How can I write a compare and contrast research paper on Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband and Lady Windermere's Fan (10 sources, 10 pages)?

It is not easy to dig into a unified whole and find the parts that comprise it, especially to compare that to another whole and especially when both are created by a master. But this type of analysis will serve you well. First, to ignite your analysis and your brainstorming, your ten sources will inform you--many sources wait for you in your school reference library in the literary criticism section (others in the book stacks)--about different opinions and perspectives, through different eras, on these plays. Your critical assessment of the opinions you read can relate to your own analysis of the plays. Such an analysis requires that you know the plays well, having read them closely. From the research you do of others' opinions, your ten sources will emerge.

Second, there are some key points of comparison and contrast that can add to the fire of your brainstorming. You can examine:

• theme


• the roles of fans


• settings


• aspects of satire


• name symbolism


• Wild's biographical elements related to places and names (e.g., Goring-on-Thames appearing as Lord Goring)


• actions of character types common to both plays (e.g., a wife leaves in each)


• unexpected appearances and mistaken identities


• characterization of husbands and wives

To illustrate a couple of these for you, let's consider some points that compare. In each play a wife leaves: Lady Chiltern in An Ideal Husband (IH) and Lady Windermere in Lady Windermere's Fan (LW). In each play there is an advocate for mercy and forgiveness: Lord Goring in IH and Mrs. Erlynne in LW. There are mistaken identities in each: Mrs. Erlynne is really Lady Windermere's mother; the woman at Lord Goring's door is really Mrs. Cheveley, not Lady Chiltern.

There are points of contrast as well. The use of fans in each has contrasts in effect and importance. The characterization of the husbands contrast: IH has a financially criminal husband; LW has a philandering husband. Themes have contrast; for example, the theme of modesty in LW contrasts with that of hypocrisy in IH. Settings have different dynamics in each play; for example, the Act I, Scene i setting of a private meeting between Lady Windermere and Lord Goring contrasts with the Act I, Scene i setting of a party gathering in IH. These ideas ought to get your brainstorming fired up, especially when you add fuel from your research reading.

What is the symbolism of "wearing white" in A.E. Housman's poem "Loveliest of Trees, the Cherry Now"?

This is not exactly symbolism but personification. The poet is suggesting that the cherry tree covered with white blossoms is like a young woman wearing a white dress for Easter. A white dress traditionally might also suggest marriage and rebirth, too—just as the cherry tree's blossoms are a herald of spring, mating, and new life.

The poem seems to be a compliment to the beauty of the cherry tree and the speaker's reflections on the joy of a season traditionally associated with youth. The girl who wears the white dress at the first sign of spring experiences spring as a young person, while the speaker of the poem contemplates the brevity of life and the beauty of nature.

What was Fitzgerald's purpose for writing The Great Gatsby?

Ultimately, we cannot determine the answer to this as it would require being able to see inside the mind of Fitzgerald and assess his inner feelings and motives, something that is not possible. 

We do know that Fitzgerald, starting as a teenager, longed for literary success, wanting both to create great works and to become well-known and well-respected. Part of this may have stemmed from his family background, which existed at the fringes of the elite society of Minneapolis; as a student a Princeton Fitzgerald also found himself on the margins of an east coast elite. He was strongly ambivalent about the elites he both wished to join and despised for their insularity, materialism, and self-centeredness. Thus to some degree we can assume that among Fitzgerald's motives was a desire to work out some of his own ambivalence to upper class society.

Finally, Fitzgerald was a professional writer who was attempting to earn a living by writing and who was motivated in part to write because it was how he supported himself and his wife Zelda.  

What criticism has Stan Lee gotten over the years?

Stan Lee is a famous cartoon artist who worked as a creative force at Marvel Comics in the 1960s and 1970s, then moved on to be a publisher. During his time at Marvel, he worked to create several of the most iconic cartoon figures of all time--The X-Men, Iron Man, Thor, Spider Man, The Avengers, and The Incredible Hulk, among others. Many credit him with creating pop-culture legends that have only grown in popularity over time. He made his heroes remarkably human, as opposed to archetypes of perfection as earlier superheroes had been, and he also introduced a colloquial way of speaking that also helped his audiences relate to his characters. He also created a shared fictional universe of comic characters and created the Black Panther, the first major black hero in comics. 

However, despite his role in creating pop-culture phenomena, according to some sources (see the link in Vulture below), there are doubts that he almost singlehandedly created these characters, as he and Marvel have claimed. There is a consensus among some scholars that he and Marvel downplayed the work of collaborators who helped to create the comic book characters Lee claims as almost his own. For example, in an article in Inc. (see the link below) published on November 1, 2009, he said "All the characters at Marvel were my ideas." He is now chairman emeritus of Marvel and has moved on to his own company, POW! 

What can cause an increase in equilibrium price and an increase in equilibrium supply?

It seems to me that there must be some mistake in this question.  The reason for this is that there is no such thing as “equilibrium supply.”  Supply is a curve, as is demand.  At the point where the supply and demand curves intersect, we have equilibrium.  At that point, there is an equilibrium price and an equilibrium quantity that is both supplied and demanded.  However, there is no equilibrium supply.  So, I believe that this question must actually be concerning what could cause both the equilibrium price and the equilibrium quantity to rise.  In that case, the answer would be that only an increase in demand can cause such a combination of effects.

When supply rises, the equilibrium quantity rises, but the equilibrium price drops.  When supply declines, the equilibrium price rises, but the equilibrium quantity drops.  When demand declines, both equilibrium price and equilibrium quantity drop as well.  However, when demand rises, equilibrium quantity goes up (because people are willing and able to buy more things) and equilibrium prices rise (because it costs more to make more things and because people who demand more are willing to pay more). 

In order to have both price and quantity rise, we need to have an increase in demand.

What human institutions are being criticized in Fahrenheit 451?

Bradbury criticizes a number of human institutions in Fahrenheit 451. Probably the most obvious is the mass media which Bradbury portrays as invasive and shallow. The parlour walls, for example, broadcast endless soap opera programmes, like the "White Clown." While they encourage audience participation, the shows are light-hearted and entertaining because they are designed to amuse and distract, not to make viewers think. Moreover, the cost of the parlour walls is high, at almost one-third of Montag's salary, which shows that the mass media is primarily concerned with the pursuit of profit.

The school system is also criticized by Bradbury in Fahrenheit 451. As Beatty explains, school has evolved to a point that it no longer educates its students (in the traditional sense):

"School is shortened, discipline relaxed, philosophies, histories, languages dropped, English and spelling gradually neglected, finally almost completely ignored."

This is reinforced by Clarisse's experience of high school in which the subjects offered reflect the influence of the mass media:

"An hour of TV class, an hour of basketball or baseball or running, another hour of transcription history or painting pictures."

The school system is, therefore, less concerned with the intellectual development of its students and focuses instead on entertaining them. 

Which one of the following is not a lymph node (thyroid, thymus, epiglottis, spleen, tonsil)?

The epiglottis is not a lymph node nor is it part of the lymphatic system. The epiglottis is a thin membrane located in the throat. Its main job is to act as the switch between the larynx and the esophagus to either let air into the lungs or food into the stomach. In the relaxed position, the membrane allows air into the lungs. It is actively engaged only when swallowing.

The thyroid, thymus, spleen and tonsils all work as part of the immune and endocrine systems to regulate body stasis. The thyroid helps to control hormone levels in the blood. The thymus is a gland which produces T cells until puberty. The spleen filters blood, stores platelets and aids in replacing old red blood cells. The tonsils are lymph nodes, positioned at the back of the throat to trap and sample bacteria entering the body through the airway.