What negative aspects of entertainment in our society does Suzanne Collins seem to be warning us about in The Hunger Games?

1. Reality TV: we seem to
find it entertaining to watch others struggle and have bad times. E.G. Cops, Survivor,
Hoarders, Intervention. People watched the Hunger Games as if it were a TV
program.

2. Violence: We have
come to accept violence on TV and in movies as adding more excitement.  No one thinks of
the possible consequences or the fact that someone was maimed or died.  Remember, each
of these characters had to
die!

3.Competition: Winning at
all costs: People forgot their moral compass as to what is right and wrong and just
wanted to win. Someone else's death brought joy to another
group.

4. Appearance and lies:
What Katniss and Peeta looked like and even their love affair was all staged for the
audience.  None of it was real, but it was to the people
watching

5. Manipulation: the
hosts were able to portray the tributes any way they wished to make them more or less
appealing.  From the interviews at the beginning of the games to the games
themselves.

What are 2 of Jona's major conflicts and their complications in The Giver?Complications: Things that the character must consider before solving or...

The first conflict Jonas has is that he is chosen as
Receiver of Memory.  The complication is that he is not sure he is up to the job, and
doesn’t understand that he is special.  He learns that he is beginning to see color, and
others would not be able to.

Jonas’s most important
conflict is how to save Gabriel’s life.  The complication is that if he does not find a
way to get both of them out of the community safely, they will both be
killed.

When Jonas finds out that Gabriel is going to be
Released, he knows he has to find a way to save him.  He has found out that Release is
death by lethal injection.  He knows that their absence will be noted, and they will be
searched for with planes carrying heat sensors.  They decide to plan their escape during
Ceremony day, and use memories of cold to lower their body temperatures so the planes
don’t spot them.

What is the function of minor characters such as Lucius,Titinius,Portia,and Artemidorus?William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (other minor characters...

Minor characters in any literary work often serve as foils
to the main characters; that is, in the presentation of their characteristics, the lack
of these particular characteristics in the main characters becomes more apparent to the
readers/audience. In addition, minor characters' actions and words can help to advance
the plot or develop themes of a literary
work. 

• Portia, the
  wife of Brutus, is like Caesar's wife, Calpurnia, in that
  she wishes to share in the life of her husband and is concerned for his welfare.  Both
  Portia and Calpurnia are intuitive and sense the danger that surround their husbands. 
  Caplurnia's good sense points to Caesar's subverting his to his ego when he learns that
  he will be exalted if he goes to the Senate on the Ides of March.  And, if Brutus were
  to have told Portia his "counsels" as she begs, he may have not made his tragic mistake
  of slaying Caesar.  These women are foils to the
  men.


• Artemidorous is a
  friend of Caesar's who tries to warn him about Brutus and the other conspirators.  He
  stands in the street near the Capitol near the house of Brutus, hoping to give his
  letter to Caesar.  When he does place it in Caesar's hands, he tells Caesar it is a
  matter of personal reasons.  Because the letter is personal, Caesar fatefully postpones
  its reading.  The character of Artemidorous acts as a foil also, pointing to the unsound
  judgment of Caesar, thus, also, advancing the plot of
  assassination.


• Lucius is a
  servant to Brutus who delivers letters forged by Cassius highlighting Caesar's alleged
  ambitions. Clearly, he serves to advance the
  plot.


• Titinius is a friend
  of Brutus and Cassius.  In Act V he approaches nearby troops in order to learn if they
  are friends or enemies. When he is surrounded on his horse by cheers and
  cries, Cassius's bondsman, Pindarus, hears them and mistakenly interprets them as
  meaning that Titinius is captured. Fearing that he will also be captured, Cassius takes
  his own life. When Titinius returns and sees his friend slain, he mourns the end of Rome
  as he has known it and crowns the dead Cassius with a wreath, and then kills himself. 
  Titinius advances the plot and also points to the trope of the tragedy of
  miscommunication that prevails throughout the
  play.

What are the causes of the Thirty Years' War?

The Thirty Years War was an exceptionally bloody war that
was ostensibly fought over religion; however politics was a more important
factor.

There were growing political and religious tensions
between the Protestant and Catholic princes of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1608, the
Protestant Princes formed the Protestant Union; in response the Catholic Princes formed
the Catholic League in 1609. Each side vowed that there would be no territorial gain by
the other.

On May 23, 1618, a meeting was held in
Prague between Protestant Officials and officials of the Holy Roman Emperor who were
Catholic. The dispute became heated and the Protestant delegates ended up pushing the
Catholics out a window where they fell seventy feet into a moat filled with latrine
waste. This "defenestration of Prague" was the immediate cause of the declaration of
war; but the causes were the ongoing religious and political rivalries in the Empire.
 

Can we consider Demetrius a playboy in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream ?

A playboy, by recognized
definition, is a man who is a pleasure seeker, wealthy, pays no attention to
responsibilities, especially responsibilities in relationships, and has relationships
with more than one woman at a time (Collins English Dictionary, Merriam-Webster). While
we certainly know that Demetrius is wealthy, we actually cannot refer to him as a
playboy because we see him take his prospective marriage to Hermia very seriously. In
addition, we are actually never told his motive for changing from being engaged to
Helena to pursuing Hermia. While it may be just for pleasure, his change of mind may
also be motivated by reasons of finance or social status. Regardless, whatever his
motive is, Demetrius has certainly succeeded in earning Egeus's respect, which is
another reason we cannot call Demetrius a playboy. Playboys are never considered
respectable individuals. However, while we cannot call Demetrius a playboy, we can
certainly say that he is fickle.

We see
proof of Demetrius's wealth and social status in the very first scene. Not only does
Duke Theseus refer to Demetrius as a "worthy gentleman" (I.i.53), Lysander also refers
to Demetrius's wealth and social status when he argues that his own wealth and social
status are equal to Demetrius's, as we see in Lysander's lines, "I am, my lord, as well
derived as he, / As well possess'd" (101-102). Demetrius's wealth and social status are
qualities that do fit the accepted definition of a playboy, yet the fact that he is
respected disproves the assertion that he can be seen as a playboy. We see that both
Egeus and Theseus consider Demetrius to be a "worthy" and respectable
gentleman.

While it is questionable to refer to Demetrius as a
playboy, we can note that his character is dubious due to his fickle nature. We can say
that he is fickle because we see him, for no reason at all, transfer his affections from
Helena to Hermia. Demetrius was even engaged to Helena before he began pursuing Hermia.
However, after his experience in the woods, Demetrius now regrets letting go of his
affection for Helena, as we see him explain to Duke Theseus in his
lines:

To
her[Helena] was I betroth'd ere I saw Hermia.
But, like a sickness, did I
loathe this food;
But, as in health, come to my natural taste,
Now I
do wish it, love it, long for it,
And will for evermore be true to it.
(IV.i.172-177)

Hence, another
reason we can call him fickle but not a playboy is that by the end of the play he has
decided to be true to Helena once again.

How is Dill viewed as a hero or heroic in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Scout certainly views Dill as her little knight in shining
armor who comes to Maycomb each summer, and a romance soon blossoms between the two.
Dill boldly tells Scout that he will marry her wone day, and she seems to accept the
statement willingly. Dill has seen and experienced things that Jem and Scout have not.
Dill regularly attends movies in his home of Meridian (Maycomb has no theatre), and his
description of Dracula immediately makes admirers out of the Finch
children. Dill has been to other places and states, while Jem and Scout apparently have
rarely (if ever) been outside Maycomb County. Dill's wild imagination is also a source
of admiration, and his curiosity about Boo Radley leads the children to many adventures
that Jem and Scout may not have undertaken on their own. Dill's invention of the Boo
Radley game becomes their prime source of entertainment for one summer. Later, Dill
saves Jem from having to explain why he was wearing no pants by blurting out that they
were playing strip poker. Jem and Scout listen in awe as Dill explains how he had run
away from home and ventured on his own to Maycomb just before the trial. Such adventures
made Jem and Scout forgive Dill for his occasional lies, and they viewed him much like
the traditional hero who appears from afar to save the day.

Who is the protagonist of the story "The Baroque Marble" by E. A. Proulx?"The Baroque Marble" by E. A. Proulx

The Protagonist of 'The Baroque Marble' is Sister
Opal.

A protagonist is known as the main
character of the story and in this case it is Sister Opal because the story centers on
this character. In most cases the author will present the protagonist with a goal that
they will aim to reach by the end of the story, however there will generally be
obstacles that are thrown in along the way. These obstacles can be shown in different
ways for example, they can be a natural disaster or there can be human obstacles that
are known as antagonists. The other characters introduced in the story are commonly
referred to as minor characters. Their places in the story can be either to help the
protagonist reach their goal or they may be implemented to help preventing it from
happening. You should also keep in mind that there can be more than one protagonist in a
story. When a female protagonist is used in a story, there are a number of ways that
they can be introduced to indicate that she is the main character. For example, with
regards to a short story, the female protagonist will tend to be introduced in the first
paragraph or the first sentence. One particular physical attribute of the female
character will tend to be described in more detail in order to set them apart from any
other female characters in the story. Moreover, her clothing will be described in more
detail as well as her surroundings so the reader can create the image in their
mind.