Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Lord of the Flies explores the dark side of humanity, the savagery that underlies even the most civilized human

beings. Golding intended this novel as a tragic parody of children’s adventure tales, illustrating humankind’s

intrinsic evil nature. He presents the reader with a chronology of events leading a group of young boys from

hope to disaster as they attempt to survive their uncivilized, unsupervised, isolated environment until rescued.

In the midst of a nuclear war, a group of British boys find themselves stranded without adult supervision on a

tropical island. The group is roughly divided into the “littluns,” boys around the age of six, and the “biguns,”

who are between the ages of ten and twelve. Initially, the boys attempt to form a culture similar to the one they

left behind. They elect a leader, Ralph, who, with the advice and support of Piggy (the intellectual of the

group), strives to establish rules for housing and sanitation. Ralph also makes a signal fire the group’s first

priority, hoping that a passing ship will see the smoke signal and rescue them. A major challenge to Ralph’s

leadership is Jack, who also wants to lead. Jack commands a group of choirboys-turned-hunters who sacrifice

the duty of tending the fire so that they can participate in the hunts. Jack draws the other boys slowly away

from Ralph’s influence because of their natural attraction to and inclination toward the adventurous hunting

activities symbolizing violence and evil.

The conflict between Jack and Ralph — and the forces of savagery and civilization that they represent — is

exacerbated by the boys’ literal fear of a mythical beast roaming the island. One night, an aerial battle occurs

above the island, and a casualty of the battle floats down with his opened parachute, ultimately coming to rest

on the mountaintop. Breezes occasionally inflate the parachute, making the body appear to sit up and then sink

forward again. This sight panics the boys as they mistake the dead body for the beast they fear. In a reaction to

this panic, Jack forms a splinter group that is eventually joined by all but a few of the boys. The boys who join

Jack are enticed by the protection Jack’s ferocity seems to provide, as well as by the prospect of playing the

role of savages: putting on camouflaging face paint, hunting, and performing ritualistic tribal dances.

Eventually, Jack’s group actually slaughters a sow and, as an offering to the beast, puts the sow’s head on a

stick.

Of all the boys, only the mystic Simon has the courage to discover the true identity of the beast sighted on the

mountain. After witnessing the death of the sow and the gift made of her head to the beast, Simon begins to

hallucinate, and the staked sow’s head becomes the Lord of the Flies, imparting to Simon what he has already

suspected: The beast is not an animal on the loose but is hidden in each boy’s psyche. Weakened by his horrific

vision, Simon loses consciousness.

Recovering later that evening, he struggles to the mountaintop and finds that the beast is only a dead

pilot/soldier. Attempting to bring the news to the other boys, he stumbles into the tribal frenzy of their dance.

Perceiving him as the beast, the boys beat him to death.

Soon only three of the older boys, including Piggy, are still in Ralph’s camp. Jack’s group steals Piggy’s

glasses to start its cooking fires, leaving Ralph unable to maintain his signal fire. When Ralph and his small

group approach Jack’s tribe to request the return of the glasses, one of Jack’s hunters releases a huge boulder on

Piggy, killing him. The tribe captures the other two biguns prisoners, leaving Ralph on his own.

The tribe undertakes a manhunt to track down and kill Ralph, and they start a fire to smoke him out of one of

his hiding places, creating an island-wide forest fire. A passing ship sees the smoke from the fire, and a British

naval officer arrives on the beach just in time to save Ralph from certain death at the hands of the schoolboys

turned savages.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (A Brief Synopsis)

Set in the twenty-fourth century, Fahrenheit 451 introduces a new world in which control of the masses by the

media, overpopulation, and censorship has taken over the general population. The individual is not accepted and

the intellectual is considered an outlaw. Television has replaced the common perception of family. The fireman

is now seen as a flamethrower, a destroyer of books rather than an insurance against fire. Books are considered

evil because they make people question and think. The people live in a world with no reminders of history or

appreciation of the past; the population receives the present from television. Ray Bradbury introduces this new

world through the character Guy Montag, the protagonist, during a short time in his life.

The story begins with an inciting incident in which Montag meets Clarisse McClellan. Montag, a fireman who

destroys books for a living, is walking home from work one day when the young Clarisse approaches him and

introduces herself. Clarisse is the antithesis of anyone Montag has ever met. She is young, pretty, and energetic,

but more importantly, she converses with him about things that he has never considered. Her inquisitive nature

fascinates him because she ponders things such as happiness, love, and, more importantly, the contents of the

books that he burns.

At first, Montag tries to ignore her questions, but on the rest of his walk home, he cannot get the young girl out

of his mind. Upon entering his home, however, her image is quickly erased. Montag enters his bedroom to find

an empty bottle of sleeping pills lying on the floor next to his bed. He discovers that his wife Mildred (Millie),

whether intentionally or unintentionally, has overdosed on the pills. He calls the emergency squad, and the

strangers come with their machine to save his wife.

The next morning, Montag attempts to discuss what happened the night before, but his wife is uninterested in

any type of discussion. She avoids Montag’s questions and instead focuses on the new script she has received

for an interactive television program. Montag, though frustrated and confused about what happened the

previous night, heads off to work.

On his way to work, Montag again encounters Clarisse and is left pondering things like the taste of rain and

what dandelions represent.

He enters the fire station and immediately encounters the Mechanical Hound, who actually growls at him.

Because of this brief encounter, Montag realizes that the Hound doesn’t like him, a point that he quickly points

out to his fellow fireman, Captain Beatty.

Several days pass since Montag’s last meeting with Clarisse. During one of his final conversations with

Clarisse, Montag learns that she fears the violence in her peers. She points out that their world used to be an

entirely different world, one where pictures showed actual people and people talked about important things.

One day at the fire station, the firemen receive a call that an old woman has stashed books in her house. The

firemen race to her home and begin destroying the contraband. Montag urges the woman to leave the house

because the entire home will be destroyed, but she refuses to leave her precious books. The home, along with

the old woman and her books, is set aflame, but not before Montag steals one of the books.

Later the same night, Montag tries to discuss the day with Millie, but she is not interested in what he has to say.

During their conversation, Montag discovers from Millie that Clarisse was killed in an automobile accident.

Montag decides to call in sick to work the next day, but he is surprised by a visit from Beatty. Somehow, Beatty

knows that Montag is keeping a book, and he is interested in reading it. Beatty converses at great length with

Montag and tells him that every fireman gets the itch to read a book at some point in his career. Beatty also tells

Montag that even though he may keep the book for twenty-four hours, he must return to work, with book in

hand, so the book can be properly destroyed.

After this meeting, Montag shows Millie that he has been hiding, not just one book, but a cache of books in the

house for some time. He then convinces Millie to sit and read the books with him. While reading, Montag

attempts to converse with Millie about the content of the books but finds that she cannot comprehend, nor does

she want to comprehend, what they are reading.

At this point, Montag remembers an old, retired English professor, Faber, whom he had met in a park. Montag

decides to visit Faber to gain more understanding about books and his recurrent thoughts.

Upon reaching Faber’s house, Montag is first greeted by the old man with fear. Faber worries that Montag has

come to burn his books and home, but he is quickly pacified when he sees Montag’s Bible and hears that

Montag wants to talk with him. During their conversation, Faber agrees to teach Montag, and he gives Montag a

seashell radio so they can communicate with one another.

Montag returns home to find Mrs. Phelps and Mrs. Bowles, two of Millie’s friends, at his home. Feeling

especially courageous, Montag decides to enlighten them by reading “Dover Beach,” but instead, he causes

problems for himself because he scares the women. They flee the house in tears, and Millie is angry with him

for causing the scene.

With Faber still speaking in his ear, Montag returns to work and gives Beatty a book, which is promptly

incinerated. After a lengthy discussion with Beatty, an alarm comes into the station, and the firemen rush to

destroy the next house. When the firemen stop in front of the unfortunate house, Montag is surprised to see his

own home.

Promptly, Beatty orders Montag to destroy his home and places him under arrest. Montag takes a perverse

pleasure in destroying the home, especially the television, and in the following moments, he also kills Beatty

with his flamethrower. The Mechanical Hound attacks Montag before he can escape, but he destroys it with fire

before the Hound can destroy him.

Montag runs to Faber’s home for protection but quickly realizes that he is endangering Faber. Thus, he stops at

the home of Black, a fellow fireman, and hides the books inside the house to incriminate him. Montag then

reaches Faber’s home, and Faber tells him to escape down the river because another Mechanical Hound is on

the search for him.

After helping Faber rid all trace of him, Montag races toward the river in hopes of escaping the search. By the

time the Mechanical Hound reaches the river, Montag’s trail is lost. He safely floats down the river toward a

group of social outcasts and criminals like himself.

Montag leaves the river and immediately finds the group that Faber told him about. He meets the

unacknowledged leader of the group, Granger, who welcomes Montag to join them. Although he thought that

the search was called off, Montag finds out that it was just rerouted. He watches on television as an innocent

man, strolling along the city streets, is purposefully identified as Montag and is killed for the entire television

audience to see.

The group decides to move on from their current site, and while they are walking, Granger explains the purpose

of the outlaw group: They are preserving books by memorizing their contents and then destroying them. Books

can not be forgotten, because each person in the group is a living version of them. Montag becomes the Book of

Ecclesiastes from the Bible.

As the men continue in their journey, Montag and Granger watch as bombs fall upon the city and destroy

everything in their path. The final war has begun. Although the men are escaping the city, they decide, without

discussion, to return to the city with Montag in the lead.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (A Brief Synopsis)

The novel opens with two men, George Milton and Lennie Small, walking to a nearby ranch where harvesting

jobs are available. George, the smaller man, leads the way and makes the decisions for Lennie, a mentally

handicapped giant. They stop at a stream for the evening, deciding to go to the ranch in the morning. Lennie,

who loves to pet anything soft, has a dead mouse in his pocket. George takes the mouse away from Lennie and

reminds him of the trouble Lennie got into in the last town they were in—he touched a girl’s soft dress. George

then reminds Lennie not to speak to anyone in the morning when they get to the ranch and cautions Lennie to

return to this place by the river if anything bad happens at the ranch.

When he has to take the dead mouse away from Lennie a second time, George chafes at the hardship of taking

care of Lennie. After calming his anger, George relents and promises Lennie they will try to find him a puppy;

then he tells Lennie about their dream of having a little farm where they can be their own boss and nobody can

tell them what to do, where Lennie will tend their rabbits, and where they will “live off the fatta the lan’.”

Lennie has heard this story so often he can repeat it by heart. And George emphasizes that this dream and their

relationship make them different from other guys who don’t have anyone or a place of their own. They settle

down and sleep for the night.

The next morning at the ranch, the boss becomes suspicious when George answers all the questions and Lennie

does not talk. George explains that Lennie is not bright but is a tremendous worker. They also meet Candy, an

old swamper with a sheep dog; Crooks, the black stable hand; the boss’ son Curley, who is an amateur boxer

and has a bad temper; Curley’s wife, who has a reputation as a “tart”; Carlson, another ranch hand; and Slim,

the chief mule skinner. Upon seeing Curley’s wife, Lennie is fascinated with her and George warns him to stay

away from her and Curley.

That evening, Carlson complains bitterly about Candy’s dog, which is old, arthritic, and smells. He offers to kill

the dog for Candy, and Candy reluctantly agrees to let him do so. Later, after the others have gone to the barn,

hoping to witness a fight between Slim and Curley over Curley’s wife, Lennie and George are alone in the

bunkhouse. Lennie wants to hear the story of their farm again, and George retells the dream. Candy overhears

and convinces George and Lennie to let him in on the plan because he has money for a down payment. George

excitedly believes that, with Candy’s money, they can swing the payment for a ranch he knows of; he figures

one more month of work will secure the rest of the money they need. He cautions Lennie and Candy not to tell

anyone.

The ranch hands return, making fun of Curley for backing down to Slim. Curley is incensed and picks a fight

with Lennie, brutally beating Lennie until George tells Lennie to fight back. Lennie smashes all the bones in

Curley’s hand. Taking Curley to a doctor, Slim gets Curley’s promise to say his hand got caught in a machine

so Lennie and George won’t get fired. Lennie is afraid he has done “a bad thing” and that George won’t let him

tend the rabbits. But George explains that Lennie did not mean to hurt Curley and that he isn’t in trouble.

Later that week, Lennie tells Crooks about the plans to buy a farm, and Crooks says he would like to join them

and work for nothing. In the middle of their conversation, Curley’s wife enters and, after Crooks tells her she

isn’t welcome in his room and that if she doesn’t leave, he will ask the boss not to let her come to the barn

anymore, she threatens him with lynching. Eventually, George returns and tells her to get lost. Dejectedly

remembering his place, Crooks retracts his offer.

The next day, Lennie is in the barn with a dead puppy. While Lennie thinks about how he can explain the dead

puppy to George, Curley’s wife enters. They talk about how they enjoy touching soft things. She tells him he

can touch her hair, but when Lennie strokes it too hard and messes it up, she gets angry. She tries to jerk her

head away, and, in fear, Lennie hangs on to her hair. Curley’s wife begins to scream. To keep her from

screaming, Lennie holds her so tightly he breaks her neck. Knowing he has done something bad, he goes to the

hiding place by the stream.

Candy finds the body of Curley’s wife and goes for George; both men immediately know what has happened.

Candy knows that Curley will organize a lynching party, and George says he is not going to let them hurt

Lennie. George asks Candy to wait a few minutes before he calls the others; then he slips into the bunkhouse

and steals Carlson’s Luger. When Curley comes and sees his murdered wife, he vows to kill Lennie slowly and

painfully. George joins the men searching for Lennie.

As they spread out, George alone goes straight for the riverside where he finds Lennie. Lennie knows he has

done “a bad thing” and expects George to scold and lecture him. George, however, is so overcome with remorse

that he cannot scold Lennie but must save him from Curley’s cruelty. He tells Lennie to look across the river

and imagine their little farm. George describes it, as he has done many times before, and while Lennie is

smiling with pleasure and envisioning the rabbits he will tend, George shoots Lennie at the back of his neck.

The others arrive, and George leads them to believe Lennie had Carlson’s gun which George wrestled away

from him and shot in self-defense. Only Slim comprehends the truth, and he takes George off up the footpath

for a drink.

Animal Farm by George Orwell (A Brief Synopsis)

One night, all the animals at Mr. Jones’ Manor Farm assemble in a barn to hear old Major,

a pig, describe a dream he had about a world where all animals live free from the tyranny

of their human masters. Old Major dies soon after the meeting, but the animals — inspired

by his philosophy of Animalism — plot a rebellion against Jones. Two pigs, Snowball and

Napoleon, prove themselves important figures and planners of this dangerous enterprise.

When Jones forgets to feed the animals, the revolution occurs, and Jones and his men are

chased off the farm. Manor Farm is renamed Animal Farm, and the Seven Commandments

of Animalism are painted on the barn wall.

Initially, the rebellion is a success: The animals complete the harvest and meet every

Sunday to debate farm policy. The pigs, because of their intelligence, become the

supervisors of the farm. Napoleon, however, proves to be a power-hungry leader who

steals the cows’ milk and a number of apples to feed himself and the other pigs. He also

enlists the services of Squealer, a pig with the ability to persuade the other animals that

the pigs are always moral and correct in their decisions.

Later that fall, Jones and his men return to Animal Farm and attempt to retake it. Thanks

to the tactics of Snowball, the animals defeat Jones in what thereafter becomes known as

The Battle of the Cowshed. Winter arrives, and Mollie, a vain horse concerned only with

ribbons and sugar, is lured off the farm by another human. Snowball begins drawing plans

for a windmill, which will provide electricity and thereby give the animals more leisure

time, but Napoleon vehemently opposes such a plan on the grounds that building the

windmill will allow them less time for producing food. On the Sunday that the pigs offer

the windmill to the animals for a vote, Napoleon summons a pack of ferocious dogs, who

chase Snowball off the farm forever. Napoleon announces that there will be no further

debates; he also tells them that the windmill will be built after all and lies that it was his

own idea, stolen by Snowball. For the rest of the novel, Napoleon uses Snowball as a

scapegoat on whom he blames all of the animals’ hardships.

Much of the next year is spent building the windmill. Boxer, an incredibly strong horse,

proves himself to be the most valuable animal in this endeavor. Jones, meanwhile,

forsakes the farm and moves to another part of the county. Contrary to the principles of

Animalism, Napoleon hires a solicitor and begins trading with neighboring farms. When a

storm topples the half-finished windmill, Napoleon predictably blames Snowball and

orders the animals to begin rebuilding it.

Napoleon’s lust for power increases to the point where he becomes a totalitarian dictator,

forcing “confessions” from innocent animals and having the dogs kill them in front of the

entire farm. He and the pigs move into Jones’ house and begin sleeping in beds (which

Squealer excuses with his brand of twisted logic). The animals receive less and less food,

while the pigs grow fatter. After the windmill is completed in August, Napoleon sells a pile

of timber to Frederick, a neighboring farmer who pays for it with forged banknotes.

Frederick and his men attack the farm and explode the windmill but are eventually

defeated. As more of the Seven Commandments of Animalism are broken by the pigs, the

language of the Commandments is revised: For example, after the pigs become drunk one

night, the Commandment, “No animals shall drink alcohol” is changed to, “No animal shall

drink alcohol to excess.”

Boxer again offers his strength to help build a new windmill, but when he collapses,

exhausted, Napoleon sells the devoted horse to a knacker (a glue-boiler). Squealer tells

the indignant animals that Boxer was actually taken to a veterinarian and died a peaceful

death in a hospital — a tale the animals believe.

Years pass and Animal Farm expands its boundaries after Napoleon purchases two fields

from another neighboring farmer, Pilkington. Life for all the animals (except the pigs) is

harsh. Eventually, the pigs begin walking on their hind legs and take on many other

qualities of their former human oppressors. The Seven Commandments are reduced to a

single law: “All Animals Are Equal / But Some Are More Equal Than Others.” The novel

ends with Pilkington sharing drinks with the pigs in Jones’ house. Napoleon changes the

name of the farm back to Manor Farm and quarrels with Pilkington during a card game in

which both of them try to play the ace of spades. As other animals watch the scene from

outside the window, they cannot tell the pigs from the humans.

Othello by William Shakespeare (a brief synopsis)

The play opens in the powerful city state of Venice, famous as a center of trade and

banking and for its military might. It is in the early hours of the morning, and two men —

Roderigo, a young gentleman and former suitor of Senator Brabantio's daughter

Desdemona, and Iago, an ensign who claims to have been passed over for promotion by

Othello — are outside Senator Brabantio's house to tell him the news of his daughter's

elopement with Othello, the Moor.

After sharing the news of the secret marriage in words calculated to alarm him, the

treacherous and vindictive Iago quickly departs, leaving Roderigo to confirm the story.

Feigning friendship and concern, Iago then meets with Othello and tells him of Brabantio's

reaction. Brabantio, Othello, and Desdemona appear before the Duke of Venice. Although

Brabantio accuses Othello of seducing his daughter by witchcraft, Othello explains that he

won Desdemona by telling her his adventures, and Desdemona, called to testify,

convinces the senators that she has freely gone with Othello and married him for love.

The Duke appoints Othello as general of the defense forces against the Turks, and he

must leave for Cyprus immediately. Desdemona requests permission to accompany

Othello to Cyprus. With the Duke's permission, Othello arranges for Desdemona to follow

him later in another ship with Iago, whom he mistakenly believes is a trusted friend, and

Iago's wife, Emilia. Iago convinces Roderigo that Desdemona will soon tire of Othello and

that he should follow her to Cyprus. To himself, Iago decides to make use of Cassio, the

man he deeply resents and who received the promotion he himself wanted, as the

instrument to destroy Othello.

In Cyprus, Iago plots against Othello, planting the seed of doubt about Desdemona's

fidelity and implicating Cassio as her lover. Using Roderigo, Iago arranges a fight that

ultimately results in Cassio's demotion. Believing that his chances of reinstatement are

better if he has Desdemona plead his case to her husband, Cassio, with Iago's help,

arranges for a private meeting with Desdemona, who promises to speak on his behalf to

Othello until his reconciliation with Othello is achieved.

As Cassio leaves, Iago and Othello appear. Othello notices Cassio's speedy departure, and

Iago quickly seizes the opportunity to point out that Cassio seems to be trying to avoid

the Moor. Desdemona immediately and enthusiastically begins to beg Othello to pardon

Cassio, as she promised, and will not stop her pleading until Othello, preoccupied with

other thoughts, agrees. The moment Desdemona and Emilia leave, however, Iago begins

to plant seeds of doubt and suspicion in Othello's mind.

Othello, beset by uncertainty and anxiety, later demands of Iago some proof that

Desdemona is unfaithful. Using a handkerchief that Desdemona later innocently drops,

Iago convinces Othello that she has been unfaithful, and he stages a conversation with

the innocent Cassio that further hardens the Moor's heart against his wife and her

supposed lover. Convinced of his wife's betrayal and enraged and grieving, Othello rushes

into action, making an agreement with Iago that he, Othello, will kill Desdemona, and Iago

will dispose of Cassio.

Desdemona, true to her word to Cassio, continues to plead on his behalf, unknowingly

confirming to Othello her unfaithfulness. He accuses her of falseness, and Desdemona,

not knowing what she has done to offend, can only assure him that she loves him.

Meanwhile, the gullible Roderigo has abandoned all hope of Desdemona, but Iago urges

him to kill Cassio and rekindle his hopes. Late that night, they attack Cassio in the street,

but it is Cassio who wounds Roderigo. Iago rushes out and stabs Cassio in the leg. Othello,

hearing Cassio's cries for help, believes that half of the revenge is completed and hastens

to fulfil his undertaking.

Desdemona is in bed when Othello enters. He tells her to pray a last prayer as he has no

wish to kill her soul. Realizing that he plans to murder her, Desdemona protests her

innocence of any wrongdoing. Knowing that he doesn't believe her, she begs him to let

her live just a little longer, but he smothers her with a pillow.

Emilia, Desdemona's servant and Iago's wife, upon discovering the ruse, raises the alarm

and declares Iago a liar before Montano and Gratiano. She explains how Desdemona's

handkerchief came into Cassio's possession, and when she refuses to be quiet, Iago stabs

her. Cassio, wounded, confirms Emilia's story. A soldier to the last, Othello stands on his

honor. Knowing that this is the end, he asks to be remembered as "one that loved not

wisely but too well." Then he stabs himself and falls on the bed beside his wife, where he

dies.

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare (a brief synopsis)

The action begins in February 44 BC. Julius Caesar has just reentered Rome in triumph

after a victory in Spain over the sons of his old enemy, Pompey the Great. A spontaneous

celebration has interrupted and been broken up by Flavius and Marullus, two political

enemies of Caesar. It soon becomes apparent from their words that powerful and secret

forces are working against Caesar.

Caesar appears, attended by a train of friends and supporters, and is warned by a

soothsayer to "beware the ides of March," but he ignores the warning and leaves for the

games and races marking the celebration of the feast of Lupercal.

After Caesar's departure, only two men remain behind — Marcus Brutus, a close personal

friend of Caesar, and Cassius, a long time political foe of Caesar's. Both men are of

aristocratic origin and see the end of their ancient privilege in Caesar's political reforms

and conquests. Envious of Caesar's power and prestige, Cassius cleverly probes to

discover where Brutus' deepest sympathies lie. As a man of highest personal integrity,

Brutus opposes Caesar on principle, despite his friendship with him. Cassius cautiously

inquires about Brutus' feelings if a conspiracy were to unseat Caesar; he finds Brutus not

altogether against the notion; that is, Brutus shares "some aim" with Cassius but does not

wish "to be any further moved." The two men part, promising to meet again for further

discussions.

In the next scene, it is revealed that the conspiracy Cassius spoke of in veiled terms is

already a reality. He has gathered together a group of disgruntled and discredited

aristocrats who are only too willing to assassinate Caesar. Partly to gain the support of

the respectable element of Roman society, Cassius persuades Brutus to head the

conspiracy, and Brutus agrees to do so. Shortly afterward, plans are made at a secret

meeting in Brutus' orchard. The date is set: It will be on the day known as the ides of

March, the fifteenth day of the month. Caesar is to be murdered in the Senate chambers

by the concealed daggers and swords of the assembled conspirators.

After the meeting is ended, Brutus' wife, Portia, suspecting something and fearing for her

husband's safety, questions him. Touched by her love and devotion, Brutus promises to

reveal his secret to her later.

The next scene takes place in Caesar's house. The time is the early morning; the date, the

fateful ides of March. The preceding night has been a strange one — wild, stormy, and full

of strange and unexplainable sights and happenings throughout the city of Rome.

Caesar's wife, Calphurnia, terrified by horrible nightmares, persuades Caesar not to go to

the Capitol, convinced that her dreams are portents of disaster. By prearrangement,

Brutus and the other conspirators arrive to accompany Caesar, hoping to fend off any

possible warnings until they have him totally in their power at the Senate. Unaware that

he is surrounded by assassins and shrugging off Calphurnia's exhortations, Caesar goes

with them.

Despite the conspirators' best efforts, a warning is pressed into Caesar's hand on the very

steps of the Capitol, but he refuses to read it. Wasting no further time, the conspirators

move into action. Purposely asking Caesar for a favor they know he will refuse, they move

closer, as if begging a favor, and then, reaching for their hidden weapons, they kill him

before the shocked eyes of the senators and spectators.

Hearing of Caesar's murder, Mark Antony, Caesar's closest friend, begs permission to

speak at Caesar's funeral. Brutus grants this permission over the objections of Cassius

and delivers his own speech first, confident that his words will convince the populace of

the necessity for Caesar's death. After Brutus leaves, Antony begins to speak. The crowd

has been swayed by Brutus' words, and it is an unsympathetic crowd that Antony

addresses. Using every oratorical device known, however, Antony turns the audience into

a howling mob, screaming for the blood of Caesar's murderers. Alarmed by the furor

caused by Antony's speech, the conspirators and their supporters are forced to flee from

Rome and finally, from Italy. At this point, Antony, together with Caesar's young

grandnephew and adopted son, Octavius, and a wealthy banker, Lepidus, gathers an army

to pursue and destroy Caesar's killers. These three men, known as triumvirs, have formed

a group called the Second Triumvirate to pursue the common goal of gaining control of

the Roman Empire.

Months pass, during which the conspirators and their armies are pursued relentlessly into

the far reaches of Asia Minor. When finally they decide to stop at the town of Sardis,

Cassius and Brutus quarrel bitterly over finances. Their differences are resolved, however,

and plans are made to meet the forces of Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus in one final

battle. Against his own better judgment, Cassius allows Brutus to overrule him: Instead of

holding to their well-prepared defensive positions, Brutus orders an attack on Antony's

camp on the plains of Philippi. Just before the battle, Brutus is visited by the ghost of

Caesar. "I shall see thee at Philippi," the spirit warns him, but Brutus' courage is unshaken

and he goes on.

The battle rages hotly. At first, the conspirators appear to have the advantage, but in the

confusion, Cassius is mistakenly convinced that all is lost, and he kills himself. Leaderless,

his forces are quickly defeated, and Brutus finds himself fighting a hopeless battle. Unable

to face the prospect of humiliation and shame as a captive (who would be chained to the

wheels of Antony's chariot and dragged through the streets of Rome), he too takes his

own life.

As the play ends, Antony delivers a eulogy over Brutus' body, calling him "the noblest

Roman of them all." Caesar's murder has been avenged, order has been restored, and,

most important, the Roman Empire has been preserved.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (a brief synopsis)

To Kill a Mockingbird is primarily a novel about growing up under extraordinary

circumstances in the 1930s in the Southern United States. The story covers a span of

three years, during which the main characters undergo significant changes. Scout Finch

lives with her brother Jem and their father Atticus in the fictitious town of Maycomb,

Alabama. Maycomb is a small, close-knit town, and every family has its social station

depending on where they live, who their parents are, and how long their ancestors have

lived in Maycomb.

A widower, Atticus raises his children by himself, with the help of kindly neighbors and a

black housekeeper named Calpurnia. Scout and Jem almost instinctively understand the

complexities and machinations of their neighborhood and town. The only neighbor who

puzzles them is the mysterious Arthur Radley, nicknamed Boo, who never comes outside.

When Dill, another neighbor’s nephew, starts spending summers in Maycomb, the three

children begin an obsessive — and sometimes perilous — quest to lure Boo outside.

Scout is a tomboy who prefers the company of boys and generally solves her differences

with her fists. She tries to make sense of a world that demands that she act like a lady, a

brother who criticizes her for acting like a girl, and a father who accepts her just as she is.

Scout hates school, gaining her most valuable education on her own street and from her

father.

Not quite midway through the story, Scout and Jem discover that their father is going to

represent a black man named Tom Robinson, who is accused of raping and beating a

white woman. Suddenly, Scout and Jem have to tolerate a barrage of racial slurs and

insults because of Atticus’ role in the trial. During this time, Scout has a very difficult time

restraining from physically fighting with other children, a tendency that gets her in trouble

with her Aunt Alexandra and Uncle Jack. Even Jem, the older and more levelheaded of the

two, loses his temper a time or two. After responding to a neighbor’s (Mrs. Dubose) verbal

attack by destroying her plants, Jem is sentenced to read to her every day after school for

one month. Ultimately, Scout and Jem learn a powerful lesson about bravery from this

woman. As the trial draws nearer, Aunt Alexandra comes to live with them under the

guise of providing a feminine influence for Scout.

During the novel’s last summer, Tom is tried and convicted even though Atticus proves

that Tom could not have possibly committed the crime of which he is accused. In the

process of presenting Tom’s case, Atticus inadvertently insults and offends Bob Ewell, a

nasty, lazy drunkard whose daughter is Tom’s accuser. In spite of Tom’s conviction, Ewell

vows revenge on Atticus and the judge for besmirching his already tarnished name. All

three children are bewildered by the jury’s decision to convict; Atticus tries to explain why

the jury’s decision was in many ways a foregone conclusion.

Shortly after the trial, Scout attends one of her aunt’s Missionary Society meetings.

Atticus interrupts the meeting to report that Tom Robinson had been killed in an escape

attempt. Scout learns valuable lessons about achieving the ideal of womanhood and

carrying on in the face of adversity that day.

Things slowly return to normal in Maycomb, and Scout and Jem realize that Boo Radley is

no longer an all-consuming curiosity. The story appears to be winding down, but then Bob

Ewell starts making good on his threats of revenge. Scout is in the Halloween pageant at

school, playing the part of a ham. With Atticus and Aunt Alexandra both too tired to

attend, Jem agrees to take Scout to the school. After embarrassing herself on-stage, Scout

elects to leave her ham costume on for the walk home with Jem.

On the way home, the children hear odd noises, but convince themselves that the noises

are coming from another friend who scared them on their way to school that evening.

Suddenly, a scuffle occurs. Scout really can’t see outside of her costume, but she hears

Jem being pushed away, and she feels powerful arms squeezing her costume’s chicken

wire against her skin. During this attack, Jem badly breaks his arm. Scout gets just

enough of a glimpse out of her costume to see a stranger carrying Jem back to their

house.

The sheriff arrives at the Finch house to announce that Bob Ewell has been found dead

under the tree where the children were attacked, having fallen on his own knife. By this

time, Scout realizes that the stranger is none other than Boo Radley, and that Boo is

actually responsible for killing Ewell, thus saving her and Jem’s lives. In spite of Atticus’

insistence to the contrary, the sheriff refuses to press charges against Boo. Scout agrees

with this decision and explains her understanding to her father. Boo sees Jem one more

time and then asks Scout to take him home, but rather than escort him home as though

he were a child, she has Boo escort her to his house as a gentleman would.

With Boo safely home, Scout returns to Jem’s room where Atticus is waiting. He reads her

to sleep and then waits by Jem’s bedside for his son to wake up.

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare (a brief synopsis)

Day 1 — Sunday: Act I, Scene 1–Act II, Scene 2

As the play begins, a long-standing feud between the Montague and Capulet families

continues to disrupt the peace of Verona, a city in northern Italy. A brawl between the

servants of the feuding households prompts the Prince to threaten both sides to keep the

peace on pain of death.

Benvolio advises his lovesick friend Romeo, (son of Montague), to abandon his unrequited

love for Rosaline and seek another.

That night, Capulet holds a masked ball to encourage a courtship between his daughter,

Juliet, and Paris, a relative of the Prince. Concealing their identities behind masks, Romeo

and Benvolio go to the ball, where Romeo and Juliet fall in love at first sight, but at the

end of the evening discover their identities as members of the opposed families. On his

way home from the feast, Romeo climbs into Capulet's orchard to glimpse Juliet again.

Juliet appears at her balcony, and the couple exchange vows of love, agreeing to marry

the next day.

Day 2 — Monday: Act II, Scene 3–Act III, Scene 4

Romeo asks Friar Laurence to perform the marriage ceremony. Though initially reluctant,

he finally agrees, hoping to reconcile the families, and marries Romeo and Juliet that

afternoon.

Meanwhile, Tybalt, Juliet's cousin, sends Romeo a challenge to a duel. Romeo refuses to

fight when Tybalt confronts him because they're now related. However, Mercutio, Romeo's

quick-tempered friend, intervenes and accepts the challenge. Romeo tries to part the

other two as they fight, but Mercutio is fatally wounded under Romeo's arm. To avenge

Mercutio's death, Romeo kills Tybalt and then flees.

The Prince announces Romeo's banishment for Tybalt's murder. Romeo, in hiding at the

Friar's cell, becomes hysterical at the news of his sentence and tries to kill himself, but

the Friar promises to make Romeo's marriage to Juliet public and gain the Prince's pardon.

Romeo and Juliet celebrate their wedding night before he leaves at dawn for Mantua.

Day 3 — Tuesday: Act III, Scene 5–Act IV, Scene 3

That morning, Juliet discovers that her father has arranged for her to marry Paris on

Thursday. The Capulets, unaware that Juliet is grieving for Romeo's exile rather than

Tybalt's death, believe the wedding will distract her from mourning. Distressed at the

prospect of a false marriage and isolated from her family, Juliet seeks advice from Friar

Laurence, who offers her a sleeping potion to make her appear dead for 42 hours. During

this time, the Friar will send a message to Romeo in Mantua so that Romeo can return to

Verona in time for Juliet to awake.

Juliet returns home and agrees to marry Paris. In a moment of euphoria, Capulet brings

the wedding forward from Thursday to Wednesday, thereby forcing Juliet to take the

potion that night and reducing the time for the message to reach Romeo.

Day 4 — Wednesday: Act IV, Scene 4–Act V, Scene 2

Early on Wednesday morning, Juliet's seemingly lifeless body is discovered and she is

placed in the family tomb. Because an outbreak of the plague prevents the Friar's

messenger from leaving Verona, Romeo now receives news of Juliet's death instead.

Desperate, Romeo buys poison from an apothecary and returns to Verona.

Late that night, Romeo enters the Capulet tomb, but is confronted by Paris, whom he

fights and kills.

Still unaware that Juliet is in fact alive, Romeo takes the poison and dies. The Friar,

arriving too late, discovers the bodies as Juliet begins to stir. He begs her to leave with

him, but Juliet refuses, and then stabs herself with Romeo's dagger.

Day 5 — Thursday: Act V, Scene 3

As dawn breaks, the Watch arrives, closely followed by the Prince, who demands a full

inquiry into what has happened. The two families then arrive, and the Friar comes forward

to explain the tragic sequence of events. The deaths of Romeo and Juliet finally bring the

feud to an end as Montague and Capulet join hands in peace.

Directions for Regents Review

1. Go to www.hamburgschools.org .

2. Under “our schools”, click on High School.

3. Go to staff.

4. Click on Godwin.

5. Once on the website, click Literature Review (on left side).

6. Read a summary of a play/novel read in previous English classes.

7. Take notes on the main characters, theme, conflict, etc.. You will need these notes for a future assignment and to study for the exam.

8. Continue reading summaries and taking notes until the bell rings.

9. Another website to help— sparknotes.com.