How would you compare and contrast the characters of Roger and Mrs. Jones in the short story "Thank You, M'am"?

Both Mrs. Jones and Roger are denizens of Harlem and, as such, have shared some of the same experiences. However, Mrs. Jones is an adult who has profited from her experiences and is now wiser than the young Roger.

After she resists his attempts to steal her purse and captures him, Mrs. Jones tells Roger to pick up her purse, then asks him, “Now ain’t you ashamed of yourself?" He replies that he is, although it may be out of fear that he answers. Nevertheless, from his next responses to Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones it becomes apparent that Roger learns to respect this woman. Then, after she takes him home and feeds him, Roger certainly acquires gratitude for her kindness to him.

Here, then, are some comparisons and contrasts between the two characters:

--Comparisons

• Both are from the inner city and have not lived a comfortable, stable life.


• Both have done things that are illegal.

“I have done things, too, which I would not tell you, son—neither tell God, if he didn’t already know," Mrs. Jones reveals to Roger.

• Both have learned respect for others. Mrs. Jones tells Roger, “You ought to be my son. I would teach you right from wrong."
  Only later on does Roger speak very respectfully, and he makes sure that she knows he is not looking at her purse nor is he near it.

• Both demonstrate concern for the welfare of others. Mrs. Jones takes Roger home; Roger tries to be helpful.

--Contrasts

• Mrs. Jones is a trustworthy, hard-working, and compassionate woman. However, Roger has no consideration for her when he tries to steal her purse; instead, he merely pursues his selfish desire for a pair of shoes. Whereas Mrs. Jones no longer believes in breaking the law, Roger defies it.


• Early in the narrative, Mrs. Jones treats Roger kindly, offering to take him home and wash his face [which implies more than is said]. On the other hand, Roger selfishly preys on her, and after he is stopped, he simply wants to get away.


• Mrs. Jones displays a respect for Roger as a person early on; later, she offers to feed him and directs him to wash his face and clean up before eating while he is in her rooms. Roger's respect is merely given out of fear at first. But, after learning to respect Mrs. Jones, he is concerned about her, offering to run errands:

“Do you need somebody to go to the store,” asked the boy, “maybe to get some milk or something?"

Also, Roger even thanks her as he departs.

• Roger only learns from his experience with Mrs. Jones to respect people; Mrs. Jones already displays sympathy for others.


• Where she lives, Mrs. Jones has people with whom she can interact. Alone at home at night, Roger is deprived of parental attention and guidance.

The liquid CHBr3 has a density of 2.89 g dm-³. What volume of this liquid should be measured to contain a total of 4.8×10²⁴ molecules of CHBr3 ?

Hello!

The molar mass of `C H Br_3` (bromoform) is about

`12 + 1 + 3*80 = 253 (g/(mol)).`

Therefore one mole of this substance has a mass of about `253 g.`

One mole of any substance contains `N_A approx 6*10^(23)` molecules (this constant is called Avogadro's constant). Hence the given number of molecules represents  `(4.8*10^(24))/(6*10^(23)) = 8` (moles), and from the above paragraph their mass is about `8*253 = 2024 (g).`

Finally, volume may be computed as mass divided by the density, because `rho = m/V.` In this case it is

`V = (2024 g)/(2.89 g/((cm)^3)) approx 700 (cm)^3.`

This is the same as 0.7 `dm^3.`

Note that the density of `C H Br_3` is incorrectly stated in the question as `2.89 g/((dm)^3).` Actually it is `2.89 g/((cm)^3).` This liquid is much more dense than water (about `1 g/(cm^3)` ).

Why does the speaker desire peace so much in the poem "The Lake Isle of Innisfree" by Yeats?

There is little explanation of why Yeats is so hungry for peace in his famous poem "The Lake Isle of Innisfree." Rather, Yeats spends most of the poem describing the pastoral beauty and idyllic peace of a quiet existence. However, one can guess that Yeats wants peace from the trials of urban existence. 

Written toward the end of the 19th century, "Innisfree" can be seen as a response to a rapidly changing world. Like the Romantics before him, Yeats appears dissatisfied with conventional existence and yearns to return to an idealized, pastoral lifestyle. Additionally, we can guess that the existence Yeats seeks to escape from is something of an urban, industrialized one. Take, for instance, the poem's final lines:

I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore; 

While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey, 

I hear it in the deep heart’s core. (10-12)

One of the key lines here is the second one, in which Yeats describes "pavements grey." Though brief, this description hints at an urbanized world, and the description of the "grey" pavements suggests a dull, tedious, altogether tiresome existence. In short, we could say that Yeats is describing a classic modern, urban existence, and so it seems plausible to guess that he is seeking peace from this dreary, urbanized world through the idyllic natural beauty of Innisfree. Though Yeats gives us too little context to be absolutely sure about this idea, it seems to be a sound one based on the information he does give us. 

What can be inferred from the story "The Cask of Amontillado" by Poe?

Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Cask of Amontillado” was published in 1846, less than three years before the author’s death. Set in Venice during the Carnival season -- traditionally a time of license --  it is narrated in first-person by Montresor, a man who believes that his acquaintance, Fortunato, has done him an unforgivable injury. Resolved to exact revenge, he plays on Fortunato’s vanity to lure him into the massive Montresor catacombs, and there walls him up alive.

What has Fortunato done to Montresor? We’re not told, but we have a few clues. As the two men descend into the catacombs, Montresor remarks, “You are happy, as once I was,” and also, "The Montresors . . . were a great and numerous family.” This suggests that at least in Montresor’s mind, Fortunato has ruined his happiness in some way that has to do with the continuation of his family. Toward the end, Fortunato begs to be released, remarking that “the Lady Fortunato” will be expecting him at home. Montresor responds to this with cold mockery. Could it be that Fortunato has married the woman whom Montresor loved? We cannot know for sure. It’s perfectly possibly that Fortunato’s crime exists only in the mind of the unreliable narrator.

What else can we infer? We’re told that Fortunato lives in a palazzo, that he is “a man to be respected and even feared,” that he is a noted wine connoisseur, and that his wife is Lady Fortunato. All this suggests that he is wealthy and powerful with high social status. By contrast, our narrator tells us that he himself appreciates wine and buys “largely whenever [he can],” implying that he does not always have the means to do so.

Beyond that, there is not a great deal of information that the reader needs to infer. Montresor tells us his own perspective of the events quite clearly (though we still need to decide how far to believe him.) It is Fortunato who is in the dark through most of the narrative. Montresor continually offers him hints about his true intentions, as well as putative opportunities to save himself, but Fortunato seems to understand none of these (though the reader does.) For example, take a look at the passage where he asks Montresor about his family coat of arms:

"I forget your arms."

"A huge human foot d'or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel."

"And the motto?"

"Nemo me impune lacessit.” [“No one injures me with impunity.”]

This may be a true description of the family arms, but it seems more likely to be Montresor’s invention on the spur of the moment, designed to taunt Fortunato indirectly about his companion’s intentions.

A few moments later, Montresor reveals the fact that he is carrying a trowel. Again, Fortunato has no idea what the true significance of this is. But any reader familiar with Poe’s works will immediately understand what is about to happen to the ironically-named Fortunato (“the fortunate one”).

Can you find other examples of dramatic irony in the conversation between the two men? What can you say about Fortunato’s Carnival costume of motley: that is, the traditional dress of a professional fool?

In Boyne's The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, how is Shmuel on a hero's quest?

In many heroic and epic adventures, real heroes must endure unspeakable suffering before emerging triumphant. Heroes also have noble traits and quests. For example, Odysseus, from Homer's The Odyssey, nobly faces pain, sadness, fatigue, and other mental and physical trials before finally arriving home as a hero. Shmuel, in Boyne's The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, suffers just like any other hero must, and he has a noble cause as well. The only difference is that his trials exist within the walls of Auschwitz, a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. 

First, Shmuel is taken from his home, separated from his mother, and taken to the men's section of Auschwitz. The only good part about his situation is the fact that he is with his father in the camp. Meeting Bruno helps to ease a little suffering because of the company and food he receives from the friendship; but, each day Shmuel must endure prejudice, fear of dying, fatigue, and intense hunger.

Then, if things couldn't get any worse, Shmuel loses his father and finds out that Bruno is moving back to Berlin in Chapter 18. The final chapter in Shmuel's heroic quest is to find his father, and Bruno volunteers to help him. The boys become excited to go on a real quest as mentioned in the following passage:

"Bruno imagined a great adventure ahead and finally an opportunity to see what was really on the other side of the fence before he went back to Berlin -- not to mention getting in a little serious exploration as well -- and Shmuel saw a chance to get someone to help him in the search for his papa. All in all, it seemed like a very sensible plan and a good way to say goodbye" (199).

Unfortunately, the two boys are unmatched for the final adventure. Not only is Shmuel's father probably dead, but the boys unknowingly end up in a line that leads to the gas chambers. The final journey doesn't turn out as the boys had hoped, and they become victims of one of the worst atrocities in history. Overall, though, Shmuel is on a heroic quest because he has the attributes of a hero, and his quests to survive the camp and look for his father are noble. 

What kind of struggle for equal rights does Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. visualize?

Dr. King envisioned a difficult struggle for equality because its path was through nonviolent civil disobedience.

The struggle that Dr. King envisioned for equal rights was a complex one.  He made this understanding a cornerstone of his speeches, writings, and actions.  Dr. King knew that the Civil Rights Movement would not be successful unless it was seen as more than a political exercise.  He had to broaden its appeal so that white Americans could see inequality as a moral reality that had to be stopped. Embracing nonviolent civil disobedience was the only way he could move the fight for equality from a political to a moral reality.

Events like the Montgomery Bus Boycott demonstrated how Dr. King envisioned the difficult struggle for equality. He encouraged his followers to not take buses in order to protest segregation in the Montgomery public transit system.  African-Americans who depended on buses to get to work had to make other arrangements.  Sometimes, this involved walking long distances.  However, Dr. King stressed that the boycott would emphasize how African-Americans would not passively accept the injustice of segregation.

As a result of such advocacy, Dr. King and his followers experienced much difficulty and resistance from Southern whites. This included harassment and violence.  When Dr. King's house was firebombed, the words he spoke to followers revealed the difficulty of the path towards equality:  

If you have weapons, take them home; if you do not have them, please do not seek to get them. We cannot solve this problem through retaliatory violence. We must meet violence with nonviolence. Remember the words of Jesus: 'He who lives by the sword will perish by the sword.' We must love our white brothers, no matter what they do to us. We must make them know that we love them. Jesus still cries out in words that echo across the centuries: 'Love your enemies; bless them that curse you; pray for them that despitefully use you.' This is what we must live by. We must meet hate with love. Remember, if I am stopped, this movement will not stop, because God is with the movement.

Through his appeals to nonviolent civil disobedience, Dr. King showed how the struggle for equality involved making the Civil Rights Movement an ethical issue instead of a political one. This was a very challenging pivot to make. However, people began to recognize that Dr. King was appealing to moral issues and not merely legislative ones.  The Montgomery Bus Boycott was one of the first moments where Dr. King showed his vision for racial equality.  He knew that its complex path would go through nonviolent civil disobedience, transforming what used to be seen as a political issue into a moral and spiritual call to action.

What is some figurative language that is used in the Langston Hughes poem, "Mother to Son?"

"Mother" compares life to stairs, and contrasts her life (or stairs) against that of a "crystal stair," which, in this poem, becomes a symbol of luxury and ease. The smooth delicacy of crystal is contrasted with the rough textures that she has known in life:

Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.

It's had tacks in it,

And splinters,

And boards torn up,

And places with no carpet on the floor --

Bare.

"Tacks" and "splinters" indicate danger and pain. Torn boards signal dilapidation -- a sign of poverty -- while "places with no carpet" indicate discomfort. Notice the use of anaphora, or repetition, at the beginning of each line" with the continuous use of "and." Her suffering reads as a catalog which suddenly stops with the imagistic use of the word "bare." "Bare" refers literally to the absence of carpeting in this context, but also has connotative meaning: there was absence, perhaps also loneliness.

Nevertheless, she emphasizes the importance of persistence:

But all the time

I'se been a-climbin' on,

And reachin' landin's,

And turnin' corners,

And sometimes goin' in the dark 

Where there ain't been no light.

She signals the shift from negative to positive with the use of "but." The dialect becomes starker here, signifying a lack of education and Southern origins. The poem may also address the migration of blacks from the South to Northern cities where their lives were easier, but still difficult. 

The use of anaphora reappears with the repetition of "and." In this case, the anaphora draws attention to the movement of progress.

The next lines address "Son" in an imperative tone:

So boy, don't you turn back.

Don't you set down on the steps

'Cause you finds its kinder hard.

Don't you fall now --

For I'se still goin', honey,

I'se still climbin', 

And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.

Again, she uses the metaphor of movement up a staircase to encourage her son's rightful direction in life. Setting down on the steps indicates giving up, while falling indicates making a move that misdirects one's progress, forcing one to start all over again.

Her use of the adverb "still" to modify "goin'" and "climbin'" indicates that age has not quelled her desire to have a better life. The second line of the poem is repeated at the end: "And life for me ain't been no crystal stair." Here, the line has a more positive meaning than it has on the first reading: it is less a description of hardship then of persistence and perseverance.