Sunday, April 8, 2012

Summarize the last dream of Mitty where he says "Mitty the undefeated, inscrutable to the last." answer with introduction

Walter can only dream of being "undefeated, inscrutable to the last."  Only in his dreams is he strong, courageous and formidable.  On their way home, Walter's wife must make one more stop at the drug store.  There she orders him to wait right there outside the store for her.  She'd "only be a minute." Walter's life has been one nag after another from his wife.  People in society make fun of him.  The ladies at the store, the parking attendant, just people he encounters in every day life laugh at him and find him incapable.  As a man that's hard to accept. So in his dreams, he is the hero.  He always comes out on top.  As his dreams continue through the story, they lead up to the most elaborate dream of all.  He is imagining himself in front of a firing squad, smoking his last cigarette.  If it were real life, this would be his last moment alive, yet in his dream he is calm and confident--right down to the last moment.  So in this last dream he says, "To hell with the handkerchief." Then he takes one last puff on his cigarette and casually yet confidently flicks it to the ground.  He turns and faces a squad that should be terrifying to him.  Yet, he smugly smiles at them showing off his heroic qualities.  This is important because in this dream he is facing death.  He is not afraid.  His "dream-self" will not falter or go down.  He feels invincible.

Friday, April 6, 2012

What is the summary for Act 2 of The Man of Mode?

Townley and Emilia discuss their secret:  Old Bellair is in love with Emilia and has no idea that his son is in love with her as well.  Even though Lady Townley tries to dissuade Old Bellair from loving Emilia becasue she is "melancholy," he refuses.  He tells his son not to fret about marrying Harriet because she's rich.  Young Bellair admits that he has written a letter of obedience to his father that will deceive him. 

Medley appears, and Emilia is excited to listen to his gossip.  Townley admits that Medley exaggerates and speaks of Loveit's jealous rage.  Meanwhile, Medley jokingly mocks the newest examples of literature until Townley demands to hear only gossip.  They exit in order to discuss.

Loveit is in a jealous rage over Dorimant who is paying her no attention.  Pert tries to convince Loveit to stop, admitting Dorimant is in love with someone new.  Bellinda enters and tells Loveit that Dorimant has been entertaining a "tall and slender" masked woman.  They conspire to ruin her.  When Dorimant enters, he admits that men can't be faithful, accuses them of spying, reveals that even he doesn't know who the masked woman was, and tells the audience that his plan is working.  Dorimant then accuses Loveit of flirting with Flutter.  She denies it.  Belinda admits that Dorimant has given proof of his love, but wonders if he will someday use her in the same way.

In "Fahrenheit 451" do Mildred’s friends fit “society’s illusions of happiness” or “conformity and following society’s...

They both could fit under both categories; however, I am going to say that Mildred fits under "conformity" and her friends under "illusions of happiness."  If we take a look at the best glimpse we have of her friends, they seem simply incabable of dealing with any kind of stress, worry, or sadness; they appear to be happy, but it is just an illusion.  They brush negativity off instantly.  When Montag brings up the war, Mrs. Phelps optimistically says of her hubby that just got called to fight, "He'll be back next week...I'm not worried...I'll let Pete do all the worrying." and then she giggles.  She says that her and Pete promised not to shed a tear if something happened, but to go right ahead and get married again.  So, cover up any misery with more activity; cover unhappiness with the illusion of happiness.

When Montag reads them the poem, it wipes their illusions away; Mrs. Phelps is left "sobbing uncontrollably" and Mrs. Bowles gets angry at Montag for reading "hurting words".  They can't stand the thought of anything unhappy; when forced to think of it, they get angry, break down, and try to distract themselves, all to promote the illusion of happiness.

Mildred, as she recoils at the reading of books and eventually calls Montag in to the fire station, can fit under conformity; she tells on her husband just like a good citizen would.

In Much Ado About Nothing, what do Leonato and Antonio say to Beatrice to tease her?


LEONATO:
You must not, my lord, mistake my niece. There is
a kind of merry war betwixt Signior Benedick and her. They never meet but there's a skirmish of wit between them.



This is Leonato, in the very first scene, teasing Beatrice but also explaining to the messenger that his niece and Signor Benedick always have this sort of "merry war": they're always swapping insults, and causing trouble with and for each other. It's an interesting one, because, like the play itself, it's half-bitterly serious and half-comic: it can be quite difficult to tell which.


Here's Antonio and Leonato teasing Beatrice at the party scene, Act 2, Scene 1, and teasing her along the theme which she is most usually teased about:



LEONATO:
By my troth, niece, thou wilt never get thee a husband if thou be so shrewd of thy tongue.


ANTONIO:
In faith, she's too curst.



Beatrice is older than Hero (sometimes, even, played as being middle-aged!) and remains unmarried. Leonato and Antonio wind her up for being too "curst" - quick-tempered and quick to insult - and tell her that she'll never get a husband. It's a joke, but it also has a serious side: Beatrice really is quite vulnerable and upset about the fact that she doesn't have a husband - and equally touchy about the relationship she has previously had (clued at by the text, but never explicitly explained) with Benedick. It's tears behind the smile sort of thing.


But the answer to your question - she's teased because she is unmarried.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

What is the meaning of a "Sabbath lull" in the short story The Outcasts of Poker Flats?

This quote is used in the very first paragraph of the story.  It states,



“There was a Sabbath lull in the air, which, in a settlement unused to Sabbath influences, looked ominous.”



In this part of the story, the narrator is describing the setting and explaining how quiet the town was on this particular day.  The term “Sabbath lull” refers to the fact that the Sabbath, usually a Sunday, would be a day of rest, when most people would be home with their families or at church and everything would be much quieter than on any other day. 


This term is also significant because most of the people in Poker Flat would not be the type to go to church or keep the Sabbath day holy.

In The Miracle Worker, what is Captain Keller's job?

Captain Keller, a loyal Southerner who served in the Civil War, is a cotton plantation owner and editor of a local weekly newspaper who wields power both in the business world and in the domestic world. No domestic decisions are made without his approval. 

Perhaps it is his jounalistic background which causes him to be skeptical about the possibilities of his daughter Helen being able to learn from her new tutor, Anne Sullivan.  In the play "The Miracle Worker" Captain Keller acts as the antagonist to Anne, whom he first considers rude because of her candor and with whom he comes into conflict regarding the tutoring of Helen.  It is not until Anne brings Helen to the pump to make her fill the pitcher that Helen has emptied upon her, an experience that causes Helen to make connections between the hand-spelling and the person or thing, that Captain Keller gives Anne respect.

I need three personality traits for Johnny Cade and a supporting detail for each trait.

Johnny Cade is practical; he uses common sense in crisis situations.  After recovering from the initial shock of stabbing the Soc in self-defense, he begins to plan, "We gotta get outa here...We'll need money...a plan...Dally...Dally'll get us outa here" (Chapter 4).  When he is hiding in Windrixville with Ponyboy, it is his idea to have Ponyboy cut and bleach his hair (Chapter 5).  And when he realizes how worried Soda and Darry are about Ponyboy, he decides to turn himself in, reasoning the he "got a good chance of bein' let off easy...(he) ain't got no record with the fuzz and it was self-defense" (Chapter 6).

Johnny is also unselfish.  He overlooks danger to himself to save the children from the burning church (Chapter 6).  He decides to turn himself in when he sees how worried Soda and Darry are about Ponyboy (Chapter 6).  And when he realizes he is going to die, his last thought is for Ponyboy, when he tells him to "Stay gold" (Chapter 9).

Of all the Greasers, Johnny is arguably the most sensitive.  He appreciates literature and poetry, sharing Gone With the Wind and Nothing Gold Can Stay with Ponyboy while they are hiding out (Chapter 5).  He is perceptive enough to recognize the quality of "gold" in Ponyboy, and to realize it is something of rare value (Chapter 9). And Ponyboy himself observes, "Johnny was a good fighter and could play it cool, but he was sensitive and that isn't a good way to be when you're a Greaser" (Chapter 6).

What is the main function of the fool in "King Lear"? What is the secondly function?

The fool as a character is confusing, but part of this is the difference between the 1600s and today, as well as the difference in place. If...