What is the setting of The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare?

Setting refers to the time, place, and circumstances in which the action of a literary work occurs. This obviously also affects the writing's atmosphere and tone.

As far as place is concerned in The Merchant Of Venice, the setting shifts from one location to another. The action at the beginning unfold in the streets of Venice, where Antonio and his friends converse and where we are also introduced to the Jewish moneylender, Shylock. The...

Setting refers to the time, place, and circumstances in which the action of a literary work occurs. This obviously also affects the writing's atmosphere and tone.

As far as place is concerned in The Merchant Of Venice, the setting shifts from one location to another. The action at the beginning unfold in the streets of Venice, where Antonio and his friends converse and where we are also introduced to the Jewish moneylender, Shylock. The scene then moves to Belmont, the home of the beautiful and wealthy heiress, Portia, a much-desired woman with whom Bassanio, Antonio's best friend, has fallen in love. 

The mood in the two scenes are in direct contrast. Venice is a bustling hive of activity since it is a merchant city, whilst Belmont exudes an aura of peace, romanticism and general conviviality. Venice is all about business, while Belmont, it seems, is about love.

Since these two settings form the major backdrop of the play, it is obvious that the scenes will flit from one area to another in each place. In Venice, for example, the scenes alternate from the streets of Venice to Shylock's house and then to the court in which Shylock's appeal for restitution is heard.

In Belmont, the scenes alternate from one room to another, to a garden, and then back to Venice and the Court of Justice where Portia, disguised as a lawyer, defends Antonio against Shylock's vengeful claim. After the dramatic scenes in court where a resolution is reached, the action moves back to an avenue that leads to Portia's house in Belmont, where peace prevails and everything ends well—a fitting finish to a rather dramatic tale.

Name the theme of "Araby." What textual evidence backs this up? How do you compare/contrast “Araby” to “I Want To Know Why”? How do you...

The major themes in "Araby" are longing/desire and disillusion/loss of innocence. Interestingly, both The House on Mango Street and "I Want To Know Why" share the same themes as "Araby."

In "Araby," the unnamed narrator is infatuated with Mangan's sister. He tries to get as many glimpses of her as he can. The narrator believes that his friend's sister is the epitome of elegance, beauty, and goodness. He daydreams about her and imagines going to the bazaar to bring back a gift for her. In the end, however, his hopes are disappointed when he arrives at the bazaar too late to purchase anything of significance or value. The narrator begins to understand that love is more complicated than he imagines. 

In "I Want To Know Why," the unnamed narrator is fascinated by horses. He especially adores Sunstreak, a stallion, and is so enchanted with the horse that his emotions become overwhelmed when he thinks about the animal. In time, the narrator also comes to admire Jerry Tillford, Sunstreak's trainer. When he thinks of Jerry, he experiences feelings akin to worship. The narrator believes that Jerry loves horses as much as he does. He is disillusioned however, when he discovers that Jerry has interests outside of horses. The narrator is particularly disgusted when he discovers Jerry's outside interests entail cavorting with prostitutes. The themes of longing and disillusion are apparent in this coming-of-age story.

In The House on Mango Street, Esperanza dreams of leaving her dilapidated house and her poverty-stricken neighborhood. She yearns for freedom, excitement, and love, all factors that are missing from her current life. Esperanza believes that her neighborhood has little to offer her, but as puberty arrives, she discovers that she is beginning to harbor new thoughts and to feel strange new longings. Like "Araby" and "I Want To Know Why," The House on Mango Street is a bildungsroman. The narrators in all three stories long for things that are just beyond their reach, whether it be horses or a member of the opposite sex.

Unlike "Araby" and "I Want to Know Why," however, the narrator in The House on Mango Street acquires a pragmatic optimism. Esperanza's resolve to leave Mango Street is reinforced by her traumatic sexual assault. However, she soon realizes that much has to happen before she can leave. So, she turns to her writing as a form of catharsis, as a therapeutic exercise, if you will. Even though Esperanza's innocence is lost, she begins to understand the value of waiting and preparing. Her longing is still intact, however; her traumatic experiences and disappointments do not enervate her in the way it does her peers in "Araby" and "I Want To Know Why." Unlike these two stories, The House on Mango Street ends on a hopeful note.

In the short story "The Birthmark," what does the text reveal about America then and now?

In "The Birthmark," the scientist, Aylmer, fixates on his wife's one imperfection--a hand-shaped birthmark that mars her otherwise beautiful face. When Georgiana, the wife, turns pale, the mark looks like " a crimson stain upon the snow." As she is so beautiful and so close to physical perfection, this one mark starts to trouble Aylmer. While he could choose to be happy with his loving wife, he instead chooses to focus on her one small...

In "The Birthmark," the scientist, Aylmer, fixates on his wife's one imperfection--a hand-shaped birthmark that mars her otherwise beautiful face. When Georgiana, the wife, turns pale, the mark looks like " a crimson stain upon the snow." As she is so beautiful and so close to physical perfection, this one mark starts to trouble Aylmer. While he could choose to be happy with his loving wife, he instead chooses to focus on her one small blemish. He provides her with a draught that he says will remove the blemish; however, his wife dies as a result of having taken it. 

America in Hawthorne's time was a place in which people hoped science and medicine could cure people of every imperfection. Today's America is not that different, as people turn to miracle diets (that aren't really miracles), pills, and procedures such as plastic surgery to achieve perfection. Like the characters Hawthorne presents, people today are also bent on achieving perfection and aren't happy with minor flaws that make them human. 

Why does Tom want to get a couple of case knives?

Tom wants to get a couple of case knives because he wants to use them to dig out the foundation from under the cabin (where Jim is being held). While Huck prefers to just steal the keys to the cabin, Tom thinks "there’s more honor in getting him out through a lot of difficulties and dangers." 

In other words, Tom wants to carry out the kind of great escape he has read about in novels....

Tom wants to get a couple of case knives because he wants to use them to dig out the foundation from under the cabin (where Jim is being held). While Huck prefers to just steal the keys to the cabin, Tom thinks "there’s more honor in getting him out through a lot of difficulties and dangers." 

In other words, Tom wants to carry out the kind of great escape he has read about in novels. To Tom, an admirable escape involves lots of complications and dangers. When Huck suggests that they use picks and shovels to dig Jim out, Tom scoffs at the idea. He tells Huck that nobody in the great action novels actually digs out criminals with big tools. 

Instead, those heroes always use case knives. Tom argues that the men generally dig through solid rock, rather than dirt. He also proclaims that the process of digging out Jim should take weeks and weeks. Huck puzzles over Tom's plan and concludes that Tom is being foolish. However, Tom tells Huck about the prisoner who ended up in China after spending thirty-seven years digging his way out of prison. 

Of course, Huck is still doubtful after hearing Tom's story. So, Tom decides to compromise. He tells Huck that they will only need to pretend that they spent thirty-seven years digging Jim out with their case knives. Tom's answer pleases Huck, and the latter decides that he will look for a couple of case knives.

Can Big Brother decide what is real and what is not?

In 1984, Big Brother can absolutely decide what is real and what is not. In fact, to do this, all Big Brother and the Party need to do is to control the flow of information, and as we see from the story, that is constantly happening in Oceania.

Let's take Winston's job for example. It is his responsibility to rewrite the past according to the Party's instructions. When he is told to write about...

In 1984, Big Brother can absolutely decide what is real and what is not. In fact, to do this, all Big Brother and the Party need to do is to control the flow of information, and as we see from the story, that is constantly happening in Oceania.

Let's take Winston's job for example. It is his responsibility to rewrite the past according to the Party's instructions. When he is told to write about an upcoming chocolate ration, for example, Winston is rewriting the past and changing what is real. It doesn't matter that the Party said there wouldn't be a chocolate ration; that phrase has been erased from history and is no longer real, because it doesn't exist.

Similarly, when it comes to the war in Oceania, the Party switches from having a war with Eurasia to Eastasia. As Winston says in part 2, chapter 9, the Party does not admit that a change has taken place. It doesn't have to because nobody would dare to argue otherwise. What this shows is that the Party is able to determine what is real and what is not, without explanation, because people are too afraid to disagree. They simply accept what they are told as fact.

What is the theme of Ray Bradbury's story "The Skeleton"?

If you reconsider the basic outlines of the plot, I think you will start to detect the theme of self-destructive obsession and fear of mortality that runs through Bradbury's story "The Skeleton."

Mr. Harris becomes obsessed with his skeleton, a symbol of death in cultures throughout the world. He regards his skeleton as separate from his true self, and it horrifies him:

"It's vulgar, it's terrible, it's frightening. Skeletons are horrors; they clink and tinkle and rattle in old castles, hung from oaken beams…"

Mr. Harris can't or won't internalize the reassurances of his wife and other people who lack his obsession. He eventually comes to believe that his skeleton is trying to kill him. He thinks it wants to free itself from Mr. Harris's flesh and Mr. Harris's control.

So Mr. Harris entrusts himself to a mysterious and self-proclaimed "bone specialist" -- a sinister little man who helped encourage Mr. Harris's obsession in the first place -- and this man responds by feeding on Mr. Harris's bones.

When Mr. Harris's wife comes home, she discovers her husband lying on the floor -- a human "jellyfish."

Did Mr. Harris get what he wanted? Obviously, existence without a skeleton is far more horrifying than existence with a skeleton -- even if you associate skeletons with death and gothic horror tales. If you strip away the surface details, and look at the underlying conflicts, you see a man who destroys himself because he can't reconcile himself to his vulnerable, animal, biological nature. If he had seen reason, and come to terms with the fact that bones are essential, he could have saved himself from ruin. But he was too much in the grip of his fear and horror, driven by his revulsion towards skeletons as terrifying, repulsive reminders of death and decay.

You can develop your own articulation of this theme by looking over the people Mr. Harris interacts with. Why don't other characters share Mr. Harris's obsession? His wife is clearly aware of the biological frailties of the human body. Note his conversations with her, and the fact that she works, or volunteers for, the Red Cross. Mr. Harris regards the fat man as someone who has successfully asserted control over his skeleton. What advice does the fat man give Mr. Harris, and how might Mr. Harris have benefited from it?

Remember that Bradbury could have made other choices, e.g., he could have given Mrs. Harris a different occupation. If you ask yourself why Bradbury made the choices he did, you will find more evidence to help you develop your own account of the theme.

How are infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood defined? How would you diagnose Leo's experiences? Leo often feels sad and tends to be very...

Here are the definitions:

• Infancy is usually the period of childhood before a baby learns to walk.


• Childhood is the time period from a person's birth to the beginning of adolescence, which begins with puberty.


• Adolescence refers to the time period after the beginning of puberty until a person reaches adulthood.


• Adulthood is the period after someone is fully grown and developed.

Leo is likely suffering from bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depression (see the...

Here are the definitions:

• Infancy is usually the period of childhood before a baby learns to walk.


• Childhood is the time period from a person's birth to the beginning of adolescence, which begins with puberty.


• Adolescence refers to the time period after the beginning of puberty until a person reaches adulthood.


• Adulthood is the period after someone is fully grown and developed.

Leo is likely suffering from bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depression (see the link below for more information). People with this mental illness suffer from periods of depression intermixed with manic periods during which they often experience changes in their sleep patterns and energy levels. Leo is clearly suffering from mild to moderate depression, as he has lost interest in activities he used to enjoy, though he does not have other serious symptoms of depression such as gaining or losing weight or being suicidal. He experiences periods of intense activity in which he stays up all night and then he speaks very quickly, which can be signs of mania. He also occasionally spends a lot of money, which is also a sign of mania. However, none of these symptoms are severe enough to interfere with his work. Therefore, he likely has a mild to moderate case of bipolar disorder.