Book and Play Long Summaries

Brave New World

Aldous Huxley The novel opens in the Central London Hatching and Conditioning Centre, where the Director of the Hatchery and one of his assistants, Henry Foster, are giving a tour to a group of boys. The boys learn about the Bokanovsky and Podsnap Processes that allow the Hatchery to produce thousands of nearly identical human embryos. During the gestation period the embryos travel in bottles along a conveyor belt through a factorylike building, and are conditioned to belong to one of five castes: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, or Epsilon. The Alpha embryos are destined to become the leaders and thinkers of the World State. Each of the succeeding castes is conditioned to be slightly less physically and intellectually impressive. The Epsilons, stunted and stupefied by oxygen deprivation and chemical treatments, are destined to perform menial labor. Lenina Crowne, an employee at the factory, describes to the boys how she vaccinates embryos destined for tropical climates. The Director then leads the boys to the Nursery, where they observe a group of Delta infants being reprogrammed to dislike books and flowers. The Director explains that this conditioning helps to make Deltas docile and eager consumers. He then tells the boys about the "hypnopaedic" (sleep-teaching) methods used to teach children the morals of the World State. In a room where older children are napping, a whispering voice is heard repeating a lesson in "Elementary Class Consciousness." Outside, the Director shows the boys hundreds of naked children engaged in sexual play and games like "Centrifugal Bumble-puppy." Mustapha Mond, one of the ten World Controllers, introduces himself to the boys and begins to explain the history of the World State, focusing on the State's successful efforts to remove strong emotions, desires, and human relationships from society. Meanwhile, inside the Hatchery, Lenina chats in the bathroom with Fanny Crowne about her relationship with Henry Foster. Fanny chides Lenina for going out with Henry almost exclusively for four months, and Lenina admits she is attracted to the strange, somewhat funny-looking Bernard Marx. In another part of the Hatchery, Bernard is enraged when he overhears a conversation between Henry and the Assistant Predestinator about "having" Lenina. After work, Lenina tells Bernard that she would be happy to accompany him on the trip to the Savage Reservation in New Mexico to which he had invited her. Bernard, overjoyed but embarrassed, flies a helicopter to meet a friend of his, Helmholtz Watson. He and Helmholtz discuss their dissatisfaction with the World State. Bernard is primarily disgruntled because he is too small and weak for his caste; Helmholtz is unhappy because he is too intelligent for his job writing hypnopaedic phrases. In the next few days, Bernard asks his superior, the Director, for permission to visit the Reservation. The Director launches into a story about a visit to the Reservation he had made with a woman twenty years earlier. During a storm, he tells Bernard, the woman was lost and never recovered. Finally, he gives Bernard the permit, and Bernard and Lenina depart for the Reservation, where they get another permit from the Warden. Before heading into the Reservation, Bernard calls Helmholtz and learns that the Director has grown weary of what he sees as Bernard's difficult and unsocial behavior and is planning to exile Bernard to Iceland when he returns. Bernard is angry and distraught, but decides to head into the Reservation anyway. On the Reservation, Lenina and Bernard are shocked to see its aged and ill residents; no one in the World State has visible signs of aging. They witness a religious ritual in which a young man is whipped, and find it abhorrent. After the ritual they meet John, a fair-skinned young man who is isolated from the rest of the village. John tells Bernard about his childhood as the son of a woman named Linda who was rescued by the villagers some twenty years ago. Bernard realizes that Linda is almost certainly the woman mentioned by the Director. Talking to John, he learns that Linda was ostracized because of her willingness to sleep with all the men in the village, and that as a result John was raised in isolation from the rest of the village. John explains that he learned to read using a book called The Chemical and Bacteriological Conditioning of the Embryo and The Complete Works of Shakespeare, the latter given to Linda by one of her lovers, Popé. John tells Bernard that he is eager to see the "Other Place"—the "brave new world" that his mother has told him so much about. Bernard invites him to return to the World State with him. John agrees but insists that Linda be allowed to come as well. While Lenina, disgusted with the Reservation, takes enough soma to knock her out for eighteen hours, Bernard flies to Santa Fe where he calls Mustapha Mond and receives permission to bring John and Linda back to the World State. Meanwhile, John breaks into the house where Lenina is lying intoxicated and unconscious, and barely suppresses his desire to touch her. Bernard, Lenina, John, and Linda fly to the World State, where the Director is waiting to exile Bernard in front of his Alpha coworkers. But Bernard turns the tables by introducing John and Linda. The shame of being a "father"—the very word makes the onlookers laugh nervously—causes the Director to resign, leaving Bernard free to remain in London. John becomes a hit with London society because of his strange life led on the Reservation. But while touring the factories and schools of the World State, John becomes increasingly disturbed by the society that he sees. His sexual attraction to Lenina remains, but he desires more than simple lust, and he finds himself terribly confused. In the process, he also confuses Lenina, who wonders why John does not wish to have sex with her. As the discoverer and guardian of the "Savage," Bernard also becomes popular. He quickly takes advantage of his new status, sleeping with many women and hosting dinner parties with important guests, most of whom dislike Bernard but are willing to placate him if it means they get to meet John. One night John refuses to meet the guests, including the Arch-Community Songster, and Bernard's social standing plummets. After Bernard introduces them, John and Helmholtz quickly take to each other. John reads Helmholtz parts of Romeo and Juliet, but Helmholtz cannot keep himself from laughing at a serious passage about love, marriage, and parents—ideas that are ridiculous, almost scatological in World State culture. Fueled by his strange behavior, Lenina becomes obsessed with John, refusing Henry's invitation to see a feely. She takes soma and visits John at Bernard's apartment, where she hopes to seduce him. But John responds to her advances with curses, blows, and lines from Shakespeare. She retreats to the bathroom while he fields a phone call in which he learns that Linda, who has been on permanent soma-holiday since her return, is about to die. At the Hospital for the Dying he watches her die while a group of lower-caste boys receiving their "death conditioning" wonder why she is so unattractive. The boys are simply curious, but John becomes enraged. After Linda dies, John meets a group of Delta clones who are receiving their soma ration. He tries to convince them to revolt, throwing the soma out the window, and a riot results. Bernard and Helmholtz, hearing of the riot, rush to the scene and come to John's aid. After the riot is calmed by police with soma vapor, John, Helmholtz, and Bernard are arrested and brought to the office of Mustapha Mond. John and Mond debate the value of the World State's policies, John arguing that they dehumanize the residents of the World State and Mond arguing that stability and happiness are more important than humanity. Mond explains that social stability has required the sacrifice of art, science, and religion. John protests that, without these things, human life is not worth living. Bernard reacts wildly when Mond says that he and Helmholtz will be exiled to distant islands, and he is carried from the room. Helmholtz accepts the exile readily, thinking it will give him a chance to write, and soon follows Bernard out of the room. John and Mond continue their conversation. They discuss religion and the use of soma to control negative emotions and social harmony. John bids Helmholtz and Bernard good-bye. Refused the option of following them to the islands by Mond, he retreats to a lighthouse in the countryside where he gardens and attempts to purify himself by self-flagellation. Curious World State citizens soon catch him in the act, and reporters descend on the lighthouse to film news reports and a feely. After the feely, hordes of people descend on the lighthouse and demand that John whip himself. Lenina comes and approaches John with her arms open. John reacts by brandishing his whip and screaming "Kill it! Kill it!" The intensity of the scene causes an orgy in which John takes part. The next morning he wakes up and, overcome with anger and sadness at his submission to World State society, hangs himself.

To Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee Scout Finch and her brother, Jem, live with their widowed father, Atticus, in Maycomb, Alabama. Maycomb is suffering through the Great Depression at the time, but because Atticus is a prominent lawyer, their family is doing exceptionally well compared to the rest of society. Scout goes to school for the first time that fall and she doesn't like it. Scout and Jem discover gifts left for them in the pothole of a tree on the Radley property. Dill returns the following summer and the three children begin acting out the story of Boo Radley. Atticus discovers what the children are doing and discourages them from continuing with their game because they needed to learn to see things from others' perspectives before they start judging people based on rumors and stories they have heard. Despite what he said, that night on Dill's last night of the summer, they sneak onto the Radley property. Mr. Radley shoots at them and upon their escape Jem loses his pants. When he goes back to retrieve them he discovers that they have been fixed and. The following winter, Jem and Scout find more gifts in the tree, which they think have been left by the mysterious Boo Radley. Mr. Radley plugs the hole in the tree with cement and shortly thereafter a fire breaks out in their neighbors house. A stranger places a blanket on Scout's shoulders while she isn't paying attention and Jem is convinced that it was Boo. He confided in Atticus and tells him about the gifts and his pants. Despite Maycomb's predominantly why're racist community, Atticus agrees to defend a black man named Tom Robinson, who has been accused of raping a white woman. Because of this decision to defend him, Jem and Scout are subjected to bullying by other children even by their own family celebrating Christmas. Calpurnia, the Finch's black cook, takes them to church with her and their community embraces the children like they were their own. At the trial itself, the children sit in the colored balcony as they watch their father provide clear evidence that suggests that Mayella Ewell and her father, Bob, the accusers, were in fact lying; Mayella flirted with Tom and when her father discovered her actions, she covers her shame and guilt with rape accusations. Upon seeing his daughter and Tom together, Bob beat her which Atticus pointed out by the scars on her face inflicted not by Tom, but by her father. Yet despite the evidence pointing towards his innocence, the all white jury declares Tom guilty. The innocent Tom later tries to escape from prison and is shot to death. The aftermath of the trial causes Jem to lose heavy faith in the justice system and he begins to question the morals of others and what is right from wrong. Even though Tom was convicted guilty as charged, Bob Ewell is still enraged that Atticus made him feel like a fool and decides to enact revenge. He breaks Tom Robinson's window, tries to break into the house of the judge, and attacks Jem and Scout on their way home from a Halloween party at school. Boo Radley saves the children and kills Ewell by stabbing him during the struggle Boo carries Jem back to Atticus's house because he had been badly injured and in order to protect Boo, Atticus insists to the sherif that Ewell tripped and fell onto his own knife killing him. After sitting with Scout, Boo returns to the Radley House once again. Later, Scout is able to imagine what life must be like for Boo Radley and finally can see him as a human being. She now recognizes her father's advice to find sympathy and compassion for those you may not know or understand and Scout is now able to look at prejudices and justice in a different light.

An Enemy of the People

Henrik Ibsen The town in which the play has been set is economically centered around a huge bathing complex. Dr. Stockmann has just discovered that the baths are disease ridden and its drainage system is contaminated. Altering members of the community, he gains praise and support from the people of the town including Aslaken and Hovstad. However, the next morning, the doctor is told by his brother the mayor to take back his findings because in order to fix the baths it would be too expensive and harmful to the economy. Dr. Stockmann hopes Hovstad's newspaper will help him convince his brother that his findings were accurate and needed to be taken care of, but he along with Aslaksen were turned against him. The doctor holds a meeting to warn the people of the dangers within the baths but Aslaksen and the mayor try and stop him. Dr. Stockman gives a lecture on the tyranny and corruption prevalent within the town and the members of the community find it very offensive, trashing his home. His daughter is fired from her job and the mayor seems to think that Dr. Stockman'a discovery was a scheme to inherit more of Morton Kiil's money. Kiil meets with Dr. Stockmann and suggests a plan to save the doctor and his family but he refuses. His family supports him and he believes the strongest man is the man who stands alone.

Of Mice and Men

John Steinbeck George and Lennie are two migrant workers who share a mutual devoted relationship to one another. They get off of a bus and stop for a drink when their physical characteristics are identified. George is a small, dark man with sharp features, whereas Lennie is described as more of a giant with a shapeless face. It is noted that Lennie has a mental disability and depends heavily on George in his everyday life. He has the tendency to wish to pet soft things and often times accidentally kills them. George realizes in this scene of the novel that Lennie is in fact petting a mouse and he angrily takes it from him afraid he will catch diseases. In order to calm him down, George begins to tell Lennie of their dream, reminding him of their aspirations to buy and work on a plot of land of their own in which Lennie can own rabbits. The next day, George and Lennie go to a nearby ranch in hopes of finding a job. In fear that Lennie will make a bad impression on the boss, George does all the talking. He lies and says that he and Lennie are cousins and that they have to travel together because Lennie needs his companionship because when he was little he was kicked in the head by a horse. The two men are hired and they meet Candy, an old handyman with a missing hand and very old dog and the boss's mean son, Curley who is just recently married and very over-protective of his flirtatious wife. Once George and Lennie are alone, his wife flirts with them and Lennie thinks she's pretty but George warns him that a girl like her could get the two of them into very big trouble. Some of the workers return and they also meet Slim who holds a very high authoritative position on the ranch, and who admires the friendship shared between George and Lennie. Carlson is also introduced and he suggests that they offer a new born puppy from Slim's dog to Candy in exchange for his old useless one. The next day, George tells Slim that he and Lennie are not cousins but friends since childhood. He also tells him how Lennie has often gotten them into trouble; for instance at their last job Lennie touched a woman's dress and was accused of rape. Slim agrees to give Lennie one of his puppies and Carlson heavily tries to convince Candy to hand over his dog. Slim agrees with Carlson and says that ending the dog's life would put it out of its misery so he finally gives in and agrees. Carlson promises he would kill Candy's dog painlessly. Slim goes to the barn to work and Curley, maniacally searching for his wife, confronts and accuses him. Candy overhears George and Lennie discussing their dream to own their own plot of land so he offers his life savings to be included in this plan. The three man promise to keep this between them and not tell anyone else. Slim returns to the bunkhouse and gets mad at Curley for his ridiculous suspicions and Curley decides to find an easy target to take his anger out on. He picks a fight with Lennie, who crushes his hand in the altercation. Slim warns Curley that if he gets George and Lennie fired, he will be the laughingstock among the people on the ranch. The next night, most of the men go to a brothel and Lennie is left at the ranch with Crooks, a lonely black stable-hand and Candy. Curley's wife flirts with the men and refuses to leave until the other men return. She notices the scars on Lennie's face and believes that unlike the idea the Curley proposed to her that Lennie was a piece of machinery, that he was the one who hurt her husband. She is amused by the thought. Lennie accidentally kills his puppy in the barn and Curley's wife consoles him. She admits that she doesn't enjoy her life with Curley and wishes she had pursued her dream to become a movie star. Lennie tells her that he likes to pet soft things so she lets him touch her hair. When he grabs it too hard she cries out and in an attempt to silence her, he accidentally breaks her neck. Lennie flees to a pool of the Salinas River, the designated meeting place George set up in case one of them got in trouble. When the men return, they discover what happened and create a lynch party. George joins Lennie and to Lennie's surprise, tells him he isn't angry with him for doing such a "bad thing." He begins to tell Lennie the story about living on their own ranch and the rabbits he will tend when George shoots his friend in the back of the head as the sounds of the lynch party grow louder. When the other men arrive, George leads them to believe that Lennie had the gun and that he wrestled it away from him and shot him. Slim is the only one that knows what really happened, that George killed Lennie out of mercy. He consolingly leads George away from the group, leaving the other men confused.

Into Thin Air

Jon Krakauer Jon Krakauer, an author, is hired by Outside Magazine to write an article about commercialism on Mount Everest. He decides to climb the mountain and joins the most tragic Everest expedition in history. Krakauer joins the climbing team called the Adventure Consultants led by Rob Hall. The guide service helps speed up the acclimation process and navigate way to summit. Climb is structured by camps, Base Camp, and Camps 1-4. The group spends weeks at base camp, then make multiple trips to each of the other camps to help with the acclimatization process. In early May, they push for the summit. Krakauer takes note on his teammates, guides, and other expeditions on the mountain, creating a timeline of events that take place while they're on the mountain. All of those climbing find it hard to adjust to the altitudes and are suffering due to lack of sleep, weight loss, and slow movement. The climbers' experience in mountain climbing is different, some are greatly qualified and others have little to no experience and rely heavily on the guides. The first death does not occur until Chapter 11, then in those following, the characters are exposed regularly to the loss. The summit push is when everything falls apart. A 2 pm turn-around time is established, and should be upheld no matter the situation. Only Krakauer and a few others made it to the top before the set time and members of his group reach the summit at around 4 pm, the turn around time not being enforced. Rob Hall and Doug Hansen are among those to reach the summit late, arriving behind a group led by Scott Fischer. Storm hits that afternoon, Krakauer catching the tail successfully reaching Camp Four. Krakauer is well ahead of teammates and in unaware of what lies in store for them. Hall and Hansen get stranded. Hansen runs out of oxygen and can't move on. Another group gets lost in the storm and an assistant guide rescues all but two of them. Those unable to be rescued were presumably dead. Fischer gets stranded and is found dead. Hansen dies and one of Hall's sherpas tries to rescue Hall as well but can't climb high enough. A guide assistant dies trying to rescue them. One of the two climbers left for dead, Beck Weathers makes it back to camp alive. He undergoes a number of surgeries and amputations for his injuries. 12 people die on Everest that season and Krakauer can't forget what he had seen there. After he publishes his article, he writes the book needing to say more. He did extensive research and held interviews with survivors and had more info. than he did at the time in which he wrote his article. His opinion is that the events needed to be told truthfully and thoroughly, spending a considerable amount of time reflecting on what happened that day and how it changed his life. He struggles with survivor's guilt and acknowledges for any pain or anger his book may cause among friends and families of the victims.

Fahrenheit 451

Ray Bradbury Guy Montag is a fireman who burns books in a futuristic American city. In Montag's world, firemen start fires rather than putting them out. The people in this society do not read books, enjoy nature, spend time by themselves, think independently, or have meaningful conversations. Instead, they drive very fast, watch excessive amounts of television on wall-size sets, and listen to the radio on "Seashell Radio" sets attached to their ears. Montag encounters a gentle seventeen-year-old girl named Clarisse McClellan, who opens his eyes to the emptiness of his life with her innocently penetrating questions and her unusual love of people and nature. Over the next few days, Montag experiences a series of disturbing events. First, his wife, Mildred, attempts suicide by swallowing a bottle of sleeping pills. Then, when he responds to an alarm that an old woman has a stash of hidden literature, the woman shocks him by choosing to be burned alive along with her books. A few days later, he hears that Clarisse has been killed by a speeding car. Montag's dissatisfaction with his life increases, and he begins to search for a solution in a stash of books that he has stolen from his own fires and hidden inside an air-conditioning vent. When Montag fails to show up for work, his fire chief, Beatty, pays a visit to his house. Beatty explains that it's normal for a fireman to go through a phase of wondering what books have to offer, and he delivers a dizzying monologue explaining how books came to be banned in the first place. According to Beatty, special-interest groups and other "minorities" objected to books that offended them. Soon, books all began to look the same, as writers tried to avoid offending anybody. This was not enough, however, and society as a whole decided to simply burn books rather than permit conflicting opinions. Beatty tells Montag to take twenty-four hours or so to see if his stolen books contain anything worthwhile and then turn them in for incineration. Montag begins a long and frenzied night of reading. Overwhelmed by the task of reading, Montag looks to his wife for help and support, but she prefers television to her husband's company and cannot understand why he would want to take the terrible risk of reading books. He remembers that he once met a retired English professor named Faber sitting in a park, and he decides that this man might be able to help him understand what he reads. He visits Faber, who tells him that the value of books lies in the detailed awareness of life that they contain. Faber says that Montag needs not only books but also the leisure to read them and the freedom to act upon their ideas. Faber agrees to help Montag with his reading, and they concoct a risky scheme to overthrow the status quo. Faber will contact a printer and begin reproducing books, and Montag will plant books in the homes of firemen to discredit the profession and to destroy the machinery of censorship. Faber gives him a two-way radio earpiece (the "green bullet") so that he can hear what Montag hears and talk to him secretly. Montag goes home, and soon two of his wife's friends arrive to watch television. The women discuss their families and the war that is about to be declared in an extremely frivolous manner. Their superficiality angers him, and he takes out a book of poetry and reads "Dover Beach" by Matthew Arnold. Faber buzzes in his ear for him to be quiet, and Mildred tries to explain that the poetry reading is a standard way for firemen to demonstrate the uselessness of literature. The women are extremely disturbed by the poem and leave to file a complaint against Montag. Montag goes to the fire station and hands over one of his books to Beatty. Beatty confuses Montag by barraging him with contradictory quotations from great books. Beatty exploits these contradictions to show that literature is morbid and dangerously complex, and that it deserves incineration. Suddenly, the alarm sounds, and they rush off to answer the call, only to find that the alarm is at Montag's own house. Mildred gets into a cab with her suitcase, and Montag realizes that his own wife has betrayed him. Beatty forces Montag to burn the house himself; when he is done, Beatty places him under arrest. When Beatty continues to berate Montag, Montag turns the flamethrower on his superior and proceeds to burn him to ashes. Montag knocks the other firemen unconscious and runs. The Mechanical Hound, a monstrous machine that Beatty has set to attack Montag, pounces and injects Montag's leg with a large dose of anesthetic. Montag manages to destroy it with his flamethrower; then he walks off the numbness in his leg and escapes with some books that were hidden in his backyard. He hides these in another fireman's house and calls in an alarm from a pay phone. Montag goes to Faber's house, where he learns that a new Hound has been put on his trail, along with several helicopters and a television crew. Faber tells Montag that he is leaving for St. Louis to see a retired printer who may be able to help them. Montag gives Faber some money and tells him how to remove Montag's scent from his house so the Hound will not enter it. Montag then takes some of Faber's old clothes and runs off toward the river. The whole city watches as the chase unfolds on TV, but Montag manages to escape in the river and change into Faber's clothes to disguise his scent. He drifts downstream into the country and follows a set of abandoned railroad tracks until he finds a group of renegade intellectuals ("the Book People"), led by a man named Granger, who welcome him. They are a part of a nationwide network of book lovers who have memorized many great works of literature and philosophy. They hope that they may be of some help to mankind in the aftermath of the war that has just been declared. Montag's role is to memorize the Book of Ecclesiastes. Enemy jets appear in the sky and completely obliterate the city with bombs. Montag and his new friends move on to search for survivors and rebuild civilization.

Antigone

Sophocles The Chorus introduces the players. Antigone is the girl who will rise up alone and die young. Haemon, Antigone's dashing fiancé, chats with Ismene, her beautiful sister. Though one would have expected Haemon to go for Ismene, he inexplicably proposed to Antigone on the night of a ball. Creon is king of Thebes, bound to the duties of rule. Next to the sisters' sits the Nurse and Queen Eurydice. Eurydice will knit until the time comes for her to go to her room and die. Finally three Guards play cards, indifferent to the tragedy before them. The Chorus recounts the events leading to Antigone's tragedy. Oedipus, Antigone and Ismene's father, had two sons, Eteocles and Polynices. Upon Oedipus' death, it was agreed that each would take the throne from one year to the next. After the first year, however, Eteocles, the elder, refused to step down. Polynices and six foreign princes marched on Thebes. All were defeated. The brothers killed each other in a duel, making Creon king. Creon ordered Eteocles buried in honor and left Polynices to rot on the pain of death. It is dawn, and the house is still asleep. Antigone sneaks in and the Nurse appears and asks where she has been. Suddenly Ismene enters, also asking where Antigone has been. Antigone sends the Nurse away for coffee. Ismene declares that they cannot bury Polynices and that she must understand Creon's intentions. Antigone refuses and bids Ismene to go back to bed. Suddenly Haemon enters and Antigone asks Haemon to hold her with all his strength. She tells him that she will never be able to marry him. Stupefied, Haemon departs. Ismene returns, terrified that Antigone will attempt to bury Polynices despite the daylight. Antigone reveals that she has already done so. Later that day, the nervous First Guard enters and informs Creon that someone covered Polynices's body with a little dirt last night. He orders the guards to uncover the body and keep the matter secret. The Chorus appears and announces that the tragedy is on. Its spring is wound, and it will uncoil by itself. Unlike melodrama, tragedy is clean, restful, and flawless. In tragedy, everything is inevitable, hopeless, and known. All are bound to their parts. The Guards enter with the struggling Antigone. The First proposes that they throw a party. Creon appears, and the First explains that Antigone was found digging Polynices' grave by hand in broad daylight. Creon sends the guards out. Once he is certain no one saw Antigone arrested, he orders her to bed, telling her to say that she has been ill. Antigone replies that she will only go out again tonight. Creon asks if she thinks her being Oedipus's daughter puts her above the law. Like Oedipus, her death must seem the "natural climax" to her life. Creon, on the other hand, devotes himself only to the order of the kingdom. Antigone's marriage is worth more to Thebes than her death. Antigone insists that he cannot save her. Enraged, Creon seizes her arm and twists her to his side. Antigone remarks that Creon is squeezing her arm too tightly, but his grasp no longer hurts. Creon releases her. He knows his reign makes him loathsome but he has no choice. Antigone rejoins that he should have said no; she can say no to anything she thinks vile. While ruined, she is a queen. Because Creon said yes, he can only sentence her to death. Creon asks her to pity him then and live. Antigone replies that she is not here to understand, only to say no and die. Creon makes a final appeal, saying that Antigone needs to understand what goes on in the wings of her drama. As a child, she must have known her brothers made her parents unhappy. Polynices was a cruel, vicious voluptuary. Being too cowardly to imprison him, Oedipus let him join the Argive army. As soon as Polynices reached Argos, the attempts on Oedipus' life began. But Eteocles, Thebes' martyr, too plotted to overthrow his father. Both were gangsters. When Creon sent for their bodies, they were found mashed together in a bloody pulp. He had the prettier one brought in. Dazed, Antigone moves to go her room. Creon urges her to find Haemon and marry quickly. She must not waste her life and its happiness. Antigone challenges his servile happiness. She is of the tribe that asks questions and hates man's hope. A distraught Ismene rushes in, begging Antigone's forgiveness and promising to help her. Antigone rejects her, but she does not deserve to die with her. Ismene swears she will bury Polynices herself then. Antigone calls on Creon to have her arrested, warning him that her disease is catching. Creon relents. The Chorus protests. Haemon enters and begs his father to stop the guards. Creon replies that the mob already knows the truth, and he can do nothing. Antigone sits before the First Guard in her cell; his is the last face she will see. The Guard rambles about his pay, rations, and professional quibbles. Antigone interrupts him, pointing out that she is soon to die. She asks how she is to be executed. The Guard informs her that she is to be immured. The Guard asks if he can do anything for her. She asks if he could give someone a letter, offering him her ring. Reluctant to endanger his job, the Guard suggests that she dictate her letter and he write it in his notebook in case they search his pockets. Antigone winces but accepts. She recites her letter, "Forgive me, my darling. You would all have been so happy except for Antigone." Suddenly a drum roll is heard, and the Guards lead Antigone out. The Chorus enters, announcing that it is Creon's turn. The Messenger delivers the news: Antigone had just been immured, when the crowd heard Haemon's moan from within. Creon howled for the slaves to remove the stones. Antigone had hung herself. Haemon then stabbed himself and lay beside Antigone in a pool of blood. Upon being told of Haemon's death, Eurydice finished her row of knitting, climbed to her room, and cut her throat. Creon is alone. The Chorus notes that truly if it had not been for Antigone, all would have been at peace. All who had to die have now died. Only the Guards are left, and the tragedy does not matter to them.

Lord of the Flies

William Golding During a period of war in Britain, a plane evacuating a group of school boys crash lands on a deserted tropical island. Two of the boys, Ralph and Piggy, discover a conch shell and recognize its ability to be used to call the other boys on the island. Once they are all together, they decide to elect a leader, choosing Ralph as well as another boy named Jack to be in charge of the party that is to hunt. Ralph, Jack, and another boy named Simon set out to explore the island. Upon their return, Ralph decides that the group needs to build a signal fire in order to attract the attention of ships passing by. They are able to start the fire using sunlight reflected within Piggy's glasses but fail to monitor the fire. It engulfs the forest and one of the youngest boys goes missing, presumably burned to death. At first, the boys enjoy their life without grown ups, playing games and splashing in the water. However, Ralph complains about the importance of maintaining the signal fire and building shelter. Jack and his hunting party fail to kill a wild pig but the idea of hunting begins to consume him and he is very preoccupied by this need for food. One day, a ship passes by the island, but Piggy and Ralph notice that to their horror the signal fire has burned out upon the responsibility of the hunters. Ralph blames Jack who could care less because he is too excited about their first kill, and they begin to reenact the scene with a wild dance. Piggy criticized Jack, who hits Piggy in the face and Ralph calls together the boys with the use of the conch shell. Intending to restore order, he reprimands the boys and recognizes that some of them are beginning to become afraid. The youngest boys, "the littluns" have had nightmares since their arrival on the island, however their fears of a monster on the island have begun to diffuse amongst the others. The older boys try to calm them but their attempts prevail. After the meeting as the boys are all asleep, a battle pursues by plane overhead going unnoticed. A parachutist lands dead on the island and the next morning is discovered by Sam and Eric who were tending to the fire. They are unaware of what the parachutist really is; they think it's the monster so they return to the other boys in a panic. The boys organize a hunting party to search for the monster, Jack and Ralph constantly fighting. They see the parachute at a distance and think it is a huge ape. They tell the other boys what they saw and despite Jack's wishes to vote Ralph out of power they don't do it. Jack gets mad and rallies the hunters together, leaving the meeting place. Many join him and the other remaining stay with Ralph to rebuild the signal fire on the beach. Jack declares himself the leader of a new tribe of hunters and performs a violent ritual slaughter of a pig. They place the head on a stick as an offering to the monster. Later, Simon encounters the pig's head covered in flies and has a vision of the Lord of the Flies. Simon then travels up to the mountain and upon seeing the dead parachutist and recognizing it for what it really was, he realizes that there isn't a real monster that it's inside each of the boys themselves. He goes back to tell the others but it's in chaos even Piggy and Ralph join Jack's feast and when they see Simon, they kill him with their bare hands and feet. The next morning, Ralph and Piggy discuss what they had done. Jack's hunters attack them and their followers stealing Piggy's glasses in the process. Ralph's group travels into Jack's territory in an attempt to make reason but Jack orders Sam and Eric to be tied up while he fights with Ralph. Over rolls a boulder own the mountain crushing the conch and killing Piggy and Ralph barely makes it out alive being attacked by spears. Ralph hides from the others while Jack orders the boys to light the forest on fire to get him out. Ralph stays in there and finds the head of the pig and destroys it, ur is eventually forced into the beach expecting death. A British naval officer arrived on the beach at the sight of the fire and amazed at the savagery of the children. Ralph is unable to explain what had been happening on the island and all are shocked that they are to be saved. The officer turns his back to allow the boys to weep and compose themselves.

The Princess Bride

William Goldman The Princess Bride starts with Goldman's story of his life and the book itself (written by S. Morgenstern) and its relation to his childhood and adulthood. He says it's his favorite book and that he's edited out the action parts that his father read to him when he was sick in bed. The story begins with Buttercup, one of the world's most beautiful women, and her life as a tomboy on a farm with her parents, her horse, and the farm boy Westley. One day, a band of Florinese royalty appears on the farm and a Countess watches Westley, Buttercup seeing this and realizing she's in love with this man who she's known all her life. She tells him this and he leaves for America to seek his fortune, never to return reportedly murdered by Dead Pirate Roberts. Buttercup promises to never love again. Prince Humperdinck loves to hunt and spends the majority of his time in his Zoo of Death, hunting the dangerous animals he keeps there. His father, King Lotharon is old and dying and Prince Humperdinck must marry to take his place. An unfortunate occurrence with the princess of Guilder leads him to Buttercup by his confidante, Count Rugen, and he demands her hand in marriage. Buttercup is kidnapped by a criminal band of Vizzini, Fezzik, and Inigo. Followed closely by a mysterious black boat, they sail with her to the cliffs on the coast of Guilder. On the coast, each of the men is defeated in his strength by the man in black, Vizzini is killed and Inigo and Fezzik live but are physically drained. The man in black runs with Buttercup along Guilder, and soon is revealed to be the long-lost Westley. The lovers reunite and, in an attempt to avoid capture by Prince Humperdinck and his men, Buttercup and Westley travel through the Fireswamp, a dangerous place. We find out here that Westley is Dead Pirate Rogers. Upon exiting the swamp, they encounter Humperdinck anyway, and Buttercup agrees to return with him as long as he promises to return Westley safely to his ship. The lovers are separated again. Inigo and Fezzik reunite in the Florin Thieves Quarters and set out to find the man in black. Westley is currently being tortured in the Zoo of Death by Humperdinck and Count Rugen. Buttercup is having nightmares. Humperdinck is planning to murder Buttercup on their wedding night in order to frame Guilder and begin a war. Humperdinck reassures Buttercup that he has sent out his four fastest ships to find Westley, Buttercup realizes that he is lying and calls him a weakling, and Humperdinck is offended by this and rages off to the Zoo of Death to kill Westley on the torture machine. Inigo and Fezzik hear Westley's scream and follow it to the Zoo of Death. Inigo and Fezzik must pass many creatures before reaching the fifth level and finding Westley. Fezzik and Inigo respectively save each other's life. On the bottom level, they finally find Westley's corpse, and they drag him to Miracle Max's house in hope of reviving him. Miracle Max and his wife Valerie are difficult and reluctant to help, but they are very experienced in miracles, so once they set out to revive Westley, they create a successful miracle pill which does the trick. Inigo and Fezzik administer it to Westley on the top of the castle wall, and Westley comes back to life instantly and makes a plan for them to enter the castle proper. This plan involves Fezzik being lit on fire and wheeled toward the guards. Inigo challenges, chases, is wounded by and ultimately kills Count Rugen. Buttercup is married to Humperdinck, left in his chamber where she plans to kill herself when she sees Westley, alive on the prince's bed. Westley frightens Humperdinck with talk about how he would leave him alive but maimed if they were to duel, and the prince allows himself to be tied to a chair by Buttercup. Meanwhile, Fezzik, who has gotten lost on the grounds, appears with the prince's four white horses, and he, Inigo, Westley and Buttercup ride away. S. Morganstern ends the book with a series of ominous crises, but William Goldman cuts in and says that he believes that they do escape and live happily, though not perfectly, ever after.

Romeo and Juliet

William Shakespeare In the streets of Verona another brawl breaks out between the servants of the feuding noble families of Capulet and Montague. Benvolio, a Montague, tries to stop the fighting, but is himself embroiled when the rash Capulet, Tybalt, arrives on the scene. After citizens outraged by the constant violence beat back the warring factions, Prince Escalus, the ruler of Verona, attempts to prevent any further conflicts between the families by decreeing death for any individual who disturbs the peace in the future. Romeo, the son of Montague, runs into his cousin Benvolio, who had earlier seen Romeo moping in a grove of sycamores. After some prodding by Benvolio, Romeo confides that he is in love with Rosaline, a woman who does not return his affections. Benvolio counsels him to forget this woman and find another, more beautiful one, but Romeo remains despondent. Meanwhile, Paris, a kinsman of the Prince, seeks Juliet's hand in marriage. Her father Capulet, though happy at the match, asks Paris to wait two years, since Juliet is not yet even fourteen. Capulet dispatches a servant with a list of people to invite to a masquerade and feast he traditionally holds. He invites Paris to the feast, hoping that Paris will begin to win Juliet's heart. Romeo and Benvolio, still discussing Rosaline, encounter the Capulet servant bearing the list of invitations. Benvolio suggests that they attend, since that will allow Romeo to compare his beloved to other beautiful women of Verona. Romeo agrees to go with Benvolio to the feast, but only because Rosaline, whose name he reads on the list, will be there. In Capulet's household, young Juliet talks with her mother, Lady Capulet, and her nurse about the possibility of marrying Paris. Juliet has not yet considered marriage, but agrees to look at Paris during the feast to see if she thinks she could fall in love with him. The feast begins. A melancholy Romeo follows Benvolio and their witty friend Mercutio to Capulet's house. Once inside, Romeo sees Juliet from a distance and instantly falls in love with her; he forgets about Rosaline completely. As Romeo watches Juliet, entranced, a young Capulet, Tybalt, recognizes him, and is enraged that a Montague would sneak into a Capulet feast. He prepares to attack, but Capulet holds him back. Soon, Romeo speaks to Juliet, and the two experience a profound attraction. They kiss, not even knowing each other's names. When he finds out from Juliet's nurse that she is the daughter of Capulet—his family's enemy—he becomes distraught. When Juliet learns that the young man she has just kissed is the son of Montague, she grows equally upset. As Mercutio and Benvolio leave the Capulet estate, Romeo leaps over the orchard wall into the garden, unable to leave Juliet behind. From his hiding place, he sees Juliet in a window above the orchard and hears her speak his name. He calls out to her, and they exchange vows of love. Romeo hurries to see his friend and confessor Friar Lawrence, who, though shocked at the sudden turn of Romeo's heart, agrees to marry the young lovers in secret since he sees in their love the possibility of ending the age-old feud between Capulet and Montague. The following day, Romeo and Juliet meet at Friar Lawrence's cell and are married. The Nurse, who is privy to the secret, procures a ladder, which Romeo will use to climb into Juliet's window for their wedding night. The next day, Benvolio and Mercutio encounter Tybalt—Juliet's cousin—who, still enraged that Romeo attended Capulet's feast, has challenged Romeo to a duel. Romeo appears. Now Tybalt's kinsman by marriage, Romeo begs the Capulet to hold off the duel until he understands why Romeo does not want to fight. Disgusted with this plea for peace, Mercutio says that he will fight Tybalt himself. The two begin to duel. Romeo tries to stop them by leaping between the combatants. Tybalt stabs Mercutio under Romeo's arm, and Mercutio dies. Romeo, in a rage, kills Tybalt. Romeo flees from the scene. Soon after, the Prince declares him forever banished from Verona for his crime. Friar Lawrence arranges for Romeo to spend his wedding night with Juliet before he has to leave for Mantua the following morning. In her room, Juliet awaits the arrival of her new husband. The Nurse enters, and, after some confusion, tells Juliet that Romeo has killed Tybalt. Distraught, Juliet suddenly finds herself married to a man who has killed her kinsman. But she resettles herself, and realizes that her duty belongs with her love: to Romeo. Romeo sneaks into Juliet's room that night, and at last they consummate their marriage and their love. Morning comes, and the lovers bid farewell, unsure when they will see each other again. Juliet learns that her father, affected by the recent events, now intends for her to marry Paris in just three days. Unsure of how to proceed—unable to reveal to her parents that she is married to Romeo, but unwilling to marry Paris now that she is Romeo's wife—Juliet asks her nurse for advice. She counsels Juliet to proceed as if Romeo were dead and to marry Paris, who is a better match anyway. Disgusted with the Nurse's disloyalty, Juliet disregards her advice and hurries to Friar Lawrence. He concocts a plan to reunite Juliet with Romeo in Mantua. The night before her wedding to Paris, Juliet must drink a potion that will make her appear to be dead. After she is laid to rest in the family's crypt, the Friar and Romeo will secretly retrieve her, and she will be free to live with Romeo, away from their parents' feuding. Juliet returns home to discover the wedding has been moved ahead one day, and she is to be married tomorrow. That night, Juliet drinks the potion, and the Nurse discovers her, apparently dead, the next morning. The Capulets grieve, and Juliet is entombed according to plan. But Friar Lawrence's message explaining the plan to Romeo never reaches Mantua. Its bearer, Friar John, gets confined to a quarantined house. Romeo hears only that Juliet is dead. Romeo learns only of Juliet's death and decides to kill himself rather than live without her. He buys a vial of poison from a reluctant Apothecary, then speeds back to Verona to take his own life at Juliet's tomb. Outside the Capulet crypt, Romeo comes upon Paris, who is scattering flowers on Juliet's grave. They fight, and Romeo kills Paris. He enters the tomb, sees Juliet's inanimate body, drinks the poison, and dies by her side. Just then, Friar Lawrence enters and realizes that Romeo has killed Paris and himself. At the same time, Juliet awakes. Friar Lawrence hears the coming of the watch. When Juliet refuses to leave with him, he flees alone. Juliet sees her beloved Romeo and realizes he has killed himself with poison. She kisses his poisoned lips, and when that does not kill her, buries his dagger in her chest, falling dead upon his body. The watch arrives, followed closely by the Prince, the Capulets, and Montague. Montague declares that Lady Montague has died of grief over Romeo's exile. Seeing their children's bodies, Capulet and Montague agree to end their long-standing feud and to raise gold statues of their children side-by-side in a newly peaceful Verona.