Does the theme of violence help or hinder The Great Gatsby?

In answer to your question, first consider these observations. One of the primary themes in the novel is based on Fitzgerald's assessment of American society in the 1920s. He develops stark contrasts among the social classes in the East and between the values of Eastern society and those of the Midwest. Nick Carraway as narrator represents Fitzgerald's voice and views.

When he first arrives in New York and gets caught up in the Buchanans' lavish lifestyle and the trappings of Gatsby's enormous wealth, Nick is swept away with the glamour and the excess. By the time the novel ends, however, Nick has come to feel complete moral revulsion by what he has observed and experienced through his association with the Buchanans. He turns his back on life in the East and goes home to the Midwest. He seeks some kind of moral behavior in society. Through Nick, Fitzgerald's theme is realized: Beneath the staggering wealth, glittering beauty, and romantic glamour of American life in the Roaring Twenties lay a dark moral corruption and insidious social decay.

The presence of violence in the novel plays an essential role in the story and emphasizes this theme. As Wolfsheim's associate, Gatsby's wealth and all the beauty it could buy resulted from gangsterism and ugly violence. Tom Buchanan was viewed as a gentleman in society, one whose great wealth gave him polish and respectability. Beneath that thin veneer, however, Tom was cruel and violent, a man who would hit a woman in the face without hesitation. He also directed a distraught George Wilson to Gatsby's house, knowing full well the likely consequence. Gatsby's murder and George's suicide were acts of shocking violence that contrast with great irony the beautiful, lush surroundings in which they occur.

The violence in the novel does far more than help the story; the story is dependent upon it in developing character, plot, and theme. It emphasizes the corruption of the American Dream as Fitzgerald found it in the 1920s.

In "Hamlet," in addition to Hamlet's complete subconscious, why does he put up with the facade of being "mad"? What is he trying to keep hidden?

Hamlet's decision to act mad, or to put on an "antic disposition," is a conscious choice that he makes, right after the ghost of his father reveals who murdered him.  Claudius is capable of murder, and is obviously a very power-hungry guy, who was able to, at some level, woo his mother into a quick marriage also.  So, Claudius is a guy who gets what he wants, even if the cost is murder.  Hamlet is aware of this; he had his suspicions of his uncle even before his father confirmed them.  Hamlet, knowing of his uncle's devious, cunning and dangerous nature, doesn't want his uncle to suspect that Hamlet knows anything.  He goes so far as to make his buddies that have seen the ghost "swear" that they will never reveal what they have seen, so that even the tiniest whiff of what has been going on doesn't get out.

From this point on, Hamlet devises a plan.  He wants to investigate his father's murder, but without arousing any suspicions.  The castle is small though, and people are already watching him (he's been acting strange ever since his dad died, so people have their eye on him), so the only way to go about investigating without arousing suspicion is to pretend that he's mad.  That way, if he gets too close to the truth, Claudius might must dismiss it, saying, "Eh--that's just Hamlet being crazy again.  No need to be concerned."  Hamlet's plan works for a while, until Polonius is killed.  Then, the king's nervousness gets the most of him and he ships Hamlet off, with orders for his buddies to kill him.

So, whereas some of Hamlet's "madness" might be a reflection of some inner turmoil he is experiencing, it is also a purposeful ruse he is fronting in order to buy himself some time to investigate whether the ghost truly is truthful.  He is trying to hide the fact that he knows Claudius killed his father.  I hope that those thoughts help; good luck!

What is Hawthorne saying about the problem of sin and human responsibility in Chapter 20 of The Scarlet Letter?What is Hawthorne saying about the...

The major point that Hawthorne is making about the problem of sin and human responsibility in describing the change in Dimmesdale's behavior is that once an individual has given in to sin, he is open to a host of more temptations.  Hawthorne says,

"Tempted by a dream of happiness, he had yielded himself with deliberate choice, as he had never done before, to what he knew was deadly sin.  And the infectious poison of that sin had been thus rapidly diffused throughout his moral system".

Having decided to forsake his calling and flee with Hester to start a new life with her in England, where no one would know or condemn them, Dimmesdale is seized by a euphoria which is deceiving.  Although he has been "lent...unaccustomed physical energy", he is beset by temptation after temptation; "at every step he was incited to do some strange, wild, wicked thing or other, with a sense that it would be at once involuntary and intentional, in spite of himself".  It is only by relying on his "natural good taste, and...his buckramed habit of clerical decorum", that he prevents himself from succumbing to the inexplicable forces that seem to be leading him to do more wrong.  Hawthorne is saying that sin leads to more sin.  The sense of power and giddiness that comes with having chosen the path of sin is illusive and temporary, only "lent", and the spirit is left much weakened by the choice in the face of further temptation; the ability to act with moral responsibility is much compromised.

A second problem presented by sin is that it forces an individual to lie in order to conceal it, creating "earth's heaviest burden", that of guilt.  Concealed sin forces dishonesty, in Dimmesdale's case, creating "a subtle disease that had long since begun to eat into the real substance of his character".  Hawthorne states that

"No man for any considerable period can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true".

Dimmesdale is indeed increasingly more unable to distinguish what is "real" and what is "a dream", and Hawthorne points out as an example of his declining ability to think and act responsibly his pitiable behavior in hoping to leave a good impression on his congregation through his Election Sermon despite the fact that he has already consciously chosen to follow the way of sin (Chapter 20).

In Conrad's "The Lagoon," single out some of the lines that demonstrate the flowing, rhythmic quality of his prose.Joseph Conrad, a major English...

There are of course varying opinions of Conrad's prose style. Some critics would call it stagnant and cloying instead of flowing and rhythmic. However, a careful reading of "The Lagoon" can isolate what those who tend to the flowing and rhythmic opinion would point out as demonstrative of this stylistic quality.

Right at the beginning of the story, a descriptive passage setting forth the surroundings may be well categorized as flowing and rhythmic:

At the end of the straight avenue of forests cut by the intense glitter of the river, the sun appeared unclouded and dazzling, poised low over the water that shone smoothly like a band of metal. The forests, sombre and dull, stood motionless and silent on each side of the broad stream. At the foot of big, towering trees, trunkless nipa palms rose from the mud of the bank, in bunches of leaves enormous and heavy, that hung unstirring over the brown swirl of eddies.

These descriptive sentences rhythmically flow one into the other with ease. The first sentence addresses the "avenue of forests" providing an overview of the landscape, which is interrupted by the "glitter of the river." The second sentence establishes the mood of the landscape, a mood derived from specifics and particulars: "somber and dull ... motionless and silent." The third sentence narrows the focus of the rhythmic flow of prose to individual trees and leaves that draw the focus even tighter by showing the leaves as "unstirring over the brown swirl of eddies."

Incidentally, a section that might point out the opposing opinion of Conrad's prose occurs just prior to the one discussed above:

The white man, leaning with both arms over the roof of the little house in the stern of the boat, said to the steersman ...  The Malay only grunted, and went on looking fixedly at the river. The white man rested his chin on his crossed arms and gazed at the wake of the boat.

Mention the objectives of the Berlin conference.berling conference it was convened by the german leader, chanceller OTTO VON Bismark.

The Berlin Conference began on November 15, 1884 and ran until the following February, and essentially divided Africa into spheres of influence among major nations. Competition over the colonization of Africa was intense, and German Chancellor Bismark engineered the meeting to cut back on the conflicts among modern powers over exploitation of the continent.  Fourteen nations were represented; Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, Great Britain, France, Portugal, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the US, Russia, Spain, Turkey and Sweden-Norway (united at the time).  No Africans were invited or represented in any way.

About 80% of the continent was then still under local control, although the slaving expeditions of Arabs were in the process of almost denuding large areas of East and Central Africa of population.  The map of Africa was divided up by the conference with no regard to the approximately 1,000 indigenous cultures.  The boundaries of modern African states are largely the same as the colonial demarcations of the conference.  Basically the French ended up dominating West Africa, the British Southern and Eastern Africa.  The Germans held four colonies geographically spread out, Portugal two in the south and one in the west, while Belgium owned the huge swath in the middle of the continent called the Belgian Congo, today both the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (yesterday's Zaire).

There was good which came from the conference, largely the effort to curtail the slave trade and the opening up to the modern world of the vast interior of Africa.  The exploitation of Africa brought investment in infrastructure, the building of towns and cities, etc.  Unfortunately, the European powers ran their colonies in a variety of ways, from the British allowing local governments to largely continue to the outright ownership of the Congo and its people by King Leopold II of Belgium.  Some colonies were run fairly benignly, others more brutally.  The Europeans in general were ignorant of the cultures and aspirations of native peoples, and remained that way for the most part.  Colonial exploitation has had its drawbacks throughout history, and this probably has been demonstrated more in Africa than anywhere else.  Even in those colonies run in more paternalist manners, the local population was never invited to share power in ways which could have taught them modern self-government, an ommision made all too clear by many African governments following decolonisation post World War II.

The worst effect was the boundary lines.  Drawn to establish borders for the interests of mining and other industries,they had (and have today) no relationship to tribal boundaries, culture or language, and this has left a legacy of internal conflict in African nations to this day.

How does Raymond in "Raymond's Run" influence Squeaky's world?

Squeaky's world revolves around her brother in a big way. Because Raymond is mentally disabled, Squeaky takes on the role of being his protector. Although Raymond is her older brother, Squeaky takes special care to keep her brother safe. She shields him socially and environmentally. When the other children in the neighborhood try to make fun of Raymond, Squeaky often comes to his rescue.

While training for her races, Squeaky is careful to run a certain path in the neighborhood so that her brother doesn't get lost or wander into the street. These are not things that a typical tweenager would consider. While many girls her age are into music and fashion, Squeaky's main concern is the safety and livelihood of her disabled brother.

What are the themes in Alice Walker's "To Hell with Dying"?

The themes in this short story are to do with the coming of age of the narrator, who, by the end of the story learns some very important lessons about life and death. The basic premise of the story concerns the ability of the children to always bring Mr. Sweet back to life indefinitely. It is only when the narrator is 24 and studying her doctorate that she learns death cannot be so easily cheated, as she is called back to Mr. Sweet's deathbed once more but is unable to revive him. Note how Mr. Sweet is described in this final visit before he dies:

[Mr. Sweet] was like a piece of rare and delicate china which was always being saved from breaking and which finally fell.

The simile is important because it shows the recognition of the narrator that the "delicate china" was always going to break eventually, and that nothing could put off the inevitable indefinitely. The narrator thus moves from innocence to experience as she realises the inevitability of death and how even love is unable to conquer death ultimately. The narrator also has something of an epiphany as she dies as she realises that Mr. Sweet was her first love because it was he that made her feel so special and so important. The twin themes of love and death are therefore predominant in this excellent short story.

Where and when does "Tears of a Tiger" take place?specific place

The novel specifically takes place at Hazelwood High School. The school's mascot is a tiger; so the author, Sharon Draper, uses that word in the title for a double meaning.  A Hazelwood Tiger, Andy Jackson, mourns his actions that resulted in his friend's death; Andy is also a tiger in another sense because of the Alpha male characteristics he possesses.

The novel follows the course of most of a school year.  The first "article" is from November, and the last is from mid-May.

Draper is careful to exclude specific mentions of a state or year.  Instead, she makes the novel universal; so that teens from various states and generations can identify with the angst and real-world situations that the characters face.

"What should our second generation do with the knowledge of the horrors of extermination of the Jews?" Explain meaning and discuss how to...

The quotation above is asking how individuals can walk the tightrope between evaluating the crimes of history while actively participating in ensuring that it does not happen again.  One of the major themes of The Reader is how to reconcile modern notions of progress and understanding with a past that is replete with some of the worst crimes committed on record.  The challenge related in the quote is the idea of how does one "properly" go about in addressing such a past?  On one hand, modern individuals cannot say that they understand what happened in the Holocaust, because the events were so unimaginably horrific that to say one "understands" actually trivalizes it.  At the same time, it demeans the experience of the Holocaust and narratives that emerge from it if an individual decides to categorize and use scientific inquiry to address it.  Additionally, taking such an approach reduces the complexity of such an experience to a common denominator, and actually contributes to the behaviors and normative decisions that set the stage for the Holocaust to actually happen.  The closing question of "falling silent," might be the only option, but in embracing that, one capitulates to the same attitudes that caused the death of millions during the Holocaust for it was the overwhelming silence of so many that acted as a "nod to the aggressors" as Wiesel puts it.  Through Hanna's character, we begin to see a representation of Arendt's "Banality of Evil."  This is a premise that suggests that a full understanding of the atrocities committed during the Holocaust lies in comprehending that many of the individuals who were footsoldiers in the march towards human atrocity were "folllowing orders." They were not the Hitler's or the Goebbels' who possessed power, as much as they were the small beings who were as powerless as anyone could be in such an apparatus.  When we, in the modern setting, lay judgment on them, is it fair to them to apply modern conditions of justice and understanding to individuals who really had little experience in either?  Few would reasonably argue that leaders like Hitler and Himmler deserve scorn for their actions, and if there were any legal or moral body that could render judgment, the harshest of penalties should be submitted.  Yet, can the same type of punitive measure be enacted on individuals who lacked their power, who lacked their evil intent?  Hanna was an illiterate who only took the Nazi promotion to hide her illiteracy, which she thought of as a socially judged shame.  Essentially, if one punishes her, it would be for being illiterate.  In my mind, the quote is asking how one evaluates such a case.  There might be another level to this.  If there is any hope to the narrative provided in The Reader, it might lie in the idea that individuals have to act on their freedom regardless of condition.  Even if the act of freedom scars themselves, the idea of speaking and acting on what one knows to be right in their heart is critical. Individuals cannot retreat into deniability for very long.  At some point, there has to be a reckoning of what they know is right.  Hanna is embarassed about her illiteracy, and what was undertaken in prison in terms of understanding and rectifying it, was something that needed to be done prior.  In doing so, the promotion to the SS Guard could have been avoided.

In "Shoeless Joe", what is the difference between dreams and reality in Dr. Graham's life?

Dr. Graham's life represents how some dreams do not materialize and yet remain a distinct part of who we are.  By all accounts, Doc Graham is loved in his community as the town doctor who was able to help all and represent a source of happiness.  Certainly, we do not get the impression that Doc Graham is unhappy, for he has carved out a niche in life that benefits him and others around him.  However, Doc Graham still has a part in him that yearns for a dream that was never to be accomplished.  This represents a few elements.  The first is that some dreams are never meant and will never be fully realized.  Such an idea is not meant to hinder our growth, for as evidenced in the novel, individuals, like Doc Graham, should make peace with this.  Doc Graham never loses sight of his dream, "the one that got away," but he is neither vengeful nor angry.  This strikes Ray as odd, at first, since having come so close and not realize his dreams is something that Ray sees as intensely painful.  However, through Doc, Ray understands this condition and how it is a part of the human predicament.  Essentially, the author, through Doc, is saying that some dreams are meant to remain as that only: Dreams.

However, the choice of baseball as the setting of these unrealized dreams is also significant.  For every Shoeless Joe or Willie Mays, Babe Ruth or Hank Aaron who have been able to fulfill their childhood dream of playing the game at the highest of levels, there are millions of people who shared such dreams that were never to be realized.  They number of people who are like Doc Graham, ball players who wanted so badly to "stare a pitcher down" or "feel the cut of the outfield grass," yet never had the chance to do so.  These individuals far outnumber the amount of those who accomplished their dreams.  In presenting Doc Graham to us as an elderly man, the author might be making a statement on baseball, in general.  The idea of baseball dreams and denied baseball dreams might be able to forge a connection, a tapestry that links old generations to new generations.  When Ray sits and talks with Graham, it is magical because 1)  They are of two generations and 2) One of them is dead.  The "magic" in this scene is that they both connect, despite the elements of time and space that deny such links.  Baseball, the discussion of its dreams and denied hopes, connects old and young, people from Doc Graham's generation to Ray's.  Baseball, in the ability to inspire dreams and in its ability to have those dreams unrealized, represents a way to connect people from different narratives and experiences.

What does Holden mean when he says, "Mothers are all slightly insane"?

As the main character in J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield is in an emotional and psychological downward spiral throughout the book. As we listen to his first-person narration we begin to realize that we cannot take everything he says at face value.

Holden makes quite a few value judgments over the course of the story. Sometimes these judgments are valid critiques of life from an adolescent point of view. Sometimes, however, the judgments have an ironic meaning—Holden doesn’t realize that he is revealing his own character weakness.

In chapter 8 (page 55 in my edition) Holden is riding the train home. When an attractive older woman sits next to him, he learns that she is the mother of a Pencey student named Ernest Morrow that he does not like. When he says “Mothers are all slightly insane,” he is commenting on a mother’s tendency to see the best, and ignore the worst, in their own children.

Previous to this statement, Ernest’s mother reveals that she is concerned about Ernest because he is too “sensitive” to “mix” well with others. This draws a critical comment from Holden (keep in mind that he says this to the reader, but not to the mother):

Sensitive. That killed me. That guy Morrow was about as sensitive as a toilet seat.

The truth about Holden is that he is actually the one who is slightly insane. He is suffering psychologically and will soon reach a breaking point. Late in the story he reveals that he has been in treatment, and, although he does not give details, we know he was struggling emotionally. Throughout the novel he has criticized those around him, and the revelation that he has had a breakdown of some sort brings into question all of his judgments about others.

How do Gonzalo,Antonio and Sebastian behave during the storm?

In Act I Sc.1 we witness a ship caught in the storm and breaking into pieces. The lines spoken by these characters in this life threatening situation just before their ship sinks reveals their true nature and personalities. What these three people have in common is that just like any other ordinary human being they are frightened of death, more so when they have to face it by drowning in the high seas.

Gonzalo is the old councillor who sympathises with Prospero the rightful Duke of Milan.  What is striking about him is that he is very superstitious. In Shakespeare's time it was believed that the complexion of a person would reveal how that particular person would meet his end. Gonzalo looks at the face of the boatswain and intuits that his complexion reveals that he will be hanged at the gallows:

"methinks he
hath no drowning mark upon him; his complexion isperfect gallows. Stand fast, good Fate, to his
hanging: make the rope of his destiny our cable,
for our own doth little advantage. If he be not
born to be hanged, our case is miserable."

Gonzalo hopes against hope that this superstition would be true because only then all of them would be able to reach shore safely. This is also a good example of what is known as 'black humour,' because Gonzalo wants the boatswain to die by hanging so that he could escape death by drowning. Gonzalo is an old and mature person who is able to keep his equanimity by joking even in a life threatening situation. This is revealed when he describes the ship as,

"no stronger than a nutshell and as leaky as an
unstanched wench."

Gonzalo gives vent to his nervous anxiety by his use of the racy metaphor, "unstanched wench" which means a woman who is bleeding heavily during her monthly periods. Finally he goes down to pray along with the King and the Prince, revealing to us that he is also a christian believer.

On the contrary Antonio who is Prospero's brother and who has usurped his rightful position, and Sebastianwho is Alonso's brother-Alonso being the king of Naples who conspired with Antonio to usurp Prospero's kingdom-are frightened out of their wits. Even in such a critical situation the villains arrogantly order the boatswain and disturb him in his task of saving the ship. The captain of the ship has given his orders to the boatswain and he has rushed off to another area of the ship to salvage the situation, but Antonio and Sebastian mistakenly believe that the captain is shirking his duty and angrily demand that they speak to the captain.

Whereas Gonzalo's diction was colourful and racy, Antonio's is downright rude, insulting and abusive: "Hang, cur! hang, you whoreson, insolent noisemaker!" Sebastian is no different when he abuses the industrious boatswain in the following manner: "A pox o' your throat, you bawling, blasphemous,
incharitable dog!"

Give me a brief analysis of the characters in "Paul's Case."Include quotes, too.

The protagonist in this story is Paul himself.  He is a young man living in Pittsburgh and attending Pittsburgh High School at the beginning.  Paul is a dreamer, and so lost in the glamour and glory of a rich life that he does not see the world with any sense of reality.  His obsession with glamour leads him to be very involved with the theater and the opera, loving the sounds and costumes and backstage excitement.  He finds school to be a drudgery, and eventually gets kicked out for failing to keep up his grades.  Because he is so focused on his fantasy world, Paul does not behave in ways acceptable to society - he lies often, appears insolent to authority, and eventually resorts to stealing.  Here is a quote:

This was a lie, but Paul was quite accustomed to lying; found it, indeed, indispensable for overcoming friction. ...Disorder and impertinence were among the offences named, yet each of his instructors felt that it was scarcely possible to put into words the real cause of the trouble, which lay in a sort of hysterically defiant manner of the boy's; in the contempt which they all knew he felt for them, and which he seemingly made not the least effort to conceal.

It is when reality finally comes crashing through his defenses that Paul despairs and commits suicide:

There came upon him one of those fateful attacks of clear-headedness that never occurred except when he was physically exhausted and his nerves hung loose. ...He saw everything clearly now. He had a feeling that he had made the best of it, that he had lived the sort of life he was meant to live....

Paul's father is his anti-thesis.  His father is a hard-working man who clung to the rules of society.  He saved his money in hopes of moving up in society, and pays off the money Paul steals in order to avoid the public disgrace.  His father's hero is a young man of 26, who married early and went to work early and was working his way up in a steel corporation.  Living the "American Dream", in other words:

...his father, on principle, did not like to hear requests for money, whether much or little. ...He was not a poor man, but he had a worthy ambition to come up in the world.

Other characters who are mentioned include Charley Edwards, an actor who encourages Paul in his interest in the theater.  The other one is Paul's drawing teacher, who has more hope for him than the other teachers, and is more frightened for him as well:

"I don't really believe that smile of his comes altogether from insolence; there's something sort of haunted about it. The boy is not strong, for one thing. There is something wrong about the fellow."

The drawing master had come to realize that, in looking at Paul, one saw only his white teeth and the forced animation of his eyes. One warm afternoon the boy had gone to sleep at his drawing-board, and his master had noted with amazement what a white, blue-veined face it was; drawn and wrinkled like an old man's about the eyes, the lips twitching even in his sleep.

What was the nature of the twentieth-century Women's Rights Movement in the United States?

The first thing to remember about the twentieth-century Women's Rights Movement is that it encompassed a variety of social concerns.  The sheer breadth of the movement contributed to the delay in its progress.

In the early twentieth century, the enfranchisement of women (suffrage) occupied much of the effort of those in the Women's Rights Movement.  From the right to vote would come progress in other social concerns.  Though the first convention in the Women's Rights Movement occurred in 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York, it would not be until 1920 that the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment would officially grant women the right to vote.

While obtaining the right to vote certainly advanced the Women's Rights Movement, it also hindered it to a degree.  Suffragettes had devoted all of their time and energy to winning the right to vote, but once obtained, it was not clear where their efforts should then be focused.

In the years between the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment and the rise of Civil Rights in the 1950s and 1960s, the Women's Rights Movement pushed along steadily, making great strides in asserting the rights of women to their bodies.  Two of the most important advances made in the years after 1920 was the Food and Drug Adminstration's approval of the birth control pill in 1960 and the foundation of Planned Parenthood in 1942, though a number of other important contributions to the Women's Rights Movement were made in the 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s.

In the 1960s, the Women's Rights Movement saw a resurgence in its determination for social change.  In the 1960s, members of the movement, as well as writers such as Betty Friedan (in The Feminine Mystique) expressed greater and greater discontent with the status quo.  The Women's Rights Movement pushed for equal pay and equal access in the job market (in opposition to the glass ceiling idea) culminated in Roe v. Wade (1973), which decided that women have the ultimate say over what happens in their bodies.

In the overall scheme, the legislation that has been passed due to the actions of the Women's Rights Movement in the twentieth century indicates the gradual achievement of equality in a number of social aspects - at least on paper.  Beyond the legislation, the Women's Rights Movement also demonstrates a growth in the assertiveness of women in the social realm.  In many ways, it has realized a great deal of what nineteenth-century members of the movement had sought to achieve.

In Catcher in the Rye, why does Holden think it spoils a conversation if someone asks what religion he is?

Holden is obsessed with the idea of authenticity, and he seems to feel that when people find out what religion a person belongs to, it makes them look at that person in a certain way.  After that, they are no longer able to see and appreciate the person for whom they really are.  In his own experience, Holden says that people are always trying to find out if he is Catholic, because his "last name is Irish, and most people of Irish descent are Catholics".  He cites the example of a time when he met a Catholic boy, Louis Shaney, at the Wooton School, with whom he

"struck up this conversation about tennis.  (Louis) was quite interested in tennis, and so was I.  He told me he went to the Nationals at Forest Hills every summer, and I told him I did too, and then we talked about certain hot-shot tennis players for quite a while.  He knew quite a lot about tennis, for a kid his age.  He really did.  Than, after a while, right in the middle of the goddam conversation, he asked me, 'Did you happen to notice where the Catholic church is in town, by any chance?'  The thing was, you could tell by the way he asked me that he was trying to find out if I was a Catholic...He was enjoying the conversation about tennis and all, but you could tell he would've enjoyed it more if I was a Catholic and all..."

Holden feels that once people have classified you as being of a certain religion, it changes the way they relate to you; their ability to see you as you really are is clouded by the attributes they begin to ascribe to you because of the group with which you are affiliated.  Holden actually says that "that kind of stuff" doesn't exactly "spoil" a conversation, but it makes it different.  He says that it "(doesn't ruin a) conversation or anything...but it sure as hell (doesn't) do it any good" (Chapter 15).

In Act Four of "The Crucible" why does Hale say, "There is blood on my hands!"?

In act four, we see that Hale has experienced a change of heart.  In the first three acts, he was a part of the sentencing of many women, and a part of a lot of the questioning, condemning, and accusations that were a part of the witch trials.  But in act three, as John, Giles and Franics attempt over and over to prove the accusations false, and to valiantly save their wives and friends, Hale is touched.  He is especially moved by John's willingness to besmirch his reputation (regarding adultery) in order to prove Abigail Williams a cold-hearted girl seeking revenge.  After John confesses, and Elizabeth lies about the affair, Hale finally jumps in and states,

"I may shut my conscience to it no more-private vengeance is working through this testimony!  From the beginning this man has struck me true...I believe him!"

Later, he even goes as far as to declare, leaving, "I quit this court!"  He is so disgusted with the fact that the judges believe Abby's antics that he leaves, frustrated.

In the interim between acts three and four, we are led to believe that Hale has been approaching each of the condemned prisoners and begging them to confess, so that they won't be hanged.  He doesn't like this task; in fact, he calls it "the Devils work" because he "comes to counsel Christians they should belie themselves", meaning, lie about being a witch, in order to save their life.  But, he feels guilty that he condemned so many people to hang, so he is trying to save as many lives as he possibly can.  He feels personally responsible for their deaths.  So, when he says, "There is blood on my head," he is referring to the fact that it was he himself who signed their death warrants, and so their blood, or lives, is his personal responsibility.  He bears the blame, weight, or fault, of these people dying innocently, on his shoulders.  Saying that there is blood on his head is just another way of him saying that he feels guilty for the death of these people.  I hope that explanation helps a bit; good luck!

In "The Story of An Hour," who or what is the antagonist and what is the story's central conflict?

In The Story of an Hour, the antagonist would be Mr. Brentley Mallard, Mrs. Mallard's husband.  The central conflict revolves around Mrs. Mallard being informed that her husband has been killed in a train accident.

After learning of this news, Louise Mallard goes upstairs into her room and sits in a chair facing a window and begins to imagine the life she will have as a widow.  Up until that moment, she never imagined that she would ever have any individual freedom in her life, since, in this period in history, women were considered the property of their husbands and could not go out without them.

"Chopin deals with the issues of female self-discovery and identity in "The Story of an Hour." After Mrs. Mallard learns of her husband's death, she is initially overcome with grief. But quickly she begins to feel a previously unknown sense of freedom and relief."

Mrs. Mallard has lived a life that has largely been controlled by Mr. Mallard's wishes and choices.  She has loved her husband, she tells the reader, most of the time, but she has not loved the confining feeling that marriage has given her. She longs to make her own decisions, choices, to explore her own interests, just the thought of having the ability to make such choices makes her feel joyful.

"Louise is ecstatic when she realizes that ''there would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature." 

Her joy, however, is short-lived, when at the end of the story she gets a great shock, a surprise that causes her to die on the spot, her husband walks in the front door, very much alive.  All the free days she imagined she would have, sitting upstairs in her chair, thinking of herself as a widow, free from the demands of marriage, are gone in an instant.  In that same instant, Louise Mallard's weak heart gives out and she dies. 

She dies a happy death, having had the opportunity to explore, even if it is only in her mind, what life would be like freed from the constraints of marriage and the control of her husband.  

"Chopin seems to be making a comment on nineteenth-century marriages, which granted one person—the man—right to own and dominate another—the woman. This theme, unpopular in an era when women were not even allowed to vote, is examined in many of Chopin's other works, most notably The Awakening."

Share your impressions on whether Teofilo has a "good" funeral in "The Man to Send Rainclouds"?

In "The Man to Send Rainclouds," Teofilo, the local shepherd who peacefully died while tending his sheep, had a good funeral in terms of the religion of Pueblo tradition, which suggests the conflict of the story. Teofilo's friends are secretive about his funeral preparations because they wish to forestall any interference from Father Paul who would wish to give Teofilo a white culture Catholic burial.

Teofilo had his face painted and was wrapped up in a red blanket according to Pueblo tradition. He has a good Pueblo funeral, but that's not all. Louise, Leon's wife, convinces the others that it would add to Teofilo's comfort and to the success of his future after-death role as a sender of rainclouds to have Father Paul sprinkle Catholic holy water on Teofilo at the burial: if Teofilo's thirst is quenched, he will do a better job with the rainclouds.

Things occur at the funeral when a confused Catholic Father Paul sprinkles holy water on Teofilo and on the grave site. The Pueblo people interpret these occurrences as signs of a successful offering to Teofilo's soul after death. Father Paul is only confused and worried, but nonetheless has added significantly to Teofilo's funeral, which makes it a doubly good funeral.

What pieces of the story were tied up at the end, and what issues remained unresolved in View from Saturday?

From what I can see, the author did an excellent job resolving the myriad different threads in the story, especially those involving the central characters.  Noah, who is forced to spend the summer at Century Village, realizes that he has learned a lot from the experience and has come to appreciate the people there.  Nadia has come to terms with her parents' divorce, and Ethan has learned to come out of his shell, having found the courage to do so at Sillington House.  Julian has carved a niche for himself with his new classmates on the academic team, and Mrs. Olinski has evolved into a confident and effective teacher.  Hamilton Knapp is exposed as the mean, conniving student that he is, and receives his comeuppance, having lost the adulation of his peers.

The threads about Epiphany's sixth grade academic team, the Souls, are neatly tied up by the author as well.  Mrs. Olinski chooses her team and chooses wisely; the team is exceptionally cohesive and goes on to achieve the unprecedented feat of winning the Academic Bowl, after having competed with a series of teams which are much older than they are.  And, in the final line of the book, the only remaining question regarding the team is resolved.  Mrs. Olinski has, throughout the narrative, wondered how exactly she did choose her team.  At the end of the story, she at long last comes to the realization that, while she did choose her team, they chose her as well.

The only thread I can think of that might have been left unresolved in the book is a minor one, concerning a minor character, Dr. Rohmer, the District Superintendent for Clarion County.  Dr. Rohmer is a pompous, self-serving man, and his stubborn insistence on controlling what is said at the press interview concerning the Souls backfires on him, making him look very foolish in the public eye.  When we last see Dr. Rohmer, he has grown "as pale as the paper of his unsigned contract".  It is clear that his job may be in jeopardy, but I don't think we ever know for sure if his contract is extended or not (Chapter 9).

Why is the role of Mistress Hibbins critical to the overall plot of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter?

The Scarlett Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is set in Puritan New England; it is a time of great suspicion and therefore also of great accusation. Sin is condemned in the strongest terms, both from the pulpit and from the Puritans themselves. They are even quicker to pass judgment and condemn others when they are trying to deflect people from seeing their own sins. It is against this backdrop that Hawthorne places Hester Prynne, her former husband, her secret lover, and her daughter.

One of the peripheral characters in this novel is Mistress Hibbins, the governor's sister who is later killed for being a witch. (Hibbins is based on a real woman in Puritan history who was, in fact, condemned and killed for practicing witchery.) She does not appear often in the novel, but when she does she seems to recognize the "hidden sins" of both Hester and Dimmesdale, and several times she invites Hester to join her in the forest (a symbolic place of darkness, evil, and sin). 

“Wilt thou go with us tonight? There will be a merry company in the forest; and I well-nigh promised the Black Man that comely Hester Prynne should make one.”

Though she does not play a major role in The Scarlet Letter, Mistress Hibbins is a grim reminder that Puritans do not tolerate overt sins, such as the practice of witchcraft and adultery (though it certainly allows hypocrisy and judgmentalism in seemingly pious people to continue unchecked). Hester tells Pearl she has been visited by the "Black Man" only once, and the letter that she wears is her mark; this connects Hester to the only other woman in the novel who claims to have dealings with the "Black Man" (Satan).

Each time Hester is at a crossroads, she meets Mistress Hibbins, such as at the Governor's mansion and the scaffold. Mistress Hibbins is both a reminder of Hester's sin and her choice of how to deal with that sin. These are two constant thematic and plot elements in the story, which make Mistress Hibbins essential to the novel. 

In The Great Gatsby, how is the valley of ashes described?

What Fitzgerald calls "the valley of ashes" is located midway between West Egg and New York. It is the dumping ground for the trains that bring furnace ashes out of the city. A "small foul river" borders one side of the site. This is a place of gray, powdery dust that fills the air and blots out the sun. Fitzgerald describes it as "a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens," referring to the mountains of ash that have collected here after being dumped. He also describes the men who shovel the ashes out of the railroad cars:

Occasionally a line of grey [railroad] cars crawls along an invisible track, gives out a ghastly creak and comes to rest, and immediately the ash-grey men swarm up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud which screens their obscure operations from your sight.

This place of industrial dust and grime stands in sharp contrast to the bright beauty of the homes in West Egg, and by inference, in East Egg. George Wilson's gas station is located here, as well as the decaying billboard with the eyes of T.J. Eckleburg watching over all.

What does Death of a Salesman say about free enterprise and competition, especially in terms of profit-making?

The message in the play is developed through the lives of numerous characters. Some (like Howard and Charley) succeed financially, while others fail. Willy enjoyed success as a salesman so long as he had the physical stamina to compete in the marketplace. When he grows old and tires, he finds that he no longer has a place in the economic system. When he can no longer stand up to the competition, after thirty-four years, Howard fires him. Losing his job finally pushes Willy over the edge, psychologically, because he always defined himself in terms of how much money he could make. It was his only yardstick in determining a man's personal worth. 

Biff and Happy grew up accepting their father's principles, but they did not inherit his work ethic. As a result, neither works while chasing "success," and neither achieves anything of value. Bernard, however, works hard, gets an education, and becomes a successful lawyer, arguing a case before the Supreme Court. Unlike Biff and Happy, Bernard did not cut corners in the pursuit of success. He desired more than turning a quick profit.

In chapter 8, what does Pip conclude about why Miss Havisham and the room look as they do?"Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens

After coming into the dressing-room of Miss Havisham, Pip is halted by the appearance of "the strangest lady [he has] ever seen or shall ever see."  He notices that "everything within [his] view which ought to be white had lost its luster, and was faded and yellow." And, as he looks around him, Pip notices that Miss Havisham's watch has stopped at twenty minutes to nine; in fact a clock in the room was also stopped at this same time. 

It is then that Pip comprehends that everything has stopped at this time.  Miss Havisham has one shoe off and there is a jewel resting upon her dressing-table.  She remains in a wedding dress that has yellowed now.  Pip remarks,

Without this arrest of everything, this standing still of all the pale decayed objects, not even the withered bridal dress on the collapsed form could have looked so like graveclothes, or the long veil so like a shroud.

It is this absolute arrest of time that causes Pip to conclude that Miss Havisham appears dead, and the room seems lifeless, as well.  He observes Miss Havisham as she sits "corpse-like" and like "earthy paper.  Later, in recalling her Pip likens her in his memory to the discoveries of ancient bodies that when light hits them, crumble to dust.  Indeed, Pip senses the "melancholy" of this setting. 

It is not until later that Pip realizes why Miss Havisham has stopped time at the point at which her heart has been broken, the point at which she stopped living as a passionate, alive young woman.

In the book For One More Day by Mitch Albom, what is the theme and what are some hardships the main character goes through?

The main theme of For One More Day is forgiveness, of others and of one's self.  The main character, Chick Benetto, is so tormented by guilt and self-loathing at the beginning of the story that he tries to end his life.  From the time he was a child his loyalties have been divided between his absent father and the mother who has been a constant in his life, and the choices he has made have left him essentially hating himself.  Through the unexplainable experience of spending just one more day with his dead mother, Chick learns to forgive, and is able to find reconciliation and make restitution during the years he has left.

A second central theme in the book is the love of a mother for her children.  It is only after her death that Chick truly understands and appreciates the hardships his mother endured, and the strength and courage she showed time after time as she struggled to take care of her children's needs and to protect them from the harsh realities of life.

The most difficult hardships that Chick has to endure in his lifetime stem from the behavior of his father and his father's demands for the loyalty of his son.  In choosing his father, Chick must deny his mother, and he finds himself lying to her and treating her with disrespect time and time again.  Chick's father's dream for him is to be a successful major league baseball player, and when things do not work out this way, Chick must deal not only with his own disappointment but also with his father's pressure to continue in the quest, even though Chick knows it is not to be.

Chick's reslting frustrations and self-hatred manifest themselves in adulthood in erratic behavior fueled by alcoholism.  Chick's instability eventually causes his marriage to break up and leads to his daughter being ashamed of him and not wanting him around, even at her own wedding.  Chick's ill-advised responses to the challenges in his life create a self-perpetuating cycle of rejection of and by the ones he loves most.

What is the significance of the line " 'Et tu, Brute?' then fall Caesar" said by Caesar at the sight of Brutus stabbing him?

Caesar's last words have significance in a couple of different ways.

1.  Caesar is not surprised by Cassius's part in his assassination.  Cassius had sided with Caesar's enemy Pompey and held a grudge against Caesar when Caesar gained the ultimate victory over Pompey.  Caesar's line in Act 1 about Cassius having a "lean and hungry" look demonstrates his suspicion of the ringleader early on.  Some of the other conspirators such as Metellus Cimber dislike Caesar because of his treatment of their friends and family.  In contrast, Brutus was a respected Senator whose family had a long line of political involvement, and many historians believe that Caesar respected and appreciated Brutus.  He saw him as a friend, and Brutus's difficulty in deciding whether to join the conspiracy illustrates his overall positive feelings toward Caesar.  Thus, Caesar is surprised and devastated that someone such as Brutus has taken part in his downfall.

2.  Some historians recorded that Caesar had had a relationship with Brutus's mother.  Of course, that evokes many "yo mama" jokes, but undeniably, Caesar's alleged affair would have affected Brutus in ancient times just as it would affect a son today. No one wants to see his mother disparaged or the subject of gossip.  Some rumors even circulated that Brutus was Caesar's illegitimate son and that that is why Brutus stabs Caesar in the groin.  Of course, that is just speculation, but it makes for an interesting connection to Caesar's last words.

How did humans come into the world?just wanted to know how we came into the world.

Any of the proponents of the dozen or so major modern theories of Evolution, such as Synthetic theory or the Punctuated Equilibrium theory, a traditional Sioux medicine man or woman, a rabbi, a Brahmin and an Ashanti witch doctor would all give different answers to your question.  Although evolutionary theory is believed by a great many people it is far from the only current theory, and there are many variations of evolutionary theory, some quite antagonistic to one another.

Traditional Hindus still believe in their version, traditional Christians may believe the Biblical account or evolution or some combination of the two, etc.  Some Native Americans still believe their ethnic stories, some don't, and the same is true of peoples all over the world.  These ideas, a variety of evolutionary approaches, Intelligent Design, "Creation Science," etc., are all believed by great numbers of people.  The structural problem is that no one alive during historic times, which is to say since humans began keeping written records, was alive at the time, so we really just don't know for sure.

The links below lead to a site on Synthetic Theory of Evolution (with links to the history of evolutionary theories) and to a site on three major current world views on this question, including evolution, the Bible account and a synthesis of the two.  Another link will lead to a site where you can find information about more information on different views of this issue, by various religious, ethnic and scientific sources.

Many people who have a specific belief on this question will claim that everyone who disagrees with them is wrong, as well as stupid, ignorant or headed for Hell.  Just remember, none of them really knows positively.  Do your own research, use your own brain, draw your own conclusions, and you will probably be as "right" as anyone else.

Change into passive voice, "I went to school".

Here you just can't do it!  Not all verbs are transitive (passing the action onto someone or something), and only those sentences with transitive verbs can be transformed into the passive voice.

Examples:

transitive: The truck killed the little boy.

The little boy was killed by the truck.

intransitive: The boy died because of the truck.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      The boy was died by the truck. XXX (incorrect!)

In both examples the agent (the person or thing doing the action) is the truck. The truck can indeed perform the action of the first verb (kill) but not the second (die). Therefore, a passive voice transformation here is impossible.

In the same respect, 'go' as a verb is intransitive. The subject can indeed perform the action, but this action cannot be received by anyone or anything. Exception: Phrasals with 'go,' but here the verb takes on another meaning altogether; by definition and function it is another verb.

In a correct active-passive transformation, the direct object of verb in the active form becomes the subject of the passive sentence and the old subject in the active form becomes the object of the preposition 'by' (or eventually another preposition) in the passive voice form.

Extra note:

• In simple tenses only (simple present, simple past), the verb is constructed by putting to be in the same tense as the main verb in the original sentence followed up by the past participle form of that same verb.

What is an example of dualism in Fahrenheit 451?

Dualism generally refers to something that has two distinct parts, often in opposition to each other, sometimes with related aspects. The classic storytelling convention of tragedy/comedy is dualistic in nature, contrasting humor with pathos. In Fahrenheit 451, the most obvious example of dualism is between Montag's wife Mildred, who is a pure and complete product of the modern society, and his neighbor Clarissa, who wants to move beyond the restrictions of society and live for herself.

Mildred is entirely obsessed with her status and her television programming, being almost hypnotized by the enormous screens that cover her parlor walls; she dismisses Montag's attempts to probe past accepted norms.

Clarissa shows an interest in Montag's growing unease, and speaks of individualism and her own ambitions, which stretch beyond society's expectations. Her simple nature and obvious questions give Montag the ability to look past societal rules.

Both women have major effects on Montag, but in different ways. Mildred shows Montag the benefits of remaining in society, where he will be unhappy but safe, while Clarissa shows Montag the benefits of fighting oppression, which endangers his life but allows him to expand his mind.

What is the setting for Chapter III of The Great Gatsby? The first three chapters span what time period?

Nick tells us in the beginning of the novel that he went east in the spring of 1922. It took him awhile to find a place to live, get settled in West Egg, and to find his way around. Nick notes that when he left Tom and Daisy's the first night he had dinner with them (Chapter I), "Already it was deep summer . . . ." The three incidents he tells in the first three chapters (dinner at the Buchanans, the party at Tom and Myrtle's apartment, and the party at Gatsby's) took place within a three week period, but it was already "deep summer" before the first one occurred.

At the end of Chapter III, which is set mainly at Gatsby's mansion, Nick says that he "lost sight" of Jordan for a while, but found her again in "midsummer." That suggests July. So, if Nick went east in the spring of 1922 and Chapter III ends in July, then the story he tells to that point must have covered two or three months, depending upon whether spring was April or May.

How is satire evident in The Importance of Being Earnest?

It is mostly evident in the manner in which every Victorian "polite society" value and members of such highly-idolized group are mocked by being portrayed at their most exhuberant, excessive, mindless, and unintelligent.

The topic of marriage is mocked by the money-hungry ways Lady Bracknell, and the midnless dreams of Gwendolyn and Cecily.

Money is mocked through Algy's extravagance and lack of funds, hence, putting him as a person who lives way above his means.

Truth, honesty,civility and sincerity are mocked all over the play in the two-timing characters of Jack and Algy.

In all, Earnest tells us from the title to the end that this play is indeed a satire.

In "A Separate Peace", what details does the author use to show the ways in which the war is changing the atmosphere at Devon?

There are details in the very first chapter that show how things have changed at the school.  There had never been a summer session before the war, and Gene, Finney, and the other students on their way to being Upper Middlers are the first group to have a summer session.  Gene refers to how the seniors are "caught up in accelerated courses and first-aid programs and a physical hardening regimen..." (15) 

In Chapter 2, Gene makes reference to how the masters treat the students over this summer, saying "a streak of tolerance was detectable" (23).  Gene speculates that the students reminded the masters "of what peace was like...a sign of life the life that the war was being fought to preserve" (24). 

As the novel continues, there are other examples of how the war affects the school.  Gene reports that "day after day we were exhorted to new levels of self-deprivation and hard work, with the war as their justification" (118).  Conversation among the students is about who will enlist, and who will not.  The spector of war is a constant theme at Devon, for students and faculty.

In Chapter 25 of The Kite Runner, describe Sohrab for the first seven months he is in San Francisco.Chapter 25 resolves the action with Sohrab and...

Sohrab wraps himself in the silence of deep depression during the first seven months he is in San Francisco.  He had come to the United States with Amir because he had no other options; traumatized by his experiences in Afghanistan and unable to trust because the adults in his life had been forced to break promise after promise, he has withdrawn into himself.  He is unresponsive and silent, with

"the silence of one who has taken cover in a dark place, curled up all the edges and tucked them under...he didn't so much live...as occupy space, and precious little of it...he walked like he was afraid to leave behind footprints...he moved as if not to stir the air around him...mostly he slept".

Amir and Soraya try their best to engage the little boy, but to no avail.  Sohrab continues to "sleepwalk" through life, hidden safely in the cocoon he has created to shelter himself from hurt.  Amir and Soraya can do nothing but be patient, hoping and praying that Sohrab will eventually feel secure enough to venture out of his shell.  Seven long months pass by, until finally, when Sohrab sees Amir taking part in a kite-running contest at an Afghan gathering at a San Francisco park, he shows the first flicker of interest in life around him.  Amir admits that "it (is) only a smile" that he got out of Sohrab, and a small one at that, but it is a start.  The story ends with hope that Sohrab will indeed progress, with tentative steps, to live and trust once again (Chapter 25).

If a loan for $10,000 is paid off in 5 years and the rate of interest is n% per annum componded monthly, how much is paid as interest over the...

If the rate of interest is r%, per annum and the period of loan duration is 5years and the interest compounds every month,then:

The monthly interest = r%/12 = r/1200.

Compounding  monthly means  the interest acrued for the month  is added to the principal at the beginning of the month and the resulting total amount is treated as princpal for next month and acrues the interest  during the next month. The process continues till the the end of 60 months.

So,the amount of 10000 along with interest at the end of 1st month becomes 10000+10000*r/1200 = 10000(1+r/1200)

At the end of 2nd month the amount with interest = the amount at the end of first month alon with interest *(1+r/1200)=

=10000(1+r/1200)(1+r/1200)=10000(1+r/1200)^2 =

The amount at the end of 3rd month aalong with interest =

={10000(1+r/1200)^2 }*(1+r/1200) =10000(1+r/1200)^3.

By the above compounding process  at the end of 5 years or 60 months amount along with compound interest becomes 10000(1+r/1200)^60

The cost of the interest for 5 years compounded on monthly basis over 10000 = Total amount along with interest  minus the loan of 10000

=10000(1+r/1200)^60  - 10000

={10000(1+r/1200)^60  -1}.

=512.49 for  r=1%

=1050.79 for r=2%

=1616.16 for r=3%

=2209.97 for r=4%

=2833.59  for r=5%

=3488.50 for r= 6%

=4176.25 for r=7%

=4898.46 for r=9%

=6453.08 for r=10%

Had he taken the loan at simple interest, then for 10000, the interest for 5 years would have been Pnr/100 =10000*5*r/100 =500r = 500  for r=1%,  1000 for =2%, 1500 for r=3%,  2000 for r=4%,  2500 for r=5%,  3000 for r=6%,   3500 for r=7%,  4000 for r=8%,   4500 for r=9%  and  5000 for r=10%.

Write a note on Hopkins as a modern poet.

To serve as examples of Hopkins's poems of extreme emotions are "Carrion Comfort" and "No Worst There is None" written while Hopkins was Professor of Greek at Universitiy College at Dublin where he became overwhelmed with his responsibilities. His poetry as "confessionals" and deeply personal reflections are certainly modernist in theme.  Such a poem as "I Wake and Feel the Fell of Dark, not Day" expresses Hopkins inner turmoil over his homosexuality:

I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day,/What hourse, O what black hourse we have spent/This night!....And my lament/is cries coutless, cries like dead letters sent/To dearest him that lives alas! away/I am gall, I am heartburn.  God's most deep decree/Bitter would have me taste!my taste was me....

To write about such a topic was taboo, certainly, in the Victorian Age.

What does Tom mean in the sentence below? How does that show Tom's view about the world and the destinies of his mother and sister?Tom's saying:...

WOW! What an excellent question!

Mom had been living in the past for ages= Still talks about gentlemen callers, still reminiscing those old Southern days when she had what not many boys at her beckoning call- still wearing the SAME DRESS she wore for that evening, even after having two grown children.

Laura has been living Jim's fantasy from the moment she left high school. When Jim came to visit the house she STILL had the yearbook of the year when Jim was the leader of the school, CPT of the Football Team and what not. Both Amanda and Laura were utterly STUCK in the past.

Tom couldn't handle it anymore- it was a nightmare scenario and none of them, neither Amanda nor Laura had a remedy, for the past was their comfort zone. Hence, Tom simply left- may sound rude, at first, but if you really read the entire story you would more than agree with him in the end.

Tom did not pay the electric bill that Amanda told him to pay and, instead, he used the money for the Union of the Merchant Marines...when the climax situation happened in the story, which was when he brought a visitor home whom Amanda thought to be a gentleman caller for Laura, and whom ended up being Laura's fantasy crush, Jim, Tom simply could not handle the drama any longer after both Amanda and Laura found out that Jim was engaged to be married, and that the whole thing had bee Tom's way to please his mom and sister, and- well- it didn't work.

So, as he left the household, left them in the dark, and (at the very end) Laura ends up blowing the candle that was the only way to light them up, its a metaphone for Tom to say "wake up, women- get off the past and get on with the present, let go of your mental imprisonments, and move on"

Can you please explain the second stanza of the poem "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night" by Dylan Thomas?

In this poem, Dylan Thomas is at the deathbed of his father, and is pleading with him to die with honor and pride, fighting until the very end.  He doesn't want his father to just give up and turn his life over, he wants his dad to fight death off, to "rage, rage against the dying of the light" and to stay with him as long as he can.  Throughout the poem, Thomas gives examples of all types of men who, when dying, fight it off.  His gist is that it doesn't matter what type of life you have led, or what type of man you were, all men should fight death off.

In the second stanza, Dylan Thomas refers to how "wise men" know that dying is the right thing to do; they "know dark is right."  So, before death, they know it is their time.  But, still, these wise men regret leaving the earth because "their words forked no lightning."  This is just a fancy way of saying that they never had much influence with their lives; they never gave great speeches with powerful words that inspired people, they never wrote profound novels or essays, and they never spoke or inspired with their words in a way to make them be super influential in life.  "Forked no lightning" is a way of saying their words didn't have power, intensity, and beauty (like lightning).  And, because these men's words did not do this in their lives, they don't want to die, and so they too "do not go gentle into that good night" when they die.  They regret not having been more profound while alive.  That is just one of the type of men that Thomas refers to in his poem, of the many that "rage against the dying of the light."

I hope that those thoughts helped; good luck!

In the novel, In the Time of the Butterflies, how is Dedé's personality described?

Dede tends to be a follower rather than a leader, and a pacifist in her dealings with people, "the docile middle child, used to following the lead. . . .cheerful, compliant."  As one might expect, Dede ended with a husband who was a bossy, dominant type personality, Jaimito.  Jaimito controls most of the family's business/money/bookkeeping ventures, and his efforts more often than not get the family in various types of financial difficulties.  Jaimito also forbids Dede to get involved in her sisters' resistance efforts and political activities, and her personality is not such that she will defy him.  Dede is the one who tells the story of "Las Mariposas" after the other three are killed.   

Why does Holden walk back to the hotel rather than take a cab?

In Chapter 13, Holden decides to walk back to the hotel from Ernie's, he has his time, so far, trying to connect with strangers, and not acknowledging that he is lonely for a familiar voice, his family, etc.  Or that he has made a mistake by leaving school without permission and without telling his parents, he is lonely, depressed and feeling isolated.

"I walked all the way back to the hotel.  For-one gorgeous blocks.  I didn't do it because I felt like walking or anything.  It was more because I didn't feel like gettin in and out of another taxicab.  Sometimes you get tired of riding in taxicabs the same way that you get tired riding in elevators." (Salinger)

What Holden is saying in this chapter is that he feels very closed in by his circumstances.  He has had nothing but trouble since in arrived in New York City, he has been feeling loneliness and isolation. Instead of going home, like he should, Holden has attempted to connect with total strangers who have no interest in mothering him.

In Chapter 13, Holden wants to be alone, even though he really feels alone, he wants to be physically separate from people because so far, all they have done is let him down.

As he walks he searches his memories, recalling the time his gloves were stolen at Pencey, pretending to confront the thief.  Holden decides that he is a coward.

However, his actions suggest otherwise, before he goes to the hotel, he tries to go into a seedy bar and runs into two drunks, so he goes back to the hotel and in his depressed, indifference ends up getting into more trouble when he gets into the elevator. 

For what reason is Tim and dad's trip to Verplancks Point interrupted?

     The trip to Verplancks Point is a huge milestone for Tim.  He has been looking forward to it because he is finally taking on the role of his older brother, Sam, whom he admires.  However, the trip quickly becomes dangerous.  He and his father are stopped by cowboys.  The cowboys are angry because they believe that Mr. Meeker is selling Cattle to Loyalists.  These cowboys claim to be Patriots, however, some believe that this claim is just a guise that masks their one true goal: thievery.  Mr. Meeker argues that he does not care where it goes.  He is just trying to support his family.  This is one of several examples of Mr. Meeker's stubborn bravery, which resembles his son Sam's attitude.

     The cowboys violently knock Mr. Meeker to the ground.  Tim prepares to run for help.  This is a crucial moment in which he tries to decide what the "right" thing to do would be.  He struggles between the idea of running to Father's rescue, as he believes Sam would do, and which he believes would be courageous, and the idea of running for help, which he believes is the logical idea that his father would support.  Before Tim runs for help, help comes to them.  A group of Loyalist men who act as an escort scare the cowboys away and safely guide Mr. Meeker and Tim to Tim's cousins' home.

What are the effects of floods on agriculture, people and property?it is a project please answer in detail

Floods refers to body of water covering area which is normally dry land. Floods may occur along the river banks, lakes and sea coast. However, river floods are most common.

River floods and lake floods occur because of too much water flowing into them, that overflows its banks, or sometimes even breaks the banks. The excess water is the result of excessive rains in the catchment area or/and sudden melting of snow and ice. Sea floods are caused by unusually strong sea waves hitting the coast. This may happen at the time of cyclonic storms or by tsunami waves. Sea floods caused by tsunami can be particularly sudden and violent.

In general, storms cause damage to agriculture, people and property. Floods damage standing agricultural crops and may also carry away the top soil making  the land barren. Floods damage all immovable properties that get submerged in flood waters. Any other property which cannot be removed to safer places during floods are also damaged. When the storms are sudden and extensive the damage is more because of difficulty of removing property to safer places. In such cases people may also be unable to move to safer places and may drown.

The only good associated with floods is that sometimes it leaves behind fertile soil on the land after the floods. For example, the yearly floods in Nile have made plains of Egypt one of the most fertile land in the World.

What are five important events that happened in The Outsiders?

1.  The first major event is when Ponyboy kills Steve in the park after the Socs' try to drown him.

2.  The next major event is when Johnny and Pony run away to the old church to hide from the law and getting arrested for the murder in the park.

3.  Another big event in the story is when the old church catches on fire from a lit cigarette butt left accidentally by Johnny. Ponyboy and Johnny become heroes when they run into the church to save the school children who were inside.

4.  Next, Johnny is badly burned, rushed to the hospital, where he later dies from his burn injuries.

5.  The last major event is the Rumble that takes place between the Socs' and the Greasers, which the Greasers win.

While there are many events going on throughout the story, these five stand out as the most significant to the plot.  Each event taught the boys something important about life.

Join the following sentences without using "and" or "but": Everyone was drenched wet by now. The rain had come down harder.i have an impression...

The seven coordinating conjunctions are logical expressions that create a unique relationship between the two sentences. They combine equal parts.

You might combine these sentences in the following way:

Everyone was drenched wet by now, for the rain had come down harder.

For in this case is a coordinating conjunction that shows cause.

Most people are used to using because or since as denoting cause, which are subordinating conjunctions. Subordinating conjunctions cause the clause that includes the subordinating conjunction to be subordinate; that is less than.

Both are correct, but sometimes an instructor may want you to use a coordinating conjunction instead of a subordinating conjunction.

Sometimes you want to use a coordinating conjunction because you want both parts of what you are connecting to be equal, for effect and/or parallel structure.

Another way to combine is the following:

Because everyone was drenched wet by now, the rain had come down harder.

"The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn" tells about the adventures of Huck and Jim. How does Twain prepare for the escape from the first chapter?

Huck Finn, in the opening chapter, has been taken in by Miss Watson, and is having a hard time feeling happy and comfortable within the confines of a civilized and routine life.  In fact, he's so restless about it, Huck, after being taught about Hell, proclaims he wants to go there, because "all I wanted was to go somewheres; I warn't particular."  So, he is already of the mindset that this life was too boring and restrictive for him.  Then, at the end of the chapter, there is the incident with the spider.  Huck flicks a spider into the candle flame, and his response is,

"I didn't need anybody to tell me that that was an awful bad sign and would fetch me some bad luck, so I was scared and most shook the clothes off of me."

So, Twain introduces foreshadowing here, through the sometimes bizarre superstitions that Huck and people of his time and place hold.  Already, there is an ominous tone foretelling his Pap's return, which leads to the escape.  This happens again in a later chapter when Huck spills salt and Miss Watson "crossed [him] off" from tossing some over his shoulder, which is another sign of bad luck.

Huck suspects that bad luck was accurate when he finds the boot print in the snow, and very wisely "sells" all of his money to the Judge so Pap can't get a hold of it, just in case he's hanging around.  When Pap does show up, and kidnaps Huck, Twain is in full swing for setting up the escape by then.

Twain also introduces Jim right off the bat as Tom and Huck play the prank on him regarding the hat.  Introducing Jim right away, so that we get to know him a bit in a normal way, sets us up to be familiar with him when Huck runs into him on the island.  Later, Huck even goes to Jim for the "hairball" fortune, so we get another encounter with him.  When they meet on the island, they are two familiar characters that we are ready to set off on a journey with.

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

What are the symbols in Volume 1 of Pride and Prejudice?

"Pride and Prejudice" deals with  matters concerning the important thematic connection between money,wealth and marriage. Although, there are no overt symbols there are subtle indicators which emphasise the financial status of a character.

One such indicator is the mode of transport which the character uses.

The  chaise and four in which Bingley visits Netherfield for the first time, clearly emphasises his rich financial status (Ch.1.) Similarly,in Ch.56 Lady Catherine a very rich lady visits the Bennets in a chaise and four. Only very rich people could afford to own  and maintain four horses as a means of private transport.

In Ch.7 the conversation after Jane reads aloud the note from Catherine Bingley revals to us that the Bennets have a carriage and a coach (a covered carriage) but not separate horses for them. Similarly, the Hursts although they have a chaise of their own do not have separate horses for it, unlike Bingley who owns a chaise alongwith the  horses for it.

In Ch.53. on  his second visit to Hertfordshire, Bingley visits the Bennets after entering  the paddock-the place where horses are kept-and then "rides towards the house."  Although, Elizabeth spent six weeks at Hunsford there is no reference to Collins owning a carriage leave alone having a paddock.

Darcy's very rich  superior status is emphasised in Ch.44. He and his sister use a curricle-a two wheeled carriage pulled by two horses side by side-to visit Elizabeth at the inn.

In Ch.59. after Mrs. Bennet recovers from the shock of hearing that Elizabeth is engaged to Darcy she is ecstatic and exclaims: "Oh, my sweetest Lizzy! how rich and how great you will be! What pin-money, what jewels, what carriages you will have! Jane is nothing to it-nothing at all."

Contrast this with Ch.7 where the entire Bennet family perhaps had only a carriage or a coach driven that too by horses which were used in the farm.

Could you please explain the prologue of "She Stoops to Conquer"?

David Garrick, the writer of this prologue, was one (if not THE) most famous actor and producer of his time. He wrote this prologue as a satire, where the character "Mr. Woodward" would be in  mourning, "because comedy is dead", and so they are hoping that Goldsmith's play would make him laugh again. Point in case where he says:

Excuse me, sirs, I pray—I can't yet speak—
     I'm crying now—and have been all the week.
     "'Tis not alone this mourning suit," good masters:
     "I've that within"—for which there are no plasters!
     Pray, would you know the reason why I'm crying?
     The Comic Muse, long sick, is now a-dying!

Another explanation to the prologue is that, in those days, comedies were not meant to make you laugh, but simply to tell a story with a happy ending. This prologue basically shows that this will be a "first" in theatre, and that times are about to change.

The link provided gives you the prologue in Modern English so you can understand it better.

http://www.ourcivilisation.com/smartboard/shop/goldsmth/stoops/prologue.htm

In "A Rose for Emily," how are changing worlds reflected? Is it that Emily resists such change?

William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" has as one of its themes the decline of the Old South with its gentility and unspoken code of chivalry against the New South and its increasing degeneration.  The change in the South is reflected first in the description of Emily's house:

It was a big, squarish frame house that had once been white, decorated with cupolas and spires and scrolled balconies...set on what had once been our most select street.  But garages and cotton gins had encroached and obliterated even the august names of that neighborhood.

Even Emily herself reflects the degeneration.  When the aldermen come to call upon her, the house has "a dank smell."  Emily looks like a dead person who has drowned:

...a small, fat woman in black, with a thin gold chain descending to her waist and vanishing into her belt...Her skeleton was small and spare...She looked bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless water, and of a pallid hue. .. Her voice was dry and cold.

Yet with dignity, her watch buried in her dress, symbolizing her inadmission of time, Emily refuses the aldermen and insists that Colonel Sartoris has taken care of the taxes.  In addition, after her father's death, Emily hardly goes out, ill for a long time.  The townsfolk think that her "kinfolk" should visit her as was done in the Old South.  They also think that Emily's cousins should talk with her about the man she is seeing.  They mention "noblesse oblige," employing a word that connotes the suggestion of upper class.  However, Emily's new boyfriend, from the North, knows nothing of such antiquated behavior.  Instead, he takes Emily for rides shamelessly throughout the town, displaying the loss of gentility to Emily.  Still, when Homer leaves and the townspeople see her at the window, they remark about the vestiges of her old life in which her father had felt that no man was good enough for his daughter:

Then we knew that this was to be expected too; as if that quality of her father which had thwarted her woman's life so many times had been too virulent and too furious to die.

Because of her overbearing father, whose picture remains upon the wall, Emily cannot shed the vestiges of the Old South, and does, indeed, resist change. With the old Negroe as her servant who attends her, she gives china painting lessons, but the children of her students do not come for such lessons.  Emily has become an anachronism.  Her front door remains closed as she stops time:

Thus, she passed from generation to generation--dear, inescapable, impervious, tranquil, and perverse.

No longer able to live in the world into which she was born, Emily stops time, too, for her lover.  When the old men come to her funeral, they reflect this conflict with time:

...some in their brushed Confederate uniforms--...talking of Miss Emily as if she had been a contemporary of theirs, believing that they had danced with her and courted her perhaps, confusing time with its mathematical progression, as the old do, to whom all the past is not a diminishing road but, instead, a huge meadow which no winter ever quite touches, divided from them now by the narrow bottle-neck of the most recent decade of years.

I need to know some direct quotes that show insight into character development for Odysseus in Book IX of the Odyssey.

This book begins when Odysseus is at the banquet table of King Alcinous and Queen Arete.  After his harrowing adventures, Odysseus seems very appreciative of the simple delights of safety indoors, lack of danger, the fellowship of people of good will, and plenty to eat and drink.

AND ODYSSEUS ANSWERED, “King Alcinous, it is a good thing to hear a bard with such a divine voice as this man has. There is nothing better or more delightful than when a whole people make merry together, with the guests sitting orderly to listen, while the table is loaded with bread and meats, and the cup-bearer draws wine and fills his cup for every man. This is indeed as fair a sight as a man can see. (Book IX)

Perhaps Odysseus is feeling that he will take care of his life a little better now, after all the danger and the death of all of his companions.

Probably the most significant evidence of character development comes when Odysseus is relating the sad story of his encounter with the Cyclops.  He and his men had come to the Cyclops's cave while he was out, and were admiring his large store of food.

When they saw all this, my men begged me to let them first steal some cheeses, and make off with them to the ship; they would then return, drive down the lambs and kids, put them on board and sail away with them. It would have been indeed better if we had done so but I would not listen to them, for I wanted to see the owner himself, in the hope that he might give me a present. When, however, we saw him my poor men found him ill to deal with.

Afterwards, of course, the Cyclops imprisons Odysseus and his men, and eats several of them.  In this passage Odysseus is acknowledging his foolhardiness in dealing with the Cyclops.  He admits that his decision cost some of his men their lives.

During the rest of the story of the Cyclops, Odysseus tells of his own hubris (pride) but does not regret it.  It is clear now that he made some bad decisions, but he does this by telling his own faults baldly, not by lamenting them.  He does, however, show how sad he and his men were as they finally rowed away from the Cyclops island (ruefully noting that the Cyclops's great ram he sacrificed to Zeus did not help him in his future struggles).

As for the ram, my companions agreed that I should have it as an extra share; so I sacrificed it on the sea shore, and burned its thigh bones to Zeus, who is the lord of all. But he heeded not my sacrifice, and only thought how he might destroy both my ships and my comrades.

“Thus through the livelong day to the going down of the sun we feasted our fill on meat and drink, but when the sun went down and it came on dark, we camped upon the beach. When the child of morning rosy-fingered Dawn appeared, I bade my men on board and loose the hawsers. Then they took their places and smote the grey sea with their oars; so we sailed on with sorrow in our hearts, but glad to have escaped death though we had lost our comrades (Ibid).

There are at least two examples of polysyndeton in chapter three.Identify one of them and explain how it contributes to the impact of the chapter.

Polysyndeton is the repetition of several conjunctions used in proximity. It usually has the effect of speeding up a sentence, implying a sense of urgency or activity.

In chapter 3, one example occurs in Nick's description of Gatsby's parties:

The bar is in full swing and floating rounds of cocktails permeate the garden outside until the air is alive with chatter and laughter and casual innuendo and introductions forgotten on the spot and enthusiastic meetings between women who never knew each other's names.

This quote serves to emphasize the shallowness of Gatsby's guests and that social scene in general. There is an atmosphere of deception and illusion evident in the appearances and conversations of the party-goers, as reflected in the immediately forgotten introductions, and the excited meetings of people who don't actually know each other. The repetition of "and" hurries the sentence, adding to the frenzied feeling of the party description. It also implies that so much is going on at these events, there's no way to ever really slow down. The sentence almost swirls around the reader, much as the party atmosphere would swirl around the attendees.

It's importance though, lies in the surface nature of the interactions. Even though there's always something going on, no conversation, interaction, meeting, etc., ever has true meaning at these parties. Thus, everything is described as "casual": people "chatter" instead of conversing in a meaningful manner, no one makes any real attempt to remember those they meet. It reflects the shallowness of Gatsby himself, and of the West Egg society in general.

In chapter five of Night, Describe Eliezer's feelings as the prisoners observe the Jewish New Year.

There is a great deal of anger regarding Eliezer's observation of the Jewish New Year and the homage to God.  The accrued experience of enduring and witnessing suffering is taking its toll on the boy, targeting his religious faith.  The most natural questions seem to arise in this chapter:  How could a "chosen" people be "chosen" to endure so much suffering?  Why would God allow Buna to exist?  How can the evil of the Nazis speaker louder than "the love of God"?  The driving force behind the section is the questioning of God and the loss of religious faith.  Eliezer's feelings about the presence of God and the holiness of the New Year is that any merciful God would not allow such suffering.  This is not merely a feeling that Eliezer is experiencing, as others around him are dealing with the same doubting of faith and belief.  The rabbi:  "At least Hitler keeps his promises."  Part of the cruelty of the Nazis did not solely rest in their atrocities committed.  A more dehumanizing and degrading component of the Nazis was their eradication of faith, and the level to which they rendered their victims devoid of hope.  Activismm and resistance is only possible with belief in something strong and positive that will happen.  In targeting a group with such a religious background, the Nazis sought to remove this element of spiritual life in the Jewish individuals, which is what we witness in chapter five.  When Eliezer cannot reconcile the belief in God with the horrors of the death camp and the cruelty of the Nazis, it is not only the death of hope, but the death in the faith of God, as well.

What is a philosopher and why is the philosopher the best ruler?

A part of Plato's Republic deals with the question of who would make the ideal ruler.  In the Republic, the philosopher is the person who can see past the appearance of things and get at their Form, the ideal that each of the individual instances reflects/participates in.  They have access to the "truth" in a way that ordinary people do not.  Individuals may have access to small parts of the truth, but they do not see the whole.

"Until philosophers are kings, or the kings and princes of this world have the spirit and power of philosophy, and political greatness and wisdom meet in one, and those commoner natures who pursue either to the exclusion of the other are compelled to stand aside, cities will never have rest from their evils - no, nor the human race, as I believe - and then only will this our State have a possibility of life and behold the light of day." ~ Plato, The Republic, Book V, 473-C

The philosophers then undertake an extensive program of training in all the skills that will be needed to rule.  Unlike our present system in America, which demands only that you be born here, but of a certain age, and have enough money to run an effective "campaign," Plato's rulers have nothing to gain as a result of their rule, and have the skills they need to understand why things happen and what they are able to do to deal with them.

Sounds like a plan to me.

Macbeth and Frankenstein essay help, please answer it serious otherwise just leave this question, best answer for sure, please read detail,...

This is a very complex analysis that you have to do, I will offer some ideas about the comparison of the two works, Macbeth and Frankenstein, the rest is up to you.  With regard to the influence of greed, Macbeth is power hungry, he longs to wear the crown of Scotland and is willing to do anything, once the witches give him the prophecy regarding his ascension to the throne.

Macbeth's ambition can be equated with a greediness to have what he wants when he wants it, and never mind the consequences, which include murdering the king and then many others.

In Frankenstein, Victor's pursuit of the spark of life, the origin of life, which is supported by his need to know more than human beings are supposed suggests that Victor suffers from a God complex.  Flirting with the origins of life, creating life, in the way that Victor creates the monster, which he loathes once he is made and brought to life, is blasphemy.  Victor's behavior results in an abomination.

Macbeth's ambition and greed, and lust for power also results in an abomination, the suffering of Scotland, never mind the murder of a just and right king.

There is evidence of disloyalty in both works.  Macbeth violates his loyalty to the king, he murders him, Victor creates a patchwork human out of body parts scavenged from graves, gives him the spark of life, and then is repulsed by his hideous appearance.  Victor abandons his newborn creation, thrusting him into a world that he is unprepared to cope with and which will, ultimately reject him.

Both protagonists have help in cultivating their ambition, Victor has his teacher:

"He seeks out another professor, M. Waldman, who is an understanding and helpful man. He encourages Victor to study modern science and to learn from science’s most recent, exciting discoveries if he wants to penetrate the vast mysteries of nature. Victor tells us his meeting with M. Waldman was a memorable one, and it was a day that “decided my future destiny."

Macbeth is encouraged by his wife, Lady Macbeth, to think carefully about killing King Duncan because this is his big chance to gain power.  She actually belittles her husband into believing that if he doesn't kill the king, then he is less than a man.

There is an evilness in the nature of both protagonists, evil that denies the value and worthiness of human life, the fact that the body contains a spirit or a conscience. Victor Frankenstein thinks that he can create life in his lab, forgetting that humans are more than flesh and bone.

Macbeth's evil stems from his lack of appreciating human life, willfully taking lives in order to serve his purposes, to remain in power, unchallenged, both men come to an ugly end.

How does the suicidal impulse that both Romeo and Juliet exhibit relate to the overall theme of young love?

The phrase "young love" when uttered by those who are.. not so young... is often said with an air of dismissal, as if those feelings in a young person are not true feelings and should not be taken seriously.  However, the fates of Romeo and Juliet serve as an important lesson for our time. 

When we are young and in love, as were they, there are physical and psychological changes which occur in our minds and bodies that we cannot alter.  Perhaps this is the "fate" about which the prologue spoke -unalterable, unchangeable fate.  We now know that hormones, pheromones, and endorphins sweep through our systems at the instant of attraction.  Couple these with the normal surges of growth and change already plaguing the young, and we have a recipe for disaster-or for love.

Young love is inexperienced.  It understands nothing of waiting for time to pass, but is urgent in its quest to pull two people together and have them prove to themselves and each other love's sincerity.  That feeling can easily overtake the young and make them feel that not only is this love urgent, it is important.  This importance and urgency can overwhelm young people and lead them to see no alternative but to rebel, ultimately, against the forces which separate them, while bringing themselves together, eternally, with one another through death.

Do the characters of The Pearl reveal authentic experiences of John Steinbeck?

It's a pretty far shot to say the story line in 'The Pearl' is in any way autobiographical, but as mentioned in the comment above, the story does deal with the subject of extreme loss. (Steinbeck was devastated and never really got over it when his friend was killed in an automobile accident.) The unfairness of life also comes through as another theme.

The story of 'The Pearl' actually is based on an old Mexican folk tale which had two main versions. One adheres fairly well to Steinbeck's rendition; in the second, a young pearl diver finds the pearl of great price but instead of acting wisely when he becomes rich, he squanders away his money in a very brief lapse of time. In the end, finding the pearl and not being able to deal with sudden wealth lead to his ultimate ruin.

The music and song leit motif is Steinbeck's personal contribution. The Song of the Family, the Song of the Pearl, and the Song of Evil enhance the story line by giving it a lilting, lyrical effect and are good metaphors to express the diverse thoughts and feelings of the characters.

Extra note: If you want to read a more autobiographically related work, try Steinbeck's 'Log of the Sea of Cortez.' In it he writes of some of his experiences with Ricketts while studying marine biology. (Steinbeck never finished his degree and turned to writing instead.) Also, Steinbeck or Ricketts serve as a model for the character "Doc" in his novelettes 'Cannery Row' and 'Sweet Thursday.' Later Steinbeck did a tour around the eastern half of the United States and wrote of his experiences in 'Travels with Charley.'

What is the ratio of the average kinetic energies of hydrogen and helium at the same temperature?I've been trying to do this problem for the past...

Kinetic energy refers to the energy of motion that matter may possess.  On the atomic scale, it refers to the motion of all the atoms in a sample of matter. The atoms may be vibrating in place, rolling around each other, or flying apart, or coming together.  In fact, even in a glass of water, should you shrink down to atomic size, you would observe water molecules exhibiting all types of motion.  If most of them are vibrating in place, you'd be observing ice; if moving around each other, water, and if expanding away from each other, steam. Each state of matter can have a measurable average kinetic energy. Most of the molecules in ice are vibrating in place, but the ice may contain some that are a bit more energetic and are rolling around -- a small amount of liquid water.  However, the average kinetic energy of all the molecules of water would be closer to ice.  The average kinetic energy, then, is exactly the same as the temperature of a system.  Whether the molecules are of hydrogen, or helium in a given system, the temperature expresses the average kinetic energy of both types of atoms within the observed system.  Therefore, whatever it is for one, it will be for the other; the ratio of one to the other, the quantity being the same, is 1.

How would you describe the narrator of The Great Gatsby? What was his family background? Why did he come to the East?

Chapter I establishes the basics of Nick Carraway's character and gives us an understanding of his background. Nick tells us that he was born of an old, well established Midwestern family, dating back to the Civil War. His family was financially well off, but Nick did not grow up with the kind of financial excess he later observed in the East. Nick grew up, however, with many advantages, including an education at Yale University. After returning from World War I, where he served in Europe, Nick was restless and no longer content to stay in the Midwest. He decided to go to New York to learn the bond business and establish a career. His family, after discussing Nick's options, agreed to support him financially for one year so that he could proceed with his plan. After one year, however, it was expected that Nick would assume responsibility and support himself. Nick's family had taught him the American work ethic, which he embraced. He expected to work.

Nick had grown up as a person who did not judge others. He was open-minded. As a result, especially in college, others often confided in him, including him in their personal lives. This becomes an important part of Nick's character when he goes East and becomes Gatsby's friend. As Nick looks back on his time in the East, it becomes clear that he admired Gatsby's romanticism and deplored the amorality that "floated in the wake of his dreams."

What is a "personal legend" ?

A personal legend, as it's referred to in The Alchemist, is one's destiny in life. It's identifying our purpose in life and pursuing it. In the story, the main character, Santiago, goes in search of his personal legend. Along the way, he encounters many other characters who help him either directly or indirectly accomplish his goals. The story is an allegory for those wishing to live an examined life. It's a story which requires the reader to make certain conections between Santiago's experiences and their own lives. A personal legend requires one to be open to interpreting "omens" and acting on them in a way which furthers their pursuit of their dreams/goals.

One of the critical aspects of the story comes through Santiago's slow realization that what one needs to fulfill their personal legends is often times already possessed. Their is no "real" need to acquire any special skills or talents. Rather, one needs to be willing to adapt their abilities to the various excursions that life takes us on.

Santiago, in the end, discovers these realities in addition to realizing that his experiences were all part of his quest to find discover his personal legend. In other words, the discovery comes as part of the quest; it's result comes from the journey and not the destination.