How does the American Dream effect Holden's view on gender roles in The Catcher in the Rye?

In The Catcher in the Rye, the
American Dream of the 1950s was reserved mainly, if not exclusively, for males.  All of
Holden's prep school classmates are males--they are the elite who are going to be heads
of industry; all his teachers are males; the headmaster is male.  Holden's father works;
his brother works; his mom stays home; his sister stays home (doesn't go off to prep
school).

There are dozens of females in the novel: the
nuns, Morrow's mother, Jane, the girls in the bar.  None of them work.  They are the
objects of/for men.  Jane and Pheobe are raised to be housewives, domestic servants who
wait hand and foot at home on males, the traditional family breadwinners.  The only
working woman in the novel, ironically, is a girl--Sonny, the prostitute, who is
obviously controlled by a man, Maurice, her pimp.

Holden
fears Jane and Pheobe will fall prey to men as well.  He hates that Stradlater is dating
Jane; he hates that the word "FU*K" is written on the wall for Pheobe to see.  In this
way he wants to be a catcher in the rye: to protect children, namely girls, from sexual
objectification and manipulation.  The thing is, he's not very good at it.  He knows
he's fighting a losing battle.  He knows the average male, like himself, is obsessed
with sex.

So, it is clear: males are meant to be out in the
world, making and spending money; women are passive, domestic objects of male
pre-occupation, namely sex.  In this way, the novel reflects a conservative, sexist
America.  Catcher in the Rye is pre-feminist in its depiction of
gender roles and the American dream: it does not anticipate or call for the sexual
revolution and the blurring of gender roles.

How did the media influence the civil rights movement?

The media influenced the civil rights movement in key
ways, and it is important to understand that the leaders of the movement understood this
fact very clearly. First, the media tended to anoint leaders of the movement,
particularly Martin Luther King. This had the effect of portraying King's vision of the
movement, which was non-violent and essentially political (the media for a time tended
to efface his statements about economic equality) as if it represented a
consensus. 

The other influence the media had on the
movement was to televise its key events to a nationwide, and even worldwide audience.
The entire nation was shocked by the shocking scenes from places like Birmingham and
Selma. Not only did this lead to popular support for civil rights legislation everywhere
but the South, but in a Cold War context, it created a major propaganda opportunity for
the Soviet Union to portray US rhetoric about freedom as hollow and
meaningless.

In Chapter 24 of the Kite Runner, what symbols does the author use?

Sohrab is the most significant symbol in the chapter.  As Hassan's son, he is a symbol of redemption to Amir - by saving the child Amir can alleviate his guilt and pay back a small portion of the debt he owes his friend.  Both Hassan and Sohrab are brutalized by Assef and defend themselves against him with a slingshot and stone, adding another level of symbolism to the symbolic reincarnation of the father in the son - of the Biblical David going up against Goliath. As an abused and molested child, a "wounded little boy", Sohrab may also represent the innocent children of Afghanistan, victimized by "history and religion" in their homeland. 

Other symbols include the television, representing Western influence as well as fulfillment of a promise Amir made to Hassan in Chapter 6, the "fake dusty palm tree...flying pink flamingoes on the wallpaper...Formica...counters" of the hotel lobby, signifying the falseness of Western affluence and modernity, and the pigeons at the Blue Mosque, faithful and trusting, flocking to the peace and safety offered by Islam.  Also, the Les Miserables poster next to the American map at the embassy is a Statue-of-Liberty-like representation of America as a refuge for the downtrodden, Mr. Anderson's small, manicured hands signify sterility and unwelcoming, and his caressing of the tomato plant symbolizes his yearning for his dead daughter.  

What kind of king was Ozymandias?

Ozymandias  is the transliteration into Greek  of a part
of Ramesses II's  throne name  User-maat-re Setep-en-re. Ramesses
II who ruled Egypt around 12th century B.C. is regarded as the greatest and most
powerful of all the Pharaohs.

Diodorus Siculus the Greek
historian has recorded one of the inscriptions found at the base of Ramesses II's throne
as "King of Kings am I, Osymandias. If anyone would know how great I am and where I lie,
let him surpass one of my works." It is this inscription which forms the basis for
Shelley's "Ozymandias" (1818).

Ozymandias was obviously a
very proud and arrogant man. He was vain enough to imagine that he was the most powerful
ruler on earth and he wanted every one to be terrified of him. He was always scowling
and frowning in order to scare every one around him. It is this angry frowning face
which the ancient sculptor has faithfully recorded for posterity in his
statue:

a
shattered visage lies, whose frown, 
And wrinkled lip,
and sneer of cold command,

The
Bible tells us in the Book of Proverbs 16:18 that,

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“Pride goeth before
destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”

This
is the theme of Shelley's poem. All the great rulers in history try to perpetuate their
memories by building mammoth statues. Their pride and arrogance knows no bounds as they
erect these huge statues and vainly inscribe bombastic claims about the superiority of
the kingdoms which they rule. They do this without realizing that they are only ordinary
mortals who have to return to dust along with all their
endeavors.

The colossal size of the statue only emphasizes
the king sized ego of Ramesses II and only underscores the futility of his attempts to
perpetuate his anonymity, because today,

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Nothing beside remains.
Round the decay 
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and
bare

The
lone and level sands stretch far
away.

This
even though when he was alive he had boastfully
claimed,

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“My name is Ozymandias,
king of kings: 
Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and
despair!”

In All the Pretty Horses, have John Grady and Rawlins broken horses before? Do they seem knowledgeable about it?

Born and bred on Texas ranches, John Grady and Rawlins know just about all there is to know about horses.  Their prowess is tested in the first pages of Chapter 2, when they are presented with "as spooky a bunch of horses...as...ever (seen)" to break.  John Grady audaciously contends that they can break the whole string in four days, and they set out to accomplish this with an unorthodox combination of methods which include rope skill, hobbling techniques, talking to the horses, and patience.  Not only have the boys obviously broken horses before, but they probably have done it together - they work together like clockwork.  When it becomes apparent that they will succeed in their brash boast, a large crowd of local people turn out to watch.

For what is the semicolon [;] used?

There are several uses for semicolons that are called such
since they are composed of one-half of a colon and a comma.  A semicolon is stronger
than a comma, but not as forceful as a
colon.

1.  Use a semicolon between
independent clauses that are closely related in though and that are not joined by a
coordinating conjunction. (Using a semicolon in this way makes a stronger
statement since the second clause is equal to the first in emphasis without a
conjunction)

e.g. We left at sunrise; we stopped at
sunset.  [NOTE:  Be careful to use the semicolon in this case.  Using a comma is a
serious error in writing courses--called a comma
splice]

2.  Use a semicolon
between independent clauses joined by a conjunctive adverb or a transitional
expression.

e.g.  The snowfall made
traveling difficult; nevertheless, we arrived home safely.  (See the first site below
for more conjunctive adverbs)

e.g. Dennis plays baseball
well; in fact, he would like to try out for the college's team. (See the second site
below for more transitional words and
phrases)

3.  Use a semicolon between items in
a series if the items contain commas.

e.g. 
The club's pesident has appointed the following people to chair the standing
committees:  Thomas Payne, planning;  Rebecca Washington, membership;  Quincy Adams,
financial; and Anne Wright, legal.

4.  A
semicolon (rather than a comma) may be needed before a coordinating conjunction to join
independent clauses that contain
commas.

e.g.  I wanted to register for
biology, volleyball, and converstional Spanish; but only calculus, golf, and
intermediate French were available during late
registration.

Always remember that the purpose of any
punctuation is clarity.  So when commas will not separate ideas or lists sufficiently,
use the semicolon.

In Animal Farm, what does the alteration of the first commandment mean?

The First Commandment reads, "Whatever goes on two legs is the enemy."  At the end of the novel, the pigs begin walking on two legs.  Therefore the commandment must be changed in their favour. 

In the course of the novel, the commandments are amended to and changed without the consent of the populace.  Generally, an animal will go to the barn wall to check what the commandment says and find it altered.  This shows that someone (the pigs) are in power and that they have the power to change what was once considered by the whole of the Animal Farm to be unalterable and agreed upon by all.

At the end of the novel, only one commandment is there and it says, "All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others."  At the end of the day, all animals are equal but the pigs are 'more' equal.  This is the best example of 'double speak' available.  The less intelligent animals will not think to question this idea.  But in effect, in equality is inequality and the animals are in the same state as they were with Mr. Jones.  The pigs are the new aristocracy.