Why should the USA not be justified on mandatory Full Body Screening at all Flight within and coming?

In discussing this question, it is important to remember that acts of terrorism - which the full body screening and other security measures are intended to combat - hurts people as much by violent attacks on people and property, as by the fear it creates in the mind of the people, and the cost, inconvenience, and indignities people suffer in the process of preventing terrorism.

Most certainly people and countries need to exercise caution and care to prevent terrorist action. But the cure of a problem should not cause more harm than the problem itself. One important consideration in the fight against terrorism is the extent to which we use the defensive approach, which punishes honest citizens much more than the terrorists, and the extent to which it seek to identify and weaken the sources of terrorism.

In my opinion body scanning is justified if it helps in detection and elimination of sources of terrorism. But if it is jut one more technological step in our unending march towards increasing submission to fear of terrorism, then we really need to do some hard thinking on this issue. In the least, the proponents of installing this system should produce reliable figures on the cost of full body scanning in terms of infringement on privacy and hassle free move of honest people versus the benefits in form of prevention damages from possible terrorist attacks.

To best of my knowledge, there have been no serious terrorist attacks on American soil after the 9/11 incident, and terrorist attacks elsewhere in the world, in any case, would not have been prevented by security system limited to USA. I am not saying that USA does not face the threat of terrorism, or that it should not take rigorous measures to combat it. All that I am saying that it need to recognize that the fear psychosis created by terrorism also hurts people, and fight against terrorism should aim at reducing this kind of damage also.

all in all what moral does the canter burry tale's give to each of us?i was ask to make a book report about the canter burry tale's and after...

Chaucer's tales are chiefly (but loosely based) on biblical morality.  Characters are either punished or rewarded for their adherence to moral law.  The audience should take something away from the lessons learned by each character.  (Though it should definitely be pointed out that Chaucer has his gripes with clerical rule.)

Consider for example, the Physicians tale.  He concludes his story with the biblical maxim, "the wages of sin is death."  The Prioress, who considers cold-blooded murder, must die.  The Friar tales stories about people whose greed leads to their downfall.  For every moral sin, a punishment is doled out.  For example, while promiscuity itself is not often punished, the sinner is punished nonetheless in some other way.  For example, the Miller who attempts robbery is punished by having those he tried to steal from sleep with his wife.

What does the poem 'The Lie' by Sir Walter Raleigh mean?

It is not completely clear that Raleigh actually wrote this poem, given that the themes are not necessarily ones he would have agreed with at many times in his life.

The basic meaning of this poem is that the speaker believes that basically everything in the world is corrupt.  The speaker believes that everything that pretends to be good is bad.  Throughout the poem, the speaker is telling his soul to go and expose the truth about various things.

He wants to expose the lie that the church is a force for good.  He wants to prove that the high born are ambitious and hateful.  And he also wants to show that emotions that are supposed to be good (like love) are really not (love is just lust).

Can break probation by not going to a drug class when it wasnt ordered by the court?My boyfriend is probation and we have a kid. We dont have that...

There is not enough information for me to give you a definitive answer to this question, but I can give you some general advice.  From what you say here, it appears that taking a drug class is a suggestion, not a condition of parole. However, if the drug class is a condition of parole, then your boyfriend is clearly violating parole by not taking the class. I can certainly understand that spending this money presents a problem for both of you, so my suggestion would be for your boyfriend to talk to his parole officer about other ways of fulfilling the request or condition,whichever this might be. There are many 12-step programs that do not have this kind of price tag.  For example,there is Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous. In both of these groups, contributions are welcomed, but I do not believe they are required. 

I am assuming that the parole officer perceives that your boyfriend has a drug problem or that a drug problem is what got him into trouble in the first place.  If this is the case, then you should both be willing to do something about the problem, for the sake of yourselves and more importantly, for the sake of the happy and healthy future of your child.  Drug addiction does not make for good parenting, and if fixing the problem requires some sacrifices, then you should both make whatever sacrifices are necessary to ensure a better life for all three of you. 

What sign does Montresor give Fortunato to prove he is a mason and how does Montresor's proof foreshadow the crime that is about to occur?

The sign that Montresor gives Fortunato to prove he is a mason is a trowel, a tool used to smooth and spread mortar between bricks and also a symbol of the masons.  The trowel proves to be not only a symbol but an instrument of foreshadowing in that this is the very tool that Montresor uses to lay the bricks that encase Fortunato within his brick tomb once they are inside the catacombs.

Is there a theme in In Cold Blood?

First of all, of course there is a theme.  All works of literature have them.  Theme can be defined as "a general statement of universal truth."  When reading In Cold Blood however, you should be struck by the fact that there isn't just one truth.  In this book, Capote is urging us to recognize that life is complicated, as is his novel, and cannot often be summed up with pat maxims.

In Cold Blood contains many themes, and one of them is this "nature vs. nurture" idea.  Capote is a Post-Modernist writer who is building on the ideas of some Modernists who looked at character (personality) as something that can be created by several things: heredity, social conditions and environment.  Capote builds on the ideas of earlier writers, who created fictional situations in which this could be true, by showing the reader that it may be true in real (non-fiction) situations as well.

Another theme in In Cold Blood must surely be the complicated nature of compassion.  Throughout the book we are asked to have compassion and sympathy for so many of the characters--the Clutters, the town that will never again be as innocent as it was on the day before the murders, Al Dewey, Dick Hickock, Perry Smith, the Hickock and Smith families--indeed, nearly every character in the book deserves the reader's compassion.  Yet this is complicated, since many of the people we feel compassion for are murderers or people whose actions clearly caused their own downfalls.

In detail, how do I mark the syllables in a poem?

Stress and Syllables

Do you know a syllable when you hear one? Say the word “Poetry”, slowly. How many syllables do you hear? If you said “three” then you probably understand what a syllable is. You don’t need a technical definition. It’s enough that you’re able to hear syllables.

Now say the word “Poetry” again. Which syllable do you put the most force on, say the loudest? If you answered “the first”, then you probably understand stress. You understand that the first syllable receives more emphasis than the second and third syllable. So, meaning these last two syllables are unstressed.

Listening for syllables and stress

 Say the following words aloud, slowly. How many syllables does each word have? Which syllable in each word is stressed? Which syllable or syllables are unstressed? The stressed syllables are marked with the symbol (‘), the unstressed, with the symbol (ᵕ).

building

forget

book

relentlessly

objective

handy

exam

silently

Note: Try to look up on the dictionary to recognize the stress and syllable of a word. Then, you can easily find the answer to your question. Actually, you've marked the feet correctly in those four lines. The only you can do now is put an stress and syllable right? Here...

1. The first line thus will look like this:

 ˘ ˊ | ˘ ˊ | ˘ ˊ | ˘ ˊ

But could youth last, and love still breed,

Meter

 A foot with an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one is called an iamb. A line with five feet in it is called pentameter. So, by putting the name for the foot and the name for the line together, you get iambic pentameter.

Iambic pentameter is not the only metrical combination in English. If you wrote poetry with six iambs in each line, you would have iambic hexameter; with four iambs, iambic tetrameter. What’s more, the iamb isn’t the only foot you could use. Here are some other feet:

             │  ʹ      ᵕ │

Trochee (hopeful): a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable

             │ᵕ       ᵕ      ʹ     │

Anapest (in the woods): two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable

          │   ʹ    ᵕ ᵕ    │

Dactyl (promising): a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables

What does Anne say that will do her more good than 10 Valerian pills?

Anne states that a "good hearty laugh" would be therapeutic because all in inhabitants have become so very serious.  For, there is a mounting fear of being found out since the warehouseman, V.M., seems to be suspicious and Anne and the others fear he will find them in the "Secret Annexe."

A sensitive and intelligent girl, Anne is given to much self-analysis as well as analysis of what goes on around her--both of which cause her anxiety.  For instance, she worries about Kraler, who has sneaked up to them.  To avoid being heard as he leaves, Kraler has taken off his shoes and does not put them on until he is outside on the street:

Whatever would the people in the street have thought...Gosh!  the Manager in his socks!

Can someone paraphrase "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love"? As in what does it literally mean/say?

The poem is a heartfelt invitation by the speaker to a person whom he wishes to live with him. Like all passionate speakers, he doesn't rely on logic to convince this person. Instead, he appeals to the person's senses and appreciation of the beauty in nature. The speaker ends up making promises that, in a literal sense, he cannot possibly keep.

(I'm assuming, of course, that the speaker is male here, because he's called a shepherd and not a shepherdess in the title of the poem. The person being spoken to might be female or male. The word "gown" made me think first of a woman, but the word "kirtle," which I had to look up, can refer to two different pieces of clothing, one traditionally worn by men and another by women.)

So what, exactly, does the speaker promise? He starts off by talking about how they'll delight in the beautiful simplicity of nature -- sitting on rocks, watches shepherds feed their flocks, listening to birds' songs, etc. -- but he then goes on to talk about how he'll manipulate their environment to make it even more delightful, such as fashioning a bed as well as clothes out of beautiful, sweet-smelling plants. From somewhere, these already fabulous items will be further decorated with rare, expensive materials that (while they do occur in nature) are much harder for a shepherd to come by than rose petals and lambs' wool: gold, coral, amber, silver, and ivory.

The poem ends by repeating the invitation from the beginning.

Explain the meaning of the quote:, "Scrooge had often heard it said that Marley had no bowels."

"Bowels" used in this sense at this period of time refers to compassion or pity. In general, bowels were considered to be the "tender feelings". This archaic meaning is no longer used for the word "bowels".  Therefore, Scrooge is referring to the comments made by others regarding Marley. He supposedly was not a generous man either. Perhaps Scrooge is justifying his own behavior.

Help with Macbeth questions please and thank you1. Using specific refrences and quotes discuss how Macbeth and Lady Macbeth react to Duncans Murder...

The question is quite specific. Locate each character's reaction to the murder and the sight of blood. It's best to start by finding a line you know is significant. Then, think of a "This shows..." sentence.

For instance: Lady Macbeth says "A little water clears us of this deed." This shows that she feels.

When you write your answer you should change it to something that flows more naturally:

It is clear that Lady Macbeth feels ----- when she scolds her husband, telling him that "a little water clears us of this deed."

To show distinction from each character's reaction, use words like "however," "while", and "although." For instance,

It is clear that Lady Macbeth feels -------------. Her husband, however, feels quite differently.

Be specific. Use quotations that have a clear significance and explain your ideas concisely.

What is the theme of Mark Twain's "The Californian's Tale"?

There are several possible themes to Mark Twain's "The Californian's Tale."  It is a sweet and touching story of a man who lost his beloved wife years before, and each year expectantly awaits her return.  The narrator, a traveller in the parts that eventually settles in the area discussed in the story, comes across this man and slowly discovers his sad delusion throughout the course of the story.

A major theme that is presented is that of grief.  Nineteen years before the narrator met Henry, the man in the house, his wife had been captured by Indians on her way home from a trip.  After that incident,

"Henry lost his mind. He thinks she is still alive. When June comes, he thinks she has gone on her trip to see her parents. Then he begins to wait for her to come back. He gets out that old letter. And we come around to visit so he can read it to us.  On the Saturday night she is supposed to come home, we come here to be with him. We put a sleeping drug in his drink so he will sleep through the night."

So, Henry deals with his grief in an unusual way, through a denial of her death that surfaces once a year.  His kind neighbors are aware of his tendency, and come to keep him company and help him out.  Grief runs as a theme throughout the story.

Another theme is that of settling the west through gold mines.  The narrator opens by describing a gold town that had been deserted after the gold ran out.  That is how many towns and cities in the west were settled, through gold rushes and the people and trade they brought with them.  One last theme present in the tale is the roughness of the frontier west.  The narrator is amazed and awed at the little house that looks so clean and civilized, because he had

"been living for weeks in rough mining camps with other gold miners. We slept on the hard ground, ate canned beans from cold metal plates and spent our days in the difficult search for gold."

Very little civilization, niceties, or comforts were to be found in the frontier west.  Women were rare too, and the dangers were extreme, as was evidenced in Henry's wife's kidnapping by Indians.  It was an interesting time period, and Twain relates many aspects of it in his short story.  I hope that helped; good luck!

What is the essential crime that contains all others?

The phrase you cite shows up in the first chapter of the book.  There, Orwell says that the essential crime that contains all others is thoughtcrime.

Winston knows as soon as he writes anything in his diary that he has committed thoughtcrime.  But he also realizes that even if had not written a word that he still would have committed thoughtcrime just in thinking the words "Down with Big Brother."

I believe that this is the essential crime because it involves a rebellion against what the Party wants.  There is nothing that is worse than that.

What topis can I talk about in a speaking test for 10 mins about Great Expectations from Chapter 1 - Chapter 3?

To start with you can talk about the symbolism of and importance to the story of the convict in the marsh. Since this is the first action of the plot (plot moves forward through the conflicts that arise), it must be supposed that there is some overriding metaphor connecting the encounter with the meaning and theme(s) of the whole novel. Have you finished the novel? Or have you progressed only up to Chapter 3 in your reading? In either case, since the event is the first in the story, you would do well to point out its apparent importance to the overall meaning and theme(s).

If you have not completed reading Great Expectations, you can do no more than form a theory (also called a thesis) as to the symbolic meaning, importance of the plot conflict and overriding metaphoric connection to the meaning and theme(s) of the novel. Analyze what you can find that seems to bear upon the convicts presence or life (by way of illustration, new police officers in town, someone who was a victim of his crime, etc); is a contradiction to it (by way of illustration, perhaps an exceptionally good and generous person met in the bright light of a clean town or sunny meadow); people or events that are connected to him (by way of illustration, people who talk about him or seem to know about him, etc). Then construct what you think might be a reasonable guess at a theory of symbolic, plot and metaphoric importance to the story. If you have read the whole book, you'll be able to piece together and analyze what you know of the whole book.

From Chapter 2 you might talk about the psychological effects Mrs. Joe's manner of rearing her young brother is apt to have on Pip's ability to form, know and hold his own mind in the presence of strong influences. You might also talk about whether Pip shows inner strength when he denies himself food. Then, if you decide that Pip does have inner strength, you might talk about where you think it comes from.  

From Chapter 3 you could talk about the moral significance of Pip's theft of food from his elder sister Mrs. Joe. What does this action reflect about Pip's character, what traits does he have? What does it say about Pip's sense of right and wrong? What does it say about Pip's ability to recognize the truth in a situation or in a person? What does it say about Pip's maturity and sophistication? Is he gullible and naive or is he wise and informed?

What is the difference between colonization and imperialism?

There is no clear cut difference between colonialism and imperialism. Both these terms refer to the practice of one country controlling or seeking to control another country or territory, and frequently these terms are used interchangeably. However, the term colonialism is more frequently associated with one the ruled country is situated away from the ruling country. and the ruling country exploits the ruled country economically and in other ways. Imperialism may also involve such exploitation, but not necessarily. There have been many instances of king of ancient times establishing huge empires, over which they ruled without any discrimination between the original smaller country, and the areas added later.

I do not think that settling down in the ruled countries is a feature specific to colonization. When one country exercises power over another, some people from the ruling country may move to ruled country without  an explicit policy of settling people of ruling countries abroad. For example Britain never followed the policy of settling its people in India. But many people form there came to India to carry out business activities. In most of these cases such people still regarded England as their home and returned to it after retirement.

In The Crucible, by whom is the following said, "The promise that a stallion gives a mare I gave that girl."

John Proctor makes this remark to his wife Elizabeth some time after their maidservant, Mary Warren, has returned from the village where she has become an official of the court during the witch trials. Mary has informed them that she had just saved Elizabeth's life. She states that Elizabeth had been accused and that she defended her. She refuses to divulge the name of Elizabeth's accuser.

Elizabeth suspects that it is Abigail Williams, their erstwhile maidservant, who accused her. Abigail had been ignominiously dismissed by Elizabeth when she discovered that she and her husband were involved in an adulterous affair. Elizabeth fears that Abigail has accused her out of vengeance and wants her dead, saying: 'The noose is up!' She fears that Abigail wants her dead so that she may reunite with John.

It is important to note that Elizabeth and John had been having a verbal altercation just before Mary's arrival. They were arguing about Elizabeth's suspicion that John had been lying to her and that he still had a soft spot for Abigail. John was quite angry about Elizabeth's suspicions and wanted her to not only forgive him, but believe that he had completely dismissed Abigail from his heart and his mind. it is obviously difficult for Elizabeth to do so because he had admitted that he had spoken to Abigail alone whilst he had previously stated that they had spoken when in company. John bitterly resents Elizabeth's judgment of him.

When Mary Warren has gone to bed, Elizabeth beseeches John to go to court and testify that Abigail is a liar and a whore. When John expresses doubt that he would be believed, Elizabeth insists, saying that if it had not been Abigail specifically against whom he had to testify, his attitude would have been different. She furthermore requests that John go directly to Abigail and speak to her. John is recalcitrant and Elizabeth then says:

You have a faulty understanding of young girls. There is a promise made in any bed -

John reacts angrily, demanding to know what promise.

Elizabeth responds: 

Spoke or silent, a promise is surely made. And she may dote on it now - I am sure she does - and thinks to kill me, then to take my place.

Elizabeth tells John that she believes Abigail wants to profit from her death by replacing her. She picks on John telling him about how he blushes when they see Abigail in church. John becomes angrier by the minute. Elizabeth wants him to identify Abigail as a whore, out for vengeance. Elizabeth believes that John is ashamed and that is why he blushes, but that Abigail may interpret it differently.

Elizabeth tells John:

Then go and tell her she’s a whore. Whatever promise she may sense - break it, John, break it.

John says angrily that he will do as she asks but when she says he seems unwilling, he rants that Elizabeth should not deny him his anger and that she thinks him base. He demands to know how Elizabeth can accuse him of making a promise to be with (marry) Abigail. It is at this point that he shouts out the words mentioned in the quote:

Then how do you charge me with such a promise? The promise that a stallion gives a mare I gave that girl!

What he means is that there had been no promise, his affair with Abigail was born out of lust and nothing else. He uses the animal imagery to indicate the senselessness of Elizabeth's accusation. Elizabeth, however, does not back down, asking John why he becomes so furious when she asks him to break his 'promise'.

John reacts by saying that Elizabeth's request speaks of deceit and that he is honest. He asserts that he now sees that Elizabeth will never forgive him but that he is done pleading for her forgiveness. Elizabeth cries out:

You’ll tear it free - when you come to know that I will be your only wife, or no wife at all! She has an arrow in you yet, John Proctor, and you know it well!

She states a clear threat and concludes that her husband knows full well that Abigail still has some influence over him. It is at this point, as if by divine intervention, that Reverend Hale arrives, putting an end to their devastating quarrel.

How is Lady Macbeth's power shown in Act I, scene 5.techniques used etc.

I'll just add a bit to mstultz72's excellent answer above, concerning Shakespeare's Macbeth. 

Lady Macbeth's power, in this situation, comes from the fact that she does not possess the scruples that her husband does.  When he has second thoughts about killing Duncan, she will not.  She is more ruthless.  She cares less for the possible consequences.  She never mentions anything about the possible spiritual consequences in the afterlife, as Macbeth does, for instance.  And she does not care that Duncan has treated Macbeth well, or that others in the country have recently developed a respect for and liking of Macbeth, as Macbeth does.  She will not change her mind about killing Duncan.  This gives her an evil power over her husband and, as it turns out, Scotland.

Of course, while her lack of scruples and concern for consequences definitely leads to her husband's assassination of Duncan, she is not so resistant to "good" as she first appears.  She is unable to kill Duncan when she has the chance (because the sleeping Duncan reminds her of her father), and ultimately commits suicide as a result of her feelings of guilt.

What are some of the similarities and differences of the novel and the two movies, Of Mice and Men? Any extra help is appreciated.

There are always differences between original novels and the movies on which are based because of the visual drama required for a screen version. There have been two movies based on Of Mice and Men, the most recent in 1992. The story behind George and Lennie and their efforts to escape homelessness and poverty because "Guys like us... they ain't got nothing to look ahead to" (chapter 1) remains consistent and is an ideal that they can never attain. George must care for the simple-minded Lennie who is a big man but unaware of his physical strength. Lennie feels comforted when the men talk about their dream and the fact that "I got you to look after me..." He wants George to remind him that they are going to have their own place and "live off the fatta the land." Lennie will get to look after the rabbits. The themes generally consider their dream versus their reality, the men's friendship and the trouble that the unchecked Lennie gets into because George is powerless to  make him understand. 

The movie version shows the vast open space and allows the reader to visualize the lives of itinerant farm workers and their almost helpless quest of bettering themselves. It is also quite apparent how hard their work is. The book is more centered on the personal struggle of these two men and how restricted their choices are which adds to George's feelings of being trapped. Some of the additional points about the differences can be seen when, in the book, the men have traveled by bus but in the movie they travel by train. In the book, Lennie's obsession with rabbits leads to hallucinations but there are none in the movie. In the movie, Curley's prowess with a punching bag while his wife looks are is a sign of trouble ahead and gives the viewer an uneasy feeling but this does not take place in the book.

What is the function of an oxymoron in a piece of writing..Why does the author use oxymorons?What does it serve to do to the reader? shakespear in...

I believe that the purpose of an oxymoron in a piece of writing is to cause the reader to think and, perhaps, to call attention to the idea set out by the oxymoron.

When you are reading and you see an oxymoron, you get taken aback for a bit.  You look at it and wonder "why would you use those two words together?"  So that makes you actually think more about the passage than you might otherwise.  That will also make you notice the line more than you otherwise would have.

The line you cite is in Act II, Scene 3.  Macbeth has killed Duncan, but no one else knows it.  Macduff tells him that hosting the king must by a joyful trouble.  In other words, it's a pain, but it's worth it because you get to hang out with the king and maybe make him like you.  Shakespeare uses the oxymoron to call attention to the irony here -- Macduff is telling Macbeth that it must be nice to have the king there and Macbeth has already killed the king.

In "Death, be not proud," how do paradox and personification signify a victory over death?no!

In my opinion, the author uses both paradox and personification to emphasize the idea that, in the end, it is life that will triumph over death.

The idea that death can die is a paradox.  By saying that this is possible, the author is making us think in a different way about our assumptions.  By making us think about this, he makes it easier for us to accept his premise.

By personifying death, the author helps with his paradox.  If death is human, then death must surely die.

So, the author is asking us to think about the idea that death can (through God) be "killed."  He uses personification and paradox to make us consider this possibility.

In A Separate Peace write a Personals Ad for Gene and Finny evaluating their attitudes and intentions.

To do this, it helps to look at evidence in the book that reveals what Gene and Finny most want in life.  Personal ads are usually taken out by people who are earnestly seeking something in their lives that they are lacking, that they feel will make them very happy.  So we need to look at that for Gene and Finny.

Let's start with Gene.  We see in the first few chapters how insecure he is, and how desparate he is to fit in with Finny.  He is jealous and envious of Finny's coolness, and wants to be like that himself, even though he really isn't.  He doesn't have a lot of self-esteem, as seen through is admiration of Finny and his jealousy for him.  Later on in the novel, Gene wants forgiveness for what he did and thought about Finny at the beginning.  He wants to take time back and undo the tree, and all of the awful feelings that he had for Finny.

Finny wants friendship and admiration from everyone.  He also wants to be involved and in all of the action.  Later on, this manifests itself as he reveals that he wants to be in the war, and has been trying to enlist.  He wants everyone to be happy, and enjoys having a lot of friends around to have a good time with.  Later, he of course would hope to have his healthy leg back again.  He also wants to challenge himself in all things.

So, their personal ads need to reflect those desires and intentions.  Parts of Gene's could read "Young male seeks confidence and self-esteem.  Desires coolness and popularity, along with perfect grades.  Somehow, a perfect balance must be achieved."  Or later on, for him, "Young male seeks forgiveness for past mistakes.  Please respond if willing to offer friendship and forgiveness."  Finny's could read, "Young, athletic male seeking challenges in the sports world, as long as they remain anonymous.  Also seeks team of players to enhance his own abilities.  Admiration is a plus."

I hope that those thoughts help to get you started and on the right track--good luck!

Can you explain and analyze each stanza in sonnet 18?

This is one of Shakespeare's more famous sonnets and is thought to be part of the "Fair Youth" set of sonnet.  It is believed Shakespeare was addressing a young man of whom he was fond--perhaps a lover, more likely a friend. The style is a Petrarchian sonnet, written about love and presenting a problem in the first two quatrain, a shift in thought in the third quatrain, and a resolution of sorts in the rhyming couplet at the end.

The first quartrain begins with a rhetorical question--"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"  Shakespeare's response is in line two--the person to whom this poem is addressed is more beautiful and more temperate--more balanced--than a summer day.  Lines three and four discuss the ephemeral nature of beauty and summer--wind comes and strips the tree of its beautiful May flowers, and summer days eventually turn to fall.

Quatrain two continues the theme that good and beautiful things cannot be good and beautiful forever.  Shakespeare writes of "the hot eye of heaven"--the sun--is sometimes too hot and other times is hidden by clouds--"his gold complexion dimm'd." (lines 5 and 6.)  Lines 7 and 8 discuss how everything beautiful will lose its beauty ("fair from fair sometime declines," in this instance "fair" meaning "beauty"). This will happen by chance (or misfortune) or by nature's natural course ("nature's changing course untrimm'd".)

Line nine notifies the read of the shift in thought with the word "but."  The person to whom the poem is written is told in lines 9 and 10 that his/her beauty will not fade, like the natural things mentioned above--"thy eternal summer shall not fade/nor lose possession of that fair (beauty) thou owest."  Death will not even take this lover away (line 11) because Shakespeare is immortalizing the lover in this poem (line 12.)

The resolution in the couplet is that as long as there are people on the Earth (line 13), this poem will exist, and the lover will remain immortal and be remembered in it.

So, the overall theme is that beauty usually fade; however, the beauty of Shakespeare's beloved will last forever because Shakespeare immortalized it in a poem.

Is "Lycidas" by John Milton merely a personal lament for a dead friend or a poem of great importance?

[This is Part 1 of the Answer]

This is a very complex question that depends on understanding Classical allusions and Christian Biblical allusions. I think we've found the answer with a little (or a lot...) "thinking out loud."

If Milton is to be trusted, then "Lycidas" certainly is about a larger issue as well as being a memorial to his shipwrecked and drowned friend. In his introducing headnote, Milton says the monody "bewails a learned Firend" and additionally foretells of the ruin of England's corrupted Clergy, who were at the height of their power: "And by occasion fortels the ruine of our corrupted Clergy then in their height." Note that the headnote didn't appear in the original but was added afterward during Milton's significant revisions to the text after 1638.

The task now is to identify the part or parts that relate, undoubtedly in a metaphorical sense, to the "corrupted Clergy," and any other greater themes Milton might be addressing , though one must not overlook the fact that the poem is first a memorial to Edward King (  -1637) and only secon, by virtue of Milton's agile mind, a vehicle for the secondary discussion of the Clergy.

"Lycidas" is described by Milton as a monody, which is a poem for a single voice, or speaker. This troubles critics because two individuals are quoted within the text and a third invoked at the end, indicating to some that it is actually polyphonic, having more than one voice. It appears most logical that Milton meant "monody" in the sense of a story teller who might quote dialogue of several or even many characters, yet still be only one voice, one narrator, telling a story, which is quite a familiar narratorial device in novels that developed later. Another explanation for the monody label Milton assigns is that the story told by the first speaker is actually a recitation of the raconteur who Milton calls "the uncouth Swain" who appears in the last stanza, a technique used from time to time in later literature, in which a narrator revealed at the end has been quoting another narrator telling the tale.

The first stanza of Milton's monody, "Lycidas," sees the speaker calling upon the classic Greek gods as he "disturbs their season due" because he must "sing" [used in the sense that poets are classically called singers and were most often, if not always, accompanied by the lyre] the early passing of Lycidas. In the second stanza, he hopes that someone will do the same for him at the time of his "destin'd Urn."

In Stanza 3, the speaker describes how Lycidas and he had awaken and worked fields together. This is an important stanza to the question at hand as it is here that Milton introduces a Shepherd conceit in a Biblical allusion to Jesus as the great Shepherd whose believers and followers are his "flock": "Batt'ning our flocks...." Stanza 4 elaborates on the conceit and deftly weaves together a lament for Lycidas with a Biblical allusion to a lament for the slain Jesus, who is symbolized in the Bible as the Vine and the Rose, as well as the Shepherd. The last line laments that Lycidas' "song" of Line 36 has ceased.

In Stanza 5 the speaker wonders where all the powers were that might have saved Lycidas. It may be argued that another allusion to Jesus in his designation as "the Lord" appears in Lines 58-60 in the form of a comparison between Orpheus and Jesus. Orpheus is reckoned the son of Apollo, the Greek Sun god, and is called the greatest musician and poet, or singer, and a Biblical metaphor equates "the Lord" with "song": "The Lord is my strength and my song..." (Exodus 15:2).

What are three interesting topics that I could discuss from the short story "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas"?

Here are other topics for consideration:

As mentioned previously the pragmatism of William James is intrinsic to an examination of this story.  For, LeGuin wrote "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" as a response to this theory that states that a person's thoughts should guide his or her actions, and that truth is a consequence of a person's belief. (This almost sounds like Hamlet's remark:  Nothing is neither good, nor bad; only thinking makes it so.)  Is, then, the belief that the good of the many is worth the sacrifice of one?  That is, does pragmatism hold here? Or does moral responsibility supersede this belief?

Another topic concerns the definition of happiness.  While there is no pain, no sickness, no sorrow in Omelas, there does not appear to be real joy, even though the intrusive narrator declares "they were happy." Yet, LeGuin writes that the people no longer have the need of smiling: "all smiles had become archaic."  In what appears to be a utopia, there is still some doubt, and LeGuin's narrator asks, "Do you believe?  Do you accept the festival, the city, the joy?"  Some have not.  They are the ones who walk away, who know of the child and do not forget.  They

seem to know where they are going, the ones who walk away from Omelas.

Here the question of moral responsibility to oneself emerges.  Can there be happiness without sorrow?

Finally, a third topic concerns the morally ambiguous last line quoted above.  If the ones who walk from Omelas [meaning "Peace, alas"] do so because they cannot be happy at someone else's expense, how is it that they can leave the child without trying to help him/her?

What is the dramatic significance of the quote, "It will have blood, they say; blood will have blood" (Act III, scene iv)?

In an interpretive manner, "blood will have blood" is a double entendre. For, its first meaning is in reference to the predictions of the three witches who have told Banquo that his "blood" will have "blood" (sons)--"Thou shall get kings"--while the second meaning is that the shedding of Banquo's blood will have to lead (get) to the shedding of his sons blood as well because the prediction was that Banquo should be the father of kings. 

When Macbeth utters these words, he uses the phrase more in this second meaning that his bloody path of murder must lead to other murders. Having killed Duncan and become king, he must now eliminate Banquo and his progeny to ensure that he remain king. This idea, too, is in line with the Elizabeth Chain of Being: whatever affects one thing affect others. Thus, there is an interconnection of one bloody deed and another. In fact, Macbeth even alludes to the sons of Duncan earlier with the word "bloody":

We hear out bloody cousins are bestow'd
In England andin Ireland, filling their hearers
with Strange invention. But of that tomorrow. (3.1)

Why does Huck risk punishment by helping Jim escape? What do Huck’s actions reveal about his character?

I agree with the first answer, but I would point out that Huck has already helped Jim escape long before he meets the King and the Duke.  Therefore, he cannot really be basing his decision on their characters.  After all, he could have turned Jim in way back on Jackson's Island.

To me, Huck just feels that somehow slavery is wrong.  He does not like feeling that way, but somehow he does.  In fact, he feels very bad about helping Jim escape.

What this shows is the central tension in Huck.  He feels pressured to act in the ways that society expects, but he hates those rules.  He wants to live by his own code.

So this is why Huck acts as he does.  He is interested in living by his own code even though he feels he ought to obey what society says.

The poem "The Wind" by James Stephens. Why do you think the poem was written?

Concerning "The Wind," by James Stevens, unless one has some direct evidence from within the poem or direct, external evidence (the author's own statements, a relative's statements, knowledge of the historical circumstances the poem was written under), one can't really speculate as to why a certain poem was written.  And I'm afraid I don't have any external evidence for you, and there isn't any internal evidence in the poem.

I can tell you that Stevens often personified natural forces.  He presented nature as something humans were at the mercy of, something humans could not control.  And nature differs from humans in that humans can feel mercy, but nature cannot.  Nature is merciless to Stevens, and "The Wind" reflects this.

Where is the setting of "The Monkey's Paw"?

i'm not intirely sure,but the defenition of a setting is:

the time, the place, the social conditions, the weather and the characters.

the time is:                probably around the time it was written                                         which was: 1902

the place:                   lanburnam villa

the social conditions:   women were treated less respectfully than                                      men (at the time)

the weather:                 start's out rainy/wet and cold

the characters:           mrwhite, mrs.white, herbertwhite, sergeant-                                  major morris, lawyer from maw and meggins

Plea bargaining is another controversial practice in the American judicial system. Should the nature of the crime affect the defendant’s...

There are indications that the "snitch system" certainly has it problems in the courts of the United States.  Perhaps the most egregious use of pleabargaining is the case of Salvatore "the Bull" Gravano, who was allowed to go free although he himself committed nineteen murders.

In the efforts to convict crime boss John Gotti, who became known as "The Teflon Don" because of his acquittals for major crimes, the FBI taped Gotti's headquarters where he spoke of making hits on people. When the tapes contained pejorative comments about his right-hand man, Gravano, the FBI played these tapes and induced Gravano to break Omerta and testify against Gotti.  In return for this testimony, Gravano went into the FBI Witness Protection Program. Later, he returned to a life of crime as a major drugdealer, along with his family, in Arizona--but not before writing a book, of course!

While there are arguments that prosecutors can get the "bigger fish" by catching the "small fish" and making a deal with them, there are certainly flaws in this system as indicated in Gravano's history.  Another flaw is the fact that the "small fish" may lie in order to save themselves.  There are documented cases in which these criminals have fabricated testimony that leads to the conviction of the "bigger fish" that prosecutors want.  Unconscionable prosecutors do not concern themselves with this situation--even at time encouraging it--since they win their cases, make a name for themselves, and gain monetary rewards.

This pleabargaining system has not always been in place in the judicial system--at least, not to the extent that it is today.  There was a time when the criminal was caught directly.

What are some major ideas in "Shooting an Elephant"?

In his essay "Shooting an Elephant," Orwell examines the effects of imperialism on the imperialist. A representative of the British government, the narrator has authority in Burma that he must uphold, and he feels uncomfortable in doing this. Indeed, he feels inadequate. When he is called upon to shoot the elephant, he must fire the gun again and again, while he knows he is doing something cruel.  He must save face, however. Although he only brought the rifle to defend himself, the pressure of the crowd--what they expect from him as part of the British Raj--compels him to shoot. The last sentence carries the irony of the experience:  "I often wondered whether any of the others grasped that I had done it solely to avoid looking a fool." In condemning himself, he shows the "trickle-down" effect of the immorality of imperialism.

What is the tone of the peom "the first snow in Alsace" by Richard Wilbur?

I feel a quiet sadness in Richard Wilbur's "The First Snow in Alsace." This delicate little poem speaks about the first snowfall in Alsace, a territory in central Europe disputed by the French and German forces in World War I. This is a war poem covered with snow, quieted by and obscured by rumpled sheet of white.

The first stanza describes snow in a way that is strange and unfamiliar, yet it's jarring quality befits the implications of war:

The snow came down last night like moths

Burned on the moon; it fell till dawn,

Covered the town with simple cloths.

Moths burned on the moon. How disturbing. Yet, the signs of war are covered by the dead snow-moths. Bomb craters are filled in, and ammunitions are covered. It's as if, for a brief respite, the horrible reminders of war's cruelty and destruction have vanished, and nature is once more free to do what it does, silently and undisturbed. Everyone: children, townsfolk and night-watchmen alike, share in the momentary, peaceful magic of the softness of a fluffy white blanket on a cold winter's night.

What are the most cost effective media to reach the target market and who is the target market?

The most effective media, that is communication channel, to reach the target market depends on characteristics of the target market s well as the purpose of communication. If the target market consists of a very large number of customers, a mass communication channel such as TV and printed publication is likely to be more effective. In contrast if the target market consists of just a few large customers, face to face communication is likely to become more attractive. To reach a widely distributed market it may be necessary to use a channel with a wider channel such as those having national or international product. In comparison a cinema hall advertising schedule of the movies to be screened only need to advertise in a local news paper. When the target audience consist of specialist or people with some special interest, advertisement in technical journals have a better reach at lower cost.

The purpose of communication is also important. If the communication is just to inform the customer, then non-personal and non-interactive channel such as TV and newspaper advertisement may be good enough, but to actually make the customer book an order face to face communication, or some other interactive form of communication such as telephone may be required.

On medium that is now becoming increasingly popular for all types of target market profile and objective of communication is the Internet. It is cost effective for a small customer base as well as a big customer base irrespective of the location or extent of dispersion of customer. With increasing interactive capabilities of computer software, the Internet is being used increasingly for informing as well as for booking orders.

How do current affairs TV programs influence/manipulate public opinion through their selective publishing and presentation of "news" (media...

Ever find it interesting that every single day, every newspaper or news broadcast has just enough news to fit the minutes/pages?  Of course, this isn't true, they select the news they wish to share with us.  This is actually one of the more subtle, more effective means of media bias than slanted commentary or lead ins.

Watching American news programs would make one think that news only happens here.  Apparently, unless there is a tragedy, nothing ever happens in Africa, Latin America or Asia. Even Europe more or less must stand around and stare at walls all day.  Is it any wonder Americans are so unaware of the world around them?

Many argue that today's "News" programs blur the line between news and entertainment - that it's more profitable to simply tell us either what we want to hear, or show us what we most like to watch, since this translates to ratings and ad dollars. This is how we end up with an entire week of the Tiger Woods Scandal on CNN.  They are rewarding us for our scandal appetite.

These networks have also mastered the art of creative presentation - flashing graphics, ominous or celebratory music, pretty faces, and loaded language have made these broadcasts largely devoid of news unfortunately.

As research/proof, watch a half hour of Fox News or MSNBC with Keith Olbermann and then watch a half hour of the Lehrer News Hour on PBS or the BBC America News Hour.  Very easy to see the difference between profit and non-profit news.

What is revealed about Simon in Ch. 3 and what are Golding's implied beliefs about the parliamentary system?

I think what we find out about Simon in this chapter is that he is different from anyone else on the island.  He is able to sort of see things that other people can't see.  We can tell this from what happens at the end of the chapter.  He goes off and he finds that little secret place of his.  Once he enters, he sees the whole world in a different sort of way, almost like he's having a vision.

This has nothing to do with the parliamentary system.  I think the commentary on that comes earlier in the chapter when Ralph talks about how pointless their meetings are.  This implies that Golding feels the same about Parliament.

“The Story of an Hour” and “The Lottery” settings, help please!! need this answered quick! Both “The Story of an Hour” and “The...

I do not agree with the premise of the question.  Neither of these stories is clearly set in a particular time or place.

All we really know about Chopin's story is that it occurs during a time when railroad disasters are not unheard of and people have latchkeys.  Because of Chopin's own background, and because of where she sets most of her other stories, "The Story of an Hour" is generally assumed to be set in Louisiana during Chopin's lifetime (late 1800s).

In Jackson's story, there is little to suggest a time (other than June 27) or a place.  The names of the people are English/American names.  The town has a bank and a post office and a coal business.  But other than that, there's nothing to place the story at a given time or place.

What are 3 symbols in Into the Wild, that would be easy to represent in 3D? Thanks!

Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer's non-fiction biography about a young traveler named Chris McCandless, offers quite a few symbolic elements.  At the outset of his journey, Chris burns the money in his wallet as a symbol of his disconnection with society.  As he begins his trek on the Stampede Trail in Alaska, he carries with him only the "neccessities": a selection of books, including a book about edible native plants, a bag of rice, and hunting implements.  These meager possessions can be seen to symbolize a desire to live a simpler, more natural life, a desire which has been shared by such famous writers as Henry David Thoreau and Edward Abbey.  Finally, Krakauer hypothesizes that Chris's death was caused by a poisonous root known as "Eskimo potato."  Krakauer seems to suggest with this hypothesis that even the noblest of intentions can lead to disaster if they are not paired with intelligence and preparation.

I am not sure what the assignment calls for, but many of these items can be represented in a 3D medium, whether it is clay, fiber, or the recreation of the actual object, say an old wallet with some charred bills sticking out.  It sounds like an interesting assignment, regardless.  Good luck!

Why did Arthur Miller write The Crucible?

The most obvious reason Arthur Miller wrote The Crucible (or anything else, really) is because he had a story to tell. Without that, he would not have been inspired to write. It is true, however, that what inspired him to write this particular story is quite personal.

As a Jewish man, Miller was a political advocate against the inequalities of race in America, and he was vocal in his support of labor and the unions. Because he was such an outspoken critic in these two areas, he was a prime target for Senator Joseph McCarthy and others who were on a mission to rid the country of Communism.

Miller was called before the House Committee on Un-American Activities because of his connections to these issues but refused to condemn any of his friends. This experience, a rather blind and sweeping condemnation of anything even remotely connected to Communism without sufficient (or any) evidence, is what prompted him to write about the Salem Witch trials. 

In a later interview, Miller said the following:

It would probably never have occurred to me to write a play about the Salem witch trials of 1692 had I not seen some astonishing correspondences with that calamity in the America of the late 40s and early 50s. My basic need was to respond to a phenomenon which, with only small exaggeration, one could say paralysed a whole generation and in a short time dried up the habits of trust and toleration in public discourse.

However, the more he began to study the tragic events in Salem, the more he understood that McCarthy's hunt for Communists was nothing compared to the fanaticism which reigned in Salem in the 1690s.

In time to come, the notion of equating the red-hunt with the witch-hunt would be condemned as a deception. There were communists and there never were witches. The deeper I moved into the 1690s, the further away drifted the America of the 50s, and, rather than the appeal of analogy, I found something different to draw my curiosity and excitement.

Anyone standing up in the Salem of 1692 and denying that witches existed would have faced immediate arrest, the hardest interrogation and possibly the rope. Every authority not only confirmed the existence of witches but never questioned the necessity of executing them. It became obvious that to dismiss witchcraft was to forgo any understanding of how it came to pass that tens of thousands had been murdered as witches in Europe. To dismiss any relation between that episode and the hunt for subversives was to shut down an insight into not only the similar emotions but also the identical practices of both officials and victims.

In his note about the historical accuracy of the play, Miller writes:

I believe that the reader will discover here the essential nature of one of the strangest and most awful chapters in human history.

Though his interest in the comparisons between the trials and McCarthyism began with his own experience, it was the horrific nature of the trials themselves which motivated Miller to write The Crucible. 

Here's a great interview with Arthur Miller about why he wrote the Crucible and its parallels to modern life:

Is the title "The Solitary Reaper" relevant to the poem?

Yes, the title "The Solitary Reaper" is very apt to the poem.

The poem is made up of four stanzas. In the first stanza, Wordsworth sets the scene for the readers. He asks us to observe the Highland girl busily reaping the ripe grain  and singing to herself. He asks us to pause and listen to the song which fills the entire valley,or quietly leave the place without disturbing her.

In the second stanza, Wordsworth tells us that  her beautiful song was more  refreshing than  the melodious song of the nightingale which welcomed the weary travellers as soon as they arrived at an oasis and that her song was more pleasing than the cuckoo's song which signalled the end of the harsh winter season and the beginning of spring.

Wordsworth uses two images--"word pictures"--to describe how refreshing and reinvigorating it was to listen to the melodious song of "the solitary reaper."

1. A group of exhausted travellers when crossing the scorchingly hot Arabian desert arrive at a nearby oasis to refresh themselves. As soon as they enter this cool and shady retreat, they first hear the melodious song of the nightingale and immediately they feel revitalised. The tuneful and pleasant song of the bird drives away all their feelings of exhaustion. Similarly, Wordsworth remarks that he was also revitalised when he heard the "melancholy strain" of 'the solitary reaper.'

2. In England during the bitterly cold winter season all the birds migrate to warmer countries in the tropics. They return to England at the beginning of the spring season which marks the end of winter. Traditionally, it is the cuckoo which first returns to England in spring and as soon as the people hear the melodious sound of the cuckoo bird they are thrilled and delighted because they know that the harsh winter season has ended. The Hebrides are a group of small islands in the remote North West coast of Scotland. The winter season in the "farthest Hebrides" was always extremely harsh and the sound of the cuckoo bird signalling the end of winter was specially significant. In the same manner, the song of the solitary reaper was special to Wordsworth.

Since Wordsworth could not understand Gaelic, the language of the reaper, he impatiently asks whether someone could tell him what she was singing about. By doing so he sparks our imagination as to what she could be singing about.

Will no one tell me what she sings?--

Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow

For old, unhappy, far-off things,

And battles long ago:

Or is it some more humble lay,

Familiar matter of to-day?

Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain,

That has been, and may be again?"

Soon,Wordsworth leaves the scene concluding  that although he could not understand what she was singing about nevertheless he could always remember the melodious tune of her song:"The music in my heart I bore/Long after it was heard no more."

Wordsworth wonders whether she is singing about the past - about some sorrowful incident of the past, like a defeat in a battle OR about some unhappy incident in the present which may be repeated again in the future. The important thing to remember is that whether it is the past, the present or the future Wordsworth is convinced that what she is thinking about is sad and sorrowful which is echoed in the melancholic tone of her melody.

The words 'single' 'solitary' and 'alone' have been foregrounded. 'Single'implies that she is the only person in the valley; 'solitary' hints at the melancholy mood of the poem and 'alone' refers to the fact that there is no one to help her.

How has armor changed since the Vietnam war?What is the difference between then and the modern Iraq War?

My dad was deployed to Vietnam during the war, and my husband has been deployed to Iraq twice in the past couple of years; so I'll list the differences from a soldier's perspective.

During Vietnam, American troops wore flak jackets or vests. The term "flak" comes from the German word "Fliegerabwehrkanone" which literally means "antiaircraft gun." You can see why GIs shortened it to "flak"!  The jackets had plates sewn into pocket-type areas to stop bullets, shrapnel, etc.  They were heavy and bulky, but they are not actually as heavy as the current armor that soldiers wear.  The helmets during Vietnam were basically the same shape, but they were made out of steel.

Today's soldiers still wear versions of the flak vests, but they have easy-to-remove Kevlar plates.  With the plates in and with full armor on, a soldier can weigh upwards of 60 pounds more than his normal weight.  Part of this is because the armor has different parts to attach to the vest and even some leg armor.  The helmets look similar, but instead of being one colored, they are camouflage and made out of Kevlar.  Soldiers can put padding (much like the kind that goes in a football player's helmet) inside the helmet to make it fit better and to make it more comfortable.  The theory in switching from steel to Kevlar is that it supposedly stops shrapnel better, and since IEDs have become the weapon of choice for many insurgents and enemy combatant, that is highly important.

One last note, soldiers in Vietnam had a lot more lenency about whether they wore their armor.  Part of this is because it was so hot and humid in Vietnam.  Modern-day soldiers do not have such a choice and, with the advance of weaponology, would probably choose to wear the armor anyway anytime that they are outside the wire.

Using specific examples, discuss the theme of appearance versus reality in Macbeth.

Another example to add is when Lady Macbeth plans out the murder for King Duncan. She tells Macbeth to hide their true intensions.

Lady Macbeth: "Only look up clear;

To alter favour ever us to fear."

Meaning raise your eyes and look confident. A change in the way one looks reveals fear and further arouses suspicion.

Macbeth as well tells himself: "False face must hide what the false heart doth know."

Also when Macbeth and Banquo arrive and meet the witches for the first time, Macbeth says: "So foul and fair a day I have not seen."

When Macbeth is told the 3 prophecies he will possess by the witches, he is unsure. Banquo says: "Good sir, why do you start, and seem to fear things that do sound so fair?" Meaning why do you fear of these great titles when they sound so good.

Little do they know, in order to get the third title, king of Scotland, Macbeth goes through countless dangerous actions and is soon lead by his downfall.

When Malcolm and Donalbain flee the country after their fathers death, suspicion is put on them for the murder.

When Macduff leaves to England to seek help from Malcolm, Malcolm is unsure of Macduff's loyalty. Therefore he tests Macduff, and in the end Malcolm learns that Macduff truly is loyal and wants what is best for his country.

Also the apparition of no man born of woman can harm Macbeth. Macbeth is convinced that no one can harm him since every human being is born of a woman. But Macduff was not naturaly born of a woman. Either caesarian or premature delivery occured therefore he ended the life of Macbeth.

What makes Duncan a good king and a good leader?

Many productions, such as the one staring Judy Densch as Lady Macbeth, depict Duncan as very old and venerable, carried on stage in Act 1, in part to make it a more egregious crime when the Macbeths kill him. We do see his kindness in 2.2 when he visits the Macbeth castle in Inverness, for Banquo tells Macbeth that “the king’s abed” (suggesting, perhaps, he is worn out from his journey) and that he has given Lady Macbeth “this diamond…by the name of most kind hostess” (13-15). Lady Macbeth says, to explain why she didn’t kill him, “Had he not resembled / My father as he slept, I had done’t” again giving reason to consider him a kind, generous old man (12-13).

Explain the significance of the final statement in the novel.Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Curley and Carlson, unlike Slim, with his "God-like eyes," and George, "small and quick,with restless eyes and sharp features" whom they watch walk away, represent the isolated men.  These are the men who have spent too long alone, and the predatory features of their nature have emerged.  Curley and Carlson do not understand, as Slim does, that the dreams of Lennie and George are what have sustained them and protected them from the inhospitable world of men such as they. This line underscores the theme of distrust that arises from the alienation and loneliness of the itinerant workers of the Great Depression.

It is fitting that these men stand, "looking after" George and Slim, for they represent the callous, insensitive, brutal, and violent destructivess of isolated man that George must now face without Lennie to share his "dream" in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men.

What is the setting of The Scarlet Letter? Why is the setting important to the novel's man vs. society conflict?

The novel The Scarlet Letter is set in the theocratic and patriarchal Puritan society of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The year is 1642, which means that this particular group of colonists settled in the area of Boston, and were part of a second wave of settlers that came from England in 1630 with the purpose of purifying the Church of England. 

The specific society to which Hester and Roger Prynne had planned to go and be a part of, offered many opportunities for settlers to start new lives. However, the Puritan rule was in place. This means that, upon arriving to Massachusetts Bay, the colonists had to abide by the rules set by the magistrates. They would also have to be assigned to a spiritual leader, which was essentially a pastor that would watch over their spiritual health. Hester Prynne's assigned spiritual leader, upon her arrival, was Reverend Dimmesdale. 

Hester came into the colony alone. Moreover, shortly after her arrival it was thought that her husband, Roger, had been lost at sea and was presumed dead. Also shortly after her arrival, Hester and her pastor begin an affair. It is presumably close enough to her arrival date, since, little thereafter, she becomes pregnant.

When she can no longer hide the pregnancy, she is forced to reveal the name of the father of the child. As she refuses to do so, she is not only punished with the scaffold and prison, but is also mandated to wear the letter "A", for adulterer, on her bosom for the rest of her natural life. 

This series of events reveal the conflict of man (or woman) versus society. Hester Prynne arrived in the colony already a loveless wife. When her husband is presumed dead, she engages in a relationship with someone whom she actually loves. To the modern reader, Hester's actions may seem too quick but, considering her situation as someone forced to marry at a young age, they are still understandable. 

However, the society of the 17th century is entirely theocratic and bound by the mandates of the Bible. This means that all commandments must be obeyed, or else punishment will ensue. Hester committed impure acts, according to the sixth commandment. She also must have involved a husband from the village (or so they thought) to commit those acts. The results were that Hester had to endure the public humiliation that was typical of her society. Standing at the scaffold meant having to tolerate the jeers of the people and being questioned publicly as to who is the father of her child. The use of the scarlet letter meant having to expose her "crime" to everyone, and expect the criticism and rejection of the general public. Imprisonment meant depriving Hester of her freedom, and further humiliating her.

Moreover, Hester was treated as a pariah: She was the topic of church sermons, of the scorn of the citizens, and of the jokes of children. She suffered entirely too much considering the actual magnitude of her crime. For these reasons, Hester could be easily considered a progressive woman for her time; one who cared less about imposed regulations, and more about her own freedom and well-being. Unfortunately, such freedom and well-being came with a price that she paid for, unfortunately, on her own. 

Why is the original ending to Great Expectations better than the revised one?Charles Dickens's Great Expectations

One reason that can be purported for the worthiness of the first ending as opposed to the latter one is the fact that the original ending possesses an integrity that the latter does not because Dickens felt pressured by his readers to rewrite the conclusion.

Willie Collins, a close friend of Charles Dickens and author of The Woman in White, objected to the first ending in which Pip remains single while Estella remarries. Dickens then wrote a more conventional ending in which Estella and Pip may marry, saying that he thought the narration would be more acceptable as a result.  However, another of Dickens's friends and his biographer, John Forester, felt that the original ending was

more consistent with the draft, as well as the natural working out of the tale.

English writers such as George Bernard Shaw, George Orwell, William Dean Howells and others of the 19th century and early 20th century agree with Forester, feeling that the original ending is more in character with the heartless Estella who is incapable of remorse and of reciprocating the kind of love that Pip feels for her.  However, more contemporary criticisms argue for the second, more maudlin ending probably because efforts in modern society are constantly being made to keep people happy and satisfied.

What do "cognitive and metacognitive" mean? Give examples related to them.

Merrian Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines cognitive as "of, relating to, being, or involving conscious intellectual activity (i.e. thinking, reasoning, or remembering)."  I've always understood cognition as anything we are conscious of; it's the active processing of the stimuli around us.  Cognition is a progressive thing, building upon itself over the years.

Take a newborn baby, for instance.  They see the world around them, but they don't really know what they're seeing.  They basically react to the following stimuli: hot, cold,  hungry, tired, pain, and discomfort.  We as parents talk to them and I'm sure they hear us and feel a certain sense of comfort, security, and love, but they haven't developed an outward recognition to us yet.  As they grow older, nerve pathways are stimulated and develop, enabling them to recognize our touch, our looks, our voice.  Soon, they begin to react to us through their body language, eventually interacting with us through their speech.    

In contrast, metacognitive is defined as "awareness of one's own learning or thinking processes."   It can best be explained as the sum total of everything a person has experienced and learned throughout their life.  It is everything that's been absorbed into, processed by, and stored in our brain.  A lot of it is subconscious, habitual, and conditioned; we don't really know how or why we know something; all we know is that we know it. 

A good example would be a carpenter at work on a construction site.  He needs to order lumber for the job so he rolls out the blueprints.  The mathematical processes have been learned and stored in his brain, and knowing this, he gets to work to arrive at a final figure.  This is the metacognitive process.  If he runs across something he doesn't understand or know how to do, he takes the time to learn how to do it and understand it.  This is the cognitive process. 

what is the function of the chorus? does it serve as charater involved in the conflict, or merly as an observe who is detached from the events

The chorus is present to help the audience understand the unfolding of events.  Remember, this was a time before any sort of sound systems; therefore, aside from choral intrusions, much of the play was understood by audiences as mime.

However, this is not the only purpose of the chorus in Oedipus Rex.  They also serve as critics to the action, dissenting or approving of the action on the stage.  They are not detached...rather, they have a vested stake in steering the eventual outcome of the tragedy, helping Oedipus interpret his actions and steering him as needed. 

In To Kill A Mockingbird, what does Scout mean when she says Mr. Radley "bought cotton?"

To Kill A Mockingbird reveals the effects of narrow-mindedness and intolerance in the extreme. As the narrator, Scout commences the story of the innocent Tom Robinson's trial and conviction for the rape of Mayella Ewell by tracing the Finch family history. It is significant that she notes how important social standing is in Maycomb County and how it is "a source of shame" that the Finch family cannot trace their family back any further than Simon Finch. Scout mentions that it has always been a family tradition for the Finch men to make their living from cotton (which was a major source of income in the southern states) but Atticus, Scout's father, studied law and his brother Jack studied medicine instead. This reinforces the fact that Atticus is not a typical Maycomb County resident; in the 1930s his sense of equality and fairness is unique and is Tom Robinson's only hope in a town where racial prejudice is the norm and hypocrisy goes unrecognized by most.

There is a reliance on tradition in Maycomb County and Scout discusses the predictable activities of most of the townspeople for whom there appears to be no motivation or desire to change. Therefore, in this "tired old town" those folks who do not conform are frowned upon and the Radley family has its own special reputation of housing the "malevolent phantom" (chapter 1) which results in unwanted and unmerited gossip about the Radley family, especially Boo. There is a false sense of community in Maycomb and anyone who does not participate in this conceited and insincere version of polite but bigoted society must expect and accept stinging and unfair criticism.  

The Radley family members have always "kept to themselves." The only interaction that takes place is when Mr Radley regularly goes to town to buy what are presumed to be groceries. However, Scout cannot confirm or deny this and the only thing Scout knows is that Jem tells her that Mr Radley "bought cotton" which term Scout tells the reader is "a polite term for doing nothing." From an economic perspective, the southern states had relied on cotton historically and so this term infers that Mr Radley has no source of income from employment and lives on welfare. 

At the end of Chapter 2, George is worried about two of the people at the ranch. Who are they, and why is he worried about each one?

In short, Curley and Curley's wife.  As they are getting settled in the bunkhouse, Curley's wife stops in and asks if anyone has seen her husband, acting flirty.  Lennie can't keep his eyes off of her, and this worries George - this is what got him in trouble in Weed right before they got this job.

Curley enters, looking for Slim, and almost immediately sidles up to Lennie and confronts him, mocking his mental handicap, little guy vs. big guy.  George warns Lennie to stay away from both of them.

What does O’Brien say about reality in 1984?

O'Brien also mentions that reality is in your head.  He tells Winston that he could float off the floor like a soap bubble, but because the Party does not wish it, he doesn't.  Reality is in the head, which is what makes doublethink so necessary and possible in Oceania.

What prediction did you make after reading about Montresor's and Fortunato's shared intrest in wine

After reading about Montresor's and Fortunato's shared interest in wine, a prediction might be made that would lead the reader to expect that Montresor might use this at some point to entice Fortunato or to lure him into a situation that might be perfect for revenge, as he has indicated was his intention from the beginning.

How does Maria Teresa change as a person throughout In the Time of the Butterflies?

When the narrative begins, Maria Teresa is a naive and pretty superficial little girl.  Her diary reflects the seminal events in her life, like the bag she will carry and the shoes she will wear at school.  Furthermore, she still believes in the lies of "El Jefe," (Trujillo).  In Ch 3, (my edition, pg 37) she notes in her diary, "I am taking these few days to wish El Jefe a Happy Benefactor's Day with all my heart.  I feel so lucky that we have him as a president." 

The next chapter to record Maria Teresa's thoughts show her attitudes in transition.  She begins to understand that men do not have all the answers, not the brutal Trujillo, not her deceptive father, not any of the boys she has known growing up.  Ch. 7 (pg 142) reflects this maturity.  She writes in her diary:  "Suddenly, all the boys I've known with soft hands and easy lives seem like pretty dolls I've outgrown and passed on to Minou."

By the last section devoted to her, Maria Teresa reaches an apex of maturity.  She realizes that her life can be much more complicated and traumatized than she could ever have imagined.  In Ch 11 (pg 235), Mate recalls and takes to heart her imprisoned friend's prayer, "May I never experience all that it is possible to get used to."

In her brief live, Maria Teresa ("Mate") has gone from self-centered, to  appreciating her easy life, to understanding that the tables can turn in an instant. 

What is the differences between epic theatre (Brecht), and realistic theatre (Ibsen). in these points : plot ( linear plot & episodic plot)...

Epic theater calls attention to its own staging and in many ways disrupts the illusion that is created in the theater. The plot may tend to be more episodic, with clear ruptures and visible (not hidden) scene changes. The stage design may be minimal and may include space, for example, for people to walk around with signs that challenge or even insult the audience. I remember reading in my German literature classes about signs that Brecht would use saying things such as "Don't stare so stupidly!" The net effect -- the Verfremdungseffekt, or "alienation effect" -- is to force the audience to be active thinkers, not passive recipients of a storyline.

Realistic theater generally strives to create and maintain an illusion of reality throughout the performance. The sets may be simply, but they are generally treated as real, authentic spaces (such as the living room of Ibsen's A Doll's House). Like epic theater, realistic theater may have a strong message that it wishes to convey and a political agenda of its own, but it often also tries to reach the audience through emotional connections.

 EDIT: Brecht's signs (see the link below) actually said "Glotzt nicht so romantisch!" or "Don't stare so romantically." My memory's not perfect, so I thought I had better check my facts.

What is a brief plot summary of "The Monkey's Paw"?

The Monkey's Paw is a story about a mystical charm, a monkey's paw that is brought into the home of the White family by Sergeant Major Morris, who has served in India.  The monkey's paw has the ability to grant 3 wishes to 3 people.  S.M. Morris was the 2nd owner, the 1st owner's 3rd wish was for death. 

S.M. Morris expresses grief over the monkey's paw and tries to destroy it, Mr. White saves it and takes it off his hands for a small fee.  His first wish is for 200 pounds, when nothing happens immediately, he and his family, wife and son Herbert, think that the monkey's paw is a hoax.

The Whites' get the money from Herbert's factory after he is accidentally pulled into a machine and mangled to death.  The 2nd wish is thought of by Mrs. White, to bring her son back from the grave.  He has been dead for 10 days, again after the wish, nothing happens immediately.  The Whites' then begin to hear the sound of someone or something arriving at their door and a loud knocking begins.  Mrs. White wants to rush to the door. Mr. White is not so sure.

As Mrs. White rushes to the door to open it, it is bolted at the top, she can't reach the lock, as she is dragging a chair to the door, Mr. White is furiously looking for the monkey's paw to make his 3rd wish.

Mr. White makes his 3rd wish, to return whatever is at the door, Herbert or some form, thereof, back to the grave, just as Mrs. White opens the door, to find nothing but the dark empty night.  

Discuss Cousin Joshua Finch as: A. Atticus describes him; B. Aunt Alexandra describes him. What’s the difference? Discuss Cousin Joshua Finch...

The Finch's cousin, Joshua S. St. Clair (not Joshua Finch as the previous poster noted), was a writer who was looked upon quite differently by Atticus and his sister, Alexandra. Trying to impress Jem and Scout about their illustrious family tree, Aunt Alexandra brought out their cousin's book, "stamped in gold." Obviously proud of her kin, she told the children that

"He was a beautiful character."

But Atticus had already told Jem and Scout about their cousin.

    Jem examined the small volume. "Is this the Cousin Joshua who was locked up for so long?"

When Alexandra protested, Jem went on to say that Atticus had told them that Joshua had "gone round the bend at the University. Tried to shoot the president." Atticus had called him "a sewer inspector," and recalled that "it cost the family five hundred dollars to get him out of that one--"

    Aunt Alexandra was standing stiff as a stork. "That's all," she said. "We'll see about this."

Alexandra had a few choice words for her brother later, since he came back to sheepishly explain to Jem and Scout that they were the product of "gentle breeding."

Simply put, Alexandra was proud of Joshua for having written a book--albeit a small and insignificant one. Atticus was more realistic: Joshua was an inept, would-be murderer who was possibly mentally unstable.

Compare and contrast Abraham Maslow and Jean Piaget?

This is a complex issue, but I will share a few ideas that I hope will get you started. 

When you refer to Maslow, the one theory that comes to my mind is his Hierarchy of Needs, which begins with satisfying one's basic bodily requirements, moves into larger circles of community and success, and culminates in self-actualization, the notion of being one's own best self.  When we think about Piaget, we think about his stages of development, which are sensimotor, preoperational, concrete, and formal, an intellectual development that proceeds stage by stage.   

You will notice that Maslow's Hierarchy concerns itself with human needs, physical, psychological, and social, while Piaget's theory is about cognition.  This is an fairly obvious difference that you could expand upon with little difficulty. Notice that while some intellectual development is presumed in Maslow's theory, his theory does not attend to intellectual development at all.  Some socialization is presumed in Piaget's theory, but his stages do not really concern themselves with this facet all that much. 

How are the two similar? Both are orderly progressions, certainly, with a theory that explains human behavior, and both are are staples of educational theory. 

What do you learn in this chapter about Maycomb, Atticus Finch and his family? Describe Atticus' relationship to Maycomb.

The reader learns that Atticus has a long standing history in Alabama.  His ancestor was Simon Finch who was a fur trapper. Simon had also owned three slaves.  He had married, had daughters, and died filthy rich.  The battle between the North and South cost the decedents their inheritance with the exception of land.  However, Atticus had taken his family and moved to Maycomb.

In Macomb, Atticus set up practice as a lawyer.  His first cases were two men who had committed second degree murder. Atticus lost both cases and found out that he did not like criminal law.  He turned to practicing economic law and helped put his brother through college.

Because of Aticus' relationship to Simon Finch, he was related to most of the people that lived in Maycomb.

Maycomb is a small southern town.  Everyone knows everyone else. People move at a slow pace with nowhere to go.  Incomes are mostly poor as the town has few jobs to offer.  The streets are unpaved and made of red clay.  Atticus owns a house on Main Street.

Atticus has two children, Jem, a boy, and Scout, a girl.  Jem has an arm that is slightly shorter and pulled in on one side of his body.  Scout is outspoken and follows her brother around.  Attiucs married late in life.  They ahd two children and his wife died.  Scout never knew her, but Jem did and sometimes became quiet when he ws thinking about her.

What is so special about the poem "in memory of w.b.yeats"i want to know from poetic point of view.

Auden honors two traditions here: Yeats and the ode/elegy, and he tries to move the latter toward something new, expanded.  At traditional English ode is "typically a lyrical verse written in praise of, or dedicated to someone or something which captures the poet's interest or serves as an inspiration for the ode."

Auden says that Yeats' art lives on, as if it is an autonomous, living thing now detached from its host.

According to my Norton anthology:

Poems about death tend to be concerned not just with loss, but also with what remains after a man or a woman dies. Elizabethan sonnets, like those of Spenser or Shakespeare, often take this idea of something persisting after death and use it in the context of an imagined dialogue between lovers, rather than in relation to an actual death: the lover promises his beloved that even though she must die, she will live on forever in his verses. In the elegy, that living-on after death may be thought of in religious terms, or perhaps in terms of cherished memory, or it may make itself felt by changing those who remain, transforming despair into the resolve to go on with life. This last possibility is what Tennyson's poem, "Ulysses," is all about.

Auden's poem draws on all these traditions as it focuses just on that moment when the words of a poet must begin to live on after his death. The poem which Auden writes is the first step in preserving Yeats the poet. But most important, Auden understands this process of poetic after-life as taking place entirely within history.

This story reflects the moral decadence of modern society. DiscussQUESTION SHOULD BE EXPLAINED WITH REFERENCE TO OLIVER BACON AND DUCHESS.BOTH OF...

I do not think the story reflects actual moral decadence.  I think, instead, that it reflects the age in which Woolf wrote it.  During that time, English people probably felt that their world was decaying morally and socially, but I do not agree that it was.

To me, this story shows this in two ways.  Oliver is a lower class person who has risen in the world, quite possibly dishonestly.  Yet here he is holding power over a duchess -- a person who is socially better than him.  Secondly, the story shows that even the nobility, who are supposed to be superior, will now stoop to fraud.

I would think that a person in Woolf's England might have agreed that this shows moral decadence.  But to me, the class system was ridiculous anyway so I do not feel that the story shows actual moral decadence in modern society.

Which concentration camp was Anne sent to?I'm really interested in her.

Bergen-Belsen is where Anne succumbed in 1945.  This camp does not have the name recognition that others do, like Auschwitz, because it was never actually recognized as a concentration camp.  It was meant to be a "holding" station and a transfer center, but as the populations continued to increase, it served as one nevertheless.  In the month that Anne is thought to have died, March, 1945, approximately 18,000 others died as well.  Many were gravely ill with typhoid or tuberculosis, diseases often common among large populations who share close quarters.  Thousands of others starved to death. 

Who are the main characters, or the most prominent characters, in "Speak"?

Melinda Sordino is the main character in the book. Also considered the protagonist, she is the character that readers watch bloom from the tormented, quiet girl at school into a strong defender of herself in the end. Melinda is suffering the aftermath of being a rape victim, while also entering the dreaded freshman year. 

Andy Evans is also a student at the high school Melinda attends. He is the reason for much of the torture that occurs at the hands of others and within Melinda herself. He is the boy that raped Melinda—the boy in the high school that is idolized and worshiped because of athletic abilities and physical appearance. 

David Petrakis, also a student at Merryweather High School, becomes one student that Melinda actually seems to admire. He is intelligent, works with Melinda in a Biology class, and is friendly to her. Melinda ends up really respecting David's strength and courage. 

Mr. Freeman is Melinda's art teacher. He is an integral part of Melinda's growth, strength, and voice. He is sweet and caring to Melinda and encourages her to find herself spiritually and artistically. 

How does Joyce use foreshadowing to prepare the reader for the moment of the boy's epiphany in "Araby"?

In the exposition to his story "Araby," Joyce creates a dark and cheerless scene:  the boy's street is "blind"; the houses "gazed at one another with brown, impeturbable faces"; the air in the house is musty; the air outside in the sombre light is cold, stinging the boy and his friends as they traverse the muddy lanes where they run "the gauntlet of the rough tribes from the cottages."

That the boy would romanticize his love for Mangan's sister as an escape from his dismal life seems likely.  When she steps upon her doorstep, in worshipful fashion--after his reference to the Latin works and Catholic devotionals--the boys leave "their shadows and walk up to Mangan's steps" to watch her body move and the "soft rope of her hair" toss from side to side.

The suggestions of this idealization and romantizing of the girl as an escape from his brown, shadowed life is indicated in this exposition:

When she came out on the doorstep, my heart leadped....her name was like a summons to all my foolish blood....Her image accompanied me even in places the most hostile to romance....All my senses seemed to desire to veil themselves and, feeling that I was about to slip from them, I pressed the palms of my hands together until they trembled....

Sadly, after his uncle returns home late and he arrives late to the bizarre, the boy finds himself later "gazing up into the darkness" where he experiences his epiphany: The closed bazaar is anything but romantic. In this dark, hollow place, the boy's idea of the girl as the holy grail has been destroyed, instead being replaced by the empty, dark hallway where the boy drops his florin.  Bereft, the boy finds himself "gazing up into the darkness":

I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger.

In addition to this foreshadowing, Joyce's use of first-person narration, which conveys the confused thoughts of the boy and familiarizes the reader with the boy's character, prepares the reader for his epiphany.

What is the idea Chaucer wishes to convey in "The Noones Preestes Tale" and how does it relate to "The Prologue to the Noones Preestes Tale"?

The tale preceding "The Noones Preestes Tale" is "The Monkes Tale." The Monk is interrupted by the Knyght. In "Prologue to the Noones Pressetes Tale," the Knyght explains his interruption by declaring that he has had enough "hevynesse" and "‘Tragedie’" and is about to fall asleep off his horse into the mud. The Knyght opines that listening to a tale in which a prosperous man has a sudden fall causes misery: "it is a greet disese / .../ To heeren of hir sodeyn fal, allas!" He declaims further that to hear a tale of a poor man who climbs up in wealth, prosperity and fortune is joy and solace : "joye and greet solas, / As whan a man hath been in povre estaat, / And clymbeth up... / ...in prosperitiee."

The Hoost agrees with the Knyght and summons the Noones Preest, sir John, to deliver his tale. His tale has a long introduction and many digressions, but, as is true of Chaucer's general aesthetic of poetics, the digressions hold vital information to the general meaning of his writing. The tale is a debate between the rooster Chanticleer and his favorite wife Pertelote about whether dreams have inherent meaning and importance, as Chanticleer contends, or are the empty fantasies caused by imbalance of humors in body and mind, which are remediable through herbs, as Pertelote contends. The debate leads to digressions wherein Chaucer, through the Noones Preestes narration, discusses, 1st, the soundness of advice given by women in reference to woman's role in Judeo-Christian creation stories and, 2nd, the problem of free will versus ordained predetermined events.

The end of the tale has Chanticleer in the jaws of an escaping fox which entered the chicken yard, as he foresaw in his dream. On the brink of a fatal fall from high "estaat," Chanticleer applies his wisdom and tricks the fox into dropping him after which Chanticleer wastes no time in taking opportunity to "clymbeth up" to safety, declaring that the fox's flattery had tricked him once but would no more.

In the resolution of "The Noones Tale," Chaucer ties the importance and truth of dreams together with acts of wisdom, like shunning flattery and shunning advice that goes contrary to what you know based on evidence. Chaucer also draws a comparison in this tale between what he casts as women's propensity to give bad advice and men's propensity to flatter for their own ends. Chaucer shows that while women may lead astray with unsound, insufficiently learned and reasoned advice (Pertelote does quote Catoun [Cato], but Chanticleer quotes upward of a dozen sources), men may lead astray with flattery that has no purpose other than to distract so the flatter's ends can be achieved at the other's expense.

Chaucer further shows that while women's advice and men's flattery may be equally dangerous, women advise with love and good intent while men flatter with selfishness and bad intent. Chaucer may be representing this quality about women's advice as the absolution for the blame levied against them for the original downfall of humanity in the Judeo-Christian creation story, as is indicated by the introduction about the "povre wydwe."

The tale ties to the Prologue because the Noones Preest tells a tale with both "'Tragedie'" and "joye": Chanticleer is near death then saves himself and learns a lesson about not listening to flattery and is reunited with Pertelote, thus accommodating the Knyght while making the additional point that lessons of import can be learned from tragedies--and dreams--establishing an analogy between them.

in chapter 26, jem and scout argued about ms gates. what was the argument about??

This argument reveals a great difference between Jem and Scout. Jem, who is becoming a young adult now, deals with the injustice of the trial by blocking it out and trying to forget about it all. Notice how earlier he was all for becoming a lawyer to try and change things, but at the end of Ch. 26 he is screaming at Scout that he never wants to hear about it again. I think Jem has come to realize that things cannot be changed so easily, which, of course, is all part of growing up and learning that the world is not always a kind and just place.

Scout, on the other hand, is still naive. She cannot understand how Ms. Gates could think Hitler is wrong for the Holocaust when Scout overheard Ms. Gates coming out of the courthouse talking about how it was about time someone taught the blacks in the community a lesson because they might start thinking they were really equal to whites.

Now this confuses Scout because why would Ms Gates feel that way toward blacks yet feel so opposed to Hitler's treatment of the Jews. The answer is simple: the color of their skin.

This is an issue Jem has already wrestled with on his own. He cannot resolves how people in their own community can be so hypocritical. So he simply decides to block the memory of the trial from his mind.

In Act IV of Tartuffe, why is Elmire confident that she can expose Tartuffe?

In Tartuffe, Elmire, unlike her husband, perceives people realistically.  In Act III, during her conversation with Tartuffe, Elmire confims her opinion of him:  he is arrogant and lustful, although his protests are that he has a "fervour" and a "zeal."  He pretends to be touching her clothes to enjoy the fabric when he is actually trying to feel her contours.  Rationalizing his love for Elmire as appreciation for her "celestial charms," Tartuffe promises her that there will be no repercussions if she will "enjoy love without scandal and pleasure without fear."  He explains that because he is a holy man, no one will believe that he has committed adulterous acts: 

But men of our sort burn with a discreet flame, our own reputation is an undeniable security to the persons beloved.

After this demonstration of licentious behavior and sanctimonious arrogance by Tartuffe, Elmire feels confident that she can lure him into a trap in order to expose his hypocrisy.  So, she has Orgon hide under a table she has covered while she pretends to have changed her mind about his advances.  Knowing his lust and arrogance, Elmire soon lures Tartuffe into making advances that her husband can overhear.  In this parody, Orgon does not come out as he should after hearing Tartuffe advances, and Elmire grows increasingly compromised.  However, when the arrogant Tartuffe ridicules Orgon, saying "he is a man to be led by the nose,"  Orgon finally emerges declaring Tartuffe, "An abominable fellow, I vow!"

In an absolutely hilarious remark, Elmire asks, "How! do you come out so soon?"

Discuss Yeats as a modern poet.

While many literary figures were affected by the First World War in one or the other, Yeats remained aloof about the consequences of the war. In his "An Irish Airman Forsee his Death" we find the lines,

 " Those that I fight I do not hate/ Those that I guard I do not love".

 This kind of approach makes him uniquely modern in the sense that he was not carried away by the narrow nationalism of the 19th century. It does not mean that he was totally indifferent to the lot of Irish people who struggled for a free state. But Yeats did not approve of the parochial attitude of the people and wanted to ennoble their cause making it universal in appeal. Yeats, in fact, was moved very much at the bloodshed during the Easter Rising of 1916. He could not reconcile himself to the revolutionary turn of the movement and finds in his EASTER 1916.

Different crirics have responded to Yeat's poetry differently. He is such a wholesome poet that one or the other aspect of his poetry appeals to his readers and critics. Dennis Donogue observes that, " readers who believe that literature is important normally believe that Yeats is important." Though swayed by multifarious interests Yeats's primary concern was poetry. " An enthusiast of vision, he conspired with images, meditating upon unknown thought. But he took up these interests as latent forms of poetry, and the attention he gave them was poetic. Activities capable of being brought to the condition of poetry."

What are the similarities and differences between Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne?

Similarities:

1. Both authors are part of the Dark Romantics from American Literature.  As such, they viewed human nature as inherently evil and created characters who either give in to the "darkness" of their souls (such as Chillingworth and Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter) or commit evil deeds simply because their hearts are "wicked" (the narrator of "The Tell-Tale Heart," or Rappaccini in Hawthorne's "Rappaccini's Daughter").

2. Both authors rely on complex syntax and detailed imagery.  Hawthorne's short stories and novels contain numerous descriptive passages filled with lengthy and varied sentence structure.  Poe's short stories not only demonstrate unusual and complicated syntax, but they also exemplify the formal, elaborate diction of Romanticism.

Differences:

1. Even though Hawthorne did write some tales with Gothic elements, he does not rely on the Gothic style that Poe is a master of.

2. Poe created the modern detective story (a story in which an intelligent civilian outsmarts the police and solves a case through imagination and logic). Hawthorne stays close to his Romantic roots and chooses to set some of his stories and novels in the earlier days of America.

what is the habitat of the giant panda (include abiotic and biotic factors)

Biotic & Abiotic Factors of the Giant Panda
The giant panda faces multiple threats to the survival of the species. These threats fall into two categories: biotic (related to life) and abiotic (natural and environmental).

Biotic Factor #1: Fertility

The female giant panda is only able to mate once a year, during a two-day estrous cycle. Complicating matters even more, it is difficult to get giant pandas to mate in captivity. In the wild, researchers are baffled by an unusually high infertility rate, contributing to the decline of the species as fewer reproductions are viable.

Biotic Factor #2: Human Population Expansion

Due almost entirely to human population expansion, more than 40 percent of the giant panda's terrain has been transformed into other uses. The remaining habitats are now protected, but are often divided from one another, preventing the animals from moving about to find acceptable mating companions or sufficient food for rearing panda cubs.

Biotic Factor #3: Food Supply
Human farming and forestry have eliminated large tracts of the bamboo that comprises the sole food source of the giant panda. Since very little lowland habitat has been reserved for giant pandas, it is often difficult to find enough food on mountain slopes during winter conditions. Inability to care for young pandas results in a higher mortality rate and encourages a further decline in female fertility.

Abiotic Factor #1: Pollution

Chemicals in the atmosphere are a contributing factor to snow melt, but can also be directly linked to other problems as well. Depending on the contaminants involved, industrial pollution may even contain harmful elements such as mercury which have serious consequences for panda reproduction.

Abiotic Factor #2: Natural Disasters

Earthquakes, flood and fires are also serious threats to the giant panda population. Confined as they are to non-populated areas, the animals may have no escape from fires or floods. Additionally, natural disasters in the densely populated human centers often result in human migrations into the panda's terrain, creating competition for resources.

Abiotic Factor #3: Climate Changes

Human induced or not, global warming has implications that affect every animal on the planet, including the giant panda. As the climate within panda habitats increases or decreases, the food supply will be affected, resulting in the loss of more and more of the bamboo pandas rely on for food. Additionally, many researchers believe that temperature increases or decreases could result in a further inability to reproduce or have a damaging influence on other aspects of the animals' life cycle.