Similar to Joseph Conrad's better-known Heart of Darkness, Youth begins with a narrator describing five men drinking claret around a mahogany table. They are all veterans of the merchant navy. The main character, Marlow, tells the story of his first voyage to the East as second mate on board the Judea. The story is set twenty-two years earlier, when Marlow was 20. With two years of experience, most recently as third mate aboard a crack clipper, Marlow receives a billet as second mate on the barque Judea. The skipper is Captain John Beard, a man of about 60. This is Beard's first command. The Judea is an old boat, belonging to a man "Wilmer, Wilcox or something similar", suffering from age and disuse in Shadewell basin. The 400-ton ship is commissioned to take 600 tons of coal from England to Thailand. The trip should take approximately 150 days. The ship leaves London loaded with sand ballast and heads north to the Senn river to pick up the cargo of coal. On her way, the Judea suffers from her ballast shifting aside and the crew go below to put things right again. The trip takes 16 days because of inclement weather, and the battered ship must use a tug boat to get into port. The Judea waits a month on the Tyne to be loaded with coal. The night before she ships out she is hit by a steamer, the Miranda or the Melissa. The damage takes another three weeks to repair. Three months after leaving London, the Judea ships off for Bangkok.
The Judea travels through the North Sea and Britain. 300 miles west of the Lizard a winter storm, 'the famous winter gale of twenty-two years ago', hits. The storm "guts" the Judea; she is stripped of her stanchions, ventilators, bulwarks, cabin-door, and deck house. The oakum is stripped from her bottom seams and the men are forced to work at the pumps "watch and watch" to keep the ship afloat. After weathering the storm they must fight their way against the wind back to Falmouth to be refitted. Despite three attempts to leave, the Judea ultimately remains in Falmouth for more than six months until she is finally overhauled, recaulked, and refitted with a new copper hull. During the laborious overhaul, the cargo is wetted, knocked about, and reloaded multiple times. The rats abandon the reshipped barque and a new crew is brought in from Liverpool (because no sailor will sail on a ship abandoned by rats).
The Judea ships out to Bangkok, running at times 8 knots, but mostly averaging 3 miles per hour. Near the coast of Western Australia, the cargo spontaneously combusts. The crew attempts to smother the fire, but the hull cannot be made airtight. Then they attempt to flood the fire with water, but they cannot fill the hull. One hundred and ninety miles out from Java Head, the gases in the hull explode and blow up the deck; Marlow is hurled into the air and falls on the burning debris of the deck. The Judea hails a passing steamer, the Sommerville, which agrees to tow the wounded ship to Anjer or Batavia. Captain Beard intends to scuttle the Judea there to put out the fire, and then resurface her and resume the voyage to Bangkok. However, the speed of the Sommerville fans the smoldering fire into flames. The crew of the Judea is forced to send the steamer on without them while they attempt to save possibly most of the ship's gear for the underwriters. The gear is loaded into three small boats, which head due north towards Java. Before the crew leaves the Judea, they enjoy a last meal on deck. Marlow becomes skipper of the smallest of the ship's three boats. All the boats make it safely into a Java port, where they book passage on the steamer Celestial, which is on her return trip to England.
The story is loosely based upon reality. One of Conrad's pen-pals, or friends, discovered the secret of the port at which the boats called: the port was Muntok. Conrad became angry with him, calling Muntok 'a beastly hole'. The boats of the real ship reached the safety only after several hours, Marlow was a bit younger than Conrad etc.

Question: Where did the Judea have to be refitted after going through the storm?


The hero of the book is Neal "Storm" Cloud. Although the story happens in the “Lensman” universe he is not a Lensman. Instead he is a nuclear engineer with an amazingly mathematical mind. He is a high level genius and a lightning calculator. In his universe there is something we have apparently don't have in ours, self-sustaining vortices of atomic energy. These are like a small piece of the heart of a star. A churning vortex of heat and light that slowly grows while consuming whatever it is in contact with. In theory they can be blown out by a precise amount of explosives, placed at an exact spot in the vortex, at exactly the right time. The problem is, it takes the best computers available hours to calculate the factors needed, and only seconds are available to get the correct amount of explosives on target. Also, if you try to blow one out, but don't get the factors right, all you do is split the vortex into many separate vortices and scatter them far and wide, and soon each is as dangerous as the original. Although Storm Cloud, being a nuclear engineer and lightning calculator, should be able to calculate the factors and extinguish a vortex, in practice he can't. It would be very dangerous and Storm has a wife and kids, and putting himself in that kind of danger ties his mind up with worry so much that he just can't do it.
Then things change in a major way. Cloud's family is tragically killed when a misguided attempt blow out a vortex lands one of the fragments right on his house. Devastated by the loss of his family, Cloud takes a leave of absence from the Radiation Lab where he works studying the vortices. As he drives he is struck with an idea for "blowing out" a vortex. It is slightly technical (Smith explains it so it can be easily followed), but the general idea is that Cloud's brain works so fast that he can calculate exactly where the center of the vortex will be at a moment in time and how big an explosive is needed, then hit it with a bomb that is set at the exact strength to actually extinguish the vortex instead of blowing it apart and making more vortices.
This works, and it makes Cloud a very popular guy. As it continues the book tells of Cloud's new job as the universe's one and only vortex blaster. This job takes him from planet to planet where he blows out vortices, matches wits against drug dealers and gangsters, meets new life forms, and acquires a crew for his small scout ship. His adventures are many and varied, and the lifeforms he meets are strange and interesting.
Eventually the Galactic Patrol decides that having only one “Vortex Blaster” is inviting disaster. If something happens to Storm Cloud, they are at the mercy of the loose vortices again. As a result, Dr. Cloud is called back to Tellus (what the Earth is called in Smith's stories) and given a new ship. A specially modified, light cruiser (called Vortex Blaster II ) outfitted to carry everything that is needed to extinguish vortices. He is also introduced to Joan Janowick, the leading computer expert of Civilization. Her job is to build a computer that can reproduce whatever it was that Storm Cloud does and blow out vortices like he can. Working closely with Joan on a series of ever faster computers, his eyes soon turn more and more toward his pretty, super smart, and self-taught psychic co-worker and his heart begins to heal. As they fall in love, he bonds psionically with Joan, a pivotal point in the novel, as this leads him to find and communicate with the pure-energy alien beings that have been unknowingly causing the problems. The original vortices are found to be the incubators that an alien species uses to breed and raise its young! That makes the Vortex Blaster an inadvertent murderer of children, a fact that does cause him anguish. In the end an agreement is reached, the aliens close down the "incubators" and move their offspring to vortices the Patrol has helped set up on uninhabited planets. As the story ends, "Storm" Cloud, the Vortex Blaster, is out of a job.

Question: What is Neal's profession?


Boon opens with an introduction by Wells, calling it "an indiscreet, ill-advised book." Wells pretends to repudiate any public identification with the work: "Bliss is Bliss and Wells is Wells. And Bliss can write all sorts of things that Wells could not do."
As he was to do in The Research Magnificent, Wells creates a literary character (Reginald Bliss) who is making a book out of the literary remains of an author who has recently died (George Boon, a popular author of books and plays). Bliss attributes Boon's death to depression on account of the war. Bliss expresses disappointment that among Boon's papers (kept in "barrels in the attic") he has found "nothing but fragments" and "a curious abundance of queer little drawings," many of which are reproduced'.
The principal text by Boon that he presents is titled The Mind of the Race, which is "the singularly vivid and detailed and happily quite imaginary account of the murder of that eminent littĂŠrateur, Dr. Tomlinson Keyhole." Bliss also recounts conversations about the themes of this work which he has had with Boon and with Edwin Dodd, "a leading member of the Rationalist Press Association, a militant agnostic," and later with an author named Wilkins.
The principal philosophical theme engaged in Boon is whether such a thing as "the Mind of Humanity" can be said to exist, or whether, as Dodd believes, such a notion is "mysticism."
In the unfinished work Boon was planning, a character named Hallery is "fanatically obsessed by this idea of the Mind of the Race," as indeed Wells was himself. He is imagined lecturing unsuccessfully on the subject at a conference on the subject at a seaside villa that Henry James attends. Chapter 4 of Boon is largely a frontal assault on Henry James's late manner, and contains long pastiches of his style. James's belief that a novel should have unity is vigorously attacked, as are his characters ("eviscerated people he has invented" who "never make lusty love, never go to angry war, never shout at an election or perspire at poker," but only "nose out suspicions, hint by hint, link by link"). Chapter 5 mocks other writers, especially George Bernard Shaw, and includes an outline of a paper on "The Natural History of Greatness, with especial reference to Literary Reputations" that shows that some of Wells's critical notions were far ahead of his time. Wells's stand-in Hallery argues for an expansion of the concept of literature that anticipates future critical developments. Chapter 6 analyses the resistance Hallery's quasi-religious concept of the institution of literature inspires, even in Hallery himself. Chapter 7 criticises the thought of Friedrich Nietzsche and lambastes Houston Stewart Chamberlain's pro-German work The Foundations of the Nineteenth Century.
Boon concludes with two humorous symbolic tales entitled "The Wild Asses of the Devil" and "The Last Trump." The latter tale engages theological themes that Wells would soon be developing in a serious vein in God the Invisible King (1917).

Question: Who was the literacy character created by Wells?


The tale of "The Wonderful Toymaker" begins with a spoiled princess named Petulant, an eight-year-old girl who cannot be pleased at any cost. Her father, the King, gathers his council together to help find a toy for the Princess that will surpass all others. The Prime Minister volunteers his son Martin to find the princess a special toy. Martin talks with Princess Petulant and promises to return in four weeks with an amazing toy.
At the beginning of Martin’s journey he encounters Bobolink, the Purple Enchanter who knows everything. Martin hopes that Bobolink will help him to find his way to The Wonderful Toymaker. However, Bobolink is annoyed about having to provide information about everything to everyone, and is initially reluctant to assist Martin. Martin’s lack of flattery towards him serves as a refreshing change, and Bobolink soon becomes quite eager to help him. Bobolink tells Martin that his next step is to reach the pine dwarfs, warning him to avoid conversation with the creatures or he will be stuck in the country of conversation forever. Martin almost makes it through the country of conversation without a single word, but he becomes distracted and engages in conversation with a fish. Martin’s error forces him to "become conversation," and suddenly he is trapped with no way out. The princess continues to wait patiently but she eventually becomes very upset that Martin has not returned with her toy. The council becomes worried, and contemplates where Martin could possibly be. The Princess, alone and sobbing, is confronted by a pine dwarf who promises to bring her to the waterfall and show her the way to Martin. The Princess stuffs her ears with cotton and begins her journey.
Princess Petulant finally makes it to Martin without speaking a single word, and they are both able to escape. The two run as fast as they can to the toyshop. The Toymaker, so pleased to see them, wishes that they stay and play with him forever. Martin and Princess Petulant play with the best toys they have ever seen, finally satisfying the Princess’ desire for a new toy. Martin and Princess Petulant tell the Toymaker that they are unable to stay and although he is sad, he assists them in their journey home. Upon their return they tell the entire story to a Royal Historian who records it all in the very book in which this story is contained.

Question: Who is Martin's father?


The story begins in an Argos port where Conan forcefully demands passage aboard a sail barge, the Argus, which is casting off for southern waters to trade beads, silks, sugar and brass-hilted swords to the black kings of Kush. At first, the captain of the barge objects to his demand to travel without paying for the passage, and Conan threatens him and the crew with his drawn sword. Eventually the captain agrees to let Conan stay on board, since "It would be useful to have a fighting man on the voyage" and eventually Conan and the captain, named Tito, become quite friendly. The captain is soon informed that Conan is fleeing the civil authorities of Argos due to a court dispute in which Conan refused to betray the whereabouts of a casual friend to a fascistic magistrate (although no actual political reference is hinted in Howard's story) and instead drew his sword and killed the magistrate - whereupon he had to swiftly flee. It is emphasized that at this moment Conan was a complete land-lubber, with no previous experience or knowledge of the sea.
Upon reaching the pirate-infested waters of Kush, their trade ship is attacked by the infamous reavers led by Bêlit, the Queen of the Black Coast. Bêlit and her ebony-skinned warriors slaughter the crew of the Argus, who are no match for the ferocious pirates. Conan tries to rally the crew after the captain was killed, and when the fight becomes clearly hopeless he manages to jump aboard the pirate ship and sell his life dearly. Conan kills many of the pirates, fully expecting to be overwhelmed and killed - whereupon Bêlit suddenly orders her crew to step back and spare Conan, being impressed with the Cimmerian's courage and ferocity (and being sexually attracted to him, as she immediately and forthrightly declares). Bêlit offers Conan the chance to sail with her, be her chosen mate, and help lead her fierce warriors. Oddly smitten by this fiery woman, Conan agrees and, for a time, they raid the Black Coast together brutally pillaging coastal towns and instilling fear into the superstitious natives.
Soon, the Hyborian legends begin that the she-devil of the sea, Bêlit, has found a mate, Conan, an iron man whose wrath is that of a wounded lion. Survivors of butchered Stygian ships curse the name of Bêlit and her Cimmerian warrior with fierce blue eyes.
Sailing up a nameless river, Bêlit and Conan encounter ancient ruins in which is found a lost treasure, a winged monstrosity and skulking hyenas that were once men. Despite the bizarre murders of their crew and the various horrors lurking in the jungle, Bêlit and Conan still find time for a thorough theological discussion, comparing Conan's grim god Crom with Bêlit's more ambiguous Semite deities - all of which they discuss in between continuing their sexual romance which is alluded to by Howard as having sadomasochistic undertones. In a moment of passion, Bêlit promises that even death could not keep her from Conan's side, a promise which she must keep far sooner than she expects.
Despite her intense love for Conan, Bêlit is soon captivated by a cursed jeweled necklace found among the lost treasure which seemingly instills the wearer with a mix of madness and monomania. In such a twisted mental state, Bêlit issues faulty orders. Given the constant bizarre dangers and her own madness, her crew is soon decimated and Bêlit herself is hanged by the winged monster. Driven to rage and now alone, Conan confronts her supernatural murderer. He is on the verge of being slain when the spirit of Bêlit intervenes. Conan slays the winged horror and leaves the ruins in Bêlit's ship with her corpse.
The story closes with Conan giving Bêlit a Viking funeral - setting on fire the ship, with her surrounded by all her treasures - and reflecting upon his loss.

Question: What happen  when the trade  ship got to water of Kush?

The trade ship was attacked  by the infamous raevers.

IT IS ATTACKED BY THE REAVERS LED BY BELIT


Tarzan returns to Opar, the source of the gold where a lost colony of fabled Atlantis is located, in order to make good on some financial reverses he has recently suffered. While Atlantis itself sank beneath the waves thousands of years ago, the workers of Opar continued to mine all of the gold, which means there is a rather huge stockpile but which is now lost to the memory of the Oparians and only Tarzan knows its secret location.
A greedy, outlawed Belgian army officer, Albert Werper, in the employ of a criminal Arab, secretly follows Tarzan to Opar. There, Tarzan loses his memory after being struck on the head by a falling rock in the treasure room during an earthquake. On encountering La, the high priestess who is the servant of the Flaming God of Opar, and who is also very beautiful, Tarzan once again rejects her love which enrages her and she tries to have him killed; she had fallen in love with the apeman during their first encounter and La and her high priests are not going to allow Tarzan to escape their sacrificial knives this time.
In the meanwhile, Jane has been kidnapped by the Arab and wonders what is keeping her husband from once again coming to her rescue. A now amnesiac Tarzan and the Werper escape from Opar, bearing away the sacrificial knife of Opar which La and some retainers set out to recover. There is intrigue and counter intrigue the rest of the way.

Question: Who is La?

La is the high priestess that serves the Flaming God of Opar.


Villette begins with its famously passive protagonist, Lucy Snowe, age 14, staying at the home of her godmother Mrs. Bretton in "the clean and ancient town of Bretton", in England. Also in residence are Mrs. Bretton's son, John Graham Bretton (whom the family calls Graham), and a young visitor, Paulina Home (who is called Polly). Polly is a peculiar little girl who soon develops a deep devotion to Graham, who showers her with attention. But Polly's visit is cut short when her father arrives to take her away.
For reasons that are not stated, Lucy leaves Mrs. Bretton's home a few weeks after the Polly's departure. Some years pass, during which an unspecified family tragedy leaves Lucy without family, home, or means. After some initial hesitation, she is hired as a caregiver by Miss Marchmont, a rheumatic crippled woman. Lucy is soon accustomed to her work and has begun to feel content with her quiet lifestyle.
During an evening of dramatic weather changes, Miss Marchmont regains all her energy and feels young again. She shares with Lucy her sad love story of 30 years previously, and concludes that she should treat Lucy better and be a better person. She believes that death will reunite her with her dead lover. The next morning, Lucy finds Miss Marchmont dead.
Lucy then leaves the English countryside and goes to London. At the age of 23, she boards a ship for Labassecour despite knowing very little French. She travels to the city of Villette, where she finds employment as a bonne (nanny) at Mme. Beck's boarding school for girls. (This school is seen as being based upon the Hégers' Brussels pensionnat). After a time, she is hired to teach English at the school, in addition to having to mind Mme. Beck's three children. She thrives despite Mme. Beck's constant surveillance of the staff and students.
"Dr. John," a handsome English doctor, frequently visits the school because of his love for the coquette Ginevra Fanshawe. In one of Villette's famous plot twists, "Dr. John" is later revealed to be John Graham Bretton, a fact that Lucy has known but has deliberately concealed from the reader. After Dr. John (i.e., Graham) discovers Ginevra's unworthiness, he turns his attention to Lucy, and they become close friends. She values this friendship highly despite her usual emotional reserve.
We meet Polly (Paulina Home) again at this point; her father has inherited the title "de Bassompierre" and is now a Count. Thus her name is now Paulina Home de Bassompierre. Polly and Graham soon discover that they knew each other in the past and renew their friendship. They fall in love and eventually marry.
Lucy becomes progressively closer to a colleague, the irascible, autocratic, and male chauvinist professor, M. Paul Emanuel, a relative of Mme. Beck. Lucy and Paul eventually fall in love.
However, a group of conspiring antagonists, including Mme. Beck, the priest Père Silas, and the relatives of M. Paul's long-dead fiancée, work to keep the two apart. They finally succeed in forcing M. Paul's departure for the West Indies to oversee a plantation there. He nonetheless declares his love for Lucy before his departure and arranges for her to live independently as the headmistress of her own day school, which she later expands into a pensionnat (boarding school).
During the course of the novel, Lucy has three encounters with the figure of a nun — which may be the ghost of a nun who was buried alive on the school's grounds as punishment for breaking her vow of chastity. In a highly symbolic scene near the end of the novel, she discovers the "nun's" habit in her bed and destroys it. She later finds out that it was a disguise worn by Ginevra's amour, Alfred de Hamal. The episodes with the nun no doubt contributed substantially to the novel's reputation as a gothic novel.
Villette's final pages are ambiguous. Although Lucy says that she wants to leave the reader free to imagine a happy ending, she hints strongly that M. Paul's ship was destroyed by a storm during his return journey from the West Indies. She says that, "M. Emanuel was away three years. Reader, they were the three happiest years of my life." This passage suggests that he was drowned by the "destroying angel of tempest."
Brontë described the ambiguity of the ending as a "little puzzle."

Question: Where is M. Paul forced to go to?


Tancred, Lord Montacute, the novel's idealistic young hero, seems destined to live the life of any conventional member of the British ruling class. Dissatisfied with his life in fashionable London circles, he instead leaves his parents and retraces the steps of his Crusader ancestors to the Holy Land, hoping there to "penetrate the great Asian mystery"  and understand the roots of Christianity. He meets the beautiful Eva, daughter of a Jewish financier, and becomes involved in the political machinations of her foster-brother, the brilliant Fakredeen, a Lebanese emir. At Fakredeen's instigation Tancred is kidnapped and held captive, but is nevertheless allowed to visit Mount Sinai. Here he has a vision of an angel who tells him he must be the prophet of "the sublime and solacing doctrine of theocratic equality", a concept which Disraeli leaves somewhat hazy. Tancred falls ill, and is released at the instigation of Eva, who nurses him back to health. She teaches him about the glories of Mediterranean civilization and the debt that Christianity owes to Judaism. Tancred, in love with Eva and utterly convinced that she is right, proposes marriage, but the romance is broken off when his parents appear to reclaim their son and take him back to England.

Question: Who nurses Tancred back to health?


In Los Angeles, on January 15, 1947, LAPD Detectives Dwight 'Bucky' Bleichert and Lee Blanchard, investigate the murder and dismemberment of Elizabeth Short, soon dubbed 'The Black Dahlia' by the press. Bucky learns that Elizabeth was an aspiring actress who appeared in a pornographic film. Through his investigation, Bucky learns that Elizabeth liked to hang out with lesbians. He goes to a lesbian nightclub and meets Madeleine Linscott, who looks very much like Elizabeth. Madeleine, who comes from a prominent family, tells Bucky that she was 'very close' with Elizabeth but asks him to keep her name out of the papers. In exchange for his silence, she promises him sexual favors. Continuing his relationship with Madeleine, Bucky meets her wealthy parents, Emmett and Ramona.
Bucky's partner, Lee, also becomes obsessed with Elizabeth's murder. Lee's obsession leads him to become erratic and abusive towards his long-time girlfriend Kay Lake, who is also one of Bucky's close friends. After Lee and Bucky have a nasty argument about a previous case, Bucky goes to Lee and Kay's to apologize, only to learn from Kay that Lee was responding to a tip about a recently released convict, Bobby DeWitt. Bucky goes to the location and gets into an altercation with DeWitt in the atrium of the building. DeWitt is gunned down by Lee, standing on the stairs across the atrium. Bucky sees a man sneak up behind Lee, wrapping a rope around Lee's neck. Lee fights back while Bucky, paralyzed with shock, watches from across the atrium as a second shadowy figure steps out and slits Lee's throat. Lee and the man holding the rope fall over the railing to their deaths several floors below. It is then that Bucky is helped by Millard and Morrie Friedman; a friend of Lee's whom Bucky saw with Lee at the New Year's party in 1946.
Dealing with the grief of losing Lee propels Bucky and Kay into a sexual encounter. The next morning, Bucky finds money from a bank robbery hidden in Lee / Kay's bathroom. Kay reveals that she had been DeWitt's girlfriend, that DeWitt had mistreated her, and that DeWitt had done the bank robbery; stealing a large sum of money from one of Benny "Bugsy" Siegel's nightclubs. Lee had rescued Kay and stolen DeWitt's bank robbery money. Lee needed to kill DeWitt now that he was out of prison; leading to the encounter that resulted in Lee's death. Bucky leaves, furious with Lee and Kay for their actions and lies. He returns to Madeleine's family mansion and continues his intense relationship with her. Kay is furious when she discovers the relationship, especially with the fact that Madeleine bears a striking resemblance to the same girl Lee obsessed over before he was killed, and leaves the scene.
Watching an old movie one night, Bucky notices that a bedroom scene matches the set in Elizabeth's pornographic film. The credits at the end of the film includes the statement "Special Thanks to Emmett Linscott", Madeleine's father. Bucky's search for answers leads him to an incomplete housing project that Madeleine's father had started just below the Hollywoodland sign. In one of the empty houses, Bucky recognizes the set that was used to film Elizabeth's pornographic movie. In a barn on the property, Bucky finds where Elizabeth was killed and her body butchered, as well as a drawing of a man with a Glasgow smile. The drawing resembles a painting in Madeleine's family home and matches the disfiguring smile carved into Elizabeth's face during her murder.
Bucky confronts Madeleine and her father in their home, accusing them of murdering Elizabeth. Madeleine's mother Ramona reveals that she was the one to kill Elizabeth, who looked so much like Madeleine. She confesses first that Madeleine was not fathered by Emmett but rather by his best friend, George. She further reveals that George had been on set when Elizabeth's pornographic film was made, becoming infatuated with her. Finally, she felt that Elizabeth looked too much like Madeleine, was bothered that George was going to have sex with someone who looked like his own daughter, and decided to kill Elizabeth first. Upon finishing her confession, Ramona kills herself.
A few days later, remembering something Lee had said during the investigation, Bucky visits Madeleine's sister Martha with some questions. He learns that Lee knew about the lesbian relationship between Madeleine and Elizabeth and was blackmailing Madeleine's father to keep it secret. Bucky finds Madeleine at a seedy motel, and she admits to being the shadowy figure who slit Lee's throat. Although she insists that Bucky wants to have sex with her rather than kill her, he tells her she is wrong and shoots her dead. Bucky later goes to Kay's house. Kay tells him to come in and closes the door as the film ends.

Question: What is The Black Delahia's real name?


Shrek, a green ogre who loves the solitude in his swamp, finds his life interrupted when many fairytale characters are exiled there by order of the fairytale-hating Lord Farquaad. Shrek tells them that he will go ask Farquaad to send them back. He brings along a talking Donkey who is the only fairytale creature who knows the way to Duloc.
Meanwhile, Farquaad tortures the Gingerbread Man into giving the location of the remaining fairytale creatures until his guards rush in with something he has been searching for: the Magic Mirror. He asks The Mirror if his kingdom is the fairest of them all but is told that he is not even a king. To be a king he must marry a princess and is given three options, from which he chooses Princess Fiona, who is locked in a castle tower guarded by lava and a dragon. The Mirror tries to mention "the little thing that happens at night" but is unsuccessful.
Shrek and Donkey arrive at Farquaad's palace in Duloc, where they end up in a tournament. The winner gets the "privilege" of rescuing Fiona so that Farquaad may marry her. Shrek and Donkey easily defeat the other knights in wrestling-match fashion, and Farquaad accepts his offer to move the fairytale creatures from his swamp if Shrek rescues Fiona.
Shrek and Donkey travel to the castle and split up to find Fiona. Donkey encounters the dragon and sweet-talks the beast before learning that it is female. Dragon takes a liking to him and carries him to her chambers. Shrek finds Fiona, who is appalled at his lack of romanticism. As they leave, Shrek saves Donkey, caught in Dragon's tender clutches, and forces her to chase them out of the castle. At first, Fiona is thrilled to be rescued but is quickly disappointed when Shrek reveals he is an ogre.
As the three journey to Duloc, Fiona urges the two to camp out for the night while she sleeps in a cave. Shrek and Donkey stargaze while Shrek tells stories about great ogres and says that he will build a wall around his swamp when he returns. When Donkey persistently asks why, he says that everyone judges him before knowing him; therefore, he feels he is better off alone, despite Donkey's admission that he did not immediately judge him when they met.
Along the way, Shrek and Fiona find they have more in common and fall in love. The trio is almost at Duloc, and that night Fiona shelters in a windmill. When Donkey hears strange noises coming from it, he finds Fiona turned into an ogre. She explains her childhood curse and transforms each night, which is why she was locked away, and that only her true love's kiss will return her to her "love's true form". Shrek, about to confess his feelings for Fiona with a sunflower, partly overhears them, and is heartbroken as he mistakes her disgust with her transformation to an "ugly beast" as disgust with him. Fiona makes Donkey promise not to tell Shrek, vowing to do it herself. The next morning, Shrek has brought Lord Farquaad to Fiona. The couple return to Duloc, while a hurt Shrek angrily leaves his friendship with Donkey and returns to his now-vacated swamp, remembering what Fiona "said" about him.
Despite his privacy, Shrek is devastated and misses Fiona. Furious at Shrek, Donkey comes to the swamp where Shrek says he overheard Donkey and Fiona's conversation. Donkey keeps his promise to Fiona and tells Shrek that she was talking about someone else. He accepts Shrek's apology and tells him that Fiona will be getting married soon, urging Shrek into action to gain Fiona's love. They travel to Duloc quickly, thanks to Dragon, who had escaped her confines and followed Donkey.
Shrek interrupts the wedding before Farquaad can kiss Fiona. He tells her that Farquaad is not her true love and only marrying her to become king. The sun sets, which turns Fiona into an ogre in front of everyone in the church, causing a surprised Shrek to fully understand what he overheard. Outraged by Fiona, Farquaad orders Shrek killed and Fiona detained. Shrek whistles for Dragon who bursts in along with Donkey and devours Farquaad. Shrek and Fiona profess their love and share a kiss; Fiona is bathed in light as her curse is broken but is surprised that she is still an ogre, as she thought she would become beautiful, to which Shrek replies that she is beautiful. They marry in the swamp and leave on their honeymoon while the rest celebrate by singing "I'm a Believer".

Question: What does Shrek plan to do once he's back in the swamp?


In summer of 1958, Barry and Claudette, two Camp Crystal Lake counselors, sneak into a storage barn to copulate. Before they can engage, an unseen assailant enters and murders them.
21 years later, Annie Phillips enters a small diner and asks directions to the reopened Camp Crystal Lake. Enos, a truck driver agrees to drive Annie halfway. An elder named Ralph reacts to this by warning Annie that the camp has a "death curse". During the drive, Enos explains that a young boy drowned at Crystal Lake in 1957, and the incident the following year. After Enos drops her off, Annie hitches a ride, but the second driver then chases her into the woods and slashes her throat.
At the camp, counselors Ned, Jack, Bill, Marcie, Brenda and Alice and owner, Steve Christy refurbish the cabins and facilities. As a storm ensues, Steve leaves campgrounds to stock supplies. Soon, the killer arrives and begins to kill the counselors, including Steve. Worried, Alice and Bill, the only two left, leave the main cabin to investigate only to discover a bloody axe in Brenda's bed, the phones disconnected, and the cars inoperable. When the power goes out, Bill goes to check on the generator and is killed. Alice then heads outside and calls out for him and finds his dead body pinned to the back of the door. She screams and flees back to the main cabin to hide.
Alice sees a vehicle pull up; thinking its Steve, she rushes out but sees a middle-aged woman named Pamela Voorhees, an "old friend" of Christy's. As Alice tries her news, Pamela reveals herself the mother of the drowned boy - Jason, blaming his death on the counselors having sex. She reveals herself the killer when she violently rushes toward Alice with her knife. A chase ensues with Mrs. Vorhees attempting to kill Alice, but she escapes to the shore. Just as she eases, Pamela attempts to kill her again. During the final struggle, Alice decapitates her with a machete.
Afterwards, a shaken Alice boards and falls asleep inside a canoe and floats to Crystal Lake's middle. Just as Alice sees police arriving, a decomposing body drags her underwater. She then awakens in a hospital screaming. A police officer tells her the aftermath. When she asks about Jason, the officer replies with no evidence of any boy; Alice says "He's still there". The film ends with a peaceful shot of Crystal Lake.

Question: Who does Pamela blame for her sons death?

The camp counselors.
the counselors who were having sex


Marie Clifton (Laine) is set to inherit two beautiful diamonds, called the "mother and daughter", which her late mother bestowed to her. Marie's step-father, Jay Clifton (Johnson), challenges the will, claiming that Marie isn't ready for the responsibility, but actually wants to take the diamonds for himself. At a sexual education seminar at Marie's school, physician Dr. Chad Johnson (Melendez) and probation officer Kristen Richards (Meyer) discuss sex crimes, and Richards reveals she was a victim of an anonymous rapist many years before.
At Marie's swim-meet, Jay encounters towel girl Elena Sandoval (McCoy), and invites her to Marie's eighteenth birthday party. Elena attends the party but is assaulted by Marie, who says that Elena is not welcome. Jay comforts Elena, and brings her to the construction site of one of his buildings for privacy. Later, Elena alleges that Jay raped her at the site. Detective Michael Morrison (Ashby) is placed on the case, as is Richards, who is Elena's probation officer. Chad is placed in charge of documenting Elena's injuries, and testifies to the court that Elena was raped.
Marie believes that Elena is doing this for money and tells Jay to pay her off. When Jay admits that he's broke, Marie suggests that they sell the diamonds. Jay agrees, and revokes his claim to the will, giving Marie custody of the diamonds so she can sell them off. However, this was a ploy between Elena, Marie and Chad to get the diamonds, and the trio are in a sexual relationship together.
Jay believes that Elena will recant her accusation after being paid off, but at the next court session Elena testifies that Jay also threatened to kill her. Jay is sent to prison, but Richards is now suspicious of Elena's behavior. Richards and Morrison search Elena's trailer and discover she's gathered information about Kristen's rape, using it to form her testimony. Richards and Morrison discuss their suspicions with Jay, and conclude that Marie, Elena and Chad must be working together.
Chad is questioned by Richards and Morrison, and fears they suspect him. He turns on Marie, drugging her and stealing the diamonds. Marie and Elena give chase, following Chad into the woods, where Marie kills him with a tire iron. Marie then meets the diamond buyer Chad set up, but learns that the diamonds are fake. Elena, who is left to deal with Chad's body, is caught by Richards and Morrison.
Richards and Morrison give Elena a task: wear a wire and get Marie to admit she killed Chad, and the charges against Elena will be lessened. Elena goes to Marie and plays along with her plan to get the real diamonds from Chad's safe at the construction site. Throughout, Elena repeatedly tries to get Marie to confess, but is unsuccessful. When Marie and Elena finally get the diamonds from the safe, Elena pulls a gun on her and flees with the diamonds, prompting Marie to chase her with her own gun. Richards and Morrison, who are listening in from nearby, enter the construction site separately. During the hide-and-seek, Richards finds Marie and shoots her in the chest, killing her. Afterward, Elena claims there were no diamonds, and is escorted from the scene by Richards.
At the end it's revealed that Richards and Elena are mother and daughter. Jay was the man that raped Kristen in the past, and Elena is their daughter. During the credits, scenes are shown explaining how they managed to pull their plan off.

Question: How did Marie kill Chad?

She followed him into the woods and killed him with a tire iron.


A group of CIA officers watch a video presentation of a top-secret project called "Crossbow": a space shuttle mounted with a computer-guided laser weapon capable of incinerating a man on the ground with pinpoint accuracy. Researchers on the project have yet to devise a system to generate enough power to operate it. When it becomes clear that this weapon has no wartime applications and is intended solely for illegal assassinations, one agent decries the project as immoral and refuses to take part. The remaining agents discuss eliminating the dissenting agent before going to lunch.
Professor Jerry Hathaway (Atherton) meets high school student Mitch Taylor (Jarret) at the school's science fair. He informs Mitch that he has been admitted to Pacific Technical University, where he will room with physics "legend" Chris Knight (Kilmer). Hathaway is secretly developing the laser for the CIA, but instead of doing the work himself he has his unpaid students do it, while misappropriating the project funding to remodel his house. Arriving on campus, Mitch meets Chris and is disappointed to learn that he is an irreverent slacker who spends his time pulling elaborate high tech pranks (such as covering the dorm floor in ice to go skating). Mitch also meets Jordan (Meyrink), a hyperkinetic female student, "Ick" Ikagami, a brilliant and affable foil to Chri's antics, and the mysterious Lazlo Hollyfeld (Jon Gries), a middle-aged man who seems to be living in Mitch's closet. Hathaway's sycophantic graduate assistant Kent (Prescott) becomes hostile when Hathaway puts Mitch in charge of the laser project.
Under pressure to get results, Hathaway gives Chris an unrealistic timetable, which Chris dismisses. When Mitch is caught attending Chris' pool party instead of working in the lab, Hathaway berates him. The next day Mitch is mortified when a recording of his tearful phone call to his parents is played over a loudspeaker system during lunch, a prank conceived by Kent and his cronies. Humiliated, Mitch is ready to quit school. Chris convinces him to stay by explaining to him that Lazlo was the top genius at Pacific Tech in the 1970s, but suffered a breakdown when he learned that his theories were being used to build weapons. Chris tells Mitch that if he does not want to "crack" like Hollyfeld, he must learn to have fun, and the first order of business is to get even with Kent, calling it a "moral imperative" to do so. They accomplish this by disassembling Kent's car and rebuilding it inside his dorm room. Kent vows revenge.
Under increasing pressure from the CIA, Hathaway berates Chris for failing to solve the laser power problem and promises to fail him and prevent him from graduating. After a pep-talk from Mitch, Chris devotes himself to solving the power problem and achieving a perfect score on Hathaway's final exam. Mitch is accosted by Sherry Nugel (D'arbanville), a beautiful older woman who seeks amorous encounters with the top ten geniuses in the country (which is revealed earlier when she seduces Chris). Mitch turns her down, realizing he's in love with Jordan, and the two become a couple. Though Chris aces Hathway's exam, Chris and Mitch's efforts appear to be ruined when Kent sabotages the laser. In a fit of anger at the laser's destruction, he has an epiphany that solves the power problem. The beam of the redesigned laser has unlimited range and produces an estimated six megawatts of power, exceeding the original requirement.
While the team celebrates its success, Lazlo insists that the high-energy laser can only be used as a weapon, and in fact that it must have been conceived for this purpose. Chris is devastated. Hathaway has removed the laser from the lab. Chris, Mitch, Ick and Jordan trick Kent into revealing the date when the laser is going to be tested by placing a microphone in his braces and convincing him that God is talking to him. The group tails Hathaway to a nearby Air Force base. While Chris and Mitch talk their way onto the base, Lazlo remotely cracks the laser's computer and changes its target coordinates to Hathaway's house, where the team has placed a huge tin of popcorn. Meanwhile, Chris and Mitch remove some vital circuits that prevent the laser from overheating. When the laser beam hits the house, it is diffused by a prism placed by Chris and the popcorn heats and expands; the house bursts at the seams as popcorn pours out onto the lawn. Kent "rides" the flowing popcorn out of the front door unharmed and laughing, thinking the incident was religious in nature. The group, reveling in their success, greet an arriving Lazlo accompanied by Sherry Nugel, riding in a motor home pulling a trailer full of prizes from entering a sweepstakes earlier in the movie. He and Sherry indicate they intend to run off together as he is the genius she's been looking for all this time. The film closes with the group and neighborhood children eating the popcorn to the song "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by the pop group Tears for Fears. Hathaway arrives home and in disbelief, assesses his ruined home.

Question: What do Chris, Mitch, Ick and Jordon do to Kent to get back at him?

put  microphone in his braces and convince him that God was talking to him


David Stephens (Christopher Eccleston), a chartered accountant, Juliet Miller (Kerry Fox), a physician, and Alex Law (Ewan McGregor), a journalist, share a flat in Edinburgh. Needing a new flatmate, they interview several applicants in a calculatedly cruel manner to amuse themselves at the applicants' distress before finally offering the room to the mysterious Hugo (Keith Allen). Shortly after Hugo moves in, the trio find him dead in his room, with a large suitcase full of money. They agree to keep Hugo's death a secret and keep the money for themselves. They agree to bury the body in the woods after removing the hands and feet to prevent identification should it be found. They draw lots and David is given the gruesome and traumatising task of dismembering the corpse, with Juliet disposing of the parts in her hospital's incinerator.
Unknown to the three friends, Hugo is being sought by a pair of violent men who are torturing and murdering informants as they follow Hugo's trail. The flat below Alex, David, and Juliet's is broken into, causing them much apprehension and anxiety. The break-in also draws the attention of the police, who are surprised when the three deny that they ever had a fourth flatmate. While Juliet and Alex spend part of the money to 'feel better', David's fears explode into full-blown paranoia. He hides the suitcase of money in the attic, and begins living there, drilling holes in the attic floor to watch the living space below. The relationship between the three becomes increasingly strained and distrustful, with undertones of sexual tension and rivalry.
The men trailing Hugo break into the trio's flat and violently assault Alex and Juliet, until they reveal where the money is. As they each enter the dark attic, David, who has been lying there in wait, kills them with a hammer. David alone visits the same woods to dispose of the two bodies. Alex and Juliet become more worried than ever about David's mental state and David becomes worried that the two are conspiring against him. Meanwhile, the police are already circling, in the form of Detective Inspector McCall (Ken Stott) and Detective constable Mitchell (John Hodge). Juliet secretly buys a plane ticket to South America in anticipation of flight overseas, but also seduces David to get at the money. Matters come to a head after the bodies are discovered by chanceâthe grave having been too shallowâand Alex is sent by his newspaper to cover the story. He returns to find Juliet and David have reached an understanding about their shared plans that excludes him. That night, Alex, now fearing for his life, tries to secretly phone the police inspector in charge of the case, but he is interrupted by David and Juliet leaving. The doorstep altercation quickly escalates into a murderous triangular fight. David reveals he knows Juliet's secret plan to betray them and attacks her. In the scuffle, David stabs Alex in the chest but is killed by Juliet before he can finish Alex off.
With David dead, Juliet tells Alex he can't come with her. She then forces the knife even deeper into Alex's torso, pinning him to the floor, before fleeing to the airport with the suitcase of money. However, arriving at the airport, she discovers that she has been tricked: the suitcase is filled not with money but with hundreds of headline clippings about the triple grave taken from Alex's newspaper. Devastated, with no possessions except her plane ticket, and knowing that she will soon be wanted for murder, Juliet flees the country. The police arrive at the flat to find Alex bleeding heavily and pinned to the floor. The camera pans to under the floor to reveal Alex had hidden the missing bundles of cash under the floorboards.

Question: How are the body parts disposed of?

Juliet burns them in the hospital incinerator.


The narrative begins with the auction by the US Government of fictional Spencer Island, located 460 miles off the California coast (32°15′N 145°18′W). The island is uninhabited and there are only two bidders, William W. Kolderup, a very wealthy San Franciscan, and his arch-rival J. R. Taskinar, a resident of Stockton, California. Kolderup wins the auction, buying Spencer Island for four million dollars. J. R. Taskinar mutters, "I will be avenged!" before retiring to his hotel.
Godfrey, an idle twenty-two-year-old, lives with Kolderup, his uncle, and Kolderup's adopted goddaughter, Phina, whom Godfrey has grown to love. Prior to marrying Phina, Godfrey asks to undertake a world tour. Acceding to his desire, his uncle sends Godfrey on a sea voyage around the world on board one of his steamships, the Dream, commanded by Captain Turcott. Godfrey is accompanied by his mentor, teacher, and dance instructor, Professor T. Artelett aka "Tartlet".
After some time at sea, Godfrey is awakened one foggy night and told to abandon ship as the Dream is foundering. After jumping into the sea, Godfrey is washed ashore on a deserted island, where he soon finds Tartlet has also been marooned. Godfrey, with scant help from Tartlet, will have to learn to survive, to organize his life, face hostile intruders, and overcome other obstacles. Eventually, they are also joined by Carefinotu, whom Godfrey rescues from Polynesians visiting the island. By the end of the story the formerly jaded young man has discovered the value of independent effort, and he gains poise and courage. The marooned group are rescued and returned to San Francisco, where Godfrey is reunited with Phina. They agree to marry before continuing the world tour, this time together.

Question: What did Godfrey ask to do before marrying Phina?

Undertake a world tour.
to go on a world tour


The plot of the novel begins seven years after the broken engagement of Anne Elliot to then Commander Frederick Wentworth. Anne Elliot, then 19 years old, fell in love and accepted a proposal of marriage from the handsome young naval officer. He was clever, confident, ambitious, and employed, but not yet wealthy and with no particular family connections to recommend him. Sir Walter, her father and her older sister Elizabeth were not pleased with her choice, maintaining that he was no match for an Elliot of Kellynch Hall, the family estate. Lady Russell, acting in place of Anne's late mother, persuaded her to break the engagement, for she felt it was an imprudent match for one so young. They are the only ones who know about this short engagement, as younger sister Mary was away at school.
The Elliot family is now in financial trouble. Kellynch Hall will be let, and the family will settle in Bath until finances improve. Baronet Sir Walter, the socially-conscious father and daughter Elizabeth look forward to the move. Anne is less sure she will enjoy Bath. Mary is married to Charles Musgrove of nearby Uppercross Hall, the heir to a respected local squire. Anne visits Mary and her family, where she is well-loved. The end of the war puts sailors back on shore, including the tenants of Kellynch Hall, Admiral Croft and his wife Sophia, who is the sister of Frederick Wentworth, now a wealthy naval captain. Frederick visits his sister and meets the Uppercross family, including Anne.
The Musgroves, including Mary, Charles, and Charles's sisters, Henrietta and Louisa, welcome the Crofts and Wentworth. He tells all he is ready to marry. Henrietta is engaged to her clergyman cousin Charles Hayter, who is away for the first few days that Wentworth joins their social circle. Both the Crofts and Musgroves enjoy speculating about which sister Wentworth might marry. Once Hayter returns, Henrietta turns her affections to him again. Anne still loves Wentworth, so each meeting with him requires preparation for her own strong emotions. She overhears a conversation where Louisa tells Wentworth that Charles first proposed to Anne, who turned him down. This is startling news to him.
Anne and the young adults of the Uppercross family accompany Captain Wentworth on a visit to two of his fellow officers, Captains Harville and James Benwick, in the coastal town of Lyme Regis. Benwick is in mourning for the death of his fiancĂŠe, Captain Harville's sister, and he appreciates Anne's sympathy and understanding. He admires the Romantic poets, as does Anne. Anne attracts the attention of a gentleman passing through Lyme, who proves to be William Elliot, her cousin and the heir to Kellynch, who broke ties with Sir Walter years earlier. The last morning of the visit, Louisa sustains a serious concussion in a fall brought about by her impetuous behaviour with Wentworth. Anne coolly organizes the others to summon assistance. Wentworth is impressed with Anne, while feeling guilty about his actions with Louisa. He re-examines his feelings about Anne.
Following this accident, Anne joins her father and sister in Bath with Lady Russell, while Louisa and her parents stay at the Harvilles in Lyme. Wentworth visits his older brother in Shropshire. Anne finds that her father and sister are flattered by the attentions of William Elliot, recently widowed, who has now reconciled with Sir Walter. Elizabeth assumes that he wishes to court her. Although Anne likes William Elliot and enjoys his manners, she finds his character opaque.
Admiral Croft and his wife arrive in Bath with the news that Louisa is engaged to Captain Benwick. Wentworth comes to Bath, where his jealousy is piqued by seeing Mr Elliot courting Anne. He and Anne renew their acquaintance. Anne visits an old school friend, Mrs Smith, who is now a widow living in Bath in straitened circumstances. From her she discovers that beneath his charming veneer, Mr Elliot is a cold, calculating opportunist who had led Mrs Smith's late husband into debt. As executor to her husband's will, he takes no actions to improve her situation. Although Mrs Smith believes that he is genuinely attracted to Anne, she feels that his first aim is preventing Mrs Clay from marrying Sir Walter. A new marriage might mean a new son, displacing him.
The Musgroves visit Bath to purchase wedding clothes for Louisa and Henrietta, both soon to marry. Captains Wentworth and Harville encounter them and Anne at the Musgroves' hotel in Bath, where Wentworth overhears Anne and Harville conversing about the relative faithfulness of men and women in love. Deeply moved by what Anne has to say about women not giving up their feelings of love even when all hope is lost, Wentworth writes her a note declaring his feelings for her. Outside the hotel, Anne and Wentworth reconcile, affirm their love for each other, and renew their engagement. William Elliot leaves Bath with Mrs Clay, whose charming ways may yet attract him. Lady Russell admits she was wrong about Wentworth; she and Anne remain friends. Once Anne and Frederick marry, he helps Mrs Smith recover her lost assets. Anne settles into life as the wife of a Navy captain, he who is to be called away when his country needs him.

Question: What injury did Louisa have?


On the surface the plot follows the story of a penniless, starving author called Geoffrey Tempest. So poor that he is behind on his rent and can barely afford light in his room, he receives three letters. The first is from a friend in Australia who has made his fortune and offers to introduce him to a good friend who might be able to lift him from poverty. The second is a note from a solicitor detailing that he has inherited a fortune from a deceased relative. The third is a letter of introduction from a foreign aristocrat called Lucio, who befriends him and proceeds to be his guide in how to best use his newfound wealth.
Tempest remains blissfully unaware throughout the novel, despite warnings from people he meets, that Lucio is the earthly incarnation of the Devil. Over the course of the book, his wealth leads to misery. Eventually, when confronted with the true nature of his companion, he renounces evil and returns to society penniless but content with the chance to purify his soul.
Although the plot follows Tempest's fall from grace and redemption, he is in many regards a secondary character to Lucio. Both the title of the work and much of its philosophical content relate to the supreme yearning within Satan to achieve salvation. The book's main contribution to Faustian literature is the introduction of the concept that above all other people it is Satan who most truly believes in the Gospel â and yet he is forbidden to ever partake of it.

Question: Who is Geoffrey Tempest?

a broke, starving, struggling artist
A penniless, starving author.


Jessica Martin (Kim Basinger), a high school biology teacher, takes her son Ricky to the school bus. After she returns home, several men kidnap her and confine her in the attic of their safe house. Ethan Greer (Jason Statham), the group leader, smashes the attic's telephone. Jessica uses the wires of the broken phone and randomly dials a number. She reaches the cell phone of Ryan (Chris Evans), a carefree young man who has just been dumped by his girlfriend, Chloe (Jessica Biel).
Jessica persuades Ryan to go to the police station, where he briefly reports to Mooney, but has to leave to avoid losing connection. Ethan asks Jessica about something, which she denies knowing, and leaves to get Ricky. Overhearing them, Ryan gets to Ricky's school, only to see the boy kidnapped. He hijacks a security officer's car and gives chase. When his phone battery runs out, he takes the gun in the car, cuts in line at a shop and buys a charger.
Deciding to check on Ryan's kidnapping claim, Mooney goes to Jessica's house. At the house, he finds Dana Bayback (Valerie Cruz), the kidnappers' accomplice, posing as Jessica. Believing the claim is a false alarm, Mooney leaves. With Ricky in tow, Ethan returns and asks Jessica about a place her husband Craig mentioned, "The Left Field", and learns that it is a bar at the Los Angeles International Airport.
A cross-connection between phone lines causes Ryan to rob a nearby lawyer's cell phone and car. At the airport, Ryan plants the gun on one of the kidnappers, which trips the alarm. When security intervenes, the kidnappers flash police badges and apprehend Craig. After viewing a news report of a man holding up a store for a charger, Mooney identifies Ryan and calls Jessica's home. He notices the voice on the answering machine is different from that of the woman he met.
The kidnappers learns that Craig put a videotape in a bank safe deposit box. One guards Jessica and Ricky, while the rest go to the bank. Ryan finds the box first and leaves with the video camera, but loses the lawyer's cellphone. Watching the videotape, Ryan learns that Craig accidentally filmed LAPD Detective Ethan, Mad Dog, Dimitri, Bayback, Deason, and Jack Tanner (a friend of Mooney's) robbing and murdering drug dealers.
Ryan steals the lawyer's car from the impound lot and retrieves his own cellphone. Mooney returns to the Martin residence, where Bayback injures him. He kills her and learns that she is also a cop. Back at the safe house, Mad Dog learns that Jessica has been trying to contact help and attacks her. Jessica cuts his brachial artery, and he bleeds to death. Before Jessica and Ricky can escape, Ethan's gang returns. Ryan contacts Ethan and makes a deal: the videotape in exchange for the Martin family at the Santa Monica Pier.
Tanner convinces Mooney to go to the pier to identify Ryan. Ryan disguises himself, but is inadvertently exposed by Chloe and identified by Mooney. Tanner sends Mooney away for medical attention, arrests Ryan and brings him to Ethan. Ethan destroys the videotape, and Tanner radios the order to kill the Martins, however, Mooney overhears the radio transmission. Ryan escapes, following a distraction by his friend Chad. Mooney overpowers Dimitri and handcuffs him then returns to the pier. Tanner and Ethan confront Ryan in a boathouse. Ryan knocks out Tanner, but Ethan beats him up until Mooney intervenes. After a brief chase, Ryan notices Ethan has circled behind Mooney, and calls Ethan's cell phone. The phone's ring betrays Ethan's position, and Mooney promptly shoots him to death.
On the van, Jessica strangles Deason with her handcuff chain, then frees her husband and son. However, Deason was merely stunned, and aims his gun at them. Ryan intervenes and knocks Deason unconscious. While Ryan and Mooney are being treated by medics, Tanner is also exposed, because Ryan had copied the video recording onto his cell phone, and the Martin family is set free. Jessica finally meets Ryan, the man who risked his life to save her family. When she tells him she doesn't know how to thank him, Ryan replies that he does and half-heartedly tells her to not call him again.

Question: Why does Ryan have to leave the police station?

He leaves the police station to prevent losing the connection with Jessica.


The story is set in Manhattan during a protracted war between the United States and the Soviet Union; midtown Manhattan has been rendered an uninhabitable wasteland by a Soviet "Hell Bomb," though the rest of the city is still occupied. The narrator is a British citizen named Wysten Turner, who is in New York to barter, in exchange for grain, electronic equipment that he suspects will be used in the construction of an American military base on the moon.
As the story begins, he pulls a young woman out of the way of a car; apparently it is a favorite gang activity to snag women's clothing with fishhooks welded to their cars' fenders, although this car came a bit too close. Turner involves the police, but they do not regard the incident as serious, and he ends up bribing them to go away. The wearing of masks, akin to the Muslim burka but carrying no religious significance, has become all but mandatory for fashionable American women. Turner therefore cannot see the face of the woman he has helped, and he is intrigued.
She arranges for him to meet her later, and they go to a nightclub. She begs him to help her escape America, explaining that her boyfriend, a professional wrestler, beats her when he loses a wrestling match. Turner's sense of chivalry is aroused, and a fight occurs when the boyfriend arrives. Turner, to his surprise, knocks the boyfriend down, but when he does, the girl turns on him rather than thanking him for defending her. Her quasi-seduction of Turner is a ploy she's used on other men in the past, as all those around her already know. She never intended to leave the wrestler, as she craves his abuse. Turner rips the mask from her face, but is repulsed by her lack of grooming and by her expression of hatred. He leaves, anxious to return to England.

Question: What is the profession of the woman's boyfriend who begs Turner to help her escape from America?

professional wrestler
A professional wrestler.


Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road and this moocow that was coming down along the road met a nicens little boy named baby tuckooÂ ...
His father told him that story: his father looked at him through a glass: he had a hairy face.
He was baby tuckoo. The moocow came down the road where Betty Byrne lived: she sold lemon platt.
ââJames Joyce, Opening to A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
The childhood of Stephen Dedalus is recounted using vocabulary that changes as he grows, in a voice not his own but sensitive to his feelings. The reader experiences Stephen's fears and bewilderment as he comes to terms with the world in a series of disjointed episodes. Stephen attends the Jesuit-run Clongowes Wood College, where the apprehensive, intellectually gifted boy suffers the ridicule of his classmates while he learns the schoolboy codes of behaviour. While he cannot grasp their significance, at a Christmas dinner he is witness to the social, political and religious tensions in Ireland involving Charles Stewart Parnell, which drive wedges between members of his family, leaving Stephen with doubts over which social institutions he can place his faith in. Back at Clongowes, word spreads that a number of older boys have been caught "smugging"; discipline is tightened, and the Jesuits increase use of corporal punishment. Stephen is strapped when one of his instructors believes he has broken his glasses to avoid studying, but, prodded by his classmates, Stephen works up the courage to complain to the rector, Father Conmee, who assures him there will be no such recurrence, leaving Stephen with a sense of triumph.
Stephen's father gets into debt and the family leaves its pleasant suburban home to live in Dublin. Stephen realises that he will not return to Clongowes. However, thanks to a scholarship obtained for him by Father Conmee, Stephen is able to attend Belvedere College, where he excels academically and becomes a class leader. Stephen squanders a large cash prize from school, and begins to see prostitutes, as distance grows between him and his drunken father.
As Stephen abandons himself to sensual pleasures, his class is taken on a religious retreat, where the boys sit through sermons. Stephen pays special attention to those on pride, guilt, punishment and the Four Last Things (death, judgement, Hell, and Heaven). He feels that the words of the sermon, describing horrific eternal punishment in hell, are directed at himself and, overwhelmed, comes to desire forgiveness. Overjoyed at his return to the Church, he devotes himself to acts of ascetic repentance, though they soon devolve to mere acts of routine, as his thoughts turn elsewhere. His devotion comes to the attention of the Jesuits, and they encourage him to consider entering the priesthood. Stephen takes time to consider, but has a crisis of faith because of the conflict between his spiritual beliefs and his aesthetic ambitions. Along Dollymount Strand he spots a girl wading, and has an epiphany in which he is overcome with the desire to find a way to express her beauty in his writing.
As a student at University College, Dublin, Stephen grows increasingly wary of the institutions around him: Church, school, politics and family. In the midst of the disintegration of his family's fortunes his father berates him and his mother urges him to return to the Church. An increasingly dry, humourless Stephen explains his alienation from the Church and the aesthetic theory he has developed to his friends, who find that they cannot accept either of them. Stephen concludes that Ireland is too restricted to allow him to express himself fully as an artist, so he decides that he will have to leave. He sets his mind on self-imposed exile, but not without declaring in his diary his ties to his homeland:
... I go to encounter for the millionth time the reality of experience and to forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race.

Question: What do the Jesuits encourage Stephen to do?

Consider Priesthood
They want him to become a priest.


Eight years ago a nuclear war began between the United States and the Soviet Union. American survivors evacuated to gigantic bunkers miles under ground. Sophisticated, radioactivity-immune robots called "leadys" continue fighting the war on the devastated surface that is far too dangerous for humans. The Soviets have similarly evacuated underground, and each side builds powerful weapons and vehicles for the remote-controlled war they only see from film that the robots deliver.
The security department asks Taylor, an American war planner, to observe the interrogation of a leady regarding the progress of the war. Although the robot reports that lethal radioactivity and sophisticated new Soviet weapons continue to make the surface dangerous for humans, the observers find that the leady is not radioactive. Taylor learns that this is the second such robot the security department has found; it assigns him to an expedition, wearing lead suits, to investigate the truth about surface conditions.
Taylor's group surprises the leadys at the surface and demands to see the outside. Although the robots attempt to delay the humans as long as possible, the group discovers outside the bunker an undamaged valley with forests, animals, and a farm. The leadys reveal that the war ended as soon as the humans evacuated because the robots could not see a rational purpose for it. Analyzing history, they found that groups of humans warred with each other until they matured to overcome conflict. Humanity is almost ready for a single culture, the current worldwide division into American and Soviet sides being the final step. The leadys created counterfeit photographs of the devastated planet to fool humans, while destroying weapons they received and rebuilding the world for their creators' return.
The Americans believe that because the Soviets do not know that they were also tricked, the United States can quickly win the war. The robots reveal, however, that during their explanation they sealed all tubes to under ground. Although this prevents the expedition from leaving, the leadys expect that by the time their countrymen dig new tunnels, humanity will be ready for the truth. The robots invite Taylor and the others to join a group of Soviets who were similarly stranded after visiting the surface. "The working out of daily problems of existence", the leadys suggest, "will teach you how to get along in the same world. It will not be easy, but it will be done."

Question: How soon did the war end after the humans left the surface?


Shy, socially inept teenager Nick Twisp lives with his mother, Estelle, and her boyfriend, Jerry, in Oakland, California. When Jerry owes money to a group of sailors, he takes Estelle and Nick to a trailer park in Clearlake where Nick meets Sheeni Saunders, a bright young woman his age, with an interest in French culture and who shares Nick's musical taste. Despite Sheeni's boyfriend, Trent Preston, they become romantically involved. Nick purchases a dog for Sheeni named Albert (after Albert Camus), but the dog rips up the family Bible and Sheeni's parents ban it from the house.
Jerry needs to return to Oakland and takes Estelle and Nick with him. Sheeni promises to arrange a job in Ukiah for Nick's father, George, while Nick will get his mother to kick him out so he can return to Sheeni. Back at home, Nick creates an alter-ego named Franรงois Dillinger, a suave, rebellious troublemaker. Immediately after Nick makes the decision, Jerry dies of a heart attack. Under Franรงois' influence, Nick mouths off to his mom and her new boyfriend, police officer Lance Wescott. Nick takes Jerry's Lincoln, and crashes into a restaurant, which starts a fire. Lance agrees to lie and report the car stolen. In return, Nick must live with his father. In Ukiah, Nick phones Sheeni and tells her he had to blow up "half of Berkeley" to return. Sheeni's parents overhear this and ship her to a French boarding school in Santa Cruz, forbidding Nick ever to see her again.
In his new high school, Nick befriends Vijay Joshi, and they take Vijay's grandmother's car to visit Sheeni. After being allowed into Sheeni's room, Nick goes to the restroom and meets Bernice Lynch, Sheeni's neighbor, and claims Trent said terrible things about her. Bernice brings the matron to Sheeni's room and the boys flee. On the way home, the car dies and Nick calls Mr. Ferguson, his father's idealist neighbor, to come pick them up; he tells Ferguson that Vijay is an illegal immigrant whom Nick is trying to "free from persecution".
When he returns home, Nick meets Sheeni's older brother, Paul, who tells him that she will be returning home on Thanksgiving and invites him for dinner. Nick begins to send Bernice letters asking her to slip sedatives into Sheeni's drinks to make her fall asleep in class, thereby getting Sheeni expelled. Nick finds Lacey, George's 25-year-old girlfriend, Paul, and Ferguson, lounging in his living room, high on mushrooms, which Nick also ingests. George finds them and punches Ferguson, which results in Paul punching George. Lacey leaves the house to live with Paul. On Thanksgiving Day, Nick receives a call from his mother explaining Lance left and will not cover for Nick anymore. Nick goes to Thanksgiving at Sheeni's. Trent unexpectedly arrives and explains Nick's letters to Bernice; Sheeni is horrified and Nick leaves.
Nick steals his father's car to escape the police. He then removes his clothes and drives the car into a shallow lake in front of the police station. He buys a wig and a dress and impersonates one of Sheeni's "friends". He fools Mr. and Mrs. Saunders and goes up to Sheeni's room. Upstairs, Nick tells Sheeni that he understands what loneliness is like, and that everything he has done, including burning down Berkeley, destroying his parents' cars and having her sedated were all so that they wouldn't have to be alone anymore. Sheeni forgives Nick, and the two have sex, finally achieving Nick's dream of losing his virginity. Trent barges in, telling Nick he's brought the police with him. Nick beats up Trent and asks Sheeni to wait for him; Sheeni reassures him that he will only be in juvenile detention for three months.
The animated closing credits show Nick in jail with Franรงois helping him. When Nick is released, Sheeni shows up in a car and they drive away into the sky towards the Paris skyline, as various characters appear to make amends with the two and give them their blessing.

Question: What does Nick do to fool Sheeni's parents?

He puts on a wig and a dress and pretends to be one of Sheeni's friends.


The Last Chronicle of Barset concerns an indigent but learned clergyman, the Reverend Josiah Crawley, the perpetual curate of Hogglestock, who stands accused of stealing a cheque.
The novel is notable for the non-resolution of a plot continued from the previous novel in the series, The Small House at Allington, involving Lily Dale and Johnny Eames. Its main storyline features the courtship of the Rev. Mr Crawley's daughter, Grace, and Major Henry Grantly, son of the wealthy Archdeacon Grantly. The Archdeacon, although allowing that Grace is a lady, doesn't think her of high enough rank or wealth for his widowed son; his position is strengthened by the Reverend Mr Crawley's apparent crime. Almost broken by poverty and trouble, the Reverend Mr Crawley hardly knows himself if he is guilty or not; fortunately, the mystery is resolved just as Major Grantly's determination and Grace Crawley's own merit force the Archdeacon to overcome his prejudice against her as a daughter-in-law. As with Lucy Robarts in Framley Parsonage, the objecting parent finally invites the young lady into the family; this new connection also inspires the Dean and Archdeacon to find a new, more prosperous, post for Grace's impoverished father.
Through death or marriage, this final volume manages to tie up more than one thread from the beginning of the series. One subplot deals with the death of Mrs. Proudie, the virago wife of the Bishop of Barchester, and his subsequent grief and collapse. Mrs. Proudie, upon her arrival in Barchester in Barchester Towers, had increased the tribulations of the gentle Mr. Harding, title character of The Warden; he dies of a peaceful old age, mourned by his family and the old men he loved and looked after as Warden.

Question: Who is the wife of the Bishop?


Four years after Jurassic Park was overrun by cloned dinosaurs on the Central American island of Isla Nublar, a young girl named Cathy Bowman wanders around on nearby Isla Sorna during a family vacation, and survives an attack by a swarm of Compsognathus. Her parents file a lawsuit against the genetics company InGen, now headed by John Hammond's nephew, Peter Ludlow, who plans to use Isla Sorna to relieve the company of financial losses. Mathematician Dr. Ian Malcolm meets Hammond at his mansion. Hammond explains that Isla Sorna, abandoned years earlier during a hurricane, is where InGen created their dinosaurs before moving them to Jurassic Park on Isla Nublar. Hammond hopes to stop InGen by sending a team to Isla Sorna to document the dinosaurs, to help rally public support against human interference on the island. After learning that his girlfriend, paleontologist Dr. Sarah Harding, is part of the team and is already on the island, Ian agrees to go to Isla Sorna, but only to retrieve her.
Ian meets his teammates, Eddie Carr, an equipment specialist and engineer, and Nick Van Owen, a video documentarian. After arriving on the island, they locate Sarah and discover that Ian's daughter, Kelly, had stowed away in a trailer being used as a mobile base. They then watch as an InGen team of mercenaries, hunters and paleontologists led by Ludlow arrive to capture several dinosaurs. Meanwhile, team leader Roland Tembo hopes to capture a male Tyrannosaurus by luring it to the cries of its injured infant. That night, Ian's team sneak into the InGen camp and learn the captured dinosaurs will be brought to a newly proposed theme park in San Diego. This prompts Nick and Sarah to free the caged dinosaurs, wreaking havoc upon the camp.
Nick also frees the infant T. rex and takes it to the trailer to mend its broken leg. After securing Kelly with Eddie, Ian realizes the infant's parents are searching for it and rushes to the trailer. As soon as Ian arrives, the infant's parents emerge on both sides of the trailer. The infant is released to the adult T. rexes, which then attack the trailer, pushing it over the edge of a nearby cliff. Eddie soon arrives, but as he tries to pull the trailer back over the edge with an SUV, the adult T. rexes return and devour him. The trailer and the SUV both plummet off the cliff. Ian, Sarah, and Nick are rescued by the InGen team, along with Kelly. With both groups' communications equipment and vehicles destroyed, they team up to reach the old InGen compound's radio station on foot.
The next night, the two adult T. rexes find the group's camp. The female T. rex chases the group to a waterfall cave, while Roland tranquilizes the male. Much of the remaining InGen team is killed by Velociraptors while fleeing through a tall grass savannah. Nick runs ahead to the communications center at the InGen Worker's Village to call for rescue. When Ian, Sarah and Kelly arrive, they are attacked by the raptors. They evade the raptors until a helicopter arrives and transports them off the island.
A freighter transports the male T. rex to the mainland, but crashes into the dock after the crew is killed by a creature of unknown species. A guard opens the cargo hold, accidentally releasing the T. rex, which escapes into San Diego and goes on a rampage. Ian and Sarah retrieve the infant T. rex from a secure InGen building and use it to lure the adult back to the ship. Ludlow tries to intervene but is trapped in the cargo hold by the adult T. rex and mauled by the infant. Before the adult can escape again, Sarah tranquilizes it while Ian closes the hold. The T. rexes are escorted back to Isla Sorna, and Hammond says that the American and Costa Rican governments have agreed to declare the island a nature preserve, affirming that "life will find a way".

Question: Why did Peter's uncle say they left the island where the dinosaurs were created?


The story begins with a quiet, sensitive, 15-year-old boy named Charlie writing letters about his life to an unknown recipient. Charlie chooses that person because he said that he heard he was nice and thought that this person would not be judgmental. He discusses his first year at high school, grappling with two traumatic experiences from his past: the suicide of his only middle-school friend, Michael, a year before, and the death of his favorite aunt, Helen, during his early childhood.
His English teacher, Mr. Anderson, notices Charlie's passion for reading and writing, and acts as a mentor by assigning him extracurricular books and reports. Although he is a wallflower, Charlie is befriended by two seniors: Patrick and Sam. Patrick is secretly dating Brad, a closeted football player, and Sam is Patrick's stepsister. Charlie quickly develops a crush on Sam and subsequently admits his feelings to her. It is revealed that Sam was sexually abused as a child, and she kisses Charlie to ensure that his first kiss is from someone who truly loves him.
In parallel, Charlie witnesses his sister's boyfriend hit her across the face, but she forbids him from telling their parents. He eventually mentions the occurrence to Mr. Anderson, who tells Charlie's parents about it. Charlie's relationship with his sister rapidly deteriorates and she continues to see her boyfriend against her parents' wishes. Eventually, he discovers that his sister is pregnant and agrees to bring her to an abortion clinic without telling anyone. His sister breaks up with her boyfriend, after which her and Charlie's relationship begins to improve significantly.
Charlie is accepted by Sam and Patrick's group of friends and begins experimenting with tobacco, alcohol and other drugs. As Charlie engages with his new friends he can control his flashbacks of Aunt Helen, who died in a car crash on her way to buy him a birthday gift. Eventually, Mary Elizabeth, a member of the group, invites Charlie to the school's Sadie Hawkins dance and the two enter into a desultory relationship. During a game of Truth or Dare, when dared to kiss the prettiest girl in the room he kisses Sam; Mary Elizabeth storms out, the rest of the group shuns him and Patrick suggests that Charlie stay away from Sam for a while. His flashbacks return.
Patrick and Brad's relationship is discovered by Brad's abusive father, and Brad disappears from school for a few days. Upon returning, Brad is cold and mean towards Patrick, while Patrick attempts to reconnect with him. However, when Brad derogatorily attacks Patrick's sexuality in public, Patrick physically attacks Brad until other football players join in and gang up on Patrick. Charlie breaks up the fight, regaining the respect of Sam and her friends. Patrick begins spending much of his time with Charlie and Patrick kisses Charlie impulsively and then apologizes, but Charlie understands that he is recovering from his romance with Brad. Soon Patrick sees Brad engaging with a stranger in the park and Patrick is able to move on from the relationship.
As the school year ends, Charlie is anxious about losing his older friendsâespecially Sam, who is leaving for a summer college-preparatory program and has learned that her boyfriend cheated on her. When Charlie helps her pack, they talk about his feelings for her; she is angry that he never acted on them. They begin to engage sexually, but Charlie suddenly grows inexplicably uncomfortable and stops Sam. Charlie begins to realise that his sexual contact with Sam has stirred up repressed memories of him being molested by his aunt Helen as a little boy.
In an epilogue, Charlie is discovered by his parents in a catatonic state and does not show any movement despite being hit reluctantly by his father. After being admitted to a mental hospital, it emerges that Helen sexually abused him when he was young, and his love for her (and empathy for her troubled youth) caused him to repress his traumatic memories. This psychological damage explains his flashbacks and derealization phases throughout the book. In two months Charlie is released, and Sam and Patrick visit him. In the epilogue, Sam, Patrick and Charlie go through the tunnel again and Charlie stands up and exclaims that he felt infinite.
He comes to terms with his past: "Even if we don't have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there". Charlie decides to "participate" in life, and his letter-writing ends.

Question: Who gives Charlie his first kiss?


A deadly virus wipes out almost all of humanity in 1996, forcing remaining survivors to live underground. A mysterious group known as the Army of the Twelve Monkeys is believed to be behind the virus. In 2035, James Cole (Willis) is a prisoner living in a subterranean shelter beneath the ruins of Philadelphia. Cole is selected for a mission, where he is trained and sent back in time to collect information on the virus in order to help scientists develop a cure. Meanwhile, Cole is troubled by recurring dreams involving a foot chase and an airport shooting.
Cole arrives in Baltimore in 1990, not 1996 as planned. He is arrested, then hospitalized in a mental institution on the diagnosis of Dr. Kathryn Railly (Stowe). There he encounters Jeffrey Goines (Pitt), a fellow mental patient with fanatical views. After an escape attempt, Cole is locked in a cell, but soon disappears, returning to the future. Back in his own time, Cole is interviewed by the scientists, who play a distorted voicemail message which discloses the location of the Army of the Twelve Monkeys and asserts their association with the virus. He is also shown photos of numerous people suspected of being involved, including Goines. He is given a second chance to go back in time, but another error results in him arriving at a battlefield of World War I. He is wounded in the leg and then suddenly sent to 1996.
In 1996, Railly gives a lecture about the Cassandra complex to a group of scientists. At the post-lecture book signing, Dr. Peters (Morse) questions her about mankind's sustainability on earth and points out that humanity's gradual destruction of the environment may be the real lunacy. Cole arrives at the venue after seeing flyers publicizing it, and when Railly departs, he kidnaps her and forces her to take him to Philadelphia. They learn that Goines is the founder of the Army of the Twelve Monkeys, and set out in search of him. When they confront him, however, Goines denies any involvement with the virus and says that wiping out humanity was Cole's idea at the asylum in 1990.
Cole convinces himself that he is insane, but Railly confronts him with evidence of his time travel. They decide to spend their remaining time together in the Florida Keys before the onset of the plague. On their way to the airport, they learn that the Army of the Twelve Monkeys was not the source of the epidemic; the group's major act of protest is releasing animals from a zoo and placing Goines' Nobel Prize winning virologist father (Plummer) in an animal cage.
At the airport, Cole leaves a last message telling the scientists that in following the Army of the Twelve Monkeys they are on the wrong track, and that he will not return. He is soon confronted by Jose (Seda), an acquaintance from his own time, who gives Cole a handgun and ambiguously instructs him to follow orders. At the same time, Railly spots Dr. Peters, and recognizes him from a newspaper photograph as an assistant at Goines' father's virology lab. Peters is about to embark on a tour of several cities that match the locations and sequence of the viral outbreaks.
Cole forces his way through a security checkpoint in pursuit of Peters. After drawing the gun he was given, Cole is fatally shot by police. As Cole lies dying in Railly's arms, she makes eye contact with a small boyâthe young James Cole witnessing the scene of his own death, which will replay in his dreams for years to come. Peters, aboard the plane with the virus, sits down next to Jones (Florence), one of the scientists from the future.

Question: Why is James Cole sent back in time?

James Cole is sent back in time to collect information about the virus.

to collect info about a virus so scientists can find a cure


Nordau begins his work with a "medical" and social interpretation of what has created this Degeneration in society. Nordau divides his study into five books. In the first book, Nordau identifies the phenomenon of fin de siĂ¨cle in Europe. He sees this as first being recognised, though not originating, in France, describing this phenomenon as "a contempt for the traditional views of custom and morality". He sees it as a sort of decadence, a world-weariness, and the wilful rejection of the moral boundaries governing the world. He uses examples from French periodicals and books in French to show how it has affected all elements of society. Nordau accuses also society of becoming more and more inclined to imitate what they see in art. He sees in the fashionable society of Paris and London that "[e]very single figure strives visibly by some singularity in outline, set, cut or colour, to startle attention violently, and imperiously to detain it. Each one wishes to create a strong nervous excitement, no matter whether agreeably or disagreeably".
Nordau establishes the cultural phenomenon of fin de siĂ¨cle in the opening pages, but he quickly moves to the viewpoint of a physician and identifies what he sees as an illness:
In the fin-de-siĂ¨cle disposition, in the tendencies of contemporary art and poetry, in the life and conduct of men who write mystic, symbolic and 'decadent' works and the attitude taken by their admirers in the tastes and aesthetic instincts of fashionable society, the confluence of two well-defined conditions of disease, with which he [the physician] is quite familiar, viz. degeneration and hysteria, of which the minor stages are designated as neurasthenia.
The book deals with numerous case studies of various artists, writers and thinkers (Oscar Wilde, Henrik Ibsen, Richard Wagner and Friedrich Nietzsche to name a few), but its basic premise remains that society and human beings themselves are degenerating, and this degeneration is both reflected in and influenced by art. Hannah Arendt, in her book The Origins of Totalitarianism, refers to late 19th Century French society as embracing unusual or exotic types or individuals, such as criminals, Gypsies and Turks, and certain others formerly not seen as socially acceptable, so Nordau's position is not novel or isolated as social criticism.
The original article's text comports quite closely to Howard Fertig, NY 1960. During the time of Nordau's writing, physical, physiognomic, or mechanical factors were still being regarded as causative in mental aberrations and malfunctions. The symbolic or mythic approached later implemented by Freud and Jung made no part of Nordau's understanding of the human psyche.

Question: What are two defined conditions of the disease?

Degeneration and hysteria
degeneration and hysteria


In April 2054, Washington, D.C.'s PreCrime police stops murderers before they act, reducing the murder rate to zero. Murders are predicted using three mutated humans, called "Precogs", who "previsualize" crimes by receiving visions of the future. Would-be murderers are imprisoned in their own happy virtual reality. The Federal government is on the verge of adopting the controversial program.
Since the disappearance of his son Sean, PreCrime Captain John Anderton has separated from his wife Lara and becomes a drug addict. While United States Department of Justice agent Danny Witwer is auditing the program, the Precogs generate a new prediction, saying Anderton will murder a man named Leo Crow in 36 hours. Anderton does not know Crow, but flees the area as Witwer begins a manhunt. Anderton seeks the advice of Dr. Iris Hineman, the creator of PreCrime technology. She reveals that sometimes, one of the Precogs, usually Agatha, has a different vision than the other two, a "minority report" of a possible alternate future; this has been kept a secret as it would damage the system's credibility. Anderton resolves to recover the minority report to prove his innocence.
Anderton goes to a black market doctor for a risky eye transplant so as to avoid the city-wide optical recognition system. He returns to PreCrime and kidnaps Agatha, shutting down the system, as the Precogs operate as a group mind. Anderton takes Agatha to a hacker to extract the minority report of Leo Crow, but none exists; instead, Agatha shows him an image of the murder of Ann Lively, a woman who was drowned by a hooded figure in 2049.
Anderton and Agatha go to Crow's apartment as the 36-hour time nears, finding numerous photos of children, including Sean's. Crow arrives and Anderton prepares to kill him, accusing him to be a serial child killer. Agatha talks Anderton out of shooting Crow by telling him that he has the ability to choose his future now that he is aware of it. Crow however begs to be killed, having been hired to plant the photos and be killed in exchange for his family's financial well being. Crow grabs Anderton's gun and pushes the trigger, killing himself. Anderton and Agatha flee to Lara's house outside the city for refuge. There they learn Lively was Agatha's drug-addicted mother who sold her to PreCrime. Lively had sobered up and attempted to reclaim Agatha, but was murdered. Anderton realizes he is being targeted for knowing about Lively's existence and her connection to Agatha.
Witwer, studying Crow's death, suspects Anderton is being framed. He examines the footage of Lively's murder and finds there were two attempts on her life, the first having been stopped by PreCrime but the second, occurring minutes later, having succeeded. Witwer reports this to the director and founder of PreCrime, Lamar Burgess, but Burgess responds by killing Witwer using Anderton's gun. With the Precogs still offline, the murder is not detected.
Lara calls Burgess to reveal that Anderton is with her, and Anderton is captured, accused of both murders, and fitted with the brain device that puts him permanently into a dreamlike sleep. As his body is deposited into the prison, the warden tells him, "that all your dreams come true.â
Agatha is reconnected to the PreCrime system. While attempting to comfort Lara, Burgess accidentally reveals himself as Lively's murderer. Lara frees Anderton from stasis, and Anderton exposes Burgess at a PreCrime celebratory banquet by playing the full video of Agatha's vision of Burgess killing Lively. A new report is generated at PreCrime: Burgess will kill Anderton. Burgess corners Anderton, and explains that as he could not afford to let Lively take Agatha back without impacting PreCrime, he arranged to kill Lively following an actual attempt on her life, so that the murder would appear as an echo to the technician within PreCrime and be ignored. Anderton points out Burgess's dilemma: If Burgess kills Anderton, he will be imprisoned for life, but PreCrime will be validated; if he spares Anderton, PreCrime will be discredited and shut down. Anderton reveals the ultimate flaw of the system: once people are aware of their future, they are able to change it. Burgess shoots himself.
After Burgess's death, the PreCrime system is shut down and all prisoners pardoned. Anderton and Lara are soon to have a new child together. The Precogs are sent to an isolated island to live their lives in peace.

Question: Who does the PreCog say Anderton will murder?

They say he will murder a man named Leo Crow.


McTeague is a dentist of limited intellect from a poor miner's family, who has opened a dentist shop on Polk Street in San Francisco. (His first name is never revealed; other characters in the novel call him simply "Mac".) His best friend, Marcus Schouler, brings his cousin, Trina Sieppe, whom he is courting, to McTeague's parlor for dental work. McTeague becomes infatuated with her while working on her teeth, and Marcus graciously steps aside. McTeague successfully woos Trina. Shortly after McTeague and Trina have kissed and declared their love for each other, Trina discovers that she has won $15,000 from a lottery ticket. In the ensuing celebration Trina's mother, Mrs Sieppe, announces that McTeague and Trina are to marry. Marcus becomes jealous of McTeague, and claims that he has been cheated out of money that would have been rightfully his if he had married Trina.
The marriage takes place, and Mrs Sieppe, along with the rest of Trina's family, move away from San Francisco, leaving her alone with McTeague. Trina proves to be a parsimonious wife; she refuses to touch the principal of her $15,000, which she invests with her uncle. She insists that she and McTeague must live on the earnings from McTeague's dental practice, the small income from the $15,000 investment, and the bit of money she earns from carving small wooden figures of Noah's animals and his Ark for sale in her uncle's shop. Secretly, she accumulates penny-pinched savings in a locked trunk. Though the couple are happy, the friendship between Marcus and Mac deteriorates. More than once the two men come to grips; each time McTeague's immense physical strength prevails, and eventually he breaks Marcus' arm in a fight. When Marcus recovers, he goes south, intending to become a rancher; before he leaves, he visits the McTeagues, and he and Mac part apparently as friends.
Catastrophe strikes when McTeague is debarred from practising dentistry by the authorities; it becomes clear that before leaving, Marcus has taken revenge on Mac by informing city hall that he has no license or degree. McTeague loses his practice and the couple are forced to move into successively poorer quarters as Trina becomes more and more miserly. Their life together deteriorates until McTeague takes all Trina's domestic savings (amounting to $400 or roughly $10,000 in 2010 values) and abandons her. Meanwhile, Trina falls completely under the spell of money and withdraws the principal of her prior winnings in gold from her uncle's firm so she can admire and handle the coins in her room, at one point spreading them over her bed and rolling around in them.
When McTeague returns, destitute once more, she refuses to give him money even for food. Aggravated and made violent by whisky, McTeague beats her to death. He takes the entire hoard of gold and heads out to a mining community that he had left years before. Sensing pursuit, he makes his way south towards Mexico; meanwhile, Marcus hears of the murder and joins the hunt for McTeague, finally catching him in Death Valley. In the middle of the desert Marcus and McTeague fight over McTeague's remaining water and, when that is lost and they are already doomed, over Trina's $15,000. McTeague kills Marcus, but as he dies, Marcus handcuffs himself to McTeague. The final, dramatic image of the novel is one of McTeague stranded, alone and helpless. He is left with only the company of Marcus's corpse, to whom he is handcuffed, in the desolate, arid waste of Death Valley.

Question: What does Marcus intend to go become?