How do other characters reinforce the lessons that Atticus teaches Scout and Jem?

One character throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird who reinforces Atticus' lessons is Miss Maudie. Miss Maudie is the Finches' kind neighbor who is a morally upright individual like Atticus. At the beginning of Chapter 10, Atticus gives Jem and Scout their air rifles and lets them shoot at tin cans and birds. He says, "Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird" (Lee 119). Miss Maudie elaborates on Atticus' comment and explains to the children why it is considered a sin to kill a mockingbird. She says,

"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird" (Lee 119).

Essentially, both Atticus and Miss Maudie are metaphorically telling the children that it is wrong to harm innocent beings. Mockingbirds symbolize any innocent being throughout the novel and several characters are represented as symbolic mockingbirds. Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are symbolic mockingbirds because they both are innocent beings who are helpful and do not harm anybody.

In Chapter 30, Sheriff Tate tells Atticus that he refuses to tell the community about Boo Radley's heroics. He mentions that informing the community would bring unwanted attention to the Radley home. Tate tells Atticus,

"To my way of thinkin', Mr. Finch, taking the one man who's done you and this town a great service an' draggin' him with his shy ways into the limelight—to me, that's a sin" (Lee 370).

Sheriff Tate's reasoning for not telling the community about Boo saving the children correlates with Atticus' lesson about not killing a mockingbird. Sheriff Tate feels that he needs to protect the innocent Boo Radley, the same way Atticus urges his children not to harm mockingbirds.

Atticus looks down at Scout and asks her if she understands Sheriff Tate's reasoning. Scout says, "Yes sir, I understand... Mr. Tate was right" (Lee 370). Atticus asks her what she means, and Scout says, "Well, it'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it?" (Lee 370).

Scout's response reflects her moral development and understanding of Atticus' earlier lesson. She takes Atticus' lesson about how it is a sin to kill a mockingbird and applies it to Boo Radley's situation. Scout realizes that Boo is an innocent being, just like a mockingbird, and the right thing to do is protect them. Sheriff Tate's decision to not disclose Boo Radley's involvement is essentially the same thing as not shooting an innocent mockingbird.

What are the significant quotes in Acts 1 and 2 of Macbeth? How can I prepare for an in-class essay on the play?

I have listed what I believe are the most significant quotes from Acts 1 and 2, with brief explanations as to why they are important:

Act 1:

Fair is foul, and foul is fair:

This is uttered by the three witches in scene 1, using alliteration for emphasis. They plan to meet Macbeth on the heath later after the fighting has stopped, and begin their malicious manipulation. The words introduce the theme of paradox and equivocation, which is the technique used by the witches to deceive Macbeth throughout the play.

...For brave Macbeth--well he deserves that name--
Disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel,
Which smoked with bloody execution,
Like valour's minion carved out his passage
Till he faced the slave;
Which ne'er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him,
Till he unseam'd him from the nave to the chaps,
And fix'd his head upon our battlements.

This quote is from scene two and is a sergeant's testimony of Macbeth's courage, loyalty, and his relentless pursuit of his king and country's enemies. The metaphors and similes create the impression of an honorable man who deserves respect.

...And with his former title greet Macbeth. 

Duncan makes this declaration at the end of scene two. He awards the title of the captured traitor, the thane of Cawdor, as a reward to Macbeth for his valour on the battlefield. This is significant because the witches later greet Macbeth with this title, also claiming that he would be 'king hereafter.'

All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!

All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!

These greetings are extended by the second and third witches in scene 3. These are the predictions which spur Macbeth's ambitions. When he later discovers that the first prediction has come true, he believes that it is also his destiny to be king.

Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none:

This declaration, by the witches, is addressed to Banquo. It is important since it is this prophecy which mostly informs Macbeth's decision to have Banquo and his son, Fleance, murdered later. They are both seen as a threat not only to Macbeth but also to his lineage.

If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me,
Without my stir.

Macbeth utters these words in an aside after Ross had informed him about his being awarded the title, thane of Cawdor. He muses that if it should be his destiny to be king, that he might achieve the position without any action on his part. The quote indicates Macbeth's emphatic belief in the witches' predictions.

Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt be
What thou art promised: yet do I fear thy nature;
It is too full o' the milk of human kindness
To catch the nearest way 

Lady Macbeth expresses her fear that her husband will not be ruthless enough to murder Duncan. She cannot wait for him to arrive so that she may encourage him.

...look like the innocent flower,
But be the serpent under't. He that's coming
Must be provided for:...

These are lady Macbeth's instructions in scene 5, after her husband's arrival. She tells him, by using an apt simile, to act in a convivial manner whilst plotting the king's assassination. He should not act in a suspicious manner, for Duncan must be taken care of, innuendo for the fact that he must be murdered. These lines indicate Lady Macbeth's perfidy. Ambition has made her ruthlessly determined to usurp the crown.

We will proceed no further in this business:

Told to lady Macbeth in scene 7. Macbeth has reconsidered his decision to murder his king but is soon persuaded by his wife to proceed. The line indicates that he still has integrity and also fears that they might fail in their pernicious venture. It also shows that, at this juncture, Lady Macbeth is much more heartless than her husband.

Act 2:

Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand?

This quote in scene 1, indicates Macbeth's state of mind. He is completely overwhelmed by the evil which he is about to commit and hallucinates seeing a dagger leading him to Duncan's chamber. The entire monologue in this instance indicates Macbeth's terrible travesty. He is tortured by the thought of killing his king and believes that the images of death and destruction he sees are all false, created by the anxiety he is experiencing, which he calls 'a heat-oppressed brain.'

I'll go no more:
I am afraid to think what I have done;
Look on't again I dare not.

This quote indicates that Macbeth has not reconciled with the fact that he has committed such a terrible deed. He has brought the daggers with which he killed Duncan with him and Lady Macbeth has instructed him to return them. He cannot go back and witness the carnage again. he is filled with trepidation. Lady Macbeth then returns the instruments of murder herself and places them on Duncan's guards, implicating them.

A little water clears us of this deed:

This quote from Lady Macbeth is a euphemism and indicates the obvious difference between her and her husband's attitudes to the murder. She is almost flippant about it, whilst Macbeth is tortured and believes that he will never wash Duncan's blood off his hands, and it will, instead, taint all the oceans. He is overwhelmed by guilt.

Had I but died an hour before this chance,
I had lived a blessed time; for, from this instant,
There 's nothing serious in mortality:

Macbeth's facetious and dishonest remark in the form of a juxtaposition here, indicates his depravity. His purpose is clearly to deceive others to believe that he feels great sorrow at this most heinous crime. The dramatic irony is obvious.

O, yet I do repent me of my fury,
That I did kill them.

Macbeth confesses that he has killed Duncan's two guards in a moment of passionate fury at their malice. He states that he had lost all reason in that instance. The true purpose, however, was to avoid all suspicion. The guards could have implicated him or his wife.

Malcolm and Donalbain, the king's two sons,
Are stol'n away and fled; which puts upon them
Suspicion of the deed.

Macduff expresses, in scene 4, the fact that Duncan's two sons have escaped, which creates the suspicion that they are responsible for their father's murder. In fact, they were in fear of their own lives and decided to leave, lest they also become victims of the evildoers' plot. 

Well, may you see things well done there: adieu!
Lest our old robes sit easier than our new!

Macduff tells Ross, also in scene 4, quite sarcastically, that he is not going to Scone to witness Macbeth's coronation, but wishes him well in going there. His later remark reveals his suspicion of Macbeth for he expresses the sentiment that they may find that their erstwhile positions under king Duncan were better than they would now be under Macbeth's rule. He clearly also feels vulnerable and threatened. 

Your essay: 

Begin with a strong thesis statement in your opening paragraph in which you present the idea of how the occurrences in these two acts determined and affected the development of all the events in the play.

You can use the quotes to construct paragraphs which would relate the most pertinent occurrences in the two acts. The quotes also provide insight into the characters' mindsets during such events. Each paragraph can be constructed around one or two quotes. The quotes also provide a linear sequence of events which would accurately describe how Macbeth and his wife's plot developed.

Your conclusion can provide a brief summary regarding the fact that the Macbeths had achieved their pernicious purpose and some suggestion as to how things may develop further. Look especially for the irony in their actions.

In Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, why does Brick drink, according to Maggie?

As in many of Tennessee Williams's plays, there is a homoerotic/homosexual subtext. We are led to believe, though it is never directly stated, that Skipper—Brick's best friend and former high school teammate—harbored romantic feelings for Brick and was a closeted gay man. Consider this in lieu of the following from Act One:

Margaret: But that fall you an' Skipper turned down wonderful offers of jobs in order to keep on bein' football heroes—pro-football heroes. You organized the Dixie Stars that fall, so you could keep on bein' team-mates for ever! But somethin' was not right with it!—Me included!—between you. Skipper began hittin' the bottle... you got a spinal injury—couldn't play the Thanksgivin' game in Chicago, watched it on TV from a traction bed in Toledo. I joined Skipper. The Dixie Stars lost because poor Skipper was drunk. We drank together that night all night in the bar of the Blackstone and when cold day was comin' up over the Lake an' we were comin' out drunk to take a dizzy look at it, I said, 'SKIPPER! STOP LOVIN' MY HUSBAND OR TELL HIM HE'S GOT TO LET YOU ADMIT IT TO HIM!'—one way or another! HE SLAPPED ME HARD ON THE MOUTH!—then turned and ran without stopping once, I am sure, all the way back into his room at the Blackstone....

When I came to his room that night, with a little scratch like a shy little mouse at his door, he made that pitiful, ineffectual little attempt to prove that what I had said wasn't true— [Brick strikes at her with crutch, a blow that shatters the gemlike lamp on the table.] In this way, I destroyed him, by telling him truth that he and his world which he was born and raised in, yours and his world, had told him could not be told?

The phrases "football heroes" and "teammates" act as code here. Sports are one of few contexts in which men are allowed to express affection for each other, are allowed to touch each other, and express admiration for one another. Brick and Skipper wanted to "keep on bein' team-mates" forever so that they would be allowed to demonstrate that love without being suspected of homosexuality.

Homosexuality is the "truth" that could not be spoken in Brick's and Skipper's world. "World" here has multiple connotations: the world of sports and athleticism, the South, and white masculinity. These are the worlds in which "[Skipper] was born and raised." Homosexuality was not discussed or acknowledged among people in Brick's and Skipper's world(s).

It becomes clear, through Maggie's recollection of an encounter with Skipper, that she was aware of his being in love with Brick. Brick's love for Skipper is not made as clear through the dialogue, however it is strongly suggested by the exposition in the play, in which Brick repeatedly "strikes" at Maggie with his crutch. By hurting her, he can get her to shut up and avoid reminding him of what he felt for Skipper, a feeling he numbs with alcohol. Before killing himself, Skipper, too, had become dependent on alcohol, as well as drugs, in an attempt to forget his feelings and to anesthetize himself. In this way, alcohol acts as a trope in the play. It symbolizes the need to avoid confronting feelings and needs that are socially unacceptable.

Maggie also admits that she and Skipper "made love to each other to dream it was [Brick]," in a desperate attempt for both to be closer to him. Maggie wanted to experience, through Skipper, the intimacy her marriage lacked; while Skipper wanted to experience, through Maggie, the physical desire he felt for Brick.

Other readings of the play have determined that Brick's drinking is a sign of his impotence. Maggie is clearly sexually frustrated because Brick will not sleep with her (a fact that is overtly stated by her sister-in-law, Mae); and Maggie, though not Brick, is mocked for not having children. There is a cruel irony in the fact that this woman, whom we are told is young and highly desirable, is unable to get her husband to go to bed with her. His lack of desire is another indication of Brick's homosexuality. He is unable to perform with Maggie because he is not really attracted to her.

Another reading considers the crutches (the word "crutch" is both literal and symbolic here) as Brick's inability to let go of the past, his dependency on the memory of Skipper and their past glories. They were "football heroes," a designation which bears romantic meaning. He cannot let go of this memory until he admits, during his conversation with Big Daddy, that he has been dishonest with himself about the nature of his relationship with Skipper. Once he is able to confront these feelings, he is able to make love to his wife.

How does the principle of free speech, as opposed to freedom of religion, apply to this case?

In spite of the fact that this case was triggered by Jehovah's Witnesses students arguing that they should not be forced to salute the flag or recite the Pledge of Allegiance, there is no freedom of religion argument to be made.  At least in theory, a group of atheists could have brought this case. The argument is that the freedom of speech includes the freedom to not speak, to not be compelled to profess a belief, in this case, to not recite the Pledge of Allegiance, and to not salute, since hand gestures are considered a form of speech.  People should not be compelled to pledge allegiance to their country if they choose not to do so.

I would guess there are those who would argue that this case somehow is of use to argue that religious beliefs should be protected to the degree that marriage license clerks should have the right to decline to issue marriage licenses, but the case is of no use as support for such arguments, for any number of reasons, but in particular because it has nothing to do with religion.  Supreme Court Justices usually try to rule on grounds as narrow as possible, so cases cannot be misused later on to make bad law.  

In "Winter Night," by Kay Boyle, what time of day does the story begin?

Good question! The title of the story suggests that it takes place in the evening, but rather than assuming that the answer to this question is in the title, we should check the text to be sure. Here's the first sentence of the story:

"There is a time of apprehension which begins with the beginning of darkness, and to which only the speech of love can lend security."

As the narration continues, we see that seven-year-old Felicia is being taken care of by a maid, who is about to leave for the day. A baby-sitter will be coming to watch Felicia, but the little girl's mother won't be home until after Felicia is asleep.

These details suggest that the story opens in the early evening, just when everything is starting to get dark, and when it will soon be time for Felicia to get ready for bed. We also know that it's winter time in New York in this story, so we expect it to start getting dark fairly early--maybe around 5:00 or 6:00pm.

Now that we're sure we know what time of day the story begins, a good follow-up question is, "Why is that significant?" or "Why does that help us understand the story more clearly or more deeply?"

If we understand the disappearing daylight and the darkness as a representation of the unknown, and fear, and perhaps loneliness, we can better understand Felicia's situation and why she attaches herself so quickly and so emotionally to the new baby-sitter: to this stranger who offers attention and kindness to Felicia.

So, the story's opening in the evening is important because it illustrates Felicia's descent into a state of fear and loneliness. It would be difficult for the author to show the little girl's sad emotional state if, for example, the story began with beautiful rays of morning sunlight streaming into a window of the home.

In "The Scarlet Ibis," why does the family not help bury the birds?

Doodle’s mother does not want to bury the dead scarlet ibis because she is afraid it will carry a disease. 

It makes sense that when a strange exotic bird comes into your yard and dies, you might want to avoid coming in contact with it.  Doodle has an affinity with the bird, a rare scarlet ibis that is miles from where it should be, and feels sorry for it.  He certainly understands sickness. 

Doodle leaves his food and comes to kneel by the bird, but this makes his mother nervous. 

Doodle remained kneeling. "I'm going to bury him."

"Don't you dare touch him," Mama warned. "There's no telling what disease he might have had." 

The whole family feels sad for the bird, but Doodle already has a compromised immune system and his mother does not want to risk him getting some exotic disease from the exotic bird.  She doesn't offer to have his father will bury it for Doodle, so Doodle takes it upon himself to bury the bird.

Doodle manages to bury the bird without touching it as the family watches from the table.  He lifts the bird’s head with a string and slowly drags it while singing a funeral dirge.  He then struggles to dig a hole to bury the bird. 

His awkwardness at digging the hole with a shovel whose handle was twice as long as he was made us laugh, and we covered our mouths with our hands so he wouldn't hear.

The bird foreshadows Doodle's fate.  As strong as he is, Doodle is just too exotic for Earth.  His brother pushes him too hard, and Doodle collapses just like the bird.  Perhaps he knew when he was burying it that he might share the same fate someday.  Doodle never was strong.

Why is Okonkwo's defeat of Amalinze the Cat such a great achievement?

Okonkwo's defeat of Amalinze the Cat is such a great achievement because it was a display of physical prowess that earned Okonkwo the enduring respect and admiration of his fellow villagers. The defeat also brought fame and honor to the entire village on Okonkwo's behalf. The achievement was also rather impressive because Amalinze the Cat had been undefeated in wrestling for seven years prior.

In relation to the overall plot of the novel, this wrestling victory is so important because it defines Okonkwo and characterizes him as someone fierce and powerful, competitive and masculine, and defensive.

Keep in mind, also, that Okonkwo is particularly anxious to achieve personal fame and honor because he's so ashamed of his father, Unoka, who in life cared more about music and having a good time than being a successful earner--and who, in fact, was deeply in debt to many people. Okonkwo's physical victory in wrestling is one way that Okonkwo rises above the shame cast on him by his disappointing father. (Other ways include amassing wealth, titles, and wives.) Although the narrator of the novel tells us toward the end of Chapter 1 that "among these people a man was judged according to his worth and not according to the worth of his father," Okonkwo still feels that he has to prove himself to the other villagers.