What is an approximately six-sentence summary with full details of the essay "The C Word in the Hallways" by Anna Quindlen?

"The C Word in the Hallways" is an essay that Anna Quindlen originally wrote in Newsweek in 1999. Though it was written 17 years ago, it is still relevant today. Her main idea is that many children who need mental health help don't receive this help because of the way in which mental health is stigmatized in the country. The "c" word refers to the way in which people speak about "crazy" people without truly understanding what they need and demean mental health help. Quindlen states that the Center for Mental Health Services believes that there are 6 million children in the U.S. with mental health disorders (today, the National Alliance on Mental Illness estimates that 20% of children 13-18 have a mental health condition; see the link below). Quindlen cites the cases of several children who committed atrocities because they did not receive all the mental health services they required. The reasons that children do not receive mental health treatment include lack of insurance coverage, poor training among teachers about mental health issues, and the stigma parents feel about getting their children help and admitting that their children have a problem. 

Why is the Resurrection Stone important in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows? What are its qualities?

In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the Resurrection Stone is one of the three deathly hallows. It was given to Cadmus Peverell, allegedly by Death himself, though Albus Dumbledore believes the stone was created by Cadmus himself. Cadmus used the stone to bring back a woman he loved, but he felt he was still too separated from her and killed himself to be with her. The ring containing the stone is eventually passed down to Albus Dumbledore and then to Harry Potter, who uses the stone to see the shades of his parents. 

The stone is important because its owner has the power to bring back shades of loved ones. Shades are figments of people that are more substantial than ghosts but less substantial than real people. If someone brings the Resurrection Stone together with the other hallows—the Cloak of Invisibility and the Elder Wand—the person who possesses all three hallows will become the Master of Death. 

What is a topic to research in the classroom?

I definitely recommend choosing a research topic that you are interested in.  If a bunch of topics sound equally appealing, choose the one that will be the most beneficial to your readers or the school.  Here are ten that I think are particularly interesting. 

1. Does teacher feedback actually help improve student learning?


2. Does homework improve student learning?


3. What types of homework are most effective for student learners?


4. Does the classroom seating arrangement have any effect on student learning?


5. Does the classroom seating arrangement have any effect on classroom management?  


6. Does listening to music while studying for tests and taking tests improve test scores?


7. Does technology improve student learning?  


8. Do male students perform better in math and science related courses than female students perform?  


9. Athletes technically have fewer hours to work on schoolwork; therefore, their grades and completion rates should be lower than students who do not participate in sports.  Is this true or is the opposite true?  


10. What type of learner are most students?  Visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learners?   Do teachers effectively balance all three teaching and learning styles?  

What type of legislature did the Articles of Confederation set up, and how did this differ from the legislature set up by the Constitution?

The legislature set up by the Articles of Confederation was different than the legislature set up by the Constitution. In the Articles of Confederation, there was one house of Congress. Each state had one vote on issues regardless of its size. Congress also had limited power. It couldn’t tax, it couldn’t control trade, and it couldn’t force people to join the military.

The legislature set up by the Constitution had more parts and more power. There were two houses of Congress. These were the House of Representatives and the Senate. In the House of Representatives, large states had more representatives and votes than small states. In the Senate, each state had two senators regardless of the size of the state. Congress also had more power. Congress could levy taxes, print money, control interstate trade, and require people to join the military.

What would be a catchy title for my editorial about the Philippines's elected ruler, Rodrigo Duterte, and his phrase, "change is coming"?

Rodrigo Duterte is currently the President-elect of the Philippines, as he will become President on June 30, 2016. He is the first President of the country from Mindanao, the southernmost major island in the nation. His nickname is "the Punisher," as he has been allegedly connected to vigilante groups that have executed drug dealers and other criminals in Davao City, the city he governed as mayor on Mindanao. 

If you are writing an editorial that is positive about Duterte, you could use phrases such as "Time for a Change," "Change of Heart," or "Times Are Changing." If you are writing an editorial that is negative about him, you could use titles such as "The Punisher will Punish the Philippines," "A Leopard Can't Change its Spots," or "A Change for the Worse." 

What was the social and political impact of the Great Awakening?

The main social impact of the Great Awakening was, not surprisingly, related to religion.  The Great Awakening brought about splits in many of the major religious denominations in the American colonies.  Denominations ended up splitting between the “old lights” who held to the traditional religious ways, and the “new lights” who wanted to follow the ideas of the Great Awakening.  The Old Lights wanted highly educated preachers who taught their flocks to believe in the “correct” ideas from the Bible.  By contrast, the New Lights wanted preachers who could connect with people on an emotional level and who were not necessarily educated in the niceties of theology.  Thus, the Great Awakening created splits between newer, more evangelical and older, more hierarchical wings of the various denominations.

Politically, the Great Awakening is usually credited with helping (in the long run) to bring about the American Revolution.  The Great Awakening, historians say, helped make the colonies more democratic.  The New Light preachers were, in essence, preaching a democratic message.  Any person, they said, could understand what God wanted.  The word of God was not known only to the educated elites.  Instead, it was something that everyone could understand.  People did not need religious hierarchies, headed by the elites, to guide them.  This idea, we are told, carried over to political life.  Since colonists believed that they were capable of determining their own religious beliefs, they also started to believe that they were capable of guiding their own political destinies.  The Great Awakening, in other words, made people believe that they could and should have a democratic government in addition to a more democratic religion.

The story "The Most Dangerous Game" opens off the coast of what island?

The story opens off the coast of Ship-Trap Island. 

This is one of those stories that really illustrates the importance of setting, because it couldn’t really take place anywhere else.  Ship-Trap Island is an isolated Caribbean island that gets plenty of traffic passing by, but none that stops.  General Zaroff chooses it because he can create a trap there to stop the ships which provide easy prey for him. 

After Rainsford falls off of his ship and swims to the island, he meets its eccentric inhabitant.  Zaroff explains to him how he traps the ships, after telling him that he started hunting human beings when animals got boring for him.  They are his new "game."

"Watch! Out there!" exclaimed the general, pointing into the night.  Rainsford's eyes saw only blackness, and then, as the general pressed a button, far out to sea Rainsford saw the flash of lights.

The general chuckled. "They indicate a channel," he said, "where there's none; giant rocks with razor edges crouch like a sea monster with wide-open jaws ...

The ships get trapped because they think it is safe, and then it turns out that there are actually very sharp rocks there.  Zaroff has turned the lights that are supposed to guide ships into a system to trap them.  There should be something warning them away.

Since he is on an island, no one knows what Zaroff is doing.  Rainsford realizes that his host has been hunting people for a long time, and doesn't see anything wrong in what he is doing.  He has fully embraced Ship-Trap Island's image and reputation.  It makes the sailors nervous because sailors are superstitious, not because they know the truth about what happens there, but in this case they have a need to be nervous.  You do not want to get your ship trapped on that island.

In "Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell, are the Burmese capable adults who can rule themselves or do they like having the British Empire take...

In "Shooting an Elephant," Orwell's experience of working in Burma suggests that the native people did not like being ruled by the British. We see this through their reaction to Orwell as he carried out his professional duty as a sub-divisional police officer. Buddhist priests jeered at him, for example, and football players tripped him up on the field. This is, arguably, a result of the nature of Britain's rule in Burma. As Orwell comments, British rule was not consensual:

I thought of the British Raj as an unbreakable tyranny, as something clamped down…upon the will of prostrate peoples.

Moreover, this attitude of resentment among the Burmese suggests that they really did want to be independent but were afraid to break Britain's rules. We see this through Orwell's description of the Burmese prisoners in the "stinking cages of the lock-ups" in which prisoners were "bogged with bamboos."

It is, therefore, logical to suggest that the Burmese were more than capable of self-rule but were unable to achieve this because of the strength of British power. It was not until 1948, two decades after Orwell's service, that the British finally returned Burma to its native people. 

In The Help, what are some of the issues raised by the fact that a white woman is the author and a contributor to a book about the experiences of...

The Help is set in the early 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi. The Jim Crow laws are still in effect in the Deep South. Black and white people aren’t supposed to socialize or fraternize with one another. Many services are still kept separate. Black people have their own library and doctors. Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minny are risking a lot when Skeeter meets them at Aibileen’s house at night to write down their stories. All of them could get into trouble with the authorities, especially the black women. Trust is also an issue. Can the black maids trust Skeeter to report the truth as they tell it to her? Or will she feel free to spin their tales in a way that will always make the white employers look good?

The black maids eventually realize Skeeter is not like the other women in the Jackson Junior League. She is truly interested in reporting fairly on the lifestyle arrangement they have all been sharing together, although it’s one they never talk about. She is giving them an outlet to let the truth come out.

Who does the tribe seem to respect the most in Chapter 2 of William Golding's Lord of the Flies?

During their first official assembly, Ralph takes the lead and begins to explain the island to the boys. He grabs the conch and sets forth several rules on the island. Initially, the boys seem to respect and obey Ralph whenever he speaks. After Ralph explains that his father was in the Navy, Golding writes, "The assembly was lifted toward safety by his words. They liked and now respected him" (Golding 51). Then, Ralph suggests that the boys make a signal fire and Jack quickly yells, "Come on! Follow me!" (Golding 52). All of the boys immediatly ignore Ralph, who is holding the conch, and run after Jack. Ralph even drops the conch and follows Jack. After a failed attempt to make a fire, Jack begins to make fun of Piggy and comments that the conch doesn't count on the top of the mountain. When Ralph takes the conch and makes the rule that the conch has power on the mountain as well, Jack quickly agrees with Ralph and tells him that the hunters will take care of maintaining the fire. The boys even applaud Jack for his generous offer. Whenever Piggy begins to speak, Jack continues to insult him without any repercussions. Although Ralph is still the leader, the tribe seems to have an affinity for Jack and respect him more than Ralph. The fact that they follow Jack when Ralph is still holding the conch and applaud Jack for offering to maintain the fire are sigificant pieces of evidence which suggest that the tribe respects Jack more than Ralph.

How does the speaker seek to rejuvenate himself through art in "Sailing to Byzantium" by William Butler Yeats?

In "Sailing to Byzantium," Yeats sees the creation of art as a possible method of escaping one's natural old age and mortality. The poem begins with a description of a world of life in conflict with the certainty of death. The speaker in the poem muses on the fragility of old age, and much of the poem focuses on ways of reversing, or at least remedying, this fragility. Some of the key lines pertaining to this theme occur in the final stanza. For example, the speaker says he wants to be reborn in "such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make / Of hammered gold and gold enamelling / To keep a drowsy Emperor awake" (27-9). In these lines, the speaker is asserting that artistic creation can sidestep old age and death, and that the artistic creative process has the ability to rejuvenate old age by making one essentially immortal. All in all, Yeats presents art as something timeless, something that can sing "Of what is past, or passing, or to come" (32), and so only by creating and engaging with art can one rejuvenate one's old age and escape one's inevitable mortality. 

How does Charles Darwin describe nature?

Charles Darwin describes nature as a result of evolution. In 1859, Darwin published On the Origin of Species. In this publication, the idea of evolution is first explored. Within this theory, Darwin introduces the idea of survival of the fittest.  He believed a species’s environment naturally ensures some members of the species thrive and others perish depending on their individual traits. For example, rodents born with the same fur color as the surroundings will be more likely to hide from predators, thus making it more likely they will survive and reproduce. Rodents with contrasting fur colors will be more noticeable to predators. Thus, rodents with contrasting fur will often perish before reproducing.  Eventually, the species will evolve into rodents with fur colors closer to the surrounding habitat color. 

What are some methods to conserve resources?

There are lots of things you can do to help preserve natural resources!

Around the home, try limiting your use of electricity and water to only what you really need. By wearing a sweater in winter or keeping the windows open in summer, you can reduce your consumption of electricity used to heat and cool your home. It's also a good idea to turn off lights or appliances if you are not currently in the room and using them. Consider reducing the amount of water used to fill your toilet bowl or even turning off the water while soaping up in the shower. Lots of little steps can have a huge impact on your consumption of resources in the home.

When you are out and about, try to recycle plastic, metal, glass, and paper whenever possible, and purchase post-consumer products like this t-shirt made from recycled plastic bottles. You can also encourage your local or national government to make the switch to clean energy by writing letters to your representatives.

Should countries be allowed to remain in the UN if they do not respect their citizens' rights?

The United Nations (UN) is an entity created via treaty. The member nations of the UN are signatory to the Charter of the United Nations (hereinafter ‘the Charter’), which under international law is a multilateral treaty among those member nations. Under the Charter, the member nations have a variety of obligations with respect to their internal and external politics and to maintaining the peace and safety of the world. If a member nation does not meet its obligations under the Charter, the UN will initially attempt to use it coercive power (such as sanctions) to bring the offending member nation into compliance with the Charter. The UN could also seek to enforce the Charter under international law, although international law itself is a matter of treaty and has little effect on nations that choose not to adhere to the relevant treaties. If neither coercion nor an action under international law work, the UN could expel a member nation for noncompliance with the Charter.

With respect to human rights, it is unlikely that a member country would be expelled for human rights violations. While the Charter itself affirms the member nations’ “faith in fundamental human rights,” it does not specify those rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (hereinafter ‘the Declaration’), a proclamation promulgated by the UN General Assembly in 1948, does specify the human rights recognized by the UN, but the Declaration is not part of the Charter. Rather, the Declaration is aspirational in nature:

Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction. 

The Declaration does not compel member states to recognize the particular rights specified therein. As the Declaration is not part of the Charter, violation of the human rights found in the Declaration would not be a treaty violation under international law and thus the UN would likely not have grounds to expel a member state for noncompliance with the Declaration. The UN could, of course, use its coercive power to try to bring member states into compliance with the Declaration, which is how the UN has frequently operated on this issue since the Declaration was promulgated in 1948.

Further, even if the UN could expel member nations for noncompliance with the Declaration, this might not be the best action. The real power of the UN is its coercive power. Expelling a member nation reduces the scope of that coercive power because the expelled nation is no longer obligated by the terms of the Charter.

What are 3 examples of irony in "A Modest Proposal"?

One example of irony is in the title: "A Modest Proposal."  The narrator goes on to propose that the Irish sell their babies to the English as a food source so that the Irish can make a profit, help to support their families, and keep those families from growing too large to support.  Such a proposal is hardly a modest one: "modest," in part, means not being bold, and this proposal is quite bold.  Further, the narrator is hardly modest in making this proposal; he is clearly very proud of his idea and believes that he should be honored for it.  Since irony exists when there is a discrepancy between expectation and reality, calling such a proposal a modest one is certainly ironic.

The narrator says, "whoever could find out a fair, cheap and easy method of making these [impoverished Irish] Children sound and useful Members of the common-wealth would deserve so well of the publick, as to have his Statue set up for a preserver of the Nation."  It is ironic to call his method for dealing with these children -- that they be sold for food, even to use their skin for gloves and boots -- "fair, cheap and easy."  It is not fair that the Irish are in the terrible economic and political position they are in, nor to suggest that they part with their babies and agree to allow them to be eaten.  Further, it would hardly be an easy thing to do: to sell one's child for food.  The discrepancy between the reality of the proposal and the adjectives the speaker uses to describe it creates irony.

Moreover, the speaker also says, "There is likewise another great Advantage in my Scheme, that it will prevent those voluntary Abortions, and that horrid practice of Women murdering their Bastard Children, alas! too frequent among us, Sacrificing the poor innocent Babes, I doubt, more to avoid the Expence, than the Shame, which would move Tears and Pity in the most Savage and inhuman breast."  The speaker prides himself on the fact that his proposal will prevent the "murdering [of] poor innocent Babes" without acknowledgement (or awareness, apparently) that what he's proposing is still murder!  It's just murder for a different reason: not for the purpose of disposing of the child but for making the child "useful" (as he says in the quotation in the paragraph above).  The narrator's willingness to speak out against murder when his proposal relies on murder is certainly ironic.

In "A Sound of Thunder" by Ray Bradbury, is it fair for Eckels to die?

This question is asking about the final moments of the story.  Eckels, Travis, and the rest of the safari group have returned to the present.  Unfortunately, it is not the present that they left earlier that day.  In the past, Eckels stepped on a butterfly which caused cataclysmic changes to occur in the timeline.  Eckels is completely blown away that such a small change in the past could have such huge consequences.  He begs for the possibility of going back in time and correcting the mistake.  That possibility is not even entertained, and Travis shoots and kills Eckels.  

Eckels moaned. He dropped to his knees. He scrabbled at the golden butterfly with shaking  fingers. "Can't we," he pleaded to the world, to himself, to the officials, to the Machine, "can't we take it back, can't we make it alive again? Can't we start over? Can't we-­" 

He did not move. Eyes shut, he waited, shivering. He heard Travis breathe loud in the room; he heard Travis shift his rifle, click the safety catch, and raise the weapon.

There was a sound of thunder.

Whether or not it is fair that Eckels dies is entirely up to individual reader opinion.  You can safely state your opinion, but remember to explain why you think what you think.  

Personally, I don't think it's fair or justified that Eckels dies.  I believe that Travis shoots Eckels more out of anger and revenge than punishment.  Nothing can be done about the changes that happened, so I don't feel that Travis shooting Eckels is a punishment.  If it were a punishment, it's a useless punishment.  It doesn't solve the problem in any way.  Killing Eckels doesn't help the situation.  Leaving Eckels alive won't cause any additional harm, either; therefore, I don't believe it is fair that Eckels dies. 

Which monologue in Romeo and Juliet shows how Shakespearean characters represent enduring truths about humans and our society? Why?

Friar Lawrence's monologue that begins in Act II, Scene 3, just before Romeo comes to see him, shows how Shakespearean characters can represent enduring truths about humans and society. During his monologue, the friar is collecting plants that are medicinal as well as plants that are poisonous, and he describes how each flower that seems evil has some good properties or applications, while a flower that seems good could also be put to a negative use. 

We can read the friar's discussion of plants as symbolic of humans and human actions and emotions; just like plants, they all possess great power to do harm or good. He says, "Virtue itself turns vice, being misapplied, / And vice sometime by action dignified" (Act II, Scene 3, lines 21-22). In other words, good can turn bad when it is poorly managed, and what seems bad can, when applied, actually be put to good use. We see the way the love between Romeo and Juliet is mismanaged, giving it the power to damage and wound, which ultimately hurts both families. We typically think of love as a good thing, but it turns bad in this play.

How is prejudice shown in To Kill a Mockingbird?

As the other answers to this question demonstrate, Harper Lee doesn't limit prejudice in To Kill a Mockingbird to racist prejudice. However, racism is one of the most prominent examples of prejudice in the book, and the theme of racism is most clearly defined during the Tom Robinson trial. During his closing remarks, Atticus very eloquently points out that Tom is obviously not guilty, and that he was unjustly brought to trial. Indeed, Atticus suggests that Tom was only brought to trial because he is a black man living in a racist and prejudiced world. However, in spite of the overwhelming evidence pointing to Tom's innocence, he's still declared guilty by the jury. At this point, Lee is clearly illustrating the prejudiced nature of Maycomb's citizens, as the white jury obviously has preconceived notions that Tom must be guilty simply because he is African American.  

How does Shakespeare present Beatrice and Benedick's relationship throughout Much Ado About Nothing?

Beatrice and Benedick’s relationship changes throughout the play. Before we even meet Benedick, Beatrice asks pointed questions about him. Leonato reveals that “There is a kind of merry war betwixt Signior Benedick and her.” As soon as Benedick arrives, he and Beatrice exchange witty barbs. He rails against marriage and expresses special disdain for Beatrice. Still, he comments on her beauty, comparing her favorably to Beatrice’s cousin Hero: “there's her [Hero’s] cousin, an she were not possessed with a fury, exceeds her as much in beauty as the first of May doth the last of December.”

Beatrice likewise insults Benedick and the entire institution of marriage. The two have apparently known one another for a long time. Beatrice says, “I know you of old,” and suggests they had a previous relationship: “he [Benedick] lent it [his heart] me awhile; and I gave him use for it, a double heart for his single one.” Her comments also imply that the relationship did not end well.

As the play proceeds, Beatrice and Benedick’s feelings deepen while Hero and Claudio’s romance deteriorates. Don Pedro and his friends trick Benedick into believing that Beatrice is in love with him. Hero and Ursula make Beatrice think Benedick loves her. Benedick and Beatrice immediately decide to requite the other person’s feelings, Benedick declaring, “I will be horribly in love with her.” This supposed change indicates that an attraction already existed.

Benedick stands by Beatrice and Hero when Claudio mistakenly slanders Hero at his wedding. He even challenges his dear friend Claudio to a duel, on Beatrice’s insistence. The previously argumentative couple confess their love with abandon: “I love you with so much of my heart that none is left to protest.” Ultimately, they discover that they have been victims of a prank. They begin to quarrel again, but Benedick declares his happiness, the two plan to marry, and neither of them loses a sense of humor.

How is the nature of civilization relevant to Shakespeare's Othello?

One of the themes of the play is the nature of what people consider to be civilized. Within the world of the play, Venice represent the "civilized" European world and Othello, as a Moor, is a "barbarian" or outsider.

The first issue you should address in your essay is the historicity of this viewpoint. The play is set in Venice in the sixteenth century. At this period, the Ottoman Empire had conquered Constantinople and was vast and powerful. The Moors (followers of Islam of Arabic or North African descent) were also powerful and possessed a venerable and sophisticated civilization which, unlike the Latin West, had not collapsed into a "Dark Ages" but maintained continuity of knowledge; much of the European Renaissance, in fact, had been due to recovery of ancient learning via contact with the Moors in Spain. Thus, although the play presents Venice as civilized and the Moor as originating outside "civilization," those labels are not historically accurate.

Next, we can also problematize the concept of civilization by looking at the qualities of the characters in the play. Many of the members of Venetian society, despite a veneer of polite manners, are the true moral barbarians, duplicitous, longing for material wealth and position, and morally corrupt. Iago, a noble Venetian, is much less honorable than the barbaric Othello. 

Finally, we might look at the military background of the play and argue that both Venice and the Ottoman Empire are in Cyprus for identical reasons of promoting mercantile and territorial advantage. Both great civilizations are shown here as equally rapacious and, in a sense, "uncivilized."

The density of water is 1000 kg/m3. What does this mean?

Hello!

Density is a quantitative physical characteristics of a substance or more or less stable mixture. When we take some piece or quantity of a substance, it has mass and volume. The mass divided by volume is called density, and it depends on substance only (remains the same for different pieces of the same substance).

Different substances have different density. The density of water is about `1000 (kg)/m^3,` or `1 g/(cm^3).` This means that every cubical meter of water weighs about `1000 kg,` every half of a cubical meter weighs `500 kg` and so on. So if we know what the substance is, we can compute its weight given a mass, and vice versa.

That said, density of a substance may change with temperature and pressure, sometimes significantly.

What are plants' predators?

Many different animal species feed on plants. They are often called herbivores, which is the general term for creatures that eat plants and plant-like organisms. But we can get more specific. Biologists classify herbivores according to what parts of a plant the animals consume:

• graminivores eat seeds (example: mice)


• folivores eat leaves (examples: caterpillars, howler monkeys)


• gumnivores eat plant gum exudates (example: marmosets)


• xylophages eat wood (example: termites)


• nectivores eat nectar (examples: bees and hummingbirds)


• frugivores eat fruit (example: orangutans)

Are these creatures "predators" of the plants? It depends on your definition, and on how plants are affected by the animals that eat them.

Researchers sometimes refer to plant-eaters as predators (for an example, see the scientific paper in the last link below). The terminology is useful when the relationship between herbivore and plant is similar to that of a predator and its animal prey: The eater seeks out the eaten, and the interaction is antagonistic. In such cases, we can see many parallels between animal prey and plant prey.

For instance, like animal prey species, plant prey species have evolved adaptations to defend themselves against predators. These adaptations include

• chemical defenses, like secondary compounds that make plant tissues toxic or difficult to digest, and


• mechanical defenses, like spines, thorns, barbs, and hard casings.

In response, plant predators have evolved their own adaptations to overcome these defenses. For example, eucalyptus leaves contain secondary compounds that deter most would-be predators. But the koala, which specializes in eating eucalyptus, has evolved the ability to detoxify and metabolize those compounds. The competing interests of predators and prey can lead to an evolutionary arms race, in which a plant evolves ever-stronger defenses, and a predator evolves ever–more effective counter strategies.

However, not all cases of plant-eating are antagonistic to the plant. A good example is a hummingbird drinking nectar. The plant benefits because the hummingbird helps pollinate the plant. Similarly, an orangutan that digests the flesh of a fruit but spits out or excretes the seeds can help a tree spread its offspring to distant parts of a forest. In these cases, the relationship is mutualistic -- both sides benefit. So the animals would not be considered predators.

In the "Scarlet Ibis" by James Hurst, would you say the narrator is prideful or guilty?

There is supporting evidence in “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst to demonstrate the narrator, Doodle’s older brother, exhibits character traits of being both prideful and guilty. In this retrospective look at Doodle’s short life, Brother expresses his guilt about his mean streak that is exposed when he deals with Doodle’s disabilities. His pride often leads to his feelings of guilt.

There is within me (and with sadness I have watched it in others) a knot

of cruelty borne by the stream of love, much as our blood sometimes bears the

seed of our destruction, and at times I was mean to Doodle.

Wanting nothing more than a brother who can participate in a normal boyhood with him, Brother does things to Doodle out of frustration. He pulls Doodle too fast in the wagon, makes him touch his own coffin, and pushes him to the point of exhaustion when trying to teach him new things.  

When Doodle is able to accomplish something new, such as learning to walk, Brother takes great pride in it. Brother spends many hours working with Doodle, encouraging him to practice standing, take steps, and finally, walk on his own. Brother admits he is embarrassed about going to school with a brother who cannot walk, which makes his motives questionable. His pride makes him want Doodle to walk, but he gets caught up in the excitement when it happens.

As the story comes to a close, the boys are caught in a storm. As Doodle leaves their small boat, he falls exhaustedly to the ground. Brother allows his pride and frustration to overtake him once again by running ahead of Doodle, leaving him frightened in the storm.

The knowledge that Doodle's and my plans had come to naught was

bitter, and that streak of cruelty within me awakened. I ran as fast as I could,

leaving him far behind with a wall of rain dividing us. The drops stung my face

like nettles, and the wind flared the wet glistening leaves of the bordering trees.

Soon I could hear his voice no more.

Both the exposition and conclusion of the story detail Brother’s feelings of guilt, which are provoked by his pride.

What is the expected lifetime for a star with twice the mass of the sun?

The Main-Sequence Lifetime of stars charts the approximate lifetime of stars.  The chart is based on the mass and luminosity of the star.  There is a correlation between mass and luminosity as well.  The sun is given one solar mass and one solar luminosity.  The expected lifetime for the sun is about 10 billion years.  A star with twice the mass would be ten times as bright, but live only 2 billion years (or about 1/5 as long).

Stars with more mass do not last as long because they burn fuel at a faster rate.  A star with twice the mass of the sun would burn its fuel about ten times faster.  The timeframes are estimates and based largely on the luminosity, which is an indicator of fuel consumption.  The lifetime could vary by a few billion years. 

What is the symbolism used in the poem "Mending Wall" by Robert Frost?

Major Symbols
The major symbols in "Mending Wall" are the stone wall and the "fences" spoken of by the neighboring farmer: "He only says, 'Good fences make good neighbours.'" Each slightly different from the other, both symbolize the artificial and deliberately constructed barriers humans seem inevitably to erect between themselves.

There are two attitudes toward these barriers conveyed in the poem. The first is that of the speaker, who seems to have a tolerant, amused attitude, although, being the poetic soul he is, his amusement is soon off-set by contemplative musings. The second attitude is that of the neighbor, who seems to have a serious, dutiful, no-nonsense attitude, which remains undeterred when the speaker tries to engage him in riddles about the superfluity of walls:

Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
If I could put a notion in his head:
"Why do they make good neighbours?...
[...]
...I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,..."

Another important symbol is the twice-said "Something there is that doesn't love a wall...," which is philosophically off-set by the twice-said "Good fences make good neighbours." Frost's metaphysically speculative observation of the "something" that doesn't love a wall can be taken literally as illustrated in the second line, which describes ground heaves of winter's frozen earth [today in New England, brightly colored strings are stapled to utility poles warning drivers of "Ground Heave," which can buckle roads up into ridges one or even two feet high]: "That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,...." The symbolic meaning of this "something" relates to the paradoxical desire in humans for psychological and emotional intimacy even while erecting barriers to such intimacy: "something" is the hesitance to be known paradoxically opposing the desire to be known.

Secondary Symbols
There are secondary symbols in "Mending Wall." Some are "spills" and "gaps," paradoxically symbolizing either (a) damage leading to vulnerability, such as hunters (symbolizing careless, destructive people) in pursuit of symbolically innocent rabbits, or (b) openings leading to opportunities, such as are created by "something," perhaps an inner "ground-swell" of psychological expansion. Another symbol is "spring mending-time," symbolic of a cyclical opportunity for renewal that continually offers new chances at the psychological and emotional intimacy desired (and, from the mending wall neighbor, continually resisted). 

Another significant symbol is the place, a specific section along the neighbor's wall, where there is no need for a wall: "There where it is we do not need the wall." This place symbolizes a recurring opportunity between people to find the desired connectedness, perhaps in ever-present social situations in which renewal of opportunity is present on a recurring basis.

What type of songs could best fit Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck?

Since Of Mice and Men is set in the 1930's/the Depression Era, folk music from this era would befit Steinbeck's themes.

One musician who captured the feelings and mood of the times was Woody--Woodrow Wilson--Guthrie. His mother was from Kansas and his father was from Oklahoma, where the family lived in the town of Okeham, an oil town. The father was prosperous, having speculated in land during the oil boom, but lost everything when this boom ended. Since he had to work in Texas to repay his debts, Woody, who was fourteen years old, and his siblings were left on their own since their mother had to be institutionalized for a neurological disease which would later kill Woody, too. Having inherited the musical talent of both parents, Woody developed his social conscience early as he worked odd jobs and honed his skills as a guitarist after being taught by his uncle. He became a composer of folk songs. With personal experience of the Dustbowl and poverty, he developed a wanderlust and rode the rails with many a bindle stiff as in Steinbeck's novella.

Guthrie gave voice to the victims of the Dust Bowl and the migrant workers. As a migrant worker himself, Woody sang in the camps. His most famous song, "This Land is Your Land" became a national anthem of sorts.
Here are some others:

• "Do Re Mi" - Do Re Mi was a reference to money and the song was written about all those who came to California in search of work


• "Ain't Got No Home in This World " - This song focused on the tragedy of homelessness.


• "Going Down the Road Feelin' Bad"

Another genre of music appropriate of Of Mice and Men is Country Western. One great song for Steinbeck's narrative was written by Hank Williams: 

• "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry"

Bob Dylan was greatly influenced by Woody Guthrie. Here is one song of his that is appropriate to Steinbeck's novel:

•  "Man of Constant Sorrows" 

In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the main character (Macbeth) receives a prediction about his future in Act I, Scene 3. Describe this prediction.

In Act 1, Scene 3, the three witches (also known as the Weird Sisters) prophesy that Macbeth will first become the Thane of Cawdor, and then will be crowned King of Scotland. They then claim that, though Banquo himself won't be king, he will be father to a line of kings and, in some sense, will be greater than Macbeth. 

This prediction is important for two reasons. First, it plants the seed in Macbeth's brain that ultimately leads him to murder his way to the throne of Scotland. Second, it alludes to Macbeth's tragic downfall. For example, we learn that, though Macbeth will become king, his reign is doomed to failure, as it is Banquo's line, not Macbeth's, that will last as royalty. As such, through this prediction Shakespeare quickly signals that Macbeth will become king, but that his inevitable failure also looms ominously on the horizon. 

How did the Persian empire come about? What challenges did the rulers face and what institutions and policies did they devise to meet those...

The Persian Empire occupied an area that is now mostly located in modern Iran. It originated in the late Bronze Age when the Median people migrated into an area of Northern Iran from Central Asia. They spoke an Indo-European language and took advantage of a temporary power vacuum caused by the decline of the  Middle Assyrian Empire.

From roughly the tenth through the seventh centuries, the Medes were ruled by the vast and powerful Neo-Assyrian Empire. In the late seventh century, civil wars and rebellions by subjects including the Medes, Babylonians, Chaldeans, Egyptians, Scythians, and Lydians led to the collapse of the Assyrian Empire. The Medes took advantage of this to conquer Nineveh and establish a Median kingdom or area of influence. Our information about this period, unfortunately, is limited. Our major source is the Greek historian Herodotus, who is not completely reliable.

In the seventh century, the Persians had settled in the southern part of the Iranian plateau. Also speaking an Indo-European language, they were nomadic peoples who had arrived in the tenth century. It was the unification of the Medes, Persian, and Parthians that led to the formation of the Persian Empire.

The Achaemenid Empire or First Persian Empire (c. 550–330 BC), also called the First Persian Empire, was founded in 550 BC by Cyrus the Great, inverting the power relationship in which previously the Medes had dominated the Persians. The major challenges he faced were administrative. He needed to transform a small, tightly-knit, ethnically uniform nomadic society into a multi-ethnic empire controlling a fixed territory. The Persians borrowed many administrative ideas from Mesopotamia.

One of the biggest problems in governing an ancient empire was communication from the center to the periphery. The Persian kings addressed this several ways. First, they built substantial road networks and a system of messengers. Cyrus was also responsible for supporting a comprehensive postal system. 

Next, local satraps were given the authority to govern specific regions of the Persian Empire and given considerable autonomy. This regional autonomy included religious and cultural freedom. 

The Persian kings sustained their rule economically with a taxation system that required each satrapy to raise a certain amount of taxes, which were used to support a professional army and maintain civil services. 

The Persian Empire had a uniform legal code and generally solved the problem of maintaining the loyalty of subject peoples by offering military protection and civil services in return for taxation, with minimal interference in local customs.

What are two examples of faulty reasoning/logic seen in the videos "Bill Nye Battles with CNN Host" and "Fox Host 'We Had to Give Up Our Freedom'...

In the video "Billy Nye Battles with CNN Host," the female host uses a great deal of faulty reasoning. She references a March 6-9 Gallup Poll that states that 36% of polled people (who she referred to as "Americans") believe that global warming poses a serious threat to our way of life, while 64% of polled people do not believe that it poses such a threat. She uses this poll to suggest that the "scare tactics haven't worked" and that public consensus is necessary to move along legislation that would limit greenhouse emissions and attempt to modify the human impact on the environment. The claim that is also implicit here (and is later "supported" by the flawed arguing of her guest, Nicolas Loris, a conservative economist) is that Americans should not be required to make conservation efforts since global warming isn't really hurting us.

So, what's the problem with this? First, the host is overgeneralizing the issue by referring to a poll on public opinion without any sense of the scope of that poll. How many people were polled? From predominantly what areas of the United States? How old were they? Etc. Polls are often used as a tool to make sweeping generalizations, and this video is no exception! The host implies that the results of the poll entirely represents the public opinion of Americans, when in reality it just represents a sliver of American thoughts on the issue. To use this poll as substantive "evidence" is highly problematic. She then goes on to reach a huge conclusion out of this continued overgeneralization and circular reasoning: the impact of global warming on our lives does not exist because we, as Americans, do not believe that the impact of global warming on our lives exists! See how this is essentially the restatement of the same claim? 

In the video "Fox Host 'We Had to Give Up Our Freedom' During Snow Storm Because Climate Change is a Hoax," the talking heads on Fox suggest that President Obama's claim that global warming is one of the largest issues at hand is false because terrorism is a larger threat. They try to make this point through absurd statements of over-simplification: "Have there been beheadings by the climate?," "Climate change can not dress up, cross continent borders, look like a neighbor, plan plots, sit in the cut, and then blow something up," etc. The male guest/host on the show finally steps in to stop this rampant over-simplification, stating: "He's just saying it affects more people in terms of numbers." Unfortunately, the other guests continue to derail the conversation into arguments of assumption (with one host self-importantly stating that because she felt personally affected by the death of a young woman at the hands of a terrorist organization, terrorism must be the bigger issue!) and another host tearing down scientific models that predicted the impact of a snowstorm in New York (ignoring the fact that those projections were ultimately correct in Boston) via false causality and, as you may have guessed, more over-generalization! 

Ultimately, the arguments against global warming deniers in both videos ignore the greater issue at hand, which is to say that global warming is just that: global. Just because wealthy Americans--who are, indeed, the people leveled into positions of enough power and privilege to be able to speak on these news programs--are not the first or most radically impacted demographic does not mean that others around the world--especially those living in rural areas, struggling through poverty, or existing within third-world countries--are not already suffering the consequences of a changing global environment.

What is the Home and who stays there? Why does Bud not want to go back there?

The Home in the novel Bud, Not Buddy is an orphanage in Flint, Michigan where Bud lives at the beginning of the story. The Home is filled with orphans, including Bud, who do not have anywhere else to stay. Bud mentions that he doesn't like the orphanage because it is getting too crowded and fears that some of the children might steal his personal possessions in his suitcase. The novel's setting is during the Great Depression which was a time when many families were experiencing financial difficulty. The orphan population rose because many families could not afford to raise their children which was one reason that the Home was becoming overcrowded in the novel. Bud laments about living at the Home and doesn't want to return because he is tired of being sent away to various foster homes. After a short stay with the Amoses, Bud decides to travel across Michigan to find his father.

What are some ideas for a feature article on the quote, "there never was a story of more woe/than that of Juliet and her Romeo?"

What this quote, the final words of the play, literally means is that there was never a sadder story than that of Romeo and Juliet. The Prince speaks the quote after having heard the Nurse's and Friar Laurence's accounts of what had happened, and though the Capulets and Montagues are reconciled, he is still struck by its sadness. One way you could write a prompt on this quote would be to simply defend it, or provide examples of it, from the text. What I think makes Romeo and Juliet such a sad story is its dramatic irony. The Chorus tells us at the beginning of the play that the two lovers will not survive their affair, that they are "star-cross'd," or doomed by fate. This makes their every encounter, and the hope and love that they feel for each other, all the more poignant, because even as they plan to overcome their families' mutual enmity, we know all of their efforts will be in vain. So you could focus on incidents in the play that seem to lead inexorably to the final tragedy--the fight between Tybalt and Romeo in the streets, Romeo's banishment to Mantua, and the failure of Friar John to deliver Laurence's letter to Romeo there explaining his plan. These events show that the two lovers really are "star-cross'd," and that their story truly is full of woe. 

What is an explanantion of the meaning of the song "Blowin in the Wind" by Bob Dylan? (What is Dylan saying with the lyrics?)

The enigmatic Bob Dylan is said to have "absorbed the spirit of his age" and, perhaps for this reason, he himself gave no explanation for the line "blowin' in the wind." An examination of the "winds" of the times may be the only way to provide an explanation. 

It is well known that Dylan was an admirer of folk singer Woody Guthrie, who at one time compared his political sensitivity to newspapers that blew in the winds of New York City streets and alleys. In other words, the headlines were there one day, then gone the next day without many even knowing what was printed there. So, Dylan's line "The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind" pertains to the social instability of the 1960's, the changing political climate, and even some people's inattention to these changes.  In other words, Who knows? What is today may not be tomorrow, and who is paying attention?

Here is what a twenty-one-year-old Bob Dylan himself said in response to what the phrase under question meant,

I still say it’s in the wind and just like a restless piece of paper it’s got to come down some  ...But the only trouble is that no one picks up the answer when it comes down so not too many people get to see and know . . . and then it flies away.

About his own work, Bob Dylan once remarked that people should not create anything because that creation will always be misinterpreted. "And it will follow you." Called the "poet of our time" by Johnny Carson, Bob Dylan wrote songs in several genres in his efforts to not be categorized. Evidently, he found people's tendencies to label and categorize things as far too simplistic.

 

What is Kirkpatrick Sale's argument in The Conquest of Paradise?

The main intention of Kirkpatrick Sale's The Conquest of Paradise: Christopher Columbus and the Columbian Legacy is to dispel some of the major myths of the discovery of the Americas and of the man who did this discovering. While Christopher Columbus is mostly regarded as a courageous, trailblazing hero, Sale gives us insight into a different side of the explorer: a man who was simultaneously at odds with his European peers and a product of their fatalistic thoughts and who ultimately mismanaged and failed to understand the new lands he explored.

Sale postures that Columbus' journey across the Atlantic was responsible for tremendous tragedy, unleashing genocide upon the Native American populations already dwelling in the "New World" as the result of a European thirst for a mythological "paradise." This voyage resulted in great bloodshed, tremendous loss of life, and horrific ecological damage.

Ultimately, Sale suggests that Columbus didn't just discover paradise; rather, he destroyed it.

Is there a guarantee that had Bob not gone to the West, he would not have turned out to be a criminal?

No, there is no certainty that if Bob had not gone to the West he would not have turned out to be a criminal. The West didn't make him a criminal. He went there because it seemed to offer opportunities for criminal activities. He tells the plainclothes officer who asks if he did well out West: “Bully; it has given me everything I asked it for."

If Jimmy had gone west with Bob, Jimmy would have ended up in some strictly respectable and secure profession. Their characters were already formed by the time that Jimmy was twenty and Bob was eighteen. Bob would have looked for excitement and opportunities to get rich quick in New York if he had stayed in that great, ever-growing metropolis--and no doubt he would have found plenty of both.

Bob characterizes both Jimmy and himself when he says of his old friend, "He was a kind of plodder, though, good fellow as he was." Jimmy is a plodder relative to Bob, who has the character of a gambler. If Bob had stayed in New York, he might have been less successful as a crook because there would have been more competition in every racket. But he would have grown in the same direction, and the friendship between the two men could not have survived. In actuality, it did not survive even when they were separated by a thousand or more miles. Jimmy did not realize that Bob was no longer his friend until he encountered him in the doorway of the drugstore after twenty years. Their friendship might be said to have "gone up in smoke" when Bob lighted his cigar and Jimmy saw his face. In that instant they became "erstwhile friends." Their relationship was based on the fact that they used to be friends. Jimmy couldn't remain a friend of a man like Bob.

How would you summarize "The Old Man and the Sea" by Hemingway?

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway is a short novel that Hemingway wrote in 1951 and that was first published in 1952. The work is written in the third person, using Hemingway's characteristic simple language and syntax. The third person narrator of the story is omniscient, having access to the actions and minds of all characters in the story. The narrator is not intrusive, and does not break the illusion of the story by directly addressing readers or reflecting on the fictional nature of the story. 

The two main characters of the story are Santiago, an aging Cuban fisherman, and Manolin, a young boy who was his apprentice. Santiago has been unlucky and gone 85 days without catching a fish. On the 86th day, he sets out to sea and manages, in a heroic battle, to catch an 18-foot marlin, but sharks follow the scent of its blood and eat most of its flesh before he can get it back to the harbor, meaning that he will not be able to earn much money from it. Santiago is badly injured in this voyage. Manolin, who has had faith in Santiago despite the long run of bad luck, feels vindicated in his faith in Santiago by this record catch. 

What is the meaning of the line "I do not ask the wounded person how he feels, I myself become the wounded person" from Walt Whitman's "Song of...

This amazing insight from Walt Whitman is an encapsulation of his philosophy – that we are not so much individuals as “leaves of grass”; superficially we appear to be individual, unique beings, but in a larger sense, we are each part of the whole, and we share the condition of being “human” – we are "each other" in the larger, cosmic sense.  Here, he differentiates between empathizing the pain of another, and actually “sharing the experience” itself.  It is difficult to paraphrase this difference in words more succinct, more viable, than Whitman’s own.  Whitman’s ability to empathize goes beyond mere imagining what an experience might be to another – he negates the, to his mind, separateness of individuality, and steps, not “into the shoes” of the wounded person, but into the wholeness that is the human species.  His experiences in the Civil War gave him this anguished and anguishing insight.

What are some predictions for the future of each character (Amanda, Laura, Tom, and Jim) in Williams' The Glass Menagerie?

The Glass Menagerie follows the closely intertwined lives of Amanda Wingfield and her adult children, Tom and Laura. Jim, Tom's coworker and Laura's former classmate, joins the family for dinner and the play continues by delving into the illusions each of the four main characters uses to survive in a harsh reality. While the play itself ends on a somber note with Tom leaving his family, as Amanda always feared he would, and Jim admitting that he is engaged and unable to court Laura, the final scene is very open-ended. This open-endedness has resulted in significant speculation on the future of each of the main characters.

Laura and Jim

Towards the end of the play, Jim tells Laura that she should be more confident in herself before kissing her. Although he soon after apologizes and admits that he is engaged, the depth of the conversation shared by these two characters gives reason to suggest that they might reconnect in the future. Jim does not seem fully happy in his relationship with his fiancee, and he is so taken with Laura's gentle spirit and kindness that it is conceivable that he will have a change of heart and pursue a relationship with her in the future. The play closes before we can determine what the impact of Tom's departure will have on the family, but it is certain that Laura and Amanda will continue to search for someone who can provide for them. The play ends on a somewhat hopeful note with Laura blowing out the candles, which is often a literary symbol for making a wish. In the future, Laura's wish for a stable life with Jim or someone else who appreciates her for who she is could come true.

Amanda

The play ends with Amanda's fantasy of Laura living the life she previously led as a sheltered Southern belle being shattered. It is heavily implied that she will continue to retreat into this fantasy world, remaining unable to accept the fact that Laura is disabled and she no longer belongs to the world of glamor and sophistication she grew up in. If Todd's abandonment forces Amanda to stand on her own, she may once again become part of reality and find her own way in the world. If not, it is likely that she will continue turning inward to her memories and that Todd will replace her ex-husband as the person she blames, somewhat rightly, for her sufferings in life.

Todd

As the primary character in the play, Todd's future is easier to speculate about than his family's and Jim's futures. At the end of the play, Todd leaves to pursue a career as a Merchant Marine, but guilt and memories of the family he left behind plague his new career from the beginning. It is reasonable to speculate that, given what we know of Todd's character, he will eventually return to his mother and sister. The Glass Menagerie is an autobiographical account of Tennessee Williams' own life and struggle to build a future for himself, despite being haunted by the needs of his family and his disabled sister. Williams viewed his sister as both a source of guilt and inspiration in his own career, so it is likely that Todd will develop a similar perspective as he continues through life.

As a whole, it is likely that the future for Todd, Amanda and Laura will be mixed with sadness as well as triumph. Todd's choice to leave will either be a catalyst for Amanda and Laura to carve out futures of their own or to become lost in their fantasies forever. Amanda's fantasy world is the decadence of her past, while Laura's is in her collection of glass animals and records. In this sense, Todd's future is far more certain than that of the two women in the play. His ability to move through the world as an able-bodied man, capable of controlling his own destiny, makes his future easier to predict, while Amanda and Laura must either succumb to the habits and misfortunes that have characterized their lives throughout the play or find a way to succeed in life against the odds that are stacked against them.

At the end of the story, Mr. Fisher seems to have turned his back on Erik. In fact, Paul compares his father to "those friends who abandoned Erik,...

I believe that Mr. Fisher reacts this way out of his own guilt. He realizes that he has been enabling a monster. He is only able to see this after the police and others are involved. Once the wider community sheds light on Erik’s wrongdoing, he can no longer ignore it and keep it a family secret. He can no longer deny it to himself and his family members. I’d also that he acts this way out of self-preservation. He sees that the community has turned its back against Erik, and he responds by doing the same. When the community celebrated Erik, Mr. Fisher did as well. Now that the community finds Erik deplorable, Mr. Fisher rejects him as well.

While Erik’s friends have the ability to turn their backs on Erik without acting immorally, I would argue that by turning his back on Erik, Mr. Fisher once again neglects his duties as a parent. Originally, Mr. Fisher neglects his parental duties by fixating on Erik’s football skills and completely ignoring his horrifically cruel actions. Mr. Fisher implicitly condones Erik’s attack on Paul (which partially blinds him!) as well as his other bullying behaviors. However, by turning his back on Erik, Mr. Fisher does not do his duty; he does not get Erik the help he needs. While it is easy to see Erik as a remorseless villain, it is also possible to see him as someone in need of adult intervention. He, like Paul, is still very young. By completely abandoning him, Mr. Fisher once again takes a “hands off” approach to Erik’s misbehavior.

Hello, I have a paper I must write for a University History class that is called, "19th Century Europe". I need some help coming up with a strong...

Since the Industrial Revolution takes place a bit before the nineteenth century, may I steer you in another direction?  I think you would do much better by looking at a single event, such as the Napoleonic Wars or the Congress of Vienna.  The first thing I would do is some rudimentary research--both of these events should feature prominently in your textbook and there will probably be some reliable information on the Internet as well.  I'd make sure to check this site as well.  The next thing I would do is to try to figure out how the event changed Europe.  Look at political boundaries and forms of government before  the event and after the event.  Then, in your own words, describe how your event helped to facilitate the change.  For example, you could say that the Napoleonic Wars redrew the boundaries of Europe and helped to create a system that prevented another major European war for one hundred years.  You could also look at what each side wanted and received from the Congress of Vienna.  I am enclosing a link pertaining to the Congress of Vienna to get you started.  

Of course, if you are intent on looking at the Industrial Revolution, I would pick one country, such as Britain, and look at how the Industrial Revolution changed the way people worked or how it affected the British countryside.  For your paper, I think my first suggestion of looking at military and diplomatic history would be better for you in terms of material and ease in creating a thesis statement.  

In what fashion is the Marilyn French's The Women's Room a reflection of the past?

The Women's Room takes place between the 1940s and the 1970s, during the inception of the women's movement. This work reflects many of the gender norms and restrictions that affected women in the past. Mira, the story's protagonist, grows up feeling repressed by society's insistence that girls should act like young ladies. From proper posture to the activities her mother tells her ladies don't indulge in, such as rough play, Mira feels constantly at odds with the person she is inside versus the woman society expects her to become.

As she grows up, Mira finds society even more restrictive. Her desire to live independently contradicts the belief of the past that women should submit to their husbands and devote themselves to rearing children. When she meets a man who seems to respect her more than her classmates, Mira hopes she has finally found the companionship and support she always craved. Instead, her husband proves to be just as dismissive of her as her parents were, and Mira finds herself even more trapped once she has children.

The Women's Room is a strong reflection of the gender moors of the past, including society's beliefs about the role of women at home. As Mira makes her way through the restrictive 1940s and 1950s, she hopes the women's liberation movement of the 1960s and 1970s will finally bring the change she always longed for. In reality, she finds many of the same misogynistic attitudes are still present in society at large and in the minds of the men she meets, just disguised in different packaging.

The story is also a reflection of the different relationship dynamics in the past. Like many women of her time, Mira traded the authoritarian control of her parents for a husband who treated her both as child and live-in maid. She, like many women who went through the liberation movement of the 1960s, was forced to liberate herself through her personal decisions and, ultimately, by finding her own voice and telling her story in the form of a book.

Discuss the Ethics of Aristotle.

Aristotle, like most thinkers of his period, divides thinking about morality into three categories.

• Moral actions with respect to the city-state (polis) as a whole, or politics


• Moral actions with respect to the household (oikos) or economics


• Morality as pertaining to the individual character (ethos) or ethics proper

Aristotle writes about these topics in several works, most notably the Nicomachean Ethics, but also the shorter Eudemian Ethics as well as the Politics and Rhetoric.

Aristotle's account of ethics is often called "eudaimonian" from a a Greek word "eudaimonia" sometimes translated as "happiness" but which means something closer to flourishing or well-being. This refers to flourishing of humans qua humans rather than simply to momentary pleasure. For Aristotle, eudaimonia is something aimed at for itself, an end rather than a means to an end. Since humans, for Aristotle are by nature "political animals" (meaning that they gather in cities or "poleis"), ethics necessary involves considering humans in social and political context rather than merely as isolated individuals. 

What examples of humor can you find in the first two pages of Scene i in Romeo and Juliet? Why do you think Shakespeare injected humor into the...

Romeo and Juliet begins with a conversation between Sampson and Gregory, two servants belonging to the Capulet household. Sampson is spoiling for a fight, bragging about his readiness to thrash the Montagues. Gregory teases him, tacitly inviting him to engage in a verbal tennis match. Most of the humor in this scene springs from the puns that the two men exchange.

Sampson starts by exclaiming, “. . . we’ll not carry coals” -- i.e., “We’re not going to tolerate their trash.” Gregory picks up the word “coals” and, pretending to take it literally, tosses back the word “colliers” (i.e., menial laborers who dig coal for a living.) Sampson sticks to his point -- insisting that he’s determined to fight -- but he also wants to participate in Gregory’s game, and so he tops Gregory by using a word that riffs on “collier”: “an we be in choler, we'll draw” (i.e., “If we get angry, we’ll draw our swords on them.”) Gregory bests him by coming up with yet a third homophonous word: “Ay, while you live, draw your neck out o' the collar.”

Shakespeare loves creating scenes like this, where one character initiates a “game” and another picks up on the “rules” and joins in. It’s one of his favorite ways to reveal both rapport and competitiveness. (For more examples, take a look at As You Like It IV, i; Richard III I, ii. “I would I knew thy heart” through “To take is not to give”; and Love’s Labour’s Lost  II, i. “Lady, I will commend you to mine own heart” through “I cannot stay thanksgiving.”)

By extension, the audience is also invited into the game. Shakespeare’s audiences loved linguistic play. One function of the humor in this scene is to draw us in and focus our attention.

As the conversation progresses, Sampson and Gregory introduce ever more bawdy jokes into their punning competition. Then two Montague serving men arrive, and a physical fight breaks out. There’s no more witty dialogue now: just rage and violence. Benvolio appears and tries to stop it, but Juliet’s furious cousin Tybalt runs in and attacks him. A mob pours in, joining in on both sides of the brawl. Lord Capulet and Lord Montague arrive and are instantly at each other’s throats. All is chaos until the Prince appears -- the most powerful authority in Verona -- and puts a temporary stop to the fight.

Each character who appears is more powerful and important than the last, until even the heads of the two great houses are brawling in the street. By starting the scene with two lowly servants exchanging puns, Shakespeare shows us how insubstantial the basis of the Montague/Capulet feud really is.

Finally, it’s worth noting that Shakespeare frequently juxtaposes violence and tragedy with humor. Look, for example, at Romeo and Juliet IV, 4. Juliet is found “dead,” and her parents and Paris express shock and grief. Immediately afterwards, the servant Peter jokes with the musicians who were to have played at Juliet’s wedding. By doing this, do you think Shakespeare emphasizes the intensity of the tragedy? What do you think the effect is of this sudden plunge from high drama into low comedy?

In The Martian Chronicles, what happens to the Martian way of life? Is it completely destroyed?

The answer depends on which of the stories within The Martian Chronicles you're reading. At the beginning of the story, the Martian ways of life (there seem to be several) are vibrant ("The Earth Men," "The Third Expedition"), but the Martians become increasingly reclusive as more humans arrive ("-And The Moon Be Still As Bright," "The Martian"), to the point of barely resembling their former selves ("The Off Season"). By the end of the collection, all of the Martians are dead and their civilization is reduced to ruins, but there is a twist to this in the final page of "The Million-Year Picnic"; the human family, refugees from the war on Earth, are the true "Martians" now.

The Martians change somewhat from story to story in the early parts of the collection, mostly because Bradbury was writing these as short stories without a direct narrative link to each other. There's also the fact that the Martians are telepathic, and in the interests of pursuing an overall consistency we might argue that the "true" nature of the Martian way of life is never certain; not only are their minds inscrutable, but to truly know them would rob them of their alienness. This is perfectly demonstrated in "The Earth Men."

Perhaps the best exposition on what actually happens to the Martians is found in "-And The Moon Be Still As Bright" and "The Off Season." In the first story, it is revealed that the great majority of the Martians were killed by chicken pox contracted from the earlier (failed) expeditions. This is reminiscent of the fate of the Martians from The War of the Worlds as well as the fate of the indigenous peoples of the Americas during the early colonizations, when 90% of Native Americas died of smallpox contracted from settlers.

Later, in "The Off Season," the surviving Martians are still shown to be powerful telepaths, but now wear robes and masks and speak in near-riddles, and their emissary mentions "The Disease" and how he was sick for a long time, and one of the few survivors. Sam Parkhill is also mentioned to be passing deserted Martian cities as he flees them.

After "The Off Season" the Martians are not seen again, and it can be presumed that all of them have died, and their way of life has died with them.

What is the purpose of Mary’s conversation with Sam, the grocer, in "Lamb to the Slaughter" by Roald Dahl?

The purpose of Mary's visit to the grocery store and conversation with Sam is to establish a credible alibi for herself.  

Within the previous hour, Mary's husband told Mary that he was leaving her.  Shortly after, Mary clubbed him to death with a frozen leg of lamb.  The text says that she is ready and willing to take the punishment for herself, but Mary is not willing to risk her unborn child.  

As the wife of a detective, she knew quite well what the penalty would be. That was fine. It made no difference to her. In fact, it would be a relief. On the other hand, what about the child? What were the laws about murderers with unborn children? Did they kill then both-mother and child? Or did they wait until the tenth month? What did they do?

Mary Maloney didn’t know. And she certainly wasn’t prepared to take a chance.

In order to protect her child, Mary decides that she needs to cover up her involvement with Patrick's death.  That means two main things.  First, she needs to get rid of the murder weapon.  She does this by cooking it.  Second, she needs to not be home when Patrick was killed.  By going to the grocery store, Mary can claim that she wasn't home when Patrick was killed.  Talking to Sam guarantees that somebody else can vouch for the fact that Mary was indeed at the grocery store between time "A" and time "B."  

Mary's plan works.  The detectives show up to her house.  They begin asking her all kinds of questions, and Mary explains that she had to go out to the grocery store after Patrick got home in order to get the rest of the dinner supplies.  The officers immediately check up on Mary's story.  They contact Sam, and he corroborates everything that Mary stated.  

She told her story again, this time right from the beginning, when Patrick had come in, and she was sewing, and he was tired, so tired he hadn’t wanted to go out for supper. She told how she’d put the meat in the oven – “it’s there now, cooking” – and how she’d slipped out to the grocer for vegetables, and come back to find him lying on the floor.

"Which grocer?” one of the detectives asked.

She told him, and he turned and whispered something to the other detective who immediately went outside into the street.

In fifteen minutes he was back with a page of notes, and there was more whispering, and through her sobbing she heard a few of the whispered phrases – “...acted quite normal...very cheerful...wanted to give him a good supper… peas... cheesecake... impossible that she...”

Discuss the various Native American pre-Columbian civilizations in the New World. What occurred to these people once the Europeans began to arrive...

The question focuses on the various Native American pre-Columbian civilizations in the New World, and what occurred to them once Europeans began to arrive in the late 15th century. Because the questions relates to post-contact events, we will only look at those groups located in the areas most directly explored by Europeans in the 15th and 16th century. In North America, these were tribes associated primarily with the Mississippian culture. In Central America, the most well-known cultures were the Maya and the Aztec, and in South America the Inca are most familiar. However, note that there were in fact dozens of other cultural groups and traditions living in these areas as well. The reference below would be instructive for more detail.

Overall, this is a massive topic, so simplification and narrowing is needed. As such, we will not address other groups with whom contact occurred significantly later, such as the Plains and Western US based tribes, nor will we look at longer term events, such as the interaction of the native tribes with European immigrants in the US from the 1600’s on.

Let’s start with some basic principles for what happens when people of different cultures interact. These effects can be classified in terms of culture, political power structures, and access to /control of resources. Each group will initially view interaction as either a threat to all of the above, or as an opportunity to enhance one or more of these areas. Also note that we then to talk in generalizations, describing cultures and nations as a whole, as if they were individuals, but in fact each culture is made up of individuals who may possess a variety of attitudes regarding the above areas. How events play out can be materially affected by the actions of specific individuals, so generalizations need to be viewed with some caution as to the degree to which they are determinative of events.

That being said, the peoples of the Americas in the mid-15th century just before contact with the Europeans displayed a wide mix of well-developed cultural, political and economic structures. The North American cultures tended toward less permanent settlements, while the Inca, Maya and Aztec (and the many smaller civilizations of the region) developed complex, well-settled cities with substantial monumental architecture and complex political structures supported by formal taxation arrangements. The more southern cultures also had deep religious traditions with formal clergy. In other words, they were similar in many respects to the monarchic/religious structures reflected in the European cultures with which they came into contact around the turn of the 16th century.

There were two key differences between the Europeans and the indigenous peoples that will be focused on in this discussion. First, and most prominent, was that the European explorers possessed far superior military technology, most importantly the firearm and cannon. This allowed them to create the appearance of military power far out of proportion to the relative numbers of personnel involved. As military victory often results from convincing an opponent that they cannot prevail, rather from actually harming or controlling their forces, this allowed the Europeans (especially the Spanish in the Central and South American areas) to dominate cultures with relatively small numbers of troops and ships.

The second factor was European attitudes formed by the intellectual roots of the Renaissance. This created an expansionist concept of Europe’s role in the world. It was also coupled with a belief in man’s dominion over all of creation, to some extent outweighing the previous sense of humble subservience to the whims of God and Nature. This provided a philosophical foundation for the belief that European control of other peoples was in some sense “rightful”.

A related, and important, difference was the concept of property rights, especially as regards the more northern indigenous peoples. These tribes tended to view such rights as communal within the tribe. That is, tribes negotiated or warred over rights as a whole, but within a tribe property and resources were generally allocated according to communal principles and processes. There is substantial literature analyzing the extent to which this led to fundamental misunderstandings about what was being traded and agreed to between these peoples and the newcomers.

The net effect of these interactions varied among the various indigenous peoples. The Central and South American cultures were generally subjected to outright conquest. Ultimately, their high level political structures were destroyed and their cultures were held in control, primarily for the purpose of providing labor in the service of providing raw materials (especially gold) and agricultural products to their Spanish rulers. Indigenous religion was rooted out and forcibly replaced with Catholic Christianity. The Spanish also controlled areas in the far southeastern portions of the US, but the indigenous peoples there had no significant natural resources worth taking, and their more mobile social structure meant that, in general, they were driven out of native areas rather than being subjugated within them.

In the North American areas beyond modern Florida, there was minimal interaction with Europeans through the 1500’s. When settlement began in earnest in the early 1600’s, the primarily English immigrants initially attempted to interact with native peoples on the basis of the general principles of 1600’s England. In the short term, conflict with native peoples was not widespread. Eventually, the large numbers of immigrants, and the quest to bring more and more land into their system of political economy, became incompatible with indigenous concepts of communal ownership and “usage” of vast areas of land without the structures of actual control. Beyond the scope of this question, this led to direct conflict, in which the military (and by then numerical) superiority of the European peoples ultimately held sway. The net eventual result was the complete marginalization of the native cultures.

You make a purchase at Johnson's Discount Mart. When you take your items to the cashier, there first is a 25% discount because of the store-wide...

Your total bill is $195.89 after receiving discounts of 25%, 10%, and 3% successively and we are asked to find the bill without discounts.

Let x be the original total bill. Then the amount paid can be found:

(.75)(.9)(.97)x=195.89

** If there is a 25% discount then the amount due is 75% of the original price thus multiply by .75. Similarly a 10% discount is 90% and a 3% discount is .97 of the cost. We apply them in succession -- the total bill then apply a 25% discount, then apply a 10% discount to the subtotal and finally apply a discount to that subtotal. **

Dividing both sides of the equation by (.75)(.9)(.97)=.65475 we get x is approximately 299.18.

Thus the nondiscounted bill would have been $299.18

Choosing from the characters from Jewish religion which one would you like to meet and why?

Personally, I would like to meet Abraham.  There are a few reasons why.  Abraham's story is probably one of the most inspirational when it comes to questions of faith.  Abraham and his wife prayed for a child for many years, and when they were in old age, they were finally blessed with their son, Isaac.  They believed that God granted them this child.  So it was heartbreaking when God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac to Him.  Abraham, despite having prayed for this child, was so loyal to God that he agreed to kill his own son.  Abraham took Isaac away from home, fully intending to kill him, and God stopped Abraham when He saw how willing Abraham was to give everything he loved to God.  This story is held up as an example of how believers are expected to worship God. 

Another reason I would like to meet Abraham is it is believed that three major religions branched off from Abraham: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

How can students improve their writing skills?

There are many strategies students can use to improve their writing skills. Which strategies will work depends to a degree on the individual student. A middle school student learning to compose paragraphs and a PhD student struggling to write a dissertation face different problems. Similarly, learning to write in a second language requires different skills than writing in one's native language.

The single thing proven to improve writing skills the most is reading. There is a very strong correlation between quantities of leisure reading and writing skill. Although any reading is better than no reading, the more sophisticated the vocabulary and syntax of what you read, the more you improve your writing. Reading a children's book, teen fantasy, or blogs is less effective in developing writing skills than reading more complex materials such as major novels, history, poetry, or other complex, adult-geared reading. 

Next, as with any skill, practice makes perfect. The more you write, the better you will write. Taking writing-intensive classes requiring regular essays develops your writing skills.

Finally, many universities have writing centers that offer students free individual tutoring. 

How does Ophelia change over the course of Shakespeare's Hamlet?

Ophelia is essentially a pure and virtuous character who is driven insane by the conflicting demands of her father and brother on one hand and her former boyfriend, Hamlet, on the other. She changes from a state of innocence to one of disillusionment and despair as the play goes on. 

At the beginning of the play, Laertes, her brother, tells Ophelia that Hamlet is not serious about her. He says, "For Hamlet and the trifling of his favor, / Hold it a fashion and a toy in blood, / A violet in the youth of primy nature" (I.3.5-7). In other words, Laertes informs Ophelia that Hamlet's attentions are fleeting, and that they will pass because he is changeable young man. Later, her father, Polonius, tells her, "You do not understand yourself so clearly / As it behooves my daughter and your honor" (I.3.97-98). He accuses her of not acting with the modesty she should, but Ophelia is ultimately an honest and honorable person. While the people around her accuse her, she acts with rectitude and obedience.

In Act III, Scene 1, she obeys Claudius, Hamlet's uncle, and her father when they ask her to spy on Hamlet. Polonius even tells her, "Read on this book / That show of such an exercise may color / Your loneliness.—" (I.3.46-49). He asks his daughter to read from a prayer book when she is trying to deceive Hamlet, an act of hypocrisy, so that she seems innocent when Hamlet comes by. She obediently responds. During the conversation that follows, Hamlet tells her, "Get thee to a nunnery. / Why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners?" (I.3.23-24). He says that she should become a nun so that she won't give birth to more sinners like herself. Ophelia responds to Hamlet's hurtful words only by asking God to help him (line 135).

Throughout all of these manipulations by her father, brother, and former boyfriend, Ophelia doesn't change. She only says, "O, how miserable I am to see Hamlet now and know what he was before!" (I.3.161-162). Her essential good nature is intact.

However, by Act IV she is carried away by grief over how the men around her treat her and becomes mad. In some senses, she also seems to be more aware of the way men mistreat her. She is less innocent and more knowing, even as she is insane. She sings in verse (which, as it isn't in iambic pentameter, marks her as insane): "He is dead and gone, lady, /He is dead and gone. / At his head is a patch of green grass, / And at his feet there is a tomb stone." (IV.5.26-29). This verse signifies that she has become obsessed with death and is depressed and deranged after her father's death. When Claudius asks her how she is doing, she answers, "Well, God'ield you," which means may you get what you deserve. She then sings a song about a young man tricking a young woman into sleeping with him and then not marrying her (lines 40-50).

She has changed because she is now more aware of the way in which men mistreat women. Later, she drowns, and she seems to have done nothing to save herself. As Gertrude says, Ophelia is "As one incapable of her own distress" (IV.7.175). In other words, Ophelia shows no sign of saving herself, as she is resigned to the evil in the world but has decided she wants to pass on to another world so she doesn't have to deal with it. 

How can I make a title for the best feature of a cellphone?

Coming up with titles is hard.  I actually never wrote titles for my papers in high school or college until after everything else was done.  I needed the inspiration of all of the other stuff to come up with a decent title.  Based on the question, it sounds like that part is done already.  I do not know what cellphone or cellphone feature that the question has in mind, so I'll have to be a bit broad.  

When coming up with a title, you want the title to apply to the topic, not be mundane, and shorter is better than longer because it's generally easier to remember.  

My favorite feature of my cellphone is the camera.  I know that's not exciting, but I have three little kids, so the camera gets used a lot.  It's a camera but it doesn't have a cool title name.  I'm kind of partial to "The Time Capture Device."  It sounds way more scientific than "camera," but the problem is that it is longer than the actual name.  Maybe "Photo Cannon" is better.  

Regardless of the feature that you are trying to provide a title for, don't be afraid to be silly with the title.  I've often found that starting out with silly names often leads to titles that are quite creative.   

What is an important object from Speak that can be represented as a symbol and how does it works as a symbol?

The tree is an important object from Speak that has symbolic meaning.

The tree is very important to Melinda's freshman year. When Mr. Freeman asks students to pull random pieces of paper that will serve as their art project, Melinda pulls the paper that has "tree" on it. She wants to put it back.  As with so much in her freshman year, Melinda has little faith that it will work out.  The early going proves her right. Melinda struggles to create her tree.  This is symbolic of Melinda's freshman year, in general, where she struggles to find her place and find any happiness. There is a trial and error process as Melinda creates her tree. Sometimes, it's too simplistic, symbolic of Melinda's friendship with Heather. Other times, it's too formulaic, representative of how school officials and Melinda's parents want her to behave.

As the year progresses, trees come to symbolize Melinda's own growth and development.  For example, when Mr. Freeman offers feedback on her tree, he is speaking for more than the tree: 

This looks like a tree, but it is an average, ordinary, everyday, boring tree. Breathe life into it. Make it bend—trees are flexible, so they don't snap. Scar it, give it a twisted branch—perfect trees don't exist. Nothing is perfect. Flaws are interesting. Be the tree.

Melinda's need to "be the tree" is symbolic of how she has to overcome the challenges that plague her.  She must be willing to live with the "scar" of what happened to her and be "flexible" to avoid snapping entirely.  Like her art, Melinda's growth goes through phases:

My tree is definitely breathing; little shallow breaths like it just shot up through the ground this morning. This one is not perfectly symmetrical. The bark is rough. I try to make it look as if initials had been carved in it a long time ago. One of the lower branches is sick. If this tree really lives someplace, that branch better drop soon, so it doesn't kill the whole thing. Roots knob out of the ground and the crown reaches for the sun, tall and healthy. The new growth is the best part.

In her first year of high school, Melinda finds her voice in "new growth." Challenging Nicole in tennis, facing down Mr. Neck's unfairness regarding her suffragette report, taking it upon herself to clean and maintain the yard, breaking through her own silence to warn others of "IT," and then personally speaking to Rachel/ Rachelle about it show how "roots knob out of the ground and the crown reaches for the sun." The growth of Melinda's tree in art is symbolic of her emerging voice.

Trees occupy a symbolic importance in Speak even outside Melinda's own artwork.  For example, when her father talks about why a tree is being chopped down, it is symbolic of the life Melinda must lead:

He's not chopping it down. He's saving it. Those branches were long dead from disease. All plants are like that. By cutting off the damage, you make it possible for the tree to grow again. You watch—by the end of summer, this tree will be the strongest on the block.

While Melinda dismisses her father as "pretending to know more than he does," his words do symbolize Melinda's own struggle.  She must save herself by "cutting off the damage."  When Melinda fights back against Andy and defeats him, it is clear that she has become "the strongest on the block."  

From "pruning" to "final cut," the tree symbolizes the arc of Melinda's development. When she is finished with her tree, she sees it as a symbol of her own life: "I look at my homely sketch. It doesn't need anything. Even through the river in my eyes I can see that. It isn't perfect and that makes it just right."  The tree is a symbol from Speak that represents how growth is an essential part of Melinda's life.

In "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," Flannery O'Connor uses short, simple sentences in order to effect which literary device?

O'Connor employs repetitive syntax, keeping some sentences quite short, in order to impact tone and mood and even help to develop characterization.  Syntax refers to the arrangement of words and phrases in a sentence, and authors can manipulate syntax for a number of reasons.  Short, clipped sentences like some of the ones O'Connor uses tend to affect the tone of the story, making it sound somewhat wry and ironic (which is appropriate given the irony of the family's vacation ending in their complete annihilation). 

Short sentences can also tend to sound somewhat petulant, also appropriate given that the grandmother also possesses this quality.  The first line of the story, "The grandmother didn't want to go to Florida," makes her sound rather childish in this way: there is no explanation or elaboration, just a simple statement of her emotional response.  Further, when the grandmother says, "'People did right then,'" to describe the past, the shortness and simplicity of the sentence emphasizes her belief that the past was a simpler time.  It's as though this is all there is to say about the past, and that this "fact" alone completely explains all of the grandmother's dissatisfaction with the present.

Discuss the origins and development of Modernism. How is it represented in 20th century British literature and culture?

Modernism is one of those terms that is attached to a present moment in history, but becomes misleading and clumsy as time (and literature) moves on.  At the time of its naming, it referred to a departure from artificial constructions and imaginative narrative structures as seen in Romanticism, Victorianism, and 19th century technology.  In literature it was an embrace of the real world and its dramas and social states – Ibsen’s dramas are an excellent model for domestic modernism.  In English literature, it is represented by Dickens, who painted pictures of British life much less picturesque than earlier novelists – compare Oliver Twist’s mise-en-scene in contrast to Bronte’s.  In poetry, modernism released poetry from rhyme and meter, giving us Eliot’s The Wasteland and The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.  The period, traditionally lasting until some time between the World Wars, was followed by what is now called post-modernism, including Futurism/Dada/Surrealism, etc.

How does Grendel plague Heorot in Beowulf?

After the King of the Danes, Hrothgar, builds a mead hall called Heorot, the Danes enjoy singing and playing the harp there. Their rejoicing evokes ire in Grendel, who was a "prowler about the borders of the homes of men, who held the moors, the fens, and fastness" (Clarence Griffin Child translation). Grendel is the descendant of Cain, doomed by God for Cain's slaughter of Abel. He prowls about the moors waiting to attack people. 

Grendel spies about Heorot after the Danes are drinking, and he decides after their merrymaking to slay their men. Then, he heads homeward "exultant over his spoil." Night after night, Grendel waits until dark and then ambushes the men. Grendel returns to Heorot to again murder Danes, who endure this situation for "twelve winters' season." The Danes are desperate for help until Beowulf arrives from abroad to slay Grendel. 

What is dignity?

Dignity refers to the importance, values, and qualities a person possesses which make other people respect him or her. It is often a calm, controlled behavior or appearance which other people observe in such individual.

There is a wide variety of contexts in which the word dignity may be applicable. For example, the way a person conducts himself or herself in the course of an activity regarded as challenging or trying may be useful in assessing the level of dignity demonstrated during that activity.

A person may be regarded as having comported himself or herself with dignity if he or she behaved in a calm, controlled and serious manner in the course of a challenging divorce case.

Dignity may be applicable in other contexts as well, including the protection of individual dignity in the course of designing laws of privacy.