What is Jem's character motivation as he relates to Boo Radley?

At first, Jem buys into the rumors about Boo being a monster. He is as infatuated with Boo as Scout and Dill are. In Chapter 1, Scout gives Jem's description of Boo: 

Jem gave a reasonable description of Boo: Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were bloodstained—if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time. 

In Chapter 5, Atticus reprimands the three children for making fun of Boo. Jem's takes exception to this, still thinking that it makes sense to mock someone who chooses to hide in a house for years. Jem's perception of Boo starts to change at the end of Chapter 6 and the beginning of Chapter 7. When he goes back to get his torn pants, he finds that they have been sewn. Harper Lee doesn't make it clear that Jem knows Boo fixes the pants, but given the events that follow, Jem would probably have come to that conclusion. At the end of this chapter, Boo's father puts cement in the holes in the tree, thus ending the parade of gifts. Jem seems to realize that they had made a connection with Boo through this game. He is sad when Mr. Radley puts a stop to it. As Jem matures, he is more able to consider the perspectives of other people. It's safe to assume that by Chapter 23, he no longer thinks of Boo as a monster. In fact, when discussing how people of different classes and races don't get along, he comes to the conclusion that Boo is perhaps smart for staying indoors: 

Scout, I think I’m beginning to understand something. I think I’m beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut up in the house all this time . . . it’s because he wants to stay inside. 

Through his interactions with Boo and his interest in Tom Robinson's trial, Jem learns empathy. He also learns about prejudice with how the jury misjudges Tom and how people have unfairly judged Boo Radley. 

In what ways did Odysseus perform good deeds?

Odysseus is often recognized for his ego, as he is prone to bouts of pride and arrogance. The mortal's lack of humility usually gets him into trouble with the gods, especially Poseidon, who spends much of the narrative trying to thwart Odysseus' attempts to return home. That said, despite his pride, Odysseus is still virtuous, and he manages to perform several good deeds by the end of the epic poem.

A couple of good deeds come to mind. First of all, he risks his life to save his men from Circe, even after the sorceress changes them into swine. Secondly, while navigating the Sirens' waters, Odysseus has himself tied to a mast and orders his crew to plug their ears with wax and avoid changing course, no matter how much he might beg for it. On both occasions, Odysseus puts his own safety at risk to help his followers, and these good deeds show that, despite his arrogance, Odysseus is a compassionate leader who cares for the lives of his crew. As such, the deeds that he performs are not only heroic, but good, and they display a virtuous quality that is often eclipsed by Odysseus' pride.

In "The Lady or the Tiger?" what had the princess done which no other person had ever done?

The princess found out what was behind each door. 

In this kingdom long ago, a semi-barbaric king has an unusual system of justice.  He has built a huge arena, and outfitted it with two doors.  When a person is accused of a crime, he is thrown into the arena and forced to choose a door.  Behind one door is a lady, whom he will marry, and behind the other is a tiger, which will eat him. 

In the king’s mind, fate is really determining the innocence or guilt of the subject.  Fate is the jury.  If the subject is innocent, he will immediately be rewarded with a wedding to a suitable lady (whether he is attached or not).  If he is guilty, he will immediately be punished with a horrible death when the tiger mauls him. 

There is a problem.  The problem is that his daughter, the princess, takes a lover he does not approve of.  The easy way to get rid of the lover is to toss him into the arena.  Either way, this solves the problem.  Either he will die immediately or he will be married to someone else. 

However, the king’s daughter has other ideas.  She has a semi-barbaric streak too, and she is also wily. 

Possessed of more power, influence, and force of character than anyone who had ever before been interested in such a case, she had done what no other person had done—she had possessed herself of the secret of the doors. 

Through bribes and the strength of her personality, the princess is able to determine which door has the tiger and which has the lady.  However, this does not tell the reader everything.  Which door will she lead her lover to?  He knows that she has found this information out.  What the reader does not know is whether she wants him to live, or if she would rather see him dead than with another woman. 

Her decision had been indicated in an instant, but it had been made after days and nights of anguished deliberation. She had known she would be asked, she had decided what she would answer, and, without the slightest hesitation, she had moved her hand to the right. 

The story ends ambiguously.  We have no idea which door she chose. The author does this on purpose, because he wants us to ponder human nature.  Just how selfish is the princess?  I have always suspected that she chose the tiger.

In the Odyssey, why did Odysseus tell Polyphemus his name was Nobody?

Odysseus tells Polyphemus that his name is no one, nobody, or outis (in Greek). At the outset, this seems like a confusing course of action. Why does it matter if Odysseus reveals his true identity to the Cyclops? Odysseus, thanks to his cunning wisdom, has the foresight to know what will happen as he tries to leave the cave. 

In Book 9, line 366, Odysseus says:

"Cyclops, you asked my noble name, and I will tell it; but do you give the stranger's gift, just as you promised. My name is Nobody. Nobody I am called by mother, father, and by all my comrades."

Polyphemus responds in line 370:

"Nobody I eat up last, after his comrades; all the rest first; and that shall be the stranger's gift for you."

From this line, the reader can begin to understand Odysseus' plan. By claiming he is "nobody," he, Odysseus, cannot be blamed for the actions to come. 

When Odysseus blinds Polyphemus and he and his remaining men escape on the underbellies of the Cyclops' sheep, Polyphemus yells:

"Friends, Nobody is murdering me by craft. Force there is none. But answering him in winged words they said: If nobody harms you when you are left alone, illness which comes from mighty Zeus you cannot fly. But make your prayer to your father, lord Poseidon."

Polyphemus tells his cyclops friends that "no one" is killing him, which they take to mean Polyphemus is fine. And with Polyphemus raging and ranting, the other cyclops are distracted and Odysseus and his men escape to their ship.

How does Ralph lack of self-confidence in Lord of the Flies?

In Chapter 5, Ralph begins to doubt his ability as a leader before holding an assembly to discuss how the boys are not completing any of the agreed upon tasks. Ralph realizes that the conditions on the island are only getting worse and feels like the boys do not respect him. He also doesn't believe that he is smart enough to make the right decisions. Golding writes,

"Only, decided Ralph as he faced the chief’s seat, I can’t think. Not like Piggy" (78).

The assembly ends terribly when Jack refuses to follow the rules and leads the hunters on another expedition. When Jack and his hunters leave the platform, Ralph says to Piggy,

"I ought to give up being chief. Hear 'em" (Golding 93).

Ralph is frustrated at his lack of control and mental inferiority. He cannot give any definite answers regarding the identity of the beast, and lacks the ability to enforce any of the rules. His failure to form a cohesive group focused on completing necessary tasks and his inability to answer important questions are the reasons he is becoming less confident as a leader.

What made Macbeth evil and selfish?

Primarily, it is his ambition and pride that makes Macbeth so evil and selfish. Before he commits the murder of Duncan, he lists all of the reasons he has not to kill the man who is his king, guest, kinsman, and friend.  He has only one reason to go through with it, and that is his "Vaulting ambition" (1.7.27).  He wants to be king.  When the Weird Sisters told him that he would become Thane of Cawdor, and then he did, it made him believe that they were telling the truth in all things.  Therefore, he began to dream of becoming the king since that was the other "prophecy" they gave him.  His single-minded desire for the throne, and then his desire to retain it, compels him to consider only his best interest and no one else's, and so he becomes quite selfish.

Further, his pride helps to turn him into an evil man.  When he learns that Macduff has escaped him and fled to the English court to meet with Malcolm, the real heir to the throne, he feels like it is necessary to wound Macduff in some bigger and worse way.  Thus, he decides to "Seize upon Fife, give to th' edge o' th' sword / [Macduff's] wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls / That trace him in his line" (4.1.157-159).  His pride urges him to wound where he feels he has been wounded, and so he commits his most brutal and evil murders yet: those of an innocent woman and her children. 

What is a metaphor in Act 2, scene 2, of Romeo and Juliet that supports the theme that love can damage a person's perspective?

Almost as soon as the scene begins, Romeo spies Juliet's balcony which overlooks the garden, and he says, "But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? / It is the East, and Juliet is the sun" (2.2.2-3).  This is actually two metaphors: he compares the window to the east, the direction from which the sun rises each morning, and he compares Juliet to the sun.  The sun is literally the center of our solar system, a system which could not function were it not for the sun's heat and light.  Romeo seems to be saying, then, that Juliet is as important to his life as the sun is to human life and that he would not be able to exist without her.  However, to be fair, they have only just met that night, and his life is not literally dependent on her.  His intense feeling, intense enough to construct such a metaphor, that his life is dependent on her position in it, certainly helps to convey the theme that love can damage a person's perspective.