How are Hareton and Heathcliff alike and different?

Heathcliff and Hareton are alike in many ways both in characteristics and circumstances.  Heathcliff had been a poor orphan brought into the Earnshaw household and at first treated like a son.  After the death of the father, Hindley began to treat Heathcliff as a servant, almost a slave.  In a similar manner, Hareton began life as the son and heir of the house, but when Heathcliff managed to basically steal the estate from Hindley, and Hindley died, Hareton became the servant, and almost slave.  Both Heathcliff and Hareton were raised with little or no education or training in social graces.  The difference between them is that Heathcliff allowed his circumstances to warp him, and grew up desiring little more than revenge.  Even his love for Catharine was somehow swathed in darkness and contributed to her death.  Hareton, although quick tempered, really has a good heart and a desire to improve himself.  He is able to rise above his circumstances and the marriage between him and Catherine closes the deadly cycle of revenge and brings healing to the families involved.  There love can be lived and enjoyed in a way that the tortured love of Heathcliff and Catherine could not be.

How does Shakespeare present Juliet and her realtionship with Lord Capulet in Act 3 scene 5 of 'Romeo & Juliet' ?For this question we are only...

In addition to the above answers I want to add that the whole Capulet family is very dysfunctional.  The Nurse has raised Juliet from day one to the point of being breast-fed by the Nurse.  Lady Capulet tries to talk to Juliet in Act One, Scene Three about how she feels about getting married and when she dismisses the Nurse, Juliet looks to her for guidance and not her mother and the Nurse is then asked to stay.

In Act Three, Scene Five, Lord Capulet says, "Wife, we scarce thought us blest that God had lent us but this only child; But now I see this one is one too much, And we have a curse in having her."  What kind of father calls his daughter, a curse, a good-for nothing person, and an anemic piece of dead flesh?  Lady Capulet goes along with whatever Lord Capulet says and does what she is told.  Back in this time all women married early and were expected to be at their husband's beck and call with no questioins asked.  Women were to feel privileged to have an arranged marriage in a noble family, love didn't really enter the picture.

Source:  The Language and Literature Book by McDougal Littell

In "The Cask of Amontillado," who might Montresor be confessing what he did to? This is an inference question.

 "The Cask of Amontillado" begins with Montresor addressing someone familiar, someone who knows the "nature of his soul."  Now, as to who that might be is anyone's guess.  My thought would be that after fifty years, the only person I would trust enough to tell a secret like this would be my husband or wife and/or possibly my children.  The only reason I would do it then would be to clear my conscience.  Another case scenario could be a direct descendant of Fortunato, which sort of invalidates the whole "nature of his soul" thing, but hey, we are inferring, right.  Suppose a direct descendant of Fortunato's visted upon Montresor's death bed, and in an attempt to gain a little further revenge, he spills this whole story to them.  That makes for an interesting spin on the story if you are guessing to whom the narrator is making his confession.  Hope this helps.  Brenda

Why does Vonnegut use an objective narrator who offers no interpretation of judgements about the story he tells?

The narrative point of view is a splendid example of form contributing to meaning.  By withholding judgment, the narrator participates in the plot of the story concerning people programmed not to think for themselves.  In this way, the author behind that narrative device, Vonnegut, encourages us the readers to make judgments, to participate in shaping the meaning of the story.

Is there any symbolism in Ellie Oscar's name in "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"

Although it is easy to discover that "Arnold Friend" can
be easily read as "An Old Friend" (that is, as a reference to the devil), "Ellie Oscar"
is a bit more difficult to analyze. There is not unified critical agreement in regards
to the meaning of this character's name, but we can be sure that Oates intended for the
name to be meaningful, because of the symbolic meaning found in the story's names,
number combinations, physical descriptions, etc. Here are some of the ways in which we
might interpret Ellie's name:

1. Ellie as "Ally." If Arnold
Friend is the Fiend, then Ellie is his ally, or
friend/sidekick.

2. Ellie as "Eli," which is a biblical
reference.

3. Ellie as short for "Elvis" -- this is
particularly interesting if we see the story as representative of a teenager's
experience with the dangers of adulthood. The pair are rock-and-roll personified.
Rock-and-roll can seem glamorous and fun, but can lead to dangerous
things.

In the novel Crime and Punishment, how is the pawnbroker's room similar to and different from Rodya's room?

Located upstairs in poor tenement buildings, both rooms are tiny,  have yellow wallpaper, and are furnished similarly, with a sofa and small table in front and a few chairs.  Rodya's room is arguably somewhat smaller.

There is a great difference between the ways the rooms present and are cared for.  The pawnbroker's exudes cleanliness, "both furniture and floors had been rubbed until they shone"    (Chapter 1).  When Rodya visits, the room is "brightly illuminated by the setting sun" (Chapter 1), and someone has attempted to make the room comfortable and inviting, adding geraniums, muslin curtains, and framed prints on the walls.

Rodya's room is discribed as being claustrophobic and dirty, with the "grimy...wallpaper everywhere coming off the walls" (Chapter 3).  The furniture is not in good condition, the sofa in rags, and the books on the table are covered in dust.

What was Tom Robinson's Life like? How old was he, how many kids did he have? Just stuff like that. Was it even mentioned in the book?

There is not much told to us in To Kill a Mockingbird about Tom Robinson's life. We know that he is a black man accused of raping a white woman, and that Atticus takes his case. We know that Helen Robinson is Tom's wife. The Robinsons seem to be upstanding citizens in their community in Maycomb. When the trial comes, we finally learn a little more about Tom Robinson. In chapter 19, Atticus brings to light more facts about Tom's life.

     Tom took the oath and stepped into the witness chair. Atticus very quickly induced to tell us (sitting in the courtroom):
     Tom was twenty-five years of age, he was married with three children; he had been in trouble with the law before; he once received thirty days for disorderly conduct.

Atticus goes on to tell us that Tom had severely damaged his left arm in a cotton gin as a child, and has no use of his arm to this day. This is a very important piece of information for the jury.