How long had Grant's family lived in Louisana in A Lesson Before Dying?Chapters 14-15

Grant's family has lived in Louisiana for over a century.
The story takes place in the 1940s; the family had originally been slaves on the
plantation, and have remained there even after slavery has been abolished and they have
been freed.

In Chapter 14, Grant's girlfriend, Vivian
Baptiste, comes to visit him at his place on the Pinchot plantation. Grant takes her for
a walk down to the old slave quarters, and shows her the plantation cemetery, "where
(his) ancestors had been buried for the past century." The cemetery is wooded and weedy,
and there are few actual gravestones in it. Adjoining the cemetery is the field where
Grant's "people (have) worked...ever since slavery." Grant tells Vivian that many of
those people are buried in the cemetery they had just
passed.

Despite his family's ties to the area, Grant longs
to leave Louisiana, and the South in general. He stays, however, because of Vivian, who
is technically still married to another man because her divorce is not yet final. Grant
has gotten an education thanks to his Tante Lou, and has gone to California for a short
time to live with his parents, but aside from that, he has lived in Louisiana, and the
stifling confines of the South, like his ancestors before him, all his
life.

What rhetorical devices are used in Juliet's speech (scene 2.2 lines 131-135)?I am doing an oral presentation and have seleced this speech. I...

Undoubtedly you are considering Juliet's famous "What's in
a name?" speech.  Excellent choice.

Though short, this
speech employs many of the devices Shakespeare is most known
for.

First, there is an example of
metaphor:

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That which we call a rose by any other word would
smell as sweet.

Comparison of
the meaninglessness of Romeo's name to the meaninglessness of the name of a rose.  The
name alone does not change the character of that which it
describes.

Next, there is
hyperbole:

So
Romeo would, were he not Romeo called,
retain that dear perfection which he
owes without that title.

Juliet, in her
new love and giddy attraction for Romeo, thinks he's
"perfect."

Of course, every question she asks is a
rhetorical question, as she is talking to no one and not
looking for actual answers.

Finally, the entire speech is
an example of dramatic irony.  The entire time Juliet
speaks to the darkness, admitting her love for Romeo, she believes she is all alone. 
The audience knows, however, that not only is she not alone, but
the very object of her affection is listening to every word she
says.

Is Kurtz important as a character in himself or because of his effect on Marlow? (up to the beginning of Book 2) I though of analysing in what way...

Kurtz is important as a character because he is central to the plot. In Chapters One and Two, you hear a lot about Kurtz but yet Marlow has not yet met him in person.  This builds up a sense of mystery and helps drive the plot along.  The reader soon becomes as interested in Kurtz as Marlow is.  

For examples, the brick-maker mentions Kurtz and the Manager as well.  Marlow overhears the leader of the Eldorado Expedition (the Manager's Uncle) and the Manager talking about Kurtz.  Also, Marlow runs into the Russian who is totally enamored by his meeting Kurtz and repeats over and over again, "He enlarged my mind".  All of these 'rumours' about Kurtz help develop the plot. There are other examples - I marked a book up once with tags at every time Kurtz is mentioned by someone before we ever met him.

That would be my argument that he is important as a character.  Of course Kurtz is vital to Marlow because he serves as an example of Marlow's internal journey and the danger Marlow himself could find himself in, in the heart of darkness.  However, I think you could argue Kurtz as being important just based on his role of building up mystery and suspense in the story. 

What does the Mockingbird symbolize?

In addition to innocence, the mockingird also symbolizes
goodness and beauty. When Miss Maudie first explains to Scout the meaning of Atticus'
statement--that "it's a sin to kill a mockingbird"--she agrees with Atticus'
assessment.

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"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music
for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't
do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a
mockingbird."

Jem and Scout
particularly symbolize innocence, goodness and beauty. Although they are a bit more
rambunctious than some children and exposed to the world around them by Atticus'
allowance for their independence, they nevertheless serve as the primary human
mockingbirds of the story: Their childlike questions and responses to the good and bad
around them and their innate willingness to foster goodness in their actions make them
positive symbols for the future of Maycomb.

Why are speeches a part of the African American literary tradition

Quite simply, the fact that slavery made it illegal (and
severely punishable) for slaves to learn to read and write meant that oral tradition as
a literary device was automatically integrated into their heritage. The only way to
preserve and share knowledge was orally (with few exceptions such as Harriet Jacobs who
wrote of her true life as a slave in Incidents in the Life of a Slave
Girl but who published under the white pen name Linda Brent and was not given
authorial credit under her own name until 1986!). This led to a tradition of very
powerful Black speakers, such as Sojourner Truth, a former slave whose public speeches
given on subjects ranging from abolition to women's rights appealed to both Black and
White audiences.I have included a link to Alice Walker reading her most famous speech to
give you an idea of why she was so popular!

The slave
narratives, oral accounts passed down often from generation to generation, have given us
the most accurate account of the Black condition during slavery. I have included a link
to the WPA project that has preserved these narratives so that you can see just how
compelling they are!

Additionally, the slaves used spoken
word as a form of communication. Slave songs were often crafted to sound like "negro
spirituals" when, in fact, they contained coded transmissions about escape
possibilities.

This tradition stayed largely intact until
the Harlen Renaissance brought about the first real emergence of a solid group of strong
African-American writers. The depression stalled that movement, but it the momentum was
picked up again in the 1960's during the Black Arts movement. While the written word
became a part of the African-American literary canon, the spoken word still maintained
power as is evidenced by the powerful speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr during the
civil rights movement and the power of spoken word poetry of Amiri Baraka and Ntozake
Shange today.

Who did Boo{Arthur Radley} affect? How did he affect the characters in the book, what did he do to make the characters grow, what was some of his...

Boo namely affects Scout and Jem.  Initially in the novel they (along with Dill) become obsessed with Boo and all of the sensational rumors that swirl through the neighborhood about him and his family.  But as the two grow up, Boo tries to interact with them, such as leaving the gifts in the old knot in the neighborhood tree.  One of the saddest moments comes when Jem sees that the knot has been filled in and that Boo's family is trying to keep him secluded from the outside world.  Another key moment occurs when Jem is trying to sneak a note into Boo and is scared away by a shotgun blast.  In his escape, Jem tears his jeans to shreds and leaves them tangled in the Radley fence.  Later when he returns to get them, he sees that they have been mended, likely by Boo.  This has a profound affect on him for it shows a very human side to this mythical figure.

Boo also has quite an impact on Scout, not only through the gifts in the tree but also by placing a blanket around her the night Miss Maudie's house burns.  Of course, his greatest act is saving Jem and Scout from Bob Ewell's attack.

Finally, Boo is a 'mockingbird' (along with Tom Robinson).  He does nothing but help others and it would be a 'sin' to drag this shy, quiet man out into the public's attention with a murder trail, so Heck Tate quietly covers up the fact that Boo stabbed Bob Ewell and says that Bob simply fell on his knife.

Explain why Bokanovsky's Process is one of the major instruments of social stability.

What the leaders of the brave new world are trying to do
is to make it so that everyone in the society (and especially within each caste) will be
as similar as possible.  They want people to be the same, in part, so there will be
little to no conflict between people and the society will be completely
stable.

That is why the Bokanovsky Process is such an
important instrument of social stability, especially for the lower castes.  By creating
people who are completely identical the leaders of the society can make the people as
identical as possible.  When people are identical, at least according to the book, they
will respond in the same ways and will not come in conflict with one another.  As the
Director says:

Standard men and women; in uniform
batches. The whole of a small factory staffed with the products of a single
bokanovskified egg. "Ninety-six identical twins working ninety-six identical
machines!"

In The Crucible, why does Hale denounce the proceedings of the court?

Hale denounces the proceedings at the end of Act II scene 2, after Proctor brings Mary Warren before the court and tells of the fraudulant nature of the accusations.  Proctor goes so far as to admit to his own sin of fornication before Danforth, the judge.  Danforth brings the other girls in and they begin accusing Proctor of witchcraft.  Mary can not hold the truth under the pressure of the other girls and also turns against Proctor.  At this point, Hale, who has been suspicious of the accusations for some time, finally becomes sure that the girls are frauds and that Danforth is refusing to listen to reason so he denounces the proceedings and leaves the court.

In "The Catbird Seat", what is the main purpose of the story?

The purpose of any story is to reflect the author's message about life or the human condition, but some stories are written to entertain the reader.

One of the most important themes of this story is the age-old struggle of men and women to understand one another. Many of Thurber's stories explore this theme in a couple's marriage, but this story takes place in the workplace of the two main characters. Another difference in this story is that the traditional roles of men and women are reversed. Mrs. Barrows is depicted as more masculine than Martin in that she smokes, drinks, and likes baseball. She is a woman who exhibits a commanding presence. Martin is the total opposite of her, portraying a meek, timid, quiet man. An integral part of the battle-of-the-sexes theme is Thurber's belief that all people are essentially alone, unable to communicate with either men or women. We see this at the end when Martin, who has won out over Mrs. Barrows, is unable to celebrate his victory with anyone because he's totally alone.

What was unique about the destruction of the Modocs in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee?

Captain Jack is the leader of the Modocs who live on the California/Oregon border. The whites move the Modocs to a reservation in Oregon where the Klamath tribe already lives, and the Klamaths don't like the Modocs on their land. The Modocs then decide to move back south, but the white people don't want them there either. When the government decides the Modocs must go back to the reservation, Captain Jack and his people escape and go further south to the California Lava Beds. Captain Jack meets up with another Modoc tribe headed by Hooker Jim who has killed twelve white people. Captain Jack decides not to turn Hooker Jim over to the army for the murders, so they fight the army and win. Unable to reach a peace agreement, Hooker Jim gets Captain Jack to say he'll kill General Canby if the army doesn't allow them to return to their original home. Canby turns them down, so Captain Jack kills Canby. The army then sends troops to destroy the Modocs. When Hooker Jim is captured, he gives up Captain Jack to save himself, and the army tracks Jack down and hangs him. Captain Jack is betrayed by Hooker Jim, and Jack is hanged for the crimes that Jim committed. Hooker Jim and his small band go free for their betrayal of Captain Jack, but it will be short-lived.

A complete description is found in Chapter 10.

Didi and Gogo forever remain stagnant, but Pozzo, Lucky, and the tree are able to change between acts. Why are they able to change?Between acts...

Like much of humanity, Gogo and Didi are waiting for the
external world to effect change upon them. The concept behind this work is one of
waiting - waiting for someone to come who has all the answers, to point us in the right
direction, instead of making decisions, taking chances, and acting to follow our own
paths. The tree, Pozzo, and Lucky can all change because they are not waiting to be
acted upon - they are acting. Gogo and Didi, on the other hand, are unwilling to make a
choice, take an action, do anything at all until they receive the wisdom or the
direction they are seeking from Godot. In a sense, Godot is like God. People wait for
God to show them a sign, to tell them what to do in their lives. However, God does not
work that way. Sometimes there are no clear cut answers, and if we do not take a chance,
make a choice, risk a decision, we are placing ourselves in a position of stagnation and
we will stay there forever.

Pozzo and Lucky experience
negative changes (blindness and deafness) but that is what life is all about. At the
same time, the tree grows leaves - this is also a part of life. Sometimes change is
good, sometimes not, but it is better than not moving at all.

Chapter 10. a) What is the single Commandment? What does the word equal mean in this context? b) How has the farm changed over the years?

The final commandment is that all animals are equal but
some are more equal than others. From this, we surmise that the animals are not equal
and that the pigs are held above all others. This marks a return to a style of
leadership that treats the majority of animals unfairly.

At this point in the novel, we see the farm is
just as bad as it was during the reign of Mr. Jones, if not worse. While the revolution
initially brought hope for a better life, the animals’ hopes are never realized, and
their quality of life has declined.

What was the content of Caesar’s will and why did Antony make a point of reading it to the people?

The contents of Caesar's will is Antony's key in "turning" the people against the conspirators. (I'll give you the contents in a minute.) The conspirators disliked and envied Caesar, for a variety of reasons: Caesar had numerous affairs with powerful men's wives, he was loved by the common people, and Caesar loved power...(which would dissolve the triumvirate). In essence, the conspirators started a smear campaign against Caesar. He was too old, infirm (epilepsy), proud, couldn't hear, etc...how could he possibly rule? Antony's skillful oration uses plays on words and repetition to sway the fickle crowd into a raging riot. Could a man who left every Roman citizen (not everyone) seventy-five drachmas, walks, arbors and new-planted orchards be as horrible as the conspirators were making him out to be? After seeing Caesar's body and hearing the will, the crowd pursues the conspirators. The conspirators flee Rome.

What adjectives can be used to describe Jem in To Kill a Mockingbird?At least 5 adjectives...thanks:)

BRAVE.  Jem shows his bravery
when he takes Dill's dare to run and touch the Radley house, but he risks his life to
protect Scout from the murderous Bob Ewell later in the
novel.

CURIOUS.  Curiosity
gets the better of Jem several times during the novel, usually in episodes dealing with
Boo Radley. His quest to make contact with Boo eventually fails, but he is relentless in
his pursuit until the knothole is
cemented.

SUPERSTITIOUS.  Jem
talks about Hot Steams and the powers of the Indian head penny, among
others.

ATHLETIC.  Jem has his
eyes set on playing football for his school, though he never gets to play ball with
Atticus. He spends a great deal of time outdoors--running past the Radley place and
swimming at Barker's
Eddy.

EMOTIONAL.  Jem loses
his temper a few times during the novel. He gets angry with Mrs. Dubose and again when
Atticus forces him to read to her. He becomes angy about the outcome of the Tom Robinson
trial, and wrestles with Scout on occasion.

Cite examples of paradox and irony in the play and explain what they indicate about the nature of life.

There is extensive irony in the myth and play of Oedipus. The most fundamental comes in the situation of Oedipus himself. The prophecies said that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Horrified, his parents left him on a hillside. He was found and raised by others, and did not know his parents. Because of this, he later...killed his father and married his  mother.

In addition to this overarching situation irony, there are several others. Oedipus asks Teiresias for help figuring out who did the crime that brought the curse on his city...but it was Oedipus. The very man who set out to cure his city is the one who tainted it. That's great irony.

Write a character analysis of Connie in "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"Joyce Carol Oates

In Joyce Carol Oates story, Connie is, at first, a
stereotypical teenage girl, superficial, self-centered, vain, and deceitful.  As she
makes the transition from girlhood to womanhood, she detours into her "trashy daydreams"
and her duality of nature:

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She wore a pulover jersey blouse that looked one
way when she was at home and another way when she was away from home.  Everything about
her had two sides to it, one for home and one for anywhere that was not home:  her walk
that could be childlike and bobing, or languid enough to make anyone think she was
hearing music in her
head....

The music that "made
everything so good" is always in the background of Connie's head, as she feels it is
like the music at a church service, "something to depend
upon."

Finally, however, Connie's trashy daydreams and
music materialize in the shape of Arnold Friend, who drives up to her house where she is
alone, having refused to accompany her family to a barbeque at her aunt's.  In a vehicle
suggestive of the "magic whirling ship" of Bob Dylan's song, "Mr. Tambourine Man,"
Connie finds herself reflected in the "tiny metallic world" of Arnold's sunglasses. 
Without the rs in his name, the man who is older than he at first
appears is An old   Fiend, the embodiment of her trashy daydreams
to extreme.  Faced with the psychological horror dealt her by Arnold, Connie shakes
herself from her hedonism and becomes, as Oates herself states in an article, capable of
"a heroic gesture":  She sacrifices herself and gets into Friend's car so that her
family will be unharmed upon their return home.  As she rides away, Connie faces the
existential question of the story's title, perhaps in a new order:  "where have you
been, where are you going?"

what of phillip's senses was greatly improved?

Phillip's sense of self and independence is improved. After his initial self-centered attitude, he learns to appreciate Timothy's knowledge. Timothy pushed him to explore, ration, and work despite his limitations.

Even after Timothy's death, he is able to fend for himself-shelter, food, and safety-wise.

What is the difference between the Montagues' and the Capulets' ability to make peace?

I'm not sure exactly what you're asking, but my guess is you're inquiring about the Montagues' and the Capulets' inability to work things out before their children committed suicide.  Peace only came to their families after they realized the price it cost them.  Romeo and Juliet had to move around in secrecy based on the fact that their families had been fueling a terrible argument for centuries.  After the funeral of thier children, they changed their tune.  A little too late, but they changed nonetheless.

Shakespeare enjoyed irony. In Act1 Scene 2,Polonius says, "Since brevity is the soul of wit...I will be brief." How is this ironic?

In Shakespeare's Hamlet, Polonius
says in Act 2.2.91-96 (rather than 1.2): 

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Therefore, since brevity is the soul of
wit

And tediousness the limbs and outward
flourishes,

I will be brief:  your noble son is
mad.

Mad call I it, for, to define true
madness,

What is 't but to be nothing else but
mad?

But let that
go. 

It is ironic when
Polonius says he will be brief, because he is anything but brief.  This passage is just
the beginning of Polonius' speeches in which he tries to convince Gertrude and Claudius
that Hamlet is mad, but even in just these few lines we see how full of "art" he is, and
how empty of substance.  He's talking in circles, defining and redefining.  He uses the
word mad to define
mad. 

Gertrude recognizes this
immediately, telling him:

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More matter, with less
art.

Polonius is a
nonsensical windbag, who talks much while saying little.  And he is anything but
brief.

What was the author's purpose for writing "The Most Dangerous Game"?

The most compelling lesson to be learned here is caution.  Not all people can be trusted.  Unfortunately, given today's news programs, that lesson is even more evident than when this story was first published.

Rainsford is in trouble.  His boat has problems.  At first glance, Zaroff is just the right sort of person to rescue him--strong, capable, and surviving on this island alone.  At second long look, we discover that he is cruel and sadistic--he enjoys watching others suffer for his own entertainment.

The story is for entertainment, much like any thriller we might read from Stephen King.  However, on closer reading the author may be cautioning us to service our vehicles and fully indicate our travel itineraries to loved ones before setting off on a journey. 

Why did US attitudes towards the USSR change from 1917-1930's and then in 1941 when the U.S entered WW2?U.S history research

There was great fear of communism in the 1920s. 
Spearheaded by A. Mitchell Palmer, the red-scare was felt by most Americans.  Employers
were able to squash labor union strikes by insinuating the leaders were communists,
immigrants were expected to prove their loyalty, the KKK was able to take advantage of
the fears and grew to phenomenal numbers.

Hoping to balance
the growing power of the Axis countries, Roosevelt opted to acknowledge Russia as a
communist country during the '30s.

By 1941, Hitler had
turned on the Soviets and "our enemy's enemy is our friend" became the attitude of
politicians.  Better to befriend the communists in order to defeat
Hitler/Mussolini/Tojo.

In To Kill A Mockingbird, why is Mayella Ewell considered lonelier than Boo?Boo has no one. Mayella has her siblings. Yet, why does Scout think...

Mayella has siblings, but they are anything but a close family. She must keep the house for all of them, including her father. Her father is a mean, horrible man who abuses her. The book never says whether Bob Ewell, her father, sexually abuses her, but it is possible. Mayella lives in the depths of poverty from which there is no escape. She has no one her age to talk to or to care about her. Her future doesn't look bright either, being the poor white trash of Maycomb.

Even though Boo has been in seclusion, he is a kind, gentle man who hasn't let his isolation make him bitter. He lives in a nice house and seems to have made his life bearable by watching life out of his window. He shows his kindness when he puts a blanket over Scout the night of the fire. His rescue of Scout and Jem from Bob Ewell in the end further demonstrates what a gentle soul Bob is.

In I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, why has Mrs. Flowers remained for Angelou "the measure of what a human being can be"?

       Mrs. Flowers has been the measure of what a human being can be to Maya because she was benign and an important teacher to Maya. Maya Angelou has said, “Black people say, when you get, give; when you learn, teach.” Maya learned important life lessons and also gained confidence from Mrs. Flowers. Because Mrs. Flowers was gentle Maya could learn from her and be gentle herself. The measure of what a human being can be is helping others and being their role models like Mrs. Flowers was to Maya.

How can I discuss the following statement in regards to the main characters of The Great Gatsby:"Most characters in the Great Gatsby are involved...

To treat this statement about The Great
Gatsby, simply take one character at a time and see if he/she suffers from
illusions or practices deception.  I'm not sure I would worry too much, especially while
your gathering evidence, about the "perception of what constitutes reality" part.  That
should come clear later, after you've gathered evidence, but even if it doesn't,
figuring the illusions of and deception by the characters is most of what you're looking
for.

For instance, Gatsby suffers from the illusion that
Daisy loves him as much as and in the same way that he loves her.  She doesn't.  This is
a beautiful illusion, but it is still an illusion.  Gatsby dedicates five hears of his
life trying to recapture a past, that in reality, never existed in the first place.  He
suffers from illusion and self-deception.  He tells Nick that, of course, one can
capture the past.  But, of course, one cannot, especially when that past never even
existed.  Gatsby's relationship with Daisy from the past is Gatsby's reality.  But it's
a faulty reality.

Nick is another example:  he deceives the
reader, beginning his story with an anecdote (his father teaching him) that demonstrates
the fact that he doesn't judge people.  But he does judge people.  This is deception. 
Reality to Nick is his honest character, and his objective nature.  But these, too, are
illusions. 

Tom and Daisy also have illusions and practice
deceptions.  I'll leave those two to you. 

What is the meaning of John Donne's poem, "For Whom the Bell Tolls," and what imagery in it supports that meaning?

This mistake is often made -- the selection to which you
are referring is not a poem, but an extract from one of Donne's "Devotions".  These were
writings on sacred subjects, which Donne sometimes addressed to certain august
personages of his time (such as Prince Charles).  The "Devotions upon emergent
Occasions" from which this line comes is number XVII (17), written while Donne was
recovering from spotted fever.  He lived in a district of London that was near a church
(there were many, many churches in those days), and every time a person in the
neighborhood died and was buried the bell of that church tolled for the funeral
procession.  Donne, in a depressed state of mind after his long illness, from which it
had been assumed he would die, reflected on this constant bell
tolling.

The prose of this piece (though the lines to which
you refer are often written as poetry) is spare and direct, for Donne.  He gets to the
point in very few words, and the rhythm of the words (remember Donne was a gifted
sermonist) is every bit as sonorous and measured as a tolling of a
bell.

No man
is an Iland, intire of it selfe; every man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the
maine; if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the lesse, as well as if a
Promontorie were, as well as if a Mannor of thy friends or of thine own were; any mans
death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde; And therefore never send to know
for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee. (Coffin
441)

The imagery is
geographical -- to underscore the importance of his ideas.  To compare people to islands
or parts of the land, and the sea to the great unknown of death, lends an air of gravity
to the "Devotion".  The meaning is quite plain -- the bell tolling in the church is the
business of everyone living, because every living human is part of a whole of humanity. 
That whole of humanity is diminished by any death.  Donne is reflecting on the
transience of life and the brother- and sisterhood of all the people in the
world.

Source: The Complete Poetry and Selected
Prose of John Donne.  Charles M. Coffin, ed.  The Modern Library, New
York: 1952.

The ending of The Giver can be interpreted in two different ways. Please give evidence to support each interpretation.

In the book The Giver one can
interpret the ending as Jonas and Gabriel as dying or Jonas and Gabriel as escaping and
beginning to develop their own memories when hey hear music and see
lights.

When they have escaped Gabriel is very cold.  Jonas
wonders if he is still able to give a memory to Gabe.  He wants to give him the warmth
of sunshine.  He forces the last of the warmth into the thin shivering body of
Gabriel. 

"The
memory was agonizingly brief.  He had trudged no more than a few yards through the night
when it was gone and they were cold
again."(177)

In the first
scenario, Jonas tells in the book how he is beginning to lose consciousness.  He forces
his eyes open.  These present the concept that they have died or are
dying.

However, Gabriel continued to stir against him.  He
warmed them briefly again with a little memory of warmth he had left.  He makes it to
the top of the hill and recognizes where he is at.  He finds the sled and they ride it
down the hill.

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"For the first time they heard
singing."(180) 

This supports
that they lived.

From act 1, scene 3 of Macbeth, what does the quote below mean? "two truths are told, as happy prologues to the swelling act of imperial theme. -I...

The two truths that are told are the ones where he is heralded as Thanes of Cawdor and Glamis...the "imperial theme" is the ultimate promise of the throne that Duncan currently holds. Macbeth has just come from battle (and from speaking with the weird sisters). If he doubted the word of the witches before, he does not doubt now. In his choice of the words "imperial theme". he reveals his ambition: he wants the throne. The question is...would he have wanted it if the witches hadn't told him it was possible? Would he have even thought of breaking his faith with Duncan had he not seen the "truth" in what the weird sisters said? Unlike Banquo, who mistrusts appearances of truth (Banquo says often the instruments of darkness will seem to be offering something good and true only to win a person to harm), Macbeth sees what he wants to see and doesn't waste any time questioning whether or not the "truth" he sees is right or good.

Why did Brother show coffin to Doodle? And why did he tell Doodle to touch it?

That's an interesting question.  The story never really says why Brother is cruel to Doodle.  We know that he is embarrassed by Doodle's inability to perform physically.  We also know that his Brother's pride caused him to push Doodle beyond his limits.

But why this particular act of cruelty. It seems unlikely that it will encourage Doodle to work harder. Perhaps it will by making him determined to prove everyone wrong about his weaknesses. But the more likely reason for Brother's cruelty is simply that sometimes siblings are cruel. There is a German term, schadenfreude, that is used to describe the pleasure someone derives from the suffering of others.  I'd say Brother got a little thrill at making Doodle suffer.  Many brothers and sisters are mean to each other, and Brother is no exception.  I don't believe, however, that he would ever mean to do Doodle any real harm, just scare him.

Take a look at the link below for more information on the themes of the story. The information on the theme of Brotherhood might prove helpful.

Why are Hamlet and Claudius in conflict?

You'll find the Ghost of King Hamlet's explanation in Act 1, Scene 5.  Here, he tells his son exactly how Claudius murdered him, by pouring a vial of poison in his ear while he napped, and how Gertrude, his wife, was complicit in the treachery:

    .. Sleeping within my orchard,
    My custom always of the afternoon,
    Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole,
    With juice of cursed hebenon in a vial,
    And in the porches of my ears did pour
    The leperous distilment;    ....

    Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother's hand
    Of life, of crown, of queen, at once dispatch'd:
    Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin,
    Unhousel'd, disappointed, unanel'd,
    No reckoning made, but sent to my account
    With all my imperfections on my head:
    O, horrible! O, horrible! most horrible!
    If thou hast nature in thee, bear it not;
    Let not the royal bed of Denmark be
    A couch for luxury and damned incest. 

    ...

    Adieu, adieu! Hamlet, remember me.

Another reason, therefore, for Hamlet's conflict is his murdered father's plea for revenge, to be remembered, and for the traitors to be held accountable for their crimes. 

What does the wind symbolize in this quote from "Rules of the Game"? "I felt the wind rushing around my hot ears."

Like her mother, the wind is a force that Waverly feels powerless to control.

Waverly has heard about wind all her life.  Early in the story, Mrs. Jong says, "Wise guy, he not go against wind...Strongest wind cannot be seen.”

Chinese life tells Waverly that she is to respect the "unseen" wind...the authority of her parents, the strictures of her culture.  However, all of Waverly's "American-ness" tells her that the pursuit of happiness is one's own construction.  It is the pull between self-effacement and self-promotion.  Waverly is caught in the cross-gales.   

What is blank verse? Iambic pentameter? Can you give me some examples from Othello?

I don't know that I'm the one to try to help you with a
breakthrough in your understanding of rhythm and metre.  This can be very difficult and
it seems to be something that students learn or "get a feel for" over time.  It can,
also, be a little bit subjective on the part of the poet.  Sometimes stress is
determined by the context, and a one-syllable word that is stressed in one sentence is
not stressed in another.  Also, no serious poet repeats the same rhythm every line--it
becomes monotonous.  So a student looks for the rhythm that is dominant in the pattern
of the lines, not exclusive.

With all that said, here's an
explanation that I hope will help.

When you speak in the
English language, you speak in a natural rhythm.  Your voice rises and falls with almost
every syllable.  This is inflection.  You cannot, for the most part, speak sentences in
English and speak at the same inflection.  Your voice naturally rises and
falls. 

Look at the word:  hippopotamus.  On which syllable
does your voice rise?  You must get yourself to say the word naturally, like you would
any other time. 

When you speak the word in English, your
voice naturally rises on the middle or third syllable, the -po-.  That is the
stress:  hippopotamus.  That's all there is to stressed and
unstressed syllables.  And any word in the English language that is two or more
syllables, is marked for stressed and unstressed syllables in the dictionary.  One place
to start in trying to understand rhythm is to simply look up any words with two or more
syllables in the dictionary and see where the stresses lie.  They will be marked with a
symbol before the syllable that is stressed, where the dictionary gives pronunciation. 
 

The same is true when a person speaks a sentence.  Your
inflection naturally rises and falls as you speak a sentence, the same as it does when
you speak a multi-syllabic word.  You speak the sentence as you would at any other time,
and judge when your inflection rises and when it
falls.  

Here's a short line from a famous Frost poem, with
the stresses in bold:

Her
hardest hue to
hold       

This line is
iambic tetrameter:  three metrical feet of iambs. 

Here's a
line
from Macbeth:

Attend
the true event, and
put we
on

If you look up
attend and event in the dictionary, and learn
where the stresses are, that will give you a great start in figuring out where the
stresses are in the entire line. 

I hope this helps.  By
the way, you probably figured this out already, but just to make sure you don't leave
this site with a misconception, the Roses are Red poem mentioned above is not iambic
pentameter, and all of the lines mentioned are not iambic.  Also, a listing of letters
like ABAB is used for rhyme scheme, not to indicate rhythm and
metre. 

After having strep throat and taking an antibiotic, a few days later the mouth is covered with slimy white patches. What would this person have?...

Thrush-

Thrush is an
infection of the mouth caused by the href="http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=10314">candida
fungus, also known as yeast. Candida infection is not limited to the mouth; it can occur
in other parts of the body as well, causing href="http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=7335">diaper
rash in infants or href="http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=8120">vaginal yeast
infections in women.

Thrush usually develops
suddenly, but it may become chronic, persisting over a long period of time. A common
sign of thrush is the presence of creamy white, slightly raised lesions in your
mouth—usually on your tongue or inner cheeks—but also sometimes on the roof of your
mouth, gums, tonsils, or back of your throat. The lesions, which may have a "cottage
cheese" appearance, can be painful and may bleed slightly when you scrape them or brush
your teeth. In severe cases, the lesions may spread into your esophagus, or swallowing
tube, causing:

• Pain or difficulty
  swallowing


• A feeling that food gets stuck in the throat
  or mid-chest area


• href="http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=361">Fever,
  if the infection spreads beyond the
  esophagus

Small amounts of the candida fungus
are present in the mouth, digestive tract, and skin of most healthy people and are
normally kept in check by other bacteria and microorganisms in the body. However,
certain illnesses, href="http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=488">stress,
or medications can disturb the delicate balance, causing the fungus candida to grow out
of control, causing thrush.

Medications that upset the
balance of microorganisms in the mouth and may cause thrush include corticosteroids,
antibiotics, and href="http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=10456">birth
control pills.

What is the dramatic purpose of act 2, scene 6 in Romeo and Juliet?

Scene 6 begins with Friar Laurence and Romeo waiting for Juliet in the Friar's cell so he can marry the couple. The Friar cautions Romeo to "Love moderately" when Romeo ardently expresses his love for Juliet, showing Romeo is guided by his emotions only. When Juliet arrives, she and Romeo express their love to each other, and then the Friar marries them. The dramatic effect of this scene is to bring to a conclusion the meeting of Romeo and Juliet at the party, the balcony scene where they tell each other of their love, and the plans they make for marriage. It shows how impatient they both are since they marry less than twenty-four hours after they first meet. The marriage intensifies the conflict of the two children of feuding families falling in love and getting married. They have gone behind their parents' backs and married without their approval. The fact that they are now married makes everything more serious because they can't take it back.

When John Proctor comes in from planting, what suggestion does he make to his wife concerning the house?

John Proctor suggests that Elizabeth bring some flowers into the house.This can be seen as symbolic in that the Proctor's marriage is going through a frost(John's affair), and the welcome signs of a thaw (forgiveness) are like the first signs of spring in nature after a long winter (flowers).

What is the role of the tannery in the novel?

I would like to add that the tannery is representative of two themes central to the novel - change and colonialism.

The tannery completely changes the peasants' way of life.  Until its coming they had lived a quiet existence dependent on the land, but the tannery introduces all the complications of urban living, literally transforming an age-old culture.  The work in the tannery is done by the Indian people, but the bosses are white men, forming a colonial hierarchy.  As Ruku says, "...they may live in our midst but I can never accept them, for they lay their hands upon us and we are all turned from tilling to barter, and hoard our silver since we cannot spend it, and see our children go without the food that their children gorge..." (Chapter 4).

It is because the tannery buys the land Nathan and Ruku depend upon for their livelihood that the two are left homeless and forced to embark on their fateful journey to seek a home with their son Murugan.

What is the Comitatus and how does it fail Beowulf?

In the poem "Beowulf" the Comitatus is a group of comrades
or men who owe their allegiance to the chief or person they follow.  It is derived from
a Roman term.  Under the expectations, the men of the person would never allow the
leader to suffer needlessly because they would protect
him.

Beowulf's men let him down in several ways throughout
the poem.  One of the first experiences is when they fail initially to help him to
defeat Grendel.  Beowulf later recants and decides that he should be the one to kill
Grendel.

When Beowulf has to fight Grendel's mother, once
again Beowulf is on his own.  Last of all he is killed when he should have had his men
at his side to save him to help him slay the dragon. He has to slay the dragon on his
own after he is mortally wounded.

What was the Berlin Airlift, and why did it happen?

The Berlin Airlift refers to the massive program of
airlifting supplies of essential goods to West Berliners undertaken from June 1948 to
September 1949. This program was undertaken when the Soviet Union blocked all rail,
water, and road routes through the Soviet zone to the Western sectors of Berlin. After
the World War II, Eastern Part of Berlin was controlled by USSR, while the rest was
under control of USA, UK and France. Entire Berlin was located within the East German
territory controlled by USSR. It was expected that USSR will permit free access to West
Berlin to others.  However, in June 1948, they blocked all rail, water, and road routes
through East Germany to the Western sectors of Berlin, hoping to drive Western troops
out of Berlin. The Berlin Airlift was organized to break this
blockade.

At the height of Berlin Airlift project planes
landed in West Berlin at the rate of one every one to two minutes. As a result USSR
ended the blockade in May 1949, and the airlift stopped in September
1949.

What were the causes and effects of the Battle of Fallen Timbers?

The Battle of Fallen Timbers involved a battle by the
United States Army against natives in the Northwest Territory. President George
Washington had appointed Anthony Wayne as the commander of the United States Army of the
Northwest. In 1792, this army was serving in the Northwest
Territory.

The principal objective of this army
was to defend American settlers from attack by Native Americans. The Battle of Fallen
Timbers was the last battle of the Northwest Indian War, which took place from
1785-1795.

In 1794, General Wayne defeated
Shawnee Chief Blue Jacket's confederacy near today what we know as Toledo, Ohio. General
Wayne’s army comprised 3,000 men.

The causes of
this battle were George Washington’s desire to secure victory after earlier defeats of
General Josiah Harmar and General Arthur St. Clair by Native Americans. The British were
supporting the Indians as they fought battles with the
Americans.

In 1785, in Ohio, a number of Native
American tribes banded together. This coming together resulted in the formation of the
Western Confederacy. This Confederacy determined that the Ohio River would be suitable
as a border between their lands and the United States. The Western Confederacy commenced
a string of raids south of the Ohio into Kentucky to discourage settlement. These raids
occurred in the mid 1780’s.

Therefore, in
essence, the cause of the Battle of Fallen Timbers was an effort to put an end to the
attacks of the Confederacy (Blue Jacket, Little Turtle, Buckongahelas, as well as 1,500
men).

The effects of this battle were that the
Western Confederacy was overthrown; the Confederacy did not receive help from the
British as the British decided it needed to avoid a fight with the Americans, and
General Wayne ordered the torching of all the villages and crops in the
region.

Further effects of the Battle of Fallen
Timbers include General Wayne losing 33 soldiers. In addition, 100 were wounded. The
final outcome or effect of the Battle of Fallen Timbers is that it resulted in the
creation of, and the signing of the Treaty of Greenville (1795). This Treaty terminated
the fight. Furthermore it eliminated all Western Confederacy claims to Ohio and the
neighboring lands.

What does the title "The Tell-Tale Heart" mean?

At the most obvious level, the title refers to the beating of the old man's heart. The heart "tells tales" to the narrator. Tales, as you well know, are stories, and can be based on either real or imagined events. In either case, tellers of tales want to keep the reader or listener paying attention, and will often resort to extreme exaggerations to achieve that goal.

So, what tales does the old man's heart tell? We first hear his heart beating on the eighth night, when he realizes that something is not right in his room. His heart tells a tale of fear, which in turn makes the narrator extremely angry and gives him the push he needs to carry out his dastardly deed. 

The next time we hear the beating of the heart is after the old man is dead. See, this is part of why the narrator tells us he cut up the body before burying it under the floorboards. If it wasn't for that step, we could imagine that the old man maybe wasn't quite as dead as the narrator thought. Since that isn't a possibility, and since we know that dead hearts don't beat, the narrator's own hidden guilt over the deed is projected onto the dead man's heart, thus telling a tale of the narrator's guilty feelings.

So, the title also refers to the narrator's heart. Inside the heart is where our deepest, truest feelings and emotions live, at least metaphorically speaking. We could look at the whole story of the old man's murder as a tale told by the narrator, a tale from his own heart. The title refers to both the narrator's heart, and to the old man's heart, and to the tales told by both.

Identify 3 scenes/events from Act II that serve to increase the level of suspense and explain how.

You need look no further than scene one of act two to find
Shakespeare raising suspense in his Julius
Caesar. 

Brutus broods over his decision to kill
or not to kill Caesar.  His imagery of Caesar as a snake makes his view of what Caesar
might become concrete for the reader, and explains why the issue is vital for the future
of Rome.  This doesn't mean that Brutus is correct in his assessment of Caesar, but it
explains how he feels.  When Brutus decides to go along with the conspirators, suspense
is heightened by his decision.

Intensification of the
suspense occurs, then, when the majority of the conspirators arrive at Brutus's house
and a deal or bargain or consensus is reached.  Brutus by himself is one man deciding to
commit an assassination; the conspirators together is a group of men deciding to commit
an assassination. 

Finally, the importance of Brutus, and
therefore the importance of his decision to join the conspirators, is revealed when
Caius Ligarius ignores his illness and follows Brutus.  Brutus is shown great respect
and honor in the play, which makes his choices vitally
significant. 

The suspense, then, builds as Brutus decides,
the conspirators agree, and the status of Brutus is enhanced.

What is remarkable about Mr. Jagger’s housekeeper, Molly?

I think Jaggers makes an effort to point out (when
introducing Molly in a rather strange way) that Molly's wrists show formidable strength.
I think this is to be a reflection of her character. It may not matter what her strength
lies in, nonetheless, it is a strength.

What I find
remarkable is that her daugther we later find is also a woman of great strength. The
difference may be what each of them chooses to use their strength
for.

It seems that Jaggers made an effort to point out this
strength to Pip for a reason. It is as if he was giving him a
clue.

What is a maritime forest? I am about to go on a feild trip and I really want to know. well it is in the maritime time zone

A maritime forest is a coastal forest.  The winds and sand
tend to create an entirely different forest than those one would normally think about. 
Trees have a very hard-time growing ear the coast, but the dunes help to protect them
from the winds and stabilize their root system.  The dunes protect the
trees.

What you will see will be trees that are twisted and
usually short.  They tend to grow very close together so that they can protect each
other from the winds.  They also create a canopy that is coupled together.  This
provides protection from sea spray as well.  Salt spray provides the necessary nutrients
that enable the trees to survive.

Confucius, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle are important in the history of philosophy. Providing examples, how do their teachings compare?

While Confucius wrote at a time and place different from
those of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, much of his thoughts relate closely with the
three Greek thinkers.  In his Analects, Confucius emphasizes the
morality of the government and of individuals.  Everything derives from the efforts of
individuals.  It was in their ability to perfect themselves, and in doing so would true
change occur.  This change was directed as a return to the perfection of earlier times. 
An extension of this is the idea of ancestor worship, an important aspect of Confucius's
philosophy.  In addition, the pursuit of harmony was perceived as virtue in
Confucianism. 

While these ideas may not seem very
relatable to those of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, there are numerous threads
connecting them.  Much of Socrates's thought is lost; the only real source of his
philosophical outlook is through the words of his student, Plato.  Socrates, like
Confucius, formulated a system built on social concerns, particularly those relating to
justice.  From what can be gleaned from his thought, he spoke little, if at all, about
natural concerns.  Like his Chinese predecessor, Socrates focused on human
concerns.

Plato, rather than Socrates, offers a more
elaborate and developed system of thought, and much of it can be related to Confucius's
thought.  In The Republic, for example, Plato discusses many of the
questions which concerned Confucius.  Like Confucius, Plato was concerned with the
nature of government, particularly in terms of justice and morality, and he also posited
that social change derives from the efforts of individuals to better themselves.  Like
Confucius, Plato argues that an improvement in an individual's moral goodness will lead
to an improvement in the morals of a society. 

Aristotle,
unlike Confucius, Socrates, and Plato, had much more varied philosophical interests.  He
writings cover not only human concerns but also the natural world.  He wrote works on
ethics and politics, and a number of his ideas relate to those of Plato, Socrates, and
Confucius.  In his Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle argues that all
human action is aimed toward a specific purpose, or the "good."  Unlike Confucius and
Plato, Aristotle approaches the question of ethics rather scientifically, breaking down
human nature into two impulses:  the rational and the
nonrational. 

The rational, as the name indicates, deal
with purely intellectual matters.   Morality, and its improvement, cannot be discussed
or pursued unless the rational and the non-rational were included. 
The non-rational comprises "vegetative functions," which essentially relates to those
functions not associated with the intellect.  In Confucius, Socrates, and Plato, they
place much less emphasis on the natural and more on the intellectual (an aspect of the
human).  Like his three predecessors, however, Aristotle argues that the "good" is
essentially a balance between two extremes.

Much of their
similarities can be seen in specific works, particularly Confucius's
Analects, Plato's Republic, and Aristotle's
Nichomachean Ethics. 

Character description of the characters in the A Midsummer Night's Dream.Descriptions of the people like Helena, Hermia, and all the fairies,...

Theseus: He is like a mediator and counsellor, reliable,
trustworthy, highly respected and represent
justice.

Hippolyta: Gentle, really excited about the
wedding, lover of Theseus.

Egeus: want absolute obedience
from her daughter, stubborn, authoritarian,
uncaring

Lysander: madly in love with Hermia, fight for his
rights,respect Hermia when she insists to sleep seperately in the
forest.

Demetrius: dishonest, courts Helena, irresponsible,
unkind to Helena

Hermia: fight for her love, couragous, to
voice out her opinion, won't blindly obey her father's
will.

Helena: jealous, madly in love with Demetrius,
lugubrious

Puck: Happy-go-lucky, merry wanderer, loyal to
his master

Oberon: trick, jealous, manipulative,
obsessive

Titania: Proud,
protective

Where did Lyndon B. Johnson take the oath of office?

Lyndon B. Johnson took the oath of office to become
President of the United States on an airplane (specifically, on Air Force One, the
presidential airplane) sitting on the tarmac at the airport (Love Field) in Dallas after
Pres. John F. Kennedy was assassinated in November of
1963.

Johnson had been in a separate car in the same
motorcade as Kennedy and so he was right there to take the oath of office that same
night (November 22).  His oath was administered by Sarah T. Hughes, who was a US
District Court judge in Texas.

In Our Town, how does Thornton Wilder make the stage manager a memorable, likable and trustworthy character?

I don't have the text right in front of me, but Wilder describes the Stage Manager as a happy-go-lucky person...the one everyone knows and says "hello" to on the street.  He is the narrator for this play, and has considerable flexibility in his movement.  He speaks freely to the dead as well as the living, and seems knowledgeable of the motives/reasons for why people do and say the things they do.  He acts as the go-between and explains the lives of the people in the town.  He is friendly, knows everything, and seems trustworthy and easy to talk to-- the person everyone goes to for advice.  Part of his knowledge comes from always being on the stage and observing the action of the entire play.  He sees all, knows all.  He is trustworthy as his character through his witty little stories and sayings is portrayed as having lots of common sense as well.  He moves the action along and helps the audience understand what is going on in between scenes.

Go back with this info and find the evidence you need to back it up.  Good Luck!

Who are the main characters in Bud,Not Buddy? And what is the resolution of the story?

The main character in the book is 10-year-old Bud Caldwell, an orphan who has run away from an abusive foster home and is searching for his father.  Other important characters are Herman E. Calloway, the senior member in a jazz band who turns out to be Bud's grandfather, and Miss Thomas, the band's singer, a sensitive and understanding woman who facilitates Calloway's and Bud's bonding.  Less developed characters include Bud's best friend Bugs, Deza Malone, who gives Bud his first kiss, the Amos, mission, and Hooverville families, and band members Mr. Jimmy and Steady Eddie, who give Bud his own horn.

The story is resolved when Calloway acknowledges Bud as his grandson.  The ending is cautiously hopeful, with Bud finding a home with the band and embarking upon a relationship with his grandfather.

What characteristics do you see in Shylock's speeches?

Shylock often shows his concern with money, but also his resentment concerning how he is treated by the Christians, and sometimes he shows a humanity that is difficult for the audience not to respond to with compassion.  His speech in 3.1 where he clearly says he wants revenge indicates how much he resents the way people mistreat him. "He [Antonio] hath disgraced me and hindered me half a million, laughed at my losses, mocked at my gains, scorned my nation....," says Shylock to Salarino, showing how deeply he resents their treatment of him. He then insists on his humanity: "Hath not a Jew eyes?  Hath not a Jew hands, organs..." When he discovers his daughter has run away with his money, we see how avaricious he is. "My ducats, my daughter!" he exclaims, causing us to think, perhaps, that he values his money as much as or perhaps more than he does his daughter.

Why do you think Hamlet will not tell where Polonius’s body is hidden? Is this an act of madness?act 4 sc 3.

Another question regarding Polonius' body is: Why did Hamlet hide it in the first place? He dragged it out of his mother's bedroom out of consideration for her feelings. But he didn't have to hide it unless he had some motive for doing so. He has apparently decided to pretend to be insane. When Rosencrantz and Guildenstern ask him where he has hidden the body, he replies in such terms that they can't understand him. Then at the end of this short scene he "runs off" crying "Hide fox, and all after" (Act 4, Scene 2). No doubt he is improvising. He wants them to think that in his madness he believes they are all playing a game, including Polonius, who, he pretends to believe, is really alive but hiding. After all, Polonius really was hiding behind the arras, and this may have suggested to Hamlet the notion of pretending that they were all playing a game comparable to our contemporary game of Hide and Seek. In the game of Hide Fox, and All After, it appears that only one player hides and all the others look for him. The one who finds the fox becomes the fox himself, which is the role everybody wants. Hamlet suggests that he found Polonius hiding and has now become the fox himself.

There is nothing insane about Hamlet. If he had told Rosencrantz and Guildenstern where he had hidden the body, that would be the same as admitting that he had killed him. Obviously they would have found the body with a stab wound and bloody clothing. No one but Gertrude really knows that Hamlet killed Polonius. Claudius only knows what Gertrude told him, and she didn't tell him everything. And Rosencrantz and Guildenstern only know what Claudius told them.

In what important ways would the story "Everyday Use" be different if Dee were the narrator telling it from the first-person point of view?

First, consider what kind of person Dee is. How does she view her mother and sister? Does she look down on them because they're poor? Does she think she's better than they are? What's important to Dee? Why does she want the quilt and other things from her mother's house? She sees the things as collectibles to display in her apartment, but her mom still uses them.

After answering the questions above, go back through the events of the story and ask how Dee would feel and what she would say about it. For example, do you think Dee is looking forward to going to see her mother and sister? Probably not. What kinds of things might she say to her male friend who goes with her? How do you think Dee feels when her mother takes the quilt and gives it to her sister? Is she hurt or angry? What does Dee say when she leaves her mother's house? 

Dee is going to see things differently than her mother. If you have an argument with someone, you tell your point of view of the argument. The person you have an argument with sees it a different way. This is the same thing that the question is asking. List the main events of the story and then write down how Dee would feel and what she would say because Dee lives in a totally different world than her mom and sister. You'll have a new perspective on the story.

What is Steinbeck's portrayal of women in Of Mice and Men? Steinbeck's portrayal of women in Of Mice and Men is hardly complimentary, and his...

If authors wrote only about nice women, literature would
be bland and uninteresting. It would also be dishonest.

It's the troubled and flawed among us who provide drama, who create problems to solve
and issues with which to wrestle. Besides, stories are not intended to be balanced
treatises on womanhood or any other issue. They're stories, not essays, and literature
is not a parlor.

And yet "misogynist" has been thrown at
Steinbeck more than once because he didn't shrink from showing the negative aspects of
women rather than idealizing them, as "gentlemen" were trained to do in the day. A
careful reading of his work and his correspondence shows he was the opposite of
misogynistic. He was exceptionally respectful of women, particularly his mother, despite
her domineering posture toward both him and his kind-hearted father. (Both Steinbeck and
Hemingway had domineering mothers and passive fathers.) 

Steinbeck
wrote what he saw. He was a realist who faced social tabus courageously. He wrote about
prostitutes because they were so common in his post-Victorian world, and he wrote about
them without the hypocritic harsh judgement and disdain that was also prevalent. THAT
would have been misogynistic.

In the character of Ma Joad in THE
GRAPES OF WRATH, he showed a character who was stoic, heroic even. In the character of
the waitress who sold the loaf of bread at a reduced price, he showed both the woman's
hard side and her gentleness. In the case of Rosasharon, he showed a woman who was weak,
complaining and male-dependent, but who had hopes for a better future, redeeming herself
by offering a starving man milk from her breast. In EAST OF EDEN' Cathy, Steinbeck
showed a woman capable of monstrous cruelty, yet not without some kindness toward the
sons she abandoned at birth. I have little doubt this woman actually existed. Steinbeck
is hated to this day in the social establishment of Salinas and Monterrey for exposing
the socially powerful to scrutiny.

Steinbeck had no ax to grind about
women. If, as in the case of Curley's wife, he shows a woman's cruelty, it's because it
was there and he'd seen it. He simply held up a mirror to society so we could see
ourselves objectively.

Nevertheless, people will always read into his
work whatever prejudices they, themselves, carry.