in "A Retrieved Reformation"why does Jimmy Valentine decide to become Ralph D. Spencer?

When Jimmy Valentine arrives in a small town in Elmore, Arkansas, for a potential safe-cracking job, he looks into the eyes of Miss Annabel Adams, daughter of the town's bank owner. Jimmy falls instantly in love, so he assumes a new identity, and abandons his life of crime in his attempt to earn Annabel's love.

After he encounters the pretty, innocent Annabel, Jimmy walks to the Planters' Hotel and registers as Ralph D. Spencer. He asks the clerk how the shoe business is in town.

Mr. Ralph Spencer, the phoenix that arose from Jimmy Valentine's ashes--ashes left by the flame of a sudden and alternative attack of love--remained in Elmore, and prospered. He opened a shoe-store and secured a good run of trade.

Mr. Spencer becomes a social success. Also, he wins the heart of Annabel Adams, who continues to charm him. He has truly become rehabilitated; he has finally taken the warden's advice to "Brace up, and make a man" of himself.

What does Malcolm tell Macduff he wants to become?

In Act IV, Scene III, Malcolm and Macduff are in England discussing the plight of their country and how evil Macbeth has become. Malcolm then starts to suggest that, as bad as Macbeth is, he will be even worse if he were to eventually become king. He goes on a tirade about all of his own vices. He tells Macduff that his own evil is limitless. He adds that his own greed is also boundless. Upon becoming king, he says he will take the lands and jewels of his nobles. His greed is so great, so he says, that taking from his people will only increase his lust for power and greed. He says that if he becomes king, he will "uproar the universal peace." In other words, he says he will become a terrible tyrant of a king. But he never says that he "wants" to become such a king. 

Macduff counters by saying that he does not believe Malcolm will become this kind of ruler. Malcolm agrees and says all of these terrible things he has been saying about himself are not true. Malcolm was only testing Macduff's loyalty. 

Referring to Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist, is it possible to live a fulfilling life without ever achieving your Personal Legend?

Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist is about a young boy who first learns about Personal Legends from Melchizedek, the King of Salem. The boy represents all of us and the fact that we can all find our Personal Legends, or achieve our life's purpose. Sadly, many people do not fulfill their Personal Legends; and no, they do not realize complete happiness or joy if they don't. Coelho explains this theory in more explicit details in the 2002 introduction to the story. He explains it as follows:

"In the silence of our hearts, we know that we are proving ourselves worthy of the miracle of life. . . We start to live with enthusiasm and pleasure. Intense, unexpected suffering passes more quickly than suffering that is apparently bearable" (Coelho, vii).

The boy, Santiago, learns from the example of the Baker that social status and other vain glories of the world actually get in the way of achieving one's fullest potential. Melchizedek explains that Baker wanted to travel, too, but he decides to start his bakery instead and puts it off until he is older and has more money. This is a trap that many people fall into. They think they will travel later, and some do, but they put off finding their full potential in life in order to make a living. Making a living, though, is not the same as achieving one's Personal Legend.

Santiago even meets a girl named Fatima at the oasis and is tempted to stop his search for his treasure in order not to lose her. The Alchemist explains to him that the boy is merely being tested to see if he will continue on his journey's path.

". . . before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we've learned as we've moved toward that dream" (132).

The Alchemist also tells the boy that he would be happy for awhile if he marries Fatima, but after a few years, the fact that he never finished his journey would bother him and he would end up resenting her. At every turn, someone advises the boy not to give up on his dream or he will never know his true potential or true happiness.

One of the ironies of "The Cask of Amontillado" is that Fortunato contributes to his own end. In what ways does he do so?

In Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado," Fortunato contributes to his own death mainly through his inebriation. The narrator has "borne as best [he] could" "the thousand injuries of Fortunato," and vows to get revenge. He encounters Fortunato, an aficionado of wines, during the "carnival season"; he is dressed as a jester. By promising him rare wine, the narrator lures the already-drunk Fortunato to his wine cellar. On the way, the narrator offers Fortunato wine to keep him pliable, and Fortunato cannot resist. The narrator chains Fortunato to a wall, and has no trouble due to Fortunato's state. After doing so, the narrator acts as though Fortunato is lagging behind in leaving, and Fortunato believes that he is joking. The narrator begins to build a wall enclosing Fortunato, using a trowel that he had shown Fortunato earlier as a masonic sign. In response to Fortunato's protestations, the narrator continues denying Fortunato's bondage or enclosure, and leaves Fortunato to die.

In "A Christmas Carol," Marley's chains are an important symbol in the story. What are they made of? What is hanging from them? What might these...

In the first stave (or chapter) of A Christmas Carol, we meet Marley, Scrooge's deceased business partner, who is encased in heavy chains. These chains are made of steel and are weighed down with "cash-boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds, and heavy purses."

Further on, we learn why Marley is forced to wear this chain in the afterlife:

"I wear the chain I forged in life," replied the Ghost. "I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it." 

This chain, then, is symbolic of Marley's business affairs and his pursuit of wealth when he was alive. Like Scrooge, he focused on enriching himself instead of caring about the plight of others. As a result, he is forced to wear this chain in the afterlife to remind him of his neglect of others and to encourage redemption. This has clearly worked: Marley's conversation with Scrooge shows how his character has transformed.

The chains are also symbolic of Marley's attempt to reform Scrooge's character. It is interesting to note, for example, that Marley clanks his chains every time that Scrooge says something negative or reminds him of his previous misdeeds. For instance, when Scrooge mentions that Marley was always a good man of business, he shakes his chains in response. In this respect, the chains symbolise the beginning of Scrooge's transformation and the heavy price he will pay should he fail to see the errors of his ways.  

Can you give me a quote and page number from To Kill a Mockingbird that shows how Atticus is a fair, objective man and how he does not see people...

There are many examples of Atticus being fair and objective in the book, but here are just two that might help. I have included chapters rather than page numbers, simply because page numbers change with the different editions of the book.

In Ch. 2 Jem invites Walter Cunnigham over to lunch because he knows that his family is too poor to send one to school with him. It is then that we learn about the Cunninghams, how poor they really are, and how they pay Atticus for his services.

"I asked Atticus if Mr. Cunningham would ever pay us. 'Not in money' Atticus said, 'but before the year's out, I'll have been paid You watch.' We watched. One morning Jem and I found a load of stowed in the backyard. Later, a sack of hickory nuts appeared on the back steps. With Chrsitmas came a crate of smilax and holly. That spring when we found a crokersack full of turnip greens, Atticus said Mr. Cunningham had more than paid him" (Ch.2).

This shows how fair and objective Atticus is because he understands that the Cunnighams are poor because of circumstance. The depression has hit everyone hard, and farmers more than most. He is still willing to provide them with services and accept their alternative ways of paying him because he is a fair man. He does not see them as poor. He seems them as hard working people.

Later, in Ch. 11 when Scout asks what a "nigger" is, Atticus explains that the term is

"slipped into usage with some people like ourselves , when they want a common, ugly term to label somebody" (Ch.11).

He is very clear to Scout that he does not approve of the term and does not want her using it. Scout then asks Atticus if he is "a nigger-lover" and Atticus replies,

"I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody" (Ch.11)

Here we see Atticus doing his best to love everyone, in spite of some of the hateful things they might say. He is also trying to pass this same lesson on to Scout and Jem. He has taken Tom Robinson's case because he believes Tom deserves a fair trial, and despite people in the town and even in his own family (Francis) speaking ill of him for doing so, he is explaining that he tries to love everyone. That is about as fair and objective as they come!

What do Guy de Maupassant's word choices tell about Madame Loisel in "The Necklace"?

The main character in Guy de Maupassant's short story "The Necklace" is a dynamic character who significantly changes over the course of the story. The author uses specific language to characterize Madame Loisel. The exposition of the story tells us that she was born into a middle class family. Her relatively comfortable life changes drastically after the incident with the necklace. 

In the first half of the story, Madame Loisel is portrayed as dreamy and petulant. She is "pretty and charming," but these attributes are not satisfactory as she imagines material luxury and what it would be like to associate with the wealthy upper class. She grieves over the "dinginess" of her home. Her simple life "gnawed at her and made her furious." She would "weep for days on end from vexation, regret, despair, and anguish." She wanted to be "envied" and "sought after." She has "disconsolate regrets" over her common life, so she dreams. Her dreams conjure up a world of the idle rich:

She would dream of silent chambers, draped with Oriental tapestries and lighted by tall bronze floor lamps, and of two handsome butlers in knee breeches, who, drowsy from the heavy warmth cast by the central stove, dozed in large overstuffed armchairs.

Her dissatisfaction with her life grows to a fever pitch after her husband brings home an invitation to a fancy ball. At last her dreams materialize, but all she can think about is what she lacks. Even though she has a new dress, she is still "sad, moody, and ill at ease." When she does finally have the dress and the necklace, she makes a splash at the ball:

She danced madly, wildly, drunk with pleasure, giving no thought to anything in the triumph of her beauty, the pride of her success, in a kind of happy cloud composed of all the adulation, of all the admiring glances, of all the awakened longings, of a sense of complete victory that is so sweet to a woman’s heart.

In the second half of the story Madame Loisel achieves dynamic character status as she rises above her circumstances. She has to help her husband pay back the "exorbitant" debt which they incur by replacing the lost necklace. She changes from a spoiled child to a mature woman who lives up to her responsibilities. De Maupassant writes:

Mme. Loisel experienced the horrible life the needy live. She played her part, however, with sudden heroism. That frightful debt had to be paid. She would pay it. She dismissed her maid; they rented a garret under the eaves. 

She is heroic and hardworking in playing her new role. Eventually the couple pays back the entire debt, but the reader is shocked, and maybe a little sad for Madame Loisel, as it is learned the necklace was worthless.