What did Ida Wells-Barnett hope to accomplish with the publication of A Red Record?

Ida Wells-Barnett published A Red Record: Tabulated Statistics and Alleged Causes of Lynching in the United States in 1895. She documented that, according to statistics kept by whites, during the previous 30 years, more than ten-thousand African-Americans had been lynched in the south. She wrote:

"The purpose of the pages which follow shall be to give the record which has been made, not by colored men, but that which is the result of compilations made by white men."

In other words, using statistics compiled by whites and reported in the Chicago Tribune, she reported on several African-Americans who had been lynched, and she noted the crimes they had been accused of. She also gave graphic details about their lynchings. In general, white authorities in the south did not punish people who carried out lynchings, and the perpetrators of the lynchings went free. She hoped to publicize the extent of lynching in the south and to persuade whites outside the south to support a campaign against this horrific practice.  

How does using a road as a symbol for his experiences affect the meaning of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech?

In the speech Dr. King gave when accepting the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize, he said,

"The tortuous road which has led from Montgomery, Alabama to Oslo bears witness to this truth. This is a road over which millions of Negroes are traveling to find a new sense of dignity."

As he made the speech, events were still unfolding in the United States, including the relatively recent murder of civil rights activists in Mississippi. By using the symbol of the road, Dr. King emphasized the progress his movement had achieved while acknowledging the continued progress the movement had to make. The image of the road conveyed both of these ideas at the same time so that the audience could feel jubilant about events such as the successful 1955-1956 Montgomery bus boycott and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 while also understanding Dr. King and his movement were still committed to ongoing work on a campaign that had not yet achieved all its goals. The symbol of the road allowed Dr. King to be celebratory and urge his audience to support his continued work for civil rights. 

What were three important things stated in the Ordinance of Nullification?

One important thing the nullification ordinance says is that in 1828 and again in 1832 Congress passed tariffs that were supposed to collect revenue from foreign imports, but in reality had a different aim, namely the:

...protection of domestic manufactures and the giving of bounties to classes and individuals engaged in particular employments, at the expense and to the injury and oppression of other classes and individuals...

The nullifiers meant that the tariffs passed by Congress were intended to protect industry by placing duties on manufactured goods imported from other countries. This meant that Americans would be more likely to purchase American manufactured goods, which were produced almost exclusively in the Northeast, and would be cheaper than foreign goods. This was considered bad for Southern planters, mostly because it had a tendency to raise prices on the goods they purchased. 

A second point raised in the Ordinance was that by passing the tariffs, Congress had:

exceeded its just powers under the constitution, which confers on it no authority to afford such protection, and bath violated the true meaning and intent of the constitution, which provides for equality in imposing the burdens of taxation upon the several States and portions of the confederacy...

Here, they argued that Congress was required by the Constitution to distribute the burden of taxation equally, and that the burdens of protective tariffs were borne (if indirectly) disproportionately by the Southern states. So in passing a law so clearly benefiting the people of one region over another, they had violated the Constitution.

A third point, and the one with the most historical significance, was that in light of the alleged abuses of the tariffs, and of their supposed violation of the Constitution, South Carolina would "nullify" it, or simply refuse to allow it to be enforced within its borders:

[The tariffs] ...are null, void, and no law, nor binding upon this State, its officers or citizens; and all promises, contracts, and obligations, made or entered into, or to be made or entered into, with purpose to secure the duties imposed by said acts, and all judicial proceedings which shall be hereafter had in affirmance thereof, are and shall be held utterly null and void.

They went on to say that attempts to enforce the tariffs by force on the part of the federal government would lead South Carolinians to dissolve "their political connection with the people of other States." This threat got to the heart of the issue--South Carolina was denying the ability of the federal government to pass legislation like the tariffs, and they were asserting the right, which had been earlier explained by Vice President John C. Calhoun, to leave the Union if their right to do so was not respected. This began the Nullification Crisis of 1832-33.

Are dialects in the United States more or less uniform than in previous times?

According to an article in Time magazine published on September 13, 2011 by Erica Ho entitled "Y’all Talk Funny: Regional Accents May Be Getting Stronger, Expert Says," regional accents or dialects are getting more pronounced in the United States. The article cites William Labov, a professor of linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania, who says that regional dialects are getting stronger, possibly because of the political divides between red (conservative) and blue (liberal) states. Regional dialects have become identified with political divides. The boundary between red and blue states is also the divide between the Midland and Northern dialects, according to Labov. 

In addition, in an article published on the PBS website (the link is below), Carmen Fought, an associate professor of linguistics at Pitzer College in California, says that TV will not erase differences in the way we speak in the United States. She writes, "our language expresses who we are: our complex and simultaneous identities as individuals and members of society." Therefore, we imitate people we want to be like. Therefore, dialects express our identity, and the diversity of identities in the U.S. is growing, rather than shrinking, making our dialects less uniform over time. 

A force of 25 N acts on an area of 25 centimeters squared. What is the pressure produced?

Hello!

By the definition, pressure is a physical quantity equal to the force divided by the area on which this force acts. It is supposed in this definition that the force acts perpendicularly to the surface. Also it is supposed that the force is uniform over the area. If not, this formula defines average pressure.

So `P = F/A,` where `P` is the pressure, `F` is the force and `A` is the area. In our problem `F` and `A` are given, thus we only need to divide:

`P = (25 N)/(25 cm^2) = 1 N/(cm^2).`

Such a unit, `N/(cm^2),` is possible for pressure, but isn't standard. In Si, the standard unit for length is meter (m), therefore `m^2` is used for area. In these units the answer is `1*10^4 N/m^2,` because there are `100 cm` in `1 m,` so there are  `100*100 cm^2` in `1 m^2.`

What is a direct quote from Fahrenheit 451 that shows Montag's most dominant personality trait? How does this quote reveal an important personality...

In Part Two of the novel entitled "The Sieve and the Sand," Montag visits Faber to seek advice about comprehending the various texts that he has begun to read. When Faber asks Montag why he came here, Montag says,

"Nobody listens any more. I can't talk to the walls because they're yelling at me. I can't talk to my wife; she listens to the walls. I just want someone to hear what I have to say. And maybe if I talk long enough, it'll make sense. And I want you to teach me to understand what I read" (Bradbury 78).

Montag's quote depicts his most predominant personality trait which his ambitious drive to take control of his own life. Montag is ambitious about changing his present situation and seeks to learn about ways to break free from his meaningless existence. He realizes that what he is doing makes him an enemy of the state, but seeks Faber's literary advice nonetheless. Asking for Faber's help in understanding what he has read and searching for answers also portrays his curiosity. Montag wants to learn how to make sense of literature and the world around him. Montag's ambitious personality is significant to the novel because it is his unending drive to change his present situation that allows him to break from society and become a traveling intellectual. By the end of the novel, Montag gets his wish to be heard as he walks toward the devastated city in hopes of rebuilding a better society.

When was Orwell's 1984 written?

George Orwell published 1984 in 1949, meaning that, though the year 1984 is now in the past for contemporary readers, it represented the not-so-distant future for Orwell. As such, the year becomes the perfect period in which to set a dystopia with eerie similarities to totalitarian regimes of the twentieth century. For instance, many similarities could be drawn between the party of Big Brother and the recently defeated Nazis. Likewise, Orwell's vision can in many ways be seen as a commentary on established totalitarian regimes of his day, such as Stalin's Russia. Thus, Orwell is imagining a near-future in which the totalitarian regimes of the middle twentieth century have grown into all-powerful entities capable of totally dominating human life across the globe. It's a chilling vision, especially since its relatively contemporary setting makes it impossible to avoid drawing parallels between Orwell's dystopia and our own society. 

What are MeiMei and her mother really arguing about when they are shopping in "Rules of the Game" by Amy Tan?

In the story, MeiMei has to accompany her mother to the market on Saturday mornings when there are no chess tournaments to play. Despite the fact that she despises this chore, MeiMei knows that she will never get a reprieve from this responsibility.

During one especially fateful market morning, MeiMei and her mother end up arguing. MeiMei's mother has the irritating habit of introducing Meimei to everyone they meet. This embarrasses Meimei, who would rather not be held up to scrutiny by the larger community and strangers alike. She accuses her mother of using her to "show off."

To date, MeiMei has won the distinction of being Chinatown's Chess Champion, and at nine, has become a national chess champion. With 429 points to go before she reaches grand-master status, the stakes have never been higher. Meanwhile, MeiMei's accomplishments have raised the status of her parents among the larger Chinese community in Chinatown. For her part, MeiMei's mother clearly enjoys introducing her daughter to everyone they meet, but this embarrasses MeiMei. Also, the added pressure to conform to expectations in every circumstance is a burden to MeiMei.

So, MeiMei argues with her mother because she feels stifled by the expectations placed upon her. On the surface, it may seem as if they are arguing over MeiMei's mother's clearly gratuitous practice of introducing her daughter to everyone they meet. However, there is a much deeper reason for the discord between the mother and daughter. Essentially, both are arguing over whose wishes will eventually prevail in MeiMei's life: MeiMei's or her mother's. The final line of the story supports this interpretation: "I closed my eyes and pondered my next move." Both MeiMei and her mother are engaged in a battle of wits.

`int (sqrt(x)/(sqrt(x) - 3)) dx` Find the indefinite integral by u substitution. (let u be the denominator of the integral)

To apply u-substitution , we let `u = sqrt(x)-3` .

Then  ` du = 1/(2sqrt(x) dx` .

Rearrange  `du = 1/(2sqrt(x)) dx` into `dx =2sqrt(x) du`

Substituting `dx=2sqrt(x) du` and `u =sqrt(x)-3` :

`int sqrt(x)/(sqrt(x)-3)dx = int sqrt(x)/u*2sqrt(x) dx`        

Simplify: `sqrt(x)*sqrt(x) = x`

`int sqrt(x)/u *2sqrt(x) du = int (2x)/u du`

Rearrange `u=sqrt(x)-3` into `sqrt(x)=u+3`

Squaring both sides of`sqrt(x)=u+3` then

`x=u^2+6u+9`

`int (2x)/u du = 2 int (u^2+6u+9)/u du`

                   `= 2 int (u^2/u + 6u/u + 9/u) du`

                   `= 2 int (u + 6 + 9/u) du `

                   `=2 *(u^2/2+6u+9lnabs|u|) +C`

  Substitute u =sqrt(x)-3:

`2 *(u^2/2+6u+9ln|u|)+C =2 *((sqrt(x)-3)^2/2+6(sqrt(x)-3)+9ln|(sqrt(x)-3)|)+C`

                                   ` =(sqrt(x)-3)^2+12(sqrt(x)-3)+18ln|(sqrt(x)-3)| +C`

                                   ` = x-6sqrt(x)+9+12sqrt(x)-36 +18ln|sqrt(x)-3|+C`

                                  `= x + 6sqrt(x)-27 +18ln|sqrt(x)-3|+C`

Why don't legislators' votes always reflect the wishes of their constituents?

We do not necessarily know why individual legislators decide to vote against the wishes of their constituents in any particular case.  But the list of possible reasons is lengthy. 

First, a legislator might have information that his or her constituents do not have, information that makes the legislator believe that this is a better decision than the constituents' choice.  Legislators have staff who are supposed to keep them informed about the matters they must vote on, for example, information about a particular industry, statistics on employment, or crime rates in a particular city. Legislators are also provided information by lobbyists.  Legislators often sit on committees whose job it is to have a great deal of information in one specialized area.  The average constituent is quite unlikely to have as much information readily available as the legislator.

Second, legislators are under no obligation to vote the way their constituencies wish, and sometimes they decide to vote based on what their own ethical mandates require. Notice, please, that I am referencing ethics, not religion.  It is important, I think, to make this distinction.  When legislators do this, we say they are "voting their conscience." So, for example, a legislator whose district does not want the legislator to vote for amnesty for illegal immigrants could vote for it, finding it unethical to break up so many families this way. 

Third, some legislators will vote in a way contrary to their constituencies based upon their religion. An example of this is civil rights protection for the LGBT community.  Polls make clear that most people are in favor of these civil rights, yet legislator after legislator votes against them, based upon their religious beliefs.  This is problematic, of course, in a democracy in which religion is not supposed to play any role in governance, but that certainly does not mean it doesn't happen.  Tim Kaine, who is the Democratic vice-presidential candidate, belongs to a religion that prohibits abortion, but he is very clear that as part of government, he supports a woman's right to make this choice for herself.  This is a principled position that allows him to serve properly. 

Fourth, legislators are influenced by others to vote a particular way. This is the job of the lobbyist, certainly.  And campaign donations and gifts can be highly persuasive.  There is nothing to guarantee that a legislator will vote for what the constituents want when offered a trip to a resort or primo seats at a concert.  Most legislators are allowed to accept at least some gifts, and while it might be difficult to prove causation, there is influence, conscious or subconscious. 

Finally, today, there are many issues that seem to be almost evenly divided in the polls.  If 49% of a district is for something, then 51% of the district is against it.  This means the legislator is quite often damned for doing something and damned for not doing it.  Voting as one's constituency wishes is sometimes an impossibility!

It is not reasonable to expect a legislator to vote exactly as the constituency wishes for every single vote that is taken.   Information matters.  Conscience matters. Religion should not matter, but it does. Then there is persuasion of one kind or another and the impossibility of representing an equally divided district.  All things considered, I'm so glad I've never run for public office.  

What are two examples of deus ex machina in The Man who Came to Dinner by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart?

A deus ex machina is an unexpected event in the final act of a play or movie that could be considered contrived and a way to wrap up the plot. One example in the third act of The Man Who Came to Dinner is the use of the Egyptian mummy case sent to Sherry from the Khedive of Egypt. Sherry, who is repentant about having allowed Lorraine to try to seduce Bert, gets Banjo to help him lock Lorraine in the mummy case. The mummy case is a deus ex machina that the playwright uses to get rid of Lorraine so that Maggie and Bert can get married. The second example of a deus ex machina is the photograph of Harriet Stanley that Sherry catches sight of. He then suddenly realizes that she was a murderess and uses this information to convince Mr. Stanley to help him get the mummy case, which contains Lorraine, onto a plane. A final example of a deus ex machina is when Sherry slips on the stairs on the way out and threatens the Stanley family with another lawsuit unless they let him stay. 

What is the significance of Risa in Unwind by Neal Shusterman?

Risa is one of the three main protagonists of Unwind.  The other two are Connor and Lev.  Risa is significant to the story because she gets just about a third of the book told about her.  She's more important to the story than mere page counts though.  I think Risa is quite significant because she is able to temper quite a bit of Connor's impetuousness.  Connor often doesn't think things through.  For example, when Connor rescues the storked baby, he has no idea what his plan is.  Risa, as the story continues, is able to get Connor thinking things through before he acts.  In literature terms, she is a foil character to Connor.  

Risa is also significant to the story because she represents Connor's only true friend for much of the story.  Lev doesn't appreciate Connor's rescue until very late in the story.  Connor's girlfriend isn't willing to stay with him because he's an Unwind.  Roland wants to kill Connor, and everybody else either backs Connor or Roland like they would back a prize fighter.  They just want to support a winner.  They don't necessarily care for or even like the person.  Risa is the only one who chooses to stick with Connor because she sees the person that he really is, and she likes him for it.  Lastly, Risa is significant to the story and the Unwinds in the Graveyard because she quickly becomes one of the go-to medics for everybody there.  

Why are Jody's dad and Billy Buck going to Salinas in Steinbeck's "The Gift"?

Billy Buck and Jody's father leave early in the morning with older dairy cows that they are taking to the butcher. As they depart on horseback, Jody sees them

...drive six old milk cows out of the corral and start over the hill toward Salinas. They were going to sell the old cows to the butcher.

The two men turn the trip into more than a delivery because when they return home in the darkness of evening, Jody knows that they enjoyed some leisure activities before departing. At supper his father tells Jody that he better get to sleep because he is going to need him in the morning. Of course, Jody wonders what is going to occur the next day. As he lies in bed, trying to hear his parents as they talk downstairs, the boy cannot detect many words said beneath him. However, he hears his father tell his mother, “But, Ruth, I didn’t give much for him.” So, Jody knows that some animal has been purchased.

In the morning Jody dresses hurriedly, eats quickly, and eagerly anticipates what he will see as he follows respectfully behind the two men who head to the barn. Because it is darker in the barn than outside, Jody's eyes must adjust to the dim light. Soon, however, he can make out a red colt in the stall. "Jody’s throat collapsed in on itself and cut his breath short" because of his excitement. His father tells Jody to take good care of him or he will sell the colt. Every day Jody devotes time to his prized gift.

Tragically, though, Jody's little horse dies after becoming too cold in a winter rain and then running out one night when he is not yet well. This experience teaches Jody about death, and he passes from innocence to experience.

What are some examples of word choice that convey the setting of "Through the Tunnel" by Doris Lessing?

Word choices that convey the story's setting -- in fact the two different settings -- include the "wild bay" and the "safe beach."  We know, right away, that we are in a beachy, vacation setting based on words like "shore" and "holiday"; further, Jerry focuses on the swinging of his mother's "white, naked arm" and how she carries her "bright-striped bag" and, later, how she sits under her beach umbrella that "looked like a slice or orange peel."  Moreover, the narrator's descriptions of the wild bay and its unpredictability help to convey the sense of danger in this setting.  It has "rough, sharp rock" with water that "showed stains of purple and darker blue."  Even more notable are the description of rocks that lay on the ocean bottom as "discolored monsters" and the mentions of "irregular cold currents" that "shocked [Jerry's] limbs."  The water is a "solid, heavy blue," letting us know that the setting is, indeed, a large body of water.

A baseball is thrown vertically upward with an initial velocity of 14 mps. Find the: a) velocity with which it strikes the ground b) maximum...

Hello!

The movement of a body thrown vertically upwards is uniformly accelerated (or decelerated, if you wish). The speed `V` of a body is equal to `V(t) = V_0 - gt,` where `t` is a time, `V_0` is an initial upward speed and `g approx 9.8 m/s^2` is the gravity acceleration. The minus sign before `g` reflects the fact that gravity acceleration is directed downwards.

The height of a body is `H(t) = H_0 + V_0 t - (g t^2)/2,` where `H_0` is the initial height (zero in our problem). A baseball strikes the ground at `t_1gt0` such that `H(t_1) = 0.` It is obvious that `t_1 = (2 V_0)/g.` The velocity at this moment is `V(t_1) = V_0 - g*(2 V_0)/(g) = -V_0,` i.e. the same but downwards.

The maximum height is reached at the parabola vertex, and the time is `t_2 = -b/(2a) = V_0/(g) approx 1.43 (s)` (the half of `t_1,` actually). The height at that time is `(V_0)^2/(2g) approx 10 (m).`

The answers: a) `14 m/s` downwards, b) `10 m,` c) `1.43 s.`

How would you describe the American Civil Rights Movement? What issue was/is the movement trying to solve?

The American Civil Rights Movement of the late 1950s and 1960s was an alternative political movement (or a social movement) whose goal was to improve the legal, and later the material, conditions of African Americans in the United States.

The Civil Rights Movement was trying to solve two main problems.  First was the fact that African Americans were second class citizens in legal terms.  African Americans were kept segregated from white Americans in most public accommodations in the South.  Blacks were generally forced to make do with less desirable schools, restrooms, seating on busses, and various other facilities. While they had the legal right to vote, they were typically prevented from doing so by various legal means.  In short, African Americans were not treated as the legal equals of whites.

The first phase of the Civil Rights Movement was meant to solve this problem.  The movement used lawsuits, political pressure, and public protests to try to end segregation.  This phase of the movement includes famous events like the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the protests for voting rights in Selma, Alabama, and the March on Washington.  This phase ended successfully when Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The second problem that the movement was trying to solve was economic rather than legal.  African Americans suffered from higher rates of poverty than whites did.  In its second phase, the movement tried to remedy this situation.  However, the movement failed to solve this problem.  It would have been very difficult for it to succeed no matter what, but it was harmed significantly when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in 1968.  As a result of this failure, African Americans are still much less well-off than whites in America today. 

How could the following lines be paraphrased? taut throat, hell’s captive caught in the armsOf him who of all the men on earthWas the...

This quote begins at line 788, in the midst of Beowulf's fight with Grendel. One of the difficulties in summarizing lines, rather than sentences or sections, of Beowulf or poetry of its lineage is the fact that many lines repeat or reflect upon information in the previous ones, so that they appear as sentence fragments or redundancies when viewed out of context (such as "taut throat").

"Hell's captive" refers to Grendel, in the sense that he is a damned creature and, considering the poem's strong Christian moralism, implying that he is disfavored and cursed. 

The following lines simply describe and reiterate Beowulf's strength and role as a protector. Finally, they detail his intentions; to literally wrestle Grendel to death, or, more likely, to crush the life out of him.

So, these lines might be paraphrased as follows:

"Grendel, that hellish creature, was caught in Beowulf's grasp. Because of his great strength and protective instinct, Beowulf had no intention of letting Grendel go until he had crushed the monster to death." 

In My Brother Sam is Dead why did Tim go to see Sam get excecuted?

Throughout the young adult novel My Brother Sam is Dead by Christopher Collier and James Lincoln Collier, Tim idolizes Sam. Sam is his outgoing, impetuous. older brother. Tim attends Sam’s execution out of guilt and solidarity for his brother.

Sam, a soldier, returned to the Meeker’s tavern, which Tim and Mrs. Meeker attempted to keep running throughout the Revolutionary War. During his visit, cattle thieves, from his own unit, make off with two of the family’s animals. Unfortunately, Sam is framed for this act. He is tried and sentenced to death by execution. Previously, Sam told Tim to get rid of the animals because they would be a source of problems, but Tim could not predict this outcome.Tim carries guilt with him because his brother was helping him when he was caught. 

Tim does everything in his power to save his brother’s life. He even takes a bayonet and goes to the stockade where his brother is held but he is unable to kill the guard. He comprehends Sam has the killer instinct, which he does not. All of his brother’s wartime accomplishments are for naught as he is made into a scapegoat to keep the rest of the troops in order.

Tim cannot sit through the church service dedicated to those who will be executed knowing he was unable to save his brother. He goes to the execution, where he makes eye contact with his brother, as their final farewell. Tim watches as his brother, his hero, is shot to death for a crime he did not commit. It is his last act of adoration for his brother.

What was the impact of the Dawes Severalty Act?

The Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 was signed by President Cleveland.  The law was sold to the general public as a good will measure for the United States to help incorporate Native Americans into western culture.  The premise of the law was to divide communal Native American reservations into individually owned land by tribal members.  Cleveland argued it would benefit the members by providing direct ownership which would help integrate them into society. 

The Dawes Act provided 160 acres to the head of each family to encourage farming.  If the family could certify after twenty-five years they were minimally successful the deed to the land would be granted.  Failure to certify or improve the land would result in ownership reverting back to the federal government.  Single men and boys could also get land for use, but women were not allowed to own land.  Additionally the Act set up boarding schools designed to better integrate Native Americans, but almost destroyed their cultural heritage.

The federal government was able to sell off large plots of "surplus" land from the reservations by limiting ownership.  Land not certified was also sold off to non-native people further devastating the reservations of Native Americans.  The Dawes Act helped to reduce Native American lands from 138 million acres to 78 million acres in less than fifteen years.  The Act was eventually nullified by the Wheeler-Howard Act in 1934 under President Franklin Roosevelt's first term.

The Dawes Act facilitated the destruction of Native American relations with the federal government and created division even among tribes.  The Act did not apply to certain tribes, which allowed them to retain their land and culture.  Leaving the Seneca Nation in New York, Sioux Nation in Nebraska and nine nations settled in "Indian Territory" (which later became the state Oklahoma) untouched, these nations were better able to maintain their cultural identity. 

In The Catcher in the Rye by Salinger, what is the illness or disorder that Holden suffers from that makes him push away from social interactions?...

In the story, Holden appears to suffer from clinical depression; this disorder is characterized by a lack of interest in life and a tendency towards low self-esteem. You will notice that Holden talks a lot about being depressed in the short novel. He is also saddened by seemingly mundane things, another symptom of clinical depression. Sometimes, Holden is also depressed when he thinks about the kind of person he is.

In Chapter 13, he talks about being depressed because of his cowardice. He thinks that, if he had the ability to beat up someone when he felt like it, he would be less "yellow."

What you should be is not yellow at all. If you're supposed to sock somebody in the jaw, and you sort of feel like doing it, you should do it. I'm just no good at it, though...The more I thought about my gloves and my yellowness, the more depressed I got, and I decided, while I was walking and all, to stop off and have a drink somewhere.

Later in the chapter, Holden has an opportunity to sleep with a prostitute, but he can't bring himself to do the deed. Privately, he's embarrassed that he's still a virgin and thinks that, if he could be a little more assertive, he would be more successful with women. However, he argues that, since something always happens when he's on the verge of losing his virginity, it's hard not to get depressed about the whole affair. Even when the opportunity presents itself to him, he still feels awkward and unsophisticated. In this chapter, he lies to the prostitute so that he won't have to lay bare his sexual inexperience before her. He tells her that he's just had an operation on his "clavichord." A clavichord, of course, is a keyboard instrument, popular in the 15th through the 19th centuries.

The trouble was, I just didn't want to do it. I felt more depressed than sexy, if you want to know the truth. She was depressing. Her green dress hanging in the closet and all. And besides, I don't think I could ever do it with somebody that sits in a stupid movie all day long. I really don't think I could.

Notice that he makes an excuse to rationalize his inaction to himself. Basically, Holden is depressed because of his low self-esteem, due to his inability to perform what he believes are the acts of a man.

In Chapter 14, he tells us that he talks out loud to himself when he feels depressed. For example, when he remembers Allie, he remembers his part in excluding Allie from a BB game he and Bobby had planned to have. Since Allie's death, Holden has never been the same. When he gets very depressed, he remembers how Allie never made a fuss about being excluded from the BB game. In order to mitigate his feelings of sadness, he then tries imagining that he did give his brother permission, and this comforts him somewhat.

So once in a while, now, when I get very depressed, I keep saying to him, "Okay. Go home and get your bike and meet me in front of Bobby's house. Hurry up." It wasn't that I didn't use to take him with me when I went somewhere. I did. But that one day, I didn't. He didn't get sore about it--he never got sore about anything-- but I keep thinking about it anyway, when I get very depressed.

In “Harrison Bergeron," what was author Kurt Vonnegut's purpose and the effect on the reader?

We can never claim to understand an author's purpose completely unless he or she specifically states what it is, but we can certainly make some inferences about Vonnegut's intentions for "Harrison Bergeron." The story shows us a world in which everyone has been made "equal" by providing handicaps that eliminate any advantages people might have, be they in talent, intelligence, strength, or beauty. Vonnegut takes the concept of equality to a ridiculous extreme to show the reader what could happen if we decide to take a push for equality too far and blindly follow authority. He argues we would then become a nation of mindless robots, giving up all aspects of ourselves that are of value. Vonnegut twisted the idea of equality to mean, not equality of opportunity or of treatment, but equality of qualities, so that no one can be too intelligent, too beautiful, or too talented. This, Vonnegut warns us, is the dumbing down of America, a race to the bottom, rather than a meritocracy that celebrates, cultivates, and rewards people's gifts and hard work. Some people might think there is an anti-socialist or anti-communist bent to the story, but Vonnegut did state in an interview that he once voted for a socialist candidate. In most of his writing and interviews, he seems to be generally resisting idiocy in government. One hopes the effect of this story on the reader is a dawning awareness that equality could be twisted and go too far in America and that one should not blindly obey a government that is destroying its people. The details are humorous and meant to be entertaining, but "Harrison Bergeron" is also meant as a warning.

Anne Frank wrote in her diary, "You only get to know people when you've had jolly good row with them. Then and then only can you judge their true...

On Monday, September 28, 1942, Anne writes about the fight she had with Mrs. Van Daan. Anne feels as though the adults in the attic have been using her as the subject of all of their "discussions" (which are really arguments), critiquing her appearance, manners, and character. Anne writes, "Kitty, if only you knew how I sometimes boil under so many jibes and jeers" (page 33).

In discussing Mr. Frank's obvious modesty, Mrs. Van Daan says that she is also modest, which Anne disagrees with to herself. Mr. Van Daan tells Anne not to be too unassuming, and Anne's mother agrees. Mrs. Van Daan rabidly opposes what they say and thinks it's awful that they've told a girl not to be modest. Mrs. Frank calmly tells Mrs. Van Daan that it's better for some people to stick up for themselves and not be modest, and she includes Mrs. Van Daan in this group of more aggressive people. While Mrs. Frank is calm, Mrs. Van Daan turns red in the face and unleashes what Anne calls "a lot of harsh German, common" (page 34). Anne thinks that Mrs. Van Daan has exposed her true self in this argument, as she has shown that she is coarse and vituperative when challenged. 

What is the theme, or main message, of the story?

Though he was fascinated with and inspired by technological growth, Ray Bradbury also possessed profound fears about its potentially destructive and dehumanizing effects. In "There Will Come Soft Rains," a 1950 short story inspired by a 1920 Sara Teasdale poem, Bradbury expresses the theme that Nature will outlast anything man can create on Earth. 

Though the fully automated house at the center of the story continues to function for a few days in the absence of its owners (who have apparently perished in a nuclear holocaust, the most destructive force manufactured by mankind), it is brought to its end by elemental forces of Nature. A tree branch, brought down by wind, leads to the ignition of a flammable cleaner, and fire consumes this symbol of man's technological achievement.

Bradbury's story observes that mankind could ultimately bring about its own destruction through war.  Because the world had so recently witnessed the global resonance of the atomic bombs that ended WWII , Bradbury's cautionary tale about the self-annihilating potential of technology was particularly resonant.

Bradbury, Ray. "There Will Come Soft Rains." 1950

Explain the concept of Lebensraum.

Lebensraum was the idea, popularized by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in the 1930s, that the German people should (and would) conquer lands to the east, in particular in Russia. These lands, which would be "cleansed" of Slavic peoples who the Nazis deemed inferior, would then become Lebensraum, or "living space" for the German people. This concept, sometimes compared to the ideology of manifest destiny in the United States, was based on the belief in the racial superiority of the "Aryan" German people. The people who happened to live on these vast expanses of land would either be driven off, killed, or enslaved. While the idea of Lebensraum was not Hitler's originally, he made it a key aspect of his virulently racist party ideology during his rise to power. In his manifesto Mein Kampf, written in prison in 1923 and published two years later, he made the argument explicitly. Claiming that the German people were running out of resources, he pointed to the east as a site for the fulfillment of German destiny:

We must eliminate the disproportion between our population and our area…… Some of this land can be obtained from Russia….. We must secure for the German people the land and soil to which they are entitled.

Lebensraum was the justification for Hitler's aggressions in the late 1930s, including the annexation of Austria and the Sudetenland and his invasions of Czechoslovakia and Poland. Once World War II broke out, Hitler eventually sought to bring the ideology to fruition by invading the Soviet Union. His forces murdered millions of Jews, Slavic peoples, and others with the goal of creating Lebensraum. So this concept, rooted in warped racial theory, is one of the most destructive ideologies in human history.

The following excerpt from "The Tragic Hero: From Oedipus to Batman" implies that the character Macbeth is similar to the character Oedipus in...

When Oedipus murders King Laius, his biological father, he does so unknowingly.  Further, Laius had actually been aggressive toward Oedipus when they ran into each other on the road.  Oedipus only thought that he was killing some stranger, a nobody, who had treated him violently first (remember, too, that Oedipus grew up as the prince of Corinth, so he's used to respectful treatment, and Laius, as the king of Thebes, was used to being treated deferentially as well -- so, lots of pride in that interaction). 

On the other hand, when Macbeth kills King Duncan, he does so with his eyes wide open, in full knowledge of who he's killing and why.  He kills his kinsman, his king, his guest, and his friend, all in one, and he does so in order to usurp the king's power and position.  Oedipus does not; he's not trying to achieve power, he's just trying to get some answers.  This is just one reason that Oedipus seems to be a much more sympathetic tragic hero: he only wants the truth -- a truth which has been withheld from him for his whole life.  Macbeth doesn't pursue truth; he pursues power, and this makes him a lot less sympathetic of a tragic hero.

From what point of view is the story "The Doll's House" by Katherine Mansfield told?

Katherine Mansfield's story "The Doll's House" has an omniscient narrator who enters the minds of different characters at various points in the story. With this technique, Mansfield intently focuses on characterization and the revelation of psychological truths.

With the theme of social stratification, Mansfield allows the reader to perceive the world as the Burnells do, and then as the Kelveys perceive it, in order to create contrasts.

After the Burnell children receive the doll house, as it rests in the courtyard, the girls have permission to ask the others from school to view it, but not to stay for tea or anything: "just to stand quietly in the courtyard while Isabel points out the beauties [...]"

As the Burnell girls hurry to school, Isabel informs her sisters that she will do the telling because she is the oldest. Isabel is characterized by Mansfield through the eyes of Lottie and Kezia:

Isabel was bossy, but she was always right, and Lottie and Kezia knew too well the powers that went with being eldest. They brushed through the thick buttercups at the road edge and said nothing. “And I’m to choose who’s to come and see it first. Mother said I might.”

That afternoon, then, girls come to see the doll house under the tall pines at the side of the playground, and they exclaim in delight. Isabel holds "quite a court" under the trees. Her sister Kezia reminds her to tell the girls about the oil lamp: "'The lamp's the best of all,' cried Kezia." She does not think Isabel speaks of the lamp enough as the girls admire the house. Afterwards, the girls put their arms around Isabel, declaring her their "special friend."

Only the little Kelveys moved away forgotten; there was nothing more for them to hear.

The Kelvey girls are the daughters of a washerwoman and a father who is rumored to be in prison. They are social outcasts.

The Kelveys were shunned by everybody. Even the teacher had a special voice for them, and a special smile for the other children when Lil Kelvey came up to her desk with a bunch of dreadfully common-looking flowers. 

Mansfield uses much description of the Kelveys, who are not considered good company for any of the other children. She mentions how the smaller sister clings to the skirt of the other as they are excluded from whatever the others are engaged in. Nevertheless, Kezia Burnell wants to invite them to see the doll's house.

“Mother,” said Kezia, “can’t I ask the Kelveys just once?”
“Certainly not, Kezia.”
“But why not?”
“Run away, Kezia; you know quite well why not.” 

When Kezia invites the Kelveys to see the doll's house, anyway, Lil tells Kezia that her mother told theirs that Kezia was not to speak to them. However, Kezia replies, "Don't you want to?" Then, just as she starts to show it to the girls, her Aunt Beryl calls out, "Kezia!" scolding her niece for talking to the Kelvey girls.

"Run away, children, run away at once. And don't come back." She...shooed them out as if they were chickens.

Then she calls her niece a "wicked, disobedient girl." Aunt Beryl gains a sense of power in humiliating the Kelvey girls. And, her actions do not differ from those of the girls who have taunted Lil in the schoolyard. Nor do they differ much from what Kezia's mother said to her: "Run away Kezia."
After the Kelveys are out of sight, the girls rest by the side of the road. "Dreamily" they both survey their surroundings.

Presently our Else nudged up close to her sister....She put out a finger and stroked her sister's quill, she smiled her rare smile.
"I seen the little lamp," she said.

Our Else has sensed the light of friendship coming from Kezia, and it feels delightful.

By using the type of narration that Mansfield does, she is able to fully develop both character and theme. The use of an omniscient narrator who enters characters' minds helps to define the motives of these characters and to make their actions comprehensible. 

What were the main terms of the Treaty of Versailles?

The Treaty of Versailles ended World War I. This treaty was very harsh on the Central Powers and especially for Germany.

There were several terms of the Versailles Treaty. Germany had to pay reparations to the Allies. Germany had to pay $33 billion in reparations. Germany also had to accept the responsibility for the start of World War I. The Central Powers lost much land. Many new countries were created after World War I ended. These new countries were based on the principle of self-determination. The Austro-Hungarian and the Ottoman Empires ended. Much of the land for these new countries came from the defeated countries. Germany’s military capabilities were reduced, allowing Germany only to be able to defend itself. The Versailles Treaty created the League of Nations. This was an organization that was designed to keep the peace by having a place where countries could go to try to resolve their disputes without going to war.

These harsh terms of the Versailles Treaty helped create resentment that eventually was a factor in the start of World War II.

What are similarities in themes between Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" and Lawrence and Lee's Inherit the Wind?

We can see the themes of scapegoating an individual and the mistakes of the community in Jackson's "The Lottery" and Lawrence and Lee's Inherit the Wind.

The theme of a community needing a scapegoat is evident in both works. Both works show how the community needs a target, someone who can be painted as an outsider or "not one of us." In Jackson's "The Lottery," this process is facilitated through the lottery. The lottery was part of the town's history for generations. It is a practice of identifying one person through random drawing and then stoning them to death. In this story's plot, Tessie Hutchinson's name is drawn. She becomes the community's scapegoat. Tessie's pleas of "It's not fair" and "It's not right" are silenced when the first stone hits her head. Tessie's scapegoating is very similar to Bert Cates's. The town targets the high school science teacher for upsetting traditional teachings. When Cates teaches Darwininan evolution to his students, it challenges their embrace of Biblical instruction. As a result, townspeople feel it is their responsibility to target Bert Cates. The trial is their way of identifying a scapegoat they feel must be punished. Tessie and Bert are seen as outsiders and are targeted as a result. 

The process of scapegoating reveals the profound mistake of each community. The townspeople in "The Lottery" do not admit they are wrong, but it is clear that what they are doing is awful. Jackson contrasts the idyllic setting at the start of the story with the townspeople's savagery at its end. While the members of the community do not see a problem with their tradition, Jackson's depiction forces us to condemn their practices and reflect on our society's own. Inherit the Wind shows the town as equally wrong for their scapegoating of Bert Cates through the trial. Drummond's cross-examination of Brady goes very far in making the townspeople realize their mistake. While Cates is not fully exonerated with the verdict, the townspeople do not possess the same scapegoating fervor at the end of the trial that they did in the beginning. Both works forcefully display the the community's mistake.

In Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli, why does Amanda try to make Maniac popular in the East End?

Amanda tries to make Maniac Magee popular in the East End so that the racist bigots that want him gone will no longer antagonize Maniac and the Beales.  

Maniac is homeless and colorblind.  I don't mean scientifically colorblind.  He doesn't see race and different races as anything to get upset about, so when the Beales offer Maniac a place to live, Maniac is super excited.  Not only does he have a place to call home, but he loves the Beale family.  They love him as well, and they treat Maniac as one of their own.  Unfortunately, not everybody in the East End is as besotted with Maniac as the Beales are.  Maniac is a white kid living in a black neighborhood, so some East End people start to antagonize the Beale family by putting racist graffiti against white people on the Beale house.  

Amanda comes up with a plan to make Maniac popular.  He is going to solve Cobble's Knot.  If he does that, then the entire town will love Maniac and practically worship him as a local hero.  Nobody will want Maniac to leave the East End then.  

"So you see," said Amanda, "if you go up there and untie Cobble's Knot -- which I know you can -- you'll get your picture in the paper and you'll be the biggest hero ever around here and nooo-body'll mess with you then."

What was the importance of writing in the development of civilization?

Writing was very important in the development of civilization.  Civilization is, of course, possible without writing, but writing makes it much easier.  It does so because it allows people to keep records and it allows them to transmit and store information relatively easily.

Once a civilization reaches any really decent size, it needs a government.  In order to function, governments need to tax the people they govern.  Writing is very helpful for taxation purposes.  If you know how to write, you can write down who has how much property and how much tax they have paid.  You can have these records that allow you to make sure you collect all the taxes that are due.  You can also write down laws so that people can easily remember what they are from generation to generation.  Thus, writing is very helpful to governments, and governments are necessary for civilization.

Writing also helps develop civilization in other ways.  Businesses can benefit from writing.  They can keep records of who they have bought from and how much they have paid.  They can keep records of who they have sold to and how much, if any, money is owed to them.  Businesses, and people in general, can benefit from writing because writing can help them transmit and store information.  Imagine that one business owner wants to make a deal with another.  He can write a note to the other owner outlining the deal so the other owner can look it over and think about it.  When the two of them agree, they can write out a contract.  This contract stores the knowledge of what the deal was so they can both refer back to it and know exactly what they agreed to.  People can also write other things down.  They can write down ideas that they have had about science and technology.  They can write out their religious scriptures.  By doing these things, they make sure that they do not forget ideas that they have already had.  This allows them to build their civilization as well.

In these ways, we can see that writing is very helpful in the development of a truly complex society.  It helps allow government to exist and it makes it easier for people to do business and to pass down their laws, religious beliefs, and other ideas, thus helping to build their society.

How is the theme of friendship and sacrifice expressed in "The Last Leaf" by O. Henry?

In O. Henry's short story "The Last Leaf," Behrman, a 60-year-old painter who lives below Sue and Johnsy, makes the ultimate sacrifice to save his friend, Johnsy. While Behrman has been a failure as a professional painter, his last work is a masterpiece. His efforts exemplify sacrifice and giving all one has to help a friend.

Johnsy, who is sick with pneumonia, has decided she will die when the last leaf falls from the building whose side she can see from her sick bed. The weather brings snow and ice, which might make the the leaves fall from the building. Johnsy's doctor tells Sue, Johnsy's roommate and friend, that Johnsy's mental state is very important in determining whether she will survive. Unbeknownst to Sue and Johnsy, Behrman goes outside in the cold weather to paint a leaf on the side of the building so Johnsy will be tricked into having the fortitude to survive. Because Johnsy continues to see the last leaf clinging to the side of the building, she decides to survive, while Behrman, who went outside in the cold weather to paint the leaf, makes the ultimate sacrifice for his friend and dies soon afterward. 

What was the purpose of the messenger in Act IV, Scene 2 of Macbeth? Who sent the messenger?

The purpose of the messenger is to add suspense. He seems to have sent himself.

We really do not know much about the messenger, but his timing sucks. A suspicious person might say he was there to distract Lady Macduff for the murderers, because he literally walks in, walks out, and the murderers come in. Even if they had wanted to run, the Macduff family had no time to do so. 

Conspiracy theories aside, let’s pretend the messenger is exactly who he says he is: a humble subject of Macbeth’s who hears Lady Macduff is in danger and wants to warn her. He seems to know Macbeth's plans, because the messenger warns Lady Macduff to take her children, too.

Messenger

Bless you, fair dame! I am not to you known,
Though in your state of honour I am perfect.
I doubt some danger does approach you nearly:
If you will take a homely man's advice,
Be not found here; hence, with your little ones. (Act IV, Scene 2)

The messenger wasn’t sent by anyone in particular. He came on his own. The messenger repeatedly tells Lady Macduff he is humble, but honorable, meaning she should trust him. He also tells her that she doesn’t know him. He basically tells her that he is below her. He also leaves just in time; the the murderers arrive right after he exits.

Lady Macduff refuses to leave.

LADY MACDUFF

Whither should I fly?
I have done no harm. But I remember now
I am in this earthly world; where to do harm
Is often laudable, to do good sometime
Accounted dangerous folly: why then, alas,
Do I put up that womanly defence,
To say I have done no harm (Act IV, Scene 2)?

The Macduffs are a brave family. Lady Macduff doesn’t want to be pushed out of her own house, and who can blame her? She really has no chance, though, and she realizes that. The murderers enter, tell Lady Macduff her husband is a traitor, and kill her and her children.

One way or another, what the messenger does accomplish is adding suspense. When he enters, the audience (or readers) know something exciting is about to happen.