Why has Hemingway provided so little information about the past life circumstances of the characters in Hills Like White Elephants?

At the end of
his work about characters in World War I, All Quiet on the Western Front,
Erich Maria Remarque's character Paul remarks,

Had we
returned hom in 1916, out of the suffering and the strength of our experience we might have
unleashed a storm. Now, if we go back we will be weary, broken, burnt out, ruthless, and without
hope.  We will not be able to find our way anymore.

Having written this story not long after World War I,captures this sense of loss of
values and aimlessness and isolation in the "lost generation" of post World War I.  In
a dialogue that is without much emotion and sensitivity the American speaks dispassionately
about the girl's pregnancy.  He wants no complications, for he is weary, without hope.  He can
find no way for his relationship if it becomes complicated, and so there is no decision made by
the girl and the American.

 

What are some examples of characters in a quest for power in The Crucible by Arthur Miller, and how does this compare to McCarthyism?

It is often
said that when a man possesses power, he will seek to preserve or increase it.This is certainly
true in the case of several characters in as well as Senator Joseph
McCarthy.

The Reverend Samuel Parris has some power as the pastor of
Salem.It is true that as a member of the theocracy he outranks the common men of Salem.However,
he is insecure because he knows that he is rather unpopular with members of his congregation,
and he fears that he will be removed from his post.By attempting to take the lead in the
witchcraft investigation, he hopes to increase his...

how is blanche a tragic heroine in a streetcar named desire

A tragic
hero or heroine evokes our pity or fear, according to Aristotle, because he or she suffers
misfortune that seems cruel or disproportionate to what is deserved. The tragic hero/ine is a
decent person to whom suffering comes, often because of a flaw.

Blanche's
flaw is that she has lived too long in unrealitythe world of the beautiful dreams of her faded
(and now lost) southern home, aptly named "Belle Reve." She comes to New Orleans to
live with her sister Stella, and to try, finally, as best she can, to face reality. She is
older, she has been a prostitute, and now she needs to find a husband. She can no long afford to
be picky, and is willing to marry "down," as her sister has done.

She finds a reasonable choice for a husband in the sweet, old-fashioned Mitch, and he
is willing to marry her. Unfortunately, she has to continue to live in a certain realm of
unreality to "catch" him, such as downplaying her age and leaving out the more sordid
details of her past.

Hercomes...

In Act 3, why does Romeo call himself "effeminate" and "fortune's fool"? William Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" How does Benvolio explain what...

In , of
"," after trying to intervene in the argument betweenand , telling Tybalt that he now
loves, rather than hates him,  inadvertently comes between Tybalt and Mercutio, causing Mercutio
to be issued a grave wound.  For,  Tybalt has stabbed Mercutio under Romeo's arm.  When Mercutio
asks Romeo, "Why the devil came you between us!  I was hurt under your arm,"
(III,i,86),  Romeo replies, "I thought all for the best" (III,i,87).

As Mercutio cries that he will be "worms' meat,"carries him out.  Romeo
bemoans the fatal injury to his friend, Mercutio:

This
gentleman, 's near ally,/My very friend, hath got his mortal hurt/In my behalf, my reputation
stained/With Tybalt's slander--Tybalt, than an hour Hath been my knsman.  O sweet ,/Thy beauty
hath made me effeminate,/And in my temper softened valor's steel! (III,i, 92-98)

Ashamed, Romeo feels that he has become womanly by trying to talk
to Tybalt rather than pulling out his sword and fighting as Mercutio has done. Now, tragically,
Mercutio is dead.  With this news Romeo becomes incensed, sensing "This day's black
fate" which will be followed by more.  He shouts at the returning Tybalt, challenging him
to take back the insult of "villain" said in their earlier interchange.  But, Tybalt
tells Romeo that he will make him join his friend.  As they fight, Romeo kills Tybalt; Benvolio
urges Romeo to run, for the citizens have witnessed the scene:

The Prince will doom thee death/If thou art taken.  Hence, be gone,
away! (III,i,116-117)

The day's "black fate on more
days doth depend" has made Romeo its victim this time.  He shouts, "Oh, I am fortune's
fool!" (III,i,117), meaning he has been fooled by this fate that he has earlier recognized,
but did not know what it had in store for him.

This scene reiterates
and underscores the theme of fate in "Romeo and Juliet" as the well-meaning Romeo has
fallen into very bad luck in causing the death of both Mercutio and Tybalt.  With fate making
him a "fool," the "star-crossed" lover will soon be separated from his love,
and he will encounter other workings of fate, as well.

What is the difference between education and schooling? Please give examples and explain.

"Education" is a more general term for the process of learning than is
"schooling." The latter usually refers to the formal process of one's attendance at an
academic institution,at (in the U.S.) elementary (or grammar) school, middle school, high
school, college or university,and finally, graduate school. Nevertheless today the term
"home schooling" is used to designate the process by which parents teach their
children at home as a replacement for the more usual outside-the-home learning. Yet all of these
schooling activities have education as their object, so it would be accurate to say that
"education" is the broader term that encompasses...

What is the message of the novel The Boy in the Striped Pajamas?

is a story
of two boys who cross barriers in friendship. The fence in the story represents the divide
between people that is too often formed. Ultimately, the message of the story is that beneath it
all, we are all the same. Regardless of our color, religious preferences, sexual preferences, or
gender, we are all the same and should be judged the same. 

In the book, the
author makes the reader aware of the fences, or divides, that exist in our world by telling us
the story of Auschwitz and how the Jews were treated.  These "fences often contribute to
hatred, violence, and even killings.  By telling the story of Bruno and Shumels friendship, the
author encourages its readers to see others through the eyes of a child, because children are
innocent and unaware of racism, sexism, and other biases that separate people from one
another.

The author made Bruno and Shmuel very similarthey are both nine
years old, and are both brought to a place against their will. Yet they are so different because
Shumel is a Jew who is treated inhumanely by the Germans, and Bruno lives a life of luxury. Yet,
throughout their friendship, neither of them feels that they are different from one another.
When Bruno puts on the striped pajamas, Shmuel recognizes that If it wasnt for the fact that
Bruno was nowhere near as skinny as the boys on his side of the fence, and not quite so pale
either, it would have been difficult to tell them apart. It was almost (Shmuel thought) as if
they were all exactly the same really." This is the pivotal moment in which Shmuel and the
readers realize that we are all the same.

The only thing that makes us
different is whats on the outside. Bruno recognizes what his grandmother had once told him:
You wear the right outfit and you feel like the person youre pretending to be, she always told
me. I suppose thats what Im doing, isnt it? Pretending to be a person from the other side of the
fence." In wearing the striped pajamas, Bruno has shown his father that his child and the
children behind the fence are no different from one another. Bruno has shown us that despite our
ability to compare ourselves to others, we are no different from one
another.

How did geography influence culture and technology in Mesopotamia and China?

This is a
fantastic question. 

Let me made a general statement first about culture and
technology. When there is culture in the ancient world, technology follows. This is the case
with both the great civilizations of China and Mesopotamia. 

Now as for
geography. 

Both civilizations were able to flourish, because they were
great river societies. For example, in Mesopotamia the land is between the Euphrates
and...