In what ways does Sassoon use irony to express his anger through his poem "The Hero"?

Sassoon's "The Hero" focuses on anger, irony of situation,
and hypocrisy.   

Specifically, concerning anger, the
"Brother Officer" is angry at Jack, a "cold-footed, useless swine."  But on a larger
level, the poem reveals anger at a system that perpetuates
war. 

A boy goes to war.  He is scared to death and does
not represent himself or his country well.  He is blown to bits.  A Colonel writes a
letter to the mother of the soldier, "so nicely."  A fellow soldier goes to his mother
and lies about how brave he was.  The mother is gullible and falls for the nicely
written letter and the lies of the fellow soldier.  The fellow soldier is left
regretting what he's done.

The characters are all in no-win
situations, ironical situations.  None of the characters, with the possible exception of
Jack, can be easily blamed for what they do.  The Colonel and the Fellow Officer
certainly can't tell the mother the truth about her cowardly son.  The mother can't help
but want to believe her son was brave and died nobly.

Yet,
all of them are to be blamed for perpetuating the war machine.  The mother, for
instance, falls for the letter partly because of how nicely it is written.  Those are
her first words after she reads it.  She bows her head because she is choking up and is
embarrassed and hurt, not because she doesn't believe what the Colonel and Fellow
Soldier say.  She believes it and is emotionally
moved. 

The Colonel and the Fellow soldier perpetuate the
myth of a close-knit military that cares for its own, of bravery and valor and heroism. 
When the truth is:

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...how, at last, he
died,

Blown to small bits.  And no one seemed to
care

Except that lonely woman with white
hair.

Irony
abounds:

• the Colonel and Fellow Soldier don't
  tell the truth to the grieving mother


• the mother believes
  the fabricated version of her son's military service, she believes what she wants to
  believe


• this is seemingly how it has to be, at least from
  the military standpoint


• yet this perpetuates the war
  machine, when telling the truth might help the public understand the truth about war and
  therefore make them less likely to support it


• therefore,
  politeness and consideration, if you give the Colonel and the Fellow Officer the benefit
  of the doubt, actually lead to destruction and
  despair.

In The Scarlet Letter, why does Hester go to the Governor's house?

Hester has heard that the Governor is thinking about
taking Pearl away from her. She goes in order to argue against this idea. The idea is
that Pearl is getting a little out of control and could likely use a little better
supervision. There is notice in Pearl that some evil spiritual activity might be at
work. Perhaps this is evidence of the father according to the magistrates who discuss
these circumstances. The concern of witchcraft is never fully determined. The ultimate
decision is to let Pearl stay with Hester. Thus, Hester's pleas and Dimmsdale's support
helped ensure that she keep her child.

On a side note,
Hester did bring the governor some gloves that she had embroidered for
him.

What is the effect of having a mannequin with you as you train for CPR?How is having a mannequin more helpful than watching a video on CPR?

I think that the practical aspect is vitally important in
CPR Training.  It's not akin to watching a food preparation video, where mistakes could
be remedied "next time out."  Rather, in CPR training, time is essential.  It is vitally
important to "get it right" in terms of technique and approach.  The mannequin is
important in this in that individuals can apply the ideas of how to render CPR in an
exact manner.  The more times one practices with the mannequin, the greater the chance
that when placed in that specific situation, one is not overcome with the magnitude of
the moment.  I think that in solely studying the video, there is a certain "newness"
that is evident in situations where the mannequin has not been used.  The placement of
mouth for breath, the hands for compressions, as well assessing the situation from the
outset are elements that can be practiced in a more "real" sense with the mannequin.  In
being able to match up what is happening in the video or with pictures along with an
actual mannequin to practically demonstrate, there is a greater effectiveness in
instruction.

What is ironic about the fact that Farquhar agrees with the saying that, "all is fair in love and war?""An Occurrence at Owl Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce

In Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,"
the irony of the statement to which Farquhar agrees, "all is fair in love and war" is
situational irony.  That is, there is discrepancy between what is expected to happen on
Farquahar's part, and what actually happens.

Thinking that
he is justified in performing whatever service he can in aid of the South, Farquhar
learns from a soldier dressed in grey that the bridge has driftwood now that is dry and
"would burn like tow." In addition to the irony of the soldier being in reality a
Federal scout, the situational irony is that Farquar sets out to burn the bridge when in
actuality it is the bridge that effects his own death:  "A man stood upon a railroad
bridge....the two private soldiers stepped aside and each drew away the plank upon which
he had been standing."  

Farquhar's being hanged on the
bridge which he has intended to burn makes even the choice of words
used by Bierce to describe the phase "all is fair in love and war" ironic.  For, Bierce
writes that the phase is a "frankly villainous dictum."  Obviously, nothing is fair in
love and war.  And, it is here that the central irony of Bierce's story lies.  For,
Peyton Farquhar is the butt of the satire in this story and not the sympathetic hero
that he first seems. As the story unfolds, Bierce develops the "frankly villainous"
nature of war as he contrasts it with Farquar's romanticized, unrealistic view
of "gallant army," "larger life of the soldier," "opportunity for distinction," and "no
adventure too perilous."

Farquar's imagined escape, too, is
ironic as it is a "civilian's dream of war," as well:

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'If I could free my hands,' he thought, 'I might
throw off the noose and spring into the stream,  By diving I could evade the bullets
and, swimming vigorously, reach the bank, take to the woods, and get
home.'

The knowledge of war
that Peyton Farquhar has is that of books, not reality.  In fact, his imaginings are
described by one critic as "Walter-Mitty like."  Even his name is ironic: 
Peyton derives from the Scottish Payton, a
form of Patrick, which means of noble birth;
Farquhar derives from the Gaelic Fearachar,
meaning manly or brave.  Clearly, Bierce's theme of the less than glorious condition of
war comes through with all the ironic elements of his story.

How does Prospero have control over Caliban?

Prospero has clearly got some control over Caliban.
However the extent of control is substantially lower than you would have thought.  In
act 1 scene 2, Miranda and Prospero visit Caliban. Miranda obviously doesn’t care about
control over him, “I do not love to look on,” all she wants is too stay away from him.
This is not her only vain moment in the play. Prospero however makes a great show of how
much power he has, how he can punish Caliban, yet Caliban is completely used to this
form of abusive behaviour that he replies with a non-sequitur. He is obviously immune to
his punishments by now.  That shows that he just ignores Prospero most of the time, and
doesn’t see him as a threat. However Prospero can control some aspects of Calibans life.
He controls where Caliban lives, what Caliban does, and where he is allowed to go.
Prospero cannot control what Caliban says to him. Prospero taught him their language, so
Caliban must have heard it from Prospero first.  In conclusion, Prospero controls
Caliban in the only way he knows how, with magic.

What did Union troops have on their uniforms?

At the very beginning of the war most Federal uniforms
were "frock coats." These were knee-length, somewhat styledcoats that were lined and way
too hot for summer usage. Other than insignia of rank, according to military
specifications, brass insignia was mostly on the leather goods associated with the
uniform. A cartridge box with a leather strap was hanging from the left shoulder, across
the chest, and resting on the right hip. This was kept in place by a leather belt. On
the cartridge box as a shiny brass oval with the letters US on it (for the regular army,
that is). On the front of the strap that crossed the chest was another shiny brass
circle with an eagle on it. As a belt buckle was another shiny brass oval with the
letters US on it. On the head gear would be a Jaegar horn (hunter's horn - a curved horn
which symbolized that the wearer hunted down the enemies of his country) along with a
brass letter and a brass number. These represented company and
regiment.

It didn't take too long for the soldier to
realize all this brass reflected the sunlight pretty well and created easier targets for
the enemy to shoot at. Thyerefore, as much of this stuff was removed as they could get
away with. Also, the stylish frock coat was soon replaced by a very common sack coat
which came in four sizes; size 1, 2, 3, and 4.

What is the plot of Twelfth Night?

Twelfth Night is a story about transgression. Shakespeare
plays with the themes of love, mistaken identity, and social class in this comedy. The
play actually contains three plotlines that come together in the final scene.  The
plotlines are held together by the character of Feste, the Fool, who can cross social
boundaries because of his exemption from behaving, the right of an "allowed Fool." The
plotlines are as follows:

1. Viola, stranded on Illyria
after a shipwreck and the loss of her twin Sebastian, is forced by her status as a
single, unaccompanied woman, to disguise herself as a boy and work at Orsino's court.
There she falls in love with Orsino but cannot reveal herself because of her deception.
Orsino is in love with the Lady Olivia, who has also recently lost a brother. He sends
Viola, in her disguise as the page Cesario, to woo Olivia. Olivia then falls in love
with Cesario, unaware that "he" is "she."

2. Sebastian did
not drown, but was saved by Antonio, who cares for him. He, too, is in Illyria, but does
not know that his sister is alive. He and Antonio must part ways since Antonio is
Orsino's enemy, but he does not want to leave Sebastian and follows
him.

3. Toby, Olivia's relative, has brought Andrew, a
"foolish knight" to woo her in hopes of being the financial beneficiary of their union.
They are continually in trouble for drinking and partying at all hours in Olivia's house
with the help of Maria, Olivia's gentlewoman.  The steward Malvolio, who has delusions
of marrying Olivia himself, threatens to expose them and they devise a plot to undo him,
sending him to Olivia under the pretense that she has written him a
letter.

Of course, all the characters finally come together
and are unmasked at the end of the play. Orsino gets Viola; Sebastian gets Olivia, and
Maria marries Sir Toby.