In "The Zoo Story," what does Jerry hope will happen in Peter's life from then on?

 Judging by the lines on the final page or two of the play, Jerry hopes that Peter will live as an animal, not a vegetable. By that he means, living as a vegetable is to live a life of habit, being dead inside. Living a life as an animal means choosing one's life and fighting for what one has, as the two men fight over the bench in the play. (He also wants Peter to not get caught for killing him.)

Why do none of Hrothgar's men challege Grendel?

none of Hrothgar men was able to challenge Grendel because Grendel is a devouring monster and as such hostile to people and  an enemy to the human world, grendel is one of those monsters that is groomed naturally to be large and strong who do not require physical weapons to be struck down in the battle field. this could be seen in part one when the narrator mentioned thus: " but Beowulf, unarmed, wrestles with the monster, and tears his arm from the shoulder."

Hrothgar ,men lack the following qualities that a hero like Beowulf should portray in the battle field:

bravery, courage,determination, selflessness, sacrifice, and above all, the humility to stand with the people and not on top of the people. Hrothgar men could not have afforded to sacrifice their lives for the security of their nation and even if they did, they would have been wasted because it is not in them to do the fight. but we see Beowulf in part one readily and willingly sailing to Denmark to offer a help to the long ravaged state.

Hrothgar men lacked the necessary skills required of a hero like Beowulf to confront Grendel.

Beowulf is the Hero that sacrifices without hesitating. he is a genius.

What are some common themes/topics in Lucky and The Lovely Bones?

The most obvious comparison point between the two books is the effect of rape/violent crime upon not only its victims but also upon the loved ones of those victims. In Lucky, Sebold discusses her own violent rape when she was a college student and her struggle to find some sense of identity and normalcy afterwards.  During her struggle, she has a great deal of difficulty relating to her loved ones or articulating what happened to her. Similarly, Susie's spirit cannot rest until her family can cope with her disappearance/murder.  Although she is a fictional character, her soul's struggle is not unlike Sebold's own battle to resurrect herself after she is attacked.

One more comparison point is the weightiness of both works.  While Lovely Bones is fictional, it is still a difficult read because of the near-destruction of Susie's family after her death. Lucky, because of its gritty reality and the reader's knowledge that it is not fictional, leaves an even stronger heavy impression. After I read Lucky for the first time, I appreciated the surreal parts of Bones even more and felt emotionally drained because I wanted a more hopeful perspective for the author.

I was told that there is a problem and then its answer in each of Shakespeare's sonnet. What's the problem in sonnet 18?

All sonnets do this...the "turn" or the switch from problem or situation to answer is different for most sonnets.  Petrarchan or Italian sonnets usually "turn" after the first eight lines.  Sonnet 43 "How do I love thee" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning is one exception since her Italian sonnet begins to "turn" after the first line.

English sonnets--either Shakespearian or Spenserian (Edmund Spenser) turn after the first 12 lines.

I like to call the "turn" the BIG BUT.  The turn is usually begun with some transitional word or conjunction like yet, but, so, etc.

So, read your sonnet a min imum of 3 times.  First for the content--get the gist of the poem.  Second, for the problem and the solution (the turn is in there somewhere...look for the big but) Third for the rhythm and sheer beauty of the language. The more you read those 14 well-constructed lines, the better you'll understand them and the more you will learn to love poetry.

Good LUck!

Comment on the character of Hamlet.

[This answer is too long for one post, so is in two posts.]

The nature of the character of Hamlet in Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet is a complex question that has engendered much debate over the centuries. There is even the minority opinion that the character of Hamlet does not and cannot make any sense because Shakespeare wrote his character so badly that there is no unity at all and no motive at all to be found for Hamlet's behaviors. This argument is countered with the reminder of the era of the European Renaissance during which ideas were being overturned in many respects, not the least of which was the Protestant Reformation begun by Martin Luther. It is pointed out that Hamlet was in Denmark, a kingdom that had embraced the new Protestantism, and that he was educated at the university in Wittenberg, which was Luther's university.

In keeping with the discussion about the Reformation, there are indications that the ghost has risen from Purgatory, a Catholic religion construct rejected by Protestants. Thus Hamlet's worry as to whether the ghost is a "goblin." Protestant theology asserts that souls go either to separation for God or to union with God, with nowhere in between. If a soul has gone to union with God, then what need to come back on a mission of revenge?

Critics agree on some major questions related to the character of Hamlet: (1) Why does Hamlet initially delay in taking revenge as instructed to do by the ghost? It is pointed out that many months go by and not just a brief time. (2) Why, when Hamlet relinquishes his delay in Act IV, scene iv, does he not precipitously act? There are several answers to these questions.

One is that Hamlet has to be convinced of the veracity of the ghost's message, after all, it is a little foolhardy if not plainly irrational to run out and murder a king on the word of an aggrieved ghost. Then, once convinced, or at least resigned, Hamlet is so deeply depressed that he has to reconcile himself even further to his ultimate fate. It is suggested that he lacks emotional strength to pursue his commission of revenge even though he is outraged against his mother and the new king. His depression and angst are demonstrated in his treatment of Ophelia, which by any standard is atrocious and without cause. In this criticism, it is generally agreed that Hamlet's tragic flaw is his deeply emotional nature and depression which clouds his vision and essentially paralyze him.

[Second post of answer below. I hope...]

Explain why Willy expects Biff to amount to much more than he has and what impact/effect does this have on Biff.

When a father reaches a certain age and begins to realize that he is not going to be a great success in life, it is natural for him to console himself with the fact that he has been successful biologically. He has produced one or more children. In Willy's case, he has produced two sons. But the father must ask himself if producing children is a sign of success unless those children are successful themselves. It is disheartening to Willy to see that Biff, the boy who seemed so promising, has not lived up to his promises or to Willy's expectations. Biff was a high-school athletic hero but apparently wasn't good enough to become a professional football or baseball player and had no other talents to exploit. He could have gone to college on an athletic scholarship, but he was a poor scholar in high school and would be worse in college. As he tells his father, he is only a one-dollar-an-hour man. Happy is good-hearted but not especially ambitious. Willy is frustrated because if either of his sons became a big success, it would vindicate his own existence. He does not want to admit that he is a complete failure. Competition is fierce in a capitalistic society. Only a few people can become successful. There must be losers as well as winners. The others are like Willy Loman. They just manage to survive and hope that nothing catastrophic happens. There is a great irony in Death of a Salesman in that Willy keeps telling his sons how to succeed when he is a failure himself. He doesn't know the secret of success, but it is very important to him that at least one of his sons should succeed. That would make Willy's life meaningful. He would have contributed to society. His sons may not even become biologically successful. Both are of an age when they should be married and producing children of their own. If Biff or Happy at least had a child or two, Willy could transfer his hopes to the grandchildren. 

What is the last description of the grandma at the end of the story of "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" by Flannery O' Connor?

The grandmother tries to save herself by pleading to the Misfit, "You've got good blood! I know you wouldn't shoot a lady! I know you come from nice people! Pray! Jesus, you ought not to shoot a lady. I'll give you all the money I've got!"

The Misfit responds, "Jesus was the only One that ever raised the dead and He shouldn't have done it. He shown everything off balance. If He did what He said, then it's nothing for you to do but thow away everything and follow Him, and if He didn't, then it's nothing for you to do but enjoy the few minutes you got left the best way you can--by killing somebody or burning down his house or doing some other meanness to him. No pleasure but meanness."

Just before it is her turn to be shot, the grandmother says, "Why you're one of my babies. You're one of my own children!" She touches the Misfit on the shoulder, and he springs back "as if a snake had bitten him and [shoots] her three times through the chest."

The Misfit tells his accomplice to throw the grandmother into the woods with the others, adding: "She would have bee a good woman if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life."