How many plays did Shakespeare write?

The general consensus is that Shakespeare wrote thirty-seven plays (see list below). However, no one can know for certain because of the inexact documentation at the time the plays were first being organized and published. If we include The Two Noble Kinsmen and two lost plays attributed to Shakespeare, Cardenio and Love's Labour's Won, then we could say he wrote, either alone or in collaboration, forty plays. Moreover, in the last few years many critics have begun to reassess a play called Edward III, currently grouped with a collection of eleven other plays known as the Shakespeare Apocrypha. Edward III bears striking similarities to Shakespeare's early histories. Another play, Sir Thomas More has also been under debate. Handwriting analysis has led scholars to believe that Shakespeare revised parts ofSir Thomas More, but, like Edward III, it is not part of the standard collection of Shakespeare's plays.

the plays

Comedies
All's Well That Ends Well, As You Like It, Cymbeline, The Comedy of Errors,Love's Labour's Lost, Measure for Measure, The Merchant of Venice, The Merry Wives of Windsor, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Much Ado About Nothing,Pericles, The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, Troilus and Cressida, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Twelfth Night, The Winter's Tale

Tragedies
Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, King Lear, Macbeth,Othello, Romeo and Juliet, Timon of Athens, Titus Andronicus

Histories
1,2, and 3 Henry VI, 1 and 2 Henry IV, King John, Henry V, Henry VIII, Richard II,Richard III

What does this quote mean from "The Catcher in the Rye": "That's the whole trouble. You can't ever find a place that's nice and peaceful, because...

The first quote has to do with Holden's desire to preserve the purity of childhood.  A grade school is a place that should be free of adult profanity.  It really offends him, he feels physically shaken when he sees these vulgar words written on the walls.

The museum also has a link to Holden's childhood and his sister, he loves the place because everything there stays the same. It is frozen in time, eternally set in place, reflecting a place and time in the past.   

The second quote is the last line of the novel.  Holden regrets having told the story to the reader, because now, as a patient in the mental institution, he misses his old life, even Stradlater and Ackley.  He misses everyone he talked about, so he warns the reader to not talk about memories, they only remind you of what you no longer have.

What are some symbols in "Rip Van Winkle"?

One of the most mysterious persons in the story is a man who carries a keg up a mountain and asks Rip to help. Rip notices that he is dressed as a 17th century Dutchman. When they arrive in a meadow, one of the men is addressed as "Commander". It is after that scene that Rip drinks some of the liquor and falls asleep for 20 years. So, who were those people and who was the commander? After Rip awakens, someone tells him that the ghost of Henry Hudson, who discovered the New York area where the story takes place, comes back every 20 years to haunt the place. This implies that the men were part of Hudson's crew and the commander was the ghost of Hudson, a symbol of adventure and discovery. Rip certainly has an adventure and discovers much about the future after he wakes up.

Trace the steps in "Fahrenheit 451" that lead to Montag’s decision to preserve books rather than destroy them

Montag was curious about books even before the story began. We know from the very beginning that he had stolen a book or two and hidden them in the ventilator grille.  Clarisse than begins talking to him and subtly points out some of the faults in the society.  That makes Montag begin to question his life. The turning point comes when the old woman won't give up her books; she'd rather burn with them than live without them.  That makes Montag realize that "There must be something in books."  Beatty tells Montag how the society came to be what it is which has the effect of "reverse psychology" in that Montag sees what Beatty praises as good changes as actually very bad changes.  At this point, Montag has changed, but he hasn't decided what to do about this change in him until he talks with Faber.  Then Montag becomes convinced that their society must be brought down from the inside out.  He wants to incriminate the firemen.  When that plan fails and he kills Beatty, then the only course of action left to Montag is to flee and join the book people.

Compare and contrast Macbeth and Claudius. contrast

Both Macbeth and Claudius of "Hamlet" are kings who got to be kings because they not only killed the current king, the king they killed was a relative.  Macbeth kills his cousin, King Duncan. Claudius kills his brother, King Hamlet.  Macbeth killed out of "vaulting ambition" as he identified it in Act 1, sc. 4.  Claudius killed because he wanted the queen, Gertrude, the throne, and because of his "ambition" which he tells us as he is in the chapel in Act 3, sc. 3.  Both kings are willing to commit further murders to cover their initial crimes.  Macbeth has Banquo killed because Banquo suspects him (Act 3, sc. 4).  Claudius tries to have Hamlet killed (Act 5, sc. 2) and doesn't do much to stop Gertrude from drinking the poisoned wine in Act 5, sc. 2. Both men love their wives, though those wives are quite different.  Lady Macbeth knew her husband committed murder, even helped him and planned it.  Gertrude seemingly did not know Claudius killed her first husband.

Why did the newly masqued figure draw attention?

Everyone at the party was appalled at what the masqued figure was wearing.  His clothes were "of the grave" and he was scarlet like the red death itself.  He looked like someone who had died of the red death and was walking among them to show disrespect.  He suddenly appeared at the strike of midnight, which created anxiety in most of the party goers.  Another reason he drew attention was because he did not listen to Prince Prospero.  His slow gait led the Prince through the 7 rooms to the final "room of death."  All eyes were on him for these reasons.

In chapter 5, of "Lord of The Flies" what does the author refer to as "the twister"? example: on page 89,after Simon was speaking... the text...

In Lord of The Flies, the author refers to the "twister."  This was described as a log that the littleuns sat on during meetings.  The log was uneven and the boys had not thought to wedge it so that it didn't move.  It never failed that during the meetings someone would sit down, lean back too far and the log would "twist" and throw the boys off backwards and sideways.

More information about this novel can be found at the link below.

What is the summary for Act 4 of The Man of Mode?

At the dance Dorimant (disguised as "Courtage") and Woodvill are agreeing about how women neglect their looks these days. Dorimant, then, sways even Woodvill to his side, and the company laughs as she chides "that wicked Dorimant." Emilia encourages Dorimant to win Harriet, but she is being as obstinate as always.  Dorimant admits that he loves Harriet, but Harriet spurns him until "your love's grown strong enough to make you bear being laughed at." When Fopling appears, he almost blows Dorimant's cover. Dorimant is convinced that Fopling knows who the girl was behind the mask earlier.  Harriet is impressed by Fopling, and Dorimant becomes jealous; however, he still leaves at the appointed time to meet Bellinda. 

Amid lots of insinuation, Dorimant and Bellinda talk in his "lodging." She is still jealous of Loveit, and demands that Dorimant swear "you never will see her more," and yet Bellinda can never seem to refuse him. After the gentlemen suspect his tryst, Dorimant admits to it, but he does not reveal the details. Fopling admits at being surprised by Loveit's advances. Young Bellair thinks that his father loves Emilia, thinks that Harriet loves Dorimant, and tells him so even though "without church security, there's no taking up there." The difference between Young Bellair and Dorimant is revealed near the end of the act when Dorimant says, "You wed a woman, I a good estate."

In A Christmas Carol, what does the Ghost of Christmas Future look like?

The interesting thing about the ghost of Christmas future, or the "Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come", is that Dickens refers to it as a phantom rather than a ghost like he did with the other apparitions.

This phantom was perhaps named as such because of how different it was from the others. While the first ghosts interacted and showed some leftover traits of humanity, this one was eerie, silent and quite scary, not only in movement but also in description

It was shrouded in a deep black garment, which concealed its head, its face, its form, and left nothing of it visible save one outstretched hand

The way it moved was just as sinister as it looked

SLOWLY, gravely, silently

The phantom never answers with words, and allows Ebenezer to make his own conjectures every time he asks a question. That psychological dynamic causes more fear and anxiety in Ebenezer than having the actual answers told to him. Moreover, once the finger of the ghost points at something, it does not back down until Scrooge actually looks at what he is pointing.

While he is the phantom Scrooge is more scared of, his ending is quite abrupt and coarse for a ghost so apparently sophisticated.

he saw an alteration in the Phantom's hood and dress. It shrunk, collapsed, and dwindled down into a bedpost.

Therefore the ghost starts out extremely sinister and ends quite coarsely to a point. However, this is undoubtedly the ghost that influenced Scrooge the most, emotionally.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, how does Atticus Finch resist the prejudice that is displayed throughout the novel?

Atticus Finch is the epitome of passive resistance throughout the course of the novel. The only time his feathers seem to be ruffled is when he learns that his children were attacked by Bob Ewell.  He is a strong, stoic figure, who faces the problems of the novel with a quiet intelligence.  He does not fight with his fists, but with his words.  He tells his children to not engage, particularly rambunctious Scout, in any sort of fight, even when children call their father "n-- lover" and make fun of them for their father's defense of Tom Robinson. When Bob Ewell spits in Atticus' face, Atticus simply wipes away the spit and calmly states "I wish Bob Ewell didn't chew tobacco."  When facing the angry lynch mob coming for Tom, Atticus stands firm, no harsh words nor aggresive heroic gestures.

Clover,the only animal seems to suspect that things on the Farm aren't the way they had planned.Why doesn't she tell her suspicions to others?Why...

Clover does try to make the other animals see that they are being exploited but no one believes her. Instead, they believe the smooth talking Squealer. Even she falls prey to Squealer's explanations when she questions the changes to the fourth commandment, " no animal shall sleep in a bed" to "no animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets. After Squealer talks to her, she accepts his explanation. She tries to run after Boxer when he be being taken away to the knackers, but she is not fast enough. Unfortunately, the other animals are too apathetic and/or too naive to believe her warnings. If they won't believe her in small things, Clover knows they won't follow her in rebellion.

Please explain the poem "Porphyria's Lover" stanza by stanza.

- It was a stormy night. Porphyria’s lover was waiting in his room. He was picturing the unexpected presence of Porphyria, who was separated from him for her higher social rank and status. The lover was watching the fury and violence of the storm that tore down the tops of elm-tree and ruffled the water of the lake. He was feeling lonely. Just then Porphyria stepped into his cottage and it was a great surprise to the lover.

Entering into the lover’s cottage Porphyria shut the door to prevent cold and storm. Immediately after this, she kindled the dying fire and made the cottage warm. She then took off her dripping cloak, shawl, hat and gloves and came by the side of her lover. She let the lover embrace around her waist. The lover, even then did not speak a single word. To arrest the lover’s attention in her passionate love, she made her white shoulder bare and laced the lover’s cheek on it. To stir the lover’s mood she spread her golden hair over her shoulder. Amidst such countenance of her lover, she in a low but sweet voice told how darling she loved the lover. She also confessed that she was really weak to throw away the social barriers like, her high rank and the authority of her guardians that stood as an insurmountable bar.

At such submission, the lover felt joy and pride. He knew how ardent and sincere Porphyria’s love for him was. In such state of ecstasy a plan of action peeped into his head. The very moment proved itself eternity. Porphyria’s complete submission in one hand, and on the other, her charming disposition and visional innocence, led the cover stamp them on time. Once again Porphyria’s love for him was thwarted by the social barriers. He wanted to make it free. So, the lover decided and executed his plan by starling her to death with a string of her hair. It seemed that Porphyria felt no pain; rather she looked as quiet a bee in bud. The lover opened her eye-lids and found her eyes laughing without a stain. The lover, then, untightened the tresses from her neck and even then, her cheeks blushed bright in the lover’s kiss. He lifted her head, she was dead. In dead Porphyria, the lover read a sense of smile that indicated the fulfillment of the ladylove’s last hope, which was – a death in the lover’s lap and a union of two souls.

The lover sat the whole night keeping Porphyria’s dead body in his lap. He wanted God’s approval for the great deed that he accomplish, God’s silence showed his approval.

How does Mrs. Dubose show true courage as Atticus said? What examples in part 1 show the theme of avoiding cruelty toward others?

Mrs. Dubose knew that she was dying, but chose to fight to die free of her addiction to morphine. Although Mrs. Dubose could have made the decision to die a relatively peaceful death free of pain, she chose to die free of the control of addiction. She showed true courage, which is, according to Atticus, "when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what"; Atticus goes on to tell Jem that "you rarely win, but sometimes you do." Mrs. Dubose knew that she would not live much beyond her battle, and that she would likely die a less comfortable death than was possible, but she was true to her convictions and died with peace of mind.

What is the tone, mood, rhythm, and the conflict of "O Captain! My Captain!"?

First of all, this poem is an elegy. Disillusioned with President Pierce, Whitman felt that he had found an ideal in Abraham Lincoln.  When Lincoln was shot after the North's success in the Civil War, Whitman, like the "son" in the poem, feels abandoned by his "father," President Lincoln.  Having rejoiced that "the fearful trip" of the war is over, Whitman moves the tone of his poem in three stanzas from the exultation of triumph to despair as the country is now without a leader.  The speaker himself feels a personal loss:  "But I with mournful tread,/Walk the deck my Captain lie,/Fallen cold and dead."

This poem's extended metaphor is that of a ship and its captain. "Captain" is the President, the "ship" is the "Ship of State," or America, "the swaying masses," are the citizenry.  Initially, the crew of the ship express a tone of exultation, with longer phrases than in the latter part of the poem, as the victory is won, but the tone/mood changes as the crew member discovers the Captain is dead.  He speaks in choked sentences of exclamation:  "O heart! heart! heart!--the rhythm here is the rhythm of a fast-beating heart.  Then, the tone changes to that of disbelief:  "Rise up--for you the flag is flung, four you the bugle trilss..."  Lovingly, the speaker addresses the captain as "father," implying the caring leadership of Lincoln.  Finally, the mood changes despairingly inward:  But I, with mournful tread,/Walk the deck my Captain lies,/Fallen cold and dead."  That "Fallen cold and dead" is repeated several times before this last line indicates the shock and disbelief (inward conflict) of the speaker as well as his sense of personal loss.  Left alone, he has to assume control of the helm now.  The individual must assert himself and not just be part of the "swaying masses." 

This lyrical poem is balanced with the religious number of three stanzas.  With a conventional meter (iambic) and rhyme and parallelism, which is unlike Whitman, its appeal is also conventional as the poet intended.

What is Geoffrey Chaucer's influence on English and English literature?

This is a huge question - and people have written whole books in order to answer it. I can provide you with the main points though:

• Chaucer considerably expanded the word-stock of English, being one of the first poets in the language to utilise its tremendous variety, bringing in words from a variety of languages which were converging with English during the Middle Ages. Chaucer's "first instances" of words include words from Greek, Latin, Arabic, German and French - and the following regularly-used words: acceptable, altercation, annoyance, arbitration, army, arrogant, arsenic, arc, and aspect.
  
  
• Chaucer made several metrical innovations to the way poetry and verse were written in English.
  • He was one of the first poets to consistently break out of the medieval alliterative tradition and write in accentual-syllabic metre (lines constructed around both the number of syllables and where the accents on those lines fall).
    
  • Chaucer was one of the first to use the five-stress line, which led the way to the iambic pentameter of Shakespeare adn Marlowe. "The Legend of Good Women" is one of the first times five-stress lines appear in rhyming couplets - a form which then became a norm in English poetry.
    
• You can also see the influence on Chaucer on a whole load of writers. To give one example, Shakespeare's "Troilus and Cressida" owes much to Chaucer's "Troilus and Criseyde".

Why was the grandma smiling at the end of "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"?

At first, the grandmother is trying to sweet talk the criminals who are murdering her family.  She tries to convince them that they don't need to kill her, she wants to give them all her money, she believes that they are good people with good blood, she is trying to be charming as she attempts to save her life.

But, unfortunately, all the talking that she does has no affect on these hardened criminals.  She is destined to die, and as she contemplates her fate she reaches out for God, forgiveness and eternity.

In the final moments of her life, Grandmother receives the gift of forgiveness and is graced with the hope of eternal life.   

What is the meaning of the 23rd stanza of "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard"?

The four lines of the twenty-third stanza of "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" are

"On some fond breast the parting soul relies,

Some pious drops the closing eye requires;

Ev'n from the tomb the voice of Nature cries,

Ev'n in our Ashes live their wonted Fires".

These lines speak of the universal need on the part of the dead to be mourned and remembered.  The dying rely on the living to keep their memory alive; the "closing eye" of the person at the point of death has a fundamental need for the "pious drops", or tears, of those left behind who mourn their passing.  The longing of the dead to be remembered reaches from beyond the grave, "ev'n from the tomb".  Some translators have interpreted the last line of the stanza to mean that the memory of the dead, along with their yearnings, actually live on in those of us who remain in tangible form on earth.

What did the Romans use the trebuchet for?

The trebuchet is a catapult device used to throw an object. The classic trebuchet was not perfected in Western civilization until the Middle Ages. That would mean that it was not available for the Roman legions to use. However, the Romans did develop the Onager catapult which was a predecessor to the trebuchet. The onager was named for the Persian wild donkey because it had such a "kick" when fired. It consisted of a throwing arm powered by a "bundle of twisted cord" and was used to fire projectiles or smaller bundles of "grapeshot" at an enemy army or encampment. During the Middle Ages the trebuchet was a larger version of the catapult and was used to throw objects at fortified castle walls or fire weapons over the walls. In some cases, even dead, diseased bodies were catapulted over the walls in an early form of biological warfare.

Comment on the theme of the battle of the sexes in the short story "Rip Van Winkle."

Washington Irving seems to delight in presenting models of marital disharmony. Note how he does this in "The Devil and Tom Walker" as well as in this classic short story. However, it is important to recognise the note of irony that the narrator employs when describing the marital situation of the Van Winkles. It is possible to read between the lines and see their marriage as something rather different to the way it is presented.

Initially, it appears that the narrator is trying to present Rip Van Winkle in a good light and his wife as a terrible "shrew," "termagant" and a wife who makes her husband more malleable through "the fiery furnace of domestic tribulation." He is described as a "simple, good-natured fellow" and an "obedient, hen-pecked husband." He is clearly very popular in the village, especially with women and children, who are keen to support him and blame Dame Van Winkle for being a "shrew."

However, as we read on, we can see that the picture is not as simple as it has been presented. Rip Van Winkle helps anyone except his own family. His own farmland has been neglected and has had to be sold off bit by bit leaving only the most unprofitable part left. His own children were "ragged and wild." So, we can see that Rip Van Winkle was hardly obedient to his wife's demands, and we can understand her intense frustration and his inability to do anything to help his family. Interestingly, when he revisits his house after his twenty year doze, he admits that she was very good at managing household affairs, which perhaps would have made her frustration all the more acute.

The irony concerning this theme is even stronger when we consider Rip Van Winkle's joy at discovering that his wife has died. Rip experiences a "drop of comfort" in the midst of his bewilderment at what has happened to him when he realises that he will be free from the "yoke of matrimony." We are left to wonder how overjoyed Dame Van Winkle was when she realised she was left in a similar state.

In "The Outsiders" who borrows Two-Bit's switchblade in chapter 7-8?

In "The Outsiders," Chapter 8, (page 133 in my edition) Two-Bit and Ponyboy go to visit Johnny and Dally in the hospital.  When Johnny passes out they go to Dally's room.  He asks about Johnny and when Two-Bit tells him how bad Johnny is, Dally asks,

"Two-Bit, you still got that fancy black-handled switch?" 

"Yea."

"Give it here."

"Two-Bit reached into his back pocket for his prize possession.  It was a jet-handled switchblade, ten inches long, that would flash open at a mere breath...Two-Bit handed it over to Dally without a moment's hesitation.

"We gotta win that fight tonight," Dally said,  His voice was hard. "We gotta get even with the Socs.  For Johnny."

Later Dally tells Ponyboy that he got out of the hospital because the nurse let him leave.  He implied that he had threatened her with the "switch."

In Macbeth, how does Macbeth show that he cannot enjoy his kingship and becomes a tyrant?and how does his relationship with Lady Macbeth change...

Once Macbeth becomes king, instead of enjoying his new status, he begins to fret about what the witches have prophesied for Banquo. Macbeth asks himself if he has killed Duncan so that Banquo's descendants can become king and states, "There is none but he whose being I do fear." As a result he decides to have his friend Banquo and Banquo's son murdered, but for this murder Macbeth does not consult Lady Macbeth. From this point on in the play, they are no longer "partners in greatness."

Macbeth will not be satisfied with the death of Banquo because after he visits the witches again, his fears about Macduff are confirmed--although the Weird Sisters assure him that "none of woman born can harm Macbeth." To lure Macduff back from England, Macbeth orders that everyone in Macduff's family and in fact everyone in the whole castle be slaughtered. These murders are even worse than killing Banquo and Duncan because innocent women and children die. Macbeth has become a tyrannical monster who is acting entirely alone without any influence from Lady Macbeth.

What is HRM and its benefits?

I think the acronym you are talking about stands for Human Resource Management. The second part of your question is a little too broad though. If by benefits you mean the health and insurance benefits you get if you are the Human Resource Manager of a cooperation, then it is all dependant on the individual company. If by benefits you mean the positive aspects of the job then it is many things all hinging on your personal likes and dislikes. You get to work with people and help them maximize what they get monetary-wise when they are injured, retired or sick. You get to work with the company to try to ensure that it stays up to date in policy. There are many jobs that a Human Resource Manager does. Your best option is talk to a few people in that field, talk to your counselor at school and talk to a career counselor at the college/university you plan on attending.

What is the summary for Chapter 10 of The Kite Runner?

By March of 1981, the political situation in Afghanistan deteriorates to a point where "you (can't) trust anyone in Kabul anymore...people (tell) on each other", and dead bodies regularly turn up at the side of the road.  Baba makes arrangements for himself and Amir to flee to Pakistan.

As they are being smuggled with a small group of people to Jalalabad, the truck in which Baba and Amir are riding is stopped by Russian soldiers.  One soldier lewdly demands that he be allowed "a half-hour" with the wife of one of the refugees as "his price for letting (them) pass".  Baba heroically stands up to the soldier, risking death to save the woman's honor.  Amir, whose propensity for motion-sickness has already caused his father to be ashamed, is further reminded of his own inadequacies in the face of Baba's dramatic display of fearlessness.

The refugees are forced to hide in a dank basement in Jalalabad for over a week with another group, among which Amir recognizes Kamal, one of the boys who was present at the rape of Hassan.  Ironically, Kamal himself has been victimized by group of hooligans in lawless Kabul, and is now catatonic.  The refugees must make the last leg of their journey in the belly of a fuel tanker.  By the time they arrive in Pakistan, Kamal has succumbed to the fumes, and his distraught father grabs a gun and shoots himself (Chapter 10).

In Death of a Salesman, why is Willy so disturbed that "nothing's planted" and "I don't have a thing in the ground?"

The things that Willie used to plant gave him something concrete that he grew from seed.  I don't think it's too big a stretch to suspect that when Willie says this, he is lamenting the fact that his own "seed" has not yielded the fruit that he had hoped for.  Neither Biff nor Happy measures up to what he had hoped for them and, no matter whose "fault" this is, it's the reality of what he perceives.

I think this could also be interpreted as Willie's statement about what he could/should have done with his life.  One of the things that Willie was good at was working with his hands.  It was remarked that there was more of him in the stoop he built than in all the sales he made.  Yet, at the end of his life, he has no place to plant seeds; the world has changed; his house is surrounded by "modern" buildings that keep out the sun, the source of his garden's growth.  And like this, the world of sales has changed.  Willie is an anachronism, no more likely to grown than the seeds he futilely plants.

Name the second set of prophecies given to Macbeth?

In Act IV, Scene One, Macbeth once again visits the witches. He is concerned because he wants his sons to succeed him, not Banquo's The witches deliver three new prophecies.

The first witch tells Macbeth to beware of Macduff:

Beware the Thane of Fife.[Macduff]

Dismiss me.
Enough. (IV,i,80).

The second promises that no man "given birth to by a woman" shall harm Macbeth. This seems like Macbeth has nothing really to fear because, he reasons, all men are born from women.

The third witch presents an ghostly image of a child wearing a crown who is holding on to a tree, The ghost promises:

Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great
Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him.

( IV,i,103-105)

Macbeth replies that could never happen because no one can cause a forest to move.

However, Macbeth is still concerned about Banquo and
asks, "shall Banquo's issue ever/Reign in this kingdom?" In other words, will any of Banquo's children ever be king of Scotland? So the witches show Macbeth a line of kings. The last king holds a mirror which, in Shakespeare's day, probably reflected the image of James I, who traced his ancestry through Banquo. Today, the image usually reflects the face of Banquo.

The witches then disappear as Lennox enters the room to tell Macbeth that Macduff has fled to England and Macbeth announces plans to kill Macduff's family.

Can someone relate to me what the theme of menace and the theme of identity in The Caretaker is all about?

It was Irving Wardle who first called Pinter's early plays "Comedy of Menace." The Caretaker is one of them. Menace in Pinter is like a hidden evil, which is not specifically located in anything, any character or so on. It pervades the human condition, underlying all situations and the basic ambiance. It operates strongly through language as in the Interrogation scenes in The Birthday Party. Menace as a theme is closely associated with the Absurdist vision of a world sans signification and in the late political plays, Pinter shows us the polemics of menace. Menace also has a lot to do with relativity--a marginal figure or element becoming central all of a sudden in a subversive act as in A Slight Ache. Menace is also tied up with the fragmentation as well as the general shiftiness of the ego or the identity. The menaced figure is invariably stripped of his identity.

In The Caretaker, Davies is the menaced protagonist exemplifying the tragic human condition. He does not have the papers that prove his identity, with him. It is there in a place called Sidcup with a man he knew during the War. He wants to return to the place and revive his papers but the "weather" as he says, does not allow. He waits for "the weather to break." One may also assume that the reason why Mick and Aston all of a sudden change their mind and decide not to have Davies as a caretaker, has also to do with his unverified identity and multiple names. Davies's last speech suggests this. "The Caretaker" is like a stable name that Davies wants to get as an anchor-point to his wavering trampish identity but is denied it, in a menacing way at the end. As Pinter seems to imply, in the final run, there is no one to care-take human existence.

How does the writer create tension in "The Tell-Tale Heart"?

Poe creates tension in several ways.  First, his use of the first person narrator helps build suspense.  For example, right away our narrator address the reader, "True! -- nervous -- very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?" Here the reader is drawn right in to the story and its tension.  The reader must decide is the man really mad?  Is he reliable?  What can be believe and what might be lies?  All of these put the reader on edge.

Next, Poe's syntax, or word choice, is another way he creates tension.  It is written as if the narrator is confessing to us.  His uses of repetition and asides again draws the reader in and helps build suspense.

Poe also uses plot structure to create tension.  Look at the scene where our narrator spies on the old man at night.  Our narrator slowly opens the door a crack and each night after a little farther until the light falls on the man's face.  Then when he finally is about to enter, after the eighth night, the man wakes up and startles our narrator.  What tension!

Also, look at the methodical nature with which the narrator goes about covering up his crime.  That builds tension. 

Finally, look at the narrator's arrogance.  How he seats himself right over the old man's body buried in his floor boards.  The reader cannot help but wonder will he get away with it?  Will he crack?  Is he insane?  What will happen?

Describe a summary of the poem "Joy and Pleasure" by William Henry Davies.

The poem "Joy and Pleasure" compares the difference between pleasure and joy, and can be summed up with the conclusion that joy is the better of the two, because it is more lasting, pure, exuberant, sincere, and moving.  William Henry Davies, in each stanza, compares pleasure and joy to different things that demonstrate the difference between the two.  For example, pleasure is a "moth", a roaming "cuckoo" bird seeking attention, a "greedy wasp", and is "cold and dumb" when alone.  However, joy is a "sweet...song", a "butterfly" embracing the daylight, a "bee" nurturing the flowers, a "Lark" with strong connections, and sings "with little care if others hear."  Basically, joy is something that comes from your soul, that you enjoy simply for the happiness that it brings you-a happiness that is independent of other people.  Pleasure depends on other people being involved, giving attention, and as soon as those people leave is dead and cold.

I hope that helps!  Good luck!

Why did Jesse say that Winnie was the only person in the world to know Tucks' story in "Tuck Everlasting"?

Although Miles warns that "there might be a whole lot of others, for all we know, wandering around just like us" (Chapter 8), the Tucks have been very careful not to tell anyone about the magic waters, because they feel that to do so would be dangerous.  They know that

"If people knowed about the spring...they'd trample each other, trying to get some of that water...that'd be bad enough, but afterwards - can you imagine?  All the little ones little forever, all the old ones old forever...the wheel would keep on going round...but the people wouldn've turned into nothing but rocks by the side of the road...'cause they wouldn't know till after, and then it'd be too late" (Chapter 12).

The Tucks know that the idea of living forever sounds really good at first.  It did to them, until they realized what it really meant.  Now, deprived of the possibilily of growing, they are stuck in a sort of limbo; cut off from life with all its passages, their existence is aimless and isolated.  The magic spring is on Winnie's family's land, and she has stumbled upon it by accident.  It is to prevent her from drinking from it that the Tucks have had to tell her its secret.

What is one conflict in "Barn Burning"?

The most notable conflict in Faulkner's "Barn Burning" is internal: Sarty knows that Ab, his father, burns barns when he is angry or dissatisfied with their owners, but the young boy will not testify against his parent. This conflict continues to build inside Sarty until the end of the story. When Ab decides to burn Major DeSpain's barn, Sarty cannot continue to go along with his father's actions. Instead, he alerts DeSpain to the presence of an intruder in the barn, and Sarty then walks away from his family's home.

More profound, though, is the conflict between the Old South, as exemplified by such characters as DeSpain, and the New South, as presented in the Snopes clan. Faulkner depicts the clash in the two cultures' value systems through the conflicts between the Snopes and the traditional Southern gentry. As Sarty abandons his family's home, he turns his back on the baser value system of the New South. While he does not immediately turn toward the more genteel society of the Old South, his departure without a backward glance indicates his renunciation of the vulgarity and violence attributed to the "New Southerner."

Compare the point of view of "The Pit an the Pendulum" and "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar ALLAN POE."The Pit and the Pendulum" and...

Both are written from the first person limited point of view. However, the narrator in "The Fall of th House of Usher" has contact with other characters whereas the one in "The Pit and the Pendulum" does not. Therefore, the character who is an invited guest in a friend's home is able to glean more information about his surroundings and circumstances than the prisoner in held in isolation.

Both stories, however, have brusque surprise endings, easily accomodated for by the limited point of view of the narrator. In this way the surprise of the narrator is also that of the reader, who "lives" his experiences (in a chronological way) along with him.

In "Maniac Magee," what is the definition of a "stopball"?Grayson said this

We already know that Maniac has a good background in baseball and the skill to stun both teammates and observers (See Chapter 7 and his bout with McNab).   When Maniac meets Grayson, the retired minor league player, he wants to hear more about his friends experiences playing the game.

In Chapter 26, Grayson tells Maniac that he has

 only one (pitch) left in his repertoire from the old days.  He called it the "stopball" and it drove Maniac crazy.'

      The old man claimed he discovered the stopball one day down in the Texas League and that he was long gone from baseball when he perfected it.  Unlike most pitches, the stopball involved no element of surprise.  On the contrary, the old man would always announce it.

     "Okay... here she comes.  Now keep your eye on her, 'cause she's gonna float on up here, and just about the time she's over the plate, she's gonna stop.  No, nobody else ever hit is so don't you go gettin' upset if you don't neither."

The "stopball" is a device that helps bind the friends to each other.  It is a metaphor for the deliberate approach both take to life, and how each can surprise people and make them see with new eyes. 

The most important thing, however, is about the stopball is that when Maniac finally manages to hit it, Grayson gives in and allows the boy to teach him to read. 

What is the diction of the short story "Scarlet Ibis"?

Diction means "word choice", so your question is rather unclear. Do you mean the significance? the style? examples of?

If you mean significance, then it is a matter of the influence the author's diction, or word choice, has on the mood of the story.  The diction is very much based on the portrayal of death imagery which creates a somber, dark, dreary mood that sets the stage for the death that takes place in the story.  His use of red images also lends to the foreshadowing in the text (specifically the connections established between the descriptions of the ibis itself).

If you mean style, then again you need to look at the strong and unpleasant word choices he makes in his descriptions, especially at the beginning when he repeatedly uses words that allude to death and cemeteries in his description of the setting.

To what extent does Swift blame Ireland's plight on England, and to what extent does he blame Ireland's plight on the Irish?

Both parties are blamed for Ireland's problems, but the focus is more on the failure of the Irish to take care of their own country than it is on England's merciless treatment of the Irish. Swift refers to the English as devouring the Irish with their excessive trade taxes and political policies. Swift also condemns the wealthy Irish landowners for overtaxing their tenants, and not providing the services that a landlord should offer. Part of the problem is that the wealthy landowners have moved to England, and are ignoring the poor quality of housing that they are charging excessively for. The reason that it seems that Ireland is being held more responsible than England is found at the end of the satire, when Swift gives he real plan for fixing Ireland. He tells the Irish to stop importing more than it exports, and to start charging more for those exports. He also suggests that absentee landlords should have to pay a higher property tax, bringing them back to Ireland. Basically, if Ireland isn't going to look out for and protect its own people, why should they expect other nations to.

In "Araby," what does the narrator's neighborhood symbolize?

The narrator lives on North Richmond Street, a drab Dublin street with a vacant two-story house standing somewhat isolated at its dead end. The other houses, in one of which the narrator lives, "gazed at one another with brown imperturbable faces." The street is almost always quiet and lifeless. The neighborhood consists of "dark muddy lanes," and "dark dripping gardens where odors arose from the ashpits." Also present are "dark odorous stables." At night, the narrator's street is a place of dim light and shadows.

This neighborhood symbolizes the poverty and dreariness of the narrator's life. He lives literally and figuratively on a dead-end street. The description also symbolizes the feelings of the narrator and others in the story. All try to escape the shabbiness and sense of hopelessness that pervades life on North Richmond. The narrator loses himself in romantic dreams of Araby. His uncle drinks. Mangan's sister goes on religious retreats. Life on North Richmond is not easily endured by those who lives there.

Show the evolution of Nick Carraway within The Great Gatsby.

Nick rides the road of confusion to clarity in The Great Gatsby, rooting the reader in reality and morality.  Quite simply, Nick is a realistic man from the Midwest  transplanted into the world of the shallow rich of New England.  Nick’s relationship with Jordan is a microcosm that parallels his journey within the novel itself. 

Nick’s relationship with Jordan Baker is a great example of his journey from confusion to clarity.  When Nick meets Jordan, one of his first observations is a question, “I looked at Miss Baker, wondering what it was she ‘got done’” (11).  This confusion seems to spark his infatuation with her, and they begin a relationship.  Through a number of small experiences proving Jordan’s dishonesty and shallowness, Nick learns that he wants nothing to do with her.  One of their first drives together is a good example.  “She was incurably dishonest” (59) Nick notes as he observes Jordan’s reckless driving.  “’They’ll keep out of my way,’ she insisted.  ‘It takes two to make an accident’” (59).  An honest person and a dishonest person just don’t make a good match, . . . so “angry, and half in love with her, . . . I turned away” (179).  Therefore, finally understanding Jordan’s wretched existence, Nick ends the relationship.

This journey from confusion to clarity is paralleled exactly in regards to the novel itself.  Nick begins his New England journey in confusion about the people around him.  In reference to Tom and Daisy, Nick says, “Why they came East I don’t know” (5).  This statement alone shows that Nick doesn’t understand even his own relations here, and further can be taken as not understanding that East Egg was full of “old” money while West Egg was full of “new” money.  We journey through the world of shallow wealth with Nick as he learns about Gatsby’s obsession with Daisy, about the people in West Egg, about the people in East Egg, and about the people from “The Valley of the Ashes.”  Just like with Jordan, a number of experiences prove people’s dishonesty and shallowness; therefore, he learns he wants nothing to do with them.  Gatsby wants to couple with Daisy, but continually uses Nick to do so. Tom tells Wilson who owned the yellow car, hoping to implicate Gatsby.  Daisy falls in love with Gatsby, but doesn’t even attend his funeral.  The one person Nick feels any camaraderie with at all is Gatsby who Nick says is “worth the whole damn bunch put together” (154).  Gatsby, of course, dies near the end of the book.  An honest person in a dishonest society doesn’t make a good match.  Therefore, finally understanding the wretched existence of the people both in East Egg and West Egg, Nick moves back to the Midwest. 

The comparison between Nick’s journey with Jordan and Nick’s journey with the novel as a whole is incredibly interesting.  There is no doubt that Nick learned a lot from his experiences in New England, certainly enough to realize that he didn’t want to spend his life there.

In Act 1 of "The Crucible," what happens to Betty when she hears the Lord's name?

In Act I of The Crucible, Reverend Parris assembles the congregation for prayer.  At the same time that little Betty is upstairs in bed sick from unknown causes.  When the congregation begins to pray they hear screams from above.  They believe that she is screaming because she cannot stand to hear prayer.

Betty screams when she hears the Lord's prayer, the Lord's name. 

"Meanwhile, as a psalm is sung in the room downstairs, Betty claps her hands over her ears and begins whining loudly. Parris and several others come rushing upstairs to see what has happened. Betty’s behavior is taken as a sign of witchcraft, which has made it impossible for the girl to hear the Lord’s name." 

In Twilight, can Rosalie do anything special, like run really fast or read people's minds?Edward is super fast and can read minds. Emmet is super...

I don't want to give away in spoilers, but when a person becomes a vampire in the Twilight series, all aspects of their human selves are heightened and improved. For example, Jasper can now, as a vampire, control people's emotions because as a human he was very charismatic. In Rosalie's case, she was by far one of the most beautiful human women, and now as a vampire, she is even more exquisite.  She is certainly stronger and faster, but she does not have the same sort of super power as Edward, Emmett, Alice, and Jasper. Her super power is her super beauty.

In "Legend of Sleepy Hollow", what four traces of the chase do the searchers find the next day?

The morning after the chase, Ichabod's old horse is found "without his saddle, and with the bridle  under his feet, soberly cropping the grass at his master's gate".  When Ichabod himself does not appear at breakfast or dinner, a search party is sent out on foot to discover what might have happened to him, and "after diligent investigation they (come) upon his traces".  First of all, the group finds, in one part of the road, "the saddle trampled in the dirt".  Then, "the tracks of horses' hoofs deeply dented in the road, and evidently at furious speed, (are) traced to the bridge".  Beyond the bridge "on the bank of a broad part of the brook" are found the last two traces - "the hat of the unfortunate Ichabod, and close beside it a shattered pumpkin".

How is syntax used in Beloved?

Toni Morrison uses non-standard English syntax in Beloved. "Syntax" refers to the order of words and phrases used to make sentences. Many of the characters use non-standard or disordered syntax, and much of the narration in the novel is told with non-standard syntax. For example, in Chapter One, the house in which Sethe and her daughter live is described in the following way:

"It had been a long time since anybody (good-willed whitewoman, preacher, speaker or newspaperman) sat at their table, their sympathetic voices called liar by the revulsion in their eyes. For twelve years, long before Grandma Baby died, there had been no visitors of any sort and certainly no friends. No coloredpeople. Certainly no hazelnut man with too long hair and no notebook, no charcoal, no oranges, no questions" (page 7; page numbers may vary according to the edition).

In this passage, Sethe's house is described as empty in a very interesting, fractured way. The syntax in the book is disordered in part to replicate dialogue and the way people in the book, brought up mostly as slaves, would speak. Some sentences are not full sentences but fragments to show the way people might have told this story orally rather than in writing. In addition, the confused syntax expresses the confusion and disorderly nature of the characters' world. The African-American characters in the book are all affected by slavery, a horror that created lives that aren't orderly or neat. The characters' language and syntax reflect their life experiences in a cruel and disorderly world.

Define the nature of the conflict between the narrator Sylvia and Miss Moore in "The Lesson."

In Toni Cade Bambara's short story "The Lesson," the nature of the conflict between the narrator Sylvia and Miss Moore lies in their understanding of the role that socioeconomic class plays in their lives.  Many children in the neighborhood and their families do not accept Miss Moore as "one of them."  Miss Moore is obviously educated and the neighbors view her as a threat.  Sylvia feels this way also, and as a result she becomes defensive whenever Miss Moore is around.  Miss Moore on the other hand wants to teach the children about their situation so that they can strive for something better.  During the trip to F. A. O. Schwartz, Miss Moore attempts to teach the children about the realities of socioeconomic class and how it affects their lives.  Sylvia is angry when her friend Sugar answers Miss Moore's questions and appears to have learned the lesson for the day.  Sylvia, however, cannot quite comprehend the lesson and wants to think about it more later.  So, the conflict between Sylvia and Miss Moore lies in the ignorance that surrounds the reality of the divisive nature of socioeconomic class.

What are the connotation, personification, simile, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, couplet, rhyme, and refrain in the poem Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe?

When scanning poems for rhyme and other literary or poetic devices, be sure to have a clear understanding in your head of what each device means.  For example, "connotation" refers to the body of ideas and images that are suggested by the use of a word.  In "Annabel Lee," Poe uses the phrase "winged seraphs" to describe the angels who "coveted" the love between the speaker and his lover.  Angels connote innocence and purity and "coveted" suggests the sin of jealousy.  So, the connotations in this line of "Annabel Lee" make the reader feel that the love between the speaker and his lover was ever pure and in great danger.

Use a guide for literary terms to find the definitions of terms that you need to know and then use strategies for scanning to find examples in Poe's (and other) poems.

In "To Kill a Mockingbird", where did Atticus go next Sunday? Why does Jem want to follow him? To Kill a Mocanbird" Chapter 15

In chapter 15, Atticus leaves the house after supper. He takes an extension cord and a light with him. Because he takes his car, Jem becomes worried about him. Jem decides to follow Atticus because he knows that since the group of men came to the house the night before, he feels Atticus may be in danger. Jem feels that as long as he is able to see Atticus, he won't worry as much about him. He finds Atticus sitting guard in front of the jailhouse. Because Tom Robinson has been brought back to Maycomb, Atticus knows that a lynch mob may be coming, and he wants to stop them from taking the law into their own hands.

What are some similes about Scout, Jem, Dill, Mr. Raymond in connection to Tom Robinsons trial? The similes can be made upPlease help!Ex: Boo...

During the trial Mr. Raymond is like a second curtain call for the drama of town gossip.

On the stand Tom Robinson demonstrates that he is caring , but when prejudice corners him like a fox and he is convicted, Tom panics, flees, and is shot down.

After the trial, Jem shivers like a frozen fowl in the wake of hatred's retort, retreating into himself, fearful for his father.

What has been said and done at Tom Robinson's trial rests in the heart of Scout, who like the shadow on a long road,  cannot retreat to where she once was.

Like the warmth of a fire in spite of the cold winds of disagreement, the courage of Atticus warms his children and gives light to their  social consciousness. 

In what year did the United States finally leave the gold standard? Why did it happen and what replaced it?

The United States finally took gold out of complete circulation in 1934 with The Gold Reserve Act being enacted. It happened mainly because of The Great Depression in the 1930's and Roosevelt changed the valuation of gold to $35.00 per ounce. From there we went to paper money(dollars) that were promised to be good for "one-dollars worth of gold". We still see silver certificates today (the strange green colored dollars that say "silver certificate") and the government does have to still honor those since some escaped being pulled. After all certificates issuing gold were pulled because the price of gold would fluctuate and people would abuse the system, the government implemented the dollars you see today which have the face-value printed and supposedly have the gold to back them up.

How does Amir change throughout the book?

As a young boy Amir witnesses a crime of rape and assult againts Hassan.  He runs away in terror and spends the rest of his life feeling guilty because he does nothing to help Hassan during or after the incident.

"As a boy, Amir is bookish, thoughtful, and nonathletic. An introverted thinker, he prefers to write stories in his notebook rather than play soccer."

As a man Amir struggles with the inner conflict of his decisions of childhood.  He eventually has the opportunity to return to his home in Afghanistan and redeem himself.  Although it is too late to help repair his relationship with Hassan, he can help Hassan's son, Sohrab.  Amir grows to understand himself; he grows into a man of bravery and insightfullness.

What is the summary for Chapter 8 of East of Eden?

Chapter 8 introduces Cathy Ames, the female character that Steinbeck deems a natural born “monster.”  It is his contention that some people in the world are born with malformed minds in just the same way that others suffer outwardly visible disabilities. 

The problem with others perception of Cathy is that they cannot see her inner self.  Making matters more difficult is the fact that Cathy Ames is beautiful.  People are blinded to her real nature by her appearance.  “Cathy was a liar,” Steinbeck writes, “…her lies were never innocent…and they were used for profit.” 

Cathy learns from a very young age that her sexuality is the best tool she has for getting  men to do her bidding.  As Cathy becomes a teenager, her sense of power increases.  She seduces a high school teacher and then rejects him.  The man becomes so distraught that he commits suicide. 

On her sixteenth birthday, Cathy decides she is not going to school anymore.  Her parents are incensed.  After a lecture, she agrees to return but instead runs away from home.  Her father brings her back and whips her for her disobedience.

Shortly after, a fire breaks out in the Ames home.  The house is destroyed.  Cathy’s parents die.  The firefighters search for her body but do not find it, for she has escaped.  It is clear to the reader (but not to the characters) that it is she who has set the house ablaze and murdered her parents.

What are 3 roles of the executive branch?

By the Constitution, the Executive Department is established to grant powers and impose duties upon the Office of the President.

The powers granted to the Office of the President includes the title of Commander in Chief, thereby making the president the civilian and supreme leader of the armed forces.  The president is given the power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, fill Senate vacancies, create Executive Departments (cabinet positions), conclude treaties, and appoint ambassadors and Supreme Court Judges and other "public ministers and councils."

And that's all the power the Office of the President is supposed to have.

For duties, the president is required to deliver an annual message to Congress (State of the Union Address), receive, not receive, or deport ambassadors of foreign countries, commission officers in the armed forces, and finally, and most importantly, to execute the law. 

What relationship has existed between the narrator and Roderick Usher in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher"?

Quite simply, the narrator and Roderick Usher were boyhood friends.  This is stated outright in the second paragraph of Poe's short story.  "Its proprietor, Roderick Usher, had been one of my boon companions in boyhood; but many years had elapsed since our last meeting."  Poe continues to confirm this fact throughout the story by continuing to call Usher "the companion of my early boyhood."  We also learn in the same paragraph that Usher feels that the narrator is still "his best and indeed his only personal friend" which in itself is strange because "although, as boys, we had been even intimate associates, yet I really knew little of my friend."  The narrator reveals that it was "the apparent heart that went with [Usher's] request" that made the narrator fly to Usher's side.  Truly, it is a strange situation.

Offer examples from "The Crucible" of an act with a quote where Abigail is manipulating or being the leader.

Late in Act I when Abigail is trying to manipulate the other girls into agreeing with her that all they did was dance in the woods, she tells them "Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, abou the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you."  Here she is basically threatening to kill the other girls if they reveal anything about her desire to have Tituba cast a spell to kill Goody Proctor so that she may replace her as John's wife.

Another example is in Act III when Abigail's character has been called into question by Judge Danforth, as a result of the claims of Mary Warren and John Proctor, Abigail even dares to threaten the judge, hoping to manipulate him into believing her rather than Mary and John.  She asks him "Let you beware, Mr. Danforth.  Think ou be to be so might that the power of Hell may not turn your wits?  Beware of it!"  She seems to be warning him that she may just accuse him of witch craft.

In "Night", why might have the Jews of Sighet refused to believe the stories of the horrors committed by the Nazis, even when told by one who...

Some things are too terrible to consider.  If the Jews of Sighet were to believe what they are told, they then have to consider both that the same might happen to them, and that they perhaps have some obligation to take action. It is hard to want to disrupt your life; sometimes it is easier to pretend ignorance, or hope that what you are told is not true, than to face a reality that will change everything, for everyone you care about.

Explain what solids such as glass , wax and clay have in common.

They are "amorphous" solids.  What this means is that they do not actually take on any particular form but they can be shaped into various and useful forms by humans, very convenient!

Some people used to claim that glass was a liquid due to the appearance of old glass panes appearing thicker at the bottom but this was actually a matter of the way they were manufactured, not due to flow over an extended period of time.

So all of them exhibit plasticity though they do so in different conditions having to do with temperature or, as in the case of clay, also having to do with the level of water present in it.

What are two examples that Proctor, Putnam, and Corey give for why Parris is an ineffective minister in "Crucible"?.

John Proctor, Thomas Putnam, and Giles Corey point out two main reasons why Parris is an ineffective minister.  The first reason is because of the content of his preaching.  The men feel that Parris focuses too much on evil and the negative in his Sabbath messages;  Rebecca Church notes that many people are afraid to bring their children to meeting because of this.  John Proctor sums the problem up well by stating directly,

"I have trouble enough without I come five mile to hear him preach only hellfire and bloody damnation.  Take it to heart, Mr. Parris.  There are many others who stay away from church these days because you hardly ever mention God any more".

The second major reason the men give for Reverend Parris's ineffectiveness as a minister is his overconcern with money and material things.  Parris complains about his salary, claiming that he is Harvard-educated and has given up a lucrative business in Barbados to serve in Massachusetts Colony; he is "not used to poverty", and has even asked for the deed to the house provided for him by the community.  Proctor again sums the situation up succinctly, saying,

"...to ask ownership is like you shall own the meeting house itself; the last meeting I were at you spoke so long on deeds and mortgages I thought it were an auction" (Act I, Scene 2). 

In "The Guest," Daru uses verbal irony when he exclaims, "Odd pupils!" Is verbal irony the same as sarcasm? Explain.

"Irony - a dryly humorous or lightly sarcastic figure of speech in which the literal meaning of a word or statement is the opposite of that intended. In literature, it is the technique of indicating an intention or attitude opposed to what is actually stated."

"Good," said Daru. "And where are you headed?"

Balducci withdrew his mustache from the tea. "Here, Son."

"Odd pupils! And you're spending the night?"

In this exchange Daru is saying that the Policeman and the prisoner are "odd pupils" because he is a teacher and they are in a schoolhouse not a prison.  He is indicating that it is odd that the police would be headed to the school instead of a police station, thus the verbal irony.

How are characters influenced by their environments?It is under the influence of Estella that Pip wants to be a gentleman. But what about other...

A prevalent theme of Charles Dickens in is exactly that to which you allude; namely, environment.  For, Dickens felt that society was a prison.  In "Great Expectations" the character who best illustrates this concept is Magwitch as it is his environment, the streets of London, that make him a criminal.  Magwitch as Provis tells Pip,

'When I was a ragged little creetur as much to be pitied as ever I see, I got the name of being hardened. 'This is a terrible hardened one," they says to prison visitors, picking out me.  "May be said to live in jails, this boy."  They always went on agen me about the Devil.  But what the devil was I to do? I must put something into my stomach, mustn't I?'

Magwitch goes on to relate how he met Compeyson and fell in with him, "swindling, forgin, stolen bank note passing, and suchlike." He is "a poor tool" in the hands of Compeyson until they are charged with felonies.  Compeyson tells him that they should have separate defenses.  Then, when the gentleman Compeyson appears in court, he is dressed well and speaks as an educated man while poor Magwitch in his worn clothes and street dialect stands opposite.  Compeyson's counselor says,

My lord and gentlemen, here you have afore you, side by side...one well brought up, one ill brought up.

Compeyson receives half the sentence that Magwitch does when he was the instigator of all their crimes.

While poverty creates a prison for Magwitch, wealth and position creates another for Miss Havisham.  Exploited in both love and her wealth, Miss Havisham is so disgraced within her socially-prominent environment that she imprisons herself as she loses her mind.

In "The Yellow Wallpaper," what is the relationship between the narrator and her husband?

The narrator is a doctor who although probably filled with good intentions, comes off seeming domineering.  He treats his wife almost  like a little child. Right off the bat she mentions that "John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage."He is laughing at her silly ideas about the vacant house they've taken; she tries to blow it off by saying that's just what marriage is like.  She is trying to obey and play the role of a "good wife"; already though, you sense a strain.  She mentions that he doesn't believe she's sick, and forbids her to work.  Personally, she disagrees, but supposes he is right, so she acquiesces.  The tension makes her "unreasonably angry with John sometimes" which causes friction, so she takes "pains to control myself -- before him, at least". She says that "He is very careful and loving, and hardly lets me stir without special direction" which indicates that he likes to feel in control of her, like he is taking care of her, but might go overboard and be a bit manipulative and controlling.

All of these things point to a forced relationship that is outwardly polite, but inwardly strained and unhappy.  In the end as the narrator slowly loses control of her mental state, we see that anger towards John come out as she locks him out of the room, refusing to let him in and help.  That inward strain finally takes its toll, and the results are disturbing and unfortunate.

How does Kira go about solving her problems in Lowry's Gathering Blue? (rising action)

Kira's first problem is one of survival.  As she is both handicapped (she limps) and orphaned, she is excluded from the community. One woman even tries to force her to give up the small shelter where she lives (her mother's"cott"), threatening to stone her to death. From one day to the next, however, Kira is convoked before the elders and allotted a room to live in within the main civic building (formerly a church or cathedral). This is because she is an expert weaver and her skills are needed to restore a sacramental robe worn yearly to commemorate the community's history and survival of "the Ruin."

Kira's immediate crisis is over, but little by little she learns that her value to the community is purely utilitarian, and that her own parents were "sacrificed," first her father, then mother.  Kira befriends a young boy living in the Fen and a boy living in the same building whose gift is woodcarving. Together, they discover the presence of a third person, a little girl, imprisoned and trained to sing the incantations of the yearly ritual because of her exceptional voice.

Kira also visits an old woman living in the Fen (forest) to learn how to make dyes from various plants.  She transmits to Kira the knowledge of an almost lost art, and she also tells her that the rumoured beasts of the forest are not real. Two days later the woman is found dead, apparently killed for having betrayed this secret.

In the meantime, Kira learns that her father, though left for dead, survived his injuries, being rescued by members of another community.  She also learns that her would-be mentor, Jamison, is the person who tried to murder her father and is the main person who manipulates their circumstances to his advantage.

Although the plot shifts in focus, Kira still must deal with both alienation and betrayal. She is also caught up in the conflict of supporting a cause in which she no longer believes. However, she gains strength and determination by simply identifying her adversaries and in making alliances with her few trusted friends.

The next crisis is deciding between two alternatives - escaping with her father to join his community far away or "staying put" to help the people of her village overcome the abuse of their leaders. The focus here is not so much on Kira's survival but rather a conflict of loyalties. The resolution of the story not revealed until the sequel 'The Messenger,' in which Matt, Kira's friend from the forest, has grown up and serves as a go-between for the two villages. His own particular gift and the choice he makes will determine the fate of the whole forest and the surrounding villages.

Two men entered my home while my husband and child were there. They were plumbers. By law can they do that? Please assist.-I live in a...

You don't say what state you're in, but typically, if you live in an apartment or condo that you are renting, or even a duplex, the landlord has the right to enter the premises to make repairs which may damage the property.  This is probably in the fine print of your contract.  You say you are buying the home, so until you do, the owner does have the right to enter.  However, I would specify that he/she should not do so unless someone is present.  Your husband was there, but not expecting them.  I would feel uncomfortable that perhaps they were entering when no one was home.  Check your lease/contract agreement and then make sure your landlord understands that no one should enter your home (which it is as long as you are paying rent and are up-to-date on your payments) without your knowledge and permission.

What does "silk cotton" symbolize in Things Fall Apart?

The silk cotton tree is a sacred tree to the Ibo people. Throughout the book, the events in the village often take place under this tree. The tree is a constant, a witness to the events in the village. The wrestling match takes place under this tree, and later, when the white men come, the “iron horse” (bicycle) was tied under this tree. The bicycle is a foreign object that is attached to this sacred tree, symbolic of a foreign force attaching itself to the Ibo culture. The silk cotton tree is also present at the end of the novel, when the village gathers to meet about what to do about the white men’s presence. Egonwanne, who Okonkwo believes is a coward, sits under the tree, and Okonkwo knows that he will try to convince the village not to fight. The tree is once again a witness as Okonkwo strikes down the white messenger, sealing his fate. 

Explain how the Plagues could have been natural events rather than supernatural events.the ten plagues

Over 100 years ago archaeologists unearthed a broken stone monument at Karnack, a village of east-central Egypt on the right bank of the Nile River on part of the site of ancient Thebes, erected by a Pharaoh named Ahmose I, from the eighteenth dynasty, who lived around 1550 BCE. The Ahmose stele, now in the basement of the Cairo Museum, and discovered by Henri Chevalier, may hold the key to the Exodus enigma. It tells of a furious storm, which is very unusual in the dry arid climate of Egypt. Hieroglyphic inscriptions on the stone mirror the Biblical tale. The Bible tells of a great storm at the time of the Exodus. The Ahmose stele also tells of an incessant tempest all over Egypt and that Egypt was enveloped in darkness when the God manifested his power. Jacobovici states that in Hebrew, the Egyptian name Ahmose would mean "Brother of Moses.” The Ahmose stele tells that the statues of the God’s of Egypt were toppled to the ground (probably from an earthquake storm).

In the 17th century BCE, (according to traditional chronology), the Hyksos who, like the Israelites, were Semites, invaded Egypt and ruled Lower and Middle Egypt for over 100 years, forming the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Dynasties of Egypt (c. 1648–1540 BC). (Wikepeidia). In the 1960’s the ancient Hyksos capital Avaris was discovered north of Cairo. The Hyksos were expelled in a mass exodus, known as the Hyksos expulsion, by Pharaoh Ahmose I about 1500 BCE.

Most scholars date the Hebrew Exodus to 1270 BCE during the rein of Ramses II, but he Bible gives evidence that the exodus occurred about 480 years before the rein of Solomon in the middle of the 15th century BC, or 1470 BCE, less than 100 years from the traditional date of the Hyksos expulsion. (Prof. John Bismon, Trinity College).

Jacobovici, like the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus before him, equates the Hyksos with the Israelites, and postulated a new date for the Exodus around 1500 BCE. Israelites arrived in Egypt some 200 years before their Exodus, which would have been 1700 BCE, the same time as the arrival of the Hyksos in Egypt. Hebrew Bible calls the Israelites, “God’s People,” or “Amo Israel.” About 400 Km south of Avaris is the tomb of Beni Hassan, which dates to about 1700 BCE. A perfectly preserved wall painting records a migration into Egypt from the area of modern Israel. Bearded Semites are depicted riding donkeys and bringing their families and flocks into Egypt and wearing multi-colored tunics, like the Biblical Israelites. The Hieroglyphic inscription on this painting calls these people the “Amo,” or God’s People.

As confirmation that the Israelites where the same as the Hyksos, Jacobovici explores the artifacts unearthed at the archaeological excavations of Avaris, and finds that nine signet rings made of clay were found bearing the inscription Yakov (or Jacob). The Bible tells that Joseph wore a ring with the seal of Pharaoh. Joseph, son of Jacob, would have been identified by his family name. A Hebrew name on an Egyptian royal seal seems to directly connect Avaris with the Joseph and Jacob of the Bible.

According to The Giver, why did Jonas have to receive and store memories of pain?

According to The Giver, as the next Receiver of Memory, Jonas has to receive and store memories of pain so that he can gain wisdom.  Without wisdom, he would not be able to "fulfill his function of advising the Committee of Elders" when he is called upon to do so.  Whenever the Committee is faced with a problem with which they never have had to deal before, they seek the advice of the Receiver, who will use his memories to tell them what to do.  They do not want to hear about pain themselves; "they just seek the advice". 

Upon receiving this information, Jonas wonders why everyone can't have the memories, because it would seem to be easier for the Receiver of Memories if the remembrance of pain in particular could be shared.  The Giver then explains "the real reason The Receiver is so vital to (the people), and so honored".  If everyone shared the memories of pain, then "everyone would be burdened and pained", and the people did not want that.  To spare themselves the suffering, they chose long ago to select one person - the Receiver of Memories - "to lift that burden from themselves" by bearing the weight on his own, in their stead (Chapter 14).

Why does Thomas More give a surname "HYTHLODAY" to Raphael in Utopia? Peter Giles tells Raphael to enter the king's service. He thinks...

In Sir Thomas More's Utopia, he emphasizes the importance of word choice and word meanings into the work.  The title of the work is indicative of this.  In the original Greek, the word "utopia" is derived from two different word, "eu-topia," or "good place," and "ou-topia," or "no place."  From this word play, the reader can surmise that More intends to discuss an ideal place and society, but at the same time he will discuss a place that does not or cannot exist.  The surname of More's protagonist, Raphael Hythloday, likewise thrives on such wordplay. 

"Hythloday" literally means "speaker of nonsense."  Raphael Hythloday, on the contrary, is a very knowledgeable protagonist.  Throughout the treatise, the reader does not come to doubt his knowledge or see his perspective as problematic.  So, the question remains.  Why give such a reliable and intelligent narrator a surname like "Hythloday"?  Taking this question with the idea that the word "utopia" likewise has a somewhat ironic meaning, an answer presents itself.  If the utopian society were interpreted along "no place" lines, then Raphael Hythloday, the narrator who discusses the society in the text as if it were a real society, would indeed be speaking "of nonsense."  Incorporating this connection reflects More's cynicism towards the social system he seeks to propose.

When Peter Giles tells Raphael to enter the king's service and entertain him with his extensive knowledge, entertainment is the sole motivation cited by Giles.  While his knowledge and advice would ultimately help the king, since its original purpose is purely to entertain, Raphael could be seen as stupid.  His role in the service of the king is that of a buffoon, and the nature of the service provided by Raphael is coincidental.  That the king essentially learns or benefits is additional, not an integral part of his service.

Because hythloday means speaker oF nonsense but he knows many things.

Is The Alchemist by Ben Jonson a comedy?

Although there are certain elements of a morality tale in this play, overwhelmingly there are far more elements that make this play a comedy - the theme of "gulling" or deceiving was very popular in Johnson's times and the audience is able to enjoy the "fleecing" of the central characters of a number of stock characters, that are deliberately undeveloped and rather shallow. These characters have also been carefully chosen to represent a cross-section of London society, so all can enjoy and laugh at the way they are tricked. Besides the coincidences and slapstick comedy that ensues, the real humour lies not just in the skill of the "fleecers" (Face, Subtle and Dol Common), but in the characters who are fleeced themselves. For it is ultimately they who allow themselves to be deceived by their greed. They project all of their desires onto the central characters and are therefore easily gulled. The one room as well which is where the action of the play occurs, changes for each "customer". Of course, there is the obvious comparison between the willingness of the audience to be gulled in exactly the same way, as we believe what is set before us, no matter how unbelievable or ridiculous, expecting the "alchemy" of the theatre to transform it into reality. The last laugh, therefore, is actually on us.

Summarize the main events of the story "The Cold Equations" by Tom Godwin. Describe the setting, the characters are and what their problem. Also,...

This is a classic science fiction story.  A teenage girl stows away on a space ship headed to a colony on a far away planet, in order to see her brother.  The ship is carrying medications necessary for the survival of the colony.  It also has only the bare minimum fuel needed to carry the bare-bones ship to the colony.  The equation of the title is the one that relates the weight of the ship to the weight of the ship plus the girl--there is nothing to jettison in place of the girl, and the captain has to tell her she must be sacrificed so that the medications reach the colony.

In Beowulf, is the mead hall the "heart" of Hrothgar's Kingdom?

The "heart" of Hrothgar's Kingdom is Heorot " a great mead-hall meant to be a wonder of the world forever"  (line lines 69-70) also referred to as "the hall of halls".( line 78)

Hrothgar build Heorot to be " his throne room" (line 71). Being the centre of the kingdom and the symbol of it, we can easily see why the repeated attacks on it were so demoralizing for the king and the whole nation.

Also, the mead hall had important function in Ancient Scandinavian society. It represented a place of security for the warriors.

Does Macbeth think he is heir to the throne? Who is Macbeth's heir?

It's a great question, and one of the biggest problems in the play. Why does Macbeth kill Duncan when Duncan has two sons who would legally just succeed their father's throne? It doesn't make any sense. But the reason Macbeth does it is quite simple: because of the witches' prophecy in his first scene:

All hail, Macbeth, who shalt be king hereafter.

Though it doesn't quite make absolute sense, Shakespeare handles it by having Malcolm and Donalbain, Duncan's two sons, run away to England and Ireland respectively - and everyone, we learn later from Macduff, suspects them of their father's murder. By some process or other (unexplained by the play) Macbeth then ascends the throne.

Yet the heir to the throne is still a problem. Macbeth knows that the witches predicted that Banquo would "get kings" (beget kings - father kings) though Banquo himself would never be a king. Therefore, when Macbeth is the king, he needs to secure his throne - he is terrified that Banquo's children will steal his throne. Yet Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are childless:

Our fears in Banquo
Stick deep...
They hail'd him father to a line of kings:
Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown
And put a barren sceptre in my gripe,
Thence to be wrench'd with an unlineal hand,
No son of mine succeeding.

Macbeth is aware that he needs to remove the competition: but also that he needs to solve the succession problem - a king with a son means a stable country. A king with no heir - doesn't.

Identify ways in which government powers increased during the war.

The power of the federal government expanded in several ways and directions during World War I. It intruded massively into transportation, bending the railroads to the public need.

Of course, as far as the war itself, using a draft is a marked expansion of governmental powers. It is a direct exercise of control over individual lives.

The nature and extent of taxes collected rose sharply. (More taxes were collected, the rate of taxation changed, etc.)

New government departments were created, such as the Federal Trade Commission. This increased control over commerce in general.

In The Taming of the Shrew, how does Petruchio's first meeting with Baptista set the style of the courtship? What kind of father is Baptista?

Well, Petruchio's tactic, here as elsewhere, is to divorce his words from the real action of the play, just as he does to Kate in the taming scene. Here's his opening line:

PET:
Pray, have you not a daughter
Call'd Katherina, fair and virtuous?

BAP:
I have a daughter, sir, called Katherina.

Petruchio is happy to pretend that The Paduans are obsessed with gossip and reports (the reason Baptista marries Bianca off to "Lucentio" is because he's heard "reports" that Vincentio is very rich) and Petruchio knows how to get Baptista to agree. (1) - emphasise the GOSSIP that he's heard, and (2) agree to marry KATHARINA who he already knows that Baptista wants to get rid of:

You wrong me, Signior Gremio: give me leave.
I am a gentleman of Verona, sir,
That, hearing of her beauty and her wit,
Her affability and bashful modesty,
Her wondrous qualities and mild behavior,
Am bold to show myself a forward guest
Within your house, to make mine eye the witness
Of that report which I so oft have heard.

As for Baptista as a father, he doesn't come off too well. He'd be happy to marry her off to anyone, if only he thought she'd agree:

You're welcome, sir; and he, for your good sake.
But for my daughter Katherine, this I know,
She is not for your turn, the more my grief.

He calls Katharina, to her face, earlier in the scene a "hilding of a devilish spirit". He treats her as a commodity to be gotten off the shelf - as fast as possible. Let's just say he's not up for father of the year.

How would you explain the theme of "How I Met My Husband"?

Several themes are present in the story. It develops an "initiation " theme in that Edie, as a fifteen-year-old, goes through an experience that leaves her more grown up and realistic. Through Edie's relationship with Chris Watters, she learns to take control of her own life and not place her happiness into someone else's hands, to be realized or not. Edie refuses to be a woman who waits for a man to rescue her and make her happy.

Another strong theme in the story is that of class distinction. The Pebbles family lives a life far more privileged than Edie's. Dr. Pebbles is a professional man, a veterinarian, whose income allows his family to live in comfort and style. Mrs. Pebbles wears beautiful clothes, and her housework is done by Edie, her hired girl. Desserts are purchased, not made "from scratch," and the family drinks ginger ale and fruit drinks instead of water. She does not drive her own car only because automobiles are in short supply right after World War II, the time of the story. She owns a washer and dryer. Edie's life on the farm was not one of privilege in any way, and the difference does not escape her. Edie wonders why poor people can imagine Mrs. Pebbles' lifestyle, but someone like Mrs. Pebbles could not imagine theirs. The theme of class distinction is further emphasized by the way in which Mrs. Pebbles treats Edie: She never lets Edie forget that she is hired help and not really like Mrs. Pebbles or her family.

Discuss the father son relationship to the title of the play, "All my Sons."

The relationship between Joe and Chris certainly evolves over the course of the play.  At the beginning, Chris still holds the fairly immature position of seeing his father on a pedestal.  He believes his father to be virtuous, hard-working, and loving of all (family, neighbors, co-workers).  I say immaturely because as children move into young adulthood, they are usually more able to see their parents as three-dimensional people, but Chris has avoided this step.  You could argue that he consciously makes this choice to avoid the truth, but it would seem to be more of subconscious decision.  As more and more information is revealed about the truth of the shipment of parts and Larry's death, Chris is forced to see the reality of his father.  He is hugely disappointed in his father's failings, and he is not moved by his father's justifications that he did for the family.  Joe cannot face his son's disapproval; the relationship is not sturdy enough to survive the ugly realities of Joe's actions.  

In terms of the title of the play, Chris cannot make clear to his father that it's not about just Joe, Larry and Chris.  Joe should have considered all of the soldiers killed his sons; then he would never have made the choice to ship the parts for his family's sake. 

In Book 23 of The Odyssey, how do the nurse and Telemachus try to convince Penelope that the stranger is Odysseus?

The nurse tells Penelope that it really is Odysseus.  Penelope doesn't believe it and thinks it's a trick of the gods.  The nurse tries to give her proof it's him and says to her

"I can give you another proof; when I was washing him I perceived the scar which the wild boar gave him, and I wanted to tell you about it, but in his wisdom he would not let me, and clapped his hands over my mouth; so come with me and I will make this bargain with you- if I am deceiving you, you may have me killed by the most cruel death you can think of."

Then Telemachus chastises her for not believing him, either.  He sees that she is cold to him and doesn't even try to accept him back after all of those years. He says that most women would sit next to him and ask questions.  He says that her heart must be of stone. These comments/proofs should make her believe--it's only until she gets the information from him that proves to HER that it really is Odysseus that she lets down her guard.

What commitment did Jem make to atone for the destruction of Mrs. Dubose's property?

Jem, after having chopped the buds off of Mrs. Dubose's camellia bushes, is told in a face-to-face meeting with her that he is to read to her every afternoon for a month, and that he is to do yard work for her as recompense for the destruction he caused. Atticus reinforces this "sentence." Jem's actions were prompted by Mrs. Dubose's comments about Atticus; that is, she told the children (Scout and Jem) that Atticus was bad or wrong for defending Tom Robinson, and that he allowed them, as children, to "run wild" unsupervised. After her comments, Jem was prompted to take revenge on the one thing she valued most, her flowers.

How to write a analytical essay with theme of discrimination and using the literary device of contrast?Theme: Discrimination Literary Device:...

In the area of contrasts, there is a selective discrimination in the southern town of Maycomb that should not be overlooked, for it is not untypical of such a setting (both time and place).  For example, Calpurnia, the Finch's housekeeper, fills a motherly role for Scout and Jem.  As a wise and loving person, she provides the children with many experiences that allow the children to be more objective in their judgments of others.

This loving relationship between African-American household employees and the children of the owner's family was prevalent in many situations in the South.  Yet, while the children always remembered the housekeeper fondly, and talked with her any time they met her as adults, there was often a bias against other people. 

Likewise, there is a selective tolerance for people of oddity who did things outside the restrictions of society.  Such an example is Mr. Dolphus Raymond, whose wife and children are black, is tolerated since he "drinks."  Raymond knows that if he puts his cola bottle in a paper bag, people will think he drinks and, therefore, excuse his behavior.

By the way, besides the excellent tips you have already received, you may want to go to the cite on "how to" for steps on how to write an analytical essay.

Good luck!

In chapters 3 and 4 of "Lord of the Flies", what are the relationships between Simon and Piggy, Jack, and Ralph?

The relationship between Jack and Ralph is getting strained in chapter 3 and the lack of, as well as the need for, organization is evident.  Jack wants to spend his time hunting and being the savage.  Ralph wants to spend his time building shelter and trying to make their lives as civilized as possible.  They are at odds with one another. At one point in the chapter, the two argue over which is more important - food or shelter.   After some shouting between each other, the narration tells us, "They looked at each other, baffled, in love and hate." There is still enough civility between them to recognize each other as boys from the same background, but there is enough difference that soon that recognition will be gone. Piggy, the intellect of the group, sees the need for shelter and organization as well as the need for food, he also understands the necessity of maintaining the signal fire, which Jack allowed to go out and he berates Jack for that.  That causes Jack to lash out at him.  Jack hates Piggy because Piggy represents reason and intellect, neither of which Jack wants in his savage state of mind.  Simon grows as the mystic of the group in these two chapters.  He is a curiosity to all of the others because he doesn't seem to lean in either Jack's or Ralph's direction.  At the end of ch. 3, he goes off by himself for the first time to think.

What happens to Wilfred in Chapter 10 of "Lord of the Flies"?

It's not actually depicted in the book, but Robert reports that Wilfred is going to be beaten by Jack and the others.

Robert changed the unspoken subject. 'He's going to beat Wilfred.' 'What for?' Robert shook his head doubtfully.

'I don't know. He didn't say. He got angry and made us tie Wilfred up.'

It's a mark of the savagery of Jack's tribe that the reason for Wilfred's beating is apparently non-existent: it is simply random, cruel violence:

'He's [Wilfred's] been' - he [Robert] giggled excitedly - 'he's been tied for hours, waiting-' 'But didn't the Chief say why?' 'I never heard him.'

In "To Kill a Mockingbird", why does Scout explain Walter Cunningham's situation to Miss Caroline?any where to find answers to the questioner.. :)

Scout explains to her teacher Miss Caroline that Walter is too proud to borrow money because she tries to lend him a quarter for lunch.

Miss Caroline is not from Maycomb.  She is from Northern Alabama and does not understand how things work.  When Miss Caroline sees that Walter has no lunch, she tries to lend him a quarter and he won’t take it.  When she does not get the message and keeps asking, someone tells Scout to explain.

I turned around and saw most of the town people and the entire bus delegation looking at me. Miss Caroline and I had conferred twice already, and they were looking at me in the innocent assurance that familiarity breeds understanding. (ch 2)

The other children seem to think that Scout is going to be able to explain, because she has tried to do so before.  Since Scout is the daughter of a lawyer, and quiet precocious, she seems to be the person for the job. 

Of course, Miss Caroline does not really appreciate Scout’s guidance.  It is her first day, and she is a new teacher.  Apparently when they taught her the Dewey system they forgot to mention that the first rule of teaching is to get to know your students and the community.

In "The Scarlet Ibis", what are Doodle's strengths and weaknesses and how is he so influenced by his brother?

Doodle's strengths include his love for his brother and the respect that he pays the dead bird, the Scarlet Ibis. He looks at the world with wonder, grateful to be alive.  Doodle is very brave, defying the odds that he would not survive, even learning to walk, following his brother, wanting to be like him.

"Doodle's real strengths lie not on the level of his physical prowess, but on a more subtle inward level, to which Brother seems blind at the time the action takes place. From the beginning of his life, Doodle defies death and refuses to recognize the coffin that Daddy builds for him as his own."

His weaknesses include his physical handicap, and the limitations that it puts on him.  He is not a normal child.  He was born with a mental and physical handicap. Physically weak, the family expected him to die shortly after his birth.  Doodle suffers from poor health as a result of his condition. His health is fragile. 

What is circumstantial evidence? What has it got to do with Tom Robinson's conviction in To Kill a Mockingbird?I am referring to the events in...

Circumstantial evidence means that the person is being accused based on evidence that cannot be backed up.  In other words, circumstantial evidence means that you can infer that the person did something wrong, but you can't prove it outright.

In Tom's case, he went into Mayella's house, so he was there around the time that she was attacked.  Also, Bob Ewell saw Tom and Mayella kiss, which was definitely not allowed back then.  That doesn't mean that Tom was the one who attacked Mayella, but that is how the prosecution makes their accusation.  Tom's "guilt" is based on his presence in the Ewell home, the kiss, and his race.  The jury feels that he should not have been in a white woman's home when she was home alone, and they also feel that since he is African-American he is more likely to hurt someone or try to rape Mayella than anyone else would be.  They do not consider that Mayella kissed Tom, but assume it was the other way around.  This is why they convict him, even though they do not have actual proof that Tom hurt Mayella.

In A Separate Peace, how do the ways Gene, Finny, and Leper play blitzball reveal their characters?

Finny makes up the game of blitzball spontaneously, adding adaptations as he goes.  He peppers his instructions to the other players with phrases like "naturally", and "of course".  To him, the game as it evolves, makes perfect sense, even though to the others, it is quite offbeat.  Finny lives his own interpretation of reality in life, and this propensity is reflected in the game.  While the game includes everyone, he himself is "sensationally good" at it, having unconciously devised its rules to suit his strengths.  In a tribute to the charisma with which he approaches all aspects of life, the others end up being "more or less bumblers" at the sport, but no one seems to really mind.

Gene protests many aspects of the game Finny invents, but always ends up accepting his friend's off-the-wall explanations and finds himself following instructions anyway.  In retrospect, he sees that Finny has created a completely illogical system in which he shines but the others have a more difficult time, but he concludes, "it served us right for letting him do all the planning...I didn't really think about it myself...what difference did it make?"  This comment reflects Gene's character; he is a follower, who does not easily act on his own inclinations, and oftentimes does not even think about it.

Leper remains on the outskirts of the game, and is frightened when he is inadvertently included in it.  This is the way he approaches life; he lives on the margins and is inept when forced to face reality (Chapter 3).

In The Great Gatbsy, why is Jay Gatsby wearing a bathing suit when he dies? Is there any symbolism there?

A good question. Gatsby was wearing a swimming suit because he had been swimming. I know you asked for symbolic reasons, but the symbolic is always anchored in the practical/literal. Remember that swimming pools were much less common at that time, and having a private pool—and the time to swim in it—were signs of great wealth. So, the first reason is a display of his wealth. The second is to show that even wealth doesn't provide protection. Like the stories he wrapped around his true identity, the wealth he owned could be penetrated and he was as vulnerable as anyone. A related third reason is the vulnerability of near-nakedness. A possible fourth is coming full circle: remember that he started his fortune on the water. A fifth is irony: remember that he had been planning to drain the pool because autumn was coming.

Discuss the appropriateness of the simile that describes the meeting between Telemachus and Eumeaus in Book 15 of The Odyssey?

Telemachus and Eumeaus the swineherd do not reunite until the first lines of Book 16.  In that reunion the metaphor is one of a father welcoming a son returned from a foreign war.  Since Eumeaus is not Telemachus' father, but Odysseus, whom Telemachus does not yet know, is his father, this simile creates irony.  The description of the scene is exactly how, if Telemachus had been old enough to go to Troy, and if Odysseus had waited at home for him, the reunion between the two of them would have been. Since this happens with Telemachus's own bedraggled and unrecognized father sitting and watching merely as a "guest-friend", it is both ironic and heartbreaking:

Just as a father in loving benevolence welcomes a dear son
who in the tenth year comes back home from a faraway country,
his sole child and his darling, for whom much grief he has suffered,
so now Telemachos, godlike in beauty, the excellent swineherd
kissed and embraced all over, as one whom had fled from destruction. (290)

The Trojan War lasted ten years, so if Odysseus had been able to get back home immediately this simile would have been exactly how the father and son would have embraced.  Since the gods delayed his return another ten years Telemachus has grown into a man and Odysseus has missed his entire childhood.  Eumeaus has stood in as a father, and Odysseus must be aggrieved to see what he has missed.

Test Source: Homer, The Odysssey. Trans. by Rodney Merrill.  Ann Arbor: U of Michigan Press, 2006.

In "Young Goodman Brown," what is significant about the names of the title character and his wife?

Of Hawthorne's tale, his friend Herman Melville wrote, 

Who in the name of thunder would anticipate any marvel in a piece entitled ‘Young Goodman Brown’? You would of course suppose that it was a simple little tale, intended as a supplement to ‘Goody Two-Shoes.’ Whereas it is as deep as Dante.

Truly, "Young Goodman Brown" is a morality tale as he encounters personifications of various qualities such as Faith and evil as represented by  the primeval forest--Puritans believed there was evil in the forest because the "devilish Indians" came and went through the forest--and the "old traveller" with his twisted walking stick (the Devil). Later, he encounters Goody Cloyse, his catechism teacher (the real Sarah Cloyse was accused of witchcraft in Salem trials), and Deacon Gookin, (the real Gookin participated in the Salem Witchcraft Trials). 

Brown accompanies the old man with the serpentine stick and enters the forest where, to his disheartening surprise, he sees at the black mass his Faith. As her pink ribbons waft to the ground, Goodman Brown watches the ingenuous beliefs that he has thought will lead him to heaven suddenly die. Goodman Brown, like Adam, suffers a great fall from innocence.

Why did Romeo and Juliet kiss all the time?

In Act I, scene v, of "Romeo and Juliet", the two characters meet at the party at the Capulet's house.  This is the only scene where Shakespeare actually includes a "kiss" as a part of the action of the plot.  The kiss is part of a series of flirtatious "pick up" lines that they use on one another.  Here is the scene:

ROMEO
[To JULIET] If I profane with my unworthiest hand
This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this:
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.

JULIET
Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,
Which mannerly devotion shows in this;
For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch,
And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss.

ROMEO
Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?

JULIET
Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.

ROMEO
O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do;
They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.

JULIET
Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake.

ROMEO
Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take.
Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged.

JULIET
Then have my lips the sin that they have took.

ROMEO
Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged!
Give me my sin again.

Romeo first implies that by touching her with his hand, he might have been wrong - all because she is too worthy to be touched.  He offers to kiss the place that he touched in order to make up for it.  Juliet is coy and responds that his hand is plenty worthy, and that lips should be used in prayer.  Romeo keeps pressing on to say that he is a sinner, and must kiss her lips to get rid of his sin - which he does.  Then Juliet teases him into kissing her again by suggesting that he has given his sin to her, and must take it back again.

Shakespeare is just showing us two teenagers at a party, behaving as teenagers do - flirting and kissing.  By having Juliet request the kiss back, we can see that she is just as interested as he is, and that she is bold enough to be that forward.

What is the third wish made in "The Monkey's Paw"?

The author takes pains to establish that only Mr. White can make wishes with the monkey's paw. The Sergeant-Major tells the family:

"He put a spell on it so that three separate men could each have three wishes from it."

W. W. Jacobs inserts some additional dialogue to establish that Mr. White is the sole, legitimate owner of the monkey's paw.

"Did you give him anything for it, father?" inquired Mrs. White, regarding her husband closely.

"A trifle," said he, colouring slightly. "He didn't want it, but I made him take it. And he pressed me again to throw it away."

This would prevent Mrs. White from making any of the wishes. Otherwise she would have made the second wish herself. She has to insist on her husband's wishing for their son to come back to life and return home. Then it is entirely Mr. White's decision to make the third wish. He wishes for the second wish to be undone. He knows that his son must look like a horrible monster and doesn't want to have to look at him or have anything further to do with him. The thought of having such a creature living under their roof is unbearable. Mrs. White is terribly disappointed when she finally gets the door open, but the reader feels vastly relieved that there is no one outside.