In "Hamlet" is there any poetic justice in the manner which Claudius, Gertrude, and Laertes die?

Yes, there is.  They all die as a result of their own conniving and scheming to take Hamlet down.  The plan was only for Hamlet to die, not for anyone else to.  Claudius and Laertes were the ones to come up with the plan; they were the ones to put poison on the blade and in the drinks.  It was they alone that set up the circumstances that, in the end, lead to their own deaths.  That is poetic justice right there.  As for Gertrude, she was an innocent bystander and didn't have a direct hand in the conniving, and ends up being a victim to her new husband's schemes to kill her son.  Claudius never meant to have Gertrude die, but couldn't stop her from drinking, for fear of revealing his own devious plans.  If he would have jumped in and said, "Hey!  Don't drink that honey!  That drink is poisoned--meant for Hamlet," he would have exposed himself as the murderer that he truly was.  So, he had to sit by, watch his wife drink the poisoned wine, and pretend that he was surprised by it, in order to cover his own tracks.

If the king and Laertes had just left things alone, and had the duel without all of the poison and plotting, then they could have come up with a different way to get rid of Hamlet, one that hopefully didn't lead to their own deaths.  But, they threw the poison in, thinking that owuld gurantee Hamlet's demise.  Little did they know that it would gurantee their own deaths as well.  Poetic justice was served when their own evil plots of revenge turned against them, taking them down as well.  This could be considered a profound statement by Shakespeare about the destructive influence of hatred and revenge.  I hope that those thoughts helped; good luck!

Was Mary Shelley trying to make a statement about the duality of life and death in the creation of Frankenstein?

Short answer: maybe.  The trouble is Mary isn't around to ask anymore!  That might sound like a trite answer, but it is the only one that probably is true.

Personally, I don't think Mary was trying to make a statement about anything while writing Frankenstein.  "Making a statement" about something requires a lot of forethought and the writer often wants to make the statement before coming up with the book idea.  I don't think that applies to Mary Shelly.

Think about where the book's origins lie.  You have a group of friends stranded indoors because of lousy weather.  They are sitting around talking about spooky stuff like "galvanism" (the process of making dead muscles move by jolting them with electricity) and Erasmus Darwin (whom, it was believed, had reanimated dead tissue.)  The friends decide it would be fun to hold a "contest" in which they try to write supernatural stories.

That night, Mary had a dream:

"I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life, and stir with an uneasy, half vital motion. Frightful must it be; for supremely frightful would be the effect of any human endeavour to mock the stupendous mechanism of the Creator of the world."

She went on to write Frankenstein based on this dream.  If anything, I think she was trying to show something about what happens when man plays God.

It is not impossible to say that Mary Shelly was trying to make a statement about the duality of life and death in the creation of her book, but I think that the fact that Mary was a 18 year old girl who had never really written anything before in her life points more to the fact that any "statements" Frankenstein has to make were sussed out after the fact.

What is Poe's tone in the short story, "The Masque of the Red Death?" What effect did the ebony clock have on the guests every time it chimed?I am...

Edgar Allan Poe's The Masque of the Red Death takes on a Gothic and dark natured tone throughout the short story. The effect of the ebony clock on the guests is one of fear. Each time the clock sounds; everyone is motionless and does not speak. The band does not play.

The ebony clock is also located in the seventh or black and red room. Oddly enough, when the clock does not sound, the rooms take on a beautiful glow and there is not a sense of fear among the guests. The guests feel like they are in dreamland. They are content.

The clock alerts people to their mortality. This notion goes along with the belief that each room represents a stage of life. It also explains why the black and red room is where the events at the end of the story take place.

Discuss how the grievance procedure works. What are some union issues that are in the popular press today?What is your personal view of unions and...

From a historical perspective, we have to be always thankful to unions, because it was the union of coal mine workers who set the precedence for us to have weekends off. For that, I take my hat off every Friday evening and I think all of us do as well.

From a curent perspective, I can give testimoonial of the way educational unions work and why half of them aren't worth my membership fee. This is why:

While the educational unions (those who protect teachers) claim to be almighty and save your job from any attack, the facts are:

1. If you break the organizational rules and regulations,  no union can ever save your job.

2. If your claims are to benefit you, and not the people you signed up to work for, then there are major flaws in the union.

3. A union is supposed to support a worker whether he or she is a paying member or not.

4. Many people abuse the union to bully supervisors into doing what they want, or what they feel most comfortable doing.

5. Unions should get serious and not personal about the issues that occur. They should abide by the organizational rules and regulations (and avoid the temptation of making their own) and they should keep in mind the mission and vision at hand, and not their own personal popularity.

How does John Wyndham develop suspense in Chapter 14 of The Chrysalids?

One way suspense is built in Chapter 14 of The Chrysalids by John Wyndham is through selective revelation. This technique is easy for Wyndham to achieve because the point of view of The Chrysalids is a first person narrative rendered by David, therefore the reader only knows what he knows, sees what he sees, feels what he feels, etc.

In Chapter 14 David regains consciousness and slowly becomes aware of his surroundings and of events occurring around him. That is the suspenseful way in which he and the reader both learn that he and his friends are being taken prisoner by the deviant mutants of the Fringe. A similar technique is at work when David learns the identity of the spider-like man who bears a striking resemblance to David's father Joseph Strorm. David and the reader both learn together that this spider-like man is indeed Joseph Strorm's brother and David's uncle.

In Skellig, what are Mina's criticisms of school?

Mina is home-schooled.  She likes to quote Wiliam Blake (the poet) quite a bit.  One quote she uses puts forth the notion that traditional, classroom schooling steals the joy of learning from students.  She has bought into this idea completely.  Her parents were of the same mind (her father is now dead) and so when she is schooling at home, she reads, writes, draws, paints, studies animals and their skeletal structure, nature, and even the artistic nature of clay—making animal sculptures.  She, however, does not have much in the way of a social life.

Michael is torn as he is completely fascinated (most of the time) by her take on the world.  He believe she is extraordinary.  Except for her unveiled insults of the public schooling system, and her complete disregard for his friends (due to jealousy? and their taunting of her?), he loves to discuss things with her that she has learned that are not taught in his classes in school.

In this way we can see both sides of the positive elements that home-schooling and traditional schooling offer.  And though Mina discredits Michael's schooling often, she is—though unusual—still a caring, gentle-hearted girl, and Michael finds a great deal about her to admire.  They become very close friends.

I need to known,how can I prepare E-Commerce Business plan? ThanksEspecially in Executive summary,Internet Business Issues and Business Description

E-commerce refers to business that is carried out making heavy use of information technology. Generally this involves use of Internet based selling systems. The information technology part of such e-commerce system constitute a small part of all the considerations that need to go into development of a good business plan.

As far as information technology part of the business plan is concerned it mus address the following issues.

• The extent to which information technology. This mus include the function sot be covered and the desired degree of automation.


• The degrees to which the various systems will be integrated.


• Nature of changes in business processes essential to get maximum benefit from the proposed e-systems.


• The nature of hardware and software required.


• How the required software will be acquired. This will need to address questions like standard versus custom made and single vendor versus multiple vendor.


• Time frame for developing and implementing the system


• The monetary implication of the business plan.

Give a three -term description of the vowel sounds in the following words ---house , abide ,car.

Three words that might be used to describe vowel sounds in these words are: long, short and silent.

The word “abide” has a “long” vowel sound in the “i” and a “silent” “e” at the end. It is the “e” that follows the “d” that determines the long “i” sound. Car has a “single, short” vowel sound in the “a.” “House” also has a silent “e” at the end. The “ou” sound in “house” can be called a “diphthong” where two vowels are combined and the pronunciation glides from one to the other. This is sometimes called a moving vowel.

“Abide” also has the “schwa” sound. In pronunciations guides, the beginning “a” might be written as an upside down “e” which is a “schwa” in its phonetic spelling form. The “schwa” sound is the most common vowel sound in the English language. It is an unstressed and neutral sound.

In "The Adventure of the Speckled Band," what clever, logical deductions did Holmes make to arrive at the correct conclusion about the murderer and...

Sherlock Holmes often explains his reasoning to Watson at the end of a tale, after the mystery has been solved and the guilty party is either dead or has been taken off to jail. Another good example is found in "The League of Red-Headed Man." In "The Adventure of the Speckled Band," Holmes explains his reasoning after Dr. Roylott has been killed by his own snake. Part of Holmes' explanation includes the most important clues and the deductions derived from them. Holmes admits that he was somewhat on the wrong track until he was able to examine the room in which Helen Stoner was sleeping and the adjoining room occupied by her stepfather Dr. Roylott.

My attention was speedily drawn, as I have already remarked to you, to this ventilator, and to the bell-rope which hung down to the bed. The discovery that this was a dummy, and that the bed was clamped to the floor, instantly gave rise to the suspicion that the rope was there as a bridge for something passing through the hole and coming to the bed. The idea of a snake instantly occurred to me, and when I coupled it with my knowledge that the doctor was furnished with a supply of creatures from India, I felt that I was probably on the right track. 

The fact that the bed was securely fastened to the floor was perhaps the most important clue of all. From it Holmes deduced that Dr. Roylott wanted to make sure that the snake would end up on the sleeping girl's bed when it crawled through the ventilator and down the dummy bell-rope. Holmes deduced that it could only be a snake that could do this. The facts that Roylott was a doctor and that he was interested in exotic animals from India suggested to Holmes that the doctor kept a snake whose venom was undetectable in an autopsy. The useless bell-rope and useless ventilator were also highly suggestive of some ulterior purpose.

We see Ponyboy maturing in the course of the novel ( The Outsiders ). How has he matured??nope.

In the beginning of Hinton's book "The Outsiders" Pony Boy sees the Socs as enemies.  The Socs and the Greasers have been at war, gang war and social class war, as long as he can remember.  To him they are a collective group of teens who have privileges and no problems.  Pony Boy has to look at those things from the outside.  His parents are dead and he is being raised by an older brother Darry and his brother Soda Pop.  They are also Greasers.

One night Pony Boy and his friend Johnny have a conflict with the Socs.  They are dunking Pony Boy underwater in a fountain and Johnny thinks that he is drowning.  Johnny stabs Bob to protect Pony Boy.  The boys are hidden away in an old church by Dally, their friend.  They decide to go back and turn themselves in.

Along the way to maturing several events happen:  Pony Boy has constant arguments with his older brother Darry.  He meets a Soc named Cherry who seems to like him and shares what the life of Socs is like.  He and Johnny save children from a fire in the church. Johnny dies because the church falls on him.  He lingers for while, but his burns are too bad.  One of Bob's friends that is a Soc goes to Pony Boy to talk with him about Bob and the situation that had happened.

Through his journey the signs of maturity that surface are:  Pony Boy begins to realize that Darry has taken on the role as his parent because he loves him.  The Socs are not really so different from the Greasers.  They may have things but they still have insecurities, parental issues, hopes and dreams, and struggle to get through adolescence.  He makes a decision to take responsibility for his own life.  He recognizes that continued violence is not the answer.  He picks up a pen in the end of the book and begins to write the story of The Greasers and the Socs, a written school assignment he had previously avoided doing.

What is Dickenson's purpose in writing her poem, "I'm Nobody"?

Whenever I read this poem, I cannot escape the fact that Dickinson seems to be making a strong indictment about those groups of people who are deemed "popular" and "accepted" by the social forces.  Being a teacher, I cannot help to identify the poem with the social forces that seem to dominate adolescence.  While this might not have been the direct purpose in her writing, one can see much in the way of parallels in both.  There is a social setting that determines popularity and the valence of being accepted.  At the same time, there are those who do not "fit" this mold and are isolated.  As they are silenced voices, their expression is not as valued as others.  Dickinson's purpose that is to assert voice for those who are voiceless.  In the first stanza, she seeks to bring community between two who have been deemed as "rejects."  This would be why she appropriates the term, "Nobody" in a powerful light, one of solidarity, as opposed to isolation.  In the second stanza, armed with her newly established community setting, Dickinson is able to articulate how terrible it might be to be deemed as "popular" and "accepted" because of the lacking of individual character and diversity.  In the final analysis, Dickinson has taken something that would have been seen as a stain and wears it as a badge of distinction and worthy of a rallying cry.

I need help with the figure of speech "bitter sweet"???

Like the previous post, "bitter sweet" is an oxymoron. It comes from two Greek words, meaning sharp and dull. So, even from the word itself, you are able to get at the definition of the word.

Oxymorons are great to use in literature, because it makes the reader think. It is similar to a paradox in some ways. On the surface, it does not make sense at all, but with some more reflection, usually a great truth is unlocked with wit and cleverness. Moreover, most of life is filled with oxymorons. For instance, no one is consistent. Everyone is a walking contradiction. In part this is what makes life interesting.

A nice oxymoron is "silent whispers." If we expand this idea, we can say apply it also the conceptual things.

Why are indifference curves convex to the origin in economics?

As stated in answer posted above, the convex shape of indifference curves can be explained in terms of the law of diminishing marginal utility. In my response here I will amplify on this by giving an example. But before we come to the examples I, let us make sure that we are clear about what we mean by indifference curve and law of diminishing marginal utility.

Samuelson and Nordhaus define indifference curve as:

A curve drawn on a graph whose two axes measure amounts of different goods consumed. Each point on such a curve, indicating different combinations of the two goods, yields exactly the same level of satisfaction to a given consumer.

And they define law of diminishing marginal utility as:

The law which says that as more and more any one commodity is consumed , its marginal utility declines.

Now to explain the shape of indifference curve, assume a person with a basket of 100 apples. If he is given the choice to exchange some of his apples with oranges, he might be ready to give up 5 apples in exchange for just one orange as the marginal utility of apples at this stage is very low as the total quantity is high. In comparison, the marginal utility of orange is very high as he has no oranges at all. But to get one more orange he may be prepared to part with only 4 additional apples as the marginal utility of oranges has declined while that of apples has increased. Thus as number of total apples decreases and that of orange increases number of apples given up for number of oranges may be as follows

Number of apples exchanged   -->  5    4    3    2    1    1   1    1    1

Number of oranges exchanged -->  1    1    1    1    1    2    3    4    5

Total Apples                             --> 95   91  88   86   85  84  83  82  81

Total Oranges                          -->   1    2    3    4     5    7    10  14  19

If you draw a graph of apples versus oranges using the above data you will see that it is a curve convex to the origin.

Source:

Samuelson P.A. and Nordhaus W.D., Economics, Eighteenth Edition, 2005, Tata McGraw-Hill, New Delhi

In Garrison Keillor's short piece "How the Crab Apple Grew," what is the significance of the crab apple tree?

This short piece draws from Garrison Keillor's monologues "Tales from Lake Wobegon," which he recites weekly on his radio show. Like the others, it is a reflection and remembrance on small-town life; fictional, but tailored to speak from the heart instead of from the fact. This particular tale is about an assignment given to Becky Diener, to describe her backyard as if she had never seen it before. The most striking thing in the backyard is a crab apple tree, which had just bloomed. After a few false starts, Becky begins to write her essay, relating the backyard and the tree itself to the romance of her parents, Harold and Marlys. Although the tree does not feature in the main part of the story, it becomes both a symbol and a reminder of both the past and the future:

He cut a root from another crab apple and planted the root in the ground. "Look, kids," he said. He sharpened the branch with his hatchet and split the root open and stuck the branch in and wrapped a cloth around it and said, "Now, there, that will be a tree."

[...]

The graft held, it grew, and one year it was interesting and the next it was impressive and then wonderful and finally it was magnificent.
(Keillor, "How the Crab Apple Grew," faculty.chemeketa.edu)

The growth of the crab apple tree from a graft is symbolic of the marriage of Becky's parents; the story relates how they dated but broke up, and how painful it was for Harold, who was not an overly-emotional man. All signs pointed to Marlys marrying another man, but Harold persisted in a sort-of passive-aggressive way, and the unlikely romance (graft) took root. The blooming of the tree symbolizes the family the grew from that seemingly-unimportant graft; Becky herself is the bloom, the continuation of the families that came before her, and as the tree blooms and grows more impressive each year, so to will Becky's family grow greater every generation.

Explain for me "Acids of Krebs Cycle"?

Malic Acid, Alpha-ketoglutaric Acid, Succinic Acid, Fumaric Acid, Citric Acid, Pyruvic

Acid, Pantothenic Acid are the intermediate compounds formed during the Krebs cycle

and are much significant in producing the energy required for cellular activities.

Malic Acid

Malic acid serves as a catalyst in the Krebs cycle in order to increase energy production

from the pyruvic acid. Malic acid neutralizes the increase of lactic acid in the muscles

during heavy exercises and also helps in exercise recovery.

Alpha-ketoglutaric Acid (AKG)

Alpha-ketoglutaric acid is the precursor of the amino acid, glutamic acid and is a key

factor in the Krebs cycle production of energy.

Succinic Acid

Succinic acid is similar to the other Krebs cycle intermediates. It acts as an access for

other metabolites to participate into the cycle.

Fumaric Acid

Fumaric acid is the trans-isomer of malic acid which comes into the citric acid cycle.

Citric Acid

Citric acid is a natural organic acid which is present in most of the citrus fruits like

oranges, grapes etc.

Pyruvic Acid

Pyruvic acid also possesses the tendency to increase the amount of glucose that enters

muscle cells from the circulating blood.

Pantothenic Acid

Pantothenic Acid is also called as Vitamin B5 which is water soluble, found in almost

every food, with high amounts in legumes, meat and egg and essential for the body

functions.

Significance of TCA cycle:

When these essential Krebs cycle acids are administered along with the nutrient

cofactors, even a partially completed Krebs cycle can be made complete. This feature

makes them gain much importance.

In "The Crucible" does Mary Warren believe that she and the other girls are bewitched?

The best way to figure out what Marry Warren felt about all of the accusations is to look at her own words and accounts of the events.  The first time that we see her, she expresses horror that she and her friends might be accused of witchcraft.  She worries, "witchery's a hangin' error...we must tell the truth!" She knows that if they themselves are accused of witchcraft and found guilty, they could be hanged.  So, she has a massive fear of being punished for the possible dancing and spell-casting that was occuring in the woods.  She goes on to point out that she "never done none of it" but only watched as the others did.    Already she is trying to get out of trouble.

Later however, as all of the girls get off scot-free through accusing others of being witches, Mary joins the bandwagon.  We see her true feelings on this in act two as she comes home and tells them that one woman, Goody Osburn, will be hanged because of her testimony against her.  She describes seeing Goody Osburn, and getting all cold and tingly and not being able to breathe, and then all of a sudden remembering everything that Osburn had done to her.  So at this point, Mary believes in witches, and believes that she has helped point one out to the courts.  She felt bodily discomfort, and attributed it to witchcraft.  She is still upset that a woman will be hanged for it though.

Later, in act three, we see her turn back on this belief.  She denies being bewitched and tells the court that it were "all pretense."  She goes on to elaborate, saying that she heard all of the other girls screaming and showing symptoms so it was super easy to believe she had them too.  But, she didn't; she was just caught up on the moment.  She knows that it is a fraud, and is trying to come clean.  But as Abby turns on her, she chickens out, and against her better judgment, goes back to the dark side.

So, Mary Warrn starts out believing in witches, and being afraid to be called one; later, she feels like it is possibly real.  In the end however, she knows that it is not, but goes along with it anyway as she caters to her own fears of being accused.  I hope that those thoughts helped; good luck!

Read "Theme for English B" by Langston Hughes.What is the speaker trying to say in his essay?

Part of what makes this poem so powerful is the idea that individuals play a vital role in constructing their own sense of reality.  The opening lines or the assignment takes this to a simple, yet alarmingly complex, level.  When the instructor asks the students to essentially construct truth, it is at this point where Hughes takes off in his exploration. Indeed, part of this journey is to articulate what it means to be black in the social setting of the time.  Part of this is to go to a different home than others, a different part of town than others, and to sit in a college classroom while looking physically and  experiencing reality metaphysically different than others.  This construction of truth is undeniable.  Yet, there are aspects within this experience where race is not the defining element to one's being.  When the speaker articulates wanting a pipe or specific types of music, there is an amazingly complex truth present:  Perhaps, it is not race that divides as much as class or cultural capital which is the demarcation.  Few literary thinkers, and even fewer poets, have played with this like Hughes has.  The convergence of race and class/ cultural capital is what helps the speaker define his level of truth as a complex one, where individuals face different concentric circles of experience and "truth."

What is the significance of the discussion of Jesus in "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"?

The discussion of Jesus is significant for a few reasons. First, after praying aloud that Jesus keep the Misfit from shooting a lady, the Misfit's response that only Jesus raises people from the dead, and that he shouldn't have done that, seems to indicate that in the Misfit's head, the Grandmother, like the rest of her family, was already dead. Her prayer isn't going to change his decision to shoot her. Going beyond the surface value of the conversation, it also gives insight into the religious philosophies of O'Connor. The Misfit says that if Jesus had really raised himself from the dead, then people would have to live differently. They would be accountable and have purpose. If he didn't raise from the dead, then there is nothing. The Misfit goes on to say that he wished he knew for certain, because it would have made his life different, better, if he knew for sure that Jesus rose from the dead. This conversation reveals the need for purpose and direction in life, which comes from one's beliefs. It also shows society's turn from religion to self-fulfillment, which doesn't seem to be working for the Misfit. The conversation emphasizes that the Misfit could've been different if he were reached earlier, but that it is now too late.

What joke did African Americans make about the New Deal's National Recovery Act? Explain.

While I am not aware of a particular joke, I would say that African- Americans had many insights to the elements of the Great Depression and the New Deal.  Initially, many African- Americans would have remarked that since the ending of the Civil War, they had been experiencing their own sense of "the Great Depression."  The lack of economic opportunities, the high unemployment, the economic despair that enveloped communities in 1930 had been around African- American areas for about seventy years.  This was due, in large part, to state laws which advocated segregation and a "separate but equal" America.  No doubt African Americans would have agreed with the sentiment, "It's a minor crime when it happens to someone else, but it's a major crime if it happens to you."  For African- Americans, the panic and disarray realized with the Great Depression had been enveloping their communities for decades.  In terms of the National Recovery Act (NRA), themselves, African- Americans would once again have remarked about the nature of minor vs. major crimes.  For White American workers who were tired of being mistreated economically, the NRA's emphasis on fair compensation and equitable business practices was seen as an absolute.  Yet, for African- American workers, a dire lack of fair wages and unfair business practices had defined their existence in the post- Civil War America.  Bosses treated African- American workers fundamentally worse than their White counterparts.  Once again, the joke of it being a major crime when it happens to you would be quite valid.  African- Americans must have looked at the Great Depression with some level of ironic disdain because the panic and challenges thrust upon the shoulders of White Communities had been the burden for ones populated with people of color for some time.

Can I have an explanation of the following lines from "Ode to the West Wind"?"Oh, lift me as a wave, a leaf, a cloud! I fall upon the thorns of...

I see these lines as reflecting the basic tension between Shelley's desire for transcendence, yet being bound with a sense of presence.  One of the driving forces of Shelley's poem is the obsession for poetic immortality.  Shelley does not have make any apologies for wanting to be considered one of the greats and become a member of the pantheon of great poets.  The challenge he faces is that he does not know if this is going to happen in his lifetime or if this is something he will experience.  Hence, he is trapped between his hopes and his present.  This might be where we get the idea of wishing to be lifted, but falling "upon the thorns of life."  Another implication from this couplet could be the idea of seeking to overcome human banality.  There is a dichotomy revealed in the lines which reflects much of human nature.  There is an experience of lightness and weight revealed.  In the first line, we see the idea of striving for lightness, "lift me as a wave," and a belief that one can transcend what they are for another consciousness.  This is undercut with the reality of bleeding upon "the thorns of life."  In an odd way, perhaps both are part of what it means to be human.  On one hand, we seek and strive to be "light," but we are creatures of weight and gravity is not something that can be avoided in our consciousnesses.  In reading the lines again, I am reminded of Carlos Fuentes' points made about Don Quixote and Sancho in "The Buried Mirror."  Both character represent us and what it means for us to be human.  Quixote is that dreamer in us who strives for justice and equality.  He would be the desire to be lifted "as a wave."  His counterpart, Sancho, is more concerned with the mundane realities that bind him to consciousness and this world.  He is the reality that seeks a good meal or a good place to sleep.  Shelley is obviously voicing his desire for a Quixote vision of reality in making Sancho cause him to "fall upon the thorns of life," yet might understand that while we wish to be Quixotes, we are both.  In such a realization, we "bleed" like Shelley does.

What are some of Stephen Dedalus's personality characteristics in Ulysses?

In order to discuss the character of Stephen Dedalus in Joyce's Ulysses, one must first examine Stephen's role in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man--the novel in which Joyce first introduced him.  In Portrait, readers are immersed into a series of seemingly random episodes comprised of various experiences in Stephen's life.  Through these episodes, we see Stephen as a deeply pensive character who questions virtually every aspect of his own existence--from his familial relationships to his religious beliefs and education. 

Of particular significance is Stephen Dedalus's name.  Primarily, Saint Stephen is believed to have been the first Christian martyr who was put to death after being accused of speaking against God and Moses.  As Christianity--specifically Roman Catholicism--is central in both Portrait and Ulysses, Stephen's first name is not an accident.  Further, the name Dedalus is remniscent of the Greek architect Daedalus, who, according tp mythology, created wax wings to escape the island of Crete.  (Daedalus's son, Icarus, flew too close to the sun, despite his father's warning; as a result, the wax in his wings melted and he crashed.)  As Daedalus was a thinker and innovator, so too is Stephen. 

As Ulysses opens, Stephen is struggling to cope with his mother's recent death. In the presence of his jovial roommate, Buck Mulligan, Stephen is unable to emerge from his somber mood--a mood that follows him for most of the novel. 

Though Ulysses is an intricately-constructed work of literature whose complexity is difficult to discuss in short, Stephen Dedalus can be described as an intellectual scholar whose troubled relationship with his family and the Catholic church drive him to seek for his own purpose.  Ultimately, as he is relatively alienated from his own father, Stephen develops a brief, though meaningful, relationship with Leopold Bloom--another of the novel's main characters--who is also seeking to fill the void of the infant son he lost years before. 

Atticus spends a great deal of time discussing Miss Ewell's injuries. What does he seem to want to reveal? The Ewell's are "poor...

Prior to discussing the injuries sustained by Miss Mayella Ewell during the alleged altercation, Atticus had Tom Robinson stand so that Mayella could "have a good long look" at him.  Scout's reaction to Robinson's physical appearance presumably mirrored that of others in the courtroom who did not know Robinson; she was shocked to see that Robinson

"...looked oddly off balance, but it was not from the way he was standing.  His left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than is right, and hung dead at his side.  It ended in a small shriveled hand and from as far away as the balcony I could see that it was no use to him."

Atticus used this opportunity to provide the jury, as well as everyone else present, with the visual information that should have led them to understand that Tom Robinson, with only one functioning arm, would have been unable to choke Mayella Ewell.  This fact should have raised sufficient reasonable doubt to have led to Robinson's acquittal, especially considering Bob Ewell's testimony stating that fingermarks were found "all around" Mayella's throat.  Robinson's disability clearly revealed his innocence.

What is the property illustrated in (2+g)+3 = 2+(g+3) ?

This is the associative property of addition, not the commutative property.

The commutative property only deals with 2 numbers not 3.

The order of the numbers or their groupings do not affect the result.

(2+1)+3 = 2+(1+3)

3+3 = 2+4 (eliminate parehtneses)

6 = 6

Instead of a variable, I have substituted real numbers to illustrate how this works. You of course would eliminate the parentheses first.

The same is true of multiplication as well.

(2*4)*5 = 2*(4*5)

8*5 = 2*20 (eliminate parentheses)

40 = 40

Again, you eliminate the parentheses first and then work out the problem the rest of the way.

Why has Christian come to the play? What concern does he express to Ligniere?

Christian has come to the play with the hope of setting his eyes on Roxane. Roxane is a very beautiful woman with whom Christian has fallen in love but whose name he does not know and who could also be attending the performance. Christian is in the company of his friend Ligniere, a poet. He confesses to Ligniere that in spite of his feelings for Roxane, her intelligence intimidates him and he fears he would make a fool of himself if given the chance to talk to her. He also expresses his unease due to the caliber of Roxane’s other suitors. Coincidentally, Roxane is also in love with Christian, as revealed during her meeting with her cousin Cyrano. She requests him to protect Christian when he joins the Guard. Even though Christian feared that his lack of word skills would stand in the way of his love for Roxane, Cyrano was kind enough to help him express himself through heart melting letters that further won Roxane’s heart.

What is dialog? Please leave an exampleits part of english (H)

"What is dialog," smart-kid53 asked curiously.

"Dialogue (occassionally seen as dialog) is the act of having a conversation between two or more people. It also refers to the conversation itself. In literature, it reveals the thoughts and feelings of the characters which make them seem more realistic," ask996 answered with absolute certainty.

"Oh, now I understand."

"That's because you're a smart-kid53. Do you also realize that every time the speaker of dialogue changes, the author starts it on a new line? And don't forget this entire conversation was a dialogue about dialogue."

"Why doesn’t the author just tell us? What the characters think and feel?

"Well perhaps the author wants to make a stronger personal connection to the writing for the reader, or maybe this gives the author a chance to reveal more about the character through the use of dialect as well."

"Dialect?"

"Dialect is the way people speak based upon education, economics, environment, geography, and etc."

In triangle XYZ

Similar triangles have all three angles that have the same measure. We already know that both of your triangles have an angle that measures 120 deg. We also know that the three angles of any triangle always add up to 180 degrees.

For triangle XYZ, we have to figure out what the measure of angle Z is. <X is 25, <Y is 120; the two added together = 145 deg. To find <Z, subtract: 180 -145 = 35 deg. When you do the same thing to triangle LMN, we find the measure of < L is 15 deg. (You figure that out yourself, by the way I did <Z)

Therefore, no, they are not similar. The angles of XYZ are 25, 120, and 35, and LMN are 45, 120, and 15 deg.

In "A Pair of Silk Stockings" by Kate Chopin, what are some characteristics of Mrs. Sommers?The question of symbolism in A Pair of Silk Stockings...

In A Pair of Silk Stockings, Kate Chopin ascribes numerous valuable characteristics to Mrs. Sommers. In fact, Chopin reveals to us no negative traits at all. Mrs. Sommers has no animosity, regret, disgust, greed or selfishness. Her worst trait is that in a moment of fatigue, hunger and prolonged anxiety and anticipation, she enjoys the touch and colors of a collection of fine silk stockings.

Chopin shows that Mrs. Sommers is careful, deliberate and frugal. We are told that Mrs. Sommers, doesn't want to "act hastily" to do anything with her unexpected wealth that she might regret. Mrs. Sommers knows the "value of bargains" and can elbow, snatch and grab her way with determination to affordable necessities, like shirting, for her family.

Mrs. Sommers is a considerate and conscientious mother. She mends, darns, and skillfully patches for them. She becomes excited and anticipatory at the thought of her children in good looking clothes. Mrs. Sommers is conscientious to the point of overworking and neglecting herself as on the day of her shopping trip when she overlooked "swallowing a bite" of luncheon (the long form of the shortened word lunch), which is integrally tied to the conflict (plot) of the story.

Additionally, Mrs. Sommers is not selfindulgent or given to regrets or negative emotions. She never "indulged in morbid retrospection" about her past "better days." She only had time to devote to the demands of the present.

Mrs. Sommers is a reasonable woman who has sensible expectations of herself and other people. She tells the shoe salesman that she is willing to accept a small increase in price if she can get what she "desires." And at her stop at the restaurant, she tells the waiter that she doesn't want a "profusion" of food but just a "tasty bite," and in fact has a modest though delicious meal.

Above all, as she herself learns and we along with her, Mrs. Sommers is intelligent and elegant--still. She buys her magazines and enjoys reading them. She walks with a greater bearing. She draws no undue attention when she enters the restaurant or as she removes "her gloves very leisurely" to lay them beside her. She converses freely with the other lady at the theater. In fact, they share a laugh, a tear and a chocolate together.

In the cable car on the way home to her family, as she feels that she is out of place in the world she once chose for love, it is her "poignant wish, a powerful longing," without regret or rancor, that the savory recollection of her moment of return to her better days could go on without end.

What are 10 invasive birds in North Amreica and where did they come from?What are their distributions?

This is a good question. I'll list 10 of the hundreds of bird species that have been introduced to North America and their origins. Then I'll provide links to web sites where you will be able to determine their distributions.

House sparrows and House finches were here by Europeans who were homesick and who thought the birds might control pests. They have thrived here, so much so that they threaten bluebird populations in some areas.

European starlings, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, were first brought here by Shakespeare enthusiasts in the 19th century. (The lab's web site doesn't say why.)

Rock Doves or Rock Pigeons are native to Europe, North Africa, and western Asia. The species was first introduced to North America in 1606.

Sacred Ibis. This African bird was introduced for sale to bird enthusiasts, but has managed to establish a wild population in parts of North America.

Green Parrots were also introduced from South America for sale in pet stores.

Indian peafowl were brought here by travelers who wanted to add an exotic touch to their gardens.

The muscovy duck is a native to Mexico and Central and South America. North American breeders brought it here to add to their domesticated flocks.

Another Mexican native is the spot-breasted oriole. It was brought to North America in the 1940s.

Crested myna, originally from China, were brought to the Vancouver area in the late 1800s for use as caged songbirds. As happens, some birds either escaped or were released and were able to establish colonies in the wild.

I hope this helps.

What does Atticus tell Scout about the Ewells? How are the Ewells their own society? Exlpain.To be specific he said this in chapters 1-6. I am...

When Scout starts school, we get our first look at the Ewells. Atticus always tries to see the best in people, and teaches his children the same thing, however when it comes to the Ewells, there isn't much good to see. Atticus tells Scout that he has never seen a Ewell do an honest days work in his life, and they live in the they live in their own society, a society of Ewells. Of all the people in town, the Ewells are by far the most talked about and looked down upon. They are looked down upon, because of the way they live and treat others. They are not the type of people that you would welcome with open arms.

Harper Lee introduces us to the Ewells first from Scout's point of view. We see her experience with the Ewell children at school, and when she says something to Atticus, we get a more in depth view on the family. At the beginning of the story we realize that the Ewells are not a good family, but we aren't aware of just how bad they are. Lee uses the eyes of a child to introduce this family to us.

Of course, we learn later in the book, exactly what this family is capable of doing. We see Scout having problems at school with the Ewells and asking some really tough but real questions on why this family is the way it is. We learn, through Atticus, that the town just turns a blind eye to the way the Ewells do things. However, Atticus can't turn a blind eye when justice needs to be served, and Jem and Scout, will learn exactly how rough this family can be.

What the resolution of The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963?

The resolution of this great novel comes after the climax, which comes in Chapter 15 when Kenny, with Byron's help, is finally able to express his emotions about what he has seen and observed whilst he was in Alabama, both with his fight with the Wool Pooh and with the bombing of the church. He is able to confess his supposed guilt at having lost the fight with the Wool Pooh for Joetta and his complete inability to understand why people would do something so terrible as bomb a church and kill the little girls that died.

The resolution comes as Kenny is finally able to smile at himself in the mirror:

I climbed up on the toilet and leaned over the sink to take a look. I smiled. Byron was very right about some things too. He was very right when he said I was too smart to believe magic powers lived behind a couch. He also knew what he was talking about when he said I was going to be alright.

He leaves the bathroom, wondering about how he is going to get his dinosaurs back from Rufus, whom he had given them to.

How effective is the opening chapter in "Lord of the Flies" at introducing the characters, themes, and language of the novel?William Golding's...

In an allegorical way, the opening chapter of "Lord of the Flies" is effective.  First of all, the emergence from the forest of the single character, Ralph, establishes him as an important personage, and that Piggy arrives next sets him as secondary to Ralph.  Then, too, the symbolism of the conch and its importance is indicated by the fact that this first chapter is entitled, "The Sound of the Shell."  The conch represents the order of society as it calls the boys to meetings and organizes them.  Later, in the novel when the conch is ignored, the reader cannot but recognize the anarchy that exists.  Even later in the narrative, as the conch is dashed against the rocks, its symbolism extends to the end of rationality as Piggy himself is hurled to his death against the rocks.

Ralph and Piggy swim in a lagoon and discover the conch. as they rest, William Golding writes that Ralph sits in the "green shade on a convenient trunk."  (green is a pleasant color)  Sitting on the fallen trunk, "tangled reflections quivered over him," but Ralph "dreamed pleasantly" as he ignores Piggy's "ill-omened talk."  Clearly, here Golding foreshadows the character flaw of Ralph which leads to future conflcts in the novel.  Golding writes,

Piggy looked up a Ralph. All the shadows on Ralph's face were reversed; green above, bright below from the lagoon...'We got to do something.'

But Ralph looks

through him.  Here at last was the imagined but never fully realized place leaping into real life

and, for Ralph, Piggy becomes "an irrelevance."

Then, other boys appear, some of whom have already removed their clothes, the trappings of civilization.  a group of boys in black cloaks march into the scene.  These boys are led by Jack, whose evil persona is easily perceived:

The boy himself came forward, vaulted on to the platform with his cloak flying, and peered into what to him was almost complete darkness.

Ralph, "sensing his sun-blindness, answered him."  Out of the other boy's face "stared two light blue eyes, frustrated now, and turning, or ready to turn, to anger."  These lines establish the future conflicts between Ralph as the good force and Jack as the evil force.

The last of the main characters, Simon, is also introduced in this first expository chapter.  "A slight, furtive boy whom no one knew, who kept to himself with an inner intensity of avoidance and secrecy" is seen right before the choir boy who has fainted sits up against a palm trunk, saying that his name is Simon.  The significance of this scene is later understood as Roger, who represents primordial evil lurking in secrecy at this point later emerges as part of the "beast" who confronts the sensitive Simon, who faints in his presence in a later chapter.

Jack establishes his choir as the hunters in the first chapter, and they pay "no attention" to Piggy who declares that he was with Ralph when he discovered the conch.  Golding writes, too, that "a kind of glamour was spread over them"--the attraction of evil.

While the boys at this point retain the trappings of society, Jack's avowal that he will not miss the pig at which he stabs indicates the future descent of the boys into inherent evil.  Golding, thus, effectively introduces his themes in this first chapter as he clarifies the allegorical roles of the main characters.

How do people travel? When are they allowed to travel?The Giver

Besides the people who were appointed to have contact with the outside world, sometimes the schoolchildren from the Community are permitted to visit surrounding villages, but these occasions are rare. Jonas' sister Lily, for example, mentions having had a dispute with one of the children from another school, apparently part of a "field trip" to the Community. That evening she discusses the confrontation during the family's 'sharing feelings' time and ends up feeling a bit ashamed for her inability to put herself in the place of a child unfamiliar with the customs and ways of the Community. This is incidentally the one and only circumstance showing the link between experience and empathy, so important in the second half of the story.

As to transportation, bicycles are indeed main way of getting around, and it is the best means for Jonas to covertly escape with Gabriel during the annual Ceremony of Twelve. However, at the end of the story (when in the snow the bicycle is no longer useful) he finds a red sled, which he mounts with Gabe and then descends a hill to voices below. Jonas has already "experienced" this scene in one of his earlier dreams, which at this point the reader realizes was a projection of a future event rather than a memory of the past.

In 'Gathering Blue' (not exactly a sequel), the red sled is kept by Jonas' new community as a symbol of their leader's providential arrival and the hope his coming to their village has instilled.

In "Sonny's Blues," is music a savior in Sonny's life or his ultimate weakness?James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues"

Maybe both.  It is a known fact that musicians live an odd life, sleeping during the day and working at night.  Their schedule and their association with "goodtime people," as Sonny's father had called them, can often lead to drug use.  Added to this temptation in "Sonny's Blues" is the isolation Sonny feels when he tells his brother that he wants to play jazz, and the narrator-brother is not too receptive to the idea.

When Sonny stays at Isabel's house before she and the narrator are married, living with Sonny is difficult as he plays notes over and over:

Isabel finally confessed that it wasn't like living with a person at all, it was like living with sound.  And the sound didn't make sense to...any of them....It was as if he were all wrapped up in some cloud, some fire, some vision all his own; and there wasn't any way to reach him.

This inability of the family to reach Sonny is what probably precipitates his estrangement and drug use:

For he also had to see that his presence, that music, which was life or death to him, had been torture for them and that they had endured it, not at all for his sake, but only for mine.  And Sonny couldn't take that.

Then, years later, the brother reads of "Sonny's trouble."  After Sonny comes to live with his brother, Sonny invites the brother to join him as he plays that night. And, it is in this night that Sonny's life is saved, for his brother--sitting at a small table in the dark--sees and hears the suffering in the man that is his brother Sonny for the first time:

...the man who creates the music is hearing something else, is dealing wit the roar rising from and void and imposing order on it as it hits the air.  What is evoked in him, then, is of another order, more terrible because it has no words, and triumphant, too, for that same reason.  And his triumph, when he triumphs, is ours...the tale of how we suffer, and how we are delighted, and how we may triumph is never new, it always must be heard.  There isn't any other tale to tell, it's the only light we've got in all this darkness.

Sonny's blues/jazz is this light in the darkness; it is his savior.  The brother-narrator describes the glass that the waitress puts on top of the piano for Sonny as glowing and shaking "above my brother's head like the very cup of trembling," the life-blood of the Savior.

In The Great Gatsby, why does Gatsby throw huge expensive parties for people he does not even know?

In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby throws parties to fill a void in his past; to exercise his present power; and to impress the one woman he had ever loved, for whom he wasn't good enough. Jay Gatsby began life in humble circumstances, tried to improve his situation, met wealthy, pampered Daisy and fell in love. She didn't marry him because he wasn't good enough and could neither appreciate nor provide all the comforts she was accustomed to.

When Gatsby made his fortune through dishonest means, he began surrounding himself with the pomp, luxury and social acceptance he never had and which Daisy had demanded of him. He entertained a secret hope that Daisy would find her way into his world again. He threw lavish parties to create what Daisy demanded and to exercise the power of his vast wealth, knowing all the while that people had heard rumors about his business dealings and the source of his wealth and didn't really think of him as a friend: To the social circle, Gatsby was only a good time, but the people partying at his home gave him what he was looking for anyway.

Why does narrator wish they had said "call it a day" instead of "supper"?Explain your response with reference to the text.

The narrator of the poem (who we can probably identify with the poet) is clearly conflicted about injecting subjectivity into his portrayal of the scene. The poem strives for realism, and the powerful understatement of the ending underscores the harsh realities of this time and place. However, in interesting ways, the poem also draws attention to the desires of the speaker to manipulate our experience of the poem as it is told. At times the speaker catches himself romanticizing the story through devices like metonymy and personification. "Call it a day I wish they might have said" is a clear example of the speaker projecting his desires onto the "reality" of the action. It is, of course, also foreshadowing.

Similarly, later in the poem, the speaker has to resist personifying the saw and thus potentially treating it as evil rather than just presenting it as the amoral object that it is: "At the word, the saw,/As if to prove saws knew what supper meant,/Leaped out at the boy's hand, or seemed to leap--/He must have given the hand. However it was,/Neither refused the meeting."

This overt struggle with realism marks much of Frost's work. In this regard, "Out, Out–" is very similar to a poem like "Birches."

In "The Crucible" why was everyone so eager to assume witchcraft was to blame for the bizarre behaviors?

A good resource to answer this question is looking at the prologue to the play; Arthur Miller gives a great commentary to why Salemites were so prone to believe in witchcraft, and to use it as a tool for blaming others.  So, take a look at those explanations that come before Act One even starts.

A couple things that Miller mentions relate to the Puritan religion that these people practiced.  They believed in the bible, literally, and took its words to heart.  And, the devil is a very present force in the bible; hence, they believed not only in God, but in the devil also.  Satan himself spoke with and tempted Jesus in the New Testament, and there are multiple instances of people being "possessed" by Satan's spirits.  So, because they believed in these things, witchcraft was a completely real possibility for them.  Witchcraft had been found in their communities before, and was feared among all.

Another thing that Miller mentions relates to how people dealt with guilt.  He states that in their religion there wasn't a real good way to express sins and not be condemned for them.  So, the accusations of witchcraft allowed people to

"express publicly his guilt and sins, under the cover of accusations against the victims."

For example, Abigail admits that she had been dancing and casting spells, but, it wasn't her fault, because a witch had made her do it.  If anyone else had done something wrong, they could confess it, and get the guilt off of their chests, and blame someone else for bewitching them.  It takes the blame away from them.

One last reason you might want to consider is the huge amount of contention that was evidenced in Salem at the time.  Miller goes to great lengths to reveal all of the bickering, fighting, and underlying hatred that existed amongst the townsfolk.  People were angry over land, over elections, over wills, over salaries and sermons, and upset over children dying, jealous over someone else's children or land, etc.  All of these issues bred underlying bitterness between people; the accusations provided an outlet for them to express those frustrations.  Take for example Putnam prompting his daughter to cry out against Jacobs, which, as he states, "gave him a fair piece of land."  If Jacobs is accused, Putnam can buy up his land.  Rebecca Nurse is arrested because Mrs. Putnam is jealous of all of her children and resents her for it.  Elizabeth is arrested because Abby hates her.  So, witchcraft is just a way to stick it to someone that you don't like.

I hope that those thoughts helped a bit; good luck!

Interpet the description of the following passage, explaining why Hawthorne uses the word "uncertain." "which bore the likeness of a great black...

Nathaniel Hawthorne, the great Early American writer, is responsible for introducing the symbolism that became a signature element of the American novel.  Such a symbolic presence is the old man in "Young Goodman Brown" who accompanies Goodman Brown into the forest primeval. As he leaves his wife Faith, Goodman beholds "the figure of a man, in grave and decent attire, seated at the foot of an old tree."  This man has a staff which "bore the likeness of a great black snake" that seems to wriggle and twist "like a living serpent," but this could be simply a result of the "uncertain light."

Hawthorne uses these words to reflect the "uncertain light" of Goodman Brown's faith.  When confronted by "he of the serpent," Goodman tells him,

I have scruples touching the matter thou wot'st of...my father never went into the woods on such an errand, nor his father before him.  We have been a race of honest men and good Christians since the days of the martyrs...

Goodman Brown questions his convictions, else he would not have bid Faith goodbye and embarked on his journey.  When confronted by evil, he fears that his faith will not hold him in stead; thus, he wishes to withdraw.  It is Goodman Brown who is uncertain, not the light that reflects upon the staff.

Undeterred by his refusal, the "elder person" tells Goodman that he helped his grandfather at the Salem Witchcraft trials as well as assisting his father in the burning of an Indian village.  The old man recognizes the hypocrisy of the Brown family, their uncertainly as true Christians.  As they venture forth, he laughs at Goodman Brown, saying, "prithee, don't kill me with laughing."

Of course, as the story ends, there is an uncertainly to Brown as he is not sure whether he has dreamed or actually witnessed a black mass in the forest.  When his Faith runs to him, he rejects his wife and his figurative Faith as well.  He then becomes "a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man" for the remainder of his life.  Hawthorne, in his castigation of the precepts of Puritanism, implies the Biblical allusion of faith not being enough to save a person:

Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.   (James 2:17)

Here the Calvinist precept of "Once saved, always saved" is questioned by Hawthorne who was chagrined by the hypocrisy of the Puritans who punished others, but hid their own "secret sins."

Did Trujillo do anything good for the Dominican Republic during his rule?

Rafael Trujillo was a dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic for 31 years until he was assassinated in 1961.

On the bad side, Trujillo was a brutal dictator.  He ran a secret police apparatus that ensured that there could be no real opposition to his rule.

On the good side, Trujillo's regime did preside over a time of increased prosperity in the Dominican Republic.  His government undertook public works projects that improved the ports, roads, and other infrastructure.  The middle class in the country grew.

Now, there's nothing to say that these things might not have happened if he had ruled less brutally.  But at least those are positive developments.

Why does Atticus wake up the children in the middle of the night?Be specific.

After a day of playing in the snow and building a "morphodite snowman," Scout is awakened by Atticus on the coldest night of the year. Jem is already awake and standing "groggy and tousled" alongside his father. It's shortly after 1 a.m. Scout does not have to ask Atticus what the problem is.

Just as the birds know where to go when it rains, I knew when there was trouble in our street. Soft taffeta-like sounds and muffled scurrying sounds filled me with helpless dread.

The street is full of people, and when the children get to their porch, they "saw fire spewing from Miss Maudie's diningroom windows." Their favorite neighbor's house had caught fire--probably from a faulty flue--and her friends were trying to save what they could from inside the house. Althought some of the furniture and other items were salvaged,

    "It's gone, ain't it?" moaned Jem.
    "I expect so," said Atticus.

In The Crucible, what structural parallel in Act Two is recalled by John's tearing up of his confession near the end of Act Four?How does this...

In Act Two, John Proctor is infuriated when his wife, Elizabeth, is arrested for witchcraft.  Herrick, an official of the courts, comes to his house with a written warrant to arrest Elizabeth.  The charges are all based on Abigail's claim that Elizabeth had sent her spirit out to stab her; she even produced a needle from her belly to prove it.  When the poppet is found in Elizabeth's house, that is all of the evidence that Herrick and the courts need to make good on the warrant and arrest Elizabeth then and there.  John, who knows that this "evidence" is sketchy at best, and that Abby is behind all of it, having seen Mary put the needle in the doll, considers the arrest an atrocity and false.  So, he grabs the warrant from Herrick and tears it up, as a statement of how it was false, and based upon a lie from Abigail.

This act of tearing up the warrant parallels his own tearing of his false confession in Act Four.  John is pressured into confessing, falsely, to witchcraft.  He signs the confession, and after he learns it will be posted on the church doors for the entire town to see, he has doubts. He knows that it is a lie, he knows the paper bears false witness against the truth and his reputation, and he knows that great harm will be done with that confession.  So, in the end, he tears it up, because it is all a lie, just as he knew the warrant for Elizabeth's arrest was based on a lie.

These actions touch on the theme of hypocrisy, lying and deceit that run through the entire play.  John was a constant advocate against deceipt, and his tearing of these two important documents symbolizes how his character tore through any falsity and exposed the real truth of matters.  In his presence, lies did not stand.  I hope that those thoughts helped; good luck.

Please discuss this question: How would things be if time travel would be possible?

This question really depends on whether events are set in time or not. If events are set, basically if fate exitst, then no matter what I did if I travelled back in time, nothing would change. Things would occur just perhaps in different ways. For example, if i went back in time and saved someone from being killed in a car crash, they would die from choking or falling down the stairs if events were fixed.

If events are not fixed, and there is no such thing as fate, then a great deal of damage would probably be done to the world through the actions of the time traveller. For example, I could save a drowning child only for the child grow up to be a serial killer.

It's funny when thinking about possibly jepordising our own existance, like in Back to the Future. Surely, if you stop yourself from existing, then you wouldnt have existed to stop yourself, therefore you would still exist?

How did presidential policy and supreme court decisions in the mid twentieth century United States contribute to a more involved national government?

I agree with the above answer, and I would emphasize that you need to define "mid-century."

To me, the rise in the power of the national government can't be discussed without linking it back to the Depression and WWII.  Both of those, more than anything after, led to an increase in the power of the central government.  As far as the Supreme Court goes, before Darby, there was the "switch in time that saved nine" where the Court started allowing New Deal programs to stand after it had been striking them down (this is West Coast Hotel v. Parrish).

After WWII, the federal government continued to do more or less whatever it wanted up until the Reagan years.  Even Republicans like Eisenhower and Nixon did a lot of things that increased and/or used the power of the federal government (building the interstates, aid to education after Sputnik, wage and price controls under Nixon).

So I would say that the Depression and WWII set a precedent and the need for the federal government to fight the Cold War added to that precedent.  People got so used to the federal government acting that they went along with it until the '80s.

What is the figure of speech in the poem "Harlem"?

Langston Hughes employs many examples of figurative language in the poem.  The overwhelming use of imagery, or mental pictures, populate the poem in helping the reader understand the implications of dreams that are not recognized or are deliberately put aside, away from view and silenced from voice.  The questions offered are done so in a series of similes, or comparisons between objects that use the term "like" or "as."  These are seen in questions such as "Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?"  Another example would be, "Does it fester like a sore?"  Both similes link dreams deferred to conditions that reflect a sense of withdrawal or pain.  In terms of comparing a dream deferred to something of rejection, Hughes employs the simile of "Does it stink like rotten meat?"    The same type of imagery of spoil is seen with the question of "Does it crust and sugar over- like a syrupy sweet?" When Hughes compares it to "a heavy load," one sees that the imagery has turned to weight or burden.  These images conveyed through the figurative language of simile expressions helps to bring forth a series of concepts associated with dreams deferred.

How does Frederick trick Napoleon in Animal Farm?

What you are probably referring to happens in Chapter 8.

Frederick has been negotiating with Napoleon to buy the wood that Farmer Jones left behind.  Napoleon finally agrees to sell it to him rather than to Pilkington.

Frederick is going to pay by check but Napoleon wants cash.  Frederick pays in cash but we later find out that all the bills he used as payment were fake.

So the trick is that he uses fake money to buy the wood.

In addition to this, Frederick then attacks the farm and blows up the windmill that the animals had built.

What publication did Mr. Kraler bing to Anne on mondays in Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl?

In The Diary of Anne Frank Mr. Kraler brings Anne the news. He not only brings the news on Mondays but everyday. Mr. Kraler starts to feel bad sharing the news even though Anne waits in anticipation to hear news, including bad news. He knows the family can't do anything about it, so he doesn't feel good about sharing the news. The news and Mr. Kraler are Annes only bridges to the outside world. She is thankful that Mr. Kraler continues to bring her and her family the news.

In Act 4 scene VII how does the King use Laertes very cleverly?

Even though Claudius might be justified in punishing Hamlet for Polonius's death, he knows that "the queen his mother / lives almost by [Hamlet's] looks" and that he has to consider "the great love the general gender bear [Hamlet]."  If Claudius acts too hastily or with too little evidence, he risks the condemnation of his wife and his public.  Instead, he uses Laertes's anger toward Hamlet to his own advantage.  Claudius devises a plan "under the which [Hamlet] shall not choose but fall / And for his death no wind of blame shall breathe" toward himself.  He tells Laertes that while he has been gone, Hamlet has had to endure talk of Laertes's accomplishments in dueling, and that this talk made Hamlet envious.  Claudius plans to bait Hamlet into dueling with Laertes, but instead of using the customary dull rapier, Laertes will use "a sword unbated," that is, sharpened.  As if that's not bad enough, Laertes says he will also "anoint [his] sword" with an "unction," or poison, so that if he so much as scratches Hamlet, he will surely die.  And to top it all off, Claudius says that just in case Hamlet were to win the duel, he will have a poisoned drink prepared for the occasion.

Basically, Laertes is Claudius's fall-guy.  Claudius sets Laertes up to be the one who gets the blame for killing Hamlet.  Claudius still gets the end result he wants and receives none of the blame.  But of course, the plan doesn't account for Hamlet's insight and intelligence and fails in the end.

How does the narrator feel about the one solving the mystery, where is the mystery solved, and who is the foil in The Adventure of the Speckled Band?

There are really three questions here. Firstly, the narrator of the story is Dr Watson. He admires the great detective, Sherlock Holmes, whose adventures he chronicles and who solves the mystery of the speckled band.

Secondly we note that the two men are very different, which makes Watson the perfect foil to Holmes. Watson comments at the beginning of the story that Holmes indulges in his detective work for personal satisfaction rather than material gain: explaining that as he worked-

for the love of his art than for the acquirement of wealth, he refused to associate himself with any investigation which did not tend towards the unusual, and even the fantastic.

Watson is more of a creature of habit and routine – as he notes about the unusual early rising of Holmes which disturbs Watson on the day the case comes to light

I was myself regular in my habits.

Watson has a more stable occupation as a doctor but is always on hand to indulge in the exciting exploits of Holmes’ detective work. He has a great respect and fascination with the skill of his friend-

I had no keener pleasure than in following Holmes in his professional investigations, and in admiring the rapid deductions, as swift as intuitions, and yet always founded on a logical basis with which he unravelled the problems which were submitted to him.

The mystery unravels in Stoke Moran, on the border with Surrey in England. Holmes visits the dwindling estate of Dr Grimesby Roylott and establishes that he has plotted to kill his second stepdaughter, having succeeded with the first, by establishing elaborate modifications to her room to facilitate a fatal attack by a swamp adder.

Edgar Linton: a greater lover for Catherine in Wuthering Heights?Many people criticize Edgar as weak, xenophobic, and soft; but he has his own...

In the book Wuthering Heights Edgar Linton loved Catherine deeply.  He felt jealous of Heathcliff the first time he identified the level of Catherine's relationship with Heathcliff.  However, he had been raised to be a poised gentleman.  He fell in love with Catherine and was pleased to marry her.

Catherine hid her true feelings from Edgar for a long time.  She toyed with Heathcliff while staying married to Edgar.  Edgar put up with a lot and was unselfish in his desire to accommodate Catherine.  He never forced her to stay but he did have her chose.  Catherine is the one who could not let go of Heathcliff but promised herself to Edgar.

Catherine never told him that she had planned to leave Edgar for Heathcliff before she found out that she was pregnant.  When Edgar's wife died he lost her to Heathcliff.  He was also cursed with Heathcliff's need to have vengeance on him.  Edgar had a child to raise and was a loving and good father.  I did not find Edgar to be weak just civilized.  Heathcliff represents the opposite end of the spectrum.

In terms of Catherine finding the right one, she was never meant to.  The idea within the novel was for her to keep longing for Heathcliff.  She is the moth drawn to the flame, which is Heathcliff.  Flames burn things up, so had she actually been with him they would have had a tumultuous marriage.  Edgar was drawn towards Catherine's flame and the outcome was a rough ride with her constantly battling her emotions over Heathcliff and Heathcliff's vendetta against Edgar.

Why does Golding describe the savages as "little boys on the beach" and Jack in particular as a "Little Boy"?What point is he trying to convey to...

Early in the novel, Lord of the Flies, a differentiation is made between the really small children on the island, who are around the age of six, and the bigger children like Jack, Piggy, Ralph and Simon, who range between the ages of twelve and sixteen.

There are two very telling passages later in the novel where "little boy" is used to press home a point. And that point is that they are all but little boys, that we humans are all but little boys. The is no need to separate little from big; we all do the same things for we all bare the same motivations and same darkness in our hearts.

The first passage is Simon's confrontation with the head of the slaughtered pig:

“You are a silly little boy,” said the Lord of the Flies, “just an ignorant, silly little boy.”

Simon moved his swollen tongue but said nothing.

“Don’t you agree?” said the Lord of the Flies. “Aren’t you just a silly little boy?”

Simon answered him in the same silent voice.

And here we are at the last scene in the book:

But the island was scorched up like dead wood—Simon was dead—and Jack had. . . . The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body. His voice rose under the black smoke before the burning wreckage of the island; and infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too. And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.

Yes, we are little boys all of us. Just silly little boys.

In Lord of the Flies, why did Jack wear a black cap on his red hair? Why were the details of a black cap and red hair included?

The teacher who commented on this left out the fact that these caps are a symbol of the boys' descent into savagery. Each time Golding mentions them, they have deteriorated. In chapter one, the caps are addressed as "square" and black (Golding 19). Further along in the novel, the boys are seen as nearly naked yet still wearing the REMAINS of a black cap. This word "remains" is obviously quite important. In the very last chapter Jack is described as wearing the "remains of an extraordinary black cap" (201). "Remains" are just a fragment, just a trace of what once was. The boys, who come to be called "savages" (with good reason) have only remains of their past CIVILIZED lives. This is seen in very small, seemingly inconsequential quotes such as "[Jack and Ralph were] unnerved by each other's ferocity." (179)

What are some diseases, at least 7, which can be treated with natural remedies with honey and cinnamon?

1. Cardiovascular diseases

Prepare a paste of honey and cinnamon powder which it can be consumed on bread or crackers instead of jam or just simple honey. This paste has the property of lowering cholesterol and prevent heart attack. Frequent use of this mixture improves dyspnea and regulate heartbeat.

2. Arthritis

People who suffer from arthritis can consume each day a cup of hot water to which to add 2 tablespoons of honey and a teaspoon of cinnamon powder. If this remedy is often taken, it may treat chronic arthritis.

3. Bladder Infection

To destroy germs in the bladder, mix 2 tablespoons of cinnamon powder with 1 teaspoon honey in a glass of warm water. This mixture is consumed every day!

4. Cold

In case of cold treatment is recommended for 3 days a mixture consisting of one teaspoon of warm honey and 1 / 4 teaspoon of cinnamon powder. This mixture helps to cure whooping cough and sinus congestion help.

5. Stomach diseases

The mixture of honey and cinnamon also help to treat stomach ulcers.

6. Skin infections

Applying a mixture composed of equal parts of honey and cinnamon to affected areas, to help to treat eczema, ringworm and other types of skin infections.

7. Cancer

Advanced stomach cancer  or bone cancer were successfully treated with honey and cinnamon. Patients with these types of cancer must eat 1 tablespoon honey and 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 3 times daily, for a month.

In "Jane Eyre" why does Jane finally choose Rochester, since she has already found love, independence and autonomy in her cousins?

To answer the question, I would have to disagree with one premise contained in your question.  I disagree that Jane found love with her cousins.  Sure, she was independent, and her cousins were kind, and she was definitely welcome there, living with them.  And, her cousin John even proposed, imagining her as the perfect wife for his missionary endeavors abroad.  It was fairly obvious in his proposal however, that he didn't love her.  She too, did not feel love for him; perhaps they loved each other in a friendly way, a companionate way, but not in the passionate and consuming way that she loved Rochester.  And therein lies the answer to your question.  She loves Rochester with all her heart, mind, body and soul.  He haunts her; she hears his cry of despair, in a rather supernatural and strangely romantic way, calling her across the miles.  If anyone has experienced this type of love, they understand that it is the most important thing, and we are willing to sacrifice a lot of things in order to keep it.

Rochester's haunting call across the moors draws her in.  In leaving him in the first place, it wasn't because she didn't love him or want to spend the rest of her life with him, it was her morals.  She knew he was married, and even though that marriage was at that point, in name only, Jane's scruples would not allow her to stay with him as his mistress.  So she left, but could not stay away at the thought of him in pain or despair, which is what his voice relayed.

In this situation, love reigns.  Love wins, above rationality, above independence, above the comfortable life that she found with her cousins.  I hope that those thoughts helped; good luck!

What did Papa , Jesus and Sarayu each show Mack about himslelf in order to help him overcome his Great Sadnes? Use specific examples and...

This book is incredible! It has changed my life just as in "Mac's" life. Mackenzie had to go through a process of first learning to trust all of the characters presented in the Trinity. in chapter's 5, 6 and 7, each of the character's of the Trinity give details of their characteristics and traits. They each discussed attributes of humanity and the relationship that they have with each other. "Papa" spent time with Mac just so he could get to know her/Him. Then he got to know and trust Jesus by lying on the dock by the lake and walking on water. Mac and Sarayu spent time in the garden uprooting the things that were keeping him spiritually behind. In chapter 11, " Here Come Da Judge", Mac has to judge which of his children will go to hell as well as put God Himself on the stand for what Mac thinks is God's fault for what happened to Missy. The judge is Wisdom speaking for God. Mac goes through a pivotal moment as he is allowed to see Missy one more time, happy and safe on the otherside as well as his other children playing with her along with Jesus. This is the part where the Great Sadness is finally lifted and Mac see's his relationship with Papa, Jesus and Sarayu changing for the better. He has a better understanding of how Nan can love the Father or " Papa" without any other conditions.

Scout is ashamed of Atticus. List his faults as she sees them.I don't understand the Chapter 10 questions at all. I read the chapter three times,...

Because Atticus is older than most of the fathers of the children at her school, young Scout feels that her father doesn't quite match up. However, it doesn't take long for Scout to figure out that her father has few equals in Maycomb.

... there was nothing Jem or I could say about him when our classmates said, "My father--"

Atticus is too old--

    Atticus was feeble: he was nearly fifty... He was much older than the parents of our school contemporaries...
    Jem was football crazy... when Jem wanted to tackle him Atticus would say, "I'm too old for that, son."

"Our father didn't do anything." He "did not drive a dump-truck"... he isn't the sheriff or a farmer or a mechanic. He doesn't hunt or "play poker or fish or drink or smoke." He also wears glasses. To Scout, Atticus isn't exciting or flashy like some of her friends' fathers seem to be.

But Scout eventually learns that there is life in ol' Atticus yet. Miss Maudie explains that "he's the best checker player in the town... (and) he can play a Jew's harp." He can also "make somebody's will so airtight can't anybody meddle with it." These skills don't impress Scout, but later in the chapter, she and Jem discover that Atticus has a secret alter-ego: as "the deadest shot in Maycomb County, in his time," he was known as "One-Shot" Finch.

Jem and Scout can't understand why their father has never told them about this skill, but Miss Maudie explains that talented people never need to brag about their skills. Jem's mind is changed.

"... I wouldn't care if Atticus couldn't do a blessed thing... Atticus is a gentleman, just like me!"

Why did Saknis want Attean to learn how to read?

Saknis was a wise man who knew that the coming of the white man meant the end of the Beaver clan's life as it had been. More and more settlers would wipe out the game needed for the village's survival. If Attean could read, when the white man made a treaty with the Beaver clan, he could understand the words and avoid signing a document that would harm his people in the long run. The native American way of life was so altered by the coming of the white settlers that adapting by learning the ways of the whites was the only way to continue their culture.

Has there been more than one Pangaea?Since Pangea began to separate only 200 million years ago, and the Earth is about 4.5 billion years old, do...

We hypothesize, based on geology, that there were prior supercontinents.

The Earth's crust is constantly in motion, rearranging and reshaping itself. Based on our current understanding of the age of the Earth and the motion of its tectonic plates, we presume that this motion follows a supercontinent cycle. This means that the land which is above sea level cycles between two extremes; a dispersed geographic arrangement, like the one we have today, and a condensed one, with virtually all of the exposed landmasses physically connected.

Direct evidence of ancient supercontinents comes in the form of geologic and paleomagnetic data. This is to say that rocks from two locations are compared; if they are found to have formed at the same time, share the same composition and chemistry, and are aligned to the same magnetic polarities, then we presume that they were physically connected when they formed. We can also look at fossil assemblages, isotopes, and volcanic ash deposits. By following the patterns of these connections, we can reconstruct the relationships that describe the physical layout of the supercontinent.

There are competing theories as to exactly how many supercontinents existed. Scientists generally agree that Pangaea did exist and was a supercontinent, but prior to that, things become a bit more murky. It becomes harder to discern associations between rocks because they've been around for so long, and exposed to so many physical and chemical changes. Our current models are accurate to around 200 million years ago, but we know that rocks and land existed at least as far back as a billion years ago, and earlier.

In one model, the supercontinent cycle was initiated in the Ediacaran Period due to changes in the tectonic nature of the Earth. Prior to the beginning of this cycle, all land was concentrated in a supercontinent called Protopangaea-Paleopangaea. In the second model, supercontinents existed prior to the Ediacaran, called Superia, Sclavia, Vaalbara and Kenorland. Both models posit that subsequent supercontinents formed prior to Pangaea, called Columbia (or Nuna) and Rodinia. The exact relationships and compositions of these supercontinents are not known with certainty.

Does "To Kill A Mocking Bird" express a pessimistic or optimistic view of life?

The book "To Kill a Mockingbird" expresses an optimistic view of life.  In the book there are events there is racism, and cruelty, but the morals learned in the book over rides the bad things.  Scout and Jem meet Dill and there is lay and frolic in their childhood.  They put on plays, worrying about the town boogieman, and hang-out during the summer.  Atticus is a supportive loving father who invites wisdom into the children's lives.  The children also get to experience the black community in a positive manner.  Tom Robinson's death is an unfair and sad event, but the children have become stronger advocates for the innocent.  The experiences the children have allow them to become good people like their father.

The most positive parts of the story come at a time when the reader does not expect it.  After Tom has been found guilty Atticus gets his bag and starts to leave the courtroom.  The black people all stand up to honor him.  He is a positive factor in that he stood up for what was right instead of following the mentality of racism.  The black people also honor him by bringing all sorts of food to Atticus' steps.  Atticus and the people who support him represent the good in people.

The story ends with the reader bing aware that from Atticus and his guidance two wonderful caring children have arisen.

Why does Silver hate Trelawney and Jim want to leave the ship, and what's a description of Ben Gunn?

In "Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson there are some unique characters.  Long John Silver who is acting as a cook on the ship, Hispaniola, knows that Mr. Trelawney was once a pirate, and that he knows about Flint's treasure.

Ben Gunn was a pirate that was marooned on a desert Island.  It was a common practice among pirates. When the pirates arrive to steal the treasure they hear someone singing.  It is Ben Gunn.  No pirates are afraid of him.  He was smart enough to hide the treasure.  In the end of the story he has part of the treasure but he spends his share too quickly, within three weeks.  He eventually buys and manages a lodge house.  He is a skinny white man, fairly attractive, and sunburned. His lips are black and his skin is very dark from sun exposure.  He looks like a beggar in ragged clothing.  He is wearing clothing made from a ship's canvas.

“and this extraordinary patchwork was all held together by a system of the most various and incongruous fastenings, brass buttons, bits of stick, and loops of tarry gaskin. About his waist he wore an old brass-buckled leather belt, which was the one thing solid in his whole accoutrement."

The doctor is visiting the pirates who have been held.  Long John Silver takes Jim and lets the doctor know that he will release him.  He uses Jim as a bargaining chip so he can see the squire and Jim can report how Silver had protected him.  He believes this will save him from hanging.

"was roundly accused of playing double—of trying to make a separate peace for himself—"(Chapter 30)

Compare and contrast the characters of Gabriel Conroy and Michael Furey in "The Dead".

I am not too sure about your hints you have been given, but I will compare the two characters in this amazing short story. Remember that we never actually meet Michael Furey, but his surname, resembling Fury, seems to signify a lot about what his character represents. He, although he died young, was able to love passionately and intensely, in a way that Gabriel never did. Thus his name seems to suggest fury against the paralysis and stagnation that other characters, such as Gabriel, evince in their willingness to accept the status quo and never truly experience love and life. We are told that Michael Furey dies for Gretta and that he did not "want to live" because he knew he was losing her.

This causes Gabriel to reflect on his own superficial and meaningless existence, and how he has never truly loved and cannot share in or understand the love Gretta had for Michael Furey. Consider his following thoughts:

Better pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory of some passion, than fade and wither dismally with age... He had never felt like that himself towards any woman but he knew that such a feeling must be love.

Hearing of his wife´s relationship with Michael makes him realise that it is better to live life loving rather than "wither" up without experiencing those emotions, and Gabriel cries at this knowledge and loss. The evocation of Michael makes him see himself for who he truly is: "a ludicrous figure... a well-meaning sentimentalist... the pitiable fatuous fellow he had caught a glimpse of in the mirror."

Gabriel realises that Michael truly lived, even though he died young, and that he has never lived, and is rather "withering". Gabriel thus sees himself flickering in and out of the shadowy world where the dead exist - there are no boundaries between the dead and the living and thus this explains his reflection that "One by one they were becoming shades."

Discuss Macbeth's psychological state before and after he murders Duncan?"Macbeth" by William Shakespeare

In interpreting Macbeth's murder of Duncan, there have been psychoanalytic interpretations that include emasculation, incestuous, or even Oedipal fears. Certainly, the spirits that seem to make Macbeth potent, actually make him impotent, according to critic Copp Eli Kahn.  This paradoxical motif runs the entirety of "Macbeth," and is evident in Macbeth's defeat of Macdonwald and his murder of Duncan as perverting the natural order of inheritance.

In his murder of Macdonwald in Act I, for instance, Macbeth is described by the captain as having "carved out his passage" (I,ii,19), with his "brandished steel,/Which smoked with bloody execution" as he "carved out his passage" (I,ii,17-19).  A suggestion of ending generational continuity exists in these lines.  Again, then, in Act II, as Macbeth ponders his murderous deed of the "father" of the country, he sees before him the dagger, which is often interpreted as phallic. Led by this phallic dagger, he approaches Duncan's bed chamber "with Tarquin's ravishing strides (II,i,55).  Convinced by Lady Macbeth to become the "serpent," striking up through the "innocent flower"(I,v,64-65). This idea of Oedipal patricide is underscored by Lady Macbeth's being troubled by Duncan's resemblance to her own father.  When she warns Macbeth to "consider it not so deeply" ( ), she, in fact, echoes Jocasta's words to Oedipus in Oedipus Rex.  She also assumes a murderous maternal role if Macbeth refuses the task of killing Duncan:

Be so much more the man....I would, while [the babe] whie it was smiling in my face Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums,/And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you /Have done to this. (I,vii,51-58)

With her brutal words, Lady Macbeth propels her husband to his ambitious deed; however, Macbeth gives pause before enacting it as, with his vision of the dagger, he ponders his act of "ripping the hereditary body politic untimely from its haven in Duncan's body"*and "knowing what 'twere kill a father" (III,vi,20)---"fair is foul/foul is fair."

Of course, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's plan to have male children does not come to fruition.  Instead, Macbeth's attempt to conceive a new self also becomes skewered as he is left "with a barren sceptre" (III,i,61) and his abuse of the power of his "dagger" leads to his ruin as he is haunted by the foulness of his unnatural deed--"To know my deed, 'twere best not know myself" (II,iii,72)--realizing that "vaulting ambition" (I,vii,27) has destroyed him.

*Robert N. Watson, "Psychoanalytic Interpretations" (essay, 1984)

Explain to me a little more about these two things from Night, by E. Wiesel. When Elie starts to doubt his religion and that was a big thing for...

In the book "Night" by Elie Wiesel, Elie has been through a terrible experience that seems to know no end.  He has watched people die, beaten, and he suffers from hunger cold and humiliation.  Elie had been very spiritual and loved his faith and believed in God.  In the camp there was a young boy who was beautiful and had the appearance of an angel.  In Germany they call him a pipel.  The boy was loved by all.  He was a servant to a Dutchman that had been taken as a prisoner in the camp.  Believing the boy knew about the Dutchman’s crimes he was tortured for information.  One day they hung him along with two adults.  The child was hung but did not die.  He lingered in the noose and his eyes and tongue swelled.  For 30 minutes the child hung suspended by the rope struggling between life and death.  He died in slow agony.  Elie was beginning to feel the absence of God.  He eventually begins to feel like Job.  In the Talmud Job’s faith was tested over and over again until he called out to God.  Elie questions God that he could allow such attroceties to the innocent people.  He loses his faith in God.

Elie and his family were transported to Auschwitz.  He heard the guards tell the women to go to one side and the men to another.  His mother was sent to the side.  He saw them moved off.  His last memory was of his mother stroking his sister’s fair hair as if she were trying to protect the child.  He would never see them again.

What does the simile "Daisy, gleaming like silver, safe and proud above the hot struggles of the poor." suggest about Daisy?this is in Chapter 8 of...

This is actually a difficult question to answer...not because the simile is a hard one, but because anyone who answers this question will have already read the book; we already know what Daisy is like.  The question is far more asked of someone who is reading the book for the first time and still might not know that much about Daisy.  Of course, by chapter 8 you should already have a pretty good idea about that....

Anyhow, let's take a look: the simile is comparing Daisy to silver.  The author goes a step further and explains the simile by saying that she is "safe and proud and above the struggles of the poor."  This gives you a pretty good idea of what Fitzgerald wanted you to understand about Daisy.

First, silver is a precious metal.  It is not as expensive as gold, but it is not exactly cheap and it is a luxury item.  The use of this metal in regard to the simile lets us know that Daisy is rich.  Of course, we already knew that.

The more interesting part is the bit about being safe and above the struggles of the poor.  This shows that Daisy's money is able to solve a lot of problems for her...it keeps her safe from many of the difficulties of survival that most people have to go through.  Because she is "silver" and not some other base metal she also has the ability to remain proud above the unwashed "masses" of poor people.  Most people in poverty have no chance of buying things made out of silver.  Daisy stands apart from the crowds (or separates herself from it.)

Hope this helps!

In "By the Waters of Babylon," what kind of a person is the narrator of the story? Is he a reliable narrator?Also, how do diction & syntax used...

In “By the Waters of Babylon,” you have a 1st person narrator.  This is seen in that the main character is presenting the story from his personal point of view.  We see the world through his eyes and know only what he knows. 

It can be argued whether or not he is reliable.  Many people will say no because he does not have a solid and clear grasp of what has really happened to the world around him.  He believes that the world was walked upon by gods who possessed far more knowledge than he and his people have.  He does not understand that these supposed gods were simply technologically advanced people.  However, as far as the reliability of the story is concerned the narrator is reliable in the sense that he is well informed about the culture in which he lives.    My personal view is that he is unreliable because of his misinformation about the prior culture, material objects, and other events.

Finally, his diction (how he speaks) and syntax (how his speech is formed) fit the character because they are less sophisticated than a “modern” character would be.  He speaks in the way that Native Americans are stereotyped in having spoken when English was new to them.  His manner of speaking reinforces his naivety and his innocence.

What are archaic words?I ask this question about the effect of the archaic words in the context of William Cullen Bryant' work in "To a Waterfowl."

Your question is very open ended. However, since you ask about William Cullen Bryant, who was an American poet that lived in the 19th century, I will assume that you mean archaic words that are related to the English language. In this case, it is almost certain that archaic language refers to the classical world. Keep in mind that classical learning was still very much a part of American culture then. People could even still speak Latin and dissertations in universities were written in Latin! Also, people were excellent in ancient Greek. For example, Alexander Pope, a British poet, whom Bryant admired, translated the Iliad. Also it is good to keep in mind that the title of one of Bryant's poems, Thanatopsis, was from two Greek words, meaning "mediations on death". In addition, Bryant’s poem, “To the Waterfowl” was written to be a didactic poem. He probably got this idea from the Greeks (Hesiod) and Romans (Ovid), who were fond of didactic poems.

Hence, in the light of these points, archaisms refer to Bryant's use of classical culture, language and literary conventions. It is also my experience that many of these types of writers make extraordinarily learned allusions to classical culture. So, if you read carefully, you will undoubtedly hear many echoes from Greece and Rome.

What is a typical O. Henry ending?

O. Henry's stories that are often comic or sentimental tales are developed upon some contradiction or incongruity in the narrative. For instance, in "After Twenty Years" the contradiction is that the two friends who parted twenty years ago are now on opposite sides of the law. In "Gift of the Magi," each spouse sells their valued personal possession for which the other purchases a gift.

This contradiction or incongruity plays into the sentimental ending that has an ironic twist which reveals O. Henry's conviction that people are essentially good and possess an innate dignity. Using "After Twenty Years" again as an example, the one friend who has become a policeman writes his former friend a note telling him that he has not had the heart to arrest him when he recognized him as "Silky Bob," revealing his respect for their youthful friendship:

Bob:  I was at the appointed place...Somehow I couldn't do it myself, so I went around and got a plain clothes man to do the job.

                                 JIMMY

In a very poignant story, "The Last Leaf," Johnsy, who has been very ill says she will give up on life when the last leaf on a vine outside disappears. Since the doctor has told her friend that the only thing that can save Johnsy is to give her a reason to live, her friend Sue implores the tenant below them to help. A little curmudgeon, "Old Behrman," so loves this Johnsy that he climbs a ladder outside in a winter rain storm and paints the "last leaf" on the window outside Johnsy's bed so that she will not despair and die. His act of love gives him a fatal case of pneumonia, but she lives. This deeply sentimental ending restores the readers' faith in man in their surprise at this typical O. Henry ironic twist.