What is the central idea of "La Belle Dame Sans Merci"?

"The Belle Dame sans Merci" means, in French, the beautiful lady without mercy (pity). The central idea of the poem is that beauty and our own illusions about it can deceive us.

The knight in the poem comes across a woman, saying she was "full beautiful--a faery's child." He thinks she loves him, but this is his subjective interpretation of events. She looks at him as if "she did love / and made sweet moan." She also, "in language strange" says she loved him, or so the knight wants to believe.

In fact, beguiled by her beauty, the garlands she makes for him and the honey and manna she gives him, the knight misinterprets the beautiful woman's intentions. She is not in love with him, but has lured him into her trap, so that she can hold him in "thrall" or captivity, like the other ghostly knights he sees.

Keats says here that beauty is a trap that can hold us in thrall.

Why did the U.S. go to war in Vietnam? How did President Johnson escalate the war?

The United States went to war in Vietnam because it wanted to prevent South Vietnam from falling to the forces of communism.  This was during the Cold War and the United States was very concerned with preventing communism from spreading around the world.  US leaders felt that if Vietnam fell to communism, a “domino effect” would ensue in which all of the other countries of Southeast Asia became communist as well.  The US was very opposed to communism and therefore did not want this to happen.  When South Vietnam started to come under attack from communist rebels, the US stepped in.

President Johnson escalated this war gradually at first.  He sent more and more troops in with broader missions.  For example, he sent ground forces in to guard air bases, but then allowed them to patrol away from their bases, expanding their mission.  Then, in 1964, he escalated the war dramatically.  He got Congress to pass the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which gave him the power to do whatever he felt necessary to prosecute the war.  This led to a huge buildup in the American military presence in Vietnam.  Eventually, the US military had over 500,000 military personnel in Vietnam.

How does Wiesel juxtapose illusion and reality in terms of the German occupation and how does it effectively establish mood?

In section one of Elie Wiesel's memoir Night, the Jews are under the illusion that nothing will happen to them. They won't believe the horror stories of Moshe the Beadle who has witnessed the reality of Nazi atrocities in the forest of Galicia. Despite this first hand account they continue to remain optimistic. They hear contrasting reports of what is happening. Some reports suggest that the war will end soon and they will be untouched, but increasingly, bad news filters into Sighet. The Germans have occupied Hungary and the Jews in Budapest are living "in an atmosphere of fear and terror."

Soon the Nazis arrive in Sighet "with their steel helmets, and their emblem, the death's head." Even this does not collapse the illusion of safety. When a German commander gives Madame Kahn a box of chocolates, relief again pervades the town. The townspeople believe the Germans are simply benevolent guests. Even when the ghettos are set up and the deportations begin, many of the Jews cling to the illusion they will ultimately be safe. Elie's father refuses the pleadings of his servant Martha who wants to hide the family in her village.

The mood in this section is increasingly nervous and foreboding. The reader knows the outcome so becomes increasingly frustrated with people who are on the brink of disaster yet seem to carry on with their normal lives. Elie repeatedly notes that his mother continues with the everyday activities of the house despite the signs that indicate things will never be the same again. This same mood was reflected throughout a world where nobody could possibly envision the brutality of the Nazis and their attempt at total genocide. The illusion is soon obliterated when the Jews come to the gates of Auschwitz and are confronted by the reality of the flames which Madame Schächter had predicted on the train.   

What does this quote from Things Fall Apart mean? "The world has no end, and what is good among one people is an abomination with others."

This quote is highly significant in light of the major themes of Things Fall Apart. The second section of the novel is especially concerned with differences in cultural outlooks and discrepancies of moral perspectives.

Pointed conflicts emerge -- and become central to the novel -- as a result of the differing value systems of the Igbo people and the British people. The Christians who arrive to colonize the region adhere to a set of beliefs that in many instances run counter to the beliefs of Umuofia and the surrounding villages. Where Igbo beliefs sanction the scarring of stillborn babies to ward off stillbirths in the future, the English Christians see this act as "an abomination." 

When the English begin to mix and mingle with outcasts, the Igbo feel that line is being crossed. The British are engaging in taboo actions. Thus, the perceptions of each group is depicted as arising from differing cultural backgrounds that do not easily translate. The legal, social and religious systems of the Igbo people are intertwined as are those of the English Christians, seemingly amplifying the difficulty of a cross-cultural understanding. 

What is acceptable for one culture is unacceptable for another. 

The quotation in question relates to the novel's repeated concerns with localized and historically-determined customs and is echoed at the end of Chapter Eight in a conversation between Okonknwo, Obierka's and Obeirika's family.

Here, the men discuss other Igbo villages where "titled men climb trees and pound foo-foo for their wives." 

"All their customs are upside-down. They do not decide the bride-price as we do, with sticks. They haggle and bargain as if they were buying a goat or a cow in the market."

"That is very bad," said Obierika's eldest brother. "But what is good in one place is bad in another place."

The notion expressed in this quotation is the same as first quotation discussed. Ideas of proper action (morality, ethics, and etiquette) are distinct from place to place, even when those places exist within a very similar cultural milieu and share overlapping histories. 

In exploring differences in moral perspectives and worldviews, Achebe's novel suggests that (1) people do indeed understand that customs are relative and derive from cultural histories but (2) the understanding of this fact does not necessarily lead to the development of cross-cultural empathy or sensitivity. Each culture may continue to insist on enacting the codes and customs of its own social history even if that means undoing, contradicting or ultimately destroying the codes and customs of another culture.

The nature of the British occupation is problematized by the novel's explicit awareness of the ways that cultural norms are valid (only) within a specific context and should not (or cannot) be justifiably universalized. 

How did Jonas know that the leaders of the community were starting to give up the search?

When Jonas first left his community with little Gabriel, they frequently had to hide from low flying search planes.  Jonas counted on the fact that the pilots could not see color and that he had transferred memories of winter to himself and Gabriel so that the sensors on the plane could not detect their body warmth.  These planes usually came during the daytime, but they sometimes searched at night.  

As time went on, Jonas noted that there was no longer any sign of human life and "the frequency of the planes diminished."  When a rare plane did fly overhead, it flew more quickly, as if the pilots were not searching as thoroughly as they had been before.  It seemed that they had almost given up the search for Jonas and Gabriel.  Then at last Jonas did not see any planes all day and all night.

Victor reveals himself as the "true murderer." Why did he feel that his hands were "thrice accursed"? Do you agree?

Interesting question! In the book Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Victor feels remorse and guilt for making the creature. As the book progresses, Victor places the creature’s inhumane actions upon his own shoulders. This is especially seen through Justine’s conviction.

During Justine’s trial for the murder of William, Victor feels such guilt that he wishes to confess to the murder. However, Victor realizes that no one would believe him about making the creature. Eventually Justine confesses and is hanged (despite her innocence), causing Victor to feel further regret. This represents his “thrice-accursed” hands. The first was creating the monster, the second was the creature’s murder of William, and the third was Justine’s death.

Despite the guilt that Victor feels from his “thrice-accursed” hands, his own actions (and lack of action) caused the creation of the monster and the death of William and Justine. For example, Victor's own actions made the creature, which led to William and Justine’s deaths. Lastly, his inaction also incited negative repercussions. For example, Victor failed to even address the very creature’s existence, until it was too late.

As a result, Victor experienced much pain and agony. However, his own choices led to the suffering that ensued.

Did the Civil War change the character of the United States?

“It does not seem to me as if I were living in the country in which I was born.”  --Lawyer and author George Ticknor Curtis in an 1869 letter.

The Civil War changed the character of the United States in a profound way. It was not just the Union soldiers that had triumphed in the conflict between the states, industrialism was the ultimate victor. The North, with its capitalist-industrialist economy, had triumphed over the slave-driven agrarian economy of the South. The United States would forever move towards innovation and manufacturing. The decades that followed the Civil War saw unprecedented industrial growth that would move the United States towards becoming a global giant.

The notion that the federal government should be the most powerful force in the United States also was triumphant in the Civil War. By the end of the war, the federal budget had increased eight-fold from its pre-war levels. The federal government sold bonds for the first time and accumulated a deficit that was more than double pre-war levels. Throughout the course of the war, an income tax was enacted and a draft instituted. The government took unusual steps to curb individual liberties. Dozens of new federal agencies were established that would employ hundreds of thousands of people. Out of the misery that was the Civil War, the government bureaucracy was born.