What are some allusions in As I Lay Dying?

Anis a
term used by literary critics to describe an author referring to elements from literature, the
arts, history, or popular culture within a text. Another term sometimes used to describe this
phenomenon is "intertextuality". Such references have two purposes. The first is
specificity. The word "Penelope" conjures up a more specific and vivid image than
"loyal wife". The second is compactness. A reference to Sisyphus conveys a painful,
dull, endlessly repeated task in a single word.

There are two main classes of
allusions used by Faulkner in his novel , those to the Bible and to
classical literature and mythology, both of which would have been very familiar to his original
readers. 

A typical example is Peabody describing Addie's "love that
passeth understanding" for Jewel, a phrase the echoes the Biblical description of Jesus'
love for humanity and is commonly...

How does Napoleon show his disapproval of Snowball's plan to build the windmill in Animal Farm?

I assume that
you are talking about what happens in .  In general,disapproves of everything thatdoes.  He
shows his disapproval in various ways.  But the most surprising way in which he does this comes
when he looks at the blueprints of the windmill.  What he does to show his disapproval is to
lift his leg and urinate on the plans.

Up until that point, Napoleon had just
talked about how Snowball's plans were dumb.  He had never actually looked at them.  But this
time, he looks at them and urinates on them, which I suppose is a pretty effective way of
showing disapproval.

How does the writing style convey the character's struggle to come to terms with what his grandfather said to him and his future in general?...

The writing style of
Ellison's story "" (from the novel ) is one of the frame story.
The narrator is telling about the advice his grandfather gave to his father (the narrator's
father) about life.

The grandfather's advice is to never give up his fight.
Based upon this, the...

According to the mother, how did Dee react when their first house burnt?

According to Mama, Dee was almost joyful when
their first house burned to the ground. She describes having seen Maggie looking terrified as
thecame upon the family, with her dress falling off her body in little ashy flakes. By contrast,
Mama wondered why Dee did not simply dance around the burned remains of the house. It seemed to
Mama that Dee was glad to see the house burning. She had, according to Mama, "hated"
the house entirely, such that when it was burning down, she was standing there and looking at it
as if she was delighted to see it go. This is clearly a significant cause of emotional conflict
for Mama, who recognizes that Maggie, the child with whom she identifies more, was appropriately
devastated at the loss of the house, whereas Dee, who does not identify herself with her family,
behaved as if she were glad to see the house go.

`y = (cos(x))^x` Use logarithmic differentiation to find the derivative of the function.

Differentiate
`y=(cos(x))^x ` :

Take the natural logarithm of both sides:

`lny=ln(cos(x))^x `

Use the power property of logarithms:

`lny=xln(cos(x)) `

Differentiate; use the product rule on the
RHS:

` (dy)/(dx)(1/y)=ln(cos(x))+x(-sin(x))/(cos(x)) `

`y'=y(ln(cos(x))-xtan(x)) `

Substituting for y we get:

` y'=(cos(x))^x(ln(cos(x))-xtan(x)) `

What is the significance of the title in "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place"? Why is a clean place that is well-lighted important? What does it symbolize?

The famous
short story "" bytells of an old man who sits late at a cafe drinking brandy and the
two waiters who serve him. One of the waiters is young and impatient to get home to his wife.
The other waiter is older and sympathizes with the old man in his loneliness. The story is told
in Hemingway's minimalist style, in which much is implied but not directly stated. We don't know
the names of the characters, for instance, or their backgrounds.

Some clues
throughout the story help us understand the significance of the title. In the beginning, when
the waiters are talking together, we learn that the old man tried to kill himself in despair.
When one waiter asks why, the other says it was over nothing. Later, after the old man has left,
the older waiter parodies the "Our Father" prayer by substituting "nothing"
for most of the words.

The old man once had a wife but doesn't have one
anymore. Apart from his loneliness, he probably feels useless, and...

What are the features of Buddhism that fit with our modern scientific outlook? What are the features that are not consistent with contemporary...

Historically and presently, much has been said and is continually said about the relationship
between science and religion. Depending on who, what, and when you ask, science and religion can
be said to be completely in harmony or entirely at odds. Regarding the internationally dominant
Abrahamic religions of Christianity and Islam, the conflict is driven by the way in which
knowledge can be discovered. In Christianity and Islam, knowledge relies upon authority.
Scripture, tradition, and the...

href="https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/27043-if-scientific-analysis-were-conclusively-to-demonstrate-certain-claims-in">https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/27043-if-scientific-anal...

Explain the dark meaning and implications of winston Smith's final words: "He loved Big Brother......"

I would
think that there can be many approaches to taking this particular phrase and its meaning in the
work.  The idea of Smith's "love" towards Big Brother is quite the opposite.  It
simply means that he has stopped resisting the government.  Throughout the novel, Smith's
development as a...

In Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, what is an example of repetition? What is its effect?

There are
many examples of repetition in Martin Luther King Junior's "I Have a Dream" speech.
The repetition serves as emphasis. Since the speech was given orally, the repetition also helps
the audience comprehend his points. It is often more difficult to just hear information than it
is to read or have visual aids, so the repetition helps the audience track with the speech and
King's tenets. In the example below, King repeats the phrase "one hundred years later"
three times. This serves to highlight the fact that it has been a century since Lincoln signed
the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the slaves, yet black people were still in a type of
bondage. 

But one hundred years
later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years
later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of
segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years
later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean
of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still
languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so
we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

Perhaps the most famous example of repetition in this speech is the phrase, "I
have a dream." King repeats this phrase as he develops an idea of what his dream entails.
It becomes a type of anthem as he paints a picture of a country in which there is unity and
equality among races. 

I have
a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the
heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of
freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four
little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of
their skin but by the content of their character.

I have
a dream today!

Another noteworthy example of repetition in this speech is the repeated phrase
"let freedom ring." This phrase is repeated 10 times and is a rallying cry. He uses it
to proclaim that freedom, as it is expressed in the song "My Country 'Tis of Thee,"
will only be fully realized when there is equality among all races of people. So he repeats the
phrase and calls out many different locations in the country. The locations he mentions span the
whole country and creates a cry for unification.  

 

In Paulo Choelho's The Alchemist, why did the alchemist leave Santiago alone at the end to complete his journey?

With
regard to Paulo Choelho's novel, , my first reaction is that at the end,
Santiago must go on in order to fulfill his Personal Legendas as it is
hisand he must do it alone: it is his journey of
self-discovery.

Santiago has realized the connection he has to God, and the
powerful miracles he can perform because he is one with God. However, he must travel to the
Pyramids, which has been his goal all along, because of his dreams.

However,
when he arrives,...

At the end of Romeo and Juliet, the Prince says some should be pardoned and some punished. Who should be punished and why? "A glooming peace this...

does not
say some should be pardoned and some punished; he says, "Some shall be
pardoned and some punished." This is an important distinction. Should
implies a moral imperative; shall simply asserts what will happen in the
future. The Prince does not issue a sentence against any of the parties. After hearing the
situation from , he absolves him of any guilt in the matter by saying, "We still have known
thee for a holy man." With that, he moves on to question 's attendant, , and County 's
Page. Since Paris was murdered by Romeo, no one can be punished for that crime. Sinceeach
committed suicide, no one can be punished by law for their deaths.

The Prince
then calls forth Montague and Capulet, "these enemies." He says, "See what a
scourge is laid upon your hate." He means that the punishment for their feud lies before
them in the form of their dead children. But he doesn't stop there. He notes that he didn't do
enough to correct the ongoing hostility between the two clans, and thus he is also responsible.
For that, he has "lost a brace of kinsmen." He declares, "All are punished."
The "all" referred to includes the extended families of the Montagues and Capulets as
well as himself.

The Prince pardons Friar Lawrence for his role in the
deaths. He does not intend to punish anyone. The deaths that have already occurred are
punishment enough for the Montagues, the Capulets, and the Prince. Readers and/or viewers of the
play must decide if they agree with the Prince's verdict. Many might believe that Friar Lawrence
showed a distinct lack of wisdom in how he counseled the two infatuated lovers. Yet how does a
Prince punish such a "crime"? The natural consequences that will flow in terms of his
own remorse and his reputation will be severe. Capulet was verbally abusive toward , which isn't
a crime the governmentthen or nowpunishes. The natural consequence for treating her that way was
losing her. The "crimes" committed by those who are still alive at the end of the play
are not the types of crimes that can be punished by government, but, as the Prince declares,
"all are punished."

In the context of the Civil War, what is the definition of "the union?"

When
discussing the United States during the 1860s, "the Union" refers quite simply to the
federal government and the northern states that remained together in the face of southern
separatism.  The use of the "union" by the federal government -- in opposition to the
"confederacy" of the South --...

Can I have a detailed analysis of the poem ''Come Sleep!'' by Sir Philip Sidney in terms of language, style, tone, imagery, and themes?

The sonnet begins with an invocation to sleep, which is personified and given an
extravagant set of titles, beginning with those that emphasize the restorative qualities of
sleep and continuing to include its levelling effect. In sleep, the prisoner may be free and the
poor man rich; it equalizes the high and low.

The second quatrain becomes
more personal. The poet asks, in an alliterative line, for sleep's protection from the
"darts despair at me doth throw." The reference to "civil wars" in the next
line makes it clear that the poet seeks respite from internal as well as external
conflict.

Although this is an English sonnet (consisting of four quatrains
and a, rather than the Italian form of an octave and a sestet), there is something of a turn in
the third quatrain as the poet seeks suitable gifts to tempt sleep. The best gift he can
imagine, however, is reserved for the final couplet: It is the image of Stella in his dreams,
suggesting that the poet, as well as being weary,...

In "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor, does the grandmother remain a static character or does she in any way change as the story goes...

O'Connor
was a Roman Catholic whose writing was deeply influenced by her Christian theology. In
"," the difficult, annoying, manipulative grandmother, as unlikely a character as any
to have the experience, undergoes a transformation that leads her to a state of grace at the end
of the story.

The grandmother is aware that the Misfit and his gang have
just killed her son, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren. She is desperately using the
currency important in her worldmoney and statusto try to persuade the Misfit not to kill her.
She appeals to him as "good man," saying that a man like him wouldn't hurt a lady like
her. None of these appeals reaches him in the least. However, when the Misfit puts on her dead
son's shirt, the grandmother has a moment of extraordinary grace in which he seems to her no
different from her son, and she reaches towards him with genuine compassion and love. In
that...

Wednesday 26 January 2011

How is fear used as a motivator in "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" by Jonathan Edwards?

"" byis what is sometimes called a
"hellfire and brimstone" type of sermon. The main purpose of the sermon is to persuade
sinners in the congregation to renounce their sins and reconcile themselves with God and
neighbor. Rather than motivating his congregation by describing the joys of Heaven, or evoking
the sacrifice of Jesus, Edwards tries to frighten them by vividly evoking the horrors and
torments of Hell.

Edwards evokes the precariousness of the sinner's situation
first by theof a person walking on a steep slippery slope alongside an abyss. At any moment, the
sinner can lose his or her footing, and once the sinner slips, fall is inevitable. The second
dramatic image is that of the sinner dangling like a disgusting spider over a burning pit,
depending only on a thin thread to avoid immolation. In both cases, the image evokes not just
the torment of Hell, but the precariousness of the sinner's situation and the utter dependence
of humanity on God for salvation. 

What happens in Canto XIV of Dante's Inferno?

XIV

Before Dante and Virgil take leave of the Florentine who has committed
suicide and, as punishment, has been transformed into a thorny bush, Dante takes pity on the
shade. He gathers up all the broken branches he is able to find and gently places them back on
the tangle of twigs.

As they walk, the poets begin to see the forest
thinning. Here, there is no foliage of any kind. Planes of sand stretch out before them. The
sand is unbearably hot. Dante peers closer and see hundreds of naked, condemned souls writhing
and crying out in misery. He notices that those able to move about somewhat are less vocal than
those buried in its depths:

...naked souls beheld I many
herds,

Who all were weeping very miserably,

And over them
seemed set a law diverse.

Supine upon the ground some folk were
lying;

And some were sitting all drawn up together,

And
others went about continually.

Those who were going round were far the
more,

And those were less who lay down to their torment,

But had their tongues more loosed to lamentation.

Dante looks up and notices that not only does the burning ground torment the sinners,
but so too do flakes of fire falling from the sky. The glowing ash sears whatever flesh is
exposed. Those who are able to move can periodically avoid the falling flames, but those trapped
in the sand, many buried from the waist down, suffer the ignition of the sand around them the
flakes land. They frantically try to beat out the fire, and to Dante, it looks like a macabre
dance.

Watching their horror, Dante notices one shade in particular. His eye
is drawn to the enormous physical size of the former man as well as the giants loud complaints
against God. Dante asks Virgil who the shade had been in life, but before Virgil can reply, the
giant himself responds, but not with his name. Rather, he continues his vocal denouncement of
God (whom he calls Jove) and, despite his predicament, claims that God will never will never
be able to take revenge against him. The giant is committing the worst sin€¦ blasphemy. He
shouts to the travelers:

"Such as I was living, am I,
dead.

If Jove should weary out his smith, from whom

He
seized in anger the sharp thunderbolt,

Wherewith upon the last day I was
smitten,

And if he wearied out by turns the others

In
Mongibello at the swarthy forge,

Vociferating, 'Help, good Vulcan,
help!'

Even as he did there at the fight of Phlegra,

And
shot his bolts at me with all his might,

He would not have thereby a joyous
vengeance."

Virgil knows who this blasphemous shade
is. The mans name is Capaneus; he had been one of the seven kings who fought against Thebes. The
poets leave the howling giant and walk on; Virgil tells his charge to stay as close as possible
to the outer edge of the sand, which is cooler.

The come to a small stream
which is red with blood.It reminds Dante of a hot spring in Florencecalled the Bulicame, in
which the local prostitutes bathed. Virgil tells him his stream is an offshoot the Phlegethon,
the large river of blood that they crossed in Circle Six, just on the other side of the City of
Dis.

Virgil, at Dantes request, tells him more about the creation of the
river. The origins of the rivers of Hell come from a weeping statue in the Crete.It faces Rome
and its back is toward Egypt. The left leg is constructed of gold and silver, while the right
leg is constructed of clay, each leg, perhaps, representing the strength of Rome and the decline
of the Church, respectively. The entire statue is covered in cracks, from which leaks spring.
The mysterious tearseventually seep through the earth and form the four rivers of Hell:the
Acheron, the Styx, the Phlegethon, and the Cocytus.

Dante recalls a fifth
river, the Lethe, and asks Virgil why he has not mentioned its presence in Hell. Virgil replies
that the Lethe flows not in Hell proper, but in Purgatory, the plane that exists between Heaven
and Hell. Lethe means forgetfulness. After having their sins purged in Purgatory, the sinners
memories are wiped clean of their past transgressions so that they can enter Heaven with
joy.

The poets move on, deeper into this torturous
circle.

To what extent are we as readers asked to agree with the devil's speech about being "the nature of mankind"?

In the story,
Hawthorne presents sin as part of human nature, no one escapes it, not the minister, not the
high members of society, and even not his wife Faith, whose very name symbolizes the absence of
evil. TO that extent, I think Hawthorne has a really strong view in the isolation of human
spirit, shown by the way Brown ends up.I think that Hawthorne wants the reader to believe in the
devil's speech.

Name three characteristics that make walden by Henry David Thoreau an example of romantic escapism

The idea of
Romantic Escapism was really a reaction to the industrialized city life that became prevalent in
American culture in the early to mid 1800s.  The Romantics believed that in order for man to
truly transcend everyday experiences to and live the true meaning and purpose of life.  In order
to put his ideas into action, Thoreau goes into the woods, literally, toPond, to live for two
years and two months to experience a simple, streamlined life that will hopefully lead him to
life's true meaning. 

The first characteristic of...

Tuesday 25 January 2011

Why do some teachers suffer from a "lack of confidence"in themselves? Why do some teachers suffer from a "lack of confidence"in themselves?

Teachers in
my experience have had one of two issues: classroom management, and administrative management.
Having a struggling student is troubling, and when that student sees the only positive attention
coming his way is from other students when he misbehaves, he will misbehave without regard to
consequences. Often the student does not even see consequences as bad! We are always taught
about ways to deal with the struggling student, and many of us find ways to do this. It often
takes a great deal of effort, and those of us that succeed should be praised! However, for many
other teachers, the constant demand for help and attention required by multiple students exceeds
what that teacher is able to give, and that, for sure, will be a hit to confidence.

The other realm is a surefire confidence-killer. If the administration of a school is
incompetent, inexperienced, or makes self-serving decisions, the powerless teacher will
certainly be affected by being put in a position of quitting (and not being able to find a job
for some time AND having to deal with a negative reference) or just doing as told and feeling no
different than a teenager at McDonalds being told to man the fry machine. Having leaders is
necessary to keep cohesiveness at work and keeping everyone accountable. However, when you have
a principal who has no experience in your area telling you you're teaching incorrectly, it can
get annoying very quickly. The confidence-killer comes when you realize this person is your
boss, can tell you what to do regardless of whether or not a decision is right or informed, and
makes more than you will as long as you remain a teacher.

Granted, in Texas
(where I taught) there are no unions..and I did teach at a charter school. Maybe I brought the
administrative problems on myself! ;-)

Monday 24 January 2011

When writing a modern Sonnet is it acceptable to separate the 3 quatrains with white space?

Yes!  Sonnets have one of the most prescribed structures of all types of poetry.  Defined,
sonnets contain 14 lines of iambic pentameter and follow one of two schools which differ
slightly in rhyme scheme:  ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG or ABAB BCBC CDCD EE.  Of the two schools, the
first given style traditionally reflects three different views on a particular...

Sunday 23 January 2011

How did the boy build the crystal merchant's business?

Santiago
soon discovers that the crystal merchant isn't much of a go-getter when it comes to running his
business. The crystal shop is doing well, but Santiago realizes that it could be so much more
successful if only the crystal merchant would take some risks and show a little more imagination
in promoting his business. But the crystal merchant's risk averse; he's firmly stuck in his
comfort zone and doesn't want to step outside. This is a man who's unwilling to follow his
Personal Legend; he wants to make the pilgrimage to Mecca but isn't prepared to do anything
about it. So it's hardly surprising that he needs a bit of a shove from Santiago to make his
business run more effectively.

Santiago comes up with the idea of promoting
the crystal merchant's business by building a display case outside the shop; he thinks it will
attract more customers. The crystal merchant was always reluctant to do this as he was worried
that people might bump into a display case and smash his precious wares. But Santiago's idea is
a winner, and soon more customers are beating a path to the crystal shop. In addition, Santiago
comes up with the idea of diversifying the business by selling tea. This also proves to be a
highly successful move, and it isn't very long before Santiago has raised enough money to return
to Tarifa and buy himself a large flock of sheep.

Why did think the Amistad case carry so much weight in America at this time? This question relates to the Amistad case from the movie and in general....

The
Amistad mutiny carried particular weight for at least a few reasons.  First, there was existing
tension around the issue of slavery in the United States because the Abolitionist Movement had
already begun.  Second, John Quincy Adams lent his name and his support to the cause of the
Africans, generating a great deal more publicity than they might otherwise have...

Saturday 22 January 2011

What are some quotes from a Christmas Carol that describe Ebenezer Scrooge's physical appearance?

At the
beginning of the story, in Stave I, we get a physical description intermingled with a
description of his personality. 

"The cold within him
froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, shrivelled his cheek, stiffened his gait; made
his eyes red, his thin lips blue; and spoke out shrewdly in his grating voice. A frosty rime was
on his head, and on his eyebrows, and his wiry chin" (Stave I).

So, he has thin lips, has a grating voice, and a wiry chin. We also
know he is an old man because a few lines later it says that "Old Scrooge" would sit
in his counting house. He is also the uncle of an adult man, Fred, so we know he is older in
years. Other than this, we do not have a lot in the text that physically describes the current
Scrooge.

The original story came with illustrations, so we know a lot from
those. They show an old, white, shriveled and wrinkled man in his bed clothes, a night cap and
slippers. He looks skinny and a bit short. He is mostly balding, but what hair he has left is
white. 

Friday 21 January 2011

Is Fear Stronger Than Love in Rappaccini's Daughter? At the end of Hawthorne's Rappaccini's Daughter, Beatrice says that she would rather have been...

I would
suggest that leaders have been debating this question since the beginning of time, but most seem
to have determined that fear is a better motivator than love.  In everyday life, fear and love
are intricately linked.  When we love someone, we are afraid to lose them.

What are some quotes from Lord of the Flies that show power and leadership?

1. At
the beginning of chapter 5,demonstrates his leadership skills by holding an assembly to address
the fact that necessary tasks are not being completed. Ralph reveals his authority and power by
telling the group,

We need an assembly. Not for fun. Not
for laughing and falling off the log...not for making jokes, or for...for cleverness. Not for
these things. But to put things straight...I've been alone. By myself I went, thinking what's
what. I know what we need. An assembly to put things straight. And first of all, I'm
speaking.(Golding 60)

Ralph's opening statements are
clear, direct, and effectively convey his purpose for holding the assembly.
Unfortunately,interrupts the assembly and the hunters leave the meeting without being
excused.

2. In chapter 9, Jack holds a feast and Ralph, , andare in
attendance. Jack reveals his leadership and power by telling the boys,

How did Greece's geography influence the development of city-states, and their way of life?

The
Greek city-states, most famously Athens and Sparta, developed as individual
polis instead of organizing into a centralized empire like rival neighbors
Persia. A large reason for this political organization is geography.

The
terrain in Greece is very mountainous, which makes it notoriously difficult for a centralized
government to govern. The Inca, for example, was able to do this by instituting many social and
political policies designed to control the people. For Greece, it was easier to stay as
individual city-states that engaged in trade and would come to each other's aid in times of
crisis.

Another reason we see city-states in Greece is its location in the
Mediterranean. Other civilizations at the time were set up on rivers, such as Persia on the
Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Greek city-states did not have to worry about organizing over river
systems and teaming up to work agricultural...

Thursday 20 January 2011

what is art installation? what is art installation?

As has been pointed out,
we are talking about two things here:

• art called
  "installation art" or called an "art installation"
• the
  act of installing or putting in/up art

The act of installing art
doesn't need much explanation. Works of art referred to as "installation pieces" are
usually works that do not hang on walls and are not traditional statues, as described by posts
3, 4, and 6.

What objects from the society and temporal setting of Romeo and Juliet would you put in a time capsule?

The first
thing I would put in the time capsule would be the vial from whichdrank the sleeping potion.
 She was still clutching this in her hand whenfound her.

I would also include
Romeo's dagger.   both used this...

What ideas does Orwell develop in 1984 regarding the nature of reality?

When
controversial author and essayistfirst published the dystopian classic ,
some critics superficially read into it a thinly-veiled denunciation of Stalin's totalitarian
Soviet state. But it was much more than that. In fact, the USSR was a pretty fair simulacrum of
the novel's nightmare state of Oceania, a state which was the ideological realization of
's basic question - whether truth exists. , the novel's , is a realist as far as the truth is
concerned. He believes that truth is objective, external to the thinking subject, the human
person. The freedom and dignity of the person lies in the capacity to recognize and act upon
objective truth. It is for this 'thoughtcrime' that Winston is hunted down and remodeled by the
Party in the bowels of the state's torture chamber, the Ministry of Love. It is there that , the
Party's spokesman, articulates in a remarkable 'debate' the orthodox take on the nature of
reality: Truth is not external. Reality only exists in the mind, and as the Party exercises
absolute control over the minds of the citizens of Oceania, the Party controls truth. O'Brien
provides a horrifying illustration of this when he maintains
simultaneously the primitive view that the stars are bits of fire easily
reachable by men, and the scientific one, that they are suns countless light years away. The
point being made is that reality is infinitely tractile to the power of the Party. As O'Brien,
the philosophical idealist, exultantly maintains in the face of the weakening counter-arguments
of Winston Smith, the realist, the only objective of the state -- no longer chained to the
outmoded vision of improving humanity -- is the everlasting increase in
power.

What is a rhetorical analysis of the lion similes in book 4 of the Odyssey?

Extended similes are an important feature of
the Homeric style, as are epithets applied to people and places. Odysseus has several epithets,
but in book 4 of the Odyssey, Penelope twice refers to him as
"lion-hearted," connecting him with the lion metaphors which explicitly refer to both
of them.

The first and longestcomes from Menelaus, who refers contemptuously
and angrily to the cowardice of the suitors and says,

Even
as when in the thicket-lair of a mighty lion a hind has laid to sleep her new-born suckling
fawns, and roams over the mountain slopes and grassy vales seeking pasture, and then the lion
comes to his lair and upon the two lets loose a cruel doom, so will Odysseus let loose a cruel
doom upon these men (A.T. Murray translation).

The
comparison between Odysseus and the lion is heightened by the suitors becoming new-born fawnsthe
weakest and most helpless of creatureswho would not stand the slightest chance of escaping from
the lion, let alone facing it in a fight. The repetition of the phrase "let loose a cruel
doom" suggests that the two situations, in reality very different, are exactly
parallel.

Later in the same book, when Penelope is pondering her fate, she is
described directly by the poet as a lion surrounded by men:

And even as a lion is seized with fear and broods amid a throng of men, when they draw
their crafty ring about him, so was she pondering when sweet sleep came upon her.

This obviously links Penelope with Odysseus, though she is in some
danger, as is a lion surrounded by men. The contrast is still to the suitors' discredit, as she,
a woman, is still a regal lion compared with them and is to be matched with another lion, not
with a man.

Wednesday 19 January 2011

In "The Stranger," how and why is Meursault condemned?

Meursault, after all, did kill another man.
His best defense would be that he acted in self-defense, but the text makes it sound like
deliberate and possibly premeditated murder. Camus was opposed to capital punishment, and his
novel seems intended more to show that capital punishment is absurd than that the legal system
is absurd. If he had written a story about an innocent man who gets sentenced to death through
circumstantial evidential or some other mistake, that would make us feel more sympathetic
towards Meursault. But it is clear that he didn't have to kill the Arab, and it is also clear
that he is lacking in normal human feelings for whatever reason. He not only seems indifferent
to killing another human being, but he seems indifferent to his own fate, thereby creating a bad
impression throughout his trial. The best that can be said for him is that he is honest. He
resembles Bartleby in Herman Melville's "Batleby the Scrivener."

What kinds of conflicts did Frederick Douglass face?

Rumored to
have a white father and orphaned at a young age by the death of his mother, whom he hardly knew
because she lived on another plantation and could only visit him at night, the childhad no one
to protect him. As a consequence, he suffered in many cases.

Here are some of
the conflicts Douglass experienced:

When he was small, Douglass lived on the
Lloyd plantation, where his tasks included herding the milk cows in the evening and finding the
birds that his young master, Daniel Lloyd, had shot. He suffered no hunger, but he was often
very cold; he was provided only a long linen shirt to wear. He had no socks or shoes, no
trousers or any other clothing.

I used to steal a bag
which was used for carrying corn to the mill. I would crawl into this bag, and there sleep on
the cold, damp, clay floor, with my head in and feet out. My feet have been so cracked with the
frost that the pen with which I am writing might be laid in the gashes.

When Douglass was sent to Maryland...

Should the term 'postcolonial' be challenged? Do you think postcolonial reinforces the dividing force of east and west as binary opposites?

As long
as it retains its explanatory power, i.e. as long as the legacies of colonialism persist, I
think the term postcolonial will remain in use. I understand the backlash against it, but in
certain contexts, it continues to make sense. Some other...

What does Mr. Hooper do when the Reverend Mr. Clark tries to remove his veil?

Late in
his life, Father Hooper has become something of a celebrity within the religious community as a
powerful and effective minister, but also for his peculiar black veil and the rumors that
surround it. As he is on his death bed, the Reverend Mr. Clark is summoned to give him his last
rites. As Father Hooper seems to be on the verge of death, Mr. Clark suggests that Father Hooper
should remove his veil and lift the cloud of mystery and suspicion that has surrounded his life.
As Mr. Clark bends forward to lift the veil, Father Hooper lifts both his hands and holds
tightly to the corners of his veil and exclaims that he will never remove his veil. Mr. Clark
then inquires as to what horrible sin Father Hooper has committed that he refuses to remove the
veil. As he is expiring Father Hooper replies:

Why do you
tremble at me alone?...I look around me, and, lo! on every visage a Black Veil!

Father Hooper leaves his final companions with the same horror and
dread which he caused in life and is ultimately buried the way he lived, with his face covered
in a black veil.  Hooper's black veil conceals the reality of his existence, sealing him off
from others around him. Hooper's unwillingness to remove this veil demonstrates our inability as
humans to communicate the true nature of our existence with one another and ultimately suggests
that we all live among others but truly in solitude.

Tuesday 18 January 2011

How does marketing impact consumer behaviour? Why might understanding the role of marketing be important to people/you as a consumer?

If a
marketer is doing his or her job right, then marketing impacts consumer behavior by encouraging
spending and swaying consumers' choices towards a particular brand. Marketing is actually a lot
less important to consumers than one might think. By listening to marketing messages, the
consumer has simply been persuaded, and not necessarily on the grounds of superior quality of
the product.

Let's say for example a consumer was looking to buy a pair of
running shoes. Thanks to Nike's ever-pervasive marketing strategies, just about everyone has
heard the phrase "Just Do It". You may be in the shoe store looking at a pair of Nikes
and a pair of similar, but far more affordable shoes. Thanks to Nike's marketing, you are likely
to have a strong perception that Nike is a top quality brand, and choose to spend more money on
buying the Nikes, even if the other shoes were actually more comfortable when you tried them on.
By understanding the principles of marketing, you can avoid falling into this
trap.

Monday 17 January 2011

Explain how The Great Gatsby is a book about the American Dream.

One of
the predominantFitzgerald explores throughout his classic novel concerns
the American dream. The American dream is the commonly held belief that citizens from humble
beginnings can climb the social ladder and amass wealth through hard work and determination.
Amassing wealth and becoming a member of the upper class are the primary goals of the American
dream. The narrator of the story initially strives to attain the American dream by moving to the
East Coast and entering the bond business, while theof the story, , embodies the American dream.
Jay Gatsby grew up poor in North Dakota before participating in World War I and transforming his
identity. Gatsby then metand amassed his wealth in the illegal bootlegging industry.

Outwardly, Gatsby is a success story and has managed to attain the American Dream. His
lavish lifestyle and fabulous mansion in the West Egg are evidence of his success. However,
Fitzgerald critiques the American dream by portraying Gatsby as an unfulfilled man whose wealth
and status are not enough to win the true object of his affection, . In addition to the fact
that Gatsby's wealth does not make him happy, he was also forced to compromise his morals in
order to attain the American dream.

Through his portrayal of Gatsby's
unfulfilled dreams, lavish parties, and the reckless lifestyle of wealthy citizens like the
Buchanans, Fitzgerald depicts the decline of the American dream, which has become corrupted by
an unrestrained desire for wealth and pleasure. By the end of the summer,moves back home and no
longer wishes to amass wealth or live in opulence, which reflects Fitzgerald's views regarding
the decay of social and moral values during the 1920s.

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Sunday 16 January 2011

Compare and contrast Ralph and Jack's different leadership styles up to chapter 5 and how it leads to conflict in Lord of the Flies.

learns that he is not a perfect leader early on and surrounds himself with a handful of trusted
advisors whose opinions he considers when making decisions. He realizes that he isn't as smart
asand values the quiet wisdom of . He doesn't rush to decisions and tries to consider the needs
of the entire group when making decisions. He sees the way the group is breaking apart, failing
to work together to provide adequate shelter and using the restroom all over the island, and
realizes that this will lead to their downfall if those current trends continue. Ralph's
insights grow with time, and the incident with the boat which appears when they have let the
fire go out reminds him of the hierarchy of needs on the island. He thus adjusts for his lapses
in focus and brings the group back together to restructure them.

In
contrast,has a singular focus: hunting. He doesn't seek the advice of others and is mostly
concerned with having a solid following. He lives in the needs of...

What are two metaphors in "The Fish" that contribute to the explication of the poem?

Described
with astounding deatail, 's "tremendous fish" may well be a Northern Pike (also known
as Pike-perch) who has been most likely been caught with steel leaders and treble hooks that yet
hand from his old lip after he managed to break the lines.  In the description of this brown
fish who is so old that barnacles have grown on him, the poet employs several figures of speech,
among them similes and metaphors and synedoche.

Two metaphors that are
essential to understanding the poem...

What does Holden say about his mother and father in The Catcher in the Rye?

Caulfield describes his mother as a hysterical woman who is extremely anxious and nervous all
the time. She is still struggling to heal from the tragic death of her youngest son, , and
Holden sympathizes with her. He also says that feels bad for his mother after he drops out of
Pencey and roams the lonely streets of New York City by himself.

Holden is
not particularly close to his mother, which is revealed by the fact that she did not know that
he wanted racing skates for Christmas or that he was infatuated with . He also mentions that his
mother is a chain smoker and stays up smoking in the middle of the night. He says that his
mother has a good sense of fashion and dresseswell. She is also a concerned parent who would cry
and beg Holden to come back home if he ever ran away.

Holden describes his
father as a touchy individual who wishes that he would attend Yale or Princeton later in life.
Holden also mentions that his father is a wealthy, successful...

Saturday 15 January 2011

What is the outcome of Victor's criminal trial? What evidence is provided to prove this?

's
is a classic gothic novel. In this story,createsand lives his life trying
to defeat his own creation.

Victor is accused of the murder of his friend .
Henry, a kind soul, is not interested in science unlike his friend Victor. The monster is
Henry's murderer and kills him by strangling him.

Victor Frankenstein is
arrested for Henry's murder and is put in jail for several months. While he is in jail, he
suffers from a serious illness. During the trial, Victor receives help fromwho brings
Frankenstein's father to support him. Victor is eventually acquitted of the crime. Victor is
found innocent because he was not in the same place at the same time the crime was
committed.

Throughout this novel, Frankenstein learns that his actions have
serious consequences and that attempting to create a new race of humans affects many people, and
in fact, results in several murders.

Why did social reform and social control often intermingle in the Progressive Era? can such objectives be separate? Why did social reform and social...

Social reform is a
type of control.The Progressives believed that people needed to be told how to behave, because
they would not do it on their own.Thus control and reform are interrelated.The reforms were
intended to control.Temperance is a great example.]]>

In "A Good Man is Hard to Find," why does O'Connor present us with such an unflattering portrait of the grandmother?

O'Connor
presents a deeply unflattering portrait of the grandmother in order to give her revelation and
redemptive act at the end of the story even greater gravity and meaning.

In
the grandmother, O'Connor creates a character that we sympathize with but do not necessarily
"like." She is racially bigoted and pretentious. She is nagging and annoying, and her
family barely tolerates her. When she meets the Misfit, her initial response is to pathetically
beg for her life and then try to flatter him. She tells him that she knows he wouldn't hurt an
old lady, that he doesn't look "the least bit common," that he must come from
"good people." At the same time, it is impossible not to sympathize with her
predicament: she is a deeply flawed but authentically human person who finds herself in a dire
situation in which the only way out seems to be death.

The juxtaposition of
the Misfit's character with the grandmother's is, of course, central to the story. The Misfit
steals and murders, but is honest, reflective, and non-hypocritical.  The grandmother is
ostensibly a "good" person, but she lies to her family, holds herself above others,
and for most of the story is not even a little self-aware. It would be tempting to morally
equate the grandmother with the Misfit, and to say that she is just as "bad" as he is,
albeit for different reasons. However, to do this would be to miss the point of the
story. 

At length, it becomes clear that the Misfit is not going to let the
grandmother live, despite her most earnest pleas and entreaties. Suddenly, the grandmother's
"head [clears] for an instant" and she finally recognizes the Misfit's humanity. They
both belong to the same human family, and if not for the accident of circumstance, he might well
have been "one of [her] own children." The notions of faith and spirituality that she
had been merely babbling about while begging for her life now take on an authentic meaning. She
and the Misfit are united not by some sense of shared "evil," but by a shared
humanity, and she understands the moral obligation she has to the man who is about to take her
life. Thus, even though she does not begin the story this way, the grandmother dies a good
person - a beatific smile on her face just above the bullet holes the Misfit puts in her
chest. 

What social and political attitudes or traditions does Jane Austen wish to change in Emma?

's politics
are highly contested (was she high Tory or secret radical sympathizer: see Marilyn Butler on
Austen as Tory and the new book by Helena Kelly: Jane Austen: The Secret
Radical for Austen as subversive.) While her politics may be ambiguous, we can locate
places in the social order that Austen critiques
in . 

Austen's text builds sympathy for the plight of
poorer gentry women. While Miss Bates is seen through Emma's eyes as ridiculous, we as readers
are also shown a woman trying to survive in reduced circumstances who has been rendered
ridiculous by a society that looks down on older, poorer, unmarried women (incidentally, Austen
herself a single woman, would have been about Miss Bates's age at the time she
wrote Emma.) In having Mr. Knightley scold Emma, and in having Emma herself
recognize and repent of her cruelty in making a rude comment to Miss Bates at Box Hill, Austen
critiques the casual verbal savagery that can make life a misery for women on the social
periphery. Her novel at least suggests changes in attitudes and practices.

In
making Jane Fairfax a sympathetic character, which she is even as we see her refracted through
Emma's eyes, Austen again critiques a society that doesn't take care of poor gentry woman of
intelligence, beauty, talent, and grace. Jane's fate is to become a governess, a career which
entails social humiliation and which Jane equates to a form of slavery. Jane is
"saved" from governessing through marriage to frivolous Frank Churchill, but implicit
in the novel is the lack of choice for a talented woman like Jane.

Finally,
Austen critiques snobbery. Emma's snobbery in trying to prevent Harriet Smith from marrying the
farmer Robert Martin could have had dire consequences for Harriet, an illegitimate child with
little money, no connections, and few prospects. Luckily, it all works out for Harriet, but the
reader can easily see, if Emma cannot, how snobbery could have ruined Harriet's
prospects.

Comment on the shifts in the point of view in "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge."

You are right to
identify that Bierce uses narration in a very interesting way in this famous story. For example,
in section 3, the point of view shifts to the third-person-limited point of view seconds before
the actual death of Peyton Farquhar. This of course is appropriate given the way that this
section explores Farquhar's desperate flight of imagination. Such a detached perspective allows
the narrator to maintain a realistic stance, even as Farquhar's mind is obviously running away
from reality.

You might like to think how the story starts by being written
in the omniscient point of view. In addition, the beginning of the story is well known for the
way that it presents the opening scene almost as a film might present it:

A man stood upon a railroad bridge in northern Alabama, looking down
into the swift water twenty feet below. The man's hands were behind his back, the wrists bound
with a cord. A rope closely encircled his neck. It was attached toa stout cross-timber above his
ead, and the slack fell to the level of his knees. Some loose boards laid upon the sleepers
supporting the metals of the railway supplied a footing for him and his executioners--two
private soldiers of the Federal army, directed by a sergeant who in civil life may have been a
deputy sheriff.

Note the very visual nature of this
description and how the scene is set, introducing the main character and providing us with lots
of detail. Of course, as the story progresses, as previously noted, the point of view changes as
we zoom in on Peyton Farquhar, and his feelings and emotions, combining flashbacks that describe
how he managed to arrive in this situation with his own delusory flight of fancy before he
dies.

Friday 14 January 2011

Why is Chaucer called the "father of English poetry," in detail?

There
are several reasons why Chaucer is called the "father of English poetry." The first is
that histories of literature for many centuries had preferred, primarily for pedagogical
reasons, to create small canons of monumental poets rather than trying to teach a wider range of
poets. This was in part designed to create a shared cultural canon. More recent critics would
argue that there is no one "father" of English poetry but a cluster of
poets...

Thursday 13 January 2011

What is the impact of psychological maltreatment on the child, the family, and society?

Psychological abuse experienced during
childhood can shape one's entire life and can play a part in how one interacts with friends,
family, and society at large. Childhood psychological abuse from an adult in the child's life
can look like bullying, yelling, consistently criticizing/punishing, threatening, insulting,
withholding affection/love/support, rejecting who the child is (for being gay, as an example),
and exposing the child to consistent/constant family violence. The outcomes of this abuse for
the child can be that the child can be made to feel consistently rejected, misunderstood,
worthless, unloved, shutdown, and/or scared/anxious.

In a two-parent
household, it is not uncommon for one parent to be directly psychologically abusive while the
other remains complacent/distant in the face of the abuse. This can often result in a tension
between family members who deny that the abuse is happening/attempt to ignore it and those who
seek to call out the abuse.

Often, this abuse becomes internalized and the
chid grows up with low self-esteem/self-worth and difficulty sharing and showing affection.
Coping mechanisms such as heavy use of alcohol/drugs and self-harm as young adults and adults is
not uncommon for victims of childhood psychological abuse. As abuse is often cyclical unless a
person actively decides to break this cycle, there is often a chance that abusive behaviors
inflicted upon the person as a child will be enacted by the person as an adult. Thus, society at
large is affected as cycles of abuse are rarely interrupted and patterns continue
generationally.

What are some movies that have used the Pygmalion and Galatea theme?

Probably
the most popular movie with this theme is My Fair Lady, made in 1964.
It was directed by George Cukor and starred Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn. My Fair
Lady won eight Oscars, a real sweep for its year. If you have not ever seen it, you
probably should.  The music is wonderful and you would enjoy seeing how the themes of
are played out in Hollywood. This movie, based on the Broadway play of the
same name, is a direct steal from 's Pygmalion, but with music.  Another
movie that has similar themes is Educating Rita, made in 1983 and directed
by Lewis Gilbert.  The "professor" is played by Michael Caine and the "Liza"
character is played by Julie Waters. This movie was nominated for three Oscars, and it is a
movie worth watching.

How does Gillian Clarke use language effectively to create a melancholic mood, for example in "Lament"?

Aside from
vocabulary, which highlights melancholy words and depressive
phrases like,

• pulsing burden


• nest of sickness
• funeral silk


• shadow
• mortal stain
• closed border


• uniform of fire

Clarke also uses
repetition and unusual rhymes such
as:

• alliterative rhyme
• imperfect
  rhyme
• internal rhyme
• assonant and consonant
  rhyme

Clarke's vocabulary choices
(part of ) lend a dark shade of meaning that imbues the poem directly with
a melancholy mood. Repetition occurs at the head of each line
except for one that begins "in." The other lines all begin either "For" or
"the." This reoccurring monosyllabic pattern that is so bleak adds flow to the
melancholy mood. The use of unusual rhymes creates a feeling of
disharmony that further produces a mood of melancholy.

A good example of
alliterative rhyme is found in the five lines that end with
sickness/silk/sand/sea/stain. is the
matching of initial consonants in a set of words. It is also called head rhyme because the
initial consonant is the head of the word.

For her eggs
laid in their nest of sickness.
For the cormorant in his funeral silk,
the
veil of iridescence on the sand,
the shadow on the sea.
For the oceans lap
with its mortal stain.

Two good examples of
imperfect rhyme, which are both also
line-internal instead of line-end rhymes, are:

1. turtle with her pulsing burden, ...


2. For the oceans lap with its mortal stain. / ... the closed border.

In the first example, the internal
rhyme between turtle/burden is in one line, and the
rhyme is imperfect rhyme since it is only the vowel diphthong
"ur" that rhymes.

In the second, the internal
rhyme between mortal and line-end
border crosses lines; each word is in a separate line. It is
imperfect with the rhyme on "or." An internal
rhyme occurs within lines, whether randomly between lines or in a pattern in the
same line. An imperfect rhyme (also called slant rhyme) is an
approximate rhyme, rhyming only the vowels.

A good example of both
assonant and consonant rhyme is that between
sickness/silk. Here, the two consonant sounds "s" and
"k" rhyme for consonant rhyme, while the "i" vowels rhyme for assonant
rhyme. In addition, sickness/silk represents a semirhyme since one
has an extra syllable: "-ness."

How do you calculate coupon rate, coupon yield, and yield to maturity for a bond after a decline in interest rates to figure out thier new values. A...

The coupon
rate of a bond is fixed when the bond is issued. It does not change whether the prevailing
interest rate rises or falls.

The coupon yield of a bond is given as the
coupon amount divided by the price of the bond....

Discuss Nick Carraway's character. How reliable is he as a narrator? What aspects of his character make him an effective narrator? already answered

• is
  an unreliable narrator because he falls for 's desires instead of his own.


• retells the story from home
• uses the opportunity to construct
  himself
• contradictions make him an unfocused lens


• claims objectivity but uses judgmental lang
• distances himself as
  dispassionate observer (ch. 1)
• then virtually equates himself with Gatsby
  (ch. 2)

 

• Gatsby's desires are
  focused, specific =
• Nick is working through Gatsby's desires, not his
  own
• For Nick, relationships are too much trouble -- curb fantasies, resist
  all strong connections

 

• Nick's
  vulnerability
• always falls for Gatsby's lies, Gatsby's smile, Daisy's
  voice

]]>

Wednesday 12 January 2011

According to Guns, Germs, and Steel, what are the 6 characteristics of domesticated animals ? Guns, Germs and steel

In Chapter
9 of ,discusses the six main characteristics necessary for an animal to be
domesticated successfully.

1. Captive breeding: Some animals breed
   easily in captivity and others do not. For an animal to be domesticated, it must breed easily
   and readily in captivity without the need for artificial aids or inducements. While modern
   technology has contributed to the ability of zoos to breed rare and exotic animals, that
   technology did not exist when animals were first domesticated.
2. Quick
   Growth: To make raising animals for food productive, the animals must grow quickly so that their
   food value is worth the investment in feeding and care.
3. Docility: An
   animal must be fairly docile and easy to handle by humans and also avoid getting in fights with
   other animals to be domesticated easily. Animals which routinely attack their owners and
   herd-mates are hard to care for.
4. Social/herd structure: Animals that have
   social herd structures and shared territories in the wild are easier to manage than solitary
   animals.
5. Flexible and efficient diet: Domestic animals must have a
   flexible and efficient diet on which they can readily grow and thrive. Domestic food animals
   should be basically herbivorous so they can graze rather than requiring special
   diets.
6. Calm: Animals such as antelope which are prone to panic attacks
   escape or injure themselves and so make bad choices for domestication.

Sunday 9 January 2011

What are the symbols throughout the story of the black cat in Poe's "The Black Cat"? Also, how did Poe establish an atmosphere of fear and horror in...

Poe
establishes an of fear and horror in several different ways in
"." Firstly, the narrator, who is telling the story from the first person
point of view, describes himself as docile, humane and a lover of
pets. But this character ends up doing the most unimaginable things. He abuses, harms and kills
his favorite pet and later ends up killing his wife. Perhaps what is most horrific about the
story is the ease with which the narrator describes his deeds. 

The narrator
is frequently contradicting himself. He used to be docile but later turned murderous. He had
regret and even shame about harming his cat but later feels fine about having murdered his wife.
The fact that he can commit these dreadful deeds in cold-blood is very disturbing.

As for symbols, most readers agree that there are many
symbols associated with the two cats in the story. The first cat is
a completely black cat. In European history, black cats were thought to be unlikely, some even
thought that they were witches. In fact, the narrator mentions that his wife said the same about
the cat jokingly. This is an to the historical myth about black
cats. The narrator tries to give the impression that he is not superstitious and doesn't believe
these stories. But as he develops a progressively hateful attitude toward this cat that he once
loved, one wonders whether he truly believed the myth. (By the way, black cats are in fact lucky
as the gene that makes them all black [called melanism] also reduces their risk of disease. Cats
with melanin are the opposite of albino cats that are all white. The reason for their color is
the same, it has to do with the amount of melanin in their skin and hair).

The other symbolism about the first cat is his name,
Pluto. In Greek mythology, Pluto was the ruler of the dead and the underworld. So perhaps his
name was a premonition of his fate? Or perhaps his name convinced the narrator of his doubts
about the cat and whether the cat had something to do with witchcraft.

There
is also symbolism associated with the narrator's second cat, which
looked a lot like Pluto. He was black, except with a patch of white on his chest. Like Pluto, he
too was missing one eye. Although the narrator doesn't express it very directly, he seems to
dislike this cat in time because of his resemblance to Pluto. Maybe the narrator hated this cat
like he hated Pluto. Maybe he hated this cat because it reminded him of the terrible thing he
had done to Pluto (carved his eye out and later killed him by hanging him off a tree). The fact
that the narrator believes that the white patch on the cat is changing in appearance to look
like the gallows supports the narrator's growing guilt over his sin. 

The
narrator foreshadows various things in the story, such as that he
will be violent towards his wife. Seeing gallows in the cat's fur can be both about guilt and
also a foreshadow of the future that awaits him.

Some also associate the cats
with the narrator's wife. Like his wife, they are loving, nice animals. Despite the narrator's
alcohol abuse and ill treatment of his wife, his wife is patient and never complains. And his
wife is also fond of animals and especially loves the cats.

We must also
mention that the narrator appears to be highly disillusioned. He develops a sudden and difficult
to understand dislike towards his pets. He had taken both cats willingly and had liked them in
the beginning. But he finds them fear inducing and horrific after some time. The narrator seems
to imply that it's because of his alcohol abuse. He increasingly finds some kind of meaning in
random things. He seems to be struggling with his understanding and perception of what is
happening. He tries to find logical explanations for incidents and even finds ways to excuse his
behavior. But it's obvious that he is walking on a thin line of madness.

Saturday 8 January 2011

In Fahrenheit 451, what is one of the three things Faber says is missing from society?

In part
two, Montag visits Faber's home in order to receive help comprehending the information he has
been reading. During his visit, Faber elaborates on the importance of literature to society.
Faber explains to Montag that there are three necessary elements missing from their dystopian
society. He tells Montag that their society is in desperate need of quality information. In the
dystopian nation, information has been diluted and watered down to the point that classic works
of literature no longer resemble themselves. The population consumes mindless entertainment and
intellectual pursuits are considered illegal. Without quality information, the population is
becoming increasingly ignorant, intolerant, and violent.

The second essential
element that society is missing is appropriate leisure time to digest quality information.
Montag's society is fast-paced and immediate. Citizens no longer have leisure time to enjoy and
analyze literature. Peacefully digesting quality information is an essential element to
cultivating a benevolent, intelligent society.

The third element that society
is missing concerns the right to carry out actions based on the first two essential elements.
This aspect is significant because it is the end result of studying and learning quality
information. Once a person attains quality information, digests and analyzes it, they are
influenced to alter their behavior and act upon what they've read. Literature inspires
individuals to view the world from different perspectives and act upon written ideas, which is
why the authoritative government has censored books.

How might the industrial revolution have affected William Blake's poem "The Tyger"?

In 's
poem "," Blake is criticizing the unnatural reality of industrialization. Blake sees
nature as a holy creation that is to be revered, while industrialization is a manmade horror.
Black asserts that no deity could possibly be responsible for creating something that stands in
such direct conflict with the natural world. This sentiment can be seen through Blake's
questioning:

Tyger Tyger, burning bright,

In the forests of the night;

What immortal hand or
eye,

Could frame thy fearful symmetry? (1€“4)

While many of his time were excited at the material and societal
changes that proceeded the industrial revolution, Blake understood the role this mode of
production would have on the natural world and human's relationship to nature. The industrial
revolution...

Friday 7 January 2011

How does one distinguish between artwork of the Northern and Italian Renaissance? Are there differences in the point of view?

The primary
difference between the two is that while the works of both contained religious themes, the
Italian Renaissance was more devoted to classical Greco-Roman overtones. The Northern
Renaissance had a much more pronounced religous element. Among the famous art works of the
Northern Renaissance were Albrecht Durer's Praying Hands, Jan Van Eck's
Virgin Mary and Child, and Jerome Bosch's Death and the
Miser. All are distinctly religious, but none have the Greco-Roman themes of works of
the...

href="http://www.historydoctor.net/Advanced%20Placement%20European%20History/Notes/social_change_at_the_time_of_the_Renaissance_and_Northern_Renaissance.htm">http://www.historydoctor.net/Advanced%20Placement%20Europ...
href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Renaissance">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Renaissance
href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Renaissance">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Renaissance

Wednesday 5 January 2011

Why is Evelines job at the Stores mentioned? James Joyce's "Eveline"

In the notes
that are attached to each of the stories, the Stores connotes the shop in which she works.  And,
there was  a Quaker family named Pin who owned a general dry goods store in Great George's
Street South in south-central Dublin, which was termed their 'Stores.'

's job
is mentioned because at it she obtains no respect either as she has a boss, Miss Gavan who would
be glad if Eveline quit.  "She had always had an edge on her, especially whenever there
were people listening.

Because she is afforded to little respect at work,
there are corollaries with her home live, being subservient both at work and at
home.

What are the symbols of the short story "The Stolen Party" by Liliana Heker?

Below, I
provide further information about the monkey and the magician as symbols in the story.

The text tells us that the magician calls the monkey his "partner." During
shows, the magician addresses the monkey respectfully; when the animal becomes distracted, he
draws him back with kind words and reminders. However, the magician's apparently high regard for
the monkey is belied by the fact that he keeps the latter in a cage prior to
performances.

The magician symbolizes the facade that polite society shows
the world. Personal biases may percolate below the surface, but they are always hidden by
carefully scripted behavior. Meanwhile, the monkey represents those who are dependent on their
betters for their livelihood.

In the story, Senora Ines is like the
magician. She must use deception (or flattery) to draw Rosaura's attention away from the truth
of the situation: Rosaura is merely the hired help at the party. She is not on the same
"level" as the other child guests. This is why Senora...

What are the tensions between Blanche and Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire?

Blanche
somewhat unwisely shows a general disdain for Stanley from the moment they meet. As a
working-class man, Stanley is "beneath" her, with her ideas, real or imagined, about
her gentrified origins and the beloved estate Belle Reve, from the loss of which she has had to
take refuge in New Orleans. So, this class conflict issue is at least initially the main source
of tension between them. Stanley realizes Blanche looks down on him, and this spurs him on to
express his own disdain for her pretensions and to show her up as a phony, which she
unfortunately is to a large degree.

Probably, however, this problem would not
have sustained itself if it weren't for the (at first only) latent sexual tension between them.
Blanche and Stanley could presumably have just ignored each other. A perhaps rather too
obvious interpretation of Blanche's attitude (and one that smacks of sexism) is that
she is attracted to Stanley because of his crudeness rather than in spite of it. In any event,
the encounter that eventually occurs between them is violently nonconsensual. Yet part of what
drives Blanche is her sense of guilt about the suicide of her previous boyfriend. Her own
possibility of happiness with Mitch is ruined by Stanley, but again, if Blanche had kept clear
of Stanley and bothered with him as little as possible, Stanley would probably have never
"investigated" her and revealed the "incriminating" information to Mitch.
And Stanley's motivation is not only to destroy her relationship to Mitch; he obviously desires
Blanche himself, and this culminates in rape.

The tension between Stanley and
Blanche is arguably one representing a kind of death wish on Blanche's part. The appearance of
the Mexican woman with her refrain of "flowers for the dead" is aof the catastrophe
that will be brought upon Blanche by Stanley. And her descent into "madness" and being
institutionalized is symbolic, finally, of this "death" in the tragic
conclusion.

Tuesday 4 January 2011

Please paraphrase the ballad/poem "Edward, Edward."

This
poem, written down by an anonymous poet and almost certainly a traditional folk song, describes
a conversation between a boy and his mother.

In the first stanza, the mother
asks her son, Edward, why his sword is dripping with blood and why he is sad. The boy says it is
because he has killed his good hawk and he does not have another one.

In the
second stanza, the mother says the blood of the hawk was never as red as thissuggesting, really,
that there is too much blood to have come only from a hawk. The boy agrees and says that he has
also killed his "red roan steed," his horse.

In the next stanza,
the mother says that this cannot be the whole reason her son is sad, because the horse was old
and they have others. The boy admits that he has actually also killed his father.

In the next stanza, the mother asks Edward what penance he will face for having killed
his father, to which Edward replies that he will get into a boat and sail off to see.

The mother then asks what Edward plans to...

Monday 3 January 2011

What are the similarities and differences between Tybalt and Mercutio? What are the Similarities and Differences between Tybalt and Mercutio in...

• In
  ,andare both hotheads.  They instigate the violence in Act III that leads
  to 's revenge and exile.
• Both characters are passionate defenders.
   Mercutio defends the critics, those who rail against.  Tybalt only defends his
  family.
• Both characters die in Act III, a turning point in thethat sets up
  the tragic action for Romeo andin Act V.
• Mercutio is an
  archetypal Agroikoi, a sub-eiron,
  a Critic of Tragic action who resists tragic
  movement; . As a foil for Romeo, he refuses both love and hate,
  adopting a cynical middle course.  By contrast, Tybalt is all hate, melodramatic, overserious.
   He is an archetypal villain, a warrior with no ideals.  He is the emblem of family allegiance.
  
• Mercutio's death is the primary foreshadower.  Before his death, he curses
  both houses.  As such, he serves as a kind of oracle.  Tybalt's death is all action, no
  commentary.

]]>

Is "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" a feminist work??

It would be
difficult to define "Good Man is Hard to Find" as a feminist work. First, the central
female character, the Grandmother, is not a feminist figure. She continually defines herself as
a "lady" throughout the story, an anti-feminist term that implies that she is more
delicate than a man. She wears a navy blue straw sailor's hat with a sprig of white violets
pinned to it and lace around her collar and cuffs to signal "at once" that she is a
lady. In fact, she uses the idea that women need to be protected as the weaker sex as a defense
when she realizes the Misfit is about to kill her, saying "You wouldn't shoot a lady, would
you?" Then, as if to reinforce the message, she takes out a "clean handkerchief"
(what a proper lady would carry) to wipe her eyes.

Second, O'Connor defined
herself, first and foremost as a Roman Catholic, and in a 1963 essay, stated that her
"assumptions" in this story "are those of the central Christian mysteries."
The Grandmother's gender is secondary to the point O'Connor is trying to make: that God's grace
is available to everyone, male or female.

It's important to note that a work
of literature can transcend or jump beyond an author's intention, but in this case, the story
does not head in a feminist direction.

What are elements of Dark Romanticism in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"?

's
"" exhibits the following elements of Dark Romanticism:

• Idealization of rural life and of the wilderness
• Interest in the
  supernatural
• Conflicts between good and evil
• Dark
  irrational side of nature

While "The Legend of Sleepy
Hollow" has these elements of the darker side of Romanticism, they are employed with humor
andas Irving pokes fun of these conventions, especially the supernatural.

• Idealization of rural life and the wilderness

In theof
his story, Irving as narrator describes the marvelous setting on the eastern shore of the Hudson
River as a quiet village near a little valley among high hills with a small brook. However, he
uses some adjectives ironically as they suggest that the place is not as idealistic as initially
described. For example, Irving writes of the "listless repose of the place" and the
"peculiar character of its inhabitants." Then again, Irving returns to
praise: 

I mention this peaceful spot with all
possible...

• • 
    

What is the irony in Macbeth's soliloquy in Act 3 Scene 1? "To be thus is nothing,But to be safely thus. Our fears in Banquo Stick deep, and in...

Theof 'sin Act
3, Scene 1, is that he has achieved his goal of becoming king, and now that he has the crown, he
receives no pleasure from it.begins his soliloquy by saying, "To be thus is nothing; But to
be safely thus." He's signaling here that rather than appreciate the crown, he is going to
worry about the events that might possibly be able to strip him of it. This line is also ironic
when one considers 's murder. He was king and unsafeand now that Macbeth is king, it is ironic
he has not considered he himself will be vulnerable, particularly in light of the fact that he
is the one who killed Duncan.

Macbeth killed Duncan in order to become king.
He ascends to the throne almost immediately after Duncan's death. Instead of focusing on running
the kingdom and gaining the loyalty of the thanes, he becomes paranoid that he will lose
everything he just gained. It is ironic that his life's ambition, once achieved, gives him no
pleasure.

Sunday 2 January 2011

In Gulliver's Travels, what are some of the problems Gulliver poses to the Lilliputians?

Gulliver is
a giant among the tiny Lilliputians. They initially see him as threat, so they tie him up and
shoot arrows at him (which have no effect). But even as he is integrated by the Lilliputians
into their society, his great size continues to cause problems. He has, for example, to
discreetly defecate only in the early morning so that there is time for two Lilliputian servants
to remove his excrement in wheelbarrows before members of the royal court come to visit him. He
needs a vast house by their standards, and providing him with a bed means sewing together six
hundred ordinary beds. Gulliver must also be fed, which requires a huge amount of food: the same
amount as consumed by 1724 Lilliputians.

Gulliver is a resource drain, but
the Lilliputians are not the type to give something for nothing. They use him to move large
stones for building, exact a promise that he will provide a survey of their lands, and expect
him to destroy the enemy fleet of the island of Blefuscu. The royal court also uses him for
entertainment.

Saturday 1 January 2011

Why wouldn't Madam speak to Isabel?

In the book
by , Isabel undergoes a lot of emotional distress that no
thirteen-year-old ought to ever go through. She loses her dad to a slave public sale, her mom
passes on, Madam Lockton sells her sister, Ruth, and she perseveres through physical and
psychological misery from her owner.

We get a clear perspective on Isabel's
strong commitment to Ruth upon their appearance in New York. At the point Ruth starts to chuckle
at Madam's fury over having her underclothes rummaged, Isabel bears the liability for the
chuckling and a crack over the face.

Isabel falls into despair. Her body is
wounded and wrecked, and her sister is no more. Isabel and Madam had an unpleasant association
before Madam sold Ruth. When Lady Seymour returns Isabel to the Lockton residence, Madam would
not talk to her, not to mention looking at her.

How does Tom Buchanan from "The Great Gatsby" represent the American Dream?

could be seen as a
representative of the American Dream because his life is, for many, the ultimate goal.  The
American Dream is typically thought of as the possibility that, in America, anyone can start
with nothing and, through their own hard hard work and perseverance, attain wealth and
prosperity.  Tom Buchanan is the pinnacle of wealth and prosperity; he has a lavish and elegant
estate in East Egg, a beautiful and fashionable wife, and a team of polo ponies.  Further, when
people dream bigwhen they imagine what they would like to have and what they would like to be in
their version of the American Dreamit could very likely be the success of someone like Tom that
they imagine.  Many people want all the things Tom has. People hope that achieving the American
Dream will result in achieving Tom's life. 

How do words and images make a poem interesting ?

A poet's choice of the
words which they use in their poetry is of theutmost importance. Poems, given that they are,
typically, much shorterthat other texts, need precise words in order for the poet to
conveymeaning. The words chosen are important based upon the fact that they are used to convey
certain images.

Images are used to elicit specific emotions and appeal to
specific senses in a reader. , therefore, is important if the reader is to be able to connect to
the poem. Imagery is used to appeal to the sense of sound, sight, touch, taste, and
smell.

The best poets choose words which allow readers to create a mental
picture. For example, in the poem "Eating a Mango Over the Kitchen Sink" (by Phebe
Hanson), all of the senses of the reader are appealed to.

But a mango is a different story, impossible to eat except leaning
over the
sink, tropical juice dripping down my pale Minnesota
winter wrists as I
gaze
out at snow raging against my windows, like the storms of my childhood.

Here, the poet's word choice greatly affects the imagery in the
poem. The senses of the reader are "attacked" on many different levels.

1. "Tropical juices dripping" appeals to both sight and sound. One can
"see" (either through a vivid mental picture or a memory) juice dripping down one's
chin. The juices then hit the sink face and make a sound--which appeals to sound.

This image can also appeal to the sense of taste. A person who has eaten a mango can
use the words of the poem to remember how the mango tasted.

One can also
imagine, regardless of experience with mangoes, the feeling of a fruit's juices dripping down
their hands or wrist.

2. The "snow raging against my window" does
limit some engagement by some readers. Not everyone is familiar with snow, let alone Minnesota
snow. This line (word choice) could alienate some readers given that they do not have experience
with which to relate it to. The word choice here could cause some readers to lose
interest.

The image of "storms of my childhood" works in the same
way. Some readers may not be able to relate to theof a bad childhood. Others may read the line
for face value and take the image literally--meaning actual storms during their
childhood.

Therefore, in the end, word choice has a great effect on the
imagery and the engagement of the reader.

What was the geography/environment of the area in which the author lived/wrote? such as mountains, hot/cold, near ocean, types of...

I'm not sure
if you wanted information on just the author or the location of the story, but your question
specifies the author, so I will stick to that...

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