Upon seeing Tom, what is the first concern of both Ma and Pa? What is Ma's second worry?chapter eight

When Tom first approaches his pa, his father at first does not recognize him, and then asks him if he has broken out of prison. Tom experiences the same question when he goes in to greet his ma.

Ma's second question is if being in prison has caused Tom to go "mad". She is concerned because she knew Pretty Boy Floyd, and says that after he went to prison he became "mean mad". Ma worries about the effect prison has had on her son, and while not asking any more questions of him, she wants to know if he is still the same son she had before he went to prison.

How does Byron's personality change over the course of this story?

Byron changes over the course of the story by becoming less antagonistic towards his family. In the beginning, he  goes out of his way to torture Kenny. He is always taunting him, or using physical force against him. He finds the gang life and causing trouble to be appealing. Their time in Birmingham brings racial issues and tragedy that cause Byron to be a good brother to Kenny. After the church bombing, Kenny is devastated. It is Byron who is able to make him feel better by telling him that Joey is alive because she went after Kenny and that it was incredibly brave of Kenny to go into the church. He also tries to explain to him how something like this happens. By would not have been this caring at the beginning of the story.

What is the resolution of Chapter 6 in "Of Mice and Men"?

     Lennie returns to the pond after killing Curly's wife, just as George had instructed him to do.  Shortly thereafter, George arrives at the site and shoots Lennie with Carlson's Luger.  When the other men from the ranch arrive at the scene, only Slim understands what has just happened.  George lets the men think that Lennie had taken Carlson's gun and that George had killed him when he took the gun from Lennie. 

     George's shooting of Lennie is foreshadowed by Carlson's shooting of Candy's dog.  While Candy had allowed someone else to kill his dog, George takes responsibility for "putting Lennie down."  Slim affirms George's obligation to Lennie when he says, "You hadda, George."  Had George not killed Lennie when he did, mercifully and peacefully, Curly and his posse would have tormented Lennie before killing him.

What did Paul do during Luis's funeral?

Paul was warned by Theresa, Luis's sister, to stay away
from the funeral, that there were hard feelings. Paul was devastated. He wanted to
attend to show War Eagle loyalty to the fallen brother of a team mate and a friend. He
put on his suit with no shirt, socks, or tie, and went out to the wall in his back yard.
There he dug up the sod and removed the sand to get to the soil. Then, he put his face
down to the soil and inhaled, breathing in the essence of the earth as Luis had taught
him. At that point, Paul sobbed for the loss of a respected friend and mentor and for
the shame of being Erik's brother. Erik caused the death of Luis, but Paul was afraid to
come forward with the details. Paul replaced all of the sand and sod, then threw his
suit in the garbage.

What is the theory behind this saying: "While Emily had preserved Homer, the community had preserved Emily"?

I like this statement. It seems to sum up the whole story. Emily kept Homer's body in a pristine, though dust-covered, room. Likewise, the whole town kept Emily in a pristine state of denial. The Board of Aldermen didn't try very hard to get her to pay taxes. Sending her a notice every now and then accomplished nothing. By cleaning up her yard at night, the town people let her live in denial of the horrible smell. At least someone tried to help her by writing to her cousins about how Emily rode around town with Homer Barron. But couldn't they have said something to her? Or to him? Were they just trying to stir up some trouble to give themselves a little more to gossip about? Why didn't anybody try to get into her house when she was so sick just to see if she needed anything? I think she entertained the townspeople so much with her eccentricities that they really didn't want her to change. Even after death, she left them a lot to talk about!

Is using a titration curve considered quantitative or qualitative? what about doing back titration, is it quantitative or qualitative?

Titration is the amount of substance. Remembering the
"quant"itative is "quantity" and equals "how much", we use titrations to measure the
amount of substance present in a specimen. In my field, we titrate antibodies. The best
way to explain this is to image you have 5 test tubes. In the first test tube, you place
0.5 ml of pure substance (let's say salt). In the next 4 tubes, you place a given amount
of water (0.5 ml). In tube 2, you would place 0.5ml of salt solution into tube 2 and mix
- then carry 0.5 of tube 2 substance to tube 3 - then mix and carry to tube 4, then mix
and carry to tube 5, then mix and THROW AWAY the 0.5 ml. You have diluted the substance
by cutting it in half each time. This carries on until you reach the last positive tube.
Eventually (and it might take several tubes) you will achieve a zero substance because
you have diluted out the salt.

If you reverse the process,
it is considered qualitative. You are starting with a given solution that is going to be
positive. In tube 1, remember tha you had salt - you know there is salt so it is
positive, but do you know how much? Technically, you do, because you put it there, but
if you were making the experiment for someone else, it would only be
"positive".

So reverse is qualititative and curve is
quantitative.

How did Chinua Achebe condemn colonization in Things Fall Apart?how and why and in which category?

Achebe's Things Fall Apart is a
critique of the imperialistic colonization of Africa. Throughout the novel, the western
world is portrayed as arrogant, self-serving, and ethnocentric. The imperialists treat
Africa and her inhabitants as items to be conquered and commandeered for their own uses
and abuses.

Like many great works of the western world,
however, Things Fall Apart is a story in the tradition of Greek
tragedy and the main character, Okonkwo, is most certainly a tragic hero. His great
weakness—that others will see or perceive weakness of any kind in him—drives him to make
rash decisions in order please the imperialists. The great irony, however, is that in
doing so he alienates himself from his own people and is never truly respected by the
imperialists.

What is the techniques that Hamlet used to inform his uncle that he know that he kill his father? What did Hamlet call it?Whats the moral lesson...

In Act III, scene 2, Hamlet adds 16 or so lines to the play, "The Murder of Gonzago," which the traveling players that arrived at Elsinore are planning to enact.  He makes sure that the exact method for killing his father, reported to him by the ghost, is acted out by the players for Claudius, Hamlet's uncle. It is Hamlet's hope that the play will "catch the conscience of the king" - in other words, if Claudius is truly guilty of murdering old King Hamlet by pouring poison in his ear while he slept, then seeing this scene acted out in front of him should cause some kind of a reaction in Claudius.  If he is innocent, which Hamlet highly doubts by this point, then he will not react and Hamlet will then know that the ghost was false.

As far as a moral lesson, as you mentioned in your question, perhaps it is simply that guilt will show itself, particularly when a person is confronted with the sin of which they are guilty. Claudius, despite being a treacherous, evil man, still could not handle seeing his evil actions thrown right in his face. It completely unstabilized him and the demeanor he showed to the world.

Check the links below, particularly the one about the "play-within-a-play" motif used by Shakespeare in his plays.  Good luck!

How does the film of "Hills Like White Elephants" highlight new understandings of the story?

It's been a while since I've seen the cinematic version of Hemingway's classic short story about a couple who struggle to decide to do with an unexpected pregnancy, but here is what I recall.

The musical score added both a tension and a sweetness at crucial moments, underscoring in an audible way the tangled emotions of the man and the woman.

Visually, the cinematography is beautiful.  Unlike some films that take liberties with interpretations of locales, this filmmaker uses the actual mountains and vistas of Spain.  The train, so symbolic of the passage the two must cross, the darkness and light they encounter, both emotionally and literally, is brought to life, putting the viewer/reader in the characters frames of mind even more vividly.   

Furthermore, we see their dilemma much more clearly.  The hotels, the luxury, the freedom the couple will be forced to give up should the woman decide not to have the abortion. 

What prevents Juliet from simply joining Romeo in Mantua?Act III of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

In my opinion, what is preventing her is her parents.  She
can't just get up and leave and join Romeo because of
them.

You have to remember a couple of things.  First of
all, she's only 14.  And this is in a time and place where I doubt she was carrying
money around to get her to Mantua.  In addition, women just didn't go around alone in
those days.

Second of all, her parents don't know she's
married to Romeo.  So it's not like they're going to say "okay, you're his now, go to
him."

Maybe she should have told them and maybe they would
have let her go then.  But I imagine she didn't want to tell them just then because of
how mad they would get.

Is Faulkner's short story aptly titled "A Rose for Emily"?

I believe the title is very appropriate for the story.  From the title, readers are meant to sympathize with Emily.  She is a victim of her circumstances, and not a monster.  Although her attitude towards the town, her bizarre actions, and her act of murder would paint her in a poor light, Faulkner works hard to demonstrate that she has had an unfortunate upbringing.  He makes it clear that her father was domineering and, most likely, abusive; he also shows that the town makes little attempt to socialize with her, which keeps her isolated and lonely.

The "rose" for her is the one bit of kindness we see for Emily.  It is symbolic of her suffering and her perserverance.  It also symbolic of the sympathetic feeling of the townspeople, who are trapped by tradition in the way that they behave towards her.  The title allows readers to view the story as a personal tragedy, and not just a gothic horror.

"Passions beat about Simon on the mountain-top with awful wings." What does that mean?

Simon is one of the only boys on the island intuitive enough to recognize what was happening to the boys and their rudementary civilization.  These intuitions were the "passions," and he was best able to digest them entirely when he was alone--on a mountaintop, in the forest, on the beach.  Just as with anyone who is different or plagued with a deeper understanding or intuition (psychics, for instance), they tend to come to the bearers with mixed blessings.  They are both wonderful and terrible...gentle and awful wings. 

So, as Simon understands, he is equipped to explain to the boys what is happening.  As he understands, he becomes a threat--and he is not just the person able to educate about the beast, he becomes as feared and hated as the beast.  Before he is able to do any instruction, he is murdered on the beach and allowed to wash out to sea.

In Chapter 24 of To Kill a Mockingbird, why does Miss Maudie get so angry with Mrs. Merriweather?In the light purple paperback books this happens...

Miss Maudie is completely fed up with Mrs. Merriweather's hypocrisy.

Mrs. Merriweather takes great pride in being considered "the most devout lady in Maycomb".  At the missionary circle meeting she has just finished lamenting the plight of the Mrunas in Africa, yet, in the same breath, she speaks of the "darkies" who live her own community, and serve in her own house, with callousness and disparagement.  She believes that Negroes, the "cooks and field hands", should know their place, and says that "there is nothing more distracting than a sulky darky".  When Mrs. Merriweather makes a snide reference to Atticus' defense of Tom Robinson, self-righteously concluding that "all (he) did was stir 'em up",  and complains about Sophie, her cook, declaring that the only reason she keeps her on is because "she needs her dollar and a quarter a week", Miss Maudie has had enough.  She points out that the Merriweathers have no trouble eating the food Sophie prepares for them, sharply retorting that Mr. Merriweather's "food doesn't stick going down, does it?" (Chapter 24).

Please interpret: "Away, and mock the time with fairest show: False face must hide what the false heart doth know" (1.7.94-95).How can I...

This quote pertains to the theme that appearances do not necessarily carry the truth, that they can in fact cover, or hide, the truth, or the reality of a situation. Macbeth says this to his wife after she finally convinces him to murder Duncan (1.7.94-95).  In paraphrasing these lines, we understand that Macbeth tells his wife to pretend that all is well, and in this way deceive (or mock) the real situation (the time).  She must look as if she is happy and a good hostess (false face) even though they both know in their hearts that they are liars and murderers (false heart must know). The theme of appearance vs reality presents itself through the way in which the witches equivocate information, giving Macbeth enough to tempt him to commit murder but not enough to warn him of the results, and we see it, too, when Macbeth imagines he sees a dagger in front of him before he kills Duncan.  He calls it “a dagger of the mind, a false creation / Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain (2.1.50-51), meaning he is imagining it out of his anxiety over the deed he is about to commit. As for showing this symbolically, you could create a mask that shows a happy expression, putting it over your own face, which you would show to look mean. Similarly, you could create a puppet with a monstrous face, then make a mask for it to make it look like an angel.

What is learned helplessness and do you think it is more in young women and why?Learned helplessness in normal young women who have not faced...

As a person who teaches students with special educational
needs, I see learned helplessness all the time.  Learned helplessness occurs when an
individual has seen himself fail at something or perform poorly for so long that he
eventually believes he is powerless to do something.

I have
no identified this in young females at a higher rate than in the past.  When I was a
young woman it was common for women to not know how to do something and turn certain
aspects over to men, such as repairing a car.

Females in
generations when I was a teenager were much more domicile than they are today.  I am
55.  Society expected them to do poorly in math and science. (My mother was a scientist,
so that blew it away for me).

Today's focus has been to
bring everyone up to par educationally and there was a focused movement of teaching
females to progress in science and math.

I no longer see it
as a gender issue but instead I see it as an issue that is common among students who
have experienced failure when they had tried and not succeeded so they believe they can
not do things and have learned to be helpless.

How were Stephen Crane and Henry James writtings affected by the socio-political environment of the period as reflected in their literary...

Stephen Crane and Henry James wrote some of earliest realistic literature.  As opposed to the Romantic era, they did not try to glorify any particular part of life or of human being.  Instead, they sought to portray the darker sides of society, to show how the traditions of the social classes and the changing economy was affecting the average person.

Because the equality and position of women was being more closely studied, both authors presented heroines that struggle due to economic and social restraints.  For example, Crane's Maggie: A Girl of the Streets demonstrates the inability of women to rise above their station.  Unlike men, they had few employment opportunities and were at the mercy of others.  Also, as shown in Maggie, women were subject to more disadvantage from social approval.  To be considered "unladylike" was to prevent any possible assistance.  James shows this as well, particularly in Daisy Miller.  In this novel, the herione becomes the center of gossip and loses influence because her behavior has defied tradition. 

Industrialization had an impact on the mood of their writings as well.  While this movement brought economic security for many, it tore families and tradition apart.  When once families stayed together and lived in small circles, the movement to the cities was creating friction and diversity.  Conditions there were harsh, promoting both isolation.

How can I discuss Tom's and Huck's physical, personality, ethical, and emotional traits in eight paragraphs?

If you are required to write an 8-paragraph essay on these two characters, I would suggest the following format:

1st paragraph - introduction with thesis statement

2nd paragraph - Tom's physical traits

3rd paragraph - Tom's personality/ethics

4th paragraph - Huck's physical traits

5th paragraph - Huck's personality/ethics

6th paragraph - Compare & contrast Tom and Huck physically

7th paragraph - Compare & contrast Tom and Huck ethically/personalities

8th paragraph - conclusion

Of course this is not a "set in stone" way of writing an essay, but it would give you a good framework to begin with.  Also remember that it is very important to use properly quoted examples from the book to support what you are saying about these characters.

Check the links below for more information about Tom and Huck.  Good luck!

What does the tree house or the gun that Atticus uses to kill the mad dog symbolize in to Kill a Mockingbird?

The gun that Atticus uses symbolizes his masculinity to the children, Jem in particular, for up until this point they considered their father "old" and not like other fathers in the town. Thus, they are impressed when they discover he knows how to use it, but does so only when necessary for he gave up hunting long ago. We also learn later in the story (Chapter 21), after Atticus loses in the trial, that it represents the law, with the mad dog representing racism.  We see this when Scout says, "it was like watching Atticus walk into the street, raise a rifle to his shoulder and pull the trigger, but watching all the time knowing that the gun was empty."

In The Merchant of Venice, why do the two princes, Morocco and Aragon, unlock the caskets they choose, but Bassanio gets to open his without a key?

The text does indicate that keys are used by Morocco and Aragon to open the first two caskets, and that Bassanio is able to simply open the lead casket without a key.  I would assume that this is Shakespeare's way of letting his audience know that Bassanio has chosen correctly and that there is now no impediment to his having Portia (as if the audience hasn't already figured this out by now!).  Perhaps the keys are symbolic of the fact that she is still locked away from the men who choose the gold and silver caskets.

A director, though, could choose to have this done any way he or she wants.  I believe the film version with Al Pacino as Shylock has three keys and Bassanio also has to use a key to unlock the lead casket.

What do these characters symbolize in the novel Lord of the Flies?: Ralph Jack Piggy Simon The conch The island The pigs head?

Ralph- is the protagonist in the novel, represents good,
is a natural leader, thinks and reacts in a positive manner, befriends Simon and
Piggy

Jack- Antagonist in the story, represents the break
down of civilized youth, thirsts for the hunt/blood of the pig, natural dictator, rules
by fear and control

Piggy- represents civilization, is over
weight, lived with his aunt over a candy store, kind, looks out for the littles, his
death demonstrates breakdown of civilizations

Simon-
Spiritual representation, meditates, tries to solve mystery of the beast, communicates
with the pigs head, has seizures, is slaughtered

The conch-
a shell found by Ralph and Piggy on the beach, used to represent civilized
behavior

The island- Garden of Eden, pure and pristine
until mankind arrives, becomes scared by wreckage, and
humanity

The pigs head- Represents the downfall of the
youth, reflection of the uncivilized savage behaviors

Why does Tom refer to the gentleman caller as the most realistic character in The Glass Menagerie?

Given the problems with his sister, his mother, and himself, Tom's opinion that Jim is the most realistic character makes sense. Their hold on reality is so tenuous that in comparison any other human being would seem "realistic" indeed. He does have a normal job, normal aspirations. He has dreams that were unfulfilled, but he still pursues life. He is kind to Laura, and for that Tom is grateful, and he treats her as if she is a normal person. Perhaps there Jim shows his own lack of realism because in fact Laura is deeply troubled, partly because of her disability but more importantly by her immersion in her dream world and fear of everyday life.

Where does Jane Gallagher live in The Catcher in the Rye?I know Jane Gallagher lived next door to Holden at one time, but what city and/or town was...

You have a good memory. Holden Caulfield did live in New York and was particularly fond of Greenwich Village. Holden met Jane Gallagher when their families were on summer vacation in Maine. The first meeting between the friends took place in 1948. Salinger used memories from his own childhood when he spent summer vacations in Maine with his family.

Later Holden went to Pencey and Jane went to Shipley. Note that Salinger originally stated that Jane went to B.M. but then changed it except for one place in the text.

Even though Jane and Holden go their separate ways, Jane continues to have a profound and lasting effect on Holden which often causes him to alter his behavior.

What does this book reveal about mans inhumanity to man?

Inhumanity is the lack of compassion or consideration for others so this Night reveals an entire world of man's inhumanity toward man. This book demonstrates how powerful a few people and one idea can be. Hitler set out to destroy a race of people and was almost successful in doing so. He convinced an army to hate the same way that he hated and so the Jews during WWII were treated like animals. They were stripped of their belongings, clothes, and dignity. They were tortured, murdered, and desecrated. Elie's account of his experience gave us a vivid window into the experiences of the Jews in the camps and the soldiers showed nothing resembling compassion or consideration for any of the people in these camps.

On pages 99-100 of Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses image of nature to comment on the action at the ranch.Describe the image and...

In the book Of Mice and Men the story
opens with the two men, George and Lennie, heading towards the river.  It then focuses
on them at the river.  The author describes the setting in detail.  It is as if he is
also placing the memory of the river scene in the reader's mind as much as George is
placing it in Lennie's mind. 

George instructs Lennie to
remember the different things about the place so that he can use it as a future safety
zone.  The author foreshadows that Lennie may have to return to the place. 

On pages 99-100 Lennie has gotten into trouble.  He now
has had to recall the information George had told him in the beginning.  By returning
the same setting, the reader knows that Lennie has followed George's directions.  The
reader is also aware that Lennie knows he is in trouble and he goes to the safety place
as foreshadowed in the opening chapter of the book.

In The Kite Runner, what might the marks on Assef's forearm be?First impression: Blood on his shirt; Assef seems he is a meticulous dresser....

Assef may come from a wealthy family and, in the past, may
have been a meticulous dresser, but his decision to join the Taliban meant that a few of
his habits had to change. He is proud of the Russian jailer that he killed, and brags
about the many Hazaras he murdered in Mazar-i-Sharif. He is probably equally proud of
the stoning death in which he earlier participated, and he wears the blood as a badge.
He may also have deliberately failed to change his clothes in order to further shock
Amir. As for the track marks Amir saw on his arms, they were probably from injecting
heroin or another drug.

What are some of the main characteristics of Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Because he has spent most of his life as a recluse, Boo is a mystery to others. Thus, he acts as something as a foil in the novel--each character reveals something of him or herself in what they see in him. Atticus, true to character, reserves judgement and refuses to comment about or condemn Boo.The gossips in the town, on the other hand, see him as dangerous, for he is unknown to them and unpredictable. But Boo is far from a danger. He is childlike--he laughs at the children. He is caring--he fixes Jem's pants and puts a blanket around Scout's shoulders during the fire. And he is protective over those he loves: he risks everything--life and freedom--to save Jem.

Explain the significance of the Supreme Court decision Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier.

The effect of this ruling hinges on what a judge would
define as "legitimate pedagogical reason".  I was in high school and writing for the
newspaper when this ruling came out, and we had an issue at our school where the
Principal wanted to censor out stories that dealt with topics they felt were too
controversial, such as abortion or teen drinking and drug
use.

My journalism adviser threatened to resign over it, as
he felt it was a first amendment right, and that this was not a pedagogical issue, but a
personal one for the Principal.  The Principal argued that since the newspaper was
funded with public dollars, the same rules as a private newspaper did not apply, and the
concerns of parents who did not want to fund stories of that nature were valid.  In the
end, the School Board used Hazelwood as a reason to back the
principal and my adviser resigned.

I think the practical
result of the ruling was that more and more schools simply do not have school newspapers
or journalism classes.

What is a good argument that could be used in an essay to describe the impact of fuku and what Junot Diaz is saying about it in this novel?

In The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar
Wao, the Watcher (the older Yunior) first mentions the
fuku in the footnotes.  This curse is linked to the rotten luck of
Oscar's family, Trujillo, and even the Kennedy clan.   He says it starts with Columbus,
when he brought syphilis to the New World.  Ironically, a Scientific
American article (January 15, 2008) “Did Columbus Bring Syphilis to Europe?”
confirms that he might have.

After reading the novel, the
fuku becomes a leitmotif that could be any of the
following:

• a curse
  


• fate


• sexism


• Trujillo


• machismo


• venereal
  disease


• the "f#*k
  you"

Diaz arranges the novel in reverse
chronological order to show how the curse has affected the DeLeons: first with Lola,
then Beli, and on to Abelard Cabral’s decision to hide his wife and daughter in Chapter
5.

Finally, Oscar's quest for love is materialized when he
makes the redemptive sacrifice of tracing the fuku back to its
source, in the DR, and--with his death--ends it.

Give three examples that prove the theme "prejudice and racism thrive in societies with rigid class rules/structures" and explain.It can be...

TOM
ROBINSON'S CONVICTION.  As
Atticus had predicted, no white jury was going to accept the word of a black man over
that of a white man. This social standard was rampant throughout the Deep South at the
time of TKAM, and even Atticus' staunch defense was not going to
alter the Maycomb jury's
decision.

MISS
GATES.  Miss Gates blasts Hitler and defends the Jews
during class, but Scout remembers the conversation she overheard concerning Maycomb's
black citizens. "It's time somebody taught 'em a lesson," Miss Gates said. "... they
were gettin' way above themselves." It was easy to see that Hitler's persecution of the
Jews was evil, but Miss Gates--as well as most of Maycomb and the Deep South--wasn't
ready to accept blacks as equals in 1935--or the evil nature of their
views.

ALL-WHITE,
ALL-MALE
JURY.  Tom's fate was sealed even before the trial. With no
blacks (or women) allowed by law on a Maycomb jury, few Negroes would ever be found
innocent against charges made by a white man.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, why does Jem destroy Mrs. Dubose's camellia bushes?

Mrs. Dubose is old and infirm, and has long been considered by the children to be "the meanest old woman who ever lived" (Chapter 4).  She regularly shouts abuse at Jem and Scout when they pass by her house, criticizing their appearance and speech, lamenting the death of the children's mother, and attacking the way Atticus is raising them in her place. Atticus counsels Jem especially to make allowances for the old lady's illness and not to react to her behavior, but when Mrs. Dubose vilifies Atticus for defending Tom Robinson, a Negro, screaming, "Your father's no better than the niggers and trash he works for" (Chapter 11), Jem can contain himself no longer. He destroys the old lady's camelias in retaliation for her meanness.

Which type of irony is represented by the boy's disillusionment at the bazaar?This is from Araby..

The irony in Joyce's "Araby" goes deep beyond the bazaar
itself.  The narrator sees himself as a religious hero, and sees Mangan's sister as a
Virgin Mary-like figure.  As he courts her, so to speak, he is participating in a
religious quest.  Of course, this is an illusion. 

The boy
has not learned to separate the religious and the secular.  The lateness of his uncle,
the trivial conversation he overhears, the fact that the bazaar turns out to be a
low-life place that sells low quality merchandise as a means for the church to make
money, etc., lead him to the realization/epiphany that all has been an
illusion. 

He has been figuratively blind, as is the street
he lives on (see the opening description of the neighborhood), and in his epiphany his
eyes are opened.  He understands that he has been silly, trivial, figuratively blind. 
He understands, it seems, that his relationship with Mangan's sister is not a holy
crusade, and that he, in fact, has no relationship with her.  He is not a crusader and
she is not the Virgin Mary. 

In The Scarlet Letter, why does Hester choose to move back to a community that condemns her?

It's also possible that leaving would deny Hester the opportunity to be near Dimmesdale, whether for her own benefit (and she clearly cares for him, asking at the end of the book whether she and Dimmesdale will be together in the afterlife) or for Pearl.

Dave Becker

How did King Lear achieve wisdom?the process of how king lear achieved wisdom

The journey of the old king in Shakespeare's immortal
tragedy, King Lear, is a journey from folly to wisdom through
madness and suffering.

 Lear is old and impassioned,
sometimes, even childish. The way he declares to divide & distribute his kingdom
among his three daughters on the basis of a sort of elocution contest, the way he
banishes his most loving daughter, Cordelia, without understanding that her 'nothing',
however obstinate it sounds like, is everything, we may agree with Kent that the
anger-driven octogenarian must be 'mad' from the outset. Irascible anger clouds Lear's
judgement. By banishing Cordelia and by submitting himself to the custody of Goneril
& Regan, the two 'pelican daughters', he foolishly banishes true love and
embraces the hypocritical appearances of it.

Now let us
trace Lear's passage from this utter folly to his attainment of final wisdom in the
recovery of Cordelia's filial love and mad Lear's regeneration, tragic reversal in her
murder, the closing moments of his further degeneration(?)
& death:

a) Lear's persecution by Goneril &
Regan--driven out onto the open heath, unsheltered & exposed to the cruelties of
natue and cosmos;

b) Lear runs about in tattered clothes,
accompanied by his Fool and Edgar diguised as a Bedlamite--feels close affinity with the
'poor naked wretches' of the world---the folly-fallen old king empathises with all the
sufferers of the world;

c) This process of learning through
sufferings is enhanced by the constant commentaries by the Fool, functioning as the old
king's alter-self and his conscience; the Fool tells Lear that the king is a greater
fool;

d) As Cordelia returns to rescue her wronged father,
Lear retrieves his lost love that has a healing effect upon his degenerate mind;
Cordelia is a sort of Christ figure offering Lear the road to
salvation;

e) The loyal Kent & the good and humane
Edgar also contribute to Lear's journey to wisdom; both of them illustrate sympathy and
support necessary for Lear's recovery from madness.

King
Lear thus progresses through 'filial ingratitude' to filial love, through enormous
physical as well as mental sufferings to the brink of sanity and realisation, though his
story ends on a final impression of disaster.

Is it fear that motivates Macbeth to kill Duncan?I am having trouble with this question, as I believe that Macbeth's ambition motivated him to...

I think you are right. It is more an issue of ambition than fear. Macbeth wants to be king and the witches have suggested that this desire could become reality. When Macbeth is named Thane of Cawdor, he believes he is on the way to becoming king - only to have the king announce that his son Malcolm will be next in line for the throne.

At that point, Macbeth decides he will kill the king - but then he waivers, recognizing the virutes of Duncan. It takes the further prodding by Lady Macbeth to actually get him to act.

Macbeth really has no reason to fear Duncan. Duncan is a notoriously poor judge of character (remember how he had put his "absolute trust" in the former Thane of Cawdor?) Duncan has rewarded Macbeth and honored him. There is no indication that Duncan has anything but the highest admiration for Macbeth.

(Remember, sometimes the answer to a question can be "no.")

Does George have an obligation to take care of Lennie? What is the price George pays for this?The story of George and Lennie lends itself to issues...

George got as much from his relationship with Lennie as Lennie did. Yes, Lennie got into trouble, and George would always tell Lennie when he got angry at him that he'd be better off without him. George could have abandoned Lennie at any time, but he didn't because he did feel it was his responsibility to take care of Lennie after Lennie's aunt died. I think it was more than guilt that George took care of Lennie. Eventually, George had become Lennie's parent, and no parent leaves his child just because the child has been bad. Also, it was only because George repeated the story over and over for Lennie that George came to believe that maybe they could actually achieve the American Dream of having their own piece of land. I don't believe George saw Lennie as a burden or felt he was paying too high a price. At the end of the day, George and Lennie had each other.

As far as your question regarding our obligation to take care of a fellow man, I'm not sure this novel does lend itself to the question of "Am I my brother's keeper?" I'm going to take this question to the discussion board, and I'd love for you to join us there to discuss this issue. You'll get a more varied, detailed response to this enigmatic question from a group of intelligent, enlightened people (well, we're teachers anyway)!

Where is the irony in the short story "The Cop and the Anthem?"

The entire concept of "The Cop and the Anthem" is ironic.
That is what makes it such an amusing and enjoyable story even after all these years.
Here is a man who is actually trying to get arrested. He seems like an admirably free
spirit. He has dropped out of respectable, conventional society and is living a life
many of us must secretly envy. He doesn't have any responsibilities or worries. He is
like the pigeons in the park. He has to put up with some inconveniences, but he doesn't
have to get up at six-thirty and work at some desk job all day long, and even all day on
Saturday. Soapy is a bit like Henry David Thoreau, except that he is an urban dweller.
Soapy is obviously a philosopher. Here is an example of situational
irony:

At a
corner of Sixth Avenue electric lights and cunningly displayed wares behind plate-glass
made a shop window conspicuous. Soapy took a cobblestone and dashed it through the
glass. People came running around the corner, a policeman in the lead. Soapy stood
still, with his hands in his pockets, and smiled at the sight of brass
buttons.

One of the
dictionary definitions of irony is:

readability="6">

a state of affairs or an event that
seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing as a
result.

Smashing a
big plate-glass window with a cobblestone is not contrary to what Soapy expects, but it
is contrary to the reader's expectations. And it is amusing as a result, even though it
is outrageous.

Every event in the story is ironic. It is
ironic that a penniless bum would walk into an elegant restaurant with the intention of
ordering some of the most expensive items on the menu. When he ends up eating at a cheap
restaurant, he has to stuff himself in order to run up the bill high enough to make the
management want to call the cops. And it is ironic that he eats a lot of cheap fodder
when he had been planning on wild duck, Chablis, and Camembert
cheese.

On
the opposite side of the street was a restaurant of no great pretensions. It catered to
large appetites and modest purses. Its crockery and atmosphere were thick; its soup
and napery thin. Into this place Soapy took his accusiveshoes and telltale trousers
without challenge. At a table he sat and consumed beefsteak, flapjacks, doughnuts and
pie. 

It is ironic that Soapy
has to eat so much food that he can't try his restaurant trick again after being thrown
out on his ear. He wouldn't be able to consume any more
food.

It is ironic that the woman Soapy tries to molest
would be just waiting for some man to approach her. It is ironic that he steals an
umbrella from a man who had stolen it himself. And, of course, the final irony is that
Soapy gets arrested just when he decides to
reform.

Everybody has bad days like that. They may not be
so colorful or dramatic, but there are days when nothing seems to go right. All the
stoplights turn red just as we get to them. Some women call them "Bad Hair Days." Life
itself is ironic.

Did your opinion about Mitch change as Tuesdays with Morrie went on? In what way?

Mitch experiences the ultimate lesson on this book - he
learns about himself. What he learns form Maury is that success and happiness are not
always measured in dollar signs or in popularity polls. There is a great deal of
humanity in this work. At the start, Mitch is not a likable character. He is
self-absorbed, always in a hurry, but for what? Ultimately, we will all die. It is not
death that defines us but how we live life.

As readers, we
learn a series of lessons alongside of Mitch. We change our opinion of him as we change
our views of ourselves. There is a little bit of Mitch in all of us. This is why we are
able to connect with him. As we learn Maury's lessons, we learn to like ourselves, and
Mitch, just a bit more. we learn to forgive and forget, we learn to accept our
limitations, we learn that it is never too late to change, that death is not the end of
love, that dreams are important as is our ability to reach for them if we only try. I
think this quote from the book sums up much of what Mitch
learns:

“So many people walk around with a meaningless
life. They seem half-asleep, even when they’re busy doing things they think are
important. This is because they’re chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning
into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community
around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and
meaning.” (p. 43)

Mitch is "half-asleep" and going through
the motions. He becomes alive because of Maury.

Albom, M.
(1997) Tuesdays with Morrie. New York: Doubleday

What are the didactic elements of the morality play Everyman?

Didactic means instructive, designed to teach or impart
information.  In ancient literature, this is very common, and is certainly appropriate
in some contexts.  The Bible, for instance, is heavily
didactic.

Today, however, when we say literature is
didactic that can be a negative, a pejorative.  A sermon should be didactic, a parable,
a fable.  But art, as we see it today, should not.  Using literature to teach or preach
reduces the art's value or quality today.

That wasn't
necessarily the case in the time Everyman was written, however. 
Plays were used for the purpose of promoting church doctrine.  That is what this play
does.

You can see this almost immediately in the play, in
the words of the Messenger:

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You think sin in the beginning full
sweet,

Which in the end causeth the soul to
weep,

When the body lieth in clay. 
(12-15)

 This is a play
designed to urge the audience to repent and not to sin.  In fact, now that I think about
it, we need not even read as far as these lines.  The words in italics preceding
the play state the didactic purpose of the play:

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Here beginneth a treatise how the High
Father of Heaven sendeth DEATH to summon every creature to come and give account of
their lives in this world, and is in manner of a moral
play.

The purpose
of the play is to promote morality.  That makes it
didactic.

Incidentally, and this refers to the quality of a
didactic work of art, Chaucer, too, writes in a way that, at least on the surface, is
similar to the way in which Everyman is written.  Yet, Chaucer is
considered to be one of the greatest writers ever to write in the English language. 
Why?  The difference is simple:  Chaucer uses irony.  Irony keeps Chaucer from seeming
to be didactic.  Everyman uses no irony:  it just directly presents
good and evil and tells you which one you better be if you want to avoid
damnation. 

In chapter 6, what is the significance of Lennie's dream about Aunt Clara and the rabbit?

In Chapter 6 of Of Mice and Men,
Steinbeck uses the dream sequence to give Lennie some depth of character.  The dream
functions as a kind of soliloquy, for the reader could not know what Lennie is thinking
otherwise.

The dream presents Lennie's great fears: first
disappointing Clara and George and then being abandoned by them.  Clara turns into a
giant rabbit and tells Lennie that he isn't worthy to tend them on the dream ranch.  The
rabbit also tells him that George is going to hurt and leave him.  All of this, more or
less, will come true.

The rabbit is an example of
Steinbeck's anthropomorphism (attributing human qualities to an animal).  It is
obviously an omen that foreshadows Lennie's death.  He almost sees it coming, though he
never suspects it when awake.  The rabbit is a symbol that the American dream is an
illusion, that it is destined to tempt guys like George and Lennie.  Subconsciously they
know that the dream ranch was only a romantic ideal; it could never have worked
out.

When researching adult literacy in Canada, how do I use graphic organizers like these below for economic, personal or social...

There are so many options for graphic diagrams that
accommodate cognitive information systems that in this answer format, I can give only a
suggestion of what might be possible, but you can take the reasoning and apply it to
more choices. Starting with social issues, these involve varying ways individuals and
groups of individuals interact with each other. Therefore, when analyzing influence
among individuals or groups, you might consider an href="http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/learning/lr1grorg.htm">interaction
cycle graphic. This shows how events in a cycle produce a set of results again
and again. For instance, when considering adult literacy, you might use this cycle to
analyze or demonstrate how adult illiteracy leads to job performance failure, which
leads to loss of self-esteem, which leads to lack of self-confidence, which leads to job
performance failure.

For personal concerns or decisions
regarding adult illiteracy, you might consider using a href="http://www.writedesignonline.com/organizers/brainstorm.html">synetics
chart. This chart sets up metaphors, which are comparisons of unfamiliar
things to well known things to make the unfamiliar more understandable. Perhaps an
illiterate adult is trying to decide to take reading and writing lessons, a difficult
decision for a number of reasons. The synetics chart asks what not knowing reading is
similar to, feels like, is opposite of and what the opposite is similar to. The purpose
is to determine a synthesis, a coming together of ideas, leading to an enlightened
decision about what to do based upon what the problem is like when framed in terms of
something else that the adult understands better.

For
economic considerations, such as whether the cost of taking adult literacy lessons is
worth the expense, you might use a href="http://www.writedesignonline.com/organizers/brainstorm.html">cerebral
chart that focuses on a main idea and examines off-shoots of the main idea. In
this case, the main idea would be buying literacy lessons. One obvious off-shoot is the
costs in money and time themselves. Another is the trade-off: if an illiterate adult
spends money and time for lessons, what things are being deprived of money and time?
This analysis might help the adult to see more clearly the costs versus the benefits,
which  would facilitate arriving at a sound and confident
decision.

Give Atticus's interpretation of recent events in Chapter 23?

In regards to the trial, Atticus explains that no matter how ridiculous Bob and Mayella appeared on the stand, a white man's word will always outweigh a black man's word.  However, knowing that Mr. Cunningham wanted to acquit Tom, Atticus feels that times are slowly changing, and has hopes that in the appeals courts, away from town and the influence of knowing your neighbors, Tom stands a chance of being released.

In regards to Bob Ewell's outburst, Atticus again explains that it is necessary to step into another man's shoes.  He understands that he made Ewell look like a fool on the stand, and that Ewell needs to regain his self-esteem.  Spitting on Atticus was his revenge, and allowed him to regain the upper hand.

Unfortunately, Atticus underestimates the depth of Ewell's anger towards him, as readers later discover.

What is the author is trying to tell her readers in The Giver?

I believe that Lowry is attempting to emphasize to her readers the importance of dealing with issues in life and the importance of memories. Events shape our lives, both the good and the bad. In order to experience a balanced existence, one needs to have experienced both hurt and happiness. In The Giver, the idea of a perfect world is that no one should know pain, lonliness, sickness, or any feelings that resemble anything less than an idyllic life. Thinking about my own life, for example, I can't imagine that I could possibly appreciate the happy events in my life--family, friends, loved ones, births--without the opposite--loneliness, loss, and death--to compare these events to. Many people bemoan sad or tragic events in their lives, and I believe that Lowry's point in this book is to allow the reader a glimpse into a perfect or idyllic world to see that many times appearances can be misleading, and not everything is as it seems. In other words, hard times are necessary in order for us to appreciate good times. I believe that this is her reason for for sending Jonas on his quest at the end of the novel, he is in search of a real life, with both the good and the bad.

What are the major themes in the play Death of a Salesman?

The themes of Death of a Salesman
include:

A) Willy's quest for the ideal of the American
Dream and the idea that those who work the hardest get rewarded the hardest. His
idealized notion of the All American "perfect" life with the son in a football team, him
a businessman with a wife, even a mistress- and the fantasy of it
all.

b) reality vs. fiction- All that Willy had as real was
actually his own make-belief notion of grandeur. Back in his time, a salesman was
probably the least educated professional of his time, yet, Willy saw himself as a major
businessman the way self made millionaires would see themselves today. The
dysfuctionality of his family, his lack of parenting skills, his torn marriage, his
insipid career, all this goes in the backburner in his
mind.

c) fighting against society- A salesman has no choice
but to codepend on circumstances: The market, the clients, the trends, the business,
etc- Willy tried his entire life to build something he could fall back on with no
success. He was as incapable of building a present as he was a
future.

d) fighting against oneself- Willy had denied his
talents, froze his son's own talents (though Biff was no different than Willy) and all
because he still wanted to live this image that he was not up to par. In the end, he
died committing suicide, perhaps after finally accepting how little he had accomplished
versus how much he had dreamt.

Why does Reverend Sykes make Scout stand up at the end of the trial? And where does Heck Tate get the expression "let the dead bury the dead"?

Heck Tate gets this expression from something Jesus says. 
He tells his disciples that they should not worry about earthly things.  Even if their
father has died, they should let the dead bury the dead and they themselves should worry
about their souls.  This is from Luke, Chapter 9:

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He said to another man, "Follow me."

But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my
father."

60Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own
dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of
God."

As to why Sykes makes
Scout stand up, he does not exactly say, but it appears that he wants Scout to stand up
out of respect for her father.  Sykes, of course, is black and he wants to honor Atticus
for what Atticus has done in defending Tom Robinson.

Where was Mollie during the battle?

Mollie is the "foolish, pretty white mare" who drew Mr. Jones' trap and wore red ribbons in her mane. She's an animal very much concerned with creature comforts, whose first question to Snowball after the rebellion is whether she will still have sugar to eat. (She's told no.) Because she loves her material comforts, including sleeping in, Mollie can be a bit of shirker when it comes to pulling her weight on the farm. 

After their victory in the Battle of the Cowshed, the animals are greatly alarmed when they can't find Mollie, fearing the men have harmed her or taken her away. True to form, however, during the battle, Mollie, frightened at the first sound of gunshot, runs off and hides in a stall, where the other animals find her "with her head buried in the hay of a manger."

Not long afterwards, Mollie runs away to rejoin her master and pull a cart. She represents the person (or animal) with a bourgeois mindset caught in a revolution she doesn't understand and doesn't feel she benefits from. 

in chapter 9,how does Jack propose to rule without the conch?

Jack proposes that him and his hunters will provide food to everyone in the tribe. Jack tries to persuade the boys to join his pride by bribing them with meat and telling them that his tribe is "fun". Jack asks the boys, "Who'll join my tribe and have fun?" (Golding 150).

What does Winston realize about love and loyalty as a result of the dream about the paperweight?

Love and loyalty are fragile and short-lived.  Just like the paperweight which represents them, they are shattered to bits by the thought police.  Their love, represented by the coral centerpiece, is out in the open--fully observable and obvious through the clear glass which surrounds it.  Their loyalty is only intact as long as the paperweight is...after being caught and subjected to Room 101, loyalty falls quickly and without anything other than the threat of Winston's and Julia's greatest fear.  THe fear needs not be carried out...the threat of it alone is enough to demolish the fragile thread of loyalty between them.

What symbolic or ironic function is served by Montresor's name and by his speech after he fetters Fortunato to the wall?

After Montresor chains Fortunato to the wall, he taunts Fortunato with, "Once more let me implore you to return. No? Then I must positively leave you." His plea to Fortunato to return is ironic because Fortunato is unable to leave. Montresor invites him to again feel the nitre just as he did on their trek through the catacombs. Of course, Fortunato cannot feel the nitre either because his hands are in shackles. All through the story, Montresor baits Fortunato, playing a cat-and-mouse game with him. Almost all of Montresor's conversation with Fortunato while walking throught the catacombs is wrought with irony.

As far as Montresor's name is concerned, I'm not sure it has a symbolic or ironic meaning, but Fortunato's name certainly does. The irony lies in the fact that Fortunato is anything but fortunate since he is cruelly led to die from suffocation or starvation.

The Montresor family has a coat of arms and motto that is symbolic. Their coat of arms is a huge human foot crushing a snake that has sunk its fangs into the heel of the foot. Their motto is a Montresor will exact vengeance for any harm that may be done to him. These family symbols represent the horrible murder of Fortunato. Montresor is eaten up with hate for Fortunato which destroys his soul, just like Montresor destroys Fortunato. He truly enjoys his act of revenge.

What do madman, get a bang, hot shot, kick out of it, knocks me out, and racket mean?definitions

These terms are all colorful colloquialisms used by the main character, Holden Caufield, in his narrative.  "Madman" means crazy, like the "stuff that happened to me around last Christmas" (Chapter 1).  To "get a bang" out of something is similar to get a "kick out of it", and both refer to things or events that really amuse someone, like Mr. Spencer's Navajo blanket and the old teacher's joke about his own health, which really struck him as significant and funny, or "knocked him out" (Chapter 2). A "hot shot" is someone who is or acts like he is exceptionally good at something, like Stradlater says Holden is in Mr. Hartzell's English class (Chapter 4); it can also refer to someone who thinks he is better than everybody else. A "racket" is a commotion, or a lot of noise.   

What are two puns found in Act II?

You see an entire play on the word goose in this exchange
between Romeo and Mercutio. Think about the ways that we today use the word goose. We
could use is to say someone is leading us to go all over the place(Mercutio and Benvolio
likely felt this way as they couldn't find Romeo after the party) as if in a wild goose
chase. We call someone a silly goose when they are being goofy. We may even eat goose.
An exchange they even call wit goes on between the two for several
lines:

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MERCUTIO 
Nay, if thy wits run the
wild-goose chase, I have
done, for thou hast more
of the wild-goose in one of
thy wits than, I am
sure, I have in my whole five:
was I with you there for the
goose?

ROMEO 
Thou wast never with me for any
thing when thou wast not there for the
goose.

MERCUTIO 
I will bite
thee by the ear for that jest.

ROMEO 
Nay,
good goose, bite
not.

MERCUTIO 
Thy wit is a very bitter sweeting; it is a
most
sharp sauce.

ROMEO 
And is it not well served
in to a sweet
goose?

MERCUTIO 
O here's a wit of cheveril,
that stretches from an
inch narrow to an ell
broad!

ROMEO 
I stretch it out for that word 'broad;' which
added
to the goose, proves thee far and wide a broad
goose.

This took place in
scene iv.

Just before the above moment, the two discuss the
lack of courtesy Romeo demonstrated by taking off.

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ROMEO 
Pardon, good
Mercutio, my business was great; and in
such a case as mine a man may strain
courtesy.

MERCUTIO 
That's as much as to say,
such a case as yours
constrains a man to bow in the
hams.

ROMEO 
Meaning, to
court'sy.

MERCUTIO 
Thou hast most kindly hit
it.

ROMEO 
A most courteous
exposition.

MERCUTIO 
Nay, I am
the very pink of
courtesy.

Here connection
between courtesy and court'sy (a female bow) is made. The ideas here are sexual. Romeo
says he had something important to do and had every right to leave the bros. Mercutio
ends up challenging that maybe Romeo was with a girl and her
body.

In the trial scene in To Kill a Mockingbird, when Mayella is testifying, what is Atticus afraid that the jury will assume?

Atticus could be afraid that the jury will believe that
her lies are true just because she is white. It is obvious to the reader that she is
lying but the narrator has to use language like her performance or recital to let us
know that she has practiced what she has to say. If you are telling the truth, you don't
have to practice it, you just have to remember it. The jury doesn't have either the
benefit of living 80 years after the incident like we do, nor do they have the benefit
of having the narration of Harper Lee. All they have are Atticus' leading questions and
Mayella's white testimony. Atticus fears the jury assuming lies to be
truth.

What is the story about?Summary, please.

This is a classic tale about the friendship between a pig, Wilbur, and a spider, Charlotte.  Charlotte is very clever, and she manages to save Wilbur from becoming dinner for the humans by weaving messages in her web about Wilbur, like "Some Pig!"  Wilbur becomes quite famous and is saved because of this friendship with Charlotte.

It is also the story of the relationship between Wilbur and Fern, the little girl who lives on the farm where Wilbur is born.  The story demonstrates how both Fern and Wilbur have to grow and mature and accept the loss and unhappiness that sometimes comes around in life.

Be sure to check the link below for more information, and give the book a thorough reading - I think you'll really enjoy it!

What delusion does Lennie experience as he is waiting for George? Why does he remember this experience in Of Mice and Men?

Lennie sees two different items, well one actually
transforms into the other. He sees his Aunt Clara and he sees a human-sized
bunny.

I think he sees the Aunt because she represents
morality to Lennie. He knows he has done something wrong and the ethos in him is
triggered. The rabbit to me represents the passion of his or that which makes him happy:
soft things, and the hope of livin' off the fatta the lan' one day
with George.

Without George to direct his thoughts after
this severe event, I think his brain's strongest thought processes took
over.