Who is Becky in Chains, and what perspective does she have on the war?

Becky is the head servant to the Locktons in New York. She's mainly in charge of the cooking, but she also decides which work is to be done by which slave or servant.  

Explaining exactly how Becky feels about the war is a much more difficult answer. Becky understands that she works for awful people; however, Becky also knows she works for a very wealthy and influential family. She doesn't want to do anything to jeopardize her standing in the Lockton household. Because of that motivation, Becky tries not to let her feelings about the war show.  

Chapter seven contains a small exchange between Becky and Isabel that somewhat shows how Becky feels about the war. Becky is explaining to Isabel how to do some of the work around the house. Three Patriot soldiers walk past, and Becky says the following:

"I wish they'd all go home. . . Soldiers is a nuisance."  

Isabel thinks Becky is a Loyalist because of the comment, and asks for further clarification. Becky quietly explains that the Locktons are Loyalists. As a servant of Loyalists, Becky says she is a Loyalist in public as well. 

"Listen to me good. Them that feeds us" — she pointed upstairs — "they're Loyalists, Tories. That means we're Tories, too, understand?"  

Based on that comment, I think Becky secretly supports the Patriots, but she isn't willing to risk her station in order to publicly support her feelings.

In "Lamb to the Slaughter," how can I prove that Mrs. Maloney is guilty of killing her husband, even after the police eat the murder weapon and...

In all courts of law, there are two types of evidence that are allowed to be presented as proof that a crime has been committed. They are direct evidence and circumstantial evidence. 

Direct evidence would be the items that your question refers to, namely, the tangible and directly visible items that are either in, or connected to, the scene of the crime. These are: the leg of lamb, the testimony of Mrs. Malone, the testimony of those who saw her at the store, and other things that directly link one item, or cause, to the crime. 

Circumstantial evidence is evidence which is inferred from the testimony, even when there is no direct evidence present. This is why people such as Scott Peterson, for example, was found guilty of murder in the first degree for the killing of his wife, Laci Peterson, and her unborn son, even though there was no murder weapon and no powerful witnesses to place him at the scene of the crime. Instead, what was used was the set of circumstances surrounding the murder, and the little direct evidence available, to create the scenario that would establish a motive (reason to commit the crime), the opportunity, the timeline of events, and the unquestionable reasons why he would have been the one committing the crime.

Remember, the investigators put the evidence together. The defense lawyers will create, using the evidence, a version of the crime that would benefit their accused client. The prosecution will take that same evidence and create a storyline that directly places the accused on the scene, with a motive, and with the opportunity to commit the murder. It is ultimately up to the jury to decide which story to believe based on what they see. 

All of this, however, needs to be presented in a way that, there is NO QUESTION from the jury that the person is guilty or not guilty: beyond reasonable doubt. No jury is perfect, however. They can get it wrong, too. 

Mrs. Maloney

The case of Mrs. Maloney would be a circumstantial case given that the murder weapon has been eaten, and that none of the law enforcement agents present in the scene have any intention of accusing her. They are likely not to serve as witnesses of the case, either, so you will need to go elsewhere to find witness testimony in the first place. 

Therefore, when working with a circumstantial case such as Mrs. Maloney's, according to the New York Court Circuit, 

Before you may draw an inference of guilt, [it] must be the only one that can fairly and reasonably be drawn from the facts, it must be consistent with the proven facts, and it must flow naturally, reasonably, and logically from them.

It also shows that, to find her guilty, you would have to find all the factors that would show that she had a good reason to commit this crime, even if it was in the heat of passion. 

Again, it must appear that the inference of guilt is the only one that can fairly and reasonably be drawn from the facts, and that the evidence excludes beyond a reasonable doubt every reasonable hypothesis of innocence.

All this being said, you would need to gather the following evidence and create a timeline of events based on your findings:

• the exact time of death of Patrick Malone. That will show you where to start.

• the reason why he died- It has to be established that it was head trauma that killed him. This is also added to the timeline of events. 

• testimony from Sam, from the grocery store, on whether Mary was there, at what time, and how she looked- You add that to a timeline of events to show that Patrick was already dead by the time Mary decided to go out, presumably to buy items to make him dinner. This will also show that she created an alibi (pretext) by letting herself be seen at the store.

• proof that the Maloney's marriage was in trouble- testimony from Patrick's friends, or any proof of a mistress

• a timeline of how the marriage was, from dating, to now- Is there any pattern of fighting, abuse, or cheating?

• report of what kind of object could have hit Patrick- This way, every possible object can be considered, no matter how outrageous it may sound. 


• deductive reasoning: If Patrick had no enemies, and there was no entry in the house, who else is left to be accused?

Once you are able to get the evidence, answer every possible question that a juror could ask, and create a strong timeline of events, you should be able to establish a clear motive, storyline, and opportunity, that shows, beyond reasonable doubt, that Mary Malone killed her husband in a heat of passion. 

In "Because I could not stop for Death--" by Emily Dickinson, what is the difference between the word "stop" in line 1 and line 2?

Grammatically, there's a small difference between the two appearances of that verb in the first stanza, but the main difference is in meaning and tone:

Because I could not stop for Death –

He kindly stopped for me –

The Carriage held but just Ourselves –

And Immortality.

The "stop" in the first line appears with no verb conjugation because of its placement near the auxiliary verb "could." And the "stop" in the second line includes a past tense "-ed" ending because it's simply attributed to the subject, "He," without any intervening auxiliary verbs. It's like the difference between saying "I didn't do my homework" compared to "He always did his homework."

More to the point, though, in the first line, the speaker means that she couldn't slow down her activities, or that she couldn't set aside the business of living, in order to allow her own death to approach. In the second line, the speaker means that Death arrives, visits, or comes by in order to impose himself on the speaker.

To really consider the difference, compare what it means to "stop for a break" (similar to the idea in Line 1 of the poem) as opposed to "stop by my friend's house" (similar to the idea in Line 2). The word, "stop," is the same, but the meaning is different.

Further, the second appearance of the word "stop" adds increasing weight and seriousness to this opening stanza. By saying "stop for" and "stopped for" so closely together, the speaker establishes a dramatic, emphatic tone; the repetition of that harsh, monosyllabic word "stop" makes us think about the inevitability of death.

What are the events that happen in Chapter 23 of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee?

The chapter begins with the account of how Bob Ewell spit in Atticus’s face and threatened him, and his only reaction was to say he wished Bob Ewell did not chew tobacco.  The children are frightened because Ewell seems to be holding a grudge, but Atticus is convinced that the man is all talk and that he has had his fun.

“Jem, see if you can stand in Bob Ewell’s shoes a minute. I destroyed his last shred of credibility at that trial, if he had any to begin with. The man had to have some kind of comeback, his kind always does. …” (Ch. 23) 

The conversation turns to Tom Robinson’s appeal.  Rape is punishable by the death sentence in Alabama.  Atticus believes that Robinson has a chance, but the first trial was not fair due to his race.  Atticus and Jem debate circumstantial evidence and reasonable doubt.  Atticus tries to convince Jem that the system isn’t perfect but is hard to change. 

The conversation changes to class.  Aunt Alexandra explains to Scout that Walter Cunningham and his family are not suitable for her company.  She calls them “trash.”  This supports Alexandra’s viewpoint that the Finches are superior.  Later, Jem tries to explain it to Scout. 

“…There’s four kinds of folks in the world. There’s the ordinary kind like us and the neighbors, there’s the kind like the Cunninghams out in the woods, the kind like the Ewells down at the dump, and the Negroes.” (Ch. 23) 

Scout struggles to understand the difference between the Cunninghams and the Finches.  Jem explains that “Background doesn’t mean Old Family.”  The Finches are better because they are landowning and have the right background.  

Jem tells Scout that he is beginning to understand Boo Radley. He does not stay in his house because he has to.  He stays inside because he wants to.

Who is Miranda in The Tempest by Shakespeare?

In Shakespeare's The Tempest, Miranda is the daughter of Prospero, the former Duke of Milan living in exile on a remote island. Since Miranda has grown up in relative isolation (her chief companions are her father, Ariel, and Caliban), she is an innocent young girl who knows little of human society or the outside world. As such, when she meets the shipwrecked Ferdinand, she promptly falls passionately in love with him and eventually marries him. In Act 5, Scene 1, Miranda meets more of the shipwrecked characters and utters the famous quote, "O brave new world / That has such people in't!" (183-84), thus exemplifying her wonder and astonishment at her first brush with human society. The title of Aldous Huxley's dystopian novel Brave New World is a reference to this quote. 

All in all, Miranda is a girl who has grown up in isolation and is easily amazed by the new intrusions into her formerly secluded world. As such, many readers have seen her as a representation of a kind of pure human innocence. That said, it's important to note that Miranda's innocence relies on her relative ignorance when it comes to civilization and human relationships. Her father Prospero has seen the corruption and betrayal the world is capable of, and one can assume that, as Miranda matures and sees more of the world, she too will cease to idealize human society and come to view the world in a more realistic way. 

What was life like for women in the 16th century versus life for women today?

Women in the 16th century were primarily wives and mothers.  Unlike today, women in the 16th century had limited choices for employment if they had any at all.  Spinning wool was almost always done by women.  Some women worked jobs that involved embroidering, sewing, or doing millinery work.  They sometimes earned money working as washerwomen or domestic servants.  Women did very important work as midwives.  During this time, doctors did not deliver babies.  Women today can choose whichever occupation they desire.

Housewives kept busy and had many responsibilities in the home in the 16th century.  In addition to caring for children, they also had to prepare food, make clothes, milk cows, collect eggs, shop in the market, and clean.  These tasks were dependent on whether a woman lived in the country or in a town or village.  All these things may be done by women today, but most are not.  Women today may choose to share household chores with their spouse or partner.

It was not uncommon for a woman to not know how to read in 16th century society.  Girls rarely attended school.  Sometimes they were educated at home.  Only the wealthy could afford private tutors.  Today women received many years of education.

Families were large in the 16th century.  Women typically had many children.  It was fairly common for women to die due to complications after childbirth.  In modern societies, women rarely die due to childbirth.  Women of today usually have families that are much smaller.

What is a line from the poem "The Listeners" that tells readers what time of day it is?

There are several lines in the poem "The Listeners" that give readers a general idea of what time of day it is. However, if you are looking for an exact hour, the poem does not give that accurate of a time frame. The most specific time that I can give is that the poem takes place sometime during the night. In line two of the poem, the narrator tells his audience that the Traveler is knocking on the moonlit door. An argument can be made that the moon is sometimes visible during the day; however, sunlight overpowers the moonlight during the day. The poem specifically mentions several times that it is the moon lighting up parts of the house.

Knocking on the moonlit door;

Then a bit later the following lines appear.

Stood listening in the quiet of the moonlight   

   To that voice from the world of men: 

Stood thronging the faint moonbeams on the dark stair,   

These lines further detail the fact that the poem takes place at night. It mentions more moonlight and dark stairs.

How does Jing-Mei's attitude toward her mother change in the final chapter of The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan?

In the final chapter of the novel, Jing Mei comes to accept her mother's premise about being Chinese. As she prepares to meet her half-sisters, she finds that she can finally revel in being both Chinese and American.

So, there was no doubt in her mind, whether I agreed or not: Once you are born Chinese, you cannot help but feel and think Chinese. "Someday you will see," said my mother. "It is in your blood, waiting to be let go."

Jing Mei's attitude towards her mother begins to change when she hears the true story of how Suyuan had to leave her twin girls behind decades earlier. After fleeing Kweilin, Suyuan had tried to get to Chungking, where her husband was stationed. However, her physical suffering eventually made traveling on foot all but impossible.

Suyuan was suffering from dysentery pains; additionally, she was hungry, exhausted, and thirsty. In the end, to make sure that her babies survived, she had had to leave them behind. Suyuan was to have a rude awakening when she got to Chungking, however; her husband had died two weeks earlier. Bereft of both her babies and husband, she had vowed not to rest until she found her daughters again.

In continuing her mother's quest, Jing Mei comes to see how much Suyuan had loved each of her daughters. When she sees her half-sisters at the airport, she sees her mother's image in their faces. Just as she did everything she could to preserve her twin daughters' lives, Suyuan also taught Jing Mei how to value her Chinese heritage. Jing Mei's attitude towards her mother begins to change to one of respect and deep appreciation after she realizes how much her mother had sacrificed for her and her sisters when she was alive.

Macbeth is essentially a good man, but he makes the wrong choices. Is this true?

I'm not sure that I believe this is true.  Macbeth begins the play as a loyal subject and friend to Duncan.  He defends his country against attacks on two different fronts -- from both a traitorous rebel and a foreign invader -- and he risks his own life to see justice done.  However, it doesn't take much for Macbeth to become ambitious, greedy, self-serving, and violent.  The Weird Sisters tell him that he will become Thane of Cawdor (which he has already, he just doesn't know it yet) and king.  He is shocked to learn that their first "prediction" has come true, and he immediately begins to dream of the second.  

It takes only one scene -- the space required for Duncan to name his older son, Malcolm, heir to the throne -- for Macbeth to begin to scheme against his king and friend (and kinsman).  He says, "Stars, hide your fires; / Let not light see my black and deep desires. / The eye wink at the hand, yet let that be / Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see" (1.4.57-60).  Already, Macbeth is plotting something so foul that he wants the stars to go dark so that no one will be able to see what he's thinking.  Moreover, he doesn't even want his own eye to be able to watch what his hand is going to do; it stands to reason, then, that he's already plotting Duncan's murder.  It doesn't seem to take much or long for Macbeth to become totally corrupt; a good man, it seems to me, could never so completely shake his conscience as Macbeth eventually does.

Near the end of Act 1, why does Macbeth express doubt about murdering the king?

Macbeth expresses doubt about murdering the king for several reasons.  He says, "If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well / It were done quickly" (1.7.1-2).  In other words, he knows that simply killing Duncan will not automatically make him king.  There will be more to do, lots more, in order for Macbeth to secure the crown; it will be neither easy nor quick.  Further, he says that "Bloody instructions [...] being taught, return / To plague th' inventor.  This even-handed justice / Commends th' ingredience of our poisoned chalice / To our own lips" (1.7.9-12).  Here, Macbeth is concerned that by committing this violent act, he inadvertently teaches others to commit violence as well, and this could come back to bite him later if someone treats him as he treats Duncan. 

Then, more simply, Macbeth is Duncan's "kinsman and his subject" as well as his host, "Who should against his murderer shut the door, / Not bear the knife myself" (1.7.15-16).  It is Macbeth's duty to protect Duncan for so many reasons, not the least of which is that they are related and that Macbeth is currently hosting the king at his own home.  It is hardly hospitable to murder one's guest and one's cousin.  Macbeth goes on to describe Duncan's goodness, the fact that he is such a virtuous man and good king, and these make him doubt his resolution to kill Duncan as well. 

What are some difficulties Romeo and Juliet might face due to different characters' viewpoints in Act I?In Act I, with which character's...

In Act I of Romeo and Juliet, characters have different viewpoints regarding the themes of love and hate, which will ultimately impact the decisions Romeo and Juliet make throughout the rest of the play. 

On Juliet's side, her parents, Lord and Lady Capulet, differ in terms of their opinions about marriage. In Act I, Scene 2, Paris approaches Lord Capulet—once again—about his desire to marry Juliet. Lord Capulet, however, brushes Paris off by saying,

My child is yet a stranger in the world;

She hath not seen the change of fourteen years:

Let two more summers wither in their pride

Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride (9).

In other words, Lord Capulet thinks Juliet is too young to marry, and he urges Paris to wait at least two more years. 

In the very next scene, however, Lady Capulet bombards Juliet about the idea of marriage and basically forces her to pursue Paris:

Well, think of marriage now; younger than you

Here in Verona, ladies of esteem,

Are already mothers (14).

Lady Capulet backs up her argument of insisting that Juliet think about marriage by citing other women who are Juliet's age who are already married and have children. 

The differences between Juliet's parents are cut and dry—she either gets married now or she waits. This may force Juliet to make a mature decision that she might not be ready to make. Furthermore, these differences highlight the friction between Juliet and her parents; rather than ask for her parents' guidance, Juliet turns to her Nurse for advice. 

Throughout Act I, we also see different viewpoints regarding the theme of hate. From the very beginning, Tybalt presented himself as a feisty, hot-headed Capulet who will seize any opportunity to fight with a Montague. In Act I, Scene 1, he says, "What, drawn, and talk of peace! I hate the word, / As I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee" (4). This sentiment continues when Tybalt sees Romeo at the party in Act I, Scene 5. Lord Capulet forces Tybalt to keep his cool, to which Tybalt responds, "I will withdraw: but this intrusion shall, / Now seeming sweet, convert to bitterest gall" (21). 

Tybalt's violent tendencies counter Benvolio's peaceful nature. In Act I, Scene 1, Benvolio tries to convince everyone to stop fighting. This can also be seen in Act I, Scene 4, where Benvolio directs Romeo's and Mercutio's attention back to the party. Benvolio's peace-keeping nature continues throughout the play. 

Since Tybalt is a Capulet and Benvolio is a Montague, their contrasting dispositions may cause a strain in the budding relationship between Romeo and Juliet. 

***Please Note: The page numbers come from the Dover Thrift Edition of Romeo and Juliet. While page numbers may not be exact, all quoted lines appear in the scene I mentioned.***

What Fitzgerald's quote about writing a novel that was "simple and intricately patterned"?

Fitzgerald told his editor, Maxwell Perkins, in 1923, "I want to write something new--something extraordinary and beautiful and simple and intricately patterned." This was the seed of his plan to write The Great Gatsby, which he finally began in April of 1924. Tumult with his wife, Zelda, followed, along with a move to the Riviera. He started writing in earnest in August of 1924 and finished the first draft of the book by the end of October. Fitzgerald knew that he had achieved what he had set out to do and that Gatsby was a great book. After the book was published on April 10, 1925, writers like Willa Cather praised it. However, the general public found it not much better than a piece of nostalgia. After Fitzgerald's death in 1940, the book was reappraised and found to be the extraordinary, beautiful, and intricate book he had set out to write. The intricate patterning of the book lies in its taut but complicated plot and portrait of the complex character of Gatsby.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus says that the fact that the jury took so long to reach a verdict may indicate "the shadow of a beginning." What...

Atticus discusses the case and the jurors with Jem and Scout in chapter 23 of To Kill a Mockingbird. Jem is very disappointed and confused as to how and why a jury could have convicted Tom Robinson based on everything that was proven or disproven during the trial. When Jem says that the jury did not take a long time deliberating, Atticus disagrees by saying that he was surprised they took so long. Atticus expected the verdict to be a conviction, but he did not expect that the jury would debate about it for six or seven hours. This is when he says, ". . . this may be the shadow of a beginning" (222). This means that there may be hope that people in Maycomb are starting to believe in reason and justice rather than tradition and prejudice.

Then, Atticus tells his children that there was one juror who held out for Tom's acquittal for a long time. In fact, that juror was one of the Cunninghams. The fact that a Cunningham would fight so long and hard for Tom's acquittal shows that someone had heard the truth in Tom's defense, and also had the gumption to uphold it during the deliberation. Jem is surprised that a Cunningham would have done that because the night before the trial most of the family had shown up at the jail to lynch Tom. Atticus explains that this one Cunningham must have gained respect for Tom during the trial based on what he had heard. If there had been just one more juror who sided with that one Cunningham, they would have had a hung jury and an acquittal. This is good news that means changes may be on the horizon for Maycomb, but it is also sad because Tom was so close to gaining his freedom.

In what respect is the title of "The Guest" ironic?

The title of "The Guest" is ironic because the Arab (to whom the title applies) is not really a guest at all; he is a prisoner. The description of the Arab demonstrates his status: he is in the company of a policeman called Balducci, for example, and his hands are bound. Balducci has escorted him as far as Daru's school and now expects Daru to complete the Arab's journey to the police headquarters in Tinguit.

Moreover, the title "The Guest" implies that the Arab is a welcome visitor. While Daru treats the Arab with kindness by offering him food and a bed to sleep in, it is quite clear that his guest is, in fact, very unwelcome. Daru demonstrates this feeling through his complaints to Balducci and, in doing so, reveals another sense of irony.

In Speak, what is symbolic about "Hairwoman" and the narrator's description of her?

Melinda, the narrator of the young adult novel Speak, describes her English teacher as follows:

My English teacher has no face. She has uncombed stringy hair that droops on her shoulders. The hair is black from her part to her ears and then neon orange to the frizzy ends. I can't decide if she had pissed off her hairdresser or is morphing into a monarch butterfly. I call her Hairwoman.

Melinda initially finds Hairwoman to be a bit too freaky, but gradually grows to appreciate her "warped sense of humor" and the super quirky homework assignments she gives to the class in order to engage them in the act of writing. 

When Hairwoman gives them an assignment to identify the symbolism in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Melinda comments that looking for this information is fun, "like a code, breaking into his head and finding the key to his secrets. Like the whole guilt thing."

All of Melinda's assessments of Hairwoman and the classwork that she doles out actually seem to be reflections of Melinda herself. Melinda hides herself much the same way that Hairwoman hides her face; both are deeply self-conscious and struggle with expression. Melinda's judgmental attitude of Hairwoman's appearance and Melinda's own attitude toward her body suggest that Melinda projects her negative feelings about herself onto others.

Melinda's commentary on the Hawthorne assignment also seem to be a commentary on her own desires--the wish that someone would break into her own head and unlock her guilt and her secret about the tragic assault she suffered through in silence during the previous summer. 

When Hairwoman gets a buzzcut, Melinda wonders:

I don't know what caused this. Has she fallen in love? Did she get a divorce? Move out of her parents' basement? ...I'm thinking she found a good shrink, or maybe she published that novel she's been writing since the earth cooled.

This interest in Hairwoman's shifting appearance (and the possible life changes behind it) also represents how Melinda has altered in the past few months. Despite her acerbic attitude, Melinda seems to want good things to happen to Hairwoman. This comes at a time when Melinda is gradually becoming more open to the world around her, even developing a budding friendship with Ivy. Although we cannot see how our narrator has been physically altered, her observations of the new "look" of her teacher might also reflect some new beginnings for Melinda herself.

How do different cultures show importance in their religious beliefs?

There is a wide variety of ways in which a culture can demonstrate their religious beliefs.  At the far right of the spectrum are cultures in which the religious leaders also act as the political leaders.  This is known as a theocracy and an example would be modern-day Iran.  In this country, the religious law heavily dictates how people are expected to behave on a daily basis.  While most cultures are not this extreme, the legal codes of most cultures are also still heavily influenced by religion.  

A culture can also demonstrate its religion by the festivals and holidays that are celebrated throughout the year.  In some cases, these days will be periods of time when school, business, and government offices are closed.  

Another example of religion influencing culture can be seen in India where the caste system is closely tied to Hinduism and affects social class groupings.  

In what chapter does Bob Ewell spit in Atticus' face?

This event occurs after the verdict in the trial, and is first mentioned at the very end of Chapter 22. It is described in detail in Chapter 23, where we learn that Bob Ewell has not only spat on Atticus, but threatened to kill him and attempted to goad him into a fight. Atticus bears his threats with dignity, claiming that he is "too old" to fight despite Bob's unseemly insults. Jem and Scout are understandably upset about the incident, and Atticus tries to explain by asking them to see things from Ewell's perspective. Bob lost all his credibility in the trial, Atticus said, and he had to be seen to retaliate in some way. In any case, he tells them, "if spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating," then it was worth it to Atticus. This extraordinary act of empathy is among Atticus's finest moments in the book, and one which is consistent with what he always preaches to the children--one has to be able to walk in the shoes of others to treat them fairly and with dignity. 

What are three quotes that support how Tom Robinson represents a mockingbird?

Throughout the novel, mockingbirds symbolize innocent, defenseless beings who cause no harm to anyone and simply bring joy to the world. Tom Robinson is considered a symbolic mockingbird because he is a magnanimous individual who is helpless against Maycomb's prejudiced judicial system. In Chapter 9, Atticus explains to Scout who he is defending and says,

"I'm simply defending a Negro--his name's Tom Robinson. He lives in that little settlement beyond the town dump. He's a member of Calpurnia's church, and Cal knows his family well. She says they're clean-living folks" (Lee 48).

Tom comes from a good family and attends church. He is a respected individual throughout his community and has a positive reputation. Similar to a mockingbird, Tom Robinson is harmless.

In Chapter 19, Tom is on the witness stand and Mr. Gilmer asks Tom why he helped Mayella Ewell out with her chores. Tom says,

"Looked like she didn't have anybody to help her, like I says---" (Lee 120).

When Gilmer asks Tom why he did the work for free, Tom says,

"I felt right sorry for her, she seemed to try more'n the rest of 'em" (Lee 121).

Tom is naturally giving and spreads joy like a mockingbird.

In Chapter 24, Atticus tells Calpurnia, Alexandra, and Scout that Tom was shot dead attempting to escape from prison. Atticus says,

"I told him what I thought, but I couldn't in truth say that we had more than a good chance. I guess Tom was tired of white men's chances and preferred to take his own" (Lee 144).

Similar to a mockingbird, Tom is defenseless and is shot dead after becoming a victim of racial injustice.

What does Morris give to Mr. White in "The Monkey's Paw"?

Morris gives Mr. White a magical monkey’s paw that grants three wishes.

It is a dark and stormy night when the White family is visited by an old friend, Sergeant-Major Morris.  He brings with him a little trinket, which he says has magical powers. 

"Well, it's just a bit of what you might call magic, perhaps," said the sergeant-major off-handedly. …   "It had a spell put on it by an old fakir," said the sergeant-major .... He put a spell on it so that three separate men could each have three wishes from it."

The Whites are interested, but they mostly think this is just a story told for entertainment.  Morris throws the paw in the fire, and tells Mr. White that if he is sensible he will leave it there.  White asks him how it works, and he explains that you wish on it.

Herbert White, White’s son, convinces him to wish for money.  He does not take it seriously either, but thinks it will be fun.  Mr. White says he doesn’t really need anything, but makes the wish anyway.

"If the tale about the monkey paw is not more truthful than those he has been telling us," said Herbert, as the door closed behind their guest, just in time for him to catch the last train, "we shan't make much out of it."

The paw turns out to be real.  The Whites find this out only when they get a knock at the door telling them that their son is dead.  They get the money they wished for, but at great cost.  Grieving, Mrs. White wishes for her son to be alive again.  However, it has been ten days, and Mr. White is worried about the state their son will be in.  They hear a knocking at the door after a while. Horrified, Mr. White wishes to undo their wish. The knocking stops.

It is commonly believed that ancient foraging societies were deeply respectful and protective of the environment. Do you think this is true? Is...

I do not believe that all ancient foraging societies were as deeply respectful of the environment as we think. There were ways in which they were respectful of the environment, but they were not as careful of it as we tend to think.

It is true that some foraging societies did things that protected the environment.  The ancient Hawaiians would use a system called kapu, in which they would place various fish or plants under religious protection.  They would, for example, ban fishing for a specific kind of fish during a specific season of the year. In doing this, they were trying to ensure that they did not damage their environment too badly. This shows respect for the environment. Other ancient societies did similar things.

However, it is impossible to say that all ancient foraging societies respected the environment in all ways. The main evidence of this is the fact that certain societies hunted certain species into extinction (although there is some controversy over whether this really happened). The earliest Native Americans came in to a land with species that had never been hunted by people. Before long, many species (particularly megafauna) were extinct. The same sorts of thing happened in places like Australia and New Zealand.  Clearly, the ancient foraging societies in those places did not respect the environment so much that they refused to hunt species so intensively.

We tend to idealize ancient societies because we are worried about our own environmental impact.  We like to think they never damaged the environment so that we can say we should follow their example.  In my view, however, this is not true of all hunter-gatherer societies in ancient times.

How could Melba's weekend activities be described, including time with Vince?

Melba spends the weekend carrying out errands, such as washing dishes, and doing the homework her mother assigns her. She unfortunately also has to answer the phone when people call to deliver hateful messages, and she worries about school and how Eisenhower will respond to Governor Faubus's refusal to integrate Central High School. She also styles her hair and tries on clothes, looking for a proper disguise.

Later, she goes out with her grandmother to the wrestling matches. Melba is wearing upswept hair, makeup, and high heels so that no one will recognize her. The wrestling matches are held in Robinson Auditorium, which is usually only reserved for white people. She pretends to bump into Vince, her boyfriend, as her family would never allow her to have an actual date with him. Her weekend activities are those of a normal teenage girl, but she has to make concessions and changes, given the hatred that many people in Little Rock feel about her and about integration. 

How did Johnny's message affect Ponyboy in The Outsiders?

When he is dying in the hospital, Johnny tells Ponyboy to “stay gold.”  He is reminding him about a conversation they had about a Robert Frost poem, “Nothing Gold Can Stay.”  The poem is about how things start out young and fresh, but wither in time.  Metaphorically, it means that people cannot maintain their innocence as they age.  Johnny feels that Ponyboy is still innocent, and he wants him to remain so.  He does not want him to follow the other greasers into gang life.

Pony doesn’t understand that Johnny means at first.  Johnny left a copy of Gone with the Wind for Pony, because they were reading it while hiding out.  It takes him awhile to finally take a look at it, because he doesn’t want to acknowledge that Johnny is actually dead.  In the note, Johnny says that he accepts that he is dying, and it was worth it to save those kids in the fire.

When you're a kid everything's new, dawn. It's just when you get used to everything that it's day. Like the way you dig sunsets, Pony. That's gold. Keep that way, it's a good way to be. … And don't be so bugged over being a greaser. You still have a lot of time to make yourself be what you want. There's still lots of good in the world. (Ch. 12) 

Pony feels sad all over again when he reads the note, because it tells him to tell Dally to look at a sunset, so he can see that there is good in the world.  Dally is dead, robbing a store and then running at the police in his grief over Johnny’s death.  Johnny would not have wanted that, Pony knows. 

Pony decides that he, Johnny, and Dally are not the only ones in this situation. 

It was too vast a problem to be just a personal thing. There should be some help, someone should tell them before it was too late. Someone should tell their side of the story, and maybe people would understand then and wouldn't be so quick to judge a boy by the amount of hair oil he wore. (Ch. 12) 

Pony calls his English teacher to ask how long his paper can be.  Then he writes the story of what happened to Johnny. It is more than just a homework assignment.  It is Pony’s acknowledgement that he will make something of himself, and honor Johnny’s memory.

Who did Atticus think killed Bob Ewell at first?

At first, Atticus thought that Jem had killed Bob Ewell. Atticus started thinking of what the trial would be like. He knew it was the right thing for his son to face a judge for a murder charge. Heck Tate, the sheriff, did not agree with Atticus. Atticus thought that Heck was suggesting a cover-up. Heck assured him that no, Jem did not kill Bob Ewell. Atticus was hesitant, but Heck did not budge:

"Mr. Finch," Mr. Tate said stolidly, "Bob Ewell fell on his knife. He killed himself" (To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 30).

Heck knew that Boo Radley had killed Bob Ewell, and not Jem. Heck and Atticus continued to disagree on the topic. Their discussion continued until Atticus realized what Heck was doing. He was not trying to protect Jem from facing a murder trial. Instead, he was trying to protect Boo Radley from it.

What is the main idea of "La Belle Dame sans Merci" by Keats?

There have been many interpretations of this poem. Mine is that the beautiful and cruel woman of the ballad is a personification of nature. It is easy to fall in love with nature, but in the end she is cruel because she claims you in death, as she does all the "death pale" kings, princes and warriors.

I saw pale kings and princes too,
   Pale warriors, death pale were they all,
They cried -- "Le Belle Dame sans Merci
   Hath thee in thrall!"

We are all destined to become part of nature again--to be slowly absorbed into the soil, the roots, the trunks, branches, leaves and blossoms of the trees we loved while we were alive. John Keats died at an extremely early age. He was only twenty-five. Much of his poetry is haunted by his feelings about death, and "La Belle Dame sans Merci" is a prime example. Those feelings are not of fear but of a characteristic mood. He always sees nature through a veil of melancholy. He has seen his brother die of tuberculosis and knows what to expect for himself. He is tormented by the thought that he has to leave the world in which he finds so much that is beautiful for him to love, not excluding Fanny Brawne, the beautiful girl he loved. 

What points can I write about in regards to Macbeth's downfall for an essay?

Macbeth is not respected by his subordinates or by the Scottish people, because they all know he is a murderer, a traitor, and an usurper. He cannot rule by being loved, as did Duncan, so he ends up trying to rule by force and fear. Macbeth is a good warrior but not a good ruler. This leads to chaotic conditions in Scotland, and it is the chaotic conditions that cause his downfall. These conditions are described by Ross when he goes to see Malcolm and Macduff in England.

Alas, poor country,
Almost afraid to know itself! It cannot
Be call'd our mother, but our grave. Where nothing,
But who knows nothing, is once seen to smile;
Where sighs and groans and shrieks that rend the air,
Are made, not mark'd; where violent sorrow seems
A modern ecstasy. The dead man's knell
Is there scarce ask'd for who, and good men's lives
Expire before the flowers in their caps,
Dying or ere they sicken.

Macbeth's downfall is caused by the army sent to Scotland by the English king. He would not have sent the army unless he felt that his own country might suffer from the conditions described by Ross. Such conditions might lead to disruption of trade between the two countries, to an unmanageable influx of refugees from Scotland, to hostilities between Scotland and England, or to incursions by desperate homeless men who had formed into bands of killers and plunderers. 

How does the sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God", typify the spirit of the Great Awakening?

Jonathan Edwards’ sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” typifies the spirit of the Great Awakening because it argues that people should have a personal and emotional relationship with God.  This idea went against the prevailing Calvinist idea of predestination and a very detached relationship with God.

The Puritans believed that God had already chosen which people were going to Heaven and which were going to Hell.  There was nothing people could do and nothing they could believe which would change their destiny.  A person could love God with all their heart and do their best to act the way God wants, but could still be condemned to Hell.  In such a belief system, there is little room for an emotional relationship with God.  Such a relationship would not benefit a person in any way.

The Great Awakening pushed back against this idea.  It held that people could achieve salvation, or at least make it more likely, by loving and appreciating God.  Contrary to what the Puritans believed, the Great Awakening said that a person who opened his or her heart to God would have a better chance at salvation.  Edwards told his listeners that many other people had been sinners just like them but that those people had accepted God and

are in now an happy state, with their hearts filled with love to him that has loved them and washed them from their sins in his own blood, and rejoicing in hope of the glory of God.

This passage would have made no sense to the Puritans.  They would have said that whether a person loved God was irrelevant and gave no greater “hope of the glory of God.”  The Great Awakening, however, argued that it really mattered if people loved God and had an emotional relationship with him.  Edwards’ sermon typifies this idea because it outlines the ways in which people should feel sad for having disappointed God and the ways in which they should increase their hope of salvation by loving him.

What leads Sherlock Holmes to think that Jabez Wilson has done manual labor?

In "The Red-Headed League," Sherlock Holmes deduces that his visitor Jabez Wilson has done manual labor in his earlier life from the following observation. When Wilson asks:

“How did you know, for example, that I did manual labour. It's as true as gospel, for I began as a ship's carpenter.”

Holmes replies:

“Your hands, my dear sir. Your right hand is quite a size larger than your left. You have worked with it, and the muscles are more developed.”

The purpose of many of Holmes' deductions from Wilson's physical characteristics, his clothing, and his small decorations is to establish that the visitor must have been out of the country for a long time. This would explain why he might never have heard about the formation of the Red-Headed League by the American millionaire, Ezekiah Hopkins. Otherwise, a man with his flaming red hair should have heard about it because it was, according to his new assistant, a big news item for quite some time after it was founded. Customers would have called it to his attention, just as Vincent Spaulding did when he brought him the newspaper and said:

“‘I wish to the Lord, Mr. Wilson, that I was a red-headed man.’ ”

In those days of wooden sailing ships it would have taken as long as a year to get from England to China, and then another year to get back to England. If Wilson made a number of such voyages he would be far away from London for many years and would have had little news about events in that city. The fact that he had spent time in China was also shown by the tattoo on his wrist and the little Chinese coin attached to his watch chain. Even when Wilson was established in business in London, he did not get very much information about what was going on in the big city. He tells the consulting detective:

"You see, Mr. Holmes, I am a very stay-at-home man, and as my business came to me instead of my having to go to it, I was often weeks on end without putting my foot over the door-mat. In that way I didn't know much of what was going on outside, and I was always glad of a bit of news.”

The author of "The Adventure of the Red-Headed League," Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, took considerable pains to make it plausible that Wilson, a man with such brilliant red hair, would not have heard about what his assistant tells him was the talk of the town when the fictitious Ezekiah Hopkins established the nonexistent Red-Headed League. Wilson is portrayed as a penny-pincher. He was not likely to go out and buy a newspaper every morning, so he would never see a reference to the League in the papers. The first newspaper he had seen in a long time was the one Vincent Spaulding brought him in order to entice him to apply for the opening in the League being advertised in the in the ad Spaulding himself had just inserted in The Morning Chronicle of April 27, 1890.

“TO THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE: On account of the bequest of the late Ezekiah Hopkins, of Lebanon, Pennsylvania, U. S. A., there is now another vacancy open which entitles a member of the League to a salary of £4 a week for purely nominal services. All redheaded men who are sound in body and mind and above the age of twenty-one years, are eligible. Apply in person on Monday, at eleven o'clock, to Duncan Ross, at the offices of the League, 7 Pope's Court, Fleet Street.”

What is the meaning of diffusion in biology? Please describe it in a way in which a seventh grader can understand.

Diffusion is a process that involves random movement of molecules from where they are concentrated to where they are less concentrated. Eventually, when the molecules are equally distributed in the solution, it has reached an equilibrium.

An easy example to visualize is if you dropped some red food coloring into a glass of water. Without stirring it, the dye would start to spread out in all directions. Eventually, if you looked at the glass of water hours later, the red dye would have spread throughout the water. No input of energy is required for this to happen. Diffusion is called passive transport because particles move constantly on their own. 

Another practical example of diffusion is when someone passes a bakery and the smell of baked goods seems to spread in all directions through the air. The higher concentration of the odor is inside the bakery relative to the air outside the bakery and thus diffusion occurs from high to low concentration.

In order to stay alive, cells require substances to enter or exit and sometimes the process of diffusion is how these molecules are transported.

Cells are surrounded by cell membranes that are selectively permeable. This means that certain molecules are allowed to pass into or out of a cell. Molecules of water are able to diffuse across a cell membrane as long as there is a higher concentration of water on one side of the membrane relative to the other.  So, if a cell is placed in a drop of water, there will be more water outside the cell compared to inside. Diffusion will occur from high concentration (outside the cell membrane) to lower concentration (inside the cell) and the cell will gain water and swell in size.

These are just three examples of the process of diffusion. This process requires no additional input of energy and relies upon the random movements of particles in a solution. I have included a link to an excellent animation demonstrating the process of diffusion.

How did Nixons policy of détente develop under the administrations of Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter?

The policy of détente was formulated during the Nixon Administration primarily by Henry Kissinger, the National Security Advisor and later Secretary of State under Nixon and Gerald Ford. Nixon had sought improved relations with the Soviet Union under Leonid Brezhnev in order to bring about nuclear arms reductions, decreased tensions in the developing world, and above all an end to the war in Vietnam. Nixon staged a historic visit to China, negotiated a (temporary, as it turned out) peace in Vietnam, and concluded the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) with the Soviet Union. Kissinger remained as Secretary of State under Gerald Ford, but the equilibrium established by détente was threatened by the collapse of the Geneva Accords when North Vietnam invaded and conquered the South. Ford, along with Brezhnev, signed the Helsinki Accords, which essentially recognized the borders of Western Europe as well as the Communist regimes in the East.

Under President Jimmy Carter, détente became harder to sustain. Carter made a commitment early in his presidency to human rights, and criticized the lack of commitment to this issue on the part of the Soviets. Indeed, under Carter, the commitment to détente began to give way to a more strident foreign policy. Carter began a significant buildup of the U.S. military, one which would continue under his successor Ronald Reagan. It can be argued that détente came to an end for good with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. In 1980, the election of Ronald Reagan saw the arrival of a President who based his campaign in part upon the idea that détente was immoral, an agreement to coexist with what he would later call an "evil empire" that was inconsistent with American values. So certainly by 1981, détente was a thing of the past.

Which enzymes are present in pancreatic and intestinal juice?

Pancreatic juice is an alkaline secretion of the pancreas, a large gland which sits somewhat behind the stomach from where it empties its secretions into the upper part of the intestine called the duodenum. This is regarded as the exocrine function of the pancreas. In addition to pancreatic juice, the pancreas secrets hormones, mainly insulin and glucagon, a role which is regarded as the endocrine function of the pancreas.

The pancreas plays a very significant role in food digestion because the enzymes contained in the pancreatic juice partially or completely break down the carbohydrates, proteins and fat we eat.

An enzyme called the pancreatic amylase is the enzyme contained in pancreatic juice which is responsible for completing the digestion of carbohydrates. Trypsin and chymotrypsin are the enzymes contained in pancreatic juice which complete the digestion of proteins and another enzyme called lipase is the enzyme responsible for the breakdown of fat.

A digestive juice called bile originates from the liver and it is transported in the common bile duct which joins the pancreatic duct carrying pancreatic juice  to form the ampulla of vater. It is through the ampulla of vater that both contents are discharged into the first part of the intestine called the duodenum. 

"In Another Country," which sentence shows the low self-esteem of the soldiers and their belief that being a soldier has nothing to do with bravery?

It’s hard to point to a single sentence that conveys Hemingway’s attitude toward the war. In this short slice-of-life piece, there are a few details that stand out:

1. The doctor and his physical therapy machines, which are clearly inadequate to the task of rehabilitation. Despite the doctor’s assurances, the narrator clearly isn’t going to be playing football “like a champion” anytime soon. This skepticism is voiced by the major, who, when asked if he had confidence in the therapy, simply says “no.”


2. The boy who sometimes comes with the narrator to the café and who lost his nose “within an hour after he had gone into the front line for the first time.”


3. The people in the communist quarter that heckle the wounded officers on their way to the café.

Taken together, these details suggest a kind of weary understanding of the senseless destruction of the war, and how the “hope” held out by the hospital for a recovery is obviously false one. If there is one sentence that expresses this, it would be Hemingway’s ironic comment about the machines:

Beyond the old hospital were the new brick pavilions, and there we met every afternoon and were all very polite and interested in what was the matter, and sat in the machines that were to make so much difference.

Of course, the machines are not going to make any difference at all.

What did Nat notice when observing the birds?

At the beginning of the story, when Nat is eating lunch, he observes a great change in the birds. While "great flocks" of the birds continue to come to the peninsula, they appear "restless" and "uneasy." This change in behavior is especially prominent when the birds feed: they are never still but do not appear hungry, nor are they satisfied after eating.

Nat observes this strange behaviour among all of the avian species on the peninsula. Down in the bay, for example, the seabirds are not as restless as those on the land, but they still possess this strange sense of purpose:

Crying, whistling, calling, they skimmed the placid sea and left the shore.

Nat also observes that some species of bird have come together to form a type of partnership. The jackdaw and the gull, for example, are not usually companions but, as Nat observes, they have started to "mingle" together and seem to be driven by the same restless feeling.

These observations not only set the story's scene but also foreshadow the forthcoming battles between the humans and the birds.

In Zora Neale Hurston's essay "How It Feels to be Colored Me," what happens when she goes to The New World Cabaret?

She goes to The New World Cabaret, a popular nightclub in Harlem during the 1920s, with a white male friend to listen to a jazz band. There, she says, "[her] color comes." That is, she feels this music on an instinctive level:

I dance wildly inside myself; I yell within, I whoop; I shake my assegai above my head, I hurl it true to the mark yeeeeeooww! I am in the jungle and living in the jungle way...But the piece ends...I creep back slowly to the veneer we call civilization with the last tone and find the white friend sitting motionless in his seat smoking calmly.

Notice that she writes that all of this is happening "inside" of her. She does not express herself physically, but remains seated while listening and responding privately. The music evokes a sensibility that is non-Western -- hence, the reference to the "assegai." 

Arguably, Hurston romanticizes Africa and African-inspired themes, particularly by referencing "the jungle" and "living in the jungle way." She is not fetishizing Africa, but contrasting African forms of expression with those in Europe and America. In Africa, one can feel music and channel that feeling into an individualized physical response. In Europe, music is more cerebral and dance movements are subjected to rules about form; that way, everyone is in sync and knows what to do (e.g., waltzes).

"The white friend" has a cerebral, or analytic, response to the music:

"Good music they have here," he remarks, drumming the table with his fingertips. 

Music. The great blobs of purple and red emotion have not touched him. He has only heard what I felt...

He has "only heard" it, meaning he has responded passively to the music. His judgment of it being "good" is an analytic response, not an emotional one. 

In this scene, Hurston illustrates what she perceives to be a difference between black and white people. She does not judge the man negatively for this, but merely sees that they are different and distant from each other on this matter, whereas, when they arrived at the club, they "[entered] chatting about any little nothing that we have in common."

In the novel The Known World, what world does Calvin chart and describe in his letter to his sister Caldonia?

Edward P. Jones’ historical novel The Known World tackles themes about what constitutes our physical and metaphysical knowledge of the world. Is the known world an objective place, essentially “what you see is what you get,” or are there hidden elements that become visible only when the past, present, and future collide? Jones explores this idea in Calvin Townsend’s letter to his sister Caldonia in the novel’s denouement. Calvin describes two paintings by one of their family’s former slaves. The first painting is a realistic landscape of Townsend County (Calvin and Caledonia’s childhood home) and the second painting contains the Townsend’s slave quarters with images of living slaves as well as slaves who passed away. This God's eye view painting leaves Calvin with the impression that the artist was “soft in the head.” (385)

It seems that the world Calvin charts in his letter is the world as he sees it, the more realistic (and less painful) first landscape painting. The second painting, which melds past and present into one singular moment, provides an accurate history of who inhabited his family’s slave quarters. Calvin charts the first world in an attempt to understand God’s plan, but he ultimately concludes that understanding the known world is a futile quest. Calvin seems to believe that only God can grasp the true objective nature of the world He created.

How have African-Americans become active agents in responding to the problems of the post-Reconstruction era?

African-Americans became active participants in dealing with the problems they faced as a result of the segregation and the denial of some of their rights after Reconstruction ended. When Reconstruction ended, white southerners regained control of the state governments in the South. Laws that had been passed during Reconstruction that allowed African-Americans to exercise their rights were ignored or overturned. For example, people had to pay a poll tax or pass a literacy test in order to vote. Many African-Americans were unable to do these things because they had never attended school and/or were too poor to pay the tax.

In the late 1800s and the early 1900s, there were two leading African-American thinkers who had differing views on how to deal with the denial of rights. Booker T. Washington wanted African-Americans to focus on vocational training so they could get a job and be on a more solid footing economically. He founded the Tuskegee Institute to help African-Americans accomplish this. W.E.B. Du Bois wanted African-Americans to get all of their rights at the same time. While Booker T. Washington wanted African-Americans to delay the fight for political equality until they were economically secure, W.E.B. Du Bois wanted African-Americans to fight for all of their rights at the same time. He was one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

The NAACP believed in using the courts to achieve equality. They also encouraged Congress to pass laws. This organization filed many lawsuits. These lawsuits dealt with segregation and the denial of voting rights for African-Americans. They worked for the passage of anti-lynching laws and laws which fought segregation.

African-Americans also protested their lack of rights. A. Philip Randolph threatened a march on Washington, D.C. if President Roosevelt wouldn’t act on ending the discrimination that existed in the hiring of workers at federal defense plants during World War II. This threat led to an executive order to stop this discriminatory practice. African-Americans protested bus segregation in Montgomery and the lack of registered African-American voters in Selma.

African-Americans were active participants in the fight to reverse the segregation and the denial of rights that they faced as a result of actions that occurred after Reconstruction ended.

Can you help me summarize and explain José Julián Martí Pérez' poem "I Dream Awake"? Can you explain what he did for his culture?

José Julián Martí Pérez wrote his poem “I Dream Awake” to express his passion for Cuban independence from Spain. He believed that Cuba should be a country with its own government and lifestyle. Using his poetry and other literary works, he expressed his displeasure with the oppressive Spanish governance of his homeland.

In the poem, “I Dream Awake” he creates vivid imagery of a child calling out for José Martí’s help to free him. This child is symbolic of the Cuban people who are looking to him. The poem paints a picture of a man whose thoughts are focused on saving that “child” no matter where he is or what he is doing. He wants nothing more than Cuba to be a democratic country, free of Spanish rule.

Because of his work as a writer, philosopher, educator, and the leader of the Cuban Revolutionary Party, José Julián Martí Pérez became known as the “Apostle of Cuban Independence." He believed Cuba should be independent of Spain, and he opposed its purchase by America.

Explain the differences between the Articles of Confederation and by the U.S. Constitution.

The Articles of Confederation (AOC) crucially lacked the authority to raise revenue through taxation, or coin money, and thus could not fund a well-trained or well-equipped army, or create a navy. The Articles of Confederation did create a unicameral legislature, as opposed to the bicameral one later created by the Constitution (with the Senate and House of Representatives), but this unicameral body lacked the ability to raise revenue and appropriate spending. Consequently, the legislative body created by the AOC was extremely limited in its ability to govern.

Luckily, the Articles of Confederation did appoint George Washington as the head of the Continental Army, but it did not create an executive branch of government, so it lacked a clear leader who could mediate differences that arose within the single legislative branch. That said, this kind of mediation was less necessary with regard to the AOC, since the AOC's main objective was to unite the colonies for the purposes of fighting the British, and not to create a new government. In fact, it was not clear at the time that the delegates from the thirteen colonies truly wanted or needed a strong central government. This is perhaps the biggest difference between the AOC and the Constitution. The former was a quickly drafted agreement meant as a placeholder to help the colonists organize their war effort, whereas the Constitution was drawn up after the war had ended, and the business of governing a new nation was paramount.

What was the most important rule in William Golding's Lord of the Flies?

In the novel, the most important thing for the boys to do is to keep the signal fire lit because it is their only hope for being rescued. Ralph, as chief, establishes the rule early on that the fire must be tended constantly, and Jack volunteers his hunters to keep the fire going and to act as lookouts. However, Jack fails in this role, deliberately drawing Samneric away from the fire in order to help the hunters. Just at that time, a ship passes the island; had the fire been going, the boys might have been rescued. Ralph is furious and calls a meeting to reiterate the rules. He emphasizes the role of the signal fire several times. First, he says:

"Look at us! How many are we? And yet we can't keep a fire going to make smoke. Don't you understand? Can't you see we ought to--ought to die before we let the fire go out?"

Ralph makes the fire a matter of life and death--which it is. The hunters laugh self-consciously a this, and Ralph says, "I tell you the smoke is more important than the pig, however often you kill one. Do all of you see?" He then sums up, "We've got to make smoke up there--or die." 

Later, when "the beast" is believed to occupy the mountain top, Ralph becomes very discouraged and says, "So we can't have a signal fire. ... We're beaten." After the death of Simon, Ralph starts to lose focus and Piggy is the one who has to keep reminding him and the others of the importance of keeping the fire lit. Ironically, it is Jack's fire, meant to smoke out Ralph so they can murder him, that results in the boys' rescue--just in the nick of time.

What perspective is "The Masque of the Red Death" told from?

This is an excellent question and substantially more difficult to answer than it seems!  The narrator does use the first-person pronoun "I" twice in the story, indicating that it is written from a first-person perspective; this would lead us to believe that the narrator is, on some level, a participant.  As the ebony clock strikes midnight for the last time, the narrator says, "And then the music ceased, as I have told; and the evolutions of the waltzers were quieted [...]."  Further, in describing the strange effect that seeing the Red Death has on the courtiers, he says that "In an assembly of phantasms such as I have painted, it may well be supposed that no ordinary appearance could have excited such sensation."  As a result of these two first-person references, we might assume that either the narrator is present at the masquerade (perhaps even the Red Death itself?) or that he is some kind of omniscient figure outside of the story (perhaps the author himself?). 

We know this narrator to be omniscient because he does know the thoughts and feelings of all the characters.  Of the courtiers, he says, "There are some who would have thought [Prince Prospero] mad. His followers felt that he was not."  Moreover, he describes them as eventually having "found leisure to become aware of the presence of a masked figure which had arrested the attention of no single individual before."  In order to describe their thoughts as well as their feelings and the persons of which they are or are not aware, the narrator must be omniscient.  Further, at the end of the story, the narrator describes the way in which the prince, "maddening with rage and the shame of his own momentary cowardice [in the face of the Red Death], rushed hurriedly through the six chambers [...]."  The narrator knows that the prince feels rage and shame and cowardice, knowledge that would not be possible were he not omniscient.

Therefore, we have an odd mixture of the first-person perspective with an attribute much more typical of third-person narrators: omniscience.  The narrator refers to himself as "I" but also has knowledge of all the characters' thoughts and feelings.  Thus, first-person omniscient seems to be the appropriate -- if atypical -- description of this story's perspective.

I wrote an essay about how the symbols of the green light, the eyes of TJ Eckleburg, and the color white relate to the theme of the corrupt...

This sounds like a great essay, connecting three symbols in The Great Gatsby to the American dream.  For your conclusion, you will need to do a little review for your reader.  By that I mean that you need to remind your reader of what your main idea, your thesis, is and also remind your reader that these are the three symbols you used to support your thesis. You need to avoid using exactly the same language you used in the thesis statement. In other words, your conclusion should not repeat your thesis statement word for word. We never want to exactly repeat ourselves in our writing. A conclusion can also make some general comments on your thesis. For example, you might want to say something about the American dream having always been futile and corrupt or that it continues to be corrupt in today's world. Or you could comment on the pain of the characters, having suffered for a corrupt illusion.  A little editorial commentary in a conclusion is often effective.  What you want to bear in mind is that a conclusion should, to at least some degree, provide some symmetry to your essay, so that you are closing as you began. 

How can I analyze Hearn's description of the cotton press at the beginning of "Inventing New Orleans"? What is its symbolic significance? What...

a) Hearn's description of the cotton press and its symbolic significance.

Hearn characterizes the cotton press as a large and imposing leviathan, a machine (along with the cotton gin) that forms the backbone of the cotton industry in 19th century America. In fact, both the cotton gin and press were largely responsible for ushering in the industrial revolution to the United States. These machines revolutionized cotton production and raised the yearly American value of the crop from a typical $150,000 to more than $8 million. To ensure that production occurred at an optimal pace, slaves were utilized. Not only were they used to plant the cotton crops, they also had to drag or roll huge bales of heavy cotton to the presses.

So, the significance of the cotton press is central to Hearn's argument. It symbolizes not only progress and industry but also the entrenchment of slavery in the deep American South. In the excerpt, Hearn describes the cotton press as a frightening monster:

The spectacle of this colossal press in motion is really terrific. It is like a nightmare of iron and brass. It does not press downward but upward. It is not a press as we understand the term generally, but an enormous mouth of metal which seizes the bale and crushes it in its teeth...a monstrous head of living iron and brass... having pointed gaps in its face like Gothic eyes...a mouth five feet wide...the lower jaw alone moves...worked by two vast iron tendons, long and thick and solid as church pillars.

Hearn states that two black men (presumably slaves) had to roll a plantation bale of upwards to a thousand pounds into the mouth of the cotton press. He compares the press to one of those machines with "horrible, yawning heads...through which awful jaws the sacrificial victims passed." Essentially, Hearn characterizes the cotton press as a symbol of an industry that devours unsuspecting slaves in its grasp.

b) Brief overview of Hearn's first impression of New Orleans as he travels on the Mississippi from Memphis.

As Louisiana's largest city and one of America's major ports, New Orleans was significant even in Hearn's time. The city is located along the Mississippi River, which allows Hearn to relate his first impressions of it as he travels on the river from Memphis.

Since you require Hearn's first impression of New Orleans, I will first concentrate on his initial view of the city and then provide a brief overview of his impression.

As he approaches the New Orleans port, he notices that there are eighteen miles of levee, and this fascinates him. In the center of the wharves and piers, he describes the enormous Cotton and Sugar Landings, the imposing sugar shacks, and the rising smoke from the cotton-press furnaces. Most notably, there are all manner of sea vessels, representing the countries of the globe, gliding along the wide expanse of the river. Hearn describes:

...barks and brigs, schooners and brigantines, frigates and merchantmen, of all tonnages--ships of light and graceful build ...deep-bellied steamers with East Indian names...strong-bodied vessels from Norway and all the Scandinavian ports; tight looking packets from English ports; traders under German, Dutch, Italian, French, and Spanish flags; barks from the Mediterranean; shapely craft from West-Indian harbors...

Hearn's first impression of New Orleans is that it is a fascinating place, mainly because it reminds him of some aspect of his homeland. Hearn asserts that New Orleans "resembles no other city upon the face of the earth, yet it recalls vague memories of a hundred cities." He maintains that this is the main charm inherent in New Orleans: that it reminds each foreigner of his own homeland and of the things he treasures.

Why does Scout say the Radley place has ceased to terrify her in Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird?

Scout is no longer terrified by the Radley place as she stands on the porch and looks across at her own house because she is finally able to "climb into [another's] skin and walk around in it."

Having met Arthur Radley in her home and realized how timid--yet courageous in love--he is, Scout now perceives him as a real person of genuine emotion and a certain dignity. Whatever has occurred in his past, Boo Radley has proven himself the strongest of Christians because he has risked his own life to save those of the two children he has loved from the distance of his window.

In Chapter 31, Scout walks Arthur home, taking his arm as though he escorts her down the street as a gentleman would, just in case Miss Stephanie or others see them. Once on his porch, Arthur quietly enters his house and silently goes inside and shuts the door. This is the last time Scout ever sees him; however, she is left with a lasting impression:

Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough.

When she returns home, Scout tells her father that during the attack by Bob Ewell, she was not frightened. "...nothin's really scary except in books." Later, as she starts to fall asleep, Scout tells her father that Arthur is "real nice." Atticus responds, "Most people are...when you finally see them."

As she stands on the Radley porch, Scout has finally "seen" Arthur Radley as a person of genuine character. 

Compare and contrast the characters of Volumnia and Virgilia with regards to gender stereotypes and what it means to be a woman in Rome.

While Volumnia cherishes the masculine thirst for combat in her maternal breast, her daughter-in-law, Virgilia, typifies the traditional Roman wife. In the play, Virgilia is quiet and unassuming; she says very little (as befits a good Roman wife) and often capitulates to the whims of her domineering mother-in-law.

Shakespearean critics have often commented on the seeming discrepancy between how a Roman wife was expected to act in her time (as characterized by Virgilia) and how a woman like Volumnia managed to transcend the expectations of her time. Certainly, Volumnia is no typical Roman mother. She is the main power and inspiration behind Coriolanus' war exploits, and she definitely dominates both her son and daughter-in-law in the domestic sphere as well.

In ancient Rome, women were expected to derive their greatest satisfaction from the home; mothers especially were viewed as the preservers of Roman civilization and culture. Youthful marriages were encouraged, with girls being married off as young as fourteen years of age. Additionally, chastity was the prime feminine virtue; virgin wives were said to ensure the purity of paternal heritage. At the same time, Roman society tolerated extra-marital flings by husbands. Men could consort with prostitutes, but women were generally labelled promiscuous for engaging in similar acts.

Women were also differentiated by the manner of their dress. Respectable women wore stolas (long dresses), while prostitutes wore togas.  A man could have a wife or a concubine, but not both. The concubine was considered one step below a wife and a step above a prostitute.

As a rule, women were given no roles in the public sphere: they were largely prohibited from participating in any sort of political activity. For example, Roman women could not vote, speak, or campaign at political assemblies; certainly, all business, financial, and law interests required the intervention of male representation and input. Informally, a woman could influence her husband or male lover privately, but that was the extent of female power.

In that sense, Volumnia characterizes the unconventional in terms of Roman femininity. She wields power expertly through manipulating Coriolanus' emotional dependence on her. As the presiding matriarch of the family, it is Volumnia who decides when Coriolanus goes to war and when he forebears (as is the case when he withdraws from attacking Rome with Aufidius). Volumnia represents the many Roman women who chose non-traditional paths after their husbands and/sons died in battle. These women owned and managed their family businesses quietly; they labored courageously on behalf of their children despite the challenges they faced in the midst of personal tragedy.

So, through Volumnia and Virgilia, Shakespeare skilfully juxtaposes the two prevailing conventions of femininity during his time. For more, please refer to the two links below.

In Macbeth's aside on lines 48-53, what does he mean by saying he must "leap over" this step?

Macbeth means that he must leap over Duncan’s son Malcolm to become the next king.

This happens in Act 1, Scene 4. When the stage directions say "aside," that means the character is talking to himself and that other people in the scene probably aren't hearing him. Here's what he says:

(aside) The prince of Cumberland! That is a step
On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap,
For in my way it lies.

He means that the person in his way is Malcolm, the son of the king who, of course, has been named the next king. We know that Macbeth really wants to be the king, even though there's no logical reason he should be! But the witches have promised him that he will be the king, so he thinks that Malcolm's claim to the throne is just a step that's in his way.

Now we know that Macbeth will try to find a way to get Malcolm out of the picture.

This scene, and particularly the aside that you quoted, help us understand how Macbeth has become unnaturally focused on his goal of being king. He doesn't realize that it's normal for a king to pass on his crown to his own son, and because of this, we wonder if Macbeth is a little crazy. His greed and ambition are getting out of hand, but this is just the beginning.

`(1, 1) , y'=-9x/(16y)` Find an equation of the graph that passes through the point and has the given slope

To solve this equation, multiply by `y` and integrate:

`yy' = -9/16 x,`  `int yy' dx = int (-9/16 x) dx,`

`y^2/2 = -9/32 x^2 + C,` or  `y = +-sqrt(C - 9/16 x^2),`

where `C` is an arbitrary constant.

We need to find a suitable constant `C` using the given point. The condition is `y(1) = 1,` or

`1 = +-sqrt(C - 9/16)`  (+ is before the radical obviously).

This gives us  `1 = C - 9/16,` so  `C = 25/16` and the final answer is

`y(x) = +-sqrt(25/16 - 9/16 x^2).`

What is Marquez saying about the rules governing miracles in "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings"?

Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s short story, “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings,” focuses on a family’s experiences after they find an old man with enormous wings lying face down in the mud in their courtyard. The family, as well as others who come in contact with the old man, struggle to understand what he is. They want to believe that he is an angel, but other than having wings and performing some “consolation” miracles, the old man does not fit their understanding of what an angel would or should be.

One interpretation of the story is that the people in the story are so fixated on what they think they know about angels, and the obvious deficiencies of the old man when compared to this ideal image of an angelic being, that they cannot or will not comprehend that his very existence is a wonder, one which they should celebrate rather than criticize. The miracles that he is believed to have performed are of a similar nature:

[T]he few miracles attributed to the angel showed a certain mental disorder, like the blind man who didn’t recover his sight but grew three new teeth, or the paralytic who didn’t get to walk but almost won the lottery, and the leper whose sores sprouted sunflowers. Those consolation miracles, which were more like mocking fun, had already ruined the angel’s reputation…

Like the existence of the old man, two of the three “consolation” miracles attributed to the old man are wonders (the blind man growing new teeth and the leper whose sores sprouted sunflowers), but they are not of the kind expected. The people in the story seem to want the old man to perform miracles that fit with their idea of what a miracle should be, and they are disdainful of the wonders that they do witness because those wonders are not what they think they should be.

Most readers will likely, at least a first, agree with the people in the story regarding the questionable angelic properties of the old man and his miracles. However, it seems likely that this is what Marquez intends as a response. He wants people to think about the nature of the wonders portrayed in the story, and how we might react to witnessing wonders that do not fit our preconceived notions. In this, Marquez is attempting to show us that miracles do not come to us as we ask for them, or as we think they should be, but as things that are unexpected and that may take effort to understand and appreciate.

 

There are 10 cakes: 1 fruit slice, 6 doughnuts and 3 iced buns. Alex takes a cake at random and eats it. He then takes at random a second...

Hello!

Let's solve this by definition of probability, counting all possible events and the desirable ones.

If we remember what cake was eaten first, then there are `10*9 = 90` possible events (the first cake may be any of `10,` the second is any of `9` remaining).

The desirable cases (when the first and the second cakes are different) may be divided into three disjoint subsets: 1) when the first cake is a fruit slice, 2) when the first is a doughnut and 3) when it is an iced bun. We have to count the number of events in these groups and add them.

In the case 1), there is `1` possibility to choose a fruit slice and `9` possibilities to choose a different second cake. Remember `1*9 = 9.`

In the case 2), there are `3` possibilities to choose a doughnut and only `7` to choose a different second cake (`2` remaining doughnuts are not suitable). Remember `3*7 = 21.`

In the case 3) there are `6*(9-5) = 24` possibilities.

The sum is `9+21+24 = 54.`

So the probability in question is `54/90 = 6/10 = 3/5 = 0.6.`

Choose whatever form you prefer.

What are some examples from the text of the boys being affected/changed because of the beast being on the island?

There are at least three beasts that are "on the island" in Lord of the Flies, and each has effects on the boys. The first, the "beast from water," is an imaginary beast that represents the boys' nameless fears. This beast affects the boys in at least two ways. First, the littluns consistently have nightmares and cry during the night. Considering that they have been separated from their homes and families and have endured a traumatic plane crash, this is not surprising. But rather than speaking about what is really bothering them, they imagine a beast. Ralph tries to address the issue and convince the boys their fears are groundless, but during the evening meeting the boys start to get spooked. Jack plays on their fears and leads them onto the beach in defiance of the rules. Ralph fears the boys have become "animals." 

The second beast is the "beast from air," a fallen paratrooper who lands on the island during the night. Samneric discover it, but are too panicked to investigate. They run frightened back to the other boys. Because this beast is on the mountain where the signal fire was, Ralph feels they are beaten and will never be rescued. However, Piggy uses surprising "intellectual daring" and suggests moving the signal fire to the beach. Simon, however, is determined to investigate the beast and climbs alone to the mountain and discovers the truth about it; he returns to the camp with the intention of letting the boys know the good news that the beast is nothing to fear, but they kill him before he can explain.

Finally, the third beast is the Lord of the Flies that Simon sees in his vision. This beast affects Simon by confirming to him that he was right about the beast--it is really "mankind's essential illness," the tendency toward evil that resides inside every person. Unfortunately Simon is unable to share his insights with the other boys; first they mock him when he suggests "maybe it's only us," and then, when he appears at the feast, they murder him, proving that they have succumbed to the very beast Simon tried to warn them about. 

What are the negative effects of empires historically?

Empires are hard to defend as they become larger.  The Japanese Empire in WWII failed due to its size--the navy was simply too small to defend the entire Pacific Ocean from the advancing Americans.  Also, subjugated people inside of an empire must feel a loyalty to their conquerors, or else they will always be a burden to the empire.  The people subjugated by the Aztecs actually joined the Spanish in their war against the dominant group.  This, combined with diseases, allowed less than one hundred conquistadors to defeat the mighty Aztec empire that before this had lasted over five hundred years.  The Romans were never ever to fully make the German tribes part of their empire, and the Goths were part of the reason that the Roman Empire crumbled.  Finally, Hitler had to face opposition from the French and Poles long after these regions had officially fallen to the Nazis.  Empires are also hard to maintain.  Rome spent a lot of money on forts to defend its hinterlands.  The British navy was a major expenditure, especially in the days of steamships.  Even the United States has to spend money on maintaining military bases around the world.  Empires are quite prestigious, but historically they are not meant to last forever.   

How does Martin Luther King use imagery in "Letter from Birmingham City Jail"?

Imagery is a form of figurative language in which an author or speaker uses words and phrases to create mental pictures in the minds of the reader or audience. Mental pictures are created by using words related to the five senses: touch, taste, sight, sound, and smell. In his "Letter from Birmingham City Jail," Martin Luther King effectively uses imagery to capture the injustices his people are suffering.

In his letter, King is addressing a letter written by eight Birmingham clergyman, published in the Birmingham Post Herald. In their public letter, without directly using King's name, the clergymen protested against King's demonstrations being launched in Birmingham, and though the clergymen were against segregation, they were also in favor of patiently waiting for justice to be served. In his letter, King uses a sound image to protest against the idea of waiting for justice in order to promote active peaceful protest:

For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant "Never." We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that "justice too long delayed is justice denied."

Here, in describing the word wait as a piercing, ringing sound, like an alarm bell, King is creating a sound image to relay how agonizing the word wait has become for African Americans. We know it is a sound image because we can literally hear the word wait being spoken by a person, and we can hear a piercing ringing sound, like an alarm bell. King uses this sound image to assert that now is the time for the African-American people to fight for justice.

Sight images are also found in the next paragraph that capture the extent of the injustices the African-American people suffer, such as in the following clauses: "vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will"; "when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sister"; "twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty." All of these are things we can actually see, so we know they count as sight images.

What are some thematic concerns in the General Prologue?

Chaucer's Canterbury Tales was the work that put English on the literary map as a language capable of producing great literature. Before the 'Tales, most great works had been written in Greek, Latin, French, and Italian.

The General Prologue is the first "chapter" in the Tales. In the Prologue Chaucer tells the reader about the pilgrims journey and introduces each of the characters. Thematically, Chaucer gets the reader ready for the characters' tales that follow by describing the various characters' personalities, and in some cases, their moral weaknesses.

Some characters, like the Pardoner, Friar, and Monk, advance the theme of corruption in the church. Characters like the Doctor advance the theme of greed. But there are good characters too, like the Parson and the Plowman, who Chaucer uses to present of theme of simple human goodness based on humility and faith. 

Much of Chaucer's message is delivered with a verbally ironic tone, as he seems to be describing characters in a positive way even when they turn out to be morally corrupt. We are left to wonder if the narrator is just not that bright, or if he just doesn't want to be directly critical of his fellow travelers. 

What are two examples of personification in the epic poem Beowulf?

The epic poem Beowulf is the earliest surviving Old English work. It is believed to have been composed between 600-900 A.D., and then later transcribed by Anglo-Saxon monks in what is now known as England. We have no real idea who created the poem, which might very well be based on Norse stories that travelers or storytellers brought from the north.

Personification is the attribution of human qualities to a nonhuman entity. After Grendel's first attack on Herot, the poet (according to the Burton Raffel translation) says that:

Distance was safety, the only survivors

Were those who fled him. Hate had triumphed.

Hate is personified in this line. When the poet says that it "triumphs" he implies that hate is willful, in the sense that it can try to defeat something, like a human being would do.

Later, the poet tells us that as a result of his misery, Hrothgar is miserable. He uses personification when he says:

His misery leaped 

The seas, was told and sung in all

Men's ears.

We know that misery cannot actually "leap." The poet means that the story of Hrothgar's misery was told by travelers, eventually making it to Beowulf's ears. Since Beowulf lived across  the sea from Hrothgar, saying that misery "leaped" gives the reader (or listener, when the story was first being told) a nice image, a sense of action as the story is told, then re-told, until Beowulf hears it. 

How does colonization change Nwoye in Things Fall Apart?

In Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart, Nwoye is the son of the protagonist Okonkwo. Nwoye initially idolizes his father, who is perceived as the height of Igbo masculinity. This idolatry is compounded by the fact that Okonkwo is extremely derisive of Nwoye, dismissing him as weak and effeminate. Okonkwo's violent rejection of Nwoye makes Nwoye simply love him more and work harder for his approval. 

This relationship is undermined by Okonkwo's role in the death of Ikemefuna, his adoptive son. Unlike Nwoye, Ikemefuna was developing into a promising young man, and he and Nwoye became very close. Okonkwo himself remarks on the positive effects that Ikemefuna has on Nwoye's masculine development. 

With Ikemefuna's death, Nwoye is sent reeling without either role model. He cannot model his own growth on Ikemefuna's, and so retreats into his status as an outlier of Igbo society. He also can no longer truly model himself after his father, whose actions he finds so deplorable. 

As such, with the arrival of the missionaries and European colonization, Nwoye takes advantage of an opportunity to belong to a community. He fully embraces Christianity, a society in which many of his characteristics, perceived as weaknesses by the Igbo, are strengths. He goes so far as to change his name, reject his culture, and leave his home. As strongly as Okonkwo fights against colonization, Nwoye embraces it. 

What are symbols in Hoops?

The symbols in Hoops reveal to Lonnie the depth in the modern world.

One symbol is the game of basketball. Lonnie is skilled at playing basketball. However, it is more than just a game. It is symbolic of escape. Lonnie understands that his basketball talents can help him get out of Harlem. Basketball symbolizes a way to gain fame and wealth. It also represents a way for Lonnie to have a modicum of control over his life. As he befriends his coach, Cal, Lonnie comes to realize that basketball is symbolic of life itself. Cal communicates this symbolism when he tells Lonnie that “Everybody plays the game with what they got.” Lonnie is able to learn life lessons from basketball, reflecting its symbolic purpose in Hoops.

Another symbol is Cal. Lonnie's coach symbolizes the downside of dreams. Like Lonnie, Cal possessed great skill in the game of basketball. However, Cal succumbed to negative influences like gambling and point shaving in games. Cal's disgrace and downfall is a symbol to Lonnie. Through Cal, Lonnie learns the importance of doing what is right and following the morally correct path when pursuing a dream. Cal is a symbol of what not to be.

Over time, Lonnie sees Cal as more than a "wino." He learns the dangers that the world can exert on a dream. When Cal puts Lonnie in at the end of the championship game, essentially guaranteeing his own demise, the coach's symbolism becomes most evident. He is a sacrificial figure who wants to do what is right in the hopes that Lonnie will avoid the mistakes that he could not.

What songs could be paired with quotes in Sophocles' Antigone that reflect life lessons?

As a prophet, Tiresias speaks words that represent life lessons.  This is very much the case when he speaks about people's mistakes:  “All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride.”  Tiresias warns of the hubris, or excessive pride, within human beings.  The life lesson he offers is how goodness lies in humility and acceptance of wrong to make things right.  In that vein, a potential response to Tiresias could be Frank Sinatra's "My Way." Sinatra sings the song as a man reflecting about his triumphs and mistakes. The overwhelming tone of the song is a resolution that what was done was done "my way."  Tiresias's call to relent from self-aggrandizement is countered with the tone of Sinatra's "My Way."  It might be interesting to cast Tiresias's words against the sentiments of Sinatra's tune.

When Creon is initially informed that someone has given Polynices a proper burial, he is disgusted.  He believes that the person who committed such an act must have been bribed with money to do so.  He communicates his anger at such a situation when he says, “There's nothing in the world so demoralizing as money.”  Creon believes that a life dedicated to material pursuits is no life at all. The "demoralizing" condition of money is effectively brought out in Pink Floyd's "Money."  The song is an indictment of a materialist culture where everyone is motivated by money.  Creon finds that human beings are lowered when they act for money, echoed in lyrics such as "Don't take a slice of my pie" and "Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash."  

The ending of Antigone has the Chorus speak about what human beings can do avoid the turbulence that has just been witnessed in the drama.  The Chorus speaks of how wisdom can be achieved: "Wisdom is the supreme part of happiness; and reverence towards the gods must be inviolate."  The life lesson is to embrace the will of the divine.  It calls upon individuals to recognize their own place in something larger. With that in mind, The Beatles's "Let It Be" connects to the Chorus's message.  Creon and Antigone cling so tightly to their beliefs that nothing else can be recognized.   Hearing Lennon's and McCartney's "words of wisdom" suggest that "there will be an answer" if we just "let it be" or leave it alone.  The song's call for internal reflection can easily connect to what the Chorus is saying to the audience at drama's end.

How does the conflict occur in the poem "Breakfast"?

The conflict in the poem is developed indirectly and the reader is left without any detailed knowledge of its actual nature. The narrative of the poem describes what appears to be a typical breakfast scene. The anonymous narrator describes a man drinking morning coffee and smoking a cigarette. After doing so, he puts on a hat and raincoat and leaves. He performs these acts in complete silence, something the narrator emphasizes in the lines:

Without any word to me
Without any look at me

This suggests that the scene is not one of strangers at a pension but rather of a lovers' or spousal quarrel, especially in light of the narrator crying after the man leaves. We do not know why the man refuses to speak or look at the narrator, as that is not explicitly stated in the poem. However, the lack of communication does suggest some form of conflict.