Why do Beatrice and Benedick talk about loving each other according to "reason" (Act 5, Scene 4)? How does the gender of the characters play into...

When confronted with the fact that both Beatrice and Benedick were led, via the "noting" of planned conversations among their friends, to believe that each was in love with the other, they felt embarrassed at being tricked into admissions of love.  Both are proud characters and neither wanted to be the one to say "I love you" first out of a fear of rejection.  When each is asked about loving the other and both respond, "No more than reason", they mean "no more than any one human being should give a hoot about any other human being".  This demonstrates their pride in not being willing to admit their true feelings.  However, both Claudio and Hero produce written confessions of love that they have confiscated, and Beatrice and Benedick are forced to admit the truth.

Quote four sentences which prove that Miss Keller has made full use of her sense of touch in The Miracle Worker.

The tone of your question suggests that you would like to hear about how Helen has made full use of her sense of touch even BEFORE the appearance of Annie.  In my opinion, the episode about the doll is the best example:

(Helen meanwhile sits on the floor to explore the doll with her fingers, and her hand pauses over the face:  this is no face, a blank area of towel, and it troubles her.  Her hand searches for features, and taps questioningly for eyes, but no one notices.  She then yanks at her aunt's dress, adn taps again vigorously for eyes.)

Aunt Ev:  What, child?

(Obviously not hearing, Helen commences to go around, from person to person, tapping for eyes, but no one attends or understands.)

Please note that the most pertinent four sentences here are sentences of stage direction, not dialogue.  People who can see/hear, of course haven't refined their sense of touch.  Helen has already lived years without those two senses so, even though she is rough around the edges, she certainly does make full use of that sense.

Interesting that the description begins with the explanation of Helen wanting "to explore the doll with her fingers," something quite common for her, I imagine.  (Perfect evidence for your argument.) Of course, Helen uses her sense of touch further to determine (first other features) and then that the doll doesn't have eyes.

It's also interesting that after being used for exploration, touch is then used to grab attention.  First, she gently taps the doll using her own touch in hopes that someone will notice.  Next, she "yanks" her aunt's skirt.  Third, her taps for eyes become "vigorous."  Fourth, she approaches everyone else in the room, still tapping for eyes.

Poor Helen!  Enter Annie, ... and Helen's world changes.  : )

In the book, The Swiss Family Robinson, what was the first thing the family did after reaching shore?

The first thing of any significance that the Swiss Family Robinson does when they get to shore is to get down on their knees and give thanks to God for allowing them to escape from the wreck of the ship.

This is a very typical thing in this novel.  The whole book is meant in part to be a moral example to people.  There is talk of religion and morals throughout the whole book.  The family quite often kneels in prayer and otherwise acknowledges God.  So it is not surprising that this is the first thing they do.

Describe the four main spheres of Earth. 1.lithosphere 2.hydrosphere 3.atmosphere 4.biosphereno

Describe the four main spheres of Earth.

1.lithosphere 2.hydrosphere 3.atmosphere 4.biosphere 

The four spheres show how the four main components of Planet Earth form a complete system. These main components are land, air, water, and life.

The lithosphere, also known as Geosphere is made of the earth's core, the mantle, crust, ocean floor,mountains, sand, rocks, alphalt, bricks, etc.

The hydrosphere is made of everything water such as oceans, rivers, lakes, rain, snow, and ice caps.

The atmosphere is made of gasses such as oxygen, hydrogen, water vapor, ozone, and the wind.

Finally the biosphere is all that has life such as plants, animals, people, insects, microbes, etc.

Lithosphere of the earth is the outer solid crust on the earth's surface, that surrounds the hot molten core of the earth. The lithosphere consists of about 30 small and large pieces called plates that are continuously but very slowly moving on the very hot rocks below it. These hot rocks constitute the athenosphere of the earth.

Atmosphere of the earth refers to the layer of air that surrounds the solid crust of the earth. The atmosphere extents as far as 1600 kilometers above the surface of earth. Nitrogen makes up about 78% and oxygen about 21% of the gases present in earth's atmosphere. The remaining part consists mainly of Argon and small amount of many other gases, water vapour and dust particles. The lower part of the atmosphere is called troposphere. All clouds exist in the troposphere, and various weather conditions like wind and storms also take place in it. At altitude of about 1600 kilometers the atmosphere gradually fades into empty space.

Hydrosphere of the earth refers to all the bodies of water and ice on the surface of the earth as well as the water vapour in its atmosphere. Hydrosphere makes up about three fourths of the earth's surface.

Biosphere of the earth refers to the regions of erth where life forms such as animals and plants live. These include the surface of the earth and areas close to the surface.

What was the effects of WWII on Victory Bonds?

I do not really think that this is a proper way to phrase the question.  This is because World War II did not really have any effect on Victory Bonds.  Instead, World War II caused Victory Bonds to exist -- if it had not been for the war, there would have been no bonds.

The whole purpose of selling Victory Bonds was to raise money for the war effort.  So if there is no war effort, there are no bonds.

So, the war made the bonds necessary and the bonds helped to finance the war.  But I would not say that the war affected the bonds.

In the novel The Road is survival worth it?explain survival in the novel and is it worth it

In the book The Road the man and his son are on a road following some kind of cataclysmic destruction of the world.  The mother in the story does not believe that she can go on anymore and takes her own life.  Therefore, the man and his son are left on their own to go the journey alone.

The landscape is charred and barren with the exception of occasional houses which have been looted and damaged beyond use.  The two pass down the road pushing a shopping cart filled with found items.  They struggle to find food, drink, clothing, blankets, and fuel.  Anything that can be used for survival is important.

However, the two are not totally alone on the road.  Scattered here and there are a population of people who in desperation are resorting to cannibalism.  The man and the boy carry a gun with two bullets to use in case that they need to end their own lives.

After reading the book I thought to myself that it did not seem worth the effort to survive when no one could know what bad or good thing was around the bend.  There seemed to be very little good things at all.  The only pleasant experience it seemed that the man and the boy had was when they had found a bunker full of food with cots to sleep in and could actually spend a few days living an almost normal pre-disaster existence.

The previous editor talked about the will to survive being strong and that is why the people kept going.  Humans have the idea of hope within them.  For the boy, he knew no other way of life so the journey down the road was just natural living.  Had I been the man and I was dying, I would have been terrified to leave my child behind to such an awful world.  I did not find what we knew of the world in the book as worth staying in, but then one never knows for sure what is around the next bend. The fact that the boy meets some good people after his father's death gives us some hope of a better future.

'Culture clash' is the most important theme in A Passage to India. What are the other themes in the novel?

This novel also deals with such themes as friendship, public and private life, and ambiguity ("mystery" and "muddle"). Aziz and his friends discuss whether it possible to be friends with an Englishman; Mahmoud Ali argues it is not. This conversation relates to the clash between two cultures, but it ultimately prepares the reader for the relationship between Aziz and various British colonials such as Fielding, Miss Quested, and Mrs. Moore. Within the Indian culture as well you can examine the friendships between Aziz and his fellow Indians, Hamidullah, Mahmoud Ali, and the Nawab Bahadur. The puzzling events in the Marabar Caves contribute to the ambiguity in the novel although this theme is not limited to the central part of the book. See the link below for further explanation of themes.

Which character is better for analysis in my thesis statement on subject of who are mockingbirds: Boo, Tom, or Jem? (I see Tom, Boo, and Jem as...

Boo Radley exemplifies the mockingbird motif in the novel. Constantly hidden in the shadows, he only truly emerges at the end. In his quiet way, through the gifts left in the tree and the blanket around Scout’s shoulders the night of the fire that destroys Miss Maudie’s house, Boo has been interacting with Jem and Scout through the entire story, but it is not until the end that the children understand his true nature.

This lesson is first revealed when Atticus buys the children 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 want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”

That’s the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something, and I asked Miss Maudie about it.

“Your father is right,” she said. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”

Without realizing, Jem, Scout, and Dill have in a way been trying to kill that mockingbird. The children have built up a view of Boo based solely on a preconceived notion that is completely wrong. This is similar to the racism evident in the rest of the town: a judgment made before knowledge. Yet from that notion they have developed a pattern of behavior that seeks to destroy the true nature of Boo by pretending that it could not possibly exist. It is Atticus and Ms. Maudie who try to point out their errors.

It is through the attack on the children and Sheriff Tate's understanding that Boo’s identification as a mockingbird becomes most clear. The sheltered innocence of Boo’s life would be threatened should he be brought to trial for the death of Bob Ewell, even though he would most likely be acquitted as a hero. It is this hero worship that would “kill” the mockingbird, Tate believes. The people, especially the women, would bother him continually with food and praise for such a brave act. Such attention would ultimately destroy who Boo is, his innocence, and his quiet love for the children of Atticus Finch. Scout and Jem finally acknowledge this at the end. When Atticus asks Scout if she understands why they will say Bob Ewell fell on his own knife, she replies that is they did it any other way, "Well, it'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it?

Tom's connection is not as obvious; it is inferred from his character, rather than directly stated. Innocent of the crime for which he is tried, he valiantly attempts to prove that innocence to the society which has already judged him. His noble life has brought joy to those with whom he has come into contact, but for most in the town, his skin color has already convicted him. Even with Mayella Ewell, he has tried to help her, something which her family cannot seem to do. Yet for his attempt he is killed, crushed by the racism that is so deeply embedded in the community. With his death, Dill, Jem, and Scout come face to face with the sin that has killed this mockingbird.

What double standards does Esparanza rebel against in House on Mango Street?

One major theme in the book is the role of women in a male-dominated society. Esperanza notices the differences between the men's world and the world of the women. The women are tied to the house and the duties of the house. The men live in an external world where they go to work, go out to be with other males, or just go out to have fun. Most of the women aren't allowed this external socialization. They are dominated by either their fathers or their husbands and tied to their duties as a wife and mother. Most girls marry and have children at a young age, only to be left by their husbands to raise their children alone.

What is the literary time period of Fahrenheit 451 and what are the dates of it?

Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 first appeared in print in 1953, though it was based on a short story - "The Fireman" - published in 1951.  Bradbury's text, published after the end of World War II, can in many ways be considered part of the post-modern literary movement.  In reality, though, it contains not only of post-modern themes, but also those somewhat common in modernism before it.  The novel takes place at a time more of less contemporary with the publication of the novel.  As such, it takes place in the middle of the initial phase of the Cold War, a fact that filters through not only to the novel's content, but also the themes it explores.

In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Athens has "a hierarchical patriarchal order" while the forest seems to be "a place of disorder".Discuss this idea.

The hierarchical laws of Athens surely support a patriarchal order in which a father may have his daughter severely punished for marrying against his wishes. Shakespeare undercuts this hierarchical patriarchal order in A Midsummer Night's Dream by rendering Athenian law subject to the influence of the moon and fairies.

In contrast to Athens, the woods is where fairies gather, lovers conspire, actors rehearse, spells are cast, manipulations backfire and reconciliations begin. Shakespeare uses the anarchy and the associated fairy monarchy of the woods to illustrate a new proposition for the balance of power between anarchy and hierarchy.

Hierarchy is defined by Random House Dictionary at Dictionary.com as any system of persons or things ranked one above another, and patriarchy is defined by the same source as the male head of a family or tribal line.

The town representative of hierarchy and traditional patriarchal governance is Theseus. Throughout A Midsummer Night Dream, the moon is equated with love and marriage. Theseus is waiting for his marriage that will take place according to the moon's governance at the phase of the New Moon. Furthermore, wedded fairies Oberon and Titania have flown in with their retinue from India to give their blessing to the government representative Theseus's wedding to Hyppolyta. While Theseus upholds order in Athens, he also undercuts the order by revealing the ruling influence of other powers that sway the realm of order.

In the woods, trickery, magic and anarchical schemes give the rule of order--or rather, the rule of anarchy--while people try to manipulate each other into what they want for their own (often selfish) reasons. Shakespeare reveals in this that anarchy and hierarchy share the feature of manipulation of others' lives in common with each other. Shakespeare uses this and Theseus's wedding to suggest a true balance between the the rule of order and the rule of the more mysterious forces of the world to achieve a state where individuals are honored and respected instead of manipulated.

In All Quiet on Western Front, In chapter 12. What does Paul foresee or expect for his generation after the war?not too long pls. :)

As the war is coming to an end in Chapter 12, Paul thinks that the end of the war will not be the end of the problems for his generation.  He thinks that the horrors of the war will stay with them and affect them forever.

Paul thinks his generation will be so traumatized by what they have seen and done that they will be like living corpses -- there will be no survivors of the war.  He worries that the soldiers will not really know what to do when the war is over -- that they will forget how to be normal people with normal goals.

"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals," What does this quote mean and what is the importance of it?

What this quote means is that you only see things as obstacles (as problems) when you take your eye off the goal that you are trying to reach.  When you are focused on the goal, you do not worry about what is between you and that goal.  Instead, you just concentrate on the goal and take whatever is between you and that goal in your stride.

This is one of those motivational type of quotes -- that is its importance.  It is meant to remind us not to get too bogged down worrying about what we have to overcome each day.  Instead, we should concentrate on our goals --that will make us more successful.

Where does Winston Smith live?

He lives in an apartment complex called Victory Mansions, which is ironic because they are anything but mansion-like. They are described as being run down and dingy. Winston feels that everything has a layer of dirt on it. He also says that anything that breaks never gets fixed so the conditions are always worsening. It smells bad, too. The apartments are located in a region named Oceania.

How does the clock relate to the theme?

Time is a theme in this story, and the clock is symbolic of the theme. The clock resides in the seventh room of the abbey in which the prince and guests are enjoying a party.

The chiming of the clock agitates the guests because it is a reminder of the inevitability of death. While there are plenty of distractions and revelry, the guests are unable to forget that one cannot escape death. The chiming pervades the atmosphere with doom, despite the best efforts of the guests.

When midnight arrives, which signals the ending of another day, it is symbolic of the end of the party guest's lives. As the last guest dies, the clock stops, as well. Finally, there is silence.

Why did people want to "return to normal" in the US in the 1920s?

I assume that you are talking about the "return to normalcy" that President Harding talked about in the 1920s.  I assume this because you have this tagged with "Republican presidents" and because the word "normal" is most connected to this phrase of Harding's.

I have edited the question based on this assumption.

The reason that people wanted to return to normalcy was that there had been some pretty big upheavals in American life in the decades before.  The most obvious of these upheavals was the First World War, which had ended just two years before Harding campaigned on the idea of returning to normalcy.

The other big deal was that people had just gone through the Progressive Era with lots of reforms.  Harding thought people wanted to just have a rest from all that change.

What is the theme and setting of "The Knight's Tale"?

The theme of The Knight's Tale is that "you get what you ask for." 

Palamon wishes to see Emily every day (he stays where he can see her for seven years). Arcita wishes to be free from prison so he can be with Emily (he gets free, and eventually sees Emily).

Before the tournament, Palamon asks for Emily, Arcite asks for victory, and Emily asks for peace between the two men. Each of these things is accomplished, but in a way that none of them could have forseen.

What is the tone of the poem "How Soon Hath Time" By Milton ?Also what type of words does Milton use-- e.g. unusual, striking etc ? and are...

In John Milton's "How Soon Hath Time," the tone of the speaker in the octave seems somewhat chagrined.  The speaker regrets that he has lost his twenty-third year to the "thief" of Time.  In addition, he bemoans that he is not yet "blossomed" and has a "semblance" that belies his age; that is, he wishes that he were more manly in appearance. His youthfulness is spoken of with a regretfulness.

However, in the sestet, the speaker's tone changes as he becomes resigned to the will of the heavens and places his trust in the "great Taskmaster." In this sestet, the speakers word choice differs from the octave, as well.  For, more poetic words are used in the octave--e.g. the "Time, the subtle thief of youth,"--while words with religious overtones are employed in the sestet--"will of heaven," "the great Taskmaster."

What was the political situation when Shakespeare wrote Hamlet? Did the political situation have any relationship with the plot of Hamlet?

In Hamlet, the state of Denmark is politically similar to but not exactly a mirror of England at the time of the play.  More accurately, the external political situation in Denmark is analogous to the internal predicament of Hamlet.

In Denmark (external): "It is bitter cold"

In Hamlet (internal): "I am sick at heart"

Denmark: "Denmark's a prison"

Hamlet: "O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell."

Denmark: "something's rotten in the state of Denmark."

Hamlet: "O that this too too sullied flesh would melt..."

In terms of politics, both countries were police states.  The walls had ears, and there were spies everywhere, from within and without.  England and Denmark kept their friends close and their enemies closer.  Just as Young Fortinbras is surrounding Denmark, so too were the Spanish waiting for England to implode.

Both countries practiced Machiavellian politics: the courts were based on duplicity, power, fear.  Security lay in the balance.  Polonius is the most Machiavellian character in the play; he constantly eavesdrops and meddles in others' affairs.

Identify the communication climate in an important relationship in your life.What are the spiral effect of behaviors. Discuss the negative...

In my agency there is a public computer space that many people use frequently.  One client has a bad habit of always trying to have the last word and answering for other people.  So he gets into arguments over trivial things and ends up apologizing, but also over-explaining why he said what, etc.  His interactions often spiral into an endless argument of what he was "trying" to say or do when the other person has gotten fed up with his interference.

We have reminded Client X on many occasions that he needs to let people do their jobs and others have personal conversations without him.  I usually just have to look at him or say his name and he knows to shut up.  But with others, he just keeps going on and on and never ends the explanation of how he was just trying to help.  Then everyone is mad at him.

Here's how it so often happens.  Person comes in and asks a question of the volunteer at the desk.  Client X opens his mouth and answers the question first.  Client X's answer was wrong.   Volunteer tries to explain the right answer to the person who asked, but Client X is busy trying to explain what he meant and his loud voice is overriding the volunteer.  Staff comes out to ask Client X to let the volunteer do their job; Client X then starts explaining all over again to the staff member, and it just doesn't stop.

Client X also has the bad habit of listening to and then joining in on other people's conversations even when he's not wanted.  The same irritating situation ends up happening when he's asked to keep to his own business and let others have their private conversation.  This is in a space where it's difficult to have a totally private or personal conversation but most people just mind their own business and let friends talk to each other without needing to join a personal conversation. 

This has gone on for several years.  We have pointed out to Client X that this is part of why he cannot keep a job.  When it's time to lay employees off, they're going to choose someone who is disruptive to the work place and this type of behavior is disruptive.

In To Kill A Mockingbird, what is significant about Jem's decision to make a lone, nocturnal return to the Radley house?

Jem is beginning to show signs of growing up in chapter 6 where he decides to return to the Radley house alone to get his pants back. Not only does he show bravery in going alone, but he also demonstrates that not disappointing Atticus is more important than his own safety.

He returns from the Radley place with his pants, but he hides the fact that they have been mended for a while; he is obviously very worried by this fact. When Jem finally tells Scout about the pants, he wonders how it is that someone would know he was going to come back for the pants. Jem finding his mended pants is significant because it takes all the Radley games and fantasies and puts them into reality. Jem and Scout have now had real interaction with the inhabitants of the Radley house.

I'm looking for an interesting way to introduce my literature students to Chekhov's Three Sisters. Any ideas?

Although I try not to recommend videos as a way to introduce novels (I usually find that once students know there is a video, all hope of reading goes out the window), this video with members of New York's Actor's Studio, including Shelley Winters, Sandy Dennis, and Geraldine Page, is very interesting. Perhaps you could show them just a clip of it to get them interested. It was filmed in 1965, directed by Paul Bogart, and released by Hen's Tooth Video in 1998. There is also a superb 1970 film with Laurence Olivier which might be easier to find as it is much more well known.

Good luck!

How does Roger Chillingworth's appearance change and how does Hester interpret the changes she sees in him?

Roger Chillingworth certainly did not have any advantages over Hester when it came to his physiognomy. His age was not the matter, but his "studious" look may have been one of the few redeeming qualities that Hester may have found to tolerably accept a marriage proposal from him.

He is far from the studious man that he used to be, however, and his anger, hatred and hunger for revenge is evident in his body as well as in his soul. Hawthorne has a very interesting way to word Chillingworth's change. In chapter 14, he goes as far as to suggesting that the medicine man's diabolical ways are responsible for the way in which he has contracted a new image that is entirely detrimental.

Old Roger Chillingworth was a striking evidence of man’s faculty of transforming himself into a Devil, if he will only, for a reasonable space of time, undertake a Devil’s office...

Hawthorne (the narrator) offers that this transformation of Chillingworth does not make him look scary, or even menacing. All it does is to make him even more miserably sad than what he is. Even Hester has strong words for him.

“What see you in my face,” asked the physician, “that you look at it so earnestly?”

“Something that would make me weep, if there were any tears bitter enough for it,” answered she. “But let it pass! It is of yonder miserable man that I would speak.

It is clear that Hester can sense that all of this is a product of useless hatred. Of Chillingworth's own choices, which he should have never adhered to that way. Rather than letting go and moving on, he had to make a show of force so that his ego could be rectified.

Hester was alone 2 whole years thinking he was dead prior to getting with Dimmesdale. While she is not to be condoned for her actions, she has clearly not done anything to Chillingworth on purpose or to hurt him. This is why the author agrees that the entire thing is foolish.

This unhappy person had effected such a transformation by devoting himself, for seven years, to the constant analysis of a heart full of torture.

He certainly must be a very unhappy person to engage in such a campaign against someone he does not even know nor has done anything to him.

 
 
 

Critically justify the title She Stoops to Conquer.

The title of this novel refers to the "stooping down" of Kate Hardcastle from her position in high society to the position as a barmaid.  She does this in order to test the feelings of Marlow, to make sure that he loves her for herself and not for her money.  In the end, she gets what she wants, and proves a point.  She learns that Marlow's feelings are genuine and demonstrates that love is not controlled by social position.  By "stooping down", she conquered society.

What makes John Thorton "the ideal master"? How was he different from all of Buck's former masters?

Thornton is "the ideal master" because while "other men saw to the welfare of their dogs from a sense of duty and business expediency; he saw to the welfare of his as if they were his own children".  Buck's other masters, Francois, Perrault, Charles, and Hal, saw dogs as a means to an end - to do a job, or for personal gain, and although Buck's life with the Judge was comfortable, Buck's relationship with his owners was more detached, "a working partnership...a sort of pompous guardianship...a stately and dignified friendship".  Thornton cares for his dogs with all his heart, he sees them as individuals and is truly be concerned for their well-being, creating an environment for mutual respect and growth.  He gets close to his dogs. For the first time, Buck experiences "love, genuine, passionate love" (Chapter 6). 

What is Finny's "vision of peace?"

For most of the novel, we don't ever see what Finny is truly thinking. He spends all the time after 3 and until 12 trashing on the war and claiming it's false.

However, through his actions, he shows he wants to please people, enjoy athletics, and rouse the troops to get into just a little bit of trouble.

By chapter 12 however, I think we know he most wants to participate in the war. He might be most satisfied there. On the other hand, when reconciliation between the friends occurs, Finny may finally be experiencing peace, at least for a short time. 

What is the general theme of Julius Caesar?is "est qui tu brutus" the general theme or does it play a significant role in the theme?

Another way of looking at the theme is through power and ambition. Brutus decides to murder his dear friend just in case he is to become corrupt. The power Caesar is able to wield is incredible. This worries the senators, particularly Brutus, who states he would sacrifice his own life for the good of Rome. Ironically, though, Caesar really hasn't shown any hints that he will be corrupted by his power. How "est qui tu brutus" ties into this theme is how Caesar feels betrayed that even his close friend Brutus would conspire to kill him when it is really unwarranted. They are just killing him in case he becomes corrupt. So much for free will.

Another interesting side to this is, of course, Cassius, who manipulates Brutus into taking part in the scheme to kill Caesar. While Brutus is the most noble of characters, he alone is acting for the good of Rome, Cassius is greedy and tricks Brutus into helping bring Caesar down when Cassius wants the same ambition and power that resulted in Caesar's murder.

What is the theme in "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"?

The strongest theme in the story is the power of interpretation. Human beings can receive infinite amounts of input, but if anything directly effects ourselves, we twist and contort this information to reach the conclusions we desire. It woudl seem it is impossible for us to be objective in matters concerning ourself.

The mind sees what it wants to. Of all the sensory input he contorts throughout the story it first starts with the scout. He believed that he was encountering a chance to prove his worth and dedication to the cause. Instead he is duped by a spy seeking to expose partisans.

Describe the life of Anne Frank's family in the secret annex?

Imagine you are stuck in a cramped space, living with eight people. Afterall, the Secret Annex is very small. During th eday you weren't allowed to use the lavratory and you had to be silent all the time. Parts of the book, Anne talks about her death because she is stuck in a room. At least she has Peter and her family.

In The Destructors, what kind of symbolism is demonstrated in regards to the house, the drab landscape, shadows, misery and worms?

The story, The Destructors is actually an allegory for the decline of the post independent Sri Lankan state so the story is full of symbolism. The house actually allegorically represents or is the symbol for the Sri Lankan state. Greene uses personification to make the house a character in the story (for example upon Blackie's approach on destruction day, the house is said to look as if it had slept). In turn then the surrounding area represents or symbolizes the area around Sri Lanka, which was destroyed by blitzes (aerial bomb attacks). The misery and shadows symbolize the mood of the state and the people. War and political strife are dark times in states and countries and misery and shadows do well to represent those feelings. T. describing the boys as being worms symbolizes the destruction from the inside out. He doesn't want to damage the house, he wants to destroy it, to make it something other than a house because after-all destruction is really just creation in disguise, which was the point of bringing Sri Lanka down, from the inside out, to make it something entirely different than it was before.

What are the main points that might make Twelfth Night a festive comedy?

Festive Comedy takes its sub-generic name from both occasionalism and philosophical content. These comedies are generally performed on festive occasions and deal with festivity as theme or as a philosophical outlook towards life.

Twelfth Night takes its title from a festive occasion on the 12th night since the crucifixion--the night when the body of the Christ would strike back with epiphany.

At the level of content, Shakespeare's play deals with the clash between mock-puritanical melancholy, as exemplified by the character of Malvolio and the festive spirit of Feste, as his name itself suggests.

The masking trope is an essential part of the rituals of festivity.

The attitudes to love as expressed by the love-lorn Duke of Illyria, Orsino and the superficiality of Olivia and Viola's romantic ideals--all relate to a festive conception of love, satirical in its absolute dearth of seriousness and sincerity.

The festivity in Twelfth Night has its political content in terms of a subversive decadent carnivalesque spirit, as highlighted by the low-life figures and their powerful foray into the court life through Malvolio's gulling.

The sub-plot with all its dark undercolours are suggestive of a tragi-comic mode.

In the play, one can see John Proctor is afraid of committing sins. Can you help me find quotes/explanations for this Generalization?

In the biographical note about Proctor in Act I before Proctor ever speaks, Miller reports,

He is a sinner, a sinner not only against the moral fashion of the time, but against his own vision of decent conduct. These people had no ritual for the washing away of sins.

A few sentences later:

Proctor, respected and even feared in Salem, has come to regard himself as a kind of fraud.  (pg. 19 in the Penguin Classics edition)

Each of these suggest that it was implicit in their culture that sin had no excuse. There was no way to get rid of it and Proctor wanted to be a virtuous man... other people believed as much. Thus, he is a victim of the Puritan religion which claims Christianity. A founding principle of Christianity is the forgiveness of sin, otherwise there would be no reason for Christ's death on a cross. But John bore his own sin.

These quotes above demonstrate direct characterization.

To see him indirectly characterized as one afraid of committing sin, look at these words to Abigail:

Abby, I may think of you softly from time to time. But I will cut off my hand before I'll ever reach for you again. Wipe it out of mind. We never touched, Abby. (pg. 22... Act I)

John says this to admit he has thoughts but doesn't want to allow them to turn into deeds. In fact, he is willing to punish himself if he does. He admits the sin and lies about it all in the same breath. This is interesting because he is using strong words, harsh words, but in his weakness does admit to the truth.

What is ph of jam and jelly ?

Jams and jellies have a ph in the lower part of the 3s, and not generally up near 4.  According to the site I am linking to, the ph of jam and jelly is around 3.1 to 3.5.

Interestingly, this overlaps with things that you would really thing of as acidic - things like vinegar.   Vinegar has a ph from 2.0 to 3.4.

The ph of jams and jellies comes largely from the fruits the jams and jellies are made from.  Sugar has a ph around 5 to 6, but fruits like strawberries have phs around 2.3 to 3.

4x^3/4 = x^1/2Find x

We presume you want to solve 4x^(3/4) = x^(1/2). ( But kindly nor that 4x^3/4 = x^1/2 gives the meaning of (4x^3)/4 = (x^1)/2 , in which case  x^3 = x/2 Or x= 0 or x = + sqrt (1/2) or x = -sqrt(1/2) shall be the solution for x.

To solve the above equation.

If we raise both sides to the 4th power , we get integral exponents. So,

[4x^(3/4)]^4 = [x^(1/2)] ^(4).

256x^3 = x^2. Or

256x^3-x^2 = 0. Or

x^2(256x -1) = 0 . Or

x^2 = 0, Or  256x-1 = 0.

x^2 = 0 gives x= 0

256x-1 = 0 gives x = 1/256.

Aliter:

Also 4x^(3/4) = x^(1/2). Divding both sides by x^(1/2).

4x^(1/4) = 1

x^(1/4)  = 1/4 . S x = (1/4)^4.

Also you can go by x^(1/4) = t and  solve for x = t^4.

Act 4 Scene 2 of Macbeth is the longest scene in the play. Yet neither of the protagonists appear in it. Why is important in this scene?Why is it...

Concerning Shakespeare's Macbeth, Act 4.2 is not a long scene at all.  It shows Lady Macduff and her son being killed.  It's vital because it makes Macbeth's order to kill Macduff's family visible.  It concretely shows the murders occurring.  It's also important for other reasons, but I think you probably meant to say Act 4.3, so I'm going to move on to that.

Act 4.3 shows Malcolm testing Macduff to see if he's loyal to Scotland or to Macbeth.  It's long because the tests Malcolm uses are intricate and complicated and thorough.  Malcolm pretends to be lustful, greedy, and an all-around terrible human being.  He waits to see whether or not Macduff will keep saying "Oh, it's all right, you can still be king" (I'm paraphrasing), or if he will turn away in disgust.  If Macduff turns away in disgust then Malcolm will know he has Scotland's best interests at heart, and is not just playing along in order to betray him to Macbeth.  That's what happens, of course.

Also, this scene includes Macduff finding out that his family has been killed. 

This scene furthers the plot (Malcolm and Macduff join forces to lead an army against Macbeth), and reinforces themes (fair is foul and foul is fair--Malcolm suspects Macduff is foul, but he is really fair; and role reversal--Macduff must mourn before he seeks revenge, which is typically something more expected of a female). 

By the way, the scene also pictures the English King Edward, so devout that he heals people.  His character is a stark contrast to Macbeth's.

Act 5. Describe the lessons Hamlet tells Horatio he has learned about life. How does this understanding show that Hamlet has changed?

Hamlet comes to the realization that fate decides when death comes, and that it is inevitable. There is no choice in when or how it occurs, and Hamlet finally realizes why he hesitated to take action. He needed to think things out, and his realization gives him some peace.

What is Estella's last name in Great Expectations?

When she was born, Estella's last name would have been Magwitch, as she was the daughter of Abel Magwitch. She was adopted by Miss Havisham, however, and never told the truth as to her parents' identities, and so never knew her real last name. Later she married Bentley Drummle, so her last name after that was Drummle.

Paraphrase Friar Laurence's speech in Act II, Scene 3 of Romeo and Juliet.Paraphrase Friar Laurence's speech, taking note of the fact that he is...

The last four lines of Friar Laurence's speech turn from talking about the herbs, plants and stones of Earth that have healing powers (or harming powers) and talks about the duality within humanity. He draws the analogy that just like a plant has properties that can give healing when used one way and death when used another way, so too humans have qualities that can give good things alongside qualities that can give harm. He says that when the harmful qualities in a human are stronger than the good, the person is metaphorically eaten from within by the "canker" of death.

The first six lines of this speech talk about the dawning day. Then the Friar says he has to fill his basket ("osier cage") with herbs and flowers for the danger purpose of their plan. Then from line 9 to 14 of his speech, the Friar talks about the dual nature of Earth. Earth is the growing place for beneficial plants and rocks and Earth is also the burial place for that which dies.

From line 15 to 22, the Friar talks about the qualities of the plants and herbs and stones, saying all give good benefit but some can be in such a way as to be dangerous.

From line 23 to 26, he talks about a particular flower that is smelled can heal but if tasted can kill. This is where he switches from the herbs and plants and rocks to the drawing the comparison to humanity that I spoke of in the first paragraph.

[A soliloquy is a speech given by a character to no one but himself and the audience. If another character is listening to the speech, it is not a soliloquy; it is only a speech. The purpose of a soliloquy is to reveal the speaker's private thoughts, feelings and motives that are kept back from, secret from, the other characters.]

I'll start you off on the first few lines of a paraphrase, but then, with this explanation to follow as a guide,  you should be able to take over working out the paraphrase. Shakespeare's line is numbered; my paraphrasing line is below it and unnumbered.

1 The grey-eyed morn smiles on the frowning night,
Dawn is breaking into waning night
2 Chequering the eastern clouds with streaks of light,
throwing out beams of light onto clouds
3 And flecked darkness like a drunkard reels
and night recedes
4 From forth day's path and Titan's fiery wheels:
from the coming of day
5 Now, ere the sun advance his burning eye,
before the sun rises
6 The day to cheer and night's dank dew to dry,
to light the day and dry the dew
7 I must up-fill this osier cage of ours
I must fill the basket

Act 2, Scene 3

The grey-eyed morn smiles on the frowning night,
Chequering the eastern clouds with streaks of light,
And flecked darkness like a drunkard reels
From forth day's path and Titan's fiery wheels:
Now, ere the sun advance his burning eye,
The day to cheer and night's dank dew to dry,
I must up-fill this osier cage of ours

What are the main themes and the plot of The Shakespeare Stealer?

Widge is an orphan who is sent by his master to write down every word of Shakespeare's latest play that is being performed. He does so, but a pickpocket steals the copy from Widge. Widge then decides to steal a copy of the play and joins the acting group to get it. He's treated so well by the people in the acting troupe that he realizes he must decide to stand by his new friends or betray them.

Basically, the main theme is learning to respect others and yourself.

What does Blake mean when he says "ENERGY IS ETERNAL DELIGHT"?THIS IS FROM THE POEM MARRIAGE OF HEAVEN & HELL

Written in 1790-93, I think it is somewhat a poem about revolution. (American Revolution 1776) (French Revolution 1789). It is a response, mainly, to Swedenborg's more fundamentally religious version Heaven and Hell(1758).  So, firstly, it is about rebellion and in reversing the dialectic by praising Hell over Heaven and Energy (acting out desire) over Reason. But Blake's philosophy is not so simple, so he doesn't stop there. Because it is a 'marriage of heaven and hell,' he is not simply making an allegory with the devil and rebellion. Blake is calling into question the whole idea of these "contraries," saying that neither should be praised above the other. This can be confusing because we don't know when Blake is being sarcastic and when he's being straight up - and he did this on purpose! This is actually something of a deconstruction because he takes two seeming opposites and challenges the idea that one should ever "top" another.

Religion seeks to end the warfare of contraries because it claims to know a reality beyond existence; Blake wants the warfare to continue because he seeks a reality within existence. (taken from Bloom's article in the link below).

So, in rebellion, Energy is the eternal delight because it is associated with desire, evil and hell. But, in Blake's philosophy, we cannot just embrace one or the other (heaven or hell, reason or energy); we have to embrace both because the life is the play between the two contraries and therefore, neither exists (as Swedenborg's heaven purports to be) above or beyond existence. The contraries need each other. So, energy is the 'eternal' delight but needs reason to give it meaning just as the soul needs the body and as heaven and hell debate about what's good and what's not. For example, rebellion is good at times, but so is loyalty. So, energy is an eternal delight at times, but so is reason. And both, in each pair, challenge each other as if they would attempt to come to some compromise, like the ideal outcome of a political debate.

In the first section, he writes, "Without contraries is no progression."

What does Lady Capulet think is the reason for her daughter's sadness? What is her suggested solution and does it help matters ?

I just want to add to the question by saying that Lord Capulet has moved the wedding date up because he feels that Juliet is distraught over Tybalt's death and by marrying Paris, sooner than planned, it will put an end to her woes. 

Lady Capulet feels that Juliet is more distraught that the "villain who slaughtered Tybalt lives."  Lady Capulet wants to send someone to poison Romeo and Juliet tells her mother if she finds the person to do it, she will mix the poison.  There is some indication that what Juliet says could mean one thing to her mother and another to what she actually means in reference to her and Romeo.  Lady Capulet then says, after she carries out her plan to get rid of Romeo, she has the real solution to make her happy and that is that Lord Capulet her father has arranged for her to marry Paris.  Juliet then gets into a verbal confrontation with her father and he threatens to sever all ties with her to the point she could be homeless, starving, ill, etc. and he still will not acknowledge her.  Her mother also tells her that she has washed her hands of her and if she doesn't marry Paris she has no more family.  Even when the nurse tried to stick up for Juliet she was told to go tell her gossip somewhere else because Lord Capulet said she is not needed even though she is the one that raised Juliet.

Source: the Language and Literature Book by McDougal Littell

In chapter 12, what does Ralph say to the twins when they refuse to help him?

First, he feels frustration and anger, but quickly realizes that will do no good.  Then he tells the twins where he is going to hide with the implication that they will lead the hunters in a different direction.  Then, finally, he asks them what will  happen to him once he's found.  He goes from trying to talk them into helping him to acceptance of his fate.

Before Don Quixote decides to become a knight, what is his occupation?

Don Quixote's (really Alonso Quijano's) occupation is not named.  He is simply a "gentleman" from La Mancha (in the Dedication he is first called "The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of la Mancha") who, having lost his wits, is retired.  His occupation, I suppose, is reading:

You must know, then, that the above-named gentleman whenever he was at leisure (which was mostly all the year round) gave himself up to reading books of chivalry with such ardour and avidity that he almost entirely neglected the pursuit of his field-sports, and even the management of his property; and to such a pitch did his eagerness and infatuation go that he sold many an acre of tillageland to buy books of chivalry to read, and brought home as many of them as he could get.

More specifically, Don Quixote is a "hidalgo," a nobleman "who has lost nearly all of his family's wealth but still held on to the privileges and honours of the nobility."  These privileges allow him to be indulged by his family, to take up reading for a living, and to command some respect from those below him, like Sancho.

How does Tom try to get out of his bargain?

In his tale "The Devil and Tom Walker," Washington Irving wryly narrates,

As Tom waxed old, however, he grew thoughtful. Having secured the good things of this world, he began to feel anxious about those of the next.

Having made a pact with the Devil and been the cruelest of usurers under the directions of "Old Scratch," Tom begins to worry about the proverbial Day of Reckoning when he dies. So, he becomes "a violent churchgoer"; that is, he prays vociferously as though heaven can be taken by his very lung power. He is "rigid" in both religious and monetary matters; now a fundamentalist, he criticizes his neighbors, believing that every one of their sins which he exposes will "credit on his own side." In fanatical fashion, he castigates Quakers and Anabaptists, urging their persecution. Nevertheless, Tom still dreads payment to the Devil; so, he begins to carry a Bible with him at all times and assures that customers observe his reading when they come in for loans to his office.

Irving humorously includes this passage, also:

Some say that Tom grew a little crack-brained...and that fancying his end approaching, he had his horse newly shod, saddled, and bridled, and buried with his feet uppermost; because he supposed that at the last day the world would be turned upside down, in which case he should find his horse standing ready for mounting.

But, he discounts it as a "old wives' fable, narrating that this precaution of Tom's is superfluous because he calls out his own fate when, having lost "patience and piety," he tells a speculator that he has made too much money off him, "The Devil take me...if I have made a farthing!" At this moment a "black man ...holding a black horse" appears and says, "Tom, you're come for."

In The Canterbury Tales, what are the morals and themes of "The Friar's Tale"?

The Friar's tale is about a summoner, or a person who exposes sinners, who indulges his greed by extorting money from those he catches, letting them go if they will pay him what he asks. 

The theme of the tale is the close interconnection between greed and the devil.  The moral is that those who engage in extortion and greed will soon find themselves in hell.

Two lightbulbs are wired in series and connected to a 12-volt battery. What happens to the current through the battery ifa third bulb is wired in...

The answer is both increase.  Here's the reason why:

When you connect anything in parallel it creates a new loop into which current can flow.  The current can flow either through the two bulbs in series or through the one bulb in parallel.  The 12 volts of the battery pushes the electrons through both so current increases in the battery.  Power is the product of the current times the voltage, so increased current means increased power supplied by the battery.  This means that the battery gets used up faster as it is doing electrical work at a higher rate.

Actors offer generalizations about the nature and predicament of women. Should the audience take as serious assessments all, some, or none of these?

Something, too, we have to remember is that Jason makes assumptions about "Greek" women, of which Medea is not. In fact, after Medea kills his boys, he states that a Greek woman would never do such a thing. He is prone to make generalizations about the women of his society (dangerous) and then apply them to Medea (fatal).

Also, remember about Medea's famous speech: we shoud take it seriously, but as sagetrieb points out above, that speech is for the benefit of the chorus -- to get them on her side. Remember that Medea has a history of manipulating women, particularly Pelias' daughters.

Part of the wrong she is trying to right is the patriarchial society that produces men like Jason.

Summarize the character of Johnsy in "The Last Leaf."

In the short story by O'Henry "The Last Leaf" Johnsy is a slight young woman who is petite.  She is adventurous and daring or she would not have moved to the artistic community of Greenwich Village, New York.  She is living in a  community of artists and, she is an artist herself.

Johnsy is very weak and does not have a strong constitution initially to fight off the weakness that her body had created after becoming ill.  She essentially gives up; which does not seem to make her much of a fighter.  She is well cared about and has good friends or the people around her, her roommate and the artist below, would not have tried so hard to help her.

Once she sees the leaf lasting Johnsy begins to change.  She mentally becomes a stronger person as she tries to endure like the leaf had endured.

In 1984, how do Winston's feelings of powerlessness lead to his sense of alienation?Winston feels powerless because (1) lack of privacy, (2)...

In the oppressive society of Oceania in George Orwell's 1984, Winston Smith, the protagonist constantly finds himself (and his way of looking at the world) at odds with those around him.  While Winston's feelings of powerlessness have a number of roots in the novel, his general lack of privacy, his being denied the freedom of speech, and the Party's control over, and ability to alter the past all serve to tighten the Party's grip on its citizens - even other Party members.

As far as elaborating on these points with specific reference to the text, it really boils down to how to interpret Winston's lack of privacy, his inability to speak freely, and the Party's control over the past in such a way that they reflect on Winston's place in the society of 1984. 

Winston's powerlessness manifests itself in his lack of privacy.  With the constant supervision not only of the telescreen but also of his fellow citizens, Winston feels as if he has little or no power over himself.  The decisions he makes and the things he does are not his to make.  This serves to abolish any sense of Winston's individuality.  He does not exist for himself, his own needs are most often sacrificed to the needs of the community (the Party, specifically).  Telescreens constantly monitor his actions, as do the Parsons' children down the hall.  While the accusations of the children are dismissed by Winston, they do illustrate the idea that everyone is watching Winston - and this includes Big Brother.

Closely connected with the idea of a lack of privacy is Winston's inability to speak freely.  Like the first point, not being able to speak freely does not allow Winston to express himself.  In many ways, this also serves to alienate Winston from himself.  His thoughts/views do not matter, and even more, they are actively being suppressed by the Party.  Winston's only real outlet is the diary he starts in Book I.  Even though it serves as his outlet, he cannot write in it freely.  He is constantly aware of the telescreen and of others who would "rat out" Winston.  Ultimately, this hampers Winston's ability to express himself freely.

In his job at the Ministry of Truth, Winston "rectifies" newspaper articles and other forms of communication, expunging infomation that could be damaging to the Party, particularly the public's view of Big Brother.  In doing this, the Party controls the past.  More specifically, they control how the public perceives the past.  While this shapes the way that the public sees their past (and ultimately their present), it also reflects Winston's view of his own past.  Winston questions his own memories, knowing how the Party treats the past.  His uncertainty regarding his own past contributes to Winston's alienation; he becomes isolated, and even separated from his past.  He cannot be sure of what is real and what is not.  His powerlessness lies in his inability to bring clarity to what has become muddled for him.

Ultimately, Winston's powerlessness brings about his feeling alienated not from the world, but from himself and his own past.  He is floating in a metaphorical "no man's land" where decisions are not his own, his words are not his own, and even his own past does not belong to him.

Gatsby - American DreamMany critics have said this is a novel about the American Dream. Specifically, that this is a novel that illustrates the...

Concerning your question about The Great Gatsby, the final paragraphs of the novel are not primarily about the American dream.  They're primarily about Gatsby's dream, and that dream consisted of recapturing his past relationship with Daisy. 

Nick ends the novel talking about recapturing the past, like Gatsby tried to do.  He, in fact, is on his way back to the Midwest, in a sense at least, to do just that.

Nick metaphorically compares the wonder that must have been felt by Dutch sailors when they first saw this new continent, with Gatsby's wonder when he first saw Daisy's house from across the water.  But notice the wonder the Dutch sailors felt led to an "aesthetic contemplation," not to thinking about money, and Gatsby already had money.  He wasn't looking for the American Dream when he first gazed at Daisy's home--he already had it--he was looking to recapture his relationship with Daisy--he was looking for love.

One might be able to argue that when Nick refers to the "orgastic future" he is talking about the American dream, but it certainly is not the primary focus of Nick's conclusion. 

If majority rule is the key to democracy, how do you protect against the majority oppressing a minority? If we do this by limiting the power...

There are a multitude of protections that can be built into any democracy that protect the minority.  One, you can add constitutional rights that supersede majority will - like the Bill of Rights in the United States.  All laws passed by majority rule are subject to those amendments and the Constitution.

Second, you can build in procedural rules like the filibuster, or calls for reading of a bill, amendments to a bill, etc. that slow down the process and give the minority a limited form of veto, although this can obviously be abused to the point where the democracy is threatened.

Third, because one group is the minority in a country overall, it does not mean it is the minority locally, meaning they can still elect candidates and have some local control over their own lives, allowing them to still live according to majority rule without being oppressed, at least directly, by that majority.

Take Dearborn, Michigan as an example, which has one of the highest populations of Iraqi-Americans in the country.  Clearly a religious and ethnic minority, but with enough local numbers to still control their local governments to a reasonable extent.  Since their religion is protected by the 1st amendment, they are also protected by the courts.

** In response to pohnpei's statement -- it is true the Constitution failed to protect blacks for nearly a hundred years - the system worked as it should have, but popular will was against it in the South.  To be fair though, the court ruled as it should've in favor of minority rights in Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954, and then the order was enforced against the majority will of southerners, by a President who didn't favor minority rights (Eisenhower).  So while slow, cumbersome, and often unsuccessful, in this case the system and the protections within it did in fact work.

The pressureWhat is the pressure at the bottom of Loch Ness, which is as much as 754 ft deep? (the surface of the lake is only 15.8m above sea...

The pressure at the bottom of the lake is the weight of the water, minus the weight of the air (i.e. the air pressure at the lake surface), per unit area.

Water weighs 0.0361 pounds/ cubic inch

0.0361lbs/in^3*754ft*12 inches/ft = 326.6 lbs/in^2 (psi)

1 psi = 6895 Pa

326.6 psi = 6895*326.6 Pa = 22.52x10^5 Pa

22.52x10^5 Pa - 1.013x10^5 Pa = 21.5x10^5 Pa

What is the symbolic significance of the old man and his enormous wings? Since he’s called an "angel", is there a religious significance to his...

The center of this story is the dark side of human behavior - hypocrisy, greed, fear and paranoia.  The old man represents humanity, but his wings suggest that he has escaped, flown above the crowd.  He is an old man instead of a young man because the elderly should be respected for their wisdom - but as is often the case - they are often shunted aside by the selfish young.  His wings also connect him to innocence and spirituality because a man with wings is often intrepreted to be an angel.  And he is innocent, having done nothing to harm the people of the community.  However, the fact that his wings are in such bad shape suggest that he is fallen, and thus the spirituality of the people has fallen. 

By being a fresh and blood angel, he shows the good and bad of humanity.  When the old man arrives, Elisenda and Pelayo plan to kill him, but Pelayo doesn't have the heart for it.  He shows compassion.  But he does lock the man up and his wife does plot to make money off the deal.  They benefit from the man but do not appreciate his presence.  However, their child is the only one who appears to treat the man well.  Good and bad, a contradiction - just like they oxymoron of his appearance.

What does Jem mean when he says "it's like bein a caterpillar in a cocoon"? (Chapter 22) I did not really understand the answer for this question...

It seems as though Jem is referring both to himself and to Maycomb. The trial has shaken him out of his youthful innocence and naive belief that "Maycomb folks were the best folks in the world, least that’s what they seemed like." In this sense, he himself was the caterpillar in the cocoon, safe and sheltered from harsh outside realities. He thought Maycomb's people were the "best folks in the world" but of course he himself hadn't experienced people anywhere else in the world, as yet.

But maybe the caterpillar image could apply to Maycomb itself, too. It really is a small, sleepy, unremarkable little town which is closed unto itself, without much knowledge or interest in what goes on in big cities and the world at large. Generally life goes on in an even, untroubled way. However, Tom's trial, as an example of social injustice and prejudice, has shaken things up and called Maycomb's stalwart good people, like Atticus, to action. This is underlined by Miss Maudie's reply to Jem:

We're the safest folks in the world .... We're so rarely called on to be Christians, but when we are we've got men like Atticus to go for us.

What source does Douglass rely on to learn how to read and write?

His mistress, Mrs. Auld, first begins teaching Douglass the alphabet before her husband prohibits her from doing this. His severe opposition told Douglass how important reading must be:  “What he most dreaded, that I most desired.”  He thanked both the master and his wife for enabling his interest in reading: “In learning to read, I owe almost as much to the bitter opposition of my master, as to the kindly aid of my mistress. I acknowledge the benefit of both. After he learned from “the little white boys” how to read, he would always find a book and take it with him where ever he went.  Soon he started to read The Columbian Orator, which taught him about emancipation and changed his life even more. As for writing, Douglass recounts: "The idea as to how I might learn to write was suggested to me by being in Durgin and Bailey's ship-yard, and frequently seeing the ship carpenters, after hewing, and getting a piece of timber ready for use, write on the timber the name of that part of the ship for which it was intended."  He again practices whenever he can, painfully learning how to make letters, and then letters into words.

Why does Proctor decide to confess?no

The reason that John Proctor decides to confess in Act IV is that he does not want his wife and their child (Elizabeth is pregnant) to be left without a husband and father.  Because of this, he will confess so as to save his life.  He also does not want to die for no good reason -- he does not think that dying will actually do any good.  Because of this, he feels that it is better to live.

Of course, he then changes his mind after seeing Goody Nurse and how she is taking it.  He decides that he would rather listen to his own conscience -- he would rather die honestly than live as a liar.

In what ways did the US pursue imperialism in the 1890s? And how did the Spanish American war affect US foreign policy in the 20th century?

After the Spanish-American War, in which we inherited the Spanish colonies of Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippines, we became the dominant empire in those regions of the world in terms of our military and economic control. 

Teddy Roosevelt, a veteran of the SA War, established the Roosevelt Corollary declaring the Caribbean essentially an "American lake" and taking a lot more direct interest and involvement in Central and South America.  He acquired the Panama Canal Zone and started construction of it as US territory.  These are areas and territories we would have to defend over the long term as an Empire.

Lastly, one of the reasons the Japanese attacked us at Perl Harbor and the Philippines was because our empire threatened theirs by our very presence in the region.  They simply wanted to remove the threat, especially in the Philippines, which we would not have been in at all if not for imperialism in the 1890s.

What different types of themes are there in The Merchant of Venice?

There are certainly plenty you can pick from, as in all of Shakespeare's plays. You might choose to focus on love, marriage and friendship, justice and mercy or identity for example. However, I will focus on one of the main ones: money.

It is interesting that money is a theme of the love plot as well as the hate plot. Bassanio's need for money to pay court to Portia is of course what puts Antonio in the power of Shylock. Antonio and Shylock are very different merchants, yet all merchants try to make money. Jessica as well, when she elopes with Lorenzo, brings money with her, stealing the savings of her father. She then spends extravagantly what her father gained with such care and diligence. Attitudes to the getting and spending of money are a theme of the play. Wealth by itself does not bring Portia happiness. She needs to be loved and to give love. Spending money is more fun than getting it, and generosity is better than meanness. However, the actions of Jessica in exchanging a ring that her mother gave to her father for a monkey show her to be reckless, uncaring and impudent.

Contextually, Venice was a mercantile city, and its luxurious life was based on commerce, law and credit. Great wealth was made on the back of extremely risky merchant ventures that could win or lose millions and bring around tremendous reversal of fortunes, as in the case of Antonio at the end. Of course, Bassanio himself tries a risky venture, trying to wind the hand of Portia. He deserves Portia because he is not taken in by "outward shows" or the glamour of precious metals - he is granted moral insight. Portia's wealth is fabulous - she is the metaphorical Golden Fleece won by Jason. But Portia's readiness to give her fortune and herself away for love is matched by Antonio's. This loving and giving is in stark contrast to a greed which prefers ducats to a a daughter and a hate which prefers a pound of flesh to thousands of ducats.

In chapter 3 of Animal Farm, what are four examples of the pigs' clever use of language to gain there own ends?

The question your teacher is asking is this:  How do the pigs use language to get what they want?  In other words, how do they speak cleverly to convince others to do everything just the way the pigs want it done.

For example, the pigs want the animals to hate humans.  So the pigs come up with an easy slogan to remember "Four legs good, two legs bad."  It is so easy to remember, the other animals can't forget it and will eventually start to believe it.

The pigs also try to make work sound more interesting so that the animals will want to work harder.  Instead of just "providing wool" or "giving eggs", the sheep are part of the Winter Wool Movement and the hens are part of the Egg Production Committee.  This makes them feel more important.

The pigs use rhetorical questions to make the other animals agree with them.  When the animals seem like they won't work too hard, Squealer ask "You don't want Jones to come back, do you?"  This makes it seem like the farmer will come back if the animals don't work their hardest.  Its a threat.  It isn't true, but it convinces the animals through fear.

Finally, the pigs control which animals learn to read.  This way, the pigs can claim to know more and they can sound more important because they can read things and their vocabulary is bigger.

Compare Emily Dickinson's poetry with Walt Whitman's.

Even though both authors are the founders of New American Poetry, a movement which pulled away from the Romantic authors' strict structure, Whitman and Dickinson write very different poetry. While Whitman often writes in free verse with no standard meter or rhyme scheme, Dickinson follows rhyme patterns and usually a very strict meter (almost all of her poems--because of their meter--can be sung to the tune of "Gilligan's Island").

Another difference is that Whitman stresses an undeniable optimism in mankind.  He follows Emerson's view that man cAN be self-reliant and find answers within himself.  His "I Hear America Singing" praises the common worker. In contrast, Dickson's poetry is often very personal and discusses inner struggles.  Her "Heart, we will forget him" demonstrates this theme, and much of her poetry seems unconcerned with one's role in the community (most likely because of her reclusive nature).

A similarity between the two poets is that both veered away from the Romantic poets' traditional view of God or a Higher Being.  Whitman stresses an Emersonian Oversoul or a "god within one's self," while Dickinson is more concerned about earthly emotions and relationships.  Admittedly, both poets include aspects of spirituality in some of their poetry, but those spiritual elements vary drastically from the Romantic poets' themes.

What dramatic elements emerge at the beginning of Act 4, Scene 3?PLEASE AND THANKS!

Also signficant here is the way that Macduff acts as a foil for Macbeth (and Lady Macbeth, too, perhaps).  His first inclination upon hearing of the death of his family is to grieve. "All my pretty ones? / Did you say all?" he moans. When Malcolm says "Dispute it like a man," meaning go and fight Macbeth, Macduff says "I shall do so;/but I must also feel it as a man" (4.3,216-221). Here we have a new definition of manhood not yet seen in the play. Indeed, Lady Macbeth at the beginning worries that her husband is "too full the milk of human kindness" and would herself dash her babe to the ground in order to carry out the murder of Dunca.  Macduff is both warrior and father and husband, a man who can love as well as fight.

How many dimensions does the universe have?

Einstein's theory states that the universe would have four dimensions (3 of space and one of time). Our everyday experience of life clearly shows us that space is three-dimensional (so we perceive it) and time is considered the fourth dimension.

However, there are modern theories in science (still unproved experimentally) which suggest that the universe has more dimensions, additional dimensions of space. Einstein tried to discover and formulate a "theory of everything", to unite the four fundamental forces which exist. Through this theory, Einstein has considered that he could explain the entire Universe. He has failed to build such a theory. Yet another theory, which has stood for the title, was developed later and it was called "String Theory". This theory predicts the existence of a universe, composed of 11 dimensions.

Even though mathematically it is easy to extend the idea that there are more than four dimensions, the question is whether all these have physical meanings. According to the studies of Albert Einstein, time and space are closely linked.

Using pink ribbons, describe them as a link between the two conceptions of Faith?

This is a difficult response for “Faith” is very ambiguous in the story, carrying more than two meanings.  The ribbons are mentioned in conjunction with Faith when we meet her “thrust[ing] her own pretty head into the street, letting the wind play with the pink ribbons of her cap.” Her ribbons are mentioned two more times immediately: “Faith with the pink ribbons” blesses him as he leaves, and he looks back to see “Faith still peeping after him, with a melancholy air, in spite of her pink ribbons, causing him to think “Poor little Faith.” Putting these introductory passages together, faith can be bold, sufficient unto itself so that it can play “in the wind” and retain itself; faith can be good and trusting, which we see when Faith blesses Brown, and finally faith can be sad because it is not sufficiently strong to withstand adversity (“poor little Faith”).  It is this final aspect of faith that the story leaves us with at its conclusion, for Brown’s faith was insufficient to trust in his wife and his neighbors, insufficient to allow him to retain a sense of humanity even if its sometimes marred by evil and guilt.