What is the mood of the story, "In Another Country"?

Hemingway's story of physical injury and emotional loss is a somber short story that successfully conveys a mood characterized by grief and suppressed sentimentality and a sense of subterranean angry refusal to accept loss. As a result of this dual sensibility, the mood of "In Another Country" might be described as one of fragile calm. 

In keeping with the norms of describing mood with emotional and psychological terms, we might apply depressed, detached or remote to characterize the mood of this Hemingway story. Maybe the best term to use here, however, is afflicted. 

While the turmoil experienced by the characters is internal, their injuries come from outside of themselves. They are affected by a brutal world and thus suffer the afflictions of that brutality and of the indifference of events. 

The robotic methods of physical therapy that are featured in the story parallel the purposeful indifference that these two characters cultivate in regards to their injuries. They are literally going through the motions of recovery by the end, seemingly as far removed from any hope for true recovery as they are from the hope for glory in battle.  

     There was a time when none of us believed in the machines, and one day the major said it was all nonsense.

The protagonist, like the major, is experiencing rather severe alienation. The protagonist is far from home, having been injured during war in a foreign country. The major is from Italy, and so is at home in the country, but in addition to having lost some of his physical abilities to injury, the major also loses his wife. 

     "He cannot marry. He cannot marry," he said angrily. "If he is to lose everything, he should not place himself in a position to lose that. He should not place himself in a position to lose. He should find things he cannot lose."
     He spoke very angrily and bitterly, and looked straight ahead while he talked.

The mood of the story is charged, ultimately, with a tension that animates the sense of alienation and loss and poses that isolation as a sort of existential suffering. In order to live fully and with joy, one must take the chance that one's joy can be taken away. 

As much as the narrative may strive to suppress the emotional nature of this insight, it also presents the insight as the central motif of the story. Hemingway gives us a picture of two kinds of romance (one of war and one of love) and suggests that despite the some nobility in the pursuit of romantic notions, deep suffering is unpleasant and, if still noble, bereft of the ephemeral hopefulness that initiated the pursuit.   

A neighbor, or someone in his employ, dumped refuse consisting of 6-8' slabs of concrete onto my property. What is the offense?

This offense is going to be a matter of state law or municipal ordinance, so it is impossible for me to give you a definitive answer.  However, as far as I can tell, this is a form of trespass. Trepass, in common law, is a tort, an offense against person or property. Even if someone has not stepped foot upon your property, the materials placed upon your property constitute a trespass. Generally, trespass is a civil matter, for which one might be sued, and could be a criminal matter as well, depending on state law and local ordinances.  You may want to take some photos, call the police and file a report, and speak to your local magistrate or district attorney.  Certainly, consulting an attorney is always a good idea.  If the dumped materials are creating a danger to you or others, take some photos and then clean up. You do not want to compound your problems by failing to clean up and causing someone to be hurt.  Good luck with your problem. 

What are methods to minimize glare?This question is asked in relation to ergonomics and illumination at work.

Glare occurs when one part of a visual field is brighter than the level to which eye has become adapted. The most obvious way to control glare is to control the light falling on displays from the sources of glare. This can be done by means such as pulling blinds over widows through outside sunlight comes in directly. Also the visual screens such as computer monitor may be placed in such positions  that windows or other light sources do not shine on it. If these methods still do not eliminate glare on visual screens, screen filters may be used.

Instead of using blinds on windows, tinted glasses or translucent blinds may also be used. This allows use of natural day light for lighting the workplace without causing too much glare. Similarly vertical or horizontal fins may be used on widows to bar direct visibility of sky outside without completely blocking the natural light or ventilation.

Glares are also reduces by building overhangs over Windows, doors and other openings. Using windows, that are higher or skylights also let natural light with less glare at the normal working levels.

Glares can also be reduced by reducing too much of contrast in brightness in areas surrounding workplace. For example areas around widows may be painted in lighter colours. However care is required to ensure that such light coloured surfaces themselves do not become sources of glare. Thus care need to be taken to avoid too much contrast between work place and general surrounding.

Glare from artificial sources of lights can be reduced by using concealed light or translucent shades. When this is not done care should be taken to place light sources so that there no direct eye contact with the light source.

What factors contribute to Tom's initial refusal?

The factors that contributed to Tom's initial refusal to the Devil are as follows:

Tom didn't want to accept the Devil's offer because he wasn't sure whether he wanted to make his wife happy by getting all the wealth of Kidd, the pirate.  He wanted to  snub her because she has caused him so much turmoil over the years.  His greed and lust for power was great but his resentment for his wife was greater and this was enough to turn the Devil down on their initial encounter.  He is also not afraid of the Devil because his wife has made him so hardened about everything.  The Devil has burnt his signature into Tom's forehead to assure him, that he will keep his word.  Even though Tom doesn't disclose the terms of the sale of wealth, we can guess that he will probably have to sell his soul to get it.

In A Rose for Emily, How is Emily portrayed?

In the abstract, Faulknet portrays Emily as a symbol of a dying Old South, a "monument" of ancient times, stubborn to let go of a glorious past, and unable to fit into the present. She is a vestige of what once may have been glorious, a little girl alone, a woman lost due to the lack of control exerted by her father, and a woman so desperate for company that she would not even let go of the dead bodies of her father, nor her lover.

Concretely, Faulkner describes her in the beginnings of the story as:

They rose when she entered-a small, fat woman in black, with a thin gold chain descending to
her waist and vanishing into her belt, leaning on an ebony cane with a tarnished gold head.  Her
skeleton was small and spare; perhaps that was why what would have been merely plumpness
in another was obesity in her.  She looked bloated, like a body long submerged in motionless
water, and of that pallid hue.  Her eyes, lost in the fatty ridges of her face, looked like two
small pieces of coal pressed into a lump of dough as they moved from one face to another while
the visitors stated their errand.

What is the theme of the short story "The Necklace"? And what three points can come from the theme?I am trying to write a paper

cmaster2,

The Necklace by Guy De Maupassant is a classic short story. Full of irony, The speaker states that small things save or destroy people (paragraph 105). The story bears out the idea, for any number of things could be cited as the cause of the disaster, none of them by themselves of major significance: (a) the invitation, (b) the new dress, (c) the borrowing of the necklace, (d) the hurrying away from the party (paragraphs 55–60), (e) the failure of Jeanne to tell Mathilde that the necklace is only a cheap imitation. Whether the story emphasizes Fate or chance, one should probably emphasize chance, for the idea of Fate implies a more systematic pattern of opposition than the circumstances working against Mathilde.

Maupassant also illustrates a view that might be described as "economic determinism" in the story. Maupassant introduces the idea of "the horrible life of the needy" in paragraph 98, and his description of what happens to Mathilde under these circumstances may be construed as an illustration of economic determinism. In addition, the fact that Jeanne Forrestier is "always youthful, always beautiful, always attractive" can be read the same way inasmuch as Jeanne is "rich" (paragraph 6). The clear contrast, together with Maupassant’s paragraph about "What would life have been like if she had not lost that necklace?" (paragraph 105), indicates that in this story at least Maupassant makes a connection between the economic condition of people and their happiness and character fulfillment. 

On balance, Mathilde, the protagonist, is not negative, for in paragraphs 99–104, Maupassant describes the massive effort that she exerts to help pay the debt. The heroism that the speaker attributes to her suggests that readers, finally, are justified in admiring her. The quality of character that is a first cause of the misfortune, however, is her refusal to accept the reality of her genteel poverty and her desire to use the borrowed necklace to appear prosperous.

Though the conversations of Mathilde and Loisel in paragraphs 8–38 indicate that Mathilde pressures and manipulates Loisel, she seems to be less interested in him and in his needs than in her own. Loisel wants to please Mathilde, but is unable to deal with her on a personal level. More to attain his own composure than to give her pleasure, he buys her the dress and suggests that she borrow the jewels. There is no evidence in the story that the two have anything more than a perfunctory marital relationship.

Also, her daydreams are not all that unusual. It is unlikely that Maupassant contrived the misfortune as a deserved punishment, particularly because Mathilde’s good qualities are brought out as the story progresses. Also, the unexpected and ironic ending indicates that the story is less concerned with showing how Mathilde gets her comeuppance than with evoking regret along with surprise. One might still claim, however, that Mathilde deserves at least some shock of grim reality, but certainly not the disaster that occurs. Thus Maupassant succeeds in directing sympathy toward Mathilde, together with whatever criticism she deserves because of her daydreams. 

What were the foreign policies of Hitler?

cutiee123,

Hitler’s foreign policy and its role in the international system is often misunderstood. It was based on a clear conception of geopolitical and ideological objectives. Hitler explained his views in numerous speeches but more systematically in Mein Kampf and in a second, unpublished book on foreign policy written in the late 1920s. The following geopolitical and ideological assumptions guided Hitler’s foreign policy throughout his career. Germany should regain its position as the dominant power in Europe. A Greater German Reich should be created, bringing together all the "German lands" of central Europe, and it should be purged of all non-German elements. Germany needed Lebensraum, or living space, for its expanding population. This territory was to be taken in eastern Europe, which would ultimately require war with Russia. This war against Russia also had an ideological dimension. The Soviet Union was the home of what was called "Judeo-Bolshevism," and hence a war against the Soviet Union would be a crusade against both the Jews and the Communists. Creation of this Greater German Reich would allow Germany to assume its rightful place in an international system dominated by four empires. A revived Germany should dominate the European continent. Britain would retain its global empire. The United States would be the hegemonic power in the western hemisphere. Japan would play the leading role in Asia. These goals would require the destruction of the Versailles system. 

Hitler moved first to revise the military clauses of the Treaty. He withdrew Germany from the Disarmament Conference and the League of Nations in 1933. In 1935 Hitler announced that Germany would rearm, in violation of the Versailles Treaty, with the conscription of an army, creation of an air force, and development of a naval fleet. 

By the close of 1936, the Treaty of Versailles was a dead letter. Revising the Territorial Clauses of the Treaty. In 1937 Hitler explained his territorial ambitions to his military and foreign policy establishments—recorded in the Hossbach memorandum.  Hitler launched the Anschluss (connection) with Austria in the spring of 1938. This crisis was provoked when Austrian chancellor Schussnigg sought guarantees of Austrian sovereignty from Italy and the western powers. On March 12, 1938, Schussnigg called a plebiscite in Austria on linkage with Germany,, but he later retreated in the face of Hitler’s opposition. It ended with Germany’s peaceful annexation of Austria. The next crisis involved the Sudetenland in the fall of 1938. It was prompted by agitation in the Czech Sudetenland by ethnic Germans headed by Conrad Henlein. The situation was complicated because the Czechs had treaties with both France and the Soviet Union. It was concluded peacefully at the Munich Conference in October. War had been averted, but at enormous cost.

By the end of 1938 the territorial clauses of the Treaty of Versailles had been utterly revised, if not destroyed, and the international system that the Treaty had sought to create was dead.

What is the lawyer's attitude toward Bartleby and how does it change in "Bartleby the Scrivener, A Tale of Wall Street"?

In "Bartleby the Scrivener, A Tale of Wall Street," the lawyer's initial attitude toward Bartleby is one of optimism and good will. He recognizes a proficiency and skill in Bartleby's clerical abilities that perfectly suit the needs he has. In addition, he recognizes in Bartleby a quietness and sobriety of spirit that suits him, therefore he positions Bartleby's desk in his own portion of the offices on his side of the partition to have Bartleby within easy summons for special tasks.

After Bartleby undergoes his change, sits in reveries staring at the dead wall out his window, and prefers not to do any copying or proofreading, the lawyer's attitude changes to one of confusion and bewilderment toward Bartleby. The lawyer has already firmly established that he doesn't give in to anger nor does he "indulge in dangerous indignation at wrongs and outrages," so he never descends to anger at Bartleby, even through the worst of the peculiarities leading up to Bartleby's arrest for vagrancy and his subsequent death.

How do you describe the physical appearance of Prince Prospero?I'm curious because in our short story in class, there's no description. I haven't...

When considering Prospero's appearance, I consider this quote:

"for the prince was a bold and robust man"

This suggests to me a man of good physical condition.  He rushes through the rooms of the house after the intruder comes, with dagger in hand.  This also supports good physical condition. 

I picture a man of average height, broad shouldered and straight backed. 

What is the character of the Duke of ferrara?What is the character of the Duchess?

This is such a complicated but wonderful poem.  The Duke of Ferrara is a very selfish man who considers everything within his grasp "his".  He owns many things...the bronze statue, for instance.  The most important thing he "owns," however, is his last duchess.  She hangs on the wall as if she were still alive--no one sees her unless he approves, otherwise she is hidden behind the curtain for his eyes only.

The Duke is talking the entire time, and he reveals much of his selfish and haughty personality through what he says...and what he does not.  Read between the lines.  He tells the envoy of the New Duchess that he will not tolerate someone who does not live for him entirely.  So warn your man that his daughter better suck up to me or she'll end up on the wall like my last duchess.

The Duchess found pleasure in simple things.  She did not respect his gift of a very old and distinguished name, and she smiled at everyone...not just the Duke.  She appreciated it whend someone brought her flowers or fruit, or showed her any kindness whatsoever.  So, rather than lower himself to tell her that he didn't like this, he gave orders to "stop her smiles" altogether.  We understand that he had her killed.

Some critics read into this that the Duchess was cheating on the Duke, but I think she just enjoyed simple pleasures of life--sunsets and friendly people and juicy peaches, etc. 

Our School Law professor gave us this assignment: Social forces exist not only at the national level. Very often, schol policy, which...

I imagine it is hard to see social forces at a meeting like that...

I would think that the most obvious social force that tends to work at a school board meeting would be the desire of parents to push for the best education they can get for their children.  I would think that this force would tend to show itself in demands for extra programs and buildings and in a somewhat selfish desire for benefits to be funneled towards schools in the area of the most vocal (probably well-off) parents.

I imagine another possible social force would be resistance to taxes, especially from those who have no children in the school system.  These people would be more likely to argue for austerity.

Do you think that is the sort of social forces that your professor means?

what is wltons impression of frankenstein ?

The reader almost immediately recognizes Walton and Frankenstein as versions of one another...Frankenstein is sent to teach Walton the error of his ways so that Walton will learn from the mistakes Frankenstein made and not be doomed to repeat them.

At first, Walton sees Victor as a poor, hapless creature, half starved and very nearly frozen to death.  As he nurses Victor back to health, Victor begins telling him the tale of his life and the pursuit he is making.  Robert realizes that Victor is the intelligent, sensitive, creative, and ambitious person he craved for companionship of whom he wrote in his letters to Margaret.

Robert does learn from Victor and decides to return home when faced with mutiny from his crew.  Victor, however, probably would not have turned the ship around. 

What is Laertes's advice to Ophelia? At this point in the play do you think he likes or dislikes Hamlet? Explain your answer.the question is in act 1.

Laertes acts as any older brother would for his baby sister.  Although it is hinted at that both Laertes and Hamlet have been "playmates" as young people of noble birth often are, where Ophelia is concerned, Laertes tells her that Hamlet is only interested in her for one thing and that she should protect her maidenhead and her honor by ignoring Hamlet's attentions.

When Laertes is told by Claudius that Hamlet has killed Polonius, Laertes' father, it is obvious that Laertes' feelings toward Hamlet are bitter and full of hatred.  He clearly wants revenge and agrees to plot with Claudius on how to get it.  However, as the duel is under way and Laertes realizes that Claudius is the more evil of the two (especially after Hamlet has made such a nice apology for killing Polonius and asks Laertes' pardon), Laertes has a change of heart toward Hamlet and admits the "villainy is here."  They are both doomed as they have mixed up swords in the duel somehow and they have both been wounded.  The poison will take its toll on both, leaving a long list of dead actors in their wake.  Hamlet kills Claudius, he and Laertes forgive each other, and both of them die.

In A Separate Peace, other than the tree incident, are there scenes where Gene is not a character of virtue?

There most certainly are.  Take for example the incident in chapter seven when Brinker confronts Gene in the broiler room.  Brinker starts questioning and hassling Gene over the tree incident.  Gene gets super uncomfortable, tries to lie about what happened, and in then, to take the focus off of him, he lashes out at another kid, humiliating him.  This is not a very virtuous thing to do; he publicly humiliated some innocent bystander just so that Brinker and the other guys would stop bothering him.

Gene also displays quite a bit of selfishness and bitterness in the first few chapters, against Finny.  After Finny confesses his friendship to him on the beach, Gene is silent.  Then, instead of thinking, "Hey, that was a really nice thing of Finny to say," he instead decides that Finny did it on purpose to trick him, because Finny was "trying to undermine" his studies.  Rather petty and unvirtuous if you ask me.

Then, take Gene's behavior with Leper after Leper is discharged from the army.  Leper is in desparate need of friendship and support, and unloads on Gene.  He's been through a traumatic experience, is doubting his sanity, and is super vulnerable.  But instead of being a good friend to Leper, Gene freaks out on him, yells at him, calls him names, and runs away.  Gene behaved  very poorly and was an awful friend to Leper.

I hope that those thoughts helped; good luck!

In "The Man with the Twisted Lip" by Conan Doyle, how does Holmes deduce that Neivelle St. Clair is Hugh Boone?

A very intriguing series of clues ties the two identities of Neville St. Clair and Hugh Boone together, with aid from St. Clair himself and his wife Mrs. St. Clair. First, Holmes learns that there were blood drops on the window sill where Mrs. St Clair had seen her husband on Swandam Lane, as well as blood drops on the beggar's, Hugh Boone's, shirt sleeve, which he explained away by indicating "his ring-finger, which had been cut near the nail" (629).

Second, Holmes learns from Mrs. St. Clair that she has received a letter from her husband saying that all will be well written by his hand (handwriting) but posted by another person as the address was written in a different hand. Third, Mrs. St. Clair tells Holmes that on the morning that was the last time she has seen of her husband, he cut his finger: "On the very day that I saw him last he cut himself in the bedroom" (632).

Holmes next questions Mrs. St. Clair as to what precisely she had seen when she was shocked to see her husband in Swandam Lane looking out a window above an opium den. She said that upon seeing her, her husband uttered a cry that she took to be a call for help; Holmes suggested might be a cry of surprise. She said he suddenly vanished from the window, which she said was an act of violence by someone pulling him in; Holmes suggested he might have leapt back from surprise. She said he had his regular clothes on but his collar was off and his shirt open at the throat (men's collars in the 1800s were stiff and were constructed to be attached and detached), to which Holmes made no reply, only asking if St. Clair had ever shown signs of opium use.

After thought while "sitting upon five pillows" (637), he and Watson made a predawn journey to the jail to see Hugh Boone. Remembering that Holmes is described by Doyle in many of his stories and novels as a master of disguise, note that Holmes took with him a bath sponge from the bathroom.
Holmes' reasoning went something like this:

If what Mrs. St. Clair saw could be interpreted as surprise and avoidance; if St. Clair never showed any signs of opium use; if pennies in the pockets were weighing down the coat found by police; if she received a letter from her husband stating he was alive and well; if both Hugh Boone and Neville St. Clair had a cut on their fingers; if Boone attributed the blood on the window sill to his having stood three; if Mrs. St. Clair attribute the blood on the window sill to St. Clair having stood there; if St. Clair's clothes found in Boone's room showed no signs of violence having been done, then...with the art of disguise, both men must be one and the same person for some reason associated with pennies and not opium. Hence, Holmes' journey to the jail with a washing sponge in tow to give the very dirty prisoner, one Hugh Boone, a good scrubbing to reveal the missing Neville St. Clair.

Ta da! Deductive logic wins again! Incidentally, what is amazing is that not only does Holmes unravel puzzles of logic and logical sequence, but Sir Arthur Conan Doyle contrived and meticulously built up the puzzels for Holmes to unravel!

What is the significance of Jonas's discoveries concerning climate control?

When Jonas discovers how much the community controls the climate, it helps us know more about the community.  Specifically, it tells us just how committed the community is to enforcing "sameness."

Jonas finds out that there used to be this thing called snow.  And that there used to be sunshine and rain and things like that.  Somehow, the community has learned how to control these things.

This is really most significant because it shows us how important sameness is.  It shows that the community does not even want the weather to vary so that there will be less variation of any sort in their lives.

What are some of Winston's fears in 1984?

Winston fears rats. This is first exposed in chapter 4 during one of his escapades with Julia in the room on top of Mr. Charrington’s junk shop. Julia spotted a rat poking its head from a corner of the room and this terrified Winston to the point of screaming. He then revealed that he feared rats more than anything else in the world. This same fear is what O’Brien eventually used to get Winston to betray his love for Julia. Winston had actually intended to keep his love for Julia in his heart forever but upon transfer to room 101 and additional threats of a cage of hungry rats, he betrayed Julia.

Winston also feared being executed for thought crime. During one instance, he encountered three men who were executed for treason which they allegedly committed during a party function when in reality they were in the same venue as he was during the alleged time of the crime. Winston, noting this experience as real history, had kept their photograph but later threw it into memory hole.

How does the chimney sweeper of innocence and experience relate to eachother? Whos voice is the poem? How do they reflect William Blakes beliefs?

The speaker in Blake's, "The Chimney Sweeper," from Songs of Innocence, is a child and a bit naive.  Born of poor parents, he was sold into virtual slavery and now is a chimney sweeper, a job that filled one's lungs with soot and usually resulted in early death. 

The treatment of these children is made to seem okay in the poem narrated by the child, since salvation awaits them in the form of angels.  The child speaker, as well as Tom Dacre, buy into this faulty reasoning.  The poem is presented in an innocent manner by an innocent narrator, and it is left to the reader to determine the injustice of their situation.

In the companion poem of the same name in Blake's The Songs of Experience, a child chimney sweeper is again present in the poem, but this time the speaker is an adult passing by the child who asks him where his parents are.  This child faces the same situation the previous child faces, but this one is intelligent enough and aware enough to see society's line of thought as faulty:  he knows better than to naively accept that hope for a future reward makes the way sweeps are treated okay. 

Thus, a child can be experienced, too.  Age is not the only issue.

Both poems feature misused and abused children.  The difference is that the second child knows he's being misused and abused.  Blake is interested in perceptions, and in these poems we see two opposite perceptions of the same situation.

Is the conflict in "The Necklace" internal or external?

Madame Loisel is ultimately the catalyst that created both the internal and external conflict in the story.

Her obsession with society life, luxury, and her fixation to pity herself as someone who is deserving of much more than what she already has is how she creates the internal conflict.

The loss of the diamond necklace came as a result of that internal conflict, because she lost it during a moment of bliss where she "lost herself" in the moment. Had she not harbored this preocupation with luxury and society she would have had more decorum and self control during the activity.

Externally,the replacement of the necklace would come as a consequence of the internal conflict. However, if you look deeper, it was all caused mostly from the "inside" as a chain of sad events.

What titles does Napoleon eventually assume for himself in Animal Farm?

Napoleon eventually takes a bunch of titles.  They get more elaborate as the story goes on.  At the end of Chapter 6, he is already being referred to as "leader."

But then by the time we get to the start of Chapter 8, things get out of hand.  He gives himself a bunch of fancy titles.  These titles include Father of All Animals, Terror of Mankind, Protector of the Sheep-fold, Ducklings' Friend, and other such titles.

All of this shows that Napoleon is getting to be way "more equal" than the other animals and that he is setting up a Stalin-type cult of personality around himself.

In "The Cask of Amontillado," to what extent is the reader supposed to sympathize with Fortunato?

Poe makes Fortunado a character that most readers will definitely feel bad for by the end of the tale.  He uses specific techniques to make him seem like a bit of a harmless fellow that certainly doesn't deserve the horrid fate the befalls him.  First of all, Poe is not specific about the exact "injuries" and "insults" that Fortunado supposedly enacts upon Montresor.  Because we do not have specific information, we can't really put a finger on Fortunado's villian status--it seems less real to us, and we don't feel like he is that bad of a guy as a result.  If Poe had said instead that Fortunado had murdered Montresor's wife, for instance, we would have definitely NOT sympathized with Fortunado.  But, all we get is that he had insulted Montresor.  It sounds perfectly harmless, and we think to ourselves, "So?  I get insulted all the time!  Get over it Montresor!"  By being vague about Fortunado's supposedly dastardly deeds, we sympathize with his end more.

Another way that Poe helps us to sympathize with Fortunado is by making him appear like a foolish but harmless man.  Of all of the costumes Poe could have put him in, he chose a jester's outfit, complete with a jingling hat.  This is a pretty funny image, to think of a grown man jingling around in a court jester costume.  That lessens Fortunado's ominous character, and makes him seem like a jolly and harmless fellow.  Then, Poe makes him drunk and rather amiable--he is willing to help Montresor, very friendly to him, and rather gullible as he is led about the tombs.  That makes him even more sympathetic in our eyes.

So, by being vague about Fortunado's bad traits, and making him appear comic and harmless, friendly and gullible, Poe definitely paints Fortunado in a light that makes his vicious end one that we definitely feel he can't deserve.  For your other questions, try submitting them one at a time as I'm only encouraged to answer one.  I hope that those thoughts helped; good luck!

In the work of Theodore Dreiser, if Clyde Griffiths is the protagonist, then who would be the antagonist?

American Tragedy is a novel where the conflict is man vs. environment or, alternately, man vs. himself. The antagonist, then, would be not another person, but a situation, or a trait within the character himself that the protagonist must battle against.

If we accept that the conflict is man vs. environment, then the antagonist is the combination of social and hereditary constraints into which Clyde is born. Clyde is born in poverty to a family that is not especially resourceful or notable.  Though he longs for the American dream of success, he cannot escape his background to attain it.

If we look at the conflict as man vs. self, then the antagonist is Clyde's overwhelming desire to achieve material well-being and success, and the moral weakness that allows him to pursue his desire at all costs. He is so consumed with this craving that he is willing to commit murder in order to get what he wants.

In either case, consistent with the naturalistic philosophy underlying the novel, Clyde the protagonist is ruined by the antagonistic forces he faces.

How does Scout show empathy?How does she show empathy in chapter 4 towards Boo Radley or in any other part in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Scout does not appear to show any empathy for Boo Radley in Chapter 4 of To Kill a Mockingbird.  For, she actively engages in the play-acting about the Radley family.  When the children's father asks them what they are doing--specifically, what they are doing with the scissors--Scout senses that Atticus may suspect that they are acting out the Radley history; as a result, she becomes nervous and asks Jem to stop the play.  The second reason that Scout gives the reader is the fact that on the day that she rolled into the Radley front yard, she heard a laugh.  This laughter has frightened Scout who is superstitious; consequently, she does not wish to continue their charades.

Empathy, however, is clearly demonstrated by Scout for Boo Radley in the final chapter when she walks her rescuer home.  Standing on Boo Radley's porch provides Scout the perspective of Boo, causing her then to understand what his small, lonely world must be like.  As Scout "walks around in his shoes," she feels empathetic for the isolated man who vicariously knew some joy and laughter from watching her and Jem and Dill:

Neighbors bring food witih death and flowers with sickness and little things in between.  Boo was our neighbor.  he gave us two soap dolls, abroken watch and chain, a pair of good-luck pennies, and our lives.  But neighbors give in return  We never put back into the tree what we took out of it:  we had given him nothing, and it made me sad....

Atticus was right.  One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.  Just standing on the Radley porch was enough.

Is "Young Goodman Brown" a negative and /or positive critique of Puritanism?

"Young Goodman Brown" casts the Puritan society in a negative light.  This is best seen in Hawthorne's critique of hypocrisy evident in Salem.  While the Puritans were incredibly hard working and resilient, they were deeply religious and viewed people as either elect (destined for heaven) or damned (destined for hell).  It appears that there was little one could do to move from one category to the other.  This, of course, would naturally lead to a great division in society.  Those who were elect would naturally view themselves as superior to those who were damned. 

Hawthorne criticizes this because it is ripe for hypocrisy.  Notice how Brown views himself as elect, yet he allows the devil to lure him deeper and deeper into the forest.  In fact, when he realizes Faith is in the woods, Brown becomes so enraged that he becomes the most frightening thing in the entire woods - including the devil and the black mass! 

Notice too how the devil tells Brown those around him - and even his ancestors - were not as pious as he thought.  He realizes prominent members of his own church are devil worshippers.  He realizes his father and grandfather also knew the devil and received his help.

It seems that Hawthorne, who had an ancestor who served as a judge on the infamous Salem witch trials, criticizes the Puritans for neglecting to realize that all humans are susceptible to sin, not exempt from it.

What is the universal meaning in Macbeth? And how are Macbeth and Lord of the Flies connected/or different?Help!

While the ambition for power is a theme shared by the play and the novel, and Jack and Macbeth both become corrupted by their desire for power, the two stories end differently.  Order is restored in both cases:  in Macbeth, through his death in a battle with Macduff definitively carrying on stage the head of the dead Macbeth, but in Lord of the Flies  the arrival of a ship interrupts a battle and saves Ralph’s life.  Macbeth is more optimistic:  the tragic hero learns his lesson before he dies, and we know goodness will rule.  In Lord of the Flies, we are not so sure, for when the naval officer looks away from Ralph’s tears and out at sea, Golding seems to suggest that the violence the boys lived is a fundamental part of human interaction that will not go away.

How is weather/season related to the action? If Gurov/Anna's affair heats up in Yalta's hot sun, why doesn't it cool down, in Moscow winter's snow?

Author's often use weather or seasons to symbolize the dominant themes of their work.  It is often the case that a passionate relationship will fade over time, and what seemed exciting and new at first becomes commonplace.  Thats the cooling off.  Either the couple will continue to find new things to enjoy about one another, or they will separate.  However, if the separation is forced, as it was here, it is easy to forget that feeling of familiarity and to be excited again when reunited.  The weather symbolizes the two stages most literally.  Hot for the passion, cold for the lack of continuing interest beyond the excitement and lust.

1.Explain Gatsby's attitude toward time. 2.What similar circumstance has been revealed both to Tom and Wilson?

In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby believes that one can recapture or recreate the past.  Nick concludes his story with an echo of Gatsby's belief:

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

That's what the novel's about:  Gatsby's attempt to recreate the past, his past with Daisy.  He insists verbally to Nick that one can go back, and his actions demonstrate his belief.  He idealizes his brief relationship with Daisy that occurred five years before the novel's present, and seeks to recapture those moments.  Of course, he is doomed from the beginning, since the relationship was never as he perceived it in the first place.

What items were in Frankenstein's room?

When Victor is at Ingolstadt, he rents an apartment that is large enough to house a laboratory.  As he becomes more and more engrossed in and obsessed with his creation, Victor fills the room with not only laboratory equipment but also with parts of corpses and animals on which he experiments.

When Victor successfully brings the monster to life and flees his apartment, the monster runs off, and the reader finds out later that he took a coat from Victor's apartment which contains Victor's journal (this is how the monster is able to trace Victor to his family's house in Geneva).

So, a short list would be: laboratory equipment, chemicals, books, animal and human parts, and Victor's journal (until the monster unintentionally takes it).

The Puritans also relied on their consciences. Show an exact quote from Act 1 showing this.Please include the page number and state which cover...

Hale also acts on his conscience.  Although he is called to Salem to look for witches, he really requires evidence of witchcraft, not just the words of the girls.  In Act I scene II he goes to the Proctor's house not because the court sent him but  "of my own, without the court's authority, "  to speak with Elizabeth because she has been mentioned in the court.  He continues: 

I am a stranger here, as you know.  And in my ignorance I find it hard to draw a clear opinion of them that come accused before the court.  And so this afternoon, and now tonight, I go from house to house... "

Here Hale shows his concern that he really know the people who are accused and he shows his conscience in desiring that knowledge.  Later, coming to the conlcusion that the court is only interested in hanging witches rather than in finding the truth, Hale denounces the trial and leaves coming back only to try and save the lives of the accused.

In what ways does Borges play with the Englishman's identity in The Shape of the Sword?In other words, at which points in the story is the man's...

Ambiguous refers most often to that which has an unclear double meaning. It is derived from the Latin word ambiguus meaning "having double meaning, shifting, changeable, doubtful." Another, less common, usage of ambiguous means doubtful; uncertain; difficult to comprehend.

By these definitions, this question is a bit ambiguous.... If you mean where in the story The Shape of the Sword (Borges)are we torn between choosing one of two hinted identities, that only occurs at the end of the story where the Englishman says,

"From one of the general’s collections of arms I tore a cutlass, with that half moon I carved into his face forever a half moon of blood. Borges, to you, a stranger I have made this confession;"

and then again where Borges and the Englishman say,

"Here the narrator stopped. I noticed that his hands were shaking.
“And Moon?” I asked him.
“He collected his Judas money and fled to Brazil...;" and finally when the Englishman stammers, "Don’t  you see that I carry written on my face the mark of my infamy?"

If, on the other hand, you mean where in the story is the Englishman's identity uncertain and doubtful--which fits the idea of Borges playing with the Englishman's identity--that occurs in several places throughout the text. The first instance where Borges teases the reader with allusions to secrets relevant to identity is where Borges, as the narrator, says,

"I understand that the Englishman resorted to an unexpected argument: he confided to Cardoso the secret of the scar."

The sentence after this, "The Englishman came from the border, from Rio Grande del Sur; there are many who say that in Brazil he had been a smuggler," lights up in retrospect as a clue at the end of the story when the Englishman says Moon reportedly went to Brazil; it's foreshadowing. 

The second place Borges teases us with hints about identity is when the Englishman is waxing philosophical while saying,

"This frightened man mortified me, as if I were the coward, not Vincent Moon. Whatever one man does, it is as if all men did it...I am all other men, any man is all men."

Then Borges's final tease comes in a line also quoted earlier, but then in reference to the meaning of ambiguous reflecting unclear choices. It is:

"From one of the general’s collections of arms I tore a cutlass, with that half moon I carved into his face forever a half moon of blood."

In stanza 1 of "Ode on a Grecian Urn", what literary device does the speaker use to speak directly to the urn?apostrophe

This poem starts with personification.  Personificiation is the literary device in which an author acts as if an inanimate object is actually alive.  To put it more formally, personification is a figure of speech in which an inanimate object is imbued with human characteristics or is addressed as an animate being.

You can see Keats do this right away in the first line.  He addresses the urn as "thou" and calls it a bride and a child and a historian.  Obviously, the urn is none of these things, it is just a pot.

So, by talking to the urn as if it were a person, Keats is using personification.

What does this quote from Hamlet's letter to Ophelia mean: "Doubt thou that stars..."?

The following lines are from the love letter Hamlet writes to Ophelia in Act 2 Scene 2 of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. As a dutiful daughter, Ophelia passes this letter to her father Polonius who then reads it to the King and the Queen.

Doubt thou the stars are fire,

Doubt that the sun doth move,

Doubt truth to be a liar,

But never doubt I love.

It seems that Hamlet has been courting Ophelia who is unable to respond to his feelings because her father Polonius forbids her to do so. Polonius feels that this unrequited love is the reason behind Hamlet’s madness.

The most simplified and obvious interpretation of these lines is Hamlet’s hyperbolic assertion that Ophelia could doubt the most believable scientific phenomena and forces of the universe, but she should never doubt his love towards her.

Of course, the fact that the stars are only made of fire is questionable to astronomical sciences now, but at the time period of the play, it was treated with downright certainty. However, Copernicus challenged the fact of the movement of the sun and most of the Shakespearean audience would have suspected this anyway.

There is a possibility of semantic ambiguity in the poem if Shakespeare used the word "doubt" to mean "suspect". Hamlet's love poem, then, would ask Ophelia to go ahead and suspect all proven forces of the Universe but “never suspect that he loves (her)”.

This, confusingly,  generates complete semantic inversion of Hamlet’s use of language to express his feelings, which sounds more like a denial of love. Was Hamlet telling Ophelia to believe he loves her or to be sure that he doesn't? Is it a poem Hamlet wrote to express his love or to refute it? This ambiguity has garnered a lot of interest amongst literary scholars although Hamlet’s love to Ophelia isn’t the main focus of the play.

What is Nick like as a narrator ? Is he a reliable story teller ?How does the qualities as character affect his narration ? Is he a reliable story...

Nick in The Great Gatsby is a first-person narrator who is directly involved in the action.  He's not one of the main players, but he's not just a distant observer, either.  As an involved narrator, his perception is not totally objective.  His perceptions, observations, prejudices, opinions filter everything he writes.

Nick tends to be judgmental and opinionated, for instance.  When he opens the novel by announcing that he always reserves judgment and does not make first impressions, this indicates that he sees himself as superior to others.  One doesn't have to concentrate on not judging others, if one doesn't judge others. 

He reveals his judgments about Tom repeatedly during his narration, and even his first impressions express opinions, such as the first time he sees Jordan Baker and indirectly characterizes her as lethargic and stuck up. 

That said, Nick is considered by most to be a fairly reliable narrator.  There are those who see his portrayal of Gatsby as a "white wash," and feel Gatsby is really a pompous jerk and a crook with no redeeming qualities, but this is a minority view. 

His view of events does not seem highly suspect, though it does seem to promote the Midwestern values he comes to the story with.   

Why did the black girl (Connie) tell the guys to beat up Mike? Why does Mike not hate her, or black people for this?

Connie and Mike illustrate opposing reactions to being victimized by others.

Connie harbors a deep bitterness toward white people.  She has been a victim in a prejudicial society all her life, and has just been assaulted by a group of white men. Mike helps her, and there is a glimmer of hope that she might be able to rise above her preconceived ideas and see him as an individual when she thanks him in the car. As soon as she is back with her group, however, it is easy to revert back to mob mentality and conform to peer pressure, so she tells her friends to "kill the white bastard" (Chapter 2).

Mike, on the other hand, though he has just been brutally beaten by a gang of black youths, refuses to succumb to stereotyping and bitterness.  He knows that the gang that attacked him does not represent all black people, and is able to see people as individuals from perspectives other than his own. He is thus even able to understand the motivation behind Connie's betrayal of him, and actually sympathize with her.

Do you think Jerry’s experience can be viewed as an initiation rite? What similarities and differences can you find in his experience and...

Certainly you can see what Jerry does as an inititation rite.  I say this because it has one very important thing in common with initiation rites in many cultures.  What that is is the fact that it requires moral and physical bravery.

In many cultures, masculinity is associated with physical and moral/mental bravery.  Men are expected to be tough-minded and as well as physically tough.  To prove that they really are men, they are often required to go through some rite that forces them to prove they have these qualities.

Jerry has to prove he is tough-minded enough to try to swim the tunnel and that he is physically tough enough to manage it.  This sounds much like an initiation rite.

Why is Antigone in trouble? Why does Creon believe that the gods are on his side? What was the belief of the Greeks concerning death?What was the...

The Greeks actually had an elaborate funeral ritual.  They believed that the shade (or soul) of the person left the body at the moment of death, but could not go to the underworld, Hades, until the body was properly cared for and buried.  It was usually the job of the nearest female relatives to prepare the body for burial so it should have been the job of Antigone and Ismene.  This fact makes it even more understandable that Antigone would risk all to bury her brother.   

Creon believes the God's are on his side because he believes that Polynieces was wrong.  It is not really Creon that Polynieces fought against; it was Antigone's other brother, Etocles.  Etocles and Polyneices were supposed to share the rule of Thebes after Oedipus, and had agreed to alternate power on a yearly basis, but when the year of Etolces was up, he refused to give over to Polyneices.  Polyneices then got an army from his father-in-law (from another city) and attacked Thebes to gain power from his brother.  Both brothers were killed in the battle and Creon inherited the throne.  Creon feels that Polynieces was wrong to bring an army against Thebes even if he had a rightful grievance.  It was a question of loyalty to one's city over one's family in his eyes.  Antigone disagrees.

What was the year when Leo Tolstoy started and finished War and Peace?

William L. Shirer wrote an interesting book about Tolstoy and his wife Sofya in which Shirer describes the composition of Tolstoy's most famous work, War and Peace. Tolstoy was an extremely fastidious writer. He wrote at least seven drafts of his long novel before submitting it for publication, and he was still making changes when the publisher started sending him proof sheets for approval. Tolstoy of course had to write everything with pen and ink. His handwriting was hard to read, as might be expected in such a temperamental and impetuous man. The only person who could read it was his wife. Without her assistance, the novel might have taken several times as long to complete. The published book is enormous, running in most editions to over 1500 pages. It was of course much larger in manuscript form. Tolstoy wrote the first draft and gave it to Sofya, who made a clean copy in her own neat and attractive handwriting. As she finished each day's copying she would give her pages to her husband, who would begin making corrections, revisions, and additions, creating a total mess of Sofya's work. When she had finished making a complete copy of the first draft, Tolstoy gave her back her bundle of papers with all his changes, and she began making a second complete fair copy in her own handwriting. Here is part of Shirer's description of their collaboration:

Just making clean copies of Tolstoy’s manuscript was a considerable job in itself. Apparently no one else in the house could make out his almost illegible handwriting. And making one clean copy was never enough, for Tolstoy would rewrite it and hand it back to her for copying again. Sonya once said she had copied the novel seven times. Since it runs to 1,453 printed pages in my edition, that means that her fair copy came to at least 3,000 manuscript pages. So she must have written down in her own careful handwriting 21,000 pages. And this does not include countless pages that Tolstoy, as his daughter Tanya noted, threw away.  William L. Shirer, Love and Hatred, p. 69

Few contemporary writers would show such dedication as Tolstoy, and few assistants would display such patience and loyalty as his wife Sofya.

War and Peace looks intimidating because of its length and also because of all the characters with long Russian names. But it is actually not hard to read. It is broken up into short chapters and the chapters are divided into sections. The novel was written by a great genius, so it becomes engrossing and a memorable reading experience. It deals basically with Napoleon's invasion of Russia with 680,000 soldiers in the year 1812. The book has a majestic panoramic sweep, like a giant wave washing across the land and then withdrawing. Napoleon made it all the way to Moscow and then had to turn around and retreat through the snow and ice because of the terrible Russian winter and the fact that much of Moscow was being destroyed by fires. It seems like a foreshadowing of what was to happen to Hitler's mechanized armies in the early 1940s. 

It is alleged that value of financial statement information is compromised by the latitude that GAAP gives to management.Companies can use...

To put the question raised in proper perspective it is worthwhile clarifying some basic accounting concepts. Accounts are used for two distinctly different purposes. One is to provide information to the managers to enable them to manage their organizations well. The other is to provide information about company's position and performance to other stakeholders such as investors and creditors. According to the purpose for which the accounting information is used, the nature of accounts prepared is quite different.

Managers try to use the most informative and accurate information for internal managers. However top management of a company may be tempted to give limited and sometimes misleading information to other stakeholders to to present a better than real picture about the organization. The GAAP guidelines are designed to control the extent of misleading picture of an organization is presented to the public by its top management. However it would be quite wasteful to have a completely duplicate the entire accounting system within an organization for the external accounting statements. Therefor the external accounts hare also extracted from the same basic accounting statements, which need to differ from company to company to satisfy the need of their internal management.

The GAAP guidelines have to provide some flexibility to the managers in the method of preparation and presentation of external accounts to allow them to prepare them without creating an entire parallel accounting system for it.

For the reasons stated in paragraph above it is not feasible to have a GAAP guideline that does not offer any flexibility to managers. On the other hand letting each company prepare its external account in the way they want without any restriction will defeat the basic purpose of GAAP. Thus none of the two alternative suggested in the question are feasible. The best that can be done is to improve the GAAP guidelines to make them more effective without being too restrictive. However it should be remembered that However good these guidelines, they can only reduce the extent of misleading accounts. The GAAP guidelines cannot completely eliminate such malpractices, just as laws against crime have helped to reduce crime but have not eliminated crime.

Transform the following complex numbers in polar form for -π/2

(For typing convenience we write x for theta).

Hope the given complex number is  Z = (cosx-i simx)/(1-cosx-isinx) and not cosx-isinx/1-cosx-isinx.

Z = (cosx-isinx)(1-cosx+isinx)/{(1-cosxisinx)(1-cosx+isinx)}= [(cosx-cos^2x+ sin^2x+i(2sinxcosx-sinx)]/{ (1-cosx)^2+sin^2x}= (cosx-cos^2x+1-cos^2x)+i*sinx(cosx-1)}/{ 1-2cosx+cos^2x+sin^2x}= {1+cosx-2cos^2+isinx(cosx-1)}/{2(1-cosx)}= {(1-cosx)(1+2cosx)+isinx(cosx-1)/{2(1-cosx)}. Threfore,R = (1+2cosx) /2. is the real partand ,I = sinx(cosx-1)/{2(1-cosx)}Therefore the modulus r and arument X in the polar form is given by:r = sqrt(R^2+ I^2} andX  =  arc tan (I/R).

What is the basic conflict of "The Man Who Was Almost a Man" Is it internal or external?

The main conflict in the story occurs within the main character, Dave, as he struggles to prove that he is an adult worth respecting and admiring.  That conflict is definitely internal, and is the underlying reason behind all of the external conflicts that occur.  It lies at the root of the plot.

For example, the story starts off with Dave in the fields, feeling dejected and disrespected.  He doesn't like how the other sharecroppers treat him like a little kid and tease him; he wants to be treated like an adult, like a man.  This bugs him so much that he spends a great part of his day fantasizing about earning their respect; he feels he can do this if he has a gun.  So he goes about manipulating and strategizing about how to do this.  This creates external conflict--lying to his mother, hiding the gun from his father, and then his excursion into the fields with the mule, Jenny, and the gun.  He has to be able to shoot the gun, which he feels will earn him respect, and his "practicing" ends up in the mule dying, and the resulting conflict with his boss and family.  All of this stemmed from the fact that Dave had an internal issue of insecurity, and wanting to be a man in the eyes of others.  He even holds this pride and victim attitude at the end as he flees his responsibilities rather than be looked down upon by his family and other workers.

I hope that helped a bit; good luck!

Why is Pearl an appropriate name for the character?

Pearl's name is appropriate for a number of reasons.

A pearl is traditionally symbolic of something of great value.  Pearl is a child born in shame, looked upon as tainted or arguably of less value in Puritan society, yet by naming her Pearl, Hawthorne emphasizes her worth.  Indeed, isolated from her peers, she is high-spirited and close to nature, standing out in contrast to the drab, constrained children of the Puritan elders.  Dressed unconventionally in decorative clothing, she is a dynamic personality, shining brightly in the dull, gray landscape of her society. 

Also, in the Bible, a pearl is compared to heaven, something man will strive to achieve at great cost (Matthew 13:44-45).  Pearl likewise is conceived and born at great cost to her parents.

Which lines in this poem are not in strict blank verse?

Blank verse, of course, is regular meter with no rhyme. The most common blank verse in English is iambic pentameter, famously used in William Shakespeare's plays and also employed in this poem by William Wordsworth.

As I understand your question, you want to know where the iambic pentameter is not adhered to rigidly. I'll glady point out a few lines to get you started. I think you'll be able to take it from there.

Let me first show the iambic pentameter of line 3, capitalizing each stressed syllable (rather than using the usual tick mark, as I can't figure out how to make that work on this site):

These WAters, ROlling FROM their MOUNtain-SPRINGS

This line shows what I think you mean by "strict blank verse": there's a very strong iambic meter; that is to say, there is a reliable alternation of unstressed and stressed syllables for a total of 10 syllables in the line. (When I scan a poem, I usually skip the first line or two, as the patterns in opening lines of poems don't always immediately stand out for me.)

The iambic pattern from line 3 isn't adhered to strictly in line 7 because of the two unstressed syllables side-by-side ("of more"):

THOUGHTS of more DEEP seCLUsion; AND conNECT

Line 10 similarly has a little play in the meter. The phrase "under this dark sycamore" can be read aloud in a number of different ways, but the two small words before the tree's name through off the meter just a little for me.

Scanning a poem takes a little time and occasionally shows that a line can be read several ways. When possible, consider choosing the most natural pattern of stresses, coming as close as you can to how you would say that phrase yourself. Be aware, of course, that dialects of English may use the same words or phrases but different stress patterns (e.g. the American and British pronunciations often differ in words such as "secretary" and "military").

When and how did Pluto die?

I once read from a college textbook on astronomy published in the 1880's that the Solar System was composed of 4 small rocky planets, surrounded by 4 large gas giant planets.  With our current understanding of planetary formation, these 8 fit a similar pattern -- those closest to the Sun formed small and hot, those further formed large and cold. Pluto, though, is small and cold. The other abberance is that Pluto's and Uranus's orbits cross. Pluto's orbit is about 248 years, Uranus's 84, but for about 20 years, Uranus is actually further away from the Sun than Pluto!  (The last cycle, by the way, ended in 1999 -- Pluto is now again further out than Uranus.) Pluto's orbit is also, unlike all other planets, not within the ecliptical plane. These orbital oddities suggests to astronomers that in times past, Pluto was actually moon of Uranus.

These two factors of size and orbit are what have disqualified Pluto as a planet.  Perhaps when it was discovered back in the 1930's, the desire to add it to the family of planets was strong, being the first one discovered in nearly 100 years.  We know better now.

How do Lady Macbeth and the witches manipulate the influences they have upon Macbeth, and how effective are they?

The witches seem to be the best manipulators around. They take a man, Macbeth, who was being rewarded by King Duncan for his loyalty and courage in defending the Scottish realm, and manage to turn him into a murdering, power-hungry evil being, simply by saying, "someday you'll be king." (One could say, though, that Macbeth had to have some ambition in him already if he could be so easily swayed, while his friend, Banquo, stayed loyal to Duncan, despite being told his descendents would someday be kings.)

Lady Macbeth is, in my opinion, an even better example of a manipulator. She is determined that her husband not become weak in fulfilling their plan to kill Duncan and take the throne for themselves. She worries that Macbeth is "too full o' the milk of human kindness" - that he is really too good inside to follow through with killing Duncan. (Ironic, then, that she is the one later who cannot make herself stab Duncan as he reminds her too much of her father.)

Check out the links below for more complete information on these fascinating characters!

What characteristics does P-waves and S- waves have?

P (Primary) and S (Secondary) Waves are Body Waves often associated with Seismic Waves as in Earthquakes.

Both Body Waves and Surfaces waves comprise an earthquake, but the body waves arrive first. Primary are first, And Secondary are, well, second of course.

P Waves are compressional which means they move through (compress) a solid or liquid by pushing or pulling similar to the way sound travels through the air. The particles of the material a P Wave pushes through move in the direction of the P wave's energy. This is called the direction of wave propagation.

S waves are slower than P waves and they can only travel through solid rock. S waves move the particles it pushes through up and down or side to side (perpendicular to the motion of the S waves energy).

The second link has very good animated illustrations of both movements.

What is ironic about Huck's experience in the circus on chapter 22?

Huck goes to the circus after witnessing a man gunned down in the street. He has experienced mob violence and the cowardly acts of men who won't stand up for themselves. The town is dirty, the people are drunk and laying in the street with pigs...it's definitely not a refined, cosmopolitan metropolis. However, Huck describes the circus in such terms:

Every lady with a lovely complexion, and perfectly beautiful, and looking just like a gang of real sure-enough queens, and dressed in clothes that cost millions of dollars, and just littered with diamonds. It was a powerful fine sight; I never see anything so lovely. And then one by one they got up and stood, and went a-weaving around the ring so gentle and wavy and graceful, the men looking ever so tall and airy and straight, with their heads bobbing and skimming along, away up there under the tent-roof, and every lady's rose-leafy dress flapping soft and silky around her hips, and she looking like the most loveliest parasol.

Huck truly makes it sound like an incredible sight. Not exactly the kind of entertainment you'd expect in a place like this. Who would think that men who fought in the street would want to witness such beauty? But they pack the house, & as the previous poster mentioned, don't understand that the drunk in the audience is a planted actor. Instead, they hoot & holler because they want to see him trampled. Clearly, the beauty of the event is wasted on them.

One final irony of the night: the Royal Nonesuch, which should be right up this town's alley, only sells 12 tickets for that show. People pass up the vulgarity and nudity which they would probably enjoy for something they don't understand.

Please annotate with reference to context the following line: "Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander returneth to dust."

This quote is from Hamlet Act 5, Scene I.  Hamlet is in the process of returning to Elsinore and he and Horatio happen across gravediggers preparing a grave.  After some banter, the scene progresses to Hamlet's handling of the long-buried skull of Yorick, a jester Hamlet knew well and was very fond of in his youth.  Hamlet is pondering the state of life and death and what existence leads to.  The paragraph that includes the quote follows:

No, faith, not a jot [he is not being too serious to think like this], but to follow him thither with modesty enough, and likelihood to lead it.  Alexander died, Alexander was buried.  Alexander returneth to dust; the dust is earth; of earth we make loam; and what of that loam whereto he was converted might they not stop a beer-barrel?

Hamlet then says much the same using Caesar as an example:  Caesar's dust might ultimately be used to plug a hole to stop the wind.

This, suggests Hamlet, is what life comes to.  Shakespeare here continues the imagery he started when Hamlet jokes to Claudius about Polonius' body being in a place where he is eaten, not where he eats, etc., in Act IV, Scene 3. 

Why are friends so important to people?This is an essay question. I just need help getting started. I don't really know how to start and what...

The meaning of friendship as well as its importance to people is something very subjective. But in general we can say that among all the different relationships that exist between people, friendship offers the most wide range of relationships. Some people would like to restrict the meaning to some thing vague called "true friendship", and which may be described in terms of aphorisms alike "a friend in need is friend indeed." In my mind friendship is something more much more common, widespread, and useful than the such limited brands of ideal friendships.

In my mind friendship represents a shared relationship of liking, and interdependence. While friends may help us in needs and in this way perform some specific service. But the main function of friendship is not a means to some other end. The joy of friendship with shared feelings and shared activities being the main benefit of friendship. In this this way friendships is an essential and important components of all other relationships including the very close relationships between spouses and between parents and their children.

One important way in which friendship differs from all other relationships is that it thrives on its own, without the need for social contracts as is essential in relationships between spouses or other family relationships. Friendship is totally dependent on the will and feelings of the friends. There are no social or legal rules to regulate forming or breaking of friendships.

In conclusion, friendship is valuable in itself in the form of joy of friendship. It is also a great contributor to increasing the strength of bond in all other relationship. The least important of the benefits of friendship is the mutual help that friends receive from each other. I believe, more important than such help is the reassurance is that the help from friends is always available.

Della compares the watch chain to Jim: "Quietness and value—the description applied to both." Please look below for the question.Does this...

So the narrator is saying that Jim is like the watch -- quiet and valuable.  And the question is asking if you agree that those two words apply to Jim, especially from Della's point of view.

In the story, Jim does not really say much and he is not a very demonstrative man.  When he comes in and sees Della's hair is gone he doesn't freak out.  When he figures out what they have done, he doesn't get excited.  So yes, I'd say he's quiet.

Is he valuable.  I think he likely is.  He figures out that Della is upset and he acts in just the right way.  He lets her know he still loves her and that he's not in any way angry.  I would imagine that was the perfect reaction for a situation that could have been very bad.

Does that make sense?

Is Brutus still a fatalist in act 5 of Julius Caesar?

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings," Cassius says to Brutus when he tries to convince him to join the conspiracy to assassinate Julius Caesar (1.2.141-42). Here we see Cassius reject fate, and Brutus ultimately agrees with him, taking responsibility for keeping Rome “free” by killing Caesar to prevent him from becoming a despot.  This is one reason we can understand Brutus as a tragic hero, for if he blamed everything on fate, he would have learn nothing.  At the end of the play he chooses to die nobly, on his own sword, because he knows he cannot win and has not brought the freedom to Rome that he thought he would by assassinating Caesar.  Antony calls him a great man at the end of the play for this very reason: he did what he thought was right, took responsibility for that, and died for that.  Had he attributed everything to fate, he would not have been a great man.

How can the youngsters make our India GREAT?I am 77 + and I want to see all the youngsters make our India GREAT.Youngsters can do this.Try and do...

Youngsters can make India great by ensuring that their recent ascent into the position of power and empowerment.  Over the last ten years, the recent strides made by Indians in order to be globally competitive is breathtaking.  This trend has to continue.  At the same time, young Indians have to understand that success economically does not have to trade off with success politically.  There has to be a political activism element within the economic and material success experienced.  In order for Indians to be the global force they can be, young Indians have to assume a proactive stance from a political and social standpoint, and not merely be content with economic success.

What motifs are used and for what purpose?

It seems that people are thinking and offcourse there was something fishy which led you write this question otherwise there is no need for it. 

This book was basically written and then promoted for pure political purposes and for cultural promotion purposes. Afghanistan has its own identity, history, culture, language and pure people.

The western media by all means promoted this novel to justify the US going to Afghanistan. 

Secondly, this book promoted all the Iranian culture, lanugage and traditions and even their poets and stories. There was nothing from Afghanistan that any Afghan could proudly say that this novel benefitted us culturally even a bit. This book was banned in Afghanistan because it was so violently written against one major group of people of Afghanistan "the Pashtuns". Husaini has tried to prove Pashtuns as Taliban but people are not blind and crazy to trust any fiction of someone's personal frustrations. 

He never lived in Afghanistan after the war started therefore, this book was the repetition of the same old tune of the news that we read and see. The book was written in a way that one felt many times as if we had already seen this seen in a movie or we could predict what would happen next. 

Finally this man is a lucky one who wrote down his personal furstration in such a time where forces in Afghanistan needed to make every common person understand about why they went to Afghanistan, indirectly. And they did through Kite Runner. 

Write a note on the narrative art of Chaucer with reference to "The Nonnes Preestes Tale."

[Answer posted in two parts.]

Chaucer's narrative art is complex and very detailed. But in brief, his art of narrative comprises two avenues, his poetics--distinguished by twenty-five or more points alone--and his literary narrative techniques. In his poetics, Chaucer's work is distinguished by rhetoric, structure and humor.

In rhetoric, Chaucer makes a great deal of use of digressio, and descriptio. In structure, he is fond of dream-visions and variations of dream-visions. In humor, Chaucer makse a good deal of use of self-deprecating humor through the narrator's voice, and what some call mirthless humor, as is found in his Troilus and Cresyde.

In rhetoric, digressio (digression) in a narrative is a tangent away from--a departure from--the main or logical story line. In "The Noones Preestes Tale," a digressio is found in Lines 464 through 500, introduced by Lines 460 to 463, in which Chaucer digresses to two discourses concerning (1) the fixed occurrence of predestined things versus the free will to act and (2) the nature of women and their counsel (advice) due to their role in the Judeo-Christian creation story.

Descriptio (description) is a fine art in rhetoric that has many alternative structures. Two that Chaucer is fond of are prosopographia and effictio. The first is detailed description of someone's character or face. The second is a description of someone's body starting at the head and ending at the toe.

Chaucer employs both in his introductory description of Chanticleer (81 - 99). Begining with prosopographia, he describes Chanticleer's character: "In al the land of crowyng nas his peer," etc. In Line 93, he switches to effictio and describes Chanticleer's person, starting at his "coomb," and ending with "toon" and color, "burned gold was his colour."

In poetic structure, Chaucer is fond of dream-visions, as used by Plutarch and Boccaccio. Examples are The House of Fame and The Book of the Duchess. In "The Noones Preestes Tale," Chanticleer introduces a brief dream-vision during which he tells of the foreboding dream that introduces Chaucer's themes.

Chaucer's use of humor stands alone in his poetics because he innovated uses of self-deprecating humor and mirthless humor. Along with literary techniques of ironic humor in situations and verbal discourse, Chaucer allowed his narrators, usually himself, to laugh at their own foibles, allowing the audience to feel an affinity with the narrator's humanity and fallibility. Mirthless humor drives home Chaucer's points when they are painful yet true. Examples of both are in his Troilus and Cresyde.

Although the Knyght is insultingly humorous in his remarks to the Monk in "The Prologue to the Noones Preetes Tale," Chaucer deviates a bit from his pattern and uses less humor in "The Noones Preestes Tale." That which is nonetheless evident in this tale is that of the standard literary technique of situational and verbal irony, especially apparent in the resolution.

Why does Ralph call the meeting in Chapter 5 of Lord of the Flies?

In the novel 'Lord of the Flies' by William Golding, the boys are not sticking to the plan to get themselves rescued from the island where they have been cast away as we move forward from chapter 3 towards chapter five. At first, once they have enjoyed the freedom, warm seas and soft sand, the novelty wears off and the older boys begin to address the problem of getting rescued. The first meeting shows promise and optimism. Responsible topics are discussed (such aas the need for shelter, food and a lookout) and plans suggested for how to achieve all this. Soon however, Ralph notices things beginning to slide - and the motion is all downwards. Jack notices it too, and starts to complain about it - how the littluns are running off to play after getting bored five minutes after turning up to build the shelters. However, Jack himself has gotten distracted - by a drive to kill (supposedly for meat.) Ralph hopes another meeting will bring things back to order.

What similarities are there in the thoughts contained in each of the soliloquies in this act of Hamlet?

Concerning the two speeches you refer to from two different acts of Shakespeare's Hamlet, it sounds like you have a pretty good handle on what Hamlet is saying in the first speech, but maybe not such a good handle on what Hamlet is saying in the second. 

Hamlet is depressed in Act 2.2.  He is suffering from the death of his father and the hasty remarriage of his mother to his uncle.  Shakespeare apparently understood many aspects of what we now call psychology, and his presentation of Hamlet here demonstrates one such aspect.  Hamlet amplifies his own feelings and situations and applies them to Scotland and the world.  In other words, he sees his situation as indicative and reflective of the state of existence.  Everything is rotten, not just his situation.  That is the gist of what he says in Act 2.2.

In Act 2.4, he's simply expaining to Horatio the partying that his uncle is doing.  When he mentions his mind, he is just saying the equivalent of "To my way of thinking," or "As I see it."  He explains how heavy drinking hurts Denmark's reputation, etc. 

The speeches aren't directly related.  One thing they do have in common, though, is that they show Hamlet's dislike of his uncle.

How many of each model should you order to minimize the costs? Draw a graph to illustrate your answer. Rest of info written below...You are the...

The question makes no practical sense. If the only limitation faced by the manager is the number of ovens sold. it would be best for the manager to buy and sell 100 deluxe model making a total profit of $20,00 @ $200 per oven. There is no point in restricting the profit to $8,000.

However, as given in the question we will assume that the manager has mad a profit of $8,000 on sale of total of 100 ovens, and we have to find out the number of ovens of each type.

Given:

Profit on deluxe model = $200 per oven

Profit on basic model = $50 per oven

Total profit made = $8,000

Total number of ovens sold  = 100

Let us say the number of deluxe model sold is 'x',

Then:

Number of basic model sold = 100 - x

Then total profit on both the models sold is given by the formula:

x*200 + (100 - x)*50 = 200x + 5000 - 50x = 150x + 5000

But we know total profit is 8000, therefore:

150x + 5000 = 8000

rearranging the terms in the above equation we get:

150x = 8000 - 5000 = 3000

therefor:

x = 3000/150 = 20

Therefore:

Number of deluxe models sold = 20, and

Number of deluxe models sold = 100 - 20 = 80

What is the most important issue in Pride and Prejudice?

Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" raises important moral issues concerned with the central theme of the novel namely the institution of marriage and other important aspects associated with the institution of marriage.

Jane Austen belongs to the Romantic Age in English literature.

"Pride and Prejudice"(1813) like all of Jane Austen's novels reflects faithfully the socio-economic conditions of what historians term as 'Regency England'(1811-20).

Since women of this period had no right to ownership of property they were financially dependent on their husbands,and hence the urgency and anxiety throughout the novel for the ladies to get married to "young men of large fortune" (ch. 1).

Mr.Bennet's estate is 'entailed' to Mr. Collins because Mr.Bennet does not have a son. In 'Regency England' only male heirs could inherit the title and the estate of their fathers. The third paragraph of chapter 50 clearly reveals the 'economic' necessity of having a son and the disappointment at not being able to have one and the consequent predicament which Mr.Bennet faces in not being able to personally meet the financial demands of Wickham.

In Ch.33 Col.Fitzwilliam tells Elizabeth "I may suffer from the want of money. Younger sons cannot marry where they like." Clearly hinting at her impoverished status.

The central theme of the novel--how much money is necessary for a successful and a happy marriage--is explicitly stated by Elizabeth in in Ch.27 : "Pray, my dear aunt, what is the difference in matrimonial affairs, between the mercenary and the prudent motive? WHERE DOES DISCRETION END, AND AVARICE BEGIN?"

Was Col. Fitzwilliam Darcy 'discreet' or 'avaricious'?

The contrasting lifestyles of different social groups is structurally central to a Jane Austen novel. In "Pride and Prejudice" the landed gentry represented by Darcy  is contrasted with the newly rich trading class represented by Bingley and his sisters.

The novel was written against the background of the threat of an  invasion by Napoleon. The militia was a temporary voluntary force raised especially during times of a national emergency. Wickham was a member of this militia. Col.Fitzwilliam Darcy the younger son of an earl, on the contrary, is a fully commissioned officer of the regular army. In those days only an aristocrat or a member of the gentry could afford to purchase a commission in the army. In "Pride and Prejudice" Darcy purchases a commission for Wickham so that Wickham agrees to marry Lydia.

Jane Austen  portrays only the elegant aspects of Regency England. The seamy side,however, is  sometimes hinted at. Discipline in the army was very harsh and there is a report of a private being whipped. Similarly the prevailing poverty of the lower classes is revealed by the reference to poor feeding.

But most importantly the harsh reality of a bleak future  for a dependent unwed old woman is hinted at when Charlotte Lucas' brothers are relieved that Collins  is going to marry their sister, for otherwise they would have to look after her in her old age.

The poem "Ode to my socks" by Pablo Neruda is written in what poetic form? How does this form contribute to the meaning of the poem?

The simplicity of the poem is surprising considering that it is an ode, which traditionally is a solemn and elaborately structured poem. Choral odes of ancient Greece (so called because they were sung by the chorus during the performance of a drama) had a three-part structure of strophe (literally "turn"), antistrophe ("turning the other way"), and epode ("added song"). This structure marks a turn from one intellectual position to another and then a recounting of the entire ode subject. Neruda to some extent follows the conventions of the ode. He chooses a subject to praise (albeit one that is traditionally not the subject of such lavish exultation). His first "turn" is to celebrate the socks' beauty by comparing them to jewel cases, sharks, and so on. He "turns the other way'' by saying what he did not do with the socks. Finally he offers a moral to the story by explaining obliquely why these socks are worthy of his admiration—and why he is in fact worthy of them.

In "Ode to My Socks," as again he does in his odes, Neruda uses very short, irregular lines. This emphasizes their simplicity, forcing a slower reading and making the poems sound more like natural speech and less artificially "poetic." But they are very clearly poems from their structure.

What does the passage suggest about Rainsford's character in The Most Dangerous Game? Explain.This is the passage: "Now he had got a grip on...

To me, this passage first shows Rainsford as a man who does not fight the facts, and that is a powerful lesson for all of us, isn't it? When we find ourselves in a situation in which we have no control of most of the variables, we will often say, "Oh, if this were just a little different," and that prevents us from solving the problem.  We cannot think creatively when we fight the facts.  And that is the second aspect that this passage shows, that Rainsford is a man who can think creatively, because he does not waste time fighting the facts. Interestingly, while we often refer to this as "thinking outside the box," Rainsford, in viewing himself as in a picture "framed by water," is able to solve the problem by thinking creatively within the box.

What are some quotes that describe Macbeths character throughout the story?

Most of the information a reader learns about Macbeth during the course of Shakespeare's Macbeth is revealed, rather than directly spoken.  So when you ask for quotes that actually describe Macbeth's character, rather than reveal it, you're eliminating most of the play.  In other words, most of the characterization in the play is shown, rather than told.  That said, I'll mention one line for you.

In Act 4.1, after the witches have prepared a nasty brew, presumably for Macbeth to drink so he will see visions, just before Macbeth enters the scene, the Second Witch says:

Something wicked this way comes.  (Act 4.1.45)

That accurately states Macbeth's character.  He is wicked. 

I'll mention one other line briefly.  Referring to Macduff failing to attend Macbeth's feast, Lennox says:

...he failed

His presence at the tyrant's feast,... (Act 3.6.21-22)

He refers to Macbeth as a tyrant.  That is also direct characterization.

Who drives Gatsby's car into New York?

On the way to New York, Tom insists that he and Gatsby switch cars.  Along the say, he stops at Wilson's garage for gas.  He even taunts Wilson with the yellow car (as Wilson has repeatedly asked to buy a car off of Tom).

After the climax of the novel, in which Gatsby tells Tom that Daisy doesn't love him anymore, Daisy runs out of the Plaza Hotel to Gatsby's car, insisting that she drive her home.  Even though Gatsby has the girl, Tom feels he has won the war for Daisy.  He drives Nick and Jordan back to the Eggs.

Wilson knows his wife is cheating on him.  Myrtle, knowing this, runs out to meet Tom on the road, thinking that the yellow car is Tom's.  Daisy runs her over and then speeds away.

So, here's the breakdown again:

To New York:

Tom drives Gatsby's car

To the Eggs:

Daisy drives Gatsby's car

Why do Ralph, Piggy, and Samneric lie about their part in Simon's death, or use the darkness is an excuse?

In my opinion, they are doing this because they have realized just what a horrible thing it is that they have done.  As Ralph says, "I'm frightened.  Of us."

At the start of Chapter 11, Piggy and Ralph are talking about what happened the night before -- how Simon got killed.  Ralph, alone among the others, is willing to admit what happened.  But Piggy is trying hard to call it something else.  It's like he's begging Ralph not to call it murder.  From that, and from Samneric's reaction, it looks to me like they have guilty consciences but they (unlike Ralph) are not able to face up to their guilt.

I need a topic on American Literature and a thesis...can someone provide me with an idea??

I would first suggest that you choose a story (or specific topic) that you know and have read or studied previously, or at least one whose subject matter interests you. Once you have narrowed down your choices, try determining a specific theme or conflict within a story that might serve as a topic for your essay. Hopefully one of them will spur your interest further, and you can go on from there. I won't offer any specific themes or titles, since I really believe you should select one in which you are already somewhat knowledgeable or familiar. In the thesis, you should take a direct stance (pro/con, positive/negative, compare/contrast) about your selected topic.

What modern day acts of civil disobedience can I relate to Thoreau's acts in The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail?

The closest action to that of Henry David Thoreau is that of Martin Luther King, Jr. who spent a night in jail in Birmingham, Alabama, during the U.S. Civil Rights Movement on April 16, 1963.  King was sent to jail for participating in a civil rights demonstration; while in the Birmingham City Jail, Dr. King wrote a letter paralleling many of the thoughts of Thoreau, for King was an admirer of his philosophy.  In fact, King uses Thoreau's words in his conclusion:

I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and willingly accepts the penalty by staying in jail to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the very highest respect for the law.

King's letter is in response to eight caucasian Alabama clergymen who agreed that social injustices existed, but felt that the battle should not be fought not in the streets, but in the courts.  King argued that without non-violent forceful, direct actions* true civil rights could never be achieved.

________________________

*forceful, non-violent, direct actions, advocated first by Thoreau, then by Gandhi were influential to Dr. King's thinking.

Please comment on Mrs. Slade's statement from "Roman Fever.""I was wondering how two such exemplary characters as you and Horace had managed to...

Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansley are not true friends.  They are competitors in a devious, envious world of high-class aristocracy.  Mrs. Slade, and people like her, are constantly paranoid that others will see them for what they truly are, so they continually belittle others in order to make themselves appear more important, worldly, or glamorous.

In this comment, Mrs. Slade is basically commenting on how Mrs. Ansley hurridly married Horace after she became with child.  This was a disastrous situation in the days when this story was written, unlike today when unmarried young women have children out of wedlock and they almost flaunt the accomplishment.   In Mrs. Slade's time, being pregnant and unmarried was something to be ashamed of and perhaps even shunned as a result.

Mrs. Slade's comment also is meant to belittle Mrs. Ansley.  Mrs. Slade has been jealous of her "friend" since they were girls competing for the same man...Mr. Slade.  Her comment illustrates how she admires Mrs. Ansley's daughter and even wishes her own daughter were more like her--vivacious, beautiful, and the "dynamic" life of the party.  How is it that such a wonderful girl could be the product of Horace and Mrs. Ansley? 

The best line of the whole story is Mrs. Ansley's answer to that question when she answers that her daughter's father is Mr. Slade...conceived that night at the colosseum. 

What type of organisms exhibit slow reproduction? Fast?It wasnt in my notes and i don't understand the question

I believe that what this question is talking about is how quickly animals reproduce.  Do they have many offspring in a given period of time, or do they only have a few?

Organisms that have use a fast reproductive strategy are generally smaller organisms that have short lives.  You can see this in fruit flies, for example, or in rabbits (much bigger and longer-lived than fruit flies, but small compared to other mammals).

Compare that to organisms like whales and elephants.  Big animals that live for a long time do not reach sexual maturity until the are older and then have many fewer offspring than smaller organisms.

Compare and contrast classical drama with modern drama.

The first issue here is that classical drama was not uniform. Greek tragedy and Old Comedy were radically different from most modern dramas, while Greek New Comedy, Roman Comedy, and some Roman tragedies were closer in style to modern drama. Of course, modern drama is also tremendously varied, with some modern playwrights borrowing elements such as the chorus or integration of singing and dancing into their staging.

Greek Tragedy and Old Comedy differ from much of modern drama by being written in verse. Both genres have a limit of three actors, who play multiple roles. Actors wear masks and stylized costumes (as they also do in Japanese Noh drama), and female roles are played by men as they are in Shakespeare and most Elizabethan drama. The chorus sings and dances (as do choruses in opera and musical theater). Classical drama was presented in amphitheaters, with a circular orchestra and the audience seated in rows built into a hillside surrounding the performance area, while recent (19th through 21st century) drama often uses proscenium stages. Ancient drama was performed outdoors using natural light while contemporary drama is performed indoors using artificial light.

Contra another answerer, while ancient tragedy had noble protagonists, Old and New Comedy and Roman Comedy had protagonists from all classes, including poor farmers, shopkeepers, soldiers, and slaves as well as wealthier protagonists. The "mixed" genre combining rustic comedy with elevated tragedy, though, was mainly an early modern invention, although some of Euripides' plays anticipate this.

What is the plot diagram for "The Gift of the Magi?"

A plot diagram is a common teaching tool that illustrates the main chunks of a piece of literature.  There are typically 5 main chunks.  The exposition/introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution/conclusion.  

The exposition of "The Gift of the Magi" is the introduction of Jim and Della.  In addition to their names, the exposition also tells the reader that Della and Jim are married and really poor.  The exposition also includes setting details.  It's nearly Christmas, and the story begins in their apartment. 

The rising action of the piece is Della trying desperately to figure out a way to buy Jim a nice Christmas present.  The only thing that she can think of is to sell her hair.  She sells her hair, gets $20 for it, and rushes from store to store trying to find the perfect gift.  

Oh, and the next two hours seemed to fly. She was going from one shop to another, to find a gift for Jim.

The climax of the story is when Jim arrives home and sees Della and her newly cut hair.  

The falling action of the story is the gift exchange between Della and Jim.  They both realize that in order to buy a present for each other, they each had to sell what was most precious to them.  On top of that, the gifts that they purchased for each other are meant to go with the item that the other person has now sold.  

The conclusion of the story is Jim and Della sitting down together for dinner.  That doesn't sound like much, but it's important, because neither Jim nor Della are angry at each other.  They both know what it took to buy the gift, and the thought is far more important to them than the actual gifts.  Included in the conclusion is O. Henry's narration about who the Biblical magi were.

 But let me speak a last word to the wise of these days: Of all who give gifts, these two were the most wise. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are the most wise. Everywhere they are the wise ones. They are the magi. 

In what ways does Hamlet appear to change during act 4?

Hamlet becomes increasingly erratic in his behavior. This causes quite a bit of questioning on Hamlet's sanity. His lack of avenging his father's death has turned into despair. His reluctance to act is lessening by the end of act IV, and in act v he will be ready, at last.

What is the moral of The Call of the Wild by Jack London?

The Moral to this story is Survival of the fittest.  If you cannot survive, people, or dogs for that matter, will simply forget you. civilization vs. primitive nature is also another aspect of this story that is significant here.  when buck was back at Judge Miller's place, he was civilized and now that he is in the Klondike, it is a dog eat dog world out there. let the best dog win, or strongest, for that matter.

In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Titania and Oberon accuse each other of the same thing. What is it they each claim the other guilty of?

I think that you are probably talking about what happens in Act II, Scene 1 of the play.  This is the first time we see Titania and Oberon and they are arguing about the changeling boy.  They both want to have him, Titania is not willing to give him up to Oberon.

In this scene, they each accuse the other of being unfaithful.  Oberon starts it off by calling her a hussy.  Then Titania says that he was having an affair with Hippolyta, who is about to marry Thesus.  Oberon comes back and accuses Titania of being in love with Theseus.

Who are the main characters in Julius Caesar? How are they characterized?

Brutus is indeed in many ways the protagonist of the play, despite its name.  He is portrayed as a noble man, a true Roman who wants to put Rome first.  He is a complex character but is a rigid idealist whose ideals don't seem to have a strong philosophical background.  This leads him to make mistakes.  First he allows himself, partially through pride, to be convinced to kill Caesar for the good of Rome, then he allows Antony to live and to speak at the funeral which hurls Rome into turmoil.

Antony is probably the second major character in the play.  He is loyal, intelligent, and politically savvy.  His speech at the funeral was my first introduction into Shakespeare and remains a favorite to this day. He is the opposite of Brutus in many ways: being flexible he is able to make key decisions quickly and wisely.

Caesar also plays a major role though he dies midway through the play.  He is also proud and may have the ambition he is accused of.  But, he is also concerned with Rome, and particularly with its average citizens as is evidenced by his will.  He loves his wife and is almost willing to stay home for her, but his pride gets the better of him and he goes to his death.

Cassius, the final major player, is jealous and ambitious.  He also has a good knowledge of human nature and is able to use that to bring Brutus into his plot to give his plot validity in the eyes of Rome.

What are the dis-similarities between Sonnet 29 and Sonnet 30?I'm writting a term paper on the similarities and the dis-similarities between...

Sonnet 29 has a specific audience, a you, who is so loved by the speaker that even though he, the speaker, has many difficulties in his life, just thinking about the love of his friend makes him feel “wealthy.”  The sonnet repeatedly uses images of wealth and status to describe his sad feelings. In Sonnet 30, however, the speaker does not describe his unhappiness in terms of an “outcast state” who desires what others have, as does the speaker in 29. Instead, he mourns lost friends and past times, and in general the sense that he is getting older. Youth seems to be the great loss in sonnet 30 and regrets for a life that he might live differently if he could, and so when the speaker thinks of his friend here, his “losses are restored,” which refers more to experience in general rather than the “outcast state” in the other poem.

Why does Miss Havisham send for Pip?

The two reasons why Miss Havisham wanted Pip to come to Satis House are:

1. In Ch.7 we read that Miss Havisham is alone and is bored and would like to be entertained, so as a means of relief for her boredom she asks Pumblechook, her tenant, to send a small boy to her house who would entertain her and relieve her boredom. Pumblechook informs Mrs. Joe who in turn sends Pip to Miss Havisham's house:

`And couldn't she [Miss Havisham] ask Uncle Pumblechook if he knew of a boy to go and play there? Isn't it just barely possible that Uncle Pumblechook may be a tenant of hers, and that he may sometimes -- we won't say quarterly or half-yearly, for that would be requiring too much of you -- but sometimes -- go there to pay his rent? And couldn't she then ask Uncle Pumblechook if he knew of a boy to go and play there? And couldn't Uncle Pumblechook, being always considerate and thoughtful for us -- though you may not think it, Joseph,' in a tone of the deepest reproach, as if he were the most callous of nephews, `then mention this boy[Pip], standing Prancing here'

`She [Miss Havisham] wants this boy [Pip] to go and play there.

2. In Ch.44 Pip is able to compel Miss Havisham to confess that she used Pip as a means to torment her avaricious and selfish relations namely, Sarah Pocket, Miss Georgiana, and Mistress Camilla:

I was liberally paid for my old attendance here,' I said, to soothe her, `in being apprenticed, and I have asked these questions only for my own information. What follows has another (and I hope more disinterested) purpose. In humouring my mistake, Miss Havisham, you punished -- practised on -- perhaps you will supply whatever term expresses your intention, without offence -- your self-seeking relations?'

`I did. Why, they would have it so! So would you.

Who are these characters in The Napoleon of Notting Hill?Auberon Quinn Juan del Fuego Mr. Buck Adam Wayne Mr. Barker Mr. Turnbull

Augeron Quinn is the central character in The Napoleon of Notthing Hill. He lives in fictional late-twentieth-century Britain, and is chosen by lot to be the King of England. Quinn is a man with a sense of humor in a world that is highly ordered and very grave. In his high post, he brings back the splendor of medieval times, and, masquerading as a reporter, dies at the battle of Notting Hill.

Juan del Fuego is the former President of Nicaragua, which has recently been conquered. He dresses in a military uniform decorated with many insignia, and meets Quinn and his friends while they are out walking. Del Fuego is a saddened man who still believes in individual rights and diversity, and, after dining and talking with his new acquaintances about the oppressive state of the new world, he commits suicide.

Mr. Buck is a linen draper who is made provost of North Kensington by Auberon Quinn. He goes to war with the provost of Notting Hill about a large highway which is to be built through that town.

Adam Wayne is the provost of Notting Hill. As a child, he unwittingly provided the inspiration to Auberon Quinn to revive the pageantry of medieval times. Wayne loves the quaint, narrow streets of Notting Hill, and when a large highway is to be built in his domain, goes to war to prevent it. He dies in the battle of Notting Hill.

Barker is a friend of Auberon Quinn. He thinks that Quinn, with his light humor and supple mind, is a dangerous man, and objects when he is chosen to be King.

Mr. Turnbull runs a toy shop. He helps Adam Wayne plan his stragegy in defending the simple way of life at Notting Hill by providing him with toy soldiers and a fort to use as models in outlining his military operations.