How would you describe each of the main characters of the Book of Matthew? What were your first impressions of the protagonist and antagonist?

The Gospel according to Matthew is not a literary work with a conventional protagonist and antagonist, but rather a biography of Jesus, a holy man. This makes the Bible part of a distinct genre following its own distinct conventions. Some of the characters you might want to discuss are below.

Jesus: The protagonist of the work is obviously Jesus, who is the central character, present in every chapter, and held up as a model for emulation and worship. You might actually want to use "Christ" as an adjective because it functions as a descriptive term meaning "anointed one" (its Greek meaning) or Messiah (Hebrew equivalent). Another key descriptive term is "Son of Man," which occurs more frequently in Matthew than in the other Gospels. 

John the Baptist: This important figure was described as a forerunner of Jesus in Matthew 11:1-19, and is portrayed as an austere prophet who lives in the wilderness.

Satan: Matthew 4:1-11 describes Jesus being tested by Satan in the wilderness. The devil can be considered an antagonist to Jesus and is evil and duplicitous by nature. 

Mary: The Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, is an important positive character in the work, both as the woman who bore Jesus and in her mourning for him after his death.

Is Don Juan in Byron's long poem Don Juan a Byronic Hero?

Don Juan does not strike me as a Byronic hero.

The Byronic hero has qualities that reflected Lord Byron himself. As outlined in Byron's The Corsair, the Byronic hero is "that man of loneliness and mystery" who is "scarce seen to smile, and seldom heard to sigh." The Byronic hero is closed off to the world, shrouded in questions, and capable of a dangerous edge.

Such worldly traits do not describe Don Juan. One reason is because he is quite naive. If the Byronic hero is the puppeteer who makes sure that everyone else dances to his tune, Don Juan is a puppet. His trusting nature makes him easily malleable in the hands of other people. Don Juan lives up to his namesake as "the true one" when he falls in love with Donna Julia. Later on, Don Juan shares the most innocent of loves with Haidee, the pirate's daughter. Falling in love requires a selfless submission towards another person. A true Byronic hero would not be so trusting. Such an innocent and pure embrace of love is not in the makeup of the Byronic hero. The Byronic hero is the type who "loves 'em and leaves 'em." There is an edge to the Byronic hero that makes loving him impossible.

The Byronic hero does not easily forge connections with other human beings. He stands on his own and lives life on his own terms.  These terms do not include absorbing emotions from other people. However, Don Juan is susceptible to having emotional connections imprinted on him. For example, when Don Juan is in the slave market, the depth of Haidee's love has imprinted itself on him. This is seen in the way he talks with John Johnson about how much they mean to one another. When Don Juan is purchased by Gulbeyaz, he is expected to please her. However, Don Juan is loyal to Haidee and is direct about the extent of his connection to her: "The prisoned eagle will not pair, nor I/ Serve a sultana's sensual phantasy." These would not be the words of the Byronic hero, who has spurned people's attempts to enter his heart. Don Juan does not take the Sultana to be his lover because his heart already belongs to another. This level of emotional connection is not readily found in the Byronic hero.

How are a molecule of hydrogen and a molecule of oxygen similar ?

Both hydrogen and oxygen molecules are made up of a fixed number of atoms which are joined together by covalent bonds. Both molecules are diatomic, which implies that each molecule is made up of two atoms joined together by a covalent bond.

A covalent bond is formed between two atoms when each shares one or more electrons previously orbiting the individual atoms. The electrons shared in a covalent bond are always in pairs and it is the mutual attraction of the nuclei of both atoms for the shared electrons that hold the bond together. Covalent bonds confer stability on the molecules and will not normally react with other similar molecules.

Both molecules are non-metals and are colourless gases at room temperature. They are both found in the air we breathe and they both play important roles in human life and survival.

What is the difference between contrast and duality?

In literature, these two terms, “contrast” and “duality,” are sometimes used to discuss pairs of utterances or styles or plot configurations.  “Duality,” as the derivation of the words implies, simply means “two” of something:  Football and tennis are two sports, for example, and may be practiced, followed, observed, etc. But “contrast” is a particular “duality,” one in which the pair of terms or utterances differ from each other in a way that highlights their difference:  Football is a contact sport, while tennis is not.  In literature, a pair of protagonists (say Macbeth and Lady Macbeth) is a duality; if we discuss their personalities, we may concentrate on the differences in their zeal (a “contrast” discussion) or just discuss their mutuality and similarities.  In poetry, we can pair up (a duality) Yeats and Frost;  we can “contrast” Yeats’ patriotic view with Frost’s non-political view, or we can simply discuss their mutual skill with pastoral descriptions.

In The Story of My Life, who would you credit with the restoration of the writer's love for nature—the teacher or the writer herself?

Helen Keller's teacher, Anne Sullivan, was able to restore Keller's love of nature after Keller became deaf and blind. In Chapter 4, Keller writes, "Miss Sullivan had taught me to find beauty in the fragrant woods, in every blade of grass." Anne Sullivan brought Keller to the fields and to the banks of the Tennessee River, and Keller's earliest thoughts became connected to nature. Sullivan later used Keller's love of nature to teach Keller other concepts; for example, Keller at first connected the idea of love with the smell of flowers and the warmth of the sun. Sullivan eventually taught Keller the idea of love by comparing it to a cloud that is untouchable. Connecting education to nature was particularly important for Keller, who learned a great deal by touching. For example, she touched a shell and then learned the story of how a mollusk constructed the shell. Touching objects in nature made them real to Keller, with Sullivan's help. 

In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, what causes Walter to change?

A Raisin in the Sun is the work for which Lorraine Hansberry is most well known. The play debuted in 1959, and the movie, starring Sidney Poitier, appeared in 1961.

Before answering your specific question, I'll summarize the plot up to the point with which we need to concern ourselves.

The story centers on a poor, urban black family who comes into some life insurance money when the head of the household dies. The money, $10,000, creates conflicts within the family, as Walter, now the oldest male in the family, wants to use the money to invest in a liquor store start-up with two other men. Walter's mother, Lena Younger (wife of the deceased man, referred to hereafter as Mama), wants some of the money to go toward Beneatha's (her daughter and Walter's sister) medical education. As the widow, the money belongs to Mama. However, she does not approve of Walter's plan to invest in the liquor business. After using $3500 as a down payment on a new house, she gives him the rest of the money, telling him to hold out what Beneatha needs for college and put the rest in a checking account under his name. It's up to him to manage the checking account as he sees fit.

At this point, Walter's spirits improve significantly. Shortly afterwards, a white man arrives at their apartment and offers to pay the family NOT to move into the white neighborhood. The family is insulted and sends him away. What the audience doesn't know yet is that Walter has taken the entire 6500 that Mama gave him and given it to a man named Wily, who is supposedly one of the liquor store investors. As the family is in the process of preparing to move, Walter learns that Wily has cheated him and run off with the money.

The family is devastated. Obviously they are particularly angry at Walter, who is suffering more than anyone else over the situation. Walter leaves the apartment, but the family doesn't know where he goes. When he returns he tells them that he has called the white man from the neighborhood and told him they will take his money.

Okay—now this is the key part of the story. Walter is about to change. At this point he is feeling victimized and is willing to shame himself and his family by being paid off to stay out of the white neighborhood. The rest of the family feels that this is even worse than the theft of the $6500. When Mama asks him how he will feel when he does this he goes into a long, dramatic monologue in which he pretends to speak to the white man:

And maybe—maybe I'll just get down on my black knees . . . (He does so, Ruth, Bennie and Mama watch him in frozen horror.) "Captain, Mistuh, — Bossman (groveling and grinning and wringing his hands in profoundly anguished imitation of the slow-witted movie stereotype.) A-hee-hee-hee! Oh, yassuh boss! Yasssssuh! Great white — (Voice breaking, he forces himself to go on.) — Father just gi' ussen de money fo' God's sake and we's—we's ain't gwine come out deh and dirty up yo' white folks neighborhood ..." (He breaks down completely.) And I'll feel fine! Fine! FINE! (He gets up and goes into the bedroom.)

At this point the rest of the family sits amid the packing crates feeling terribly low. Beneatha says that Walter is no brother of hers, and Mama chastises her for failing to feel sympathy for what he has been through. At this point Walter seems to have lost everything—his dream of owning his own business, the family's money, and now, at last, his self respect and the respect of his own family.

But it turns out that Walter's tirade has had a therapeutic effect. The audience doesn't know it yet, but as he sits silently his outlook begins to change. When the white man arrives to pay them off, Walter has changed his mind. With his young son Walter Jr. at his side, he tells the man that they are not going to take the money, that they are a proud people and that they will try to be good neighbors, but that they are going to move into the house.

Walter's change appears to be a result of hitting the bottom and then getting back up again. When he heard the words coming out of his mouth, it gave him a chance to really look at himself. He realized that after losing so much, the only thing he had left that mattered was his family and his dignity, so he responded with an act that satisfied both.

What is the basic contrast between the past and present of Ulysses' life in "Ulysses" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson?

Essentially, the main contrast between Ulysses' past and present is that, in his past, the king was a mighty warrior and adventurer, while, in his present, he is an aged statesman bored with his idle existence and unhappy with the companionship of his family and subjects. One of the major points of Tennyson's "Ulysses" is to describe this contrast, and it quickly becomes very clear that Ulysses glorifies his legendary past while regarding his present situation with distaste. For instance, take a look at how Ulysses describes his past exploits:

Much have I seen and known; cities of men 

And manners, climates, councils, governments, 

Myself not least, but honour'd of them all; 

And drunk delight of battle with my peers, 

Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy. (13-17)

From this description, it's obvious that Ulysses' past was filled with adventure, epic warfare, and great deeds worthy of legendary heroes. To contrast this thrilling description, take a look at how Ulysses describes his present:

It little profits that an idle king, 

By this still hearth, among these barren crags, 

Match'd with an aged wife, I mete and dole 

Unequal laws unto a savage race, 

That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me. (1-5)

It's clear that Ulysses regards his present life as boring, meaningless, and lacking in passion, and this dull assessment is emphasized by the king's sentimental assessment of his heroic past.

All in all, the main contrast here is that, in the past, Ulysses was a mighty warrior capable of great deeds, but he is now reduced to an old man who feels confined by his duties and his age. Thus, this poem is really about the aging process and how an elderly individual deals with the inability to live the life he enjoyed in his youth. By presenting this process in the legendary context of Ulysses and The Odyssey, Tennyson dramatically highlights its inherent difficulty. 

What are the poetic devices used in the poem "The Listeners" by Walter de la Mare?

The imagery of silence is significant. Walter de la Mare fills the house with images of absence, silence, and even death. The listeners are "phantoms." Taken literally, this could mean they are dead or absent, but it could also imply they are there in the house and just refuse to answer the Traveller. Even though the Traveller might think people are actually home, those people might as well be phantoms because they refuse to answer him. The listeners are in the "quiet of the moonlight" and the Traveller is the "voice from the world of men." This imagery suggests the listeners are part of nature itself and the traveler is a lone man asking questions but receiving no replies. The latter is more philosophical because it suggests a man asking questions by himself.

Taken literally, this is a man asking for communication at the door of a house. One could interpret the poem in a broader metaphorical way, though, by arguing the poem shows how every individual seeks communication and acknowledgment from others. It is a social yearning we all have. It also describes the experience of how every individual asks questions (of other people, God, or nature) but does not always receive a response. So, metaphorically speaking, the Traveler is anyone who seeks these things. In this way, the entire poem is a literary device: a metaphor of how every individual reaches out for answers.

As the Traveler leaves, the listeners wait for the noise to fade away. The poet uses alliteration to suggest the sound of a light breeze, whispering, or a susurration:

And how the silence surged softly backward

Is the new generation actually very different from older generations when they were young? If so, in what ways? In what ways are they similar?

Very often, older generations have concerns about the behavior of young people. Just looking at the United States in the twentieth century, we see that both the 1920s and the 1960s (and really beginning in the 50s) a "generation gap" developed, with older people very concerned about what seemed to be a very rebellious streak among the young. Of special concern was the apparently immoral behavior of younger people. So older people today who worry that the youth of today pose some sort of existential threat to society as we know it are not alone in a historical sense--parents and other adults have always struggled to understand their kids. But we should also note that important changes took in the twentieth century that changed the relationship between children and adults. The first is that, throughout the Western world, obligatory education and child labor laws meant that children were kept out of the workplace (even if it was the family farm) for a time. Also, psychologists began to analyze and theorize about the ways kids developed. The concept of "adolescence," basically unknown before, emerged. Beginning in the 1950s, kids became the targets of mass-marketing, as music, clothing, cars and other consumer goods were marketed to them. Adolescent behavior became a sort of commodity in itself, and parents began to fret that this was a threat to the morality of the youth. So in short, while parents always worried about the "younger generation," assuming that it represented a decline of morality, the very definition of youth has changed dramatically over time, perhaps intensifying generational conflict.

What is the moral of the poem "The Frog and the Nightingale" by Vikram Seth?

The moral of the poem "The Frog and the Nightingale" by Vikram Seth is that one should not be persuaded by flattery to be something one is not. When the nightingale first shows up in the bog, she has a beautiful voice. When she sings to "the whole admiring bog," they are rapt with admiration and attention. The nightingale sings longer than she should: "So the nightingale once more, / Quite unused to such applause, / Sang till dawn without a pause." 

The frog rightly senses that the nightingale can be manipulated by her vanity and need for an audience. He convinces her to sing much longer than she should. She sings before "a breathless, titled crowd," an audience composed of noble birds, and she sings far too long. She continues in this way, as "her ears were now addicted / To applause quite unrestricted." Her need for attention causes her to exhaust herself so much that she dies. In the end, the frog says that the nightingale  was "far too prone to influence." The moral is to accept what is special about oneself without trying to be something different or greater just to win admiration from others. 

What are examples of oxymoron in the poem "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner"?

Oxymora are figures of speech which involve some kind of contradiction in terms. In Part II, the speaker says "Water, water, every where, / Nor any drop to drink." This might qualify as an oxymoron because it seems contradictory to be surrounded by water while being unable to drink any of it. However, this is easily explained away by the fact that it is saltwater and is therefore unfit to drink. 

The most obvious example of an oxymoron in this poem occurs in Part III. The mariner and his crew encounter the character "LIFE-IN-DEATH." She (Life-in-Death) and Death are rolling dice, gambling over the fates of the men on the ship. Death wins all of the crew and they are killed. But "Life-in-Death" wins the mariner. She decides to put a curse on him.

Life and death are clearly contradictory terms. This combination fits the fate of the mariner. He is cursed to remain alone (alive) with his ship full of dead men. He is alive but in a world of death. 

Why might the author have chosen the title of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas?

The title, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, is reflective of the naïveté of the main character, Bruno. This title befits the limited third person narration which also reflects Bruno's lack of awareness of many of the realities of his life. 

Author John Boyne has stated that he felt that the only way to present the Holocaust respectfully was through the eyes of a child. While this approach to a narrative about the heinous concentration camp of Auschwitz in Boyne's novel has been decried by Jewish authorities, Kathryn Hughes, a British historian, biographer and journalist, who concurs with others that the plot is implausible, also observes,

"Bruno's innocence comes to stand for the willful refusal of all adult Germans to see what was going on under their noses."

So, in order to express this willful naïveté of many of the German people, and treat the time period respectfully, Boyne has Bruno not comprehend who the "Fury" is, what exactly it is that his father and Lieutenant Kotler do, or why Shmuel and the others are kept behind a fence wearing some type of pajamas. In addition, another message is contained in this presentation of naïveté:  There is a price to pay for keeping one's knowledge of historical changes hidden. 

 Hughes, Kathryn (20 January 2006). "Educating Bruno". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 March 2015

Can mercury react with water? If so, what is the reaction?

Mercury does not react with water. Mercury and water do not mix, as mercury is almost 5.43 times more dense than water, causing it to sink to the bottom of a container if the two are mixed. 

Mercury can react with oxygen molecules at high temperatures, so if the water were to be chemically altered, such as through electrolysis, the mercury could bond and form a salt. Mercury can also react with some acids, so if the water is impure, there may be smaller reactions occurring and corrupting your mixture.

Because mercury has such a high surface tension, if water and mercury are mixed and agitated, you might be able to cause small beads of mercury to separate themselves from the main body of mercury, but this is a physical change, not a reaction.

Clarify the farcical elements of The Second Shepherds' Play and how they relate to the more serious nature of the play.

"The Second Shepherds' Play" is known for its slapstick humor and serious depiction of the nativity. One example of the farcical elements in the play is when the shepherds make several unsuccessful attempts to locate the Christ child, only to discover a sheep in his cradle. These humorous elements actually comprise more of the play than its serious nature, but they serve the purpose of providing contrast. With this contrast, "The Second Shepherd's Play" uses the familiar literary technique of getting the reader to let his or her guard down with humor so the play can deliver a brief yet strong message that seems all the more important in comparison.

Alternating moments of brevity and seriousness is a common literary device that is used to great effect in this play. The medieval setting gives this play a naturally somber air that is then undercut by the regular use of slapstick humor. Even the characters continue this theme. The second shepherd's wife is used as a humorous character and a social commentary on the way that marriage changes people. The three shepherds themselves engage in silly behavior, such as singing while they travel. Mak, the sheep thief, is another strong example of farcical humor in the play as he tricks the shepherds into feeling sorry for him only to steal one of their sheep while they are sleeping.

The farcical elements in "The Second Shepherds' Play" serve the purpose of highlighting its serious message, which is the nativity story itself. By using humor to lead up to the central story, the writer increases reader engagement and sets the stage for contrast.

What makes Stargirl so interesting?

Stargirl is actually a girl named Susan, but she prefers to go by "Stargirl."  At her school, the other students just want to fit in and be popular, but it becomes clear that Stargirl has no interest in fitting in.  This sets her apart from the other students almost immediately.  She doesn't wear makeup, and wears weird outfits every day. She decorates her desk at school and sings Happy Birthday to kids she doesn't know.  At sports games, she cheers for the other team.  She doesn't seemed concerned with being popular-she just wants to make everyone else around her happy.  Some of the other students accept her, while others are wary of her and think that she's just doing all of this for attention.

The people have been led to believe they have been made "equal" for their own benefit – to eliminate jealousy and competition. What is the real...

In nearly every dystopian society, the ultimate goal of the leaders isn't the stated goal, "equality" in this instance. For the most part, the ultimate goal in these worlds is control. Handicapper General Diana Moon Glampers is the one who primarily controls the world by ensuring this "equality."

The majority of the people seem to support the goal of this world as evidenced by Harrison Bergeron's parents, who are both pretty accepting of the world's rules. When George Bergeron states that if he removed his handicaps, then "other people'd get away with it and pretty soon we'd be right back to the dark ages again, with everybody competing against everybody else. You wouldn't like that, would you?" His wife answers, "I'd hate it."

However, the reaction is violent when Harrison, whose individuality is so impressive that he is able to "kiss the ceiling," attempts to challenge the control exhorted over him by the government. Glampers enters the studio where this mini-rebellion is taking place and does not warn Harrison. Instead, she enters the studio "with a double-barrelled ten-gauge shotgun" and shoots Harrison, who is dead "before [he] hit[s] the floor."

The problem with these societies is that without forbidding the populace to express their individuality, they lack control. So the leaders, like Glampers, are oppressive and prohibit original thought. This same idea is seen in other dystopian works like 1984, The Matrix, and The Hunger Games.

Summarize how Spain changed in a social, economic and political sense after the Reconquista in Spain?

The Reconquista, which concluded in 1492, had far-reaching implications for the culture, economy, and government of Spain.  Socially, the expulsion of Muslims and Jews from Spain created a unified and homogeneous population under a Catholic monarchy.  With the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella, Spain experienced political stability that allowed it to reach new heights.  The unity that was felt after the Reconquista led to unbridled expansion by Spain, beginning with the voyages of Christopher Columbus to the New World.  Within a half of a century, Spain's colonial holdings in the Americas were expansive and prosperous.  The gold and silver acquired through the Spanish colonies enriched Spain to the point that they were the wealthiest nation in Europe.  This wealth was used to build a large fleet of warships known as the Spanish Armada.  This economic and military dominance became the envy of the Western world during the 16th Century.

Can you provide a character sketch of Lemuel Gulliver?

Lemuel Gulliver is the main character in Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, and so he merits special attention when approaching the novel. For the most part, Gulliver is thoroughly normal; he seems to have a comfortable income, he works as a surgeon, and he possesses few unusual or remarkable qualities. Indeed, we get the sense that Gulliver is something of an Everyman, and that the adventures he falls into are pure coincidence (or rotten luck) and could happen to just about anyone. However, it's worth noting that the one distinctive trait Gulliver does exhibit is a particularly enthusiastic curiosity. Throughout his journeys, Gulliver imbues his narrative with in-depth, rich descriptions of all he witnesses, and so he proves himself to be a deft observer of minute detail. Additionally, Gulliver does seem to become rather eccentric by the end of the novel. Indeed, his encounter with the Houyhnhnms and the Yahoos leads him to distrust and shun most interactions with humans, and it's safe to say that this characteristic is pretty unusual. So, while Gulliver at first seems relatively unremarkable, he slowly reveals a handful of interesting, and even unusual, characteristics as the novel progresses.

Outline the acquisition of data through the technology of satellite remote sensing and provide one example of the application of remote sensing...

Data acquisition is accomplished through satellite remote sensing through temporal, spectral and spatial resolutions. Spatial resolution gives a specific pixel size for satellite images of the earth's surface. This data can be used in a variety of contexts. Temporal resolution gives the revisiting frequency of the satellite sensor for a given location on earth. Finally, spectral resolution gives the number of spectral bands a satellite sensor picks up that gather reflected radiance. Spectral resolution also covers the position of bands in the electromagnetic spectrum.

Each of these aspects of data acquisition accounts for the powerful acquiring abilities of satellite remote sensing. This technology has numerous applications in everyday life. Obtaining accurate and reliable information about the relationships between physical objects on earth is key to many scientific disciplines and industries, from construction to cartography.

A Practical Example of Remote Sensing Technology

Satellite remote sensors can be used to determine the scope of a phenomenon or to find out more about an object that cannot be deconstructed. This is accomplished by making inferences based on the EMR that is reflected and recorded by satellite remote sensing equipment. The human eye is the most common example of remote sensing technology in everyday life. The human visual system works through passive remote sensing. The eyes passively sense radiation that is reflected off a given object and the brain processes the information. The cones and rods in the eyes are photosensitive cells that function as remote sensors. The further away an object is from the eyes observing it, the further the radiation must travel. The signals the radiation sends from the retina travel to the visual system for processing according to its physical relationship to the observer.

Describe the storm that hits Timothy and Phillip's island in The Cay.

In Chapter 15, a brutal storm hits Timothy and Phillip's island. The hurricane winds and driving rain are relentless. Although the initial storm eventually calms down, it does not do so for long before it returns again with violent fury.

Phillip tells us that the icy raindrops pelt them so savagely that they feel like they have been assaulted by "punches of a nail" or "thousands of hard berries blown from air guns." With hurricane winds blowing at great speeds, plants like the sea grape are effortlessly uprooted and carried away. Meanwhile, the waves have been whipped up to white-capped peaks of forty feet high. These waves are so high that they reach the hilltop where Timothy and Phillip are sheltering.

Eventually, their hut is blown away, and both have to tie themselves to a palm tree in order to stay alive. Alas, when the storm ebbs, Phillip discovers that his faithful friend has died. Timothy's body has been flayed by pelting raindrops that drove tiny grains of sand into his back and legs.

Provide an example of a solid based heterogeneous mixture.

A mixture is made by mixing two or more different materials together. Note that there is no chemical combination in the constituents of a mixture. This means that constituents of a mixture can be separated by physical means. A mixture can be either homogeneous or heterogeneous, depending on the uniformity of mixing. If the different constituents of a mixture are uniformly present throughout, such a mixture is known as a homogeneous mixture.

A heterogeneous mixture consists of constituents which are not distributed uniformly throughout the mixture. A common solid based heterogeneous mixture is trail mix. This is made by mixing dry fruits, nuts, chocolates, grains, etc. The different components of trail mix are non-uniformly distributed in the mixture and can be easily separated into individual components. Note that each individual constituent retains its own properties (taste, color, etc.). 

Some other examples of solid-based heterogeneous mixtures are

• a bowl of fruit loops


• a bowl of oatmeal and raisin cereal


• mixed nuts 

Hope this helps. 

Tom had discovered the great law of human action. What was it?

In Chapter Two of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tom is forced to whitewash a fence. The fence is thirty yards long and made of boards nine feet high. Since it is a Saturday, all the other boys would be going off to have fun. Tom is smarter than the other boys and manages to get them to do his work for him by pretending that whitewashing a fence is not really work but pleasure. He soon has the boys asking him to let them share in his pretended enjoyment. But he refuses at first on the grounds that it takes special skill. In the end they not only do the whole job but actually pay him for the privilege with marbles, toys, and all sorts of whatnots. 

He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it—namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain.

The narrator goes on to explain that work is something that a person is obliged to do, while play is something a person is not obliged to do. Proof of this assertion is the fact that a number of boys get pleasure out of whitewashing 270 square feet of board fence. They actually apply three coats of whitewash, so the total area painted would amount to a little over 700 square feet. Tom's Aunt Polly is amazed when she comes outside to inspect the job.

When she found the entire fence whitewashed, and not only whitewashed but elaborately coated and recoated, and even a streak added to the ground, her astonishment was almost unspeakable. 

This is perhaps the best-known episode in all of Mark Twain's writings. Most editions of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer contain at least one color picture or sketch of a small barefoot boy painting a fence with a big brush. It seems symbolic of small-town boyhood in America of the nineteenth century.

Can I have a summary on hierarchy in Chapter 7?

Chapter Seven is titled “The Ethnic Theory of Plane Crashes.” The “hierarchy” concept is raised beginning in subchapter 7. One of the contributing factors to Korean Air’s high number of plane crashes in the 1990s was that the crew members used “mitigated speech.” Even in emergency situations, they addressed each other politely and deferred to their captains, abiding by strong cultural and administrative hierarchies. In a hierarchy, individuals in a group are arranged in a definite order by rank, grade, age, or some other kind of system. Uniformed personnel are usually trained to defer to the knowledge and experience of their top leaders, by rank. There are also cultures whose languages and customs permit much more ambiguity – with the use of highly mitigated speech and extreme politeness – than others. Some of the Asian countries have the highest tolerances for oral ambiguity in the world. These factors combined dangerously for Korean Air. Even when lower-ranked crew members saw potentials for life-threatening circumstances, they didn’t feel free to mention the problems to any higher-ranked officers. The airline’s solution was to teach English to its personnel and to conduct all communication in English, using individual first names instead of rank. These changes allowed everyone the freedom to leave behind their perceived hierarchies. They could be direct and honest, which are necessary features involved when flying planes over mountainous terrain.

What was great about the Fertile Crescent?

The Fertile Crescent is an area in the Middle East and Mediterranean that is known for being one of the world's first agricultural communities. 

The area received its name thanks to the crescent-shaped location that it covers. Though this location is no longer known to be a particularly fertile area, it is believed that the temperatures and landscape were once more moderate than they are today.

Research has shown that this area was a fertile location in which agriculture was a huge part of daily life in times as far back as 8000 B.C. The Fertile Crescent is also believed to be one of the first locations where irrigation systems were part of the systematic cultivation of the land. 

The advanced understanding of agriculture at the time led to civilizations within the area becoming hubs of commerce and culture.

What stereotypical male and female characteristics does Anton Rosicky possess?

The character Anton Rosicky is described by Dr. Burleigh as being a well-rounded and contented man who has struck a fine balance in his life. This balance can even be seen in the even blend of stereotypical male and female characteristics he possesses.

Stereotypical Male Characteristics

In the era in which "Neighbor Rosicky" is set, the idea of being a life-long hard worker like Rosicky was considered a stereotypically masculine trait. He provides for his family and earns a living off the land with the sweat of his brow. Rosicky is also very self-sufficient, having left his hometown for the intimidating city sprawl of London when he was only 18. From his humble origins, he rose to become a land owner and prizes his independence.

Stereotypical Female Characteristics

Rosicky possesses the stereotypically feminine trait of being incredibly nurturing with his family members, including his daughter-in-law, Polly. When the doctor warns Rosicky to take it easy around his farm, trading in hard labor on the farm for helping his wife with housework, he does not balk at the order as many men would. Rosicky is not prideful and he doesn't consider himself above "woman's work" in the household. He prioritizes his family and takes great satisfaction in the emotional relationships between them. He also demonstrates a willingness to sacrifice his own comfort, lending his car to his son and daughter-in-law and taking on some of their work so they can enjoy an evening in town. In this way, Rosicky shows the stereotypically feminine trait of self-sacrifice. He is very emotionally astute and always seems to know what those around him are feeling.

Anton Rosicky is an ideal blend of the best characteristics that are stereotypically associated with each gender. As a result, he is both strong and in touch with his feelings.

In the "Lumber Room" by Saki, the aunt's efforts to punish Nicholas boomerang on her. Who or what is the author satirizing in this story?

In the short story “The Lumber Room,” Saki primarily uses the aunt to satirize the authoritarian adult thinking and actions towards Nicholas and the other children. Although the aunt believes she is punishing Nicholas for his transgression of putting a frog in his breakfast, he uses his quick wit to outsmart the aunt at her own game. In developing the character of Nicholas, Saki ridicules the actions and reactions of the aunt, thus satirizing her.

The aunt, and other adults, are unable to see the reasoning skills Nicholas demonstrates, and think he is an impertinent child who needs to be punished. In reality, Nicholas outmaneuvers the aunt, who sends the other children and adults on an adventure that turns into a disaster, while she keeps watch over Nicholas at home. She wastes her whole day insuring that Nicholas pays the price for being “in disgrace.” By tricking the aunt into thinking he entered the forbidden gooseberry garden, he is able to have his own adventure in “The Lumber Room.” While he was enjoying items in the room, the aunt is certain he entered the gooseberry garden, and in her haste to catch him, she falls into the water tank.

Once again, Saki creates a scene in which the aunt is made to seem ridiculous. Nicholas, a mere boy, is able, through his line of questioning, to outsmart the aunt. He is fully aware she is the one who is trapped, but uses her dull intellect to his advantage.

 "I was told I wasn't to go into the gooseberry garden," said Nicholas promptly.

"I told you not to, and now I tell you that you may," came the voice from the rain-water tank, rather impatiently.

"Your voice doesn't sound like aunt's," objected Nicholas; "you may be the Evil One tempting me to be disobedient. Aunt often tells me that the Evil One tempts me and that I always yield. This time I'm not going to yield."

Why is the use of tempo effective in a fight scene of a play?

The question--why is the tempo of a fight that occurs within a play important--does not specify a particular play. There have, however, been plenty of examples throughout the history of theater in which fight or battle scenes have been incorporated into the action. Plays that were produced during Medieval times, or that were authored by Shakespeare, or that were produced in ancient Rome or during the present have included scenes of conflict, and these scenes have been structured for maximum effect through the use of, among other techniques, pacing. The pacing or tempo at which the fight is staged is manipulated for the purpose of maximizing the scene's dramatic impact or, conversely, moving the scene along as expeditiously as possible so that more important scenes or themes can be emphasized. It all depends upon the role of the fight in the broader context of the act or scene in which it occurs. Sword fights, which featured prominently in many plays during earlier periods, including adaptations of Alexander Dumas' The Three Musketeers and Count of Monte Christo, were staged in real-time tempos because of their centrality to the scenes in which they occurred. Fights staged in productions adapted from the works of Shakespeare will similarly use a tempo consistent with the rest of the action presented. Larger battle sequences, such as occur in Henry V, are adjusted for the obvious limitations of the stage (i.e., physical limitations in terms of the size of the stage and the number of actors involved), the fighting being depicted in truncated terms both because of those inherent limitations and because of the peripheral role of the actual fighting to the broader action.

Just as with film, fight scenes in plays are either sped up or slowed down depending upon the writer and/or director's vision for the role of the conflict in the broader story. The assassination of Julius Caesar is, obviously, a vital scene in Shakespeare's play, but, as readers and viewers of the play know, it is not central to the political machinations that provide the basis of the story the playwright wanted to relate. The scene, however, can be slowed down to emphasize its inherent brutality and the theme of betrayal involved, or it can be staged in normal pacing to emphasize its inevitability. Tempo is a tool directors use to manipulate audience sentiments and reactions.

What is chemcial equilibrium?

Living things carry out many chemical reactions in order to stay alive. A chemical reaction occurs when chemical bonds are made or broken between atoms. 

The molecules that take part in a chemical reaction are known as reactants and the final molecules that form as a result of the chemical reaction are known as products. Chemical reactions are reversible so that reactants in the forward reaction become products in the opposite reaction. 

When the amount of reactants and products do not change, one can describe this state as chemical equilibrium.

An example of a reversible reaction is when two molecules of hydrogen and one molecule of oxygen combine to form two molecules of water. In this reaction, the reactants are hydrogen and oxygen and the product is water. In the reverse reaction, water can break down into hydrogen and oxygen. In the reverse reaction, water is now the reactant and the products are hydrogen and oxygen.

If these reactions are occurring at the same rate, chemical equilibrium will occur. At equilibrium, the relative concentrations of both the reactants and products do not change.

What is the meaning of Edgar Allan Poe's To F--?

   Poe's poem "To F--" is a love poem. The poem's narrator is beset by "earnest woes."  His life moves along a "drear path" whose bleak vista is brightened not even with "one lonely rose." The only relief the narrator finds is in dreams of his beloved, the young lady known to us solely by the initial F. Poe tells us nothing of his beloved's physical appearance or personality traits; we are not privy to experiences they might have shared. What we do know is how F makes the narrator feel. And that is accomplished largely through the use of metaphor.

   The second stanza of the poem describes F as an "enchanted, far-off isle" anchored in a "tumultuous sea." Clearly, life is full of tumult and angst for the narrator, as seen in the storm-tossed sea imagery. His only respite lies in the persona of F, whom he pictures as an island of serenity, smiled over by the "serenest skies."

   Poe's narrator pictures life as bleak and full of problems. It is only through love, specifically in the form of F, that the narrator finds solace and respite.

Why does Winnie think she is being kidnapped?

Winnie believes that she is being kidnapped in chapter 6 because she is physically picked up from the ground, deposited onto the back of a horse, and rushed out of the area where she and Jesse have just been talking. All of this happens without her permission. In fact, Winnie isn't even given the opportunity to say no. Jesse, Miles, and Mae simply decide that they need to take Winnie with them.

First she was kneeling on the ground, insisting on a drink from the spring, and the next thing she knew, she was seized and swung through the air, open-mouthed, and found herself straddling the bouncing back of the fat old horse, with Miles and Jesse trotting along on either side, while Mae ran puffing ahead, dragging on the bridle.

As it turns out, though, the Tucks are just as frightened as Winnie.

Winnie had often been haunted by visions of what it would be like to be kidnapped. But none of her visions had been like this, with her kidnappers just as alarmed as she was herself. She had always pictured a troupe of burly men with long black mustaches who would tumble her into a blanket and bear her off like a sack of potatoes while she pleaded for mercy. But, instead, it was they, Mae Tuck and Miles and Jesse, who were pleading.

The reason for the Tucks' fright is because Winnie discovers their secret spring, and the Tucks panic as to how to respond. Their panicked response is to grab Winnie and get her away from the spring. Once Winnie is away from the spring, the Tucks then explain to Winnie who they are and what the spring is capable of doing.

What quotes show that the mother and daughter are alike in "Two Kinds"?

I believe this quote shows how Jing-mei and her mother are alike.  

In fact, in the beginning I was just as excited as my mother, maybe even more so. I pictured this prodigy part of me as many different images, and I tried each one on for size.

This quote shows that both mother and daughter desire the fame and uniqueness of the child prodigy concept.  Jing-mei likes the idea of being great at something in order to show off, and her mother likes the idea of having a daughter than she can show off to the world too.  The similarity is pride.  If Jing-mei winds up being a child prodigy, then both ladies will be proud of that fact.  

Another quote that shows a similarity between the two family members is this next quote.  

The girl staring back at me was angry, powerful. She and I were the same. I had new thoughts, willful thoughts - or rather, thoughts filled with lots of won'ts. I won't let her change me, I promised myself. I won't be what I'm not.

This quote shows Jing-mei's stubbornness.  Jing-mei resolves to undermine every single one of her mother's attempts to make her a prodigy.  For every doomed attempt, Jing-mei's mother resolves to find another way to make her daughter successful.  Jing-mei's mother pushes harder and harder to make her daughter great, and Jing-mei pushes back equally hard.  Both ladies are incredibly stubborn, and their attitudes eventually cause a complete break in the relationship. 

How does life change for the animals after the Rebellion?

After the animals overthrow Mr. Jones, their lives change in a number of ways. First of all, as we learn in Chapter Three, Sundays are a day of rest and celebration. The animals do not work, for instance, and have breakfast one hour later. Sundays is also the day of their weekly meeting in which they raise the flag, celebrate the expulsion of Mr. Jones and discuss the coming week's work. Each meeting is then closed with a rendition of their anthem, Beasts of England.

Secondly, another major change for the animals is the opportunity to educate themselves. Thanks to Snowball, they can learn to read or write or join one of his many committees, like the White Wool Movement for the sheep.

Arguably, of all the animals on the farm, life has changed the most for the pigs. From the text, it is clear that the pigs do less work than before and instead spend their time supervising and directing the others. They also enjoy better rations because they have access to milk and apples. This is significant because it marks the beginning of their ascent to power which will have further, and increasingly negative, implications for the other animals on the farm.

What is the aim or objective of the short story "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" by Leo Tolstoy?

The story seeks to educate the reader about the dangers of greed and unchecked desires. According to Pahom, land was the answer to all his troubles. During the conversation with his wife and sister-in-law, he boasted that with more land, he would not fear the devil himself. Pahom did not consider that there were other important things in life, and the devil took advantage of his weakness. Pahom was unaware that wealth came at a price; in his case, the price was his soul. The devil gave Pahom the opportunity to acquire land, which he desperately wanted. Pahom was ungrateful for what he received, however, and became greedy. He wanted more land, and his desire led him to make the wrong decisions, which eventually led to his death.

What was "The Necklace" by Guy De Maupassant about?

"The Necklace" by Guy du Maupassant is the story of a just barely middle-class French couple, Monsieur and Madame Loisel. Madame Loisel is a pretty woman who believes her marriage to a mere clerk does not do her justice. She believes her face is her fortune and hopes to do much better. Her husband finally manages to get an invitation for them to a swanky affair, and after much fretting about what she has to wear to impress those at the ball, Monsieur Loisel sacrifices his savings for a new dress for his wife, and she visits a friend from whom she borrows what she believes to be a diamond necklace. After a successful night, Madame Loisel loses the necklace somewhere between the ball and home. The necklace is nowhere to be found. The couple must borrow money to replace the necklace and spend the rest of the story in debt and poverty. Madame Loisel loses even the smallest of amenities she enjoyed before. When she encounters her friend one day years later, she learns the necklace was a fake and not really made of diamonds at all. 

That, of course, is the plot of the story, which may or may not be what you mean by asking what the story is about. On a deeper level, the story is about the problems incurred if one is more concerned about appearances than character, the damage done by dishonesty, and the importance of appreciating what one has. If Madame Loisel had attended the ball as her beautiful and natural self, none of this would have happened. Had she chosen what she thought was a more modest piece of jewelry or wore flowers instead, as her husband had suggested, none of this would have happened. Had she told the truth about losing the necklace right after she lost it, she would have learned how little it would cost to replace. All of Madame Loisel's "suffering" is a product of her wanting a life she does not have and her failure to appreciate what she does have. As the story ends, perhaps she does have some appreciation for what is now gone, thanks to her own attitude and choices.

What happens during the Ambassador's garden party in Pygmalion?

The Ambassador's garden party is the culmination of what might appear to be the major plot arc of the play. Higgins has made a bet with Colonel Pickering that he will be able, in six months of language instruction, to pass off Eliza Doolittle, a cockney flower girl, as a Duchess in high society. The Ambassador's garden party is chosen as the setting in which this feat will be accomplished. Not only has Eliza had lessons in language and deportment, but she is exquisitely dressed wearing expensive rented jewelry. 

In the original version of the play, the garden party scene was not shown on stage but Eliza's triumph was discussed in Higgins' house after the two men and Eliza had returned home after the party. Shaw later added a scene in which Eliza and Higgins meet Nepommuck, one of Higgins' former students, at the embassy party, Although Higgins is concerned that Nepommuck will discover the ruse by means of his linguistic expertise, Nepommuck only surmises that Eliza is an Hungarian duchess because her English is far more perfect and precise than that of native speakers. Eliza is widely admired at the party.

In the poem "The Terminal," what impressions do you form of the boy? How does the poet create sympathy for the boy?

The first question that is being asked is an opinion question.  Answers will be different for different readers.  As the question states, the main job is to provide justification for why you feel the way that you do about the boy. 

One impression that I form about the boy is that he is young.  The poem states that he is four years old.  I have a son exactly that age, so my impressions of the boy are immediately influenced by my own son.  I picture how my son would respond in the environment that the poem describes.  The child and his parents are in a noisy and crowded area.  It says the boy is following the parents.  Knowing my son, I feel that the boy is not only confused but also frightened.  If the boy were excited and happy about being there, he would likely be next to his parents or even leading them.  When my own son is somewhere that he is familiar with, he often runs in front of me out of sheer excitement.  He hangs back when he is scared.  Hiding behind a parent is a natural posture of protection.  

The second stanza further clarifies my impression of the boy.  He is a boy of mixed ethnicity, and his fear escalates and mixes with feelings of isolation as the second stanza continues.  The boy is astute enough to realize that he is not quite like his mom or dad, so not having a queue for him probably increases his feelings of anxiety.  

The poet creates sympathy for the boy by making him so young.  The reader wouldn't feel quite as much pity for the boy if he were 25 years old, but a child naturally provokes readers to want to offer protection.  We feel sorry for the boy and his isolation.  The reason for his isolation also creates further sympathy.  If the boy were shunned because of something that he did, we might not feel as much sympathy, but the boy is isolated for something that he has no control over.  The poet's repetition of "tired and confused" also creates sympathy.  At some point in life, most readers have been tired and confused.  It's not a fun feeling, and knowing that a small child is experiencing that makes the boy a very sympathetic character. 

Balanced chemical equation between sulfuric acid and sodium carbonate.

Sulfuric acid is a strong acid with the formula `H_2 S O_4.` Sodium carbonate is a salt of weak carbonic acid `H_2 C O_3` and its formula is `Na_2 C O_3.`

Usually when a strong acid reacts with a salt of a weak acid, the salt of the strong acid and the weak acid occur. In this problem the reaction satisfies this rule, and sodium sulphate `Na_2 S O_4` and carbonic acid are formed. Also carbonic acid is unstable and forms water `H_2 O` and carbon dioxide `C O_2` which goes out as a gas.

So the (potentially unbalanced) reaction is

`H_2 S O_4 +Na_2 C O_3 = Na_2 S O_4 +H_2 O +C O_2.`

When we examine this equation with respect to all chemical elements involved, it appears to be balanced.

What role do visions and hallucinations play in the development of Macbeth's character in Macbeth?

Macbeth's visions and hallucinations play a pivotal role in his ambition for power and in his development as a character.

From Act I, Scene 3, in which Macbeth encounters the three witches, the "vaulting ambition" of Macbeth takes him into the phantasmagoric realm of visions and things imagined. These visions and hallucinations of Macbeth then become the objective correlatives of both his fears and his guilt.

Prior to his murder of King Duncan, for instance, in his troubled mind Macbeth knows that Duncan, who is his kinsman, is a virtuous man, having "borne his faculties so meek" (1.7.17). And because of his fears and twinges of conscience, Macbeth envisions a dagger before he commits his dastardly act of regicide. This dagger is the objective correlative of the emotions that Macbeth feels as he is about to commit the terrible crime:

Art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain? (1.7.36-39)

Similarly, Macbeth's guilt tortures him as, after Banquo's murder, he envisions the ghost of this noble man. In Act III, Scene 4, in his guilt Macbeth feels confronted by the ghost of Banquo, and with trepidation he speaks to this ghost:

Thou canst not say I did it: never shake
Thy gory locks at me. (3.4.54-55)

After the ghost of Banquo reappears, Macbeth's paranoia grows as "nothing is but what is not" and he begins to lose his hold upon what is real and what is not. In this fear Macbeth tries to eliminate anyone who may be a threat to him. He revisits the witches for assurance that he will remain king. When he demands to know about the future, the witches summon apparitions to inform him. The first apparition is that of an armed head that tells him to be wary of Macduff; the second is a child, covered with blood, that states that no man born of a woman will cause harm to Macbeth; and the third vision is that of a child wearing a crown who is holding a tree. This apparition says,

Macbeth shall never vanquished be until

Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill

Shall come against him. (4.1.96-98)

So immersed in this realm of witchcraft and things seen and unseen is Macbeth that he believes himself safe from harm by heeding the words of these apparitions. Ironically, however, it is his increasingly delusional mind and the equivocations of the witches which bring about his demise. For it is only when he is confronted by the reality of these ambiguities that Macbeth realizes the deception of the preternatural world and its visions as well as the devastating consequences of the phantasmagoric realm in which he has dwelt.

In Cofer's "American History," what story details reflect the writer's background?

Judith Ortiz Cofer is from Puerto Rico and so is her protagonist, Elena. Some details in the story that reflect this common heritage revolve around music, language, food, and certain behaviors. First, the music played in El Building comes from Puerto Rico. The following passage demonstrates the writer's experience with how Puerto Ricans use music to help them cope with the struggles of life:

"El Building was like a monstrous jukebox, blasting out salsas from open windows as the residents . . . tried to drown out whatever they were currently enduring with loud music."

Next, the use of language can reflect an individual culture. For instance, slang terms can help to identify one person with a particular group. Elena's mother tells her that she is "Enamorada," which is a term used to identify a Puerto Rican girl who is "stupidly infatuated." An equivalent turn of phrase akin to "enamorada" for today's teens might be that Elena is "crushing" on Eugene. Since the writer understands the language and slang used in the Puerto Rican culture, such words or phrases are used in her story about a girl not unlike herself.

Third, Cofer must know what it is like to go to a high school where African-American girls joke about a person's background. They tease Elena about eating rice, beans and pork chops. Specifically, the mean girls yell at Elena, "Pork chop, pork chop, did you eat your pork chop?" Cofer also mentions specifically how jealous Elena is that the African-American girls can skip rope better than she can. These deep feelings of inferiority seem to connect Cofer to her protagonist in specific ways only known to one who could have experienced the same.

Finally, when Elena walks home after hearing that President Kennedy was assassinated, Cofer explains how Puerto Ricans show respect for the dead in El Building. First, there is no music spilling out of the building; next, the unemployed men aren't out front complaining about life; then, Elena's mother asks her to go to church with her that evening to show respect for the fallen president. This behavior of the Puerto Rican people show respect for the president they loved. Through Elena, Cofer demonstrates the intricacies of life as a Puerto Rican immigrant in the 1960s. 

In Act 1 of A Doll's House Mrs. Linde describes Nora as a 'child.' Is this assessment of Nora's state of development valid?

The first impulse is to agree with Linde and say that Nora is, indeed, a "child." However, upon a deeper reading into Nora's character,  it would be unfair to think that. 

Linde, as well as everyone else mentioned in the play, is only aware of who Nora is through the image that Nora chooses to give of herself; that of a carefree, immature, playful and ornamental part of the household. It is no surprise that Linde would think of Nora exactly as the type of character that Nora so eagerly portrays.

Still, after having been friends with Nora for years, one must wonder why Linde continues to assess Nora's character based on these external traits. The answer to this is that Linde had not learn about the sacrifice that Nora had to make years earlier in order to save the life of her husband. Entering in a business loan deal with Krogstad,a man who is beneath her husband's own status, and to do this behind her husband's back, was beginning to get back at Nora in a very bad way. 

Therefore, Nora was, indeed, going through a very difficult situation that would have required a huge amount of "adulting" to do, that is, she would have had to make choices and decisions that a mere "child" or immature person could have never been able to do. Hence, Linde was not being 100% fair when she called Nora a "child." 

Remember also that Mrs. Linde and Nora had not seen one another in years by the time that Linde visits Nora, hoping to get a job at the bank where Torvald works. Linde has fallen in hard times, is much older than Nora, and has gone through terrible vicissitudes in life that have rendered her a very objective, no-nonsense type of person. 

Linde had always known Nora for being sort of an opposite of Linde: Nora had not suffered, in Linde's opinion, any of the life tragedies that make people grow up and mature. To Linde, Nora had always been given everything that she wanted, and her problems are minor, at least compared to those that Linde has gone through.

How kind you are, Nora, to be so anxious to help me! It is doubly kind in you, for you know so little of the burdens and troubles of life.

To this, Nora seems to disagree, and then Linde explains

Linde [smiling] My dear! Small household cares and that sort of thing!--You are a child, Nora.

Nora disagrees, and resents that Linde, of all people, would think such an opinion of her. In fact, we see Nora resenting more and more that image that people have made of her, even though she has worked more than hard to build that image all by herself.

How is the government depicted at the time of the setting of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee?

The setting of To Kill a Mockingbird is the 1930's during the Great Depression when Franklin D. Roosevelt was president. 

Roosevelt instituted his New Deal, which brought some relief to people with the Works Progress Administration (WPA). This program put to work thousands of unemployed and unskilled men. Bridges and highways were constructed, schools, and even parks. Most people who needed a job were eligible for employment with the WPA.

In Harper Lee's novel, Mr. Walter Cunningham refuses a job with the WPA because his farm would go to ruin if he left it. Bob Ewell is hired by the WPA, but he is fired, although almost no one is actually fired from the WPA.

While the Federal Government was characterized by the New Deal, which was a socialized program, the state government of Alabama had no such programs. Alabama began to lose much of its income beginning in the 1920's with the decline in agriculture. Because the farmers could not purchase things, the few industries in Alabama had to reduce production. Consequently, workers were fired. Unemployment was at least 25 percent throughout much of the 1930's.

In cities, too, unemployment was high, especially in Birmingham, where iron and steel mills closed. President Roosevelt in 1934 described this city as the "worst hit town in the country."

Textile mills stayed in business, but fewer workers were employed and made to work longer hours for lower wages. After a while, a massive strike was started in Gadsden, a city north of Birmingham. This strike, begun in 1934, spread to mills on the East Coast as workers protested against the owners of the mills who sought to avoid adhering to new regulations effected during the New Deal. 

Economic conditions for blacks in the North were so bad that some returned to farms in Alabama, hoping to live off the land, but so much of the soil had been overworked that it was stripped of nutrients. In addition, the Jim Crow Laws were in effect, so social conditions for African-Americans were deplorable. Segregation extended to all facets of life. There were separate schools, churches, restaurants, restrooms, drinking fountains--all of which were inferior to those for whites. Some African-Americans became Communists in their efforts to achieve better treatment and obtain jobs, but their efforts did not go far, as the KKK posted warnings against joining the Communist Party.

In interpersonal communication use the three-part management strategy (state my feelings, describe the other person's behavior that I object to,...

Interpersonal communication strategies are useful in making it possible to talk to somebody about a conflict. In your question you listed three parts of a strategy designed to accomplish this without letting emotions or defensiveness get in the way. Here's how I would deal with each of the two scenarios using this method.

Scenario 1

State your feelings:

It is important to acknowledge the other person's feelings right away. People are naturally defensive, so your first job is to soften that a little, even before you state your own feelings. I'd say something like: “I really appreciate you helping me get this job, but right now I'm responsible for doing xyz. I'll help you if I can once I've done what I am required to do.”

Describe the other person's behavior:

“When you say that if it wasn't for you I wouldn't have this job, you make it sound like you don't think I'm doing the job well enough to deserve it. That's not what you mean, is it?”

State a cooperative response that you both could live with:

Try to offer them something they want if you can, but still be firm about doing what you have to do.

“I'll be glad to help you whenever I can, but I have to make sure I complete my job properly first. “

Scenario 2

State your feelings:

“I thought I was doing a good enough job to deserve a promotion.”

Describe the other person's behavior:

This time, since they've been making negative comments, give them a chance to offer some input.

“Your comments make it sound like I'm doing something wrong. Do you think I need to improve in some area before I should seek a promotion.”

State a cooperative response that you both could live with:

Show a willingness to cooperate.

“I'll be glad to think about how to improve in whatever areas you mention.”

Notice that in both of these scenarios, we are acknowledging the other person's feelings and views respectfully, while giving them a chance to respond. It isn't just a matter of saying something like “Hey, listen here buddy. You're going to stop doing this and that's all there is to it.”

Also, we can't always expect these types of conflicts to be solved immediately. It may seem at first like you have been unsuccessful, but sometimes, after people have had a chance to mull things in their mind for awhile, they will change their behavior, if you stay calm and courteous.  

What is the summary of Chapter 5 of The Oz Principle?

THE OZ PRINCIPLE: Getting Results Through Individual and Organizational Accountability, written by Roger Connors,Tom Smith, and Craig Hickman, uses the Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum as an analogy “for conveying principles of accountability” (p. ix).

Chapter 5, The Tin Woodsman: Finding the Heart to Own It, posits that those who feel victimized are not powerless to change their circumstance if they "own it." Unfortunately, in America today, many people in their personal lives and in their business/corporate lives do not have the heart to own the situation in which they find themselves. The Oz Principle lays the lack of American competitiveness at the feet of corporate boards who refuse to accept accountability for mistakes their organizations make. One example used is NASA’s 1990 launch of the Hubble telescope only to find that the telescope’s mirrors blurred the images. Nasa failed to see and own the mistake cost--not only 2.5 million dollars for the Hubble telescope, but millions more to find the culprit who caused the mistake--so they were still “looking for a scapegoat” in 1992 rather than owning the situation (p.117). Owning it would have saved time and money, allowing the Hubble to do its job far sooner than what actually happened. It was not fully operational until 10 years after its intended debut.

The theme of Chapter 5 can be summed up in this passage found on page 113: “seeing and owning the accountability side of a story does not mean suppressing or ignoring the victim facts; rather it means acknowledging and possessing the reality that you participate in and do not passively observe your circumstances.” The “own it” theme encourages “victims” to stop watching their lives go by as if they could not affect the outcome. In other words, life is not a spectator sport, like football, basketball, or any other team sport. While the history of some circumstances may be beyond a “victim’s” control, taking ownership and changing the current condition is within a person’s or organization’s control. The Bradco Company in California is given as an example of an organization that looked for and owned responsibility for cost overruns on a large building job. When that was done, adjustments were made that allowed Bradco to finish the project “on time and within budget” (p. 118).

The chapter also provides the means to evaluate a situation looking at both sides of the story with self-assessment worksheets and scoring guides. The self-assessment worksheets even allow for the startling observation that: “even those whom we would consider to be “true victims” must acknowledge that in order to have a better future for themselves, they must be accountable for where they go from here” (p. 123). Preventing victim stagnation and the universality of the principle of owning one’s circumstances are the two most important aspects of the the Oz principle exemplified by the Tin Woodsman.

The principle of ownership is not specific to any culture or company, but owning a problem or situation opens the door to change to all who strive for improvement. The trains run on time in Japan because “everyone buys into the problem and treats it as their own” (p. 125). A Florida couple exemplified “the Own It attitude” after their home was destroyed by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and they moved to their vacation home on Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands only to have another hurricane destroy that home as well. Rather than becoming the victims of two hurricanes, this couple “acknowledged that they had built their homes in areas vulnerable to such disasters” and were able to “avoid the powerlessness that comes from being victims and … moved forward” (p. 124).

The take away in Chapter 5 is that Dorothy, in the Wizard of Oz, came to realize that the wizard couldn’t solve all her problems; results had to come from her own will and actions. Like Dorothy, American individuals and/or companies must stop looking for someone to blame and someone else to solve all their problems. According to The Oz Principle, so-called “victims” must own the circumstance and move forward to the life results they want.

In The Cay by Theodore Taylor, what is the Germans' motivation for blowing up the oil tankers?

At the beginning of The Cay, Phillip is on the island of Curacao, a Dutch island off Venezuela. In early 1942, Germans blow up the oil refinery on Aruba, the neighboring island. Then they blow up six tankers that bring oil to the refinery on Curacao (page 10). The oil is used to make kerosene, diesel, and gasoline. German subs really did destroy the Lagos oil refinery in Aruba in 1942 because this oil refinery was used to fuel Allied ships. By blowing it up, the Germans hoped to disrupt Allied shipping in the Caribbean. The Germans also actually blew up oil tankers in the region (see the link below) with the same goal of disrupting Allied shipping in the area. Later, Phillip is on a British tanker that is sadly torpedoed by a German submarine. 

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling, is there any mythological story behind each of the Deathly Hallows?

The Deathly Hallows are three magical objects central to the plot of the Harry Potter series, especially the last book. Though the Hallows are real, physical objects in the story, they are surrounded in myth and mystery. Something which is hallow is holy or sacred, and while it's an unusual form of the term, a sacred or holy object could be described as a hallow. To call these three magical items--a wand, a stone, and a cloak--the Deathly Hallows tips us off to the fact that they are related to death and are sacred for that reason.

The story behind the Deathly Hallows goes something like this:

Three brothers were traveling through some woods when they came to a river too deep to cross by wading through. Luckily, the three brothers were wizards and easily conjured up a bridge. Death (personified) was angry that he had been cheated out of three souls, so he appeared to the brothers. Death congratulated the brothers on having outwitted him and offered them each gifts of their own choosing. 

The first brother, who loved to duel, asked for a wand more powerful than any other. Death grabbed a branch from a nearby elder tree and transformed it into a wand.

The second brother, who was arrogant, wanted to humiliate Death and so asked to have the power to bring back the dead. Death grabbed a stone from the riverbank and enchanted it for the brother.

The third brother, the smartest of the bunch, asked for the power to walk free from this encounter with Death unable to follow him. Death gave him his own cloak, which granted the brother invisibility.

The three brothers then crossed the bridge and went on their ways with their gifts. The first brother made it into a town and challenged another man to a duel. Of course, his wand was the most powerful in existence and he won. He then boasted and dared anyone to try and take the wand from him. While he slept that night, someone crept into his room, slit his throat, and took the wand. Death had outsmarted the first brother and given him the key to his own death.

The second brother made it all the way to his own home before trying to use his enchanted stone. He turned it over three times in his hand, and before him appeared the figure of his dead fiancee. Though he could see her, he could not touch or speak to her. The second brother was so distressed that he killed himself, joining his long-gone love, the first brother, and Death.

The third brother enjoyed his gift for many years. The cloak gave him the power to remain invisible to Death, and only when he was ready to go did he take it off and bestow it upon his son. The third brother greeted Death like an old friend and finally went with him.

That is the bulk of the story, but we learn from Harry's friend Ron that there is a little more to it. Ron and lots of other wizard children grew up hearing this story as a bedtime story or folk tale. Though it is somewhat ambiguous, we are lead to believe that the Tale of the Three Brothers actually happened when it is revealed that the Hallows are real items. It is implied that the invisibility cloak Harry received anonymously during his first year at Hogwarts was the hereditary gift of the third brother.

With regards to the conflict of the seventh book, it is believed that any one person who owned all three of the Deathly Hallows would become a Master of Death. Owning the wand, the cloak, and the stone would make someone an essentially unstoppable force. As such, Voldemort wants to get his hands on the Deathly Hallows and fulfill his dream of immortality.

What factors shape Jing-mei's identity in "Two Kinds" by Amy Tan?

Jing-mei's identity is shaped not only by her early childhood experiences and her mother's parenting style but also by her mother's trauma prior to Jing-mei's birth. Jing-mei's mother fled China upon the Communist takeover in 1949. In the turmoil of the Revolution there, she lost her parents, her husband, and twin daughters. Jing-mei's mother dealt with that trauma by seizing America as her hope for a better life. She fiercely believed that America offered unlimited opportunity, and she pegged her happiness on her daughter's taking full advantage of the hope America offers. Thus, the trauma she experienced led her to adopt a parenting style that would shape Jing-mei's identity. 

Jing-mei's mother's parenting style was, to say the least, pushy. She was convinced that Jing-mei could be a prodigy and become famous, and by constantly pushing her daughter, she made her feel like she was not important for who she was, but rather for what she could accomplish. When Jing-mei "failed" at test after test, her self-image plummeted. Since she couldn't meet her mother's ridiculously high standards, she decided to "act out" by putting in less effort than she might have otherwise done. She then blamed her mother for her failures.

Jing-mei's experiences shaped her identity as well. Being part of a society in which high-achieving children were the norm--such as Auntie Lindo's daughter Waverly--also spurred Jing-mei to go the other direction. She saw other children being made into commodities--being valued for their performance rather than for themselves--and she didn't want to take part in that way of life. Hearing her mother brag about her non-existent talents, Jing-mei "determined to put a stop to her foolish pride." 

Interestingly, years later, after her mother has died, Jing-mei tries playing the piano again and is surprised at how quickly the music comes back to her. This suggests that perhaps she did have musical talent after all. But because she was pushed too hard, she chose to not pursue music in favor of being true to herself. Whether she overreacted or whether she was right in believing she had no musical ability is unclear. What is clear is that her identity, as she grew to adulthood, was shaped by her mother's past, her mother's parenting style, and Jing-mei's own childhood experiences.

In The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, what is Bruno's worldview and how has it changed?

In The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Bruno's inclusive and respectful worldview is strikingly consistent throughout the narrative.

Bruno's view of the world shows that people matter.  From his friends back in Berlin to Shmuel, the need for people is a very important component to his worldview.  Bruno validates people in profound ways, such as his friendship to Shmuel.  He also does this in small ways, such as when he validates Hitler's girlfriend as a nice lady.  Bruno's worldview is not politically intentional.  Rather, he simply treats people as he would want to be treated.  

Bruno's worldview emphasizes the need to atone for mistakes.  He understands that errors in judgment may happen.  Yet, figuring out how to make mistakes right is a significant part of what human beings should do.  He rectifies his mistakes such as with Pavel or Maria, and understands that he erred in letting Shmuel get abused from Kotler.  In these cases, Bruno is quick to make amends.  It is why Bruno is so loyal to Shmuel, even in the darkest and scariest of moments. Bruno's worldview towards people remains consistent throughout the novel.

Another aspect of Bruno's worldview is to represent what is right and decent. Bruno approaches the moral complexities within the Holocaust with a stark sense of ethical clarity.  He wants to be nice.  It is why he has such a disdain for Kotler.   Additionally, when "The Fury" comes to dinner, Bruno is not pleased with the way he orders Eva Braun and snaps his fingers at her.  Bruno's worldview affirms respect and he does not like it when others are disrespected.  It is why he sees the people at "Out-With" as simply the people "in the striped pajamas." Bruno's inability to call them prisoners or even "Jews" shows how he sees them as people.  Showing respect to people is a significant aspect of his worldview that is very consistent throughout the narrative.    

In Hamlet, why does Ophelia return the letter and presents Hamlet gave her?

Ophelia does this at the instruction of her father, Polonius. He believes Hamlet is not serious with her and is playing around. Polonius also tells Ophelia she is too young and inexperienced to be involved in (what he believes to be) a risky venture, as he tells her during their conversation in Act II, Scene 3:

OPHELIA
He hath, my lord, of late made many tenders
Of his affection to me.

LORD POLONIUS
Affection! pooh! you speak like a green girl,
Unsifted in such perilous circumstance.
Do you believe his tenders, as you call them?

Furthermore, he contends that Hamlet, being a prince, is far beyond Ophelia's status, as she is not royalty. Being the daughter of the king's adviser does not naturally mean she can have a relationship with the prince. He commands her to have no further relations with him:

I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth,
Have you so slander any moment leisure,
As to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet.
Look to't, I charge you: come your ways.

Polonius also believes Hamlet is going mad and seems to be concerned about his seeming obsession with Ophelia. When Ophelia informs him of Hamlet's verbal declarations of love, the gifts he gave her, and the affectionate letters he wrote her, Polonius insists Ophelia return them.

In Act II, Scene 2, Polonius reports Hamlet's strange behavior towards Ophelia to Claudius and Gertrude, telling them he disciplined his daughter by telling her, 

'Lord Hamlet is a prince, out of thy star;
This must not be:' and then I precepts gave her,
That she should lock herself from his resort.

When Polonius later speaks to Hamlet, he takes particular note of his constant references to Ophelia and assumes Hamlet is obsessed with her and mentally unstable. 

In Act III, Scene 1, Ophelia confronts Hamlet and tells him that she wishes to return all the "remembrances" he had given her. Hamlet denies that he had given her anything. During their conversation, the prince gets quite upset and insults Ophelia, telling her: "get thee to a nunnery," for she should not breed sinners. He accuses her of lying. Ophelia is obviously unnerved about his ranting and calls upon the powers of heaven to restore him. Hamlet storms off.

Polonius and Claudius have been eavesdropping on the conversation and then discuss Hamlet's behavior. They agree that all is not well with the young prince. Claudius undertakes to send him to England, while Polonius advises that the king should ask Gertrude to consult with her son. If Gertrude cannot make any headway, Polonius says Hamlet should be sent to England. Claudius ends the scene by stating,

It shall be so:
Madness in great ones must not unwatch'd go.

Who are three heroes in The Hobbit? Could they be Bilbo (for being willing to give up his life for a better cause), Gandalf (for saving the group...

All three characters you've mentioned are certainly heroes in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. Bilbo is a hero for saving the dwarves on multiple occasions, Gandalf is a hero for initially guiding the expedition in the beginning and for averting disaster at the Battle of the Five Armies at the end, and Bard is a hero for slaying Smaug and restoring the city of Dale. In short, your instinct regarding these characters is correct.

However, I'd encourage you to consider adding Thorin Oakenshield to your list of heroes. At first glance, Thorin might seem like an odd choice: he's got a reliably quick temper, tends to doubt Bilbo, and also nearly instigates a devastating battle with the elves and men of Lake-town. That said, Thorin proves his worth in the end. He cares deeply about his kinsmen, and he comes to the rescue during the Battle of the Five Armies. Indeed, this last point is key, as Thorin fights bravely and ultimately dies of his wounds. As such, though he can be an antagonistic character at some points in the story, Thorin certainly proves his heroism by the end of the novel. 

Do plants have blood?

Plants don't have blood, at least not in the same way that vertebrate animals do.

Blood is a specific element of the circulatory system, so it would probably be more informative to start with a more generalized question like "Do plants have a circulatory system?" If you consider a circulatory system to be something that allows the plant to move nutrients and wastes across a large portion of the organism, then, yes, you could consider vascular plants to have a sort of circulatory system. However, plants don't have specialized cells dedicated to transport in the same way that our blood does, and their circulatory systems are relatively low-pressure and powered more by solvent effects than by direct force like vessel constriction or a heart.

The primary purpose of our blood is to be able to move oxygen and carbon dioxide around our bodies efficiently. Plants don't need to do this because they absorb and release carbon dioxide almost directly from each individual photosynthesizing cell. Therefore we can say that plants have neither a literal nor an analogous version of blood, as we typically define it.

Why did the United States pursue a policy of imperialism in the late 1800s and in the early 1900's?

The United States pursued a policy of imperialism in the late 1800s and in the early 1900s for several reasons. One reason was that we had already expanded to the Pacific Ocean, and there were people in our country that believed it was our duty to spread our way of life to other countries. These people believed our way of life was superior to the way of living in other countries.

Another reason why we pursued a policy of imperialism was because we wanted to be viewed as a world power. World power countries, like Great Britain and France, had colonies beyond their borders. We didn’t have these colonies and felt we needed them to be viewed as a strong country.

Some people believed there would be economic benefits to colonization. They believed we would increase our trade if we gained colonies. This would help our businesses and our economy grow as we expanded our control over other places.

These forces helped drive the spirit of imperialism that existed in our country at this time.

How does the war setting make "The Demon Lover" more believable?

The end of "The Demon Lover" leaves the reader with uncertainties. Has Mrs. Drover's former lover driven off with her screaming in the taxi cab? Is this final scene all in Mrs. Drover's mind due to her traumatizing experiences during the Blitz?

This mysterious final scene ends a story grounded in fact. There are many references to war-torn London throughout the story. During the Blitz, Londoners did abandon their houses and flee to the country. Some streets were left in ruins. The city was transformed by the bombings and many people lived in fear. This was the reality of millions of people in London.

Mrs. Drover observes changes in her neighborhood. She sees "unoccupied houses... [which] meet her look with their damaged stare." She observes chimneys leaning and missing bricks from the bombings. She notices cracks on the wall when she goes inside her own house. These are outward signs of the damage done by the bombs. Inward signs are the trauma and anxiety that Londoners dealt with.

"The Demon Lover" is historical fiction. Historical fiction combines fact and fiction together. The historical facts in the story make it more realistic and believable.

How do I tackle characterization using psychoanalytic literary theory?

To use psychoanalytic literary theory on a character, you perform a similar analytic process to what Freud would have performed on a person. In other words, you examine a character's id, ego, and superego, and look for the root of the person's internal motivations. A character's superego is his or her moral code, while his or her id is the instinctual force behind the person's actions. The ego tries to mediate between the two forces. In addition, the character might be subject to unconscious motivations, such as the Oedipal Complex, which is the desire to murder one's father and marry one's mother. The character's internal desires might be revealed through Freudian slips, or mistakes that show unconscious or hidden desires. A character's dreams are another way to access his or her unconscious desires. In other words, a character's real emotions might be hidden, but could be revealed through dreams or Freudian slips. 

Why was it important to be a virgin queen, like Queen Elizabeth I, in Renaissance times?

In some ways, it was important NOT to be a “virgin queen” during this time.  There were some who questioned whether a queen would have the ability to rule in her own right, without a man to help her.  In addition, by not having children, a virgin queen put the succession into question. This could lead to conflict between people who wanted to succeed her when she died.  These were issues that Queen Elizabeth I of England faced during her reign and which did or could have compromised the stability of her rule.

However, there were also some advantages to being a virgin queen.  One of these advantages was religious.  For one thing, virginity was equated with purity, particularly among women.  Sex was seen as something that was necessary for most but not really good for the soul.  A virgin queen could be seen, then, as something of a moral paragon who forewent the pleasures of the flesh to care for her realm rather than children of her body. Secondly, some would have connected a virgin queen to the Virgin Mary.  This connection would have made people more likely to honor and venerate a virgin queen.

The other major advantage was political. At this time in Europe, marriages between royal families were an important political tool. Countries would form alliances by having marriages between members of their respective royal families. A virgin queen could, at least for a while, use the lure of a marriage as a bargaining chip with other countries. She could make them believe that she would contemplate marrying their king or some other royal. This would allow her to keep that country friendly with her own.  An astute queen could use her status as a single woman to bolster her country’s position in the world.

For these reasons, you could argue that it was important to be a virgin queen, but we should be aware that there were also drawbacks to this status.

In Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry, how is the value of human life addressed by the society in which Kira lives?

Perhaps the best insight into how Kira's community values human life is provided by Kira's trial. Vandara, Kira's accuser, brings a case against Kira that relies on the accepted standards of the community. 

"She was imperfect. And fatherless as well. She should not have been kept." The society believes that a child born with an imperfection, such as a disability, should be killed right after birth. They believe the spirit takes days to come into the child, and thus it is acceptable to kill a newborn infant. If a child cannot be provided for because it has no father, that child can be euthanized as well.

"She has not contributed." Humans are valued in Kira's society for contributing in material ways such as planting, weeding, or tending animals. A person who cannot perform a job that enhances physical existence may be killed.

"She can't marry. No one wants a cripple." Again, those who don't fit in or match the expectations of the society do not deserve to live.

"She causes problems with the discipline of the tykes, telling them stories, teaching them games so that they make noise and disrupt the work." The relational aspect of life, especially of the older people toward the children, is not valued in the society and is even considered a hindrance to the community. 

In Kira's defense, Jamison doesn't deny that Vandara accurately reflects the standards of the community. He says, "The accuser is correct that it is the way." The only defense he brings is that there may be exceptions. The Council of Guardians may violate the standards, but that does not nullify them. In their society, a person is valued for fitting in, for being able to perform jobs that sustain physical life, and for having normal looks and physical abilities. 

The society enforces its standards in the harshest way possible: by sending those who don't measure up to the Field of Leaving, where they will starve to death. 

In The Unfinished World: And Other Stories by Amber Sparks, what is the relationship between beauty and decay in three stories in the collection?

In The Janitor in Space, beauty is synonymous with a redemptive loneliness; it comes from rejecting the decay associated with "the accumulated debris of a lifetime in sin and sacrifice." The story follows a janitor who works on a space station; her daily work is mundane, and she thinks that the astronauts she cleans up after are sloppy and careless in their habits.

She remembers her past life with indifference. In her present circumstance, the weightlessness of space simulates a feeling of freedom. Up in space, she no longer has to contend with the shame of her criminal past. Although she has no friends, she is glad to be "free of the burden of people for the first time in her whole flat life." The janitor rejects death as a sort of redemption; to her, death is the "opposite of wisdom, (and) the opposite of mystery." Instead, loneliness (the only thing she owns) becomes a thing of beauty for her in her new life.

In The Lizzie Borden Jazz Babies, beauty is marred by a moral decay that results from misplaced priorities and flawed judgment. Accordingly, the mother and step-father in the story are concerned that grown men have begun to ogle the mother's teenage daughters. Because they find it difficult to accept the girls' burgeoning sexuality, the mother and step-father decide to curb the girls' extracurricular activities; they are no longer allowed to dance the sensual Lindy Hop. Instead, they must content themselves with ballet if they want to dance at all. The adults' flawed judgment and misplaced priorities lead them to shame the girls rather than to educate them about the pleasures and responsibilities that come with sexual awakening.

The girls rebel and decide to take revenge on their parents. They rename themselves the Lizzie Borden Jazz Babies. In 1892, Lizzie Borden stood trial for the axe-murders of her father and step-mother in Massachusetts; she was acquitted in 1893. Both Cat and Patty scheme to dispatch their parents in the same way. However, Cat eventually becomes infatuated with a young man and loses interest in carrying out the murders. Incensed, Patty schemes on her own, but it isn't the same without her twin. The story ends in a surrealistic dream, where Patty cuts down Cat's boyfriend with an axe. The ambiguous ending is stunning, reinforcing the idea that moral decay often corrupts beauty.

In For These Humans Who Cannot Fly, beauty can be derived from decay and death, if only from a matter of perspective. Accordingly, a widower remembers his dead wife by building death houses (Leichenhaus) for a living. In these houses, he has placed five hundred Temporary Resting Containers, where the deceased can rest until they are awakened from their "sleep." Although the widower knows that no one can come back from the dead, he still believes that "every death is a love story." Although its "the goodbye part," he believes that "the love is still there, wide as the world."

It is this love that sustains those who are left behind. From this perspective, the rituals of death are fraught with hope and beauty, not despair and grief. When his wife dies, the widower lays her in a Temporary Resting Container. He ties a piece of cord (connected to a bell) to one of her broken fingers. In the event she awakes, she will only have to move her finger and the bell will ring. Then, the doctors he has hired to be on call at all times will come to her aid. The widower sees the ritual of burying his wife as a comfort, a thing of beauty that encapsulates the love story of a lifetime.

What is an analysis of the poem "My Papa's Waltz"? What is the poem's purpose? How does the poet use imagery, symbolism, voice, and tone?

Theodore Roethke’s “My Papa’s Waltz” is a poem that describes a father beating his son through lyrical compositions that mirror a waltz.  While the verses recount the stench of alcohol, the battering of knuckles and the scraping of flesh, the four stanzas are written with an alternate rhyme scheme (abab cdcd efef ghgh) in iambic trimeter that gives the poem a beautiful musical cadence. Thus, the poem’s central poetic form is the metaphor comparing the fight between the father and son to a waltz—dancing serves as a symbol of violence. The voice is that of the young boy who is mentioned in the second line of the poem.  The voice is reflected in the playful line of “romped until the pans / slid from the kitchen shelf,” and in the mention of his mother’s disapproval in “My mother’s countenance / Could not unfrown itself.”

In the first stanza, the persona delivers the following lines:

The whiskey on your breath 
Could make a small boy dizzy; 
But I hung on like death: 
Such waltzing was not easy. 

The poem opens with the sensory image of whiskey on the father’s breath, establishing the father as being in a drunken stupor.  In the third line, the simile of “But I hung on like death,” describes the son as clinging to his drunk father despite the foul smell of whiskey, and it also symbolizes two partners holding on to each other while waltzing, which is supported in the metaphor of the fourth line: “Such waltzing was not easy.”

The overall metaphor of the waltz is continued in the third stanza:

The hand that held my wrist   

Was battered on one knuckle;   

At every step you missed 

My right ear scraped a buckle. 

In this stanza, the persona describes the confrontation through dance-specific diction, such as “held my wrist,” and “At every step.”  Thus, the actions are not portrayed as harsh beatings but rather elegant dances. The purpose of this poem is to take a horrific subject, such as a father’s beating of his son, and make it more readable and less sensational.  This could even be viewed as a coping mechanism on behalf of the persona since he is taking a traumatic experience and conveying it in a more positive light.

The final stanza completes the overall metaphor of the waltz:

You beat time on my head   

With a palm caked hard by dirt,   

Then waltzed me off to bed   

Still clinging to your shirt.

The metaphor of “beat time on my head” compares the physical beating to that of a metronome, and “Then waltzed me off to bed,” again compares the actions between father and son to actual dance moves.  However, the final line “Still clinging to your shirt” echoes the third line of the first stanza: “But I hung on like death.” Despite being beaten, the son desperately holds on to his father.   This suggests the boy still loves his father even though he becomes angry and physical when drinking.  It’s significant that the poem concludes with this line because it establishes the conflict the persona feels toward his father—he both loves and fears him. Thus, the tone is somewhat satirical, as the persona mixes resentment with adoration.  This is seen in the first stanza, where frightening images of “whiskey on your breath” and “make a small boy dizzy” suggest an inevitable beating.  Yet playful diction such as “romp” and “slid” to describe the fight suggests the boy does not harbor hatred towards his father.