Should tranquil, meager, melancholy, bovine, or tolerantly be used in the following sentence? The dieter was disappointed at the _____ amount of...

The appropriate word for this sentence is “meager,” because there is not much food on the plate since the person is dieting. 

The word “meager” means “not enough” or “insufficient.” It describes a small, disappointing amount. A dieter often limits the amount of food he or she eats. Therefore, the dieter might consider a meal “meager.” When on a diet, many dieters are always hungry. The person looking down at the plate is sad about his or her portion of food. 

In the description of the wood in the Prologue, the word “meager” is used to describe the grass. 

The road no longer belonged to the cows. It became, instead, and rather abruptly, the property of people. And all at once the sun was uncomfortably hot, the dust oppressive, and the meager grass along its edges somewhat ragged and forlorn (Prologue). 

In other words, there is not enough grass next to the road. The road is described as being mostly for cows at first, over time increasingly also being utilized by people. The grass is personified as feeling forlorn, as if the grass itself is sad about how little of it there is. 

This helps the reader realize there is not much human travel within the woods. The closer one gets to the village, the more people one sees. This is how the spring remains hidden. It is also technically on land belonging to Winnie Foster’s family, so it would not get much foot traffic.

Who was Horatio?

Horatio is a character created by Shakespeare for the specific purpose of acting as a friend and confidant of Hamlet. In most plays information is conveyed to the audience through dialogue. Hamlet is in an awkward position because there is nobody he can trust at the Danish court, and so he cannot confide in anybody. That is why the play contains so many of his monologues. Shakespeare must have felt that he could have only so many of these lengthy monologues. At best, monologues and asides are awkward because people do not ordinarily talk to themselves about how they feel, what they are thinking, planning, etc. Besides that, they are not usually very dramatic. With Horatio as his trusted friend, Hamlet can discuss his secrets in a natural manner and thereby convey much essential information to the audience. For example, he can tell Horatio all about how he discovered the King's bellerophonic letter in the possession of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern aboard the ship bound for England, what he did about it, how he got captured by the pirate ship, etc. This could hardly have been handled in another monologue.

Not much is revealed about Horatio except that he and Hamlet were fellow-students at Wittenberg and that Horatio does not belong to a wealthy or aristocratic family. He seems very much like Hamlet's alter-ego. He is intelligent and perceptive, like Hamlet. He understands everything quickly. He is entirely in sympathy with Hamlet, probably because of the friendship they established at the university, where some of the best and longest lasting friendships are made between young people. 

Horatio is not only invaluable to Hamlet during all of his friend's tribulations, but he is the only major character to remain alive when the play ends. This is important because the audience must not be left wondering what the other survivors would be thinking about the carnage they had just witnessed. How would the courtiers know, for example, why Hamlet had just murdered King Claudius in such a violent manner? Horatio knows everything. He has either observed events personally, or else he has received explanations from his good friend Hamlet. Shakespeare takes care to avoid leaving any loose ends by having Hamlet tell Horatio in his dying words:

O God, Horatio, what a wounded name,
Things standing thus unknown, shall live behind me!
If thou didst ever hold me in thy heart,
Absent thee from felicity awhile,
And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain,
To tell my story.                 (Act V, Scene 2)

Shakespeare was not really so much concerned about protecting Hamlet's name as he was about leaving his audience with the assurance that the survivors would be fully informed about the complicated events leading up to the deaths of Polonius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Laertes, Gertrude, Claudius, and Hamlet. Only Horatio could explain everything from Claudius' murder of his brother to Hamlet's ultimate revenge-killing of Claudius. It was not necessary, however, for Shakespeare to include a scene in which Horatio explains everything to those who are left alive. This would be somewhat tedious because Shakespeare's audience already knows everything Horatio could say. There was no need for Horatio to explain anything to the audience, but there was a definite need for Horatio to explain everything to the people in the play who were left alive, including Fortinbras, and who would be astonished and perplexed by what they had just seen. Without Horatio, there would be endless conjectures; with Horatio, everything would be wrapped up, and the past could be put behind.

What are 5 biotic factors in a marine ecosystem?

Organisms and their immediate environment, with which they interact, together constitute the ecosystem. The various factors that affect an ecosystem can be divided into 2 classes: biotic factors and abiotic factors. The biotic factors include all the living organisms in the ecosystem, while the abiotic factors include the non-living factors. 

In a marine ecosystem, some of the biotic factor are algae, fungi, microorganisms (such as bacteria), plants, animals and corals. These living beings compete against each other for food and resources, are part of the predator-prey relation, and also include the decomposers. 

A number of abiotic factors also affect the marine ecosystem. These factors include, sunlight, dissolved oxygen and other gases, nutrients, salt content, etc. 

Many of these biotic and abiotic factors work in concert to affect the health of the marine ecosystem.

Hope this helps. 

In Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli, why doesn't Jeffrey go back to the McNabs' house?

Jeffrey leaves the McNabs because they are racist and he is unable to make them see that color does not matter. 

Jeffrey takes the McNab twins home, and their brother is not happy to find out that the boy who rescued them is the one who made a fool of him by blasting his fastballs “to smithereens.”  Maniac is not at all comfortable in the McNab house. 

Maniac had seen some amazing things in his life-time, but nothing as amazing as that house. From the smell of it, he knew this wasn't the first time an animal had relieved itself on the rugless floor. In fact, in another corner he spotted a form of relief that could not be soaked up by newspapers. (Ch. 35) 

Worse than the uncleanliness is the disorder and the Cobras, who are basically white supremacists and unpleasant to be around.  These people do not share Maniac’s worldview.  Maniac stays because he is trying to convince little Piper and Russell to stay in school. 

One night, Maniac finds himself in the West End at the Beale House, and everyone is thrilled to have him there. He has a great time, and feels like he is home.  He only gets to leave by sneaking out. 

Jeffrey’s attempt to bring Mars Bar into the McNab house to bring the races together backfires.  You can't fix race relations overnight.  He realizes it was foolish to think that it would work, and he once again leaves. 

Maniac stopped. He had been walking in circles. It was dark. He turned one way, then another, for the briefest moment thinking to go home. Thinking, it's time to go home now. Then remembering that once again he had no home to go to. (Ch. 42) 

Maniac never felt as comfortable with the McNabs as he did with the Beales.  Eventually, that is the only family he has and the only one he can go back to.  He knows that they will always welcome him with open arms.  Color has nothing to do with it.

What three things does Bob Ewell do that alarm Aunt Alexandra?

In Chapter 27, Aunt Alexandra is frustrated that Bob Ewell has once again caused trouble. She believes that Bob seems to have a "permanent running grudge against everybody connected" with the Tom Robinson case.

There are three things that Bob does which alarm her. The first occurs when Bob gets fired from his job at the WPA (Works Progress Administration) due to his laziness. After he loses his job, Bob goes back to collecting welfare checks. As an example of his lack of grace and gratitude, Bob openly complains that he is an "honest man" who has been denied an opportunity to make a living.

Not long after, Bob Ewell takes to stalking Judge Taylor. One Sunday evening, as the judge is reading, a scratching noise is heard from the rear of his house. When Judge Taylor lets his dog out, he discovers that the screen door is open. However, out of the corner of his eye, he manages to catch a glimpse of an intruder skulking away. Later,  Mrs. Taylor comes home from church to find her husband with a shotgun across his lap. The general consensus is that Bob Ewell is the one who's been stalking Judge Taylor.

Not content with the all the trouble he has already caused, Bob Ewell then harasses Tom Robinson's wife, Helen. After the trial, Helen is given a job by Mr. Link Deas. To get to work, however, Helen must go a mile out of her way to avoid the Ewell home. Helen is harassed at least twice by Bob Ewell; it is only when Mr. Link Deas threatens to bring Bob up on charges that he stops harassing Helen.

For his part, Atticus explains that Bob is just trying to salvage his wounded pride. During the trial, Bob imagined that he would be the star of the proceedings. However, his bombastic and rude behavior alienated the jury and courtroom observers, and it left him looking foolish and small-minded. More than anything, Bob knows that very few people really believed his and Mayella's story about Tom Robinson. Atticus tries to reassure Aunt Alexandra that Bob has "had his fling with about everybody now, so he ought to be satisfied. He’ll settle down when the weather changes." However, as we later learn, Bob Ewell's actions are only a precursor to his brutal attack on Scout and Jem after the Halloween pageant.

From To Kill a Mockingbird, please provide some quotes and page numbers on prejudice and discrimination regarding Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and...

Maycomb is a typical southern town in Alabama in the 1930s. Segregation of races is the norm and whites dominate the financial, social, and political atmosphere. Loyalty to one's race is an unspoken rule which cannot be crossed with impunity. Not only that, but anyone who is different from the "norm" is treated differently and without respect. Therefore, there are many circumstances in To Kill a Mockingbird, where prejudice and discrimination can be seen.

First, Boo Radley is a very shy man who never comes out of his house. As a result of his different-than-normal behavior, people such as Miss Stephanie Crawford make up tales and expand on old rumors about him. For example, people blame everything weird that happens in Maycomb on Boo Radley. Scout explains as follows:

"Once the town was terrorized by a series of morbid nocturnal events: people's chickens and household pets were found mutilated; although the culprit was Crazy Addie . . . people still looked at the Radley Place, unwilling to discard their initial suspicions" (9).

Thus, when it comes to Boo Radley, he is shown prejudice by being blamed for odd happenings around town just because he behaves differently than the majority.

Next, there's Tom Robinson. Not only is he black, but he also has a crippled arm. Tom overcomes these minority difficulties by going to work each day, attending church, and helping neighbors like a good citizen. But just as a strike of bad luck hits him, he is treated worse than a second-hand citizen. Tom is completely innocent, but just because a white man claims that he raped his daughter, Tom is arrested and charged. As a result, Tom's wife Helen can't get work to feed her three children. She is discriminated against because of the nature of the crime Tom is charged with. When Scout learns about Helen's troubles in chapter 12, she asks Reverend Sykes why she can't get work. Reverend Sykes softens the answers as follows:

"To tell you the truth, Miss Jean Louise, Helen's finding it hard to get work these days . . . when it's picking time, I think Link Deas'll take her" (123). 

This proves that Maycomb is not only prejudiced and willing to discriminate against black "criminals," but they will take out their prejudiced feelings against innocent women and children.

Finally, Mrs. Dubose is the queen racist of them all because she is willing to take out her prejudiced feelings on innocent children as well. She disagrees with Atticus defending Tom Robinson and she isn't afraid to let his children know. The worst she says to the children is as follows:

"Yes, indeed, what has this world come to when a Finch goes against his raising? I'll tell you! . . . Your father's no better than the ni**ers and trash he works for!" (102).

What kind of woman says something so vile to children about their father? A racist one. The sad thing is that Mrs. Dubose represents what most of the people in Maycomb are thinking with regards to Atticus. 

How do the final scenes at Donnegan's and Miss Kinnian's class impact Charlie's decision to leave in "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes?

In "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes, by the time we reach the Progress Report when Charlie goes back to the plant to try to get his old job back, he has regressed to the same level of intelligence he was in the beginning. Mr. Donnegan gives him the job, but when a new worker makes a remark about his intelligence, Joe Carp comes to Charlie's defense--something he had never done before.

"I felt bad but Joe Carp came over and grabbed him by the shirt and said leave him alone you lousy cracker or Ill break your neck. I didn't expect Joe to take my part so I guess he's really my friend" (Keyes 40).

Then Charlie forgets he is no longer in Miss Kinnian's class, and when he shows up, she gets very upset and leaves the room crying.

Charlie decides to leave New York for good at that point because he does not want anyone feeling sorry for him, neither at the factory nor at his class--especially not Miss Kinnian. Charlie does not want people he cares about feeling badly for him and for what he is experiencing as he loses his once superior intelligence.