In Hamlet, why wouldn't Claudius provide a state funeral for Polonius?

Claudius fears the outcome of such a funeral.  As Hamlet is the guilty party, and being much loved by the multitude, he cannot risk the attention it would bring to Hamlet's supposed madness and conspicuous absence.  Even under the guise of obtaining help for Hamlet's madness in England, he would risk calling attention to the murder and the people of Denmark forgiving him considering the sudden death and hasty marriage of Claudius and Gertrude. Also, Denmark is in political turmoil and Claudius holds a tenuous position.  He has been approved by vote, and can be ousted just as easily, as is seen when Laertes returns to avenge his father's death with a mob calling for him to be king. 

What are Victor Frankenstein's weaknesses?

Victor Frankenstein's weaknesses include:

1. his over-vaulting ambition. In creating his monster and his hideous birth he hurt those around him and isolated him from the ones he loved.

2. Stubbornness. Victor was stubborn and unrelenting when the monster agreed to leave the world of man if only he had a similar mate to share his existence with.

3. His inability to assume responsibility in caring for and nurturing his creation. Things might not have turned out so horribly for Victor if only he had showered some love and attention on his creation. Instead, Victor was responsible for things turning out the way they did. If one was accepted and not abandoned, then the murders of Justine and Victor's brother wouldn't have happened.

What is the point of the long discussion between Joe and Mrs. Dilber?Hint:they relate to Scrooge's property.

When the last of the spirits, the Ghost of the Future, appears to Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol," he takes the old miser to "a low-browed, beetling shop" in a terrible quarter of London that "reeked with crime, with filth, and misery." There sits an old "rascal" of nearly seventy, smoking a pipe near a stove behind a tattered curtain.  Into this place come a charwoman, a laundress, and a man in faded black.  When they encounter one another, they burst into laughter.

These people are the jackals of society, for they have plundered what things they could obtain from the house of the dead Scrooge.  The charwoman has even taken the curtains--to the amazement of even the vile Joe--from his bedroom and stolen the very shirt from Scrooge's back, showing absolutely no respect for the dead. In fact, Mrs. Dilber laughs at the thought of their stealing in this manner from Scrooge.  The charwoman scoffs,

'If he wanted to keep 'em after he was dead, a wicked old screw,...why wasn't he natural in his lifetime?  If he had been, he'd have had somebody to look after him when he was struck with Death, instead of lying gasping out his last there, alone by himself.'

To this remark, Mrs. Diber agrees,

'It's the truest word that ever was spoke...It's a judgment on him.

Old Joe chalks the sums of what he owes them onto his wall.  These acts of the unconscionable people is somewhat suggestive of those who barter over the robe of Jesus, solitary and betrayed by Peter, as He was led to his crucifixion.  So, perhaps, Scrooge realizes how greatly he is despised when even the lowest of London society laugh at him and desecrate his corpse, carrying his final belongings to a filthy, disreputable rag shop.

What are 2 quotes from Macbeth that are of significance of a Confucian leadership role and a Machiavellian role?

By Confucian leadership role, it can be assumed that the character of Macbeth would be read against the philosophy of Ritual, Righteousness, Humanity, Knowledge, and Integrity. Thus, the "Confucian" Macbeth would be the Macbeth prior to murdering King Duncan.

MACBETH: He's here in double trust:
First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,
Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,
Who should against his murderer shut the door,(15)
Not bear the knife myself.

At this point, Macbeth is deciding whether or not he should murder King Duncan, but his conscious is stronger than his desire to murder. It is particularly Confucian in that it demonstrates the importance of being a host, being a subject, and in a sense, filial piety (devotion to one's parents). Macbeth very much looks at Duncan like a father-figure, which can be shown when Lady Macbeth refuses to complete the murder but cannot because Duncan resembled her father as he slept.

Machiavellianism, on the opposite spectrum, is the means of deceiving others for personal gain. This, naturally, would be after King Duncan's murder. While there are a world of examples, the scene between Macbeth and the Murderers stands out as a perfect example of exploitation in the Machiavellian sense.

MACBETH:

Well then, now(80) Have you consider'd of my speeches? Know That it was he, in the times past, which held you So under fortune, which you thought had been Our innocent self? This I made good to you In our last conference, pass'd in probation with you(85) How you were borne in hand, how cross'd, the instruments, Who wrought with them, and all things else that might To half a soul and to a notion crazed Say, “Thus did Banquo.”

In an effort to convince the Murderers to murder Banquo, Macbeth brainwashes them into believing that Banquo was at fault for them not receiving their promotions. He reiterates the fact that he has drawn up papers that prove this, ignoring the fact that these papers are either false, or that Banquo had true reason for disqualifying these men (considering they are thinking of murder, we would probably understand Banquo's decision!).
Even further, Macbeth challenges their manhood by comparing them to dogs:
MACBETH:

Ay, in the catalogue ye go for men, As hounds and greyhounds, mongrels, spaniels, curs,(100) Shoughs, waterrugs, and demi-wolves are clept All by the name of dogs.

He is berating them, challenging their masculinity, and accusing Banquo of falsity to convince these men to commit his crime -- and he does so successfully, thus making it a "Machiavelli" moment.

In The Crucible, what is Mary Warren's explanation to the court for having changed her mind now?

In The Crucible, Mary Warren unwillingly comes to court, though she comes prepared to tell the truth--that she and the rest of the girls, led by Abigail, have been lying in court.  She's unwilling because she's afraid of many things: Abigail, the court, undoubtedly her parents, punishment.  She changes her mind, of course, once Abigail turns her own words literally against her and she realizes her immediate future is better with Abigail than with Proctor. She turns back on Proctor, claiming he was the devil and he was forcing her to make a false confession.

What quotes show a Naturalist theme in "The Open Boat"?

The central theme of Naturalist style is that man is at the mercy of his environment.  This theme is evident in several quotes depicting the men in the vulnerable open boat being buffeted by the sea, the inexhorable force of nature.

In the opening paragraphs of the story, the injured captain thinks about the ineffectiveness of the actions of "even the bravest and most enduring" in general terms when he recalls man's utter helplessness when, 

"willy-nilly, the firm fails, the army loses, the ship goes down" (Section 1). 

Free will and human efforts count for little in the face of the harsh realities of the natural world.

In the following section, the author creates a vivid image of the little boat with four helpless men bobbing in the water, at the mercy of the sea around her:

"She seemed just a wee thing wallowing, miraculously top up, at the mercy of five oceans.  Occasionally a great spread of water, like white flames, swarmed into her",

while the tiny, insignificant men, cognizant of their position in the scheme of things, "bail...serenely" (Section 2).

As their little boat is tossed by the furious waves, the men cling to any hope they can find, but in the end they know they will survive only if the elements allow them to.  Their conversation reflects this feeling, when they say,

"we'll get ashore all right...if this wind holds...if we don't catch hell in the surf" (Section 2).

Discuss the function of Alfieri in A View from the Bridge.

After Eddie, Alfieriis the most important character in the play. His role is similar to that of the chorus of the Greek tragedies as he narrates, comments, and sometimes participates in the play. Although he is wise but he was unable to prevent Eddie's Betrayal to his family. He had said so,"being an intelligent man, he was so powerless to stop the tragedy". He is the first who opens the play by discussing how law is important in America. In Italy, there was no law to protect them therefore they took their revenge with there own hands.

Alfiere is a good lawyer as well as a rational judge of people. And professionaly detached himself (Emotionally as his family had advised him), and views situations from the bridge. He advises Eddie many times to settle for half and let Catherine go, all Eddie can do is "bless her".

He gives details on time, date, and place thus filling gaps between scenes. He skillfully weaves his opinions while throwing in a description on characters. It is obvious that he knows Eddie from before as he "presented his father in an accident case some years before" thus having some acquaintance with the family.

Alfieri is the voice of reason as he warned Eddie that he better settle for half or he wouldn't have a friend in the world. He is Arthur Millers Mouthpiece therfore he makes us understand, Condemn, Admire and Forgive Eddie on what he had put himself into due to his oversexuality that he had no control over.