How does Dickens tell the story in Chapter 53 of "Great Expectations."

In Ch.52 Orlick traps Pip by writing a letter asking him to come alone to the old sluice-house on the marhses, saying that he has some secret information to give him regarding Provis (Magwitch). When he arrives there all alone in the night (Ch.53) he is caught hold of by Orlick who threatens to kill him by throwing him into the lime kiln nearby so that he disappears without a trace.

Poor Pip is terrified and Orlick who gloats over his victory reminds him of all the past injuries he has unwittingly done to Orlick: Orlick reminds Pip of how he came in between him and Bidddy and later on how he was responsible for his losing his job as a watchman at Satis house. He also tells Pip that he killed his sister  because Joe always favoured Pip to him. In a drunken state he also tells Pip that it was he who was trailing him and Magwich and that he was constantly watching over him ever since Magwitch returned to London.

At this point, Pip shouts out for help and he is rescued just in time by Herbert and Trabb's Boy and a few others. Orlick escapes under cover of darkness.

This Chapter is important for 3 reasons:

1. It connects the past present and the future: Pip's childhood, youth and manhood and looks forward to the botched escape attempt of Magwitch.

2. Since Dickens has been serialising the story for over more than a year, this chapter helps the contemporary reader to recapitulate all the incidents of the novel from the beginning till now.

3. Dickens narrates these incidents dramatically: "what he (Orlick) did say presented pictures to me and not mere words."

How is language used in The Metamorphosis?

It is important to first realize that "The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka was first written in German. I am assuming that you are reading an English translation. This creates a problem when analysing language. When we discuss diction, imagery, and syntax, we do so based on connotations associated with the words we read. When a work is translated, some associations are lost, and it is much more difficult to determine the author's intent.

What we can say, from the English translation, is that the language is direct yet extremely descriptive. Kafka is a master of imagery. He creates a clear picture without being overly wordy. 

How did Ponyboy react to the three Socs who bullied him about killing Bob in "Outsiders"?

When the three Socs confront Ponyboy about killing Bob Sheldon, Ponyboy is not afraid.  He shatters the end of the Pepsi bottle from which he has been drinking and tosses away his cigarette, emotionlessly warning the Socs, "You get back into your car or you'll get split".  The Socs, surprised, hesitate, and when Ponyboy hops off the car where he has been sitting and slowly advances, holding the lethal bottle firmly before him, they get in their car and drive away.

Ponyboy's reaction is uncharacteristic.  He notes with an odd sense of detachment, "I didn't feel anything - scared, mad, or anything.  Just zero".  Two-Bit is concerned, and tells Ponyboy, "...listen, dont' get tough.  You're not like the rest of us and don't try to be...".  Ponyboy thinks vaguely, "What was the matter with Two-Bit?  I knew as well as he did that if you got tough you didn't get hurt.  Get smart and nothing can touch you".  Ironically, as Ponyboy is thinking about the benefits of letting himself become hardened, he is simultaneously crouching down on the ground picking up the glass he has broken, so no one will get a flat tire.  This small demonstration of sensitivity is evidence that, somewhere beneath the shell Ponyboy has erected to protect himself after the traumatic events of the past week, his unique spirit of depth and innocence still remains (Chapter 12).

Describe the setting of "The Tell-Tale Heart," highlighting phrases that help paint the picture.

The murder takes place in an old house that produces lots of creaks and noises. The old man's room, where the stalking and murder take place, is usually very dark- "His room was as black as pitch with the thick darkness." Because of this advanced darkness, the sense of sight is not in use, so the sense of sound is acute. Imagery, in this case, revolves around this sense, and the narrator begins to hear what he thinks is his victim's heartbeat. He paints a mental picture for the reader by stating that it sounds like "a low, dull, quick sound, such as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton."

In The Scarlet Letter, what happens at the end of Chapter 8 that illustrates the minister's point?

In Chapter 8, Hester comes very close to losing custody of Pearl. Governor Bellingham tells her that Pearl may be taken away from her for the good of the child's character. Hester explains that she would surely be the one best fit to teach Pearl morality because of the lessons learned from the scarlet letter Hester wears. Dimmesdale further explains that leaving Pearl with Hester is good for Hester's soul, that Pearl's very presence protects Hester from further sin. That is the point he makes which persuades Bellingham that Pearl should not be removed from her mother's care.

In one account of this incident, the narrator says, Mistress Hibbens then asks Hester to come to the forest (the place synonymous with sin and evil) to meet with witches. Hester replies that if Pearl had been taken from her, she might have gone. This conversation with Mistress Hibbens proves Dimmesdale's earlier point: Having Pearl by her side has protected Hester's soul.

There is great irony in this scene. By fathering Pearl, Dimmesdale led Hester into sin. By acting to keep Pearl with her mother, Dimmesdale saves Hester from sin.

Briefly describe the interactions of the narrator and Fortunato in "The Cask of Amontillado".

Fortunado had somehow gone too far with his insults towards Montressor, and it finally drove Montressor over the edge.  In the beginning paragraph Montressor says that he would get his revenge.  "At length, I would be avenged; this was a point definitively settled."

The reader must take the word of Montressor because we never read anything that Fortunado specifically says or does that would constitute "injury" or "insult."  The interaction they have begins on the streets during a carnival.  Montressor finds Fortunado completely drunk and lures him into his family's catacombs.  Previously, Montressor gets rid of his servants for the night, knowing his plan would require him to be alone in the house.  Fortunado is very willing to go check out Montressor's cask of Amontillado.  Montressor even uses reverse psychology to get him to commit and go with him.

"My friend, no; I will not impose upon your good nature. I perceive you have an engagement--Luchesi...My friend, no. It is not the engagement, but the severe cold with which I perceive you are afflicted . The vaults are insufferably damp. They are encrusted with nitre."

The rest of the interaction between the two occurs on their journey deeper into the catacombs where he buries him alive. Most of that interaction involves his use of verbal irony.

In Book 4 in The Odyssey what did Menelaus tell Telemachus about the wooden horse?

In Book 4 of the Odyssey, Telemachus is in Sparta. He is visiting Menelaus, the king of Sparta, in order to find out more information about his father Odysseus, who has been missing ever since the Trojan War started twenty years earlier. 

They entertain Telemachus and tell him stories about the homecomings of different Greek heroes. They also tell him that Odysseus is most likely imprisoned on the isle of Calypso. The wooden horse comes up when Menelaus begins talking about the Trojan War itself, and the method by which the Greeks won the war. 

The winning strategy was crafted by Odysseus himself. He is often thought to be the cleverest man on the Greek expedition. His idea was to build a giant wooden horse, hide an elite force of soldiers inside, and trick the Trojans into bringing the horse inside the city walls itself. The Greeks knew that they had to penetrate the city walls of Troy in order to even have a chance of winning the war. They built the horse (a symbol of Troy) in three days. 

Then they hid, leaving the horse on the beach with one Greek solider, Sinon. Sinon lies to the Trojans who come to investigate, telling them that the Greeks have all given up and sailed home. The horse is a gift for Athena, as retribution for destroying her Trojan temple. Sinon also says that they built it as large as they could so the Trojans wouldn't be able to bring it into their city. The Trojans, of course, see this as a challenge. They wheel the horse inside of the city. There are several warnings that the horse is a trick, but the Trojans ignore them all. Even Helen of Troy suspects that there are Greek soldiers inside of the horse. She imitates the voices of several of the Greek soldiers' wives. One Greek almost responds, but Odysseus claps his hand over the man's mouth. That night, the Greek soliders leave the horse and sack the entire city.