In Chapter 8 of "Book the First: Sowing," Dickens writes that the workers in Coketown often went to the library and, once there, they "took De Foe to their bosoms, instead of Euclid, and seemed to be on the whole more comforted by Goldsmith than by Cocker." Mr. Gradgrind laments the people's choice of reading material, but the narrator's satirical comments defend it. Note that Daniel De Foe (Defoe) and Oliver Goldsmith are popular novelists, while Euclid is the father of geometry and Edward Cocker a producer of arithmetic books.

Why are the people of Coketown drawn to works of imagination rather than to works based solely on facts? Why is imagination or fancy important to people, in general? Would the people of Coketown likely be interested in reading Hard Times? Why?

answer; i believe the correct answer is ( indirect characterization);

"the monkey's paw" is a rare story in that the theme is actually stated in the story. sgt. maj. morris tells the whites that the old fakir who put the spell on the paw said, "fate rules people's lives and those who interfere with fate do so to their sorrow." the message is a warning, but mr. white doesn't believe it. even though sgt. maj. morris makes it clear that he tried wishing with unfortunate results and he tries to throw the paw on the fire,   mr. white makes a wish for 200 pounds only to find that he receives the money when herbert dies in a factory accident. according to the fakir, then, because mr. white had wished for something he should not have had, his son lost his life.

the second wish that mrs. white encourages him to make is for herbert's return--one week after his death. when the strange knocking begins at the door during the windy night, mr. white panicks, believing that the previously dead but still mangled herbert could have walked home from the cemetary and is now at the door. because he fears what his wife will find if she opens the door, mr. white makes his third wish--for the noise to stop.

therefore, he uses his three wishes and to his sorrow, loses his son and disappoints his wife, who fervently believed that their son was at the door. she wanted him back, regardless of his condition.

explanation:

are you kidding? from that description of two mansions, you can't figure out which one is bleak and desolate? maybe you should consider looking those words up in a dictionary, if you don't know what they mean already.