In "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, what was the effect of the scarlet letter on Hester's personality, health, and abilities?If...

In the book "The Scarlet Letter," Hester Pyrne became a stronger woman who found her own self pride and convictions after having been forced to wear the scarlet letter.  Hester, rather than succumb to the indignity of her predicament, chose to hold her head up high.  She wore the letter in a manner that it reflected back on the people who wanted it to damage her.  She maintained her silence about who she had slept with which frustrated her husband and at the same time created curiosity among the townspeople.

The townspeople could not totally avoid Hester because they needed her.  She built her own business making fine clothing which placed a dependency from the townspeople on her skills.  In addition, she refused to allow her child to be hidden.  She dressed her in beautiful clothing.  The scarlet dress that Pearl wore also served to reflect her sin towards the others.

Hester left the community and years later returned.  She became a confident to women around the countryside.  Her strength and confidence made her the very person that woman could talk with about their own fears and secrets. 

By wearing the scarlet letter the way that she did, Hester maintained good health, but the Reverend Dimmsdale, who had to hide his identify as an adulterer, experienced diminishing health until it ended his life.

Compare the literary style of the Declaration of Independence with the Constitution of the US.why each was written in the style it was how the...

I like the style of Jefferson's Declaration of Independence (he was the primary author, though others contributed and helped in the final version) and believe it is more effective.  It is written basically as a long list of accusations against the King, and makes especially effective use of repitition so that the reader gets the impression of the collection of charges as a whole.  The wording of the accusations makes the British sound guilty, and the number of accusations makes them seem more tyrannical.

The Constitution is written in more dignified style, that is, it is written as a founding, governing document, and discusses rights and limits instead of accusations.  The tone of the document itself is less inflammatory.  While it is also very effectively written, I still think the Declaration gets its point across more effectively.

What is Capulet's attitude towards the welfare of his daughter, Juliet and what does this tell us about family dynamics in Elizabethan England?

When Juliet does not jump for joy at the announcement that she will marry Paris in a week's time, Lord Capulet is furious with Juliet.

Lord Capulet is incensed that Juliet is not complacently accepting his commands as he has always expected her to do. Until this point in the play, Juliet has always complied with her parent's wishes.

Lord Capulet tells her he will throw her to the streets and cause her to be a street urchin if she does not obey him. He is borderline physically abusive towards her, and most certainly verbally abusive to her, calling her names such as, "carrion" and "baggage". He is threatening, as well, when he tells her he will do whatever is necessary to get her to the church.

This shows that parent-child relations were not close. Children were meant to be obedient and subservient to their parent's wishes. It was not acceptable to show outward defiance.

In Chapter 33 of Great Expectations, how do Miss Havisham's relatives feel about Pip?

Estella reports to Pip exactly how they feel, she says the Pockets

beset Miss Havisham with reports and insinuations to your disadvantage. They watch you, misrepresent you, write letters about you (anonymously sometimes) and you are the torment and occupation of their lives.

These people are obsessed with Pip and seeing him fail. Perhaps this has to do with Herbert (the pale young gentleman) not having success at Havisham's. Estella hauntingly assures Pip that Havisham doesn't find their information valid.

What is the exposition in the story "Eveline"?

"Eveline," one of the stories in James Joyce's Dubliners, follows a young woman named (rather predictably) Eveline. Before discussing the exposition of the story, however, it's important to understand what exposition is. Exposition is generally background information and explanation given to the reader early on in a narrative; exposition "sets the scene," as it were, providing necessary context about the world and story that the reader is entering. As such, exposition provides the scaffolding for the main narrative.

In "Eveline," the exposition is the information we get about Eveline's background. As it turns out, the background is a pretty grim one. Joyce tells us that Eveline's mother and brother are dead, and her father is an alcoholic with tendencies toward violence. We also learn that Eveline has a dead-end job at a store, makes a meager wage that she must forfeit to her father, and also must take on the responsibilities of her dead mother and care for her two younger siblings. Finally, we learn that Eveline has recently become engaged to a young man named Frank who pledges to sweep Eveline off her feet and take her to Buenos Aires.

Through this exposition, we learn two major plot points: first, Eveline's present life is miserable and devoid of promise. Second, Frank represents Eveline's only means of escaping her present prison. With this knowledge in mind, we're ready to digest the main thrust of the narrative. 

How do Nick and Daisy know each other in The Great Gatsby?

Nick and Daisy are distantly related to one another.  We learn this in the first chapter, when Nick says,

Daisy was my second cousin once removed (10).

Nick goes on to explain that he had known Tom, Daisy's husband in college and that after he had returned from World War I, he had spend a few days with them in their Chicago home.  When Nick decides to go East, it is natural that he would look up his relative and his old college friend.

This chapter really sets the stage for one of the themes of the book. All of these people are related or connected in some way, and all of them are of the same approximate class. The reader can see that these characters and many others of their "set" are not necessarily nice, smart, or hard-working, but that they all accept one another easily.  Gatsby stands out quite clearly as an outsider. 

Can you find a 30 line passage that develops a specific character, the plot or a theme in chapters 4, 5, and 6?

The passage where Nick and Gatsby travel to the city in chapter 5 reveals Gatsby's character to Nick and the reader and several themes and motifs, namely those related to Gatsby as both a fraud and a Bryonic Hero (a sensitive with a mysterious past who has been injured by love).

Here's Nick narration:

I had talked with him perhaps half a dozen times in the past month and found, to my disappointment, that he had little to say: So my first impression, that he was a person of some undefined consequence, had gradually faded and he had become simply the proprietor of an elaborate road-house next door.

And then came that disconcerting ride. We hadn’t reached West Egg village before Gatsby began leaving his elegant sentences unfinished and slapping himself indecisively on the knee of his caramel-colored suit.

“Look here, old sport,” he broke out surprisingly. “What’s your opinion of me, anyhow?” A little overwhelmed, I began the generalized evasions which that question deserves.

“Well, I’m going to tell you something about my life,” he interrupted. “I don’t want you to get a wrong idea of me from all these stories you hear.”

So he was aware of the bizarre accusations that flavored conversation in his halls.

“I’ll tell you God’s truth.” His right hand suddenly ordered divine retribution to stand by. “I am the son of some wealthy people in the Middle West—all dead now. I was brought up in America but educated at Oxford, because all my ancestors have been educated there for many years. It is a family tradition.”

He looked at me sideways—and I knew why Jordan Baker had believed he was lying. He hurried the phrase “educated at Oxford,” or swallowed it, or choked on it, as though it had bothered him before. And with this doubt, his whole statement fell to pieces, and I wondered if there wasn’t something a little sinister about him, after all.

“What part of the Middle West?” I inquired casually.

“San Francisco.”

Last time I checked San Francisco was not the Midwest.  So, Gatsby is obviously obscuring his past to protect his identity and further the mystery surrounding his origins.