Why does Atticus save Miss Maudie's rocking chair in Chapter 8 of "To Kill a Mockingbird"?

As Miss Maudie's house is burning, Atticus dashes to the rescue, and in the process, retrieves her rocking chair from the blaze. His reasoning may have had something to do with symbolism: The chair itself was symbolic of Miss Maudie's persona -- whenever Miss Maudie was thought of by other characters, she was almost always pictured sitting in that rocker. It was like a crucial part of her, and this recognition is what spurs on Atticus's action.

Miss Maudie later comes to accept the house fire with an air of dignity, and even humor, telling Scout that she would have burned the place down herself, had she not feared being hauled away to the asylum.

What does this quote mean: "Have pluckd my nipple from his boneless gums and dashd the brains out, had I so sworn as you have done to this."?I just...

Have the MacBeth's had children in the past? This quote indicates that Lady MacBeth has had a child in the past, perhaps the fact that their child has died has led the MacBeths to rely on each other a lot, feel depressed or even for Lady MacBeth to become unbalanced. Perhaps she looks to compensate for the loss of her child by ambition for her husband.

In the context of this speech she is showing MacBeth that in stepping back from what she considers he has to do - murder Duncan and become king - he is a coward and is letting her down badly. The image she gives here of the killing of a child is an appalling one, the idea of dashing out the brains of a child deliberately revolts us and turns us against Lady MacBeth. It also shows the sheer force of her character that leads to MacBeth following what she says.

How does connotation work to develop the theme in the poem "in Just-" by e.e. cummings?

e.e. cummings had very interesting and unique ways of expressing himself, and "in Just-" is no exception to his typical style.  He likes to break grammar rules, bending them to create the structure, tone and impact he felt was most effective in conveying his sentiments.  In this poem, the grammar is rushed and muddled, just like springtime, which he suggests "is mud" and "puddle-wonderful."  The words are garbled together, just like mud is, and grouped together in tight clusters, just like puddles are.  So, the structure of the poem's words themselves suggest an underlying meaning, or the connotation of springtime's abundant puddles, mud and happy confusion and abundance of joy.  So, don't look over his actual structure when discussing connotation--the structure itself indicates spring's essential elements that he discusses in the poem.

Also, look at a key few words within the poem.  The word "wee" is used a couple times.  It's not a very "mature" word, not very profound or poetic in its nature.  But it is heavy with connotation.  The technical, literal denotation of the word wee is probably just an expression of emotion used to indicate joy or elation at quick movement.  However, connotation refers to the emotions, feelings, and other associations that come to mind when using a word.  So, imagine the circumstances one uses "wee" in:  a child being swung between adults' arms, a child sweeping down a slide, and adults when they are pushing children in strollers, swings, or other things.  All of the connotations are associated with children playing, having a very fun time.  And, part of his poem about springtime refers to the joy of spring, the newness of it all, how the new growth is in its infancy and giddy on its own thriving life.  This is just like kids are in the connotative situations where "wee" is uttered.  He also uses it right before the children of his poem, "eddieandbill" and "bettyand isabel" enter the poem, playing joyous and imaginative childhood games.  So, connotation with this word serves to bring to mind the gushing life of springtime, and the elation and joy of childhood games and playing.  It adds emotion and depth to the poem.

Those are just a couple ideas of how connotation works to develop the theme of the joyous abandon of childhood and springtime.  I hope that they help.  Good luck!

How does nature appear to react to unnatural deeds in "Macbeth"?

People in Shakespeare's day believed in a concept known as the Chain of Being, an idea in which all of live is connected with God at the top of the chain and nature at the bottom. The king is directly below God in this chain, and because the king is killed, the natural order is disturbed, so all of the Chain suffers, even nature.

Six strange events occur in nature in response to Duncan's murder. In Act 2, scene 3, Lennox tells us that chimneys are blown down from unusually strong winds, strange "screams of death" as well as the owl's cries are heard throughout the night, and there was an earthquake.  Later, in scene 4 in a conversation between Ross and the Old Man, we learn that an eclipse has occurred, an owl has killed a falcon, and Duncan's horses have gone wild, broken out of their stalls and eaten each other. All of these events are a direct result of the king's death.

For more information about the Chain of Being, check the first link below.

Is Antonio more of a Marez or Luna?

The first poster is correct in that he is both. Neither side dominates his personality; that's why he struggles so much with his identity.  Tony’s mother’s family are farmers, and the founder of their family was a priest. This is perhaps where Tony's love of school and learning comes from, and his attempts to understand the nature of God. Tony’s father’s is made up of vaqueros who love the freedom of the land. His father doesn't expressly say it, but he certainly encourages Tony to feel that freedom too. Tony's mother, on the other hand, is determined for Tony to become a priest.

The end of the novel proves that Tony is able to reconcile those two halves of his soul. In fact, that is the most important aspect of his relationship with Ultima. She is a curandera, a healer-and she succeeds in healing the torn Antonio. He chooses not to be a priest or a cowboy, but instead to follow Ultima in the path of a healer.

Are there examples of imagery, allusion, or hyperbole in the poem 'Out, Out--' by Robert Frost?

This poem, which is based on a real-life event, is full of striking images. The most impressive one, in my opinion, occurs early in the poem when the narrator describes "five mountain ranges one behind the other under the sunset far into Vermont." Try to visualize five pointed mountains; it's not hard to imagine that Frost is foreshadowing the teeth of the buzz-saw. That he uses the number five, furthermore, and notes that the time of day is sunset suggests the boy's bloody hand with five fingers.

The title of the poem is allusion to Shakespeare's play Macbeth. In a soliloquy late in the play, Macbeth compares life to a candle: "Out, out brief candle!" he says, noting the brevity and frailty of life as Frost's poem also does.

For hyperbole, I think perhaps the repetition of the buzz saw's noise ("snarled and rattled"---onomatopoeia) may be exaggeration to call the reader's attention to the danger of the tool. From a different perspective, the callousness of the boy's parents may also be exaggerated by their apparent absence until the end of the poem. Where are they when the boy and his sister are working? Why is this "big boy doing a man's work though a child at heart"? Notice that the boy calls to his sister for help, not his parents. At the end of the poem when the boy dies, "they" may refer to his parents; if so, "they, since they were not the one dead, turned to their affairs" suggests an indifference that may also be an exaggeration.

The Writer's Presence; Origins by Barack Obama: Which chapter in Dreams from my Father is that?I haven't gotten my English book in the mail yet and...

Obama's book is divided into four sections.  The first one is "Origins", while the second is entitled "Chicago," which is followed by "Kenya", and the concluding "Epilogue."  There are chapters within each section.  "Origins" is the first part and encompasses the first six chapters of the text.  The first section allows us to gain a glimpse into the young Obama, when he referred to his grandmother as "Toot" and he was referred to as "Barry."  This opening section concerns itself with his recollections about his youth and the experiences of his upbringing, where the issues of race and identity converged to leave their imprint on Obama throughout his youth.  In terms of the structure of the text, the "Origins" section would be central in allowing us to better understand the "America" part of his African- American identity.

What instances of stealing appear in Death of a Salesman?

Biff has a history of stealing, first as a teenager and later as an adult. While still in school, Biff stole a carton of basketballs. Later he "borrowed" a football from the school locker room, without the coach's knowledge or permission. Biff also got through school by stealing grades; he cheated by getting answers from Bernard who could not refuse him.

When Willy wanted to rebuild the front porch of their house, Biff and Happy stole lumber. Charley warned that if the boys stole any more lumber, "the watchman'll put the cops on them!" Willy, however, was pleased with his sons:

You shoulda seen the lumber they brought home last week. At least a dozen six-by-tens worth all kinds of money.

After leaving school, Biff's thievery continued. He stole a suit and went to jail for three months in Kansas City. He tells his father at the conclusion of the play this hard fact: "I stole myself out of every good job since high school!" Biff's final act of theft occurs toward the play's conclusion when he sneaks into Bill Oliver's office and steals his fountain pen. Biff's habit of stealing and his inability to hold a job underscores the corruption of his character and Willy's failures as a father.

What does the incident in scene 5 of "Of Mice and Men" reveal about the characters Lennie and Curley?

Steinbeck, who in his youth came into conflict with his exacting mother, often portrays women as Eve-types.  Such a woman is Curley's wife.  Craving attention, she enters the world of the men, the ranch house, first on the pretext of finding her husband.  In Chapter 5 as the men play horseshoes outside, she sneaks into the barn and catches Lennie holding his dead puppy.  In a panic, he shovels hay over the puppy to hide it. From her previous encounter with Lennie, she knows that he is dim-witted, but is also excited by his brute strength, so she reveals to him that she knows what has happened to Curley's hand.  But, Lennie, who fears her because of George's warnings, refuses to talk to her.  Curley wife then takes advantage of his silence and talks to him. Still, Lennie tries to resist her temptations to talk:

'Well, I ain't supposed to talk to you or nothing.....George's scared that I'll get in trouble.'

With this confession, the temptress moves closer to him, speaking "soothingly" about the dead puppy.  She tells him that he can talk with her since the other men are preoccupied with their games.  When Lennie persists in his resistance, she becomes angry, insisting that she is doing no harm.  She speaks of her wish to be an actress and reveals that she really does not like Curley; however, she is not worried about Curley finding out since Lennie is slow and will forget what she has said.  Having thus confided in Lennie, she moves closer. Weakening under her feminine wiles, Lennie "sighs deeply," and continues his ritualistic recitation about rabbits revealing his witless conditioning.

Learning that Lennie loves to pet soft things, she tempts him with her hair, enjoying domination of a man. But, when Lennie becomes too rough, she cries out, making Lennie angry.  He has become afraid that George will hear, so he tries to quiet her by shaking her.  Unfortunately his brute strength has broken her neck.  "Bewildered," Lennie finally concludes, "I done a bad thing,...George'll be mad."  To symbolize the evil of Curley's wife having lured Lennie into his sin, Steinbeck describes her as lying "with a half-covering of yellow hay" with reddened lips parted. [yellow as symbolic of evil.]

When Curley learns that his wife is dead, he does not even bend over her body, the source of his sin, too.  Instead, he seeks revenge upon Lennie:

'I know he done it.....I'm gonna get him.  I'm going for my shotgun....I'll shoot 'im in the guts.'  He ran furiously out of the barn.

Slim tells George that Curley is still mad about his hand and will try to kill Lennie even if they bring him in and have him locked up.  When Curley reenters the barn, George begs him to not shoot Lennie.

'Dont shoot 'im?' Curley cried. 'He got Carlson's Luger. 'Course we'll shoot 'im.'

In an effort to distract Curley from his purpose, Slim says, "'Curley--maybe you better stay her with your wife.'"  Curley reddens, knowing what the others think.  Still, he replies,

'I'm goin'....I'm gonna shoot the guts outa that big bastard myself, even if I only got one hand.  I'm gonna get 'im.

Clearly, it is evident that Curley's desire to avenge himself against Lennie who injured his hand and to satisfy his egotistical desires is dominant in his mind. Lennie, again, is the victim of his mentally disabled nature despite his conditioning by George.

How does Blake show the "constrasting states of the human soul" in "The Lamb" and "The Tyger" ?

Blake's complex poetry, with its frequent emphasis upon spirituality, imagination, and mysticism, is subject to much analysis and interpretation. As companion pieces, "The Lamb" and "The Tyger" perhaps illustrate contrasting views of the soul, but they can also be interpreted as contrasting views of human imagination and intelligence in relation to secular and spiritual experience. In either interpretation, the common thread is contrast.

"The Lamb" is one of Blake's Songs of Innocence. It is narrated by a child who, in his innocence, beholds the gentle beauty of a lamb. The lamb of "tender voice" is covered with "[s]oftest clothing, woolly, bright." Peace pervades the poem, as the lamb feeds "by the stream and o'er the mead." The child knows who made the lamb: the God who "calls Himself a Lamb." The child's God is "meek and mild," a loving God who creates beauty, tenderness, and peace.

In contrast, the narrator of "The Tyger" is not a child. His is the voice of experience and his view of the tiger is darker and far more complex. Unlike "The Lamb," the language in this poem is more sophisticated, its imagery more complicated, and its theme clouded with uncertainty. The tiger is not soft, tender, or beautiful; it is fearsome. Fire burns in its eyes, and the sinews of its heart are "twisted." Unlike the child narrator in "The Lamb," the narrator in "The Tyger" does not know who made this hard and dangerous creature. He questions, "Did he who made the lamb make thee?

This question reflects the soul's attempt, perhaps, to understand the very nature of God: loving or fearsome or both? The contrast in the two poems may suggest two parts of the human soul, but it may also express two stages of spiritual growth, from innocence to experience. As we move through the world, do we become more like the tiger and less like the lamb as our innocence is corrupted? As our intelligence and spiritual awareness grow, do we realize that the nature of God is beyond our understanding?

Updike sets the values of teenagers against those of adults in the story "A&P". What are the values of each?

What Updike is comparing in this story is the reality of adults, represented in the presence of Lengel and, the shoppers vs. the morals or values of the teenagers, represented by the girls and Sammy.

The young people in this story are impulsive, reckless and rule breakers.  The girls disregard the rules about wearing clothes in the store by walking in wearing only bathing suits.  Sammy violates common sense by casting off the job that he needs to show solidarity with the girls who were wrong.

"An important theme in "A & P" is that of choices and consequences. All of the main characters in the story must make a choice and endure the consequences of that choice. The consequences of these choices are not always apparent to the characters. Sammy, the cashier, makes the most obvious and most painful choice, and on some level he is aware of the consequences."

So all Sammy did was express his immaturity and lack of understanding of what real life is actually about by trying to impress the girls with his "I quit," which hurt only him.  The girls did not even notice him.

"At the end of the story, he quits his job in an effort to be a hero to the girls and as a way of rebelling against a strict society. In a sudden moment of insight—an epiphany—he realizes "how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter'' if he refuses to follow acceptable paths."

In what progress report did Charlie get drunk and start blushing in Flowers for Algernon?

Charlie recounts how he got drunk and started to blush in the progress report written on April 10.

On that date, Charlie writes about going out with Joe Carp and Frank Reilly to a party the night before.  Charlie remembered "how sick (he) got the last time (he) drank too much", so he told Joe that he didn't want to drink anything.  Despite Charlie's expressed wishes, Joe spiked his Coke.  Joe got Charlie to dance with a girl named Ellen, and everyone laughed uproariously as they took turns tripping the Charlie, who was by now quite intoxicated, as he danced.  Ellen then gave Charlie an apple and told him to bite into it, but it turned out to be a fake.  Everyone had a great time at Charlie's expense, making fun of how "dumb" he was.

Thinking back, Charlie remembers that someone had commented that he was blushing.  Before his operation, when he had been made a fool of to entertain the others, Charlie had not really realized what was going on, and thought it was all great fun (March 28).  This time, however, he was embarrassed; he 'felt naked...(and) wanted to hide (him)self so they wouldn't see".  The fact that Charlie felt this way and blushed is significant because it shows that his understanding of social nuances is developing.  He was ashamed because the others were treating him cruelly and laughing at him; he "never knew before that Joe and Frank and the others liked to have (him) around just to make fun of (him)" (April 10).

In The Great Gatsby, Chapter IX, what is the pathos of Gatsby's youthful resolutions?

Gatsby's list of resolutions, along with his daily schedule, seems sad when we think of how his life turned out (filled with such loss and longing) and how he died, so violently and alone. Written in the back of his Hopalong Cassidy cowboy book, Gatsby's resolutions show how hard he tried to overcome the poverty into which he was born as a North Dakota farm boy and how dedicated he was in his quest for a better life. They also reveal his efforts, doing all within his power at the time, to improve himself as a person. He set about to avoid wasting time, to improve his mind, and to save what little money he could. The entry to bathe every other day can be a little amusing, considering that boys and baths are not always compatible, but even this entry suggests Gatsby's drive to rise above his circumstances. The impoverished Gatz family, no doubt, did not enjoy indoor plumbing, and taking a bath in a North Dakota farm house in the early 1900s would not have been a matter of convenience, especially during the cold months. Finally, Gatsby's last entry shows he had a good heart, an active conscience, and a loving nature: "Be better to parents." 

Calculate (1/x1)+(1/x2)+(1/x3), where x1,x2,x3 are the solutions of the eq. x^3 -3x +1=0

You need to remember that Vieta's formulas provide the relations between coefficients of equation and its roots.

The problem provides an polynomial equation of third order,`x^3 -3x +1=0` , hence it needs to have three roots.

You should use Vieta's formulas such that:

`x_1 + x_2 + x_3= -0/1`  (coefficient of term that contains `x^2`  is 0, since this term is missing) => `x_1 + x_2 + x_3 = 0`

`x_1*x_2+x_2*x_3+x_1*x_3 = -3/1 = -3`

`x_1*x_2*x_3 = -1/1 = -1`

You need to evaluate the sum `1/x_1 + 1/x_2 + 1/x_3` , hence you should bring these terms to a common denominator `x_1*x_2*x_3`  such that:

`1/x_1 + 1/x_2 + 1/x_3 = (x_2*x_3 + x_1*x_3 + x_1*x_2)/x_1*x_2*x_3`

You need to substitute -1 for `x_1*x_2*x_3`  and -3 for `x_1*x_2+x_2*x_3+x_1*x_3`  such that:

`1/x_1 + 1/x_2 + 1/x_3 = (-3)/(-1)`

`1/x_1 + 1/x_2 + 1/x_3 = 3`

Hence, evaluating the sum `1/x_1 + 1/x_2 + 1/x_3`   yields `1/x_1 + 1/x_2 + 1/x_3 = 3` .

Yann Martel says, "This book was born as I was hungry." What sort of emotional nourishment might "Life of Pi" have fed to its author?

Before Yann Martel wrote "Life of Pi," he had written 2 previous novels that had completely flopped.  They didn't get very good reviews, and had little or no success in the market.  He was feeling completely discouraged about writing, and about the power of a really good story to have any impact or success in our world.  He was hungry for validation that stories, imagination, and a good tale was still something that could add a lot of meaning, enjoyment and success to one's life.  He traveled a lot, drifting aimlessly, trying to find a good idea for a story.  He was hungry for a good tale, one that would capture his imagination and his excitement.  While he was traveling in India, he read a book about a man and a panther on a lifeboat--Martel thought to himself, that's it!  THAT's the great story idea that I have been hungering for.  If it hadn't been for Martel's searching for a great story that lights the imagination, if it hadn't been for his hunger for that validation in this world, "Life of Pi" might have never been written.  Despite the fact that his 2 previous novels flopped, he still hungered for a story that would succeed, not only in the world, but in restoring his faith in the power of the imagination.

A major theme of "Life of Pi" itself is that of imagination and its power to make life wonderful and fulfilling.  In fact, he compares life without imagination or storytelling as "dry, yeastless factuality," and presents the animal story as an alternative to that horrid and awful reality that might have been.  Little Pi asks his Japanese interregators at the end which story they like better, and they readily admit, "The story with the animals."  Martel is asserting that stories, imagination, a good tale, makes for a better existence here on earth.  He found the idea for the story because he was hungering for a good idea, and the entire theme of the story is that of feasting on the power of the imagination.

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

What is Jackson's point of view about upstanding Americans in the quaint little village where the ritualistic murder is about to take place?

Jackson's point of view is conveyed through her belief that violence exists in ordinary, everyday society, where regular people live.  The violence that resides within the confines of small towns all over the country, Jackson is drawing our attention to this type of problem.  She is making a broad statement about humanity and the potential it has to be indifferent and downright evil.

She sets the story of ritual annual murder in a small town to make it more shocking.  

"Jackson herself, who throughout her life said little about the meaning behind or the circumstances surrounding the story, noted: "I hoped by setting a particularly brutal ancient rite in the present and in my own village, to shock the story's readers with a graphic dramatization of the pointless violence and general humanity in their own lives." 

From a feminist perspective, Jackson is making  a statement about the domination of men in society.  She depicts the town as dominated by men, the village is definitely a patriarchy. 

What are some examples of consequence and choice in Sophocles' Antigone?

In Sophocles' Antigone, the various characters in the play have to deal with the consequences of their choices.

Early in the play, Antigone and her sister Ismene discuss whether they should violate Creon's decree that anyone who performs burial rites for Polyneices should be put to death. Ismene chooses to follow the decree set forth by a human king, whereas Antigone chooses to follow laws she believes have been established by the gods themselves (i.e., that everyone deserves a proper burial).                                        

                                      My honours for the dead

 must last much longer than for those up here.

(Ian Johnston translation)

The consequences of the two sisters choices result in the death of one (Antigone), while the other (Ismene) survives, but in some respects Ismene ends up like Creon. At the end of the play, Ismene remains alive, but death has covered over all her loved ones: Antigone, Eteocles, Polyneices, Oedipus, and Jocasta.

The pair of sisters is matched by the pair of father and son (Creon and Haemon) and the choices that they make. Creon chooses not to alter his death sentence for Antigone until it is too late. Haemon chooses to oppose his father in arguing against Antigone's sentence. Haemon's anger at his father ultimately leads him to try to kill him; but, when Haemon fails in this effort, he turns the blade upon himself. 

Creon ultimately makes the right choice (to reverse his sentence against Antigone), but he makes this choice too late and suffers the consequences: Antigone hangs herself and both Haemon and his mother kill themselves. Thus, at the play's conclusion, Creon's choices have left him in utter ruin:

 Then take this foolish man away from here.

 I killed you, my son, without intending to,

 and you, as well, my wife. How useless I am now.

 (Ian Johnston translation)

 

When and what kind of irony (situational, dramatic, verbal) is found in the book, A Thousand Splendid Suns?

In the beginning of the book Mariam sees her mother as the one who ells lies and she believes her father is noble.  She runs away from her mother to go to her father.  The irony is that her mother had been right all along but when Mariam returns it is too late to tell her mother.  Her mother has killed herself.

Another irony is when she marries Rasheed.  He acts like he is so worried about her purity and that she needs to wear a burqua. However, he himself hides dirty magazines of women who are someones sisters or wives.

Another irony is that Mariam hates that her husband has married Laila.  Yet, she is relieved that she no longer has to have physical relationships with him.  Laila also brings joy into her life and the first person who has really loved her in a gentle and kid way.

What is the theme of "Brave New World"?

I'll suggest another.  Society is controlled in many ways.  One is force ("1984"); BNW controls its citizens through initial "hatching" and programming, but one of the techniques it uses to reenforce their training is the control of language and literature.  The (perhaps difficult to believe) example is John's experience with Shakespeare.  Shakespeare provides John with a language to describe his experiences, words unavailable in the society of BNW.  For example, what can "strumpet" mean in a society where "everyone belongs to everyone else."  How different would their world be if the concept of "strumpt" existed?  And how does making words like "mother" and "father" and "family" almost obscenities control their behavior.

Language is the way we interface with reality.  If we take away the words that describe that realtionship, and if we take away the greatest examples of using language to interface/explain that reality, it is much easier to keep the people controlled.  This same theme is evident in "1984" where the "Newspeak" dictionary limits their citizens view of the world.

In our world, we need to be vigilant about how words are used, because these shape reality.  For example, why is something a "crisis" instead of a "problem"?  Do we know when each should be used?  Is "bailout" what's really going on?  Would a different word change our perception of the reality.

Lots of things to think about; Huxley was aware of this a long time ago.  You might want to read "Brave New World Revisited" to expand your view of the novel.

In Chapter 3 of Night, what is Elie's first impression of Auschwitz after leaving Birkenau?

Ironically enough, Elie has a good impression of Auschwitz when he first arrives.  He believes that it is better than Birkenau and that it is like a "rest home." Readers must remember Elie's horrific experiences in Birkenau for his description of Auschwitz to make sense--he is separated from his mother and sisters, and he witnesses the burning of live infants (the event that consumes his faith).  Thus, Auschwitz's initial impression is better for Wiesel.

What is an example of the differences between the pigs and the other animals in Animal Farm?

At first, the major difference between the pigs and the other animals is that the pigs are more intelligent; it is never specified whether they have superior brains or are just willing to study harder, but they learn to read and write long before the others. As the farm begins its run under animal ownership, the pigs set themselves apart from the others by assuming supervisory roles: they figure things out but do little actual labor.

The pigs did not actually work, but directed and supervised the others. With their superior knowledge it was natural that they should assume the leadership. Boxer and Clover would harness themselves to the cutter or the horse-rake... and tramp steadily round and round the field with a pig walking behind and calling out [directions].
(Orwell, Animal Farm, msxnet.org)

Later, the pigs begin to give themselves luxuries that the other animals do not get; they move into the farmhouse, sleep in beds, consume more and better food, and drink alcohol. In this way, the pigs distance themselves as "leaders" and "brainworkers" from the "working class" of all the other animals. In time, the animals are conditioned to accept that the pigs receive better treatment, better food, and have ultimate authority despite performing no real labor in support of the farm and the common good.

How does "The Great Gatsby" use the elements of crime, mystery and detective fiction in the book?I have read it, and the only thing I can really...

The first and most important crimes that comes to mind are the murders of Myrtle and of Gatsby.  Myrtle's death, though an accident, was a murder in that it was a hit and run situation. The mystery surrounding her death was why did she run into the road and, until Jay lets it slip that Daisy was driving when talking to Nick, who was driving the car.  Gatsby's death even more clearly includes those elements of a detective novel.  The biggest mystery surrounding his death is how did George know to go to Gatsby's house.  In the last chapter, Nick sees Tom after a period of about two years following Jay's death.  His narration says that he looked at Tom and, "...I knew I had guessed right about those missing hours," referring to the three hours where the police, when tracking George's movements the day of the murder, lost track of George.  The reader can only guess at where George had been and what he'd been told.  The assumption is that George went to Tom's house where Tom directed him to Jay.  Did Tom tell George that Jay had been having an affair with Myrtle?  Did Tom know that it was actually Daisy driving the car or did he assume that Jay was driving?  Did Tom deliberately lead George to Jay so that George could kill Jay or was Tom unaware of what George was planning?  These are all questions to which we are not given answers and we must play detective to solve the mystery of those questions. The questions surrounding how Jay Gatsby made his fortune are there, but they seem of less importance than the questions surrounding the deaths of Myrtle and Jay.

What is the setting of "Two Little Soldiers"?What is the author's purpose?

The story is set in the French countryside, near the town of Courbevoie.  It is wartime, but the scene is peaceful and idyllic; Luc and Jean, who are soldiers stationed in barracks nearby, come here on Sundays for a quiet meal and to enjoy the area, which reminds them of home.  The beauty of the setting is enhanced by the presence of a young village girl, who brings her cow out to pasture every Sunday when the boys are there.  The boys begin to engage in "a bit of innocent ogling" of the comely girl, who after awhile begins to talk to them.

The author, Guy de Maupassant, wrote the story to explore the impact of the traditional "love triangle".  The central theme he addresses is the conflict between friendship and love.  Luc and Jean share a special bond of friendship, especially strong because they are soldiers, lonely and far from home.  When the girl enters the picture, both boys are smitten by her, but it is Luc who pursues an actual relationship.  For whatever reason, Luc promotes his suit in secret, and when Jean finds out about it, he is surprised and deeply hurt.  It is clear that, with the introduction of a romantic aspect into the triangle, the friendship between Jean and Luc will never be the same.  Luc has gained a lover, and Jean has lost a friend with whom he once had a close bond.

The author communicates the tragedy of the situation through the simplicity of his story.  Jean and Luc's Sunday outings are not elaborate, but from them both boys draw strength and sustenance for the rigors of their week.  The ending of the story comes as a shock, because there was little indication that the emotions involved would have been so intense and devastating.  Jean and Luc's friendship, while being totally fulfilling, had been simple, the kind of friendship with which readers could easily relate.  The universal truth that it could be so quickly and irrevocably impacted by the addition of another to the dynamic is effectively and chillingly illustrated by the author's skillful use of the surprise ending.

In "Indian Camp," why did the husband of the Indian woman kill himself after the birth of his son?

The closest Hemingway comes to answering this question directly in the story is Nick's father's reply when Nick asks him why the man killed himself: "I don't know, Nick. He couldn't stand things, I guess." What the husband "couldn't stand" can be found in the facts of the story and the inferences we can draw from them.

When Nick, his father (the doctor), and Nick's Uncle George enter the shanty at the Indian camp, the young woman had labored for two days to deliver her baby (a breech birth) and her husband lay on the bunk above hers, having hurt his foot with an axe three days before. She has suffered and screamed in pain; for two days, her husband has lain above her, listening to her cries--unable to help and unable to escape the sounds of her suffering, unlike almost all the other men in camp who have gone up the road so that they do not have to hear her. 

After examining his patient, Nick's father performs a Caesarian section to take the baby that cannot be delivered naturally. This, a major operation, is endured without anesthesia by the young woman as four men hold her down. The doctor operates with a jack-knife and sews up the incision with his fishing gear. Her agony can only be imagined, for Hemingway notes it not at all, except to say that she bit Uncle George as she was being held down before the surgery actually began.

As the horror took place below him, the husband lay above, listening. Nick's father had given no thought to his feelings as he experienced his wife's agony, just as Nick's father considered his patient's screams (and the suffering they expressed) unimportant. The doctor had explained nothing to him nor given him any reassurance as to the outcome of his wife's ordeal. Neither he nor his wife had been prepared in any way for what would take place. In his horror and helplessness, the young husband cuts his own throat, his only escape from the unbearable situation. He died before his son was born. He couldn't "stand things" any longer.

What are two quotes that prove Juliet is impatient? And what pages are they on?

The first quote that proves Juliet is impatient is found in Act 2, scene 2 during the balcony scene.  After she tells Romeo not to swear his love on the moon because it is not constant, she decides that the best wasy for him to swear his love to her would be to marry her.  Juliet reveals this when she says,

     "If that thy bent of love be honourable,
     Thy purpose marriage, send me word to-morrow,
     By one that I'll procure to come to thee,
     Where and what time thou wilt perform the rite;"  (A. 2, s. 2, lines 149-152)

The second time that she proves her impatience is when she is awaiting the Nurse's arrival with information on her wedding with Romeo.   Juliet states,

     "The clock struck nine when I did send the nurse;
      In half an hour she promis'd to return.
      Perchance she cannot meet him. That's not so..."  (A.2, s. 5, lines 1-3)

She continues this impatience throughout the first 17 lines of the play.

What is the climax in "Bridge to Terabithea?"

When the vine breaks and Leslie falls to her death, striking her head, this could be considered the climax of the story. The bonds and the tight relationship that she and Jess had built over the course of the story's plot is totally altered by Leslie's unexpected and sudden death. It is at this point that the entire story shifts and becomes something larger and more meaningful. Jess must learn to contend with the feelings of grief and loss, and learns a lesson in maturity that the whole story focuses around.  

Comment on Conrad's use of archetypes in Heart of Darkness.

Simple literary archetypes may be found in Kurtz and Marlow. Kurtz is villain, evil incarnate, capable of the worst kind of human degradation. Marlow is hero, one who undertakes a perilous journey; faces death; encounters, resists, and overpowers evil (Kurtz); and survives destruction. He lives to tell the tale, and he plays the part of the hero again when he protects Kurtz's fiancee from the horrible truth.

On a much deeper level, Jungian archetypes can be found in the novel, primarily that of "The Shadow," the darkness in each human being that remains mostly hidden until called forth. It embodies savagery and evil, promotes chaos and conflict, and seeks to destroy. It haunts human consciousness, and although it may not be recognized in the self, it is recognized in others.

This archetype is, of course, most notably evident in Kurtz, but it is also found in all the forces of destruction identified in the novel, especially those of Colonialism with its inherent greed, cruelty, exploitation, and racism. As Marlow journeys physically into the interior of the dark African continent, he makes another journey into the dark heart of man's basic nature--and barely escapes with his life and his own soul.

How are Anita (from West Side Story) and Nurse (from Romeo and Juliet) similar and different?More so about the differerences between the two then...

One main difference between the characters of Nurse from “Romeo and Juliet” and Anita from “West Side Story” is that Nurse fulfills a much more nurturing role towards Juliet then Anita fulfills towards Maria.  Nurse has raised, nurtured, and cared for Juliet since Juliet’s infancy and very much wants Juliet to be happy.  Nurse does everything she can to make her happy.  For instance, in Act III; Scene 2 Nurse goes to Romeo and acts as a go-between to ensure that they will be married.  She empathizes with Juliet’s reluctance to marry Paris and agrees to “commend,” meaning praise or recommend, Romeo to Juliet.

Anita, on the other hand, while having the caring role of Maria’s close girlfriend, she is also, more importantly, Bernardo’s girlfriend, Maria’s brother.  As Bernardo’s girlfriend, she has a tendency to side with Bernardo and agrees that Maria should marry Bernardo’s choice for her, Chino.  She also does things to enforce Bernardo’s big-brother protectiveness, such as refusing to make the bodice of Maria’s dress lower for the community dance.  As a whole, Anita has a much more dominant, protective role than Nurse in Romeo and Juliet.

What literary elements does Langston Hughes frequently use?

He frequently uses metaphors, similes and symbolism.  If you look at his poem "Mother to Son," he has a mother giving advice to her son, and she compares life to an old staircase that one must keep on climbing your entire life.  She says to her son,

"Life for me ain't been no crystal stair./It's had tacks in it,/And splinters,/And boards torn up,/And places with no carpet on the floor—/Bare./But all the time /I'se been/a-climbin"

So, here, Hughes uses a metaphor, comparing life to a worn out and treachorous flight of stairs that one must climb up.  In his poem "I Too, Am America," Hughes uses symbolism.  He states that "Tomorrow I'll be at the table when company comes."  The table is a symbol of equality.  Black people were forced to eat in a separate room from the whites, and he is using sitting at a table with the white people as a symbol for the equality that he feels will come to him and his people eventually.

An example of similies is in the poem "Harlem".  He wonders what happens to dreams that are never lived or realized.  He asks, if it dries up "like a raisin in the sun," or does it "fester like a sore" or "stink like rotten meat" or crust over "like a syrupy sweet"?  All of those are similes for what he imagines happens to those dreams that we never have the chance or courage to act upon.

I hope those examples help a bit; Hughes uses all sorts of literary devices, but metaphor, symbolism and similes can be seen in those three poems.  Good luck!

Prove that behind the humorous story "My Oedipus Complex". Frank O'Connor proposes a serious theme.

Although the story is told through a child's eyes, it contains the universal theme that eventually every boy must learn to be separated from his mother. Usually, the person responsible for the separation is the father. From a child's viewpoint, this is terribly unfair. Larry, the protagonist of the story, must learn this lesson fairly late in life. During his early childhood, he has his mother all to himself because his father is off to war. When his father returns, he loses the full attention of his mother and cannot, as a child, understand why his mother prefers his father to him. He and his father become "enemies, open and avowed.” However, one his younger brother is born, Larry is allowed to see his dispossession though his father's eyes. Now Larry's mother's attentions are taken by Sonny, his younger brother. The father now feels "dethroned". It is through this common "displacement" that Larry and his father come to some kind of reconciliation. Larry recognizes that this is a common cycle of life and says,

“I couldn’t help feeling sorry for Father. I had been through it all myself, and even at that age I was magnanimous.” 

What is meant by the "unreality of reality, a promise that the rock of the world was founded securely on a fairy's wing"?How are Gatsby's dreams...

Jay Gatsby is a true romantic who believes that dreams and high ideals are essential elements that lead to success. His dreams signify the hope that he has to achieve his greatest aspiration: to once again be with his true love, Daisy Buchanan.

The metaphor is an apt description of the depth of Gatsby's dream. To him, the dream and reality are the same thing. The reference to a 'rock' indicates stability and strength - a solid foundation on which something can be built. To Jay, his dream is the foundation from which he can pursue and achieve his ideal. What makes the prospect more tantalizing is the fact that 'the rock of the world' is founded on a fantasy, 'a fairy's wing'. This is the nature of the true romantic - the dream becomes greater than reality and this provides the conviction that the dream is reality and not idle fancy - the lines are blurred. To a romantic such as Gatsby, there is no paradox.

In this sense then, Gatsby's dreams become a 'satisfactory hint' of this - that his dreams are real, that they have foundation and solidity, that they can be achieved. Gatsby has convinced himself that he will be able to win Daisy back and that she will want to be with him.

It is a pity then, that Gatsby has been so overwhelmed by his dream that he chooses to ignore the true reality: Daisy is married to an enormously wealthy man, she has a child, she is materialistic and manipulative, she has forsaken him, she is bored and seeks excitement and in some ways wants to get back at Tom; she is self-indulgent and spoiled and would never sacrifice her life of comfort and leisure to be with him.

Even when Daisy devastatingly tells him that he is 'asking too much', Jay persists and desperately clings to his dream. He drives her home and spends hours outside her mansion to ensure that she comes to no harm after she has accidentally killed Myrtle. It is this persistent hope that Nick admires so much but it is also this unrealistic and futile dream which, tragically, culminates in Gatsby's death. 

"Knowledge is power". Elaborate on how this quote applies to Benjamin and results in division of roles and discrimination of animals. Question...

Benjamin is the donkey in the story, he is very cynical about the change in power at Animal Farm.  He does not believe that things will get better with the revolution, in fact, he remains neutral when the struggle for power between Napoleon and Snowball erupts. 

Although Benjamin understands what is going on at Animal Farm, he has no desire to oppose the pigs.  He realizes that the revolt will not produce the utopia that was promised, he knows that life will be more or less the same revolt or not. He does not have his hopes artifically raised with the belief that there will be a fair and equal existence on Animal Farm for all animals.

Benjamin, as the oldest animal on the farm, is wise, and therefore, he is not shocked by anything that he sees, including the executions that take place at the hands of Napoleon.

The only time Benjamin is moved to react, to use his knowledge for  good, is when he reads the side of the truck that comes to take boxer, his friend, away.  However, after he realizes the the truck is taking him to the slaughterhouse, it is too late to stop the process.

Benjamin's knowledge gives power only to him, he does not become active in trying to change anything on the farm.  The only thing that Benjamin derives from his knowledge is the power of knowing that there is no hope so therefore, he cannot be disappointed. 

What was President Jackson's Indian policy?I would like to know how Native Americans fared under his administration.

Although Andrew Jackson professed love for the "Indian people," they did not fare well under his administration.  He had been intimately involved in Native American issues for the ten years before his election in 1828, and after being elected, he passed the Indian Removal Act in 1830.  This focused on moving the "Five Civilized Tribes" from the Southeast part of the US west of the Mississippi.  The lands that these tribes occupied were coveted by white Americans living in the Southeast (especially Georgia).  Native Americans who were supposed to be able to choose to remove themselves to new reservations, were instead pressured to go.  The areas set aside for Native American use were mainly in Oklahoma, which has a very different environment than the lands these people traditionally occupied.

More than 45,000 Native Americans were forced to remove themselves from their tribal lands under Jackson's administration.

Explain Alexander Pope's "The Rape of the Lock" canto 1 in detail.summary

Pope's occasional poem in 2 cantos was enlarged into a full-fledged mock-heroic, The Rape of the Lock, in 5 cantos.

Canto 1 begins on a mock-solemn tone parodying the Enunciation and Invocation typical of an epic. The subject is some 'dire offence' which is nothing but the cutting off of the lock of hair of young Belinda by Lord Peter. The poet invokes his friend John Caryl as the 'Muse' which is a comic deflation of Homer's invocation to the Classical Muse or Milton's invocation to the 'Heavenly Muse'.

The narrative commences with the 'timorous' rays of the sun entering through the white curtains of Belinda's bed-chamber at the midday-noon. As fair Belinda wakes and so does her lap-dog, Shock, Belinda is again induced to sleep by her guardian sylph, Ariel, who appears in her dream gorgeously dressed as 'a birth-night beau'.

Ariel discloses to Belinda how the sylphs, a band of aerial sprits hovering as 'a light militia of the lower sky', are dedicated to the task of protecting the fashionable maidens like Belinda. They are unlike the other categories of the Roscicrucian spirits such as the gnomes, nymphs & salamanders, and extremely committed to the girls like Belinda.

Ariel has received some alarming premonition that a disastrous event would happen to Belinda before the sunset on that day, and so he has come to warn her as well as assure her total protection by the sylphs.

As Belinda's 'morning dream' dissolves, she gets up to find a love-letter which she reads and forgets all about the dream. She immediately sits before her dressing -table for her toillette, her 'sacred rites of pride'. The episode of Belinda's elaborate make-up is a wonderful mockery of the self-arming of Hector in Homer's epic. Assisted by the 'inferior priestess', i.e. her maid Betty, Belinda--robed in white--engages herself in a beauty-worship, and her image increasingly gains in superior beauty on the mirror of her dressing-table. Select items of make-up culled from the vases arranged in 'mystic order', combs of tortoise-shells & ivory, hair-pins, perfumes etc. contribute to the making of the goddess called Belinda as worshipped by the superior priestess of the same identity.

Canto 1 ends with Belinda's make-up and self-adoration as she gets prepared for a journey by boat across the river Thames on her way to the Hampton Court.

How do you apply rhyme scheme to a poem?

In the study of poetry, you don't really "apply" a rhyme scheme to a poem, rather your job is to identify the rhyme scheme (if there is one) and then talk about its impact. This is normally done by nominating a letter for each "rhyme" within the poem. Let's take Sonnet 116 by Shakespeare as an example (watch out for the letters at the end of the lines):

Let me not to the marriage of true minds  A

Admit impediments. Love is not love 

B Which alters when it alteration finds,  A

Or bends with the remover to remove:  B

O no! it is an ever-fixed mark  C

That looks on tempests and is never shaken;  D

It is the star to every wandering bark,  C

Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. D Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks E

Within his bending sickle's compass come: F

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, E

But bears it out even to the edge of doom. F

If this be error and upon me proved, G

I never writ, nor no man ever loved. G

 Therefore, with this poem, you would say that it had a regular ABABCDCDEFEFGG rhyme scheme - typical of Shakespeare and his sonnets.

   

"I love you more than everything else in the world combined. Isn't that enough?" Bella asks Edward. Why does she say "isn't that enough"?This...

Very well thought out harleymiller, you answered you own question.  Bella is definatelly appeling to Edward to transform her into a vampire.  She is all dressed up and he has come to take her to the prom.  She says she was hoping it would be something else.  She is ready to be changed.  Edward asks her ready for what ?  "To be changed to a monster?" 

Bella is not going to give up.  She appeals to his sense of love and to the idea that she wants to be with him forever.  She tries t convince him that this can't happen unless he transforms her.  He decides there will be no compromise between the two of them at that point in time, so they kiss and the story ends.

I think the ending was very good, because the story has closure.  If the book had not been a commercial success and no sequels had been written, the reader would not be left hanging.  By ending the book the way Meyer did, the plot was left open enough to have further books, but if not, the story would not have been ruined.

Are you going on to read "New Moon?" It is a very good book also.

What effect does the word "traitors" have in "Julius Caesar" (Act 2, Scene 3)? Explain fully.

"The Fates" are the three goddesses in Greek mythology who control the fate and destiny of every individual human being. They are otherwise known as the Moirae. These timeless old hags weave the threads of destiny that control the  life span of every individual.

They are: Clotho who spins the Thread of  Life, Lachesis who allots the length of the yarn, and Atropos who cuts the spun yarn.

As the daughters of the primeval night deities Erebus and Nyx (though some claim that Zeus and Themis  should be held responsible), the Fates control the destinies of all. Even the Gods are subject to their decisions.

All the good and evil that befalls you is woven into your destiny and cannot be altered even one jot. You may find this a little unfair, but it's the stuff great Greek tragedies are made of.

In Act.II Sc.3, Artemidorus tries to warn Caesar of the impending assasination attempt by the conspirators.  He lists out all the names of the conspirators and warns Caesar of their evil intentions. He writes their names on a sheet of  paper and decides to hand it over to Caesar secretly in the guise of a petition.

All the conspirators at some time or the other had benefitted and prospered because of Caesar.  They owe their present position and wealth to Caesar, but now unfortunately they have turned against Caesar and have decided to kill him. Artemidorus acknowledges the role of the Fates in this reversal of fortunes in Caesar's life and hence just before he hands over the  sheet of paper to Caesar he  remarks,

"If thou read this O Caesar, thou mayst live.

If not the Fates with traitors do contrive."

Artemidorus, seems to say that the only explanation for the sudden and complete reversal in the behaviour of the conspirators who were once friends of Caesar is only because of the Fates who have turned the friends of Caesar into his enemies.

Critically comment on the romantic features of "I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud."

William Wordsworth's  lyric "I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud," usually anthologized as "Daffodils" recaptures a moment of sheer ecstasy when he and his sister Dorothy saw the shore of a lake near Grasmere lined with daffodils during their walk on April 15, 1802.  The final version of the lyric was published in 1815.

A lyric represents the deep feelings and emotions of the poet as a response to an external stimulus. Some of the important features of a 'Romantic' lyric are as follows:

1. The Romantic lyric is a very 'personal' poem. It is characterized by the presence of personal pronouns 'I,' 'me,' 'my,' and 'mine.' This can be seen at the very beginning of the poem itself: "I wandered lonely as a cloud."

2. The Romantic lyric is an expression of the poet's own inner feelings and emotions. Wordsworth has recorded in his lyric his joy and happiness on seeing the daffodils: " a poet could not but be gay, in such jocund company."

3. The Romantic lyric is very 'physical', that is, the poet's physical senses are involved in experiencing the outside world. In Wordsworth's case it is the physical sense of sight: "when all at once I saw a crowd a host of golden daffodils."

4. The word lyric is derived from the Greek word 'lyre' which was a stringed musical instrument. So, literally a lyric 'is a song written to be sung to the accompaniment of the lyre.' Wordsworth's lyric can neither be sung nor can it be set to music. He has substituted a regular metrical pattern for the musical score. The musical architectonic has been replaced with all the lines of the four stanzas being iambic pentameter. Each stanza is made up of six lines with the first line of each stanza rhyming with the third and the second with the fourth and the stanza ending with a couplet. It is this regular pattern which is repeated throughout the poem which creates the music.

5. Wordswoth was a worshipper of Nature and this poem captures the natural beauty of the daffodils on the lake shore: "golden daffodils."

6. A Romantic lyric will be characterised by an excessive use of similes and metaphors as a means of conveying to his readers the poet's own feelings and emotions: "asa cloud." Wordsworth compares the seemingly endless extent to which the daffodils stretched across the lake shore to the galaxy of the Milky Way thus linking the terrestrial with the extra terrestrial

How does civilization lead to epidemics?Having much trouble with this book. Any info on this or any other questions from the discussion guide in...

Civilization leads to epidemics because of proximity. When a civilization flourishes, more people are living closer together in fixed abodes.  They also gather in public places more frequently, and are more likely to travel and spread disease.  Civilization implies job and class differentiation, which means that different people have exposure to different kinds of bacteria and viruses.  Once those people live close to one another or meet in groups, it does not take much to create an epidemic.  Civilization also frequently implies public water and sewage systems.  These are a great idea, but early civilizations had no clue about treating water systems to prevent epidemics, so everyone used the same water, and if there was something wrong with it, an epidemic was inevitable. 

The swine flu, which has an official name that escapes me right now, is a good example of how an epidemic spreads in civilization.  If you recall, Mexico's first official act upon learning of the epidemic was to close restaurants, schools, and other public gathering places.  In an  "uncivilized"  situation, people do not gather in this way, and epidemics are less likely.  Nor do they live as close to one another, and so are less likely to spread disease.   

What does Robert Frost's poem "Fireflies in the Garden" say about the limits of symbolism?

Robert Frost's poem "Fireflies in the Garden" is a brief but eminently clear commentary on the limits of symbolism.  Frost uses fireflies as symbols which "emulate...real stars...(in) the upper skies".  He notes that "though they were never equal stars in size, and they were never really stars at heart", they do at times actually "achieve...a very star-like start".  The only problem is, unlike the real thing, fireflies "can't sustain the part". 

Through this metaphor, Frost is saying that although symbols are quite effective at times, almost duplicating that which they stand for, their impact is limited, because they attain closeness to their subject for only a fleeting moment.  Symbols cannot sustain their effectiveness for any length of time; their lustre quickly pales in the face of the real thing.

Describe scientific methods of selection of candidates and their merits and demerits? What is meant by reliability and validity of selection...

Companies use many different methods to select persons for recruitment from the many candidates who may apply for employment. These include the following:

• Evaluation based on educational background and other formal certifications from recognized organizations.


• Evaluation based on past experience. This includes the nature of work performed, duration of past experience and the organization.


• Physical fitness and skill tests. This method is used only for recruitment for positions requiring some minimum standards of physical fitness and high degree of physical skills.


• Selection tests. These test can be of a very wide variety in terms of testing techniques used as well as the attributes and capabilities tested.


• Group discussions.


• Personal interviews.

Typically a company uses a combination of more than one of the above methods to selection for any one position. There is no clear cut difference between scientific and un-scientific methods of selection. Any one of the above method can be labeled as scientific or un-scientific depending upon the extent of systematic planning, designing, and execution involved in the method used. The methods of selection can also be classified as subjective or objective depending upon the extent to which individual judgment plays a role in ultimate selection. Generally objective methods, with lower dependence on individual judgement, are considered to be more systematic or scientific as compared to the subjective methods.

Reliability of a selection test refers to the extent to which a test measures a given quality of candidates correctly or reliably. Validity refers to the extent to which scores on a selection test actually reflect the suitability of candidate for a given position. For example, reliability of an IQ test refers to the extent to which the score of the test really reflect the level of intelligence of candidate tested. The validity of the same test refers to the extent to which the IQ score reflect the suitability of a person for the given job.

Why does Shasta leave his home in search of Narnia in The Horse and His Boy?

Shasta leaves his home to search for Narnia because a stranger is bargaining to buy him from the man he calls his father.  He is afraid of what this stranger might be like, so when he is invited by the visitor's horse to run away to Narnia with him, he takes the opportunity and flees his home in the southern land of Calormen.

As long as he can remember, Shasta has lived with the fisherman Arsheesh.  Shasta is fair, completely unlike the other people in the area who are dark, and it is obvious he is not Arsheesh's real son.  In truth, Arsheesh shows no love for Shasta, and treats him like a slave.  When the stranger comes, Shasta overhears him talking with Arsheesh and learns that Arsheesh had in fact found Shasta as an infant, in a boat on the beach, with a man who was dead.  It is a relief to Shasta to know that he is no relation to Arsheesh.

Shasta wonders what kind of man the stranger is, and if he might not be better off with him.  While he is pondering the matter, he wanders over to where the stranger's horse is tethered.  To his surprise, the horse, whose name is Bree, talks to him.  Bree is from Narnia in the north, where the people are fair like Shasta and "nearly all the animals talk".

Bree tells Shasta that the stranger is a bad man, and that he'd "better be lying dead tonight than go to be a human slave in his house tomorrow".  Shasta decides that, if what the horse says is true, he'd do well to run away.  The horse himself was kidnapped from Narnia when he was a foal, and would also like to escape and return to the land of his birth.  Bree points out that the two of them need each other; if the horse were to go without a rider, anyone who might see him would be after him as a stray horse, and Shasta, with his "two silly legs...what absurd legs humans have!", would be able to travel much more quickly atop a horse.  The two decide to take advantage of the situation, concluding that "this is the chance for both of (them)" (Chapter 1).

What is the summary of "How Much Land Does a Man Need"?no

rashi,

In this parable by Leo Tolstoy, Pahom, a Russina peasant, overhears his wife and her sister arguing the merits of farm life versus city life. He boasts to himself that if he just had enough land, he would not even fear the Devil.

The Devil hears the boast and plans to exploit Pahom's greed. Pahom soon succeed in buying land, yet he quickly grows dissatisfied. He treats the local peasants as badly as he was once treated, and he continues to acquire more land.

When a traveling dealer tells Pahom about the region of the Bashkirs, where fertile land is available at low prices, Pahom travels there with his savings--100 thousand Rubles.

The Bashkirs welcome him and agree to sell, for a thousand Rubles, as much land as he can walk off in a day, as long as he returns before sunset to his starting point.

Pahom walks a great distance, trying to encircle as much land as possible. In his mad rush to the starting point, however, he collapses and dies.  He ends up with six feet of land--enough for his grave. 

How does the Lady of Shalott die?

Rejected by Sir Lancelot, whom she pined for, the Lady of Shalott took a boat down the river to her death. The poem describes her finding a boat, inscribing her name on it, lying down in it, and singing mourfully as she floated down the river to her death: 

". . .a carol, mournful, holy,
Chanted loudly, chanted lowly,
Till her blood was frozen slowly,
And her eyes were darkened wholly,
Turn'd to tower'd Camelot.
For ere she reach'd upon the tide
The first house by the water-side,
Singing in her song she died,
The Lady of Shalott.?

In George Orwell's 1984, what are major events that occur between the end of Part One and the end of the novel?

The last two parts of George Orwell's 1984 are marked primarily by Winston's growing doubt about the nature of society, specifically the motives and methods of the Party, Winston's increasing attachment to Julia, like Winston someone not satisfied with the current state of affairs, and their eventual capture and interrogation at the Ministry of Love.

In Part One, Winston expresses his uncertainties concerning the Party and the government of Big Brother as a whole.  The journal Winston purchases from a shop in the Prole area facilitates Winston's expression of his discontent.  Writing his thoughts in the journal allows Winston the opportunity to say what he wants to say about his perspective on society and the Party.  Winston's discontent and doubt only grows in Part Two. 

In Part Two, Winston begins to interact with Julia, someone who has a genuine hatred of the Party and what it represents.  Her feelings towards the Party, though often much stronger than Winston's, connect the two of them, and they begin to have an affair.  Through the course of the affair, they begin to talk about their discontent more openly, even suggesting they do something about it. 

Their affair culminates in Winston and Julia being captured and taken to the Ministry of Love at the end of Part Two.  Part Three, more than either Part One and Part Two, affords the reader a closer view of how the Party works, specifically the inner workings of the Ministry of Love.  Both Winston and Julia are interrogated by O'Brien, someone with whom Winston believes he had a rapport.  Through the course of the interrogation, both Winston and Julia give each other up.  When confronted with his worst fear, rats, Winston is very quick to have Julia put in his place rather than him.  O'Brien rather easily breaks down the relationship Winston and Julia believe they had, making it easier for O'Brien to work on Winston's mind.  Ultimately, O'Brien's and the Ministry of Love's approach is so complete that at the end of the novel, when Winston and Julia meet on the street, they treat each other as strangers, sharing none of the feelings that had passed between them before their stay at the Ministry.

In Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, who is the protagonist?

I would argue that the Creation is the Protagonist; we enjoy his perspective more, and he is the focus of the novel. We follow his actions and voice most, and when not, we follow his actions through other characters.

While the term Protgonist is not defined as the "good guy," I find myself siding with the Creation because of this.

Chapter Twelve (about two pages in) The monster recalls his story, specifically about his time spent with the villagers. He proves himself to be kind when he says "...but when I found that in doing this I inflicted pain on the cottagers, I abstained and satisfied myself with berries, nuts, and roots..."  Where he had previously stole from them to survive, the pain he caused told him to gather other food from the wood to alleviate the peoples' pain.

We "side" with him as he vows revenge and kills William; there are even parts of us in chapter 16 that feel a strong connection to him. He has been wronged, and William has it coming to him.

We pity and empathize with him in chapter 19 when he works in isolation; this is contrasted with the pity we cannot feel for Frankenstein as a doctor. Frankenstein chose to isolate people by being a scientist in his line of work; the Creature WANTS to be accepted, and consistently reaches out to people, only to be rejected. He is even rejected by Frankenstein at the moment of his own "birth" (which is in Chapter 5 in Frankenstein's point of view, and described further in chapter 20).

I would stress that the creation is one we pity and almost love. We understand that his crimes are only those he feels are deserved, or MUST be done; we smile at his vegetarian diet, and we reach out for him and are willing, as readers to do what the characters in the novel cannot: treat him as a human being.

In Summer of My German Soldier, why do Anton and Ruth feel it is time for Anton to leave his hiding place? Why doesn't Patty agree?

Anton and Ruth feel it is time for Anton to leave his hiding place because it is becoming too dangerous for him to stay.  Patty doesn't agree because she loves Anton, and cannot bear the thought of him leaving her forever.

When Patty reveals to Ruth that the man hiding in the garage is the German prisoner for whom the law is searching, Ruth doesn't know what to think.  She knows that Anton is a good man because she had seen him ready to run out and sacrifice himself when Patty was being beaten by her father, but as an adult, she is also aware of the grave consequences to herself and Patty which would occur should they be found harboring a fugitive.  Ruth initially tells Patty, "my mind ain't come to no clear thought yet"; she needs time to think, and while she is doing that, she makes a hearty breakfast for Patty and Anton.

Ruth and Anton get to know each other while Anton and Patty are eating Ruth's delicious griddle cakes.  Anton had just expressed concern that Patty's beating may have had something to do with him, but Patty had assured him that it had not.  Even so, while the three are talking in the kitchen, a car pulls up in the driveway, and, in a panic that someone should discover Anton, Ruth tells Patty to hide him under her bed.  The visitor turns out to a neighbor, who, after taking care of her business, goes on her way, but the incident impresses on the minds of Ruth and Anton the danger of him staying any longer.  Anton says,

"About what happened - I'm sorry.  There's no reason why you both should have to take risks.  Tonight when it's dark, I'll go",

and Ruth does nothing to stop him.  In the social hierarchy of the South at that time, Ruth as a Black woman and Patty as a Jewish girl are powerless under the best of conditions.  The consequences to them should it be discovered that they are harboring a fugitive would be severe, and there would be little that they could do to help Anton.

Patty, on her part, does not agree that Anton should leave.  He is the one person in her lonely life other than Ruth who sees value in her, and actually likes her.  Patty cannot bear the thought that she will never see Anton again; she is desperate that he stay awhile longer (Chapters 11-13).

In The Great Gatsby, what is the illusion of "colossal vitality" that Jay Gatsby created?

This passage is found in Chapter V after Gatsby has spent the afternoon with Daisy, seeing her again for the first time since they had parted five years earlier:

. . . the expression of bewilderment had come back into Gatsby's face, as though a faint doubt had occurred to him as to the quality of his present happiness. Almost five years! There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams--not through her own fault but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. 

Gatsby's illusion was more profound than his belief that he and Daisy shared a deep, mutual love that could be recaptured. He believed that through his efforts and strength of will he could defeat reality with his romantic dreams, the same romantic dreams in which he lived as a young boy. After he met Daisy, she became a part of his grander illusion, but she did not formulate the whole of it.

From his youth, Gatsby rejected his own identity and the life he was born into. He believed he could wipe out Jimmy Gatz as if he had never been, re-creating himself as Jay Gatsby:

The truth was that Jay Gatsby, of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself . . . . he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen year old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end.

Gatsby's illusion became his reality. He believed he could wipe out his own identity and personal heritage, as well as the five years that had separated him from Daisy, going back to make their lives turn out as he had wished. The enormous "vitality" of his illusion reflected the amount of energy and imagination he had poured into it: 

It had gone beyond her, beyond everything. He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that drifted his way.

Gatsby's illusion, simply stated, was that his "romantic readiness," as Nick described it, would prevail over reality. 

From "Fahrenheit 451" what would be three topics to compare and contrast Montag and Faber?Evidence from the novel?

Try the following three areas:

1.  Desire for change.  They are both dedicated to starting a change in their society; they are excited and they have a plan.  However, Montag, as soon as he gained a more in-depth perspective of his society, and started reading, he immediately wanted to do something to enact change.  Faber on the other hand, cowered in the background for years, not wanting to enact change for fear of what the goverment would do.  He was silent for a long while, whereas Montag just found his voice, and is excited to use it.

2.  Alienation.  They are both men who feel ostracized from society, a bit alienated, and alone.  They feel they don't have many friends, or people who understand them and their frustrations.  Montag feels distanced from his wife, and Faber feels distanced from almost everyone.  However, to contrast them in this area, Montag found someone who he felt close to, that sparked him and motivated him (Clarisse), whereas Faber just slowly distanced himself from everyone because he was afraid of getting harmed by society.

3.  Jobs.  They have both held professions that deal with books, so they are similar there.  However, they differ in that Faber used books as a professor, taught from them, was educated and intelligent because of them.  Montag is on the other spectrum of that; he burned books and never delved into them.

There are many other possibilities that you could use; for example, Montag takes an active role in rebelling (planting the book, killing Beatty) whereas Faber takes a more passive role, but, they both do rebel.  You could focus on more shallow traits like their age and station in life.  I hope that I have at least given you something to get started.  I also provided a link below with tips for writing compare/contrast essays, and that should help too.  Good luck!

What is the significance of color in "The Book Thief"?Give 2 examples of how it was used and the effect it had on you as a reader. 2-3 paragraphs...

This question seems to be an essay question that your teacher has asked you to respond to; I can help to give you some ideas, and I hope that you can use them to spark your own opinions and examples to use in an essay that you write yourself.

Color, in "The Book Thief" is used by the narrator, Death, to describe the skies and souls in the moments that he comes to take people's spirits away.  It is also, as Death states a couple pages in, a "distraction..vacation...in colors."  It is a way of distracting him from his awful job; he notices the colors of the day around him, and of the souls that he takes.  It is highly symbolic; on peaceful days, the skies are blue.  On awful days of war and destruction, the skies are blood-red and the color of fire and smoke.  The colors represent either the events of the world or area at that time, or, the personality and temperment of the soul that Death is taking.  For excellent quotes to use for your essay, look to the first few pages of the book, where Death describes some of the significance of colors.

The first specific reference to a color coordinating with an event is white, where Death comes for Liesel's brother. It is white because it is winter, and there is snow everywhere, a "blinding kind" of white.  Here, color represents both the environment that death has come to, and, a second function, a distraction for him.  He mentions,

"I studied the blinding, white-snow sky...I practically inhaled it, but still, I wavered.  I buckled--I became interested."

The scene of Liesel and her mother grieving piqued his interest, and he tries desparately to distract himself with the color white around him, but fails, and sticks around a while to learn more.  So in this quote, a few pages into the novel, we see color used as both a descriptor of environment, AND a distraction for death.  For other great examples, look to the beginnings and endings of the chapters--this is most often where Death steps in and talks about colors.  You'll find good examples there.

To describe how color impacts you as a reader, think about what images each color that you use in your examples conjures up in your mind.  What feelings or images come to mind with each color mentioned, and how does that add to the emotional impact of the example itself?

I hope that these thoughts can help to get you started; good luck!

In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, what did the fishing trip mean for each of the men?

This is a scene from the novel that is difficult to visualize, even today: patients from a mental ward getting on a charter fishing boat and spending the day out on the water.  This is part of McMurphey's struggle, almost from the moment he enters the institution, to convince the other inmates that they are still human, still men, still deserving of some of life's simple pleasures, and deserving of being out of Nurse Ratched's iron fisted control.

This act, however, is more than simple rebellion on McMurphey's part.  It is perhaps the most normal event in the entire story, and provides a stark contrast to the daily life of the inmates.  It is also a humanizing event in the eyes of the reader, where we are allowed to forget about both the mental illness and the abuse suffered by the characters in the story.

In setting up the test of the bow for the suitors, how is Penelope really saying that she is looking for Odysseus?

Odysseus is the only mortal man strong enough to string the bow. Penelope has been told that Odysseus is alive; by setting up the challenge of the bow, she is giving him an opportunity to shed his disguise and take back what is rightfully his from the suitors.

arcsin 1/2 + arcsin x = pi/3. Find the x value !

You should remember that `arcsin (a) = alpha` .

Calculating the sine function both sides yields:

`sin(arcsin 1/2 + arcsin x) = sin (pi/3)`

Use the trigonometric formula: `sin(alpha+beta) = sin alpha*cos beta + sin beta*cos alpha`

`sin(arcsin 1/2 + arcsin x) = sin (arcsin (1/2))*cos(arcsin x) + sin(arcsin x)*cos(arcsin (1/2))`

You need to remember that `sin (arcsin x) = x`  and `cos(arcsin x) = sqrt(1 - x^2)`

`` `sin(arcsin 1/2 + arcsin x) = (1/2)*sqrt(1 - x^2) + x*sqrt(1 - 1/4)`

`` `sin(arcsin 1/2 + arcsin x) = (sqrt(1 - x^2))/2 + (xsqrt3)/2`

`` Write the equation:

`(sqrt(1 - x^2))/2 + (xsqrt3)/2 = sin (pi/3)`

`(sqrt(1 - x^2))/2 + (xsqrt3)/2 = sqrt3/2`

`` `sqrt(1 - x^2) + xsqrt3 = sqrt3`

`sqrt(1 - x^2) = sqrt3*(1-x)`

Raising to square both sides yields:

`1 - x^2 = 3(1-x)^2`

Expanding the binomial yields:

`1 - x^2 = 3 - 6x + 3x^2`

Bring all terms to the left side:

`1 - x^2- 3 +6x- 3x^2 = 0 =gt -4x^2 + 6x - 2 = 0`

Divide by -2:

`2x^2 - 3x + 1 = 0`

Using quadratic formula yields:

`x_(1,2) = (3+-sqrt(9 - 8))/4 =gt x_(1,2) = (3+-1)/4`

`x_1 = 1 ; x_2 = 1/2`

The solutions to the given equation are:`x_1 = 1 ; x_2 = 1/2` .

What is Macbeth's first name?I'm confused, it's many decades since I studied Macbeth in school. I'm told that Duncan is the first name of the...

King Duncan is the present king of Scotland in Macbeth, there is no other name provided for him or Macbeth.  

Macbeth's first name is not provided in the play. The description for the character includes:

"Macbeth is nobleman and a Scottish general in the king's army. At the beginning of the play, he has gained recognition for himself through his defeat of the king of Norway and the rebellious Macdonwald."

Describe the attack on Mrs. Joe in Chapter 13. What weapon was used? What does Pip imply about the weapon?

Someone took an old leg iron (a convict's) and hit Mrs. Joe in the back of the head with it.  It seems to be the one that the first convict filed off the day that Pip went to the graveyard and gave him the file.  Joe examines it and says that it was filed a long time ago. 

Pip seems to believe this leg iron is one in the same, yet he does not think that the convict was at fault.  He is suspicious of both Orlick and the man stirring his drink with the file.  Orlick was seen in town after the attack, and even walked back with them towards Joe's house.  The other man with the file is somehow related, but Pip does not yet know how he's related.

What is the irony of Casca's description of the populace in Act I?

The irony of Casca's description is that it shows he has a total contempt for the common people. He loses no opportunity to denigrate them as repulsive, mindless, and easily swayed:

If the tag-rag people did not clap him and hiss him according as he pleased and displeased them, as they use to do the players in the theatre, I am no true man.

He even remarks that they are dirty and have "stinking breath." The irony in this is that as a conspirator against Caesar, he will have to rely on the support of the common people to make sure that their cause prevails after Caesar is killed. Indeed, he is the first of the conspirators to urge Brutus to speak to the common people and explain their actions after the assassination is carried out successfully (Act III, Scene 1).

What would be good as a topic about a person who was once successful and famous, but became a catastrophe?

Tragedy is the word that comes to mind.  After all "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles, which defines tragedy, is a dramatic narrative of a once powerful, successful, and loved king whose life truly becomes a tragedy. 

Since the story of Oedipus, there have been many a powerful man who has committed hamartia, or a tragic mistake as Aristotle defines it in his Poetics.  Upon an examination of political and military figures, often one discovers this "tragic mistake."

Certainly, Richard Nixon is an example of a powerful and successful man who committed tragic mistakes.  Ahead in the polls by eleven points in September of 1960, just two months before the election, Nixon refused to put on TV makeup even though he had been recently ill.  When the cameras recorded his close-ups, his "5 o'clock shadow" showed, he appeared pale, and perspiration on his upper lip from his slight temperature made him appear ill at ease.  A tragic mistake of not ensuring that he would look his best cost Nixon the debates and arguably the election against the handsome, cool John F. Kennedy.

Having lost to Kennedy in 1960 and having narrowly beat Hubert Humphrey in 1968, Nixon became somewhat paranoid in his campaign for re-election in 1972 despite having had a successful first four years as president.  So, he committed his tragic mistake of bugging the Democratic headquarters in the Watergate hotel.

Other presidents, of course, have had their tragic flaws such as Jimmy Carter whose tragic flaw during his administration was his extreme weakness.  His tragic mistake was in not supporting the Shah of Iran, a decision which led to the creation of the theocracy of Iran that is to this day a problem for the U.S. Carter's flaw was that he did not understand that one cannot be a total humanitarian and protect one's nation. His inability to resolve the hostage crisis in Iran after the Shah was disposed was a political debacle and embarrassment to America.

In Reagan's administration, desiring to destroy communism, he went around the wishes of a Democratic Congress which would not fund the sale of arms to the Nicauraguan contras who tried to fight communism.  This scandal implicated numerous members of the Reagan administration as well as the president himself as he denied knoeledge of details of any transactions. 

What is the tone and how is it delivered in Act 1, Scene 1.Isolation, having nobody to count on and being pushed away from the people he loves has...

The tone in the opening scene of the play is mysterious. It begins with one guard challenging the approaching person so that immediately the audience gets set up for a story with lots of drama and action.  In l. 25, Horatio asks if the "thing" has appeared tonight.  The audience does not know yet what the "thing" is to which he refers, and the audience doesn't find out what Horatio, Marcellus, and Bernardo are talking about until the ghost itself appears.  Shakespeare creates the tone of mystery by not naming the "thing", but just letting it appear.  Add to that the fact that the ghost appears once again in the first scene and it never speaks. Also, the question of Denmark's war preparations creates this air of mystery.  The audience knows nothing yet about why the ghost appears, about what its importance is, and they know very little about who the ghost is the spirit of or the political situation in Denmark.

I need some quotes with page numbers from To Kill a Mockingbird that show how Atticus is a good father.

Perhaps the most memorable quote of Atticus Finch is his statement about how it is a sin to kill a mockingbird; afterall, the title itself comes from this statement.  In Chapter 10, the seventh paragraph, Atticus gives his children air-rifles, but he does not teach them to shoot:

Uncle Jack instructed us in the rudiments thereof; he said Atticus wasn't interested in guns.  Atticus said to Jem one day, 'I'd rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you'll go after birds.  Shoot all the bluejays you wnat, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird'

Of course, Atticus implies that the children should never harm an innocent creature.  Symbolically, Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are like mockingbirds, the children realize later.  And, the irony of Atticus's not teaching the children to shoot is that he himself is a superb shot as he proves on the day he shoots a rabid dog on their street.

Another example of the honorable man that Atticus is comes prior to his remarks in Chapter 10.  At the end of chapeter 9, Atticus talks with his brother Jack about the forthcoming trial in which he has been assigned to defend Tom Robinson.  Atticus explains how difficult such a defense will be, but he has to accept the job: 

'You know I'd hoped to get through life without a case of this kind, but John Taylor pointed at me...'

'Let this cup pass from you, eh?' [Jack remarks.]

'Right.  But do you  think I could face my children otherwise?  You know what's going to happen as well as I do, Jack, and I hope and pray I can get Jem and Scout through it without bitterness, and most of all, without catching Maycomb's usual disease.' [racial bias]

Then, Atticus calls out to Scout as he knows that she has listened.  He wants her to hear.  Scout recounts this realization as she reflects, "...many years later ...I realized he wanted me to hear every word he said."

Earlier in this same chapter, Scout has already asked Atticus why he takes Tom Robinson's case.  Atticus replies in paragraph 16,

'For a number of reasons...The mainone is, if I didn't I couln't hold up my head in town, I couldn't represent this county in the legislature, I couldn't even tell you or Jem not to do something again.'

Scout asks him why they would not have to mind him;  Atticus replies,

Because I could never ask you to mind me again.  Scout, simply by the nature of the work, every lawyer get at least one case in his lifetime that affects him personally.  This one's mine, I guess  You might hear some ugly talk about it at school, but doo one thing for me if you will:  you just hold your head high and keep those fists down.  No matter what anybody says to you, don't you let 'em get your goat.  Try fighting with your head for a change...It's a good one, even if it does resist learning.'

When Mrs. DuBois calls Atticus a "n---lover," Jem cuts the blooms from her camellias in retaliation and anger.  Always the charitable man, Atticus insists that Bub repair the damage by reading to her each day.  He explains to Scout and Jem to not let Mrs. DuBois "get you down in paragraph 108 of Chapter 11:

"It's never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name.  It just shows how poor that person is, it doesn't hurt you."

After the verdict is given at the trial, Jem and Scout are distraught with the outcome.  They ask their father how the jurors could vote as they have done.  He replies,

'I don't know, but they did it.  They've done it before and they did it tonight and they'll do it again and when they do it--seems that only children weep.  Good night.

This remark in paragraph 18 of Chapter 22 is one that the children will better understand when they are older, yet it making such a remark is another example of Atticus's timely wisdom and the integrity that he demonstrates in the above passages and throughout "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee.

As little Scout drifts off to sleep on the night of her harrowing encounter with Bob Ewell, she tells her father that Boo Radley was "real nice."  Atticus remarks, "Most people are, Scout , when you finally see them" (second paragraph from the last).  And, thus, ends the novel with one of its motifs reiterated by Mr. Finch.

[3.2.13] What does Macbeth call Banquo? Is this an accurate description and why does Macbeth think of Banquo this way?Compare the description to...

When MacBeth exclaims "we have scorched the snake, not killed it" he is referring of course, to Banquo and also really anyone who is a threat to his power and his crown. He thinks of Banquo in this way because of the witches' prophecy that he will produce kings but not be one himself. MacBeth unjustifiably refers to Banquo like this because he has identified Banquo as a threat that could, as a snake can, lurk in the underbrush and strike him when he least expects it. It is an ironic use of the image, since it is MacBeth who really is the "snake."

I'm not sure if you have the correct lines for your final question. Are you referring to when MacBeth refers to his mind as being "full of scorpions"? Qualify the lines, then I can add further insights.

What three messages does Macbeth receive from the three apparitions?

OK, so we're looking here at the apparitions scene: Act 4, Scene 1. Let's go one by one.

The first apparition is an "Armed Head". He says:

Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff;
Beware the Thane of Fife. Dismiss me. Enough.

Macduff, though no-one knows this yet, will be the one to eventually kill Macbeth. So it's good advice - and it's simple: Beware of Macduff (who is also the Thane of Fife).

THe second apparition is a bloody child.

Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn
The power of man, for none of woman born
Shall harm Macbeth.

Macbeth is to be bloody (i.e. shed lots of blood), brave and resolved. No-one born of a woman can harm him. The irony, which we don't discover until the last scenes of the play, is that Macduff was not "born", in the normal way, but born by section, cut out of his mother's womb.

The third apparition is a baby, crowned, with a branch in his hand. He says to Macbeth:

Be lion-mettled, proud, and take no care
Who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are:
Macbeth shall never vanquish’d be until
Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill
Shall come against him.

So Macbeth is to be as brave as a lion, and to ignore everyone else. Macbeth will never be overcome ("vanquished") until the nearby wood, Birnam Wood, moves to Dunsinane Hill.

One important theme in The Glass Menagerie is "the impossibility of a true escape" for the characters. Who or what is to blame?

Of the four main characters, it is Tom who speaks frequently and bitterly of the need to escape--to escape his stifling job at the warehouse and his role as the sole financial support for his mother and sister. Tom wants to escape the deadly dull and smothering life he leads in St. Louis and find the adventure and self-fulfillment he believes will make his life meaningful. Once he reaches his breaking point and abandons Laura and Amanda, Tom leaves St. Louis behind and travels the world, one strange city after another, as he had once dreamed. He finds, however, that he has not escaped at all. No matter the distance he places between himself and his sister, especially, he cannot feel free. He is always drawn back to Laura through his memories of her and his guilt for leaving her. Tom could leave home, but he could not escape his own character and his own past.

Jim O'Connor seeks an escape of his own. He plans to achieve great success in the world and leave his current position in life behind. Like Tom, Jim works at the warehouse, but he envisions himself building a career in the new television industry. He takes a night class and studies public speaking. We don't know how Jim's plans ultimately turn out, but there is some evidence that they may be derailed. Jim has worked at the warehouse for some time already since leaving high school, he is now engaged and will soon marry. As a married man supporting a family during the Depression, he may find himself trapped by life's circumstances.

Amanda seeks to escape financial abandonment. She continually reminds Tom of his importance in the family's economic survival. She harps at him daily. She sends Laura to business college so that Laura can learn the skills necessary to become employable. When that fails, she tries to find a gentleman caller for Laura who can take Tom's place in supporting Laura and herself. Ultimately, Amanda cannot escape abandonment and financial ruin because she cannot control Tom, Laura, or Jim. She is trapped by circumstances, including the fact that she has no skills or education to support herself and her daughter.

Laura tries to escape the world in which she cannot function. There also is evidence she tries to escape the pain of her father's leaving. She retreats into her glass menagerie, and she plays her father's records during times of great stress. When Laura does allow herself to engage with Jim in a genuine and personal way, she is crushed by his selfishness conduct. Laura, like her brother, cannot escape her own character and her own history.

What does Oedipus Rex say about nature and fate?

Arguably, that what Sophocles is talking about that fate is not up to the person, it is the divine will of the God's.

The Ancient Greeks did not believe that fate was determined by the person, rather it was up to the God's. That is why no matter what steps Oedipus took, he was doomed to make the same mistake. Whether he knew it or not, even after persuing his investigation into the death of Laius, he had still married his mother, killed his father and bore children, so it could be argued that the discovery was always going to happen.

Fate is the divine will of the gods, and to believe otherwise in the Ancient world was considered hubris and an insult to the Gods. Which is why Euripedes was so controversial, but I shall leave that for another day.

It won't let me reference books so:

Antigone; Oedipus the King; Electra; (translated by H.D.F. Kitto; edited with an introduction and notes by Edith Hall. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1994

What is Curley's wife's reaction to the dream of the farm with the rabbits ? How does the promise of the farm embolden Candy an Crooks?Why does...

1. After hearing the men's farm dream, Curley's Wife tells them:

"Baloney, . . . I seen too many you guys. If you had two bits in the worl', why you'd be in gettin' two shots of corn with it and suckin' the bottom of the glass. I know you guys" (Steinbeck 79).

Curley's Wife is not only disillusioned with her own dream (to become a movie star or have recognition), but she also discourages others because she has not seen dreams come true. All of the men with whom she has had contact would rather spend their money on whiskey and women than save it.

2.  Candy knows the danger of angering Curley's Wife or risking Curley's wrath, but he is so sure of the farm dream in Chapter 4 that he tells Curley's Wife,

"I had enough, . . . You ain't wanted here. We told you you ain't" (Steinbeck 79).

At this point, he doesn't really care what she does, because he believes that he is moving on to a better place where he will be his own boss and not have to take orders from others.

Crooks, as a black man, has to be extra careful around white women; but even he feels empowered by the idea of escaping the ranch. As Curley's wife continues to needle the men about their worthlessness, Crooks stands up and orders:

"I had enough, . . . You got no rights comin' in a colored man's room. You got no rights messing around in here at all. Now you jus' get out, an' get out quick" (Steinbeck 80).

3.  Curley's Wife threatens to accuse Crooks of rape if he doesn't "keep [his] place."  She knows that in her setting and time period that she would need no proof.  Her threat reminds Crooks of all of his other unattainable dreams and his father's warning about playing with white children.  As he returns to his harsh reality, he recognizes that even as an adult, it's still not worth it or practical to "play with the white kids."

What does Janie learn from her three marriges in Their Eyes Were Watching God?

Each of Janie's three relationships helps her to grow into the self-actualized woman whom we meet as she walks back into the town of Eatonville in Chapter 1 and endures the questions and gossip thrown at her by the porchtalkers.

From Logan, Janie learns that love and marriage cannot just be arranged and suddenly happen as her grandmother believes and that, alternately, one must work and devote a great deal of attention to make a happy marriage.

With Joe, Janie has her first opportunity to apply the lessons she has learned from Logan. Unfortunately, Joe is far more interested in his own "big voice" to ever take the time to listen to Janie's wishes and aspirations. From this, Janie learns that in order to build a happy marriage, both individuals must stand on equal footing and be willing to sacrifice for the other.

It is with Tea Cake that Janie finally realizes her "love dream." In this relationship, Janie and Tea Cake treat each other as equals, they listen to one another and treat one another as equal partners. It is through this relationship that Janie becomes self-actualized and--although this last relationship ends tragically--is able to fully live her own life.

Why does Don John want to destroy his brother? What's his problem?I'm writing an essay for summer reading and I need to write about Don John's need...

The simple answer lies in the fact that Don John is a bastard, and as such can't be eligible for the same kinds of honors or recognition as his brother, who is of legitimate birth. Even though Don Pedro doesn't outwardly treat Don John cruelly, Don John is very aware that he is seen as socially inferior, perhaps even morally inferior, to Don Pedro. But this is only the most obvious answer.

Another potential answer lies in how this character's dialogue is portrayed on stage or screen. Since the dialogue doesn't seem to contain any specific animosity aimed at Don John, thereby making it hard to justify his bad behavior if others are generally pleasant to him, it is up to actors to find the subtext to turn this character into someone capable of behaving in the way he does. But if actors are directed to behave negatively towards Don John (through gesture, facial expression and so on), this can create a context to support Don John's reputation, regardless of the seeming lack of exposition. It can also be assumed that Don John may be a generally misanthropic person. He may also be bitter because of his brother's relative popularity and good nature, perhaps finding it difficult to be as sociable and friendly. Maybe Don John is simply shy and/or socially awkward and resents how easy it is for his brother to be successful. The key aspects to Don John's nature are resentment and bitterness; but since the text doesn't tell us exactly why he feels hat way or what happened to create his animosity, the key is in the choices made by actors in creating the character. Go over the dialogue carefully and find examples of how neutral dialogue could be interpreted as mean-spirited or bitter, given this context.