How do the banker's views on capital punishment differ from the views of most of his guests in "The Bet" by Chekhov?

In Anton Chekhov's "The Bet," the banker contends that capital punishment is more humane than life imprisonment. But, most of the guests at his party disagree.

Among the banker's guests are journalists and intellectuals; they disapprove of the death penalty, finding it immoral and against Christian purposes. Some feel that the death penalty should be done away with altogether. But, the banker disagrees, contending that the death penalty is actually more humane than life imprisonment. The banker asks his guests:

"Capital punishment kills a man at once, but life imprisonment kills him slowly. Which executioner is the more humane, he who kills you in a few minutes or he who drags the life out of you in the course of many years?"

Among the guests is a young lawyer, who is about twenty-five years of age. When he argues that life on any terms is better than death, the banker bangs the table with his fist, and impulsively bets the lawyer two million rubles that he cannot stay in solitary confinement for five years. Equally reckless, the lawyer insists that he can stay confined for not just five, but fifteen years. The banker takes the bet, and the lawyer says,

"Agreed! You stake your millions and I stake my freedom!"

Ironically, at the end of the fifteen years, the lawyer has suffered from isolation. He has had no direction to his learning because reading and writing about the potential of the human mind and soul is incomplete without sharing these ideas with others of his own ilk. Without companionship, he has despaired of life, writing in a letter to those who come after him:

I despise freedom and life and health and all that in your books is called the good things of the world.

The lawyer decides to leave before the appointed time, thus forfeiting the prize. But, he lays down his head and falls asleep. The banker, who has been watching to see if it is the end of the bet, discovers a

...skeleton with the skin drawn tight over his bones with long curls like a woman's, and a shaggy beard...his cheeks were hollow, his back long and narrow, and the hand...was so thin and delicate that it was dreadful to look at it.

The lawyer appears as though the life has, indeed, been dragged out of him, just as the banker has predicted.

What are the similarities and differences between a monarchy and a dictatorship?

Both the monarchy and the dictatorship are systems of government with one person as ruler, but they differ in some important particularities.

Historically, a monarch was the single most powerful individual in a state, and generally whatever they said was law. This has changed much in the modern period, and most present-day states which have a monarch actually govern through a parliament or similar body. In a dictatorship, all of the power in the state is definitely concentrated in the hands of the dictator.

Under a constitutional monarchy (as in the United Kingdom) the monarch is limited in their power by a written constitution. Typically, a parliament is also in place to govern the state without putting too much power in one person. The constitutional monarchy helps to protect the people from being taken advantage of by the monarch. In contrast, a dictatorship has no constitutional limitations, and even if there is a constitution in place, the dictator may be free to make changes to it at any time. 

In the 1970s, there was a wider diversity of movements that followed some of the victories from the 1960s. In your initial post, identify and...

The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s was largely aimed at exposing the injustices African-Americans faced in society, while the social justice movements of the 1970s concentrated on agitating for political and economic rights for African-Americans. In the 1960s, sit-ins and other forms of non-violent protests largely held sway within the Civil Rights Movement.

In the 1970s, the Black Power Movement fought against discriminatory actions in the housing, employment, and academic industries. Groups connected to the Black Power Movement joined in lawsuits with other oppressed groups to effect changes in employment practices. These groups managed to bring about the introduction of ethnic studies programs or African-American Studies programs on college campuses as well as affirmative action programs to protect the rights of minority applicants in employment, military service, and the college admissions process.

The Congressional Black Caucus was created by Shirley Chisholm in 1969 to galvanize the voices of new African-American legislators on behalf of their minority constituents. It continued to grow in scope and power in the 1970s.

Now, although the demonstrations of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s were largely peaceful, the 1970s ushered in a new, radical approach towards the civil rights struggle. Groups associated with the Black Power Movement such as the Black Panthers agitated for violence to end racism as they saw it. Members of the Black Power Movement strongly felt that the traditional Civil Rights Movement produced minimal results and at too slow a pace.

They wanted to see immediate changes, namely full employment, free health-care, and adequate educational opportunities for African-Americans as well as an end to what they termed police brutality in their communities. To that end, members of the Black Panthers formed neighborhood patrols to monitor police activity in their neighborhoods and to fight back against what they saw as police encroachment into their territories. The Black Power Movement favored the use of violence, while the traditional Civil Rights Movement favored non-violent means to secure the rights of African-Americans.

Even though the Black Power Movement agitated for and won many rights for African-Americans, it faced many challenges. Irrespective of new laws, every industry that employed African-Americans organically developed its own variant of occupational segregation; frustrated that their concerns were largely ignored in the process of integration, white Americans fought back indirectly by ostracizing or ignoring African-American colleagues. In the schools, black children were largely underserved and their potential for achievement disregarded. This led to many entering the working world unprepared to navigate a newly automated and industrialized workplace.

For the Black Panthers themselves, internal divisions and external attacks eventually led to its demise as a worthy political force. For more information, please refer to the links below.

Thanks for the question!

In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, what is Mr P described as?

In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Junior's first description of Mr. P is vastly different than the one that follows.

When Junior first sees Mr P, the geometry teacher is described as a "weird-looking dude."  The cartoon Junior renders shows Mr. P in visual details that would match such a description.  Mr. P stands about four feet tall, and is "bald" but with "dandruff."  The food stains on his clothing are only matched in awkwardness by Junior's descriptions of him as sometimes wearing pajamas.  Junior describes him as a "weird old coot."  Finally, Junior makes it clear that he sees Mr. P as a "lonely old man who used to be a lonely young man."  

After Junior's display of anger towards Mr. P, there is greater complexity as to what Mr. P is described as.   In the course of their conversation, Junior begins to see Mr. P as a source of inspiration.  Mr. P reminds Junior of his talents.  He recalls the talent of Junior's sister.  Then, he brings out Junior's own past in terms of fighting through seizures and physical challenges.  Mr. P is able to inspire Junior to think about leaving "the rez:"  "Son,... You're going to find more and more hope the farther and farther you walk away from this sad, sad, sad reservation."  Prior to this moment, Junior never envisioned life beyond the reservation.  However, Mr. P teaches Junior the power of hope and the value of believing that people deserve more. Mr. P reminds Junior that he is a "bright and shining star." This triggers a change in Junior.

While initially described as a "weird-looking dude," Junior ends up describing Mr. P as a transformative force of change.  Mr. P is instrumental in altering the way Junior views himself, his world, and his place in it.

What is an example of irony in the story "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant?

"The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant is an ironic story in the sense that Mathilde Loisel was ultimately brought down by what she wanted most in life — expensive things. Mathilde was a pretty girl who was raised in a modest family, but she always wanted to be rich. Even when she married a clerk, she still desired riches out of her reach. One day, Mathilde's husband brought her an invitation to a lavish party, but Mathilde did not want to go because she did not think she owned anything enough to wear to the party. Her husband encouraged her to wear her best ball gown, but she did not think it was good enough. She went to Madame Forrestier and borrowed one of her best necklaces for the party. Mathilde loved the necklace and the attention it brought her at the party; she finally had the fame she always coveted. It was not until after the party that Mathilde realized she lost the necklace. In a panic, Mathilde and her husband went to a jeweler to attempt to replace the necklace. An exact replica would cost 36000 francs, far more than the humble clerk's salary. The couple borrowed money at usurious rates. Mathilde worked as a maid to help pay off the loans. The couple did this for ten years. After ten years, Mathilde ran into Madame Forrestier again. Madame Forrestier commented that Mathilde looked terrible, and Mathilde explained she lost Madame Forrestier's necklace and bought her another one to replace it. At that point, Madame Forrestier told Mathilde the necklace was a piece of costume jewelry made of paste that cost less than 400 francs. This is the irony of the situation. Mathilde coveted fame and riches her entire life, but was miserable when she got it. The jewelry she borrowed thinking it was worth so much was something she could have easily bought in a novelty shop.  

What would George do if he didn't have Lennie in Of Mice and Men?

If George no longer were in the company of Lennie, he would be like so many other Depression Era itinerant workers who travel alone from seasonal job to job, friendless and alone, with nothing to anticipate in the future.

In Chapter One, while George and Lennie camp out in the clearing, George describes what it is like to be a "bindle stiff":

"Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place. They come to a ranch an' work up a stake and then they go inta town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they're pound-in' their tail on some other ranch. They ain't got nothing to look ahead to." 

George also mentions here and in other situations that having a friend to travel with gives a man a sense of meaning and some worth, but if a man is alone, he has no one to look after him or care about him. With another man, George affirms that a man has someone by whom to "measure himself," as Crooks mentions. With Lennie, George always has someone to validate him, someone who listens to him, laughs with him, mourns with him--someone who keeps alive a dream of having a place of their own.

Without Lennie, George, at times, would have no one with whom to talk, no one with whom to laugh or cry, or simply to be with. Certainly, without a friend, there would be no one with whom to "measure things" and perceive whether experiences are beneficial or not. For George, a man's life has more meaning if he shares his thoughts and experiences. 

Without Lennie, George would not have as much to worry about (or to complain about), but he would sense the separateness that others do, and he would be without hope and the strength and meaning of fraternity.

What two methods does Ernest J. Gaines utilize to write a story many people believe really occurred in A Lesson Before Dying?

Gaines uses the methods of believing in both the capacity of human beings to change and the way we make peace with death as ways in which A Lesson Before Dying could be seen as having really happened.

One method Gaines uses to make people believe his story rests in his exploration of the capacity for human change. Gaines goes to one of the most foundational questions that triggers wonderment: Can human beings change? One critical element in A Lesson Before Dying is Jefferson's transformation. His ability to change is one of the major elements that underscores why so many would believe the story is factual. In the end, we want to believe human beings can change. This is part of the reason why the story strikes us as so realistic. The redemption within the human narrative hits at one of our most basic and cherished hopes. It is difficult to go through life believing human beings cannot change. One reason Gaines's story is so believable is because, in seeing Jefferson's change, we recognize our own sense of hope.  

Jefferson's change in the face of death is another reason people could see Gaines's story as believable. Jefferson is sentenced to be executed, a finality that triggers fear within many people. How we will be judged and what is the value of our lives are naturally confronted questions. Given how Jefferson was found guilty of a crime and faced the harshest sentence society can offer, there is a logical question of how he will bring meaning to his life in the face of such a defined end. The humanization that results appeals to the "better angels of our nature." Gaines presents a portrait that makes us believe there is a way for us to meet a final end with dignity and pride. This is another reason why people would believe that the story really occurred. Just as we want to believe people can change, we also want to believe people can die with dignity, as Jefferson did. Gaines's methods  employ faith in both hopes, triggering the reader's desire to believe the story is real.