Prove that the sequence {Xn} is a divergent sequence where Xn= 1+ 1/2+ 1/3+ 1/4+.....+1/n for any natural numbers n.

We need to prove that the series Xn is divergent where xn=1+1/2+1/3+1/4+....+1/n

To prove that we need to come up with another series its values equals or smaller than xn. This is called the Comparison test.

Now. let's assume the series 1+1/2+1/2+1/4+1/4+1/8+1/8+1/8+1/8+1/16+....= sum yn

Now comapre it to the seires  xn

then,

1+1/2+ 1/3+1/4 + 1/5+ 1/6+1/7+1/8+ 1/9+.....+1/n = sum xn

1+1/2+(1/4+1/4)+(1/8+1/8+1/8+1/8)+(1/16....)  = sum yn

1+1/2+1/2+1/2+1/2..... = sum yn = inf

But we observe that xn values equal or greater than yn values. Since sum yn --> inf, then sum xn-->inf

Then Xn is divergent.

Why has Horatio joined Marcellus and Bernardo at their night watch?

Drama is based on conflict. There is usually a big conflict going on throughout the story or novel or play, and also small conflicts in individual scenes. When Horatio joins Marcellus and Bernardo the three men are bickering about the ghost. Horatio thinks it can't be a ghost because there are no such things as ghosts. Marcellus and Bernardo thinks there must be ghosts because they have seen one. This adds a little spice to the scene. It seems natural that Horatio would join them on their watch if they tell him they have seen a ghost who looks exactly like the late King Hamlet. He might ridicule him, and then they might challenge him to come and see for himself. They expect the ghost to return because it has appeared several nights in succession. Otherwise, they couldn't promise him he would see the ghost.

Shakespeare wanted Horatio to report the visit of the ghost to Hamlet because Horatio is Hamlet's confidant throughout the play, right up to the very end. Horatio's report would be more reliable than that of Marcellus and Bernardo. Hamlet believes Horatio, but he probably wouldn't believe Marcellus and Bernardo any more than Horatio did before he saw the ghost with his own eyes. The audience only sees a bearded actor wearing armor and a helmet. Shakespeare has to take great pains to establish that (1) this is a ghost and not a live man, and (2) that the actor looks exactly like the dead King Hamlet. The only thing the actor can do to seem to be a ghost, since he isn't wearing a sheet and isn't covered with luminous paint, is to walk in a "ghostlike" manner. We can imagine that the actor would stalk slowly and silently. He would probably be wearing only stockings or felt slippers so that he wouldn't make the stomping sound that is heard so often in stage plays when actors walk across a wooden stage.

That would have been about as much as Shakespeare could hope to achieve--but a lot would depend upon the dialogue. All three men keep saying the actor in the armor and helmet is a ghost and looks exactly like the dead King Hamlet. Shakespeare wanted to establish this beyond doubt before Hamlet encounters the ghost of his dead father. Otherwise there would have to be a lot of dialogue between Hamlet and the ghost for the purpose of establishing the ghost's identity.

In a movie version of Hamlet it would be very easy to make the ghost look "ghostlike." They can do practically anything in a movie--but Shakespeare didn't have those technical options. In a movie the ghost could be transparent, luminous, and floating in air. Even his voice could be made "ghostlike" in one way or another.

What are advantages / disadvantages of wiring electric circuits in series and advantages / disadvantages of wiring electric circuits in parallel?

When you wire circuits in series all the electrical loads
(e.g. bulbs) are arranged in a single loop.  There is a single flow of current that goes
through all the loads which cannot be interrupted.  If a single load is interrupted
(e.g. a bulb blows out) everything in the circuit goes out.  If you couldn't tell which
one blew out (a problem with old style Christmas lights) you'd have to check out each
bulb individually until you found one that if replaced allows the whole circuit to light
up again. Each time you add a load the amount of current in each one goes down (e.g.
each bulb gets dimmer).  You can only control the whole set of loads with a switch. 
Compared to a parallel circuit the load on the battery is less so the battery lasts
longer.

In parallel there are several separate current
loops connected to a battery.  When one load goes down it only affects the load in that
loop and leaves the rest unaffected.  Modern Christmas lights are constructed in
parallel so that only one or at most only a few lights go out if one burns out, not the
whole set.  Each loop contributes current going in and out of the battery so that with a
lot of loops this can add up to a lot of current going in and out.  This is a safety
issue.  One, there is part of the circuit with high current. Second, high current means
high heat generated in the wires.  The insulation could melt and cause either a short or
a fire.  (The Mythbusters have a great episode which shows that it is the sparks from a
short and not the temperature of the wires that causes most Christmas tree fires.)  You
can control each loop separately with a switch.  The high current also uses up the
battery faster because because it has to power each loop separately.  Finally, if you
add a loop the rest of loops maintain their current (so the lights don't dim when you
add another bulb).

You are Cassius: Write a diary entry showing how you were convinced that the murder of Caesar was justified.Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

First and foremost, Cassius is, as Caesar himself has
recognized, a young man who "has a lean and hungry look" (I,ii,194).  Thus, he is
ambitious, envious, and self-serving.  Therefore, let your diary entry reflect these
aspects of his personality, as well as his arrogance which he demonstrates in his
conversation with Casca, who in Act II, Scene 3 asks
Cicero,

Are
not you moved, when all the sway of earth

Shakes like a
thing
unfirm?(I,iii,3-4)

Then, when
Cassius speaks to Casca, he boasts that he has

readability="14">

...bared my bosom to the
thunder-stone;

And when the cross blue lightning seemed to
open

The breast of heaven, I did present
myself

Even in the aim and very flash of it.
(I,iii,49-53)

With the most
salient characteristics of Cassius being his envy or Caesar's power, his own desire to
claim such power, and his scorn for fate, your diary entry should reflect this.  And,
since it is a personal diary entry, Cassius will write his true feelings; thus, it does
not seem necessary that he present noble reasons for killing Caesar.  Instead, he may
pride himself on how he has manipulated Brutus in Act I, Scene 2, in what is known as
"the seduction scene."  Also, he will pride himself in how he has defied the fates and
rid the Romans of the "Colossus" of "immortal Caesar" which, as he has told
Brutus,

Men
at some time are masters of their fates;

The fault, dear
Brutus, is not in our stars
(I,ii,139-140)

In fact, this
line may be a good beginning to the diary entry.  For
instance,

With
this assassination, I have proven what I told Brutus; we are masters of our
fates!

In Beowulf, how was Heorot the center of both life and death?

In Beowulf, the mead-hall Heorot is the center of the Dane's tribal culture.  It gives life to King Hrothgar and Beowulf in terms of establishing the Anglo-Saxon name and reputation, but it is also a place of death where the monster Grendel revenges himself against the Anglo-Saxons out of jealousy and envy (regarding their Comitatus, or King-Thane bond).

Heorot is the embodiment of this sacred bond between King and thanes.  According to my notes:

“Warriors were loyal to the king and would fight to the death for him, surrender was cowardly. Honor and loyalty to the tribe and to the king were more important, in a way, than material goods, for being remembered well after death, where you could not take material objects, was very important.”

In the poem itself, Heorot is first described thusly (Heany translation):

The fortunes of war favoured Hrothgar. 
Friends and kinsmen flocked to his ranks, 
young followers, a force that grew 
to be a mighty army. So his mind turned 
to hall-building: he handed down orders 
for men to work on a great mead-hall 
meant to be a wonder of the world forever; 
it would be his throne-room and there he would dispense 
his God-given goods to young and old - 
but not the common land or people's lives. 
Far and wide through the world, I have heard, 
orders for work to adorn that wallstead 
were sent to many peoples. And soon it stood there, 
finished and ready, in full view, 
the hall of halls. Heorot was the name 
he had settled on it, whose utterance was law. 
Nor did he renege, but doled out rings 
and torques at the table. The hall towered, 
its gables wide and high and awaiting 
a barbarous burning. That doom abided, 
but in time it would come: the killer instinct 
unleashed among in-laws, the blood-lust rampant.

As immediately as it is described as a place of community, charity, and wonder ("God-given goods"), it is tagged with foreboding doom ("in time it would come: the killer instinct..the blood-lust rampant").

In this way, Heorot is not unlike heaven, a place where God (Hrothgar) anoints his chosen ones and bestows bounty on his favored.  The jealous (Satan and Grendel) feel slighted by the King's favoritism and rebel by establishing from which to attack heaven.  Both Satan and Grendel are tormented by the joy that sounds from heaven and the mead-hall.

Later, Grendel will meet his doom there, giving life and reputation to Beowulf, the future King of his own people.  Then, as time weakens the once-mighty thane Beowulf will leave Heorot's protected walls and, by seeking fortune greedily, die away from its communal home.

Find the slope of the line 3x-(t+1)y-1=0 if is parallel with the line 5x-2y+3=0?

For lines to be parallel, the slope of d1:3x-(t+1)y-1=0 has to be equal to the slope of d2:5x-2y+3=0.

m1 = m2

Let's find out the slope of d2:

5x-2y+3=0

We'll re-write the equation into the form: y=mx+n, where m is the slope of the line.

For this reason, we'll isolate -2y to the left side:

-2y = -5x - 3

We'll multiply by -1:

2y = 5x + 3

We'll divide both sides by 2:

y = (5/2)*x + (3/2)

So, the slope of d2 is m2 = 5/2

Now, we'll find out the slope of d1:

3x-(t+1)y-1=0

We'll isolate -(t+1)y to the left side:

-(t+1)y = -3x + 1

We'll divide by -(t+1), both sides:

y = 3*x/(t+1) - 1/(t+1)

The slope of d1 is m1 = 3/(t+1)

But m1=m2, so we'll get:

5/2 =  3/(t+1)

We'll cross multiply:

5(t+1) = 6

5t+5-6=0

5t-1=0

We'll add 1 both sides:

5t = 1

We'll divide by 5, both sides:

t = 1/5

So, the slope of 3x-(t+1)y-1=0 is m1 = 3/(t+1)

m1 = 3/(1/5 + 1) = 3*5/6 = 5/2

m1 = 5/2

What social, economic, and political forces motivated Americans to seek ways of controlling their live how did they shape their lives and america?

As asked, your question covers a great deal of potential ground (dissertation length a a minimum!) The first thing you will need to do is to narrow your focus a bit. If we start by considering the early American settlers, you are looking at two different groups of colonists. The Massachusetts colonies were established by a group of religious separatists (Puritans). The social force that most shaped their contribution to America cam in the realm of religion (and ultimately fostered a religious divide as they became prosperous in the new world and moved away from their church to form splinter churches). Another important contribution that cam from this group is the fact that they were writers, mostly of diaries and journals, but they wrote! William Bradford's "Of Plymouth Plantation" is an extended journal that forms the basis for all early American history textbooks that we still read today.The other early colonists, the Virginia colonists, came here looking for land and economic opportunities that did not exist for them in the "old world" so their motivations were entirely different.

Regardless of where they came from, however, the colonists were driven to control their own lives because they were escaping from a government (the monarchy) that they felt was too repressive. The Puritans sought religious freedom, the Virginians sought economic possibilities that did not exist under te crown. Both groups were driven by a search for identity that was not controlled for them but by them.

The intereseting thing here, however, is that in spite of the noble reasons for coming to the new world (freedom) these new Americans turned right around and created a new group of repressed individuals - first by repressing and isolating the Native Americans and then through the slave trade.

I think the best way to approach this is to first look at the forces themselves. The major social force would be religion, the major economic force would be a desire to achieve the "American Dream" and a political force would be to escape monarchy and the formation of a representative democracy.

in act 3 why is giles accused of contempt of court ?

Giles has a deposition written by someone saying they overheard Putnam convince his daughter to accuse someone of withcraft so he could then get their land. Since Giles won't tell Danforth who his source is (that person would then be brought in front of the court and likely face charges of witchraft too), he finds Giles in contempt of court. Giles is placed in jail where they attempt to "press" the name of the person out of him by placing large rocks on his chest. Yet, he never gives up the person.

"The Story of an Hour" (Kate Chopin):Descending the stairs with her sister was supposed to be the beginning of her new life. Instead it was cut...

I think Chopin uses her female characters' deaths as a means to freedom.

In The Awakening, Chopin's most famous protagonist, Edna Pontillier, commits suicide by drowning herself.  She too was confined by patriarchy, social institutions, and gender limitations.  She consciously chose death because it was one of the few aspects of her life that she had complete control over.  As such, she felt that the society was so corrupt that death was preferred to it.

Other critics agree that Chopin uses death as a means of freedom:

Edna has slept for years and years. She slept through motherhood, through marriage, and though most of her adult life. When she was enlivened, it was by a mirage. She followed this apparition, aspiring to a life she could (in reality) never achieve. But how can a woman conceive of these things and then forget? Once our consciousness has been roused we cannot snuff that candle, put in on a shelf, and return to a life in darkness. Edna has been awakened; she has realized the unjustness of life, and of her own role in it. With this new awareness, there was no way for her to continue the current charade she participated in. There was also no way her world would have allowed her to pursue the notions of independence and freedom she had perceived. The social roles she was trying to break away from would never really have released her. "Leonce and the children…were a part of her life. But they need not have thought that they could possess her, body and soul" (137). I find myself wishing that she had never opened her eyes; that she could have lived out her days blissfully ignorant of the circumstances which bound her. This being impossible, even more than the idea of a life of her own, Edna chose the only possible option to escape from an existence full of unfulfilled desires and unhappiness.

Edna re-enters the sea; scene of her first taste of power and emancipation. She returns because it offers her the only other possible freedom she is allowed; the freedom of death. It is not an act of weakness, or romanticism…it is that of a woman claiming her liberty, her strength…and her self…one last time.

Like Antigone (the first and greatest female tragic hero who also used her death as a means of defying male authority) and Edna, Mrs. Mallard's death is her only freedom left, the freedom from life.

Why does the sniper kill the old woman?

In this story, the sniper shoots the old woman because she
is an informer.  He shoots her because she is trying to get him
killed.

At the point in the story where he shoots her, an
armored car has just appeared, carrying police.  The old woman talks to one of the men
in the car.  She points up to where the sniper is.  The man looks out, the sniper shoots
him.  Then he shoots the woman.

Even though the woman is
from his neighborhood, she is an enemy if she is going to tell the police where he
is.

What does Romeo mean when he says, after killing Tybalt, “I am fortune’s fool”?

In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo's fatalistic nature is established early in the first act when he expresses his misgivings about going to the Capulet fete:

I fear too early. For my mind misgives

Some consequence, yet hanging in the stars,

Shall bitterly begin his fearful date

With this night's revels, and expire the term

Of a despised life closed in my breast...(1.4.113-117)

So, analyzing Romeo's remarks in the context of his character and not just the statement of the moment, which will provide more insight, the reader discerns that Romeo is haunted by his previous forebodings and now understands that the "fearful date" of the stars has come; consequently, he realizes that he is a "fool" since he has earlier sensed the ominous presence of Fate, and, acting rashly and with effeminency--as he accuses himself--he has allowed himself to meet its "date." 

Explain why King Lear is the story of the struggle between good and evil.It is often considered one of Shakespear's best poetic trageties.

To label the play as a battle between good and evil would be to do Shakespeare a great disservice.  No character in any of his plays are either good or evil.  They are human beings.  Shakespeare was a great observer of human behavior.

Lear is a very old man who has ruled for most of his life.  He is used to everybody obeying him.  He has three daughters.  Cordelia is a late life child and favorite.  She and her older sisters, Goneril and Regan, probably don't share the same mother.  They have been married and living with their husbands for many years, it would appear.

Lear proves he is a foolish old man by asking a question no parent should ask a child: how much do you love me?  Goneril and Regan play Lear's game.  They flatter him and tell him what he wants to hear.  Cordelia, his youngest, "...cannot heave her heart into her mouth."  (What a wonderful image.)  This is not what he wanted to hear.  Her answer is unacceptable and she is cut off with nothing.  For telling him the truth, Kent is banished.  Only the Fool can tell Lear the truth, but he is a fool, so why listen to him?

Is it surprising that Goneril and Regan try to protect themselves against the whims of the aging and volatile king?  If he can so easily disinherit his favorite child and banish a loyal retainer, what would he do if they displeased him?

The old king sets this all in motion, but is he evil?  I think not.  Are the sisters evil?  Again, I think not.  Do they do evil things and make terrible choices?  Yes

Is Edmund evil?  Again, no but he does makes some awful choices.  When he calls on Nature, is he calling on a positive or negative nature?  Flowers and trees or flood and earthquakes?

It is only in the storm scene where Lear strips himself to the elements and has concern for another human being (Mad Tom) that his redemption begins.  He must travel through madness to discover what love of family really is before he dies.

The blinding of Gloucester (Act III, scene 7) is an evil action but the scene that follows (Act IV, scene 1) is touching and compassionate.  An amazing contrast.

"The weight of this sad time we must obey, / Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say. / The oldest hath borne most.  We that are young / Shall never see so much, nor live so long."

I need help giving an example from Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare that illustrates these tragic elements: Comic Relief and a Revenge Motive

I think you could make a case for Lord Capulet, at one point in the play, to provide comic relief, and at another point in the play (by a very surprising turn of character) to provide action motivated by revenge.

In Act I Scene v, he's a rather jolly party giver, kidding around with his guests and servants -- even cautioning Tybalt that Romeo (their family's enemy) should be endured at the party for the sake of the festive atmosphere.  This is a man who seems to be harmless and sort of silly.  A good-hearted man who loves his family.

In Act III, Scene V, we are surprised to meet a very different man.  At first, when Capulet enters Juliet's room to receive her "gratitude" for her impending marriage to Paris, he seems, again, light and tender hearted, even making fun of Juliet's tears, presumably to laugh her out of her grief. ("How now, a conduit, girl?  What, still in tears?/Evermore showering?")

Yet, once it is clear that she is, in fact, not only not thankful for his "gift" of Paris as a husband, but even refusing it, he turns on her.  "Hang thee young baggage, disobedient wretch!"  Even condemning her (his act of revenge) to "beg, starve, die in the streets."  It is worth noting that this scene is often played with Capulet taking his revenge out on Juliet with physical violence.  If not an actual violent act, then at least the threat of one -- "My fingers itch."

Romeo and Juliet is often cited as the first play in the English language in which each character speaks in a truly individual rhythm, separate and distinct from the other characters in the play.  And there is certainly nothing generic about Lord Capulet.

How does solar energy work? (process)

The question is somewhat unclear. There is now on specific process of type of processes that is used for either generating or using solar energy. Solar energy is produces by the Sun, and is then radiated out by it all around in the form of light heat and other radiations. A minute percentage of this energy reaches the earth and provides it with heat, light and other form of energy. The light is received on the earth is used here as light. There is no special process involved. Similarly the heat energy of the sun is absorbed by the surface of the earth and various objects that exist on the earth, on which the sun rays fall. Such heating causes, among other things, the evaporation of water from water bodies, starting the cycle of formation of clouds, rain, and then collection of rain water in the water bodies.

One significant and special way in which the sunlight is used on earth is photosynthesis, in which plants absorb sunlight and use it for making their food from carbon-dioxide available to them from atmosphere.

Humans have applied some technological devices to utilize more of solar energy. These includes devices like construction of special panels that abosorb more of sulight and use it for purposes such as heating of water, use of photo-electric cells for generation of electric energy from solar power, and various ways of oncentrating solar radiations at one location to create hight temperature at such locations. These devices are then used a varied purposes including for cooking of meals in houses and for generating steam for various purposes ingluding power generation.

Why is Shylock glad to see Launcelot leave his household to go to work for Bassanio?act 2

Bassanio tells Lancelet that Shylock told him that he preferred Lancelet go to work for Bassanio, although he doesn't specify exactly why (2.2.143-146).  Because Lancelet earlier tells his father that Shylock has not fed him well, we can infer that Shylock is glad to get rid of him so that he does not have to pay him or feed him, and thereby save money.

What is lupus?

Lupus, more properly called systemic lupus erythematosis, is an autoimmune disease. It is much more common in women than in men, and affects African Americans more frequently than whites. Its exact causes are unknown, but the disease is similar in many ways to rheumatoid arthritis.

Normally the immune system creates antibodies, which fight off illness, in response to exposure to antigens, which are foreign or non-self proteins that occur in bacteria and viruses. In lupus, the body's immune system loses the ability to distinguish between antigens and normal body proteins, and begins to create antibodies which attack various body tissues. Some cases of lupus are limited to a single tissue, such as the skin, while other cases damage multiple tissues, involving the heart, joints, lungs, brain, blood, kidneys, or other organs.

One form of lupus is reversible. It is called drug-induced lupus and is a reaction to one of a long list of prescription medications. Generally drug-induced lupus is limited to the skin, and it subsides when the person stops taking the medication. The third link below has a list of the drugs most likely to cause this problem, but more than 400 have been reported in all.

What are the themes in Act I of Macbeth?I only need the themes for Act I. I'm having a lot of trouble with this. Thank you for taking the time...

Let us talk about the themes in act 1 of
Macbeth scene by
scene:

Sc. I > Theme of
Fairness & Foulness: Witches' chiasmus--'Fair is foul, and foul is fair'
striking the key-note of the whole play, immediately underscores the co-existence
and interchangeability of Fair and Foul in the political world of Duncan's Scotland, and
more so, in the deeper moral world of
man.

Sc. II > The
Bleeding Sergeant Sc. further explores the theme of Fairness & Foulness. Macbeth
and Banquo, the two noble generals of King Duncan, represent Fairness, while the rebel,
Macdonwald, the treacherous Cawdor, and the infiltrating Norwegian King represent
Foulness. The Sc. also suggests the theme of Loyalty & Disloyalty, of Courage
& Heroism.

Sc. III >
Witches' proclamations on the heath and their impact on Macbeth highlight
the theme of Temptation, and also exposes through Macbeth's asides the theme of Moral
Vacillation.

Sc. IV >
Duncan's observation in respect of the treacherous Thane of Cawdor that there is no art
to read 'the mind's construction' on the face of a man, brings in the theme of
Appearance & Reality. Duncan trusted Cawdor so much, Cawdor betrayed him. The
King now confers the same title onto Macbeth in great trust, and Macbeth shall betray
him in the worst possible way. Thus the theme of Trust is introduced in the
play.

Sc. V > Lady
Macbeth, in her soliloquies, commits herself to evil to stand by the ambition of her
husband. Macbeth would be the King of Scotland as promised by the 'weird sisters'.
Shakespeare's play is a study in ambition, and the theme of Ambition is apparent in the
scene.

Sc. VI > As
Duncan, Banquo and others arrive at Macbeth's castle to stay for the night, the king
refers Lady Macbeth as the kind hostess. The theme of Hospitality and the most sinister
breach of the same are ironically referred to in this
scene.

Sc. VII > In his
long soliloquy, Macbeth refers to the themes of Trust(also the breach of it) and
Ambition( his 'vaulting ambition'). His self-divided personality also betrays the theme
of Fear, of being punished for his contemplated crime of Duncan's
murder.

Where in the essay does Chris Anderson use EXAMPLES? What do these examples contribute to his explanation of the "rise and fall of the hit"?

Chris Anderson, in his essay "The Rise and Fall of the Hit", argues that the market today  "yield[s] to a million mini markets" and hits, whether it be music or television. The hits themselves will never disappear, but they have  lost their allure with the American public. His inductive essay is supported logically with current and historical examples, closing on the "era of the blockbuster is so over" at the end of his essay.

He begins with historical information surrounding the "rise" of the musical hit, sharing data from 1990 to 2000, and using the phenomenon of NSync's record sale of 1.1 million copies on the first day, and ultimately making it "the fastest-selling album ever." 

The "decline" of music sales fell shortly after and continued to drop.  Anderson shares his take on "what caused a generation of the industry's best customers...to abandon the record store" claiming that  CD burning and trading gave rise to stolen music.  Other current examples impacting the decline of the "hit" includes his discussion of peer-to-peer file-trading networks, with the popularity of the ipod, and the fact that songs can be purchases "a la carte for 99 cents each."

Anderson builds his argument, logically appealing to his audience, through his carefully selected examples, and without them, his ideas themselves would fall like the hit.

What is a good theme to talk about for an oral presentation on Much Ado About Nothing?

I guess one thing you need to think through carefully is what theme attracts you most - you must always pick a topic that you are enthusiastic about or that you are interested in, otherwise you will bore yourself as well as your audience.

One theme in this play that particularly interests me is that of deception. Think of the large number of deceptions that make up so much of the plot - for example, the gulling of Don Pedro and Claudio which sets the stage for Hero's disgrace, and then the pretense of her death which paves the way for her happy ending with Claudio. Then of course there are less serious deceptions, such as the way that Beatrice and Benedick are tricked into falling in love with each other. What is interesting to focus on then is deceit and how in some cases it is used for evil purposes and in other cases it is used for good.

This theme of deception is also something that is deliberately "muddied" or confused in the play. Consider the masque ball when Beatrice and Benedick are courting each other sarcastically. Are they aware of the identity of the other? If so, they seem to remain wilfully ignorant, playing along with the deception. It seems overall in the play that deceit is actually just a means to an end and a way in which characters are able to rise socially. You should therefore think about to what extent characters are deceived and also, crucially, to what extent they allow themselves to be deceived.

Why are Romeo and Juliet guilty of the deaths in the play?

To make this argument, you would need to show how Romeo and Juliet's actions led to their own deaths and also to those of Mercutio, Tybalt and Paris.  I think that this is not too hard to do.

Romeo kills himself and Tybalt and Paris.  He is guilty of these deaths on a couple of levels.  First, he is actually the one who does the killing.  More importantly, it is his actions that cause the situations that make the deaths happen.  This is also true of Mercutio's death.  If Romeo had not been at the Capulets' ball, Tybalt would not be so eager to fight him.  If Tybalt had not wanted to fight Romeo, both Mercutio and Tybalt would still have been alive (I don't blame Romeo for trying to stop them from fighting, though).  If Romeo had not fallen in love with and married Juliet, he would not have been in the position of having to fight Paris either (because Juliet would not be "dead").

Juliet can be blamed the deaths as well.  She did not have to continue to be in love with Romeo.  She could have broken it off once she found out who he was.  Or she could have told her parents what was going on.  Instead, she continued her relationship with Romeo while still pretending she could marry Paris.  This led to, at least, the deaths of Romeo, Paris, and Juliet herself.

So I would say that the two of them behave selfishly and this behavior leads to many deaths.

Briefly describe Hamlet and also how Hamlet changes during the play.I really just need any and all of your personal opinions of Hamlet. I'm...

One personality trait of Hamlet's in Shakespeare's Hamlet that doesn't receive as much attention as his more famous personality traits, is his distaste for others thinking they are smarter than he is. 

Hamlet's verbally and physcially aggressive reactions usually result from others thinking they can manipulate or trick or play him.  He is cruel to Ophelia because she is spying on him.  The same, in part, is true of Hamlet's verbal denunciations of Polonius.  And Ros. and Guil. are belittled for the same reason in the recorder scene.  Hamlet makes the point that if Ros. and Guil. can't play a simple musical instrument (he speaks directly to one of the two, but they are interchangeable), they cannot expect to "play" him. 

Hamlet is constantly underestimated in the play, by Claudius and all of his spies, as well as by his mother, Gertrude.  And Hamlet doesn't like it.  He is the most intelligent character in the play, and he does not like being messed with, if you will.    

What literary device is used in this sentence from 'To Kill a Mockingbird'? "If Mr. Finch don't wear you out, I will - get in that house, sir!"

I believe this to contain a colloquialism, or an informal phrase from a certain geographic region.  In this case, "wear you out" means a spanking, and was (possibly still is) used commonly in the southern United States.

Check the link below for more information on this literary term, as well as other important terms that will help your study of other literary works.  Good luck!

In the story "A Christmas Memory" what might the two kites at the end of the story represent or symbolize?

Friendship is an important theme of the story, the narrator, Buddy, often telling stories about “my friend.” He asks her earlier in the story, “When you're grown up, will we still be friends?" And friends they remain, if only through letters, although through his relationship with her he realizes that the experience of childhood, that innocence and delight, exists only in memory. When Buddy was a child, they made each other kites, and these objects, like many in the story, become symbolic of their friendship.  At the end of the story Buddy hears that she has died, and this news, he says "sever[s] from me an irreplaceable part of myself, letting it loose like a kite on a broken string. That is why, walking across a school campus on this particular December morning, I keep searching the sky. As if I expected to see, rather like hearts, a lost pair of kites hurrying toward heaven.”  The kites again remind him of their friendship, each a heart—symbolic of love—which he will preserve in his memory.

Extract the uses of imagery in Sonnet 2.

I am assuming you are referring to Sonnet 2 by Shakespeare, no?

When forty winters shall beseige thy brow,
And dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field,
Thy youth's proud livery, so gazed on now,
Will be a tatter'd weed, of small worth held:
Then being ask'd where all thy beauty lies,
Where all the treasure of thy lusty days,
To say, within thine own deep-sunken eyes,
Were an all-eating shame and thriftless praise.
How much more praise deserved thy beauty's use,
If thou couldst answer 'This fair child of mine
Shall sum my count and make my old excuse,'
Proving his beauty by succession thine!
    This were to be new made when thou art old,
    And see thy blood warm when thou feel'st it cold.

If I tell you that this poem is about growing old, you should be able to pick out the images. I will help you get started.

Look in the first two lines. What do you think this image is? What are the 40 winters? Winter is a season that implies old age, everything is dead. So the person is 40 years old. What are the "deep trenches" in the brow? Wrinkles!

The question being asked is "What will you have to show for yourself when you are 40 years old?" Your youth will become a "weed" (another image). The answer is that it will not be your beauty, because by then, your eyes will be "deep sunken" and not too beautiful. What will be your legacy? Not your looks. But...........if you have a child, then your beauty will live on. It will not be a fading sort of beauty. It will be a beauty that transends physical beauty.

Now you should be able to pick out the rest of the images.

I have to interview Penelope for a school assignment.So if you guys could give me some possible questions to ask her with descriptive and...

As we don't do your homework for you here, if you've read
the book, the answer part should be easy!  But if I got to be Oprah, I would
ask:

* These rumors of your husband's infidelity during his
long journey away from you must have been hard for you to endure.  How has it affected
your marriage?  Do you believe that he's been faithful?

*
Upon your husband's return, he tested your fidelity, despite rumors of his own
infidelity.  Was that a difficult obstacle to overcome?

*
How has your marriage changed since he's returned?  Have you seeked marriage counseling
or religious counseling?

* How did you come up with the
ideas you came up with to keep your suitors at bay?

What quotes suggest anything about the reletionship between Lennie and George?Show me a qoutw and explains how it shows us about the relationshipp

Wrightkd just gave you a good one, and it's pretty
straightforward for one to interpret.

Another good one
occurs when in chapter 4 the guys go into town to Ol' Susie's place. Lennie wanders into
Crooks place and Crooks challenges the relationship of Lennie and George. Lennie
says:

I been
with George a long time. He'll come back
tonight-"

This shows the
confidence Lennie has in George. Although, moments later he questions if George really
will come back. Lennie relies on George as a father figure who takes care of him. He
would be crushed if George didn't return. Crooks reaffirms for
him:

You got
George. You know he's goin' to come back. S'pose you didn't have
nobody.

Crooks is trying to
make Lennie realize how much he should value having the relationship with George that he
does have.

A Slaves's Life.Write an account of a slave's life who was taken from Africa to America. Please mention the hardships, difficulties, etc.--...

We cannot write this for you, but we can give you ideas to help you do it for yourself.

First, I would talk about the fears that you would feel when first being taken and put on the ship.  Surely you would wonder what was going to happen to you.  You are being taken from the life you have known and put together with people who can't even talk to you.  Then there are the white people -- maybe you've never seen one before.  There are slae narratives that say slaves were worried that they would be killed and eaten.

Then you could talk about the terrible conditions on the slave ships.  The slaves were made to lie in very small and crowded areas that were really disgusting because of people vomiting, having diarrhea, etc.

How has Macbeth "murdered Sleep?"No

By killing Duncan in his sleep, Macbeth has brought tremendous guilt on himself and imagines he hears a voice saying "Macbeth has murdered sleep!"  He feels he will never sleep again because he destroyed the slumber (and life) of Duncan.  Ironically enough, his wife's sleep is also destroyed by guilt as we see later when she is sleep walking.

What unnatural happenings does Horatio equate with the ghost's appearance?

Horatio compares the ghost's appearance to that of the great days of the Roman empire when Julius Caesar was killed. Horatio recounts that the graves were emptied and the dead walked the streets of Rome shrieking. There was a meteor shower, described as stars with fiery tails, and there were signs threatening the life of the sun and the moon was almost eclipsed, which was also equated with the end of the world. He believes this ghost is just the beginning of these things that will happen to them and that perhaps this ghost is just the pretense to another battle between Hamlet and young Fortinbras, perhaps even the end of the world, and all these "unnatural" happenings. 

Give an account of Christmas Day at Wuthering Heights, showing how the principal characters behave? ( chapter 5-9)Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights

On one of their traversals of the moors, Heathcliff and Catherine venture to Thrushcross Grange and spy on the Lintons through the window.  While doing so, Catherine is attacked by the Linton dog, who injures her ankle.  She is taken into the house, but Heathcliff is seen as "quite unfit for a decent house" and kept outside.  So, Heathcliff returns to Wuthering Heights while Catherine remains for five weeks while she recuperates.  Finally, at Christmastime, Catherine returns home.

Catherine kisses Nelly fondly and asks for Heathcliff.  When he finally appears, he is filthy, his hair uncombed and his face dirty, his clothes covered in mud and mire.  He tries to hide himself.  Nevertheless, Cathy runs to him and kisses him.  But, Heathcliff refuses to shake hands with Edgar Linton, saying, "I shall not stnd to be laughed at.  I shall not bear it!"  When Catherine says something to him, Heathcliff dashes out of the room in a terrible temper.

Nellie recalls old Mr. Earnshaw's dying wish that Heathcliff be cared for, so she goes to find Heathcliff, who is in the stable.  Telling him there are  sweet cakes for him, Nellie hopes to lure him to the kitchen, but Heathcliff does not appear all night.  The next day, Heathcliff runs out onto the moors, not returning until Catherine and the Lintons are at church.  He asks Nellie to make him"decent."  She agrees, telling him that Catherine cried; Heathcliff, in turn, informs Nellie that he also cried and with more reason.  In reply, Nellie says, "Proud people breed sad sorrows for themselves," but promises to make him presentable, for he is taller and stronger than Edgar.  She essays to boost Heathcliff's disparagement of himself that he does not have fair skin and light hair by suggesting that he may be a "prince in disguise," with a father who was Emperor of China and a mother who was an Indian queen.

However, things do not go well for Heathcliff; after he is presentalbe, he enters from the kitchen just as Hindley pushes the door at the same time, shoving the boy back and telling Joseph to "keep the fellow out of the room" and send him to his garret, threatening to beat him.  When he scolds Heathcliff and remarks about his long hair, Master Linton innocently says, "I wonder they [his locks] don't make his head ache.  Its like a colt's mane over his eyes!"  At this remark, Heathcliff reacts violently, treating Edgar as one would a rival.  Seizing a tureen of hot apple sauce, he hurls it into Edgar's face.  Catherine and Isabella Linton rush to his aid while Hindley takes Heathcliff to his chamber and whips him.

Nellie judges Catherine as uncaring because she continues to engage in activities with the Lintons, but later Cathy begs that Heathcliff "be liberated."  When he is not, see sneaks up to his room.  Nellie finally retrieves the two, taking them into the kitchen where Heathcliff vows revenge against Hindley, telling Nellie, "...while I'm thinking of that I don't feel pain."

What are some differences between the verb system of Modern English and Elizabethan English?

One of the ways the English verb has changed since Elizabethan times is that verb movement with the negator is no longer possible in modern English. For instance, to use Andrew Radford's example, whereas Shakespeare might say "I care not for her," with the verb care preceding the negator not, modern English no longer utilizes this form, now being satisfied with "I do not care for her."

Another way the English verb has changed is that in Elizabethan English, verbs carried what Radford calls a richer system of agreement inflections such that verbs like goeth are no longer used, although a vestige of the richer system of agreement inflections remains in amidst, as Michael Quinion tells us, which reflects an earlier English formal tense, while whilst and amongst reflect the vestiage of the genitive, which is now replaced by 's.

Another English verb change since Elizabethan English is the general loss of the auxiliaries be and have in what Radford describes as a head tense position in a tense phrase, as in "Is come to know," or "Have brought forth fruit". By means of this Elizabethan verb-to-tense raising in finite clauses, auxiliaries be and have, along with a few modal auxiliaries, rose from lower auxiliary/verb positions to become head words in tense phrases. Another change relating to be is that be is no longer used in negative imperatives such as Radford's example "Be not afraid!" which is now replaced with "Do not be afraid!"

In "A Christmas Carol", what is Scrooge's first request of the Spirit?

When the First Spirit arrived on the scene, Scrooge asked him, "Who and what are you?"  The spirit replied, " I am the Ghost of Christmas Past."  Scrooge asked, Long Past?" The Spirit answered, "No, Your Past." Then Scrooge told the Spirit that he had a desire to see the Spirit in his cap, and the Spirit cries out, "What!, would you so soon put out, with worldly hands, the light I give?  Is it not enough that you are one of those whose passions made this cap and force me, through whole trains of years, to wear it low on my brow?"  The Spirit had a huge stream of light coming from the crown of his head and this was to show Scrooge the past through this light and if it was covered the past couldn't be seen.

What is the short summary of Pride and Prejudice?

Pride and Prejudice Summary

Pride and Prejudice is the story of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and their five unmarried daughters. They live in the estate of Longbourn in Hertfordshire, a rural district about thirty miles from London. The family is not rich. Their property is ‘entailed’ to pass to the nearest male heir in the family, in this case to Mr. Collins. The main concern of Mrs. Bennet’s life is to see that all her daughters are married, preferably to men with large fortunes. She sees an opportunity for her eldest daughter Jane when Mr. Charles Bingley, a wealthy gentlemen from the city, occupies the nearby estate of Netherfield Park. In her excitement, she urges her husband to visit Mr. Bingley on the very first day of his arrival, before any of the other neighbors. Mr. Bennet complies to his wife’s request and visits Mr. Bingley, but withholds information about his visit from the family.

At the next social gathering in Meryton, Bingley brings along his two sisters, Caroline Bingley and Louisa Hurst. But more importantly, he brings his closest friend, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. Bingley, who is charming and social, is immediately attracted to the modest and gentle Jane Bennet. Darcy, in contrast to Bingley, is proud, rude, and disagreeable. When Bingley suggests that Darcy dance with Elizabeth Bennet, he refuses and negatively comments on her looks. Elizabeth overhears the comment and develops a strong prejudice against Darcy. At the next ball in Netherfield, Darcy feels an attraction for Elizabeth and asks her for a dance. She refuses to dance with him, thereby avenging the earlier insults.

Jane and Bingley continue to be attracted to one another. Caroline Bingley invites Jane to Netherfield for a visit. While at Netherfield, Jane falls ill and Elizabeth comes to look after her sister. While at Netherfield, Elizabeth is forced to confront Darcy. She approaches him with wit and sarcasm. Since Darcy has known only flattery from others, he is charmed by Elizabeth’s frankness. During her short stay at Netherfield, Elizabeth realizes Caroline is very contemptuous of her family, its social status, and Mrs. Bennet’s vulgarity. Elizabeth concludes that Caroline’s friendship and cordiality towards Jane is only a pretense.

 

The male relative to whom the Longbourn estate is ‘entailed’ is Rev. William Collins of Hunsfort. Mr. Collins pays a visit to Longbourn with the intention of proposing marriage to one of the Bennet daughters. His pompous manners and his bloated rhetoric disgust everyone, except Mrs. Bennet, who looks upon him as a prospective son-in-law. Collins is attracted to Jane, but Mrs. Bennet informs him that she is about to be engaged. He then turns his attention to Elizabeth and makes a ridiculous proposal of marriage to her. When Elizabeth rejects him, he proposes to her friend Charlotte Lucas, who, to everyone’s shock, accepts him. Mrs. Bennet is distressed by Elizabeth’s rejection of Mr. Collins because it is the one opportunity she has of keeping the Longbourn estate in the family.

Bingley and his companions soon depart for London. Both Bingley and Caroline write to Jane to say that they have closed Netherfield and have no plans of returning to it in the near future. Jane is very disappointed. As Jane feels frustration over Bingley, Elizabeth finds a new attraction. She meets Mr. Wickham and is foolishly and magnetically drawn to him. They have a friendly conversation in which she reveals her dislike of Darcy. Taking advantage of this information, Wickham concocts a story and tells Elizabeth that he has been cheated by Darcy. Elizabeth takes pity on him and almost falls in love. Mrs. Gardiner, however, warns Elizabeth about Wickham, who soon marries Miss King.

At the invitation of the Gardiners, Jane goes to London for some rest and change of air. She hopes that she sees Bingley, even accidentally. Jane makes many attempts to get in touch with him, but Caroline does not even inform her brother about Jane’s presence in London. Jane is heartbroken, but grows to accept her rejection.

Elizabeth goes to Hunsford to visit Mr. Collins and his new wife Charlotte, who is Elizabeth’s dear friend. During Elizabeth’s stay in Hunsford, Darcy happens to visit his aunt, who also lives there, and attempts to build a relationship with Elizabeth. To her surprise, Darcy proposes marriage to her in a language so arrogant that Elizabeth turns him down indignantly. She asks him how he dares to propose to her after separating Jane and Bingley, who were in love with each other, and after victimizing Wickham. She ends her tirade by saying that she would not marry him even if he were the last man on the earth. Darcy is upset and leaves in a huff. The next morning he meets Elizabeth when she goes out for a walk and hands her a long letter that answers all her accusations. He explains to her that he did not believe that Jane was really in love with Bingley. He also tells her the truth about Wickham. Elizabeth is shocked by his answers.

There is also another shock awaiting her. Her youngest sister Lydia has been invited to Brighton by a young officer’s wife. Lydia is very excited about the trip; but Elizabeth knows how stupid, scatter brained, and flirtatious Lydia is. She tries to persuade her father not to allow Lydia to go to Brighton. Her father, however, dismisses Elizabeth’s fears.

Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner plan a tour of the Lake District and take Elizabeth with them. At the last minute, however, the tour is cut short and the Gardiners decide to restrict their trip to Derbyshire, where Darcy has his vast estate in Pemberley. Elizabeth makes sure that Darcy is away on business and then agrees to visit Pemberley, out of sheer curiosity. Pemberley is one of the most beautiful places she has ever visited, and Darcy’s elegant tastes are evident everywhere. To top it all, Ms. Reynolds, the housekeeper who has known Darcy since his childhood, speaks very highly of him, saying he is just and fair. Elizabeth cannot believe that she has made such a mistake in judging his character. As Elizabeth is looking over Pemberley’s lovely grounds, Darcy himself appears, returning a day before he is expected. He looks surprised to see Elizabeth, and she is intensely embarrassed. He is polite to her and the Gardiners, and Elizabeth notices that there is no trace of pride in him.

The following day, Bingley calls on Elizabeth, and his anxious inquiries about Jane indicate that he is still in love with her. Darcy and his beautiful sister, Georgiana, also call on Elizabeth at the inn to invite her and the Gardiners to dinner. Elizabeth accepts the dinner invitation. During the dinner, Caroline tries her best to destroy the friendly relationship between Darcy and Elizabeth by running down Elizabeth’s family, but she does not succeed. Darcy is fond of Elizabeth.

News comes that Lydia has eloped with Wickham, so Elizabeth leaves Derbyshire with the Gardiners to return home. All attempts at tracing the runaway couple have failed. Darcy, touched by Elizabeth’s distress over Lydia, seeks to find her and catches up with the couple in London. Darcy convinces Wickham to marry Lydia, gives him ten thousand pounds, pays up his debts, and persuades him to settle in the North of London. Darcy then requests that the Gardiners not reveal his help to the Bennet family. Elizabeth, however, finds out the truth about Darcy’s assistance. She is impressed with his kindness.

Bingley makes an unannounced reappearance at Netherfield Park, and renews his courtship of Jane. They are soon engaged. Lady Catherine also arrives unannounced and acts very haughty towards the Bennet family. She threatens Elizabeth with dire consequences if she marries Darcy, but Elizabeth refuses to promise that she will not accept a proposal from Darcy. A few days later, Darcy comes to visit and makes a second proposal of marriage to Elizabeth. This time she accepts wholeheartedly. He thanks Elizabeth for teaching him the lesson of humility.

The two couples, Jane and Bingley and Elizabeth and Darcy, are married on the same morning. Mrs. Bennet is overjoyed at having three of her daughters married, two of them to very rich young men. After a year’s stay at Netherfield Park, Bingley purchases an estate in Derbyshire. His mother-in-law’s tiresome company and her vulgar behavior are too much even for his calm temperament. The novel finally ends on a note of reconciliation with all of the characters trying to forgive and forget past insults.

Why would anybody stay in Omelas when his/her happiness depends on a child's suffering?"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula LeGuin

"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" is subtitled "Variations on a Theme by William James"; the older brother of Henry James, William James purported the theory of pragmatism, a belief that holds that the meaning and truth of an idea is a function of its practical outcome.  In her short story, LeGuin takes this theory to its moral conclusion.

In one preface to her story, LeGuin writes that it is a critique of American moral life.  In explanation of the story's subtitle, LeGuin notes that she was inspired to write the story based upon something James himself wrote:

[If people could be] kept permanently happy on the one certain condition that a certain lost soul on the far-off edge of things should lead a life or torment..., how hideous a thing would be [the employment of this happiness] when deliberately accepted as the fruit of such a bargain.

And, while James felt that societies would not accept such a bargain, some of the residents of Omelas do just that, rationalizing their moral responsibility with the idea that the good of many is worth the sacrifice of the one miserable creature on the "far-off edge" of their society. For the others, the moral value of an individual overrides any other so-called practical truth, and they must, therefore, walk away.  That they understand the immorality of the pragmatism of the "good for all" is evidenced in those who leave's passing "between the houses with yellow-lit windows (yellow=the color of evil):

The place they go towards is a place even less inaginable to mos of us than the city of happiness....It is possible that it does not exist.  But they seem to know where they are going, the ones who walk away from Omelas.

In the play Othello, why does Iago hate Cassio so much (besides the fact that Cassio got the job Iago wanted)?

I'd add to sagetreib's excellent answer.Cassio certainly has privilege and he gets what he wants without having to work hard to get it (Iago, in contrast, feels he has to scheme and work for everything he gets). He thinks Cassio has a "daily beauty" in him that makes Iago ugly by comparison. This beauty is his status, and also a general quotidian attractiveness or polish that Cassio possesses that Iago thinks he does not.

For all of his bravado, Iago seems to lack self esteem. He speaks so often of not being inferior to Cassio that we think he must surely feel it. He doesn't seem to have any confidence in what he does have, either, and in his mind, he thinks Cassio is the type of person who could steal from him that which he should have. Just as Iago believes the rumours that Othello slept with Emeila (Iago's wife) without having any evidence that it is true, he also believes that Cassio has slept with Emelia (with a similar lack of evidence). As far as Iago is concerned, Cassio has stolen his position, his security, and his wife. And, to top it all off, he's attractive.***

***If you are of the camp that questions Iago's sexuality, then Cassio's attractiveness adds another possible layer to Iago's hatred... 

Was the character of Odysseus from the Odyssey killed in real life?

The Odysseus of Homer's Odyssey is a mythologized figure. Even if a real Odysseus existed in the time period Homer sings about in his epic poem, and even if the real Odysseus were the king of an island called Ithaca, there is very litttle evidence in the historic records to prove it. 

The Odyssey ends with happiness--Odysseus is finally home in Ithaca after twenty years, reunited with his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus. However, earlier in the epic, during Odysseus's trip to the underworld, he met the blind prophet Tireasis, who told him that he would die a "death from the sea." What this means is unknown. It could refer to an adventure out on sea again, or it could refer to the death described in the Telegony, because his son with Circe comes from the sea in order to find him. 

What is the tone projected by the male characters toward the female characters? How would you describe it?

In Susan Glapell's "Trifles," the male tone is one of condescension: they belittle the females directly and indirectly.

Observe the County Attorney's mention of the mess in the kitchen: it is an objective correlative of how he likely feels toward most women and women's work.

(The County Attorney, after again looking around the kitchen, opens the door of a cupboard closet. He gets up on a chair and looks on a shelf. Pulls his hand away, sticky.)

COUNTY ATTORNEY. Here's a nice mess.

The men are also confused by women, namely Mrs. Wright, the suspect.  They have difficulty reading her obvious signs of guilt.  This shows there are marked communication problems between men and women (no phone line).  Observe Hale's testimony regarding Minnie:

HALE. she moved from that chair to this over here... (Pointing to a small chair in the corner)...and just sat there with her hand held together and looking down. I got a feeling that I ought to make some conversation, so I said I had come in to see if John wanted to put in a telephone, and at that she started to laugh, and then she stopped and looked at me--scared.

This shows he (and most males) have no idea how to talk to women.  When they do attempt conversation, they use only small talk.  Again, this is very condescending.

How is Macbeth's decision to kill Macduff's family different from his decisions to murder Duncan and Banquo?

In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the murders of Duncan, Banquo, and the ordered murder of Fleance (who is a child) serve strategical purposes.  Duncan is killed so Macbeth can take his place, Banquo knows about the witches' predictions so therefore is a threat to Macbeth, and Fleance is in line for the throne, if the witches' predictions are to be believed.

The murder of Macduff's family has no strategic purpose.  Macduff is not in line for the throne, or at least there are numerous people in front of him, and much less are any of his heirs.  Macbeth is even assured in Act 4.1 that Macduff is no threat to him, though the messages are contradictory--one message is that he should beware of Macduff, while another tells him no man born of woman can harm him.  And Macduff is safe in England, where Macbeth can't get at him.  Again, no strategic purpose exists.

When Macbeth orders the murder of Macduff's family, he is lashing out, throwing a horrific temper tantrum, if you will.  He can't get at Macduff, so he kills his family instead.  Psychologically, he is getting at Macduff the only way he can.   

This makes these murders even more terrible and more horrific than the murders of Duncan, Banquo, and the ordered murder of Fleance. 

What are the main differences between Literary fiction and Commercial fiction?

The main difference between these types of fiction is in their mass appeal and accessibility.  Literary fiction tends to be very symbolic, thick, poetic, and focus more on themes, the actual writing itself, and on making points about human behavior, life and living.  It is sometimes, as a result, harder to understand, and maybe even not very entertaining.  It is written more for the beauty of language and how language can uniquely express the human condition.  The main purpose of literary fiction is not to entertain, but to descriptively present human experiences and make points about them.

Commercial fiction, on the other hand, is out to entertain the masses.  Its main purpose is to be enjoyable.  It usually has fast-paced plots, lots of action, suspense, romance or intrigue, and characters that serve to drive that plot forward.  The point is the plot, the excitement, and in getting readers hooked and turning pages.  It is all about entertaining as many people as possible.  Usually, it is written in simpler, easier-to-understand prose, and keeps the symbolism and profundity to a minimum.

To envision the difference, compare two different types of movies--summer blockbusters vs. independent films.  Blockbusters are out to entertain, bring in the big bucks, and usually are pretty shallow and mindless.  Indie films, on the other hand, are often abstract and artsy, slow-moving, and out to provoke thought.  These comparisons apply to literary vs. commercial fiction also.

I hope that those thoughts helped; good luck!

Where is the summary for "On Death and Dying" ? This book by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross is a very popular book, why is there not a summary on it? Or...

I think that maybe you are having trouble finding a
summary because the book is not a fiction book. It describes the stages of grieving that
a persons goes through after they lose a loved one or find out that they are dying due
to a terminal illness.

The stages are
:

1. Denial


2. Anger


3. Bargaining


4. Depression
   


5. Acceptance

Kubler-Ross
noted that people do not always follow these in order and they also may not experience
all of the steps but they will experience at least two. Her goal was to make people
aware of the difficulties that people experience when they are going through a traumatic
experience.

I have posted a link below that discusses the
cycle in detail. Hopefully this can help you get started.

How does the ideal society of Thomas More compare to the ideal State of Plato?

Throughout the history of philosophy, thinkers have speculated about the nature of the ideal society.  Their solutions say as much about the nature of the philosopher as they do about the nature of the society they seek to outline.  Perhaps the two most famous attempts are set forth in Plato's Republic and Sir Thomas More's Utopia.  Plato's account, like Sir Thomas More's about eighteen hundred years later, say a great deal about what each philosopher considers the formative influences on a given society.

In Plato's Republic, he discusses aspects of the ideal state on a very abstract level, beginning with the nature of individuals, the moving to the nature of the ideal society, and culminating in the government of that society.  As an example, Plato emphasizes the place of justice and ethics in this society.  They are building blocks for his society.  Likewise, Plato discusses a number of other aspects of society (judgment, et al.) that an individual (and by extension society) must cultivate to approach the ideal.  From there, he suggests that individuals with an understanding of the nature of justice will comprise the ideal society.  At the head of this society is the "Philosopher King."  The "Philosopher King" is one who holds complete power, not through intimidation but through the knowledge he possesses.  In the "Allegory of the Cave," Plato illustrates how the "Philosopher King" differs from the rest of society.  He alone seeks to leave the cave to approach a greater understanding of the world - to see the true nature of things (in the Realm of Ideas).

Rather than focusing on the nature of abstract concepts as the building blocks of a society from the level of the individual to that of society, Sir Thomas More's approach is a bit more direct.  He concerns himself with the practical considerations.  Like Plato, he does respond to political realities of his own time (Plato, not approving of Socrates's treatment at the hands of the democratic government in Athens, opts not to espouse a democratic government in the Republic.)  Sir Thomas More, writing during the reign of Henry VIII in England, constructs his ideal state as a response to the nature of monarchical rule.  More's state is essentially a socialist state, in which the population is given a certain task to fulfill.  In exchange, the state provides for them.  That being said, the leader of the state is not above the people, but he instead is responsive to the people.  In doing so, the government is just (not being prone to excess of power).

These are just some of the many aspects each author discusses.  While both propose a prospective solution to the question of an ideal state, More's, not only in its tone but also in its content, takes on a more practical form than Plato's.  Plato is more concerned with the theoretical rather than practical application. 

What is the symbolism in chapter 9 of "Lord of the Flies"?i.e. the thunder, Jack's throne, the chant etc.

The absence of the conch represents the absence of civilization. It's in this chapter that the boys give in to their savagery, culminating in Simon's brutal death. Simon is pure and represents humanity at its best, while Jack is the opposite. Simon's purity allows him to recognize the beast for what it is. Because Jack and his group have allowed their evil sides to overtake them, they are frightened by the beast and don't see it as anything but evil. The Lord of the Flies, the sow's head, symbolizes how powerful evil is, so powerful that the boys, representing society, succumb to evil rather than good. Like Satan, the Lord of the Flies is able to bring the boys to evil. Simon, the only pure soul, is Jesus, trying to save the other boys from themselves.

In Thomas Hardy's "The Man He Killed", what is the purpose of the title being in 3rd person POV, but the poem is in 1st person POV?

The poem "The Man He Killed" is told to us by an unnamed
narrator (a man in a bar) who overhears a one-sided conversation (a kind of dramatic
monologue) made by a soldier who killed a man.  Remember, there's three guys: the
soldier who killed a man, the man he killed, and the narrator.  Even though the soldier
does all the talking, he's not really the narrator.  The narrator simply transcribes
what he says and relays it back to us.  Therefore, Hardy uses vague pronoun usage to
juxtapose the men (who is friend and enemy?) and to show the irony and confusion of all
involved.

So, even though the title "The Man He Killed" is
third person point-of-view, the dialogue has been filtered to the reader through the
original listener, who serves as an imbedded narrator, a kind of outside speaker.  Since
the poem is one-sided conversation (it's all quotes), this imbedded narrator never truly
speaks in his own poem.  He is thus in the same position as the
audience.

Why does this imbedded speaker never comment on
the dramatic monologue?  Why does he never insert his own "I" in response to the
soldier?  He knows that any commentary is unnecessary.  Also, he may not have even been
talking to the solider: he may have only overheard this in the bar.  The soldier speaks
so naively and ironically, using so much bad (circular) logic, that any words of his own
would diminish the humor and irony.  Some things are better left
unsaid.

The poem is rife with irony, including the title.
 In it, Hardy shows relativism and perspectivism using irony and POV shifts, both of
which blur the lines between friend and foe, speaker and listener, soldier and civilian,
patriotism and murder.  In short, the pronoun confusion mirrors the soldier's moral
confusion.

As a side note: Tim O'Brien's short story "The
Man I Killed" is told entirely in third person.  More irony,
huh?

What types of things would Juliet say in this diary about Romeo?After Romeo leaves her garden, Juliet cannot sleep. She makes an entry in her...

Quotes that you could use as a basis for your journal entries:

• "You kiss by th' book." (I.v. 108) Meaning Romeo uses poetry and flowery words to get Juliet to kiss him.


• "My only love, sprung from my only hate!" (I.v.136) Meaning our families are in a vendetta.


• "Yet, if thou swear'st/Thou love mayst prove false." (II.ii.91-92) Meaning, Romeo is swearing that he loves her much too fast.


• "Swear not by the moon.../Lest that thy love prove likewise variable." (II.ii.109-111) Meaning that Romeo wants to swear by the moon, a fickle object. His love may prove fickle as well.


• "I have no joy of this contract tonight./It is too rash, too unadvis'd, too sudden;" (II.ii.118-119) Meaning exactly what your assignment is asking: Juliet has sworn her love much too quickly and regrets that she has done so.

What steps did some nations take to avoid becoming involved in the Cold War?

To avoid getting embroiled in the rivalry between USA and
USSR that developed after the Second World War, which is generally called the Cold War,
many countries choose to explicitly maintain and announce their neutrality toward these
issues. They declared themselves as "non-aligned" and also formed a group of non-aligned
nation to form common approaches for dealing with the rival groups of the cold
war.

The person that took leading role in formation and and
conduct of the group of non aligned nation included Prime Minister of India Nehru,
President Nasser of Egypt, and President Tito of Yugoslavia. The activities of the group
of Non-Aligned Nations started with a conference held in Indonesia in 1955, which was
attended by 29 Asian and African countries. By the time the 11th summit of Non-aligned
nation was held in Colombia in 1995, its membership had increased to 113
countries.

From the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, what attitudes prevail as a result of elements of the setting?

Setting: Alabama, post Civil War, pre Civil Rights
Movement.

Attitude: There are many terms to denote this
geographic region during this time period.  Among them are the "Old South" and the
"Bible Belt."

Keeping that in mind, the first prevailing
attitude is prejudice based largely on the hatred or fear of something different.  This
attitude is manifested in several ways.

-  Prejudice
against black people.  Examples: townspeople's reactions to Atticus taking Tom
Robinson's trial or Aunt Alexandra's reaction to the kids attending Calpurnia's church.

-  Prejudice against poor white people, or "trash."  Example: townspeople's
reactions to Bob Ewell.
-  Prejudice against social outcasts.  Example: Miss
Stephanie's gossip about the Radleys.

The second most
prevalent attitude is the idea of a double standard or an attitude of hypocrisy among,
for lack of a better term, high society.  This attitude is shown most overtly during
Aunt Alexandra's missionary society meeting.

What do you believe to be the top three most important events in American History? Who, in your opinion, are the top three most important people...

That's hard to say without criteria as to what's important, but if I had to choose, I would rank my events like this, assuming American History starts at settlement:

1)  Ratification of the Constitution - more important than the revolution itself, as those are common.  Replacing them with a democracy is not.

2)  The Civil War - because this conflict could have destroyed us as a unified nation, and our history afterwards would have been much, much different.  The war also made it possible to free the slaves permanently by law.

3)  World War II - Saved us from the Great Depression, unified the country and established the US as a superpower with nuclear weapons.

My three most important people would be:

1)  George Washington - tireless public servant who refused to take advantage of us and make himself King.

2)  Abraham Lincoln - guided us by whatever means possible through the Civil War, put his own personal feelings aside and did what he thought best to unify us.  Emancipated the slaves.  Brilliant writer and speaker.

3)  Franklin Delano Roosevelt - Guided us through two national crises - the Great Depression and World War II.  Served his entire adult life.

I know those are all Presidents, but you only let me choose three.

find four solutions of the equation write the solutions as order pairs y=-3x-6

We can answer this question by constructing a table of values, picking values for x, substituting those values in, and calculating the y value - frequently people like to use a table that looks like this

x|-3x-6   |y ordered pair is (x,y)

0|-3*0-6 |-6 ordered pair is (0,-6)

1|-3*1-6 |-9 ordered pair is (1,-9)

2|-3*2-6 |-12 ordered pair is (2,-12)

3|-3*3-6|-15 ordered pair is (3,-15)

4 solutions to the equation written as ordered pairs are (0,-6), (1,-9), (2,-12), (3,-15) These solutions can be checked by substituting both the x and y value into the original equation and doing the calculations. Both sides of the equation should end up the same, like this.

-15=-3*3-6 =>-9-6=>-15 and -15=-15 checks

please note, there are an infinite number of possible solutions. I chose 4 easy to work with small integers, but any integers could have been chosen to use for x. You could pick, 5, 6, 8, 15, 23, 105, -2, -10, etc...any numbers, and you would have gotten the corresponding y value, for instance, x = -10 then -3*-10-6 => 30-6 => 24 so the ordered pair solution for x = -10 would be (-10,24)

In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, how does the Pardoner's appearance reflect his inner depravity?

The Pardoner's appearance reflects his inner depravity in several ways.  He had hair "yellow as wax"  that hung "lankly" on is head, "thin and droopy" which reflected his spiritual state: "thin and droopy."  He is "disheveled" and his eyes are "shiny" and are compared to a rabbits eyes.  Again this reflects his inner state: he is like an animal, not a human.  His voice "bleated like a goat."  Sinners and those serving Satan are often compared to goats in the Bible and I believe that Chaucer is using a similar comparison to again show the Pardoner's depraved spiritual state.  Finally, he had no beard and seemed to be not a true man; but a "gelding or a mare."  This again shows his inner state. He is not a man; and has not the spirit, courage, or integrity of a man.  Chaucer uses the physical description of the pardoner to draw a picture of one with no true spiritual life and no real connection to the God he claims to serve.

What is each juror's definition of democracy, justice, and social responsibility?

Part of the problem here is that none of the jurors are given names--only numbers.  It makes keeping them straight in your mind very difficult. 

The best way to answer this is to make yourself a 12-column chart--one column for each juror, and in each one, take notes on his ideas of democracy, justice, and social responsibility.  Those born in the USA might not have as strong an opinion about democracy as those who have recently become citizens. 

Each of the jurors have different sitatuations and backgrounds, as well as how invested he is in finding the real truth.  One has tickets to a concert and just wants to come to an agreement, no matter the consequences.  One comes from the "other side of the tracks" and knows how to properly use a knife.  He actually pulls one out of his pocket that is so similar to the murder weapon--said to be unique--that the others are shocked into silence for a few minutes.  Another questions the timing of the train and the accuracy of the woman's testimony due to her eyesight.  Those who disagree the most are truly the ones who get down to the business of showing reasonable doubt which makes the others finally change their votes and leads to an acquittal for the defendent. 

What age is appropriate to start reading "The Veldt"?

An interesting question. The editors of the magazines Bradbury published in took care to not improperly influence the young, and their readership was quite young. Given that, and the earlier age at which children are exposed to things today, I would say early adolescence--12 to 13. That is old enough to not be frightened by what they read...but young enough to remember being like the kids in the story.

Please answer these questions concerning the plot of The Crucible.Why are some people, including John Proctor, inclined to stay away from Sabbath...

Reverend Parris is not a well-liked man in town.  Many believe that  he is a hypocrite - although he is a minister, he is concerned with appearances and material wealth.  Because they do not trust him as a neighbor, people like John Proctor don't want to be ministered by him.

Ann Putnam blames Goody Osburn and Rebecca Nurse both for the death of her babies.

Hale believes that the Devil will only attack the house of a moral person, because it would not make sense to attack the house of a soul he already had.  Parris, as a reverend, is a perfect target.

What request does Mrs. Dubose make of Jem? Is this a fair punishment for his crime?

The irritable Mrs.Henry Lafayette Dubose was angry after
Jem nearly destroyed her camellias in Chapter 11 of To Kill a
Mockingbird. Of course, Mrs. Dubose had prompted Jem's action by calling him
a liar, insulting Scout's femininity, and telling him that Atticus "was no better than
the niggers and trash he works for!" Jem responded by chopping down the old woman's
camellia bushes with Scout's new baton. After Atticus demanded that Jem apologize in
person, Mrs. Dubose demanded that he read to her everyday after school and on
Saturdays.

Was the punishment just? Probably so, and in the
end, Jem probably realized it, too. What he didn't know during the long month of reading
to the bedridden Mrs. Dubose was that her intent was for him to take her mind off her
pain: She was going cold turkey after being addicted to morphine for years. She desired
to die drug-free, and not long after Jem's punishment ended, she did just
that.

What is an example of satire in Part 2 of Gulliver's Travels?

As F. P. Lock observes,

Swift's original impulse in writing Gulliver's Travels was certainly to create a general satire on the follies of European civilization as a whole. . . . (F. P. Lock, The Politics of Gulliver's Travels.  Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980. p. 69)

In Part I, Swift uses the Emperor of Lilliput, whose mind is as limited as his body is small, to satirize the greed, corruption, and war-mongering of England's King George I and Queen Anne.  In Part II, the satire rests on the contrast between the Brobdingnagian king, who is the essence of a benign and moral leader, and George I, who looks even worse by this contrast than the Emperor of Lilliput.  Perhaps Swift's most biting element of satire in Part II lies in the interchange between Gulliver and the king about the use of gunpowder and cannons as a tool of political power.

Gulliver introduces the King to one of the most powerful tools of warfare, which has the additional benefit of enabling a king to control his own people:

I told him of an invention, discovered between three and four hundred years ago, to make a certain powder, into a heap of which, the smallest spark of fire falling, would kindle the whole in a moment, although it were as big as a mountain, and make it all fly up in the air together, with a noise and agitation greater than thunder.

As one would expect from a morally just leader, the King is not horrified by the concept of such a weapon but is also surprised that such small creatures (Europeans) would harbor such horrendous thoughts, especially without any apparent thoughts of remorse about the terror and bloodshed of such weapons.  He is, in short, utterly mystified that Gulliver's fellow Europeans could regard such destructive power without any moral reservations.

Gulliver's astonishment highlights Swift's condemnation of European savagery and its callous disregard of human rights:

A strange effect of narrow principles and views! that a prince . . . of strong parts, great wisdom, and profound learning . . . should, from a nice, unnecessary scruple, whereof in Europe we can have no conception, let slip an opportunity put into his hands that would have made him absolute master of the lives, the liberties, and the fortunes of his people! 

By setting up the King of Brobdingnag as the fool who fails to recognize the powerful tool Gulliver is willing to put into his hands, Swift creates the dramatic contrast between the just ruler of this exotic land and the current King of England who, by implication, would embrace such a weapon in a heartbeat.  To characterize the Brobdingnagian response as the "effect of narrow principles and view" points up the perversity of Gulliver's and, by reference, the European attitude toward such power.

Swift, through the voice of Gulliver, then, has managed to condemn the  European ruler's lust for power and acceptance of mass destruction by merely creating its opposite, a humane, morally just leader who is shocked that anyone could think the destructive power represented by gunpowder could possibly be a beneficial thing.

Foreign Policy in the 20th century (1900’s) · Think about how the United States becomes a superpower over the course of the century. o Think...

You've posted what looks like an entire assignment, and unfortunately we'll only be able to help you with parts of it, as we have limited wordspace.  I'll discuss the emergence of the US empire, and how it expanded its influence.

America wasn't really considered a world power until the turn of the century, with our involvement in the Spanish-American War, the Boxer Rebellion, and the Filipino Insurrection.  By issuing the Open Door Note, John Hay served notice to the world that America had a place and a presence on the world stage.

Teddy Roosevelt expanded that presence by securing and starting the Panama Canal, dominating the Caribbean, and by serving as a world diplomat negotiating peace between Russia and Japan in 1905, for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize.

What is the significant importance of fire in Golding's Lord of the Flies?That is, what does fire symbolize regarding civilization? Please answer...

To me, fire symbolizes a couple of different things.  It can be a link to civilization -- a sign that the boys are still civilized and want to be rescued.  However, it can also be a symbol of how destructive savagery can be.

The signal fire is a link to civilization.  It is one of the first things that the boys try to do when they are still interested in being rescued.  As they get less interested (and less connected to civilization) they tend to let the fire go out.

The wildfires are destructive.  They kill accidentally (the boy with the birthmark) and they are used in an attempt to kill intentionally (trying to get Ralph out where they can kill him).

Why should Macbeth kill King Duncan?

Just to take a bit of a different angle concerning
Shakespeare's Macbeth, first, no evidence really exists in the play
that Macbeth was nurturing evil, corrupt thoughts before he hears the witches'
predictions.  It seems logical, but it's difficult to definitively declare that. 
Second, if he was, then Shakespeare doesn't show a fair mind being corrupted subtly and
gradually over time, since Macbeth was already corrupted when the play opens.  You might
be able to argue one or the other, but you can't logically argue
both.

That said, again, looking at this issue from a
different angle, the witches predict only that Macbeth will be king, not that he should
assassinate Duncan to get the crown.  Macbeth creates that idea on his
own. 

Once Duncan names Malcolm as his heir, however,
Macbeth has little choice, if he ever wants to be king.  Malcolm stays behind the lines
during the opening battle with his father while Macbeth does the fighting--Macbeth could
hardly expect to outlive Malcolm, and even if he does, there's always
Donaldbain. 

If Macbeth is obsessively ambitious, he has
little choice but to kill the present monarch. 

what are some quotes that show how the conch lost its power later in the book?

After the murder of Simon, it becomes clearer and clearer that the conch no longer means what it did at the beginning of the story.  While Ralph and Jack are talking about how to move forward, Ralph suggests that he will call a meeting, that he still has some authority.  He says:

"I.m chief, And what about the fire?  And I've got the conch - "

But Jack replies "You haven't got it with you, you left it behind.  See, clever? And the conch doesn't count at this end of the island -"  The thunder crashed at that instant, as though to signal that things had really changed.

Ralph's reply is an attempt to maintain that authority, claiming that the conch counts everywhere.  But the hunters begin to do their dance, it appears that the idea of the hunt and the kill, etc., have gained a level of power greater than that of the conch.

What is significant about the title of the book ''Night"?

Night is a driving symboL for the author.  It is night when most of the significan events happen. Weisle's own struggle with his experience evoke the connatations of darkness. Ellie first expereinces darkness when he realizes that his mentor is ineffective in his warning to the Jews.  Weizel's loss of faith, his witnessing of sensless death, his horrendous 40-mile run in the night-time escape, the screaming woman on the train, who, in the darkenss of night sees the hopless future of the women and children who will not surive, the "night" of the loss of faith, the night of the destruction of varios imortant people in Ellie's life, but MOST SIGNIFICANTLY, the darkness that surrounds the plight of the Jewish in the face of not only the Nazi abomination, but also in the "giving up" of the Jews. as a result of the inability to believe that such a horror could possibly touch, reach, disaffect, and, ultimately destroy many of them.  It is the NIGHT of man's destruction against man.

Since some cities are on the same latitude, explain the difference in temperature for the cities.

Latitude indeed is a very important factor which determines the temperature of a city. Cities which are on the same latitude and closer to the Equator will be warmer than cities on the same latitude and closer to the poles.

However, it is not only the latitude which determines the temperature and the climatic conditions of a city. The other important factors which determine the temperature of a city are:

1. The temperature of two cities although lying on the same latitude will vary if one of them is on a sea coast, because cities close to the sea or ocean will enjoy a more equable climate. The city which is inland and far from the sea or ocean will experience extremes in temperature.

2. The temperature of two cities although lying on the same latitude will vary if one of them is at a higher altitude than the other. The city at a higher altitude will be colder than the city on a lower altitude.

In "The Open Window," how might Saki's short story have been different if it were told from the girl's point of view?

Saki came to the short story genre as a satirist, and he has outdone himself in "The Open Window."  For, by using the third-person narrator, a narrator outside the story, the spontaneous practical joke of the story is played not only upon the unsuspecting Mr. Nuttel, but also upon the reader. With a narrator who is outside the circle of characters, Saki is able to get the readers, who at first laugh at Nuttel's gullibility, to realize that they, too, have been taken in by the tall tale, having had difficulty detecting the truth of a well-told story.

Now, if the story were told from the point of view of Vera, the telling of this fabricated tale would have to be more subjective and the readers might detect its falsity.  Thus, the practical joke upon the reader would be lost.  And, this practical joke upon the readers is what gives Saki's story its uniqueness and value. 

What are the plot complications in "A Doll's House"?

The conflict of the story is Nora's crime of forgery and the threat that Krogstad poses when he announces he is going to tell Torvald about the loan.  Nora wants to keep her husband and her marriage happy.  She understands that Torvald will be upset because she took a loan, something which his is against; she doesn't understand that Torvald will be so upset about his reputation.

Nora may have been able to keep things under wraps.  She may have been able to convince Torvald to keep Krogstad on at the bank, which would keep her secret.  However, complications arise.  Mrs. Linde, Nora's friend, arrives and wants the job.  Torvald is inclined to give it to her.  Another complication is Krogstad and Torvald's history.  They knew each other in school days and Torvald is biased against him from past history.  Torvald knows of Krogstad's past indiscretions, and Torvlad resents the familiarity with which Krogstad still addresses him.  Things come to a head, and Torvald reveals his concern - not for Nora - but for his status.  Though the marriage might still have survived Nora's crime, Torvald's revelation alerts Nora to her own unhappiness, and she leaves in the end.

What food item does Matt's mother persuade Matt and his father to take with them on their trip to Maine territory in the book Sign of the Beaver?

Matt's mother persuades Matt and his father to take a
small keg of molasses with them on their trip to Maine territory in the book
Sign of the Beaver. Matt's father would have preferred not to take
it, because of the need to limit the amount of equipment they are taking with them, but
Matt's mother, knowing well her son's fondness for molasses, prevails. Matt and his
father have rationed the molasses carefully so that it will last longer, but when Matt
somehow leaves the door unbarred when he goes out fishing, a bear enters the cabin and,
among other things, empties the keg of molasses and leaves it overturned on the floor.
Matt is devastated, and frustrated at his own carelessness. He runs his fingers "round
and round the empty keg like a child" to find the last sweet vestiges of the precious
molasses, and resigns himself to a tasteless diet of plain
fish.

Matt cannot stand the bland, boring victuals
available to him for long, however. He remembers a bee tree he and his father had found,
and, although his father has warned him that the bees are "better left alone," Matt
resolves to climb the tree and take just a little bit of the bees' honey, even though he
knows he is risking getting stung (Chapters 4-5).

Three charged particles are placed at the corners of an equilateral triangle of side d = 1.00 m.The charges are Q1 = +4.0 µC, Q2 = -7.0 µC, and...

The force of attraction between Q1and Q2 is
Q1*Q2/[(4peo)d^2] = 9*10^9*4*7*10^-(12) /1^2 N=0.252N

The
force of attraction between Q1 and Q3 = 9*10^8(4*6/1^2) N = 0.192
N.

So the net force of 0.252N and 0.192N with 60 degree
between is sqrt(0.252^2+0.192^2+ 2*0.252*0*192cos60) =
0.3856839N

The angle between 0.252N and the resultant
0.3857N is

cos inverse
(0.38565839^2+0.252^2-0.192^2)/(2*0.38565839*0.252) = 27.08
degree.

Similarly you can proceed to find the magnitude and
direction of the resultant force exerted on other two charges.

a prodigious man slept in this alone, and took his flocks to graze afield remote from all companions knowing none but savage ways, a brute so...

You tagged this with interpreting. I imagine you are
looking for some help interpreting this quote from your literature book about
The Cyclops section of The
Odyssey.

First, you have some
characterization of the cyclops named Polyphemus, but also
cyclopes in general. They stick to themselve, and are very uncivilized. They have no
remnants of culture that indicates they want to be together socially. We know this from
the words, "alone", "remote", and "solitude". We learn that they raise sheep or goats as
he toook his flocks to graze.

We also get the
image and metaphor of the
cyclops being a "shaggy mountain." This must mean he was rather large, mammoth to be
specific. The word shaggy might describe a lazy, withdrawn, or haunched-looking fellow.
It also further characterizes him.

What is Scout's personality?

The word that my students always use for Scout is
"Tomboy". She plays outside, dresses like a boy, and beats up other
boys.

Additionally, she is intelligent, insightful, and
imaginative. She learned to read at a young age, innocently questions extremely
difficult societal questions, and she plays creative games, such as the Radley
reenactments, with Dill and Jem.

She lacks a “proper”
feminine influence, in her life and really has no interest in learning how to act like a
lady. Aunt Alexendra attempts to make Scout act like a lady by forcing her to attend
Maycomb’s ladies missionary circle and dressing her up in a dress. Scout detests
Alexandra’s attempts at making her a lady.

What sympathy does the writer convey for Walter in this play and why?

Hansberry feels sympathy for her character, Walter, for a number of reasons.  An African-American herself, she personally watched men struggle with issues of racism that kept them working in subserviant jobs.  Also, Hansberry was raised by parents who were very progressive and politically active.   Engendering a proud racial identity was something Hansberry frequently championed  in her work. 

As for the her character, Walter longs for the respect and opportunities that white Americans enjoy for himself, his son, and his wife.  In Act 2.2, he dreams aloud,  saying:  "You wouldn’t understand yet, son, but your daddy’s gonna make a transaction . . . a business transaction that’s going to change our lives. . . . That’s how come one day when you ‘bout seventeen years old I’ll come home . . . I’ll pull the car up on the driveway . . . just a plain black Chrysler, I think, with white walls—no—black tires . . . the gardener will be clipping away at the hedges and he’ll say, “Good evening, Mr. Younger.” And I’ll say, “Hello, Jefferson, how are you this evening?” And I’ll go inside and Ruth will come downstairs and meet me at the door and we’ll kiss each other and she’ll take my arm and we’ll go up to your room to see you sitting on the floor with the catalogues of all the great schools in America around you. . . . All the great schools in the world!"

Why is the priest's photo significant, why are his teeth yellow, and is Eveline going to be a prostitute in Buenos Aires?

In Joyce's "Eveline," no, Eveline is not going to
Argentina to be a prostitute.  Why would you think that?  Is that what you think of when
you think of Argentina?  There is nothing whatsoever in the story about Eveline going
into prostitution.  She is a 19-year-old woman with a lousy life who meets a sailor and
wants to go away.

The importance of the photo is that the
priest pictured is one more person to add to the list of people who have left Ireland. 
The story is filled with people who leave Ireland, and that is what Eveline wants to
do. 

The photo is described as yellow because it's
deteriorated; it's old.  And of course this, by extension, suggests the state of Ireland
itself. 

Write ten sentences containing pronouns.

I think that this can be done quite easily.  If you are
writing a paragraph about the worst time in your life, or a time in which you were the
happiest with others, this could be done quite easily.  At some level, it would be easy
to do because when we write about or tell stories about situations, we use pronouns to
simplify the process.  It ruins the flow of the story to constantly use proper names and
nouns.  At some level, substitutions are needed in order to maintain the focus of the
story.  Try this yourself:  Describe a situation without prounouns.  The situation would
be quite awkward because the situation's development would be stalled by constantly
referring to proper nouns in the situation (I just did this here with "the
situation.")