What insights into the characters of Malcolm and Macduff are provided by their long discussion in Act 4, Scene 3 of Macbeth?

In this scene (Act 4, sc. 3) that takes place in England, Macduff has come to get Malcolm to return to Scotland to help overthrow Macbeth.  Macduff tells Malcolm how bad things are in Scotland under Macbeth's rule.  Malcolm does not want an insincere sycophant with him (Malcolm) telling him only things that he thinks Malcolm wants to hear.  Malcolm wants people with him who are loyal to the country of Scotland, not just loyal to a person.  For this reason, he tests Macduff's loyalty.  Malcolm tells Macduff that he, Malcolm, would be an awful king. He says that he has every wicked vice that there is and that he would take full advantage of his position.  Malcolm says that he possesses none of the good qualities a king should have such as justice, honesty, temperance, courage, patience, devotion, etc.  By the time he finishes telling Macduff how awful he'd be as a king, Macduff is horrified and says that not only should Malcolm not be a king, he shouldn't even live.  Then he says, "O Scotland, Scotland!" with great sadness.  With those words, Malcolm tells Macduff that he believes in Macduff's true loyalty to the country.  He continues by confessing to Macduff that he is just the opposite of all those things he just said.  This shows us that Malcolm and Macduff both have their country's best interests as their goals.  They are both loyal Scots.  This also shows that Malcolm would be a good king since he does possess those qualities that make a good king and he is clearly loyal to his country.  Macduff, too, is a good Thane since his interests are with his country and he's not out for himself.  It's also evident that neither Malcolm nor Macduff knew one another very well before this or there would be no need for the "test."

How is the setting meaningful in "Hunters in the Snow?"

The setting of the story is a winter hunt, and the reader first sees Tub standing in the falling snow, waiting for his "friends" who do not seem to care how late they are. As the story continues, the snow relates to the disconnect between the characters, and their indifference to their real feelings:

The snow was shaded and had a glaze on it. It held up Kenny and Frank but Tub kept falling through. As he kicked forward, the edge of the crust bruised his shins. Kenny and Frank pulled ahead of him...
(Wolff, "Hunters in the Snow," classicshorts.com)

Each character, in their own way, is cold towards the others: Kenny is deliberately cruel, Frank is aloof but approves of Kenny's abuse of Tub, and Tub wants to be accepted but doesn't want to risk offense. In the end, the cold weather is the force that connects Frank and Tub, possibly at the expense of Kenny'a life. This in itself is ironic, because Frank and Kenny deliberately used the cold snow to isolate and insult Tub; now, Kenny is ignored in the cold while Tub and Frank share their secrets.

Describe the atmosphere of the ranch and bunkhouse in Chapter 2 of 'Of Mice and Men'.Include characteristics of different characters that were...

The term "atmosphere" is often used interchangeably with the term "mood".  In order to answer this question, you have to figure out what "feeling" the reader gets from the new characters and setting in chapter 2.  Here are some things to consider:

What is the bunkhouse like physically?  Pay attention to detail.  Imagine sitting in the bunkhouse.  How would it make you feel?

How do Candy and his dog contribute to the reader's feelings about the place?

What about the boss?  Look at the way he treats George and Lennie.  How does it make the reader feel?  Does it make the reader consider anything that might happen in the future?

Remember, you should relate every element you examine back to the feelings it creates in the reader.

In The Wednesday Wars, what did Mrs. Bigio share with Mrs. Baker on Wednesday afternoon, while Holling remained inside to study The Tempest?

While Holling is studying The Tempest in Mrs. Baker's room, Mrs. Bigio comes in and shares with Mrs. Baker that her husband (Mrs. Bigio's husband) has been killed in Vietnam.

The story is set in 1967, at the height of the Vietnam War. Both Mrs. Baker and Mrs. Bigio are employees at Camillo Junior High in Long Island, New York, and both have husbands who are serving in Vietnam. The two women share news about their husbands and commerserate with each other as they carry on at home while worrying about their spouses' safety on the battlefield. When Mrs. Bigio comes to the door of Mrs. Baker's room, obviously distraught, Mrs. Baker asks her if her husband has been found. Mrs. Bigio cannot respond; "the only sounds that (come) out (are) the sounds of sadness." Mrs. Baker takes her coworker in her arms and dismisses Holling. Holling does not know exactly what is going on at the time, but he knows that it is bad.

Holling learns the next day that

"Mrs. Bigio's husband had died on a small hill with no name, in a small part of Vietnam. He had died at night, on a reconnaissance mission. Afterward, the army decided the hill was not a significant military target, and abandoned it...Three weeks later, the body of First Sergeant Anthony Bigio of the United States Marine Corps was brought back home and buried in the cemetery beside Saint Adelbert's, the church he had been christened and married in."

In The Crucible, does Abigail like John Proctor more than a friend?

Abigail has an affair with John Proctor which leads to her being kicked out of the Proctor household.  She has sex with John Proctor in his barn where the animals live, so it is reasonable to suggest that she likes him "more than a friend".  Later, Proctor will say that the barn was the "proper place" for their encounter.  Abigail never lets go of Proctor - she tries to be with him until the bitter end - but Proctor reall does regret the affair, probably for all the trouble it causes his wife Elizabeth.  Abigail's lust for Proctor is at the center of these witch trials - it is a lust that condemns everyone to suspicion.

In "To Kill a Mockingbird" how is Arthur "Boo" Radley a threat to Maycomb?I was given the prompt of arguing that Boo Radley is a threat to Maycomb,...

That's a tricky question, and I don't doubt that you are having problems coming up with support for it.  The thing is, Arthur "Boo" Radley really ISN'T a threat to Maycomb at all.  Even back in his young days, when he was brought before the judge for unruly behavior, he wasn't a threat.  He and his buds were just being stupid teenagers, and no real damage was done.  From that point on, Boo just stayed in his house, and didn't bother anyone at all.  The only mildly threatening thing that he might have done was stab his father in the leg with scissors--if that even happened, from what we learn of his father, it's hard not to blame Boo for being frustrated with him.  And that act doesn't make Boo a threat to Maycomb at all; it was one incident, probably provoked by his father, if it even happened at all.

There is only one potential way that Boo is a threat to Maycomb, and that is in relation to their fears and prejudices.  If the townspeople knew what a kind, loving, friendly and lonely guy that Boo was, and that he actually wasn't dangerous like all of the rumors claimed he was, that would threaten their preconceived notions and judgments.  Their ideas of people would be threatened; their stereotypes in regards to other people and their appearances would be shattered.  People like their stereotypes, they like their assumptions about people, they like their boogeymen, and they like to feel superior to other people.  Boo Radey threatens all of those things.  He isn't what they assume he is, so, they would have to admit that they were wrong, and that they aren't any better than him, a social recluse that is a bit strange.  It would threaten their world-view, and their sense of security and esteem that they gain from their assumptions and prejudices.  I hope that all of that made sense, and helps you out a bit; good luck!

Compare and contrast Polonius and Horatio. How do each of these characters influence Hamlet?

These are two intriguing characters to compare and contrast because they are so profoundly different. Horatio serves as Hamlet's confidant.  He is the scholar, the loyal friend, the one character in the play who is not "passion's slave."  As the skeptic of the ghost in the first act, Horatio acknowledges the ghost's reality and informs Hamlet about the ghost's appearance.  When he learns the truth of his father's murder, Hamlet confides in Horatio telling him that he will put on an "antic disposition."  Later in Act 3, Hamlet uses Horatio to verify his own assessment of Claudius' response to the play-within-a-play.   Horatio also is present at the graveyard scene when Hamlet muses about the physical effects of death in the form of Yorick's skull.  So, it is not surprising that the dying Hamlet chooses Horatio to tell his story.  Horatio provides Hamlet with his one true ally amidst the rampant corruption in the court.  His spotting of the ghost shows Hamlet he is not delusional, and later Horatio's assessment of Claudius' reaction to the play confirms Hamlet's own judgment:  Claudius is indeed guilty of the murder of his brother.  Gertrude betrays her son by marrying Claudius, Ophelia obeys her father who pits her against Hamlet, his childhood friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern become spies for the king, but Horatio remains loyal and steady throughout.  The best passage that shows Hamlet's feelings toward Horatio occurs in Act 3, scene 2, before the play-within-a-play, which Hamlet begins with "Nay, do not think I flatter."

Polonius is, in many ways, the antithesis of Horatio.  He represents the "candied tongue that lick[s] absurd pomp,/And crook[s] the pregnant hinges of the knee/Where thrift may follow fawning."  Whereas Horatio's loyalties lie with Hamlet, Polonius sides with the king.  But Polonius' loyalties are self-serving.  He will go to great lengths to curry favor with the king--even to the point of sacrificing the privacy and dignity of his daughter.  Hamlet calls him Jephtha, an Old Testament character, who sacrificed his daughter for military success.  Unlike Horatio who tells the truth, Polonius engages in spying and lying.  A comic example is Polonius' conversation with Hamlet after the play scene, in which Polonius agrees that a cloud looks like a camel, weasel, and whale--essentially agreeing with whatever Hamlet says, hoping to pump Hamlet for information that he can relay to the king.  Polonius presents for Hamlet one more corrupted individual that he must maneuver around, a feat that the brilliant Hamlet does quite well.  However, Polonius is a real threat.  Polonius's control of his daughter is something that Hamlet cannot prevent.  Polonius drives a wedge between Ophelia and Hamlet, causing their relationship to splinter.  Polonius's death also is devastating to Hamlet.  Hamlet's killing Polonius puts Hamlet on the defense and Claudius on offense, curtailing any hope of Hamlet's achieving the vengeance he desires --until Act 5. Claudius, immediately after Polonius' death, sends Hamlet to England with secret orders that he be executed.

Horatio through his intelligence, loyalty, calmness provides Hamlet with the support he needs when others have abandoned him; Polonius through his bumbling, self-serving, and dishonorable practices serves to thwart Hamlet's relationship with Ophelia and delay Hamlet's revenge on Claudius.

For CERN, describe their aim and political agenda. Also consider how this organization may influence science, either positively or negatively?CERN...

CERN's aim is to conduct pure and theoretical research of a fundamental character to "answer questions about the universe." CERN's political agenda is to be apolitical. Their 1954 Convention mandates that they shall bring nations together for collaborative research and technology advancement while providing education and training at all levels for all nations to provide for the next generations of physics researchers. Additionally, CERN's mandate prohibits "work for military requirements" and stipulates that all research, results and technology shall be publicly available, disseminated, provided and transferred. The four prongs of their Convention mandated mission are:

* Research: Seeking and finding answers to questions about the Universe
* Technology: Advancing the frontiers of technology
* Collaborating: Bringing nations together through science
* Education: Training the scientists of tomorrow

As to CERN's influence on science, CERN has added massively to the understanding of the particle physics from their earliest experiments in particle acceleration to their recent collaborations with Italy on the mysterious nature of oscillating neutrinos to the above mentioned building and currently accelerating start-up of the Large Hadron [particle] Collider (LHC), with its four interior experiments devoted to discovering the Higgs boson, which is expected to explain the existence of baryonic (ordinary) matter and the origin and nature of dark energy and dark matter, which comprises roughly 70 percent of the universe. LHC's recreation of the primordial soup present at the earliest moments of the universe is expected to revolutionize the Standard Model of Physics and make it obsolete by turning up altogether new physics.

And as if that weren't enough, once LHC really gets rolling in 2010, CERN may influence science by creating mini-black holes and strangelet particles that may devour the universe from CERN outward or propel the universe into another parallel universe, respectively, with the odds that that new universe would not be so friendly to baryonic matter (you, your chair and your kitty cat and doggy), so that we'd all find ourselves missing.

I want to the the theatrical experimentation in S. Beckett's Waiting for Godot.

Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot was the most radically avant-garde play to come out of 50s Paris. In the crucial Post War (II) decade, it was a disturbing and yet outwitting theatrical breakthrough that explored the margins of theatre. As Beckett went on, his theatre became more and more experimental and esoteric in nature and Godot marked the beginning of this process. The play defied all the theatrical conventions, redefining what was thought possible and what impossible, in theatre.

1. The play defied the dramatic structure of the Freytag's triangle by presenting to us an apparently banal eventless surface, without an exposition, complication, climax, denouement and resolution.

2. The climactic content, the most awaited moment (Godot's arrival) was ommitted deliberately in search to create a form that could reflect the chaos of reality.

3. The lack of event meant an absolute verbalization of all action, creating great pressure on the dialogue to carry the drama on its shoulders, testing out the power of the text.

4. The play experimented with the genres of comedy and tragedy, falling in a problematic in-betweenness instead of Beckett's use of the expression 'tragi-comedy'.

5. It also experimented with least bit of scenography, costume, props and so on. The minimal was theatricalized.

6. The play experimented with a lot of performance traditions, especially the farce, the vaudeville and so on.

7. It was one of the first plays in 20th century to explore what is now called 'self-reflexive acting', whereby the actor's primary awareness is that of the actor. The play is about actors who improvise in the absence of a stable script.

8. It was also a landmark play in the sense that it converted a filling action (waiting) into the central if not the only action of the play. Apart from that, it had Vaudeville routines emphasizing the trivial actions in theatre.

The symbol of the "sled" in The Giver appears three times. Why is it significant? What does it mean?use easy words

The symbol of the sled comes in when Jonas meets the elder for the first time.  He is the The Giver who is going to transfer his memories to Jonas.  He decides to begin with the sled.  The sled is used as a vehicle to transport Jonas through the snow but it is symbolic as being a vehicle used for the first transference of the memories and all the emotions and feelings that Jonas will be receiving.  He feels wonderful and overwhelmed by the new sensations as well as the sensation of the sleigh ride. 

On page 92 in the novel the image of the sled reappears.  This time Jonas is being asked about what he remembers about the sled.  The Giver at this time is questioning Jonas to determine if he observed the sled.  He is trying to determine what sensations and senses Jonas is developing.  The sled is representative of the emergence of color.

In the end of the story Jonas, who is trying to save baby Gabriel, finds a sled at the top of a hill.  He boards the sled and the two ride it down the hill towards music.  The sled symbolizes safety and rescue for the two.  He has come full circle.  The sled was the first memory given to him and now it is his saving grace.

What specific strategies have you seen or used that save you time or make you more productive using your computer?

Being productive saves time, so let's assume they are one and the same.  "How can a person save time when using their computer?"  That depends on the user and the answers range from larger to smaller time savings.  Here are some ideas in no particular order (see how I am saving time already on the computer by not organizing my thoughts before hand : )

First, let's start with some small ones.  How about physically starting your computer and shutting it down?  If you are "in and out" all day you can shave off some time by just putting your computer to sleep.  I know it sound asinine, but Vista especially takes forever to load and if you start and turn off your computer many times a day it will add up (think of it as saving about 1 minute per start up, twice a day, 5 times a week.)  That's 40 minutes a month saved!

Next, max out your RAM.  The more you have the quicker your machine will feel.  Turn off all memory resident programs that you don't need that will load themselves when you start up, like Google desktop and other such nonsense.

Have a bottle next to your desk so you don't have to take bathroom breaks (kidding!)

Think about how you use your aps...what is it you spend the most time doing?  That is where you need to focus to save time.  Most programs have shortcut combinations to perform certain actions.  For example, simple ones like CNTRL-C to cut (instead of clicking on edit/cut) to more complex ones.  Learn what they are for the program you are most likely to use. Again, the time savings is not much on a "per use" basis, but it will add up and time is money.

Next, assigne the function keys to your computer better jobs then the ones they have.  This will be even easier if you have a fancy keyboard that has dedicated shortcut keys.  Assign them to the programs you frequently use and web sites you frequently go to.

As for browsing, organize your bookmarks well.  Make use of the tools given to you by the browser in this direction...the toolbar, etc.  Some browsers, like Opera, use a "speed dial" that can help you find favorites faster, while some, like Safari, have a "most visited sites" page.  Tell the browser to open links in a new tab, so that when you click one you won't loose the original page (in case you need it again) and you won't open new (memory hogging) windows.  Some browsers even have it where you can "link" a bunch of sites together so that when you click on one bookmark it opens them all in different tabs.

Obviously, get the fastest internet you can afford that isn't a waste of bandwidth for the type of work you are doing.

Use all the shortcuts available, such as dragging a file to a printer to print it (instead of opening it, and then clicking on print.)

Get a good video card with a high resolution...you will have more space to work with and will have to flip between windows a lot less.  If possible, buy a card that supports two monitors and use them both at the same time.  Not only will you look like a bad-ass to all the chicks, you will also get more work done!

Use "work flows" or "batch processing."  If you have to apply the same effect to a picture, for example, use a batch command to apply the same filter to all the photos at once rather than clicking on them one at a time.

I could go on and on, but I am out of characters!

Good luck!

What is the good conclusion for the short story "Two Kinds" by Amy Tan?

I think the conclusion to the story actually fits well. The idea that the experience of mother and daughter regarding piano ends in a sort of stalemate is appropriate.  Both realize that there is more to their own senses of self.  The mother begins to understand that the pursuit of the American Dream can contain subterranean demons and these must be acknowledged.  The daughter realizes that she crossed a line in resurrecting a memory from the past.  Both understand that there might be a component to their identities that will never be fully grasped by the other.  The mother will never understand that her daughter is armed with a conception of freedom "to be herself," as opposed to living with the expectations placed on external contingencies.  By the very same analysis, the daughter will never understand the level of difficulty her mother endured in the patriarchal and traditional society of China and the pain caused with the abandonment of her two children.  This level of disconnect might be why the mother gives the piano to the grown up daughter at the end of the story.  While there is an understanding about the gesture, it never is fully realized.  I think this speaks well to the generational and cultural experiences of both mother and daughter, making the ending quite valid.

Write a paragraph explaining how women are being marginalized in society by men in "A Jury of Her Peers".

The women are marginalised by the men and society in the story. it is important to note that this is so clearly seen that the reader identifies with the skill of the women in their careful reconstruction of the dismal life of Minnie Wright and their insight into the world of the farmer's wife at this time. The men assume that the women are ignorant and they do not see the value in the women's depth of knowledge of a life (that of Minnie) which men do not understand -

 '"But would the women know a clue if they did come upon it?" 

There is a primitive air to the proximity of the characters which implies that society has not moved on from its gender divisions  since early times  -

 'The men went over to the stove. The women stood close together by the door.'

The men are associated with fire, work and knowledge. The women are sneered at for their understanding of 'kitchen things' and the domestic dudgery of Minnie's life. It is through their clear understanding and perception - and the lack of empathy and appreciation on the side of the men - which leads to the solving of the crime and the greatest marginalisation of the whole story. The women break the law to defend one of their own. Their fear is that she will not be tried by 'a jury of her peers' as women were not part of the judicial process. This results in the women creating their own system by which Minnie is judged.

What is the external conflict and internal conflict in Hatchet?

Hatchet, written by award winning young adult author Gary Paulson, is an intriguing adventure story. The main external conflict is Hatchet against the environment; he must survive after the plane taking him to his father crashes in the wilderness. Brain's first involvements with that external conflict have him crash landing the plane and trying to survive with just a hatchet. He is wounded and at first not very successful but survives and slowly begins to master his environment. 

Internally, Hatchet faces an even greater conflict. He is alone physically but also feels alone psychologically because of his parents' recent divorce. Alone in the wilderness as he tries to survive physically, he deals with conflicting feelings and guilt toward his mother and father regarding the divorce. 

For almost two months Hatchet battles these internal and external conflicts as he matures and learns to survive physically and emotionally. 

In Macbeth, does Lady Macbeth trust her husband?

In Act I Sc.5 Lady Macbeth is seen reading Macbeth's letter in which he reports to her how the prophecy that he would become the Thane of Cawdor had come true. He also tells her that the witches had prophesied that he would become the King of Scotland in the near future and that he thought it fit to convey this to her so that she could also happily anticipate that joyous event.

However, the wicked Lady Macbeth is determined that her husband should become the King of Scotland immediately and the only way that can be achieved is by murdering Duncan. But she  does not trust her husband to murder King Duncan and become the King of Scotland because she knows him to be a very kind and gentle person: "too full o' the milk of human kindness." She  is certain that Macbeth is a very compassionate person who will not be bold enough to kill Duncan. Furthermore she knows her husband to be an honest and straightforward man who will not adopt any wicked or false means to achieve his ambitions. She knows him to be an ambitious man, but an ambitious man who will only achieve his ambitions by "holy" means:

"Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt be

What thou art promised: yet do I fear thy nature;
It is too full o' the milk of human kindness
To catch the nearest way: thou wouldst be great;
Art not without ambition, but without
The illness should attend it: what thou wouldst highly,
That wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false,
And yet wouldst wrongly win."

What is the theme of the story Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad? How can I find symbols in Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad?

One of the primary themes of the novel is exemplified in its title: the darkness of the human heart. Marlow's journey into the heart of Africa gives him the opportunity to learn much about human nature, and Conrad offers a number of themes. Foremost, however, among them seems to be man's capacity for evil.

From the onset of his arrival in Africa, Marlow is shocked to see the chaos and cruelty of the Outer Station where work seems to serve no purpose and the natives are dying of overwork, starvation, and neglect. Who is responsible? The Europeans have come to Africa, ostensibly as Marlow's aunt believes, as "emissaries of light" to spread civilization among the "savages" but in reality to get wealthy from the abundant ivory, and they will stop at nothing to succeed. As his journey continues upriver, Marlow feels the influences of his experiences as he says he was becoming "scientifically interesting," evoking the Belgian doctor's assertion that those who go to the Congo change "inside," and even "savage." When Marlow finally reaches the Inner Station in search of Kurtz, he is appalled to discover the depths of Kurtz's depravity. Kurtz has "taken a seat among the high devils of the land" and engaged "in unspeakable rites" with the natives. Any veneer of civilization this "universal genius" had has been stripped away as Kurtz has succumbed to the lure of ivory and wealth, sinking so far he has even erected the heads of rebels on poles around the Inner Station.

Conrad uses a number of key symbols. Look for specific items that he carefully describes such as the oil painting in the Brickmaker's hut. The Brickmaker himself is called a "papier-mache Mephistopheles." Notice the many references to light and dark, to white and black; Conrad often uses these as symbols in a way opposite to the their traditional symbolic values.

How is "Dover Beach" by Matthew Arnold a dramatic monologue?

Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach" is a dramatic monologue because the poet is addressing a silent audience. The effect is of one person directly addressing another, while the reader listens in. For example, tradition has it that Arnold composed "Dover Beach" during his honeymoon, and that the silent audience is his bride. This differentiates the dramatic monologue from the soliloquy, in which the speaker only addresses himself. Hamlet, for instance, when brooding about suicide, does so before an audience, but really he is alone with his thoughts. Arnold writes, "Listen! you hear the grating roar," etc., and by this and other means implies that he is not alone, and is passionately unburdening himself to another party.

Explore the significant fight between the Capulets and the Montagues that breaks out quite quickly.what impression does it create? Think about why...

The opening Prologue of "Romeo and Juliet" summarizes the play for Shakespeare's audience: 

Two households both alike in dignity/In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,/From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,/Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean/From forth the fatal loins of these two foes/A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life....

So, the enemity between the Montague and Capulet families is absolutely pivotal to the entire plot of the play as  noted in the previous post. As well as presenting the hatred of the families, this fight scene suggests the theme of "star-crossed," or fated, lovers.  For, with a hatred so intense that a new "mutiny" breaks out in the very first scene, this fight presages the predetermined fate of the love of Romeo Montague for Juliet Capulet.

In addition to its purpose of presenting the theme of fate, Shakespeare often opened plays with fights and scenes like the first one in "Romeo and Juliet" in which there is the ribald gesture and language in the vernacular that appealed to the groundlings, as opposed to the poetic verse enjoyed by the more educated audience.  In Scene 1 of Act I there are references to "colliers"/coal dealers and the dialogue is between the servants, people to whom the lower class groundlings can relate.  Also, the use of puns such as that upon "colliers, choler, collar" was very popular with audiences of the lower class.  Once Shakespeare grabbed the attention of the groundlings with the fight scene and the puns, then, it was easier for the actors to perform and recite the poetic verses, as one can imagine.

What different figures of speech are in Shakespeare's Sonnet 18?I am writing a poetry analysis for my english class.

In line 3, 'Rough winds shake the darling buds of May', an attribute of a living being is assigned to the 'winds'; hence is an example of Personification.

In line 5, 'the eye of heaven' refers to the sun. It is a case of Periphrasis, a round-about image; it can also be a Metaphor, and an instance of Personification.

Line 7, 'Every fair from fair sometimes declines' is an example Hyperbaton because of the transposal of the normal grammatical order.

In line 11, there is another case of Personification for death has been imagined as a braggart or empty boaster.

In line 12, we find a Metaphor of grafting: 'When in eternal lines to time thou growest'.

In the final couplet, there is a parallelism in the form of Anaphora, because of the repetition of the words, 'so long' at the beginning of two successive lines.

What are robber barrons and captains of industry, referring to the gilded age? What are the positives and negatives of each side?Self Explanatory.

The industrialists of the time period help to reveal much in the way of how individuals view history.  I have always felt that the analysis of industrialization reveals much in the fundamental bias of individuals and their perception towards historical dialectics. For example, if individuals felt that industrialists like Morgan, Carnegie, or Rockefeller were "captains of industry," it is likely that they would feel that such figures were critical to the formation of the United States.  They would point to how these figures emerged on the scene and carved out a successful niche for themselves, representing the realization of hard work, grit, and determination.  Such a view favors a "consensus" view of history where such historical figures represent the very best of American Exceptionalism.

The flip side would be if these individuals could be seen as "robber barons."  Instead of being praised, such historical figures have to be scrutinized and analyzed as to how they acquired their wealth.  This would reveal that there was a great deal of power consolidation, unfair business practices, and an overall perception where economics trumped all else.  Workers' rights, fair compensation, and a sense of empowering the democratic order was overruled in the name of profit generating motives.  In the final analysis, this view of history is more of a "conflict" based one where history is an ongoing dialectical process of power consolidation, and more voices, particularly those who are silenced as a result of power, need to be heard.  The "Robber Barons" perspective is an example of this, most notably seen in the works of Howard Zinn.

In The Kite Runner, does Assef specifically take Sohrab because he knew Sohrab was Hassan's son?Was it stated as such, or implied?

Assef was humiliated by Hassan, and was injured by him as well. Having Hassan killed was not enough for Assef, as Assef seems to have a rather vindictive, violent, and obsessive personality, as well as suppressed homosexual tendicies, in which he gets away with due to his place in power.

Harming Sohrab is just another part of his revenge on Hassan, destroying his son as he had destroyed the father, and as their culture believes, is destroying Sohrabs after-life as well as his exsisting life.

This torture of Sohrab just causes a satisfaction in Assef he could not get and finish with Hassen.

I hope that helps a bit

Explain what is happening when The First Stone by Don Aker opens with the potential of violence.

In The First Stone, a super-realistic novel with a subculture protagonist, a group of boys are standing on the pedestrian bridge of a freeway overpass (a bridge under which freeway traffic flows at high traffic speeds) and are preparing to throw stones off the bridge into the oncoming traffic below. Such a action has the potential of causing serious traffic problems: windshields could be cracked; driver's could be frightened leading to wrong actions; hit cars could veer causing high-speed highway traffic accidents.

As the boys are about to throw the first stone a patrol car rounds a corner; officers see the boys on the overpass bridge and one uses a bullhorn to tell them to vacate the bridge. The boys leave but what they do next and where they go is symbolically throwing destructive stones at themselves as the driver's of their lives.

What is a thematic statement that can be applied to this play?

Although there are several possible themes in this play, one such statement might be Greed can turn a virtuous person into an amoral one, eventually eating away their humanity. The character that most obviously represents this is Regina. Although she appears to be a caring mother at the beginning, by the end of the play she is wheeling and dealing in her own husband's murder, simply for more money. She does achieve her goal, inheriting millions and escaping the South to the swinging social life of Chicago and Paris, but she goes alone, having lost her relationship with her daughter through the death of her husband. Greed drives all the Hubbards to move beyond the very comfortable financial stability they have already secured from their business, and each of them sacrifices their morals and values to gain that wealth.

As for the other siblings, Ben is the master of greed, and has been swindling others for years. Regina reminds him, "You couldn't find twelve men in this state you haven't cheated and hate you for it." Ben treats the lives of others as a game, willingly destroying those he feels are below him. Oscar is the least successful at this kind of cold-heartedness, and the others let him know that. Yet he is no innocent. He encourages his son steal the bonds, and then lets Leo take the blame. Oscar enjoys hunting, and gleefully throws his catch away, despite the poor black residents of the town who are starving. Indeed, he even refuses to allow them to hunt in the area.

The play becomes a warning that greed will flourish, and that those performing these deeds will not be punished. She exposes the predatory capitalism that dominated her time, and that she considered a threat to the American ethic.

Why do the children spit on the gate in Chapter 6 of To Kill a Mockingbird? How do you know that Jem respects his father?

    To celebrate Dill's last night in Maycomb for the summer, the three children in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird decide to finally invade the Radley Place and attempt to get a glimpse of Boo. First they squeeze under the high wire fence in the Radley's back lot before slowly making their way through the collard patch. Then they come upon the gate which separated the garden and the Radley's back yard. It squeaks.

    "Spit on it," whispered Dill.
    We spat ourselves dry, and Jem opened the gate slowly, lifting it aside and resting it on the fence. We were in the back yard.

    Jem shows his respect for Atticus in many ways. At the end of Chapter 5, Atticus tricks Jem into confessing that the kids are making fun of Boo, realizing later "that he had been done in by the oldest lawyer's trick on record." In Chapter 6, Jem decides to go back for his lost pants because

"Atticus ain't ever whipped me since I can remember. I wanta keep it that way... We shouldn'a done that tonight, Scout."

Later, in Chapter 10, Jem and Scout learn that Atticus is a crack shot with a rifle, something that he has never bragged about. Jem is proud of Atticus' humble ways, and he calls out that "Atticus is a gentleman, just like me!"

In "The Devil and Tom Walker" what is the relationship between Tom and his wife?

Tom and his delightful wife don't have a very good relationship; in fact, it is downright contentious and hateful.  In the second paragraph of the story, we learn that they are such money-grubbers that they are always trying to steal each other's money, and that they "conspired to cheat each other," and "many and fierce were the conflicts" that they had.  They fought constantly, pretty much hated each other, and the atmosphere in their house was describes as "wordy warfare" and a "den of discord."

Their contention plays a major role in the story after Tom is propositioned by the Devil.  His wife wants him to accept the terms--so, she basically tells him to sell his soul to satan.  But, simply because she wants him to, he refuses.  He wants to--yes, he's greedy and wants the money--but because his wife wants the money too, he refuses, just to keep her from sharing the wealth.  They fight even more about this, and she goes off to try to get the deal for herself.  When Tom discovers her dead, he "leaped for joy."  Not the most kind reaction to discovering your spouse has died.  It just goes to show how much they really cared for each other, huh?  I hope that those thoughts helped; good luck!

When Kemmerich's mother learns of her son's death, why is Paul surprised at her grief?

Paul is surprised at the intensity of Kemmerich's mother's grief because his own senses have been completely dulled by his experiences in the war.  He has seen killing, in all its horrifying varieties, everyday; in order to survive, Paul's own feelings have been inured to death.  When Kemmerich's mother responds to the news of her son's demise with "quaking (and) sobbing" hysteria, Paul is a little taken aback.  Although he had known that the knowledge would be hard for her to bear and had retained enough sensitivity to hold back the grisly details of Kemmerich's last days, his pity for her is mixed with the feeling that she is "rather stupid all the same".  Jadedly, Paul wonders why she is taking it so hard, because, practically speaking,

"Kemmerich will stay dead whether she knows about it or not.  When a man has seen so many dead he cannot understand any longer why there should be so much anguish over a single individual".

In his frustration at her reaction, Paul rather tersely tells Kemmerich's mother that her son's death was intantaneous and without suffering.  She does not fully believe him, however, and makes him swear "by everything that is sacred to (him) that he speaks the truth.  Paul acknowledges to himself that after all he has been through, there is nothing in the world that is sacred to him anymore, and has no problem swearing to Kemmerich's mother that her son "died at once", even though it is not true (Chapter 7). 

Describe the relationship between the media and crime by using 'Newspaper articles' as an example of a media format and relating it to ...?Describe...

Newspapers are a boon of science & technology, and this invention can be used massively in enlightening the entire human race. I do not know how much I'll be able to give you a satisfactory answer, yet, I want to try to give an answer as much factual as possible.

As a matter of fact, nowadays newspaper articles are written to gain facilities from a special authority, and for this reason, many articles are written in such a biased way that it is understood, if observed carefully, what is the purpose of publishing such articles. And though the publishers should remain neutral or objective as much as possible in this sensitive case, they, shamelessly, behave partially and prioritize certain personality or a group of the society who controls the power. In fact, articles written by many well-educated civilians, become deliberately partial, and thus, those dignified persons reduce their dignity.

The well-educated, cultured civilians often do forget their role which they should play for their society and country. They think, they can easily avoid the poor and the illiterates. And the administrators of the country do not find it necessary to pay hed to the people they govern many a times. And, if such state continues for long, despotism arises. The society, then, is led toward chaos, nothing else.

Many a times media especially newspapers, being biased, publish articles about crimes (heinous crimes those occur especially because of political reason) in such an obscure and dubious way that it becomes difficult to comprehend what is the fact or motive behind the crime or who is the real criminal. Moreover, criminals like rapists, if supported by a power-holder group, remain behind the curtain even in newspapers also. Many newspapers, patronized by the opposition party, publish articles which are often critical of the ruling party, even if the Government is performing well.

These barbarous practices should be stopped, and it needs a collective effort to draw an end to this culture. Consequently, awareness in every level of the society is required. Newspapers should be utilized for a good purpose, must not be misused.

Is it ever OK to ask a question when writing a compare/contrast style essay?

I like this question!  I think it hits right at the heart of a debate that probably has raged since writing began.  Let's begin by taking a closer look at your question: "Is it ever OK to ask a question in a compare/contrast essay?"  The key word there is "ever."  Even without further thought, this word makes red flags shoot up for me.  Very rarely in life are we confronted with a "never" situation...that's the beauty of exceptions (which seem like they are everywhere in the English language.)  So my first instinct is to say "Yes, at times it is appropriate to ask a question in a compare/contrast essay."

But there is another piece of information kind of missing from your question...are you asking a question and then answering it yourself, or are you posing it to the reader?  If you are answering it yourself, then, well, it's a slam dunk.  Ask all the questions you want!  If you are posing it to the reader then the only way you can determine if it is appropriate to include the question is to decide for yourself.  It's a stylistic choice.

I should put an asterisk, there, though, because in order to bend rules based on grammar or common practice one must be pretty well versed in in those rules.  It's like saying "if you are going to speed, be sure you know how to drive before you do it."

Ask yourself what the purpose of a compare/contrast essay is: to compare the differences and similarities between two objects, places, people, or ideas.  This is the main goal of the essay.  Does your writing do that?  If so, I would have to say that if you determine a question fits well stylistically with your writing then go for it.  You might find purists out there that say there is no place in a compare/contrast essay for questions, but I feel that as long as your writing is doing its job (that is, conveying the appropriate message) than you should be free, as the writer, to manipulate the language stylistically as you see fit.

Where does the dragon come from in Beowulf?

The poem gives no place of origin for the dragon, only an explanation of why it guards the hoard of gold.  In an ancient time a prince's thane hid it, as he was the last of his people and the treasure he had was all that was left of his people and his kingdom.  He is portrayed as hiding from the disaster that overtook his master, the gold being his only pleasure.  He leaves it hidden in a stone barrow, a cavelike grave, and the thane puts the treasure there to keep it safe from all others.  The text seems unclear, but apparently the dragon comes to guard it as a result of the thane's curse.  Section 32 tells us the dragon's doom was to seek gold hoarded in graves, "heathen gold" he himself did not win.  He guards the hoard three hundred years before someone, "a sinful man," steals a cup from it, awakening him and his wrath.  But where the dragon came from originally is not addressed.

In the novel Rumblefish by S.E. Hinton, what are the literary devices that the author uses?

There are several literary devices used in the book. One of the most notable is the use of slang. The book is written in a tough, short style, as Rusty-James would speak but without any curse words. It seems somewhat unbelievable that the characters in the book would not curse, but at the time Hinton could not depict their talk realistically and have the book published for a young-adult audience. Oh, how things have changed! Instead, she implies cursing, as when Rusty-James says, "I said something to her I wouldn't normally say to a chick, but she really got on my nerves. She didn't flinch."

It's also written from a first-person point of view, which does several things for the narration. It allows the reader to see events as Rusty-James sees them, which can lead to questions about reliability. In particular, it's not clear whether his suspicions of some adults are correct or not. Although it's clear that both Coach Ryan and Cassandra have problems and motives of their own, readers may wonder whether they're as bad, or as selfish or phony, as Rusty-James thinks they are. Plus, the audience may see gaps or mistakes in perception that the narrator does not. He wants more than anything to be like his brother, but from the reader's point of view, this ambition is questionable: his brother has accomplished nothing, is going nowhere, and has lost both his color vision and his hearing through his own lack of good judgment. Through this first-person narration, other devices arise. There is foreshadowing, as the narrator hints at events to come later. There is lots of imagery and sensory details, as you'll find in any good story.

In "The Seafarer," what causes the Seafarer to keep returning to the sea?

This is such an interesting question because the author in "The Seafarer" is quite cryptic in regards to how he inserts these "causes" that you desire to know so much about.  The first thing that causes the speaker to return to the sea is the fact that his "heart would begin to beat" again as soon as the waves began tossing him.  This gives us an image of death (while on land) as opposed to life (on the sea).  The second thing that causes the speaker to return begins the spiritual dimension of the poem:

The time for journeys would come and my soul / Called me eagerly out, sent me over / The horizon, seeking foreigners' homes. (36-38)

Therefore, the speaker's "soul" causes him to return in order to experience the excitement of seeing the homes of foreign lands.  To continue this example, the speaker writes further of this "soul" and "heart" as he mentions roaming toward the whale's home, the vastness of the open ocean, and even the curl of waves.  Thirdly, the speaker mention a simply "longing" that "wraps itself around him" in regards to the sea.  I suppose this longing could be a cause as well.  Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the speaker reveals in the second half of the poem that the true cause is intensely spiritual:

Thus the joys of God / Are fervent with life, where life itself / Fades quickly into the earth. (64-66)

Therefore, it is this "joy of God" that is the true cause of the speaker returning to the sea.  The ocean is the only place on the earth that the speaker can experience this and, rightly so, this seafarer spends the rest of the poem talking about just that.

RE: the use of narration in "A Separate Peace": Use three quotes explaining how this adds to our understanding of the novel, theme and...

It is, indeed, interesting that John Knowles's "A Separate Peace" is told by a first-person narrator who does not have the usual intimacy with the action of the story.  Because the narrative is told by an older, more mature Gene Forrester, who is now removed from the action, there is, as critic Ronald Weber writes,

A highly calculated effect,....It indicates a sharply different thematic intention, and one that is rooted in a skillful alteration of the conventional method of first-person telling.

In the beginning of the novel, for instance, Gene indicates his older, more objective perspective as he looks around the campus of the Devon school. He reflects,

Everything at Devon slowly changed and slowly harmonized with what had gone before.  So it was logical to hope that since the buildings and the Deans and the curriculum could achieve this, I could achieve, perhaps unknowingly already had achieved, the growth and harmony myself.

Gene returns to understand what had really gone on in his heart during his time at Devon and to find the resolution of his inner conflicts, as well.  His descriptions of Devon are different in hindsight that they would be if he were the present-tense first person narrator.  For example, upon identifying the tree that caused his rival's demise, Gene notes that "it seemed weary with age."  And, he makes an existential observation, "So the more things remain the same, the more they change after...Nothing endures, not a tree, not love, not even a death by violence.  Another one is "It was only long after that [a remark Gene makes after being with Finny at Mr Patch-Withers's home]  I recognized sarcasm as the protest of people who are weak."

Certainly, his assessment of of his relationship with Phineas is much more objective after fifteen years:

We struggled in some equality for a while...

I think we remainded them [the instructors] of what peace was like, boys of sixteen.

We spent that summer in complete selfishness.

The narrative of "A Separate Peace" is replete with these observations of Gene the adult who only can assess the relationships clearly and objectively as an adult who has returned to the life-changing moments. In Chapter 3 after Phineas creates the game of blitzball, he comments,

Everyone has a moment in history which belongs particularly to him.  It is the moment when his emotions achieve their most powerful sway over him, and afterward when you say to this person "the worldtoday" or "life" or "reality" he will assume that you mean this moment, even if it is fifty years past.  The world, through his unleashed emotions, imprinted itself upon him [Phineas], and he carries the stamp of that passing moment forever.

Cerainly, the most profound evaluation made by Gene could not have been made by an adolescent narrator.  Because he has returned to Devon both physically and spiritually, Gene realizes in the final paragraphs that

my war ended before I ever put on a uniform; I was on active duty all my time at school; I killed my enemy there.

But, Gene also realizes that Finny was not the enemy--"if indeed he was the enemy"--and has previously asserted this idea a few paragraphs prior to the above passage.  He states,

...it seemed clear that wars were mot made by generations and their special stupidities, but...were made instead by something ignorant in the human heart.

Thomas Wolfe wrote that "You can't go home again"; one cannot return to a state once held before in one's life, back to the youth that one once was.  True, but Gene's return to Devon and "renarration," as it were, is what propels him to the moral truth of his life.

In The Things They Carried, what ideas in "On the Rainy River" are developed about the significance of idealism and truth in an individual's life?

Idealism, in general, is the pursuit of ideals unrealistically.  In literature, specifically, idealism is the opposite of realism.

Most of The Things They Carried is based on real life events in O'Brien's life, except "On the Rainy River."  It is the one story in the collection that is completely fabricated.  O'Brien never went to near-Canada or the lodge or the river.  There was no Elroy.  It is pure fiction, whereas most of the book is a mix of non-fiction, memoir, autobiography--all infused with fictional elements to "heat up the truth."  It's hardly idealism, though not exactly realism.  But it's still the truth.

So, does that mean "On the Rainy River" is not a true war story?  Of course not.  Remember, O'Brien says that a true war story is meant to be felt in the stomach.  The meanings of stories are truer than the realism of the events therein.  In other words: don't fall for the literalist's trap (it doesn't have to have happened to have meaning).  In fact, O'Brien says that story truth is truer than happening truth.

The truth is O'Brien was a coward; he went to war.  And the story brings that to life better than the way events unfolded at the time.

In the story, O'Brien must first show us how he was a coward.  He has to have Tim run away.  He has to use water symbolism.  He's got to have Elroy, the mentor on the quest.  He has to put O'Brien at a crossroads.  He has to give him a choice.  Only then can he tell us he was a coward at the end.  Fiction leads to the truth.

With that said, the only character in the novel that I find too idealistic is Elroy.  He seems too perfect, too wise, too much like the antithesis of Tim's father, too constructed as a mentor for the story's purpose to be completely believable.  The money.  The note.  All a bit too hokey to be believed.

Why is the Ancient Mariner only interested in telling his story to that guest only in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner?

Actually, the Ancient Mariner is driven to tell his story to almost anyone who will listen. He chose the wedding guest because, for whatever reason of his own, the wedding guest couldn't help but listen:

It is an ancient Mariner,

And he stoppeth one of three.

`By thy long beard and glittering eye,

Now wherefore stopp'st thou me ?

The Bridegroom's doors are opened wide,

And I am next of kin ;

The guests are met, the feast is set :

May'st hear the merry din.'

He holds him with his skinny hand,

`There was a ship,' quoth he.

`Hold off ! unhand me, grey-beard loon !'

Eftsoons his hand dropt he.

He holds him with his glittering eye--

The Wedding-Guest stood still,

And listens like a three years' child :

The Mariner hath his will.

The Wedding-Guest sat on a stone :

He cannot choose but hear ;

And thus spake on that ancient man,

The bright-eyed Mariner.

That's it: at this point the wedding guest is spell-bound and the Mariner begins his tale.

Maybe it should asked, Why, of all people, is a wedding guest, in general, chosen? Well, in some ways the tale that is told by the Mariner has the sense of a wedding about it. The Mariner becomes, after much travail, wedded to a new way of thinking about and loving life and the other creatures of the earth.

At first he felt a separation between himself and the albatross and all the "slimy things" that "did crawl with legs Upon the slimy sea." But at last he learned a deep truth:

He prayeth well, who loveth well
Both man and bird and beast.

He prayeth best, who loveth best
All things both great and small ;
For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth all.

What a fitting little sermon for the Mariner and the wedding guest who both missed the more traditional wedding.

Why is Simon the only one to doubt the existance of the beast? Is it significant? why or why not?

Lord of the Flies is a symbolic novel, and each of the boys is representative of some aspect of the human experience.  Ralph is the physical, Piggy is the intellectual, Jack is the inherent sin nature.  That leaves Simon, the one who represents the soul/spirit/conscience.  Because of that, Simon is especially sensitive to the things happening below the surface.  He's aware of the spirit world, the world in which our true selves are revealed.  That's why he knows the beast is us, the beast is within--not something which can be fought or killed with weapons. 

What is prefix meaning one-thousandth?

In metric system of measurement the prefix 'milli' is used to denote one-thousandth. Thus 1 millimeter is one-thousandth of 1 meter, and 1 milligram is one-thousandth of 1 gram.

The metric system of measurement has standard prefixes for quantities which represent place value of number in decimal system. More common of of these prefixes and their values are given below:

Kilo - 1000

Hecto - 100

Deca - 10

Deci -1/10

Centi - 1/100

Milli - 1/1000

With the need to represent much larger and much smaller quantities many additional prefixes of this type are now used. For example:

Mega - 1000,000

Micro - 1/1000,000

Nano - 1/1000,000,000

Clothing shops are oligopoly market structure. Highlight your view point with examples and data and compare the same with Indian Railways.

All retail shops are generally oligopolies, because of the limitations of customers to visit and buy from shops that are located very far from where they live or travel regularly. Clothing shops are likely to be even more oligopolistic due to the difference in the designs of the clothesthey stock and sell. In a country like USA or India, there are tens of thousands of clothing shops, but the shops that I can conveniently visit to buy a shirt will be limited to just about 100 shops in the city where I live. Further, the blue striped shirt of a particular design that fits me perfectly that I find in a particular shop may not be available in any other shop, or even if it is available, it may require a lot of time and effort on my pat to locate the shop that has it. In this way each shop is unique, and customers may are likely to buy their requirements of clothing regularly from just a few shops. In this way each of these shops behaves likes firms facing oligopolistic competition.

Comparison of Indian Railways with clothing shop is rather strange. Anyhow, Indian Railways is the only organization in India that is a allowed to operate railways on on almost all the routes in India. The only other organization, I know that runs railway service in India is Konkan Railways, which is also in effect a part of Indian railways. In this this way Indian Railways is a Monopoly. The only competition it faces is from substitute services like road and air transport, and to that extent it may be considered an oligopoly, particularly for goods transport services for which road transport is offering it a tough competition.

Comment on Shaw's use of myth in Pygmalion.Answer in detail.

Pygmalion was an artist who created a statue of a woman of great beauty and then fell in love with "her."  The goddess of love Aphrodite took pity on him and changed her into a real woman (sort of an antique, feminist Pinnocchio).

The analogy fails to "stick," however, in that in Shaw's work Higgins does not fall for Eliza (Freddy does instead), even though there is indeed a battle of the sexes going on. Moreover, when Eliza is transformed, she no longer finds her place in life, being not really part of one world (social class) or the other. The fate of Eliza is also not conclusive; we can imagine that by her resiliant nature she is indeed destined to do more than simply "fetch" Higgins' slippers - but what?

Some producers of the play revindicated the right to change the ending of the play to be more "Hollywoodian," but Shaw's original version allows no margin for romance between Higgins and Eliza. Thus the allusion to the myth concerns Eliza's transformation from a simple flower girl into a lady, but the analogy stops there.

We are told of Roger moving toward Sam and Eric and wielding a nameless authority. What is the authority, and why does it not have a name?

Roger's authority is simple, unadulterated force. No longer is his arm guided by a civilization that doesn't care about him-he is free to destroy as he pleases. And it certainly does please him to hurt. Roger is a sadist in the purest form, one who delights in torturing and causing pain. In fact, just before this particular moment, Roger has committed the first intentional murder on the island. He has cheerfully dropped a rock on Piggy, killing him and shattering the conch.

There is no power left on the island apart from this brutal force. With the conch gone, Ralph cannot even pretend to hold any kind of authority. Jack is now nominally in charge, but it is Roger who carries the true strength. As he advances on the twins, it foreshadows the new regime on the island. Of course, this idea will return when the twins tell Ralph that Roger has "sharpened a stick at both ends." He has returned to his original tactic of torture, seen in the first killing of a pig. This primal, savage streak is what drives Roger, & it is his faceless, nameless authority.

What is the significance of Nature in Emily Dickinson's poems?Thank you!

Having had a strict Puritan education, Emily Dickinson was marked by restraint; however, her poetry provided the outlet that her passions craved.  Influenced by the Transcendental and Romantic Movements, Dickinson's passions found their outlet in the wonders of Nature.  She perceived the relationships among all natural things.  One critic wrote that Dickinson

perceived the relationship between a drop of dew and a flood, between a grain of sand and a desert.

Her keen observation of Nature helped Dickinson understand the universality of the human experience.  There was always an universal truth in Nature.  For Dickinson, private emotions, such as unfulfilled love, took on the importance of great and profound events in which Nature is connected.  In her poem "If you were coming in the Fall," for instance, Miss Dickinson writes,

If you were coming in the Fall,/I'd brush the Summer by/With Half a smile, and half a spurn,/As Housewives do, a Fly....

If certain, when this life was out--/That yours and mine, should be//I'd toss it yonder, like a Rind,/And take Eternity.

As a poet influenced by the Romantic Movement, Dickinson also compares the growth and actions of animal life to human development.  Dickinson spent much time observing nature in her garden and from her window, feeling a strong connection with Nature just as Thoreau and Emerson did.  In her poem "A Narrow Fellow in the Grass," the allusion to the serpent of Eden cannot be missed, so, while the poem is about Nature (the snake), the allusions to the serpent of Eden cannot be overlooked--again, the universal experience.  A reclusive person, Emily Dickinson scrutinized the natural world at her feet for the truths that would reveal.

Describe the changes in air pressure that occur during an El Nino year. How do these changes affect wind patters?

During a year with the El Nino effect, there is warming of the surface waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean and the pressure is high in the western Pacific. The opposite is true in years when the cooler La Nina is in effect: cooler water and lower air pressures. During an El Nino, trade winds (which normally go from the southeast toward the west in the southern hemisphere) weaken considerably or even blow toward the east.  The resulting changes in wind patterns across the Pacific lead to unexpected weather changes in other parts of the world.

What is the most important theme in The Giver? and what does it teach the reader about the theme?Is the message relevant to our world?

You have selected an interesting question. As with any work of literature, there can be any number of identifiable themes. The Giver is no different in inviting a wide number of different interpretations that might focus on topics such as what it is to be human, the relationship between pain and pleasure, and the role of the individual. For me, however, more important than these themes is the role of memory.

What is interesting about this book is that the author was inspired to write it after visiting her aging father who had lost his long term memory. This led her to realise that without memory there is an absence of pain. If you forget experiences that caused pain in your past life it is as if the pain did not exist. Jonas is part of a community that at some stage decided to eradicate pain by eradicating memory. This allows them to create the perfect utopian society, where members are free to live in happiness, but also are free of urges to engage in any activities that will bring unhappiness to them and the community of which they are a part. As Jonas discovers, however, memory (and the suffering that often accompanies it) is necessary to truly live - the half lives that his friends and family live as depicted in the novel make this truly clear. The unescapable message of this novel is that pain and suffering is part of the human condition and makes life the rich tapestry of experiences that it is. If we forsake our ability to suffer by eradicating memory, we are not truly human.  

Is it possible to get so much utility from a good that it turns into a bad? If so, please give me an example.

In economics, a consumer's utility is defined as the amount of satisfaction a consumer gets from the consumption of a particular good or service.  It is certainly possible to get "too much" utility from a given good or service.

Consider, for example, an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant.  When you go to such a place, you want to get the most out of your money, right?  But what happens if you go overboard?

In that case, you are getting so much utility from your good (the buffet you paid for) that you overdo it and get sick.  At that point, your "good" has become a "bad."

Why were Old Major's teachings considered wrong and evil?

I am assuming that the question is asking why the humans consider Old Major's teachings wrong and evil.  This would contrast a little bit with why the pigs once they have become corrupted by power, would find his teachings to be wrong.

As far as the humans are concerned, they didn't know Old Major directly, or have access to his teachings.  What they would have been reacting to was the results of what he had to say, so lets take a look at that:

1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy--this is sort of self explanatory as to why the men would find it evil...they all walk on two legs!


2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend--the humans wouldn't have liked this idea because it puts all the animals on the same level, working together, united


3. No animals shall wear clothes--I don't see what the humans would care about this


4. No animals shall sleep in a bed--Again, wouldn't bother the humans


5. No animal shall drink alcohol--This is an indirect swipe at  the men, who seem most often to meet at the pub in the town by the farm.  The idea of abstaining from drinking would seem quite wrong to them


6. No animal shall kill another--A symbol that the animals are united, an idea the farmers are greatly against


7. All animals are equal--The humans would have thought this absurd, as some animals are more useful to them than others.  Also, the idea of all animals being equal gives the animals dignity and a sense of status that shouldn't belong to beasts.

In addition to these philosophies, Old Major was also the one who remembered the song "Beasts of England," which for much of the book is the animal's national anthem. Here are some lines from that which the humans may have objected to specifically:

"Soon or late the day is coming,
Tyrant Man shall be o'er thrown,
And the fruitful fields of England
Shall be trod by beasts alone."--this is an open call for the animals to revolt and push the humans off the island.  The humans would have, of course, thought this idea to be wrong and evil.

So, there you have it.  Old Major was trying to promote equality and dignity amongst the animals, and also advocating that they do away with the humans (or at least move them away to some other place.)  All of these things would have been seen as "wrong" or "evil" philosophies by the humans who have for centuries been in control of the animals.

How is Walter Lee in A Raisin in the Sun a tragic hero?3 main points or controls please. thank you

One can take this question into a variety of ways.  One way in which Walter can be considered tragic is due to the fact that he finds himself set against challenging circumstances.  On one hand, he is immersed in economic challenges.  His job is something that is unsatisfying both materially and spiritually.  His tragic condition is amplified by this.  Another level of tragedy would be that Walter seems lost in terms of his identity as the head of the family.  He wants to assert his control and guidance of the family, but in some levels he is impotent in doing so due to his lack of emotional stability.  His mother and wife are more centered and have a greater impact on the family than Walter does, especially so in the earlier stages of the work.  I think that another level of challenge for Walter is regarding the issue of being African- American in a time in American History where it was so very challenging to live.  Being Black in America at the time of the play possessed so many distinctive challenges that by its own recognition a tragic condition can be evoked.

During a solar eclipse,the moon(of mass 7.36x10^22kg), Earth(of mass 5.98x10^24kg), and Sun(of mass 1.99x10^24) lie on the same line,with the moon...

We use the the relation of law of universal gravitational law of Newton to find the force between the two bodies of mass M and m sepated by a distance R.

F= GMm/R^2, G is the gravitational constant, M and m are the masses of the bodies.

Between Earth and sun:

M= mass of sun =1.99x10^30 kg), m=mass of earth= 5.98x10^24kg) and R = 1.496 x 10^11 m, G=6.673 x 10^-11 N times m^2/ kg^2,

F = (6.673 x 10^-11 N times m^2/ kg^2,)(1.99x10^30 kg)(5.98x10^24kg)/(1.496 x 10^11 m)^2

= 3.54233552*10^22 N  is the force between earth and sun.

Between moon and sun:

M = sun's mass above, m = moon's mass = 7.36x10^22kg and R = Sun moon distance = Earth sun distance - Earth moon distance as both sun and moon and earth are on the same line= 1.496 x 10^11 m. - 3.84 x 10^8 m = 1.49214*10^11 meter.

F= (6.673 x 10^-11*1.99x10^30 *7.36x10^22)/(1.49214*10^11)^2

=4.38968*10^20 N is the force between sun and moon.

Between earth and moon:

F = (6.673 x 10^-11*5.98x10^24*7.36x10^22)/(3.84 x 10^8)^2

=1.991763064*10^20 N is gravitational force between earth and the moon.

The gravitational force exerted by sun on earth is 3.54233552*10^22 N  towards sun as calulated earlier and by same magnitude the earth exerts the force on sun , but towards earth.

Note:

(You did not provide the mass of the sun correctly. It should be 1.99*10^30 kg  and not 1.99*10^24 Kg  which is less than earth!).

May I know the meaning of this poem from Line 48 onward?

"The Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard" was written by Thomas Gray.  It is a death poem which is often written in regards to a specific person's death, but in this poem it is written for the average person, a scholar, who has passed away.  The person or persons described in the 28th line down is an ordinary man who lived agood life.  The person is not greatly admired or noticeable, but rather an average person who has done average things such as labored in the fields.   

The poem goes on to discuss the wealthy and more affluent who have been praised and honored in life unlike the people mentioned above.  It is a comparison of those people’s ambitions in contrast to the average person.  Yet, in death there is no wealthy or importance from one person to another.  The grave makes them equal. 

In the poem the poet pays repect to the simple scholar who lived a good life but went relatively unnoticed by others.  The poet considers the man to have lived a good life though not an exciting one.

The poem brings to mind that "Death is the great equalizer." (Author unknown)

In what ways might gender affect the distribution of social customs in community?

Gender and culture is an interesting topic. According to the social theories of Peter Berger (broadly speaking, since he does not address this topic directly), people create reality. In other words, all societies are socially constructed, which includes gender roles. So, we can say that people's view on gender are imprinted on culture. This is why if you go from one place to another place, gender ideas will be different. The answer for this is that people construct society and gender.

Now the irony is this. Even though people construct society, society now exerts pressure on people to conform. This is a paradoxical dialectic. We make something that in turn shapes us. So, I would say that we create gender roles and norms and it directly affect society, but we need to be mindful that these norms also affect us.

Finally, when people move from one location to another, the clash in social expectations are interesting to say the least.

In Lord of the Flies, what are the attitudes of Ralph, Piggy, Simon, Jack and Roger toward the other boys?

Ralph and Jack have conflicting attitudes toward the rest of the boys.  Ralph feels a heavy responsibility to care for the others, which helps him avoid the panic that builds throughout the novel because of the desperate situation in which he finds himself.  Jack, on the other hand, sees the other boys as ones the be mastered and dominated.  This is in large part due to his own insecurities, which were intensified after the initial vote in which Ralph was elected chief instead of him.

Piggy and Simon both take on nurturing roles toward the other boys.  Piggy takes on the mother-role, always staying behind to monitor them and becoming overly-frustrated and agitated when they do not follow his instructions.  Simon also cares for the others, but more on their own terms instead of on his.  Nowhere is this more clearly seen than when Simon gently assists the "littl'uns" in securing fruit from high in the tree where they can not reach.

Roger is the most inherently cruel boy in the novel.  His instinctual cruelty is seen early when he throws rocks at the boy on the beach while hiding in the palms, which foreshadows when he hurls the rock at Piggy while hiding behind his painted face.

Why did the prince of Aragon choose the silver casket in The Merchant of Venice?

In The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, the prince of Aragon chooses the silver casket. It is the one which is labeled 'Choose me and get what you deseerve.' Due to his huge ego and over-inflated opinions of himself, he probably thinks that he will get great things becuase of this - all the ordinary superficial things that most humans want such as money, power, luxury and the attentions that come with that. The phrase is very philosophical and clever when you look at it closely. It does Not say that it will deliver all these things, only that if you deserve good things (which may in any event turn out to be spiritual virtues anyway) you will get them. Think about what a character might get if their weak self-serving character deserves little.

Can anyone help me fix this awkward sentence? I thought everything would be better with the birth of my brother, but I was wrong.

When you are reading sentences outside of the context, sometimes they can be considered awkward.  I am thinking that you mean that everything in your life would be better after your brother's birth, but you were wrong about that.

However, the reader could interpret the sentence that you have written to mean that your brother's actual birth went wrong. In order to avoid awkward constructions, I suggest that you read sentences out loud to yourself and to another person who is not familiar with your topic. If they furrow their brows and make a confused face when they hear your sentence, they did not understand your intended meaning.

pohnpei397 has given you some excellent possible revisions for your sentence.

Who is Dupin?

If you are looking for a literary figure named Dupin, I tagged your question with Poe and one of his short stories entitled "The Purloined Letter."  Edgar Allan Poe, while known for his Gothic contributions to American Literature, is also famous for creating the modern detective story (stories which feature an intelligent civilian who solves crime through logic and paying attention to detail all while outwitting the police).

Poe created a reoccurring character named C. Auguste Dupin.  He is a wealthy Frenchman who enjoys analyzing various crimes in the comfort of his library, while the police lag several steps behind in their investigation.  In "The Purloined Letter," Dupin discovers where a very important letter is being hidden by a thief and prevents far-reaching political consequences from taking place.

Poe's Dupin served as an inspiration for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes character, even though many readers think it is the other way around since Poe's detective stories are not as popular as his Gothic ones.

What is the setting of the book, That Was Then, This is Now?

Like most of Susan E. Hinton's novels, That Was Then, This is Now is set in Tulsa, Oklahoma (though, like Hinton's prior teen novel, The Outsiders, the city is never identified). It tells the story of Bryon Douglas and his best friend and foster brother, Mark. Like the main characters in The Outsiders, the two boys are greasers--poor boys from the wrong side of the tracks. Like the Curtis brothers in The Outsiders, Bryon and Mark have a rough home life and spend most of their time on the streets. With Bryon's mother in the hospital, the two underage boys are on their own, and they hang out in bars (Charley's Place) and on the strip known as The Ribbon. There is little time for school, although the two boys do attend a dance at the gym where Ponyboy Curtis (the main character of The Outsiders) also appears. Other locales include a "hippie house," where most of the inhabitants do drugs; and, later, a reform school where Mark is held.

What does this line mean from Beowulf? "The monster's thoughts were as quick as his greed or his claws."

In Beowulf, the author is trying to present the listeners with the idea that this monster is something different from all the other monsters they have ever met, be they wolves, snakes or sharks. This monster is "other-worldy" and has something of the supernatural about it. This is because the cleverer and faster the monster then the cleverer and faster the "hero" who manages to vanquish him - in this case Beowulf. The worse the monster he overcomes the greater hero he is in the view of the listeners to the tale.

So, not only is this monster ruthlessly blood-thirsty he is almost impossible to outwit because he has brains as well as brawn. With lightning speed his mind is calculating his next move in the struggle just as Beowulf grapples with the last.As fast as his greedy claws are tearing, his next plan is racing. Beowulf must "face the monster" by "fighting fire with fire" as our modern saying goes.

In the 1992 election, Ross Perot’s run for the presidency can be seen as?

There are many possible interpretations of Ross Perot's 1992 run for the presidency.  Some prominent ones include:

1) It is proof that the voters can become concerned about an issue (even a relatively non-sexy issue) if a candidate talks about the issue enough.  Perot focused heavily on the issue of the budget deficit and his strong showing can be seen as proof that this focus got people to care about the issue.

2) It is proof that 3rd party candidates can not win elections but that they can influence the political discourse in the country.  Perot's emphasis on the budget deficit can be seen as influencing public opinion and forcing the major party candidates to talk more about the issue. (The link below shows this interpretation.)

There are, of course, other interpretations, but these are two of the most important and widely-believed views.

Is there any difference b/w an equation and an identity? Thanks,

There is difference between an equation and an identity.

The equation is true conditionally. Whereas the identity is true always.

The equation is true for  particular values of the variable(or variables). But an identity is true for all values.

An identity is an equation , in which the right side is derivable from left, and the left side is derivable from the right. Not so in case of an equation.

Examples: 3x+6=9 is an equation. It is condtionally true for x=1. It is not true for 2 or 3 or for any x other than 1.

(x+1)^2 = x^2+2x+1 is an identity and true for all values of x.

3x+y = 4 is an equation straight line representing a straight line is conditionally true for all the points on that graph. But go out of the graph and chose x=10 y= 10, the equation is not true.

x^3+8y^3 = (x^2-2xy+4x^2)(x+2y)  is an identity and therefore true for all values of x and y.Proof: (a^+b^3 )/(a+b) = a^2-ab+b^2. Put a=x and b=2y, Then {(x^3+(2y)^3]/(x+2y) = x^2-x(2y)+(4y)^2. Therefore,

x^3+8y^3 = (x^2-2xy+4x^2)(x+2y).

What year was the cytoplasm dicovered and also who discovered it? Who elso discovered what parts?

The cell was discovered by Robert Hooke in 1665 that made studies on strains of cork using a microscope.
Cell theory was first sets out by M. Schleiden and T. Schwann in 1839.
Cytoplasm's discovery was in 1831, by Robert Brown, and in 1874 received the actual name: cytoplasm. Cytoplasm, a component of prokaryotic cell, occupying almost the whole cell area, is a complex mixture of perfect solutions and colloidal minerals and organic substances, dissolved in water. Cytoplasm not possess a cytoskeleton protein, composed of microtubules and micro filaments and not have plasma currents. It is characterized by Colloidal gel permanent condition which excludes the existence of cytoplasmic stream and provides maintenance core structure which is not membrane limited.

Remarkable is the fact that the nature of the substances catabolized is very great and can metabolize toxic substances such as rubber, asphalt, oil, detergents, etc..

How does Shakespeare make the balcony scene such a powerful and dramatic scene in Romeo and Juliet?

One of the most favorite scenes in dramatic history, the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet is powerful and dramatic for many reasons.  First, the audience sees Juliet openly stating her love for Romeo; however, she has no idea that he is hiding below the balcony and can hear every word she is saying about him.  Secondly, both realize the ridiculousness of the reud between the Montagues and the Capulets.  One can assume that before this night, both Romeo and Juliet viewed each other's family as being disgraceful, ignorant, etc.  However, now that they have met each other, they know that the feud is of no importance.  This is also a powerful scene because Romeo is risking his life in an attempt to get just a glimpse from Juliet.  He knows that if the wrong person should see him, he will be in big trouble.  He is so taken with Juliet, though, that he does not care.  And when he finally sees Juliet, his metaphor comparing Juliet to the sun is one of the most cited romantic lines in drama.  This is also where their plan to secretly wed starts to take formation, as Romeo leaves after Juliet promises to get in touch with him the next day. 

How does the vertical component of a projectile's motion compare with the motion of vertical free fall when air resistance is negligible?Choices...

When the air resistance is negligible the vertical component of a projectile's motion is identical to the motion of vertical free fall.

Here please note that the expression "free fall" also includes the rise, which may be considered as negative free fall.

However if we take the air resistance as significant then the relationship becomes complex, as the air resistance changes with the total speed. Thus the acceleration itself varies, being maximum at the highest point of the projectile, when the vertical speed is 0. It must also be noted that if the air resistance is significant then we cannot assume the horizontal component of the speed to be constant. The horizontal speed will reduce as the projectile moves forward horizontally. This negative acceleration will be maximum when the projectile is launched.

In "The Leap" by Louise Erdrich, what does the theme "As you fall, there is time to think" mean and how is it important to the story?

The narrator's mother made three leaps in the short story, "The Leap."  The first leap was a literal one which dealt with the mother leaping to safety in the fire from the tent.  The second was more figurative or symbolic because she made a leap of faith in loving and trusting her second husband.  The third was a leap into her burning house to save her daughter from the fire.  With all of these "leaps," there was the opportunity to decide which actions to take.  In the first, she made the conscious decision to grab hold of the electrified wire to save herself.  In the second, she decided to take the risk of loving again.  In the third, she had to decide the best way to access and save her daughter.  All of these leaps involved falling, or some sort of failure, but she still had time, even if it was seconds, to determine the course her life would take.

What is significant about the end of Chapter 21 in To Kill a Mockingbird?

At the end of chapter one, the courtroom has been waiting on the jury to deliver its verdict on the Tom Robinson case.  They waited for quite some time, and finally heard the verdict of guilty.  It was a devastating blow to Jem and many others in the courtroom, who had so much hope, considering the irrefutable evidence in Tom's favor.  After all of that work, after all of the evidence given, Tom was still found guilty, which shows just how powerful a grip racism had on the hearts of many of the jury members.

However, the guilty verdict is not the most significant aspect of the end of that chapter.  A guilty verdict was anticipated by almost everyone, everyone who knew Maycomb well, that is.  What is even more significant is that as Atticus stands up to leave and is walking down the aisle to the exit,

"all around us and in the balcony on the opposite wall, the Negroes were getting on their feet."

The black community, in an act of respect to Atticus and all that he did to defend Tom stood in a show of support and reverence as he passed by.  When people stand as someone passes, it is usually someone important; think of the president of the United States--when he enters a room, as a show of respect for his position, everyone stands.  The black people in the courtroom that day wanted to show Atticus how much they appreciated the very difficult case that he took, and for the honest, hard-working job that he did.  They respect him very greatly, and showed it through their solidarity in rising as he passed through.  That is significant; it shows, in a small way, what a great man Atticus was.  It also shows that the black community did not hold Tom's guilty verdict against Atticus--they knew it wasn't his fault, but the fault of the racist beliefs of the town. They knew he did his best, and gave an honest trial.  I hope that helped; good luck.

What were some political proposals contributing to the development of the constitution?

The compromises reached on the issue of population and representation were of vital importance to the development of the Constitution.  Another compromise of equal importance were the agreements drawn on the issue of slavery.  Southern states, in the attempt to boost their own representation numbers, sought to count their slaves as part of their state's population.  Northern states rejected this, out of fear of a rise in Southern legislative power.  The agreement was called the 3/5 compromise, and essentially, it called for slaves to be counted as three fifths of a person.  This means that in the meeting that helped to chart the course of a nation's development, people of color were seen as a fraction of a person.  At the same time, the Congress voted to continue the slave trade for 20 more years, until that time when it would become regulated by the federal government.  Another critical compromise in the ratification of the Constitution came when the debate between the Federalists and the Anti- Federalists rose into prominence.  The former were a group of delegates who were afraid of the dangers of a weak federal government, namely the inability to establish law and order and be effective.  This impotence was demonstrated with Shays' Rebellion, and the central government's inability to deal with the challenge posed by the uprising.  Advocating against them were the Anti- Federalists, who feared a the strong central government would bear similarity to the tyranny of King George and English Royalty.  Both sides were appeased with the adoption of the first ten amendments, which were designed to enhance personal liberties as a shield or check against government encroachment.  The Bill of Rights became the tool which allowed the Constitution, in its modern form, to be adopted by the Congress.

How was the South affected by the Civil War?The effect on both the land and the people.

The affects of the Civil War on the south were devastating.  As the Northern armies drove south crops were burned, mills were destroyed, and houses were burned.  Without the excess labor that the slaves provided, the south was unable to rebuild in a timely manner.  In addition, the political unrest and fear of the changes as well as the displacement of the slaves led to starvation, increased crime, and the victimization of former property owners by carpetbaggers.

The people in the south were afraid and angry.  They had lost a cause they believed in.  Their land and way of life had been destroyed.  Rebel sons and fathers had died in the war leaving behind mostly women and children.  The south was forced to secede to the Union and was kept under military rule.

African Americans continued to suffer.  Lynch mobs and militia organized and hung and shot former slaves.  There was a fear that coveted Whites who now saw the freed slaves as the enemy ready to pounce.

The economy of the south was in a bad state.  The southern money system had little to no value.   Jobs were scare and blacks and whites flocked towards the north in hopes of finding work.  Those who did not go south headed west in hope of a better life.

What are some literary devices (symbolism, metaphors, themes, foreshadowing) in Fahrenheit 451?

There are so many versions of the book that a page number won't be helpful, but I was able to find plenty within the first few pages of part two, so look there for these descriptions.  Bradbury uses figurative language techniques all throughout his novel, and in part two, there are many examples.  As he and Mildred sit and read books, he uses a simile and metaphor (both are when you compare two things; similes use "like" or "as", whereas metaphors don't) to describe the parlor:

"He started at the parlor that was dead and gray as the waters of an ocean that might teem with life if they switched on the electric sun."

Here he compares the t.v. screens to a dead ocean, and the power switch to an electric sun.  Right after this, he uses another simile to describe the jet bombers going overhead.  He states that they are "whistling like an immense, invisible fan, circling in emptiness."  He compares them to a fan that is just churning up emptiness, a symbol for the emptiness of their society.   Later, when Montag goes back to the station briefly, Beatty describes the pages of books burning with a simile and metaphor:

"like the petals of a flower...each becomes a black butterfly...swarms of black moths that had died in a single storm."

The pages of the book are describes as flowers, moths, and butterflies, all of them dying; this is a great way to describe how books-beautiful, delicate, and powerful things-are destroyed by fire and their society.

I'll stop there, since the format of the website allows for one question per day.  I hope that helped for similes and metaphors.  For examples of imagery, look for any instance where Bradbury uses the 5 senses to describe things (sight, scent, sound, taste, touch), and for personifcation, try to find a description where he gives inanimate objects human-like traits.

Here is a video that demonstrates literary devices in pop culture, to help you better understand the differences:

What is the symbolism of the Walkers' house, the swamp, darkness, and the Bible in "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

1. The Walkers' house: Their house represents the barrenness in their marriage.  Tom and his wife barely tolerate each other; so their desolate house and land illustrate the lack of life in their relationship.  In fact, their grounds are so unwelcoming that travelers passing by needing a place to stay would rather walk on and risk a night without shelter than approach the Walker home.

2. The swamp: Irving begins his story with a description of the swamp which symbolizes Tom's moral morass resulting from his deal with the devil.  He so badly wants material goods like the pirate's treasure (rumored to be in the swamp) that he is willing to "wade" into the figuratively murky depths of being a usurer.

3. Darkness: Similar to Irving's other stories which satirize Puritan superstitions and beliefs about the devil, this story relies on darkness to cover the devil's deeds (namely his deal with Tom Walker).  Tom must enter into the darkness of the forest in order to bargain away his soul.

4. The Bible: After Tom has accumulated material wealth, he becomes religious when he realizes that the afterlife can't be too far away for him.  Ironically for him, when the devil sends his "black fellow" to pick up Tom for his meeting with destiny, Tom is about to foreclose on a poor man's home mortgage (my, how appropriate this story is for our economy today!).  When Tom recognizes who has shown up on his doorstep, he

"[shrinks] back, but too late. He had left his little bible at the bottom of his coat pocket, and his big bible on the desk buried under the mortgage he was about to foreclose."

Irving uses this scene to demonstrate that Tom's work for the devil (squeezing as much money as he possibly could out of his fellowmen) has overshadowed any real concern that he once had for his soul's fate (hence, the Bible covered by the mortgage).

In The Book Thief how is the relationship between Liesel and Rudy like family, lovers, strangers, and enemies?

Rudy and Liesel are like brother and sister in the fact that they spend a lot of time together; any time outside of their homes is spent in each other's company.  As a result, they know each other really well, like a brother and sister do. They know each other's weaknesses and strengths.  They get into trouble together, and also get each other out of trouble too.  That is very much like siblings.  Also, they never do hold hands, or kiss, or anything of that sort--so that makes their relationship familial also.

They are like lovers in the sense that they care deeply for one another, and would do anything for each other.  Note how Rudy, skinny and starving, jumps into the freezing river in the middle of winter get Liesel's book.  They care so much about each other that they would gladly give their lives, and all that they have for the other person.  And, we know from the beginning of the book that Rudy loves Liesel and is constantly demanding a kiss.  Liesel loves Rudy too, but just likes to torment him by not giving him a kiss.

Their relationship is a bit like a stranger's relationship only in the fact that they met as strangers, and come from different backgrounds.  Liesel is an orphan, Rudy comes from a large, large family.  Rudy is blond and tall, Liesel is dark-haired and small.  They look like strangers.  They also never get too deep in their conversations--Liesel keeps information from Rudy, for example, about Max hiding at her house.  She treats Rudy more like a stranger in that respect.

They aren't like enemies much--they do fight occasionally, and are mean to each other.  They also tend to get each other into sticky situations, like with the apple thieving, and book thieving; enemies like to put each other in compromised situations.  But other than that, I wouldn't say they are like enemies at all.

The relationship between Rudy and Liesel is a strong, moving and dynamic one, and one that keeps the reader attached and involved in the story up until the very end.  I hope that helped; good luck!

In "Fahrenheit 451" how do the firemen spend their time at the firehouse?

In "Fahrenheit 451," the firemen spend a lot of their time playing cards, most likely poker.  Also, as Montag describes upon his arrival there at the beginning of the book, they play "games" with the mechanical hound.  The hound is programmed to track anything that it is given a sample of--a sample of scent, blood, hair, clothes, whatever it may be.  It is so advanced technologically that it can register the person's scent from that tiny thing, and as a result can hunt it down wherever it may have run to or been hiding.  The firemen, in real practice, use it to track down criminals, to hunt down rebels on the run, and to paralyze them with its needle.  But in down time, they arrange "hunts" in the firehouse for the hound with rats, chickens, and cats.  Montag describes,

"there would be betting to see which of the cats or chickens or rats the Hound would seize first."

Montag didn't participate in these games very often, because he had lost a lot of money the one time that he tried, and Mildred had gotten mad at him for it.

So, games to entertain themselves is what most of them do--either through poker and card games, or betting on small animals that the Hound hunts down.

I hope that helps; good luck!

In "A Rose for Emily" describe Emily Grierson's character. What are those forces that she stands for and fights against?

Emily Grierson is a fierce, stubborn lady who stands strong in her perceptions of family honor, wealth and status in society.  When aldermen come to collect taxes, she refuses to pay, insisting that her family does not pay taxes.  This is based on an age-old rule instituted back in the day when her family was wealthy and the town was in awe of it.  When the aldermen come about the smell, she refuses to open the door.  When people gossip and whisper about Homer Barron, she refuses to stop seeing him.  When her father dies, she refuses to give up the body for severeal days.  Through all of these examples, we see her fierce stubbornness and also her familial pride.  She also lives in an alternate reality, refusing to see things for how they really are.  She refused to admit that her father was dead.  She refused to admit that Homer Barron would not be with her forever.  She refused to admit that her family honor was fading and that she should pay taxes.  She refused to admit that her house smelled as a result of Homer's body.  All of these things show that she had a rather demented idea of what was real and what was not; she was stuck in a fantasy land of her own.

Forces that she stood for are lined up with her perception of reality; she stood up for dating who she wanted, and she stood up for her family's traditions and supposed honor in the town.  She seemed to be against any progress or change, but wanted things to always remain the same as they had while she was a girl in the town.

I hope that those thoughts helped; good luck!

Based on 'The Gift of the Magi", what would you sacrifice for the one you love?

This would appear to be a subjective question, one based on personal opinion.  The central theme of "the Gift of the Magi" is about love and self-sacrafice...this question seems to be wanted to relate the question to you, personally.

Think about the person you love most in the world.  What would you be willing to sacrifice for them if the need arose?  The part of the question that is missing is level of need that requires the sacrifice.  We would all, hopefully, be willing to trade more if it would mean keeping a loved one safe, while we might be willing to trade a little less if it was for some fleeting happiness.

When answering this question for yourself, don't get stuck on material objects...keep in mind there are many other ways you can make sacrifices for those you love: time, freedom, and health being three examples.