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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yes:

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

No:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"This war is a beast with long claws".

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