In Lord of the Flies, what does the reader know about Simon's background?What type of family does he come from? What are his hobbies and interests?...

Though Simon is one of the main characters in this novel,
we know very little about his background.  We meet him for the first time in chapter 1
when the choir trudges its weary way across the sand to the sound of the conch.  "[O]ne
of the boys flopped on his face in the sand...."  That was Simon.  The reaction by his
fellow choristers is minimal; they simply "heaved the fallen boy onto the platform and
let him lie."  We know from this his fainting was not particularly
uncommon.

Their leader, Jack, tells them to leave him
alone.  The boys do mutter a protest or two, but Jack reminds
them:

"'He's
always throwing a faint....He did in Gib,; and Addis; and at matins [prayers] over the
precentor."

The rest of the
choir reacts by sniggering, so clearly they may like him but aren't averse to making him
the butt of a joke.  Once he recovers, he sheepishly laughs and--though he is one of the
smallest "big" boys on the island--is the first to volunteer to join Ralph on his
exploration of the island.

Simon faints once more, when he
meets the Lord of the Flies and has a vision where he realizes what he has hinted at all
along-- the Beast is them.  Ironically, it is this news which gets him killed once he
recovers from his faint and locates the boys in the
circle.

This is a symbolic novel, and Simon represents the
emotional/mystical/spiritual/intuitive component of who we are.  He is also often seen
as a kind of Christ figure. Simon demonstrates this more sensitive side consistently as
he pauses to pick fruit for the children, reassures Ralph that he will make it home, and
feels the need for solitude as he sneaks away to his hiding place with the candlebuds
and butterflies.

Simon's past has obviously shaped who he
is today--we just don't have many clues as to what those events and experiences were.  I
wish I had more to offer; however, it's clear that what Simon is and does on the island
is much more significant than what happened to him before he
arrived.

Why does Sam ask Bill if there is heart disease in his family in the story "The Ransom of Red Chief"?

The brief answer is that Sam does not want Bill to have a
heart attack (or at least he is acting as if he is worried that Bill will have a heart
attack).  So he asks Bill if anyone in his family has had heart disease before he tells
Bill to turn around.

The point of this line is that "Red
Chief" has been torturing Bill ever since Sam and Bill kidnapped him.  He has bitten and
kicked Bill and made him eat grass, among other things.  At the point in the story where
Sam asks about heart disease, Bill thinks that they have finally gotten rid of the kid. 
But they have not -- Red Chief is right behind Bill.

Sam
knows this will not make Bill happy and that fact is emphasized by Sam asking Bill about
the heart disease.  The author has put this line in here to be funny and to stress how
much Red Chief has made Bill's life miserable.

How does Macbeth react to Lady Macbeth's death and why is it so depressing?I'm not too sure about this one. It doesn't seem clear to me.

Macbeth's speech, as he prepares to go to battle,
following Seyton telling him that "The queen, my lord, is dead," is one of the most
famous speeches in all of Shakespeare's canon.  As far as literal reaction to her death,
he simply says:

readability="7">

She should have died
hereafter.

There would have been time for such a
word.

Which means that,
according to Macbeth, she should have lived longer, so he might have had time to
grieve.

The rest of the speech can be considered depressing
because of the point of view that Macbeth gives on life and death.  It is however,
continually discussed and debated, so you should try to read it carefully for yourself
to see what your impression is of Macbeth's views.

Some
things that stand out to me are, first, the rhythm of the text.  The repetition with
which it begins ("Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow") really emphasizes monotony.  And
when he goes on to describe this procession of tomorrows as "creep"ing in at a "petty
pace," the pointlessness of this monotony is brought out.  Taking this parade of days to
its ultimate conclusion ("the last syllable of recorded time"), only shows that, for
Macbeth, there is no hope ever that life won't be a monotonous series of petty, creeping
days.  Pretty bleak stuff.

He also comments on human life
calling those who have gone before "fools" going to "dusty death."  He winds it up by
calling life itself a "tale"

readability="7">

Told by an idiot, full of sound and
fury,

Signifying
nothing.

You might call this
"depressing," as you have mentioned in your question.  But whatever you call it, it is
devoid of hope for mankind or a hint of love for life.

Using specific examples, what are some of the different interpretations of Islam by Islamists and more moderate Muslims?This question is asking me...

Though the formation of different sects is forbidden by
the Quran, it has become a reality over time.  The largest are the Sunni sect and the
Shia or Shiites with the Sufis being the smallest.

One of
the major differences between the first two is that the Sunni's believe that Mohammed
did not select any kind of successor to lead the faith after he disappeared.  Shia
muslims believe that his family was ordained to lead and so his descendants are looked
to as the rulers of or interpreters of the faith and are considered
authorities.

In terms of radical and moderate, you might
look at the muslims that feel that jihaad includes the killing of infidels compared to
those that interpret it differently that the struggle is not necessarily a violent one,
but one of moral virtue and example.

Did Dylan Thomas often write poems about death?

I think that death is a topic upon which Thomas writes,
but it is part of a larger struggle.  This is a struggle to be human, to live and to
die.  Thomas is writing at the time of the Great Depression and the outbreak of World
War II.  If we examine this time period, it is one of worldwide bitterness.  There is a
feeling of death in his work because the sensation that is around the world is that
Thanatos, the death instinct, is prevailing over Eros, the force of love.  In this
wrestling and this intense battle, Thomas writes.  With a world gripped in economic and
political despair, Thomas speaks of a setting where individuals are almost powerless but
for their rage, their freedom.  It is this ability, to voice frustration and anger, that
comes out in his poems as a writing of death, an element that was so present in the
world in many forms at the time of Thomas' writing.

What is cachexia?

Cachexia also called wasting syndrome is a condition
characterized by acute loss of weight, muscle atrophy, fatigue, weakness and significant
loss of appetite even though the patient may not be actively trying to lose
weight.

This is a loss of body mass that cannot be reversed
nutritionally. It cannot be reversed by consuming more calories or shifting to a more
nutritious diet. Patients with AIDS, cancer, TB, addictions to drugs and many other such
illnesses suffer from cachexia. Cachexia does not have any cure, or FDA approved drugs.
Steroids that mimic progesterone may help to increase appetite and put on some weight
but the muscle loss is not reversed.

Comment on this sentence spoken by Foreman in W. Somerset Maugham's "The Verger":"The last vicar knew that, sir," he replied. "He said it...

W. Somerset Maugham's story "The Verger" is set in a small
church in which there has recently been a change in vicars.  (Vicars were the local
priests of a parish who performed most tasks of the church but did not receive the
tithes and were therefore not the "official" representatives of the church.  They were
the equivalent of a local pastor who represents a larger denomination.)  The old vicar
had been there for years, and Albert Edward Foreman had gotten along splendidly with him
without any complaints about his abilities.  Foreman was the verger for this vicarage;
he performed all the physical and menial duties of the church.  He wore an official robe
and had been performing his duty faithfully and with pride for the past sixteen
years. He loved his job.

The new vicar came to Foreman one
day in a state of amazement, shocked to learn, he said, that the verger of his parish
could neither read nor write. He was embarrassed by this fact and had felt compelled to
share that with the churchwardens (it was his duty, he said).  The line you mention is
Foreman's response:

readability="8">

"The last vicar knew that, sir," he replied. "He
said it didn't make no difference. He always said there was a great deal too much
education in the world for 'is
taste."

This calm and
complacent answer did not suit the new vicar, and he informed the verger he was fired. 
The verger didn't know what to do with himself, so he saw a need and filled it.  There
was no tobacconist in his neighborhood, so he opened one.  The business did well, and
Foreman's banker was astonished at how successful the verger had been--and all without
being able to read or write.  At heart, of course, all Foreman wanted was to once again
be verger of the church.

The point of the story, of course,
is that being able to read and write may be a good thing, but it's certainly not the
only thing by which to measure either worth or success. This sentence is Foreman's way
of saying he was perfectly capable of fulfilling his duties despite his inability to
read and write. "Education" does not guarantee success, nor does the lack of an
education preclude it.