What are the elements of dark romanticism, implemented by the author, in "The Monkey's Paw"?

Dark romanticism was a literary offshoot of the 19th century philosophy of Transcendentalism. Dark romantics believed the Transcendentalism of Emerson and Thoreau was way too optimistic about life and the individual. Whereas Transcendentalism focuses on the divine spirit of the individual, dark romanticism allows for evil to be a disruptive force in a person's life. Dark romantic writers included elements of the supernatural into their fiction, including devils, ghosts, vampires and, in W.W. Jacobs' "The Monkey's Paw," an evil talisman. Dark romantic stories included supernatural elements, horror and madness. 

Dark romantics concentrated on human fallibility and the tendency toward sin. People are often tempted by the supernatural, just as Faust is tempted by the devil in Goethe's famous tale. In "The Monkey's Paw," the Whites, particularly Mr. White, is drawn to the paw. The Sergeant-Major has explicitly expressed the evil of the paw by telling the Whites that the first man had two wishes and with the third he wished for death. Despite the warnings, Mr. White takes the paw and makes his first wish. It seems like quite an innocuous request. He only wants a small amount of money to pay off his house. Of course, the paw is evil and the request will not come without horror.

The first bit of horror is described just before the end of Part I when Herbert is alone. He sees horrible images in the fire:

Herbert sat alone in the darkness, gazing at the dying fire, and seeing faces in it. The last face was so horrible and so simian that he gazed at it in amazement. It got so vivid that, with a little uneasy laugh, he felt on the table for a glass containing a little water to throw over it. His hand grasped the monkey's paw, and with a little shiver he wiped his hand on his coat and went up to bed.

The next day, Herbert ends up dead and Mr. White is presented with the money he had wished for. It is then that madness enters through the form of the overwhelming grief Mrs. White feels for the loss of her son. She pleads with her husband to "wish our boy alive again." Mr. White is afraid of what might happen if he makes such a wish. His son had been badly maimed in an accident and has been buried for ten days. He tells his wife,

"He has been dead ten days, and besides he—I would not tell you else, but—I could only recognize him by his clothing. If he was terrible for you to see then, how now?"

Nevertheless, Mr. White wishes Herbert alive again and Jacobs builds suspense as they wait for the hideous corpse to walk the two miles from the cemetery. When the knock at the door comes, Mr. White comes to his senses and despite the protestations of his wife, uses his last wish to get rid of the monster that was once his son.

Thus, the supernatural, elements of horror, and madness brought on by despair are chief aspects of Jacobs' macabre story. For these reasons it can be considered an example of dark romanticism.

Did Martin Luther King, Jr. or Malcom X have children, and were they friends?

Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X both had children.

King had four children with his wife, Coretta Scott King— Yolanda Denise, Martin Luther III, Dexter Scott, and Bernice Albertine. 

Malcolm X had six children with his wife, Betty Shabazz— Attallah, Qubilah, Ilyasah, Gamilah Lumumba, Malikah, and Malaak. 

Reverend King and Malcolm X only met on one occasion (March 26, 1964) and did not maintain a friendship. The two felt that while they had similar aspirations for racial equality, their methodologies almost entirely prevented them from working together. Leading up to the assassination of Malcolm X, the two were increasingly in contact and there may have been potential for King and Malcolm X to unite their religious and sociopolitical influences. Unfortunately, this potential was not realized in their lifetimes. 

As for whether the children of Reverend King and Malcolm X were friends, Yolanda King and Attallah Shabazz met for the first time in 1979 and went on to collaborate on a theatrical production. It is possible the other King and Shabazz children met or corresponded on some occasion, as their fathers both died fighting for civil rights, but there is nothing to suggest friendship between any of them.

What event occurred before Germany's surrender in 1945?

As complex as World War II is, you could fill volumes and volumes of books with this answer. There were a lot of things going on in the war on a number of different fronts. The war was fought in the air, on the ground, and over the seas in most corners of the world. The question also infers that you are looking for one single event. That also complicates the answer.

There are many...

As complex as World War II is, you could fill volumes and volumes of books with this answer. There were a lot of things going on in the war on a number of different fronts. The war was fought in the air, on the ground, and over the seas in most corners of the world. The question also infers that you are looking for one single event. That also complicates the answer.

There are many reasons that Germany lost World War II. Conventional wisdom suggests that the Battle of the Bulge in December of 1944 was the moment that ensured the Allies would win the contest. In a last ditch effort to break the American and British lines in the Ardennes Forest, Hitler gambled on a counterattack that would stop the Allied advance. The plan worked early on as the Germans created a "bulge" in the enemy lines. The Allies were caught by surprise at the beginning of the battle but soon recovered to push the Germans back. That was the last time the Americans and British would be slowed in their march towards Germany. At the same time, the Soviets were advancing from the East and the end was near for Hitler and the Nazis.

Who is the one friend who is too lazy and sleeps anywhere he gets a chance?

A case could be made for any one of the three friends – J., George, or Harris – to match this description. None of them seems to work much on this boat trip, or at least to contribute much to the benefit of the group. At times, any one of them can actually be a hindrance. (An example of this is when Harris tries to make breakfast in Chapter XI.) And yet, each man thinks...

A case could be made for any one of the three friends – J., George, or Harris – to match this description. None of them seems to work much on this boat trip, or at least to contribute much to the benefit of the group. At times, any one of them can actually be a hindrance. (An example of this is when Harris tries to make breakfast in Chapter XI.) And yet, each man thinks that he himself is doing more to advance the adventure than either one of the other two.

The answer to this question may lie in an exchange among the men in Chapter XV. George calls Harris and J. “a couple of lazy skulks.” Harris replies by asking, “Have you ever seen George work?” J. agrees that he never has. George retorts with an accusation of his own:

I’m blest if you haven’t been asleep half the time. Have you ever seen Harris fully awake, except at meal time?

J. agrees with George, that Harris sleeps a lot. Here may lie the answer to your question: Harris. After this point is made, however, both Harris and George quickly agree that they haven’t seen J. do anything worthwhile at all. The friends have been on the water for only a few days, and already they’re accusing one another of not pulling their fair weight in the matter.

Is God mentioned in the Constitution or Declaration of Independence? If so, in what ways and for what reason(s)?

God is mentioned a few times in the Declaration of Independence.  The "laws of nature and nature's God" gives Americans the right to independence.  This states that it's not just the Americans who desire independence, but it is the will of a logical God.  Many of the Founders (including Thomas Jefferson) took a Deist approach to God--he did not necessarily love Americans more, but he thought it proper that they should be free.  There is...

God is mentioned a few times in the Declaration of Independence.  The "laws of nature and nature's God" gives Americans the right to independence.  This states that it's not just the Americans who desire independence, but it is the will of a logical God.  Many of the Founders (including Thomas Jefferson) took a Deist approach to God--he did not necessarily love Americans more, but he thought it proper that they should be free.  There is the famous line "men are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights..." and once again, this calls George III's attention to the idea that the rights that the colonists want are God-given.  There is also a passage where Jefferson refers to the "Supreme Judge" of the world to rectify the colonial claims of injustice.  While several of the signers were Deists, religious feeling, especially in the Northeast was strong and the signers of the Declaration thought that by appealing to a higher power then they would not look like annoyed subjects but rather that they had a case for independence.  

The Constitution mentions "in the year of our Lord..." but that is a common thing in many secular documents even today.  There is also the First Amendment to consider where it says that Congress shall make no law respecting religion.  This was written in light of the religious plurality of the new nation, even back then.  Religious wars had long been an issue in Europe, and the Founding Fathers did not want anything close to an American state church or religion.  

Why is Tom Robinson a mockingbird?

Scout and Jem get air-rifles for Christmas in chapter 9. Then in chapter 10, Scout mentions that Atticus tells Jem the following one day:

"I'd rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you'll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird" (90).

Scout asks Miss Maudie about this and is told that mockingbirds are...

Scout and Jem get air-rifles for Christmas in chapter 9. Then in chapter 10, Scout mentions that Atticus tells Jem the following one day:

"I'd rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you'll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird" (90).

Scout asks Miss Maudie about this and is told that mockingbirds are not pests like bluejays are. Mockingbirds provide beautiful music for everyone to enjoy, in fact. Also, mockingbirds are innocent, vulnerable, and don't hurt anyone or anything; therefore, Maudie backs up what Atticus says. But there certainly is a symbolic and parallel meaning between mockingbirds and Tom Robinson. Tom is an innocent man with a wife and children; he goes to work faithfully each day; and he is kind enough to help out a young girl named Mayella Ewell a few times by chopping wood for her. As a result, he gets caught in her vixen trap as she tries to kiss him one day. Her father, Bob Ewell sees this and presses rape charges! Poor Tom is like a mockingbird because he never hurt anyone, yet he dies because of the discriminatory and racist social system in the South.

Why does an argon atom has 0 valency but an iron atom has two valency?

Valency is a measure of the combining capacity of an element. It is given in terms of the number of electrons an element is able to share or donate or accept to achieve a fully filled electronic orbital.

In case of argon, the atomic number is 18. It has an electronic configuration of `1s^2, 2s^2, 2p^6, 3s^2, 3p^6`. All the orbitals are fully filled and there is no need of any electron transfer or sharing....

Valency is a measure of the combining capacity of an element. It is given in terms of the number of electrons an element is able to share or donate or accept to achieve a fully filled electronic orbital.

In case of argon, the atomic number is 18. It has an electronic configuration of `1s^2, 2s^2, 2p^6, 3s^2, 3p^6`. All the orbitals are fully filled and there is no need of any electron transfer or sharing. Thus, argon has a valency of 0.

Iron, on the other hand, has an atomic number of 26 and an electronic configuration of `1s^2, 2s^2, 2p^6, 3s^2, 3p^6, 3d^6, 4s^2`. An iron atom can either lose 2 electrons from the 4s orbital or lose an additional electron from 3d orbital to achieve higher stability. Thus, it has variable valency (2 or 3), like the other transition elements. And that is why we have ferrous and ferric compounds.

Hope this helps. 

In To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout tells us that when Calpurnia stays overnight at the Finches', she sleeps on a cot in the kitchen. Why do you think...

Calpurnia’s cot is an example of how segregation extends into every corner of Maycomb, including the Finch house.

The Finches obviously have a spare bedroom.  Aunt Alexandra has to sleep somewhere when she comes to stay with them.  When Calpurnia stays at the house, she does not sleep in a spare bedroom.

When Calpurnia stayed overnight with us she slept on a folding cot in the kitchen; that morning it was covered with our Sunday...

Calpurnia’s cot is an example of how segregation extends into every corner of Maycomb, including the Finch house.

The Finches obviously have a spare bedroom.  Aunt Alexandra has to sleep somewhere when she comes to stay with them.  When Calpurnia stays at the house, she does not sleep in a spare bedroom.

When Calpurnia stayed overnight with us she slept on a folding cot in the kitchen; that morning it was covered with our Sunday habiliments. (Ch. 12)

Why does Calpurnia sleep in the kitchen?  She is black, and the Finch family is white.  As egalitarian as Atticus Finch is, he is probably not going to let a black woman sleep in a regular bedroom in his house.  It would attract attention.  After all, his sister Alexandra would probably have a fit about it.

Although Cal is treated well and almost as an equal by Atticus, she is not completely equal.  There is a great divide between Calpurnia’s personal life and her professional life as the Finch family housekeeper.  At the black church, Lula confronts Calpurnia for bringing her charges—her white charges.

“I wants to know why you bringin‘ white chillun to nigger church.”

“They’s my comp’ny,” said Calpurnia. Again I thought her voice strange: she was talking like the rest of them.

“Yeah, an‘ I reckon you’s comp’ny at the Finch house durin’ the week.” (Ch. 12)

Scout is surprised that Calpurnia's diction changes when she is at church.  She speaks like the rest of the white people at the Finches' house most of the time, but when she is among her fellow black community speaking like that would seem like putting on airs. 

Another example of this is when Scout asks to visit Calpurnia’s house.  Calpurnia is dismissive to her.  There is a segregation between blacks and whites in Maycomb, and it is very hard to break through.

Who is considered to be the main character in the short story "Everyday Use"?

Mama Johnson is the protagonist in Alice Walker's short story, "Everyday Use."  We can identify her as the main character because the story is told from her point of view, it follows her actions and thoughts as the events unfold, and she undergoes a pretty significant change by the end of the story. 

Mama's outlook on her daughter, Dee (now Wangero), changes dramatically throughout the course of the story.  At first, she longs for a...

Mama Johnson is the protagonist in Alice Walker's short story, "Everyday Use."  We can identify her as the main character because the story is told from her point of view, it follows her actions and thoughts as the events unfold, and she undergoes a pretty significant change by the end of the story. 

Mama's outlook on her daughter, Dee (now Wangero), changes dramatically throughout the course of the story.  At first, she longs for a talk-show style reunion with her somewhat-estranged daughter where Dee pins an orchid to her mother's breast and weeps with gratitude for her sacrifices.  She recognizes that Dee is too selfish and self-centered for there ever to be such a moment or for her ever to feel grateful. 

However, by the end, Mama truly understands the destruction that Dee causes when she sees the exchange of her two daughters over a set of old quilts.  The quilts have been promised to Maggie, for use in her home when she's married, and though Dee rejected them years ago, she now wants them because she is anxious to display them.  When she hears Maggie's offer to give up these quilts, quilts that she sincerely values for the right reasons, Mama says,

When I looked at her [...] something hit me in the top of my head and ran down to the soles of my feet.  Just like when I'm in church and the spirit of God touches me and I get happy and shout.  I did something I never done before: hugged Maggie to me, then dragged her on into the room, snatched the quilts out of Miss Wangero's hands and dumped them into Maggie's lap.

For the first time, she denies Dee something and puts Maggie first, even though -- or perhaps because -- Maggie never asks anything for herself.  This change, privileging Maggie's needs instead of Dee's, is new for Mama.  She rearranges the way she prioritizes her daughters, and in the end, she finds herself contented in a way that she never was when she put Dee's needs before her own and Maggie's.

What is an example of both end rhyme and internal rhyme in the poem?

Edgar Allan Poe uses both internal and external rhyming patterns in “The Raven.” In general, internal rhyme occurs when the middle word of a line rhymes with the ending word of the same line. Poe takes internal rhyme to another level by having it carry over two lines. He rhymes the middle word of the first line with the ending word, and the middle word in the next line.

Looking at line one of the poem, the reader sees an example of internal rhyme. The middle word dreary rhymes with the ending word weary.

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,

Lines 3 and 4 in the first stanza demonstrate Poe’s extension of the internal rhyming device. This is still considered to be internal rhyme because the rhyming word is within the second line, not at the end.

While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.

The words napping and tapping rhyme in the first line, while rhyming with rapping, which is the middle word of the second line.

External rhyme occurs at the end of lines. The final sound of the last word of a line rhymes with the final word of another line. Again, look at the first stanza.

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—         While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,    As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.       “’Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door—    Only this and nothing more.”

In lines 2, 3, 4, and 5, the rhyme occurs at the end of the lines with the words, lore, door, and more. This is an example of external rhyme. The rhyming pattern is labeled ABCBBB.

As you continue reading the poem, you will find other examples of both internal and external rhyming.

What would you consider to be the important elements or remarkable points in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart?

There are several important elements to keep in mind when approaching Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. First, it should be noted that the novel is among the most important postcolonial texts to come from Nigeria. Nigeria has a rich literary heritage that includes such artists as Chimamanda Adichie and Wole Soyinka, but Achebe is widely considered to be the father of the African novel. Things Fall Aparthas been hugely influential to subsequent writers...

There are several important elements to keep in mind when approaching Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. First, it should be noted that the novel is among the most important postcolonial texts to come from Nigeria. Nigeria has a rich literary heritage that includes such artists as Chimamanda Adichie and Wole Soyinka, but Achebe is widely considered to be the father of the African novel. Things Fall Apart has been hugely influential to subsequent writers who grapple with postcolonial issues.

Next, this text is notable because it is among the first to give Western readers a glimpse into the culture and traditions of Igbo tribes. Achebe depicts the customs and rituals of the Umuofian tribe with vivid detail. This kind of story stands in stark contrast to the Eurocentric tales found in the Western imagination. Achebe provides three-dimensional portrayals to distinctly Nigerian characters. These are characters that would traditionally be disregarded, marginalized, or else dehumanized in works by Western authors, much like they are in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and other such texts. Achebe presents an authentic Nigerian voice blended with elements of notable Greek tragedies to combat the reductive portrayals found throughout Western literature.

Finally, I find Achebe’s critique of violent masculinity to be a fascinating motif. Okonkwo prides himself on being masculine and eschewing all things that he associates with “femininity” and weakness. However, his rigidity and emphasis on violent manliness ultimately leads to his downfall. Achebe’s evaluation of masculinity is one of the most compelling aspects of the novel.

Achebe’s masterpiece continues to be an influential novel, and the reasons I have provided are just some of the aspects that have lead to the novel remaining an important landmark in the literary canon.

What does Romeo say about removing his name after the Nurse arrives?

In this scene, Juliet's nurse says that Juliet weeps, calls Romeo's name, then weeps more.  Romeo desperately replies, 

As if that name,

Shot from the deadly level of a gun,

Did murder her, as that name’s cursed hand

Murdered her kinsman. O, tell me, Friar, tell me,

In what vile part of this anatomy

Doth my name lodge? Tell me, that I may sack

The hateful mansion.  (3.3.102-108)

Romeo compares his name, Montague, to a...

In this scene, Juliet's nurse says that Juliet weeps, calls Romeo's name, then weeps more.  Romeo desperately replies, 

As if that name,

Shot from the deadly level of a gun,

Did murder her, as that name’s cursed hand

Murdered her kinsman. O, tell me, Friar, tell me,

In what vile part of this anatomy

Doth my name lodge? Tell me, that I may sack

The hateful mansion.  (3.3.102-108)

Romeo compares his name, Montague, to a bullet that kills Juliet just as he killed her cousin.  He asks Friar Lawrence to name the part of his physical body that confirms him as a Montague so he can cut that part out of his body.  Immediately after this declaration, he pulls out his dagger and makes as though he will do himself bodily harm until the friar stops him and calms him down.  Romeo hates his name because it caused the feud between him and Tybalt; if he were not a Montague, then Tybalt would have had no reason to hate him.  This is why Romeo wishes he could get rid of it.

What are some of the most significant passages of Gothic style in The Picture of Dorian Gray? I do not know what I am looking for.

In answering this question, you should look to find examples of Gothic motifs in the text. Examples of Gothic motifs include a scary or frightening atmosphere and references to the supernatural. By looking for evidence of these motifs, you will find the most significant examples of Gothic style in the novel.(You can find more examples of Gothic motifs in the reference link provided below.) 

Beginning with the first example, let's consider the creation of a...

In answering this question, you should look to find examples of Gothic motifs in the text. Examples of Gothic motifs include a scary or frightening atmosphere and references to the supernatural. By looking for evidence of these motifs, you will find the most significant examples of Gothic style in the novel.(You can find more examples of Gothic motifs in the reference link provided below.) 

Beginning with the first example, let's consider the creation of a scary atmosphere in The Picture of Dorian Gray. This is, perhaps, best shown in the opening of Chapter 16, when Dorian heads to the opium den:

"A cold rain began to fall, and the blurred street-lamps looked ghastly in the dripping mist. The public-houses were just closing...From some of the bars came the sound of horrible laughter. In others, drunkards brawled and screamed."

In creating this tense atmosphere, Wilde hints at the events which follow, specifically the attempted murder of Dorian Gray by James Vane.

Next, consider using a strong example from the text of the supernatural. Arguably, this comes first in Chapter 2 when Dorian sees his completed portrait for the first time. He is so overwhelmed by his own beauty that he says: "If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old!" This is followed by Dorian's assertion that he would sell his soul to the devil to make it so.

We do not realise the supernatural implication of this until Chapter 7 when Dorian notices that the portrait has changed: "The expression looked different. One would have said that there was a touch of cruelty in the mouth. It was certainly strange." 

This supernatural element, so characteristic of the Gothic style, now sets the scene for Dorian's fall from grace and, ultimately, his own suicide. 

In "The Scarlet Ibis," when the narrator says that Doodle is a "terrible liar," what does he really mean?

Doodle and his brother, who is never named, are the main characters in James Hurst's short story "The Scarlet Ibis." Almost everyone believes Doodle will die when he's a baby, but he survives and when he is five years old his brother teaches him to walk. They then spend much of their time out in nature, especially at Old Woman Swamp. It is during these excursions that the two tell wild tales. The brother, who...

Doodle and his brother, who is never named, are the main characters in James Hurst's short story "The Scarlet Ibis." Almost everyone believes Doodle will die when he's a baby, but he survives and when he is five years old his brother teaches him to walk. They then spend much of their time out in nature, especially at Old Woman Swamp. It is during these excursions that the two tell wild tales. The brother, who is the narrator of the story, calls them lies, but they are really just imaginative stories, the kind children invent all the time. 

The brother says that his "lies were scary" but that Doodle's "were twice as crazy." Doodle's stories are fantastical with colorful birds and flying people. The stories are symbolic of two things. First, because Doodle is crippled, they reveal his wish for unrestricted freedom of movement. Instead of being just able to walk, he wants to fly. Second, the story of the peacock foreshadows Doodle's death. Every night the bird figuratively swallows up Peter in a reference to death with terms such as "go-to-sleep" and "burying." Hurst writes,

When Peter was ready to go to sleep, the peacock spread his magnificent tail, enfolding the boy gently like a closing go-to-sleep flower, burying him in the glorious iridescent, rustling vortex.

The stories reveal that Doodle is a sensitive boy and that he has an extremely vivid imagination. 

Are great poets restricted to imagery?

While great poets tend to rely on imagery, which is concrete description using the five senses, and are often considered great because they use images in ways that stick with us, they are not restricted to using imagery.

Great poets often use techniques such as rhyming to help us remember a poem. Alliteration, or using the same consonant more than once in a line of poetry, is another common technique. The poet Gerard Manley Hopkins...

While great poets tend to rely on imagery, which is concrete description using the five senses, and are often considered great because they use images in ways that stick with us, they are not restricted to using imagery.

Great poets often use techniques such as rhyming to help us remember a poem. Alliteration, or using the same consonant more than once in a line of poetry, is another common technique. The poet Gerard Manley Hopkins uses this frequently, such as in his poem "God's Grandeur" in which the greatness of God is conveyed through lines such as "shining like shook foil," which stick in our minds because of the repeated "sh" sound.

Other great poets, such as TS Eliot, use more abstract images, which do not rely on the fives senses. In "Burnt Norton," for example, he writes of time present, time past and time future, depending on repetition of the abstract term time to build meaning. Likewise, poet James Emanuel calls jazz "a four letter word," saying it is sexy and cerebral. These are general, abstract terms that may evoke images but are not themselves specific, concrete images. 

Great poets tend to break rules and find new and creative ways to convey thoughts, and thus are not restricted to imagery. 

What are some of Juliet's qualities?

Juliet is incredibly brave.  She is willing to betroth herself and marry the son of her family's enemy, risking all their displeasure and anger.  She is willing to reject her parents' command that she marry the County Paris, despite the fact that her mother and father basically threaten to cast her out into the street if she disobeys them.  She is willing to take a terrifying drug that will make her seem dead, undergo her...

Juliet is incredibly brave.  She is willing to betroth herself and marry the son of her family's enemy, risking all their displeasure and anger.  She is willing to reject her parents' command that she marry the County Paris, despite the fact that her mother and father basically threaten to cast her out into the street if she disobeys them.  She is willing to take a terrifying drug that will make her seem dead, undergo her own funeral, and wake up in a tomb.  The fact that she's so brave at thirteen years old is pretty incredible.

Further, she really knows her own mind.  Once she determines what she wants, there is little (or nothing) that can dissuade her.  Not even her trusted nurse, who's really been more like a mother to her than her own mother has, can persuade Juliet to abandon the marriage to Romeo and try for happiness with the County Paris.  She's a very determined young woman, for sure.

How does Benedick's soliloquy show what kind of person he is in Much Ado About Nothing?

Benedick makes a very sexist speech, but he is not really as bad as he seems. He is just in love.

Benedick is in love with Beatrice (and she with him), but neither will admit it. He likes to play tough, making comments about how marriage is terrible and not for him.

That a woman conceived me, I thank her; that she
brought me up, I likewise give her most humble
thanks: but that I will have a recheat winded in my
forehead, or hang my bugle in an invisible baldrick,
all women shall pardon me. (Act 1, Scene 1)

Benedick sees Claudio, in love with Hero. He wants to disparage Claudio and the whole enterprise of pairing up. After all, according to Benedick, being in love just makes a man grumpy and all lovers are fools.

I do much wonder that one man, seeing how much
another man is a fool when he dedicates his
behaviors to love, will, after he hath laughed at
such shallow follies in others, become the argument
of his own scorn by failing in love: and such a man
is Claudio. (Act 2, Scene 3)

Benedick swears that he will not be a fool, and makes a silly list of the traits of his ideal woman. She needs to be rich, wise, and virtuous. She also has to be a conversationalist and play a musical instrument. He creates a perfect, unattainable woman.

It is easy to dismiss Benedick as a pig. However, his words are just a cover how he really feels. Benedick is not exactly a playboy. He has been hurt. He was in love with Beatrice before, but she, like him, has sworn off of love. Both of them are playing tough to cover for the fact that they are really interested in each other.

However, when Benedick is tricked into revealing his true feelings, it is different. Benedick thinks that Beatrice loves him, and he begins to express his real view of love. He may play a shallow playboy, but in reality Benedick wants the same things we all want. He wants someone to be with.

What are the different moods in the story "After Twenty Years"?

O. Henry's story "After Twenty Years" is a story shrouded with mystery and portents. Here are the moods of this narrative:

• Mysterious Mood

O. Henry describes his characters as only "the policeman" and "the man in the doorway." As the policeman speaks with the man who stands in the darkened doorway, the man lights his cigar. As he does so, he reveals a scar near his right eyebrow and a large diamond as a scarfpin. Then, he pulls out a watch set with small diamonds, suggesting a character who is flashy and proud of his wealth.
The policeman notices these things, but says little. He does ask the stranger if he has heard from his friend, as well as how long he will wait for his friend before he walks on down the street. 

• Portentous Mood

As the man in the doorway waits past the set time for his old friend to appear, he sees a tall man with his overcoat collar turned up hurrying across the street and heading toward him.
After they greet each other, the stranger remarks,

"You've changed lots, Jimmy. I never thought you were so tall by two or three inches."

"Oh, I grew a bit after I was twenty."

When the man asks Jimmy personal questions, the answers are rather vague. Then, they walk arm-in-arm up the street purportedly toward a restaurant. When they walk by a drug store where there are "brilliant electric lights," the man exclaims, "You're not Jimmy Wells." 

• Fateful Mood

The tall man responds to the other by saying,

You've been under arrest to ten minutes, "Silky Bob". . . here's a note I was asked to hand to you. . . It's from Patrolman Wells.

The policeman who talked to Bob in the doorway is his old friend. Because they are now on opposite sides of the law, Jimmy Wells has turned Bob in to the authorities. He just did not have the heart to arrest his old friend, so he sent a plainclothes officer.

What do you think about Ralph and the way he speaks and behaves at different times in Lord of the Flies? How does the novel's social, cultural, and...

Through actions and dialogue, Golding portrays Ralph as a typical British school boy in the post World War II era. Golding does not want to make Ralph seem too perfect, so he has Ralph say and do several things that show that he has the mean streak that is typical of boys his age, a streak that tends toward bullying those who are considered less attractive or popular. In fact, when the only two characters are Ralph and Piggy in chapter 1, Ralph asserts his dominance over Piggy by betraying his confidence and laughing at his nickname. He also taunts him, saying, "Sucks to your auntie," and "Sucks to your ass-mar," showing the kind of verbal sparring that boys of that age in that time period would have used. While exploring the island, Ralph also gets into a good-natured tussle with Simon and Jack, a typical way of male bonding for that age group among British school boys. During the first part of the book, Ralph is drawn to Jack as someone worthy of his friendship, and Piggy is often made the butt of jokes. However, when Jack and Ralph find themselves at odds with each other, Ralph becomes more dependent on Piggy, and ultimately he acknowledges, to himself at least, that Piggy has the most superior intellect of all the boys, even himself. Ralph is able to show some determined leadership, especially when reprimanding the boys for letting the signal fire go out. He stands in one place and commands the boys to build the fire, probably mimicking the attitude of his own father or other authority figures in his culture. When the boys all circle around Robert in a mock pig hunt, Ralph joins in, finding "the desire to squeeze and hurt" to be "over-mastering." Ralph is able to express his doubts and emotions, but he usually does that in a small group of safe friends, usually with Simon and Piggy. They speak together of the "majesty of adult life" that would do a much better job of maintaining the culture than Ralph feels he is doing.

Ralph's lowest point of behavior is undoubtedly when he takes part in the feast where Simon is murdered. He and Piggy speak together afterwards and Ralph expresses horror at what they have done, showing the cultural mores he has internalized. However, he soon joins with Piggy in rewriting history, reflecting how humans react to overwhelming guilt. After that, Ralph does his best to hold onto civilization and culture as much as he can. He refuses to join Jack's band of savages, and he refuses to use paint on his face and body. When he plans to visit Castle Rock to negotiate with Jack, he wants to wash up and look like they used to look, showing that he remembers and still believes in the British code of cleanliness and proper attire. When he finds the pig's skull on a stick, he instinctively recoils and smashes it, again showing how he retains the values of his British culture and refuses to succumb to the savagery of the other boys. At the end of the book, when the boys meet the naval officer, Ralph remembers how to speak to adults with respect, and answers him, "No, sir." He then gives way to "shuddering spasms of grief," showing that, after all, he is still only a normal British schoolboy from the mid-20th century.

A patient had three physical therapy sessions this week. The first was 15 minutes, the second was 25 minutes, and the third was 30 minutes. How...

 15 + 25 + 30 = 70 minutes total spent in therapy this week

This question was solved using addition. Addition is the process by which two or more values are combine to find a total amount. In story problems, key words may indicate that addition is required to utilized. Some of these key words include: total, join, both, together, sum, plus, increase, and/or add.

Addition is one of four basic operations in mathematics. The...

 15 + 25 + 30 = 70 minutes total spent in therapy this week

This question was solved using addition. Addition is the process by which two or more values are combine to find a total amount. In story problems, key words may indicate that addition is required to utilized. Some of these key words include: total, join, both, together, sum, plus, increase, and/or add.

Addition is one of four basic operations in mathematics. The other three basic operations of mathematics are subtraction, division, and multiplication.

There is a proper order to follow when given a multi-step mathematic problem that include multiple operations. This order is can be remembered using the acronym PEMDAS. The acronym stands for parenthesis, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction. Here, the order of operations is explained in greater detail.

Why does Macbeth hesitate to murder the king?

Macbeth is aware that murdering king Duncan would be one of the greatest sins and, he is talking about it in Act I, Scene 7:

He's here in double trust; First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, Strong both against the deed; then, as his host, Who should against his murderer shut the door, Not bear the knife myself.

Macbeth states that going after his unchecked ambition which entails killing Duncan is wrong...

Macbeth is aware that murdering king Duncan would be one of the greatest sins and, he is talking about it in Act I, Scene 7:

He's here in double trust;
First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,
Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,
Who should against his murderer shut the door,
Not bear the knife myself.

Macbeth states that going after his unchecked ambition which entails killing Duncan is wrong for three major reasons. Firstly, Macbeth is Duncan's relative, so it is abnormal and sinful to murder him since they are related. Secondly, Macbeth should be Duncan's most loyal subject, so he should fight for him, not kill him. Thirdly, when Duncan arrives at Macbeth's home, Macbeth will be his host, so he should protect Duncan because he will be Macbeth's guest. Macbeth should guarantee that his guest is safe. Additionally, Macbeth proclaims that the king is benevolent, and he has been recently promoted by the king.

All of the reasons listed above are strong enough, and Macbeth should not go against them. Yet, he states that his ambition is the chief reason why he wants to take the throne and eliminate Duncan.

Discuss reasons why the Hindu Arabic numeration system is superior to other ancient numeration systems.

Here are some number systems to consider:

(1) Babylonian/Sumerian: Used base 60 for measurement and astronomy but base 10 for accounting purposes. This number system is the first to use positional notation (the numerical value for a sign depends on its position; in Hindu-Arabic notation this is equivalent to noting that the 2 in 12 indicates 2 ones, while the 2 in 21 indicates 2 10s). This system disappeared around 550 BCE.

(2) Chinese: Used base 10, but was not positional. Thus you could write the characters for 423 in any orientation as there was a symbol for 423 which could not be mistaken for another number. The symbols used were essentially the symbols for the words indicated by the number.

(3) Mayan: Used a base 20 system. (Some modern romance languages, such as French, have a vestigial base 20 -- e.g. 84 is 4 twenties and a 4.) This system was positional and included a zero. Addition and subtraction were easy as you added dots or bars. This was in the New World so had no effect on Europe or Asia or Africa.

(4) Egyptian: Used a base 10 system without a zero. This was not a place value system. In the hieratic system there was a zero, and there was a place value. This system was used by accountants. Each number from 1-9 was represented by a letter (this idea was adopted by the ancient Greeks).

(5) Greek: Used a base 10 (decimal) system; it was not positional. Letters were used for numbers (later with a bar to indicate use as a number). There was no zero except for use in fractions.

(6) Roman: Used base 10; it was not positional.

The Hindu-Arabic system is base 10, positional, and uses zero as a number and a place-holder. This simplifies basic arithmetic, especially multiplication. Most of the other systems either lacked a place-holder (causing potential confusion with the numbers) or were not positional (making arithmetic hard).

The symbols used in the Hindu-Arabic system are not letters, so numbers are not confused with words (as would be possible in Greek or Egyptian numbers).

What is the climax of the story "To Build a Fire"?

The climax, or point of highest emotional intensity, in "To Build a Fire" occurs after the man's first fire is extinguished and he is unable to start a second.

In Jack London's story that dramatizes his conviction that "civilized" beings are either destroyed or re-created in savage environments, the man who has not stopped earlier to warm himself notices that his fingers are starting to freeze, so he hurries to build a fire. He realizes...

The climax, or point of highest emotional intensity, in "To Build a Fire" occurs after the man's first fire is extinguished and he is unable to start a second.

In Jack London's story that dramatizes his conviction that "civilized" beings are either destroyed or re-created in savage environments, the man who has not stopped earlier to warm himself notices that his fingers are starting to freeze, so he hurries to build a fire. He realizes too late that he has lit a fire under a snow-covered spruce tree; when the snow melts from the heat of the fire, it extinguishes the flames.

The man was shocked. It was as though he had just heard his own sentence of death.

He hurries to make another fire in the open, but after he has the twigs to do so, he cannot clutch a second piece of birch bark in his pocket that will ignite the twigs he has gathered; his fingers are frost-bitten. Finally, he extricates the bark after removing his glove. Unfortunately, his fingers are stiff and he drops the matches into the snow; "the dead fingers could not touch nor clutch." Nevertheless, in his desperation, he finally succeeds in lighting the matches, and he tries to put pieces of rotten wood and twigs on it to fuel it, but he must use his mouth and arms. The clumsy attempt causes the fire to go out this time.

The dog watches quietly as "the provider" fails. When the man notices the dog watching, he recalls how a man saved himself by climbing inside a steer that he killed. Now he thinks, perhaps, that he can kill the dog and warm his hands inside its body until the numbness leaves so that he can build another fire. But, as he approaches the dog on his hands and knees, the dog's suspicious nature makes it move away. The man stands and calls to the dog in the normal manner. The dog holds still and the man encircles its body with his arms, but he cannot clutch it, nor can he use his knife or throttle the animal. Now, "a certain fear of death, dull and oppressive came to him." In his despair, he realizes that the old-timer on Sulfur Creek was right. After the temperature goes to fifty below, no one should travel alone. Still, he tries to run, but he lacks the endurance to make it to the camp. "It was his last panic."

In "I'm Nobody! Who are you?" what is the speaker of the poem proud of being?

In this short, playful poem by Emily Dickinson, the speaker claims to be "nobody" and seems very proud of it. Obviously a person cannot literally be "nobody" because everybody, by definition, is somebody. In this poem the speaker is proud to declare she is not a self-promoter, someone who blows his or her own horn. This becomes evident in the second stanza when she speaks about those who qualify as "Somebody." These are the people...

In this short, playful poem by Emily Dickinson, the speaker claims to be "nobody" and seems very proud of it. Obviously a person cannot literally be "nobody" because everybody, by definition, is somebody. In this poem the speaker is proud to declare she is not a self-promoter, someone who blows his or her own horn. This becomes evident in the second stanza when she speaks about those who qualify as "Somebody." These are the people who publicly proclaim their greatness to the world. She compares them to frogs. In the spring, bullfrogs croak out loudly in the swamps. Often people hear them, but don't see them, but those in the swamp have a view of the bullfrog's expanding chest as it croaks out its not-very-musical, repetitive call that sounds like it is saying "me-ee, me-ee, me--ee." Some people are like this--always talking about themselves, telling stories that make themselves look good, and bragging about their accomplishments. The speaker is repulsed by such self-centered showmanship and wants no part of it. She is proud that she can be who she is without needing to bellow her greatness to the "admiring bog," that is, the community she lives in. 

It's tempting to associate this poem with its author and with America's other great poet of the time, Walt Whitman. Emily Dickinson was a private person who only published a few poems during her lifetime. However, she wrote hundreds of personal letters to friends and family and shared her poetry with them. Upon her death, her niece was surprised to find her dresser filled with beautiful bound fascicles of Emily's poems that she had copied out and stitched together by hand. These were published after her death. Walt Whitman, on the other hand, fancied himself as America's bard and went to great lengths to create a public image of himself. He hired professional photographers to take pictures of him, one of which shows him holding a butterfly, which was, of course, cardboard, despite his claims to the contrary. One of his best-known poems is called "Song of Myself." When Whitman's first edition of Leaves of Grass didn't sell many copies, Whitman wrote positive reviews of the book anonymously to help boost its sales. Since Dickinson and Whitman were contemporaries yet had such obvious differences in regard to self-promotion, one can wonder whether she had her fellow poet in mind when she penned this verse. 

Why didn't Mathilde admit what happened with the lost necklace in "The Necklace"?

Mathilde does not tell Madame Forestier that she lost the necklace because she is embarrassed and proud.

Mathilde Loisel believes that she was born below her proper station in life.  Because of this, she pines for a life of riches and beautiful things.  Her husband is aware of this, but he is only a lowly clerk.  One day he surprises her with the gift of tickets to a fancy ball, and she gets upset because she doesn’t think she has anything to wear.

Monsieur Loisel gives his wife everything he has saved, and suggests that she borrow a proper jewel from her wealthy friend, Madame Forestier.  She agrees, excited to have a pretty dress and an expensive jewel to wear to the fancy ball.

Madame Forestier makes some suggestions, but Mathilde sees the one she likes.

Suddenly she discovered, in a black satin case, a superb diamond necklace; her heart began to beat covetously. Her hands trembled as she lifted it. She fastened it round her neck, upon her high dress, and remained in ecstasy at sight of herself.

What Mathilde thinks is a very expensive diamond is actually fake.  She has no idea. She is on top of the world at the ball.  Everyone wants to dance with her and thinks she is beautiful.  Unfortunately, as she is leaving she realizes she has lost the jewel.

Monsieur Loisel does not want to tell Madame Forestier what happened at first because he thinks he can still find the necklace. He probably feels partially responsible, since borrowing it was his idea.

"You must write to your friend," he said, "and tell her that you've broken the clasp of her necklace and are getting it mended. That will give us time to look about us."

When they can’t find it, he finally decides they have to replace it.  It takes some time to find one that looks like it, and they go into great debt to do it.  For years they have to pay off the debt, until one day Madame Forestier sees Mathilde and does not recognize her.  That is when they learn that the necklace was a paste.  It was fake.

If Monsieur and Madame Loisel had told the truth, they would have saved themselves great distress and suffering.  Unfortunately, they were too proud and never owned up to what happened.  Because of that, it was years until they learned of their mistake and by then they had destroyed themselves.

What does "spirited offense" mean in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird?

In Chapter 5 of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, narrator Scout describes Miss Maudie as responding to Scout's Uncle Jack Finch with a "spirited offense." The word offense generally refers to something that has offended or displeased someone; however, offense has also derived another meaning that is applied to sports. In sports, an offense is an attack that prevents the opposing team from scoring points. The word spiritedcan mean lively or even...

In Chapter 5 of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, narrator Scout describes Miss Maudie as responding to Scout's Uncle Jack Finch with a "spirited offense." The word offense generally refers to something that has offended or displeased someone; however, offense has also derived another meaning that is applied to sports. In sports, an offense is an attack that prevents the opposing team from scoring points. The word spirited can mean lively or even courageous. Hence, Scout is describing Miss Maudie as one who defends herself against the teases of Uncle Jack by attacking Uncle Jack in a very lively and bold manner.

In Chapter 5, Scout recounts that every year Uncle Jack travels from Nashville to Maycomb to visit the Finch family for Christmas, and every Christmas, Uncle Jack yells across the street to Miss Maudie to tell her to come and marry him. Each year, Miss Maudie reciprocates by yelling, "Call a little louder, Jack Finch, and they'll hear you at the post office, I haven't heard you yet!" (Ch. 5). Scout further recounts that, when asked, Uncle Jack explains he is just "trying to get Miss Maudie's goat," which means he is trying to irritate her. He further explains that he is the "last person in the world Miss Maudie would think about marrying but the first person she thought about teasing," and to tease someone is to laugh at the person by making jokes at the person's expense. Therefore, Miss Maudie is teasing Uncle Jack by pretending not to have heard him. Plus, she is defending herself against his teasing her through attacking him in a lively and bold way by pretending he isn't worthy of being heard. Hence, all in all, the phrase "spirited offense" simply means that Miss Maudie is attacking Uncle Jack in a lively way via her own teasing.

In To Kill a Mockingbird what is a good thesis for a coming-of-age theme and in what chapter is it found?

Jean Louise Finch is the perfect candidate to discuss in a coming-of-age paper. Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird is called a bildungsroman, which means that the protagonist goes through character building experiences such as rites of passage. Scout's character development definitely grows as one life experience builds upon the other. It seems that as each chapter passes, Scout learns a new lesson on proper moral behavior, the ways of the world, and how to treat other people with respect. Hence, almost any chapter would show an experience that helps Scout to learn about becoming an adult. But there is one specific instance when Scout stops learning about how to behave or think like an adult and she proves it.

The first time Scout shows that she understands a difficult situation and acts accordingly is in chapter 24 when Aunt Alexandra is hosting a missionary tea party and Atticus comes home with news that Tom Robinson is dead. The ladies have just been listening to indirect racist comments about the trial and Atticus, so tensions are high. Scout's usual response is to vocally or physically react to people who challenge her family, but she can't do that in polite company with older adult women, of course. Both Scout and Aunt Alexandra almost can't go on as they sit in the kitchen taking a break from the women in the living room. Miss Maudie rallies them back to their senses so they can go back out to their company. Scout says the best coming-of-age comment:

"After all, if Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I" (237).

With this comment, Scout passes cookies politely and acts like a proper lady. This is significant because Atticus, Calpurnia, Uncle Jack, Jem, and Aunt Alexandra have all worked with Scout to behave more like a lady than a tomboy; and, she figures out when different times call for different behavior.

Thesis Statement Examples:

1-  Jean Louise Finch demonstrates what it means to behave like a lady when she wears a party dress, attends Aunt Alexandra's tea party, and controls her temper and emotions in the face of adversity.

2-  Jean Louise Finch shows that she has reached a pinnacle in her coming-of-age story when she attends a ladies' tea party, wears a dress, and properly behaves by controlling her temper and emotions in the face of adversity.

Explain the evolution of Hinduism from animism to henotheism.

Hinduism is comprised of many different belief systems spanning a large and diverse geographical region. Early Hinduism grew out of the animistic practices of specific clan-groups. Later, as feudalism and monarchy rose to replace the tight-knit clan based system, animistic views and practices were absorbed into a system of henotheism.

Henotheism is the worship, elevation, and reverence of one god as supreme among many. Henotheism is a distinct form of worship in which many gods...

Hinduism is comprised of many different belief systems spanning a large and diverse geographical region. Early Hinduism grew out of the animistic practices of specific clan-groups. Later, as feudalism and monarchy rose to replace the tight-knit clan based system, animistic views and practices were absorbed into a system of henotheism.

Henotheism is the worship, elevation, and reverence of one god as supreme among many. Henotheism is a distinct form of worship in which many gods are perceived to be real, but only one god is recognized as supreme. Vedic Hinduism elevated the god Indra as supreme among all other gods. In the Vedas, other gods (in particular: Vac, good of speech and Varuna, god of heavenly waters) were considered to be lesser gods under the authority and influence of Indra's powers.  

Is it true or false that the tone of a short story is never established until the end of the story?

The tone of a short story is established from the very beginning. 

A short story’s tone is the author’s attitude toward the subject. Although the tone may change, it is less likely to change in a short story because of the shorter nature of the text. It is not true that the tone is not established until the end, because every paragraph and phrase establishes the tone.

Consider, for example, the opening lines of...

The tone of a short story is established from the very beginning. 

A short story’s tone is the author’s attitude toward the subject. Although the tone may change, it is less likely to change in a short story because of the shorter nature of the text. It is not true that the tone is not established until the end, because every paragraph and phrase establishes the tone.

Consider, for example, the opening lines of Edgar Allan Poe’s classic story “The Tell-Tale Heart.”

True! —nervous —very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses —not destroyed —not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily —how calmly I can tell you the whole story.

This paragraph sets the tone for the entire story. We are in for a lot of this kind of language. The story describes the ravings of a madman. He is going to explain why he killed his roommate, all the while trying to convince us that he is not crazy. The tone is frenzied, desperate, and incoherent.

Another example is Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery.” Although we are only granted small details of what is happening as the story moves along, the writer is very careful to establish from the beginning a no-nonsense tone as she describes a day in the life of the village.

The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green. The people of the village began to gather in the square, between the post office and the bank, around ten o'clock; in some towns there were so many people that the lottery took two days and had to be started on June 26th. 

The calm, matter-of-fact tone actually continues throughout the story, even as people are being stoned to death. Only through the protests and begging of the victim do we get any indication that something is wrong. Otherwise, it could be any village gathering anywhere in the world.

What did Mr. Radley (Arthur's father) do for a living?

In Chapter 1, Scout is describing the Radley family. She mentions that the Radleys were not social people and that the community of Maycomb rarely saw them outside. Scout says that they did not go to church and the only time they saw Mr. Radley was when he walked to the grocery store in the morning. Scout comments that she never knew what Mr. Radley did for a living, and her older brother told her...

In Chapter 1, Scout is describing the Radley family. She mentions that the Radleys were not social people and that the community of Maycomb rarely saw them outside. Scout says that they did not go to church and the only time they saw Mr. Radley was when he walked to the grocery store in the morning. Scout comments that she never knew what Mr. Radley did for a living, and her older brother told her that Mr. Radley "bought cotton" (Lee 11). The term "bought cotton" is essentially a polite way of saying that a person does not have a job. Whether Mr. Radley is actually employed or not is never specifically stated. Later on in Chapter 1, Scout says that Mr. Radley's son, Nathan, moved back from Pensacola after his father passed away to take care of Boo. Scout mentions that Nathan acts exactly like Mr. Radley and Jem told her that he "bought cotton" just like his father (Lee 15). According to Jem, both Mr. Radley and his son, Nathan, do nothing for a living and are not employed.

What role did taxes and the city of Boston have to do with the Revolutionary War?

Boston and taxes played a primary role in the American Revolution.

Mounting tension occurred after the French and Indian War because British rule began to tighten its hold over the colonies. For, as the British government wished to find new revenues to pay debt incurred by the war, it tightened on its existing trade laws as well as imposing new ones.

• The Sugar Act imposed new duties on many goods shipped from Britain to the colonies.


• The Quartering Act required colonial governments to provide supplies and quarters for British troops that were stationed in the colonies.


• The Stamp Act demanded that colonists pay for a tax stamp every time they paid for a legal document, a newspaper, or playing cards. This stamp was then placed upon the item purchased.

The protest against these acts was vociferous as merchants complained that the Sugar Act duties were exorbitant and they could not afford them; also, the Colonial governments simply ignored the Quartering Act. Most of all, the Stamp Act enraged colonists. In the House of Burgesses in Virginia, Patrick Henry rose to condemn this act and the English king, declaring, "If this be treason, make the most of it!" As a result of this oppression, colonists formed the Sons of Liberty, a group who were openly defiant as they attacked stamp tax collectors. Later, they sent a formal protest to King George III, who did repeal the Stamp Act, but imposed new laws shortly thereafter.

In 1767 the new British Prime Minister persuaded the British Parliament to impose new revenue-producing duties on glass, lead, paper, pepper, and tea that was brought to the colonies. Naturally, the colonists perceived that these duties were thinly disguised taxes. So, some colonists smuggled in like products, others simply did not use these products. Therefore, imports of these goods was reduced by 50 per cent, with Boston as the hotbed of resistance.

On March 5, 1770, a crowd of citizens in Boston shouted at British troops, taunting them as they stood guard near the Customs House. When a shot rang out, the soldiers opened fire and killed five colonists. This incident became known as the Boston Massacre and news of it spread throughout the other colonies. With growing discontent, the colonists succeeded in causing the British government to back down on the Townsend duties and they were repealed except for those on tea. 

Then in 1773, the British passed the Tea Act, which favored a British company and threatened to put colonial tea merchants out of business. On December 16, 1773, the Sons of Liberty disguised themselves and stole aboard three British ships loaded with over 300 crates of tea in Boston's harbor. Within an hour, these men had thrown overboard all the crates. This "Boston Tea Party" enraged the British government, and in 1774 the Parliament passed a series of acts called Intolerable Acts. The first act, the Boston Port Bill, closed Boston harbor, an act which threatened the people of Boston with shortages of food and business failures. Another act removed the Massachusetts government from the hands of the colonists; it also forced the colony to host 10,000 British troops, who were sent to guard and to administer these new laws.

In the British government's move to isolate and punish Massachusetts, the results were the opposite of what England desired. For, the other colonies rallied around this spirited colony. The Virginia House of Burgesses met where Patrick Henry gave his famous speech. Then, in September of 1774, 56 delegates (Georgia was absent) met in Philadelphia as the First Continental Congress.  As a result, more British troops were sent to quell any rebellion. But, the Minutemen had a supply of guns and ammunition near Concord, a few miles outside of Boston. When British troops tried to seize these supplies, the colonists were alerted by means of a system they had pre-arranged. On the night of April 18, 1775, a light flashed from a tower in Boston's Old North Church, alerting Paul Revere and William Dawson, who raced on horseback, warning the people, "The British are coming." In Concord Minutemen drove away the British troops and back onto the road to Boston. In the end, the Minutemen killed 240 British soldiers.

On May 10, 1775, the Second Continental Congress assembled and petitioned King George III to repeal the Intolerable Acts and to refrain from "unprovoked attacks." Also, George Washington was named commander of the American forces. But, before Washington could reach Boston, a major conflict arose between the colonists and British soldiers. This conflict took place at Breed's Hill and Bunker Hill, north of Boston. While the colonists fought tenaciously, the British drove them out; however, there were nearly 1000 English casualties.

Finally, after learning that the British Parliament refused to grant the petition of the Continental Congress, the Second Continental Congress met again and the Declaration of Independence was produced on July 4, 1776, and the new United States was on its way to revolution. Boston lay under siege for nearly a year until British forces under General William Howe pulled out and sailed to a base in Canada.                                                                                                                                                                                        

What is Atticus trying to do at the end of Chapter 13 of To Kill a Mockingbird? Why does Scout say that this is better left to a woman?

Atticus is trying to explain to Scout and Jem about the importance of the Finch name, but that (ancestry, heritage) is Alexandra's passion.

Aunt Alexandra is the one who cares about heredity.  To Atticus, people are people and all people deserve respect.  However, he agrees to talk to his children about the “facts of life” so that they will understand that they are Finches, and the importance of being a Finch.

Atticus tries to explain...

Atticus is trying to explain to Scout and Jem about the importance of the Finch name, but that (ancestry, heritage) is Alexandra's passion.

Aunt Alexandra is the one who cares about heredity.  To Atticus, people are people and all people deserve respect.  However, he agrees to talk to his children about the “facts of life” so that they will understand that they are Finches, and the importance of being a Finch.

Atticus tries to explain the concept of “gentle breeding,” which basically means that wealthy families marry other wealthy families.  Since the Finches are the aristocratic class of Maycomb, that means that Scout and Jem should try to “live up to” their name and act like Finches.

“She asked me to tell you you must try to behave like the little lady and gentleman that you are. She wants to talk to you about the family and what it’s meant to Maycomb County through the years, so you’ll have some idea of who you are, so you might be moved to behave accordingly”… (Ch. 13)

The concept of being a Finch means nothing to Scout and Jem.  Scout would rather run around in overalls than wear pearls.  Jem, who is older, does understand what Atticus is trying to say, but it contradicts everything they have been raised to believe.  Scout is confused by the concept of some people being better than others just because they have been in Maycomb longer.

Somewhere, I had received the impression that Fine Folks were people who did the best they could with the sense they had, but Aunt Alexandra was of the opinion, obliquely expressed, that the longer a family had been squatting on one patch of land the finer it was. (Ch. 13)

The Ewells have been on their land a long time, but they are not a "fine family."  It is confusing to Scout, and Atticus is not able to explain.  Scout’s comment that it takes a woman to explain this seems to indicate that she feels that women care more about heredity than men.  That is the case in her family.  Scout knows that Atticus doesn’t really care about being a Finch.  He acts according to his own conscience, even at the risk of his reputation.

Why exactly did Harrison Bergeron rebel?

Harrison Bergeron rebelled in the eponymously titled Kurt Vonnegut story to literally and figuratively throw off the chains of mediocrity slapped on him by the Handicapper General and a society that demands equality by reducing each individual to a lowest common denominator. 

Literally, Harrison was greater than the rest of society. He was bigger ("He was exactly seven feet tall"). and had "outgrown his hindrances faster than the g-e men could think them up." In...

Harrison Bergeron rebelled in the eponymously titled Kurt Vonnegut story to literally and figuratively throw off the chains of mediocrity slapped on him by the Handicapper General and a society that demands equality by reducing each individual to a lowest common denominator. 

Literally, Harrison was greater than the rest of society. He was bigger ("He was exactly seven feet tall"). and had "outgrown his hindrances faster than the g-e men could think them up." In addition, Harrison was more handsome than the rest of society and had to "wear at all times a red rubber ball for a nose, keep his eyebrows shaved off, and cover his even white teeth with black caps at snaggle-tooth random." And, finally, he was more intelligent and had to, "Instead of a little ear radio for a mental handicap, he wore a tremendous pair of earphones."

But these handicaps did little for keeping Harrison's desire to show his greatness aside. Instead of him being okay with wearing his handicaps, like his father is, Harrison snaps off his handicaps "like celery" and leaps so high that he kisses the ceiling. 

Harrison represents the desire to rip off the social constrictions placed by a society that rewards conformity, which, by its definition, is a reduction of the self. 

What is your first impression of the narrator in "The Tell-Tale Heart"? What does he try to convince the reader to do?

The first part of this question is asking about individual reader opinion.  My initial opinion of the narrator could be different from another reader’s opinion of the narrator.  It’s more important that you defend your opinion.  

My first impression of the narrator is that he is certifiably crazy.  He makes an initial claim that some disease actually heightened his senses.  That’s odd to begin with, but it's perhaps not out of the realm of...

The first part of this question is asking about individual reader opinion.  My initial opinion of the narrator could be different from another reader’s opinion of the narrator.  It’s more important that you defend your opinion.  

My first impression of the narrator is that he is certifiably crazy.  He makes an initial claim that some disease actually heightened his senses.  That’s odd to begin with, but it's perhaps not out of the realm of possibilities; however, then the narrator claims that his hearing is so good that he can hear voices from heaven and hell.  

Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad?

He’s hearing voices from heaven and hell.  That’s crazy talk in my opinion.  The second paragraph continues along those lines.  The narrator tells his readers about the old man’s eye.  The narrator tells us that the eye really bothered him.  So what is the narrator’s solution?  Kill the old man to get rid of the eye.  That sounds a bit extreme and crazy to me. 

I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye for ever.

The narrator then tells us about how he sneaked into the old man’s room for seven nights in a row and stared at him.  I don’t care how many times the narrator tries to tell his readers that he is perfectly sane.  Staring at somebody while they sleep for seven nights in a row waiting for the chance to kill him/her is nuts.    

His actions and reasons for those actions show readers that he is definitely insane.  Right from the beginning of the story, the narrator tries to convince readers to think that he isn’t a madman.

Ha!—would a madman have been so wise as this?

He repeatedly stresses his sanity throughout the story.  He states a total of seven times that he isn’t mad or a madman.  He stresses it so much and so often that it feels like he’s not only trying to convince readers; he's trying to convince himself.

Were you surprised by the ending of "The Sniper"?

The surprise ending of Liam O'Flaherty's short story "The Sniper" is meant to shock the reader and highlight the brutality of war, especially a civil war that matched countrymen against each other. At the end of the story, the Republican sniper deceives his Free State adversary into revealing himself and the Republican kills him, as he does two other enemies. When the sniper examines the body he discovers that he has killed his own brother.

...

The surprise ending of Liam O'Flaherty's short story "The Sniper" is meant to shock the reader and highlight the brutality of war, especially a civil war that matched countrymen against each other. At the end of the story, the Republican sniper deceives his Free State adversary into revealing himself and the Republican kills him, as he does two other enemies. When the sniper examines the body he discovers that he has killed his own brother.

O'Flaherty's purpose is to not only shock but also play on the sympathy of the reader and make the point that there are no real victors in a war which pitted brother against brother. Immediately after killing the opposition sniper, and before knowing who he was, the sniper is overcome with regret over the killing and the war itself. For the sniper, the war ends up being a tragedy affecting not only his family but also his mental stability.

If the reader knows the background of the story and the Irish Civil War, the ending may not come as that much of a surprise. Not long before the battle described in the story, the Irish Republican Army had split over the Anglo-Irish Treaty which was negotiated by the Provisional Government and made Ireland a free state within the British Commonwealth. Some members of the army bitterly disagreed with the treaty. They wanted Ireland to have total sovereignty. It became a matter of principle for the men of the army. Some broke away, and became known as Free Staters, and some remained Republicans. The brothers probably served together before the split, and so it is not that startling that they should be set against each other on the rooftops of Dublin in the summer of 1922. 

What amendment says that powers not given to the federal government by the Constitution belong to the states or to the people?

The Tenth Amendment says this. Specifically, it says that 

...powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

Like the rest of the Bill of Rights, the Tenth Amendment addressed some of the concerns of Anti-Federalists, people who had raised concerns about the new Constitution, largely on the grounds that it contained insufficient protections for the political...

The Tenth Amendment says this. Specifically, it says that 

...powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

Like the rest of the Bill of Rights, the Tenth Amendment addressed some of the concerns of Anti-Federalists, people who had raised concerns about the new Constitution, largely on the grounds that it contained insufficient protections for the political powers of the states and the people. They worried that a broad interpretation of clauses related to elections, taxation, the military, and other issues would weaken the states at the expense of the federal government. The Tenth Amendment was intended to protect against these kinds of abuses by clearly defining the system of federalism set up by the Constitution. All powers not expressly delegated to the federal government would be retained by the states. Over time, multiple Supreme Court cases have arisen involving the Tenth Amendment, including McCulloch v. Maryland, Gibbons v. Ogden, and many others--indeed any cases that involve the states rights against the powers of the federal government. Some of the powers claimed by the states under the Tenth Amendment include licensing, regulating education, and many others.

What kind of job does Nene have?

In the story, Nene is a teacher at a school for girls in Lagos.

We find this out during Nnaemeka's conversation with his father, Okeke, when he is breaking the news that he is engaged to Nene.

Unfortunately for Nnaemeka and Nene, Okeke is extremely opposed to the idea of women teaching. He abides strictly by Biblical beliefs, and he sincerely adheres to the notion that women shouldn't teach others and, further, that they should "keep...

In the story, Nene is a teacher at a school for girls in Lagos.

We find this out during Nnaemeka's conversation with his father, Okeke, when he is breaking the news that he is engaged to Nene.

Unfortunately for Nnaemeka and Nene, Okeke is extremely opposed to the idea of women teaching. He abides strictly by Biblical beliefs, and he sincerely adheres to the notion that women shouldn't teach others and, further, that they should "keep silent." Okeke quotes "St. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians," a passage from the Bible, when he reminds his son about his views.

In fact, Okeke doesn't just disown his son and leave it at that--he feels an ongoing struggle and deep shame about the fact that Nnaemeka went forward in a marriage to a woman who teaches. Okeke has other problems with Nene (mostly because she doesn't belong to the Ibo tribe, and because she wasn't part of a traditional arranged marriage) but Nene's profession is definitely a factor that prevents Okeke from accepting her as his daughter-in-law.

You might ask, what kind of job should a girl have in order for her to be accepted by Okeke as a suitable wife for his son? We get a clue in Nnaemeka's description of Ugoye, the traditional girl he was supposed to marry but didn't love:

"When she stopped schooling some years ago her father (a man of sound judgment) sent her to live in the house of a pastor where she has received all the training a wife could need. Her Sunday school teacher has told me that she reads her Bible very fluently."

So really, Okeke would prefer a girl who has no profession or even schooling. He would prefer a daughter-in-law who simply reads and abides by the Bible.

What was the Widow Wycherly's relationship to the other participants in the experiment?

In “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment,” each of the three male guests – Colonel Killigrew, Mr. Medbourne, and Mr. Gascoigne – had all at one time or another been the lover of the Widow Wycherly.  This is a very important detail, for when the four withered old souls drink the water of the fountain of youth, and become young again, the men all resume their struggles against each other for the newly-young woman.  Their passions, which had...

In “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment,” each of the three male guests – Colonel Killigrew, Mr. Medbourne, and Mr. Gascoigne – had all at one time or another been the lover of the Widow Wycherly.  This is a very important detail, for when the four withered old souls drink the water of the fountain of youth, and become young again, the men all resume their struggles against each other for the newly-young woman.  Their passions, which had subsided and been balanced with age, were renewed along with their vitality, and manifested themselves in the least-dignified of ways.

Dr. Heidegger warns them before serving the draught not to forget the wisdom of their age, and to act as ambassadors for modern youth.  To this they reply with laughter, feeling it to be “ridiculous that,…knowing how closely repentance treads behind the steps of error, they should ever go astray again.”  And yet go astray they do. 

We know that Dr. Heidegger’s young bride-to-be committed suicide some fifty years before the story takes place, and we can assume that he has been haunted by this incident ever since – he keeps a black folio of memorabilia related to her, regarded by many to be a fearsomely magic book, and has a portrait of her in his study.  It is therefore safe to assume that the doctor had no lovers after the death of this woman.  It is therefore a possibility that Dr. Heidegger was using these particular individuals for his experiment to set his mind to rest after this abrupt end to his experience of love in his youth.  By witnessing firsthand the fools his supposedly old and wise quartet of guests made of themselves when given the chance to be young again, he knew that those lost years of love were nothing to be mourned.  Revisiting the passions of youth, Dr. Heidegger learns, has the potential to rekindle the accompanying wild impulsiveness two-fold.  For after the bickering youth have spilled the remaining water from the Fountain of Youth, the doctor asserts, with no regret,

‘Well--I bemoan it not; for if the fountain gushed at my very doorstep, I would not stoop to bathe my lips in it--no, though its delirium were for years instead of moments. Such is the lesson ye have taught me!’

His use of the word “delirium” is not accidental.

How does Emilia foil Bianca?

A "foil" in literature is a character whose personality and traits act in contrast to the protagonist or another major character. Usually, the foil will have a lot in common with the main character (age, gender, life situation, etc), but respond to conflicts in a very different way. The foil is meant to highlight the traits and characteristics of the main character by contrasting them. Examples include Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy (as well as...

A "foil" in literature is a character whose personality and traits act in contrast to the protagonist or another major character. Usually, the foil will have a lot in common with the main character (age, gender, life situation, etc), but respond to conflicts in a very different way. The foil is meant to highlight the traits and characteristics of the main character by contrasting them. Examples include Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy (as well as Harry and Neville Longbottom) in Harry Potter, Hamlet and Laertes in Hamlet, and Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley in Pride and Prejudice. 

In Othello, Emilia and Bianca are similar in that they both unwittingly lead to Othello's jealous fury and Desdemona's death. They are also both treated pretty poorly by the men in their lives. Emilia is constantly abused by her evil husband Iago, while Cassio mocks Bianca. Bianca might be a foil for Emilia on the trait of loyalty and chastity. While Bianca is a courtesan and thus loyal and chaste for no man, Emilia is chaste to her husband and even more loyal to her mistress Desdemona.

However, I would argue that both characters are more of a foil to Desdemona herself. Emilia foils Desdemona in the two women's marriages, with Desdemona (initially) blissfully married and Emilia stuck in an abusive union. The two women also foil one another in regards to how they view the world. Desdemona's innocence borders on naivety, while Emilia is more straight-talking and cynical. Likewise, Bianca's status as a prostitute foils Desdemona's chastity and loyalty to Othello. 

What are the first two problems the narrator faces in "The Pit and the Pendulum"?

Poe's short story "The Pit and the Pendulum" begins with a rather ambiguous account of the narrator being sentenced to some form of punishment and losing consciousness.  Upon first regaining consciousness, the first problem he encounters is that he does not know where he is:

I felt that I lay upon my back, unbound. I reached out my hand, and it fell heavily upon something damp and hard. There I suffered it to remain for many minutes, while I strove to imagine where and what I could be. I longed, yet dared not to employ my vision. I dreaded the first glance at objects around me. It was not that I feared to look upon things horrible, but that I grew aghast lest there should be nothing to see. At length, with a wild desperation at heart, I quickly unclosed my eyes. My worst thoughts, then, were confirmed. The blackness of eternal night encompassed me.

From this exposition, we see that his senses are unable to tell him where he is.  Other than touching something "damp and hard" and seeing--if you can call it that--"the blackness of eternal night," he doesn't have any sense data from which to determine where he has been put for his punishment.

After groping around in the dark to deduce where he is and what his surroundings consist of, the narrator encounters his second problem: that there is a large pit in the center of the dungeon into which he has been thrown:

I put forward my arm, and shuddered to find that I had fallen at the very brink of a circular pit, whose extent, of course, I had no means of ascertaining at the moment. Groping about the masonry just below the margin, I succeeded in dislodging a small fragment, and let it fall into the abyss. For many seconds I hearkened to its reverberations as it dashed against the sides of the chasm in its descent; at length there was a sullen plunge into water, succeeded by loud echoes.

As with his deduction that he was, in fact, in a dungeon in the first passage, this quotation shows the narrator using reasoning, dropping the "small fragment" into the "abyss" and listening for it landing, to ascertain his circumstances.  Solving his first problem leads to a much more perilous second one--the pit he cannot see in his cell.

What characteristics do Rikki-tikki-tavi, Nag and Nagaina display in "Rikki-tikki-tavi"?

All three of these characters are determined to protect their territory and the ones they love.

Although they are enemies, Nag, Nagaina, and Rikki do have a lot in common. They are all persistent, deadly, and courageous. Each of them is fighting for something so important that he or she is willing to die for it.

Rikki is the mongoose who washes up in the bungalow’s garden. He has been taught by his mother that...

All three of these characters are determined to protect their territory and the ones they love.

Although they are enemies, Nag, Nagaina, and Rikki do have a lot in common. They are all persistent, deadly, and courageous. Each of them is fighting for something so important that he or she is willing to die for it.

Rikki is the mongoose who washes up in the bungalow’s garden. He has been taught by his mother that being a house mongoose is what all mongooses aspire to. Rikki also knows that hunting snakes is part of a mongoose’s job. The mongoose eats the snakes, but this also protects the people from the snakes that may target them. Rikki is not afraid to do his job.

Nag and Nagaina know mongooses well. They are wary of Rikki because they are sure that he will prove a threat to them sooner or later. They try to strike first, to scare him off. This doesn’t work well because it’s impossible to frighten a mongoose.

Nag was thinking to himself, and watching the least little movement in the grass behind Rikki-tikki. He knew that mongooses in the garden meant death sooner or later for him and his family, but he wanted to get Rikki-tikki off his guard.

Nag’s trick to try to distract Rikki so Nagaina can get him doesn’t work. Rikki is quick too. Nag and Nagaina have each other, and they can work together. Rikki is able to work with others too. He uses Darzee and even Chuchundra to accomplish his ends.

Nag and Nagaina have a set of baby cobras. After Nag is killed by Rikki, Nagaina’s goal is to protect them. She is brave, even though she is grieving. She knows that Rikki is dangerous and she has no help, but she goes after him anyway. She tries to get Rikki to let her go.

Nagaina saw that she had lost her chance of killing Teddy, and the egg lay between Rikki-tikki's paws. "Give me the egg, Rikki-tikki. Give me the last of my eggs, and I will go away and never come back,'' she said, lowering her hood.

Nagaina may be a little afraid, but she is mostly thinking of her baby. She tries to appeal to Rikki’s sense of decency and get him to let her keep it, but when he doesn’t she fights him.

All three of these animals are engaging in a fight to the death over territory. They all feel that they have a right to the garden. Rikki is protecting the people, and Nag and Nagaina are protecting their family. In the end, they all fight well, but Rikki wins.

In To Kill A Mockingbird, what is the quote about empathy that Atticus teaches Scout?

Atticus believes that it is important to "put yourself in someone else's shoes" in order to understand them.  He is a firm believer in empathy.  He wants his children to also take this advice when they are angry or frustrated with people.

Miss Caroline, Scout's new teacher, does not understand Scout.  Scout tries to explain why Walter Cunningham refuses to take a quarter from her for lunch.  Miss Caroline thinks Scout is being impertinent, and...

Atticus believes that it is important to "put yourself in someone else's shoes" in order to understand them.  He is a firm believer in empathy.  He wants his children to also take this advice when they are angry or frustrated with people.

Miss Caroline, Scout's new teacher, does not understand Scout.  Scout tries to explain why Walter Cunningham refuses to take a quarter from her for lunch.  Miss Caroline thinks Scout is being impertinent, and she punishes her.  She smacks Scout's hand with a ruler and sends her into the corner.  Scout is upset by this because she had not intended to do anything wrong.  She was only trying to help Miss Caroline by telling her the ways of the Cunningham family.  

Scout later speaks to her father about Miss Caroline.  Instead of being angry or upset with Miss Caroline, he implores his daughter to have understanding.  Scout's new teacher "had learned not to hand something to a Cunningham, for one thing."  He also suggested that Scout and Walter Cunningham "put [themselves] in her shoes [and see] it was an honest mistake on her part. [They] could not expect her to learn all Maycomb's ways in one day, and [they] could not hold her responsible when she knew no better" (To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 3).

Do you believe that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, or was involved at all in the assassination of John F. Kennedy or do you think JFK's death was...

I think Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. First, the Warren Commission decided Oswald carried out the assassination alone and that there was no conspiracy. The 888-page report, concluded in 1964, demonstrated that the same bullets used to kill Kennedy came from the model of rifle Oswald used. Oswald was a trained military sharpshooter, so firing three shots in three seconds from a bolt-action rifle would not have been impossible. Oswald worked in the Texas Book...

I think Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. First, the Warren Commission decided Oswald carried out the assassination alone and that there was no conspiracy. The 888-page report, concluded in 1964, demonstrated that the same bullets used to kill Kennedy came from the model of rifle Oswald used. Oswald was a trained military sharpshooter, so firing three shots in three seconds from a bolt-action rifle would not have been impossible. Oswald worked in the Texas Book Depository, so it would not have been suspicious for him to be there during the parade. Also, the Zapruder film, upon recent digital analysis, shows Oswald in the Depository at the window from where the shots were fired.  

While it is popular to believe the Soviets, Castro, or the CIA were parties to the assassination, there has not been any conclusive evidence to prove Kennedy was killed by any of these groups. The only bullets recovered from the crime scene were from Oswald's cheap mail-order rifle. Oswald had the expertise to fire the shots. Since there is no other convincing evidence, one has to go with the findings of the Warren Commission and declare Oswald the most likely shooter.

My teacher says that Dupin, from "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" by Edgar Allan Poe, did not exist and that he did not solve any crime. Why?

There are many characters in stories and novels who are so well drawn that we may tend to think of them as real people. Such characters include the great Sherlock Holmes, and more recently Holden Caulfield of J. D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who created Sherlock Holmes and introduced him in the first chapter of the novel A Study in Scarlet (1887), acknowledged that he was indebted to the so-called "stories of ratiocination" of Edgar Allan Poe for the basic idea of Sherlock Holmes. Poe's C. Auguste Dupin, like Sherlock Holmes, was a fictional creation who also appeared in Poe's stories "The Purloined Letter" And "The Mystery of Marie Roget." He was not a real person, and therefore he could not have really solved any crimes. The same is true of Sherlock Holmes. Like Sherlock Holmes, Dupin had a friend who accompanied him on his investigations and subsequently wrote them up as stories in the form of memoirs. Sherlock Holmes' friend, companion, and biographer was named Dr. John H. Watson. The narrator of the stories involving C. Auguste Dupin remains anonymous.

In analyzing the characters in short stories and novels, it is well to remember that these are not real people but have been created by the authors to serve a specific purpose. We should not try to analyze them too deeply, since they are not real human beings. They are given the characteristics they need to suit the plots of the stories and novels. Generally speaking, it is very useful to analyze a fictional character by considering how he or she fits the plot.

C. Auguste Dupin and Sherlock Holmes are very much alike. They possess superior analytical powers and enjoy using them. "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" contains a single paragraph of dialogue spoken by Dupin which establishes many of the conventions used by Doyle in his Sherlock Holmes stories and by countless other mystery writers since.

“As for these murders, let us enter into some examinations for ourselves, before we make up an opinion respecting them. An inquiry will afford us amusement,” (I thought this an odd term, so applied, but said nothing) “and, besides, Le Bon once rendered me a service for which I am not ungrateful. We will go and see the premises with our own eyes. I know G—, the Prefect of Police, and shall have no difficulty in obtaining the necessary permission.” 

The detective is useful to the official police and lets them take credit for his solutions. This brings him interesting cases and allows him to go into settings and conduct investigations that would be off limits to ordinary people. Also, the detective is often motivated by sympathy for an innocent person wrongfully accused of a crime. In this case it is a bank clerk named Le Bon. Erle Stanley Gardner based most of his many Perry Mason mysteries on the hero's motivation to save an innocent person wrongfully accused of a serious crime, usually a murder. Note also that C. Auguste Dupin tells his friend that "an inquiry will afford us amusement." Both Dupin and Sherlock Holmes delight in using their analytical powers just for the pleasure of using them. As Poe writes in the opening paragraph of "The Murders in the Rue Morgue":

THE MENTAL FEATURES discoursed of as the analytical, are, in themselves, but little susceptible of analysis. We appreciate them only in their effects. We know of them, among other things, that they are always to their possessor, when inordinately possessed, a source of the liveliest enjoyment. As the strong man exults in his physical ability, delighting in such exercises as call his muscles into action, so glories the analyst in that moral activity which disentangles. He derives pleasure from even the most trivial occupations bringing his talents into play. He is fond of enigmas, of conundrums, of hieroglyphics; exhibiting in his solutions of each a degree of acumen which appears to the ordinary apprehension preternatural. His results, brought about by the very soul and essence of method, have, in truth, the whole air of intuition.