Discuss the theme of suffering in the play Oedipus Rex.

's suffering
is mostly due to his discovery that he has been married to his mother and killed his father.
This is a particularly shocking example of the idea that self-discovery, while necessary, also
carries with it certain difficulties. The curse that has befallen his land represents the
pressures to discover oneself, and the ways that it can ultimately become necessary to go on a
journey of self-discovery. This journey, however, leads Kind Oedipus down a path that he is not
prepared to handle. When Oedipus first learns that he was the one who killed Laius, his
suffering is so great that he denies it. Still, when someone suggests that he stop trying to
discovering his past, he refuses. Oedipus eventually gouges his eyes out in response to the
shame at what he has done, but the curse is lifted and he can life a life free of the weight of
not knowing his true self.

Was Lyndon Johnson more effective in domestic or foreign policy? Why?

Lyndon Johnson's
domestic policy was certainly more effective than his foreign policy. President from 1963 to
1969, he replaced John F. Kennedy after the latter's tragic assassination in November 1963.
Stunned by the loss of Kennedy, the nation rallied around Johnson and elected him to a full,
four-year term in 1964. Johnson, for his part, promised to carry out the policies of the slain
Kennedy.

Johnson, a Texan, had had a long career in politics prior to
becoming president in 1963. A supporter of the New Deal, he became head of the National Youth
Administration in Texas in 1935. He served in both the House of Representatives and the Senate,
before becoming vice president under Kennedy. He was a consummate politician.

Upon becoming president, his domestic agenda was the most ambitious since the New Deal
of the 1930s. His domestic policy was known as the Great Society. Two civil rights acts were
passed. There were also reforms in education and a "war on poverty." Medicare and
Medicaid were enacted.

The Great Society was soon overshadowed by the Vietnam
War, however. America was heavily engaged in Vietnam from 1965 to 1973. The long and expensive
war was supposed to halt the spread of Communism, but it was a costly and bloody failure. The
United States wasted billions fighting an unwinnable war, and the unpopularity of the conflict
severely damaged Johnson's reputation.

How does Shakespeare present Juliet's emotions in act 3 scene 2? William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

The young,
privilegedis suddenly stricken within .  Moreover, the tragic news is confusedly reported by the
grief-stricken Nurse who cries out names and keeps Juliet in doubt about what has actually
occurred.  At first, Juliet believes thathas killed himself because the Nurse calls out his name
and does not respond to her questions, but instead speaks of the gore and blood.  Juliet then
cries,

O, break, my heart! poor bankrout, break at
once!  
To prison, eyes; ne'er look on liberty!
Vile earth, to earth resign;
end motion here,
And thou and Romeo press one heavy bier! (3.2.60-63)

Then, when the Nurse speaks of , Juliet is confused, asking if
Tybalt is dead and Romeo slaughtered.  She despairs, saying,

Then, dreadful trumpet, sound the general doom!
For who is living, if those
two are gone? (3.2.70-71)

Finally, the Nurse explains
what has really happened, telling Juliet that "Tybalt is gone, and Romeo banished." 
When Juliet asks if Romeo has killed Tybalt, the Nurse answers.  To this Juliet responds in
oxymorons which indicate her confusion and feelings of betrayal by Romeo:

O serpent heart, hid with a flow'ring face!
Did ever
dragon keep so fair a cave?
Beautiful tyrant! fiend angelical!

Dove-feather'd raven! wolvish-ravening lamb!
Despised substance of divinest
show!
Just opposite to what thou justly seem'st
A damned saint, an
honourable villain! (3.2.76-82) 

But, when the Nurse
says, "Shame come to Romeo," Juliet comes to her husband's defense, railing against
the Nurse and scolding herself,

Blister'd be thy tongue

For such a wish! He was not born to shame.
Upon his brow shame is asham'd to
sit;
For 'tis a throne where honour may be crown'd
Sole monarch of the
universal earth.
O, what a beast was I to chide at him! (3.2.95-100)

Certainly, Juliet's emotions are turbulent as she is misled by the
Nurse and grieves over her cousin.  However, Juliet's loyalty is with her husband despite her
feeling somewhat betrayed by his killing Tybalt.

According to Lorraine, what is John like in Paul Zindel's The Pigman?

Lorraine's
perspective of John is sweet and kind. She feels like he portrays himself worse that he really
is. For example, John writes the first chapter and talks about him smoking, swearing, drinking,
bombing bathrooms, and rolling fruit to scare substitute teachers. He basically shows his rebel
side and Lorraine clarifies in chapter 2 that he isn't as bad as he portrays himself to be. She
says that he gets away with all of the rebellious things he does because he's "extremely
handsome" (7). When they first met on the bus, he seemed very odd to her, too, because he
just laughed and laughed at nothing whatsoever, and he made her laugh, too. So, he's probably
goofy as well. She also gives a more directof John in the following passage:

"He's six feet tall already, with sort of longish brown hair
and blues eyes. He has these gigantic eyes that look right through you, especially if he's in
the middle of one of his fantastic everyday lies" (8).

She even goes on to say that the source of the problem is his family. His dad used to
give him alcohol to drink, which can never be a good message to send; but, his parents are older
and don't seem to know how to bond with him in a loving way. Aside from that, however, John is
compassionate and fun. He makes immature mistakes, but he honestly cares for people like Mr.
Pignati and he likes to have fun. For example, he doesn't mind skating around the house, making
fun of mall floorwalkers, and and throwing parties. 

One of the best
descriptions of John that Lorraine makes is as follows:

"John has made an art out of it (making prevarications). He prevaricates just for
prevaricating's sake. It's what they call a compensation syndrome. His own life is so boring
when measured against his daydreams that he can't stand it, so he makes up things to pretend
it's exciting" (27).

Basically, he's a liar; but
that's a fun way to say it. Lorraine turns out to be John's proverbial Jiminy Cricket, though;
so they even each other out in the end.

Through the story "Young Goodman Brown", what message does the author give us? (i.e. What is the theme of the story?) "Young Goodman Brown" by...

The ambiguity
of 's story, "," is the very key to his message.  Just as in Hawthorne's ","
and his seminal novel, , the ambiguity of Puritanism is exposed.  And, with
this exposure comes the theme of the hypocrisy of Puritanism in
which one never is certain whether one is "elect" or "condemned."

The main ambiguity of "Young Goodman Brown" arises from the question posed by
Hawthorne as narrator:

Had Goodman Brown fallen asleep in
the forest and only dreamed a wild dream of a witch-meeting?

If the experience of witnessing the black mass is real, Brown loses faith in the
Puritan community because they are hypocrites.  However, if he has merely dreamed "a wild
dream of a witch-meeting," then his loss of faith is of his own doing; it is because of the
depravity of his own soul, his own hypocrisy, and not because of the actions of others.  At any
rate, as a Puritan, it is "a stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a
desperate man" that Brown becomes because of the uncertainty of Puritanism in which virtue
is only a dream. Blinded by his Puritan-Calvinistic conflict, becomes a hoary hypocrite who in
his own secret sins sees sins in others:

...they carved no
hopeful verse uon his tombstone, for his dying hour was gloom.

 

What elements in Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story "Rappaccini's Daughter" characterize the romantic movement in American literature?

, along
with Herman Melville, is considered to
be one of the primary novelists of the Romantic movement
in American
literature; Walt Whitman most exemplifies this movement in poetry. Hawthorne's
short
story "" also exhibits many of the characteristics associated with the
Romantic
movement.

First, the story promotes the idea that
the individual is more
important than society. Clearly Doctor Rappaccini
acted in his own self-interest when he
conducted a deadly experiment with his
daughter, Beatrice. Though he tells Beatrice he did
everything to make her
into some kind of super-human being, we understand that she was really
just
part of his grand experiment rather than a daughter he loved.

Second,
in this story nature is used to reveal truth, which is one of the
elements of Romanticism.
Everything in this story is a lie except what the
plants in the garden reveal; though Rappaccini
has...

What is the irony in Mica High School students expressing themselves in Stargirl?

Theis that it is a place
that has valued conformity for so long. As we read this book, we realise that Mica High School,
perhaps more than other environments, is a place where standing out is definitely not the thing
to do if you want to gain social popularity. The opening of the story focuses on the way in
which the students wear the same clothes, listen to the same music, talk about the same things
and eat the same food.

This is something that is highlighted by the arrival
ofand her freedom of self-expression, which initially makes her the focus of massive attention.
Even though she does gain popularity after a while, this quickly fades away and this shows the
danger of sticking your head out and being different. Eventually, Stargirl transforms herself
into a conformist in order to try and be accepted, but she finds that whilst she may be accepted
by others, she can never accept herself if she suppresses who she is. The irony is that being
different is something that characters such as Leo in the novel do not have enough courage to
do. They stick to what they know and conformity, and therefore lose part of themselves. Even
when other students try to be different this is only very short lived.