What is the significance of the title of the play, "Arms and the Man"?

The title of Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw is based on the opening line of Virgil's Aeneid,

Arma virumque cano, Troiae qui primus ab oris Italiam, fato profugus

I sing of arms and a man who first, exiled by fate, [came] from the shores of Troy

This line begins a great epic telling of the heroic deeds of Aeneas, who fled after the fall of Troy in the Trojan war to found Rome.

The purpose of the title is to give us a different take on warfare.  Captain Bluntschli is also fleeing after losing a battle, but rather than being a heroic character about to found a great empire, he is a rather pragmatic, bourgeois mercenary, who is quite happy to abandon warfare for running a hotel chain when he has the opportunity to do so. In his meeting with Raina, which parallels Aeneas' meeting with Dido, Bluntschli is more concerned with obtaining food and getting some sleep than with glory. 

What this does is locate the play in a "mock epic" tradition, which evokes the grand and hyperbolic traditions of heroic epic only to satirize and deflate them. 

What is the difference between leadership skills and leadership styles?

There is a marked difference between leadership styles and leadership skills. Leadership styles refers to the general pattern of behavior leaders use in their leadership role. In contrast leadership skill refers to ability of leaders to act in the required ways. For example, being friendly is a behavior pattern. To be able to adopt this behavior pattern a person needs to have interpersonal skills.

Different leaders may have different style of leading their followers or the group of people they lead. For example, some people may be autocratic, taking all the decisions by themselves, and simply conveying it to others to follow. Other leaders may prefer to take decisions in consultation with other people in group. Leadership styles may vary in many other respect such as the extent to which they put emphasis on physical task to be completed versus emphasis on building relationship with group members.

Generally experts agree that there is no single management style which is best. Depending on the goals to be achieved by the group, the situation faced by the group, and characteristic of the group members, different leadership styles may be appropriate for different groups.

Leadership skills refers to behavioral skill that leaders need and use for leading. Leaders may need a very wide range of such skills. Some of these skills are interpersonal skill, innovative ability, foresight, initiative, and change management skill. Though most of these skills are required for effective leadership, depending on leadership situation and style, the importance of individual skill may vary.

In "The Great Gatsby", the area between Long Island and the city is called what?What is that place called?

"The valley of ashes".  The place where Myrtle and George live, a small, desolate town on the road into the city of New York, is ash colored and ugly, so it seems not only to be sad and desolate, but burnt- and used-up in the hot summer sun.  While East and West Egg have beautiful (probably irrigated) gardens, there is nothing like that in the sad little town where Wilson's garage is.

There is also a definite undertone of this town being a dumping-ground or "ash heap" of life in between the places of the living; New York, and East and West Egg.  An ash heap is synonymous with a garbage dump -- and the unimportant, poor people who do not have estates further east down the island, or jobs in the city, are left to rot in the valley of ashes.  Also, there is a suggestion of the cemetery about the name; Myrtle dies here, run over by Daisy in Gatsby's car.  Myrtle is burnt up by Tom's use of her, and tossed away when she was no longer useful or became more trouble than she was worth.  Her body was left by the road in the valley of ashes, as an animal fit only for the "ash heap".  This phrase provides a rich mine of commentary about the people and places in the valley and around it.

Where does the book Fahrenheit 451 describe the society to be empty?I need quotes and page #s.

The emptiness of the society can be inferred from some of the conversations that Mildred has with her friends, and with some of the things that Beatty tells Montag during his little history lesson.  Also, in Bradbury's descriptions of Mildred.

For the conversation between Mildred and her friends, look in the middle of section two of the book, "The Sieve and the Sand."  They sit around talking about how they can't stand their children, how their husbands are never around, and how their t.v. shows are their lives.  Montag says that their faces remind him of the faces of a bunch of statues that he ran across in a church once--cold, empty, stone faces that "meant nothing to him...there was nothing, nothing" at all behind their faces.  Later he describes how they "sit there in the great hot emptiness."  So, those are a couple quotes that indicate emptiness (pages 95 and 99 in my book; however, your version might not be the same).  The title of the second section, "The Sieve and the Sand," indicates emptiness too because the more sand that you pour in a sand, it still remains empty.  That is how people in their society are--empty, even though tons of stuff (entertainment, useless facts) are being poured into their heads.

Beatty's conversation comes towards the end of section one of the book.  Beatty says that to make people feel happy and full, while they are really unhappy and empty, they

"cram them full of noncombustible data, chock them so damned full of facts they feel stuffed...they'll feel they're thinking, they'll get a sense of motion without moving."

So, the people are filled with useless information, but none of it is helpful...they are really just empty vessels walking around with nothing of importance in their heads.  (page 61 in my book)

Another great place to look is Bradbury's descriptions of Mildred in the first few pages of the book.  He describes her as motionless, emotionless, cold, still, and empty.  He describes her sleeping "like a body displayed on the lid of a tomb," which indicates she is empty of life, vivacity and soul, just as everyone in their society is.  He goes on to say, "the room was indeed empty," even though his wife was right there on the bed.  Her presence made no mark--she was so empty it was like she wasn't there.  (page 12 in my book)

I hope that these thoughts help to get you started.  Good luck!

Why would Fiona, a trainee in the care of the old, probably accept the pratice of releasing the old?

She would probably accept this practice because she would be trained to believe it was normal.  Also, people in this community are devoid of emotions, so there is no reason that she would consider the practice cruel or merciless.  While Fiona is painted as a sweet, caring, and kind girl, this only adds to the sad fact that even the most congenial of characters can become doers of evil in a society that controls their citizens' every move.

Lowry shows throughout this book that each character is capable of falling into evil.  Perhaps the most important of these illustrations is that of Jonas' father "releasing" or murdering an infant because it was born weighing less than his twin brother.  All characters are capable of doing horrible acts, all in the name of doing their jobs in the community.

In what ways was Jody's grandfather the "leader of the people" in "The Leader of the People" by John Steinbeck?

Grandfather was first and foremost a pioneer in his day West or like he says, "Westering". He had led a life of great events and major adventures. He was a person who looked ahead and forward back in his better days. Unfortunately , times changed and, according to Grandpa, people are not "Westering" anymore. 

Grandfather is old now, and in the story he tells over and over those tales from the past, and annoying everyone in his family.

 However, the importance that Jody gives his grandfather and the weight he puts on the grandfather's experiences is what automatically places grandfather as a "leader of the people"; a person who led a group into a new and unknown way of life without fear, and he motivated his fellow comrades to do the same. Along the way, he did things no other person would have dared to do. The feelings of leadership and adventure are shared by Jody and, given the situation in an unhappy family, it is his grandfather who makes it all make sense.

In Julius Caesar, how is the role of Caesar's ghost in Act IV important in the third scene? That is, what does this appearance of the...

In "Julius Caesar," the role of Caesar's ghost is similar to that of ghosts in "Hamlet" and "Macbeth"; that is, the apparition stirs the conscience of the character who sees it and portends further evil.

In Act IV, Caesar's ghost appears to Brutus, who is between consciousness and sleep as he reads in his tent before the battle at Philippi.  When he sees the ghost, Brutus asks, "Speak to me what thou art," and the ghost replies, "Thy evil spirit, Brutus" (IV,iii,280-281). This statement by Caesar's ghost stirs the conscience of Brutus for his past acts as well as disturbing him as he ponders his future battle.

So, Brutus, who has made errors in judgment earlier such as allowing Marc Antony to live after the assassination, begins to have pangs of conscience over his guilt for another poor judgment: killing his friend, Caesar.  He also may be experiencing a premonition as the ghost tells him, "To tell thee thou shalt see me at Philippi"(IV,iii, 282).

The spirit of Caesar is present each time Brutus makes a poor decision as well as each time he has a pang of conscience for an evil act. For, Brutus's initial act against Caesar, his murder, while committed for principle by Brutus, was done for cupidity by others.  Secondly, shortly before Caesar's appearance, Brutus, in tragic arrogance, argues almost to the point of murder again as he and Cassius discuss Brutus's failure to aid Lucius Pella, a friend of Cassius.  Thirdly, with the next appearance of the ghost, the battle of Philippi, Brutus commits a fatal error in military judgment as he rushes onto the field, but must later retreat.  This defeat leads to the suicide of Brutus.

I have an essay to do for school on the book "The Road," by Cormac McCarthy. I can't answer this question. Can you help me out?When does the boy...

At the end of the novel the boy and the father raid an abandoned boat.  The boy becomes very ill and the father is terrified that the boy will die.  He cares for the boy and does everything he can to help the child get better.  When the boy recovered the man let his guard down a little.  McCarthy writes that they took walks along the beach, ate big meals on the food they had found and even built a lean-to for shelter.  Before he could break camp and move on someone stole everything they had.

The man and the boy tracked down the thief and recover their belongings.  It is here that the boy finally demonstrates his growth from a boy to a man.  The father wants to kill the thief.  He instead makes the man strip of everything he is wearing and leaves him alone, naked, and starving.  The boy and the man leave the thief standing in the road.  The boy is crying and his father, the man, keeps telling him to stop.  The boy sits in the road and cries.  The father tells the boy that he thief is gone but the boy argues with him and states that he is not. The father asks,

"What do you want to do?"

"Just help him, Papa. Just help him."

The man looked back up the road.  "He was just hungry, Papa.  He's going to die. "

"He's going to die anyway."

"He's so scared, Papa.

The man squatted and looked at him. "I'm scared, he said.  Do you understand? I'm scared."

The boy didn't answer. He just sat there with his head bowed, sobbing.  "You're not the one who has to worry about everything."  The boy said something but he couldn't understand him. "What?" he said.

He looked up, his wet and grimy face. "Yes, I am," he said.  "I am the one."

They did go back but the man was gone and nowhere to be found.  The relationship between the man and the boy changed from this point on.  The boy could see a starving, scared man but the man, the boy's father could only see a thief.

I have to write an essay on "To Kill a Mockingbird". Please help with telling me the answer and how I should lay my paragraphs on the following...

To organize your essay, I would start off by introducing the novel in general, giving a one or two sentence summary, and then at the end of that first paragraph, a thesis that answers the question.  So, "There are at least five symbolic mockingbirds in the novel," could be your thesis sentence.  Then, in each succeeding paragraph, talk about one or two of those mockingbirds, and why they are considered to be so.  Then, after you have discussed all five, add a concluding paragraph where you summarize things.

It also helps to understand the mockingbird symbolism before you get started.  Atticus at one point in the novel says,  "It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird”, and B.B. Underwood, later,

“likened Tom’s death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children."

These two quotes indicate that a mockingbird is a beautiful and innocent creature that is cruelly harmed because of society's pride and fear.

The most obvious mockingbirds in this novel are Arthur "Boo" Radley, and Tom Robinson.  They were both innocent people were were unfairly "shot down" or mistreated by their society.  It was a sin to judge them and harm them so, just because of fear and pride.  But, the people did it anyway.  The other less obvious candidates for mockingbirds could be Tom's wife Helen, as she is harassed by Bob Ewell after the trial, and has to unfairly alter her life because of his cruelty.  Another is Mrs. Dubose, who is unfairly judged by Jem and Scout, when at the heart of her struggle is an attempt to overcome addiction.  Another possibility is in Mayella Ewell, who, even though she made the wrong choices in the end, was unfairly and cruelly beat by her father, just because she was living her life and was very lonely.  Those are five potential candidates for your essay.  I have also provided a link below that gives more detailed instructions on how to write in-class essays, and that should be helpful too.  Good luck!

What makes Atticus so unbiased?

There are several reasons why Atticus is unbiased:

1. He tells Scout to see things from other people's perspectives. This is seen towards the beginning of the novel with Scout's teacher--Miss Caroline. She was not from their area, so she did not know the people in Maycomb.

2. Boo Radley--at the end of the novel Scout finally realizes what Atticus meant by seeing things from someone else's point of view. She sees how Boo saw the kids/events that happened to her, Jem , and Dill over the years. He only wanted to help them/befriend them.

3. Tom Robinson trial--Atticus was appointed to take this case. He believed in Tom's innocence, and he did all he could to help Tom. For example, he clearly showed through evidence in the trial that Mayella was beat by her father.

4. Mrs. Dubose--even though she had her own views about Atticus defending Tom Robinson (she was racist and believed that Atticus was trash for defending Tom), Atticus only treated her as a lady. He knew she had a morphine addiction. He thought she was the bravest person he knew--she had moral courage.

What character has been stealing things in The Westing Game?

Madame Hoo, the immigrant wife of the owner of the Chinese restaurant at the top of Sunset Towers, has been stealing trinkets to sell in order to go back to China.  She speaks very little English, and has been lonely and isolated since she came to the U.S. to become Mr. Hoo's second wife.  She has been working in the kitchen of the restaurant, and has no friends outside of her husband and stepson.  With no one to confide in, Madame Hoo has become desperate to return to China.  Hoo's restaurant has not been doing well, so she miguidedly believes that she must steal things to sell in order to get money to go back to her homeland.

She reveals herself as the thief in a touching scene in Chapter 26:

     A trembling Madame Hoo stood before the judge.  "For to go to China," she said timidly, setting a scarf-tied bundle on the desk.  Weeping softly, the thief shuffled back to her seat.
     The judge unknotted the scarf and let the flowered silk float down around the booty; her father's railroad watch, a pearl necklace, cuff links, a pin and earrings set, a clock.  (Grace Wexler's silver cross never did turn up.)
     "My pearls," Flora Baumbach exclaimed with delight.  "Wherever did you find them, Madame Hoo?  I'm so grateful." 
     Madame Hoo did not understand why the round little lady was smiling at her.  Cautiously she peered through her fingers.  Oh!  The other people did not smile.  They know she is bad.  And Mr. Hoo, his anger is drowned in shame. 
     "Perhaps stealing is not considered stealing in China," Sydelle Pulaski said in a clumsy gesture of kindness. (168)

Madame Hoo confesses because she believes that she will be found out.  She is not prosecuted for her petty crimes, and the rest of the heirs, though embarassed, feel pity for her. 

Source: Raskin, Ellen.  The Westing Game.  New York: Avon Books, 1978. 

What is the theme and point of view in "The Scent of Apples"?

The theme of the short story, "The Scent of Apples" is about how first generation immigrants experience a sense of loss and seek connection to their past life even if they had created a life for them in the new world.  The story revolves around Santos and a Filipino farmer from Indiana called Celestino Fabia.  Santos tells the story from his point of view.  The plot is fairly direct.  Santos is delivering a lecture on life in the Philippines when Fabia, excited by the notion of someone, anyone from his native Philippines speaking, attends the lecture and interrupts his speaking about how Filipino women have changed from 20 years ago the present time.  The two men strike up a conversation and Fabia invites Santos to his farm for dinner the next day.  Santos meets his family, eats dinner, experiences "the scent of apples" that comes from his orchard and the kitchen.  The ending of the story emerges when Santos is dropped off at his hotel and Fabia states that this will be the last time they see one another.  The characters of the story are Fabia, an immigrant from the Philippines who has lived in a farm in the midwest for the last 20 or so years.  His wife, Ruth, who is devoted to her husband, as her name suggests.  Their son, and Santos.  The main idea of the story is to stress that the immigrant experience, particularly the Filipino one, is a unique experience within the lexicon of American thought.  It stresses and explains different elements which range from isolation, alienation, joy, happiness, reverie, and recollection.  To be an immigrant is to live amongst "the scent of apples," something not as present in the homeland, yet strangely reminding of it.

In James Baldwins's "Sonny's Blues," is Creole a prophet symbol? If so how.

In Baldwin's story "Sonny's Blues," Creole is more like the father who awaits the prodigal son(s), awaiting the return of Sonny so that he can guide him to understanding.  Likewise, he seeks to guide Sonny's brother, the narrator, to a better understanding of his brother Sonny. For, he places the narrator in a dark, secluded corner where he can lose his sense of sense and totally focus upon the stage and Sonny. 

The narrator states that all of he knows of music is

what we mainly, or hear corroborated, are personal private, vanishing evocation.  But the man who creates the music is hearing something else, is dealing with the roar rising from the void and imposing order on it as it hits the air.  What is evoked in him, then, is of another order, more terrible because it has no words, and triumphant, too for that same reason.  And his triumph, when he triumphs, is ours.  I just watched Sonny's face.

At first, the narrator realizes, Sonny is not "with it."  But as Creole holds Sonny back, he is "having a dialogue with Sonny." 

He was Sonny's witness that deep water and drowning were not the same thing--he had been there, and he knew.  And he wanted Sonny to know.

When Sonny finally gets "in the water," Creole loosens his "rein," and Sonny plays as "Something began to happen."  As the music "tightened and deepend, apprehension began to beat the air."  What the blues are is communicated.  What the blues are to Sonny, specifically, is communicate to the narrator, and he hears what Sonny speaks on the piano.  No longer a "lament," Sonny's blues become freedom as he gives it back to those who follow him, "the only light we've got in all this darkness," as the narrator declares. 

In returning to his father-figure, Sonny finds his place in the community of man and communicates, thus giving his life meaning.  Symbolizing this communion with others, Sonny takes a sip from a Scotch and milk brought by a girl and placed upon the piano.  Baldwin's narrator describes it,

For me, as they began to play again, it glowed and shook above my brother's head like the very cup of trembling.

What is Jerry Cruncher's secret nighttime activity in A Tale of Two Cities and what theme does this activity reinforce?

Jerry Cruncher's secret nighttime activity is grave robbing.  Under the cover of darkness, he digs up fresh corpses and sells them to medical schools so that the students can use them in their study of anatomy. 

Cruncher's activities reinforce two themes that are central to the novel.  First of all, he is literally a "resurrection man", removing the deceased from their place among the dead and returning them to resume their existence among the living.  Dickens uses the image of imprisonment freely in the novel as a symbolic sort of death.  Dr. Manette is the most obvious character who experiences "resurrection", having been "recalled to life" after being held captive for eighteen years.  Charles Darnay also experiences death and resurrection twice, when he is imprisoned but eventually released.  In a larger sense, the theme of death is exemplified by the anarchy and hatred that consumes the masses during the French Revolution.  The Charles and Lucie Darnay, Dr. Manette, and especially Sydney Carton are resurrected from this atmosphere of death through their love and self-sacrifice.

The other theme that is reinforced through Jerry Cruncher's nighttime activities is the idea that things are not what they seem to be.  Cruncher by day is a respectable citizen, an employee of the prestigious Tellsons' Bank.  By night, however, he is a criminal of the lowest kind, a man who robs graves.  In a like manner, Charles Darnay aspires to be nothing more than an ordinary, hardworking British citizen, while in reality, he is the heir of the Evremondes, one of the most notorious families of the French aristocracy.  In another example, Sydney Carton appears to be no more than a crass, degenerate individual, but he turns out to be a hero, giving his very life in an unselfish sacrifice of love.

Why does Anne Frank take Valerian pills every day?

In 1942 the Nazis were cracking down on the Jewish people who lived in Germany and other countries.  The Frank family went into hiding so they could avoid being split up and sent to concentration camps.  Anne Frank kept a diary of her experiences.  As the time passed and the annex where they lived became more crowded it was very important for the families to be extremely quiet and not do anything to be detected.  If found, it would not only put them at risk but also endanger the family that was hiding them. 

For the most part Anne was a precious child who was bubbly, friendly, and  sweet.  As time went on, and the confinement streched out before them, Anne began to suffer from depression.  As the depression continued she began taking Valerian pills for the anxiety and depression. 

In October of 1943 Anne wrote:

"Outside, you don't hear a single bird, and a deathly, oppressive silence hangs over the house and clings to me as if it were going to drag me into the deepest regions of the underworld.... I wander from room to room, climb up and down the stairs and feel like a songbird whose wings have been ripped off and who keeps hurling itself against the bars of its dark cage."

Even her family tried to help with this situation.  Anne writes that the family began "plying me with dextrose, cod-liver oil, brewer's yeast and calcium."

In "Hamlet" broadly describe how will you explain Hamlet's bad treatment of Ophelia.Make it broad.

First of all, Opehlia herself describes how Hamlet had courted (dated) her, with all honorable intentions, and with every indication that he was completely in love with her.  So, here she is, thinking that Hamlet and her are an item, are on the path to marriage, and that he loves her.  Then, he starts acting strangely.  He ignores her, and pretty much drops the relationship.  The most he does is look at her longingly, and sigh.  So, that's frustrating.  She's ready to pass off as grief for his father's death, but then, the really cruel part comes in.  She gives him back all the love trinkets that he had given her, saying, since they were over, he might as well have them back.  At this point he shuns her, tells her to never marry, to go to a nunnery so that she cannot produce children, ever, tells her that he never loved her, and walks away.  Imagine the guy or girl that you were practically engaged to, basically spitting in your face, telling you it was all a lie, and that you are so undesirable that you should never get married or have kids.  Pretty harsh, if you ask me.  I hope that helps a bit; good luck!

"The Yellow Wallpaper" is narrated through stream-of-consciousness; discuss, viewing the feminist and psychological aspect of the story.

In 1887 at a Philadelphia sanatorium, Dr. Weir Mitchell, who is alluded to in "The Yellow Wallpaper," treated Charlotte Perkins  for a "nervous condition." The treatment was not only unsuccessful, but harmful.  Perkins herself stated that she wrote her story, in part, to expose the harm that this doctor dealt sensitive, artistic women who were restricted from an creative or higher-level activities during their treatments.

In the setting of this story, the Victorian Age, women's primary purpose was to be wives and mothers.  Any other activities in which they engaged were considered trivial amusements; no credibility was given to an illness such as "postpartum depression."  Since the narrator's husband, John, who is a physician only believes that physical things are real, when he cannot find any physical symptoms for his wife's illness, he feels that she is a hypochondriac and, so, he exerts his control over her as a means of asserting himself and, perhaps, teaching her a lesson for feigning illness.  And, as support for his ideas, he has Dr. Mitchell.

As a consequence of this repressive situation brought about by a chauvinistic society, the narrator feels that her wishes have been ignored.  When her desire to have a room that has "a lovely view of the bay and a little private wharf...with a shaded lane that runs down from the house" is rebuffed and she is cruelly forced to "rest" in a room that tortures her psychologically. For, she is repulsed by the ugly yellow of the wallpaper and its design which disturbs her artistic side.

This paper looks to me as if it knew what a vicious influence it had!  there is a recurrent spot where the pattern lolls like a broken neck and two bulbous eyes stare at you upside down.  I get positively angry with the impertinence of it and the everlastingness.  Up and down and sideways they crawl, and those absurd unblinking eyes are everywhere....The furniture in this room is no worse than inharmonious...

That she would be disturbed by this wallpaper her husband should have known since he is aware of her artisitic spirit.  It seems part of his cruelty that he ignores this aspect of his wife. As a result of her confinement with no view from the window and nothing to do but stare at the hideous wallpaper, the narrator becomes obsessed with the pattern, following it "by the hour."  She determines "for the thousandth time that I will follow that pointless pattern to some sort of conclusion."  Because, as she states, she knows "a little of the principle of desirn, and I know this thing was not arranged on any law of radiation, or alternation, or repetition, or symmetry, of anthing else," the narrator is artistically disturbed by the paper's pattern.  She describes it further as "'debased Romanesque' with delirium tremens...waddling upa dn down in isolated columns of fatuity."  Soon, the "effort is getting to be greater than the relief," and she loses her mental grip.

Still, her husband ignores her illness, speaking in a patronizing tone:

Bless her little heart!...She shall be as sick as she pleases!  But now let's improve the shining hours by going to sleep, and talk about it in the morning!

Without any psychological help, the narrator slips further into her obsessive occupation.  She imagines that there is a room trapped behind this paper, a woman who symbolizes herself.  Subconsciously resolved to escape her confinement so that she can get well, the narrator projects her feelings onto the "woman" whom she must help escape the paper.

In chap. 5 Crane describes the officers as having "neglected to stand in picturesque attitudes." What does this mean and/or signifiy?"The Red...

As a Naturalist, Stephen Crane broke with the Romantic tradition and refused to idealize war.  In "The Red Badge of Courage" the officers are not arranged as though they are in a painting, gallant and commanding in "picturesque attitudes."  Instead, Crane portrays the disorientation and chaos of the battlefield:

They [the officers] were bobbing to and fro offering directions and encouragements.  The dimensions of their howls were extraordinary. They expended their lungs with prodigal wills.  And often they nearly stood upon their heads in their anxiety to observe the enemy on the other side of the tumbling smoke.

Behind the battlelines, a lieutenant has a deserter by the collar and scolds him, forcing him back to the battle lines.  The officer even has to load the man's rifle for him.  In very naturalist diction, Crane describes Henry, the main character, as after the battle, he assesses the situation in which he stands:

The youth thought that at last he was going to suffocate.  He became aware of the foul atmosphere in which he had been struggling. He was grimy and dripping like a laborer in a factory.  He grasped his canteen and took a long swallow of the warm water.

Viewed through the eyes of Crane's youth. war is not noble, not picturesque.  Rather, it is stifling, grimy, and foul.  A soldier is no more than a sweating laborer.  There is a helplessness conveyed in Henry who never knows where he is fighting; he is simply moved by an implacable fate that "neglects" to place him in "picturesque" areas.

War is no picturesque, glorious portrait of men of honor.  It is a smoky line of youths who do not even know exactly where they are firing their rifles.  They are choked by the smoke, the grim, and the sordidness of their acts.  Critic Cumberland states that "in the realistic universe, there is no God to make human folly seem sane.  Henry Fleming is forced to confront the fact of death and the inevitability of his own death."

Which was the more important in Elizabeth I's reign, the House of Commons or the House of Lords? Explain.

Parliament's role in the government of Britain changed a great deal during Eilzabeth's reign, and the role of the House of Commons became more important. However, the House of Lords was still more important at the time, and although Parliament was a useful tool for her she used it rarely.  In her 45 years on the Throne the Houses sat for less than three years.

The Queen was still expected to live off her own money, with Parliament used to raise funds for extraordinary circumstances such as war.  No royal head of state in Europe was really able to do so, and hadn't been since the 14th century at the latest, so Elizabeth frequently was forced to sell lands or become involved in various business enterprises.  These included privateering expeditions, largely against the Spanish interests in the New World.  She only called Parliament when she wanted to raise taxes.  The House of Commons threatened to cut off her funds if she didn't marry, but didn't dare to actually do so.

She did use the House of Lords to push through the Act of Supremacy, which made her head of the Church of England.  This allowed tolerance for radical Protestants and acceptance of Communion for both Catholics and Protestants.  She also got the Act of Uniformity passed, which imposed the Book of Prayer on Churches in England, thus forcing through her own religious policy of turning Great Britain into an overwhelmingly Protestant nation.

Elizabeth disliked long Parliaments, which forced the Houses to streamline procedures.  It was during her reign that the Houses adopted reading a bill three times.  The House of Commons did become a far more useful political tool, largely through balancing their policies and procedures with the House of Lords.  Of 506 bills passed by Parliament during her reign, she vetoed 70.  Many of these were considered "private" bills, not public, meaning they pertained to purely local activities such as village fairs and local markets.  Her only use of Parliament as an advisory tool was during the debate on the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Parliament improved dramatically during the reign of Elizabeth I, and the House of Commons gained much political ground, but the House of Lords still carried more weight.  Parliament as a whole was a tool Elizabeth used only sparingly, and in ways she could mainly control.

What is the tone of A Separate Peace described with two or three adjectives?

This is a complex book and restricting myself to two or three adjectives is difficult! 

The first adjective I would choose is "nostalgic." This is a book about a man looking back on an important time in his past.  While that past involved tragic events, there was joy in that period of Gene's life, the time before he had to become a responsible adult.  The fact that he was expected to go to war when he left school gave this period particular importance to him, and there is a tone throughout the book of nostalgia.

The second adjective I would choose is "conflicted."  While the story takes place in a separate, peaceful time outside the reality of war, there is much conflict in the book.  Gene has internal conflict in his feelings about Finney, admiring him and envying him simultaneously.  He has conflicted feelings about the war, and he has conflicted feelings about his actions, as well.  Gene's ambivalence about life, maturity, friendship, and war is demonstrated throughout in the tone of the book. 

My final adjective is "claustrophobic."  That may seem like an unusual choice, but think about the isolation of these boys, all together on one campus, having to deal only with one another day in and day out, with few places to escape to, eating meals together, studying together, attending class together, and having all athletic and recreational activities together.  This claustrophobic atmosphere  and tone cause all the events in the novel to be even more significant in the eyes of the characters and the reader. 

Discuss the factors that contributed to the rise of the novel?i need this answer pllllllllllllllllz

emoo4ever,

Throughout the West, and in other parts of the world as well, the novel has been the most popular literary form of the last 250 years. The novel is also an especially significant form, in that it has shaped Western understandings of human society and human psychology. Novels are not the only sources of such ideas, but they are the most popular and probably the most influential.

Most textbooks tell us that a novel is a work of fiction, almost always written in prose, at least 150 to 200 pages long. The textbook definition also distinguishes novels (as works written in prose) from classical epics. The Iliad, Odyssey, and Aeneid, for example, are all very long poems. Because the novel is a long form, it can cover a period of years, following the characters through a number of major changes. Similarly, because the reading time of a novel may be far longer than the running time of most plays and movies, novels give us the opportunity to develop close, even intimate relationships with both the characters and the narrator.

The term amatory tale helps to distinguish works like Love in Excess by Eliza Haywood from works written 20 to 50 years later, such as Pamela by Samuel Richardson or Evelina by Frances Burney. Despite their occasional failings, Pamela and Evelina clearly count as novels by current standards,but Love in Excess does not because it lacks specificity, character development, and a setting. More often than not, these works are trying to particularize and specify. The term amatory tale is nevertheless useful because it points to the most interesting feature of Haywood’s story, the theme of love and sexual passion, and makes that a defining feature. Scholars have also been able to show that many amatory tales were published in the period from, say, 1680 to 1740.

Equally important to our understanding of the novel form are its differences from the traditional form of the romance. The romance may date back to antiquity, though the most familiar examples are probably the medieval stories of King Arthur and his knights. Romances vary widely, but they do have some common features. The setting of a romance is usually remote and, perhaps, exotic, like that of a fairy tale. The characters in a romance are also sketched broadly—handsome prince, beautiful princess—and may include larger-than-life figures, such as giants and wizards. Finally, there’s often some sort of magic in a romance. The romance is a form that has no trouble with the supernatural or the metaphysical.

It’s clear that the romance was stripped down and streamlined into the amatory tale, and it’s also clear that the tales were then developed into the first novels. Of course, it’s not quite as simple as that—because the forms of the romance and amatory tale are very much alive and well in the form of Harry Potter and others.

The novel is a form with two major dimensions: one sociological, the other psychological. The sociological dimension of the novel is crucially important, because novels are almost always concerned with social distinctions, social hierarchies, and social values. In addition to exploring these sociological issues, the novel also delves into human psychology, providing vivid images of how individuals think and feel.

In chapter three of A Separate Peace, what is the world that Gene remembers?"A Separate Peace" by John Knowles

In Chapter 3 of "A Separate Peace" there is a World According to Phineas that the narrator, Gene, recalls.  Phineas and he are in summer school at Devon, and Finny loves rules, not the rules of the school, but his own that he creates as he goes along.  Gene writes,

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

For Gene, this moment was World War II; it "was and is reality" for him.  The color of life for Gene is the same as the color of war:  dull, dark green called "olive drab."  In this special country, Gene writes, he spends his summer at Devon with Finny, who achieves certain feats as an athlete.  Finny, however, creates his own world by designing new sports such as "blitzball,"  named after the Nazis blitzkrieg. a sudden, overwhelming attack by air of a country such as Poland.  Reckless, like his sports, Finny does things just to see if he can do them, such as breaking swimming records.  For Finny to break a school record is, Gene declares, "inebriating in the suppleness of this feat.  It had, in one word, glamour, absolute schoolboy glamour. But, there is also something "too unusual for rivalry" about Phineas's actions, and Gene cannot figure Finny out.

Wildly, Finny breaks the school rules.  They run off from the campus to the ocean where they have dinner at a hot dog stand and drink a beer.  Then they settle in a "good spot in the sand dunes at the lonely end of the beach"  and sleep for the night.  There Finny tells Gene he is his best pal:

It was a courageous thing to say.  Exposing a sincere emotion nakedly like that at the Devon school was the next thing to suicide....Perhaps I was stopped by that level of feeling, deeper than thought, which contains the truth.

Gene feels inferior to Finny, whose ease and charm are spontaneous, whose courage is unlimited.  There is a growing jealousy in Gene, one that becomes destructive to both Finny and Gene himself.

I need an analysis of "Tears, Idle Tears"characterization,theme,irony,point of view

mandana1,

Tennyson's "Tears, Idle Tears" is a brooding lyric as a classic example of poetic suggestion. The poem opens with a paradox. The speaker unexpectedly finds himself weeping when “looking on the happy autumn-fields.” The tears are declared idle, which is to say they seemingly lack any real basis. But are they really mysterious in their origin? Is the speaker weeping?

The poem is loaded with suggestive imagery and situations to answer this question. It might help you to begin by noticing when the poem takes place. It is autumn—the time of harvest and completion. The speaker seemingly cannot help but reflect in this season on “the days that are no more.” Where the poem takes place also reinforces the sense that the speaker is painfully cut off from the past. The speaker weeps while “looking on the happy autumn-fields.”

Seeing them and remembering the past triggers a series of revealing reveries about “the days that are no more.” The first image associated with the past is light on a sail. First, the sail seems “fresh” and dawn-like—bringing “our friends up from the underworld.” The last word of that line, underworld, explicitly brings death into the poem. Any reassuring image of the dead returning to us, however, is quickly reversed as the ship sinks “with all we love below the verge.” The death imagery becomes more explicit in stanza 3 when the dawn song of the birds falls on “dying ears,” and the sun rises to “dying eyes.”

In the final stanza, the intensity of the speaker’s mood heightens appreciably. He speaks explicitly of love—lost love—and the pain of remembering the beloved. By the end of the poem the reader recognizes (at least intuitively) that the speaker weeps from the memory of a dead or lost beloved (both circumstances are stated) and the pain of being unable to recapture the past.

In "The Story of an Hour," how do Josephine and Richards break the news to Mrs. Mallard?

From the very first paragraph of this memorable short story it is clear that the main concern of Josephine and Richards is how to break the news of the death of Brently Mallard to his wife without shocking her so greatly and endangering her health because of her heart condition. Thus it is that we are told that Richards, a friend of Mr. Mallard, had rushed back so that Mrs. Mallard could be informed by a member of the family rather than find out through any cruder form of communication. We are told in particular how they inform Mrs. Mallard of this tragic news:

It was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing.

Mrs. Mallard's sister, Josephine, thus tells her in a very elliptical fashion rather than bluntly coming out with the truth, trying to soften this incredible blow to Mrs. Mallard to do her best to not shock her and endanger her health.

Describe the history of the computer.computer history

Computers have evolved out of physical aids for mathematical computations. There is no clear cut distinction between what constitutes a computer and what is just a calculator or calculating device. However many experts consider Mark I built in 1944 as the first real computer ever built.

Prior to development of Mark I the history of development of various computing devices can be traced back to about 2500 years when abacus was developed. Between development of abacus and Mark I there were many different types of computing aids conceived, developed and used. Some more prominent ones of these are described below.

• Napier bones developed by John Napier in1617. This was further improved as slide rule, which were widely used till Twentieth century. NASA used slide rules till 1960's.


• Leonardo de Vinci (1452 - 1519) conceived a gear driven calculating machine. Subsequently gear driven calculating machine was built by Schicard in 1623, and by Paskal in 1642. A few years later Later the famous mathematician, built a calculating machine that used fluted drum rather than gears.


• Punched cards system developed by Jacquard in 1801, for incorporating different designs in the weave of power looms are not really devices for mathematical computing, but these have substantially influenced the design and building of modern computers.


• In 1822 Charles Babbage designed and tried to build a steam powered calculating machines. This machine could never worked. However many experts describe it as first computer.


• 1885 first workable adding and listing machine was patented by William Steward Burrows. Subsequent to this many different types of mechanical, electrical and electronic calculators were developed, manufactured and used. Sophisticated electronic calculators are still very popular. One example of their popularity is the calculator function incorporated in operating systems of personal computers today.


• Hollerith Desk was developed and used for computing the results of US census o5 1890. This machine was subsequently manufactured and sold commercially by a company formed by Hollerith. This company called Tabulating Machine Company, later became IBM. This organization played a very important part in continuously improving these devices and popularising them.

Mark I was designed and built by Howard Aikens jointly with IBM for the U.S. Army. It used punched tape as input, and was completely mechanical. The first electronic computer was ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator) built between 1943 1nd 1945 by John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert. This was also developed for the S.S. Army. Mauchy and Eckert followed this up with building of EDVAC, the first computer with stored program. This was built with help of Neuman.

With success of ENIAC many other computes with similar sounding names such as ILLIAC, JHONNIAC and MANIAC were developed by different people.

The first commercially produced computer with stored programs was UNIVAC manufactured in 1950's by a company started by Eckert and Mauchy. This computer used magnetic tape for data input.

We can say that the basic design of computers ws well developed with Univac. Subsequent to this have all been in the form of improving performance, reducing size, and reducing cost. Improved performance has also resulted from improved input and output devices and from software development.

Who inspired Morrie's passion for books and education in Tuesdays With Morrie?

Morrie's passion for books and educaion was inspired by his stepmother Eva.

Morrie's real mother died when he was only eight years old.  His father, a Russian immigrant who could not read English, was a "silent" man not prone to "show(s) of affection, communication, warmth".  Morrie lived with his father and brother David in poverty after his mother's death, but his frequent hunger for food was not nearly as painful as his longing for love and connection.

Eva came into Morrie's life like "a saving embrace".  She was "a short Romanian immigrant with plain features, curly brown hair, and the energy of two women".  Eva exuded "a glow that warmed the otherwise murky atmosphere his father created".  Morrie took comfort "in her soothing voice, her school lessons, her strong character".  Despite the poverty that still defined the family's situation, Morrie was taught by Eva

"to love and to care...and to learn.  Eva would accept nothing less than excellence in school, because she saw education as the only antidote to their poverty.  She herself went to night school to improve her English.  Morrie's love for education was hatched in her arms".

With his stepmother's encouragement and support, Morrie as a youth studied hard each night "by the lamp at the kitchen table" ("The Professor").

Describe the nature of the conflict between Jack and Ralph as suggested by: "two continents of experience and feeling unable to communicate."Find a...

You've asked for an awful lot in a limited space.  I can begin by saying that Jack and Ralph are like two continents bumping up against each other and causing rifts like volcanos when techtontic plates push and shove.  They both want to be in control, but for different reasons.  Jack doesn't really believe the boys will be rescued.  He is all about controlling the boys by putting fear into them--he does this by punishing them verbally and physically when he perceives they've done something wrong, and also by fueling the whole "Beastie" thing.  He knows they feel safer in numbers, and this is how he keeps them loyal to him even though most of them don't like him.

Ralph, on the other hand, has the greater good of the group in mind.  He wants to rule democratically and through the sense of doing what's right.  He gets upset when the boys run off to play or hunt instead of collecting water, keeping watch on the signal fire, or building shelters.  He thinks the boys should do what is needed to secure safety and rescue before going off to satisfy the urge to let off a little steam by being the "boys" (not men as they are forced to grow up quickly living alone and fighting to survive on the island) they are.

Ralph symbolizes intelligence and reason, as does Piggy.  Simon symbolizes innocence.  Ironically, these are three boys on the island that Jack targets first.  His cruel and barbaric way of ruling requires that he murder innocence, reason and intelligence so that the other boys blindly follow him without question.  As far as a Biblical reference goes, Jack and Ralph are certainly not brothers, but you could compare them to Cain and Abel.  Cain, the jealous brother, murders Abel, the favorite. Abel's blood calls out to God to let him know he has been murdered.  It goes without saying that the boys elected Ralph by a landslide to be their leader in the beginning of the book.  He is kind, nurturing, and the "favorite" of the boys.  Jack does intend to murder him by having the boys hunt him down and setting the fire on the island to smoke him out.  The smoke, rather than Ralph's blood, calls out for help and is the reason the Navy ship arrives just in the nick of time to save Ralph's life.

Simon knew that the beast the boys needed to fear was within them all, not an external issue at all.  Unfortunately, he was unable to communicate this to the rest since they all jumped on him and murdered him without hesitation.  This speaks to the darkness of man's heart, as does the cruelty in Jack and Roger's leadership.  The horrible murder of Piggy is another example.

You will need to take these ideas and search further in the book to find more.  This is a good start, but it is difficult to address in detail everything you have listed here.  Good luck with your assignment!

In "The Great Gatsby", why doesn't Gatsby go into hiding after Myrtle's death?

Gatsby would never go into hiding at this point in the novel, he has waited a long five years to get this close to Daisy once again.  He has succeeded in his plan to be with Daisy, except everything goes very, very wrong in the hotel when Gatsby and Daisy confront Tom, her husband, with their love for each other.

Daisy is a fragile woman emotionally, Tom is an abusive husband and has emotionally abused Daisy with his open affairs and arrogant behavior.  Gatsby feels very protective towards Daisy, he waits up all night long thinking that she might need his help.  He is committed to her totally.

Daisy is the main reason that Gatsby does not go into hiding.  He doesn't care if he is in trouble, in is going to take the blame for the accident any way.  He is going to say he was driving to keep Daisy safe.

His love for Daisy is so totally consuming that he doesn't care about himself, he doesn't care what happens to him now.  He has amassed wealth and power for one reason, to show Daisy what he has become, to impress her.

Are Nora and Cathleen choric character in Rider to the sea?

Reminiscent of the chorus in ancient Greek drama, some chracters in the Elizabethan and modern drama do serve choric functions such as observing and commenting upon the course of action and sometimes marginally participating in it.

The two daughters of old Maurya in Synge's tagedy in one act, Riders to the Sea, may be seen as somewhat choric. They observe and comment, wait and see, from their allotted space, as things happen to their household, underscoring the fatal inscrutability of the despotic sea.

Both Cathleen and Nora are young peasant girls cofined to their domestic chores. Cathleen, the elder sister, is a bit more experienced than Nora who serves as a link with the world outside. Nora brings news & views, talks to the priest & Bartley's friends, reports on the sea & the availability of the boat going to the Galway fair. She is immature and looks up to her elder sister for guidance. She keeps reproducing the words of the priest almost verbatim, looks curious, short of understanding her mother's predicament. Cathleen seems more seriously but quietly devoted to her duties at home. She shares Maurya's grief, but doesn't show signs of breaking down even under conditions of severe anxiety and distress. She favours Bartley's decision to venture out on the sea though the old mother does her best to hold her last surviving son back from the clutches of the unrelenting sea.

Both Cathleen and Nora are helpless observers and only marginal participants who do not know how to appease the all-devouring sea, how to stave the catastrophe off. Nora can bring the bundle of clothes from the priest and Cathleen can bake a cake for her brother. The two sisters can together identify the clothes in the bundle to be those of their dead brother, Michael. When in the end everybody mourns the death of Bartley, Cathleen asks the old man to make the coffin and have the cake she had baked for Bartley.

What is a solid example (who, what, where, when, why, how,what happened?) for how regional alliances expanding their roles to include...

Regional organizations in Africa and South America have often attempted peace keeping or mediating roles, as in the Agentine-Chile conflicts, the Falklands War, and numerous African conflicts (Congo, Nigeria, Rwanda).  Some newer regional alliance groups have arisen which are mainly concerned with more limited agendas, such as economic cooperation or organized diplomatic resistance to particular other nations or groups.  These may actually in the long run have more positive effects on restraining wars than more conventional peacekeeping missions, which have usually been launched only after situations are already disastrous.  The South American Alliance, for instance, is largely a group of nations opposing US economic and political objectives on that continent.  Ethno-regional alliance groups both between and within African countries have a possibility of diplomatically working out problems which have traditionally been addressed by warfare.  The World Trade Organisation wants Pakistan and India to grant one another Most Favored Nation status, hoping economic cooperation will lead to better relations.  Will these ideas and organisations work?  We'll see.

The Organisation of African Unity, today the African Union, has not only been used for political and economic association but for peacekeeping initiatives and military peacekeeping missions many times since it's founding in 1963.  The Organisation of American States is the oldest regional cooperative group in the world.  Links to these group's websites are below, and may give you a better understanding of the potential of such organisations, as well as specific examples of their work in the past.

Do it. Please change this sentence into passive voice.

This is a good question!  In order to have the passive voice, words need to be arranged so that what would ordinarily be the subject in the sentence, the word that performs the action, is relegated to a lesser role, usually an object of a preposition.  In the sentence you have provided, the word "you" is implied, and this is the subject of the sentence.  If we fill in the implied word, we have:

        You do it.

Thus, "you" is the subject, "do" is the verb, and "it" is the object. 

Now, how do we make this passive?  We make "It" the subject and we put "you" in a prepositional phrase.  Because we cannot say "it do," and because even "it does" does not convey the correct meaning, we do have to make a change.  How about "It needs doing" or "It needs to be done."  Both of these convey the same meaning and preserve the verb.  In order to place "you," the original subject, in a prepositional phrase, we can say, "It needs doing by you," or "It needs to be done by you."  Now, the original subject has become the object of a prepositional phrase and "it" is the subject. 

Do you see how ineffective it can be to write in the passive voice?  We do need it sometimes and no writing can avoid it completely, but a statement is usually stronger when written in the active voice.  The passive voice is often referred to as "the weaselly passive voice" because if there is no person in the sentence doing something, it seems like that person is avoiding responsibility. Contrast these two statements:

           Mistakes were made by me.

           I made a mistake.

Which do you feel is the more honest and forthright statement? 

Describe the summary of a poem The Tyger in detail.

Blake's poem The Tyger begins with the amazement of a vision, an apocalyptic beast 'burning bright' in the bordering darkness: nocturnal darkness presented metaphorically as 'forests of the night'. Obviously, this is no familiar tiger in the natural habitat of forests; this is a visionary tiger as burning fire in the darkness as an absolute principle. The vision leads the poet to an assumption of the mystery of its maker, for the maker is best understood in terms of the thing made:

"What immortal hand or eye,

Could frame thy fearful symmetry?"

Blake's tiger symbolises 'Experience', as the lamb in his other poem symbolises 'Innocence'. The animal juxtaposes the opposites as the oxymoronical phrase 'fearful symmetry' suggests. Who could be the maker of such a ferocious but beautiful beast? The poet refers to his 'immortal hand or eye', that is to say, an immortal maker.

The question relating to the maker now gives rise to many more questions in stanza 2: wherefrom the maker procures the fire--from the depths of the underworld, or from the heights of the skies? In either case, the maker must have had wings to delve into the 'distant deeps', or to soar high up to heaven. The maker must be a daring aspirant who has 'the hand' to 'seize the fire', may be, like Icarus or Prometheus in Greek mythology.

Stanza 3 again posits questions relating to the creature and its creator. Since the huge beast has had a big and bold heart made up of strong muscles, its creator must also be strong-shouldered, and must have known the art of making the strange animal. The poet further apprehends how life was put into the tiger's heart set it to motion:

"And when thy heart began to beat,

What dread hand? and what dread feet?"

With a new set of questions, stanza 4 further dwells on the making of the tiger as something stupendous, built in the workshop of a legendary blacksmith:

"What the hammer? what the chain?

In what furnace was thy brain?

What the anvil? what dread grasp,

Dare its deadly terrors clasp?"

Stanza 5 shows an attempt on the part of the poet to locate the making of the tiger in cosmic time and space. Blake imagines that the tiger was made at a moment of crisis when the rebel angels in heaven surrendered their weapons before God as God applied thunderbolt. The stars extinguishing their lights symbolise the thunder-struck angels shedding tears:

"When the stars threw down their spears

And water'd heaven with their tears:

Did he smile his work to see?

Did he who made the Lamb make thee?"

The pair of questions in the closing lines of stanza 5 seems to have challenged the idea of a benign creator. The maker of the lamb is Himself 'the Lamb of God', meek and mild, representing the 'forgiveness of sins'. But how can such a maker create the terrible tiger? The maker of the fierce & fiery beast must be the other self of God, wrathful & cruel, representing 'the punishment of sins'

Stanza 6 is almost identical with the opening stanza, with the exception of 'dare' in the beginning of the last line. The change from 'could' to 'dare' suggests the completion of the making of the tiger.

What is the exposition in "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"?

Exposition is simply the mode of writing to provide information. It is the text of the story that explains the plot. In "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," the story opens with a description of a military flight in a storm. The episode is revealed to be a daydream that Walter enjoys while driving his wife to town. The reader quickly figures out that Walter is fantasizing about leading a more exciting life because of the narrative device of interspersing descriptions of the fantasies with the mundane reality of Walter's life.

What are all the key signatures and how many sharps or flats are in them? Example: G# is one sharp. I don't know the others. Please help!

Sharps:

The first key is the key of C - no sharps and no flats.

Second is the key of G - one sharp - F

Third is the key of D - two sharps - D and F

Fourth is the key of A -three sharps - C, F, and G

Fifth is the key of E - four sharps - C, D, F, and G

Sixth is the key of B - five sharps -  A, C, D, F, and G

Seventh is the key of F  - six sharps, - A, C, D, E, F, and G

Eighth is the key of C - seven sharps - A, B, C, D, E, F, and G

Next come the flats:

First is the key of C - no sharps, no flats

Second is the key of F - one flat - B

Third is the key of B flat - two flats - B and E

Fourth is the key of E flat - three flats - A, B, and E

Fifth is the key of A flat - four flats - A, B, D, and E

Sixth is the key of D flat - five flats - G, A, B, D, and E

Seventh is the key of G flat -six flats - G, A, B, C, D, and E

Eighth is the key of C flat-seven flats- A, B, C, D, E, F, and G

Those are all the major keys.  Notice the pattern of whole-steps and half-steps for each major key.  The pattern is the same for each key.

What are some examples of figurative language in Book VII? I have found two examples and I need one more.

In this book, Athena disguises herself as a little girl carrying a pitcher on the road to Alcinous' house.  Odysseus has landed on the island of the Phaeacians, and he wants to talk to the king Alcinous.  But the Phaecians, we are told, dislike strangers, and Odysseus looks like a poor wretch.  He is protected by Athena, however, and hidden in a cloud as he walks along.  Athena tells Odysseus about the Phaeacians, and doing so she uses two poetic similes.  "They are a sea-faring folk, and sail the seas by the grace of Poseidon in ships that glide along like thought, or as a bird in the air.” (Chapter VII). 

These similes, examples of figurative language, give the reader an impression (as all figurative language is supposed to do) of what is being described.  We know from Athena's simile that the Phaecians, whom we already know to be proud, are excellent sailors.  Their ships are so fast that they "glide along like thought", and as easily as a "bird in the air".  These metaphors also imply that they are quiet, and perhaps stealthy -- good for naval warfare and raiding.  This gives us a further layer of information about the Phaecians; not only are they proud, and expert sailors, they may very well be warlike, too.  These are people not to trifle with, and Odysseus does well to be protected by the powerful goddess.

Homer somtimes employs less rich metaphors than this -- the rather trite one of Arete being honored "as a goddess" is one of them.  Some figurative language is a kind of shorthand -- it doesn't all have the layered implications that the ones Athena used above, for example.  We know from this simile that Arete is well-honored in her place as queen.  It is good for her that she is honored, for she is married to her own uncle, and in ancient Greece this was, at least among some people, considered incestuous.  But both Arete and her husband Alcinous are descended, very nearly, from the god Poseidon.  This makes their actions close enough to the divine to be less censured than they would be among people not descended from gods.  But again, we know now that Odysseus is in enemy territory, here among the sea-god's descendents, for Odysseus has angered Poseidon.  It is by no means certain what he will meet when he enters Alcinous' and Arete's house.

What does "Vivid Imagery" mean?

Writers that use the techinque of vivid imagery do so to tap into the senses and emotions of the reader. The language of vivid imagery forces the reader to create not only a mental picture of the words, but stirs a personal meaning within the readers' mind. The purpose of this techinque is to develop a 'relationship' between the story and the reader, the writer creates the image and the reader personally identifies with the image.

I need help writing a reflective essay in a standard five-paragraph structure.about a person you met in your past who challenged you or made you...

Before you get started with your writing, you will have to think about the person you will write about.  Who has challenged your ideas or behavior and made you change in an important way?  This could be a teacher, a parent or other relative, a friend, or even a stranger you spoke with on a bus one day.  Once you decide who you will write about and how that person changed you, it is time to get started because you have your main idea. 

What does it mean to reflect?  It means that you think about your thinking.  What thought processes did you go through as this person was changing your mind or behavior?  How did this person change your mind?  Why was this successful?  What were your ideas before and after?  That is reflection.

Now, in a five-paragraph essay, you need one paragraph as an introduction, one paragraph as your conclusion, and three paragraphs that are the "body." 

In the introduction, you must introduce your reader to the person and the situation, state your main idea, and give the reader a preview of three ways you will support your main idea.

Each of the next three paragraphs, the body, should discuss one idea about how this person changed you, a reflection on what happened. 

Finally, your conclusion needs to restate your main idea and offer the reader a review of the ideas you discussed. 

Why are assembly-line processes usually so much more efficient but less flexible than batch processes?give three reasons

It will not be entirely correct to say that assembly-line processes are more efficient than batch processes. Both these types of processes can be the most efficient or not so efficient for specific applications depending upon the nature of operations performed and the volume of work.

To begin with, as the name itself indicates, assembly-line method is appropriate only for operations involving assembling of two or more components into a composite product. It it cannot be used when the operation involving processing of single inputs. Further, assembly line technique is suitable only for very high production rates. Thus assembly-line methods are used primarily for high volume consumer durable goods such as automobile, and home appliances.

Batch processing on the other hand can be used for any type of production. However, when the non-assembly operations with very high rate of production is required it is better to use some method of automated or continuous production. Yarn spinning is a good example of such high speed automated production process.

Some production processes are such that batch processes continues to be the best alternative for even very high level of production. For example, Pig iron is produced in blast furnace in batch mode.

Even coming to consideration of flexibility, the assembly line process is less flexible because it is designed that way. When the product is standard there is no need for the process to be flexible. However, it is worthwhile to note that now Assembly lines are being designed to provide a considerable higher level or flexibility than was the case in the past.

In case of batch production also the flexibility of the process will depend on the way the process is designed. Let us once again take the example of the blast furnace operations. It is a batch process but has very little flexibility. This process is not designed to be flexible, simply because flexibility is not required.

Why did the poet write the poem of "London 1802"?

This poem is probably one of Wordsworth's only nationalistic poems. He seems frustrated with the way English society has fallen away from the noble virtues of just a few years ago.

He begins the poem with an exclammation and a dramatic outcry.

Milton! England has need of you.

Wordsworth feels that Milton exemplified all that was good about English society. Milton wrote Paradise Lost some time back and was considered a moral and virtuous poet. Milton's soul is as bright as a star, he stood alone above the crowd. etc.

Wordsworth was concerned with ethical morality and the natural sense of morality his poems might communicate to his readers. Wordsworth was not a sensualist as some might imagine. He sees England as a quagmire or swamp full of selfish men. We wishes Milton were here to teach "manners, virtue, freedom, power."

How do you would describe the societies in Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451?

doger1,

Aldous Huxley's vision is more relevant and far more likely to happen than George Orwell's. Huxley's "A Brave New World" and Orwell's "1984" both predict the future of society, yet each has contrasting opinions about that future.

Perhaps the most important piece of evidence used to distinguish the two societies is the role of the media and technology.

Huxley asserted that what we love will ruin us. By inflicting too much pleasure we will self-destruct. The media, responding to our demands, inflicts pleasure. A flip through cable stations produces MTV (music videos), HSN (Home Shopping Network), GTV (golf), and Prevue Guide, where one can sit for 24 hours a day and be hypnotised by the endless, incessant scrolling of channel listings and broadcasts. Even on such informative stations like PBS, CNN and The Discovery Channel, we are mesmerized by detailed accounts of crimes, murders, and WWII documentaries.

Our love of violence, death and the bad guy as well as our fascination with the Yankees, the Oscars and The Office, combine to desensitize us to the realities of a modern world. We don't cringe at mangled dead bodies, we slow down to look at a traffic accident. We spend millions of dollars (never mind the homeless) to advertise during a football game.

This constant flood of information about things we love blurs the line between cognition and hypnosis, morality and unmorality. This constant flood renders us impossible to distinguish between right and wrong, good and bad--it is all televised, printed, and e-mailed and put on instant replay. Only when we are awake and aware of the realities and boundaries that we must confine ourselves to can we truly prevent self-destruction.

The Internet is a striking example of too much information. Huxley asserted that no one would want to read a book. A quick visit to amazon.com proves him correct. I can read the first two chapters of Twain's "Huck Finn" on-line, and if I really like it, I can go to iTunes and get the book on a digital format. Why read when other people can read to me?

The Internet has unfortunately, more than "books." I can print my own alcohol-making manual, I can visit a chat room, I can order a sweater from A & F, and send my mom a Virtual Reality Mother's Day Card. All brought to me by Yahoo and my MacBook.

Despite an Orwellian projection of a dark, tyrannical oppression in which all truth is concealed from society, Huxley's prediction of the truth being drowned in a sea of irrelevance has been realized. Truth is shrouded by circuses of Britney Spears and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and anyone who claims they still saw Elvis. 

Civil libertarians are constantly on the alert to oppose tyranny have failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distraction.

How/Why are the protagonist and the antagonist are in conflict with other?Connie is the protagonist. Who would be the antagonist other than Arnold...

Answering the last part first, Connie is definitely in conflict with herself-as are most 15 year olds. She doesn't know exactly what she wants and is torn between what she feels she should be and what she really wants.  Neither she nor the reader know exactly what this is.

Connie, the protagonist, is in conflict with Arnold because he represents the ultimate wild side- some argue that he even represents the devil.  He plays mind games with her and manipulates her into doing exactly what he wants.  She tells him he is crazy, but she ultimately succumbs to his persuasion as he tells her that the place where she was doesn't exist anymore.

Why does Eliot describe the fog as a cat in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock?" What is the effect of repeating words like "yellow" and...

The main purpose would be to simply be poetic, and use an interesting metaphor for the fog.  Cats are known to be quiet, stealthy, adept, and able to scale and inhabit places that other creatures can't.  So, comparing the fog to a cat is an apt description because fog too is silent, stealthy, and creeps into places that others can't.  Also, in this beginning part of the poem, Eliot is describing a run-down part of the city; he mentions the "half-deserted streets", the "one-night cheap hotels," the "sawdust restaurants with oyster shells."  He emphasizes the run-down atmosphere by using the word "yellow" repeatedly; this is no beautiful fog that creeps beautifully before a glowing moon.  Describing it as yellow emphasizes the industrial, polluted nature of the fog.  Most likely, in the city, the pollution from industrialization is so dense that it turns the fog yellow.  That this yellow, dirty color brushes against the windowpanes indicates that it is right at their door, and hard to escape.  Eliot was a modernist writer, and modernists tended to bemoan the dehumanization and pollution of the industrial age, so Eliot's mentioning of the "yellow" fog plays into that.

Also, the part of the city that he is describing is rather decrepit, and with that image comes the fact that there are probably many stray cats that are running around in the alleys.  So, as the fog creeps through this part of the city, alley-cats are probably fairly common and a part of that run-down atmosphere.  So, rather than comparing the fog to say, a snake, Eliot picks an animal that is regional and logical for that part of town.

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

What are some examples of figurative language in Book 24 of The Odyssey?

Figurative language is patterns of words which create images in the reader's mind, and also mean more than what they literally mean.  There are many, many types of figurative language, but some of the most-often used ones are metaphor, simile, imagery, personification, hyperbole, and the sound-related figurative language (such as assonance, alliteration, onomatopoeia, etc.)

In the last book of the Odyssey, a simile presents itself almost immediately:

As bats fly squealing in the hollow of some great cave, when one of them has fallen out of the cluster in which they hang, even so did the ghosts whine and squeal as Hermes the healer of sorrow led them down into the dark abode of death. (Chapter XXIV)

We may not think of the squealing and scuttering of bats as a simile for ghosts anymore, since it has been used so often since Homer, but this simile creates a very clear and vivid image in the readers' minds of the sound and movement of the ghosts of the suitors in Hades.

Another example of figurative language is the rather mild one used by Odysseus to Laertes, when he is describing the sun on the vines Laertes gave him.

you also said you would give me fifty rows of vines; there was corn planted between each row, and they yield grapes of every kind when the heat of heaven has been laid heavy upon them. (Chapter XXIV)

This statement implies a personification (of the sun, which Homer and his listeners may have actually thought as a real being, the god Helios) that would "lay" the heat of the sun on plants, rather than the rays reaching the ground on their own.  Another nice bit of imagery comes when the townspeople of Ithaca are talking about Odysseus killing all the suitors.  "On this pale fear laid hold of them,". (Chapter XXIV).  Fear cannot be seen, so we cannot know that it is pale.  Faces are pale if they are fearful, the poet is saying, and thus shortens it and calls it "pale fear".  This trope is repeated again near the end of the book.

Another simile ends the book. "But Odysseus gave a great cry, and gathering himself together swooped down like a soaring eagle."  The use of fierce animals in similes for warriors is used often in Homer's poetry.

What dramatic point does Shakespeare make by including the reference to King Edward the Confessor’s supernatural powers (IV.iii.140-159)? ...

Every reference to the King of England in Macbeth is done with positive words like "worthy" "good" and "honorable".  This is done for two reasons.  First, Malcolm has chosen to go to England for the help he needs to restore the peace to his own country since King Edward's regime is everything his own father's was and everything Macbeth's is not--clean, honorable, worthy, and peaceful.  The other reason is absolutely to stroke the ego of James the I, who is supposedly one of the many Kings who have come down from the most honorable Banquo in the play.  It is interesting, however, that English Kings are portrayed as greater than Scottish Kings since James I of England was ALSO James VI of Scotland (descended from Banquo and son of Mary Queen of Scots, cousin to Elizabeth I of England).

The "brief candle" you mention is a metaphor for Lady Macbeth and her brief life as Queen.  It comes from Macbeth's famous speech after he learns of Lady Macbeth's death when he tells his audience that the world is a stage and we are all merely players strutting our stuff across it until fhe final curtain falls (death).

Of the characters listed there, both the Macbeths could be considered round or fully developed characters.  However, if you must only choose one, go with Macbeth himself since we know more of him and spend much time with him in the last scenes getting into his head and knowing him as a person more clearly than any other character in the play.

Good Luck on your test!

What is the difference between the terms sex and gender?

In the English language, these terms tend to be used interchangeably. There is little difference in how they are used. Either refers to the male or female. There is, however, according to the rules of the English langauge, a difference in how they SHOULD be used. The term "gender" is used in English grammar to indicate a classification between the male and the female or people, animals, and other living beings.For example, the pronoun of "he" is used to describe a male gendered animal, while "she" would be used in female gendered animals. We may ask someone what sex they are. We classify animals by their sex, but politely classify human beings by their gender.Simply put, it is more appropriate and polite to ask a person to indicate their gender, rather than their sex.

 Sex is more often used in its verb form to denote an action undertaken by animals of both genders.

In "A Separate Peace" how many years has Gene been away from the school?

"A Separate Peace" by John Knowles, is the first person narrative of Gene Forrester.  Gene has returned to Devon School after a fifteen-year absence.

"I went back to the Devon school not long ago, and found it looking oddly newer than when I was a student there fifteen years before." (pg 1)

Phineas and Gene were best friends.  This novel is a memoir of Gene's years at Devon and coming to grips with the tragedy that occurred there.  He uses this vehicle to do away with the ghosts and guilt that has haunted him throughout his life. 

The story began in 1942. The war was on and young men everywhere wanted to get in the war and go kill Germans.  This was never more true than for the boys at Devon School.  We meet Chet, the school "politician," Leper, the school scientist and quirky kid, and Brinker, Gene's antagonist and judge.  lFinny and Gene were friends and experienced those years at Devon together until the accident, the injury, and the loss of innocence.

When given a question like: 6x-3y=12, then asked to put it in slope intercept form and solve I'm stumped. Can anyone help me?

6x-3y=12 is the equation of straight line on a Catesian Plane, as it is a linear equation of two variables x and y. The slope and intercept form of an equation of a line in a plane is given by y=mx+c, where m is the slope and c is the y intercept, on y axis.

Any equation can be transformed by simple operations like: adding equals on both sides of the equation,subtracting equals from both sides of the equation , multiplying  or dividing by equals(but other than zero) both sides of the equation, without affecting the solution of the equation.

So we multiply the given equation by (-1) :

(-1)(6x)-(-1)(3y)=(-1)(12) and simplify.

-6x+3y=-12. Divide by 3

-2x+y=-4. Add 2x .

-2x+2x+y=2x-4. Simplify.

y=2x-4. which is in the standard slope intercept form like,y=mx+c=0. Now comparing the coeffcients of y,x and constant terms in these two equations we get:

1/1=2/m=-4/c equations in     (1).

Therefore,bythe equality of first two terms in  equation flagged at (1), 1=2/m, we get,  m=1/2 .

From the equation (equating first and last terms) in(1) , we get:1=-4/c or c=4.

Threfore the slope of the given rquation is 2 and the straight line intercepts the y axis  at -2 or 2 units below the origin.

What is significant about the quotes, "All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others" and "Four legs good, two legs better"?

The events that precede the new philosophy include: Napoleon executing animals who dare to question his authority.  Animals are torn to pieces by his attack dogs right in front of the other animals so that they will be afraid of him and not question anything he does or says.

Four legs good, two legs bad comes from the speech made by Old Major in the beginning of the book that is one of the principles of the theory of animalism that is at the heart of the rebellion.  Old Major is instructing the animals to never trust anything that walks on two legs, he, of course, is referring to man, who he says is evil.  Old Major would be very surprised that by the end of the book, pigs are walking on two legs and have taken on all the traits of man in direct opposition to his philosophy.

The conclusion of the novel depicts how the rebellion worked to get rid of the farmer, but did not succeed in equality for all animals.  Instead of sharing equality, the animals are now under the rule of a harsh tyrant, Napoleon, who is cruel and violent in ways that Farmer Jones never was.  In fact, he is so severe in his treatment of the animals that the phrase, all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others, applies to the new rules that govern the farm.

"In chapter one, Old Major interrupts his speech appealing to the animals for a Rebellion against the humans by asking for a vote on whether "wild creatures, such as rats and rabbits" should be included in the statement "All animals are comrades." Although at this point, the animals vote to accept the rats, later distinctions between different types of animals become so commonplace that the seventh commandment of Animalism is officially changed to read, "All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others."

Napoleon and the pigs are the ruling class, they and their cronies and associates live well, while the animals, the horses, sheep, etc, work and work and work, are fed very little and are carted off to the slaughterhouse once they can no longer work hard.

In The Road by Cormac McCarthy, what are some important choices made in the book that were made by the man and the boy, was it postive or...

The decision I find fascinating is the boy's choice to not run from or shoot the "good guy with the shotgun" at the end.  Up until then the father had run from and/or threatened to shoot any stranger he encountered on the road.  He had repeatedly given his pistol to the boy and instructed him to do the same.  If the boy were to be captured, the man even told the boy to shoot himself.  And so, upon the first stranger the boy meets, with gun in hand, he chooses to abandon every instinct his father had taught him:

"Someone was coming. He started to turn and go back into the woods but he didnt. He just stood in the road and waited, the pistol in his hand. He'd piled all the blankets on his father and he was cold and he was hungry. The man that hove into view and stood there looking at him was dressed in a gray and yellow ski parka. He carried a shotgun upside down over his shoulder on a braided leather lanyard and he wore a nylon bandolier filled with shells for the gun. A veteran of old skirmishes, bearded, scarred across his cheek and the bone stoven and the one eye wandering. When he spoke his mouth worked imperfectly, and when he smiled."

Ironically, it took the father's death to save the boy.  If the father had not died, the good guy with the shotgun, who had been following them, may never have found him.  But the boy's act of faith, which the father I don't think could have made, is the holy grail.

So, if we relate this this to "real life experience," we need to think of instances in which we let down our defenses and act on faith...

How did the Kansas-Nebraska crisis develop, and how was it resolved?What were the causes, issues, and results of the crisis, and how did the...

The Kansas-Nebraska Crisis grew out of the Missouri Compromise of 1820.  According to the Missouri Compromise, the admission of new states into the Union would be staggered, so that the number of free states and slave states would be the same, giving neither the numerical advantage.  In 1854, a similar situation arose.  In discussions to build a transcontinental railroad, the question of the route the railroad would take took on great importance.  It was believed that if the track was laid through Southern states and territories, the building of the railroad would aid the spread of slavery to the West.  To counter this, Stephen Douglas, an Illinois senator, proposed that the railroad be built along a Northern route.  This debate ultimately resulted in the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which stipulated a third route through newly-formed territories:  Kansas and Nebraska.

With this solution, the question of whether these territories would be slave territories or free territories became a serious issue.  If both were made slave territories, the North would object, while the South would take issue if both territories were admitted as free territories.  In the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Douglas proposed that popular sovereignty be exercised.  Prevailing practice in the given territories would determine whether they would be slave territories or free territories.  The main problem with this is that the Missouri Compromise prohibited slavery above the 36 30' line, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act negated this, leaving the choice up to the population rather than the government.  The Southern Democrats and Whigs quickly passed the act, while the Northerners were greatly angered by it, fearing the spread of slavery into the North.  To force the issue, thousands of Missourians flocked into Kansas in the hope of making it a slave territory, while abolitionists moved to counter this.

The two populations in Kansas could not agree on a territorial government.  After the two sides could not agree on a joint state constitution, the proslavery contingent in Lecompton, Kansas drafted a constitution and submitted it for ratification.  Millard Fillmore accepted the constitution and welcomed Kansas into the Union as a slave state.  Ultimately, this episode brought the Sectional Crisis to the brink of Civil War, which broke out only four years later.

Explain the different attitudes Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Eugene Debs had toward the trusts.U.S. History

A thorough and detailed examination of the positions the three candidates is going to possess more support and references than can be present here.  Yet, in an overview manner, the differences between the three candidates in their positions on trusts reflected the spectrum of political beliefs.  On the left side of the spectrum was the Socialist Candidate, Debs, who was advocating a socialist platform where industrial wealth would be distributed equally via the state.  His position on trusts was to nationalize all businesses, eliminating any threat of monopoly and collusion.  Business possessed a natural antipathy towards Debs' position of using government as a tool to nationalize privatized wealth.  Roosevelt's "trust busting" policies were actually more regulative.  He understood that trusts and industries were important, as they helped to play an integral role in minimizing business surplus and waste and helped to streamline industry.  Unlike his fellow Republican Taft, Roosevelt wanted to regulate the trusts, understanding their role and purpose but seeking to use government as more of a referee than Debs' vision of the controlling nature of government.  Businesses were not too keen on being controlled, and did not favor much of regulation.  Wilson's position on trusts was more "pro business" than either of the previous two approaches.  Realizing that government lacked  the facilities to actively pursue an effective policy of trust regulation and understanding that Wilson could ill afford lose the support of the business community, he advocated a policy which eliminated some of the objectionable practices of businesses (price controls, the use of privileged information in acquing companies), but also maintained business freedom to continue their practices in the free market.  Wilson sought to establish a governmental agency, the Federal Trade Commission, which was to oversee business practices.  The realization of these policy goals, embodied in the Clayton AntiTrust Act, were articulated in his campaign where he sought a middle ground between the Socialist and redistributive Debs and the Republican/ Bull Moose tenets of government regulation.

Who does Johnny think is a hero? Do you think Dally is a hero?

To Johnny, Dallas Winston is a hero. He looks up to Dally. To Johnny, Dally is everything that he would like to be but isn't. While hiding out in Windrixville, the boys read "Gone With the Wind" to pass the time. Johnny mentions that the southern gentlemen in the story remind him of Dallas.

Johnny looks up to Dallas. Dallas is "tuff", rugged, reckless, and he doesn't care what anyone else has to say about it. Johnny wishes that he could be this way. In Johnny's mind , if he held just a small portion of Dally's attributes, he might have been able to stand up to his parents, protect himself from the Socs and he may not have been so traumatized by the  incident.

Ponyboy disagrees with the notion that Dallas is anything like the soldiers in the book. He doesn't look at Dally the same way.

Are the reasons Claudius gives Laertes for not punishing Hamlet for killing Polonius genuine?

No, Claudius's reasons for not punishing Hamlet for Polonius's murder are not genuine. Claudius is the king, and as such it is his duty to administer justice despite family obligation. If he truly wanted to charge and punish Hamlet he would have the power to do so. Rather than following the proper process for obtaining justice, Claudius manipulates Laeteres into plotting against Hamlet, all in the name of justice. The truth of that matter is that Claudius knows that Hamlet poses a threat to him and his rule. Hamlet clearly suspects foul play, which is illustrated by the play that he performs. If Claudius brings charges against Hamlet in the proper way, Hamlet will be given the opportunity to tell others about Claudius murdering King Hamlet. Claudius is not interested in getting justice for Polonius's death, he wants to keep his throne.

What are the conflicts presented in "The Life You Save May Be Your Own"?

There are many conflicts in this story:

A money-hungry family looking for material gains versus their inability to see what they already have.

The expression of fulfilment versus the constant want and need for material possessions.

The need versus the want, and the emptiness that it all leads to.

A thorough analysis of these very themes are available in the link provided.

I don't understand "The Tell-Tale Heart." Can anyone tell me about it?

"The Tell-Tale Heart" whose title means "tattle-tell," is a story of psychological horror.  The narrator, a madman, kills a man and boasts of his skill in doing so without detection.  However, in his madness, the narrator believes that he hears the heart of the dead man beneath the floor boards where the narrator has buried his victim.  Obsessed with this "sound," which is probably the nervous beating of his own heart, the madman tears at the floor boards and cries out, "Disemble no more!" giving himself away to the police who have entered his house in order to investigate a shriek heard outside.

Of course, all the horror emanates from the mind of the narrator who becomes fixated upon the eye of the old man whom he claims to love.  But the filmed eye, like that of a vulture, he blames for his killing of the old man.  Also, the old man intuitively senses that some horror awaits him as he sits up in bed, groaning, long before the narrator attempts any harm. This interweaving or "arabesque" as Poe termed it, of symbols that change in meaning (the lantern, the eye) has led the critic James Gargano to believe that the story is a doppelganger. A doppelganger is an apparitional twin or counterpart to another living person.  That is, Poe's narrator and the old man are both of the mind of the narrator, who projects his terror and shares his terror.  This is why the narrator "hears" the beating of the heart of the dismembered, buried old man.

See the links below which will help with this concept of doppelganger.

What was the approximate population of the village in which Abigail Williams lived during the Salem Witch Trials?

In real life the village where the initial events took place was known as Salem Village, which was a parish of Salem Towne, which was about the size mentioned above.  The use of the single word "Salem" meant the town.  The name of Salem Village was later changed to Danvers.  The population of Massachusetts as a whole was 49,504 two years before the trials.  The majority of those involved were not residents of Salem Village, or even the main town; of the 134 accused held in Salem Towne jail only 10 were from the immediate area, with 34 more held in various other jails around the colony when Governor Phips ordered their release.  Of those 19 persons hung six were from Salem Village, and three from Salem.

What can you tell about Okonkwo's character from his participation in the death of Ikemefuna? Explain.

Okonkwo's participation in the death of Ikemefuna shows how insecure Okonkwo still is. Okonkwo's greatest fear is that he will end up like his father, who was considered weak and died having no titles. So, Okonkwo has worked very hard to overcome the stigma attached to being the son of a man such weak "chi". Even though he is warned by Ogbuefi Ezeudu, the oldest man in the village, not to take part in the killing of Ikemefuna, Okonkwo goes ahead and kills the boy whom he had come to regard as a son. He kills him because he is still afraid others may think he is weak. This shows how deeply affected and insecure Okonkwo is over the perceived weaknesses of his father and how far he will go to cover his insecurities.

In "Hamlet", how would I explain Polonius to be a comic actor?

Polonius is portrayed as the well-meaning but prattling busybody who is more apt at giving advice than appying it. As a stock character he is the king's counsellor who has worn out his usefulness but not his tenure. He hangs around, bombastic and obese, puffing out platitudes by the dozen but accomplishing little. (The ladder scene where Hamlet gets an unwanted glimpse of Polonius's hindquarters - depending on the stage directions taken - affords definite comic relief to Hamlet's existential musings.) Nevertheless, he is an endearing father type, sincerely preoccupied with the welfare of his children.

However, when Polonius spies on Hamlet and is mistaken for Claudius, curiousity really does kill the cat as he gets Hamlet's sword tip in the gut and dies from the wound. This accidental murder serves as a catylist in the story line as it puts a rift between Hamlet and Orphelia and Laertes and confirms Hamlet's "madness" (which he has only feigned to approach the truth about his father's murder). Apart from Hamlet's father's assassination by Claudius, it is the first of a long series of bloodshed and murder which leads up to the final dramatic scene of the play.

See the following references for more information concerning the role of Polonius in 'Hamlet':

How is a king suppose to behave?

The clues from the text are fascinating, but since so much about the Sumerian culture that produced Gilgameshis still poorly understood, we can only make conjectures about what a king in Uruk in the third millennium B.C. was supposed to do and say.  The first thing we learn about Gilgamesh (who was, in fact, an historical personage according to the Sumerian King-List) is that he was "called god and man (Mason 15) ", and that he and Enkidu became human together (this is from the Herbert Mason translation, Book I, and this is called in other versions "Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld).  Gilgamesh, who was obviously a great and powerful person, was a tyrant, because he claimed an "old birthright,/The privilege of sleeping with their brides/Before the husbands were permitted" (ibid).  So, we know by negative evidence that this custom of ius primae noctiswas allowed in the past (before Gilgamesh, because he receives the rights as a birthright) but is now considered tyrannical by the people of his day.  So from this we can see that the idea of tyranny (excessive rights for or oppression by a ruler) was known to the Sumerians, and abhorred.

This book continues, saying that Gilgamesh further impinged on what was considered the proper behavior of a ruler:

Sometimes he pushed his people half to death
With work rebuilding Uruk's walls,
And then without an explanation let
The walls go unattended and decay,
And left his people dreaming of the past
And longing for a change.
They had grown tired of his contradictions
And his callous ways.  (16)

So, again from negative evidence we learn that a king was not supposed to overwork his subjects, nor was he supposed to let infrastructure (such as defensive walls) become dilapidated.  He is supposed to be consistent in his ruling, and not be callous toward his people.  Gilgamesh is not the model of a good ruler at the start of this poem.

Many times in this poem, however, Gilgamesh is called god-like.  This is considered a good thing in a king, however, and the Sumerians considered kingship a form of, or at least a gift from, divinity.

At the end of the epic, when Gilgamesh confronts Utnapmishtim, he learns the secret to eternal life.  Utnapmishtim tells him there there is nothing permanent in this world.  Though Gilgamesh goes back to Uruk without obtaining eternal life, he is certainly wiser.  From this last part of the tale we might draw the conclusion that Sumerians wanted their kings to be wise, and to understand the impermanence of life.

Mason, Herbert, trans,  Gilgamesh: A Verse Narrative.  New York: Mentor, 1970