Some critics complain that contemporary fiction lacks moral standards and depicts a gloomy vision of an amoral society. Do you agree or disagree with these critics?

Read this excerpt from the exposition in "the monkey's paw." father and son were at chess, the former, who possessed ideas about the game involving radical changes, putting his king into such sharp and unnecessary perils that it even provoked comment from the white-haired old lady knitting placidly by the fire. what is one piece of information you can infer about the story from this sentence? a. the father in the story is possessed, so he probably says insane things a lot. b. the woman in the story is knitting, so the characters probably don't have good clothes to wear. c. the father is playing chess with the son, but the son is not old enough to know the rules. d. since the father likes taking risks in a game, he might like taking risks in life as well.

Select the correct answerwhat theme is portrayed in this excerpt from leo tolstoy's the death of ivan ilyich? in reality it was just what is usually seen in the houses of people of moderate means who want to appear rich, and therefore succeed only inresembling others like themselves, there are damasks dark wood, plants, rugs, and dull and polished bronzes-all the things people of a certaiclass have in order to resemble other people of that class. his house was so like the others that it would never have been noticed, but to him it aseemed to be quite exceptional. he was very happy when he met his family at the station and brought them to the newly furnished house all lit uwhere a tootman in a white tie opened the door into the hall decorated with plants, and when they went on into the drawing-room and the studyuttering exclamations of delight he conducted them everywhere, drank in their praises eagerly, and beamed with pleasure.a.the effect of consumerismbw the power of wealthcam keeping up appearances in societyud. wconforming to societal conventionsresetnextil rights reserved.

Time is not always change. time can also mean continuity, and it can mean keeping acknowledged truths in mind despite differences in circumstances.there is no better example of this in things fall apart than the retellings of the proverb about the bird named eneke, the language in both retellings is almost identical despite the length of time that has passed between their repetitions. in comparing the usages of the same proverb, achebe allows his readers to note the similarities and differences between the situations, and he them understand how this story can be applied to their own lives.