Who is the intended audience for the movie versions of "Macbeth"?

Many would say that Shakespeare is for everyone, but this answer is a little general. There are some groups of people that would specifically benefit from a movie version of Macbeth. Before talking about those people, however, it may be helpful to note the three most recent major movie versions of Macbeth.

Macbeth (2015) - Featuring Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard

Macbeth (2006) - Featuring Chloe Armstrong 

Macbeth (1997) - Featuring Jason Connery

These three versions ignore the many recorded stage versions, as well as the nearly countless filmed versions since the birth of film. Macbeth is a popular subject. So who (specifically) would benefit from these movies? 

I would suggest there are three groups that might benefit the most from film retellings of Macbeth:

1. 
   People unfamiliar with Shakespeare. Shakespeare can seem very intimidating to people. A movie is a great way for a person to better understand Shakespeare without being frightening of misunderstanding him or feeling dumb.


2. 
   Those looking to better understand Macbeth. Shakespeare can be downright confusing. A film version of Macbeth is a great way to really visualize a play that is causing a reader trouble.


3. 
   Shakespeare aficionados. Shakespeare aficionados love film versions because they offer storytelling techniques that are impossible in a theater. They allow the gore of Macbeth to really be told in a visual way that spans time and place differently from a stage. 

Most students commonly believe that the Revolutionary War was a short and relatively painless war. However, for Americans, only the Vietnam War...

To answer your question, I will explain why the war was a long and painful one. I will also include the costs both sides experienced as a result of the Revolutionary War. Based on these ideas, you should be able to create the essay you are required to do.

In order to understand why the war lasted so long, it is necessary to look at what each side wanted to accomplish, and how it planned to do these things. In the beginning of the war, the British wanted to isolate New England from the rest of the colonies. They believed doing this would cause the conflict to end very quickly. However, because one general didn’t follow the plan, one British army got defeated, and one general moved very slowly, the large British force that was supposed to arrive in Albany, New York never arrived there. Only one of the three armies made it to Albany. As a result, the British lost this battle. This opened the door to the colonists receiving aid from France and Spain. This aid helped us in the fight against Britain, leading to the war lasting longer.

Another factor in why the war was a long one was the British had to defend the entire empire. The colonists knew this and developed a strategy that would lengthen the war. The colonists didn’t want to engage the British in large-scale battles. They knew those battles would be hard to win. Thus, the colonists used guerilla warfare tactics that caused the British to have to chase the colonists throughout the empire, especially in the South. This lengthened the war, which is exactly what the colonists wanted. The colonists knew that support for the war would decrease in Britain the longer it took for the war to end. Thus, our strategy, combined with Britain having to defend the entire empire, helped to lengthen the war.

The war was very costly for both sides. Both sides suffered many deaths.  These deaths occurred from battles and from diseases. The financial costs were also very high. The United States spent about $50 million on the war while Britain spent about $375 million. Even France and Spain incurred costs by helping us. For more specific figures on costs and casualties, click here and scroll to the section of costs and casualties. Additionally, there was property damage and our land was damaged by the fighting taking place on it.

As with any war, there were significant costs associated with it. Additionally, wars rarely go according to plan, causing them to last longer than expected. The Revolutionary War was no different.

In Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, why doesn't Jem want anything to do with Scout at school?

Jem is older than Scout, and he has had several years of school experience by the time she starts the first grade.  Jem takes Scout to school on the first day, but gives her strict instructions.  As they walk, "Jem [is] careful to explain that during school hours [she] was not to bother him... [and not to] to embarrass him with references to his private life" (To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 2).

At school, Jem wants to maintain his reputation.  He does not want Scout to say or do anything which will embarrass him.  At home, they often play together.  They play imaginative games, such as when they act like the Radley family.  At school, Jem tells Scout not to expect him to play Tarzan.  At recess, he does not want Scout to follow him around.  He tells her to spend time with other first graders and let him do his own things with his own friends.

What are four rumors/things the men have heard when discussing that the world is large and different places have different customs?

In Chapter 8, Okonkwo visits his friend, Obierika, in order to take his mind off Ikemefuna's death. Obierika soon informs Okonkwo that he expects him to be part of the negotiations when his daughter's suitor comes to discuss the matter of the bride price.

Later, after the negotiations yield twenty bags of cowries for the bride price, the men eat and drink palm-wine while discussing the different customs of their neighbors. Accordingly, in Abame and Aninta, the titled men do common work; they 'climb trees and pound foo-foo for their wives.' All the men think this is a terrible custom; they prefer their own custom, where only untitled men are supposed to climb the palm trees in order to tap them. Additionally, pounding foo-foo is considered women's work, and no man in the Umuofia clan would be caught dead doing such a thing. Foo-foo is mashed yams and is a staple in West African cultures.

Additionally, people in Abame and Aninta do not decide bride prices with bundles of sticks, as is the tradition in Umuofia. Instead, they haggle over the price as if they were in the marketplace. At this, Obierika's brother pipes up that people in Umunso do not bargain at all. The suitor just keeps bringing in bags of cowries to his in-laws until they are satisfied with the number of bags he presents to them.

Okonkwo agrees that the world is a large place, and that not everyone practices the same customs. He is especially indignant that, in some areas, children belong to their mothers instead of to their fathers. Machi agrees that this sort of custom is a particularly troubling one and as ridiculous as saying that 'the woman lies on top of the man when they are making the children.' It is clear that the men derive their masculine identity from traditional customs and entrenched habits.

The last rumor the men discuss pertains to the white man, who is supposedly as white as chalk and has no toes to speak of. The conversation ends with Machi proclaiming that Obierika should know what a white man looks like and whether he has toes or not. After all, Amadi, the leper, passes by their village frequently. Since the euphemism for 'leper' is 'white skin,' those who know Amadi laugh at Machi's joke.

How did Fortunato insult Montresor in "The Cask of Amontillado"?

Fortunato did not do anything to insult Montresor.

There is no specific insult to Montresor mentioned, but the way that Montresor describes Fortunato’s insult makes it seem like it was either very slight or nonexistent.

The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that gave utterance to a threat. At length I would be avenged …

Fortunato clearly has no idea what he is doing to annoy Montresor.  Montresor is convinced that Fortunato has done him horrible wrongs, but these are all in his head.  Montresor is not in his right mind, and so he has imagined that Fortunato has insulted him. 

You can tell that Fortunato isn’t aware that Montresor considers him an enemy by the way he greets him.

It was about dusk, one evening during the supreme madness of the carnival season, that I encountered my friend. He accosted me with excessive warmth, for he had been drinking much. … I was so pleased to see him that I thought I should never have done wringing his hand.

Yes, Fortunato has been drinking and so his judgement might be impaired, but why would he be so happy to see Montresor if he spent so much time insulting him?  Why would Montresor be happy to see him?  Actually, Montresor is happy to see him because he has been planning his murder.  It makes no sense though, that if Fortunato was really an enemy and had really done all of these horrible wrongs to Montresor that he would so willingly go with him.

The insults, or the thousand injuries, are all in Montresor's head.  They are the product of a delusional mind.  Montresor is a madman, and while madmen might make entertaining narrators, they do not make reliable ones.  They do, however, make excellent murderers.  Montresor carefully plots Fortunato's murder because he is convinced he has done him some horrible wrong.

What does Shylock's observation that it is ironic that Antonio daily insults him but will still borrow money from him reveal about Shylock?

Shylock sees an opportunity when Antonio, who has insulted him and even spit at him in public, arrives with a business proposal in Act 1, Scene 3 of “The Merchant of Venice”. Shylock is quick to calculate an advantage, and also very good at separating his business interests from his personal feelings. He doesn’t like Antonio any more than Antonio likes him, and based strictly on that animosity it would be understandable for Shylock to refuse to do business with him. Shylock swallows his pride, though, because he’s a good businessman and Antonio’s proposition is a good investment, and he recognizes especially that it would benefit him to have Antonio in debt to him, and if in the unlikely event that Antonio defaults and can’t pay back the loan, the opportunity of having Antonio at his mercy would be worth the loss of capital. Shylock is calculating, in every sense of the word, and despite his personal feelings will always pursue opportunities that calculate in his favor.

code cracking 9 19, ,13,1,3,2,5,20,8, ,1, ,8,5,18,15,?,

We are asked to decipher the following code:

9,19,13,1,3,2,5,20,8,1,8,5,18,15

There are a number of simple cipher types ranging from simple to very complex.

This is a type of substitution cipher; these have been used for millenia. The cryptograms in newspapers or magazines are substitution ciphers -- each letter of the alphabet is paired with another letter without repetition.

A different type of cipher is the Caesar cipher where each letter is shifted along the alphabet by a certain number. (e.g. a=e, b=f, c=g etc...)

The type of cipher used here substitutes a number for the letter. The simplest such cipher numbers the letters of the alphabet in order: a=1,b=2,etc... This is used here.

The message reads: Is Macbeth a Hero

I is the 9th letter of the alphabet, s is the 19th letter, etc...