In chapter IV of The Great Gatsby, about what matter does Jordan speak to Nick? How does she know this information?

In Chapter 4, Jordan reveals the origins of Gatsby and Daisy's love affair. She explains that Gatsby met Daisy when he was stationed at Camp Taylor, and they planned to marry when he returned. However, she was prevented from seeing him off, and soon after he left, Tom Buchanan came on the scene, and won Daisy's heart-through a $350,000 pearl necklace. On her wedding day, Daisy receives a letter from Gatsby, and nearly calls the entire marriage off. Money triumphs over love though, and soon after their honeymoon Tom begins his series of affairs that will continue until the time of the novel. Daisy wastes no thoughts on Gatsby until she reads his name in a newspaper years later; Gatsby, on the other hand, searches for Daisy's name or connections to her everywhere he goes.

Jordan knows this through her friendship with Daisy, begun when they were both teenagers. she knows the wedding details because she was a bridesmaid, and was present during Daisy's minor breakdown. This scene highlights Jordan's penchant for gossip, as well as further unveiling the truth behind Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby's personalities.

Could you please describe the narrator(s) in "The Lottery" and its/their attitude towards the story being told?

tracy00,

Shirley Jackson’s famous story still shocks people today. By transferring a primitive ritual to a modern American small town and by making clear in passing that the same ritual is being carried out in surrounding towns, the author manages to create in us a growing sense of horror over what is happening.

Very early—in paragraphs 2 and 3—she mentions the stones that have been gathered in preparation for the day’s events. Not until much later in the story does the importance of the stones begin to dawn.

The rules of Jackson’s lottery are simple and straightforward. The male head of each household—or, if he is absent, another representative of the family—draws a slip of paper out of a big black box. One householder pulls out a piece of paper that has a black circle crudely penciled on it. Each member of his family is then obliged to participate in a second drawing. This time the unlucky recipient of the black circle is stoned to death by the other townspeople, including the members of his or her own family. Whatever justification might ever have existed for the ritual has long since been forgotten. The people simply accept the proceedings as an annual civic duty, the up-to-date version of an ancient fertility ritual (“Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon”).

What is spine-chilling in Jackson’s story is the matter-of-factness with which the ritual is carried out. Each June the townspeople assemble to murder one of their neighbors. The discrepancy between ordinary, civilized, modern behavior and the calm acceptance of something as primitive as human sacrifice gives “The Lottery” a terrible power.

Among the story’s many ironies, some of the most notable are: The point of view. An objective narrator tells the story, remaining outside the characters’ minds, yet the narrator’s detachment contrasts with the attitude of the author, who presumably, like the reader, is horrified. That the day’s happenings can be recounted so objectively lends them both credence and force.

The beauty of the June day is out of keeping with the fact that what takes place on the town green is a ritual murder. Though women (misplaced chivalry) can be stoned to death in these yearly proceedings, they are whenever possible protected from having to take part in the general drawing (paragraph 13).

The townspeople are perfectly ordinary types, “surveying their own children, speaking of planting and rain, tractors and taxes” (3). Mr. Summers is in charge because he “had time and energy to devote to civic activities” (4). Old Man Warner is a stickler for tradition. Neighbors chat amiably. Children play. All are grateful that the proceedings will be over in time for them to enjoy their noon meal.

In "Brave New World" how do Bernard's dating habits differ from those of the society?

Bernard Marx, at least at the beginning of the novel, has very different ideas and desires when it comes to dating than everyone else that he meets.  He lives in a society where "dating" doesn't even really exist; dating is a ritual that couples go through to see if they want to marry each other. In "Brave New World," marriage does not exist.  So, "dating" in their society simply means spending time with another person, and having a lot of intimate relations, but no commitment whatsoever.  Commitment is shied away from, and the men and women "connect" (physically, at least) with almost everyone that they come into contact with, that expresses a mutual desire.

Bernard, being an unattractive, surly, and rather anti-social male, doesn't have as many chances to hook up with females as other stronger more classically handsome and social males do.  So, he is not as popular.  He also wants to spend time talking to the women he meets, being alone with them (which is almost never done on dates until the physical stuff happens), doing non-group activities, and pondering deep things that most of the people in his class don't even think about.  He broods and sulks over the fact that no one has the same ideas that he does, when in fact he really just wants to fit in. We see this later on when he becomes--briefly--very popular, and hooks up with as many women as he possibly can, and seems to enjoy every bit of it.

Bernard's unusual cravings for solitude with the women he meets, conversation, and a deeper level of emotional connection, stems mostly from his dismay and disappointment at being ostracized in his society.  He wants acceptance from women, but acceptance that says they like him for being different, because he is.  He doesn't "fit the mold" of being with tons of different women, partially because they don't want to be with him, and because he doesn't enjoy group activities because of his rejection and being made fun of.  His unusual dating tendencies stem from his position of being "different" for so long.

I hope that these thoughts help a bit; good luck!

Drama relies on dialogue and stage directions to reveal character. Comment on how dialogue helps reveal character in Scene 7.Stage directions are...

In Scene 7, Tom's character is particularly revealed, the aggression and hostility between Tom and his mother reaches a boiling point.  Tom's mood is as dark as the storm that rages outside the apartment.  He is contrasted with Jim O'Connor the gentleman caller who is charming, sure of himself and an easy talker.  Tom's character, on the other hand emerges as even more angry and resentful that he has been during the entire play.  His behavior has been cruel and indifferent towards his mother and his sister and Amanda demands to know why. 

The final break in the relationship comes at the end of Scene 7.  Amanda is so offended by the fact that Tom invited Jim O'Connor over for dinner as the gentleman caller, when he is engaged to be married, that she can barely speak to Tom, she is so angry.

"Amanda: That's right, now that you've had us make such fools of ourselves.  The effort, the preparations, all the expense! The new floor lamp, the rug, the clothes for Laura!  All for what? To entertain some other girl's fiance! Go to the movies, go! Don't think about us, a mother deserted, an unmarried sister who's crippled and has no job.  Don't let anything interfere with your selfish pleasure."  (Williams)

Tom's response is to smash his glass, frightening his sister who screams.  Tom practically leaps out onto the fireplace as he leaves the apartment for the last time.  

The stage directions provide us with details about what Laura and Amanda are feeling now that Tom has walked out.  The two are huddled together, they comfort each other.  It helps to clarify the selfishness of Tom's behavior reading the description of the two abandoned women clutching each other in search of peace and security from the chaotic storm of an evening that just passed. 

One of the most significant motifs in Macbeth relates to sleep and sleeplessness. Find and copy out 3 quotations from 3 different scenes... ...

The following quotation occurs in act 2 sc.2. The lines are spoken by Macbeth as he returns from Duncan's chamber after the 'deed' :

" Methought I heard a voice cry 'Sleep no more!

Macbeth does murder sleep,' --the innocent sleep,

Sleep that knits up the ravell'd sleave of care,

The death of each day's life, sore labour's bath,

Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course,

Chief nourisher in life's feast,--" (lines 36-41)

These lines reveal Macbeth's tormented conscience. He killed Duncan when the king was asleep & now suffers from a sense of guilt and fear that he would be cursed with the punishment of sleeplessness. Macbeth reflects on the restorative, comforting & healing qualities of sleep. For him, Duncan in a state of sleep was sleep personified & by killing him, he has killed sleep, a natural gift given to man.

Now look at the following quotation from act 2 sc.3, the words spoken by Macduff just after having discovered the murder of Duncan in Macbrth's castle :

" Shake off this downy sleep, death's counterfeit,

And look on death itself ! up, up, and see

The great doom's image !"     (lines 62-64)

Macduff, extremely shocked and confosed, asks Banquo, Malcolm, Donalbain and all others to wake up from their sleep. Sleep is 'death's counterfeit' i.e. an unreal copy of death; Macduff asks them all to get rid of the possession of the unreal to see what real death could be.

Now this what Macbeth says in act 3 sc.2 during his exchanges with Lady Macbeth :

".......................... Duncan is in his grave;

After life's fitful fever he sleeps well;"  (lines 22-23)

Macbeth is now the king of Scotland, but he suffers from guilt, fear, the curse of sleeplessness. It is an irony that he now envies his victim; by killing Duncan he has given him the chance to sleep in all peace for ever. The burden of feverish restlessness, which is the burden of life, now rests on Macbeth as a crushing load.

What were the four traps used by Rainsford in "The Most Dangerous Game"?

Rainsford uses his know-how from years of hunting to foil Zaroff. First he sets up a trap that when sprung will make a dead tree fall. Zaroff is hit on the shoulder, but is only grazed, so he continues to track Rainsford.  Rainsford then flees into a swamp, where he digs a pit with sharp stakes, then dissimulates it with a grassy cover. This time it is Zaroff's favourite hunting dog which falls therein, but Rainsford misses his real target. Then he makes another trap by attaching a knife to a sapling, which springs back and kills Ivan, Zaroff's butler and henchman. Finally, Rainsford doubles back to the castle, and this time it is Zaroff himself who is taken by surprise in his own bedroom. It is this ambush that gives Rainsford the final advantage, and he finishes Zaroff off then and there, then crawls into Zaroff's own bed for a good night's sleep.

What does the following lines mean, Sophocles long ago Heard it on the A gaean, and it brought Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow

Sophocles was a Greek writer who wrote plays that explored the human condition. It would seem that Arnold is comparing his speaker to Sophocles as both of them have looked out to sea (he imagines) and have pondered the nature of faith. In this poem faith is compared to a withdrawing sea as Arnold is concerned about the threat to religion from science. As Sophocles lived until around 90 he saw many wars and changes of fortune and thought about the general misery of human existence.        

Does Shylock die, and does his daughter come back to him at the end? Also, with whom does Bassanio set sail?

1.  Shylock does not die in Merchant.  However, he does see his punishment as worse than death.  When the Duke gives him his first sentence (before Antonio suggests an alternative), Shylock pleads:

Nay, take my life and all, pardon not that:/ You take my house when you do take the prop [Shylock's business and wealth] that doth sustain my house; you take my life/ When you do take the means whereby I live.

Even Shylock's final punishment makes him so physically sick that he asks permission to return to his house and sign the bond there.  According to the Duke, Shylock must give half of his wealth to Antonio for a trust of sorts for Lorenzo and he must will what's left to his son-in-law upon his death.  Finally, Shylock must convert to Christianity, which is not only extremely grievous for the usurer, but it also makes it impossible for Shylock to keep his business since Christians did not believe in usury.  Near the end of Act 4, Scene 2, Shylock exits the court a broken man and speaks no other words in the play.

2.  Jessica does not return to her father.  In Act 5, she is still with Lorenzo in Belmont, and Antonio brings them news of their new-found wealth (via Shylock's sentence).  While Shakespeare does not make it clear if Jessica regrets her "betrayal" of her father, there is some evidence of it.  She subtly defends her father in a conversation with Lorenzo but does not return any of the goods she took from Shylock.

3. Bassanio sets sail three times in the play.  On his way to Belmont to woo Portia, Gratiano accompanies him, along with his newly hired livery. While Bassanio is in Belmont, word reaches him that Antonio's situation is very grave, and Bassanio returns to Venice with Gratiano.  After the trial in Act 4, Bassanio returns to Belmont to live with Portia.  Antonio and Gratiano sail with him.

Can you identify a peace article that pertains to war?

The peace Treaty of Versailles was signed after World War I on June 19, 1919. It was designed to end the war between World War enemies Germany and the Allied Powers consisting of Belgium, Germany, America, Russia, Canada, Belgium, Italy, Portugal and the United States by making Germany take all responsibility for this war.

However, the opposite became true. In forcing Germany to accept sole responsibility for the war, and to give territorial concessions and reparations to certain countries that had formed the Entente powers,  the foundation was laid for the next war.  The result of these conflicting reparations was that Germany was not pacified, nor was it weakened, facts that would prove to effect the second world war as Germany signed this treaty under protest.

Other peace treaties which contain articles are the many peace treaties that the United State made with the Native Americans.  As of this date, not one of these treaties have been kept the United States.  The treaty of Delaware, for instance,  granted the state of Delaware to the Indians in one article as long as "the aforesaid shall abide by, and hold fast, the chain of friendship now entered into."

What is a good thesis statment for an interpretation essay of "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver?

dr3wsum1,

A thesis is an idea or message that you want to prove expressed as a sentence. It parallels the theme: a central idea or message of a story expressed as a sentence.

The sentence aspect is quite important the further you advance in literary studies. Most often, it is misinterpreted as a word, such as justice, or poverty, or love, but those are merely subjects (words) and not themes (sentences).

In Raymond Carver's "Cathedral," On the surface, “Cathedral” is a simple story told flatly by a narrator of limited awareness, both of himself and of others. His misgivings about the visit, rooted in his lack of experience with the blind, are clearly spelled out in paragraphs 1, 5, 9, and 17; the fact that his perceptions are veiled by unexamined assumptions is shown further in paragraphs 31 and 44. His blundering attempts at small talk lead to increased discomfort (25), and it seems to be a combination of thoughtlessness and the wish to cover over the awkward situation that impels him finally to turn on the television set.

Throughout, his wife demonstrates a much more relaxed attitude, seeing Robert not as an abstraction or the representative of an alien group, but as an individual, a valued friend and former colleague—so much so, in fact, that in some ways she seems to have an easier and more intimate rapport with him than she does with her own husband. The narrator initially reacts with jealousy and resentment at his seeming exclusion from this closeness; but as the story proceeds, he slowly achieves an emotional breakthrough.

“Cathedral” presents a succession of psychological and spiritual openings brought about because the narrator is repeatedly thrown out of his comfort zone. He can either accept new information (understanding that blind men have beards, for instance) or find a way to block the information. The culmination comes in the final scene, where he “didn’t feel like [he] was inside anything.” 

The narrator in “Cathedral” is intent on stopping up his senses. He doesn’t want to know any more than he has to, so it seems appropriate that he watches television, drinks, eats, and smokes pot through much of the story. The blind man, Robert, joins him, but for the narrator this binge seems to be a daily pattern. The emphasis on drinking, eating, and smoking early in the story (drinking is one of their “pastimes”) alleviates some of the tension between husband and wife as well as the narrator’s discomfort in having “the blind man” in his home. During the meal, the narrator begins to refer to Robert by his name instead of “the blind man.” This marks the beginning of a change in the narrator.

A great thesis statement could be: The narrator, a man of limited awareness breaks through his limitations by socializing with a blind man. This is revealed through Carver's description of the narrator, his actions, and his eventual self-realization at the end of the story.

With the electroshock therapy in "Invisible Man", the narrator experiences a 'rebirth'. Ellison places several "clues" in the text to demonstrate....

Clues:

The man awakes from the electroshock therapy the same way a baby is born: Does not know where he is, does not recall nor know his name, hears the sounds of a moaning woman in pain echoing in the back (which are nothing but machines), is wiped out of his identity, his job at the plant, and everything he used to be- the world as he knew it disappeared and now they (the men who performed the therapy) are like bringing him into the world again, only he is a "new person"

What is the best introduction for the following thesis statement on the book "To Kill a Mockingbird"? “In the novel, Scout is exposed to...

I'm not sure exactly where your teacher wants the thesis statement placed; however, a lot of teachers prefer the thesis to be the very last sentence in the first paragraph.  If that is the case, then before that thesis sentence, it is good to introduce the book, give a little bit of what it is about, and then have a good lead-in to your thesis.  So, I might start off generally by stating, "To Kill a Mockingbird" is a classic novel whose messages of justice, decency and equality will live through the ages.  The book is unique in that it is narrated by a young girl, named Scout, who is a bit of a tomboy.  Scout's heroes are her older brother and her father, so she tends to emulate more masculine behaviors.  However,----and insert your thesis.

That is just a general idea; for sure, you need to take it and put it into your own words, but I hope that you get the gist.  In writing opening paragraphs of essays, you don't want to get too specific; save examples and details for the body paragraphs.  You just need to let the audience know which book you are writing on, and give an adequate introduction to your thesis.  I provided some great links below that have information on writing essays and introductions-those shoule help also.  Good luck-it sounds like an interesting topic!

in "Everyday Use," characterize the speaker. Where does she refrain from making judgements? Where does she present less than the full truth?Do...

Your secondary question concerning the reticence of the narrator raises an interesting issue. The mode of narration in this story is first person, and because of this we must be aware that we might not be receiving an entirely reliable narrative - the "unreliable narrator" is a key aspect of first person narration, though perhaps here it is not so unreliable. However it is clear that the speaker is withholding information from both of her daughters, or perhaps, not willing to reveal the whole truth.

When Maggie asks her, "How do I look, Mama?", her mother dodges the question, and then goes on to tell us the readers how Maggie really looks:

Have you ever seen a lame animal, perhaps a dog run over by some careless person rich enough to own a car, sidle up to someone who is ignorant enough to be kind to him? That is the way my Maggie walks.

She does not reveal this "truth" to Maggie, but through the mode of narration we as readers are privileged with this information.

We are also left to infer how the speaker feels about her second daughter, the renamed Miss Wangero. However, it is clear from what she says and does that she disapproves of her and her actions. For example, the narrator buries the argument about the origins of Dee's name, even though, "in fact, I probably could have carried it back beyond the Civil War through the branches." Likewise, it is important to examine the use of words to describe Dee's acquisitiveness. She is described as "rifling" through the trunk, and the narrators meditation over the handle of the dasher, where she is obviously thinking of her family's history and how it has been passed down through the generations.

So the narrator, therefore, refrains from making overt judgements regarding her two daughters, though it is clear that this is often to keep the peace rather than a deliberate attempt to be deceitful.

I need help starting a compare and contrast paper on comparing radio and television commercials. I have my information but I'm stuck. Please help.

As an opening, you may wish to point to something striking about radio and television.  One remark about the media--which was only newspapers in his time--was made by Napoleon Bonaparte who said that the first action to take after conquering a country was to get control of the newspapers.  Whoever controls the media, controls the dissemination of information in its every aspect.  When the visual was added to the media, an entirely different dimension was added. 

The most memorable contrast between the radio and the television as influential media in the United States occurred during the 1960 presidential campaign of Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy.  After radio programs and other campaigning, Nixon was ahead 11 points in the national polls.  In September of 1960 after the first Presidential Debates, which historians record as the "turning point" of the election, was broadcast on television, John F. Kennedy's approval rate in the polls soared; he was elected President of the United States in less than two months after this debate.

Scout makes 3 mistakes on her first day of school. What were her mistakes, and why did they make Miss Caroline so angry?

Scout certainly starts off on the wrong foot her first day of school.  First, she demonstrates that she knows how to read.  Second, she demonstrates that she knows how to write.  Third, she tries to offer an explanation for Walter Cunningham's behavior when Miss Caroline tries to give him money for lunch. 

It may seem odd that a teacher would be angry over a child who could already read and write, but as we read this section of the book, we can see what an insecure and rigid teacher Miss Caroline is.  She says that Atticus and Calipurnia have damaged Scout by teaching her how to read and write, so we can see that she believes there is only one way to learn, her way. 

Her lack of understanding about the Cunninghams stems from the fact that she is not a local woman and has no knowledge of any local families.  When Scout tries to explain, Miss Caroline is made even more insecure.

A good teacher is always happy to learn about new ideas and about his or her students, and the "portrait" of Miss Caroline is one of a teacher who is not very successful.

In A Separate Peace, how does Brinker get Gene and Finny to attend the mock trial? Why is Brinker so determined to investigate the incident?

After Brinker had set up the mock trial and had everything in place in the First Academy Building, he and three other students came to Gene and Finny's room to get them. Brinker declared, "We're taking you out." Brinker's associates then "half-lifted" Gene and Finny "half-roughly" and took them down the stairs and out of the dorm. Gene and Finny went along with this at first, thinking it was some kind of senior prank at the end of the school year. When they got to the scene of the trial in the darkened Assembly Room, Gene still believed the whole event was some kind of nonsense:

At the front of the room there was a raised platform with a blustrade in front of it. About ten members of the senior class sat on the platform; all of them were wearing their black graduation robes. This is going to be some kind of schoolboy masquerade, I thought, some masquerade with masks and candles.

Then the tone changed as Brinker set the proceedings in motion. Gene could not see how any prank could be funny in this setting. Before Gene and Finny truly realized what was about to happen, Brinker led the group in prayer, and it was too late for Gene and Finny to back out. Gene remembered the moment:

If when Brinker had said "Let us pray" I had said "Go to hell" everything might have been saved.

The trial was Brinker's final attempt to find out what exactly had happened between Gene and Finny in the tree. He had raised the issue numerous times during the year, in various ways, never able to let it go. Brinker was the "hub of the class" at Devon. He could not stand the idea that he wasn't at the center of events, that he wasn't "in the know" in terms of every aspect of life at Devon. He also seemed jealous and left out of Gene and Finny's friendship; he could not stop meddling in it. Finally, Brinker was terrified of going to war and attempted to exert some kind of control in his life as it spun out of control. Organizing the trial, taking the lead, and controlling the event were very much in his character. By focusing on Gene and Finny's relationship, he was momentarily relieved of dealing with his own pressing realities.

How do I head a response journal? And should I type or handwrite it?I have recently changed from homeschooling to a public high school and I am...

I am sure this is quite a transition for you, from homeschooling to classroom schooling.  At home, your "teacher" had certain requirements, but you could ask any time if you needed clarification.  Now the people who are your teachers are strangers to you, and you are probably reluctant to ask too many questions. 

Don't be afraid to get clarifications from any teacher.  This is important because it is better to ask questions than to turn in assignments that do not meet a teacher's requirements and instructions. 

Generally, headings for most kinds of school papers have your name, the name of the class and the class period, and maybe the name of the teacher at the top left. This is probably true even of a response journal, since the teacher will be reading the responses and might have to keep track of more than one class.   Your teacher might appreciate titles for your entries, which are different from headings.  A title will help the teacher by introducing him or her to the ideas in your response.

Whether the responses should be typed or handwritten is something you will have to clarify with your teacher.  If you have a choice, I would vote for a typed version, if you have a computer.  You will have to type many papers in your academic career, so now is a good time to get in the habit.  You might be accustomed to doing your work in handwriting, but once you become accustomed to word processing, you will see how much easier it is to write.  There were no computers when I was in high school, and when work had to be typed, it had to be typed over and over until it was right.  We did not even have any "whiteout" products!  

I want to emphasize that you should always ask questions when you don't understand.  Teachers do get annoyed if you have to ask a question because you were not listening or did not read instructions, but they appreciate it when you ask about things that just are not clear to you. 

Good luck! 

What are some literary elements present in "This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona"?

In addition to the elements of plot which are nicely exhibited within "This is What It Mans to Say Phoenix, Arizona," this is a wonderful frame story containing fabulous examples of flashback, tone, and symbolism.  First, there are a total of six flashbacks within the story each of which allude to a more innocent time of friendship for the main characters.  These are embedded in the main frame where both Victor and Thomas are older, more experienced, and less idealistic.  Secondly, this story has a definite bleak tone that can be traced throughout the entire work.  Poverty and alcohol abuse seem to penetrate all of the US and Native American relations.  Even the last flashback where Thomas has been orphaned and spouting stories that no one listens to is an incredibly sad and bleak image.  Finally, the most important element in the story is symbolism.  One must not neglect the importance of the title.  A phoenix is a mythical bird that dies and regenerates from its own ashes again and again.  Phoenix, of course, is also a city in Arizona.  Victor and Thomas are going on a journey to reclaim what is lost.  By going on this journey, Victor attempts to regenerate from the ashes of his own life.  All of these things together make "This is What It Mans to Say Phoenix, Arizona" a treasure trove of literary elements. 

In "Great Expectations", what makes Pip change his opinion of Magwitch?what makes him change his opinion of magwitch from repugnance to abiding love?

First of all, there is an innate kindness in Pip that is demonstrated in the exposition of "Great Expectations" when he is kind to the grey convict on the marshes even while he is terrified of the man.  For instance, Pip narrates,

Pitying his desolation, and watching him as he gradually settled down upon the pie, I made bold to say, 'I am glad you enjoy it.'

Again, when Magwitch returns to London to find the one person who has shown him kindness and tell him that he has repaid this kindness by becoming his benefactor, Pip recovers from his initial "abhorrence and repugnance" and realizes that

the wretched man, after loading me with his wretched gold and silver chains for years, had risked his life to come to me, and I held it there in my keeping!

Later that night as Pip reflects upon the change in his "great expectations," he realizes, too, that he has "deserted Joe." In a subsequent chapter Pip sees his "repugnance toward the man who had done soo much for me" reflected in the face of Herbert.  Herbert, however, advises Pip, "That would be his reckless course if you forsook him," telling Pip that his obligation is to get Provis safely out of London. So, Pip begins to feel a sense of obligation, a sense awakened when he has contemplated the injustice that he has done to his loyal friend Joe.

After Magwitch relates to Pip his life story, Pip feels abhorrence when the old convict looks at him "with affection," yet at the same time, his inner nature comes through again as he "felt great pity for him."  Finally, after Magwitch goes under the keel of the steamer in the attempt to get him out of London, Pip takes his

place by Magwitch's side.  I felt that that was my place henceforth while he lived.

Having rekindled his sense of loyalty and obligation in his reflections upon past actions regarding Joe, Pip now states,

For now my repugnance to him had all melted away, and in the hunted, wounded, shackled creature who held my hand in his, I only saw a man who had mean to be my benefactor, and who had felt affectionately, gratefully, and generously toward me with great constancy throu a series of years.  I only saw in him a much better man than I had been to Joe.

What are performance indicators?accounting ratio and its interpretation

A performance indicator refers to any piece of information that serves the purpose of measuring or indicating the level of performance or success achieved by an activity, group of people, or facilities. Performance indicators generally consist of quantitative information rather than subjective descriptions such as "good" or "bad".

Performance indicators are used not only in accounting, but every type of information systems. For example, a maintenance management may use a performance indicator such as "mean time between failures" to measure performance how ell the maintenance function is able to reduce machine failures.

In accounting the most commonly used performance indicator is profit. But for effective management in an organization we need to measure performance of not just the final result such as the profit but also of activities that contribute and lead to the final profit. Thus we may need to measure performance of activities such as purchase, production, inventory, manpower productivity, capital cost, maintenance cost, and so many others. Depending upon what activities needs to be planned and controlled more closely we need to develop and choose appropriate performance indicators.

In addition, to choosing the right areas to be covered by performance indicators, it is also necessary to design the most appropriate way of measuring performance in a given area. One very technique used to improve the utility of performance indicators is to use ratios. For example, though a manager is very much interested in knowing the total profit earned by the unit managed by him or her, this information alone is not enough decide if this profit is adequate or not. A small profit of half a million dollar on a sales turnover two million dollar may mean better performance than a larger profit of one million dollar earned on ten million dollars. The ratio enables us to compare and contrast meaningfully different things. It is like being able to compare meaningfully apples with oranges.

One of the most commonly used performance indicator using the concept of ratio is "efficiency". In accounting, it is possible to develop and use many more useful ratios. Some of the other commonly used ratio include, margin of profit on turnover, rate of return on capital employed, and inventory turnover ratio.

How does the social criticism of Oliver Goldsmith compare to that of Jonathan Swift?

While Oliver Goldsmith and Jonathan Swift were both satirists, they targeted different aspects of society in their works.  Goldsmith, like Swift, mocks the society of his day, but his depiction of characters hinges on their representing types of people.  They do not appear to the reader to be individuals in their own right - a method other writers such as Moliere uses.  As such, much of Goldsmith's satirical focus is on society as a whole.  In addition, unlike much of Swift's satirical work, one of Goldsmith's primary motivations was to make people laugh, often making his ridicule more subtle and easier for the reader to swallow.  The gentle nature of Goldsmith's satire is puzzling, because it is often difficult to discern what is truly sentimental and what is truly satirical.

Jonathan Swift, on the other hand, does not run up against the same problem.  In his works, his readers become very aware of Swift's satirical targets.  In "A Modest Proposal"(1729) perhaps the most well-known of Swift's satires outside of Gulliver's Travels (1726), he targets not only the Irish who are lazy and apathetic toward their own lives but also the English who have put the Irish in such a situation.  The very subject matter of the pamphlet alerts the reader to the nature of the work.  Gulliver's Travels, like "A Modest Proposal," targets more specific aspects of society than much of Goldsmith's works.  In his novel, Swift takes the scientific community to task, as well as humanity as a whole.  As such, his satirical work tends to be much more pointed in drawing out its targets and more stinging in his indictment of them.

What does the last stanza of Heaney's 'The First Kingdom' mean?

Heaney, as always relates the poet to the farmer (e.g Digging) but more importantly, he sees the 'first kingdom', the colonial era of political domination through the agricultural metaphor. But, interestingly enough, in this poem, the initial function of the farmer's world seems to be reductive.

As a post-colonial Irish poet, Seamus Heaney, in this poem, talks about the farmers as the first colonizers of the mother-earth. This metaphoric identification is double-edged. On the one hand, it includes the resisting world of the farmers into the colonial rhetoric, but on the other hand, it also implies an ironic inevitability of fighting colonization with counter-colonization. The discourse of protest is located within the discourse of the master.

Heaney sees the first kings as failed kings, bad farmers, who are overpowered by the temporal surge, that bristles with pathetic events speaking loudly of their misrule. From the epigrammatic beginning, the import of this agricultural rhetoric is made to be reductive.

The disturbing last stanza introduces an I, a questioning and doubting subjectivity which wonders the political import of its lineage of being a farmer. He is faced by a disturbing question of the farmer-colonizer identification. Is he then repeating the colonial discourse? Is his origin imperial too? Is his right to revolt ironically shaped by his colonial roots?He seems to be fuming at this possibility, being a trampled post-colonial consciousness.  The lure of the colonial discourse remain 'accommodating' in hegemony. The poem ends rather cynically with the bleak suggestion that things have hardly undergone any real emancipatory change in an apparent transition from the colonial to the post-colonial.

Can you give me criticism about this poem "Mending Wall" which was written by Frost?

Robert Frost's "Mending Wall" is about two different outlooks on life and relationships. The neighbors, one of whom is the speaker, meet each spring to mend the stone wall between their properties. The speaker wonders about why this ritual exists, since there is nothing that either of them has that could stray onto the other's land. There is no livestock on the one side that could damage the other's property. The speaker remarks only that “He is all pine and I am apple orchard."  The neighbor, however, never questions the need for the fence. He has learned from his father that "Good fences make good neighbors."

The poem is a commentary on the artificial constructs that people build between themselves and the rest of the world. Even neighbors, those with whom we should be most comfortable and friendly, set themselves apart from one another. Though he has heard the neighbor's claim about good fences and good neighbors, the speaker doubts the truth of that sentiment. In lines 32-36 the speaker reveals his thoughts about fence building:

Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offense.
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That wants it down."

These lines clearly show that the speaker believes that something, likely nature itself, "wants [the fence] down, that fences are unnatural. Note how the speaker wonders about how walling in or out could "give offense." This pun is important. The word "offense" when spoken sounds almost exactly like the phrase "a fence." The speaker would think long and hard before intentionally creating either.

Yet, despite his reservations, he helps construct this wall between himself and his neighbor each spring. This act shows that even the speaker, who doesn't like offending fences, still is to blame, at least in part, for the division between him and his neighbor.

The last five lines of the poem show how the speakers share in building the wall has affected his view of his neighbor:

He moves in darkness as it seems to me,

Not of woods only and the shade of trees.

He will not go behind his father's saying,

And he likes having thought of it so well

He says again, "Good fences make good neighbours."

The neighbors repeated comment shows that these attitudes are learned, not natural. This social construct was built by his father, and he will keep the barrier in place. The speaker sees his neighbor as one who "moves in darkness." Darkness metaphorically can mean either lack of understanding or even something sinister. Either way the speaker means it, he is judging his neighbor. Either the neighbor is less wise or enlightened or he his more bound, by tradition or coldness, or both. Regardless of how the speaker means this thought, the very act of helping to mend the wall has affected him. He unwittingly becomes a part of the problem. His hesitance to speak helps to build the fence, and the offense.

For more information about the poem "Mending Wall," see the links below:

This is a truly genius poem. Each time I re-read it I see more. That is the mark of great poetry.

What do Rosalind and Celia discuss about fortune and nature in Act 1 Scene 2 of "As You Like It"?

In Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” Act I Scene II opens with Celia and Rosalind discussing the banishment of Rosalind’s father.  Celia tells Rosalind that she should cheer up and realize that she is deeply loved and will inherit the crown when her uncle dies.   Celia promises to have Rosalind gain the crown and Rosalind says that for Celia’s sake she will be more cheerful.  The two women then decide to take on the topic of Fortune. Celia wants to mock fortune until “she” begins to give out her gifts more evenly.  Rosalind responds by saying that fortune is unfair and gives gifts to the wrong people.  The women believe that fortune is especially hard on women.  They debate the concept of what fortune is and what is given by nnature. The main idea is that fortune makes some women beautiful but they have low morals and are sluts,  while the good ladies are created ugly.  Rosalind says that those gifts are not from Fortune but from Nature.  Rosalind says that nature determines how we're made, and Fortune decides what happens to us." Celia continues the argument by saying that Nature may make a woman beautiful but then Fortune can cause her to be burned, thus making her ugly.  The debate is interupted by Touchstone and the women decide that Fortune has created this interuption to play a trick on Nature by interupting two witty women with a "natural fool."

"ROSALIND.
I would we could do so; for her benefits are mightily
misplaced: and the bountiful blind woman doth most mistake in
her gifts to women.

CELIA.
'Tis true; for those that she makes fair she scarce makes
honest; and those that she makes honest she makes very
ill-favouredly.

ROSALIND.
Nay; now thou goest from Fortune's office to Nature's: Fortune
reigns in gifts of the world, not in the lineaments of Nature.

CELIA.
No; when Nature hath made a fair creature, may she not by
Fortune fall into the fire?--Though Nature hath given us wit to
flout at Fortune, hath not Fortune sent in this fool to cut off
the argument?

[Enter TOUCHSTONE.]

ROSALIND.
Indeed, there is Fortune too hard for Nature, when
Fortune makes Nature's natural the cutter-off of Nature's wit."

How to format the computer?

To format your hard disk during Windows 7 installation, you'll need to start, or boot, your computer using the Windows 7 installation disc or USB flash drive.

1. Turn on your computer so that Windows starts normally, insert the Windows 7 installation disc or USB flash drive, and then shut down your computer.

2. Restart your computer.

3. Press any key when prompted, and then follow the instructions that appear.

4. On the Install Windows page, enter your language and other preferences, and then click Next.
* If the Install Windows page doesn't appear, and you're not asked to press any key, you might need to change some system settings. To learn how to do this,see Start your computer from a Windows 7 installation disc or USB flash drive.
5. On the Please read the license terms page, if you accept the license terms, click I accept the license terms, and then click Next.

6. On the Which type of installation do you want? page, click Custom.

7. On the Where do you want to install Windows? page, click Drive options (advanced).

8. Click the partition that you want to format and click Format.
* If you have more than one partition on this hard drive and want to get rid them to make one big drive again, then select a partition and click on the Delete option for each partition. Once you have deleted all of the partitions, select the Unallocated Space partition and click Format.

9. Pick the formatting option that you want.

10. When you've finished formatting, click Next.

11. Follow the instructions to finish installing Windows 7, which include naming your computer and setting up an initial user account.
* If you do not want to reinstall Windows 7, you can cancel the installation at this point and keep your newly formatted drives.

What book does Montag become?

At the end of "Fahrenheit 451" we read that Montag has escaped from the firemen and the mechanical hounds.  He finds himself in the middle of a group of "book people."  Each person in the forest has committed to memory a specific book so that when the day arrived for the freedom of books, they would be able to re-write and share their book.  Montag became part of the "Holy Bible."  Montag was "Ecclesiastes" from the Old Testament.

In "Raymond's Run", what famous person would Squeaky admire? Why?

In order to answer this question, you have to understand Squeaky, properly known as Hazel, as a character.  What is she like?  How does she behave?  What does she value in others?

Hazel is a strong and mature young lady.  She takes the role of big sister very seriously, and protects her brother Raymond, despite the fact that this action makes her alienated from her peers.  She is so loyal to Raymond that she is willing at all times to fight when he is threatened or teased.  She is also so loyal that is willing to let go of her own interest in running with thoughts of training him so he can have victory.

I’ve got a roomful of ribbons and medals and awards. But what has Raymond got to call his own?

Being protective of Raymond has made Hazel aggressive.  As said before, she is willing to fight to protect him.  Even when she isn't fighting, she stares everyone down with a cold and suspicious eye, almost waiting for them to start teasing Raymond.  This also alienates her.

In her interaction with Gretchen, we see what Hazel admires in others.  She sees Gretchen as an equal because 1) Gretchen doesn't back down from her stares and 2) Gretchen is more mature than the other girls, and doesn't partake in teasing Raymond.  Their equality is mirrored on the race track, and Hazel is content to lose if Gretchen is the one winning, because she respects Gretchen.

So, she is a loyal but aggressive person who respects strength and maturity in others.  Hazel would probably admire individuals who have overcome difficult lives and who are making a stand for what they believe in.  Oprah Winfrey might be one example, as would the following (you didn't indicate if they had to be living, so I included living and dead) - Colin Powell, Rosa Parks, Ghandi, Tom Hanks, Bono, Ellen Degeneres.

In "The Sniper", what are the main characteristics of the (IRA) sniper?

He is calm and patient.  The author makes this obvious by the sniper's ability to wait on his opponent and to remain almost motionless for a long period of time.

For most of the short story, the sniper appears to be detached and emotionless, but the ending causes the reader to question how such a collect character would proceed after discovering that he had killed his own brother.

The sniper is also a little bit of an Alpha male in that he seems to have extreme confidence in himself and "knows" that he will have victory over his opponent.

What new attitude toward life do you see in the Hamlet of Act 5, Scene 2, Lines 1-81?

Such an interesting change in Hamlet occurs during these short lines!  Hamlet, of course, has rewritten and switched the letter that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were to carry to England.  This letter was to be the death of Hamlet.  Hamlet turns it into the death of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.  Hamlet is surprised at how smoothly this "changling" happened and talks, quite interestingly, about fate:

Our indiscretion sometime serves us well / When our deep lots do pall, and that should learn us / There's a divinity that shapes our ends, / Rough-hew them how we will. (5.2.8-11)

Hamlet seems empowered by what has happened and feels as though some "divinity" is on his side, as if fate has allowed him to live through this tragedy.  I find in incredibly interesting that Hamlet specifically says "our indiscretion sometimes serves us well" because I am one who believes Hamlet's major flaw to be inaction.  Hamlet thinks too much, you see.  Here he finds when he doesn't bother thinking before he acts, he truly gets things done!  How humorous!

Hamlet also takes this idea further:

Does it not, think thee, stand me now upon--/He that hath killed my king, and whored my mother, Popped in between th' election and my hopes, / Thrown out his angle for my proper life, / And with such coz'nage--is't not perfect conscience / To quit him with this arm?  And is't not to be damned / To let this canker of our nature come / In further evil? (5.2.63-70)

In other words, Hamlet asks Horatio if he thinks that Claudius deserved this twist of fate, considering what evils Claudius has done.  Hamlet feels no guilt (as he has shown in the past) for the deaths of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, since they were so eager to follow Claudius' evil ways.  In Hamlet's eyes, payback was deserved!

In "The Reader" why would Hanna like to keep her secret and admit the crime, rather than telling Michael or the judge that she is illiterate?

It is hard to say exactly why she would guard her secret at such detriment to herself; there is probably a long history of shame, ridicule, and experiences that has made her illiteracy such a horrible thing to her.  Under it all though, Hannah is a very proud woman.  To admit her illiteracy was to admit that she was stupid and uneducated.  It is really an interesting thing--you would think that she would be willing to appear illiterate in order to save her life and redeem her reputation, but she won't even do that.  Guarding the "shameful" fact that she can't read is more important to her.  Being literate was very important to many in the German culture, and she probably had many experiences in her lifetime that emphasized the fact that to not be able to read is one of the most shameful traits one could have.  If you can imagine not being able to read in our society--that would be incredibly limiting, and people would be incredulous and disbelieving if they found out.

If she went to school at all, she probably hid it in order to not be mocked or ostracized by schoolmates and teachers.  If she came from a poor rural family that didn't go to school, she probably wanted to hide that in order to succeed in the world and leave her past behind.  But in my viewpoint, hiding her illiteracy was foolish; her pride cost her her freedom.  Few people would have thought much of it if she had admitted it, and she would have been able to move away and move on with her life, not in prison, hopefully.  But, she guarded that secret with her life, literally, and even kept it from her closest companion for a long time, Michael.  She didn't even tell him, and that shows how untrusting and defensive she was about it.

I hope that those thoughts help; the book doesn't delve into her viewpoint, so we are left to infer the best that we can as to her motivations.  Good luck!

What typical American traits are found in Captain John Smith in the story, "The Pocahontas Incident"?I wuold like to focus this question for...

The story of Smith and Pocahontas reveals some characteristics that become an embedded part of American History.  Smith's pioneering spirit to blaze new frontiers is a trait that is evident in the Pocahontas incident.  He sets out to colonize the new world, an example of the expansion of boundaries, as he sees something as what could be and not meely what is.  Another trait is seen in his interactions with the Native Americans feature difficulty, proved by the fact that he is taken hostage by the Indigenous People and two of his other colleagues are killed.  This theme shown here is conflict with other groups.  America has had a history of conflict within groups.  Smith, being a White Englishman, experiences difficulties with a group of a different ethnicity.  This highlights the theme of interculture conflict, another theme in American History.  Throughout the challenge of trying to settle the new world, Smith is besieged with difficulties:

The inexperienced colonists struggled for their survival in the harsh environment they now called home. Disease, severe weather, Indian attacks, laziness, internal squabbling and starvation all threatened to destroy the colony. Smith's firm leadership (he was soon elected president of the colony) held the colonists together and narrowly avoided extinction. Wounded by an explosion of gunpowder, Smith sailed to England in late 1609 to recover. He never returned to Virginia. (www.eyewitnesstohistory.com 2003)

Smith's leadership qualities during crisis reveals another American trait:  Grace under pressure.  His ability to bring people together to endure the difficulties of settling the new world highlights this characteristic.  Finally, the interaction between Pocahontas and Smith shows the American trait of tolerance and understanding.  Americans have traditionally endured challenge when interacting with new cultures, but there has been a historically evident trend of understanding and pluralism and certainly after Pocahontas saves Smith, there is that level of acceptance between them and in their interactions.

How do class divisions influence events in the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird"?Maycomb is the setting with the classes of the modern poor finches,...

In "To Kill a Mockingbird," the class divisions are pivotal to the themes of Harper Lee's novel.  Regarding the main theme of Prejudice and Tolerance, the divisions among such families as the Radleys, the Cunninghams, and the Ewells are cause for the exposition of certain attitudes and remarks by others in the community as the caste system in Maycomb often functions to set behavior standards for the individuals in that caste. 

Atticus Finch, for instance, has a prominent place in the community, one which he must uphold.  That he is able to be respectable to all people in Maycomb is an attestment to the sterling character of Atticus.  For, his tolerance of all people is based upon his sense of fairness, one which most of the citizens of Macomb respect despite some of their individual objections.  On the other hand, those who suffer from "the disease of Maycomb," call his pejorative epithets.  The Cunninghams, while poor, do maintain some dignity because they do not accept charity or social pity like the despicable Ewells, who are classified as "White Trash."  And, while the negroes are below the Ewells in one way, they are above them in dignity.  Tom Robinson, in contrast to the Ewells who are racially biased (Prejudice), has a sense of human charity and kindness (Tolerance).

In addition, the conditions of Tom's Robinson's and other negroes' characters, such as Calpurnia, point out the theme of Courage and Cowardice.  For, Tom has the courage to help Mayella Ewell, while she is too cowardly to admit even under oath the truth that she enticed Tom to come near her.  Nevertheless, the restrictive society of Maycom chooses to cling blindly to what has always been and condemn him simply because he is a negroe, rather than to change its ways and progress.  Perceiving Atticus as a threat to this blind clinging to traditional beliefs, his neighbors insult him, a mob approaches him at one point, and Bob Ewell feels justified in attacking the children of Atticus Finch. Clearly, then, the role of class in Lee's novel is intertwined with many of the themes as well as the events in "To Kill a Mockingbird."

How is Willy Loman an ambiguous character, and why is his moral ambiguity significant to the work as a whole?

If we consider Willy Loman separate and apart from the social influences of the American era in which he came of age and the American era in which he grew old, failed in business, and died, he still remains an ambiguous personality. Willy truly believes he loves his wife, but he treats Linda very shabbily. He depends upon her to prop up his faltering ego and absolve him from responsibility for his actions. Biff correctly points out that Willy has always treated Linda as a doormat. Willy sees no contradiction in abusing someone he loves because he does not recognize the abuse. When Biff discovers Willy's adultery, Willy is shattered--not because he has betrayed his wife, but because he has lost his son's respect. Willy loves Linda, but gives no thought to her feelings when he considers suicide and then kills himself.

Willy believes he loves Biff, but he is quick to criticize, condemn, and dismiss him in sarcastic and bitter outbursts. The man who loves his son is the one who denigrates him without mercy.

Willy believes he is a good man who has been a loving husband and father, unaware of the ambiguities in his own character. Looking at him with some sympathy, it could be said that he does the wrong things for what seem to him to be the right reasons, which brings the drama back to its examination of the values of American society. Willy Loman is developed as more than the product of his society, however. Psychologically, his is a complex, contradictory, and flawed human personality.

In "Good Country People," how does Hulga feel about her wooden leg? Flannery O'Connor's short story

In Flannery O'Connor's "Good Country People," Hulga seems disgruntled about something as she is described as

the large hulking Joy, who constant outrage had obliterated every expression from [Mrs. Hopewell's] face.

When asked by her mother to walk over the fields with her, Joy (as she is named by her mother) makes remarks that are

so ugly and her face so glum that Mrs. Hopewell would say, 'If you can't come prleasantly, I don't want you at all,' to which the girl....would reply, 'if you want me, here I am--LIKE I AM...Mrs. Hopewell excused this attitude because of the leg (which had been shot off during a hunting accident when Joy was ten)

When Joy turns twenty-one, she has her named legally changed to Hulga, a name her mother believes she picked because it is so ugly. Hulga wishes to show her disdain for everything her mother says. When her mother calls her Joy, Hulga will not respond.

From these details, the reader can discern that Hulga is certainly not content with her life.  However, when the Bible salesman talks with her, she admits to being shy, and she arranges to meet him the next day.  As they walk, she is in the lead, with the salesman panting behind.  When he tells her she cannot climb the ladder to the loft, she scoffs and climbs the ladder with ease.  When the boy climbs up and kisses her, he then asks her to show him where her "leg joins on."

The obscenity of the suggestion was not what shocked her....But she was as sensitive about the artificial leg as a peacock about his tail.  No one ever touched it but her.  She took care of it as someone else would his soul, in private and almost with her own eyes turned away.

Helga probably finds the leg ugly, just like the name she chooses.  It is artificial, making her less of a person, yet in a way she is proud of it. The boy hits the truth when he tells her that the leg is what makes her different.  His striking the truth causes Hulga to let him see where it joins.  When he removes her leg, Hulga feels "entirely dependent" upon him.  Without her leg, she has lost not just her means of walking, but she has also lost her pride.

Does anyone know were I can find peices of performance art, visual art, and language art on the topic of love?i'm doing a Anthology Scrapbook for...

What a fascinating topic!  Do you plan on making this a digital piece or will it be paper only?  If it is digital, I would love to see the final outcome.  You said you weren't very good at looking things up on the internet...all I did to find the links below is put the phrases "love in performance art," "love in art," and "love in language" in my favorite search engine.  Let me warn you...when searching for performance art, some pretty hinky stuff came up.  You might want to be extra careful with that search and really take a close look before deciding to include the contents in your project.

The links below have some amazing visual art, and the language art includes books and the cover art of some of those books.  You might consider looking into the one book, The Five Love Languages for your project.  I've read it, and it's quite insightful.

Check these out, and be sure to continue searching on your own for good stuff to included in your scrapbook.  Don't forget to send me the link if it's online.  I truly am interested in seeing what you've come up with in the end!

Visual Art:

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=%22Love%22+in+art&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=5a1CSunpKuewtgfPqYSaCQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title

Performanace Art:

http://www.metafilter.com/71289/Performance-artor-love-story

http://myloveforyou.typepad.com/my_love_for_you/performance_art/

http://mirandajuly.com/performances

Language Art:

http://www.links2love.com/i_love_you_languages.htm

This one translates "I love you" into 100 different languages.

http://www.fivelovelanguages.com/

http://books.google.com/books?id=D2OBcq8EMSgC&dq=%22Love%22+in+language&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=SybkpjJk2H&sig=tNKxag1B_nqtd3SDGSsfLAAnkTM&hl=en&ei=pq5CSrXRAePBtwe0--GlBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6

Good Luck, and have fun!

What is a quotation that sums up the play of Macbeth? What are major events for the first 3 acts?

It is hard to get one quote to sum up the whole play but if I was choosing one I would go for:

And oftentimes, to win us to our harm, The instruments of darkness tell us truths, Win us with honest trifles, to betray's In deepest consequence...

said by Banquo in the opening Act, scene 3.

It links to the whole idea that an honest and basically man, Macbeth, is corrupted and led down an avenue of destruction after his meeting with the witches- or wierd sisters as they are called. It fits in with the belief of James 1st of England in witches and the fact that they can influence what happens in the world for ill. Macbeth is obviously an ambitious Lord, but at the start he is loyal and rated highly by his peers. The opening acts begin to show the trail of decisions that will lead to his destruction, and that of his wife. If you read the summary in the e.notes version of the play you will get a good overview. But basically the opening three acts show Macbeth and Banquo as the heroes, then the witches appear and give the prophesies. Macbeth sends a letter to his wife who is determined he will murder King Duncan and not leave it to chance that he will become king. Killing leads to killing and Macbeth attempts to eliminate Banquo and Fleance, he succeeds to kill Banquo, but Fleance will live. Macbeth moves from being surrounded by friends and good will, to being suspicious, alone and although in power clinging to it and using that power in a very negative sense. He is haunted by bad dreams and has lost his peace of mind. This is why I feel the above quote sums up the message of the play.

What is the summary of poem "The Cry of the Children" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning?

This is a protest poem decrying the horror of child labor in factories and coal mines of England.

Children were put out to work at very young ages in factories and in the coal mines. They were small enough to fit in the tight spaces of the mines and used to pull carts of coal up from the depths.  Many children died from brown lung disease and other diseases of overwork, malnutrition and tuberculosis during this time period.

Children did not have the "childhood" experiences that we modern people associate with "childhood" unless they were born in the upper wealthy class. Most children were put out to factory work by the time they were 8 or 9 years old. Children began working in the coal mines at around the same ages.

Child labor laws were not yet common practice, so any child of any age could be put out to work.  Most factories worked 13-15 hours, and there was no such thing as a break from work.   The work was dangerous as well because there were no safety regulations in the factories or mines.  Browning's poem is a protest poem which did have a large impact on the readers of her poetry.

How does Timothy know about the approaching storm and how does he prepare in The Cay? Why is he afraid?

One "very hot morning in July", when the trade winds are uncharacteristically not blowing, Timothy and Phillip hear a "crack like d'rifle".  Timothy knows that it is the waves that make the noise, "somewhar far off, out beyond d'Grenadines, or in dat pesky bight off Honduras", and that is means that a hurricane is brewing.  There is "a breathless silence" around the cay, and although the sea is as "smooth as green jhelly", the water is already getting cloudy and the sky has "a yellowish cast to it".  Timothy knows how to read the signs of the sea and the sky, having lived on the islands and the water all his life.  He says that most storms do not come until September or October, and that the few that come in July are very dangerous, "wid all d'death upon it".

To prepare for the storm, Timother lashes their water keg high on a palm trunk at the highest point of land on the cay, then ties the remaining rope "securely around the same sturdy tree".  If the waters reach that point, Timothy and Phillip will have to stand at the tree, locking their arms into the rope so as not to be swept away.  The two then have a huge meal, because they do not know when they will be able to eat next, and then Timothy puts his knife into the tin box containing the valuables they will need for survival, and lashes that high up in the tree with the water keg. 

In his long life, Timothy has been in many storms, and he recognizes this will be one of the fiercest he has ever seen.  He is afraid because he knows the damage a hurricane can do, and realistically, he realizes that despite their preparations, he and Phillip may not survive.  Also, he has the added worry that, should he alone perish, Phillip will have to survive on the island, alone and blind, clinging to the hope that one day he may be rescued (Chapters 13-14).

What did the Ghost of Hamlet's father tell Hamlet? What solemn resolution did Hamlet make after the Ghost had left him?

In Act I Sc.5, the Ghost of Hamlet's father leads Hamlet away separately from his two friends Marcellus and Horatio and reveals to him in the strictest confidence how he had been murdered by his brother Claudius. The Ghost's main purpose in talking to Hamlet is to request Hamlet to revenge his murder by Claudius: "Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder."

The Ghost tells the shocked and bewildered Hamlet that he has come from Purgatory to meet him personally to reveal to him the treachery of his uncle Claudius. The Ghost describes in graphic detail how Claudius poured a vial of poison into his ear when he was enjoying his customary siesta and murdered him, consequently his soul was consigned to Purgatory because he did not have the opportunity to confess his sins and be absolved of them.The Ghost also tells Hamlet how Claudius seduced his wife, that is his mother, and after his death how he married her. The Ghost sums up his tragedy in the following lines:

"Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother's hand
Of life, of crown, of queen, at once dispatch'd."

The Ghost hurriedly makes its exit because of the approaching dawn telling Hamlet never to forget all that it had just told him: "Adieu, adieu! Hamlet, remember me."

As soon as the Ghost leaves, Hamlet is dazed but soon pulls himself together and is determined to carry out the Ghost's command to revenge his treacherous murder by his wicked brother Claudius. Hamlet soliloquizes that henceforth he will erase from his mind the memories of his youthful pastimes and pleasures and all what he has learnt and stored in his mind as a scholar. He swears fiercely that he is determined to remember and remember only one thing, that is the Ghost's command to kill Claudius and avenge his father's murder:

'Yea, from the table of my memory
I'll wipe away all trivial fond records,
All saws of books, all forms, all pressures past,
That youth and observation copied there;
And thy commandment all alone shall live
Within the book and volume of my brain,
Unmix'd with baser matter: yes, by heaven!"

A little later his friends, Horatio and Marcellus arrive. After having sworn them to secrecy he tells them that he is going to pretend to be a mad man and that they should not mind his strange behaviour. Hamlet has decided to put on "an antic disposition" in order to hide his true feelings towards his mother and his uncle and to bide his time for an opportune moment to kill Claudius. He has decided to pretend to be mad in order not to arouse the suspicions of Claudius who will be watching him closely as Hamlet is the real heir to the throne.

What social and philosophical changes have taken place in Hester in chapter 13?Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter"

With philosophical being defined as spirit of attitude, there are changes that have taken place in Hester herself in Chapter XIII of "The Scarlet Letter."  For, she has changed in her person, as well as in her position:

The links that united her to the rest of human kind--links of flowers, or silk, or gold, or whatever the material--had all been broken.

Hester feels only the "iron link of mutual crime" with the Reverend Dimmesdale, who has sought her strength on the scaffold in the previous chapter.  Now, with a new object for her emotional energies, Hester no longer battles with the public, but

submits uncomplainingly, to its worst usage; she made no claim upon it, in requital for what she suffered; she did not weight upon its sympathies.

This new attitude is certainly in contrast to her earlier stand against the governor and the Reverend Mr. Wilson who want to take Pearl from her in Chapter VIII.  And, Hester's submission is symbolized in the loss of luster from her hair which is now hidden by a cap.  Her warmth, charm, and passion are replaced with coldness, and drabness.  Standing alone in society, Hester apparently has ceased to be a woman.  Because of her compliance and drab appearance, Hester is no longer a threat to the other women of her community; and, for this reason, they feel comfortable in attributing new, kinder meanings to the letter that she wears upon her bosom.  Ironically, however, the townspeople do not understand that Hester has not submitted totally. 

Why did The Giver apologize to Jonas after sharing the memory of war?

In Jonas' community, the people live a peaceful existance without violence or pain. War no longer exist, because there are strict rules that everyone follows and people in the community do not have contact with others outside the community, so there is no one to come into conflict with. Therefore, Jonas has never experienced anything like the horrors and pain of war before, and after the Giver shares the memory with Jonas, he apologizes because he knows that it has shocked and pained Jonas to receive this memory.

Disscuss the tragedy of old age and loneliness of the old man in "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place."

As one grows old and death draws near one becomes more and more painfully aware of the meaninglessness, the nothingness-nada-of life. Religion which is meant to be a source of strength and comfort proves ineffective in the present situation. This is the tragic situation of the old waiter and the old drunken customer in Hemingway's "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place."

Hemingway reveals the thoughts of the older waiter through an interior monologue:"What did he fear? It was not a fear or a dread, it was a nothing he knew too well. It was all nothing and a man was a nothing too." A feeling of numbness which is worse than the fear of death overwhelms the older waiter and in a desperate attempt to overcome this feeling of numbness he tries to repeat the Lord's Prayer and Hail Mary but ends up repeatedly using the word 'nada' and 'nothing,' thus foregrounding the ineffectiveness of these two prayers.

It is this overwhelming feeling of 'nothingness' which makes the older waiter sympathise with the old drunken customer. The well lighted cafe offers a temporary refuge from this cruel nothingness which has already driven the old man to attempt suicide.

Hemingway witnessed two world wars and lived in a time when people had lost faith in organised religion as a solution to their problems. One of the popular schools of philosophy during this time was 'Existentialism,' - which encouraged a cynical and pessimistic way of understanding the reason and purpose for one's existence on this earth. The existentialists believed that life had little or no meaning at all. This notion is best expressed in the thoughts of the waiter: "It was all nothing and a man was a nothing too."

Heminway, by portraying very poignantly the existentialist angst of the two old men in his short story reveals the tragedy and loneliness of old age in general.

Why did Zeus want to make man?

According to Greek mythology, Prometheus and Epimetheus were given the task of creating man after they were spared imprisonment in Tartarus because they would not fight with their fellow Titans.

Because Prometheus assigned Epimetheus the task of creating the qualities of wings, fur, strength, cunning, swiftness, and other vaious traits, by the time he came to working on man, there was little left. So, Prometheus decided to make man stand on only two feet.  Prometheus also gave man fire. 

After most of his family had been banished to Tartarus, Prometheus turned his love to man.  When Zeus demanded that man must present a portion of each animal sacrificed to the gods, Prometheus decided to trick Zeus.  He wrapped fat and only bones in one bundle and hid the meat in the hide in another.  When Zeus chose wrongly, he had to accept the bones since he had given his word.  However, to avenge himself, Zeus took fire from man.  But Prometheus lit a torch from the heat of the sun and returned fire to man.  This act enraged Zeus, who devised another punishment for man.

Zeus, then, had Hephaestus create a mortal who was of stunning beauty, but of a lying and deceptive tongue.  This was Pandora, who was given a jar that she was forbidden to open.  She was sent down to Epimetheus, who was staying among men.  Pandora's beauty was too great for Epimetheus, who allowed her to stay.  Tempted by the jar, she opened it, unleashing evil.  But the bottom still held one good thing:  hope.

In what page of the book, That Was Then, This is Now, can I find a simile and a metaphor.

You can't ask for exact page numbers because most prints are different. As far as locating a simile or a metaphor in the book, Bryon is constantly comparing Mark to a lion using both similies and metaphors. Check your first chapter and when he introduces and begins to describe Mark, he makes references to his eye and hair color and compares him to a lion. He also does this when describing M&M as well.

What are the elements of characterization applied in "Araby"?

We learn about characters by what they say, do, think and feel, and how they react to their environments; we also learn about them by what the author tells us about them directly. Since "Araby" is written in first-person, our understanding of the narrator comes from his own words. We learn his thoughts and feelings--about his life and about his romantic aspirations. We know him to be a boy who finds his environment to be devoid of beauty, romance, or adventure and one who longs for those in his life. Making his trip to Araby, and his profound disappointment with what he finds there, reveals much about him.

The other characters are revealed by what the boy tells us about them and by what we can infer from his narrative. We have some insight into the loneliness of the dead priest as he lived and died in the back room, and we gain some understanding of Mangan's sister, a young woman who would "love to go" to Araby, but chooses instead a religious retreat. The narrator's aunt and uncle are revealed through their actions, with his aunt showing more sensitivity to his feelings. The shopkeepers at the bazaar are characterized primarily through their conversation, the dialog that the narrator overhears and repeats in the story.

In Act 4 of "The Crucible", why have Abigail and Mercy fled town?

In Act IV of The Crucible, Abigail and Mercy flee because Abigail can no longer have what she wants, John Proctor. The ony reason that Abigail got involved with the witch trials was to find a way to get rid of Elizabeth Proctor.  Her goal was to free John Proctor of his current wife, so that she could become his wife.

Once Abigail sees that John Proctor is to die for being in league with the Devil, Abigail realizes that there is nothing left for her in Salem.  She also senses that the tide will soon turn against the girls who have, through her leadership, given false testimony in the court, which results in the deaths of innocent people accused and found guilty of witchcraft.

"Parris informs the investigators that Abigail has taken money from his safe and left town. He fears rebellion among his congregation, only a few of whom came to the church to hear John Proctor's excommunication."

Both Abigail and Mercy are afraid of the retribution that will come to Salem in the same way that it came to the town of Andover.  They are both afraid for their lives, so they run away.

"Parris: Excellency. it profit nothing you should blame me.  I cannot think they would run off except that they fear to keep in Salem any more.  He is pleading.  mark it sir, Abigail had a close knowledge of the town and since the news of Andover has broken here.' (Miller)

The town of Andover is located near Salem, during the witchcraft hysteria in Salem, similar situations erupted in Andover, however, the people of the town objected to the proceedings that were finding respected people of the community guilty of witchcraft, so there was an uprising against the court and its officials.  The uprising among the people against the court ended the witchcraft hysteria in the town of Andover.

If the same events took place in Salem, an uprising of the people against the court and its officials, Abigail and Mercy would be right in the middle of it.  As experts on witchcraft and having given false statements to the court, they would be tried and probably hung for perjury.

What is the setting in Act 1 of Twelve Angry Men?

The setting of Twelve Angry Men is consistent throughout the play; therefore, the setting of Act 1 is the same as the settings for Acts 2 and 3.  The entire play takes place in the deliberation room of a court house in which twelve jurors are given the job of deciding whether a teenage boy is innocent or guilty of killing his father.  The stage directions explain that the deliberation room contains a conference table, twelve chairs, a water cooler, a few windows, and a few doors.  The stage directions also tell the reader that this play can take place in any city during any time period; therefore, a date or place is not given.

In the book, Animal Farm, where is Napolean during the battle of Cowshed?

I think it's intentionally left ambiguous.  Napoleon is simply "not there."  There are several places he SAYS he is afterwards; however, he takes no true active part in the battle.  The key thing to note is that afterwards, he uses Squealer as his "propaganda tool" to let the others know of his influences during the battle.  In other words, he was probably hiding or watching, but in no way to participate.  After all, if he was injured, what would the animals do then? It was essentially his way of manipulating the animals to do as he said and believe what he wanted.

What do you think was the difference between the release and loss based on the way the community used these words?"The Giver"

In The Giver, the community uses "loss" to describe the accidental death of a community member. The process of "release," while not initially revealed by the author, is the manner in which the community puroposely euthanizes one of its members.

In the story, there are three instances when someone might be "released." One instance is for violating a major rule. A second is if they are too old or too young to thrive in the community. And the third reason is if a community member is convicted of violating a rule of the community three times.

The whole notion of "release" in The Giver raises the question of whether or not a society has the right and or the obligation to euthanize one of its members. A controversial subject to be sure.

What aspects of To Kill a Mockingbird seem to be particular to its setting? What aspects are universal in nature?

Two aspects of the story, in particular, distinguish the setting: the Great Depression of the 1930s as it affected small towns in the South and the effects of the pre-Civil War Southern culture upon the culture of the post-Civl War South. Maycomb is a poor place, its streets unpaved and its sidewalks cracked and broken. The courthouse "sagged" in the town square. There is no money for repairs or improvement. Scout recalls it as "a tired old town." She remembers "there was no where to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with." Being a rural community, Maycomb suffered because the farmers suffered most during the Depression, as Atticus pointed out. He himself was often paid in what his clients could grow on their land. When Tom Robinson's friends and family wanted to show their appreciation for Atticus, they brought him gifts of food.

The culture of the pre-Civil war South echoes in the story. It is seen in the deeply entrenched attitudes of racism; segregation is the norm, questioned by only a few in town. Racial hatred and violence is seen in the lynch mob that comes for Tom Robinson at the jail. Ideas of Southern tradition and social class are found in Aunt Alexandra's character. Numerous references are made throughout the story to Confederate generals and events from Southern history.

The novel's universal themes develop ideas of justice, courage, compassion, and brotherhood. The novel condemns hypocrisy and cruelty. Atticus is a universal character in that he represents all that is good and decent in human nature, all we should aspire to be. Also, Jem's and Scout's experiences in growing up are universal in a general sense, although their specific experiences grow out of life in Maycomb at that time. Like all children, Jem and Scout find much of the adult world confusing and frequently exasperating. Perhaps the most universal aspect of the story is a father's love for his children and his dedication to their well being. Atticus feels a tremendous moral responsibility toward his children, and he forms the center of their lives.

A disc is radial crossed, through sliding contacts, by an electrical current I=4A. The disc is set perpendicullar on a magnetic field, B=20mT.The...

We'll take an infinitesimal element"dx", of radial current. This element is placed at the distance "x" from the axis of the disc.The elementary force which is acting on the current segment:

dF=l*B*dx

The power developed by this force is:

dP=dF*v=l*B*dx*2*pi*n*x

If we'll inegrate the relation above:

P=Integral (dP)=Integral(l*B*2*pi*n*x*dx) =

=l*B*2*pi*n*(x^2/2) from 0 to R=pi*n*R^2*I*B=3.14mW

The elementary moment of the elementary force dF is:

dM=dF*x=(l*B*dx*x)

M=Integral (dM)=I*B*Integral (x*dx) from 0 to R=

M=(1/2)*I*B*R^2=0.10mN*m

The result could be obtained from the relation P=M*omega

omega=angular speed

M=P/omega=(pi*n*R^2*l*B)/(2*pi*n)=(1/2)*I*B*R^2

How do cell membranes and the cytoskeleton assist each other by working together?

Well, the cell membrane and cytoskeleton are both cellular organelles.  The cell membrane helps regulate or control what enters and leaves the cell.  The cytoskeleton helps in cellular support and movement of substances within the cell.  So, the biggest connecting point between the two is movement of substances.  The cell membrane allows the substances in and the cytoskeleton helps the substance move once it is inside the cell.  The same is true of the reverse.  The cytoskeleton can help move substances that are inside the cell towards the cell membrane.  Once at the cell membrane, the substance can exit the cell.

Why does Danforth refuse to postpone any further hangings?

Already, there have been twelve hangings with another seven scheduled to take place. Though having found that Abigail has run off with her uncle's (Reverend Parris) money, thus making it clear that she was in fact guilty of lying about being bewitched and about her accusations against others in town, Danforth knows that turning back on their initial stance against believed and, according to him during the trials, "proven" cases of witchcraft would result in nothing more than loss of credibility on their part before the opinions of the town.  Postponing any further hangings would be like giving in and admitting their error.  At this point, though, with so many who have already died, the families of the hanging victims would come down upon the courts with such hatred that complete anarchy could ensure, forcing Danforth and the other officials into very compromising situations. Parris makes this concern clear to Danforth when he states, "I fear there will be riot here" (Act IV).

Can I get summary of Sue's character in "The Last Leaf" by O. Henry?

In this short story by O. Henry, Sue is an artist, who lives with Johnsy her roommate.  She is young, and part of the "artist" scene of Greenwich Village, of which O. Henry writes about in a rather mocking tone.  She is independent-minded.  When the doctor inquires if a man is the root of Johnsy's stress, Sue scoffs, “A man?...Is a man worth-" indicating that she and Johnsy don't give men a second thought, but are instead independent women content being on their own.  Sue also has dramatic mood shifts; after the doctor leaves she "cries a Japanese napkin to a pulp," but then immediately cheers up and goes into Johnsy's room, "whistling ragtime" and proceeds to paint to earn some money.

Overall, she is a caring individual, waiting on Johnsy and hoping for her recovery.  She is friendly to the burly Behrman downstairs, even though he makes fun of her and Johnsy for their silly feminine ways.

Overall, Sue is a kind person, although a bit shallow and flaky.  I hope that those thoughts help a bit; good luck!

I need a quote from "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" showing that Tom lives in a fantasty world rather than reality from chpts. 35-39.

In these chapters, Tom takes Jim being held in the shanty on his aunt's property as a chance to live out all of his fantasies that have spawned from his excessive reading of adventure novels.  He has read many, many different scenarios of prisoners that had to endure terrible agonies, that in the end had daring escapes and came out triumphant.  So, Jim is the perfect chance, as he sees it, to enact some of these scenarios.  Huck is the voice of logic through all of these escapades, constantly insisting on the simpler, more logical plan that would help Jim escape pretty easily, but Tom insists.

A couple good quotes can be found at the very beginning of chapter 35.  Tom is lamenting the fact that Jim's situation makes it much too easy for him to escape.  Tom says that "You got to invent all the difficulties."  The first "difficulty" that Tom insists on is a saw to "saw the leg of Jim's bed off, so as to get the chain loose," even though, as Huck points out, they could just lift the bed up.  The next is a rope ladder.  Huck points out that Jim is in a single-story shanty and so doesn't need it, to which Tom responds,

"He can hide it in his bed, can't he?  That's what they all do; and he's got to too."

Next in line is that Jim must keep a journal.  Huck points out that Jim can't write, but Tom insists, saying "he can make marks on the shirt, can't he?" because all good prisoners keep journals of their travails.

This type of conversation goes on, and on, and on, all the way through their escape in chapter 40.  Tom has got his head in the clouds, dreaming of exciting adventures, all while Jim is sitting there, prisoner, in a miserable situation. I hope that those quotes help; if you haven't read the chapters yet, I recommend them.  They are highly entertaining.  Good luck!

What is "A Shocking Accident" by Graham Greene about?

"A Tragic Accident" is a humorous story about a tragic incident. It is told from the point of view of a boy named Jerome who grows into adulthood and gets married by the time the story ends. Jerome is only nine years old when he is called into his housemaster's room at "a rather expensive preparatory school." Mr. Wordsworth has the difficult job of breaking the news to young Jerome that the boy's father is dead. What makes the job especially difficult is that Mr. Wordsworth has to keep from laughing while he explains what happened. He has to be serious and sympathetic when the incident seems so ridiculous that it is hard for anyone, including the reader, to visualize it without laughing.

The boy's father, whom Jerome idolizes, is a writer who does a lot of traveling. He writes books about his impressions of the various places he visits, rather in the manner of Robert Louis Stevenson; and he has a fairly good following and a comfortable income in spite of the fact that he is obviously only a mediocre writer who probably appeals mostly to housebound old ladies like Jerome's aunt. The titles of a couple of his books suggest what kind of a writer he is. They are Sunshine and Shade and Ramblers in the Balearics. No doubt they focus on the picturesque and exotic aspects of the places he chooses to visit and include factual information about food, hotel accommodations, and transportation, along with some poetic descriptions. Graham Greene himself did a lot of traveling in order to stimulate his creative imagination by seeing new places and encountering new people. Some of his novels are set in the Far East, in Africa, in South America, and in the Caribbean. He may be making fun of himself in "A Shocking Accident."

After some preliminary small-talk, Mr. Wordsworth is forced to explain what happened. 

'Your father was walking along a street in Naples when a pig fell on him. A shocking accident. Apparently in the poorer quarters of Naples they keep pigs on their balconies. This one was on the fifth floor. It had grown too fat. The balcony broke. The pig fell on your father.'

Mr. Wordsworth left his desk rapidly and went to the window, turning his back on Jerome. He shook a little with emotion.

Mr. Wordsworth doesn't want Jerome to see that he is having a hard time keeping himself from laughing at the ridiculous aspect of the "shocking accident."

As Jerome grows up he finds that people can't help laughing when he tells them about his father's death. What makes it especially funny is that his father was a sort of neo-romantic would-be Byronic type of man. Jerome is often forced to tell about the incident because his father was a fairly well-known writer who had published many books and articles. Jerome tries to tell the story in such a way that it won't evoke irrepressible laughter, which pains him when it happens because he doesn't find it funny at all. 

The chief danger of laughter in such a story was always surprise.

So Jerome, as he grows older, tries to tell the story in such a way that the ridiculous aspect of a sensitive writer being killed by a falling pig will not come as a surprise. Here is a sample of his version of the shocking accident.

'You know Naples and those high tenement buildings?....You''d be surprised in the poorer quarters what things they keep on the balconies of those sky-scraping tenements--not washing, you know, or bedding, but things like livestock, chickens or even pigs. Of course the pigs get no exercise whatever and fatten all the quicker.' He could imagine how his hearer's eyes would have glazed by this time. 'I've no idea, have you, how heavy a pig can be, but these old buildings are all badly in need of repair. A balcony on the fifth floor gave way under one of those pigs. It struck the third floor balcony on its way down and sort of ricochetted into the street. My father was on the way to the Hydrographic Museum when the pig hit him. Coming from that height and that angle it broke his neck.' This was a masterly attempt to make an intrinsically interesting subject boring.

Finally Jerome falls in love with a girl because she apparently has no sense of humor at all and finds his story of his father's death tragic rather than absurd. 

'How horrible,' Sally said. 'It makes you think, doesn't it? Happening like that. Out of a clear sky.'

Jerome's heart sang with joy. It was as though she had appeased his fear for ever.

The reader's feelings throughout Graham Greene's tragic-comic tale are similar to those of most of the people who hear about the so-called "shocking accident." The reader can sympathize with poor Jerome, who not only loses his beloved father but is stuck with a ridiculous story of how it happened. At the same time, the reader cannot help laughing at the thought of an enormous pig falling five stories and landing on top of a travel writer who is out looking for local color. The most dramatic incident on his whole trip is getting killed by a falling pig--but he doesn't live to write about his misadventure.

"A Shocking Accident" might be seen as a sort of satire on travel writing in general. There is a strong tendency among writers of such escapist books to focus on the pleasant aspects of the places they visit and to ignore the ugly realities which are a part of life anywhere and everywhere in the world.

What were the only things in which Elie took interest in chapter 4 of "Night"?

The narrator tells us that he "took little interest in anything except my daily plate of soup and my crust of stale bread" (63).  This is consistent with Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which tells us that we are not able to care about anything unless our basic needs for food and shelter are taken care of.  The narrator has shelter, so he is reduced to his most basic need of food. He is no longer really a person at all, and describes himself as "a body," or perhaps "a starved stomach (63), meaning that he cannot care about anything except the food he needs to survive. 

What more is learned about Nick in Chapter 2? Is he similar to or different from the people he spends his time with?

Chapter 2 takes introduces us to Myrtle Wilson and shows us the affair between Myrtle and Tom Buchanan.  Myrtle is shown to be in a much lower social class than Tom.  More than once, Nick as narrator, mentions the tacky tabloid, "Town Tattle", that Myrtle buys.  Nick describes how Myrtle puts on airs once she gets to the apartment Tom has for them in the city - note the dress she puts on and her response to Tom's directive to get more ice: "I told that boy about the ice.  ...These people! You have to keep after them all the time."  He describes the guests that come to the apartment, especially the McKee's and Catherine, Myrtle's sister.  These people are shown to be similar to the people who come to Gatsby's parties - they are self-serving.  Mrs. McKee seems intent upon currying favor with Myrtle by complimenting her several times.  Mr. McKee focuses his attention on Tom, trying to get Tom to open social doors for him and his photography.  Catherine is clearly trying to flirt with Nick, probably hoping she can catch a sugar-daddy like Myrtle did.  Nick observes all of this through a drunken haze.  He tells us early in the chapter that this was only the second time in his life he'd been drunk and that as a consequence, his recollections have a "dim haze" cast over them.   What we learn about Nick in this chapter is, first of all, he is capable of objectivity. He has told us in the first chapter's opening paragraphs that he is one to reserve judgment, but he is actually rather judgmental in his descriptions of the Buchanans, Jordan, and the surroundings.  In the second chapter, he is more objective - describing events and people but letting us make more of the judgments.  In this way, he is different from the people he encounters in this chapter.  Those people have judged Tom as wealthy and capable of giving them something. 

Where is dramatic irony in The Odyssey and what does this show about Odysseus' character?

Much of the second half of Homer's The Odyssey is crafted to take advantage of a literary device called dramatic irony. 

Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something that one or more of the characters do not. It is a way for writers to create a certain kind of suspense on the part of the reader. However, this suspense technique requires more skill to achieve than the typical kind of “whodunit” suspense that we often encounter in stories.

Since the audience already knows the important information, the suspense comes from wondering how characters will react to the situation at hand. This is only effective if we are interested in the characters, and this requires good characterization on the part of the writer.

In The Odyssey, Homer creates dramatic irony in several places, especially late in the story when Odysseus has returned to Ithaca, disguised by Athena (also referred to as Minerva), as a poor beggar. This situation is ripe for some fine dramatic irony, because the reader already knows that the beggar is Odysseus, while most of the characters do not.

At one point, Odysseus is in his house as a beggar. No one except Telemachus knows his true identity. One of the maids, Melantho, who has proven to be unfaithful to Penelope in favor of the suitors, has the opportunity to treat Odysseus with kindness, but says this to him instead:

Stranger, do you mean to plague us by hanging about the house all night and spying upon the women? Be off, you wretch, outside, and eat your supper there, or you shall be driven out with a firebrand.

To hear Odysseus’ servant speak to him this way creates tension for the reader. What will happen to Melantho as a result of this behavior? How does this make Odysseus feel? Later, Melantho and several other unfaithful servants will be hanged as a result of their behavior.

Perhaps the most emotional dramatic irony comes when Odysseus (also called Ulysses in some translations) reveals himself to Telemachus as his father. In situations like this, dramatic irony has heightened impact, as the reader anticipates the climactic scene, which is delayed for a while. The reader has seen Telemachus interact with the disguised Odysseus for awhile. Naturally suspense has been building during this time, as the reader wonders when and how Odysseus will reveal himself, and how Telemachus will react. When Odysseus finally does reveal his true identity, Telemachus doesn’t believe him, and Odysseus responds with:

Telemachus, you ought not to be so immeasurably astonished at my being really here. There is no other Ulysses who will come hereafter. Such as I am, it is I, who after long wandering and much hardship have got home in the twentieth year to my own country. What you wonder at is the work of the redoubtable goddess Minerva, who does with me whatever she will, for she can do what she pleases. At one moment she makes me like a beggar, and the next I am a young man with good clothes on my back; it is an easy matter for the gods who live in heaven to make any man look either rich or poor.

Later, in another highly charged dramatically ironic scene, the disguised Odysseus will talk to Penelope, testing her loyalty and faithfulness.