Why did the Lady of Shalott die?

Part III of the poem "The Lady of Shalott" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson describes a curse on the Lady of Shalott. It states:

A curse is on her, if she stay

Her weaving, either night or day,

To look down to Camelot.

She can weave and look at the mirror to see the life outside her island, including the river flowing down to Camelot, but if she stops weaving to look directly at the river, she will trigger the curse.

One day, she sees Sir Lancelot in her mirror and goes to look out her window at him directly. This triggers the curse. As a sign of this, her mirror cracks. When she realizes what has happened, she goes outside and carves the name "The Lady of Shalott" on a shallow boat, launches it on the river, and floats down to Camelot. When she arrives there, she is dead. 

What is different about the parson in "The Minister's Black Veil"?

Nothing, except that, one Sunday, without warning or explanation, he walks out of his front door wearing a black veil; the veil is made of two layers of crape material that cover his eyes, nose, and the top of his mouth.  A few people cannot even believe that it is their parson, Mr. Hooper, at first.  One old woman says that "'He has changed himself into something awful, only by hiding his face.'"  Others, still, fear that he has "'gone mad.'"

However, even the sermon he delivers on this first day "was marked by the same characteristics of style and manner as the general series of his pulpit oratory."  In short, there is nothing different about Mr. Hooper except the fact that he is wearing this veil.  He is the same "mild" preacher that he always was, the same kind man, but because he now wears the black veil, everything that he does is perceived differently from the way it used to be.  "In this manner Mr. Hooper spent a long life, irreproachable in outward act, yet shrouded in dismal suspicions; kind and loving, though unloved, and dimly feared; a man apart from men [...]."

How do the children plan to spend Dill's last night Maycomb?

The night before Dill goes back home, he and Jem decide to go on one last adventure. Jem hesitantly lets Scout join them. They deccide to spy on the Radley house. They want to spy on Boo Radley through the window, in hopes of catching a glimpse of this legendary figure. They enter through the creaking gate to the cottage, terrified they will be discovered. They quietly sneak around to the back of the house. Jem quietly creeps to the window and lifts himself up. It is then that Scout spots a shadow. At first, she thinks it is a tree. Then she sees it move:

The shadow stopped about a foot beyond Jem. Its arm came out from its side, dropped, and was still. Then it turned and moved back across Jem, walked along the porch and off the side of the house, returning as it had come (Chapter 6).

The children become aware of the human shadow and bolt from the yard. They escape under the barbed wire fence. Jem's pants catch on the barbed wire, so he leaves them behind. The shadow, who is Mr. Nathan Radley, fires a shot into the air.

What is the cause of the conflict between Piggy and Jack? Why is it significant that Piggy, for the first time, helps to gather firewood only after...

The island William Golding depicts in Lord of the Flies represents the world. Jack and Piggy are personality types. The cause of the conflict is ideological.

Piggy is cerebral. He has many ideas, but they are ignored as he does not fight for physical power. He maintains order in the group. His usefulness is unseen because of his physical laziness, so his mental capacity presents unnoticed value to the group.

Jack is the opposite. He focuses on physical power and seen leadership. He is a leader-personality who wants to be seen as just that: a chief. He is useful to the group in presenting new ideas, changing the path from what he considers boring. In turn, this lust for power and change becomes evil.

Piggy is liberated when Jack is gone because Jack is an oppressive force, particularly to Piggy's artisan personality. It is the lust of power versus the lack of power. The lust always beats down the lack, therefore Piggy is understandably intimidated by Jack. He helps gather firewood because it is better to work out of genuine interest versus oppression.

What word from A Midsummer Night's Dream describes Puck's humor?

If I had to choose one word used in A Midsummer Night's Dream to describe Puck, it would be "merry." Puck appropriately describes himself with that word, calling himself a "merry wanderer." He is both the spirit that can whizz around the earth in a rapid-fire 40 minutes, and also the merry sprite who wanders at a slower pace through the forest, thoroughly enjoying the mischief and hi-jinks caused by love gone awry.

Puck, also known as Robin Goodfellow, would have been a familiar character to contemporary audiences. A mischievous figure from English folklore, he is as connected to Midsummer's Eve as Santa Claus is today to Christmas. Puck is the ultimate prankster who enjoys the tricks he plays. He is the embodiment of the idea that life doesn't always work out as we plan or, as Lysander puts it, that "the course of true love never did run smooth." 

Merry Puck enjoys turning Bottom's head into an ass's head and finds merriment when Titania, a queen, falls in love with Bottom. Although he doesn't mean to put the love potion in the wrong person's eyes, the mistake makes him merry. As he says: "then will two at once woo one / that must needs be sport alone."

He laughs at taking love too seriously, saying one of the most famous lines in the play: "Lord, what fools these mortals be."

What items would be put in a time capsule for Romeo and Juliet?

A time capsule captures significant objects for a work.  Here are some that are meaningful to the play.

Mask- A mask from the party would be a good thing to include.  This is because Romeo and Juliet met at that party, and the masks that they were wearing would be meaningful keepsakes for them. 

Rope ladder- Romeo used a rope ladder to get into Juliet’s room on their wedding night.  He gave it to the nurse.  The nurse gave it to Juliet even after Romeo was banished so they could have one night together before he left.

Swords- Many swords are used in this play, but those used by Romeo, Mercutio, and Tybalt are important.  Tybalt challenged Romeo to a duel, Romeo refused, and Mercutio jumped in.  Tybalt killed Mercutio, and then Romeo killed Tybalt and was banished.

Juliet’s Vial- Friar Laurence gave Juliet a vial of a potion that she could use to fake her death. 

Take thou this vial, being then in bed,
And this distilled liquor drink thou off;
When presently through all thy veins shall run
A cold and drowsy humour, for no pulse
Shall keep his native progress, but surcease:
No warmth, no breath, shall testify thou livest ... (Act 4, Scene 1)

It would be a meaningful keepsake.  Juliet used it, and ended up in the tomb.  Unfortunately, she woke up to find Romeo dead and then really killed herself.

Friar Laurence’s Letter- Friar Laurence writes a letter to Romeo explaining that Juliet faked her death, but it does not get to him because of the plague delay.  As a result, when he goes to see Juliet, he arrives with his own poison and kills himself.

Romeo’s dagger- After Romeo kills himself with poison, Juliet finds Romeo’s dagger and uses it to kill herself, once she realizes that he doesn’t have any poison left that she can use to kill herself.

Take a close look at how some poetic elements work in the poem, such as figurative language, sound and rhyme, rhythm and meter, symbols, diction...

“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” has earned its position in the canon of literature largely through T.S. Eliot’s sheer mastery of poetic language. Out of Eliot’s oeuvre, the poem is arguably the piece that is most representative of his piquant use of language, and showcases his considerable talent with sketching compelling images that reinforce the messages he conveys through the nebbish antihero Prufrock. The first lines set the pace for what follows:

“Let us go then, you and I,

When the evening is spread out against the sky

Like a patient etherised upon a table” (71).

The first two lines are romantic and evocative, and Eliot brilliantly uses the third line to undercut that idealized tone. Eliot sets up a heroic, active opening, using a familiar AA rhyme scheme, and then subverts readers’ expectations by using the grim image of a “patient etherised upon a table.” Additionally, this image reinforces Prufrock’s inability to act, to speak, to properly express his innermost thoughts and desires to the outside world. He is the patient stretched out on the table; he is passive and inactive, being acted upon instead.

Another excellent example of Eliot’s language servicing the deeper meaning of his poetry occurs midway through the poem, with the following famous lines:

“I should have been a pair of ragged claws

Scuttling across the floors of silent seas” (73).

Here, Eliot’s use of synecdoche—a part being used to represent a whole entity— perfectly encapsulates the character of Prufrock. Prufrock relates himself to a pair of claws as opposed to a whole creature. Indeed, he sees himself as incomplete, as subterranean and unseen compared to others. Moreover, Eliot’s careful diction is wholly on display in these brief lines. He uses words like “ragged” and “scuttling” to convey Prufrock’s low self-esteem and isolation from society, and emphasizes the alliterative “s” sounds in the second line in order to mimic a scuttling sound.

Overall, Eliot was a master of manipulating poetic language to service the deeper meaning of his poems. In “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” Eliot uses alliteration, synecdoche, and striking images of impotence in order to add further depth to the poem.

I pulled my textual evidence from The Bloodaxe Book of 20th Century Poetry.

In which layer of earth do people live?

People live on the outermost layer of Earth called the crust.

There are three main layers of Earth. The three main layers of Earth are the crust, the mantle, and the core. A brief description of each layer is provided below.

Crust: The crust is the rocky outermost layer. The crust is the thinnest layer of Earth. It is about 5 km thick under the ocean and 30 km thick under the continents.

Mantle: The mantle is the middle layer of Earth. It is made of semisolid rock. It is about 2,900 km thick.

Core: The core is subdivided into the inner core and the outer core, which can be distinguished by the following characteristics.

         - Outer core: The outer core is the only liquid layer of Earth. It is made of mostly iron and nickel. It is between 2,890 and 5,150 km below the crust and 2,300 km thick.

         - Inner core: The inner core is extremely hot and made of mostly solid iron and nickel. It is roughly 5,150 to 6,378 km below Earth’s surface and has a radius of about 1,200 km.

How did the Treaty of Versailles help Hitler to rise to power?

The Treaty of Versailles helped Hitler rise to power in Germany because it humiliated Germany and made Germans resent it and the people who forced it on them. 

The Treaty of Versailles treated Germany very harshly.  It took away much of their territory including all overseas colonies.  It forbade them to have a full-scale military.  It required them to pay reparations to the countries that had defeated them.  It forced them to state that the war had been their fault.  All of this made Germans very angry.  Germans felt that they had been treated unfairly because they did not think the war was all their fault.  They felt that the victors were simply being vengeful.  They hated the idea that they were forced to give up their power and to become a weak and helpless country.

In the wake of WWI and the Treaty of Versailles, political upheaval broke out.  This included violent clashes between rival factions.  It seemed as if the democratic government could not keep order or unity in the country.  This was exacerbated by the coming of the Great Depression in 1929.  Because conditions got to be so bad, Germans were completely disenchanted with the Weimar Republic.  They wanted change and they were willing to listen to people who could promise to make Germany great again, regardless of how radical those people were.  It was in this context that the Nazis were able to become popular.  They told people what they wanted to hear.  They seemed to offer the people a way out of their troubles and a way that they could regain what they felt they deserved.

Thus, the Treaty of Versailles helped cause anger and resentment in Germany.  That anger and resentment helped allow Hitler to come to power because he and the Nazis promised to fix all of their country’s problems and make Germany great again.

In The Giver by Lois Lowry, what is one way people show respect throughout the book?

One way that the community members show respect is to apologize often for their "transgressions." Often they are apologizing for an inconvenience they have caused someone else, like arriving late somewhere or interrupting. The citizens are very, very polite in the way they communicate with one another and they choose their words very carefully. They try not to offend each other and if they do, by accident, then they immediately apologize.

In Ch. 17 Asher and Jonas exchange a few words about a game of good guys and bad guys. Jonas has asked them to stop playing it because he knows that it is based on war, and Asher does not have this context so he becomes upset at being told to stop. He tells Jonas he has no right to tell them what they can play, but he immediately apologizes,

"I apologize for not showing you the respect you deserve" (Ch. 17).

Although in our society he was only speaking his mind, in their society one must not speak against anyone who is above them in station (like Jonas is now as Receiver of Memory) and no one can say anything that might be viewed as angry, as Asher just did. So, he apologized immediately and this showed respect toward Jonas.

Who are the women who have inspired you the most?

Each person will have a different list of personal women in their life – mother, sister, aunt, grandmother, teacher, etc. (in this category I would put my Aunt Mary, who taught me the function of a sense of humor).

 As for general influences, I would put Susan Sontag, Megan Terry, and Joanie Mitchell on my list. Susan Sontag was a brilliant scholar, essayist, and author; her discussion of the power of photography, in On Photography, was the most influential book in my graduate school days, not only from its content (a sociological study of the effect of photographic techniques on our perception of the world), but also for its strong scholarly methodology. Megan Terry broke many dramatic/theatrical molds with her Calm Down, Mother and Keep Tightly Closed in a Cool, Dark Place. The influence of Joanie Mitchell came from her songs, a cross between pop and folk music. These women all retained their female identity without compromising the power of their minds, and they all taught me to observe the world from a humanistic, not merely a masculine, perspective.

Summarizing, what are the similarities and the differences between the novel genre and the short story genre?

Setting aside the obvious difference of number of pages, a novel is a full-length portrait of a protagonist and a flushed out portrait of several supporting characters, with a detailed description of the environment, the time of year, the complexities of the protagonist’s situation that puts him/her in a conflict of some sort (or several sorts); a short story is usually a “sketch” of the main character, in a specific environment, solving a specific dilemma. The key word is “complexity”: A short story is specific, a close-up of the story, but a novel is a broad landscape peopled with a varied number of human specimens. Think of a few days of your diary vs. the whole year’s diary. Interestingly, literary history is riddled with examples of blurred lines between the genres – Moby Dick is definitely a novel, but what about “Bartelby the Scrivener”? For Whom the Bell Tolls is definitely a novel, but what about “The Old Man and the Sea”? In the final analysis, it is a distinction that need only be made when citing and/or editing the terms: so-called novel titles are underlined or put in italics, while short-story titles are put in quotation marks.

All of Odysseus' men want to steal from the Cyclops' cave. Does Odysseus agree or disagree with this idea?

Odysseus does not just want to take some food and go back to the ship.  He says, "At first my men begged me to take some cheeses and go, then to drive the lambs and kids from the pens down to the swift ship and set sail.  But I would not listen, though it would have been best, wishing to see the giant himself, and test his hospitality."  Odysseus wants to stay and wait for the Cyclops because of a concept called xenia.  It referred to the religious imperative to offer hospitality to strangers and travelers because they were believed to be protected by Zeus.  Odysseus expects Polyphemus to offer him and his men such hospitality, and this would include a gift as well, most likely one of some value.  In other words, he gets a little greedy.  And this greed ends up costing him six men when the monster eats them, two at a time.  Polyphemus declares himself to be more powerful than the gods, and so he refuses to follow their laws. 

Why was Holling able to get the cream puffs without having enough money?

Holling is able to get the cream puffs from the baker without enough money because he performs some Shakespeare for the baker. Earlier in the story, Mrs. Baker has some wonderfully delicious-looking cream puffs in the back of her classroom. She tells Holling that he may have one, if he cleans up her room really well. A 7th grader will do anything for food, so Holling cleans erasers like a fiend. Unfortunately the cloud of chalk dust settles on the cream puffs, which causes the kids who eat them to get sick. The kids threaten Holling and tell him he had better get them some clean cream puffs. Holling doesn't have enough money to buy them from the baker, so he offers to do some work for the baker. The baker tells Holling that he doesn't need any work done.

"What I should really need," he said, "is a boy who knows Shakespeare."  

Holling has just started reading Shakespeare with Mrs. Baker and announces that he knows Shakespeare. The baker is doubtful, but Holling successfully recites several passages from Shakespeare plays. The baker is impressed and gives Holling the twenty-two cream puffs that he needs.

Based on the way Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë ends, why might Jane be considered the first modern fictional heroine?

At the end of the novel, Jane Eyre reunites with and marries Rochester after Thornfield burns to the ground and Bertha dies in the blaze. Jane could be considered the first modern heroine because she and Rochester unite as equals. Earlier, when Rochester proposed a faux, bigamous marriage to Jane, events would have left Jane both dishonored and at Rochester's mercy, and even had Rochester been free, she, as the poor governess, would have been the "lower" of the two, the recipient of far greater favors. By the end of the novel, however, circumstances have changed. Rochester has lost a hand in the fire and is initially blind though later he will recover some sight. His disabilities make him dependent on Jane, equalizing the relationship. Further, Jane no longer has to fear a false marriage, for Bertha is dead. Jane could be seen as a modern heroine in determining her own fate: earlier, in leaving Rochester to make her own way in the world, and at the end in freely choosing to marry him after having established her independence.  

In the short story "The Fly" by Katherine Mansfield, why was the boss unnamed?

The Fly was written in 1922, shortly after World War One. In the story, the boss is unnamed, yet we are apprised of his character through his interactions with Mr. Woodifield. We know that he is quite proud of the way his office has been recently refurbished. We also know that he sympathizes with the old man's hen-pecked existence. The boss appears to be a kind man; he happily shares a glass of whiskey with Mr. Woodifield and indulges him in conversation.

However, when the subject of his son's grave comes up, the boss is visibly affected. He stiffens at the mention of Reggie's grave, which is near that of his own son's in Belgium. After Mr. Woodifield leaves, the boss sequesters himself in his office. We are then given a clear indication of why Mr Woodifield's words had shaken the boss so much: he had never fully recovered from the grief of losing his only son.

As a proud father, all his hopes and dreams had centered on his only son carrying on his business; to this end, the boss had worked and sacrificed unceasingly. His son had been his pride and joy, and his premature demise had grieved him beyond endurance. The experience of the boss mirrors that of so many fathers and mothers who had to grieve the loss of sons during World War One. This is one conceivable reason the boss is never named. He represents the millions of parents whose own sons were senselessly cut down in the prime of their lives, on the battlefields of Europe.

Before the war, these sons, like the boss' own son, had been preparing to go to college, to start their own businesses, to learn a trade, or to inherit a business. They were supposed to live normal and productive lives. The war changed everything; millions of young men died on the fields of battle, and the hopes of their families died with them.

World War One Casualty and Death Table.

Lost forever, the sons of World War One quickly became part of an amorphous throng of fallen soldiers, mourned by legions of parents. Mansfield's unnamed protagonist is thus a composite representation of an army of bereaved parents.

why does paul decide to make a joke with victor

Paul makes a joke with Victor because he recognizes that Victor creates friendships through jokes. Victor’s jokes can often come across as mean-spirited to people who don’t know him. This is the reason why Joey leaves Tangerine Middle School-because he can’t take Victor’s jokes and only sees them as bullying. 

After a few days of hazing, Paul feels better about these jokes. Since he’s done well at goalie, he knows that he’s earned Victor’s respect. This makes him feel more comfortable and able to relax around the people who initially intimidated him at Tangerine.

The line between funny, between-friends teasing (like when the Tangerine players call Paul "Fisher Boy") and cruel teasing (like when Arthur Bauer and Erik make fun of Mike Costello after his brother's death) is a recurring theme in Tangerine. 

How does advertising help consumers and promote efficiency in monopolistic competition?

In monopolistic competition, advertising helps consumers by allowing them to know about the products being offered. This helps them to know which businesses they would like to patronize.  When this happens, there is greater efficiency because those businesses are encouraged to produce more of their goods or services.

In monopolistic competition, the products made by each firm are differentiated.  That means that they are not all the same.  Some consumers might prefer one type of good while others prefer another type. For example, one consumer might want a restaurant with a casual atmosphere while another might want one that is more formal.  Advertising helps consumers know which firms are likely to offer the products that they want. This is good for consumers because it makes it less likely that they will be disappointed when they patronize a firm.

Advertising also helps with efficiency.  It does this partly because it steers more consumers to the goods or services that they want.  It also does so by bringing more business to the “best” firms.  Those firms are then forced to produce more of their good or service. Monopolistic competition is inefficient because it does not produce as many goods and services as it ideally would.  Therefore, if advertising helps cause more goods and services to be produced, it will increase efficiency.

Balance the word equation into balanced equation of potassium chlorate--->potassium chloride+oxygen

The basic rule of balancing the equation of a chemical reaction is to obtain same number of atoms of each element on both sides of the equation. In other words, a balanced chemical equation contains the same number of atoms of an element on both the reactant side and the product side. In this case, potassium chlorate is the reactant and potassium chloride and oxygen are the products. Potassium chlorate has a chemical formula of KClO3, while potassium chloride is represented by KCl and oxygen by O2.

The balanced chemical equation is given as:

KClO3 --> KCl + 3/2 O2

We can check if the equation is balanced or not, by counting the atoms of each element on both sides of equation. For example, the number of potassium atoms is 1 on both the reactant and product side of equation.

Hope this helps.

What is the role of gender and social status in "Patriotism" by Yukio Mishima?

The role of gender and social status is to reinforce the underlying message in Mishima's text: his unyielding confidence in and loyalty to ancient Japanese values and martial ethics.
Interestingly, Mishima, like his protagonist, Lieutenant Shinji Takeyama, also committed ritual seppuku or suicide. Both author and protagonist are so intertwined in their pledged loyalties to Imperial Japan that it is difficult to separate fact from fiction in this area.

In the story, Mishima portrays masculinity as the embodiment of every sacred virtue in Imperial Japan. Mishima's own preoccupation with the masculine ethos is well-documented. During his last years, he often grieved the loss of Japanese prestige on the global stage, a loss he felt was precipitated by a corresponding bleeding of traditional, Japanese masculine values from the social fabric. He felt adrift in post-war Japan, bewildered by the increasing materialism and worldliness of his fellow citizens.

In Patriotism, Mishima's portrayal of the lieutenant and his wife reinforces his dual fascination with Apollonian and Dionysian traditions. The Apollonian tenets fueled his obsession for the rational, while the Dionysian virtues inspired him to embrace his intoxicating and irrational side. Both come together in a brief, aesthetic communion of perfection before dissolving in violent tragedy in the story; the lieutenant makes love to his wife and both relentlessly attain the heights of sexual ecstasy before subjecting themselves to the horrors of ritual suicide.

The importance of gender in supporting social status cannot be underestimated in Mishima's Japan; this is apparent in his story. The wife of a soldier must know her place; if her husband is to die a courageous death, she is to follow without reservation. To Reiko, her husband is 'the sun about which her whole world revolved.' When she hears the news that her husband's fellow soldiers have been implicated in a rebellion against the Imperial forces, she prepares to die. Reiko meticulously sorts through her belongings and tries to determine which of her beloved treasures she will bequeath to friends and family after her death.

Reiko knows that her husband's social status is predicated on his resolution to die a courageous death should circumstances demand it. Her own acquiescence to follow in his deadly footsteps will further reinforce his masculine prestige and his legacy. When Lieutenant Takeyama proclaims that he will need her to witness his death, Reiko is touched by her husband's profound trust in her. He knows that she will follow him through the gates of death regardless of his ability to ascertain this fact.

When the moment of truth approaches, we realize once more the intersection of the rational with the irrational.

Was this seppuku?—he was thinking. It was a sensation of utter chaos, as if the sky had fallen on his head and the world was reeling drunkenly. His will power and courage, which had seemed so robust before he made the incision, had now dwindled to something like a single hairlike thread of steel, and he was assailed by the uneasy feeling that he must advance along this thread, clinging to it with desperation.

Lieutenant Takeyama is very much aware that his masculine stoicism is the only thing that propels him forward, as his resolve begins to fracture. Reiko, too, must do her part. She must witness to the very bitter end the violent demise of her husband, and she must stifle every impulse to flinch from the trial by fire she has agreed to share with him. To be fearless in the face of death is to cement her position and legacy as a worthy soldier's wife, a legacy based on traditional Japanese ideals. The description of Reiko's suicide is couched in reverent, almost religious language.

Reiko sensed that at last she too would be able to taste the true bitterness and sweetness of that great moral principle in which her husband believed. What had until now been tasted only faintly through her husband’s example she was about to savor directly with her own tongue.

In Mishima's story, we witness the convergence of the masculine and the feminine to reinforce the social status of those who do not flinch from the duties of ritual suicide in the face of defeat and national disgrace.

Compare and contrast between Macbeth and Malcolm?

Macbeth and Malcolm don't have that much in common, ultimately. They do both begin as nobles in the good graces of the King of Scotland, Duncan. Macbeth is, at first,  a loyal thane who gets promoted by Duncan after a successful battle in Act I (Macbeth is awarded an additional title -- Thane of Cawdor -- for his efforts and leadership). Malcolm is Duncan's oldest son and is named heir to the throne in Act I. This occurs after Macbeth has heard the prophecies saying he will be king someday and has already begun thinking about killing Duncan to get there; hearing that Malcolm will be the heir throws a kink in Macbeth's incipient plans and he begins to see Malcolm as an obstacle.

For most of the play, Macbeth and Malcolm are antagonists. Macbeth kills Duncan in Act II, and Malcolm and his brother Donalbain flee (Malcolm to England and Donalbain to Ireland) because they fear their lives will also be in danger as Duncan's heirs. For a short time, this raises suspicion in Scotland that Malcolm and Donalbain may be the murderers (their flight makes them seem suspicious). Once Malcolm and his brother have left, Macbeth is crowned king and begins what will be an increasingly corrupt and violent reign. Macbeth becomes paranoid and ruthless, even killing his own best friend (Banquo) and the innocent wife and children of his political enemy Macduff, who is in England helping Malcolm prepare to battle Macbeth. Ultimately, Macduff kills Macbeth and Malcolm is crowned King. As the play closes, the other characters are optimistic that Scotland will now return to greatness and its people will again feel safe, as Malcolm will be a much better king than Macbeth was.

Personality-wise, the two characters are very different. Macbeth is ambitious and will stop at nothing to get what he wants. While he is loyal to Duncan at the start of the play, his character quickly devolves, and he does not appear to have any moral compass. On the other hand, in Act IV, a long conversation between Malcolm and Macduff reveals that Malcolm is pure-hearted and good. Though he could stay in England and live a comfortable life, he feels it is his duty to return to his homeland and restore it to his glory. Malcolm must undergo a dangerous war against the ruthless Macbeth to achieve this. He thinks more about Scotland than about himself. Macbeth, on the other hand, seems to only want to be king for the power and has not higher moral purpose. 

In "The Swimmer," how does Neddy Merrill relate to the world in which he moves? Why does he decide to swim home?

The character of Neddy Merrill is initially represented as one of continual youthful exuberance and vitality. He approaches the world around him as an invitation, with a general spirit related to the belief that “his life was not confining.” He views his surroundings as full of potential, and the act of swimming home through the “Lucinda River” is his way of interacting with those possibilities. As Neddy describes, “making his way home by an uncommon route gave him the feeling that he was a pilgrim, an explorer, a man with a destiny…”; in this sense, he is understanding himself as having some measure of control over both himself and the world around him, and that his interactions with these spaces will have some positive outcome. In this world, Neddy views himself as on top, which is indicated in his description of his neighbors as “natives,” whose “customs and traditions” had to be “handled with diplomacy.” He sees himself as distinct and superior to these people, who he knows how to play along with to get his way. In the midst of these endless parties and summer afternoons, he avoids the harsh realities, like the financial issues that have caused a family to sell their horses and another to sell their home.

As he has to move away from those welcoming parties and into the “real world,” like the busy road and the public pool, he feels increasingly uncomfortable, possibly because the element of control and superiority he felt previously is no longer as easy to maintain over these new situations. In his talk with Mrs. Halloran about his house being sold and his “poor children,” it becomes increasingly clear that he has entirely created the previous world of wealth and potential as an illusion of control. His former mistress, with whom he enjoyed the “possession of...with an authority unknown to holy matrimony,” rejects him and has moved on to another lover. The facade of security and optimism is increasingly removed, much to Neddy’s anguish. Even his perspective on himself as being so youthful and strong begins to fail, as he becomes more exhausted by his journey, which had been done in the hopes of regaining that positivity and control he desired; “he had done what he wanted, he had swum the country, but he was so stupefied with exhaustion that his triumph seemed vague.” By pretending that his situation was fine, by conquering the “country” through his swim, Neddy hoped that he would eventually find or create that world for himself. But as he discovers his uninhabited former home, his quest was unsuccessful.

By what names does Mercutio call Romeo?

Mercutio and Romeo are best friends and they often joke with each other. Mercutio is sometimes quite caustic and uses sexual innuendo a number of times in the play. At different points he calls Romeo a lover, a madman, an ape and a dried herring.

In Act I, Scene 4 as the Montague men are on their way to Capulet's party, Mercutio tries to raise Romeo's spirits. Romeo is sad and depressed over his failed love for Rosaline so Mercutio insists that Romeo go to the party and have a good time. He says,

You are a lover. Borrow Cupid’s wings
And soar with them above a common bound.

Mercutio's words foreshadow events in the next scene as Romeo meets Juliet and does indeed "Borrow Cupid's wings."

After the party, in Act II, Scene 1, Romeo has slipped away from Mercutio and Benvolio in order to go over the wall into Capulet's orchard to see Juliet again.  Mercutio calls to Romeo as if he were "conjuring" a spirit. He asks that Romeo reveal himself in a sigh. He says,

Nay, I’ll conjure too.
Romeo! Humors! Madman! Passion! Lover!
Appear thou in the likeness of a sigh.
Speak but one rhyme and I am satisfied.

In the same speech Mercutio refers to Romeo as an ape. He is saying that Romeo is like an ape playing dead and must be "conjured." Here, of course, Mercutio makes a sexual reference as he hopes to lure Romeo out of hiding with the image of Rosaline, including her "quivering thigh." He says,

The ape is dead, and I must conjure him.—
I conjure thee by Rosaline’s bright eyes,
By her high forehead, and her scarlet lip,
By her fine foot, straight leg, and quivering thigh,
And the demesnes that there adjacent lie,
That in thy likeness thou appear to us.

Finally, in Act II, Scene 4, he and Romeo trade barbs. In the opening of the scene Mercutio knows nothing of Juliet and is still playfully chiding Romeo over Rosaline. As Romeo enters Mercutio jokes that Romeo looks like a "dried herring", meaning he is pale and like a fish. He says,

Without his roe, like a dried herring. O
flesh, flesh, how art thou fishified!

Romeo and Mercutio go on joking with each other in this scene (including Mercutio referring to a "wild goose chase", a newly invented phrase by Shakespeare). For more excellent discussion of Romeo and Mercutio see the link below. 

Is salt water homogeneous or heterogeneous?

Salt water is made by mixing salt (NaCl) in water. It is a homogeneous mixture and a heterogeneous one. A difference between the two is that concentration is same everywhere in case of a homogeneous mixture, whereas, in case of a heterogeneous mixture, the concentration varies from place to place within a mixture. An easy test to check the homogeneous or heterogeneous nature of salt water is by tasting salt water taken from different points within the sample. A similar example of a homogeneous mixture is sugar water, that is, water containing sugar. An example of a heterogeneous mixture is trail mix, where we can mix various components in any fraction and after mixing find heterogeneity in component distribution. Same is the case with fruit salad.

Hope this helps.

How did the U.S. government end Reconstruction?

Reconstruction went through different phases, including Presidential Reconstruction under Andrew Johnson in 1865-1866 and Radical Reconstruction under the Radical Republicans in Congress starting in 1867. Johnson's Presidential Reconstruction reflected his belief in states' rights and was relatively lenient, so southern states starting passing "Black Codes," which tied freed slaves to plantations and prevented their unrestricted movements. Under Congressional Reconstruction, the former Confederate states were divided into 5 military districts, and they had to pass the 14th Amendment, granting citizenship to all people born in the United States. In 1868, the Congress also passed the 15th Amendment, giving African-American men the right to vote. 

By 1870, all of the former Confederate states had rejoined the Union. At this point, the Ku Klux Klan and other organizations repeatedly interfered with African-Americans' ability to vote and exercise other civil rights, and Ulysses  Grant, then President, passed legislation to attempt to curb the activities of the Klan and other organizations that were attempting to intimate freed slaves. However, Grant refused to send federal troops to enforce the law and end violence in states such as Mississippi. 

The election of 1876 put an end to Reconstruction. Rutherford Hayes, the Republican candidate, was in a disputed election with the Democrat, Samuel Tilden. In exchange for his ability to become President, Rutherford told the Democrats he would end Reconstruction. They agreed, and what followed were decades of "Jim Crow" legislation that effectively limited voting and other civil rights for African-American people in the south, largely until the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

In A Christmas Carol, why does Scrooge say that Fred should not be happy?

In the first chapter, or stave, of Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol, Ebeneezer Scrooge receives a visit from his nephew Fred. Fred has come to invite Scrooge to Christmas dinner. Before Fred can issue an invitation, however, he must first answer to Scrooge's confrontation about whether Fred has any cause to be merry at this time of year. Fred arrives with the shout, "A merry Christmas, uncle! God save you!" Scrooge responds to this with his famous catch-phrase, "Bah! Humbug!" Fred then questions whether Scrooge really means to call Christmas a humbug, and this is what opens the door to Scrooge's rant about people who are poor not really having any reason to be merry. Fred points out the flaw in this logic by asking Scrooge how he can be so dismal and morose since he is rich. Scrooge continues his explanation of the faulty logic of being merry while poor, saying that Christmas is "a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older, but not an hour richer; a time for balancing your books and having every item in 'em through a round dozen of months presented dead against you." Fred very eloquently rebuts Scrooge's speech, and Bob Cratchit applauds him from the other room.

Fred is not the only one who Scrooge believes is too poor to be merry. Upon hearing Cratchit applaud Fred's speech, Scrooge scolds him with the threat of being fired. After Fred exchanges season's greetings with Cratchit and departs, Scrooge continues to mutter about the lunacy of being happy while poor. He specifically cannot understand how Cratchit can talk of a merry Christmas while only earning fifteen shillings per week and having a wife and family to support. In Scrooge's view of the world, poor people (a group to which Fred and Cratchit would supposedly belong) have no cause for joy and do not deserve charity. They can go to established facilities such as prisons and workhouses. His feelings about charity for these people are summed up in the statement, "I don't make merry myself at Christmas and I can't afford to make idle people merry."

In Sonnet 14, what is meant by trick of thought?

To add a thought to Chelsea's answer (below), tricks aren't only deceptive (or persuasive); they're also short. Think about other uses of the word trick—we played a trick on him, she did a magic trick, it was just a trick of the light. A trick happens, then it's over.

The speaker in Sonnet 14 is terrified of impermanence. She thinks any love that stems from something changeable is suspect. She explains why in lines 11–12: "A creature might forget to weep, who bore / Thy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!" She's talking about her lover pitying her for being sad, but the sentiment applies to all the reasons she lists. Her smile, her looks, her manner of speech, her mood—all these things "may / Be changed, or change for thee" (lines 7–8). And if the parts of her he loves change or disappear, he has no more reason to love her.

When I hear "trick of thought," I take it to mean a witty saying or insight the speaker comes out with. She describes the trick as bringing her beloved "A sense of pleasant ease on such a day" (line 6). It's something that happens one day, and then is over.

Imagine the pair on a picnic. She says something clever, and he thinks, "Wow, I never thought about it that way," or, "That was well-phrased." It's nice, but it's transient—she's not going to be able to impress her lover with every thought she has or every word she says. He might love her in that moment, but after she's finished her "trick," her thought or saying, it's not there for him to love anymore. And that's what scares her most.

What natural phenomena occur in the Ring of Fire more than any other area anywhere in the world? Why?

The Ring of Fire is an area that spans 25,000 miles in a horseshoe-shape near the basin of the Pacific Ocean. More earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire than any other place on Earth. Additionally, there are numerous number of volcanoes along the Ring of Fire. The Ring of Fire coincides with the margins of the Pacific Plate. The Pacific Plate is the largest tectonic plate on Earth that lies beneath the Pacific Ocean. The constant motion and convergence of these tectonic plates results in the continual formation of oceanic trenches, volcanoes, and earthquakes. Although less common, tsunamis may also result from such underwater tectonic plate movements. Such natural disasters put populations that inhabit regions along the Ring of Fire at constant threat.

In The Cay, how does the book begin, and what conflict is introduced right away?

From the first chapter, we learned of Phillip Enright, who lived on the island of Curacao. His father was the reason why Phillip and his mother were in Curacao. Phillip’s father pursued a job opportunity on the island to work as an expert in the refineries. Phillip’s mother was displeased by the family’s relocation to the island from their home in Virginia.

The attack by German submarines on Aruba, a neighboring island, signified a major conflict. The Germans attacked the refinery on the island, prompting a lock-down on the area. Phillip’s mother asked him not to venture outside because of the security threat, but Phillip disobeyed her. Together with his friend Henrik, they visited the old port and the bridge on the island. Phillip and Henrik encountered soldiers deployed to protect the different facilities. The soldiers also asked the civilians to go back to their homes.

Phillip’s mother was annoyed when she found out that Phillip ventured outside. Later, Phillip’s father arrived from work, and they talked about the situation on the islands. Phillip’s mother tried to dissuade him from talking about the situation, but his father indulged him in the conversation.

What are examples of culture in "The Outcasts of Poker Flat"?

Culture can be defined as the total knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, and attitudes, of a group of people. Probably the best example of culture that I can think of in "The Outcasts of Poker Flat" is the cultural attitude expressed by the people of Poker Flat.  The story begins with John Oakhurst, Duchess, Mother Shipton, and Uncle Billy being thrown out of town.  Oakhurst is a gambler.  Duchess and Mother Shipton are prostitutes, and Uncle Billy is a violent drunk.  It's a testament to Poker Flat that they are not willing to have those kinds of morally corrupt people in their town.  Their beliefs and values system doesn't allow tolerance of degenerates in their town.  You could make a claim that their culture is a non-tolerant culture, but that still would describe the culture that the town of Poker Flat is trying to establish. 

In Number the Stars, why did the Danes destroy their own navel fleet?

The Danes destroyed their fleet to prevent the Nazis from getting it and using it in the war effort.

When the Nazis invaded during World War II, Denmark fought back.  Unable to prevent occupation, the Danes opted for clandestine opposition.  The country developed a state-sanctioned underground movement to impede the Nazi war effort, including the smuggling of Jews out of the country.

The next evening's newspaper had told the sad truth. The Danes had destroyed their own naval fleet, blowing up the vessels one by one, as the Germans approached to take over the ships for their own use. (Ch. 4)

Destroying your own war materiel and facilities is a practice known as scorched earth.  If a country destroys its own resources, it prevents them from falling into enemy hands.

When Annemarie learns that the fleet has been destroyed, she comments that the king must be sad.  Her father tells her that he would be proud.  After all, he and his country fought back instead of just giving in.  Denmark was a small country, and the Nazis had overwhelming strength.  They overran much of Europe. 

The incident helps Annemarie appreciate that nothing is simple in war.

It had made Annemarie feel sad and proud, too, to picture the tall, aging king, perhaps with tears in his blue eyes, as he looked at the remains of his small navy, which now lay submerged and broken in the harbor. (Ch. 4)

As the war goes on, Annemarie will have to think about many adult concepts.  Her understanding of the destruction of the fleet is an example of her developing maturity.  War makes children grow up fast.  Annemarie will have to learn many hard truths, and will be asked to make difficult choices.  She is afraid of the Nazis, but she does her small part in the war effort nonetheless.

In "The Last Leaf," how is Behrman the epitome of supreme sacrifice?

O. Henry's whole story is based on the idea of someone painting a fake ivy leaf on the wall of a building for the purpose of saving the life of a girl who believes she will die when the last ivy-leaf falls. The author must have felt there had to be a character who would paint that leaf. The ending wouldn't be nearly as effective if the person who painted the leaf was never introduced to the reader. The author couldn't just say that some mysterious stranger had painted the fake leaf in the middle of the night. It had to be a painter, but in introducing a character who was a painter, there was a risk of giving away the surprise ending. Some readers were likely to suspect that this character was being introduced because he or she would get the notion to paint a fake ivy leaf. This would be especially the case if the painter did it because he was a young man in love with the sick girl. O. Henry disposes of that sentimental possibility with the following exchange between the doctor and Sue:

"Has she anything on her mind worth thinking about twice—a man, for instance?”

“A man?” said Sue, with a jew's-harp twang in her voice. “Is a man worth—but, no, doctor; there is nothing of the kind.”

Instead, the author introduces a character who is a painter but apparently highly unlikely to think of doing what he does. In the first place, Old Behrman is introduced because Sue needs someone to model for a magazine illustration. Behrman hasn't painted anything for years. He is an old man who is drunk all the time. He speaks with great contempt for the idea that anyone could die just because a leaf fell off a nearby vine.

“Vass!” he cried. “Is dere people in de world mit der foolishness to die because leafs dey drop off from a confounded vine? I haf not heard of such a thing. No, I will not bose as a model for your fool hermit-dunderhead. Vy do you allow dot silly pusiness to come in der prain of her? Ach, dot poor leetle Miss Yohnsy.”

O. Henry achieves the feat of introducing a character without arousing the reader's suspicions that this character might have a hidden motive. Behrman speaks poor English and is usually drunk. He might be saying one thing and thinking another. Notice that he tells Sue, "No, I will not bose as a model for your fool hermit-dunderhead," and then contradicts himself a moment later.

“You are just like a woman!” yelled Behrman. “Who said I will not bose? Go on. I come mit you. For half an hour I haf peen trying to say dot I am ready to bose." 

We realize at the end of the story that Old Behrman only pretends to be grouchy and cynical. Underneath, he is a sentimental Germanic romanticist who is quite capable of doing such an heroic thing as sacrificing his life to save a sick girl. The factors that would seem to militate against his doing such a foolhardy thing could also motivate him to do it. He is an old man, but his life is over; he is a failure; he has nothing to lose. He is a heavy drinker, but alcohol sometimes causes people to have crazy ideas. He hasn't painted anything in twenty-five years, but now might be the perfect time for him to paint that masterpiece he is always talking about. O. Henry's ending comes as a great surprise, but it does not seem the least bit contrived or implausible.

What do we learn was so special about Johnny in The Outsiders?

After Johnny passes, the audience learns that he occupied a significant role in the greasers' gang. When Two-Bit comments that they needed Johnny more than he needed them, he was referring to the support that Johnny gave each individual. We learn that Johnny was a tremendous listener, and he showed genuine interest and concern for each group member. Most of the greasers came from broken homes, and they lacked the support children typically receive from their parents. Each greaser had their own set of problems and felt comfortable venting to Johnny. Johnny fulfilled the role of the gang's "therapist" because he would take the time to listen to each member. When Johnny died, Dally lost his mind and robbed a grocery store. Johnny was Dally's personal support system, and when he passed, Dally lost all hope.

What does Romeo mean by "He jests at scars that never felt a wound"?

In Act II, Scene 1, Mercutio is joking with Benvolio about Romeo's love-sickness for Rosaline, saying,

I conjure thee by Rosaline's bright eyes.
By her high forehead and her scarlet lip,
By her fine foot, straight leg, and quivering thigh,
And the demesnes that there adjacent lie,
That in thy likeness thou appear to us!

Mercutio does not realize Romeo is already over Rosaline, as he fell in love at first sight with Juliet. Romeo's friends have no chance of finding him, although he is just on the other side of the wall. It would never occur to them that Romeo would have the temerity to climb that wall and leap down within the Capulet orchard, because (1) the Capulets are Romeo's family's worst enemies, and (2) they do not know he is in love with Juliet.

The words, "He jests at scars that never felt a wound" occur at the very beginning of Scene 2, but Romeo is referring to all the "jests" made about him in Scene 1. Romeo is implying Mercutio is able to laugh at a man who is in love because he has never been in love himself. By "scars," Romeo is further implying that he has been in love more than once and has recovered, just as he got over his love for Rosaline.

Although Romeo seems to fall in love and to recover pretty easily, we still feel that he is a stronger character than his friend Mercutio because Romeo is not afraid to fall in love, just as he is not afraid to climb the Capulets' wall to look at Juliet. Romeo knows from past experience how painful it can be to fall in love, yet nevertheless falls in love again when he sees Juliet at the Capulet party. Mercutio can only think love is funny because he has never experienced the pain of love. Everyone who has ever been in love knows it can be a very painful experience. Shakespeare's play will prove how painful love turns out to be for the young lovers Romeo and Juliet.

What happened to Magwitch's money after his death?

Magwitch earned his considerable wealth through hard work and investments in New South Wales in Australia. This is what he used to make Pip into a gentleman, by forwarding it to Mr. Jaggers, who knew of its source. Mr. Jaggers did not tell Pip this, however, letting him believe that it came from Miss Havisham. Because Magwitch died apparently intestate (not having a will), the money would become the property of the crown (the British government). Mr. Jaggers urges Pip to appeal to the government, claiming himself as Magwitch’s heir. Whether the government would grant him the full amount of Magwitch’s fortune, or indeed any part of it, is unclear. In the end, however, Pip refused Magwitch’s money, even when he was alive, once he found out who his benefactor was. He makes no effort to file an appeal for the inheritance, but he makes friends with Magwitch, staying with him on his death bed in prison, even after he was sentenced to be put to death.

Comment on the contrast found in "Pied Beauty."

In this poem, Hopkins contrasts the changeable beauty of life on earth with God's unchanging beauty. The first stanza begins by describing parts of nature that are always varying: skies that show different colors ("couple-colour"), light that flickers and reflects on the trout as they swim and leap through the water, the way a bird's wings flutter, and even what humankind produces: landscapes partially plowed for crops and partially lying fallow or unused. He also notices the "trades" or manufacturing projects that add variety to the landscape.  

The second and last stanza of this short poem praises God, who can never change and who is whole and unified, for creating what is "original ... strange ... freckled." What the poet sees all around him, every fleeting moment of beauty, causes him to appreciate the mystery and goodness of God. The poet doesn't try to understand why God delights in bestowing such variety on humans. Instead, Hopkins notices and celebrates all these things. 

Besides wanting to save the owls, what do Roy and Mullet Fingers have in common?

Roy and Mullet Fingers are alike in many ways. The boys are about the same age and size; Roy's shoes fit Mullet Fingers. They both appreciate nature. Both boys are clever, coming up with ingenious ways of reaching their goals. Mullet Fingers puts alligators in the portable latrines and uses snakes with taped-shut mouths to scare away the guard dogs. Roy creates an elaborate ruse to ensnare Dana Matherson in his own misdeeds. Neither boy, Roy or Mullet Fingers, gives up easily. Roy doesn't give in to Dana, and he persists in tracking down the running boy and in trying to save the owls. Mullet Fingers works persistently to pester the Mother Paula's company with increasingly severe pranks. Both Roy and Mullet Fingers seem to have a high pain tolerance. Roy invites Dana to hit him, and the bully strikes him on the head three times while on the bus. He also endures some serious brawling in the janitor's closet. Mullet Fingers, despite his infected and wounded arm, runs to the construction site, arriving there before Beatrice and Roy on the bike. He also escapes from the hospital emergency room despite his fever and injury. Neither boy is a "bad kid"; they both stay primarily within the law and avoid causing physical harm to people while they try to interfere with the construction. Both boys, however, are willing to lie and/or withhold the truth in order to achieve their ends. Mullet Fingers keeps his name secret. At the hospital, both he and Roy lie about who Mullet Fingers is, and Roy lies to his parents and withholds some of the information about Beatrice and Mullet Fingers from them. Although Roy and Mullet Fingers come from different backgrounds, they are similar in many ways.

Who did Lord Byron write "She Walks in Beauty" for?

Lord Byron wrote this poem to commemorate the beauty of Mrs. Anne Wilmot (wife of Lord Byron's cousin, Robert J. Wilmot), who he chanced upon at a party in London. Originally, Lord Byron hadn't planned on attending the party at Lady Sitwell's home.

However, the poet's friend, James Wedderburn Webster, who was fond of borrowing money from the poet, unceremoniously dragged Lord Byron to the soiree despite Byron's protests. At the party, Byron met the beauteous Lady Wilmot for the first time. The date was June 11, 1814. Mrs. Wilmot's grace and beauty so dazzled Lord Byron that he was ever after to memorialize her beauty in the poem, She Walks In Beauty. As the story goes, Lord Byron was so infatuated with Lady Wilmot that he drank a tumbler of brandy in her honor after returning to his rooms in Albany that night. The next day, the poet seemed sober enough to pen one of his most famous poems, celebratory words of adoration that have endured to this day.

Source: Byron and the Websters: The Letters and Entangled Lives of the poet, Sir James Webster and Lady Francis Webster by John Stewart.

What is the importance of melody and music in Trifles by Susan Glaspell?

By this question I am assuming you mean, "Discuss the role of music in the play." Music or melody is significant in Trifles as a symbol for Minnie Wright, the woman suspected of murdering her husband. In the days before her marriage, Minnie used to sing in the choir and had a lovely singing voice. However, after her marriage, she became isolated, lived in near poverty, and was more or less imprisoned in the dreary farmhouse by the gruff and insensitive Mr. Wright.

Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters find a bird cage, and Mrs. Hale recalls that a man was going through the area selling canaries, a type of song bird. They suppose Minnie bought a canary and that must have cheered her in her loneliness. Soon they find the dead body of the canary, its neck twisted. As Mrs. Hale says, Minnie "was kind of like a bird herself." Then to draw a comparison between Mr. Wright's killing the bird and his abuse of his wife, she says, "She used to sing. He killed that, too." Mrs. Hale imagines how still it would have seemed in the farmhouse once the bird's music had been silenced. 

In the play the way that Mr. Wright "killed" the music in both Minnie and the bird present a motive for Mrs. Wright's action but also enough of a justification that the two women decide to not share the evidence they have found. 

What is General Zaroff like in the story "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell?

General Zaroff is a complex figure in the short story.  On the one hand, he is a sophisticated and well-cultured person.  Even Rainsford who has been around is pleasantly surprised at Zaroff's knowledge, etiquette, and manners.  For example, Zaroff has read all the book on hunting in English, Russian, and French.  The text says:

He was finding the general a most thoughtful and affable host, a true cosmopolite.

On the other hand, Zaroff's culture and sophistication created a game that was evil.  He created a preserve on the island, in order to hunt humans.  Zaroff wanted a challenge.  He wanted to hunt something that could reason.  

Zaroff loves the thrill and the challenge of hunting.  At one point, he could have killed Rainsford in the hunt, but he allows him to escape to hunt him again.  

In conclusion, Zaroff is sophisticated man, who uses his knowledge and wealth to please himself in the most misanthropic way.  Perhaps, he has seen and experienced too much in war, as a Cossack general. 

What was the main cause of World War II?

World War II began when Britain and France declared war on Germany in September 1939 after Germany's invasion of Poland. Though the invasion of Poland was what ultimately caused the outbreak of World War II, there are many other major factors that contributed to this war.

The earliest beginnings of World War II can be traced back to the Treaty of Versailles, which Germany was forced to accept after World War I. Among other things, this treaty caused Germany to accept the blame for starting World War I. This resulted in Germany needing to significantly reduce the size of its military and pay 6.6 million pounds for the damage the war caused.

The German people felt the treaty was too harsh, and the country suffered through extreme poverty in the 1920s. Dissatisfied with their government, the German people voted Adolf Hitler as Chancellor in 1933. Hitler quickly began to reestablish the military and promised the German people to restore the country to greatness. This led to Germany invading other countries, which ultimately led to World War II.

In the story "The Pit and the Pendulum" what is the narrator's state of mind as the story opens? How does it change throughout the story?

The narrator's state of mind vacillates wildly through the story, which is, of course, part of the design of his torturers. As the story opens, the narrator is in a semi-conscious state of mind. He begins by saying he is "sick unto death with that long agony," implying that he may have been physically tortured in some way. During the sentence, he begins to feel his senses leaving him. As he is carried down into the dungeon, he is unconscious, although he has glimmers of memory of being carried down.

As he regains consciousness, he begins to think clearly enough to want to determine his situation, so he begins to explore his prison. At one point he is so fatigued he falls asleep; when he wakes he resumes his exploration, but he is disoriented to the point he fails to realize he has gotten turned around. He trips, finding his face hanging into the pit. He becomes filled with terror and "agitated." He falls asleep, and wakens with great thirst. He drinks a drugged liquid and falls asleep again.

When he wakes up, he is strapped to a table with the pendulum far above him. He considers his situation, he prays, he struggles, he becomes "frantically mad," but finally a resignation takes over as he realizes he is going to die. As the pendulum gets closer and closer and he realizes the type of death he will die, he alternately laughs and howls, showing an unstable mental state. Only when the pendulum descends to about ten to twelve strokes away from him does he experience the "collected calmness of despair" that allows him to clearly devise an escape plan. While the rats are swarming over him, he experiences "disgust, for which the world has no name" but has the mental capacity to force himself to remain absolutely still.

When he escapes, he finds himself facing the eerie paintings of the demons and has a hard time persuading himself they are not real. As the wall close in, he has no time to think, and he screams in despair. As he is rescued by General Lasalle, he gives no insight into the state of his mind. However, one might assume that the traumas he endured would cause his moods and mental states to swing like a pendulum the rest of his life as he relives the horrors of his torture and the joy of his rescue. 

How does Bilbo's personality change throughout his adventure?

At the beginning of The Hobbit, we find Bilbo in his peaceful life as a Hobbit, completely content to stay in the Shire and ignore everything outside of it. When Gandalf shows up, he is very polite and hospitable, but also very insistent that he was not adventurous and would not be participating in anything like that; and when the Dwarves arrived, he accommodated all of them, even if he was flustered and annoyed about it. He denies his Took ancestors, claiming that he was only a Baggins of Bag-end.

But by the end of The Hobbit, he has become far more adventurous. His quiet life had been turned upside down and he was more confident in his own life. He loved traveling, loved his companions, and he also learned to appreciate the Shire more as well. In the end, he completely accepted that he was an adventurous Took in addition to a Baggins.

What are the Romantic features of the poem "The Eagle" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson?

Romantic literature tends to focus on the wonders of nature, the importance of the individual and his or her experiences, and intense emotion as a means of establishing truth.  "The Eagle," by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, certainly presents all three of these qualities in some way.

First, nature is described with a great deal of visual imagery: "crag" instead of hill or even mountain is so much more descriptive; "Close to the sun" and "Ring'd with the azure world" are also grand visual images that help to inspire a sense of awe.  Even "wrinkled sea" is an unusual but effective way to describe the motion of the water as seen from a great distance.  The poem's visual imagery helps us to see nature as awe-inspiring.

Second, the power of this creature -- the eagle -- is evident as well.  Though he is not described as good or benevolent in any way, it is his singular and particular experience that makes up the poem's subject matter.  He is immensely powerful, more powerful than anything else.  And if we read the eagle as a symbol for a person who enjoys absolute power, as the eagle does, then the focus shifts to the experience of such a person.  If a person, the word "crooked" implies his corruption, and the "wrinkled sea" that "crawls" far below him can come to stand in for the masses of powerless who he controls or rules.  

Finally, "lonely lands" implies an intense awareness of one's utter solitude inspired by the eagle's power and position.  Because no being is as powerful as he, no one can enjoy the station that he does, the view he obtains from being so high above everyone else.  This symbolizes the way in which an absolute ruler will not share his power, and so he is forced to be alone.  To share his position and gain company would be to share his power and perhaps render him more liable to "fall."  We learn this through the beautiful visual images of an elite nature that only one in this role can enjoy, but, because he is alone, it is rendered somewhat less enjoyable.

In Ethan Frome, would Ethan be better off if Mattie had died?

The best way to answer this question is, perhaps, by rephrasing it. A suggestion for this would be: “How would Mattie’s death influence Ethan’s life?”, or “Would Mattie’s death make a difference in the rest of Ethan’s life?” The reason for this suggestion is because, in reality, someone’s death does not really make anyone’s life “better off,” especially when it is the death of someone who is loved and cherished.  Had Mattie been abusive or cruel to Ethan on a daily basis, perhaps her disappearance from his life would have given him a chance to start over and heal.

Yet, Mattie is Ethan’s object of affection. In her, he sees all the joy and joviality that had been lost in his wife Zeena for years. Mattie symbolizes a degree of hope in the life of Ethan Frome. There is no other symbol of hope in his life.

This being said, let’s now answer the question: How would have Mattie’s death influenced the rest of Ethan’s life?

First, in the words of William Shakespeare in Richard II

Grief makes one hour ten

This means that the sadness that Ethan would experience for the loss of Mattie would be of such magnitude that he will likely never stop thinking about her. His feelings for her are likely to intensify, and this will make his marriage to Zeena all the more unbearable. That is definitely not a sign of being better off. 

 Moreover, if Ethan idealizes a near-perfect life with Mattie while she is alive, the chances are higher that he will idealize her at a much greater magnitude after her death, thinking about all the things that could have happened if only he had done things differently. 

Furthermore, Ethan would have had to live with the guilt of knowing that he was there at the moment of Mattie’s death, and that he consented to the ridiculous plan of committing a double suicide by sledding down the hill to crash against the big tree. Imagine looking back upon that particular event and remembering forever that you were a part of the idea!

The only think that would have made Ethan’s life better off is working proactively to defeat his fear of loneliness.  If he had learned not to depend on his environment to feel accompanied, and if he had learned to appreciate the solitude and the silence that enveloped his life at the time of his mother’s illness and death (that he hated so much), he would have seen them as venues through which he could have learned more about who he is. Instead, he succumbed to the environment and used people, voices, and words as signs of companionship.

He could have learned to be alone without feeling lonely. He could have waited until the deaded winter season which he detested so much passed, and after his grief for his mother had also passed, to search for his better half when he was good and ready.  Yet, in Ethan, we see a deeply flawed character who acts impulsively for things that he could have waited for. Conversely, he also wastes his time neglecting things that he needs to act upon quickly, such as the communication with Zeena, or the need to change his life.

In all, Mattie’s death, or even her life, for that matter, would make no difference in the life of Ethan Frome. He is destined to be unhappy because he refuses to take the risks that would bring changes in his life. The only risk that he took was the most asinine one: Trying to take his life. He could not even do that.

How will Winnie help the Tucks in Tuck Everlasting?

Winnie helps Mae escape from jail after accidentally killing the man in the yellow suit.

The man in the yellow suit is obsessed with finding the spring that turned the Tuck family immortal.  He tracks them down from a rumored family story, and the sound of Mae’s music box.  He then hears them tell Winnie their sad tale.  Unfortunately, they have no idea he was listening.

[Through] it all, not one of them noticed that the man they had passed on the road, the man in the yellow suit, had crept up to the bushes by the stream and heard it all, the whole fantastic story. Nor did they notice that he was following now … (Ch. 8)

The man follows them to the Tuck house.  His intention is to find the spring and get rich off of it, selling people the dream of being immortal.  The Tucks tell no one about the spring because they do not consider being stopped in time a good thing.  All the man in the yellow suit thinks of is greed.

Mae is so surprised to see him and learn that their secret is out that she just reacts.  He had told her that he was there to get Winnie, but that was just an excuse.  He managed to go on ahead of the constable, who was going to slowly for his taste.  She gets upset when he says he is going to take Winnie.

With a dull cracking sound, the stock of the shotgun smashed into the back of his skull. He dropped like a tree, his face surprised, his eyes wide open. And at that very moment, riding through the pine trees just in time to see it all, came the Treegap constable. (Ch. 19)

Mae Tuck did not mean to kill the man in the yellow suit.  She is arrested anyway.  The problem is that if she is hanged, she won’t die.  The Tuck's secret will then be out.  Winnie knows that, and she wants to help Mae Tuck break out of jail.  Miles has a plan, but Winne's plan involves Winnie changing places with Mae so that the constable won’t find out she’s gone until she is long gone.

"I can help! When your mother climbs out the window, I'll climb in and take her place. I can wrap myself up in her blanket, and when the constable looks in, he won't be able to tell the difference. Not in the dark. I can hump up and look a lot bigger….” (Ch. 22)

Jesse asks Winnie to wait until she is his age and then drink the spring water to become immortal like them.  He wants to spend his life with her.  The Tucks vanish with Mae, and years later we learn that Winnie did not drink from the spring, and died a natural death.

Why does the community regard the previous Receiver of Memory as a failure?

When Jonas is appointed Receiver-in-Training, the Chief Elder tells the community that this is a very special assignment. She explains that the current Receiver is very old and that the job will set Jonas apart from the community. The appointment of this new Receiver is very important, she says, because "We failed in our last selection" (61). She goes on to say that the experience was so bad that she can't even dwell on the matter because it caused "terrible discomfort." Jonas learns later while in training what happened. Rosemary, the precious receiver, had five weeks of training and asked for Release because it was too traumatizing for her. Apparently, the Giver gave too many difficult and painful memories to her too quickly in the training process and she couldn't take it. She asked for Release and they gave it to her.

Chapter 18 describes what happened to the community when the previous Receiver-in-Training asked for Release. The Giver explains the following to Jonas:

"I think I mentioned to you once. . . that when she was gone, the memories came back to the people. If you were to be lost in the river, Jonas, your memories would not be lost with you. Memories are forever.

"Rosemary had only those five weeks worth, and most of them were good ones. But there were those few terrible memories, the ones that had overwhelmed her. For a while they overwhelmed the community. All those feelings! They'd never experienced that before. . .

". . . if they lost you, with all the training you've had now, they'd have all those memories again themselves" (144).

Basically, when a Receiver dies, the memories are then set loose upon the citizens of the community, who are not prepared to deal with deep feelings or profound pain. The Giver admits that he had failed in his training because it forced Rosemary to want to be Released. As a result, there was a new rule placed on the Receiver-in-Training: he can't apply for Release.

Could Susan's suicide have been avoided?

Lessing suggests Susan's suicide was difficult to avoid. 

One of the reasons why Lessing believes Susan's suicide could not have been avoided was because of her inability to recognize the limits of reason.  Susan is like her husband.  Both use “their intelligence to preserve what they had created from a painful and explosive world."  This dependence on reasonability is what prevents Susan from understanding the need for emotional connection in her life.  Her  “infallible sense for choosing right” guides her actions.  Susan sees her life as one where mistakes need to be avoided.  She does not speak or interpret her life from an emotional frame of reference.  Rather she and her husband view emotions as "inner storms" and "quicksand."  This prevents her from articulating her needs, from speaking to her husband and to her loved ones in a way that provides her the help she needs.  It makes her to see her life as "a desert, and that nothing mattered.”

It is for this reason that Susan views her suicide as a reality in which it is “Nobody’s fault, nothing to be at fault, no one to blame.”  Susan is characterized as living a life that fails to acknowledge the limits of reason, and this is one way that Lessing presents Susan's suicide as unavoidable. 

Why does Beelzebub worry that his eternal life may be of no use to him in Milton's Paradise Lost?

Beezlebub is one of angels who joins forces with Satan in his rebellion against God and is subsequently cast into Hell. When the fallen angels convene to discuss their next plan of action, some of them suggest launching a second attack on Heaven. However, Beezlebub points out that they remain "in strictest bondage, though thus far removed" (321), meaning that although they now have eternal life in Hell, they are still inferior to God and they exist only because God allows it. Thus, they can never be victorious against Heaven. Beezlebub then presents an alternative: striking at God through His latest creation, humanity. Because humans are more vulnerable and easier to lead astray, they might be convinced to join forces with the devil against God. Beelzebub is actually suggesting a plan that Satan had all long; his support gives the illusion that the decision has been made democratically.

In Out of the Dust, who does Billie Jo feel that she has let down?

In April of 1935, Billie Jo is asked to play the piano at the school's graduation. After the death of her mother and baby brother, Billie Jo has refused to practice on Ma's piano; the terrible scarring on her hands from the burns she incurred during the kerosene fire also make the act of playing the piano painful and difficult.

Despite this, Billie Jo accepts the invitation... and fails miserably. She sits on the bench and stares at the keys in front of the audience, unable to play because her "hands wouldn't work." As the long silence stretches out before them, the audience begins to whisper, Arley Wanderdale "lower[s] his head," and Miss Freeland begins to cry. Billie Jo feels that she has let down all those people who had expected her to play. "Too stubborn" to cry, Billie Jo gets up and walks off the stage in defeat. 

How can I write a 5,000 word essay about my own utopia?

Whether you are referring to Elizabeth Mann Borghese's My Own Utopia, or your own idea of what an utopia should constitute, there are some basic ways to approach your essay. Please remember that the structure of your essay will depend upon your own thesis statement.

1)First, if you are referring to Borghese's feminist utopia, state whether you agree with the idea of a society based on a gender-fluid construct. If, on the other hand, you have your own idea of an utopia, state what this is in your thesis statement. Will it be an utopia based on certain economic or social values? For instance, will capitalism, socialism, or anarchism rule your utopia? Are you more interested in Thomas More's idea of an utopian society or Machiavelli's idea of utopia that is encapsulated in his work The Prince?

So, the first step is to decide on a thesis statement. This will guide the rest of your essay. Remember that, for a feminist utopia (or any other utopia), you will still need to decide how it is to be run and what it will look like. You may like some things in a feminist utopia while disliking others. It's worth exploring your thoughts in this area in your essay.

2)After deciding on a thesis statement, summarize the story of Borghese's utopia (if that is the background you are using) or summarize the story of some other kind of utopia you have in mind. This section is important, as you will later wish to argue for why this particular utopia will contribute to a better world or why such an utopia is an ideal societal construct. Since this is a 5000 word essay, you have plenty of room to introduce your readers to your ideal world.

On the other hand, if you haven't decided what sort of utopia you like, here's a link which provides the names of works which discuss socialist utopias, eco-utopias, feminist utopias, etc. If you wish to discuss a capitalistic utopia, you might want to try Machiavelli's The Prince.

Lists of Utopian and Dystopian Fiction

3)After your summary on the background of the kind of utopia you deem most attractive, you may wish to delve into the reasons why.

a)What is government like in your utopia? Who will rule, and who will be subject to the laws in your idealized world? Will there be a monarch or will it be government by democracy? Will your rulers be chosen based on talent/ ability, racial and gender quotas, or both?

b)Will anyone own private property? Or will your idealized society practice communal responsibility as illustrated in Thomas More's Utopia? Again, if you have chosen to discuss Elizabeth Mann Borghese's feminist utopia, state whether she (and you) support the ownership of private property or not. Also, in Thomas More's society, everyone labored for the good of all; even the leaders. Most utopians in Thomas More's society also labored no less than six hours a day. Men and women were allowed to work in any and all areas which contributed to the good of the society they lived in. In other words, are there benefits to capitalism and to socialism?

c)Religion: will your utopia be based on religious tolerance? If so, why is this important? In your readings, can you state examples of why and when intolerance has led to problems? For example, Sir Thomas More was actually executed for treason because he refused to bow to King Henry VIII's demands to be recognized as the head of the new church of England.

d)How will your utopia be protected? Will there be conscription of young men and women for military duties? In Machiavelli's The Prince, conquest is the key to strength and peace. For this purpose, Machiavelli advises the use of domestic troops rather than mercenary troops, which he regarded as temperamental and untrustworthy due to their shifting allegiances. On the other hand, Thomas More's society is predicated on the desire to do away with war and conquests. The leaders in More's utopia favor bribery of the citizens of an enemy country to murder their own warring leaders. In Thomas More's society, the use of mercenaries is the last resort when all intellectual maneuvers fail.

e)Marriage: how will your ideal society recognize relationships? Will there be heterosexual and homosexual unions? Will there be laws defining when citizens are allowed to marry, as in Thomas More's Utopia? For example, women are allowed to marry at eighteen, and men at twenty-two in Thomas More's idealized world. Furthermore, divorce is not allowed unless there is physical abuse or adultery in play. Think about how you will structure your own utopia if you could, whether it is based on Borghese's feminist utopia or any other utopia you admire.

f)How will your society handle criminals? Will they be put to death (as in Machiavelli's The Prince) or will they be enslaved ( as in Thomas More's Utopia)? Which method is better in dealing with criminals?

g)How will your utopian society enjoy leisure activities? Or will leisure activities be allowed? Will leisure activities be simple and domestic in focus as in Thomas More's world? Or will you leave it up to your citizens to decide how they will spend their free time?

h)About death and sickness: how will the citizens in an idealized utopia be cared for? Will there be universal or private health care? Who will pay for either? Will those who suffer debilitating and chronic illness with no hope of a cure be permitted or advised to submit to euthanasia as in Thomas More's Utopia?

i)You can explore how your utopia compares favorably against any one of a number of dystopias described in literature (or even history). Examples of dystopian literature and movies include The Hunger Games, V for Vendetta, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, 1984, The Matrix, to name a few.

j)Remember to conclude with a reiteration and support of your earlier thesis statement, perhaps even expanding on your ideas. For example, state how your idea of an utopian society would fit into today's world, with its many challenges (climate change and terrorism, to name two examples).

Describe the scene between Holden and Sunny in J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye.

The scene between Holden and Sunny is certainly interesting because he is obviously inexperienced with women and doesn't know what to do with a prostitute when he gets her. He's so depressed that he decides that he just wants to talk to her. They realize that they are both around the same age as the other one; however, she is a professional with the opposite sex and knows her own business, and he is out of his league on both counts. 

Sunny gets irritated because Holden won't participate like a regular John. He notices her shaking her foot a lot with impatience. Then he gets annoyed when she sits on his lap and won't get off. Holden was doing a great job lying his way out of the situation until he makes one big mistake: He tells Sunny the following:

"I said I'd pay for you coming and all. I really will. I have plenty of dough. It's just that I'm practically just recovering from a very serious--" (97).

Holden tells a working woman with a pimp that he has a lot of money! That was a big mistake because Sunny then asks for $10 when Maurice, her pimp, said it would only cost Holden $5. They argue about the price for a minute, but Sunny decides to leave and come back with her pimp later, who then roughs him up and gets the $10 from him anyway.

This is a perfect learning experience for Holden in a bildungsroman novel. He is practically innocent of the ways of women, criminal business, and being on his own. A girl from "Hollywood" (95) bests him on all counts and teaches him a big lesson of the street. Holden stands his ground against the bullying pimp, but he doesn't walk away unscathed. This is certainly one scene that teaches a boy about the world of adults.

How does the Wall in The Handmaid's Tale link to religion?

Of the various figures that appear hanged on the wall, some are religious figures. Priests and nuns are enemies of the state as they represent an active resistance to the religious doctrines that characterize the official views of Gilead. 

In Chapter 6, Offred and Ofglen walk to the Wall and first pass by a small church. 

"Now we we turn our backs on the church and there is the thing we've in truth come to see: the Wall."

The detail here is suggestive. While standing near the church, Offred and Ofglen do not move to go inside but instead look at the gravestones. Religion and death and the Wall are thus linked subtly.

In turning away from the church Offred and Ofglen find more signs of death when they see people hanged from the Wall. Later in the novel these figures are discussed to include religious figures opposed to the new state religion.

The state of Gilead, arguably, has turned away from this older mode of religion represented in the church Offred is visiting in order to embrace a new one. 

"They haven't fiddled with the gravestones, or the church either. It's only the more recent history that offends them."

As a totalitarian regime, the state of Gilead suppresses all sects and belief systems that do not directly support the official dogmas of the government. Only cooperation is acceptable. Only full acquiescence is deemed appropriate. 

The Wall helps to define this harshly enacted policy by placing subversives dead on display. 

"What we are supposed to feel towards these bodies is hatred and scorn."

The state communicates its policies through public violence on the Wall and elsewhere as a means to reinforce conformity and to suppress any resistance. As a religiously-oriented political body, the state's enemies naturally include competing religious views and so priests are sometimes found hanged on the Wall. 

`a_1 = 1, r = e` Write the first five terms of the geometric sequence.

The first five terms of geometric sequence can be computed with formula, such that:

`a_n = a_(n-1)*q`

`a_2 = a_1*q => a_2 = 1*e`

`a_3 = a_2*q => a_3 = e*e = e^2`

`a_4 = a_3*q => a_4 =e^2*e = e^3`

`a_5 = a_4*q => a_5 =e^3*e = e^4`

Hence, evaluating the five terms of geometric sequence yields `a_1 =1, a_2 = e, a_3 = e^2, a_4 = e^3, a_5 =  e^4.`

What does Cassius mean when he says that "the fault is not in our stars but in ourselves" in Julius Caesar?

Cassius is trying to convince Brutus to kill Caesar by telling him that it is their fault if they let him lead.

At this point, Cassius is the leader of the conspiracy.  When he makes this speech to Brutus, he is telling him to step up, and be a part of it. 

Men at some time are masters of their fates:
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings. (Act 1, Scene 2)

In a nutshell, this means that people are in charge of their own destiny.  They can succumb to someone else’s rule, or they can make their own choices.  In Cassius’s mind, Caesar is a tyrant.  By just standing back and letting him have his way, they are acting as no better than slaves.

In trying to build Brutus up, Cassius tells him that there is nothing about Caesar that is better than him.  Brutus is the one with noble blood, after all.  Caesar is a self-made man, though he is a Patrician.

Brutus will start a spirit as soon as Caesar.
Now, in the names of all the gods at once,
Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed,
That he is grown so great? Age, thou art shamed!
Rome, thou hast lost the breed of noble bloods! (Act 1, Scene 2)

The speech seems to work.  Brutus admits to Cassius that he thinks that Caesar is overreaching.  He worries that Caesar is too ambitious.  It does not actually take much to talk Brutus into joining the conspiracy.  Later, when he is by himself, Brutus asks himself why Caesar has to die.  He decides that they need to kill the snake while it is still in its shell.  Caesar has not done anything abusive yet, but it is only a matter of time.

Brutus takes charge of the conspiracy.  He lends it legitimacy with his ancient aristocratic name.  The movement needed him for credibility, but he placed himself as the decision maker.  No longer an underling, Brutus believed that he was doing the right thing for Rome, but he made some bad decisions in the process.