids had stopped playing a very long time ago, and had forgotten him.  And then, the tragic end:  "The ignominy of being forgotten—how could he face it? He felt his heart go heavy and ache inside him unbearably. He lay down full length on the damp grass, crushing his face into it, no longer crying, silenced by a terrible sense of his insignificance."

So Ravi loses because he stayed too long in his spot, and the other kids moved on, forgetting him, not even acknowledging his feat.

What role does Candy play in helping George and Lennie try to buy land?

Candy has alot of money saved up.  He was given $250 as compensation when he lost his hand on the ranch.  He has another $50 saved from working and expects another $50 at the end of the month.  So, he had $350.

Candy very much wants a dignified and comfortable way to live out his life once he can no longer work, which he expects to be soon.  He offers to contribute his $350 toward the $600 needed to buy the land, and says he'll write a will so his interest in the land will pass to George and Lennie when he dies.  With the $100 George and Lennie would get at the end of the month, they would be able to get the land.  George and Lennie would move to the ranch and get it started, and George would get a job to earn the balance of the $600.

Candy's financial contribution makes the dream of buying the land seem really possible for the first time.

In "The Gift of the Magi," what is the moral lesson of the story?

The lesson of the story concerns the true meaning of love and its value. In the story, Jim and Delia are a young married couple who are, by all appearances, very poor. When Christmas comes, both give up something that is meaningful in order to bring joy to the other. Because they do this out of love, what each one really gives the other is the greatest gift, the gift of love. In possessing the one thing that matters most, Jim and Delia are very rich indeed.

Why should I choose "Sonnet 18" for an oral recital on Shakespeare's Sonnets?

1) Because you like it.

2) It represents a good challenge when reciting its iambic pentameter structure.

3) Shakespeare's sonnets are some of the most influential poems in the history of poetry.

4) Sonnet 18 discusses the eternal theme of aging and the relentless passage of time. It considers the idea that the only permanent beauty is art (and therefore the only true beauty?)

5) It will lend gravitas and cultural worth to the recital and reassure the listeners in the sophistication of the occassion.

6) It is one of the best loved poems of all time.

7) It may awaken a member of the audience to the wonder of Shakspeare's work and so encourage another person to discover his priceless work.

8) The 'value' of a poem is not empirically quantifiable. A poem is not a government form. It is not be necessary to 'justify' the worth of art to the authorities (ie. your proctor). This hierarchical approving of art leads to artistic stagnation and censorship. Ultimately, you wish to recite the poem because its recital will mean something to you. If your rector wishes to understand that meaning, he should come to the recital, not set himself up as an artistic police officer. ;-)

What does the opening paragraph of "The Tell-Tale Heart" imply about the narrator's reliability?

When the narrator opens with the words that he is "very,very dreadfully nervous" and asks the reader why he thinks he is "mad", this obviously produces some doubt in the narrator's reliablity. The narrator continues by saying that he "heard all things in the heaven and in the earth." That comment alone casts doubt about his sanity because no one hears everthing, especially everything in heaven. Finally, the narrator has to call our attention to "how calmly I can tell you the whole story." By this time we are convinced that something is dreadfully wrong with the speaker because he is implying that he is usually not calm, but agitated.

Why did Matthew Wood and Dr. Bulkeley suspend their feud in "Witch of Blackbird Pond"?

Matthew Wood and Dr. Bulkeley suspend their feud because Mercy's life is at stake.  Mercy has fallen gravely ill with fever, and although the community's doctor has ridden out from Hartford to "bleed her" twice, she is not getting better.  The young doctor has no further remedies to try, and Matthew Wood is desperate as he watches his daughter lie, near death, "on some remote borderland between sleeping and waking".

On "the fourth morning of Mercy's illness...Matthew (sits), turning the pages of the Bible, searching in vain for some hope to cling to".  He finally announces that he is "going out for a time", but as he is leaving, the Reverend Bulkeley appears at his door.  The Reverend and Matthew had been feuding about Matthew's political leanings in wanting to stand up to the British Crown for the colony's rights, but in this time of crisis, both men, sincere and loving men at heart, are more than willing to put their differences aside.  Reverend Bulkeley tells Matthew, "you're a stubborn mule and a rebel, but this is no time for politics...time was your Mercy was like my own daughter...let me do what I can, with God's help, to save her", to which Matthew responds with a cry, "God bless you...I was coming to fetch you!" (Chapter 17).

In the novel To Kill a Mokingbird, describe the church service at Calpurnia's church.

Although there is so much more to this chapter than the actual church service you are inquiring about, the service itself does give us a very personal window into the "Negro world" of the Finches' beloved Calpurnia.  As they approach the churchyard "the warm bittersweet smell of clean Negro welcomed us" (118) followed by it being "dim inside, with a damp coolness slowly dispelled by the gathering congregation" who gathered, of course, even without hymn books (120).  Without an organ, piano, or instrument of any kind, Reverend Sykes begins the service simply "stands behind the pulpit staring the congregation to silence" (120).  His first item of business is to welcome the Finch children, foreshadowing his future efforts in taking care of them.  Some announcements are read, and prayer/collection requests reviewed.  Most significantly, the Finch children notice the collection requested for Tom Robinson.  The first hymn is sung, much to Scout's surprise (who is astounded at the voices singing with no hymn-books).  Scout describes it best when she says, "music again swelled around us . . . voices followed in simple harmony until the hymn ended in a melancholy murmur" (121).  Reverend Sykes calls upon God to cure the sick and suffering, naming specific names.  Then came the sermon.  The Reverend Sykes' sermon "was a forthright denunciation of sin, an austere declaration of the motto on the wall behind him: he warned his flock against the evils of heady brews, gambling, and strange women" (122).  Scout noticed only one difference about the familiar sermon:  Reverend Sykes mentioned people by name who had fallen from grace.  Everything so far leads to our knowledge of a far more personal church service as opposed to a service in the typical white church.  The collection is taken up, and Reverend Sykes announces the amount immediately (which again surprises the children) and demands more from the congregation (which surprises them even more).  With ten dollars collected, the church service ends with the Finch children brimming with questions.  Ah, but that's another story . . . .

In "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall," what does she mean by saying her "bones felt loose"? Also, "The doctor floated around the foot of the bed."...

Granny is dying and the story is told through her semi-conscious mind. The fact that her bones are "loose" and the doctor is "floating like a balloon" are indicative of the way her mind is working. Nothing seems quite real because of her closeness to death. This also is characteristic of the disjointed way Granny is telling the story. She floats through a seemingly unconnected set of memories that the reader must put together in order to understand that Granny is still trying to come to terms with the fact that she was "jilted" at the altar many years ago. Even though she lead a productive life and even married another man, the "jilting" still haunts her. Thus, the story also feels loose and somewhat disjointed unless we look at it from the perspective of a woman who, at death, has still not come to terms with one event in her life.

What is the significance of "night" in Elie Weisel's Night and is there a supporting quote for it?

I am not sure I interpret the quote: "Never shall I forget that night..." in the same way.  This is the first moment in Wiesel's memoir where Wiesel realizes the importance of questioning God.  He begins to question God, which he later deems a religious act in and of itself, at Night.  Further, this quote suggests that Wiesel realizes the importance and truth of night.  Wiesel previously questioned why it was important for Moshe to have the people of Sighet believe his stories of the first deportation; Wiesel now realizes the truth that night holds.  This develops throughout Night but is greatly expanded upon in Dawn.

I do not believe that Night and Dawn should be separated if students are to understand Wiesel's central theme.  I spend a great deal of time with my students discussing the difference between a memoir and a novel.  While Dawn has a central, fictious character named Elisha, many parrallels can be drawn to Wiesel himself.  Ultimately, all "victims" must re-integrate into society; in the wake of tragedy, one questions God, but also his/her role in fighting against his/her oppressors: should we "fight" through retaliatory murder or through words?

As English teachers, we can discuss the inherent power of language and why Wiesel selects writing as his mode of retaliation.

But to return to your initial question regarding a quote that explains the importance of Night...let's turn to Dawn.  I highly recommend reading this to fully understand the theme conveyed through Wiesel's analysis of night and eyes.

Beggar: "I'm going to teach you the difference between day and night.  Always look at a window, and failing that look into the eyes of a man.  If you see a face, any face, then you can be sure that night succeeded day.  For believe me, night has a face" (4).

Wiesel, Elie.  Night. New York: Bantam, 1982.

There are many more quotes that support this, however, my annotated text is sitting on my desk at school.

Ultimately, the main character must make the most important decision of his life at night.  Even though he does not "hate" Captain John Dawson, he chooses to execute him.  By doing so, he, in fact, "kills" himself.  This realization comes at Dawn--through the night, we search for truth.

Essentially, Wiesel shifts the burden from God to a burden on man.  Man has done this to man, and it is man's responsibility to put an end to hostility.  It is man who must save humanity.  You may also want to read the prefaces in the most recent edition to both Dawn and Night; the edition is translated by Wiesel's wife from Yiddish.  Further, I discuss Wiesel's Nobel lecture "Hope, Despair, and Memory" with my students.

An aside: I have not taught The Accident, or Day, in conjunction with Night and Dawn though it is the final book of the trilogy.  I am still working through my analysis of this text.

In "To Kill a Mockingbird" what events led to Arthur's being shut in the house for fifteen years?

The initial event was being caught causing ruckus in the town with his buddies when they were teenagers.  They were just goofing off, and ended up locking the town's beadle (law-man) in the courthouse outhouse.  Well, they were caught and brought before the judge, who sentenced them to "the state industrial school, where boys were sometimes sent for no other reason than to provide them with food and decent shelter."  However, Mr. Radley thought that was a huge disgrace, and told the judge that if he released Arthur (Boo), then he "would see to it that Arthur gave no further trouble."  And, he did, because "Mr. Radley's boy was not seen again for fifteen years."  Then, after the alleged scissors-stabbing incident where Boo supposedly stabbed Mr. Radley with scissors in the leg, they locked him in the courthouse basement for a while until he went back to being a "malevolent ghost" in the Radley house.

Could the characters in Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour" be considered as 3D and round ? Please explain...

Is this a trick question? For Louise Maillard, you can answer it both ways:

Yes:

The protagonist Mrs. Maillard is very much indeed a round character in that we see her in one light at the beginning of the story (the docile housewife) and as another (an unfulfilled woman yearning the liberty she once enjoyed) at the end. Her real self unfolds as the story progresses, first adhering to her set role and then not at all. However, there is no place for her at all as a "free" woman. As the title suggests, this was a bitter foretaste of liberty which she never would enjoy at all. The fact that she died at the thought of her husband being alive instead of having been killed is the fatal ironic twist to this tale, taking the reader quite off guard.

No:

Although on the surface Louise Maillard seemed to be the attentive and devoted wife she thought she was, underneath she was rather a stifled person gasping for air. The role she was expected to adhere to in fact didn't suit her at all - so much that the very thought of life without her husband (once past the initial shock at the news of his "death"), sent her imagination soaring. Her disappointment at the reappearance of her husband,  who had miraculously escaped any harm, literally killed her. Her need and desire for liberty had been stronger than any love or attachment she felt for her him. She was already this way; only the circumstances of the moment brought it to light. But this is only the case for the reader; stereotype expectation made everyone else in the story think that she had died out of grief for her lost husband instead of for herself. Her "secret" follows her to the tomb.

All the other characters are flat characters as they never change or develop throughout the story line, enhancing in a way the two-dimensional backdrop of her very boring and frustrated existence.

In "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall," how is Granny Weatherall jilted for a second time?

Although Granny feels jilted by George, the fiance who left her at the alter some sixty years ealier, many believe the jilting that bothered her most was the jilting by God.  Near the age of 20, she was left alone at an alter with a priest. The man she loved never showed up.  After reliving that moment over in her mind many times, Granny is once again faced with lying in a bed alone with only a priest there with her.  She waits for a sign from God in the last lines, yet there is nothing.  She is left with nothing but the unfinished business that she was unable to share with her family in her last moments on earth.

What is the summary for Chapter 11 of The Blithedale Romance?

In order to take a break from hard labor, Coverdale decides to take a walking tour in the woods. As he was walking along the path, a stranger hails him, calling him "friend." He resents the title from a stranger. The instant familiarity grates against his understanding of the term.

The unwanted companion is dressed for the city and seems a bit out of place in such a rural setting. Coverdale feels lacking in comparison, as he is dressed as a "country bumpkin," in rough clothes more suited to work than for entertainment or business.

The nattily dressed stranger asks after Zenobia. He seems to have known her intimately at one time, and also knows her real name (which is not given). Coverdale points him in her direction, without offering to escort him to her residence. But the stranger stops him.

He next asks if Coverdale knows a gentleman answering Hollingsworth’s description—rough, well-meaning, boorish, a philanthropic lecturer. Though Coverdale recognizes Hollingsworth by the description, he claims no acquaintance with such a person. But the stranger goes on further, describing Hollingsworth’s personality to a tee. Coverdale is amused and joins the stranger in a laugh at Hollingsworth’s expense.

The stranger introduces himself as Professor Westervelt. Once again, Coverdale points him in the direction of Zenobia, and the stranger departs. Later, Coverdale regrets not continuing the interview, becoming curious as to what exactly the stranger knew.

Explain Matt's quote, "This war is a beast with long claws" in "Across Five Aprils". "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt, Chapter 6

Matt Creighton means that the reach of the war's destruction is great - the war affects everyone, even those not directly involved in the fighting.

Of the four Creighton boys old enough to join the troops, three of them, John, Tom, and Eb, have joined the Union forces.  Introspective Bill, however, in following his own conscience, has gone to fight with the Confederates.  Some of the rabble-rousers in Jasper County do not take Bill's action kindly, and consider him a traitor.  Previously, Jethro Creighton had been accosted at the store by some of these characters, and when asked if his father condemns Bill's decision, Jethro speaks up in defense of his brother, saying that his father says nothing about it, but that he himself still retains the utmost love and respect for his brother as a person.  Angry that Matt Creighton will not speak out against Bill's traitorous actions, these drunken men deliver a threat to the Creighton's home in the dead of night.

Beaten down by the stress brought on by the war, Matt has a stroke and is disabled.  When the family receives the sinister warning, he says with despair,

"This war is a beast with long claws".

Not only does the war result in the killing and maiming of thousands on both sides and the destruction of all that lies in its wake, it affects everyone - tearing up families and bringing hardship to those not even directly involved, including the sick like himself, and children like his son Jethro (Chapter 6).

Explain in detail the power of speech in "Julius Caesar."

That words are powerful is evidenced throughout all the writing of Shakespeare.  In "Julius Caesar" the persuasive power of language is first exemplified in Cassius's convincing Brutus of Rome's need to be rid of Caesar because he is a tyrannt.:

Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world/Like a Colossus, and we petty men/Walk under his huge legs and peep about/To find ourselves dishonorable graves./Men at some time are masters of their fates:/The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,/But in ourselves, that we are underlings./Brutus and Caesar:  what should be inthat "Caesar"?/Why should that name be sounded more than yours?/Write them together, yours is as fair a name.../Rome, thous hast lost the breed of noble bloods!....There was a Brutus once that would have brooked/Th'eternal devil to keep his state in Rome/As easily as a king. (I,ii,135-161)

After this persuasive argument to his sense of pride and honr, Brutus promises to consider Cassius's words, declaring that before now he has pondered the same things.  Of course, Brutus is later swayed by his love of Rome: Caesar's "abuse of greatness" must be ended, so he and the other conspirators assassinate Caesar.

After Caesar's death, Brutus addresses the people of Rome. In order to explain the conspirators' slaying their ruler Brutus appeals to their abilities to reason:

If there be any in this assembly, any dear friend of Caesar's, to him I say that Brutus' love to Caesar was no less than his.  If then that friend demand why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer:  Not that I love Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.  Had you rather Caesar were living, and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live all free men? (III,ii, 19-24)

Brutus ends his persuasive speech  with a final rhetorical question:  "Who is here so vile, that will not love his country?" (III,ii, 33)

In the most salient example of the power of speech, Marc Antony returns to give a funeral oration for his friend, Julius Caesar.  Facing a hostile audience after the speech of Brutus, Marc Antony cleverly begins with "Friends, Romans, countrymen..." (III,ii,74), aligning himself with the audience.  Appealing to their emotions rather than their intellects, Antony is able to better persuade than Brutus, for he wins over the crowd by means of his effective pauses and  his emotive repetition of phrases.

With brillant verbal irony, Antony declares that he will not attempt to stir the crowd:

I come to bury Caesar,, not to praise him....The noble Brutus / Hath told you Caesar was ambitious.If it were so, it was a grievous fault,/And grievously hath Caesar answered it.  Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest/(For Brutus is an honorable man,/So are they all, all honorable men), (III,ii,74-84)

Employing this verbal irony, Antony creates the illusion that he has not come to stir the crowd.  When the crowd's resistance to him is lowered, Antony begins his manipulation, insinuating that Brutus and the others are, indeed, not honorable.  His tone and effective pauses along with the repetition of the phrase "so are they all, all honorable men" underscore the contradictions of what has happened.  T Antony,then,directs the crowd to Caesar's wounds. With emotional appeal, Antony reminds them of Caesar's love for Brutus, so the stab from Brutus was the "most unkindest cut of all" (III,ii,184).  He ends with his final argument and rhetorical question:

in every wound of Caesar's that should move/The stones of Rome to rise and mutiny (III,ii,230-231)

Here was Caesar!  When comes such another? (III,ii,253)

In The Crucible, what are some examples of Negative Belonging, and Passive Belonging?Who is being forced to Belong? Who Passively Belongs?

Active belonging, passive belonging and negative belonging are terms that refer to the relationship between religious belief and belonging to a church and/or religious affiliation. Active belonging indicates religious belief coupled with active attendance at and affiliation with a church and/or religious group. Passive belonging indicates passivity in belief coupled with attendance at and/or affiliation with a church and/or religious group; something on the order of "You can make me go, but you can't make me a fanatic." Negative belonging indicates the absence of belief coupled with coerced attendance at and/or affiliation with a church and/or religious group; something on the order of, "You may be able to make me go, but you can't make me believe."

Tituba and Abigail Williams might represent examples of negative belong. Tituba may be so classed because she is associated with Voodoo and magic through the associations with her homeland of Barbados. Her superstitious nature is aggravated by the trials leading to her psychological disintegration while in jail.

Abigail may be so classed because The Crucible raises the question of how extensive her beliefs in magic, are and her conduct raises the question of her acceptance of basic Christian doctrine requiring that one extend love and kindness and do justice and not bear false witness. On the other hand, Giles Corey might represent passive belonging since he spent the majority of his life not caring much about the church or church doctrine.

Can anyone tell me the summary plot of "The Jewelry"?

The plot revolves around M. Lantin and his wife. He really loves her and they have a wonderful marriage. The only things that bother him are his wife's fascination with fake jewels and her love of the theater. Even though he really loves his wife more and more, after a time, he begs off going to the theater with her. He tells her that he does not like the fake jewels, but she wears them anyway, saying that she can't help it, she likes them.

One cold night attending the theater, M. Lantin's wife becomes ill and 8 days later she dies. After her death, he is grief stricken and he can't bear to look at the fake jewels. In need of money, he decides to sell the jewels and takes them to a merchant who tells him that the jewels are real and very valuable.

M. Lantin is shocked when he learns that the jewels were in fact real, he does not know how his wife could have afforded to buy them, he did not buy them, so he realizes that she must have had a lover who bought them for her. Confused by the discovery of his wife's infidelity, he determines to find a virtuous woman if he marries again.

M. Lantin finds a woman he wants to marry. He chooses a woman that is without question, very virtuous and will be totally faithful to him. They marry, and his wife is a model of virtue, and M. Lantin finds that he is miserable.

In Act 1, Scene 2 of Romeo and Juliet, why does Romeo want to go to the Capulet's party and why does Benvolio want to go with him?

In Act I Scene 2, Benvolio and Romeo come across Capulet’s servant, who is charged with inviting the guests to Capulet’s ball; however, he cannot read the guest list, and must ask Romeo’s aid in the matter.  In this way the two Montagues learn of the ball and of the many women who will be there – “Signior Martino and his wife and daughters,” some “beautious sisters” and “lovely nieces” – and of course Rosaline, Romeo’s lost love, destined for the nunnery rather than his arms.  After Romeo has read the list, the servant invites him and his companion, on the condition they “be not of the house of Montagues.”

When Romeo and Benvolio first come onto the scene, Benvolio is trying to comfort Romeo after losing Rosaline.  He argues that all his cousin need do is find another lover – "Take thou some new infection to they eye,/And the rank poison of the old will die."  And yet Romeo will have none of it, preferring to be a prisoner of his misery.  So, when they are invited to Capulet’s ball, the event falls perfectly into Benvolio’s attempts to distract Romeo.  He states that at the party, Rosaline will be surrounded by “all the admired beauties of Verona,” and when Romeo sees her compared to such beauty, he will forget her instantly, and see how ignorant he had been for loving her. 

Benvolio wants to go to the party to end Romeo’s moping heartache – he asserts proudly that when Rosaline is weighed against the other many women at the ball, “she shall scant show well that now shows best.”  Romeo, the hopeless romantic, will not be swayed by this argument, but avows that he will “go along…to rejoice in splendor of mine own.”  He will go for his own reasons – likely to see Rosaline again. So really, it is Benvolio who desires to go to the party, and who persuades Romeo to tag along in hopes that the feast will raise his spirits.  

What is the smallest unit of descent in a society?

If you are referring to closest (genetic) descent it would be between the two biological parents and the child or children born of that union. However, there are societies where by the closest descent runs specifically through either a matriarchal or patriarchal line. In these cases only one set of genes is recognized as the direct line of descent. For example in a matriarchal line closest descent is between grandmother, her children, mother, her children and so on. The father and his ancestry is not considered part of the direct lineage.

would you call "Doctor Faustus" a morality play? Give evidence in favour or otherwise discuss in detail?

Doctor Faustus has many features of a morality play: the conflict between good and evil, the creation of Good and Bad Angels, the Old Man as Good Counsel, the pageant of the Seven Deadly Sins and the appearance of Faustus’ enemies to ambush and kill him.

The conflict between Good and Evil was a recurring theme in the medieval morality plays. From this point of view, Marlowe’s play is a dramatization of the medieval morality play, Everyman. Doctor Faustus becomes a morality play in which heaven struggles for the soul of a Renaissance Everyman, namely Doctor Faustus.

The Good Angel and the Bad Angel are characters derived from the medieval morality plays. They are sometimes regarded as an externalization of the thoughts of Faustus. This is a twentieth-century view. The Angels are independent absolutes, one wholly good and one wholly evil. They appear in Doctor Faustus like allegorical figures of a morality play. They reflect the possibility of both damnation and redemption being open to Faustus. A close examination shows that the Evil Angel declines in importance as the play advances. The angles work by suggestion, as allegorical characters in morality plays do.

The audience also observes the pageant of the Seven Deadly Sins in Doctor Faustus. This is another feature borrowed by Marlowe from the tradition of the morality play. In Marlowe’s play, to divert Faustus’ attention from Christ, his savior, Lucifer, comes with his attendant devils to rebuke him for invoking Christ and then presents the pageant of the Seven Deadly Sins as a diversion.

Benvolio’s attempts to ambush and take revenge on Faustus is also a device taken from the medieval morality play. Faustus loses his head, only for it to be revealed as a false one. This theatrical device was originally used in the medieval morality play, Mankind. Similarly, Faustus’ attempt to strike Dick, Robin and the others dumb in the Vanholt show scene is also derived from the medieval morality play. Doctor Faustus has many features of the morality play of the Middle Ages.

In The Kite Runner, what is the role of Nang and Namoos and how does it shape Baba's actions in a positive way?

Nang and namoos--defined as "pride" and "honor or dignity" in The Kite Runner--are probably the most important elements of Baba's character. Be it in Kabul, where he outwardly wears his pride of family history and financial accomplishments; or on his flight from Afghanistan, when he risks his life by standing up to the Russian soldier; or in California, where he maintains the strict Afghan way of life as much as possible in a faraway land, Baba lives by these principles and preaches his strict ethic to Amir. The Afghan terms are specifically mentioned during Amir's first meetings with his future wife, Soraya. Baba warns his son to take care when speaking with General Taheri and his daughter. They may be living in California, but theirs is still the Afghan way. Baba and Amir's relationship has progressed far enough that the father does not discourage his son from wooing the girl with a questionable past, but he does demand that nang and namoos be present when doing so. Important as these principles are for Baba in his social and financial dealings in Afghanistan, he is guilty of straying from them himself: His secret concerning Hassan's heritage is the most glaring example, and keeping it to the grave eventually troubles Amir when he discovers the truth. Nevertheless, Baba's friends consider him a man of unquestioned honor and dignity, and even dying of cancer, he lives his life by these principles.

What is the summary for Chapter 17 of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone?

Chapter Seventeen:  The Man with Two Faces

Instead of seeing Snape in the next room, Harry is surprised to find Professor Quirrell who reveals himself as the villain.  It was Quirrell, not Snape, who had been trying to kill Harry all along.  Snape had been trying to save Harry.  Ropes appear and bind Harry tightly as Quirrell ponders the last enchantment:  the Mirror of Erised.  Quirrell sees himself in the mirror presenting the Sorcerer’s Stone to Lord Voldemort, but Quirrell can’t figure out how to get the stone.  Harry realizes that the mirror will show Harry finding the Sorcerer’s Stone.  As Harry steps closer to the mirror, Harry hears another voice telling Quirrell to use Harry to find the Sorcerer’s Stone.  Harry looks into the mirror and sees himself pulling the Sorcerer’s Stone out of his own pocket, but lies to Quirrell about it.  The strange voice asks to speak to Harry, so Quirrell unwraps his turban to reveal the face of Voldemort at the rear.  Voldemort explains how the unicorn blood kept him alive and asks for the stone in Harry’s pocket.  Quirrell lunges at Harry, whose scar is burning beyond belief, and grabs Harry around the neck.  Suddenly, Quirrells hands begin to blister and burn.  Harry grabs Quirrell’s arm (burning it as well) before he faints into blackness.

Harry awakens to find Dumbledore sitting beside him in the hospital wing.  Harry is surrounded by gifts from his fellow Griffindors.  Dumbledore reveals that he was the one to pull Quirrell off of Harry, that Nicholas Flamel has decided to destroy the Sorcerer’s Stone, that Dumbledore was the one who sent the invisibility cloak, that the reason why Harry’s touch burned Quirrell was because of Harry’s mother’s love for him, that Harry’s own father had once saved Snape’s life, and that Voldemort will continue to try and return.  Dumbledore also says that there are things he won’t reveal to Harry until he is older.  Dumbledore is particularly proud of the Mirror of Erised because only the person who wanted to find the Sorcerer’s Stone (and not use it) would be able to get it.

As Dumbledore leaves, Ron and Hermione appear and contemplate Dumbledore’s involvement in all of this.  After a few days, Harry feels well enough to go to the feast at the end of the year where he comforts a crying Hagrid who is upset about revealing Fluffy’s secret.  Hagrid gives Harry a special present with pictures of his family.  At the feast, it first seems that the Griffindors lose horribly, but it isn’t long before Dumbledore awards some final points to Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Neville.  The Griffindors are victorious!

Harry and his friends find out they have passed their exams before they all return home for the summer holidays.  Harry returns to the Dursleys to await the start of the next school year.

How does Ken Sleight believe that Everett Ruess died in Into the Wild?Ken Sleight is an expert of the Davis Gulch area

Ken Sleight believes that Everett Ruess drowned in the San Juan River.

Sleight is a professional river guide who has visited all the places Ruess visited, having lived and worked in the area for over forty years.  He has "spent as much time investigating the riddle of Everett Ruess as any other person", and is convinced the young man drowned in 1934 or early 1935.  While hiking down Grand Gulch, Sleight had discovered the name "Nemo", an alias adopted by Ruess, carved into the soft mud of an Anasazi granary.  Sleight believes that after departing Davis Gulch, Ruess hid all his gear in a cave and headed down to visit Indian friends on the Navajo Reservation.  His route would have taken him across the Colorado River, along a rugged trail across Wilson Mesa and the Clay Hills, and then down Grand Gulch to the San Juan River.  Ruess would have had to cross the river to reach the reservation, and it is here that Sleight believes he died. 

Sleight thinks that if Ruess had made it across the river and reached the reservation, he would not have been able to keep his presence a secret.  He bases his theory on Ruess's tendency to disappear for awhile, then come back to civilization, only to disappear again.  Sleight believes that since one of the last known signs of Ruess's presence appears at Grand Gulch, after which he is never heard from again, he must have met his demise somewhere there along the river (Chapter 9).

What do "night" and "light" represent in "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night"? What clues do you use?

Night represents death, or dying.  The poem is written about Dylan Thomas's father, who is dying at the time, and the opening line implores him to "not go gentle into that good night", or to not die without a strong fight.  Further evidence comes in fourth line where Thomas states, "Though wise men at their end know dark is right."  At their end means at the end of their lives, and the dark refers to the night, or death.

Light in the poem represents life, or life's force and vitality.  Dylan wants his father to "rage against the dying of the light", or to fight against his life draining from him.  Various forms of light are discussed in the poem, all representing different forms and strengths of living.  You have men whose "words had forked no lightning", the light there representing the activating, and powerful words that men might have used in their lifetimes; there is "how bright their frail deeds" might have been in life, so men regretting not living more "brightly", or powerfully; and men "who caught and sang the sun in flight" representing those powerful figures who seem to blaze with light in all that they do.  For all of these examples, light represents life, and the different things men do or do not do in their lives.  And in the end, Dylan wants all men, regretful or not, to rage against the dying of the light.

Light and night are opposites, just as death and life are, so they are apt descriptions to use in this poem.

What happened to the Pilot-in-Training who flew over Jonas's community in "The Giver"?

The Pilot-in-Training who flew over Jonas's community by mistake was "released".

The Pilot-in-Training had "misread his navigational instructions and made a wrong turn...desperately the Pilot had been trying to make his way back before his error was noticed".  Unfortunately, in attempting to get back on course, the Pilot had flown over the community twice.  It was "against the rules for Pilots to fly over the community", and when the Pilot in question inadvertently did so, he threw the citizens into a panic.  A "rasping voice through...speakers" instructed all citizens to leave what they were doing and "go into the nearest building and stay there".  Within minutes, the plane had been identified, and the voice on the speakers explained what had happened, ending with the somber pronouncement, "Needless to say, (the Pilot) will be released".

Even though Jonas detected "an ironic tone" to the voice on the speaker's final message, to be "released" was a grim statement.  Although the particulars of the process were not discussed, what it meant to the citizens was that the Pilot would be erased from the community.  Children were taught at a very young age the seriousness of the concept of "release", and they were scolded if they ever used the term lightly, even at play.  For "a contributing citizen to be released from the community was a final decision, a terrible punishment, an overwhelming statement of failure" (Chapter 1).

In 1984, Winston says he has no desire to lie to Julia. Why wouldn't he? How was that a success of his training?

Winston sees the lives every person leads as some semblance of a lie. He knows how information is mangled in his own office, and he has a vague idea that the government is indeed building and rebuilding memories from scratch every day. (Freedom is the freedom to say that 2 + 2 = 4). He sees his relationship with Julie as the only true thing in the world, and therefore sacrosanct from lies.

This is a success of his training because he is so focused on this newfound freedom, he completely allows himself to believe that the government really allows free pockets. He really believes that "memory holes" make the thing go away. He lets himself be caught out completely by his willingness to believe that truth can still exist.

What are some symbols in "The Demon Lover," and what is the main conflict?

Do you mean the poem? If so, note that the conflict concerns a woman who is tempted to forsake husband and child, hearth and home, to run away with a man she is infatuated with.

It was a common folk belief of the time that Satan could never disguise himself completely but had to reveal some body part portraying him for who he really was. (Kind of a "rule" in the game of deception.) Thus, he is often shown with horn, a hoof, a tail or something unnatural. That way the temptation was at least "fair play."

Note that running away to sea is a universal symbol in itself of escapism or the desire for emancipation. It also symbolises the desire for new experiences and absolute freedom.

In 1945 Elizabeth Bowen had a short story published inspired by this medieval poem. Check out the site below for symbolism in this work and the correlation between it and the original poem. Note that this is a source where not all information is verifiable since its information is contributed by the general public.

What is the theme of Wordsworth's "The Rainbow?"

William Wordsworth was a Nature poet who worshipped Nature as his God and it was his main source of spirtual comfort  and escape from all the cares of this world. His association with life giving and life sustaining Nature began even when he was only a child and remained with him till his death.

In this short lyric, the 'rainbow' symbolizes the life sustaining and life nourishing goodness of Nature. The sight of the beautiful rainbow which he saw when he was only a child is deeply etched in his memory and the same joy that he experienced when he saw it as a child contiunes to remain with him through his adulthood. He desires that this same childhoood joy should continue to sustain him even in his old age. Wordsworth says that he would rather die than not being able to experience the same joy that he experienced when he saw the rainbow when he was a small boy after he becomes an old man.

The memory of the beautiful rainbow and its pleasant associations form the link between his childhood, adulthood and his old age:past, present and future. Wordsworth concludes the poem by expressing the desire that each day of his existence be linked with the next by beautiful and simple natural sights like the rainbow.

For Wordsworth the life nourishing and life sustaining memories of beautiful natural sights like the rainbow are very precious and he deeply desires that they link each day of his life on this earth and remain with him till his death.