How do the farmers try to discredit what is happening in Animal Farm?

Although the farmers of the surrounding farms were
"thoroughly frightened by the rebellion on Animal Farm," they tried to put up a brave
front. Jones complained about the injustice of the animals taking over his property, but
the other farmers "pretended to laugh" about the idea of animals successfully running a
farm. They claimed the rebellion would be over shortly, and that the animals were
feuding among themselves and starving to death. After a time, when they saw that the
farm was flourishing, they talked about the "terrible wickedness" going on
there--cannibalism, torture and rape. The whole rebellion was "against the laws of
Nature."

What is the name of the street in front of the Beje in The Hiding Place?

The street in front of the Beje is called the
Barteljorisstraat.

The Barteljorisstraat is located in the
"crowded center of old Haarlem. The street is lined with shops which, in addition to the
ten Booms' watch shop, include an optician's office, a dress shop, a baker, and a
furrier company. There is also a second watch shop on the street, run by Mr. and Mrs.
Kan. The buildings on the Barteljorisstraat are for the most part a few stories high and
built closely together. The Beje itself is typical, having three stories, and being two
rooms deep and only one room wide. At the same time, the Beje is also unique because,
"at some unknown point in its long history," it had been joined with the "even thinner,
steeper house in back of it." The two dwellings are connected by a narrow corkscrew
staircase, and the result is quite a labyrinthine affair, perfect for the construction
of a secret hiding place.

The Beje has a front door that
opens onto the Barteljorisstraat. The customers' part of the shop is at the front of the
building on the ground floor, and from the window hundreds of clocks can be seen. The
Beje also has a side door that opens onto a tiny alleyway; this is the door that the
family uses to enter and exit the house.

Although there are
windows in the various rooms of the Beje, it is difficult to see the sky from them,
because the surrounding buildings are packed so closely together. The windows for the
most part open onto brick walls, the backs of adjacent buildings, but if one looks
straight up, "above the crazy roofs and crooked chimneys," a "square of pale pearl sky"
can be seen (Chapter 1).

What is a fundamental symbol in "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson?

The black box is indeed the main symbol.  It represents tradition.  The villagers are not sure about the box's history.  They recall a chant and a certain handshake that used to go with it.  Indeed the original box is tattered and worn, barely  holding together.  They did make some modifications, replacing wood chips with slips of paper as the villages population grew.  The only thing they are really certain about is the use of rocks.

The Lottery, like the box, is shrouded in mystery.  No one really knows why they conduct it (other than Old Man Warner making a reference to it having to do with good corn crops in June).  They just follow along because it has always been done. 

There has been talk of getting rid of the lottery, indeed some towns already have, and there seems to be some talk among the young people of junking the lottery.  In this way the lottery is like the box.  It is barely clinging together.  But just as the villagers pull the box out once a year and go through the proceedings, observing what ceremonies and protocols they remember, they still obediently observe the lottery.

What is revealed when Buck licks Thornton's hand in "The Call of the Wild"?

Buck has gone through a horrible series of events by the time he ends up with Thornton.  He has had masters that he could trust, and he has had ones that were horrible beyond belief.  When Thornton arrived on the scene and saved Buck from being beaten to death by the woman, her husband, and her brother, Buck realizes that he has "landed on his feet," so to speak.  When Buck licks Thornton's hand, he is letting him know (and us, the readers) that he trusts him and believes in him, and even that he will lay his life down to defend him.

Check the links below for more information on these characters!  Good luck!

What is the importance of the reference of Jephthah?

The reference to Jephthah in "Hamlet" is by Hamlet to Polonius. In this scene hamlet is outwitting Polonius using many literary illusions, this one being biblical.

In the bible Jephthah prays for the help of god to win in battle, and in return, he offers the first person to walk through his door as a sacrifice. He believed that most likely it would be a servant... However, it turned out to be his virginal daughter.  Jephthah's daughter sacrifices herself, telling her father that she will honour his promise to god, and dedicates her life to work in the temple. 

Jephthah did not want to sacrifice something of actual value, like his daughter. Polonius is self seeking at best, wanting his daughter for what he can use her for. He was happy to have her engaged to Prince hamlet, but happier still to have her used to test whether or not he was mad. 

Ophelia ends up making the sacrifice of her own love by testing Hamlet, in the "get thee to a nunnery" scene, causing her to go mad, and ultimately kill herself. 

To call Polonius Jephthah is to insult his integrity, as well as foreshadowing his own lack of heirs, as Ophelia dies childless, and Laertes also in the final scene.

What is the thesis of "The Story of an Hour"?

Being a fictional short story, there isn't an actual thesis in the work.  If I were going to choose one sentence that emphasizes the meaning of the story it would be the very last sentence.  

When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease--of joy that kills.

This sentence points to the irony in the story.  We as readers know that Mrs. Mallard didn't die joyfully, but rather at the shock and disappointment that her husband was still alive.

If you are looking for a thesis, as in the main point, of the story, it would be that women are oppressed in marriage relationships.  In most of her works, Chopin was concerned about showing the role of women in society and in marriages.

Describe Elie as the story begin (12 years old). What are some things that change him? How was he different at the end of the story?

At the beginning of the book Elie is a unique boy who is hungry for his religion. He desires to learn everything and his goal in life is to be a master of Kabbalah. He spends is time deep in study, even his free time. He seeks the truth and is a very philosophical young man.

The whole experience in the concentration camp during WWII changes him. He loses his innocence, his family, and his faith inside the camps because he cannot understand why God would allow such awful and horrific things to happen to people who have devoted their lives to Him.

At the end of the book Elie is grown, yet he is not very old. The experience has aged him considerably beyond his years. He spent the remainder of his life studying human nature and basic human rights and informing people about his experiences and those of others he knew with the hope that nothing like the Holocaust of WWII would ever happen again. While some of his life was still devoted to religious study- the question still remains of whether he ever found his faith again after his experience.

See the link below for more information on Elie Wiesel