Discuss the role of clown in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

As the only character in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night who remains detached from the play's conflicts, Feste is able to comment objectively upon the foibles and actions of the other characters.  For example, in Act I, he comments on Olivia's foolishness in her mourning her dead brother when his soul lies in heaven:

The more fool, madonna, to mourn for your brother's/soul being in heaven.  Take away the fool, gentlemen. (I,v,64-65)

In Act II, he supplicates the god of melancholy to protect Orsino because his love-sickness is pure indulgence:

Now the melancholy god protect thee; and the tailor/make thy doublet of changeable taffeta for thy mind/ is a very opal.  I would have men of such constancy put/ to sea, that their business might be everything, and their/ intent everywhere; for that's it that always makes a good/ voyage of nothing.  Farewell. (II,iv,78-83) 

Acting as a foil to Sir Toby, the Puritan, Feste as the "wise fool,"--to use Olivia's term--shows by contrast the bafoonery of Sir Toby, a geste that great entertained the Elizabethans in its ridicule of the reviled Puritanism. 

Feste proves to the audience: "Better a witty fool, than a foolish wit" (I,v, 31)

How does Steinbeck use imagery to create the tone in The Pearl and could it have ended differently?

The narrator's tone is a distant calm and nostalgic one but with a foreboding overtone, and the imagery Steinbeck chooses is integral to creating the tone. So as not to confuse tone with mood, let's clarify that both tone (narrator's feelings about the subject) and mood (reader's response of feeling to the story) both employ vocabulary, also called diction. These diction choices include the vocabulary of imagery. The distinction is that while tone employs only vocabulary (diction), mood employs vocabulary (diction), setting and description. This means that tone and mood may both draw on imagery and in some cases may correspond, whereas in other cases they may differ so that the narrator may have a different feeling about the subject than the reader feels in responding to the story.

To start out, the feeling of distance in the tone is established in the epigraph in which the imagery of metaphoric rootedness is applied to mind and heart and in which the dichotomy of good-bad, black-white is established. Remembering that tone is established at the outset of a work, the epigraph and first paragraphs present visual, auditory and vocal imagery. The calm tone is most strongly set out in the auditory imagery of the roosters crowing, the pigs turning twigs and the birds "chittering and flurried."

The vocal imagery lends the feeling of nostalgia, as of a pleasant distant memory, through the mentions of music and songs. The morning waves make songs; Kino's people are "makers of songs;" everything heard, seen, thought, done became a song for his people. It is also in the imagery of song making that the element of foreboding enters the narrator's tone: The songs were made "very long ago" but are not made now. Only personal songs are made, but Kino can't speak of his, whereas, in the past, songs were shared among the whole people.

The other component of imagery that adds to the feeling (tone) of foreboding is the visual imagery at the very beginning of Chapter 1. The visualizations are of "near dark," stars that "still shone," the dawn a "pale wash of light in the lower sky to the east." These half shades of light and dark (antithetical to what the epigraph says of the story) produce foreboding because of the eeriness that accompanies nearly dark moments or nearly light moments in the world. This concludes the summary of how imagery in The Pearl creates the narrator's feelings, or tone, about the story being told.

What is the play on words in the phrase "Ginger is a genius of her genus", from The View from Saturday?

A play on words is a literary technique where words are used in an unusual way, putting emphasis on the words themselves in an unconventional manner.  A pun, which is when an alternate meaning of a word is exploited with a humorous intent, is an example of a play on words.

In the example about which you are asking, Nadia uses two words which are almost identical to create an interesting literary effect.  In response to Noah's facetious comment that her dog, Ginger, "is the dog that invented E = mc2", Nadia replies haughtily,

"Ginger is a genius of her genus.  She is the best there is of Canis familaris, and Alice is the best of her litter".

The play on words here involves two words which differ in spelling by only one letter, genius, and genus, which means "species".  Nadia, who always asserts that "Ginger is a genius", is qualifying her statement, emphasizing that Ginger is indeed very smart, for a dog.  As Noah and everyone else should well know, Nadia is not so arrogant as to claim that Ginger is smarter than a human genius such as Einstein, the discoverer of the formula E = mc2.  Nadia is only saying that, among the world of dogs, Ginger's genus, or species, Ginger is far smarter than average, or, in other words, a genius, and that Alice, the puppy that Nadia wants to give to Julian, is the best of her litter (Chapter 3).

Explain the pathos evoked by this quotation from "The Scarlet Ibis": "We never spoke...but I knew he was watching me, watching for a sign for mercy."

The author's use of the pathetic appeal (pathos) works in two ways.  First, the quotation above represents Doodle's use of pathos toward Brother.  Doodle is too proud to ask for help or mercy, but he appeals to Brother with his eyes. He knows that Brother is not very sympathetic, especially when it comes to spoken cries for help, but the unspoken plea issued by Doodle has more effect and left such a last impression on Brother that as the story's older narrator years later, he still remembers the look.

Secondly, James Hurst employs pathos throughout the story, including in this quotation, to appeal to his readers' emotions.  Of the three rhetorical appeals, Hurst relies on pathos more than logos and ethos. What is interesting is that Brother would have been more moved (as a boy) by an ethical appeal (an appeal to duty, morals, or obligation), but Doodle is a truly sympathetic character who communicates through emotion; so he uses what he knows best. 

Whenever my students study this story, they finish it with comments such as, "it's so sad"; "I can't believe that Brother could be so cruel!" or "I'm depressed now."  These comments demonstrate that Hurst's use of pathos is powerful and memorable.

How can we diagnose pathological conditions through ultrasound?

• Ultrasound diagnosis

 Tissues that are crossed by the ultrasonic beam have special acoustic properties, producing different absorption and reflection of ultrasounds. Thus, ultrasounds are useful in the detection of foreign bodies in body or in determining the size of organs.

• Ultrasonography in ophthalmology

No other body is not so easily accessible to ultrasonic beam examination than the eye, because the investigation is not disturbed by neighboring tissues, which would give an unfit echo to ocular globes. For diagnostic, ultrasound is currently used to determine distances in the eyeball, the diagnosis of tumors, retinal detachment, the establishment of bleeding, the location of foreign bodies.

• Ultrasound in neurology

Another area in which ultrasounds has become a very useful method  to explore, is the central nervous system. The ecoencefalographics investigation is based on property of ultrasound beam to cross the brain weight and to be reflected. Medical specialist during establishing a disease  diagnosis, investigates the position of normal echoes and the existence of additional echoes.

• Ultrasound in internal medicine

The development of ultrasound, it became possible for the oscilloscope screen to pop up  cross-sectional images of tissue studied (liver, gall bladder, thyroid, etc.). Another important role of ultrasound consists in the help brought to doctor that drive tumor irradiation  with gamma radiation, to determine the exact shape and size of the tumor, with the purpose of radiating it. This can protect other vital organs around the tumor of useless radiation.

• Ultrasound in Cardiology

Anatomy and physiological features of the heart cause a series of mechanical phenomena which are repeated with each contraction and relaxation. Examination of the heart movements is achieved by short pulses of ultrasound that are reflected on the wall of the heart. Signals are amplified and viewed on a cathode ray tube screen.

• Ultrasound therapy

Physical therapy with ultrasound is based on their physiological actions, which consists in mechanical effects, thermal, chemical. Because of these effects,tissue are driven mechanical,  in the form of''internal''micro massage and heated, suffering chemical reactions, favorable to the body.

What are some tribe names and there tradtions and how they keep them without modern customs?

BY tribes I am under the assumption that you are referring to Native Americans. 

The Nez Perce Indians or the Nimipu (meaning the people) are a tribe of Native Americans.  They were a tribe that provided food and support to Louis and Clark when they explored the west.  They are known for their nose piercing and their brave chief.  Their culture was one primarily that consisted of fishing, hunting, and gathering.  One way in which the tribe has been able to maintain its culture has been to seek support from the government.  Through self-advocacy and litigation the tries were able to gain funds to allow for the purchase of land that included fishing sanctuaries.  This allowed them to keep occupations such as fishing and farming.  Their language has been preserved by anthropologists, but has been pretty much lost to the tribe as a used language. 

The Hopi Indian Tribe, a group of Native Americans who live primarily in the area of Arizona, has continued to maintain cultural origins through art, music, and dance.  The Hopi nation has yearly gatherings some of which include non-tribe members and events that are for tribal members only.   They continue to practice traditional ceremonies although many members have been impacted by Christianity.  A doll commonly known as a cultural representative is the Kachina Doll. 

The Navajo Nation, primarily from the Southwest region, was and is still known for the basket making skills.  Modern tribal artisans continue to create baskets and works of art which are sold through the markets.

In late September/Early October, Yei Bei Chei dances are held.  Tourists are welcomed on the reservation for some of the dances but the religious ceremonies are open to only tribe’s people.  The Navajo have maintained economic means through the ownership and operation of gambling casinos.  However, they have used additional funds to purchase increased amounts of land which they use to conserve their heritage of fishing and hunting. 

For all tribes it has been difficult to mainatin their culture in modern times.  Like Europeans and other groups who have come to America, societal influences and capitolism have had a significant impact on the cultural remains.  Native Americans were also denied many of their customs by law for many years and their children were formerly removed from their homes.  The children lost the use of the native language and many forgot the cermonies and customs. 

In "The Road" identify the father and describe how he affects the kid's decisions and/or beliefs?

The father is desperately trying to impart two main teachings and beliefs to the boy, and balance the seeming contradiction between them.  The first thing that the father wants the boy to learn is that they live in a dangerous world where others can't be trusted.  Any time they come across a survivor in their journeys, the boy's instinct is to stop, help, and give whatever resources they have to help that person survive.  The father fights this instinct in the boy, and tries to teach him that they need all of the resources themselves, and that they can't afford to share, or they'll die.  He also tries to teach the boy proper caution in speaking to these survivors, as they could be traps set for the more barbarous cannibals that roam the lands.  He also needs the boy to understand how dangerous those cannibals are, and how he needs to be vicious and vigilant in protecting himself against these marauders.

The second belief and notion that the father wants the boy to learn is in seeming contradiction with the first.  It is that people are good, at their cores, and that staying good, no matter what, is worth surviving for.  He speaks of "the fire" that they carry with them--this light is decency, humanity, kindness and goodness.  In a world that is seemingly devoid of these traits, the father doesn't want them to die out.  He doesn't want the awful world they're living in to stifle those traits in the boy's heart, because they are the only thing that makes living on this planet bearable.  That belief, that people are good, and that we should be kind, contradicts the more harsh survival techniques that the boy must learn, that teach you must be cruel to survive.

The father imparts these beliefs through his words, and also through his actions.  He uses his gun to protect them from the barbarians.  He speaks constantly of "carrying the fire", and how it is important to keep it lit.  He gives lessons and lectures to the kid on survival, and tries to sympathize with the kid's urge to help everyone that they run across.  Example, teaching moments, and stories all help the father to teach his son how to survive, both physically, and with his humanity in tact.  I hope that helps; good luck!

WHY ARE MORE PEOPLE GETTING FATTER ACCORDING TO THE COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS IN ECONOMICS AND OTHER REASONS TIED WITH ECONOMICS THAT CAN EXPLAIN...

I very much doubt if a reasonably valid cost-benefit will support the kind of behavior that leads to people getting fatter or obese to an extent that it is harmful for their health. General principles of economics, particularly the ones dealing with utility also do not explain why people do things that are harmful to them. Economics actually assumes that people in general decide to buy and consume goods that give them maximum possible utility for the money they have. The widespread phenomenon of obesity caused by excessive consumption of junk food by willing customers, actually an example of limitation of economics to explain human behavior too accurately.

The phenomenon of obesity can be explained more by the limitation of individuals to know for sure what is good for them. Also it is because of the conflicts in human motivations between immediate gratification and future gratification. People, are now by and large, aware of the problems of obesity, and usually they do have economics means available to eat more healthy food, But that kind of food may not be as tasty, and may not be compatible with their lifestyle. In contrast the problems of obesity is some thing that will happen some time in future, and therefore the the psychological pressure of likelihood of having health problems is not very strong.

Thus obesity is more due to people giving in to immediate emotional impulses rather than act based on a systematic cost-benefit analysis of their actions.

Discuss or 'It is a common place now that art has ebbed away out of our ordinary life'. Consider if this is wholly true of the present day?'The...

It is a fact that the origin of all forms of man's artistic productions,like poetry, painting, music etc. has been deeply rooted in the religious instincts of man. In other words, artistic activities of men since the very first days of human civilization have been always inspired and directed by religious ideas. Thus in the case of painting, the earliest specimens of the art have been concerned with the pictures of the gods and goddesses belonging to the pantheon of the religious faiths of the countries of the artists. These gods and goddesses are the highest conceivable embodiments of the painters' sense of the beautiful, the sublime and the noble and the object of these artistic creations is to induce in the mind of man the moral ideas of right and wrong, the ugly and the beautiful, the false and the true and thereby ennoble and elevate the human mind. Such is also the case of poetry and its allied art of music

 It was towards the end of the nineteenth century there arose a school of artists in western Europe, called the aesthetics who preached the doctrine of " art for art's sake". What they meant by this is that art exists for its own sake and has nothing to do with life. Consequently, aesthetic pleasure came to be looked upon as the primary object of all artistic creations. Unfortunately, it was little realised that the beauty divorced from the true and the good is no beauty at all.

 Modern hurry has, undoubtedly, told upon our sense of art. Nevertheless, prctice of art has not fallen on the wane. Just ask any city-bred child to draw or paint anything of its choice. You will discover, it turns out to be a landscape showing the rising sun, flight of birds, clouds, rivers, trees with fruits and the green as the backdrop. It can scarcely be a drawing of a computer or mobile-phone. Time has not swallowed art, but it is very much dormant within us. That you have raised this issue and I unheart my feelings is because we, who belong to ordinary life, are concerned about art.

Compare and contrast the animals' situation at Manor Farm and their situation at Animal Farm.Explain the differences and similarities between the...

There's really not much difference between the way things were under Farmer Jones and the way they are at the end of the book.  That's pretty much the point of the book and the point of part in Chapter X where Napoleon tells Pilkington and the other people that the name of the farm is being changed back to Manor Farm.

Here's one other way that Orwell shows the similarities: in Chapter I, he has Old Major say this:

You, Boxer, the very day that those great muscles of
yours lose their power, Jones will sell you to the knacker, who will cut
your throat and boil you down for the foxhounds.

Think about what ends up happening to Boxer.  It is exactly this fate.  He gets hurt in the fighting, he works himself until he is weak.  When he gets too weak, Napoleon sells him to the knackers.

A major theme of the book is the idea that things are no better under the pigs than they were under the humans.

Would it be correct to classify the biceps muscle as a tissue?The biceps muscle in the upper arm consists of striated muscle fibres bound...

The muscle is a contractile tissue composed of muscle cells!

Muscle fiber is structurally-functional unit of muscle tissue.

Brachial triceps muscle (triceps brachii) - allows the extension arm at the elbow
Brachial biceps muscle (biceps brachii) - allow bending the arm at the elbow, making the opposite move by brachial triceps muscle.

Brachial triceps muscle and brachial biceps muscle are antagonists muscle  which are participating to movements in the same direction but in opposite, one nears two bones, the other, departs.

They are muscles with multiple origins and a single terminal tendon.

Can you give me the summary of Tagore's story "The Postmaster?"

Love has the uncanny ability to ensnare unsuspecting men and women, bringing them in close proximity in the most unusual circumstances, and then letting an incongruous spark doing the rest!

Something similar happens in Rabindranath Tagore’s short story ‘The Postmaster’, where a young Calcutta boy is posted in an obscure, small village, Ulapur. The village is populated with Indigo agents and employees, who neither had time nor inclination to mix up with an arrogant, moody, sombre educated man!

Forced to eke out a solitary living and desperate for human company, he opens his heart to the only avid listener available, an orphan girl, about twelve or thirteen years of age, named Ratan. She is an unlucky girl, standing alone at the threshold of youth, with no possibility of marriage or a friendly alliance.

Ratan does housework and odd jobs for the Postmaster, in return of a little food. And, as her work demands her to remain in close vicinity of the young Babu, they soon develop a comfortable companionship, feeling at ease with each other, slipping into casual conversation, sharing details about their respective families, and some heartfelt emotions, thus slowly developing a strange yet intimate relationship.

But, as in Tagore’s typical style, none of them shows any inclination towards external show of emotions or delve on the physical aspect of their close liaison. In fact, till the very end, it remains unknown whether their feelings were indeed love or just a passing infatuation or even a platonic affection misinterpreted as romantic mooring! The story ends ambiguously, with longing and separation ruling the roost.

However, despite its sombre end, I liked the story for its irony. Here, the author tries to bring together two individuals, who have nothing in common. One is a pedantic city boy, the other an illiterate village belle. One feels romantic on seeing green leaves, is stirred by beauty of the moon, while the other believes love is equivalent to caring for a sick man, and dutifully serving your lover. The relationship is flawed from the very beginning. It is doomed to fail, yet it grips both the protagonists in a strange bond till the very end.

Further, the story prominently focuses on a very well established aspect of love. Man and woman interpret it in different manner. A man craves for company and is happy to find it in any form, a beloved, a friend or even a servile dependent. But a woman can never be reckless in finding love. She is by nature monogamous and gets emotionally involved with her partner in a way that she is ready to negate her very existence for her lover. But, man likes to remain a free bird, and at the very first sight of a bond, flies away.

In a way, Ratan is in the wrong end from the very beginning. She is just a victim of destiny, which played havoc with her life, by making her an orphan. And, when she has abandoned all hopes of being married, fate brings her face to face with a man, she admires and falls in love with.

On the other hand, the Postmaster is a man lost in thoughts. He considers himself aloof and poetic, but actually he has just been forced to be the kind of man, he comes across as. In other circumstances, he would be quite a different person, for whom Ratan would have no meaning at all.

In a nutshell, The Postmaster is essentially the expression of those unsolved mysteries, those unanswerable queries, those tough dilemmas, we all encounter at certain point of our lives. A hesitation to owe your feelings often result in a permanent loss. The story could have ended happily, if only the protagonists could have been a little honest each other. However, much remains unsaid in this psuedo romantic tale, ending in separation and longing.

Here, Love is explored in a very different way, minus all the sweet nothings. Tagore in his signature humane style, acted out a heavenly drama on the hard earthy plane. The story is short, crisp, at times funny and mostly sombre. But more than anything, I liked the ironical and satirical tone, which made the story readable and entertaining.

Why does Napoleon choose Edmond to deliver the letter, and not someone else? ?"The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas

To disabuse the error of the question, in the setting of "The Count of Monte Cristo," Louis XVIII sits on the throne in what history records as "The One Hundred Days," France having been restored to a monarchy after Napoleon's beoming deposed as Emperor and exiled to Elba where he is a virtual prisoner. It is the captain of Monsieur Morrel's ship, the Pharaon, a Bonapartist who strives with others to have Napoleon restored as Emperor of France, who gives Dantes the letter.

This dying captain entrusts his letter to Monsieur Noitier to  his next-in-command, first mate Edmond Dantes, whom he knows well as a loyal young man.  Also, Dantes is sworn to obey his superior officer, the captain.  In addition to these reasons, the captain probably understands that the young Dantes is naive. This naivete is later evidenced in Dantes's own words to the Deputy Procurer de Roi, Monsieur de Villefort:

Extreme political views, monsieru?  Alas! I am almost ashamed to say it, but I have never had what one calls a view;  I am barely nineteen years of age, as I have already had the honour to tell you.  I know nothing, for I am not destined to play an great role in life....My opinions, I do not say political, but private, are limited to these three sentiments:  I love my father, I respect Monsieur Morrel, and I adore Mercedes.  That, monsieur, is all I have to tell you.

Ironically, it is this naivete of Dantes which becomes his nemesis as he innocently delivers the letter and unsuspectingly reveals that it is addressed to M. Noitier, the father of M. de Villefort, who is at political ends with his son who he is a royalist that desires the king to remain on the throne in order to further his own political aspirations.

What does Mayella think of Atticus in the book To Kill A Mockingbird?

One of the highlights of the novel is the cross examination by attorney Atticus Finch of Mayella Ewell, who has accused the young black man Tom Robinson of raping her. Atticus begins his questions in an almost gentle, condescending manner before later questioning the honesty and intentions of Mayella. But Mayella finally breaks, and in one short, fiery response, she fires back at Atticus before refusing to answer any more questions:

"...if you fine fancy gentlemen don't wanta do nothin' about it then you're all yellow stinkin' cowards, stinkin' cowards, the lot of you. You're fancy airs don't come to nothin'--your ma'amin' and Miss Mayellerin' don't come to nothin', Mr. Finch."

Because the Ewells are a family of outcasts in Maycomb, Mayella realizes that she will get little special treatment from the townspeople, even though she is white and Tom is black. To her, the honest-to-a-fault Atticus is just another man who looks down his nose at the Ewells.

What is a psychological evaluation of George, Lennie, Slim and Candy in Of Mice and Men?

It sounds like your teacher might be asking you to perform a psychological evaluation of each.  Are there any outside sources you are supposed to use?  Are you supposed to be diagnosing the men with specific issues, or just using your own frame of reference?

If  you are not supposed to use any outside sources, you can analyze each man using these questions:

Does the character seem to have any "issues"?  Does he display any behavior that concerns you?  Interests you?  For example, I find George's treatment of Lennie to be both interesting and disturbing.  George clearly cares about Lennie, but is very impatient with hem.

What seems to motivate the character?  What needs/desires make him act the way he does?  For example, why is Lennie so obsessed with petting soft things?

Has anything in the man's environment affected him psychologically?  For example, you might consider how Slim has been affected psychologically by the life of a migrant worker (the lack of permanence, etc).

I need a quote that shows how Boo is good.

In the book "To Kill a Mockingbird" Boo Radley has been set-up through the years to be the town boogie man.  He is never seen and this enables the townspeople especially the children to crate their own image of Boo.  Stories about his stabbing his family member circulate with no real knowledge of why it happened.  The reader is aware that Boo had a controlling father, and it was not uncommon for people like Boo to be mistreated by family members, especially during stressful times in their lives.  The state of the economy during Boo's time, his disability, and his father's temperament may have led to some level of abuse, but the reader does not know because Boo is always hidden away.  There is also a mention by Miss Maudie that Boo's father was a strict religious man.

Jem had left an article of clothing behind when he and was taking a dare at the Radley place.  He realizes it and sneaks off in the night.  The item had been torn during his escape from the property.  When he goes back to get his item, he is scared.  He makes it back home with it but he finds that it has been sewn.  It is the first mention of something kid that Boo does for the children.

"They'd been sewed up.  Not like a lady sewed 'em, like somethin' I'd do." (58)

Boo begins putting small items in a hole in the tree for the children.  One day he puts a watch in the tree.

"Our biggest prize appeared four days later.  It was a pocket watch that wouldn't run, on a chain with an aluminum knife."

In the end of the book Boo saves the children giving credence to the goodness within him.

Why is the location of sermon on the mount significant?

The location of the sermon on the mount is very important, because it tries to show that what Jesus is doing here is similar to what Moses has done in the Exodus experience. Consider the parallels.

1. Moses leads the people out of Egypt through the Red Sea, into the wilderness and finally to a mountain where the people receive the ten commandments.

2. The gospels have Jesus pretty much do the same thing. After Jesus' stint in Egypt, he is baptized in the Jordan river (which is similar to the crossing of the Red Sea), he goes into the wilderness and he goes up to the mountain to give the "law" as well. The law here is the sermon on the mount.

What the gospel writers are trying to suggest from a theological and literary perspective is that Jesus is the new Moses, the better Moses. Instead of giving an old law, he gives a new law that speaks of the heart.

Is the Poseidon Underwater Resort named after Poseidon? If so, why did they choose to name it after Poseidon and what it means.I am doing a project...

I'm assuming you're talking about the place in Fiji that comes up on Google...

It doesn't say that it is named after Poseidon, but it surely must be.  The way you can tell that is that A) it's an ocean thing and he's god of the ocean (which is why they'd name it that -- the name makes people think of the ocean) and B) their logo is a trident which is one of his symbols.

As for other stuff named after Greek gods, the United States' program for going to the moon was named after Apollo.  And the Nike company is named after the goddess of victory.  The word "erotic" comes from the name Eros.

How does metal react with oxygen?explain how when we burn it zinc iron and silver.

Elements of groups 1 ... 10 of Periodic Table, elements of higher periods, groups 13,14,15are metals.

Metals are made up of atoms, containing a small number of electrons on the latest electronic layer. Because of this structure, metal atoms have low ionization energy and low electron affinity, ie metal atoms are characterized by relatively low levels of electro negativity. Chemical behavior of metallic atoms is characterized by tendency to give electrons (to oxidize) and turning into metal cations,showing reducing behavior :Mo – ze-oxidizing reaction-> Mz+

The ability of metal atoms to become ions is different and is expressed as the standard oxidation potential value, Eox0. In the table is usually given standard reduction potential of metal that is equal and opposite sign with the standard oxidation potential. After the standard potential value,metals can be classified in common metals and noble metals.

Oxygen is forming in reaction with metals,corresponding oxides:

2Zn + O2 = ZnO    

IRON

Iron combination with oxygen form bi and trivalent combinations. The phenomenon of oxidation of iron is called rust.

Ferrous oxide, FeO (II), is obtained by direct combustion of iron. It is stable only at temperatures above 833 K (560oC) and is black.

Ferric oxide, Fe2O3 (III), also known as bloodstone, is a brown mineral , obtained by oxidation of iron to the existence of a surplus of oxygen. He is the main source for obtaining iron.

Ferric-ferrous oxide, Fe3O4 (II, III), known as magnetite, is a natural material with the best magnetic properties.

SILVER

It oxidizes easily in air, forming oxides, and also  in the presence of sulfur, with which form sulphides.                                       

Although it is easily oxidised, the oxide layer is not sticky, so that for many years was the main metal used as connector. However, with technological progress in recent years, connectors of high quality are made of gold or plated silver.

ZINC

Zinc is obtained from ores and compounds, is used in alloys with other metals to protect them against oxidation (rust).

Zinc is not considered toxic, however if inhaling zinc oxide (ZnO)appears a disorder known as "shaky zinc".

What is the main setting of Speak as well as its main conflict?

The rich aspect of Anderson's work is that the setting can be literally in any high school.  The exact location of the events are in Syracuse, New York, but the issues addressed in the work make it applicable to nearly any setting.  Part of the reason for this is that so much of the work takes place in Melinda's psyche and in her own mind.  The mental setting is where we as the reader are able to examine the essential conflict of the book.  Namely, that Melinda was the victim of a sexual assault and is blamed for breaking up a party when she phones the police.  This dual impact of having her sense of personal rights violated by the individual and then her right to social acceptance being violated by the larger social element makes for one notion of the conflict.  The other half of this equation centers around how she comes to terms with the assault and understands both her role in asserting her own voice through such an injustice.

What would be a good thesis statement for a Paranormal Activity topic for an argument essay?

There are many different ways you can take this. Here are a few examples:

1. In a post-enlightenment western world where people tend to squeeze out the unexplainable, paranormal activities are usually dismissed, but in other societies they are not dismissed at all, but accepted. Both societies operate on the principle of faith. In this paper, I would like to discuss... (you fill in the blank).

2. Life is filled with mysterious things, which science and all our learning cannot explain. A possible answer lies in the paranormal.

How do Gatsby's feelings change during the course of chapter 7?

Chapter 5 of "The Great Gatsby" is where things start to come together in the plot.  All of Gatsby's actions so far have led up to this momentous meeting with Daisy.  You can imagine how he must have felt at the beginning of the chapter, being so close to his goal: he was nervous as all get out!  Take a look:

"[Gatsby's] eyes glanced momentarily at me, and his lips parted with an abortive attempt at a laugh. Luckily the clock took this moment to tilt dangerously at the pressure of his head, whereupon he turned and caught it with trembling fingers, and set it back in place. Then he sat down, rigidly, his elbow on the arm of the sofa and his chin in his hand."

So, at the beginning of the chapter, Gatsby is acting like a little school boy instead of a rich, sophisticated, educated adult.

But your question is "how was he acting by the end of chapter 7," so let's take a look at that:

"As I watched him he adjusted himself a little, visibly. His hand took hold of hers, and as she said something low in his ear he turned toward her with a rush of emotion. I think that voice held him most, with its fluctuating, feverish warmth, because it couldn’t be over-dreamed—that voice was a deathless song.

They had forgotten me, but Daisy glanced up and held out her hand; Gatsby didn’t know me now at all. I looked once more at them and they looked back at me, remotely, possessed by intense life. Then I went out of the room and down the marble steps into the rain, leaving them there together."

 By the end of the chapter Gatsby is in his own element (his sweet mansion) and is much more comfortable.  He is calmer, and more comfortable with Daisy.  While he desperately needed Nick as a crutch and buffer before, now he lets Nick go with barely a glance.  This is Gatsby calm, collected, and in charge of his destiny.

What is the meaning of Ted Hughes' poem "The Jaguar"?

Okay, lets take this step by step.  Here's one way to look at it:

The apes yawn and adore their fleas in the sun.

The parrots shriek as if they were on fire, or strut

Like cheap tarts to attract the stroller with the

nut.

Fatigued with indolence, tiger and lion

Lie still as the sun.

In this first stanza we are shown a group of very different animals.  The apes are lounging around, the parrots are squawking, trying to get nuts from passers-by, and the lion and tiger are tired from being lazy.  These are not animals that are naturally found together...parrots, lions, and tigers all come from different continents. And none of these habitats have "strollers."  These facts let us know that the animals are probably part of some kind of zoo.

The boa-constrictor’s coil

Is a fossil. Cage after cage seems empty, or

Stinks of sleepers from the breathing straw.

It might be painted on a nursery wall

There is not a lot of "life" going on here (about as much as a painting)...the critters are lethargic and most seem to be sleeping and the snake is so still it might as well be dead stone!  The only way you know they are alive is because the place has a stink to it.

But who runs like the rest past these arrives

At a cage where the crowd stands, stares, mesmerized,

As a child at a dream, at a jaguar hurrying enraged

Through prison darkness after the drills of his eyes On a short fierce fuse.

People aren't much interested in seeing these sluggy animals, either.  They hurry past the cages indifferently.  There is a crowd, though, around the jaguar enclosure.  The jaguar is more interesting to watch because it is showing signs of its nature: it paces, angrily, "rebelling" against the cage.  People are mesmerized by its vitality.

Not in boredom—

The eye satisfied to be blind in fire,

By the bang of blood in the brain deaf the ear—

He spins from the bars, but there’s no cage to him More than to the visionary his cell:

Despite the fact that the jaguar is physically in a cage, it is not in one mentally or "spiritually."  It's nature cannot be held in check.  The bars stop him, but they do not "cage" his spirt.  The wildness is in his blood.  He is no more tamed by the cage than a great human thinker's mind would be in jail.

His stride is wildernesses of freedom:

The world rolls under the long thrust of his heel.

Over the cage floor the horizons come.

His walk is the essence of wildness and freedom.  The world is compelled by his powerful paws and the inner freedom of the Jaguar is not diluted.

So what does it mean?  You would have to decide for yourself.  It might be about the stoic nature of the jaguar, or about the spirit-breaking that goes on in zoos.  It might be about humanity's interest in observing the wild (something largely driven out of ourselves) or about never giving up or giving in.  Or maybe it is about all of these things.  That's the beauty of poetry!

Changes in spelling from Old English to modern English.

One interesting thing to add, of course, is that a number of the silent letters in Present Day English -- such as the "k" in "knife" or "knight" -- are fossils. Those letters were once pronounced, and many words with silent letters can be traced back to Old English. (One exception is the final silent "e" at the end of words such "knife"; in most cases, this final "e" never was pronounced)

According to the Online Etymology Dictionary (see the link below), the word "knife" in late Old English was spelled cnif ("c" and "k" often represent the same sound). Similarly, in Old English the word "knight" was spelled cniht. (The word meant "boy, youth, servant" and hadn't yet taken on the meaning of the cultured, armored man on a horse). The "h" in cniht was probably a gutteral "ch" sound similar to the sound in the German word "ach"; that "h" is latter spelled with "gh" (probably with little to no change in pronunciation), and we still use "gh" to spell the word, but those letters are just as silent today as the "k" at the beginning of the word.

Your question, of course, seems to ask for a survey of all of the spelling changes from Old English through Middle English and Early Modern English into Present Day English. As the previous poster said, there are a lot of changes. I would recommend consulting a textbook on the history of the English language (such as C.M. Millward); in any good textbook you'll find more than you want to know about these sorts of changes.

What does Miss Maudie tell Scout about Atticus? How does this compare with what Scout believes in To Kill a Mockingbird?

    I assume that you are referring to the advice given by Miss Maudie to Scout concerning her father in Chapter 10 of the Harper Lee novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.
    The chapter begins with Scout lamenting about Atticus's limitations.

    Atticus was feeble; he was nearly fifty... He couldn't do anything.

Atticus refused to teach Scout and Jem how to shoot their air rifles--presumably because Atticus could not shoot--but instead warned them that "it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." Miss Maudie explained to Scout why this advice was so important and then launched into a her defense of Atticus's hidden talents. She explains that "he can make somebody's will so airtight can't nobody meddle with it." He is the best checker player in town, and he can play the Jew's Harp.
    Later that day, Atticus would surprise Jem and Scout with his true marksmanship skills when he kills the mad dog, Tim Johnson, with a single shot above his left eye. Sheriff Tate offered his advice.

    "You were a little to the right, Mr. Finch," he called.
    "Always was," answered Atticus.

"One-Shot" Finch, the best shot in the county, had returned to action after a 30 year absence. For Jem and Scout, it was yet another example of the many hidden talents of the ever modest Atticus Finch.

Contrast the living conditions of Frank's two schoolmates, Fintan Slattery and Paddy Clohessy in Angela's Ashes.Why does Frank envy Mickey Spellacy?

Fintan Slattery lives alone with his mother, who is extremely religious.  His flat on Catherine Street "is like a chapel", and there are "all kinds of religious magazines" and books inside, as well as pictures of Jesus and Mary and St. Francis on the walls.  Compared to the other boys, Fintan is well taken care of by his mother.  He regularly eats sandwiches with mustard, a luxury many of his classmates have not experienced, and his mother makes sure to leave him a nice lunch at home if she will not be there to serve him.  Fintan is an odd child, and is often the object of his classmates' teasing.  Although he professes to wanting "to be a saint when he grows up", there is an element of perversion in his character, as he likes to look at his friends when they unbutton their flies to urinate.

Paddy Clohessy, in contrast to Fintan, lives in utter squalor in a tenement house on Arthur's Quay.  The house is old and "might fall down at any minute"; children play on the stairs and there is only one privy outside for the whole building, and sometimes the children don't get there in time, leaving excrement on the steps.  Paddy's parents are both ill, and it is clear that his father is in the advanced stages of consumption.  Everyone goes to sleep at night in the clothes that they are wearing, and there is never enough to eat (Chapter 6).

Mickey Spellacy's relations "are dropping one by one of the galloping consumption".  Childishly pragmatic, Frank envies him because every time someone in his family dies, he gets to stay home from school for a week, and his mother stitches a patch of mourning on his sleeve and lets him "wander from lane to lane" to advertise his grief.  The kind people of the neighborhood give Mickey "money and sweets for his sorrow", in keeping with local custom (Chapter 7).

What are some examples of political differences I can use to compare and contrast Ralph and Jack?I am making a constitution for each Ralph and...

That's a very interesting question when put into context with the project you are working on.  In order to create "constitutions" that would represent what both of these characters believe, you have to have a pretty good idea of what a constitution does.  Let's base your project on the American constitution, as this is the one that we know best.

The American constitution both explains how government works and outlines the rights of the citizen of the country.  While a dictatorship can (and often does) have a constitution at its core, the dictator either ignores it (by declaring a state of emergency, for example, or doing it secretly) or has it written in such a way to be broad and encompassing of the dictator's power.

The best way to go about your project is to look at some of the rights the American constitution guarantees and then compare how the different boys would write that section, given the chance.  I can give you some examples, but you will probably think of some other ones, too.  The first few are more about government structure than rights:

• Central power: Jack would probably favor a consolidation of power in himself, with him being the primary decision maker.  Ralph favors a more democratic system whereby everyone has a say.


• Enforcement power:  Jack can (and does) enforce his authority using the other boys as "soldiers."  Ralph has no such power to back him up.  His directives are routinely ignored and there is nothing he can do about it.


• Religion:  Ralph shows little (or no) interest in religion, and would probably allow the boys to worship as they pleased.  Jack, on the other hand, has formed a bit of a cult around himself, tying into "the beast" and the status of the hunter.  To be in his tribe one would probably have to participate in rituals that supported this.


• Freedom of the Press:  Ralph would probably put Piggy to work on "spinning" the truth but would allow freedom of the press (if the island had one, that is.)  Jack would most likely sensor those things he didn't like and shut the press down as he saw fit.


• Capital punishment:  We don't have any evidence of Ralph killing anything on the island, where Jack, by the end, is clearly trying to kill Ralph.  Execution one way for him to rid himself of dissension.


• Education: Ralph would probably favor things that focused on improving island life, such as building, farming, and health care.  Jack would most likely focus on military type skills like physical education, hunting, and obedience.


• Freedom of Speech:  As we saw, Ralph was all about having discussions on various subjects and letting the boys have their say.  Jack, on the other hand, seemed to have no use for discussion if it wasn't going to go his way.  "You have the freedom to say what I tell you to say."

Anyhow, those are some ideas.  Good luck!

In "The Crucible" what "confession" did Elizabeth make to John while he was in jail?

Elizabeth and John are allowed one more chance to speak to each other before John is taken to be hanged.  The judges allowed this in the hopes that Elizabeth would convince John to confess to witchcraft to save his life; the townspeople were starting to turn on the courts for all of the deaths, and they hoped John confessing and not dying would convince others to do the same.

So, John and Elizabeth speak one last time.  In their very touching conversation, John begs Elizabeth's forgiveness for his adultery.  He has been tormented with guilt, and left to sit in jail and ponder his life for months now.  As he asks her for forgiveness, Elizabeth confesses her own part in the situation.  She confesses,

"I have sins of my own to count.  It needs a could wife to prompt lechery...I counted myself so plain, so poorly made, no honest love could come to me!  Suspicion kissed you when I did; I never knew how I should say my love.  It were a cold house I kept."

In this heart-rending "confession," Elizabeth admits that she was not a very loving wife.  She was cold to him, suspicious, and never spoke of her love for him.  She did this because she had low self-esteem, and considered herself ugly and unlovable.  So, she didn't even try.  This admission sheds some light on their marriage, and also on her potential role in John's affair.  They end up both forgiving each other, and for the first time in a long, long time, feel close and reconciled; unfortunately, it is just as John goes to die.  I hope that helped a bit; good luck!

How does Mr. Underwood change during To Kill a Mockingbird?

Mr. Underwood is "the sole owner, editor, and printer" of the town newspaper. The first time we see him is in Chapter 15, when he talks with Atticus during the break at church. Scout describes him thus:

Mr. Underwood had no use for any organization but The Maycomb Tribune, of which he was the sole owner, editor, and printer. His days were spent at his linotype, where he refreshed himself occasionally from an ever-present gallon jug of cherry wine. He rarely gathered news; people brought it to him. It was said that he made up every edition of The Maycomb Tribune out of his own head and wrote it down on the linotype. This was believable. Something must have been up to haul Mr. Underwood out.

So he feels he has the claim on the news, & he doesn't need to go out & find stories-they'll come to him instead. He clearly thinks of himself as important, and the fact that he has come out to meet Atticus suggests the gravity surrounding Tom's trial. Yet he appears again at the end of the chapter, covering Atticus when the mob approaches at the jail. He has his shotgun trained on the crowd the entire time, & he's ready to shoot if someone makes a false move. At the beginning of Chapter 16, Atticus remarks about Mr. Underwood's personality "You know, it's a funny thing about Braxton," said Atticus. "He despises Negroes, won't have one near him." And he still was willing to protect Atticus and Tom from the mob.

Later, after Tom's death, Mr. Underwood appears once more: this time in teh form of an editorial:

Mr. B. B. Underwood was at his most bitter, and he couldn't have cared less who canceled advertising and subscriptions...Mr. Underwood didn't talk about miscarriages of justice, he was writing so children could understand. Mr. Underwood simply figured it was a sin to kill cripples, be they standing, sitting, or escaping. He likened Tom's death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children.

Again, we have the theme of "It's a sin to kill a mockingbird" spelled out before our eyes. It seems that even a man who "despises" other ethnicities can have compassion, and can change enough to openly speak out against the death of a man wrongly accused of a crime.

What two things does Ralph say that insult Jack in Lord of the Flies?

In Chapter 8, Ralph insults Jack and his hunters when he says that the hunters are "Boys armed with sticks."  Jack later uses this to try to get the hunters to go against Ralph.  He ends up getting upset and leaving the rest of the boys. 

Later in Chapter 11 after Jack has moved his group to Castle Rock, Ralph calls Jack a thief for stealing Piggy's glasses.

Why is the author of Beowulf so vague about Grendel's specific features?

We know very little about what, exactly, Grendel looked like.  We know he had arms and legs (or Beowulf could not have "arm-wrestled" him and wrested his arm from his shoulder socket), and that the hand was claw-like.  We know he carried a pouch he had apparently made (one version simply says "skins," while another translation says "dragon skins") and into which he placed his victims.  We also know he was huge, as it took four grown men to carry just his head (staggering as they walked), and that his body could not be penetrated by swords (though that was more about the spell he cast against all weapons than about his actual skin).  That's about it.

There might be several reasons we don't get anything more specific; these are the two most likely to me:

1.  Effective description is difficult when you're trying to be impressive.  For example, if I told you something was really scary and then I go on to describe it to you, the odds are good you would not find it as frightening as I did.  What scares or appalls one does not necessarily do so to another.  Poe understood this and, in "The Pit and the Pendulum," he never describes or explains what's in the pit so no one can say, for example, "Snakes?  They aren't scary."  Or "Rats?  Who's afraid of rats?!"  These kinds of reactions take the focus off the point--the pit is a horrifying prospect...so horrifying, in fact, that being pressed against a wall of  red-hot steel is the better option.  We have enough detail about Grendel to understand the threat he would be if he came to our homes, but not so much we get stuck on the believability of every detail.

2.  The story isn't about the monsters, it's about the battle between good and evil.  We know enough to be clear that Grendel is evil, and that's all we need.

What was the mystery of the lost shoes of Sir Henry Baskerville?

In Ch. 4 Sir Henry Baskerville reports to Sherlock Holmes that one of the boots which he had recently bought and not worn by him even once, had been stolen when he had left the boots outside his hotel room to be cleaned.

"I put them both outside my door last night, and there was only one in the morning. I could get no sense out of the chap who cleans them. The worst of it is that I only bought the pair last night in the Strand, and I have never had them on."

"If you have never worn them, why did you put them out to be cleaned?"

"They were tan boots and had never been varnished. That was why I put them out."

Next, in Ch.5 Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson visit Sir Henry at his hotel. As they climbed up the stairs, they saw Sir Henry furiously berating the hotel staff because one of his old boots was now missing:

"Seems to me they are playing me for a sucker in this hotel," he cried. "They'll find they've started in to monkey with the wrong man unless they are careful. By thunder, if that chap can't find my missing boot there will be trouble. I can take a joke with the best, Mr. Holmes, but they've got a bit over the mark this time."

"Still looking for your boot?"

"Yes, sir, and mean to find it."

"But, surely, you said that it was a new brown boot?"

"So it was, sir. And now it's an old black one."

"What! you don't mean to say?"

"That's just what I do mean to say, I only had three pairs in the world -- the new brown, the old black, and the patent leathers, which I am wearing. Last night they took one of my brown ones, and to-day they have sneaked one of the black."

The mystery of the missing boot or boots is explained to us in Ch.15  by Holmes who tells Dr. Watson that Stapleton had stolen the boots so that the murderous hound which he had trained could sniff the boot and get acquainted with the scent of its victim Sir Henry Baskerville and then later kill him.  Stapleton had to steal a boot the second time because the first one was new and had not even been worn once by Sir Henry Baskerville,  so the hound would not be able to identify its victim by sniffing the new boot whereas the 'old black boot' which had been worn by Sir Henry Baskerville would prove useful for the hound to identify Sir Henry Baskerville by his scent and kill him:

It was very essential for Stapleton to get some article of Sir Henry's attire so that, in case he was driven to use the dog, he might always have the means of setting him upon his track. With characteristic promptness and audacity he set about this at once, and we cannot doubt that the boots or chamber-maid of the hotel was well bribed to help him in his design. By chance, however, the first boot which was procured for him was a new one and, therefore, useless for his purpose. He then had it returned and obtained another -- a most instructive incident, since it proved conclusively to my mind that we were dealing with a real hound, as no other supposition could explain this anxiety to obtain an old boot and this indifference to a new one.

What is the rising action in "The Monkey's Paw"?

    The introduction and the history of the talisman is the initial rising action in the W. W. Jacobs short story, "The Monkey's Paw." The Whites inherit the paw from their acquaintance, Sergeant-Major Morris, who reveals the mysterious past of the shriveled hand. When he throws it into the fireplace, Mr. White retrieves it. Morris warns them to wish wisely before leaving for the night.
    The rising action continues as Mr. White makes his first wish.

    "I wish for two hundred pounds," said the old man distinctly.

Mr. White feels the paw move, and a depressing feeling of uneasiness falls upon the family for the remainder of the night. The next morning, Mr. and Mrs. White are paid a visit from the company where their son, Herbert, works. He has been killed in a grisly accident--"caught in the machinery"--and the Whites are offered a compensation of 200 pounds. Although it could be argued that this is the climax to the story, the action actually continues to rise a bit longer as the Whites exercise their second wish--for Herbert to be alive again. The rising action peaks when the Whites realize that their less-than-specific wish has an alternate possibility--that Herbert may be revived but in his deathly, crippled state.

In “The Devil and Tom Walker,” how does Irving express--directly or indirectly--criticisms of human nature?

Irving uses his characterization of Tom and his wife to satirize greed, self-centeredness, and impulsiveness.  Tom and his wife are so stingy that they won't share with one another, and glory in the other's misfortune (Tom's wife wants him to barter away his soul in order to receive financial benefits, and Tom doesn't seem to care when he finds out that his wife was most likely killed by the devil--he's more concerned about the items she "stole" from the house).

Later, when Tom becomes a usurer (a high-interest money lender), he cares nothing about his neighbors' and fellow church members' financial struggles; instead, he concerns himself with piling up as much money as possible for himself.

Irving's satirical tone toward and descriptions of the Walker, Old Scratch, and some of the town leaders (through the scene in the forest with the devil) demonstrate greedy, fickle human nature.

Explain the following paragraph in "The Storm" by Kate Chopin."Her lips were as red and moist as pomegranate seed. Her white neck and glimpse of...

This paragraph explains, in a rather straightforward way, Calixta's appearance as Alcee grabs a hold of her at her house during the storm.  It is filled with imagery and vivid descriptions, written in such a way as to make her appear her most appealing to him. Her lips aren't red, but as red as "pomegranate seeds," her eyes "gleamed" with "sensuous desire," and her full full bosom all make her unavoidably desirable to Alcee.  Chopin uses such vivid imagery and description to relay the sense of passion that Alcee was feeling.  The line where Calixta's fear gave way to desire also relays the fact that Calixta was not unfavorable towards his desire; because she was so appealing, and her eyes seemed to give him permission, he decides to kiss her.

This paragraph sets up women as physically attractive and appealing to men, and not only that, as desirable to participate in those relations with men.  In Kate Chopin's time, physical intimacy was not discussed--it was a taboo subject that was considered inappropriate to think about or discuss.  Women were supposed to be happy in their marriages, and to patiently endure that side of the relationship.  They weren't supposed to desire that intimacy, especially outside of the bounds of marriage.  Chopin enjoyed challenging the status quo of societal standards in her stories, and she certainly does that in this story.

I hope that those thoughts clarify the paragraph a bit for you.  Good luck.

European nations expanded their territories by exploiting other parts of the world.Explain what the effect of this contact was to both life in...

There's no question that the slave trade had a negative effect on the relationship of Europe and Africa, but much less on Europe and Asia.  It was the generally superior attitude of the Eurocentric cultures and their economic and social exploitation of the rest of the globe which has caused the most lingering ill effects.  The British, for instance, were the most influential in the struggle against slavery, and yet their economic exploitation of every non-European culture they ever encountered did not endear them to anyone.  The French were much the same; although not as deeply involved in slavery as Spain or Britain, their blatant exploitation of their possessions in Asia and Africa contrasted with their relatively enlightened actions in North America.

The very concept that the Berlin Conference of 1884-5 divided up Africa among European powers, and with no input from any Africans, shows exactly the arrogance which has led to lingering hatred and fear of Europe and Europeanized nations (US, Australia, etc.) among the "Third World."  The Opium Wars between Britain and China, the invasion of Indochina by the French, the actions of France and Britain in the Middle East and the colonization of India are all reasons why the Eurocentric nations are still distrusted by the rest.

The best depiction of this historic trend and its effect on the 20th century is found in Frantz Fanon's classic book The Wretched of the Earth.

How can you tell if the poem "Annabel Lee" has Gothic elements?

Although Edgar Allan Poe's memorable poem "Annabel Lee" does not immediately come to mind in a gothic sense, it does contain virtually all of the elements expected of that style. In literature, the term "gothic" usually includes some specific ingredients: a mansion or castle, a women in need, a man with a love interest, a shroud of gloom or mystery, and a barbarous or terrible act. It is often related to something very old (since Gothic also refers to 17th century architecture) and often with supernatural references. "Annabel Lee" certainly contains all of these traits.

The age is evident--"It was many and many a year ago..." Since Annabel lived in a "kingdom," a castle is inferred, though never specifically mentioned. The love interest between Annabel and the narrator is most obvious, and Annabel becomes a woman in need when

A wind blew out of a cloud by night
    Chilling my Annabel Lee;
So that her high-born kinsmen came
    And bore her away from me.

Sick from the night chill, Annabel needed someone to take care of her--rescue her from the grip of Death. When she dies, she is shut up "in a sepulchre," another gothic reference to an old fashioned tomb.

The barbarous act is, of course, the sudden death of one so young and beautiful. The poem consistently exudes a terribly gloomy aura throughout, heightened by Poe's references to the supernatural--"demons," "angels," and "winged seraphs"--and words such as "dissever." The narrator's obsessive desire to stay with her "all the night-tide" further adds to the extreme melancholia of the poem. So, like many of Poe's other works, "Annabel Lee," too, has a distinct gothic feel.

What does King Duncan decide to do because Macbeth has fought heroically for him?William Shakespeare's "Macbeth"

First, after Duncan learns that Macbeth has defeated the forces of a traitor, the Thane of Cawdor, the king decides to have Cawdor executed and to give Macbeth his title (Act 1, Scene 2):

DUNCAN:

No more that Thane of Cawdor shall deceive

Our bosom interest. Go pronounce his present death,)

And with his former title greet Macbeth.

ROSS:

I'll see it done.

DUNCAN:

What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won.

Then, after victory is declared, the King speaks to, among others, his son Malcolm, Banquo and Macbeth. He is overjoyed by the turn of events and invites himself to dinner at Macbeth's castle at Inverness (Act 1, Scene 5):

DUNCAN:

My plenteous joys,

Wanton in fullness, seek to hide themselves

In drops of sorrow. Sons, kinsmen, thanes,

And you whose places are the nearest, know

We will establish our estate upon

Our eldest, Malcolm, whom we name hereafter

The Prince of Cumberland; which honor must

Not unaccompanied invest him only,

But signs of nobleness, like stars, shall shine

On all deservers. From hence to Inverness,

And bind us further to you.

A fatal mistake for old King Duncan.

What were some of the lasting effects of the French Revolution?

The French Revolution can be seen as the European response to the American Revolution -- both these called into question the relationship of individuals to government, including the right of the people to alter or abolish it should they see fit.  Unfortunately for the French, after deposing the monarchy, theirrevolution created enough political chaos to allow Napoleon to become emperor ! By conquering most of continental Europe, he did indeed spread French concepts, and France remained the primary cultural force in Europe for a century. After Napoleon was deposed, the remaining governments of Europe devised the Concert of Vienna in 1815 tostabilize political power in Europe.   Throughout the 19th century, the monarchies of Europe , fearing what had happened in France at the end of the 18th century, became more and more suppressive of any political innovation. Most of these monarchies held sway until the 20th century, when World War I finally broke apart old political systems, and created conditions for democracy to expand somewhat throughout Europe.

In Chapter 4 of Lord of the Flies, how does Roger behave toward Henry?

This is the scene where Roger is throwing stones at Henry, one of the littleuns.  It is significant because this is where we start to notice the boys losing their civilian nature.  The boys are starting to digress into animal-like behavior, with the big taunting the small, or the strong overpowering the weak.  In a way, it's the beginning of the end of their civilized ways.  Even when he's throwing the rocks, Roger essentially remembers something about it being wrong; however, that voice was distant, in the outer realms of his memory, so he throws the rocks at Henry anyway.

What is the central theme of Julia Alverez's poem, "The Dusting?"

This poem concerns a young girl’s early attempts at self-definition. Her perpetual scribbling is, in essence, an insistent yearning to remember her inner self and to remain true to her dreams. She leaves reminders of her “self” everywhere, in hopes of leaving a mirrored and indelible imprint on her own heart. The dusty furniture serves as the palette for her self-defining artistry. She writes in “script”, “capitals”, and “scrawl”, experimenting with the beautifully crafted name that represents the individual she is to become. She is certain that she does not want to emulate her mother’s “anonymous” example.

Her feelings regarding her mother are not antagonistic. Rather, she simply wants a more remarkable and distinguished future for herself. Her dreams do not include days spent dusting furniture and cleaning house. She uses her creatively scribbled name as a personal mantra, a frequent reminder of her goals in life. As often as she repeats the action of writing her name in the dust, she inscribes her dream on her heart.

How is the conflict resolved in the story?In the story, "The Sniper" how is the conflict resolved?

There are two types of conflict portrayed in the short story 'The Sniper' by Liam O'Flaherty. The first is the conflict on the roof between the two fighters. The main character in the story ends that one by shooting his opponent - the irony is that that reveals another conflict in the fact that the opponent is his own brother. That in turn resolves another conflict as it means that,unless there was a mistake, the brother must have been fighting for the other side.

The second big conflict was of the course The Easter Rising or rebellion against the English occupation by Ireland in which the brothers fought. This has never been resolved! Even during the Peace Process now, arguments and debate still rage over the level of British involvement in the North. Some degree of messy resolution was achieved by partition, but only some of the southern counties achieved independence.Some people see that as a cave-in and a terrible mistake.

In the novel The Chocolate War (chapter 5), why did Archie choose The Goober for an assignment?

Archie is interested in spreading evil throughout the school.  He chooses The Goober for an assignment because he is untainted and good.  Archie can't resist the chance to corrupt this goodness, and he chooses the perfect assignment for him.  By requiring The Goober to unscrew the furniture in Room 19, Archie is symbolically unscrewing The Goober from his moral foundation.  Archie has detached The Goober from his goodness, and replaces it with deception (of Goober's parents) and shame.  Once The Goober realizes what he has done, his corruption is complete.  This is why he wants to quit the football team (Ch. 23), to cleanse himself of his connection to Trinity and to regain his lost goodness.

What dramatic purpose does the messenger serve in Act 4: Scene 2 of Macbeth?

The messenger arrives at Macduff's castle and issues a warning to Lady Macbeth by uttering the following:

" ... I am not to you known,
Though in your state of honour I am perfect.
I doubt some danger does approach you nearly:
If you will take a homely man's advice,
Be not found here; hence, with your little ones.
To fright you thus, methinks, I am too savage;
To do worse to you were fell cruelty,
Which is too nigh your person. Heaven preserve you!
I dare abide no longer."

The messenger arrives soon after Ross had issued a similar admonition to Lady Macduff. He then left as as quickly as he had arrived, since there was impending danger.

The dramatic purpose of this is to emphasize the degree of turmoil in Scotland at this time. It is to indicate that Macbeth's tyranny has reached such a stage of ruthlessness that he will stop at nothing to ensure that he retains his position. He has also admitted that he is so steeped in blood that there is no return. He has become so paranoid and possessed by evil, that he is left without a conscience. He has become remorseless and has stooped to such a low level that he has no qualms in killing defenseless women and children, as would happen later in this scene.

The messenger's words also juxtapose Macbeth's utter savagery to the kindness and gentleness of the messenger. The humble messenger shows care and concern for Lady Macduff and her children, whereas Macbeth's actions in sending assassins to kill them is a clear display of his callousness. It is ironic that Macbeth should be so heartless towards the family of one of his erstwhile closest friends, a man he accompanied in battle, fighting side by side for the honor of their king. This provides further proof of Macbeth's descent into paranoia and madness. 

Why does Beowulf allow Grendel to slaughter one of the Geats before taking action himself?

Your question is worded in such a way that it assumes Beowulf was somehow okay with one of his men being sacrificed to Grendel's perverse penchant for killing innocent people.  That just doesn't ring true:  Beowulf doesn't allow one of his men to be slaughtered by Grendel.  It just happens.  This does seem to be the one misstep Beowulf makes in an otherwise amazingly successful campaign against terror.  Of course he would rather his friend hadn't died; however, Beowulf certainly got the appropriate revenge after his friend's death.

Why is the act of listening so very important in The Things They Carried?

"Not listening" is a common motif in the novel because O'Brien subverts the rhetorical dynamics between author, text, and audience.  The problem is between author and audience, or between speaker and listener.  There are listening difficulties between men and women, between veterans and civilians, within a homogeneous group of soldiers, in the pre-war stories, the war stories, and the post-war stories.  So, the stories in The Things They Carried, as a whole, are a way to reconstruct the message so that a new, younger generation of listeners can make sense of a senseless war.

Most war stories are written by male authors for a male audience.  That presents a problem: it's preaching to the choir.  Instead, O'Brien styles his stories for the least ideal listeners of the novel, Lemon's sister and the "dumb cooze" at the reading, so that he can reach his intended ideal listeners, Linda and his daughter, young female audiences.  Make sense?  Like everything else in the novel: it's a paradox.

O'Brien admits that that "I want you to feel what I felt. I want you to know why story-truth is truer sometimes than happening-truth" (179).  He's aiming this at Lemon's sister and the dumb cooze at the reading who thought the war story was just a war story (and not a love story).  The dumb coozes are literalists who think that war stories cannot be love stories.  These are the current "reality show" fans of today who don't understand the art of storytelling: paradoxical language, metaphor, irony, etc...

The “dumb cooze” audience reads O'Brien's novel for realistic depictions of war and conventional storytelling.  Critic Pamela Smiley, in "The Role of the Ideal (Female) Reader in Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried: Why Should Real Women Play?" argues that O'Brien uses a series of female characters to de-gender war, appeal to the ideal (female) reader, and "re-define American masculinity." Her centerpiece is Mary Anne:

Mary Anne, in Vietnam, not only fails to "civilize," but is herself seduced by the war. It is not to a company of men that O'Brien's characters perform, but rather to ideal readers in the form of Lemon's sister and the woman at the reading. And instead of an act of uncompromising masculinity signaling the boy is now a man, O'Brien's character appropriates the feminine, becoming an androgynous fusion of pre- adolescent Timmy and Linda.

Other examples: Jimmy and Martha don't really listen to each other's letters; the recon op thinks they hear banquet sounds in the bush; no one will listen to Bowker's story of medals in his hometown; soldiers can't distinguish between "friends" and "enemies"; Tim won't listen to himself and instead goes to war.

In the end, he hopes to reach his ideal audiences, Linda and his daughter.  He wants to resurrect the dead out of love.  He wants to be able to "lie" about killing to his daughter and not have to feel ashamed.  By in large, aren't young people better suited to hear the "truth" in the form of "lies," anyway?

What are the salient features of the Victorian age in English literature?

The Victorian period in history and literature was during the years of the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901). Queen Victoria was the longest-running English monarch in history.

The Vistorian era was a bridge between the romantic era in literature of the 18th century and the industrialized world of the 20th century.

In England, the Victorian era was the era of massive empire building.  Writers like Joseph Conrad were inspired by daring adventure found in the quest to take over far-flung areas of the world.

Victorian literature tends to be concerned with morals, right and wromg.  It often champions the downtrodden.Sometimes this led Vistorian novels to be grim and realistic portrayals of life among the poor classes.  Happy endings also became les and less common in Victorial novels.

Sometimes Victorian literature is thought of as stuffy and morally opressive. However, it is also very imaginative and emotional.  It also uses realism to show the plight of everyday working people.

Some of the most famous authors of this period are Charlotte Brontë , Emily Bronte, and Charles Dickens, all English writers.

During this time the novel became the most important literary work.

Is the poem syntax conventional, or are words arranged in unexpected order?

The structure and syntax of Wordsworth is a bit on the unconventional side.  It seems as if the poem itself is a type of reflection and pensive understanding about the condition of human beings within the world.  It is not a straight narrative retelling of this condition.  Rather, it seems to be a musing where thoughts are punctuated and interrupted with another exploration of this thought.  For example, the opening line helps to establish this syntax:  "The world is too much with us; late and soon."  Notice the fragment after the semi colon hopes to develop the independent clause in the line, and in the process helps to open more doors of analysis.  There is little settled in it, but rather a thought is offered and another type of extrapolation is suggested.  We can see this repeated in lines 2, 4, and 8, amongst others.  In each setting, a thought is offered and an additional thought is posited and the purpose of this is to offer a countering image to what is presented.  This arrangement of words and ideas helps to layer the poem as a series of mental pictures, or images, that help to explore the theme of attempting to evade the grasp of conventional society in the expression of true emotions.

What happened at the Boston Massacre March 5, 1770?

Five civilians were killed on the night of March 5, 1770, when British soldiers opened fire on a crowd of rioters who had assembled and attacked the unwelcome troops. British troops had been sent to Boston in 1768 to quell the public furor over the Townshend Acts, the unpopular legislation enacted to help to increase the enforcement of trade taxes and restrict the burgeoning smuggling market.

The Boston Massacre began when a shop owner's apprentice falsely accused an on-duty British officer of refusing to pay his bill. The officer ignored the the charge, but the apprentice soon showed up with friends who continued hurling insults at the officer. Soon, the civilians began throwing snowballs at their target.  A British private rushed to his defense and struck the apprentice in the head with his musket. A crowd eventually grew to a size of 300 or more, and the small group of British soldiers were reinforced.

The crowd grew into an unruly mob who continued to throw snowballs and other objects until one soldier was felled by a club swung by a local innkeeper. The soldier angrily rose to his feet and encouraged his fellow infantrymen to fire; meanwhile, the civilians themselves were daring the soldiers by calling "fire" to the armed men. Although apparently not ordered to do so by their commanding officer, a number of soldiers fired into the crowd, hitting at least 11 civilians.

A total of five Bostonians died of their wounds, and several of the soldiers were later charged with murder. The next day, the soldiers were removed from the town center to a fort in Boston Harbor. At the later trial, six of the indicted soldiers were found not guilty of murder, while two privates were found guilty of manslaughter. Their punishment? They had their thumbs branded.

How does prejudice play a part in To Kill a Mockingbird (including prejudice against blacks and Boo Radley)?

    Prejudice is certainly one of the major themes to be found in Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, but it is not restricted to only racial bias. Discrimination of many types pop up in the story, and young Scout is a witness to much of it.

RACIAL.  Racial bias is the overriding theme for most of the play, with one of the two main plots culminating in the unjust charge, conviction and, finally, killing of Tom Robinson. Blacks are often referred to as "niggers," though Atticus warns his children that it is not proper. Maycomb's blacks are uniformly considered second-class citizens and are segregated at every turn. They are blamed for nearly every unexplained event in the town, from the disturbance in the Radley yard to the rape of Mayella Ewell.

CLASS.  Discrimination of the various social classes is rampant throughout the novel, from the treatment given poor, young Walter Cunningham by the schoolteacher, Miss Caroline, to the hatred directed to Maycomb's lowliest family, the Ewells. The Cunninghams and their widespread kin live in Old Sarum, well outside of town; the blacks live on the outskirts of town; outcasts, such as the Ewells and Dolphus Raymond, live apart as well.

GENDER.  Females are still treated with kid gloves by the heavy-handed male populace. Women are not allowed to serve on Alabama juries in 1935, and most of the single females of the town--such as Miss Maudie and Miss Stephanie--are regarded as suspicious crackpots. Scout is relentlessly reminded that she is unladylike. Women are portrayed primarily as gossips and housekeepers. Have you noticed that not a single woman in Maycomb is employed?

AGE.  Children's rights have still not made much headway in 1930s Alabama, though Jem and Scout are certainly given more independence from their liberal-minded father than most children of Maycomb. Poor children, such as Walter Cunningham and Burris Ewell, are treated in a much different manner than others; Dill and Francis are shuttled off to their relatives for long periods of time; meanwhile, there is no mention whatsoever of black children going to school. Even the unseasonable snow is blamed on children by superstitious adults.

MENTAL STABILITY.  Boo Radley is considered an outcast by the entire community (as well as his own family) after it is determined that he has become mentally unstable. He is locked in the courthouse basement before being imprisoned in his own home, yet he becomes the single most heroic character in the novel by the end. Dolphus Raymond is thought to be both drunken and mentally abnormal when he takes a black girlfriend and forsakes the white side of town to live across the tracks. He reveals his true character to Dill and Scout at the trial but prefers to keep his secret intact in regard to the rest of the town.

Wait...Gertrude and Claudius weren't seeing each other while King Hamlet was still alive were they?I read something saying that the reason Claudius...

Hamlet does call Claudius an "adulterous beast," but I don't think this implies that Claudius and Gertrude were having an affair while the king was still alive. The Ghost blames Claudius completely, saying he seduced his queen but the Ghost does of course hold a grudge against his queen. The Ghost's language makes it seem like there was something going on while he was still alive, but this is because the Ghost is still a part of this world, in a kind of purgatory. Since the Ghost is still around, bearing witness to Claudius and Gertrude's relationship, it is as if, from his (Ghost's) perspective, he is still alive. So, the Ghost's language might infer that he 'is being' betrayed, when in fact, he was not betrayed by Gertrude until after his death (albeit too soon after his death).

Also, the Ghost tells Hamlet not to harm Gertrude: vengeance is marked only for Claudius. Gertrude's penance is that she must deal with her conscience. Most evidence points to Gertrude being shallow and a bit naive, but at times she is portrayed as inherently good in wishing for the well being of those around her: particularly Hamlet and Ophelia, but also Claudius. She takes too long to see what's going on, but there are too many hints that say she was not involved in the plot.

In ACT III, Scene iii, Claudius says:

"Of those effects for which I did the murder,

My crown, mine own ambition and my queen.

May one be pardon'd and retain the offence?"

This could be the order of his plot, the seduction of the queen being last, implying the queen was not involved and they were not having an affair until after Claudius had killed the king and achieved the crown.

How did the coming to power by Europe's middle classes affect the arts, literature, and music during this period? Using particular examples,...

During the Romantic Era, the rise of the middle class in Europe had an important impact on the arts, literature, and music of the day.

With regard to music, prior to this era, music had been performed for elite, well-educated audiences who were something of music connosieurs.  With the rise of the middle class, music had to be aimed at people who were not so knowledgable.  At this point music became more like today's music -- aimed at the masses.

The same sorts of things happened to art and literature.  In the Romantic Era these came to be more accessible to the masses and more democratic in nature.

Overall, then, the rise of the middle class in the Romantic Era led to arts that were aimed at that middle class and were therefore less of what we might now call "high-brow."

What were the founders' motives in the framing of the Constitution?

Originally, representatives of the 13 states (Rhode Island did not participate) met in September 1786 in Annapolis, Maryland, to discuss revisions to the Articles of Confederation, but it soon became clear that most of them favored a complete rewriting of the Constitution. The representatives followed the lead of Virginia's James Madison, who proposed that the new nation should create a dual legislature--House and Senate--as well as a separate judiciary structure and an executive branch. The Virginia Plan also proposed that the legislative power would precede state laws.

Additionally, the proposed New Jersey plan would allow all states equal power despite their size or population. This plan was supported by the smaller states. A compromise was reached that would allow for an elected president; the Senate was designated as the states' affiliate, and the House was to serve as representatives of the people.

The issue of slavery, though discussed, was not decided, and the representatives instead postponed action for 20 years.

In Act One of The Crucible, why are both Mrs. Putnam and Abigail interested in Tituba's conjuring?

Abigail is interested in Tituba putting a curse on Elizabeth Proctor to get her out of the way, leaving John Proctor for Abigail.  The villainess is very protective of this information because she knows that if the town's leaders discover that she is such a manipulative, scheming girl, she would have no chance to get out of the trouble in which she finds herself at the play's beginning.  Abigail actually threatens the other girls with violence if they tell the truth about what happened in the forest.

Mrs. Putnam, on the other hand, demonstrates the hypocrisy of many of Salem's church members.  She is one of the first to cry witchcraft against others, but she sends her daughter Ruth to Tituba to see if the slave can communicate with Mrs. Putnam's dead babies.  It is interesting that Mrs. Putnam finds sympathy when she discloses this information, but that she and her husband are without sympathy for their neighbors and church "friends."

How does the tone affect the setting in the short story?Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game"

In "The Most Dangerous Game," the skeptical tone of Rainsford makes for irony of situation and the suspenseful atmosphere of the macabre setting. For, in the exposition of Connell's story, Rainsford tells his friend, "Don't' talk rot" when Whitney puports that the jaguar feels fear.  "Who cares how a jaguar feels?" Rainsford counters when Whitney pursues the topic, saying that the jaguars even feel the fear of death.  Similarly, Rainsford discounts the superstitions of the old Swede with the cynical remark, "Pure imagination."

As the sequence of events unfold, of course, the irony of Rainsford's words create a horror that is added to the suspense of the action.  Now, Rainsford begins to understand how the jaguar does, indeed, feel: 

Then it was that Rainsford knew the full meaning of terror.....Rainsford knew now how an animal at bay feels.

There is also irony in Rainsford's supercilious remark at the dinner with General Zaroff when he says that his experiences in the war "Did not make me condone cold-blooded murder."  For, in the denouement, Rainsford absolutely delights in what Zaroff has referred to as the "attributes of an ideal quarry":  after defeating Zaroff, Rainsford, satisfied, considers that he "had never slept in a better bed."

The ironic transformation of Rainsford from the incipience of the narrative to its end certainly contributes to the suspense and macabre tone of the setting of Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game."

What are the objections to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain? Why was it banned?

While the racial language is the primary reason for Huck Finn being banned, there are several other causes for the controversy that the book has caused.  The novel was first published in England because Twain knew that American readers, particularly the American South, would not appreciate his harsh criticism of the culture and beliefs that were associated with the region at that time. The novel was published several years after the Civil War, and the wounds and bitterness between the North and South had not dissipated.

Secondly, Twain's portrayal of a precocious boy as the novel's savvy narrator and protagonist offended those who believed that good writers do not promote poor grammar and smart-mouthed children.  While, of course, these elements are part of Twain's satire, many readers miss the satire and see the novel as a poor example of how children should act and talk.

Finally, modern readers still struggle with Twain's portrayal of Jim as simple and unintelligent.  While some critics argue that Twain's motivation in his characterization of Jim was to demonstrate Jim's pure conscience despite his lack of formal education, Jim still comes across as a man who is to be pitied.  I have to admit that it is always difficult to teach this aspect of the novel, because many of my students see Twain's portrayal of Jim as his true view of African-Americans from that time period.  It is difficult to know what Twain's real motivation was in this area; so readers have to make their own interpretation of Jim's characterization.

What is the importance of marketing to the organization? What are the top three marketing challenges faced by the organization?

The basic objective of any business organization is to acquire or produce products and services and deliver these to customers, the people who need it, at a profit. Marketing is at the core of all the activities that ensure that the product and services which a company makes available to its customers are indeed the ones that are needed by the customers, the customer will by these products from the company, and that company will be able to deliver these at a profit. In this way many management experts consider marketing as the most important activity of the company.

Different people may have different views on the top three marketing challenges. There is no such universally accepted challenges. I personally believe the following three to be the greatest challenges of marketing.

1. Marketing communication to find out from customer what kind products and services can be supplied by the company that achieve best fit between customer requirements and company capabilities. Communication also covers creating awareness about the company products and convincing customers to buy them.


2. Countering and handling the competition.


3. Distribution of products to ensure that these are available to the customer when they want and where they want. This part involves considerable expenses in terms of logistics costs, inventory costs, and margins of intermediaries. Marketing plays an important part in balancing the service to the customer with distribution costs.

Is there going to be a new book in the Twilight series?

We should let the author, Stephenie Meyer, answer this question:

According to a post on her web site, she was planning a fifth book in the series, which she titled "Midnight Sun." However, before she had finished writing the manuscript, someone stole a copy and uploaded to the Internet. Here is what she says about the theft:

I did not want my readers to experience Midnight Sun before it was completed, edited and published. I think it is important for everybody to understand that what happened was a huge violation of my rights as an author, not to mention me as a human being.

So what are her plans for the manuscript? Here's what she says about that:

So where does this leave Midnight Sun? My first feeling was that there was no way to continue. Writing isn't like math; in math, two plus two always equals four no matter what your mood is like. With writing, the way you feel changes everything. If I tried to write Midnight Sun now, in my current frame of mind, James would probably win and all the Cullens would die, which wouldn't dovetail too well with the original story. In any case, I feel too sad about what has happened to continue working on Midnight Sun, and so it is on hold indefinitely.

I'd rather my fans not read this version of Midnight Sun. It was only an incomplete draft; the writing is messy and flawed and full of mistakes. But how do I comment on this violation without driving more people to look for the illegal posting? It has taken me a while to decide how and if I could respond. But to end the confusion, I've decided to make the draft available here....This way, my readers don't have to feel they have to make a sacrifice to stay honest. I hope this fragment gives you further insight into Edward's head and adds a new dimension to the Twilight story. That's what inspired me to write it in the first place.

Visit her web site for the full story of what happened and the complete letter to her fans.

What are some important symbols in Sophocles' Antigone?

One important symbol in Sophocles’ Antigone is the stone tomb to which Creon condemns her.  His decree ordered a punishment of death by stoning if any one buried Polynices’.  When Creon learned that Antigone had buried her brother, he changed the sentenced to being buried alive in a stone tomb.  The tomb symbolizes that Antigone’s loyalties are not with the present king and kingdom, but with the dead—her father, mother, and brothers.  The stone tomb also symbolizes Creon’s poor judgment.  As Tiresias the soothsayer points out, Creon is committing a terrible sin against Zeus in burying a human being alive.  Creon has now committed a double sin first in refusing to bury Polynice’s body and now in burying Antigone alive.  The stone tomb, rather than death by stoning symbolizes that Creon is trying to invert the order of nature in defying the gods and putting his laws above the laws of the gods. 

What is an example of a parody in 'Hamlet" by William Shakespeare?Also, what is a definition of verse?

The word parody is taken from the Greek parōidía, which means, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, "a song sung alongside another." A complex literary device, parody's purpose is to make a comic mockery of a writer, a literary work or a school of literary thought in order to bring out the weaknesses and the out-of-date or overused "conventions" of that writer, work or school. Parody is constructed by imitating the style and manner of the writer, work or school.

[A literary convention is an accepted practice that is arbitrary (has no authoritative support) that fulfills a particular role in literature. For instance, in Romance, a convention is for the emotions of the heroine to be given liberal attention by the author.]

In Hamlet, Shakespeare parodied Christopher Marlowe's literary style in Act III, Scene ii, A Hall in the Castle. This scene is usually referred to as the players' scene: Hamlet composes as scene for a troupe of actors to perform. Marlowe's literary style is characterized by a tragic tone in which the heroes speak blank verse in highly eloquent language regarding elevated concepts. Some called it extravagant and bombastic; in other words, way too much.

To read more about parody, see the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Verse is defined as a single line of poetry. It also means poetry in general. In Hamlet, the parody of Marlowe begins with the Players as King and Queen who enter at Act II, Scene ii, verse 101 and exit at verse 177.

What is a summary of the book, Dr.Seuss and Mr.Geisel by Judith Morgan and Neil Morgan? I would like something simple with easy words and not too...

The following is a simple, short summary of Dr. Seuss and Mr. Geisel (Theodore Seuss Geisel) from which you can construct an original and appropriate summary for yourself matching the 5 - 7 sentence requirement. Since Dr. Seuss and Mr. Geisel is a biography, there is no plot or other fiction format elements like rising action, climax, etc. to summarize.

Dr. Seuss and Mr. Geisel is a biography of the life of Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, the teller of rhymed stories for young children. The story of his life starts in Springfield, Massachusetts where he lived with his German immigrant parents during World War I. After surviving the difficulties of the war, Geisel went on to be educated at Dartmouth College and then at England's famous Oxford University which bored him. Afterward he worked as a writer and artist for magazines and then for an advertising firm, giving up his first plan to be a college professor. One day he was presented the challenge of turning a list of 225 school words into an enjoyable book that would keep young children reading. From the list, The Cat in the Hat was born. Geisel continued to write and illustrate 44 children's books until his death September 24, 1991. His wife died before him and he had remarried.

What are some cell analogies?I'm looking for analogies for the parts of a cell like chloroplast, vacuole, nucleolus, cytoskeleton, microtubule,...

All of these answers are dependent on the analogy that you have chosen for your project, but here are some guidelines:

Chloroplast = a kitchen or some sort of food provider...it makes food for the cell. If you are really creative, you can add some sort of "solar power" to it to "capture sun's energy."

Vacuole = any sort of storage vat. This depends on your overall analogy--for instance, a pantry.

Nucleolus = involved in the creation of ribosomes...therefore something that would "hire" a ribosome which then goes out to produce protein.

Cytoskeleton = gives support to the cell and also provides a method of transport for organelles to get to other areas of the cell. Example: a "ski lift" if you were doing a ski mountain. Break that analogy into parts to get specific about microtubules and microfilaments.

Nuclear membrane = the "walls" around the nucleus.

Who are the characters of "The Last Leaf" by O. Henry?

The protagonist and viewpoint character is Sue. She shares a small flat in Greenwich Village with another young woman called Johnsy. Both are aspiring artists and both are having a hard time surviving in the competitive careers they have chosen. Sue's biggest problem when the story opens is caring for Johnsy, who has caught pneumonia and thinks she is dying. The old doctor who visits Johnsy tells Sue:

“She has one chance in—let us say, ten,” he said, as he shook down the mercury in his clinical thermometer. “And that chance is for her to want to live."

The only other character besides the two girls and the doctor is a temperamental old German named Behrman who talks in a heavy German dialect. He was once an aspiring painter but has lost hope and spends his time drinking gin. He earns a little money modeling for other artists, including Sue. She engages him to pose as an old miner for a series of sketches she is doing to illustrate a magazine story set in the West. He has to pose upstairs in the girls' flat where the light is better. Behrman has taken a paternal interest in these struggling young women and is terribly concerned about Johnsy.

He had been always about to paint a masterpiece, but had never yet begun it. For several years he had painted nothing except now and then a daub in the line of commerce or advertising. He earned a little by serving as a model to those young artists in the colony who could not pay the price of a professional. He drank gin to excess, and still talked of his coming masterpiece. 

Johnsy adds to Sue's problems by believing that she is dying and obviously not caring. She keeps looking apathetically out their bedroom window at the old ivy vines growing up the side of a neighboring brick building. As the leaves keep dying off and falling in the cold winter wind, Johnsy imagines that she will die when the last leaf falls.

“Leaves. On the ivy vine. When the last one falls I must go, too. I've known that for three days. Didn't the doctor tell you?”

“Dear, dear!” said Sue, leaning her worn face down to the pillow, “think of me, if you won't think of yourself. What would I do?”

Susie's future is tied to Johnsy's. If Johnsy dies, Sue will probably give up the struggle and go back home to Maine, where opportunities for artists are nil. She would lose the companionship of her friend and would have no one to share the rent.  So her need for Johnsy's recovery is practical as well as emotional.

But miraculously one of the leaves refuses to fall in spite of the wind and rain. Inspired by the resiliency of that brave leaf, Johnsy makes up her mind to recover from her pneumonia.

But, lo! after the beating rain and fierce gusts of wind that had endured through the livelong night, there yet stood out against the brick wall one ivy leaf. It was the last on the vine. Still dark green near its stem, but with its serrated edges tinted with the yellow of dissolution and decay, it hung bravely from a branch some twenty feet above the ground.

With Johnsy on her way to complete recovery, Sue confides to her that the leaf is not real. It was painted there in the middle of the stormy night by Old Behrman. And he died of pneumonia resulting from his exposure to the cold. But he had succeeded in creating the masterpiece he had been talking about painting for so many years, and he has also, through his artistry, transmitted some of his stubborn Germanic courage to the sick girl for whom he was willing to sacrifice his life.