How does the structure of the poem "Mending Wall" contribute to its description?

"Mending Wall" describes the old, low stone walls of New England that still often mark property lines. In the poem, the narrator and his neighbor walk the length of their dividing wall. Each one picks up stones that have fallen naturally from it (or from hunters who dismantled part of it to find a hiding rabbit), and places them back where the rocks will fit and stay.

The poem is generally written in iambic pentameter, but the stresses on the syllables aren’t consistent. The line “But it's not elves exactly, and I'd rather,” even has an extra syllable at the end. The poem uses no rhyme scheme. And if you look at the format of each line, the profile looks a bit ragged – just like real stone walls do, with some parts that fit smoothly and others that stick out a bit more than others.  For these reasons, it could be said that the structure of the poem matches its subject matter well.

In The Monkey Wrench Gang, what are some of the group's strengths and weaknesses?

The main characters in Edward Abbey's The Monkey Wrench Gang are Doc Sarvis and his young assistant/girlfriend Bonnie Abzug; “Seldom Seen” Smith, a polygamist river guide; and George Hayduke, an angry, unstable Vietnam veteran. These characters as a group have banded together to fight the development and environmental destruction of the American West. 

Let’s begin with their weaknesses. These are not necessarily virtuous individuals: Smith has multiple wives, Bonnie switches partners at the end of the book, Doc is against all forms of government, and Hayduke is hard-drinking and seemingly eternally angry. As a group these environmentalists litter the desert with beer cans and personal trash, they drive large automobiles around, they are dismissive of Native Americans and middle-class liberals, and they are all extremely destructive, violent, and have no respect for others' property.  

But the group’s strengths mostly override their weaknesses and we come to root for them as heroes. One aspect of the group’s strength is that they never target humans and there are no human casualties that result from their actions. Their war is with machines, dams, billboards, tract housing, and the ideology that creates them: the need to develop the land, extract its resources, and promote population growth on formerly pristine, unsettled terrain. A quote from the author’s journals highlights this: “Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell.” Another strength of the group is their emphasis on direct action (cutting down billboards, sabotaging bulldozers and construction equipment, and their ultimate goal: blowing up the Glen Canyon dam). They distrust the legislative and legal processes and feel that any movement that relies on them will eventually end up serving the politicians and developers rather than the Earth. Direct action is a means for the group to critique and criticize what they see as a tradition of liberal escapism in response to environmental issues (escapism meaning ‘environmentalists’ who don’t engage the real ecological world, but rather sit around talking about what should be done without actually doing anything).

Describe each of the characters in "The Interlopers."

Ulrich comes from a line of wealthy landowners. As his ancestors did, he guards his land zealously and has a particular animosity towards Georg Znaeym. Georg comes from a line of small landowners. Like his ancestors, he still poaches on Ulrich's land even thought a lawsuit had been settled, giving the land to Ulrich and his family. Ulrich's and Georg's families have been feuding over this land for three generations. So, we can say that both men are stubborn in upholding this tradition of fighting over land. 

Note that the land is not valuable in terms of hunting. " . . . the narrow strip of precipitous woodland that lay on its outskirt was not remarkable for the game it harbored or the shooting it afforded . . ." This highlights how pointless the feud continues to be. The men are trapped by their stubbornness and perhaps by a twisted sense of loyalty to their predecessors who feuded as well. 

As fate has it, the two men are poised to kill each other, but they hesitate: 

But a man who has been brought up under the code of a restraining civilization cannot easily nerve himself to shoot down his neighbor in cold blood and without a word spoken, except for an offense against his hearth and honor. 

This hesitation suggests a slight remnant of reason in both men. When they become trapped under the tree, they still swear to kill one another. But after assessing the situation and perhaps considering his own mortality, Ulrich offers Georg a drink. This is the first friendly gesture that has occurred between these two men. Georg refuses at first. But when Ulrich promises to set him free if his (Ulrich's) men arrive first, Georg finally returns the gesture and the men become friends.

They begin as sworn enemies, too stubborn to break from the tradition of the feud. But in a situation in which they both contemplate dying (together), they are able to overcome their feud. They needed to be forced into a predicament like this in which they could either bond or continue to be enemies. 

Langston Hughes' poem A Dream Deferred offers the reader six different ideas about what happens when one's dreams are put off too far in the...

Lorraine Hansberry's play A Raisin in the Sun borrows its title from the iconic poem "A Dream Deferred" by Langston Hughes. In it, Hughes identifies six possible fates for a dream that is set aside for too long. Hughes' imagery can be found within the symbolism of the characters' dreams in Hansberry's piece that follows an African American family in the 1950s. 

Hughes first queries, "Does it dry up / Like a raisin in the sun?" A raisin is a grape that has been left in the harsh sun and dehydrated after being exposed to harsh conditions for too long. This fate is similar to that of Mama's, whose dream is to leave the tiny apartment and buy a house with many windows and a beautiful garden. Mama, the matriarch and oldest member of the Younger family, has had her dream the longest, and the many hardships instilled on her by a racist, classist, and sexist society take a toll on her dream. 

Hughes also wonders if a dream deferred "fester[s] like a sore / And then run[s]." A sore, an untreated wound that starts small, can grow as bacteria eat around the wound, causing it to painfully fester and bubble with blood and pus, infecting more of the body around it. This dream is more like Walter's, who wants only to be respected in a world where his race is constantly used against him. The little indignities that Walter suffers affect the rest of his life, tainting his relationship with his wife, sister, and mother as well as negatively impacting their dreams. 

How does Maupassant's short story "A Duel" end?

Guy de Maupassant's short story "A Duel" ends with profound irony.

Throughout the narrative, the reader perceives the Frenchman as repressed by prudent passivity and "sorrowful resignation" because of his country's occupation, while the Prussian officer is obnoxiously aggressive as the victor, boasting of the Prussians' conquest of French towns. The two Englishmen on the train with the Prussian and the Frenchman seem indifferent to either of the opposing countrymen.

However, the Englishmen, "impelled by curiosity," do observe the interchange between the Prussian officer and M. Dubuis after the Frenchman has refused to comply with the order given him to buy the officer some tobacco when the train stops. This refusal develops into a fight in which the infuriated Dubuis proves the victor as he uses his weight to hold down the hated Prussian and beats him "without taking a breath or knowing where his blows fell." 

After receiving this beating, the officer demands satisfaction, challenging Dubuis to a duel: "Unless you give me satisfaction with pistols, I will kill you." Although he has never used a pistol, Dubuis defiantly responds, "I am quite ready." Then, he asks the Englishmen if they will be his seconds, and they readily agree. The train stops and the officer finds two comrades, who loan him pistols.

As they stand by, the seemingly indifferent Englishmen constantly regard their watches, lest they miss the train. When the signal is given, Dubuis fires rapidly and at random, somehow managing to kill the obnoxious Prussian. One of the Englishmen expresses his delight, exclaiming a simple "Ah!" The other, still holding his watch, grabs the Frenchman's arm and the two hurry him in "double-quick time" toward the train station with his elated countrymen running alongside their hero. As the train begins to move, the trio leap into the carriage.

Then the Englishmen, taking off their traveling caps, waved them three times over their heads, enthusiastically exclaiming:
"Hip! hip! hip! hurrah!"

They shake the hand of Monsieur Dubuis. Finally, these men, who ironically have been the secret allies of the Frenchman all along, return to their own private corner in typical quiet British restraint.

How and why is Simon killed in Lord of the Flies? What is the meaning behind Simon's death?

Simon is considered an outcast throughout the novel and is symbolic of a Christ-like figure because of his compassion and ability to understand the true identity of the beast. He is the only boy on the island who realizes that the beast is not a tangible being, but actually the inherent wickedness present in each individual. In Chapter 9, Simon discovers that the beast is a dead paratrooper and decides to travel down the mountain to tell the other boys. While he is climbing down the mountain, Jack and his hunters decided to reenact the killing of the pig and begin their ritual dance. As the group of boys is swept into a frenzy, the sky becomes dark, and a thunderstorm ensues. Ralph and Piggy take part in the exciting ritual as the boys dance in a circle and chant "Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!" (Golding 152). The adrenaline of each member increases to a fever pitch, and they are entirely consumed with terror, energy, and blood-thirst. In the middle of the frenzy, they see a figure emerge from the forest and think it's the beast. The figure emerging from the forest is actually Simon, who they mistake as the beast. They rush towards Simon and begin to beat, rip, tear, and claw him until he is lifeless.

Simon's death represents the complete loss of hope in morality and civility on the island. The boys have committed an atrocious, heinous act by brutally murdering Simon, which is essentially the "point of no return" regarding civility. Simon's death is similar to Christ's in that he is brutally murdered, but Simon dies in vain while Christ died to save humanity. Simon's death not only represents the destruction of morality on the island but also illustrates the depravity of unrestrained human nature. Golding suggests that humans are inherently wicked and without laws, regulations, and restrictions, we are capable of committing horrendous acts of violence without feeling guilty.

Who are three people that live in the Brewster house in Joseph Kesselring's Arsenic and Old Lace?

The three residents of the Brewster house are Abby Brewster, Martha Brewster, and Teddy Brewster.  Abby and Martha are sisters and Teddy is their nephew.  Abby and Martha's theater critic nephew, Mortimer, often visits the house.  Teddy is Mortimer's brother.

Abby is a "plump little darling in her late sixties."  Martha is "a sweet elderly woman with Victorian charm."  Both Martha and Abby dress in Victorian fashion, even though it is the late 1930s.  Martha and Abby are both spinsters.  They sometimes entertain lonely gentleman callers.  These gentleman callers do not leave the Brewster house after visiting, because Martha and Abby poison them.  

Teddy is "in his forties... [with] a large black mustache."  His appearance is similar to that of a young Theodore Roosevelt.  He also behaves as if he is Theodore Roosevelt.

The Brewster house is located in Brooklyn, New York.  It is an old Victorian style house.  It is "one of the oldest houses in Brooklyn."  There is a front porch and a cellar in the house.  The two sisters prefer to use candles instead of electricity.

Mortimer knows that all three members of the Brewster household suffer from some level of insanity.  Teddy is digging what he considers to be the Panama Canal in the cellar.  Martha and Abby do not think they are doing anything wrong by poisoning their visitors.

What is Elie Wiesel's ethnicity?

Elie Wiesel came from Sighet, a town in Transylvania which at the time of his birth was part of Romania but fell under Hungarian jurisdiction in 1940 so was part of Hungary when Elie and his family were deported to Auschwitz in 1944. Elie was born to Jewish parents in 1928. In her essay, "Jew: Ethnicity, Religion or Race" (Corridors, University of Massachusetts, 2009), Stephanie Merieku argues that it is correct to say that the term "Jewish" refers not only to an ethnic group but also to a religion and a race. Thus, Elie could be considered an ethnic Jew. Merieku traces the dispersement of the Jews throughout the world (many into eastern and central Europe) back to the "diaspora" when the Jews were scattered out of Judea, then a province of the Roman Empire. Certainly Adolf Hitler believed the Jews to be an ethnic group and a race, in comparison to what he believed to be the pure Aryan race of northern Europe. He argues in Mein Kampf that the Jews were an inferior race involved in a conspiracy against the superior Aryan race. 

Is "when" a complex word?

"When" is not a complex word. To understand why this is so, let's examine what a "complex word" is.

A complex word is a word that consists of two parts: at least one base word and either 1) an "affix" that attaches to it, like a prefix or suffix or 2) another base word that creates a compound word. 

This is a confusing concept to understand theoretically, so let's look at a few examples of complex words:

"lighting" = consists of a base ("light") and a suffix ("-ing")

"unpleasant" = consists of a base ("pleasant") and a prefix ("un-)

"blackbird" = consists of a base ("black") and another base ("bird") (This one is both a complex word and compound word)

So, with this information in mind, when we look again at the word "when," we can see it contains neither a base word nor an affix... and thus is not a complex word!

What were the effects of the discovery of penicillin?

The discovery of penicillin by the Scottish biologist, Alexander Fleming, in 1928 was a significant moment in medical history. Once introduced into society, penicillin was hailed as a "miracle drug" because of its ability to cure previously-incurable infections which had plagued society. Many of these, like meningitis and strep throat, were life-threatening and the discovery of penicillin had a dramatic impact on mortality rates. The discovery of penicillin also paved the way for further antibiotic research. This led to the discovery of more types of antibiotics, like amoxicillin, in 1972.

However, some bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics and this poses a considerable threat to public health because it has enabled infections, like MRSA, to flourish. MRSA is of particular concern as it kills more Americans each year than HIV/Aids and Parkinson's Disease. (See the second reference link for more information).

How is the loss of innocence presented in Lord of the Flies?

The loss of innocence is presented gradually over the course of the novel but it does start to snowball towards the end. At first, the boys cooperate with relative success. Ralph is continually frustrated with the inattention to the shelters and the fire, but there is general cooperation at the start. Over time, Jack becomes more interested in hunting, thus tapping into his urge to be more visceral and savage. He becomes more tyrannical in dealing with the other boys and he uses fear to sway them to his own tribe. As more boys flock to Jack's tribe, the loss of innocence becomes more complete. When Ralph is finally left by himself, the innocence is completely gone. All the boys are on Jack's side and this symbolizes their complete conversion from a once civilized island of boys to a group of savages. 

The two pivotal and symbolic events that facilitate this loss of innocence and Jack's triumph are the deaths of Simon and Piggy. Simon symbolizes peace and understanding. In Chapter 9, Simon discovers that there is no real "beast." He goes to tell the others. In their savage frenzy of a ritual, they mistake him for the beast and kill him. They kill the one who had come to tell them that there is nothing to fear. This is extremely significant because the fear of the beast is in the minds of the boys. They would have had to face the fact that the beast was simply a potential in themselves. With Simon's wisdom, they might have dealt with this. 

When Piggy dies, reason dies. With his death, the conch is also destroyed. The symbol and the tool for civilized reason and organization are destroyed. With Piggy's death at the end of Chapter 11, innocence is completely gone. 

In Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, how does Oberon manage to "perfect" each (except for Pyramus and Thisby)?

It is true that Oberon’s actions eventually bring the play’s romantic relationships into harmony. He first attempts to unite Helena and Demetrius, for whom Helena pines, telling Puck to “anoint his eyes; / But do it when the next thing he espies / May be the lady.” Unfortunately, Puck mistakes Lysander for Demetrius and puts the love potion in Lysander’s eyes. Helena stumbles upon and wakes him, making him fall in love with her. At Oberon’s direction, Puck enchants Demetrius, but then Demetrius and Lysander fight over Helena. The abandoned Hermia is heartbroken when Lysander declares that he hates her: “What, can you do me greater harm than hate? / Hate me! wherefore? O me! what news, my love!”

Puck finally sets things right, removing the spell from Lysander’s eyes and leaving Demetrius bewitched. The lovers barely remember the night except as a dream. In fact, they are better off than they were before. Demetrius and Hermia’s father had agreed that he would marry Hermia, and Hermia had no power to resist. Now, Demetrius wishes to be with Helena, so Hermia and Lysander can stay together.

Oberon also resolves the conflict between him and his wife Titania, though he hardly plays fair. He enchants her with the love potion, distracting her from their quarrel by making her fall in love with the ridiculous Bottom, whose head Puck has turned into a donkey’s. During this time, he takes “the little changeling boy” from her for his entourage. The fairy king and queen then reconcile and bless the beds of the mortal couples.

Only in this way does Oberon improve the relationship between Theseus and Hippolyta, whose marriage seems largely unaffected by his behavior. This is interesting, considering Oberon and Titania have likely had affairs with Hippolyta and Theseus, respectively. Still, after much mayhem, the romantic couples seem to be at peace.

What frightened Jonas in The Giver?

Jonas is frightened of the jet plane that flies unexpectedly over his community. 

In Jonas’s community, every aspect of daily life is tightly controlled.  The idea is to make sure no one ever feels uncomfortable.  People are rarely unhappy or scared.  This is why the jet plane made such an impression on Jonas.  It flew overhead unexpectedly, and scared him out of his wits. 

Frightened was the way he had felt a year ago when an unidentified aircraft had overflown the community twice. He had seen it both times. Squinting toward the sky, he had seen the sleek jet almost a blur at its high speed, go past, and a second later heard the blast of sound that followed. (Ch. 1) 

The jet plane incident turned out to be an accident.  A pilot-in-training made a mistake.  It was a serious mistake.  The community reacted by telling everyone to immediately take cover, and then severely punishing the errant pilot.  The Speaker, a community watchdog, informed everyone what was going to happen. 

NEEDLESS TO SAY, HE WILL BE RELEASED, the voice had said, followed by silence. There was an ironic tone to that final message, as if the Speaker found it amusing; and Jonas had smiled a little, though he knew what a grim statement it had been. (Ch. 1) 

Release means death by lethal injection.  Jonas’s community is not tolerant of mistakes.  The new pilot frightened people, and he must pay the price.  Usually a citizen would be given three chances to break a rule or make a mistake, but serious blunders could result in immediate release.  Flying a jet over the community in broad daylight certainly qualified, in the community’s mind. 

This incident foreshadows trouble to come in Jonas’s community.  When jet planes make another appearance later, they are chasing Jonas as he tries to run away.  He then has reason to be frightened.

What do you think was Irving's purpose in writing "The Devil and Tom Walker"?

I think Washington Irving's main purpose for writing "The Devil and Tom Walker" was to critique and warn of the dangers of greed. In the story, Tom Walker meets a man in the woods who is implied to be the Devil. Tom is in an unhappy marriage and wants nothing more than to be rich. Irving insinuates that Tom eventually agrees to sell his soul to the Devil in exchange for wealth on Earth. For years, Tom makes a lot of money as an usurer, and buys a large house that he barely furnishes "out of parsimony."

As Tom becomes older, he begins to worry about what will happen to him when the Devil comes to make good on their agreement. He turns to religion very loudly but in a very superficial way. He attends church frequently and prays loudly, but continues to charge financially debilitating interest rates when he loans money. Including Tom's turn to religion in the story is Irving's way of critiquing people who are very loud about their religious beliefs but do not actually act in ways that are in keeping with their purported religion.

Ultimately, Tom's day of reckoning does come. When he is accused of making people pay exorbitant interest rates for his own financial gain, Tom says, "The devil take me if I have made a farthing!" At this claim, the Devil appears and does take Tom. After Tom's sudden disappearance, which it can be assumed is his death, people begin to look through his possessions.

On searching his coffers all his bonds and mortgages were found reduced to cinders. In place of gold and silver his iron chest was filled with chips and shavings; two skeletons lay in his stable instead of his half starved horses, and the very next day his great house took fire and was burnt to the ground.

The complete decimation of all of Tom's signs of wealth is Irving's way of critiquing people's obsessions with possessions and spending so much time acquiring material goods when they mean nothing once people die.