In "The Most Dangerous Game" what are General Zaroff's accomplishments?

General Zaroff is a Cossack who grew up in a wealthy, landed family somewhere in the Crimea, an area which has gone back and forth between Russia and the Ukraine (it is currently part of Russia). As landed gentry it was expected that Zaroff would become an officer in the Russian military. He notes that for a time he commanded a division of cavalry and, as part of the upper class, fought against the Bolsheviks during the civil war which followed the 1917 revolution. He fails to mention any specific accomplishment as a soldier, but he does go into detail about his outstanding ability as a hunter. He tells Rainsford that he killed his first bear when he was only ten years old. Afterward, hunting became Zaroff's main passion in life. He talks of hunting in every region of he world and that he was able to fund his adventures investing in "American securities" after those loyal to the czar were defeated in the civil war:

"Naturally, I continued to hunt—grizzlies in your Rockies, crocodiles in the Ganges, rhinoceroses in East Africa. It was in Africa that the Cape buffalo hit me and laid me up for six months. As soon as I recovered I started for the Amazon to hunt jaguars, for I had heard they were unusually cunning."

In fact, Zaroff becomes such an accomplished hunter that he eventually grows bored with the sport because every time he hunts he knows he will win. This is why he purchases the island where he adopts a new form of hunting involving the pursuit of men who are shipwrecked on his remote island. In the end, despite all his skill, he is unable to defeat Rainsford and when the two meet at the end of the story, Zaroff is killed by the American, who describes himself as a "beast at bay."

How can I write a three to five page analysis on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit?

This question is a little difficult to answer, as you can write an analysis about many different aspects of a work of literature. However, what I can do is give you some advice on how to approach analytical writing, and then give you some ideas about prominent themes in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit to analyze. 

Writing an analysis paper is like forming an argument. There are a couple of general steps you should follow when you're working on this kind of assignment. First, read the work of literature you have to analyze. Then, think about your particular opinion of the book. Usually, this opinion shouldn't be general (don't just say it's a "good" or "bad" book), but should deal with an important theme, idea, scene, or stylistic aspect in the book. Then, you'll come up with a thesis. This might sound complicated, but a thesis is just your particular opinion about a specific point in a work of literature. In other words, your thesis is your main argument/what you think about the point you're analyzing. Once you come up with a thesis, you'll need to back it up by picking examples from the book that support your ideas, and then explaining what these examples mean and how they prove your thesis.

Here's an example: you could analyze The Hobbit by reading it as an example of the Hero's Journey (a specific sequence of events, themes, and motifs that occurs again and again in literature and is absolutely present in The Hobbit). A sample thesis statement, depending on what you actually think about the topic, could read as follows: "I believe that The Hobbit is an example of the Hero's Journey because it includes perfect examples of each stage of this cycle, including the Departure, the Initiation, and the Return." Then, the rest of your essay would involve presenting examples from the book that support this idea. For example, you could argue that Bilbo's unexpected party is the Hero's Journey's Call to Adventure, or that his heroism in Mirkwood is part of the Initiation stage. All of these could be great examples, as long as you thoroughly and logically explain how they support your thesis. 

Don't worry if you don't want to write about the Hero's Journey in The Hobbit; that was just an example. There are many other things you could write about, such as the parallels between Tolkien's novel and the poem Beowulf, the importance of Bilbo's merciful refusal to kill Gollum, and more. If you're still having trouble writing your analysis paper, I'd recommend looking at ' essay resources. They're excellent and could give you some more specific support. 

How did Hancock help Johnny in Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes?

John Hancock ordered a silver sugar basin as a birthday gift for his Aunt Lydia.  The sugar basin was to match the creamer pitcher he already owned.  The original sugar basin, which Mr. Lapham had made many years before, had been melted recently by a maid.  When John Hancock left the shop, he gave Johnny Tremain and the two other apprentices each a coin.

Johnny Tremain was confident that he could recreate the original sugar basin.  A terrible accident occurred while Johnny was making the silver basin.  His hand was badly burned, and he was no longer able to work as a silversmith's apprentice.  His entire life changed.  Desperate, Johnny went to John Hancock for help.  He begged Mr. Hancock to give him a job as a cabin boy, but the man refused.  Johnny left, but Mr. Hancock's slave followed him.  He gave Johnny a purse full of coins from Mr. Hancock:

Johnny took the purse.  It was heavy.  That much copper would provide him with food for days.  He opened it.  It was not copper, but silver.  John Hancock had not been able to look at the crippled hand--nor could he help but make this handsome present (Johnny Tremain, page 65).

Why would Shakespeare include the theme of corruption and decay in Hamlet?

Corruption and decay are a constant theme in Hamlet. From Horatio's assertion early in the play that something is "rotten in the state of Denmark," to Hamlet's disturbing joke that "politic worms" are eating the corpse of the recently dead Polonius, to his reflections on viewing Yorick's skull in the graveyard, the characters seem obsessed with the subject. One reason why Shakespeare may have included this theme is that he wished to underscore the foulness of the crime Claudius had committed. By murdering his brother and marrying his former sister-in-law, the king has eaten away at the moral center of Denmark. Something is rotten indeed in Denmark, and Hamlet is alone (with only Horatio as a confidant) in his knowledge of exactly what the source of the corruption really is. The theme of corruption and disease also serves to emphasize Hamlet's apparent madness, a major manifestation of which is his obsession with death and mortality. This, of course, is the focus of his speech at Yorick's grave. Thus corruption and decay can be found at the heart of Denmark and in Hamlet's own psyche. Shakespeare drives home the ubiquity of this theme through evoking it in one scene after another.

Kidder points out that Farmer is dissatisfied with the current distribution of money and medicine in the world. What is your opinion of the...

Dr. Paul Farmer, physician and anthropologist, is the co-founder of Partners In Health, a non-profit organization that states that it has two major goals: 

... to bring the benefits of modern medical science to those most in need of them and to serve as an antidote to despair ...

The essential argument of Farmer is that we have a moral obligation to alleviate suffering and thus that poverty should be no obstacle to medical care. 

I agree that income inequality and the ensuing level of inequality in medical care are morally problematic. Adequate food, shelter, safety, and medical care seem to me fundamental human rights, especially in a world that has more than sufficient wealth to distribute these universally.

In the case of infectious diseases, given the level of global travel and migration, it also seems in the self-interest of wealthier countries to aid poorer ones, as diseases know no borders. It is only by global programs of vaccination and care that we can eradicate diseases rather than leaving reservoirs permitting the diseases to recur. 

In "The Postmaster" by Tagore, what is the relationship between the postmaster and Ratan?

The relationship between the postmaster and Ratan is an emotionally imbalanced one.

The postmaster’s needs are met in his relationship with Ratan.  He finds a companion even though he is isolated from others. He finds someone who helps him pass the time in Ulapur.  When he is with Ratan, the postmaster is able to relive the joys of his family and his past life in Calcutta. At the same time, the postmaster benefits from Ratan’s loyalty towards him.  She waits on him with extreme devotion, taking care of him when he falls ill and never leaving the front of his home.  It is clear that the postmaster's needs are sufficiently met in this relationship.  Ratan selflessly gave the postmaster whatever she could.

When the postmaster tells Ratan he is leaving, it is the only time she insists on reciprocity.  She asks to be a part of his life in Calcutta. The dismissiveness in his response reflects how her needs were a distant second to his in their relationship. He received what he needed at the time, and now he no longer requires her because he is going “home.”   Tagore illustrates a relationship where two desperate people who met in one particular moment needed one another at that instant. In this relationship, one person’s needs were met, while the other's remained unfulfilled despite giving so much. Contrasting the postmaster’s content ending with Ratan’s pathetic state of “wandering about the post office in a flood of tears” shows the relationship’s emotional imbalance.

Where is there a synecdoche in Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights?

A synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part is used to stand for a whole (or sometimes, a whole is used to stand for a part). The following sentence from Wuthering Heights contains a synecdoche: "Mr. Heathcliff may have entirely dissimilar reasons for keeping his hand out of the way when he meets a would-be acquaintance, to those which actuate me." Mr. Lockwood, Heathcliff's tenant, says this about Heathcliff in Chapter 1 in reference to Mr. Lockwood's own tendency to be shy and retiring. In this example, "hand" is a synecdoche because it is a part that stands for the whole. Heathcliff does not only keep his hand out of the way when he meets people, but instead keeps his whole body out of the way. "Hand" is used to represent his entire self.