What was the woman's initial reaction when the boy tried to snatch her purse in the short story "Thank You, Ma'am?"

When the boy in the short story “Thank You, Ma’am” tries to steal Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones’ purse, Mrs. Jones’ first reaction is physical.  She uses physical force against him, apparently to punish him and to prevent him from getting away.

At the beginning of the story, the young man tries to take Mrs. Jones’ purse but falls down while doing so.  Her reaction is to turn around and kick him in the behind.  She then picks him up and shakes him vigorously.  Here is the passage in the story that shows this.  It says that, after he fell down,

the large woman simply turned around and kicked him right square in his blue-jeaned sitter. Then she reached down, picked the boy up by his shirt front, and shook him until his teeth rattled.

Presumably, she kicks him out of anger since kicking him will not necessarily prevent him from escaping.  I assume that she then picks him up and shakes him partly to punish him further and partly to prevent him from escaping.  This physical reaction is her first reaction when he tries to steal her purse.

What countries earned independence from Britain through negotiation?

There are essentially two ways for a country to gain its independence: Diplomacy, and revolution.

The United States of course attained independence from Britain via revolution, as did several countries in Africa (such as Kenya and Zimbabwe). But Canada and Australia did not; they were granted independence by rulings of Parliament after negotiation by their national governments. South Africa and New Zealand also attained independence via diplomacy rather than war.

Yet it's not always clear-cut whether independence was obtained by diplomacy or revolution. Even Canada and Australia likely couldn't have become independent if not for the revolution in the US. Ireland had no single revolution, but a long period of unrest and conflict before it finally officially declared independence. India never had revolution, but the intense public pressure of widespread nonviolent protests seems a bit stronger than "negotiation". And of course, a certain amount of diplomacy was involved in preventing Britain from returning to forcibly reclaim countries like Kenya and Zimbabwe. It's more like a continuum from the most direct, violent revolutions (Kenya) to the most amicable, diplomatic negotiations (Canada).

The simplest way to tell is probably to see if a country still maintains some notion of formal ties with the United Kingdom, as Canada and Australia do, or is considered a totally separate country, like the US and India. When Britain loosened its grip on countries by negotiation, they generally maintained some concept of retaining the country in the UK, while countries that fought their way out generally sought immediate and total independence.

What are some quotes about Bob Ewell?

Bob Ewell is the most despicable and depraved individual in Maycomb County. He is an alcoholic who sexually and physically assaults his daughter, lies in court, and attempts to murder Jem and Scout.

At the beginning of the novel, Scout comes home from her first day of school and tells Atticus that she doesn't want to go to back. She mentions that Burris Ewell doesn't have to go to school, and Atticus explains Burris' unique situation. He tells Scout about the Ewell family and says that the Ewells were permitted special privileges. Atticus says,"Another thing, Mr. Bob Ewell, Burris's father, was permitted to hunt and trap out of season" (Lee 20). Scout asks why Bob is given that privilege, and Atticus says,"...when a man spends his relief checks on green whiskey his children have a way of crying from hunger pains" (Lee 20).

In Chapter 12, Scout asks Cal what Tom Robinson did, and Cal says, "Old Mr. Bob Ewell accused him of rapin' his girl an' had him arrested an' put in jail---" (Lee 76). Bob and his daughter end up fabricating a story, and Tom Robinson is wrongly convicted of a crime he did not commit. Atticus ruins Bob's reputation by exposing the truth and Bob attempts to avenge him. Bob spits in Atticus' face and Atticus casually tells his children, "I wish Bob Ewell wouldn't chew tobacco" (Lee 134).

In Chapter 27, Scout mentions several strange things that happened in the community concerning Bob Ewell and begins by mentioning how he lost his job. She says, "...he was the only man I ever heard of who was fired from the WPA for laziness" (Lee 153). Scout's comment portrays Bob as an extremely lazy individual which only adds to the list of his negative qualities. 

What are three contrasts between Marc Antony and Brutus?

Antony is opportunistic, ambitious and ruthless, while Brutus is optimistic, honorable and naïve.

Antony wants power.  Although he was loyal to Caesar, he took advantage of his death easily and quickly.  Brutus is not at all power-hungry.  He only cares about Rome.  He believes that he can protect Rome from Caesar by killing Caesar.

Antony is ruthless.  He is willing to kill anyone to get what he wants.  A good example of this is the proscription, where he easily condemns men to exile and death, even family members.  Antony does not think twice, because it is what needs to be done to win the war.

Brutus, on the other hand, believes in limiting violence to what they must do.  He wants Caesar’s death to be clean and seem like a tyrant-killing and not a murder.  Killing a tyrant is justified, in Brutus’s mind.  He believes they are liberators and the Romans are slaves to Caesar.

Let us be sacrificers, but not butchers, Caius.
We all stand up against the spirit of Caesar;
And in the spirit of men there is no blood:
O, that we then could come by Caesar's spirit,
And not dismember Caesar! But, alas,
Caesar must bleed for it! (Act 2, Scene 1)

Antony is not naïve.  He takes action when he needs to.  He carefully whips the crowd into a frenzy at Caesar’s funeral, and makes sure that he trades on their affection for Caesar.  Antony realized that Octavius might be a problem. He made sure he was not there when he gave the speech.  He did not want to share the credit.  Brutus had no idea that this would happen.  He made a mistake in leaving Antony alive, and a bigger one in not listening to Cassius and letting him speak at the funeral. 

Antony acknowledges that Brutus is honorable.

This was the noblest Roman of them all:
All the conspirators save only he
Did that they did in envy of great Caesar;
He only, in a general honest thought
And common good to all, made one of them.
His life was gentle, and the elements
So mix'd in him that Nature might stand up
And say to all the world 'This was a man!' (Act 5, Scene 5)

In many ways, Antony and Brutus are opposites.  Brutus is an optimist, thinking things will turn out okay.  Antony takes advantage of opportunities as soon as they arise.  For all of Brutus’s nobility, Antony is ambitious.  He hopes to gain personally from his rise to power.  Antony is also ruthless, willing to do whatever it takes while Brutus naively tries to do the right thing.

Terminal ________ form when a glacier deposits unconsolidated sediments at the front of a glacier.

As glaciers extend across a landscape, they pick up unconsolidated sediments from the ground and transport them. Other sediments may be deposited onto a glacier's surface layer from nearby debris falls. In addition, a glacier may erode nearby surfaces and incorporate material into its mass.

As a glacier continues to move, it pushes any collected debris forward. When a glacier reaches its final (terminal) location, the glacial front (terminus) deposits some of this debris in a ridge-like formation called a terminal moraine. After the glacier retreats, it leaves behind the moraine. 

Scientists study terminal moraines to infer the maximum extent of specific glaciers. Multiple terminal moraines in a single area hints at multiple glaciations in descending advance. (If a terminal moraine exists behind another terminal moraine, the second glacial advance was not extensive enough to wipe out the old land form.) Other types of moraines include medial moraines, lateral moraines, and ground moraines.

In Montana 1948 and To Kill a Mockingbird, how is justice undermined by prejudice?

In Montana 1948 prejudice plays a major role in Wesley's decision to punish Frank for his wrongdoing. Frank's position of privilege in the community has shielded him from the natural consequences of his criminal activities. David's family sees the Native Americans in their community as lower in legal stature than white people; what Frank has done is not a crime in their opinion since it happened to an Indian woman.

The official all-white jury in To Kill a Mockingbird finds Tom guilty although Atticus has proven him innocent of rape. After being wrongfully jailed, Tom is shot to death attempting to escape from prison. For all Atticus tried to do, he could not save Tom from the prejudice of a racist segment of his town. Their actions and perceived threats led to Tom's demise.

Do you think we would know about Helen Keller if she was not born into the Keller family?

Helen Keller had more resources available to her because she was from a fairly well-off family. Her family was able to hire Anne Sullivan to teach Helen language. Without Anne Sullivan, Helen likely would not have learned to read and write, or at least not effectively. Her parents did not know how to teach her, so they found professional help. 

The Keller family was financially secure to have a homestead. Her parents lived in a small house on their land when they married. When Helen was five, her family moved into a larger house. They also had servants. 

If a family was poor, it would be hard to pay for a teacher or school. The Kellers lived too far away from the school for the blind, so they had a teacher come to them. 

My parents were deeply grieved and perplexed. We lived a long way from any school for the blind or the deaf, and it seemed unlikely that any one would come to such an out-of-the-way place as Tuscumbia to teach a child who was both deaf and blind. Indeed, my friends and relatives sometimes doubted whether I could be taught (Chapter 3). 

Helen had other opportunities as she got older. She was educated, and even went to college. At the time, attending college was rare for a woman, especially if she was blind and deaf. Helen had to fight to get into and attend Radcliff College.

Because of Helen's opportunities, she became educated and was able to share her message with others. Helen became a writer and advocate for the blind and deaf. She published her autobiography, The Story of My Life, in 1903.

How did the aftermath of both world wars help the U.S become a world power?

Both world wars weakened Europe considerably.  Europe lost millions of men, a good deal of its industrial capacity, and had to borrow billions of dollars to keep fighting these wars.  While America fought in both world wars, its major cities were never bombed, its losses were relatively small compared to the other combatants, and the nation was able to profit from interest on the loans made to the Allied belligerents in both wars.  After WWII, America even took an active role in promoting the regrowth of Western Europe through the Marshall Plan, and this led to increased American investment opportunities.  

Not only did America gain in wealth, but it also gained valuable military knowledge and expertise.  A nation is not truly a superpower unless it is willing to project force beyond its own borders.  WWI demonstrated that America had an unprepared military, so while the army scaled back its personnel in the interwar years, American war planners began to make secret plans for wars against Japan and Germany.  WWII demonstrated America's ability to raise millions of quality troops in a relatively short period of time and to arm them well and inexpensively.  America also gained technologically through the use of stolen plans for German jets and the formation of the atomic bomb during this war.  America would also become a leader in peacetime nuclear power.  

I have to pick a specific passage or quote from Moby Dick and use it as an epigraph for a paper on either The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or...

...and Heaven have mercy on us all - Presbyterians and Pagans alike - for we are all somehow dreadfully cracked about the head, and sadly need mending. -Moby Dick

This passage from Chapter XVII, "The Ramadan," describes Queqeeq's Fasting and Humiliation which continues all day. Ismael observes that while this occasion seems bizarre to the others on the ship, these Christians should not consider themselves superior because all men have serious faults and foibles.

This passage from Moby Dick can become an epigraph for the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a narrative in which Twain has remarked repeatedly upon the foibles of human nature. For, during their journey on the raft which floats down the mighty Mississippi River, Huck and Jim witness the cruelties and hypocrisies of men.
Here, then, are some supportive examples for this epigraph from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn:

• In Chapter IX, Huck and Jim venture out of the cave in which they have been hiding and happen upon a makeshift house that has broken away from land during a flood and now floats down the swollen river. In it they discover evidence of the sordidness of man: masks of black cloth, "the ignorantest kind of words and pictures" drawn on the walls, and a dead body, whose face is so "ghastly" that Jim covers it so that Huck cannot see it. There is also some evidence that the occupants left in a hurry, perhaps because the law was after them.


• In Chapter XVI, Huck's conscience troubles him and he experiences moral confusion as he goes against the dictates of his white society (which is "cracked about the head") by hiding an escaped slave from the authorities.


• In Chapter XVIII, the feud between the Grangerfords and the Shepherdsons illustrates well the foolishness of human nature as the feuding people worship in church together with rifles between their knees, then try to kill each other during the rest of the week. When Huck asks Buck Grangerford the reason for the feud with the Shepherdsons, young Buck does not even know. Further, his explanation of a feud is absurd in itself:

"...a feud is this way. A man has a quarrel with another man, and kills him; then that other man's brother kills him; then the other brothers, on both sides, go for one another; then, the cousins chip in--and by-and-by everybody's killed off, and there ain't no more feud. But it's kind of slow, and takes a long time."

• In Chapter XXIV, the duke encounters a loquacious young man who tells him of a certain wealthy Peter Wilks who has recently died. The family has contacted his two brothers from Sheffield, England. The two con men, the king and the duke, having learned also of the Wilks fortune of three or four thousand dollars, then pretend to be these two English brothers. Huck remarks that this scheme and their behavior before the kind Wilks family "was enough to make a body ashamed of the human race." Further, Huck becomes even more ashamed of his race when the "rapscallions" sell Jim to Silas Phelps.

...after all we'd done for them scoundrels, here was it all come to nothing, everything all busted up and ruined, because they could have the heart to serve Jim such a trick as that.

• Perhaps the greatest example of Huck's society "sadly needing mending" is in his mental torment over his "sin" of helping Jim, a slave. 
  

  The more I studied about this, the more my conscience went to grinding me, and the more wicked and low-down and ornery I got to feeling....here was Providence slapping me in the face and letting me know my wickedness was being watched all the time from up there in heaven, whilst I was stealing a poor old woman's n****r that hadn't ever done me no harm....

  
  
  Yet, try as he may, Huck cannot return Jim to Miss Watson, because he cannot "harden" himself against the man who has been his friend and with whom he has experienced much peace and joy as they have traveled on the raft together away from society. So, Huck decides that he "will just go to hell" and does not betray Jim. It is, of course, "dreadfully cracked about the head" as Ismael says of man, that Huck believes he has sinned and his Bible-reading Miss Watson has not.

Corals belong to which class of the Cnidaria— Anthozoa, Hydrozoa, Scyphozoa, or none of these?

The Phylum known as Cnidaria are organisms which are radially symmetrical. They have a mouth surrounded by tentacles which are used to capture prey.

One interesting fact about these organisms are their stinging cells, also known as nematocysts or cnidoblasts. These animals sting their prey, and the tentacles then push the food into the mouth.

The class known as Anthozoa include sea anemones and coral animals. They look like a flower. Their body is cylindrical with tentacles at the top surrounding their mouth. These organisms spend their time in the body form known as a polyp—these are sessile, which means they don't move about freely. Other types of Cnidaria like the jellyfish have a motile stage known as a medusa with a bell-shaped body and a mouth facing downward, surrounded by tentacles. Medusa can be seen freely moving at the surface of the ocean. These are in a different class called Scyphozoa.

Corals are colonial animals. They can produce a skeleton composed of calcium carbonate, which is limestone. As older corals die, new ones are built on top of the structure, which becomes a coral reef. The reef forms an important habitat that attracts many different arthropods, fish, mollusks, echinoderms and other organisms which are involved in shallow, warm-temperature ocean food webs.

To summarize, Anthozoa is the Class in the Phylum Cnidaria to which Coral animals belong.

What are some themes of Arabian Nights and Days?

Arabian Nights and Days by Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz was written in 1979 as a sequel and companion text to One Thousand and One Nights, a collection of Arabic folktales. Mahfouz draws inspiration from these classic stories but renders them new, revealing their modern relevance.

In the tale of Sinbad, the title character finds life lessons in his legendary voyages, such as “to continue with worn-out traditions is foolishly dangerous.” This theme of the ancient conflicting with the modern echoes the premise of this modern book delving into ancient legend and tradition.

The story of Sanaan al-Gamali examines themes of politics and corruption when Sanaan is ordered to kill a corrupt governor but is then tempted by an exchange of favors. The stories “The Café of the Emirs,” “The Porter,” and “Gamasa Al-Bulti” also explore themes of corruption at odds with justice and mercy.

Many characters find themselves the playthings of angels and genies, questioning fate and destiny, such as in the stories “Sanaan Al-Gamali,” “Nur al-Din and Dunyazad,” and “Aladdin with the Moles on His Cheeks.” This work also explores religious themes. Characters such as Sheikh Abdullah al-Balkhi seek spiritual fulfillment, but few reach the peace they desire. The story of “The Cap of Invisibility” features a righteous man who accepts a magical gift but then faces moral dilemmas caused by the condition that he must act against his conscience.

In the final chapter, the sultan decides to shun “throne and glory, woman and child” and enters a peaceful, dreamlike existence. However, this peace does not last when he opens a sort of Pandora’s box, a prohibited door, that sends him back to his former reality of corruption and unrest. There are no simple, happy endings in this collection of stories exploring the struggle between the desire for salvation and human corruptibility.

In The Bronze Bow, how are Leah and Samson similar characters?

Throughout The Bronze Bow, Samson and Leah have several similarities. Both individuals are loyal, innocent, and talented. Samson not only obeys Daniel, but also helps and protects him throughout the story. Leah also respects her older brother and follows his instructions. Both characters value and appreciate Daniel. Samson and Leah are both considered outsiders in their respective environments. Leah does not leave her home and is afraid to be in public. Her reclusive nature and demonic fits give her a negative reputation throughout the community. Leah's neighbors pity her and think she is strange. Similarly, Samson is viewed as an outcast in Rosh's band. The members of Rosh's band make fun of Samson and continually ridicule him for being silent. Also, both Samson and Leah have talents that are admired throughout the story. Samson's impressive strength allows Rosh's band to get more work done, and Leah makes beautiful garments on her loom that she sells for profit.

What is the main problem in the story "The Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst?

The main problem in the story is that Doodle is not strong enough to do what a normal brother can do.

Doodle’s weakness fills the plot of the story.  The narrator, Doodle’s brother, is never named.  Doodle is born sickly, and no one even thinks he is going to survive.  His brother says his name, William Armstrong, is only good for a coffin.  Yet despite the odds, Doodle struggles and grows.

Doodle’s brother is disappointed in having a younger sibling who is handicapped.  His desire for normalcy and companionship leads him to help Doodle become more normal.  When Doodle is five, he desperately wants to teach him to walk before his sixth birthday.

I helped Doodle up, and when he was standing alone I let them look. There wasn't a sound as Doodle walked slowly across the room and sat down at his place at the table. Then Mama began to cry and ran over to him, hugging him and kissing him.

Everyone is impressed and very sentimental.  It seems that with enough effort and help, Doodle can become slowly normal.  His brother feels the same way.  It was his persistence and desire to have a normal relationship with his younger brother that got Doodle to walk.

Brother wants more.  He wants a sibling who can run and play catch and do all of the things that brothers like to do together.

He didn't answer, so I placed my hand on his forehead and lifted his head. Limply, he fell backwards onto the earth. He had been bleeding from the mouth, and his neck and the front of his shirt were stained a brilliant red. 

Unfortunately, Doodle is not normal.  His brother pushes him a little too hard, and his attempts to make Doodle stronger are too much.  Doodle is too weak, and he ends up collapsing.  Like the scarlet ibis Doodle buried, he was too delicate for the situation in which he found himself.

Describe Pip's encounter with the two convicts and their influence on his life and future in Great Expectations.

The two convicts Pip encounters are Abel Magwitch and his partner, the evil gentleman conman Compeyson.  When Pip first meets them, he is a small boy.  He is visiting his family tombstones in the graveyard on the marshes and encounters Magwitch, a fearsome but generally kind-hearted convict.  Magwitch is on the run, but also chasing.  He tells Pip he has a partner, way more ferocious than he is.

Now, I ain't alone, as you may think I am. There's a young man hid with me, in comparison with which young man I am a Angel. That young man hears the words I speak. That young man has a secret way pecooliar to himself, of getting at a boy, and at his heart, and at his liver. (Ch. 1) 

In reality, there is no “young man.”  Magwitch is trying to scare Pip into compliance.  He doesn’t really have the heart to threaten too harshly himself.  He is not alone, however.  Compeyson is also on the run, and Magwitch is looking for him.  He blames Compeyson for his arrest and the fact that he is being deported to Australia. 

Pip does encounter Compeyson, and when he tells Magwitch that there is someone else on the marshes dressed like a convict, Magwitch goes ballistic.  He wants to find and kill Compeyson.  What he does succeed in doing is getting both of them captured. 

Magwitch had Pip steal some food for him, and a file to remove his shackles.  When he and Compeyson are caught, Magwitch does something interesting.  He tells the police that he is the one who stole from the blacksmith, so that Pip will not get into trouble.  Pip is grateful, but he has no idea what an influence Magwitch will have on his life. 

Magwitch goes to Australia and makes his fortune.  He arranges with Jaggers to have it doled out to Pip, keeping his identity a secret.  Pip assumes that the money comes from the only rich person he knows, Miss Havisham.  They share the same lawyer, and many of the same circle, so it is not much of a stretch.  She does nothing to correct Pip in thinking this. 

One day, after Pip has been living off of Magwitch’s money for a while and is dressing, talking, and acting like a gentleman in London, Magwitch shows up and tells Pip who he is.  Pip is appalled.  All of his hopes and dreams go up in smoke.  Magwitch terrifies and disgusts him.  Magwitch turned Pip into a gentleman, but his own habits are quite coarse.

Magwitch explains that Pip did him a kindness he never forgot.  Pip feels like he turned his back on his family for nothing.

Miss Havisham's intentions towards me, all a mere dream; Estella not designed for me ... But, sharpest and deepest pain of all—it was for the convict, guilty of I knew not what crimes, and liable to be taken out of those rooms where I sat thinking, and hanged at the Old Bailey door, that I had deserted Joe. (Ch. 39)

It gets even worse.  Magwitch is in danger.  If Compeyson or any of his old criminal associates find out Magwitch is in London, he will be arrested and hanged.  Wemmick, Jaggers’ assistant, and Jaggers, attempt to guide Pip without incriminating themselves.  They tell him to get as much of Magwitch’s property in his own name as he can.  Pip doesn’t.  He tries to flee with Magwitch.  Compeyson finds them when they are in the river trying to escape.  He is killed, and Magwitch is hurt badly. 

Magwitch dies in prison before he can be hanged.  Penniless and in debt, Pip is thrown into debtor’s prison.  He didn’t get Magwitch’s portable property, and it went to the state.  Pip returns to a more humble life after Joe bails him out.

Compeyson's influnce on Pip was not just Magwitch's association.  In an interesting twist, Compeyson was also the man who jilted Miss Havisham.  Thus, Compeyson had almost as much of an influence on Pip's life as Magwitch did.  Magwitch was also Estella's father, so his life and Magwitch's were intertwined from the time he was a small boy.

In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, what may have been a reason Jem was often more moody than Scout?

There are three reasons: puberty, perspicacity, and personality. 

During the course of the book, Jem becomes a tween.  He goes from being nine to twelve years old.  As he transitions to early puberty, he becomes more quiet, reflective, and moody:

Jem was twelve.  He was difficult to live with, inconsistent, moody.  His appetite was appalling ... This change in Jem had come about in a matter of weeks.  ... Overnight, it seemed, Jem had acquired an alien set of values and was trying to impose them on me.  (Chapter 12)

A second reason Jem is often moodier than Scout is that, in many of the incidents in the book, he actually realizes what is going on, while Scout (who is much younger) has not caught on.  Some examples:

• In Chapter 3, Jem reaches out to Walter Cunningham, when Scout had no thought but to beat up on Walter for getting her in trouble at school. 


• In Chapters 7 and 8, Jem figures out that Boo Radley has been putting toys in the old hollow tree in order to make friends with the children, and that Boo was the one who hung a blanket around Scout's shoulders as the children stood in front of the Radley house watching the fire. Jem is concerned about protecting Boo Radley, who "ain't never hurt us."  Scout is clueless. 


• During the trial (Chapters 17 - 20), Jem is obviously following the significance of the testimony, while Scout is understanding only a portion of what is going on.


• In the chapters following the trial, Jem is devastated by the guilty verdict and has several conversations with Atticus about "how could they do it."  He also gives Scout his emerging views on the snobbery and racism of Maycomb. 

Finally, Jem has a quieter personality than Scout that includes a tender heart for those who are suffering.

In buried onions, why does Eddie compare himself to a red ant hauling a white speck?

Eddie is the protagonist of Gary Soto's novel Buried Onions. Eddie has recently dropped out of junior college and is seeking to make a living painting numbers on the curbs of houses in the wealthier sections of Fresno. In chapter one he compares himself to a red ant who is "hauling" some piece of food or vegetation. Like the ant, Eddie feels he is just an insignificant worker trying to make a few dollars to survive on his "own crumbs." Eddie's life is difficult and he is forever plagued by obstacles such as poverty and violence. His dream is to rise above his lower class life, but misunderstandings, bad luck and antagonistic "cholos" always seem to get in the way of Eddie's ability to make his way in life. In many ways, Eddie envies the ant who is busy "earning his keep," something Eddie is never really able to do.     

Do you think what is currently being done in your community adequately promotes social and environmental justice?What more could be done to...

My first response when I read this question was a simple "no." However, upon reflection, I'd have to say that I don't know, and that leads to the second half of my response. I follow politics, and am somewhat active in organizations and activities that try to make the world a better place. I should know if there is enough done in my community. Since I don't, I think it is important to reach an agreement about what these things mean. What is social justice? What is environmental justice? A range of mediated and live discussion options exist to explore these questions, and I'd suggest using them all. I would definitely include some live town hall meetings, and would seek to facilitate shared understanding and agreement on these questions.

After that, the next goal would be to hold similar discussions about goals and methods. What should be done, and how should it be done? It seems that a consensus on the answers to these questions is ideal, and an agreement among a majority of the population is the minimum that must exist.

So, I don't know, let's find out, and talk until we reach agreements.

How is Boo represented as an innocent mockingbird in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird?

Throughout the novel, mockingbirds represent innocent individuals who do nothing but help others. Boo Radley is considered a symbolic mockingbird for a variety of reasons. He is essentially a harmless person who shows compassion for the Finch children. He selflessly gives them gifts via the knothole in his tree and risks his life by defending them during Bob Ewell's vicious attack. Unfortunately, Boo is unable to protect himself from the negative rumors surrounding him. Similar to mockingbirds that cannot defend themselves from children shooting them, Boo is defenseless against the prejudiced community and his radically religious family. In Chapter 30, Sheriff Tate tells Atticus that it would be a sin to tell the community about Boo's heroics because it would bring unwanted attention to Boo, which would be harmful because he is so shy. When Atticus asks Scout if she understands, Scout says, "Well, it’d be sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird, wouldn’t it?" (Lee 170). Scout's comment metaphorically applies Atticus' lesson to Boo's situation, and reveals the connection between Boo's innocent nature and mockingbirds.

What is a veranda in "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" by Rudyard Kipling?

The story "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" contains the word "veranda" a total of eight times. The usage of the word is not special or unique in the story, though. Kipling uses the word according to a standard dictionary definition of veranda: a roofed platform along the outside of a house, level with the ground floor (see my second link below).

That definition contains some specifics that are unique to verandas. First, a veranda is roofed. It's open to the elements from the front and/or sides, but it is covered. A person could sit in the veranda and would not get rained on. That makes it different from an open deck that some houses might have. Second, a veranda is level with the ground floor. If it was even with any other floor, it would be called a balcony or deck. The point of a veranda is to extend the living space of the house. It's not meant to be used as a bedroom, but it could be used as a living room or dining area. That is how the family in "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" uses the veranda.  

Early in the morning Rikki-tikki came to early breakfast in the veranda riding on Teddy's shoulder, and they gave him banana and some boiled egg.

`y = log_10(2x) , (5,1)` Find an equation of the tangent line to the graph of the function at the given point

`y = log_10 (2x)`

The line is tangent to the graph of function at (5,1).  The equation of the tangent line is _______. 

To solve this, we have to determine the slope of the tangent. Take note that the slope of a tangent is equal to the derivative of the function.

To get the derivative of the function, apply the formula `d/dx [log_a (u)] = 1/(ln(a)*u)*(du)/dx` .

Applying this,  the y' will be:

`y' = d/dx [log_10 (2x)]`

`y' = 1/(ln(10) * 2x) * d/dx (2x)`

`y'=1/(ln(10) * 2x) *2`

`y'=1/(xln(10))`

Then, plug-in the given point of tangency to get the slope.  

`y'= 1/(5ln(10))`

So the line that is tangent to the graph of the function at point (5,1) has a slope of `m=1/(5ln(10))` .

To get the equation of the line, apply the point-slope form

`y - y_1 = m(x - x_1)`

Plugging in the values, it becomes:

`y - 1 = 1/(5ln(10))(x - 5)`

`y - 1 = 1/(5ln(10))*x - 1/(5ln(10))*5`

`y - 1 =x/(5ln(10)) -1/(ln(10))`

`y=x/(5ln(10)) - 1/(ln(10))+1`

Therefore, the equation of the tangent line is  `y=x/(5ln(10)) - 1/(ln(10))+1` .

When does Grendel realize that Beowulf is no mere man?

Grendel plagued Heorot and Hrothgar’s people until Beowulf heard of the monster and decided to face it. Grendel mercilessly attacked Hrothgar’s people when they gathered in Heorot, forcing the people to abandon the mead hall built by their King. Beowulf, a valiant warrior from the Geats, traveled to the land of the Danes to fight the monster and end the peoples’ woes.

On arrival, Beowulf and his team of warriors were ushered to meet the King by a sentry stationed at the sea entry point. King Hrothgar welcomed them warmly and later discussed their visit. Beowulf informed the King that he had come to fight the beast. Beowulf and his band of warriors stayed in Heorot and waited for Grendel.

Grendel made his way to Heorot to perform his evil deeds. The monster entered the mead hall boldly, disregarding the warriors sleeping inside. Grendel attacked one of the warriors and devoured him as Beowulf watched. The beast grasped Beowulf, and the warrior grasped him back. At this point, Grendel realized that the warrior he was attacking was different. The beast realized that Beowulf was stronger than any man he had encountered before. Grendel panicked and attempted to flee, but it was too late.

Explain what is meant by the Hellenistic Age.

The Hellenistic Age is a historical period in the Mediterranean, Egypt, and South Asia that flourished after the death of Alexander the Great in 332 BC.  Due to the conquests of Alexander of Macedonia, Greek culture was spread throughout the areas touched by his conquests.  These areas include Egypt, the Persian Empire, the whole of Greece, and parts of the Indus River Valley.  The period is marked by an explosion of learning and art and the blending of the various cultures that Alexander conquered.  The end of the Hellenistic era is considered to be 31 BC when Rome claimed the last of the lands of Alexander.  The period was also marked by political divisions within the lands that Alexander conquered.  His empires was divided into five kingdoms, which often time waged war with one another.  

What major events happened in science this summer?

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In The Story of My Life, what was the purpose of the journeys from Baltimore to Washington DC?

When Helen was six-years-old, her parents took her to see "an eminent oculist in Baltimore."  She had been deaf and blind for many years and they had hoped to find help for her.  They hoped that Dr. Chisholm would be able to help restore Helen's eyesight.  

Baltimore was far away from Alabama, and the journey was a long one.  They took a train to Baltimore.  Helen also mentioned that her aunt was on the train with them.  In Baltimore, they found out that the doctor could not help Helen.  He did, however, recommend that they go see Dr. Alexander Graham Bell in Washington DC.  Helen's father was discouraged as they traveled to Washington DC, but she loved "the excitement of moving from place to place."  

In Washington DC, they met with Dr. Bell.  Helen felt a special connection with Dr. Bell.  He recommended that Helen's parents contact Mr. Anagnos, who was the head of the Perkins Institution.  The school was located in Boston.  They hoped to find a teacher for Helen through Mr. Anagnos and his connections.  Helen described the meeting with Dr. Bell as one which would "be the door through which [she] should pass from darkness into light, from isolation to friendship, companionship, knowledge, love."

How does Achebe vividly convey Obi's feelings towards Nigeria in No Longer at Ease?

The answer to your question is that Achebe uses both diction (word choice) and characterization (both indirect and direct) to convey Obi's feelings about Nigeria in No Longer at Ease.

At the beginning of the novel, Obi is enamored with his homeland and speaks about it very idealistically. The best example of this is Obi's own words within his poetry. Through Obi's own words (and Achebe's use of diction here) the reader learns about Obi's feelings quite vividly. This is Achebe's use of indirect characterization in that the narrator does not tell us directly about Achebe's feelings; instead, we learn about these feelings of idealism through Obi's own poetic words. Achebe also uses direct characterization to convey Obi's vivid idealism. There are times when Achebe tells us directly how Obi is feeling.

Obi [longed] to be back in Umuofia. This feeling was sometimes so strong that he found himself feeling ashamed of studying English for his degree.

In this use of direct characterization, Achebe shows that Obi's feelings for his native Nigeria are vivid.

Later in the novel, Obi is discouraged with Nigeria. Obi now knows that escaping corruption seems to be impossible for a public official. We learn this through Obi's actions. In short, Obi begins to accept bribes (a practice he was vehemently against earlier in the novel). Due to these actions (and the use of Achebe's indirect characterization), the reader discovers that Obi's feelings have changed about Nigeria. Obi's vivid feelings of discouragement are also shown through his own words against idealism:

The impatient idealist says: "Give me a place to stand and I shall move the earth." But such a place does not exist. We all have to stand on the earth itself and go with her at her pace.

In yet another piece of indirect characterization, Obi shows his discouragement with Nigeria by admitting that idealism "does not exist." Unfortunately for Obi, going "with [the earth] at her own pace" now means accepting bribes.

What is the difference between American History and World History?

There is a significant difference between American History and World History. American History is the study of the history of the United States. It focuses on the development of our country from the days we were colonies of Great Britain to current times. The focus is on what happened in and to the United States throughout our history.

World History takes on a much larger view of events because it focuses on the history of many of the countries or the civilizations around the world. It focuses on major world events that have happened throughout history. World History is much longer than American History. While American History can be traced back to around the late 1400s, World History goes back thousands of years prior to the beginning of American History. Therefore, the study of World History usually requires more time to complete. The study of World History may also view events from a different perspective. The study of American History takes on an American perspective while the study of World History takes on the perspective of people in other countries.

There is a significant difference between the study of American History and the study of World History.

How is Pluto now classified?

Pluto, discovered in 1930, was known as a planet for a long time after its discovery. It is situated beyond Neptune and, since it orbits aroun the sun, is a part of our solar system. After the official definition of planet came out (devised by International Astronomical Union or IAU) in 2006, Pluto was excluded from the list of planets. Now, the official designation of Pluto is a dwarf planet. 

As per IAU's definition of planets, Pluto meets the two criteria out of three. It is in orbit around the Sun and has sufficient gravity to be rounded on its own. However, it has not cleared its neighborhood and its mass is a small fraction of the mass of objects in its orbit. 

Pluto is not the only dwarf planet in our solar system. The other dwarf planets are Ceres, Eris, Haumea and Makemake.

Hope this helps.

Discuss Montresor's family coat-of-arms and motto in The Cask of Amontillado.

It seems likely that Montresor doesn't even have a coat of arms or a family motto--and that Fortunato knows it! This may be an example of the thousand injuries Montresor has suffered at Fortunato's hands. Fortunato is being disingenuous. Montresor reacts by inventing just the kind of coat of arms and motto he would like to have. The coat of arms is bizarre. Fortunato should understand that, if he were not drunk. He probably doesn't understand the motto either, because it is in Latin and Montresor knows Fortunato is not well educated.

Fortunato asks his questions in the cunning expectation of hurting Montresor's feelings by forcing him to admit that he doesn't have a coat of arms or a family motto because he is not upper class but a commoner and a johnny-come-lately to Italy. Montresor describes his coat of arms as:

“A huge human foot d'or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel.”

“And the motto?”

“Nemo me impune lacessit.”

“Good!” he said.

Both the coat of arms and the family motto are all too appropriate. The idea of a "huge human foot in gold" on a shield is comical, like something that might have been created by Pablo Picasso or Salvador Dali. Fortunato thinks he is kidding Montresor. But he is too drunk to understand that Montresor is kidding him. He probably doesn't understand the implicit threat in the motto because he doesn't know Latin, but he pretends to understand when he says "Good!" and quickly drops the subject. 

This discussion of the coat of arms and family motto is a good illustration of the relationship between these two men. Fortunato is socially superior and treats Montresor with veiled discourtesy. Montresor puts up with Fortunato's little "digs" and snubs because he benefits financially from their "friendship." Fortunato is rich and Montresor is poor. Montresor is retaliating on Fortunato in this underground scene because he is through with the man and knows he is as good as dead.

Poe invents all this conversation because the men have to talk about something, and he doesn't want them talking about the Amontillado. Fortunato knows a great deal more about Amontillado than Montresor, and he could easily become suspicious and alarmed. The only reason that Fortunato doesn't ask a lot of questions about the wine is that he doesn't want to show a great interest in Montresor's "bargain." But he intends to trick Montresor. He would certainly tell him it was only ordinary sherry--then go to find the ship that brought it in and buy up the whole cargo for himself. That is, assuming the wine really existed and were really genuine Amontillado. Montresor has learned from some of his previous "thousand injuries" that Fortunato is not to be trusted.

George McClellan lost many chances to destroy the Southern army. If you had been Abraham Lincoln, how would you have reacted?

Abraham Lincoln was very frustrated with General George McClellan. General McClellan had many opportunities to defeat the Confederate army. However, he was very cautious and often didn’t advance his troops. This made President Lincoln unhappy.

President Lincoln urged General McClellan to move his troops several times. He even told General McClellan that if McClellan wasn’t going to use his army, then President Lincoln wanted to borrow it. At the Battle of Antietam, General Lee tried unsuccessfully to invade the North. He was forced to retreat to Virginia. When General McClellan failed to pursue General Lee and possibly secure a decisive victory, President Lincoln replaced General McClellan.

While there are many opinions regarding how President Lincoln could have handled this situation, I think President Lincoln made the right choice and acted properly. He gave General McClellan many opportunities by urging General McClellan to take action. When it became clear after several missed opportunities that General McClellan would continue to be slow to act or might not act at all, it was proper for President Lincoln to replace him. I would have followed the same course of action that President Lincoln followed in regards to dealing with the lack of activity of General McClellan.

Describe what Gregor does in the evening in The Metamorphosis.

Prior to his metamorphosis, Gregor would spend his evenings at home.  His mother tells the manager that he "has nothing on his mind but the business" and that he never goes out at night.  He sits reading the paper or "studying timetables," though sometimes he builds things.  He's used his fretsaw to construct the frame that he has hanging in his room (the one with the picture of a woman from a magazine in it that he gets so defensive of later on).  

Some months after his transformation, the family would leave Gregor's door open so that "lying in the darkness of his room, invisible from the living room, he could see the whole family sitting at the table" and he was able to hear their conversation.  Often, their talk centered on money, and he watched his mother take up sewing and heard about his sister, Grete's, new job as a salesgirl while she learned other skills at night so that she might get a better position in the future.  This is, for the most part, all he does at night: sit in the dark, alone, and listen to his family talk about and without him.

How does the mood of the story in the Outsiders change throughout Chapter 9?

The mood changes from anticipation to grief. 

At the beginning of the chapter, Pony is anticipating the rumble.  He is not necessarily excited about it, but he is determined to participate.  This is not really a good idea, since he is still not in very good shape from the church fire.  He does not want to seem chicken or weak. 

I swallowed five aspirins, though, when Darry and Soda weren't looking. I do that all the time because I can't sleep very well at night. … I figured five would keep me going through the rumble and maybe get rid of my headache.(Ch. 9) 

Pony does make it to the rumble, where the mood is frenzied and exciting.  Pony is glad to participate, even though he gets hurt and so do most of the others.  

The excitement was catching. Screeching like an Indian, Steve went running across the lawn in flying leaps, stopped suddenly, and flipped backward. We could all do acrobatics because Darry had taken a course at the Y and then spent a whole summer teaching us everything he'd learned on the grounds that it might come in handy in a fight. (Ch. 9) 

Pony is proud of his accomplishment.  He is happy that they win.  Fighting is not really his thing, but he wants to support his friends and he enjoys the hectic excitement of the fight. 

Pony’s happiness is short-lived. He goes to the hospital to tell Johnny that they won the rumble, and learns that Johnny is in worse shape than everyone realizes.  Pony listens to his friend tell him to stay gold and then Johnny dies. 

Dally is horrified and overwhelmed with grief.  He slams into the wall and then runs off.  The joyful occasion of having beaten the Socs in the rumble is gone.  Pony is in a daze after this, and the mood is sorrowful.  That continues into Chapter 10.

What is the mood of Act 3, Scene 2 of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream?

There are a couple of moods present in Act 3, Scene 2 of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. First of all, the scene has a humorous mood. Puck gleefully recounts how he gives Bottom a donkey's head and causes Titania to fall in love with him, humorously describing how "Titania wak'd, and straightaway lov'd an ass" (34). Furthermore, Oberon and Puck spend most of the scene watching Hermia, Helena, Lysander, and Demetrius hurl insults at one another in hilarious fashion.

However, humor is not the only mood present in this scene. There is also a dreamlike, confusing mood at work. For instance, the Athenians' relationships have gotten mixed up, and so it's hard to remember or understand exactly how the pairings work. Additionally, because the scene can be so confusing, it begins to feel like a surreal dream, rather than reality. This dreamlike mood is present throughout the play, and Shakespeare uses it to invite us to question whether or not the narrative is actually real. 

How could I go about discussing the following prompt: Henry VIII might have made himself supreme head of the Church of England, but he did...

Henry VIII broke from Rome during the period of the rise of Protestantism. As a result, there were essentially two different issues at stake: papal authority and the theology and hierarchy of the nascent state church. While the new Church of England rejected Papal authority, it created a "via media" or middle path between Roman theology and more extreme forms of Protestantism. In general, the new Church of England had weaker clerical authority than the Roman churches, but a more vertical hierarchical structure than some radical Protestant churches.

Liturgically, the major shift was from a Latin to a vernacular liturgy. The Eucharistic service in the Church of England is actually an English translation of a slightly modified form of the Sarum rite, the Roman Catholic liturgy as performed in the Cathedral of Salisbury. The Bible was now read in English rather than Latin, making it accessible to the laity. While Roman priests typically faced eastward (in the same direction as the congregation, and thus with their backs to the congregation), priests in the English church faced towards the congregation. Unlike the Roman church where communion was only given to the laity in one kind (bread but not wine), in the English church the laity communicated in both kinds. 

While the English church did maintain the older Roman parish system and episcopal hierarchy, it made fundamental changes in theology, including rejection of the doctrine of purgatory and indulgences, a belief in salvation through grace, and a belief in single predestination (you may be predestined to salvation, but the 39 Articles do not mention predestination to damnation). Critically, the English church subscribed to a "sola scriptura" doctrine (that scripture was all that was needed for salvation), reducing the importance of the clergy.

What does Daisy want her daughter to grow up to be?

When her daughter is born, Daisy is initially unhappy. The text strongly suggests that Daisy had been hoping for a boy. Eventually, when she comes to terms with Pammy's birth, Daisy hopes that her daughter will grow up to be a "beautiful little fool."

Daisy's hopes for her daughter illustrate her views about femininity and motherhood. In the story, Daisy sees Pammy as a reflection of her; yet, beyond seeing that Pammy is well-dressed and coiffed, she has little interest in her daughter. When Nick asks her about Pammy, Daisy answers with little enthusiasm: "I suppose she talks, and—eats, and everything." To Daisy, Pammy is an afterthought, nothing more than the product of her suffocating and sterile relationship with Tom, her husband. Pammy is no more in Daisy's thoughts than Tom is.

The text strongly suggests that Daisy used her beauty to snag a wealthy husband. This is presumably the main reason that Daisy wants Pammy to grow up to be a "beautiful little fool." Daisy really believes that this is the only way her daughter will have a good life; she doesn't realize that an intelligent woman can be very attractive to a man. Daisy apparently believes that a woman can either be beautiful or intelligent, but not both.

Because she doesn't realize how her self-indulgence and superficiality affects men, Daisy fails to see her part in her own unhappiness. She makes Nick feel vaguely uncomfortable, and he thinks her an insincere character; however, Daisy is oblivious to the impression she creates. Unfortunately for Pammy, her legacy from Daisy will be a difficult one to overcome.

I am taking a Linguistics course and I am helping a ESL student correct her essay. In her sample essay she wrote "....It has been very hard for...

In order to explain a problematic construction to a student, it is better to try to focus on what the student is trying to express rather than correcting the construction to meet what the tutor believes the student is trying to express. In this way, the tutor gains information that allows the tutor to provide the student with an understanding of how to express a particular idea rather than merely fixing it for them. This is why you would want to focus on using metalinguistic terminology rather than just “correcting” the construction.

With regard to the particular construction, "It has been very hard for me getting adapted with the busy lifestyle," the issue is not that the use of continuous (or perhaps progressive) aspect is necessarily incorrect, but rather that the student is using a non-standard form to express this aspect. To better understand this, we need to break down the sentence.

In the sentence, “getting adapted” is not the verb, so the issue of continuous tense is not relevant. What is relevant is that the form is expressing what appears to be a progressive aspect. We can see this if we rewrite the sentence with the nominalization as the subject of the sentence (and correcting ‘with’ to ‘to’, which is a collocation error):

Getting adapted to the busy lifestyle has been very hard.

This nominalization is still non-standard, but it is easier to see the student seems to be trying to express a progressive aspect. The issue then is the non-standard use of ‘to get’. If we eliminate ‘to get’ and change ‘adapted’ from the participle to the gerund, ‘adapting’, we have:

Adapting to the busy lifestyle has been very hard.

This modification results in a better formed sentence, but perhaps loses some of the speaker’s intended meaning. Specifically, the loss of ‘getting’, even though it is non-standard usage, seems to change the sentence from a progressive to a continuous aspect (i.e. from something that was a process but perhaps is complete to something that is continuously ongoing). So, consider the following revision:

Becoming adapted to the busy lifestyle has been very hard.

Here, we see a progressive aspect expressed. This construction indicates that the process of adapting is perhaps complete now rather than continuously ongoing, which seems to encompass the aspect desired by the student in using the non-standard form ‘getting adapted.'

Finally, let’s change the sentence so that ‘it’ is again the subject, as in the original:

It has been very hard becoming adapted to the busy lifestyle.

Here, we can see the major problem in the original construction was not the type of nominalization, but rather the word choice of the nominalization. In this sense, we can see it as a collocation error, although I think it is not so much an error based on the expected combination of words as it is the student using ‘to get’ in its colloquial ‘to become’ or ‘to grow’ meaning (e.g. ‘getting stronger,’ ‘getting bigger,’  and ‘getting smarter’).

What is an example of an internal conflict the mother goes through in the story "The Leap"?

An example of an internal conflict occurs during the tragic events of lightning striking the big top where the Flying Avalons are in the midst of their act. Anna Avalon must decide which way she will fall.

The Flying Avalons' act involves wearing blindfolds as Harry launches himself into the air in three swings. He then hangs from the back of his knees upside down, holding out his hands to receive Anna as she dives from her bar. But during one performance, a bolt of lightning strikes the main circus pole and runs down the guy wires just as the pair are in midair. Harry is then thrown from his swing downward into the crowd.

As he swept past her on the wrong side, she could have grasped his ankle, the toe-end of his tights, and gone down clutching him. Instead, she changed direction.

Anna Avalon quickly resolves her inner conflict of whether to die with her beloved husband or to try to save herself. She chooses not to fall with her flying partner, and decides to save herself as she twists her body toward one of the heavy wires. Somehow Anna manages to hang on to this sizzling wire, and although her hands are severely burned, and an overly-excited rescuer breaks her arm in the rescue, she survives. 

What does calculating the slope of a graph line tell you about the data

The slope of a line is a characterization of it's 'inclination'. A line with a high slope is very steep, while one that has a very low slope is almost horizontal. A negative slope would mean the line is going down from left to right (in a coordinate system) and a positive slope would mean going up. 

In correlations, when a line is fit, a positive slope would mean a direct correlation where in an increase in one variable corresponds to a proportional increase in another; whereas a negative slope would indicate an inverse correlation.

In mathematics, slope is usually defined as 'rise over run' - or the ratio between the change in the y-variable and the change in the x-variable (`m = (\Deltay) / (\Deltax)` ). As alluded to in the first two paragraphs, a slope can be used to determine the relationship between two variables. If the slope is high, that means a tiny change in the variable x results to a huge change in the variable y. This could mean that y is very sensitive to x. The opposite is true if the slope is low. For instance, if the slope is one, a corresponding change in x translates to an equal change in y. For example, if each student is required to buy a textbook, then if a class size increases from 30 to 40, then the number of books purchased would also increase by 10 (since each student will get a book). 

Meanwhile, the sign of the slope represents how the two variables are related - either direct or inverse. For instance, an increase in the cost of a certain product might result to a decrease in sales. While this may not necessarily be a line, if a line is fit to the data, we would expect it to have a negative slope.

Hence, calculating the slope of a line fit to a given set of data will reveal information including how the variables are related and how strong this relationship is.

How is the inability to see color a symbol for the lives of the people in Jonas's community? How is it important with regards to theme and...

Color represents emotion, and the community controls it because it wants to keep people in a diminished state.

No one in Jonas’s community can see colors except the Receiver of Memory.  It may seem like a simple thing, until you realize how closely color is connected to our emotions.  Do you have a favorite color, or a color you prefer to wear?  This is an expression of your individuality.  It gives you choices, and makes them clear to others around you.

Jonas starts seeing colors before he is even chosen Receiver of Memory.  He does not know what this means at first.  He sees the color red in an apple, and flesh tones in the faces of the crowd.  When he explains to The Giver that he noticed Fiona’s hair, the old man tells him he is seeing color.

The concept of color opens up a whole new world for Jonas.  He realizes that with color comes choice.  Choice is restricted for the community in almost every way.  He starts to understand that the absence of color is another example of this restriction.

"Well ... "Jonas had to stop and think it through. "If everything's the same, then there aren't any choices! I want to wake up in the morning and decide things! A blue tunic, or a red one?" (Ch. 13) 

The absence of color was a deliberate choice, in addition to eliminating sunshine, hills, most animals, and a whole host of social choices.  People do not choose their spouses or occupations, and they do not have their own biological children.  Emotion is absent from every aspect of their existence. 

The community wants to prevent people from feeling, because feeling might lead to uncomfortable feelings.  Love is wonderful, but what if your heart gets broken?  It’s better to just eliminate it.  You get the side benefit of controlling the population.

Through his training, Jonas realizes how wrong Sameness is.  Everything he took for granted seems twisted.  He notices that if he stops taking his pill for Stirrings, his emotions come back.  No one else has them.  The minute people approach adolescence and mature thought, they are stunted.

What does the speaker think destroys the wall?

In the poem "Mending Wall," the speaker thinks that the long stone wall between his property and that of his neighbor's gets destroyed regularly by two things:

1. When it's springtime and the ground thaws out from being frozen, it swells upward. This swelling of the ground ruptures the wall and leaves very large gaps in it. (Refer to lines 1-4 in the poem.)

2. When hunters come by and have a reckless disregard for other people's property, they end up smashing bits of the wall as they're trying to drive out animals from their hiding places. (Refer to lines 5-9 in the poem.)

However, the narrator admits that he's just guessing about how the wall does get damaged. He mentions that the gaps just show up every spring, and no one is actually there to witness the creation of those gaps.

This question of how the wall gets damaged on a regular yearly basis is important to our understanding of the poem. Knowing that this happens every spring, in a predictable way, we understand that the speaker and his neighbor are doing their mending together as a well-established habit. It makes sense, then, for the speaker of the poem to spend time thinking about why they keep mending this wall and why they even need the wall in the first place, when the boundary between the two men's properties is already so obvious.

Explain the appropriateness of the sound devices used in lines 17 and 25 of "Kubla Khan" in relation to the subject and mood.

In those lines and elsewhere in the poem, we're meant to imagine a strange and lush landscape, an otherworldly one in which the very ground seems to pant exuberantly. For that reason, it's worthwhile to read this poem aloud and hear the sound devices that help convey the startling images of nature in the poem's setting.

Line 17 reads: "And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething." You'll hear the alliteration in "ceaseless" and "seething," a repetition of sibilant sounds that echoes the rumbling of the chasm itself, which is about to explode in a fountain of rock and water. This chasm is supposed to be savage, magical, holy, and romantic all at the same time, nearly an assault on the senses and the imagination, so it's logical for the poet to mirror all this chaotic cacophony in harsh, repeated consonants.

Here's line 25: "Five miles meandering with a mazy motion." Again, the chief sound device used here is alliteration: the repetition of the consonant "m" sound in "miles," "meandering," "mazy," and "motion." Very unlike the harsh sibilant "s" discussed above, this "m" sound is smooth, voiced without a hiss but with both lips, easily protracted, and indicative of the back-and-forth motion of the labyrinthine (mazelike, or "mazy") river itself.

Both of the lines above also feature jagged, uneven meters, with repeated waves of accented and unaccented syllables toward the end of the lines: hear the capitalized syllables as slightly louder and more emphasized as you read "CEASEless TURmoil SEETHing" and "WITH a MAzy MOtion." The effect is dizzying and cacophonous, appropriate for portraying the loud rumbling of the chasm and the spurting of the river.

Taken all together, these sound devices emphasize the surreal, chaotic, grand nature of the "romantic chasm" and the "sacred river," and they also help establish the poem's imaginative, lavish, dramatic mood.

Who said "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" and "Heaven will direct it" in Shakespeare's play Hamlet?

This conversation occurs between Horatio and Marcellus. 

Horatio is Hamlet's friend and Marcellus is one of the watchmen.  Horatio and Marcellus are reacting to the appearance of the ghost and Hamlet’s reaction to him.  The ghost is kind of a mystery at first.  They can’t get him to stick around and can’t talk to him.  Hamlet is a little baffled, after all this is the ghost of his father.  The ghost beckons to him, and he follows it. 

HAMLET

My fate cries out,
And makes each petty artery in this body
As hardy as the Nemean lion's nerve.
Still am I call'd. Unhand me, gentlemen.
By heaven, I'll make a ghost of him that lets me!
I say, away! Go on; I'll follow thee.

Exeunt Ghost and HAMLET (Act 1, Scene 4)

Seeing ghosts roaming around your castle would be disturbing, especially the ghost of your dead king.  In a way, something is rotten in Denmark.  Claudius killed King Hamlet, and then married his wife.  Hamlet is incredibly upset about this, because he feels that his mother married too soon and his uncle should not have married her in the first place.

Horatio seems to have faith in Heaven that Demark will be okay, while Marcellus is not taking any chances.  Hamlet is talking to a ghost, after all.  The conversation between Marcellus and Horatio is important because it demonstrates the general state of unease in Denmark due to recent events.  They are not all that surprised that the ghosts are getting involved.  Denmark seems to be in trouble.

The ghost will direct the action of the play, actually.  He insists to Hamlet that he get revenge due to Claudius’s betrayal of him.  This puts Hamlet in an uncomfortable position.  His decision to feign madness so he can keep an eye on everyone just seems to reflect Marcellus’s comment about how Denmark is rotting.

Who are the characters in From The Mixed Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler?

From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is an award-winning children's book that was published in 1967. It features three main characters: Claudia Kincaid, Jamie Kincaid, and Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. 

Claudia Kincaid is the main character. She is the one who decides to run away from home and live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and she is also the one who figures out how to do so. Claudia is also fascinated by a statue that originally belonged to Mrs. Frankweiler, and that part of the story leads to the end of the book. 

Jamie Kincaid is Claudia's little brother. He is financially capable because he saves all his money. This is why Claudia chooses him as her companion on this adventure. 

Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is a wealthy widow. She allowed the museum to purchase a statue that could have been by Michelangelo for under $500. She is also eccentric; when Claudia and Jamie show up at her doorstep, using the last of their money, she lets them look in her oddly-arranged files, and they figure out where the information about the statue is. 

There is one ancillary character, Saxonberg, who is Mrs. Frankweiler's lawyer. The book is Mrs. Frankweiler's account to her lawyer for why she wants to leave the statue information to Claudia.

How can I learn to recite a poem?

Reciting poetry can be a tricky task, especially when the chosen poem is long. Luckily, you mentioned your assignment is to recite I Have a White Rose to Tend, which is quite short. Translations from the original Spanish are readily available, so perhaps the difficulty of your assignment lies in learning to recite the poem in its original tongue. I hope the following tips are helpful to you.

When learning to recite poetry by heart, it can be helpful to listen to others' readings of the poem. Perhaps you can find a video available online of someone reciting this poem in your preferred language. Close your eyes while listening and take note of the rhythm and pronunciation.

Another helpful tip for memorization of any kind is to practice by hand-writing whatever you are committing to memory. Try copying this poem by hand and see if it helps your memory!

Consider making use of associative memory. Think about each phrase or verse of your chosen poem, and create either a mental image or a physical gesture to go along with this phrase. If you know sign language, or are willing to learn some simple signs, having some motion to go along with your speaking can be helpful in your memory process. 

Finally, I recommend you seek the aid of a friend or family member. You can print out the poem--  or offer them your hand written copy-- and you can practice your recitation with them. If you are stuck and can't remember what line comes next, have your practice partner prompt you with the next word in the poem. This should help you recall the phrasing.

As a general study tip, try reading over your chosen poem (or study materials) right before you go to sleep at night, so that it is fresh in your mind. Short-term memory is converted to long-term memory while we sleep, so if this poem is the last thing on your mind before you go to sleep, it is more likely to become a long-term memory!

A study was created to test the effects of fear in children. The hypothesis of the experimenters was that if babies were exposed to fuzzy bunnies...

I will start with the independent variable. The independent variable in an experiment is the variable the experimenter has control over. For example, if you are testing the effect of amounts of water on plant growth, the independent variable is the amount of water since that is was the experimenter is controlling. In the experiment you are referring to, the independent variable is the presence of the loud cymbal noises, since this is what the experimenter is controlling. Another way to think about the independent variable is to think about what is different between the experimental and control group. In this experiment, the only thing that was different was the presence of the loud noises, making that the independent variable.

The dependent variable in an experiment is the variable that is being measured and cannot be controlled. In the plant example, the amount of plant growth is being measured and cannot be controlled by the experimenter. In the experiment above, the dependent variable is how afraid the children are of fuzzy things because this is being measured and cannot be controlled by the experimenter. Another way to think about the dependent variable is to remember that the dependent variable 'depends on' the independent variable. For example, the amount of plant growth depends on the amount of water, and how afraid the children are depends on the presence of loud noises.

Why are some people superstitious?

Some people are superstitious because they believe in some type of spirituality or they feel that there are supernatural forces that interact with the natural world. 

Some people are superstitious because they believe that certain acts, thoughts, or behaviors will have certain outcomes. Carrying a rabbits foot is said to be good luck. Walking under a ladder is said to be bad luck. These are superstitious beliefs. 

In many cases, people embrace superstitions because they are searching for meaning or causes of events that they can not explain. If someone is sad or afraid, and he can not uncover the cause of this fear in his own mind, he might blame some external thing. 

The narrator in "The Tell-Tale Heart" is insane. He actually tries to prove that his mental imbalance has made his mind sharper. In his neurosis, he has convinced himself that the old man's eye is evil. The narrator has projected his own insanity to this old man's eye " . . . for it was not the old man who vexed me, but his Evil Eye." The narrator is unwilling or unable to admit that his anxiety and fear is in his own mind. Since he can not find the cause of this anxiety in himself, he projects it onto the old man's "Evil eye." He believes that the man's eye is some supernatural force meant to torture him. This is pure superstition. 

Poe uses a clever pun on "eye" and "I." The narrator projects his anxiety onto the old man's "eye." But his anxiety and fear comes from his own mind; thus, from the narrator's own perspective, it comes from "I." 

`(9, 1) , y' = y/(2x)` Find an equation of the graph that passes through the given point and has the given slope.

To find the equation of the graph passing through the point (9,1), we need to solve the given differential equation:

`y' = y/(2x)` .

First, rewrite it as

`(dy)/(dx) = (y)/(2x)` . This equation can be solved by the method of separating variables.

Multiply by dx and divide by y:

`(dy)/y = (dx)/(2x)` . Now we can integrate both sides:

`lny = 1/2lnx+C = lnx^(1/2)+C` , where C is an arbitrary constant.

Rewriting this in exponential form results in

`y = e^(ln(x^(1/2)) + C) = e^C*x^(1/2)` .

Since the graph of this equation passes through the point (9,1), we can find C:

`1 = e^C*9^(1/2)`

`e^C = 1/3`

`C = ln(1/3) = -ln3` .

So the equation of the graph passing through the point (9,1) with the given slope is

`y(x) = 1/3x^(1/2) = 1/3sqrt(x)`  .

What are some character traits of Mark Antony in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar?

In William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Mark Antony is a confident and loyal friend of Caesar’s, who upon Caesar’s death forms an alliance with Octavius and Lepidus against Cassius and Brutus. Antony is extremely obedient to Caesar and his closest companion. When Cassius and Brutus are discussing the murder of Caesar, Cassius advocates to also murder Antony, stating, “Yet I fear him.  / For in the engrafted love he bears to Caesar—” (II. i. 190-91). Here, Cassius is afraid of what Antony might do because Antony has a deep-rooted love for Caesar. Further, when Antony learns of Caesar’s death, he goes to the body and talks cordially with Brutus and Cassius about the reasons Caesar had to die. On the surface he agrees with the two men and pledges allegiance to them; however, upon their exit, Antony engages in a soliloquy that reveals he is still loyal to the late Caesar:

O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth,

That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!

Thou art the ruins of the noblest man

That ever livèd in the tide of times.

Woe to the hand that shed this costly blood!

Over thy wounds now do I prophesy—

Which, like dumb mouths, do ope their ruby lips

To beg the voice and utterance of my tongue—

A curse shall light upon the limbs of men. (III. i. 269-277)

Here, Antony contradicts the allegiances he has pledged to Brutus and Cassius, and instead vows vengeance on “the hand that shed this costly blood!” This demonstrates his profound loyalty as a character.

Another trait of Mark Antony is that he is a pleasure-seeker. In Act 1, Scene 2, when Caesar and Antony are discussing the motives and demeanor of Cassius, Caesar states in an aside to Antony, “He loves no plays,  / As thou dost, Antony.  \ He hears no music.” (I. ii. 204-05). The juxtaposition reveals that Antony enjoys music and plays. Further, when Cassius expresses concern over Antony’s loyalty and love for Caesar in Act II, Brutus responds with “he is given / to sports, to wilderness and much company” (II. i. 195-96). This description reveals that Antony enjoys recreational activities and the company of women, suggesting he is a known pleasure-seeker.

Finally, Mark Antony is extremely cunning and astute with excellent rhetorical skills. In Act 3, Scene 1, he manipulates Brutus into letting him speak at Caesar’s funeral, and then uses the funeral platform to undermine Brutus’ monopoly on the situation. He questions Brutus’ claims and plays on the crowd’s fears and curiosities:

Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?

When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept.

Ambition should be made of sterner stuff.

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious,

And Brutus is an honorable man.

You all did see that on the Lupercal

I thrice presented him a kingly crown,

Which he did thrice refuse. Was this ambition?

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious,

And, sure, he is an honorable man.

I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,

But here I am to speak what I do know. (III. ii. 89-100)

The above is an excerpt from Antony’s speech and it illuminates how Antony uses excellent rhetorical skills to undermine the authority of Brutus. In this speech, Antony provides examples of Caesar’s behavior, such as his refusal of the “kingly crown” three times, insinuating he was not ambitious as Brutus has said. Yet Antony repeatedly and sarcastically says “And Brutus is an honorable man” to actually challenge Brutus as a leader.

Therefore, the traits of Mark Antony include loyalty and obedience, pleasure-seeking and sensuality, and shrewd wit and rhetorical skills.

In the novel The Underdogs by Mariano Azuela, in what ways is the theme of "futility" demonstrated?

Mariano Azuela's novel Los de Abajo, or The Underdogs reads, almost in its entirety, as an essay on futility in a variety of ways. 

Let's start with Demetrio's entry in the Revolution. Rather than joining to defend his principles, he actually does it just to get back at los federales. Being that the revolution is bloody and futile on its own, joining it for shallow reasons makes everything all the more senseless. 

Then come the products of the revolution itself. What starts as a united front ends up in disaster. The relationship between Camila and La Pintada, for example, becomes marred by jealousy and ends with the killing of Camila by La Pintada.

Another example of futility is that, as much as the revolutionaries shouted and attempted to battle against the federales and oppression, their inner factions and ongoing fighting and dissatisfaction contributed to the disbanding of many revolutionary groups, making the struggle even more futile: They were fighting within a fight, against one another and against the system that wanted to put them down at the same time. What is purposeful, useful, or even sensible about that?

More futility: Pancho Villa and Venustiano, once united by the vision of revolutionary victory, become rivals. El Manteca and Pancracio, also meant to be comrades, literally kill one another over a game of cards. El güero Margarito commits suicide.

Meanwhile, the revolution keeps roaring along, taking lives with it and changing absolutely nothing. The oppression continues, as well as the injustice.

The ending of the novel is perhaps more ironic than anything else. Demetrio and the few left in his troop make one last attempt at fighting the Carranza troops as one last futile act of rebellion...only to get killed, each and every one of them, by the enemy.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, what are quotes that show Atticus understanding other people and their current place in life? (Ex: Atticus letting Bob...

In chapter 23, Atticus discusses the incident with Bob Ewell spitting in his face with Jem. He says the following:

"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. So if spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that's something I'll gladly take" (218).

The fact that Atticus does not begrudge someone like Ewell, or anyone for that matter, stems from his skill to see behind people's bad behavior. Ewell even threatens to kill him, but Atticus doesn't take much stock in it because he also understands that people will say irrational things that they don't mean when they are angry.

This does not mean, however, that he condones his own children to say or do things in anger. For example, in chapter 11 when Jem chops off the tops of Mrs. Dubose's camellia bushes because he is angry with her for insulting his father, Atticus had expected Jem to ignore it and to apply this skill of understanding with an old woman. Atticus teaches Jem this trick by saying the following about Mrs. Dubose:

"Jem, she's old and ill. You can't hold her responsible for what she says and does. Of course, I'd rather she'd have said it to me than to either of you, but we can't always have our 'druthers" (105).

This passage shows that Atticus does not take offense when Mrs. Dubose insults his name, but he doesn't hold her responsible for her loose tongue. He realizes that from her point of view, she is old and sick, which would make anyone grumpy. This understanding and tolerant attitude can be traced back to Atticus's motto on dealing with people which he gives Scout in chapter three:

". . . if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view--until you climb into his skin and walk around in it" (30).

Scout tries to apply this "simple trick" throughout the novel so she won't be inclined to fight when someone insults her. Atticus figures that if his children can learn to understand people's struggles before judging them, then they will live happier and less begrudging lives. 

Analyze the tone of the short story "In Another Country." Which specific words influence the tone of the story? How does the tone impact your...

In the opening paragraph, the narrator mentions "cold" twice and also mentions the season (fall) two times. This opening scene contains dead animals hanging outside of the shops. This might be a typical autumn day in Milan. But it is during the war (the narrator notes this). The images of cold and death reflect these aspects of war. So, there is a dark tone to the opening paragraph but Hemingway adds some pleasantness and this perhaps symbolizes the narrator's relief of being away from battle: 

Then the electric lights came on, and it was pleasant along the streets looking in the windows. 

In the first sentence, the narrator says "the war was always there, but we did not go to it anymore." This suggests a conflicting tone. The menace and memory of the war is always present but the narrator and his fellow soldiers are away from it so there is some solace in that. But the presence of the war and its affects override any solace or pleasantness in Milan. 

Although they are away from battle and in a hospital to be cared for, note the sarcasm when the narrator describes the hospital equipment where they "sat in the machines that were to make so much difference." 

The major, in particular, shows bravery and determination even though he has no real hope of a decent recovery. Upon learning that his wife has just died, the major has a slight breakdown. He scolds the narrator for wanting to get married. Note the hopelessness in his rant: 

If he is to lose everything, he should not place himself in a position to lose that. He should not place himself in a position to lose. He should find things he cannot lose. 

The major, the narrator, and perhaps the others are at this hospital to get better. But there is a prevailing hopelessness initiated by the war that keeps suppressing their spirits. 

Summarize Chapters 7, 8, and 9 in the book The Outsiders.

Chapter 7

The chapter begins right after Pony's tearful reunion with his brothers Soda and Darry. While the boys wait together for news of Dally and Johnny, reporters are bombarding Pony with questions. Eventually a doctor comes out to tell them that Dally just needs a few days in the hospital, but Johnny is in critical condition with a broken back and may die. 

The next morning, Ponyboy wakes up to discover a newspaper story proclaiming him and Dally and Johnny heroes. The whole story is included, even the night they ran away and Bob's death, but Johnny will only be tried for manslaughter.  Pony will need to go to juvenile court because he ran away, though, so he is worried about being put in a boys' home. Soda tells Pony about the plan for a big party and a rumble where they will beat the Socs "once and for all."

Two-Bit hangs out with Pony that day. Randy runs into them and he and Pony have a heart-to-heart. They talk about bravery and Bob's over-indulgent parents and the divisions between Greasers and Socs. When Randy leaves, Pony realizes they have more in common than he thought.

Chapter 8

Pony and Two Bit go to the hospital to visit Johnny, who looks like he'll die soon. When he passes out, the nurse sends the boys out, but allows Johnny's abusive mother in, which sets Two Bit off. The boys visit Dally after. Two Bit gives him his switch blade and Dally tells them he plans to escape the hospital for the rumble that night. On the way home, they meet Cherry, who tells them that the Socs have agreed to the terms and will fight fair, without weapons. Her and Pony argue when she says she won't go see Johnny, because he killed Bob and it's too painful for her. When she begins to cry, though, Pony relents and they part as friends. 

Chapter 9

Back at home, Pony and the gang prepare for the rumble. The mood is energetic and positive, with the boys running and doing gymnastics on the way to the fight. Darry is worried about Pony, who looks sick and has a major headache, but Pony insists on fighting "for Johnny." At the lot, they meet up with Tim Shepard's gang and another group from Brumly. Watching the others, Pony feels strongly that his friends don't belong and worries about them becoming real hoods. The Socs show up and a lot of fighting follows. Eventually, the Socs run and the Greasers win. Dally immediately grabs Pony and jumps in a car to get back to the hospital - Johnny was doing poorly. The whole ride Dally is talking emotionally and not acting like himself. Johnny's condition is upsetting him. 

When they get in to see him, Johnny looks terrible. Dally speaks softly to him and tells him that they are all proud of him. Johnny is happy to have the pride of his hero. Johnny turns to Ponyboy and tells him to "stay gold" before dying. Dally rushes out of the hospital.  

Based on the reading of the Narrative of Frederick Douglas An American Slave, what does Douglas have to say about the consequences of slavery for...

Frederick Douglass' argument throughout the book is clear: slavery is dehumanizing for both blacks and whites, slaves and slaveholders. He makes his argument best by providing examples of the dehumanizing effects of slavery.

For blacks, he points to the separation of families, the selling of very small children, the beating of slaves of all ages, and the inhumane treatment of the slaves by slaveowners and those who work for them to oversee the slaves. One specific example of this is Mr. Gore in Ch. 4 who is ruthless in his treatment of the slaves under his control. 

"Mr. Gore was proud, ambitious, and persevering. He was artful, cruel, and obdurate. He was just the man for such a place, and it was just the place for such a man. It afforded scope for the full exercise of all his powers, and he seemed to be perfectly at home in it. He was one of those who could torture the slightest look, word, or gesture, on the part of the slave, into impudence, and would treat it accordingly. " (Ch. 4).

Mr. Gore's behavior demonstrates his unwillingness to view slaves as human beings and he relishes in abusing them. Clearly this type of dehumanizing treatment of anyone can lead to dire consequences, and Douglass argued that this treatment broke many slaves mentally and physically, and many others (like Douglass) did all they could to escape it.

For whites, the act of slaveholding has, as Douglass pointed out in the case of Mrs. Auld, the ability to turn otherwise good people into bad ones. Mrs. Auld is critical to young Frederick's education by teaching him the alphabet, but once her husband warns her about the consequences of doing so, she stops. Her behavior from that point forward is cold and distant. The act of holding slaves has the consequence here of turning an otherwise caring woman into one who sees her slaves as less than human.

Douglass' narrative is a clear indictment of slavery due to its dehumanizing effects on everyone involved, whether black, white, Northern, Southern, slave, or slaveholder. His point is that anyone involved in such a dehumanizing enterprise is at risk of losing their own humanity.

How is Jerry's beach different from his mother's?

Jerry's mother's beach seems "safe" to him, like a place for children to go and be looked after by their parents. His beach, however, is "wild" and rocky. Rocks lie like "monsters" on the ocean floor, and the water is colored like bruises. The "rough, sharp rock" of Jerry's beach contrasts with his mother's much more typical, vacation-like beach where she sits with her umbrella, which looks like a "slice of orange" to Jerry from his dangerous beach. The water of his beach is shocking to the limbs due to the "irregular, cold currents" that seem to come in from the much deeper waters. Local boys who are several years older than he swim at his beach, splashing and playing, and they seem like "men, to Jerry." Jerry's mother's beach becomes associated, at least in his mind, with children and safety, and he associates his wild beach with independence and adulthood.

What is the rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution of The Chocolate War?

The rising action of Cormier's The Chocolate War is Jerry's interactions with The Vigils and Brother Leon.  Brother Leon wants Jerry to sell the chocolates.  The Vigils want Jerry to refuse selling any chocolates for ten days.  It is a tense ten days, but the rising action continues to climb once the ten day period ends.  After the ten day period ends, Jerry continues to refuse to sell the chocolates.  This single action upsets Brother Leon further, and it upsets The Vigils.  It upsets The Vigils because they see Jerry's action as a refusal to submit to their authority.  They begin tormenting and bullying Jerry in horrible ways.  

The climax occurs when Jerry is attacked by Emile Janza and multiple other boys.

The falling action is the special assembly that features the boxing match between Jerry and Emile Janza.  Jerry is beaten to a pulp by the end of the assembly.  He is taken to the hospital and thinks that his war wasn't worth it.  

The final conclusion is a chilling one.  The reader doesn't hear from Jerry again and is left wondering if he survived.  The novel ends with Archie and Obie showing no remorse.  The reader is left with the feeling that things at Trinity will continue as usual. 

In the novel Bud, Not Buddy, what did Bud write that helped him through life?

Bud doesn't necessarily write his rules down, but rather remembers them in what he calls "Bud Caldwell's Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself." These are a collection of life lessons that Bud uses to help him survive in a harsh world on his own. Bud is an orphan whose mother passed away when he was only six years old, forcing Bud to teach himself many important life lessons. Each of Bud's "rules" is based on a previous experience which he learns from in hopes of not repeating past mistakes. However, many of Bud's "rules" are generalizations that reflect his naive nature and only apply to very specific situations. His "rules" include sayings like "If a Grown-up Ever Starts a Sentence by Saying 'Haven't You Heard,' Get Ready, 'Cause What's About to Come Out of Their Mouth Is Gonna Drop You Head First into a Boiling Tragedy" (Curtis 32). Bud attempts to number his "rules" in order to keep track of them, and they go as high as 547! Bud's "rules" to live by are continually proven wrong as he matures and develops throughout the novel.

What is the moral of the poem "Ozymandias," by Percy Bysshe Shelly?

Ozymandias is the Greek name for the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II, who reigned from 1279-1213 BCE. Shelley quotes Ozymandias as saying, “My name is Ozymandias, king of kings. / Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!” This is said in pride, warning anyone from thinking they could destroy him. Yet there are only ruins about the broken statue. His “works” have been obliterated, either by time or by an enemy. He is not invincible as he believed. The real warning is that all the “Mighty” should look on his works and take warning that, no matter how powerful they are, eventually they will lie in the dust, just as Ozymandias is. Their works will be destroyed. The warning is against hubris, the belief that one is not held accountable or subject to the laws of man, the laws of nature, or the laws of the gods.

In "The Scarlet Ibis," what does the narrator's pride have to do with the plot?

Brother has a younger brother.  His name is Doodle, and Doodle is mentally and physically handicapped.  The doctors never expected him to live long, but Doodle defied that prediction.  Other predictions followed.  He would never be able to crawl.  If he did manage to crawl, the strain on his heart would be too great, and Doodle would die.  That didn't happen either.  

By the time that Doodle was five, Brother was embarrassed that he didn't have a brother that could walk.  His pride made him ashamed of Doodle.  Brother absolutely could have distanced himself from Doodle at this moment, but he does the complete opposite.  Brother works continuously with Doodle for weeks in order to teach him how to stand up and walk.  The family is amazed at what Brother was able to accomplish, and the family praised him for his love of Doodle.  But Brother tells his readers that it wasn't love that motivated him.  It was pride.  

They did not know that I did it for myself, that pride, whose slave I was, spoke to me louder than all their voices, and that Doodle walked only because I was ashamed of having a crippled brother.

Why did Maniac bring Mars Bar to the West End and was his plan successful in Maniac Magee?

Maniac wants Mars Bar to see that blacks and whites are the same, and the plan is successful because Mars Bar has a good time.

Maniac’s idea to bring Mars Bar to Piper’s birthday party is to show both Mars Bar and the McNabs that there really is not that much difference between the blacks and the whites. In Two Mills, everything is East End and West End. Maniac wants to unite the two.

They did not go straight to the McNabs'. First they went to the Pickwells'. Maniac wanted Mars Bar to see the best the West End had to offer. (Ch. 41)

The McNabs are not expecting Maniac to bring a black kid, but Mrs. Pickwell “never batted an eye when she saw who was coming to dinner.” The dinner seems to go well, and little Dolly McNab even calls Mars Bar “Mr. Bar.” Mars Bar’s expression doesn’t change throughout the dinner.

Even if Mars wasn't letting on, Maniac could tell he was pleased to learn his fame had spread to the West. When they left, half the Pickwell kids followed them, begging Mars to perform his legendary feat of stopping traffic. (Ch. 41) 

Mars Bar is able to stop traffic just like he does in the East End. This impresses the Pickwell kids and makes Maniac happy, because he feels he has accomplished what he sought out to do. He has shown Mars Bar and the West Enders that everyone can get along.

Maniac may not have accomplished anything earth-shattering, but he did help both sides take baby steps. As far as Maniac was concerned, Mars Bar was happy with the way things turned out. That was good enough for Maniac. He was trying to prove that he was friends with everyone regardless of race, and they could get to know each other too.

How does Pahom's dream foreshadow the outcome of Leo Tolstoy's "How Much Land Does a Man Need"?

In Chapter 7 of Leo Tolstoy's "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" Pahom dreams of being awakened to find a man laughing outside of his tent. When he approaches the man, the man transforms from the Bashkir Chief, to the dealer, to the peasant from the Volga, to the Devil. All of these transformations show both Pahom and the reader that the Devil has really been behind all of the people Pahom has dealt with in his quest to purchase more and more land. More importantly, after the Devil appears in his dream, Pahom also sees a dead man lying beside the Devil. Upon closer examination, Pahom sees the dead man is actually himself. Pahom's vision of himself dead foreshadows his upcoming demise caused by his greed.

The narrator relays that, in the dream, Pahom saw the dead man lying "barefoot, prostate on the ground, with only trousers and a shirt on." This is exactly what Pahom looks like when he dies by the end of the story. Pahom has been promised as much land as he can mark out on foot before sundown. Pahom is a middle-aged man and has overestimated how much walking he can physically endure. The more he walks to claim his land, the hotter it gets and the harder walking becomes. To set out comfortably, he "[takes] off his outer coat," but as the sun grows hotter, he finds he must also remove his "sleeveless under coat," leaving him dressed in only his shirt and trousers, just like the man in his dream. Yet, he doesn't stop there. Because the weight of his boots are making it harder to walk, he decides to remove his boots and walk in his bare feet. Towards the end of the chapter, he realizes he has walked longer than he can physically endure and will not make it back in time before the sun sets. In an effort to race the setting sun, he throws away his flask, cap, coat, and boots, leaving himself with nothing but his trousers, shirt, and spade. Before he reaches his destination, he drops dead, barefoot and wearing only a shirt and trousers, just like the man in his dream.