In The Crucible, evaluate the relationship between Elizabeth and John Proctor. Who is more to blame for their marital problems?

This is a great question as it is very difficult to piece
together what is actually going on in their marriage and we have to infer a lot into
what is said and what isn't said. The part of the play to examine very closely is the
beginning of Act II, when we are introduced to Elizabeth and see them in their home
together.

Note how Elizabeth starts of the act with an
accusatory question: "What keeps you so late?" Clearly the affair that John had with
Abigail has eroded a lot of trust between them. However, it is clear that John is also
taking great pains to not raise any difficulties between them - note how, before
Elizabeth enters, he adds extra salt to the stew and then says to Elizabeth the little
white lie, "It's well seasoned." He then goes on to say to Elizabeth, "I mean to please
you, Elizabeth", however note that in her response, it is "hard" for her to say "I know
it, John."

These are just some examples that comment on the
state of their marriage. If you read the full act you will find many more, but it is
important to realise that John seems to be trying as hard as he can to make amends to
his wife. She, however, in spite of trying to be a good wife, is finding it harder to
accept John back. Note what John says:

readability="12">

You forget nothin' and forgive nothin'. Learn
charity, woman. I have gone tiptoe in this house all seven month since she is gone. I
have not moved from there to there without I think to please you, and still an
everlasting funeral marches round your heart. I cannot speak but I am doubted, every
moment judged for lies, as though I come into a court when I come into this
house!

Note also his somewhat
pained remark "Your justice would freeze beer." He clearly feels that Elizabeth is not
meeting him half way.

Why do things fall apart?

The answer to this question depends to some extent on how
deeply you want to delve into the problems and questions raised by the novel.  On the
surface level, it is clear that the hard-headed and stubborn Okonkwo is headed for some
kind of fall, he fits well within the bounds of the tragic hero, with some fatal flaws
but plenty of strengths, particularly those involving hard work and
combat.

But the entrance of the white men and the
christians to the village and the country in general create conflicts between the
traditions of the villagers and the beliefs of the new visitors.  These conflicts are
not going to be resolved simply or easily and Okonkwo's stubbornness perhaps leads him
to be more directly and violently opposed to them.

In the
end, I would say that it is the inability of either side to communicate effectively with
the other that leads to things falling apart.  Whether it is within the plot of the
story itself or the deeper ideas brought up, the two sides cannot come to any kind of
meaningful dialogue and so, as you noted, things fall apart.

Is the United States returning to the era of personal politics?

Personally, I would say that this particular election
looks less influenced by personal politics than any I can think of.  Instead of focusing
on the personal qualities of the candidates, this election actually seems to be about a
limited set of ideas.

In this election, people seem to be
running based on whether or not they agree with the "tea party" set of ideas.  You are
either for "big government" and Obama or against it.  Who you are as a person is much
less important.

I think that personal politics may decline
even after this election because of the new rules that allow unlimited spending on ads
as long as they are not coordinated with a given campaign.  These ads will focus mainly
on policy and not on trying to promote a particular persona for a
candidate.

What does "peripheral vision" mean in "Of Being"?

“Peripheral vision” refers to the nature of the speaker’s
consciousness, in which apparently pressing problems become less important, just as when
we focus on an object in front of us, other objects beside us, though present, are not
of immediate concern. “Ineluctable” refers to the elements introduced in lines 7-12;
under the right circumstances they force themselves to become major parts of the
speaker’s concerns. The “blue leaves,” “flood of stillness,” and “lake of sky” are all
examples of synesthesia (i.e., leaves are green; stillness does not rush about like a
flood; lakes contain water, not the sky). They seem true within the speaker’s
reflections on the scene around her, and their merging together seems part of the great
“mystery” of existence. Under the mystical mood described by the speaker, everything in
the natural world, and also in her immediate sphere of activity, is one—a blending of
the earth and sky. (We may take “dance” as symbolic of human activity, “kneel” as
symbolic of worshipful activity.)

Could the American Revolution have been avoided if the British had pursued different policies toward the colonies?

Maybe in the short run, yes.  But in the long run, there
was no way that this was going to be avoided, in my
opinion.

In the short run, the Revolution would surely have
been avoided if the British government would not have imposed the various taxes that it
did impose on the colonies.  It could perhaps have avoided it even longer if it had
given the colonies some actual representation in
Parliament.

However, in the long term, there was no way the
American colonies were going to remain as colonies.  They were too big, with too many
people and too much in the way of riches to want to remain subordinate to such a distant
government for much longer.

The best that could have
happened would have been for the British to give the American colonies the sort of
pretty much independent status that the later willingly (without war) gave to
Canada.

I have just started reading the Great Gatsby and am struggling.How is Fitzgerald portraying American society throughout this book?

This novel's setting is what is referred to as "The Jazz
Age" - a period of time in between the two world wars (after WWI and before WWII).
During this time, American society became very focused on materialism. It was the
industrial age and many new things were being invented, making life much easier and
resulting in a lot more free time for people than during the prior agricultural age.
More people lived in cities, and there were phonograph records, automobiles, etc. --
modern conveniences were beginning to explode. Rich people had a great deal of wealth,
and spent money in an uncontrolled way. People purchased things on credit and pretty
soon, all of this extravagance led to the great Stock Market Crash in
1929.

As you read through the novel, notice how Tom, Daisy
and Gatsby live compared to how Nick lives. Notice the differences between East Egg and
West Egg. Nick is from the Midwest, remember, and Tom and Daisy are from the East Coast.
Gatsby is also from the Midwest, but he WANTS to be associated with the rich
East-Coasters, hence the tragedy of his life. Nick is constantly evaluating how shallow
Tom and Daisy's lives are (and their friends, parties, etc.). Nick feels pity for Gatsby
when he tries to live up to all of this and cannot, because he really is not part of Tom
and Daisy's world. At one point, Nick will say that Gatsby was better than the whole lot
of them.

Towards the end of the novel, Nick will say that
Tom and Daisy were "careless people." I don't want to ruin the novel for you by giving
you too many details, but if you keep these things in mind as your read it, you will
undertand the criticism of the affluent American society during the Jazz
Age.

What type of literature is a fable?

A fable is a fictitious story made up or told to
illustrate or teach a moral. Though many popular and famous fables do feature animals,
that behave in some respects like humans, - for example, they may talk like humans -
this is not an essential characteristic of a fable. For example, all characters in the
famous fable titled Kings New Clothes, by Hans Christian
Anderson, are humans. Fables may also feature forces of nature as characters in the
story. For example, in a popular fable, that highlights the superiority of power of love
and understanding over that of physical force, there a contest between the Sun and Wind
which involves taking off the coat of a traveller. The wind tries to blow the coat off
the traveller but fails to do so. But when the sun makes the weather warm, the traveller
takes of the coat on his own.

Generally, we associate
fables with the stories that have been told for many centuries. Morals of many such
fables, summed up in short phrases, have become well known proverbs. For example, when
we speak of 'sour grapes', we are referring to the moral of the famous fable titled
The Fox and the Grapes.

How is Gatsby introduced in chapter 1?

Gastsby is first introduced in conversation by Jordan
Baker. After learning that Nick Carraway lives in West Egg, she sometime later remarked
that she knew a man who lived there, by the name of Gatsby. At that first moment, Nick
tells the reading audience that he didn't have the chance to tell the group that Gatsby
was his neighbor.

Another point worth noting that will
become important later is that Daisy with shock wondered at the name, mentioning it
twice rather quickly. It was as if there was some familiarity to the last
name.

Moments later in the book, Nick tells Jordan Baker in
secret that Gatsby is his neighbor. This is quickly
abandoned.

In the last page of the chapter, Gatsby is no
longer a secretive idea that is quickly silenced, but a silhouette in his expansive yard
leisurely wondering about. Nick notices that he seems somewhat in his own element as he
watches Gatsby reaching toward a green light across the bay. For a moment Gatsby
appeared to be trembling and then Nick loses sight of
him.

Gatsby's introduced is steeped in symbolism and highly
mysterious.

What is the specific theme being expressed in the play "Pygmalion"?

At the risk of sounding like Bill Clinton, what
specifically do you mean by the word "specific"? (If you're too young to get that joke,
check out the link below.)

Unless our name is George
Bernard Shaw, we can only attempt to say what is the theme of
"Pygmalion."  

In my humble opinion, there are two main
themes in "Pygmalion."

a) Distinctions of class (upper
class, lower class, etc.) are artificial.  If a "guttersnipe" like Liza Doolittle can be
trained to the point that she can be the star of a high-society ball, then what real
difference is there between the guttersnipe and the
princess?

b) Education can modify our behavior and our
attitudes, but only up to a point.  At the end of the play, Liza chooses to marry Freddy
and run a flower shop rather than live the high-life with Higgins.  She would be utterly
incapable of returning to the gutter--but she is just as incapable of dealing full-time
with Higgins's snobbery, intellectualism, and occassional forays into high
society.

Remember: theme is a matter of opinion.  Your
opinion must be reasonable and well-supported by the text, but it is still your
opinion.

What are some of the similes used in "The Scarlet Ibis"?

Remember that a simile is a form of literary comparison
where one object is compared to another object using the word "like" or "as". Normally
the two objects are dissimilar - we would not normally think of associating or linking
them, but the author normally makes a point or forces us to see the object they are
describing in a new and surprising way because of the
comparison.

Looking at "The Scarlet Ibis", therefore, there
are some great examples of similes. To me, one of the most important in the text is the
description of the dead Scarlet Ibis after it has just fallen from the
tree:

Even
death did not mar its grace, for it lay on the earth like a broken vase of red flowers,
and we stood around it, awed by its exotic
beauty.

Here the dead scarlet
ibis is compared to a broken vase of red flowers. Note how this reflects both its
fragile, broken state as a dead bird, but it also conveys its incredible beauty - it is
compared to red flowers, even though they are in a broken
vase.

What is key to realise, however, is how the mention
of red links the scarlet ibis to Doodle. Remember the simile that is used to describe
him at birth:

readability="6">

He seemed all head, with a tiny body which was
red and shrivelled like an old
man's.

Here of course the
comparison is less than flattering, emphasising as it does the unnatural appearance of
Doodle, but it serves to link the character of Doodle with the scarlet ibis - a
comparison that becomes very important at the end of the
novel.

So, there are two important similes for you from
this excellent story. Have a go and looking back at it and finding some more now. Good
luck!

Explain what kind of poem the poem "Time" by Allen Curnow is?I am the nor'west air nosing among the pinesI am the water-race and the rust on...

This poem, "Time," by Allen Curnow, is a personification
poem.  Personification is giving human qualities or characteristics to things which
aren't human or aren't living.  In this case, the speaker of the poem is Time.  Time is
given many qualities in this work which, of course, time does not have.  We think the
speaker is Time from the beginning; we know it for certain in this
stanza:

I,
Time, am all these, yet these exist
Among my mountainous fabrics like a
mist,
So do they the measurable world
resist.

He, Time, says he is
all the things listed in this work--air, dust, music, farm--things which he can not
really be.  Line after line of images add to the picture we have of
Time.  

The use of personification in this poem works in
much the same way as a metaphor does.  (For example, if one is grumpy in the morning one
might say "I am a bear today.")  If the word Time were not in the
body of the poem, it could also be considered a riddle.  A similar work is entitled
"Mirror," by Sylvia Plath. 

How has Lady Macbeth changed during the course of the play?please specifically about the difference when she was manipulating her husband to kill...

On her entry in the play in act 1 sc. 5 reading a letter
from her husband, Lady Macbeth revealed her mind in two soliloquies. She wanted Macbeth
become the king as prophesied by the witches, but doubted if her husband possessed the
necessary evil in him to translate his ambition . As a devoted wife she chose to
'chastise' her husband with 'the valour of her tongue'. Lady Macbeth made a further
apostrophe to the powers of darkness to fortify her with dire cruelty so that she could
goad her husband to the heinous act of killing Duncan. On his return, Macbeth still
looked very unsettled and it was she who again and again remonstrated him to prepare
Macbeth for the 'deed'. Lady Macbeth herself drew the entire blue-print of the murder
and prevailed upon her husband to work it out.

But after
the murder and after the discovery of the murder, Lady Macbeth started betraying signs
of mental degeneration and despair. She fainted amongst all after the discovery of
Duncan's body in a pool of blood. We heard her regret that ' naught's had,
all's spent '. She failed to rescue her husband from his strange paroxysm of
fear when Banquo's ghost appeared at the coronation banquet. This change in the
character of the Lady was most prominent in her sleep-walking in act 5 sc. 1. She was
walking with a taper in her hand haunted by darkness and the terror of being condemned
to hell. Almost all the moments of crime and guilt came back thick in her mind as we saw
her rubbing her hands in a bid to clean them. She walked on muttering broken sentences,
pathetically falling back on her and her husband's past doings. The Doctor diagnosed her
disease as 'a slumbery agitation' beyond the possibility of cure. We saw how a strong
and seemingly so cruel a woman turned into a sad victim of tragic
nemesis.

Can someone please help me in writing an essay on Sir Gawain and King Arthur? I always seem to get an F on essays. Thank you.

Your question is a bit vague, but I see you're still
waiting on an answer so I'll share a few ideas with you which may get you started on the
right path, anyway.

You mention two characters, Sir Gawain
and King Arthur, and I assume you're interested in comparing and contrasting them.  When
you don't know what else to do, focus your thoughts by making a list.  List the
qualities and characteristics of each man, the actions of each man, and whatever else
you might know about each of them.  Now compare lists.  The elements they share become
the points of comparison, the areas in which they diverge become the points of
contrast.  Pick two or three of each, depending on the required length of your essay,
and those are your body points.

If it's simply an
informative or expository essay, your job is even easier; simply pick several
characteristics which you know or have researched about each and write kind of
"matching" paragraphs.  In other words, if you discuss, say, Gawain's life, deeds, and
disgraces, you should turn around and do roughly the same thing in the next section with
Arthur.

Next write a strong, clear statement of purpose
(thesis statement) which includes the three points you'll be writing about in your
essay. I've included a link below in case you need some further
help.

Every good essay begins with an effective
introduction. You might find an interesting quote or a short story or whatever,
something to capture the readers' interest and let them know the direction in which
you'll be heading.  Make certain you have a strong purpose statement, as well.  The
conclusion should both summaraize your points and leave the reader
satisfied. 

You mention you don't seem to be doing very
well on your essays.  I have a few suggestions which might help.  First, I had to
correct your spelling and punctuation in the question you asked; that tells me perhaps
you're making too many errors in your essays, as well. It's always a good idea to have
someone you trust read through your essay at least once to proofread for errors.  Make
sure you do the same.  That's an easy way to improve an written
work.

Second, ask your teacher for some ideas on how you
can improve.  I know that writing is not every student's strength, so if one of my
students comes and asks me how to get better at it, I will go out of my way to offer
help.  I'm confident your teacher will do the same.  Best of
luck!

What is the effect of O'Conner's use of the phrase "good country people" throughout the story?

As with much of O'Connor's work, the titles often contain
irony, and this irony is repeated in the plot of the story. The "good country people"
are not really good - Mrs. Freeman is a chatterbox that is always bragging about her two
daughters. Mrs. Hopewell, Joy/Hulga's mother, is very insistent that the Freemans are
not "white trash" - but "good country people" because certainly a prideful woman such as
herself would never have hired white trash to work on her farm.
Manley Pointer is an evil con artist who winds up seducing Joy/Hulga, and then stealing
her pride and joy, her wooden leg, so he is not "good country people" either. None of
the characters are good country people.

Joy/Hulga imagines
herself above everyone else and ridicules the "good country people" around her because
she is educated, and they are not, so she is not "good country people" either. She
fancies herself above the "good country people" but she is not. The use of this phrase
throughout the story not only has the effect of pointing out the fact that the "good
country people" are really "bad country people" but it also emphasizes O'Connor's theme
of grace, which is Biblically based. Grace is unmerited favor, given by God to sinners -
people that do not deserve it. Even though the characters in this story are not "good",
the Bible teaches that Jesus was sent to redeem sinners, not good people. O'Connor
subscribed to the Biblical teaching that "For while we were still sinners, Christ died
for our sins." This idea of grace is evident in everything she ever wrote, and in her
letters, she constantly reminded people that this was why she wrote. This also explains
why her characters are often  so "grotesque" and undeserving of grace (like Joy/Hulga).
They are the ones that need grace the most.

Need to solve a sumi/(1-i) + i/(1+i)

To solve i/(1-i) +i/(1+i).

i
is the sqrt (-1). So i^2 = -1.

To simplify the expression,
we  multiply both numerator and denominator by the same expression and also we convert
the denominator into a real number.

The first
term:

i/(1-i) =
i(1+i)/(1-i)(1+i)

i/(1-i) =
(i+i^2)/(1-i^2)

i/(1-i) =
(i-1)/1+1)

i/(1-i) =
(i-1)/2.......................(1).

The second
term:

i/(1+i) =
i(1-i)/(1+i)(1-i)

i/(1+i) =
(i-i^2)/(1-i^2)

i/(1+i) =
(i-1)/(1+1)

i/(1+i) =
(i+1)/2......................(2).

Adding (1) and (2) , we
get:

i/(1-i) + i/(1+i) =
(i-1+i+1)/2

i/(1-i) + i/(1+i)  =
2i/2

i/(1-i) +i/(1+i) = i

What are the doctrines of Judicial Restraint and Judicial Activism?

The doctrine of Judicial Restraint suggests that judges,
while in the course of making legal decisions and setting precedents, should limit
overturning laws unless that legislation is very obviously unconstitutional.  It also
has come to be synonymous with judges who adhere strictly to legal interpretations and
existing decisions and laws, and who remain dispassionate and impartial when hearing
cases.

Judicial Activism, on the other hand, is the exact
opposite.  Legally it means that a judge takes political and personal considerations
into account when making a ruling or writing an opinion.  In political exchanges, it has
most commonly been associated with a ruling that is merely controversial or unpopular,
especially by those on the conservative side of the political spectrum, and it has
become something of a misnomer.  It is sometimes, therefore, confused with judicial
discretion - where a judge can take into account all of the circumstances of the case
and sentence or rule with that in mind, as opposed to "legislating from the bench",
which is much more rare in my opinion.

What are the hidden problems while playing online casino gambling?

The problems that you can face while gambling online have
nothing to do with you winning or not. It is well known that casinos have their systems
rigged to make a profit. The payments that you make to play and your odds of winning are
kept such that it is the casino that ultimately makes a
profit.

When you gamble online, you have to first ensure
that the site you are using is legal as several countries have made online gambling
illegal. Also, for online gambling payments have to be made using your credit card or
other channels of electronic money transfer. It is essential that you ensure the site
you are dealing with is secure, and has been certified by a well known agency, so that
when you carry out transactions there is no risk of your private financial information
getting into the wrong hands and being misused.

In
addition, as it is relatively easier for you to access funds and place bets while
gambling online. You have to ensure that you only gamble with how much you can afford.
You surely don't want a huge debt at the end of the day that you wouldn't be able to
repay.

All My Sons is a tragedy of the family not the individual.Views for and against this statement would be helpful.

Miller's All My Sons is arguably a
tragedy of the family not of the individual because the members of the Keller family
allow each other to continue to live under the facades that they have created for
themselves.  For example, Chris and Joe pretty much believe that Larry is dead; however,
they will not admit this to Kate and the two continue to tip-toe around the issue for
fear of upsetting Kate.  They assume that this is the best way to deal with Kate, yet
they do not consider that they are only fostering a platform for heartbreak.  Similarly,
Kate all along has known that Joe is responsible for the shipping of the faulty machine
parts, but she keeps his secret for years.  She never tells anyone that he was not home
sick as he had claimed.  It seems that Kate believes that she should support her
husband's decision to keep their family safe, but when Joe's secret is revealed, the
knowledge drives Joe over the edge and sends Chris into a state of near depression.  So,
the play is a tragedy of a family who cannot rally in support of each other, choosing
instead to hide each other from necessary truths.