Why does Papa Logan have to work on the railroad in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry?

Papa has to make extra money to pay for the taxes the Logans owe on their land because the price of cotton dropped due to the Great Depression.

The Logans are farmers.  Even though the Logan family owns land of their own, it is not enough to pay the bills.  The land is valuable, and it is taxed.  The taxes on the land are so high that Papa has to go to find work.  He gets a job working for the railroad to supplement his income.  The crops are not bringing in as much profit as they used to.  This is largely due to the prices the family can get for their crops, which vary from year to year and have been going down.

That was why Papa had gone to work on the railroad.  In 1930 the price of cotton dropped. And so, in the spring of 1931, Papa set out looking for work, going as far north as Memphis and as far south as the Delta country. (Ch. 1)

It is the Great Depression, and everyone is struggling to make ends meet.  Because the price of cotton dropped, working the land is no longer enough to pay the taxes on it and support the family.  If they do not pay the taxes, they will lose the land. 

Because of the need for the railroad job, Papa is often away from home for long stretches at a time.  This leaves the rest of the family alone to have to deal with whatever situation may arise.  Papa is pretty much only there for planting and harvesting the cotton.

Cassie asks her father why he sacrifices so much in order to keep the land.  Her father explains to her the importance of owning land.

“Look out there, Cassie girl. All that belongs to you. You ain’t never had to live on nobody’s place but your own and long as I live and the family survives, you’ll never have to.  That’s important. You may not understand that now, but one day you will. Then you’ll see.” (Ch. 1)

Even though he has to leave his family to make enough money to pay for the land, it is worth it to Papa.  To him, owning land is the thing that is important.  Most of the other families are sharecroppers, which basically means they are renting the land they farm.  To own land is something special, especially when you are an African American family.

What did Winnie do with the bottle of spring water that Jesse gave to her?

Jesse gave Winnie the bottle of magic spring water with the intent that she would drink it when she turned 17.  That way they both could be together at 17 forever.  How romantic.  

The first thing that Winnie does with the bottle is hide it.  She does not want her nosy parents finding it, so Winnie puts it down at the bottom of one of her bureau drawers.  

The next time that the bottle makes a big appearance in the story is when Winnie pours the contents of the bottle over the toad.  The toad is being pestered by a dog, and Winnie rushes over to the fence to rescue it from the dog.  At this point in the story, Winnie isn't 100% sure whether the spring water does indeed give eternal life or not, but she pours the water over the frog anyway, because the thought that the frog is now safe forever is a nice thought to Winnie.  

Then she stooped and put her hand through the fence and set the toad free. "There!" she said. "You're safe. Forever."

According to the poem "We Wear the Mask" by Paul Laurence Dunbar, how do we pay off our debt to human guile?

The short answer is that paying our debt to human guile means that we "pay" for the "service" of hiding our true selves, which the mask provides. And who is it that we owe something to? Well, it's not a who, but a what: we owe something to human guile, or to the entire human race's tendency to use cunning or deceit for their own personal purposes.

This question refers to, quite possibly, the most difficult line of the poem. Let's look at it in context:

"We wear the mask that grins and lies,

It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—

This debt we pay to human guile;"

(For the purpose of understanding the question at hand, we can stop examining the line right there. The semicolon after "guile" shows us that there's a new, independent idea coming up, meaning that's also where this whole idea is finished being expressed.)

So what these lines are saying is: "We put on a fake face, which smiles and tells lies, and it keeps our real faces hidden. And because we are able to do this, we owe it all to our species's natural tendency to deceive others."

If you want a fuller answer that makes a logical leap from the text (an inference) rather than a factual explanation, you could venture to say that we pay off our debt to human guile by enduring the suffering that comes along with keeping ourselves hidden.

For some support for that idea, check out the final stanza of the poem. There, the speaker describes how the "we" in the poem have tortured souls, how we cry out to our god for relief, and how we see our earthly experience as "vile" and protracted (lasting a long time). These details could back you up if you needed to prove that the poem does hint that the "debt" is repaid through suffering.

What is revealed about Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's character from their conversation about killing Duncan?

Macbeth is more temperate in his actions and Lady Macbeth is ambitious and ruthless.

From Macbeth’s reaction to the witches’ prophecies and his anger at being passed over for the kingship, you would think that he would be ready to slay Duncan at the first opportunity.  However, by the time he returns home he has cooled off and come to his senses.  He is now worried that killing Duncan is not a good idea.

Lady Macbeth and Macbeth argue about killing Duncan.  Macbeth is worried about the consequences of such a risky act, and also about the fact that Duncan has done nothing wrong.  Duncan is related to him, and his guest.  How can he kill him?

He's here in double trust;
First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,
Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,
Who should against his murderer shut the door,
Not bear the knife myself. Besides, this Duncan
Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been
So clear in his great office, that his virtues
Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against
The deep damnation of his taking-off … (Act 1, Scene 7)

Lady Macbeth is not happy that her husband is getting cold feet.  She has a plan, and she wants to make sure that he sticks to it.  If her husband is going to be king, this is the only way. As long as she takes charge, everything will be fine.  As Macbeth begins to falter, she insults him to shore him up

MACBETH

If we should fail?

LADY MACBETH

We fail!
But screw your courage to the sticking-place,
And we'll not fail. (Act 1, Scene 7)

She tells him that if he has enough courage, they won’t fail.  While Macbeth is wavering, Lady Macbeth is brutal in her evaluation of him.  She earlier claimed that he was “too full o' the milk of human kindness” (Act 1, Scene 5) to do what needs to be done.  Lady Macbeth thinks that she is the man in the relationship.

When you durst do it, then you were a man;
And, to be more than what you were, you would
Be so much more the man.  (Act 1, Scene 7)

So while Macbeth may be ambitious, he is also not as courageous as Lady Macbeth.  She is the one that develops the plan and makes him stick to it.  She browbeats him into going along with it, and makes sure that he does everything as she has instructed.  Macbeth also has some moral scruples, feeling that killing Duncan is wrong.  Lady Macbeth wants what she wants, and she will do anything to get it.

The ironic thing is that both of them fall apart after killing Duncan. When Lady Macbeth sees the body, she feels remorse.  Macbeth feels guilt, but he also succumbs to paranoia.  Now that he has the crown, he is worried about keeping it.  In the end, both of them are destroyed by their lust for power the guilt resulting from their actions.

How could it be argued that Slim's opinions could be the opinions of Steinbeck in Of Mice and Men?

Each of the characters in Of Mice and Men have some critical flaw in their character.  Lennie is too much like a child, while George has to do the unthinkable.  Candy does not stand up for his dog, Curley's wife is self- indulgent and very sad, while Curley is abusive and aggressive.  However, Steinbeck does not create anything negative within Slim's character, reflecting how Slim's opinions could be Steinbeck's.

In Chapter 2, Steinbeck describes Slim in a complimentary manner.  Phrases like "His ear heard more than was said to him, and his slow speech had overtones not of thought, but of understanding beyond thought" along with terms such as "prince of the ranch" and "master craftsman" help to vault Slim into a level different than any other character.  Steinbeck says that Slim possesses an "understanding beyond thought," honed through his ability to listen to other people.  Slim shows this when he listens to George talk about his past with Lennie and even in the way he acknowledges Crooks in a way that no one else does.  Slim's presence is almost "god like" in the way he inspires trust in the people around him.

Slim's ability to connect with other people is similar to Steinbeck, himself.   Steinbeck spent time with migrant workers in order to fully understand their predicament.  This is translated in the rich way characters are developed, settings are created, and in how emotional dynamics are transmitted. Steinbeck once wrote, "I wonder how many people I have looked at all my life and never really seen." In writing Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck paid attention to socially marginalized people.  Like Steinbeck, Slim notices everything as he validates the stories of other people. Slim's talent as a skinner and his attributes as a human being make him fundamentally different than all others on the ranch. Slim's approach to people and his opinion about them are similar to Steinbeck's.  They both appreciate the narratives of the people around them, listening more than they talk, but speaking with a "majesty" that most lack.

Who is the main character in "The Masque of the Red Death"?

In The Masque of the Red Death, the main character is Prince Prospero. The prince is described as "happy and dauntless and sagacious" by Poe, but he is also at least a little naive and slightly irresponsible. While his kingdom was being terrorized by the Red Death, when half of his people had been killed by the disease, he gathered one thousand of his friends and retreated to an abbey in order to escape the plague—by doing this, he is abandoning all of the people who were still alive. Thinking that he could just ignore the disease and throw a party to forget their troubles is naive; the concept of "if I can't see you, you can't see me" is a childish one, and that seems to be exactly what Prince Prospero is trying to accomplish: if he cannot see the plague and its devastation, then it does not exist. His irresponsibility is shown in his abandonment of the people—the same people he was in charge of.

An object starting from rest travels 77 m in the sixth second. What is its acceleration?

Since the object started from rest, the initial velocity is 0 m/s.

Using the equation, v = u + at (where, v is final velocity, a is the acceleration, t is time and u is the initial velocity), the velocity at the end of 5 seconds is given as:

v5 = 0 + a (5) = 5a m/s

Similarly, the velocity the end of 6 seconds is given as:

v6 = 0 + a(6) = 6a m/s

It is also given that the object traveled 77 m in the sixth second, which also means that the average velocity of the object was 77 m/s in the sixth seconds.

That is, (v5 + v6)/2 = 77 m/s

Substituting the values of v5 and v6 in the equation, we get:

(5a + 6a)/2 = 77 

or, 11a = 2 x 77 

or, a  = 14 m/s^2.

Thus, the acceleration of the object is 14 m/s^2.

Hope this helps. 

What rumors have been told about Gatsby? Why does Fitzgerald reveal rumors rather than facts?

In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby proves to be as great and as enigmatic as the title of the novel would suggest. Before even meeting Gatsby, the reader is told that the strange man is rumored to be a bootlegger, a spy for the Germans, or even a murderer. All in all, the only thing that people seem to know for certain about Gatsby is that he is fabulously rich and throws good parties.

Far more interesting, however, is Fitzgerald's reasoning behind this fabrication. As the novel suggests, the person at the center of the narrative is going to be great, larger than life, an almost mythological character. As such, Fitzgerald dutifully weaves a mythos around his protagonist, building him up to legendary proportions. In doing so, Fitzgerald sets himself up to draw a sharper contrast once he reveals that Gatsby was in fact very poor, and only became rich to impress a girl. After spending most of the novel considering Gatsby to be a magnificent and special figure, the true nature of his rather pedestrian origins becomes even more disappointing. It would appear that the "Great" Gatsby is not so incredible after all. 

Describe Harris's attempt in making scrambled eggs. What trait of character is revealed here?

This incident happens in Chapter XI of Three Men in a Boat. Harris is the kind of person who makes the simplest acts more complex than they need to be. He’s also stubborn enough to think that he knows quite well how to do many things. The reality is that he doesn’t know how to do these things at all. He does such a terrible job that eventually someone else must intervene, if the task is to be completed at all. Here on the boat, Harris sets out to make scrambled eggs for breakfast. But whatever can go wrong, does. He has trouble breaking the eggs so that they land in the frying pan and not on his trousers. He burns his fingers every time he touches the pan. In the end:

There seemed so little to show for the business. Six eggs had gone into the frying-pan, and all that came out was a teaspoonful of burnt and unappetizing looking mess.

Harris covers his lack of culinary talent by blaming the frying pan and saying that the process would have gone better if they had better equipment. The narrator is enough of a friend that he says they “decided not to attempt the dish again until we had those aids to housekeeping by us.” Surely he knows that no change of equipment will help Harris successfully make three dishes of scrambled eggs.

Earlier, in Chapter III, the narrator sees a resemblance between Harris’s approach to challenges and those taken on by his Uncle Podger, who ran into a host of difficulties when merely hanging a picture on the wall. After we read of the scrambled eggs incident, we can see this connection, too.  

What were three parts of European conquest of colonies?

The European conquest of Africa in the 19th Century involved three areas: economic, social, and political. European powers controlled the economic activity of their colonies and utilized available resources to improve their own economy. Africans were not free to profit from their own resources or labor. The imperial powers also insisted that their colonies buy goods from them and could not participate in free trade. There were infrastructure and transportation improvements made in Africa by Europeans, but the Africans could not hope to profit from them as long as they were colonies.

European countries established their own political systems in the African colonies. The people of these states had very little power to rule over their own lands and people. While some colonies were granted more autonomy than others, they all had to answer to a European government. The Europeans also attempted to Westernize the African nations by introducing their language, currency, and religion to Africans. If Africans hoped for even minimal upward social mobility, they needed to assimilate to Western culture.

If spring 2 can only compress by 2 meters, what mass must the block have to compress the spring by exactly 2 meters? Assume the block starts from...

When the body is released from the rest position, the elastic potential energy is transformed into kinetic energy and gravitational potential energy. At the position hi = Δx1, the kinetic energy has the following value:

EK = Ee - Eg

Ee, is the elastic potential energy in the initial position.

Eg, is the gravitational potential energy at the height hi.

So we have the following equation:

m(v^2)/2 = K1(hi^2)/2 – mghi        (1)

v, is the velocity of the body.  

g, is the acceleration of gravity.

m, is the mass of the body.

When the body has compressed the spring K2, all the kinetic energy has been turned into elastic potential energy and gravitational potential energy. For this position, we can consider the following equation:

EK = Ee + Eg

m(v^2)/2 = K2(Δx^2)/2 + mg(Δx + 41)       (2)

With the equations 1 and 2 we can establish the following equality:

K1(hi^2)/2 – mghi= K2(Δx^2)/2 + mg(Δx + 41)   

K1(hi^2)/2 - K2(Δx^2)/2 = mg(Δx + 41) + mghi

Substituting the values:

(71)(25)/2 – (37)(4)/2 = m(9.8)(43) + m(9.8)(5)

 813.5 = m(470)

m = 1.73 kg

Why are the Japanese, in Hitler's theories, a "culture-bearing" rather than a "culture-creating" people?

In Chapter 11 of Mein Kampf, Adolf Hilter discusses his theories about race and nationality. He divides human cultures into three groups: those that create culture, those that bear culture, and those that destroy culture. He claims that all significant human achievements have been accomplished by the Aryans; thus the Aryans are the only "culture creators."

Hitler says some might have objected that some Asian cultures--most notably Japan--had progressed to the level of first-world status by incorporating European technology into their culture; Hitler believes this is an inaccurate observation. He claims that other cultures, such as the Japanese, have appropriated European technology, but they have not incorporated it into their culture. Rather, the foundation of their culture has become fundamentally Aryan, and it merely assumes the outward form of Japanese. As he states:

It is not true, as some people think, that Japan adds European technology to its culture; no, European science and technology are trimmed with Japanese characteristics.

Later on in the chapter, he adds:

But if it is established that a people receives the most essential basic materials of its culture from foreign races, that it assimilates and adapts them, and that then, if further external influence is lacking, it rigidifies again and again, such a race may be designated as culture-bearing,' but never as 'culture-creating.'

Since Japan's culture was built upon European technology, according to Hitler the Japanese could not be viewed as culture creators; rather, they were simply bearers of culture.

How does the relationship between Hermia and Lysander impact Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream?

Everything in A Midsummer Night's Dream hinges on the relationship of Hermia and Lysander. Without them, there would only be a partial play. These two are star crossed lovers feel they are burdened by Fate for not being able to marry. When Hermia is told by her father and Duke Theseus that she must marry Demetrius, be executed, or go to a convent, she cannot be consoled. She is without hope until Lysander tells her the following:

"Ay me! For aught that I could ever read,

Could ever hear by tale or history,

The course of true love never did run smooth" (I.i.134-136).

Basically, he is saying that all of the stories he's read show that true love never runs smoothly or according to plan. Hermia responds by saying:

"If then true lovers have been ever cross'd,

It stands as an edict in destiny.

Then let us teach our trial patience,

Because it is a customary cross" (I.i.152-155).

Thus, Hermia and Lysander's love must be proven through trials and this is the foundation for the main conflict pertaining to the four young lovers. If these two had not fallen in love, the only person hurting in Athens would be Helena because Demetrius dumps her to marry Hermia. In an effort to help themselves and Helena, Hermia and Lysander choose to elope by first meeting in the woods. This causes a chain of events that lead all four of the them into the forest on Midsummer's Eve. Oberon, the king of magical fairies is there and discovers Helena and Demetrius fighting. He then sends his servant Puck to remedy their situation with some love potion from a rare flower. And the plot thickens as Puck mistakes Lysander for Demetrius, and Lysander turns to loving Helena. Puck tries to fix his mistake but then both Demetrius and Lysander love Helena and no one loves Hermia. The girls fight over their men and chaos runs amok contributing to the fun of the comedy. It takes Puck finally fixing his mistakes again to solve the problem; but ultimately, if it weren't for Hermia and Lysander falling in love and eloping, the play would not have a plot and there would have been no story.  

What was the role of the church in the Middle Ages?

During the Middle Ages, the church's main responsibility was the spiritual well-being of Christians and ensuring that people can reach heaven. This responsibility allowed them to acquire a great amount of power and wealth. All Christians at this time believed in heaven and hell, so the church would direct them as to how to get to heaven. Having this authority allowed the church to charge fees to peasants and kings alike that would guarantee safe passage to heaven. The church charged the believers to perform sacraments. Every Christian was required to pay a tithe, or ten percent of their salary, to the church. Because of the wealth generated by their operations, the church became the largest landowner in Europe and was not required to pay taxes.

The church used their wealth and power to become a dominant political force in Western Europe as well. Kings were expected to follow the pope's lead. If they failed to listen to the pope, they could be kicked out of the church. This meant that the king could not get to heaven. The church, through its monasteries, also provided housing, schooling, and medical care to the growing peasant population.

How does the power of language affect us as humans?

One of the defining characteristics of humans is our ability to communicate through language. Language may be spoken, written, or performed physically as in Sign Language. The development of language is an integral part of the story of human evolution, as it has influenced and been influenced by the evolution of other parts of our brain and the behaviors these control.

Language is essentially using combinations of symbols (or signifying components) to express complex meaning. For example, we can consider the individual terms "cat," "run," and "fast," and understand their meanings independent of each other. But when we combine them into the phrase, "The cat runs fast," we can express a multifaceted message.

The evolution of tool-use and language in our ancient ancestors had a reflexive relationship, one which profoundly altered the development of the brain to incorporate abstract thought. Anthropologists believe that tool use and crafting developed before spoken language, based on the dates of early stone tools and the types of vocal structures of the species who would have made such tools. The practice of making a stone tool requires having an idea for what the end-result might look like and the ability to adapt during the process of making the tool. Such abstract thought is directly related to what happens when we speak- we must plan ahead of time what we'd like to say, and improvise as we continue speaking or writing. Naturally, a system of language or complex communication would have enabled more and more complex messages to be shared, and even contributed to the creation of more complex tools.

As humans are today, language is a unifying force in our world. It is one of the first things we learn and our primary means of learning after language acquisition. Language allows us to communicate with great numbers of people, even across space and throughout time. Shakespeare wrote in the 15th and 16th centuries, and just think of how many students read his plays today! Language has become one of the driving forces of cultural production and reproduction. It is how we construct and reinforce our identities and share ideas with others. 

Language has the power to be deeply moving. If our means of communication were more simple, like a cat or sheep, we would only be able to produce one sound or "call" at a time. It is the complexity of human language which makes it so special. It is quite remarkable how certain combinations of words can excite us or make us laugh or cry. Here, too, it is our capability for abstract thought which allows us to empathize with another's sorrows or understand a witty reference. Human language has achieved the ability to not just describe events but convey emotion, too. Our evolution to rely on language as a means of communication, education, and pleasure has made it an important part of our adaptation and survival in the world.

Discuss the following terms: word, lexicon, vocabulary, and dictionary.

Below are the definitions to the following terms: word, lexicon, vocabulary, and dictionary.

• 
  Word- A word is a unit of language that has a discrete meaning. Words are put together to make sentences.


• 
  Lexicon- A lexicon is the vocabulary that is used by a person or peoples, language, or a branch of knowledge.


• 
  Vocabulary- The term ‘vocabulary’ refers to the collection of words and phrases that is used within a language or field. The term ‘vocabulary’ may also imply all of the words that are known and used by an individual.


• 
  Dictionary- A dictionary is a book or electronic device that lists the words of a language and provides the definitions to those words.  Definitions may also provide synonyms and/or antonyms to the words being defined. Additionally, dictionaries may include information on the pronunciation, origin, and usage of words.

As the terms were not given within context, the above definitions are only examples of the terms' meanings.

In "Barn Burning," how does Sarty's character change and grow?

In William Faulkner's "Barn Burning," the character Sarty experiences great growth throughout the story. He begins as a child who is fearful of his father--both disappointing him and incurring his wrath and violence. He is willing to lie to a judge to protect his father and remain loyal to his family. As the story progresses, and particularly when Sarty sees his father deliberately, maliciously soil the de Spain's white rug, he realizes that his father will never change and if he's not careful, he will turn into his father one day. It is at this moment, that Sarty realizes that he must make a choice between his own integrity and loyalty to his father.

He chooses integrity--at the cost of losing his family. When he alerts the de Spain's that his father has set fire to the barn, he irrevocably changes the course of his life. Shots are fired and his father and brother are probably killed; now that he has betrayed his family, Sarty has no choice but to run away. The final scene of this coming of age story shows Sarty walking away, with the sense that he will be better off and has made the right decision.

In Julius Caesar, Brutus' servant Lucius finds a letter in Brutus' bedroom. Who does Brutus think it is from? Who is it actually from?

After Caesar’s triumph, there is a high likelihood that he will be established as a King. Several notable citizens and leaders in Rome do not want this to happen. Their reasons are varied, with some being jealous of Caesar’s growing popularity and support among the people. Brutus, who is among those threatened by such a situation, is worried about freedoms already established under the republic. Brutus fears that Caesar will become a tyrant who will restrict individual freedoms, leading to the destruction of the republic. For this, Brutus is willing to join the other conspirators in their plan to assassinate Caesar.

In Act 1 Scene 3, Cassius and Cinna deliberate on how to fully incorporate Brutus into their plans. Cassius resolves to send an anonymous letter to Brutus to spur him on to completely cooperating with the conspirators. Cassius asks Cinna to slip the sealed letter under Brutus’s window, where he can find it.

CASSIUS: Don’t worry. Good Cinna, take this paper,
And see that you lay it on the praetor's chair,
Where Brutus may find it, and throw this
In at his window. Seal this up with wax
On old Brutus' statue. When you’ve done all that,
Go to Pompey's Porch, where you shall find us.

In Act 2, Lucius, Brutus’s servant, stumbles upon the letter and takes it to Brutus. The contents of the letter lead Brutus to believe that the correspondence is a public protest by the people and that they are seeking his intervention. 

Shall Rome stand under one man's awe? What, Rome?
My ancestors drove Tarquin from the streets of Rome
When he was called a king.—
"Speak, strike, revenge!"—Am I begged, then,To speak and strike? O Rome, I promise you,
If revenge follows, you will receive
Everything you ask for at the hand of Brutus!

In summary, the letter is from Cassius, but Brutus think it is from the people of Rome.

What were some negatives to Virginia's colonial government?

Virginia's government was typical of most in the colonies in that it was controlled by royal governor and an assembly that was elected from a relatively small colonial elite. So from a modern perspective or indeed compared to the New England colonies, it was unrepresentative of the population of Virginia as a whole. It was controlled by a small group of large landholders mostly centered in the colony's Tidewater region. This led to considerable cronyism and corruption in Virginia's government, as when Speaker of the House John Robinson loaned more than 100,000 pounds in Virginia currency to friends and political allies who were struggling financially in the 1750s and 1760s. The problem, it was discovered after Robinson's death, was that this money came from the Virginia treasury. Virginia's colonial government, like most others, was also skewed toward the eastern seaboard. Counties further west, though growing dramatically in population, were far less represented in the Assembly than the Tidewater and the Northern Neck. So while Virginians enjoyed a freer government than people in, say, France, their government was, like many others in the colonies, generally unrepresentative of most Virginians and based on the type of personal politics that often led to corruption.  

How was Jem Finch shaped and influenced by his society in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Jem is profoundly affected by his community in To Kill a Mockingbird. Let me give you two examples. 

First, in the beginning of the novel, Jem's views on Boo Radley come from the prevailing negative views of Maycomb, combined with his childlike imagination.  Therefore, the first part of the book contains a fascination of Boo.  Jem along with Scout and Dill want to see Boo.  Fortunately, Jem has someone like Miss Maudie to talk some sense into him, even about Boo. But the point is that his community gives him a view of Boo or influences him. 

Second and more importantly, when the trial of Tom Robinson begins, Jem is there.  In other words, he witnesses the proceedings first hand.  He is also present when a mob comes to harm Tom.  In fact, the mob almost also harmed his father, Atticus.  So, he sees the blind hatred in the town.  

At the end of the case, when the jurors are deliberating, he believes that Atticus put forth a brilliant defense of Tom, which would ensure a verdict of innocent, but he is mistaken.  This point shows how deep the injustices are in society.  He weeps and says it is not fair. So, we can say that he sees the brokenness of his town and experiences it.  

Jem is very fortunately though.  He has trusted guides like his father and Miss Maudie.  So, while these events touch and influence him, he has another way at looking at things.  He can stand against society and be brave.  In this sense, a few key people influence him most profoundly. 

What is ironic about the setting? In what ways does the setting suit the plot of the story in "The Cask Of Amontillado"?

The story (that Montresor tells) is set in Venice during the carnival season. Montresor calls it "the supreme madness of the carnival season." He means that the carnival celebration is at its height. Fortunato has been fully partaking in the celebrations and he is also dressed for the occasion. Montresor is not taking part. Montresor distances himself from others. Montresor has a French name. He shows his pride and mocks the Italians, saying that only few of them have the "virtuoso spirit." 

The irony here is that while all others are dressed up, masquerading as different characters (Fortunato is dressed as a jester), it is Montresor who is also pretending to be someone he is not. He is friendly with Fortunato but only to lure him to his death. 

With the story being set during a carnival (a sort of drunken Halloween celebration), it is ironic that the undisguised Montresor is actually playing a character himself. This suits the plot because Montresor's strategy is all about deception. He uses everything from reverse psychology to flattery to get Fortunato to follow him. It is ironic then that he (Montresor) is not wearing a disguise whereas Fortunato is wearing a costume because it is he who is deceived by Montresor. 

What will probably happen to the rabbit population over the course of a year

Unlike money, populations of rabbits do grow continuously. The same applies to other animals, people and people. The population of rabbits are dynamic. This means that the population of rabbits are changing in size and demographics.

Rabbits give birth to new babies and when rabbit gets old, gets sick or injured or is affected by drought, fire or hunted by another animal it will die. These all affect the population. 

Mathematically we can use a basic model to determine the population of rabbits over a year: 

`N_t = N_0 + B - D + I - E`

where: 

`N_t` : Population of Rabbits (or any other species)

`N_0` : Number of Rabbits at the beginning of the year

`B` : Number of Births 

`D` : Number of Deaths

`I:` Number of Immigrants

`E` : Number of Migrants

If the population is a closed system one can ignore immigration and migration in the above equation.

SUMMARY: 

The population of rabbits can be determined using this formula:

`N_t = N_0 + B - D + I - E`

In what ways are the characters in "The Lottery" differentiated from one another?

The characters in "The Lottery" are not developed in any great depth. They all seem like rural American "types." Shirley Jackson uses the age-old method of differentiating them mainly by age and sex. Old Man Warner is a good example. He differs from all the males by age and from all the females by age and sex. He is the oldest male in the community, while little Dave Hutchinson is the youngest.

Authors will usually "orchestrate" their characters by creating a cast of young, middle-aged, and old men and women. In Hamlet, for example, Hamlet and Ophelia are young and of opposite sexes. Gertrude and Claudius are middle-aged and of opposite sexes. Polonius is old. Shakespeare makes all of them stand out by contrast with all the others. The term "orchestration" derives from opera, in which there are different voices and different characters to suit them. The young hero is the tenor. The ingenue is the soprano. The older woman is the contralto. The villain may be the basso profundo. And so on. 

There are a number of middle-aged women like Tessie Hutchinson in "The Lottery." They all seem to look, think, and act pretty much alike. There are also a number of middle-aged men.

Soon the men began to gather. surveying their own children, speaking of planting and rain, tractors and taxes. They stood together, away from the pile of stones in the corner, and their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed. The women, wearing faded house dresses and sweaters, came shortly after their menfolk. They greeted one another and exchanged bits of gossip as they went to join their husbands. Soon the women, standing by their husbands, began to call to their children, and the children came reluctantly, having to be called four or five times.

There are also plenty of children in the assemblage. The author apparently wanted to emphasize the fact that these children are being taught to honor and preserve the lottery. Most of the male children are little boys, but the girls are older types like Nancy Hutchinson.

"Nancy next," Mr. Summers said. Nancy was twelve, and her school friends breathed heavily as she went forward switching her skirt, and took a slip daintily from the box.

Most of the people in the crowd of about three hundred are farmers who have come into town for this special event. A few of the men are in business in town and have homes there. They are differentiated from the farm people by the fact that they wear suits and take charge of everything.

The lottery was conducted--as were the square dances, the teen club, the Halloween program--by Mr. Summers. who had time and energy to devote to civic activities. He was a round-faced, jovial man and he ran the coal business, and people were sorry for him. because he had no children and his wife was a scold.

Mr. Graves is the village postmaster. He always assists Mr. Summers in conducting the lottery. In this case he also assists little Davie Hutchinson in participating in the drawing. Davie is only about two years old, but he will be stoned to death if he draws the fatal slip, and he will be encouraged to participate in stoning his mother to death when she draws it.

Graves and Summers have to be differentiated because they are working closely together. Summers is "round-faced" and "jovial," as his name suggests. Graves is presumably quiet and serious, as his name suggests. But the characterization here as elsewhere throughout the story is superficial. It could hardly be otherwise with such a big cast of people.

Shirley Jackson does not attempt to differentiate her characters too sharply because she intends to convey the impression that these are very ordinary people doing something very extraordinary. Tessie Hutchinson will be strongly differentiated at the end when she is the one chosen to be this year's scapegoat. She will be portrayed in vivid contrast to all her relatives, friends, and neighbors who, moving as one pitiless and relentless army, approach from all sides to stone her to death.

What are three primary U.S. laws that established the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and direct the department in its operations? What are...

There are several laws that are related to the Department of Homeland Security. The first law was the one that created this agency. It was the Homeland Security Act of 2002. It was passed in direct response to the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001. This law also created a new cabinet position. This is the Secretary of Homeland Security.

Another law that was passed was the Intelligence Reform and Terrorist Prevention Act of 2004. The goal of this law was to reform activities connected with our intelligence community. Border supervision and transportation security were some areas impacted by this law.

A third law that was passed was Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007. This law basically implemented some of the recommendations from the 9/11 Commission. Some areas it dealt with were recommendations regarding the protecting of infrastructure and the sharing of information and intelligence.

These are some general laws that were passed as a result of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Each law is connected to activities of the Department of Homeland Security.

Why won't the Giver go with Jonas?

There are three main reasons why the Giver does not go with Jonas.

The Giver realizes that the community needs to change and that Jonas leaving, and him staying to help, is the way to do it. If he did not stay, the community would be too overwhelmed by the memories to make changes. They would not have the wisdom to make intelligent choices based on those memories, and that is why they need the Giver.

The Giver has a sense of duty to the community and he wants to stay and help them deal with the memories they are about to receive. He is the best equipped to do this, as he will be the only one in the community who has ever experienced the type of pain they are about to go through. He knows that if he were to leave with Jonas, he would be completely abandoning the members of the community in their greatest time of need. 

The Giver is too old to go on the trip with Jonas. He is very old and very weak, as we have seen in the memory sharing sessions. He would not be able to travel "elsewhere," and he really doesn't want to. At this point in his life, he is looking forward to death. His life has been hard and, as he says, he wants to be with his daughter (she died and he is looking forward to re-uniting with her). 

How is Macbeth described in Act 1, Scene 3?

Although Shakespeare conveys a great deal more information about Macbeth through his dialogue and asides (those moments when he speaks aloud to himself, but no other characters can hear what he says), the only moment when he is truly "described" by someone else is when Ross and Angus approach him to say that Duncan has given him the title of Thane of Cawdor.  

Ross says that the king has heard and rejoiced at all the news of Macbeth's success in battle, all of his brave services to the kingdom. He says, "As thick as tale / Came post with post, and every one did bear / Thy praises in his kingdom's great defense, / And poured them down before him" (1.3.101-104). In other words, reports just kept pouring in, one after another, to the king, and each one sang Macbeth's praises for his immense courage (and success) in defending Scotland from rebels and from Norway.

What is a stave?

The word "stave" means a verse or stanza of a poem.  While A Christmas Carol is not a poem, Dickens' titled the work after a song (a carol is a traditional Christmas song).  Thus, he divided his "song" or work into staves or verses, as many songs are divided into verses.  

There are five staves in total within the text of A Christmas Carol.  One chronicles the meeting with Marley's Ghost, Staves 2-4 detail Scrooge's encounters with each of the three ghosts, and the final stave details what happens thereafter -- how Scrooge's life changes as a result of his encounters with Marley and with the three ghosts.

How did the steam engine affect people in the United States?

The steam engine affected people throughout the United States in many ways. Western farmers could ship products much quicker on boats using the steam engine. It was also possible for people to travel much quicker using boats. This was important, as travel in the West was difficult.

The steam engine helped our factories grow. With the steam engine, factories could locate in any area. They no longer needed to be located by water. The steam engine helped to increase the number of jobs available in the factories. This helped people, especially people living in the North, find work.

The steam engine helped our country grow and our economy grow. The steam engine was used to power our railroads. This made it easier for people to move to the West. As more people moved westward, businesses also moved westward to meet the increased demand for products. Thus, our economy benefited from the steam engine. With the development of the transcontinental railroad, and as railroads expanded into the South, our country also began to grow.

The steam engine had a positive impact on our country.

How does Fitzgerald reveal Gatsby's house? What's his intent?

Fitzgerald reveals the exterior of Gatsby's house in a burst of visual imagery and colorful detail at the start of Chapter III.  We learn of the "five crates of oranges and lemons" that go in the door each Friday and the empty skins that come out the door each Monday, and the "several hundred feet of canvas and enough colored lights to make a Christmas tree out of Gatsby's enormous garden."  We hear about his Rolls Royce, the casual laughter of his guests, and the "cocktails [which] permeate the garden outside."  The exterior is all that most people see or know about Gatsby's house, just as Gatsby's own carefully-constructed facade is all people really see or know of him.  Speculation about him is rampant because he is such a mystery: some say he killed a man, others that he was a German spy, and so on.  

Fitzgerald seems to use the house, therefore, as a symbol of its owner.  It is flashy and unpredictable and bright, but few people ever get to see inside, past all of the flash and glare.  The house is a means to getting Daisy's attention, and when that has been achieved, Gatsby shuts down the parties, making it clear that their purpose, really, was only to attract her in the same way that Gatsby's life -- in a world of shady business deals, illegal alcohol distribution, and gamblers -- was only for her.  

Physical processes _______ change substances?

Physical processes do not change substances, at least not chemically. Physical processes change the state of the substance or form of the substance. For example, if we heat a solid to sufficiently high temperatures, it will melt and convert to liquid form. Thus, the state of the substance changes from solid to liquid through the physical process of heating. We can similarly convert substances from liquid to gas phase by heating them (the evaporation of water is one example). Certain materials are malleable and ductile and can be beaten into shape or drawn into wires. However, no such process changes the substance. For example, ice (solid), water (liquid) and vapor (gas) all are still forms of water. Similarly, gold sheet or wire is still gold in either form. A change will happen in a substance if we change its chemical composition; this is possible only through chemical changes.

Thus, physical processes do not change a substance. They can change only its form, appearance or state.

Hope this helps. 

What are the challenges the main character faces in "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi"?

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, the mongoose and main character in the story, fights three snakes and destroys 25 snake eggs that are about to hatch. The two cobras, Nag and Nagaina, are the most challenging threats because they are large, full-grown cobras, and Rikki is only a young mongoose. The first conflict is between Rikki and Kurait, a dusty brown snakeling. Although he is small, he is deadly, and Rikki must strike him at exactly the right place. He does, to the great appreciation of the human family. Second, Rikki battles Nag. He lies in wait until Nag falls asleep in the bathroom of the bungalow. As he starts to fight him, the father wakes up and comes with his gun, which he shoots, killing Nag. Rikki may not have been able to take Nag on by himself, but by waking up the father with the struggle, he saves the family's life. Third, Rikki knows he must destroy the eggs. He finds where Nagaina has hidden them and destroys all but one by crushing them and killing the snakes inside. Finally, he must take on Nagaina. She gains control of the last remaining egg and carries it down a rat hole. Rikki, fearless, follows her into the tunnel, something very few adult mongooses would dare to do. The animals in the garden can't see what Rikki is doing and fear for him, but he emerges, "covered with dirt," as the victor. He has killed three snakes and destroyed twenty-five others that were about to hatch. He has saved the lives of the family three times and has "a right to be proud of himself."

What are three reasons why Mark Antony could be considered less than, more than, or just as ambitious as Caesar?

Mark Antony was perfectly willing to serve as Caesar's subordinate. He had no ambition to surpass him but would have been loyal to him indefinitely if he had not been killed. That is one reason why Antony does not seem as ambitious as Julius Caesar.

When Antony had the whole Roman citizenry in the palm of his hand after the success of his funeral oration, he did not consider seizing sole power, as he could have done. He formed a triumvirate with Julius Caesar's heir Octavius and even included Lepidus in the ruling trio, although he did not respect him. Antony does not seem like a shrewd, calculating, unscrupulous type of man. He is spontaneous, fun-loving, reckless--not like either Caesar or Octavius. Octavius ends up being the sole ruler of the Roman Empire. Antony was quite content to be ruler of the eastern half of that empire. He didn't have big ambitions or big plans. He lived from day to day. He was not a deep thinker. He spent a lot of his time in bed with Cleopatra or partying. He simply did not take life seriously--as did Julius Caesar, Octavius, Brutus, and Cassius: to Antony life was a game. That is what we like about him.

Antony was a better man than Julius or Octavius in some respects. He was unselfish and generous. In Antony and Cleopatra, Cleopatra describes him in terms that are somewhat extreme but not totally inaccurate.

CLEOPATRA.
His legs bestrid the ocean; his rear'd arm
Crested the world: his voice was propertied
As all the tuned spheres, and that to friends;
But when he meant to quail and shake the orb,
He was as rattling thunder. For his bounty,
There was no winter in't; an autumn 'twas
That grew the more by reaping: his delights
Were dolphin-like; they show'd his back above
The element they liv'd in: in his livery
Walk'd crowns and crownets; realms and islands were
As plates dropp'd from his pocket.

DOLABELLA.
Cleopatra,--

CLEOPATRA.
Think you there was or might be such a man
As this I dream'd of?

DOLABELLA.
Gentle madam, no.

Octavius could not have become emperor if Antony had not helped him by turning the mob against Brutus and Cassius with his funeral oration and also helped Octavius, an inexperienced warrior, win the battle of Philippi. If Antony had not helped Octavius, then Octavius never would have been there to defeat him years later. Antony had the only copy of Caesar's will. If he had been ambitious he could have thrown the document in the fire and seized sole power in Rome. Antony was highly regarded by Caesar's army because he was a good leader, a brave soldier, and a generous man; it would have been easy to take control of the army and seize all the money he needed to pay the soldiers. He would have had to fight Brutus and Cassius, but he was just as capable of doing so without Octavius as he was with him. 

In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Malvolio writes in a letter:

some are born great, some
achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em.
Act 2, Scene 5

Julius Caesar was born great. Octavius Caesar achieved greatness. Mark Antony seems to have been one of those men who have had greatness thrust upon them.

What is sound? How is sound propagated?

Sound is a mechanical, longitudinal wave that is caused by the vibration of molecules. In order to fully understand this definition, the meaning of “mechanical wave” and “longitudinal wave” need to be understood. Each term is defined below:

Mechanical wave- A mechanical wave is a wave that requires a medium through which to travel, as opposed to electromagnetic waves which do not require mediums. Therefore, mechanical are not able to travel through vacuums.

Longitudinal wave- A longitudinal wave moves in the same direction as the displacement of the medium through which the wave travels. Thus, a longitudinal wave appears to move in a “back and forth” motion, which cases compressions and rarefactions.

Sound propagates through compressible medium through which it travels. As sound propagates, it can be reflected, refracted, or diffracted.

Additionally, the speed of a sound wave is affected by the type of medium through which it travels. Recall that sound waves result from the vibrations of particles. Thus, due to the proximity of the particles, sound waves usually travel the fastest in solids. Likewise, sound travels the slowest through gases because gas particles are spread so far apart from one another. The state of the medium through which a sound travels is not the only factor that affects a sound’s speed. Speed of a sound wave can also be affected by the density, temperature, and elasticity of the medium through which the sound waves travels.

What would be an excellent and sophisticated thesis on the topic of a pathway to citizenship in the US?

What would make an excellent and sophisticated approach to talking about the issue of immigration and paths to citizenship is to move away from generalities and partisanship and focus in depth on some particular group of immigrants or some particular aspect of the issue.

For example, you might use as a thesis a statement "Before we talk about a path to citizenship in very general terms, we should try to look at how such a path might affect [your home town]." Next, you should research actual statistics about immigration and its effect on your town. You might start by looking at when the town was founded. Unless you live on a Native American reservation, your ancestors themselves were once immigrants to the United States, as were those of everyone else in your town without a tribal affiliation. 

After discussing how various waves of immigration resulted in the foundation and growth of your town, you might discuss current statistics concerning more recent immigrants, legal and illegal. Next, you might try to analyze how different patterns of paths to citizenship would actually affect your town. In some towns, paths to citizenship might mean that a few dozen children of long-time residents would become full citizens, where in other areas the numbers might be far greater.

What would make such an analysis sophisticated is that it would be based on detailed and nuanced local data rather than campaign rhetoric. 

How is Elena a dynamic character in the short story "American History" by Judith Ortiz Cofer?

A dynamic character is one who learns a life lesson or dramatically changes his or her mind or personality throughout the story. Elena, in Cofer's "American History," learns a dramatic lesson by the end of her story. At first she is teased and hates school, but she finds joy watching an elderly couple in the house next to her apartment building. She dreams about one day reading her books at a kitchen table like they do. Then, when she befriends the new boy who moves into the house after the man dies and the old woman moves away, she hopes to read at the kitchen table with Eugene.

Unfortunately, Elena doesn't know that she is about to experience a devastating blow when she knocks on Eugene's door for their study date. Elena learns that prejudice and discrimination come from all different walks of life, and can pop up unexpectedly, too. When Eugene's mother turns her away, this dramatic yet subtle rejection teaches Elena that not everything will turn out the way she plans. She also learns that dreams might not always come true in the way or the time frame she wants. Elena's dynamic change is understood when she says the following:

"That night, I lay in my bed trying to feel the right thing for our dead president. But the tears that came up from a deep source inside me were strictly for me. . . . Sometime during the night, I saw from my bed the street light come on. . . . Looking up at the light, I could see the white snow falling like a lace veil over its face. I did not look down to see it turning gray as it touched the ground below."

By not looking down, Elena stops herself from looking at Eugene's house—the house that has given her so much peace in the past. She denies herself the temptation to dream. This is proof that Elena has learned her lesson. She understands that dreaming of a life in another house isn't fulfilling or satisfying, and it only leads to remorse.

How does the writer create sadness about the boy's death in the poem "Out, Out"?

Robert Frost's poem "Out, Out--" is a simple and sad story of a young boy who cuts off his hand in a work accident and ultimately bleeds to death. The poem is not only a comment on the brevity of life but also its meaninglessness, as evidenced by the title of the poem which is an allusion to Macbeth's speech about the death of his wife:

Out, out, brief candle!

Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage

And then is heard no more. It is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.

The poem is told in a matter-of-fact tone. The boy's death seems perfectly natural within the scheme of things and when he's gone, life goes on as usual. Frost writes in the last lines:

Little, less, nothing!--and that ended it.

No more to build on there. And they, since they

Were not the ones dead, turned to their affairs.

Frost, however, does concede a hint of regret and sadness over the course of events. He suggests regret that the boy is working so long and hard. In lines 10-13 he writes:

Call it a day, I wish they might have said

To please the boy by giving him the half hour

That a boy counts so much when saved from work.

Frost reveals sadness that such a young man should be involved in such a tragic accident. After all, the boy is not far removed from childhood and shouldn't be a casualty of such a meaningless accident:

Then the boy saw all--

Since he was old enough to know, big boy

Doing a man's work, though a child at heart--

He saw all spoiled.

Although Frost is basically unemotional about the tragedy, he does acknowledge some sadness over the futility of the boy's accidental death.

Who is the cause of Proctor's tragedy and why?

One could argue that Abigail Williams is to blame for John Proctor's tragedy.  It is she who accuses his wife, Elizabeth, an action that prompts him to bring Mary Warren to the court to tell the truth, that Abigail and the other girls are lying, in an attempt to save his wife.  It is this action that leads the girls to accuse Mary, and then she turns on Proctor and accuses him.  This accusation leads, eventually, to his execution.  Thus, with her accusation of Elizabeth Proctor, Abigail set into motion the chain of events that ultimately led to John Proctor's death.

However, one could also argue that John, himself, is to blame.  If he hadn't cheated on his wife with Abigail, then Abigail would have no reason to believe that he would choose to be with her if his wife were out of the way.  One might say that it was his infidelity that prompted Abigail to accuse his wife and set into motion the events described above.

What is significant about the character of Miss Caroline Fisher in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird?

Miss Caroline plays a significant role in depicting Harper Lee's feelings about public education. Instead of encouraging Scout to continue reading with her father and facilitating her advanced reading ability, Miss Caroline chastises Scout. Miss Caroline tells Scout that she is not allowed to read with her father anymore and also forbids her from writing in cursive. Miss Caroline has a rigid view of education and strictly follows the curriculum. She also fails to take into consideration the needs and interests of her students. In regards to discipline, students like Burris Ewell openly disrespect her and her methods of punishment are ineffective. Following Scout's first day of school, she dreads returning to Miss Caroline's class. Through her portrayal of Miss Caroline's class, Lee suggests that public education is inflexible and actually deters students from authentic learning experiences.

Krissy thinks that Skin-So-Soft by Avon will repel mosquitoes. She takes 100 mosquitoes and puts them in a container, half the container contains a...

a. Write a hypothesis for Krissy.

A hypothesis is an educated explanation for a situation that can be tested. A hypothesis is usually written as an "if..., then..." statement. Therefore, a plausible hypothesis for Krissy would be: "If Skin-So-Soft is present, then there will not be as many mosquitos present". 

b. What was the control group?

The control group is the group in a scientific experiment that does not receive the change that is undergoing observation/ experimentation. The control group serves as a benchmark to which the other tested groups are referred. Therefore, the control group for Krissy’s experiment would be the container that contained water.

c. What was the independent variable?

The independent variable is the variable that the scientist changes. In this case, it would be the liquid to which the mosquitos are exposed.

d. What was the dependent variable?

The dependent variable is the variable that the scientist is measuring. In this case, the dependent variable would be the number of mosquitos.

e. What should Krissy conclude?

Conclusions summarize how the data from an experiment either supports or rejects the hypothesis. Data from the experiment should be included within a conclusion.

Krissy should conclude that when Skin-So-Soft is present, then there are not as many mosquitos present. Her hypothesis is supported by the fact that rag that contained Skin-So-Soft had 10 mosquitos near it while 50 mosquitos were over the rag that contained water.

In a beaker, sugar is dissolved in water, and then the water is heated and evaporates. The sugar is recovered, and heat is again applied. Vapor is...

There are two types of basic changes in chemistry, physical and chemical.  A physical change is simply a change in the form of a substance without any actual chemical bonds being broken or formed.  A chemical change requires a chemical reaction whereby chemical bonds are either broken or new bonds are formed.

When the sugar and water mixture is heated to boiling, the vapor that is released is water vapor.  We know that this is a physical change to the mixture because we added water to the system, so the removal of water requires no chemical reaction.  Instead, it merely requires heat to change the water from liquid to gas.  When the sugar is recovered as a white solid when all of the water is gone, the heat is increased and the sugar turns black and more vapor is released.  Since there is only one chemical entity present in the beaker (sugar), a change like this is most likely chemical in nature since you have a chemical solid producing another chemical solid and a gas.  In order to verify this, we must know the chemical content of the vapor released or the chemical content of the black solid remaining in the beaker.  If we can show that one or both is chemically different than sugar, then a chemical change has occurred.

In reality, the cooking of sugars with high heat is a process called caramelization.  Simple sugars like table sugar will break down to form carbon dioxide and water vapor (the gasses being released) and also  carbon residue (the black solid remaining in the beaker).

Discuss what the last line of Night signifies, and how that indicates a change in Elie's attitude.

The last two lines of the text read, "From the depths of the mirror, a corpse gazed back at me. The look in his eyes, as they stared into mine, has never left me." There are two major things happening in these lines. On a physical level, Eliezer is looking into a mirror. As he had not seen himself in a mirror since he left the ghetto over a year earlier, one can imagine how the physical image looking back at him would look so different to him. Likely, he is gaunt and sunken. If you have ever seen pictures of Elie Wiesel taken before the Holocaust and just after his time at Auschwitz, the difference is jarring. One can imagine his reaction to what he is physically seeing.

Yet it is more than merely his physical appearance that has changed. Since the time of the ghetto, Elie has know the deaths of most of his immediate family members, as well as other strangers and friends, and has witnessed horrific episodes like the hanging of the pipel, the shooting of the "soup stealer," and the like. He likely does not recognize himself as he is not (psychologically speaking) the innocent and naive boy he was when he left the ghetto. His reference to himself as a corpse drives this point home, as something within Elie has no doubt died as the result of his experiences. Likewise, the fact that he disassociates himself, referring to the man in the mirror as different from himself, likely echoes the disassociating he had to do in order to keep himself alive within the camp.

What does Utilitarianism suggest about the distribution of wealth in society? Why do Libertarians object to Utilitarians on this point?

Neither Utilitarianism nor Libertarianism are monolithic, and thus different representatives of these traditions advocate somewhat different economic systems.

In Libertarianism, absolute freedom of the individual is paramount with limited regard for how that freedom impinges on other people. Grounded to a degree in Mill's "harm principle," most libertarians want to minimize government. With regard to distribution of wealth, Libertarians can fall into multiple camps, ranging from extreme "free market capitalists" such as Ayn Rand, who see wealth inequality as a natural effect of differential ability and drive, to libertarian socialists who wish to abolish private property completely. 

Utilitarianism, or its contemporary incarnation as Consequentialism, argues that the central tenet of ethics and political theory is the maximization of happiness, in the form of "the greatest good for the greatest number". This emphasis on the "greatest number" suggests that great concentrations of wealth in the hands of a few people is a problem, as it may increase the happiness of a few people at the expense of the relative unhappiness of many, leading to a far lower overall degree of happiness than a more equal system. Many free market capitalist Libertarians object to any form of income redistribution as interfering with individual liberty.

What was Young Goodman Brown supposed to learn from his experience?

Quite honestly, Young Goodman Brown isn't "supposed" to learn anything.  That is the point.  Nathaniel Hawthorne presents a character that, from the very first page of the short story, knows that he is doing something wrong.  His wife, Faith, had a bad dream about his upcoming journey into the woods, and begs him to stay home.  He responds by insisting that he must go this particular night, and then asks if she doubts him already, even though they are "but three months married."  She relents and he begins his journey, but shortly after Hawthorne writes,

"Poor little Faith!" thought he, for his heart smote him. "What a wretch am I, to leave her on such an errand! She talks of dreams, too. Methought, as she spoke, there was trouble in her face, as if a dream had warned her what work is to be done to-night. But, no, no! 'twould kill her to think it. Well; she's a blessed angel on earth; and after this one night, I'll cling to her skirts and follow her to Heaven."

Even before he is out of Salem village, he feels guilt for what he is about to do, but he continues on his way nonetheless.  He knows that his wife would be horrified, even killed, to know what he is going to do.  Yet he is content to proceed, promising himself that it will be just this one time.

Further, once Young Goodman Brown is in the woods and meets up with the strange traveler, he continues to insist that he should not be in the woods, nor walking with the man.  The traveler does not insist that Brown continue, yet Brown does.  When the two come upon a figure that appears to be Goody Cloyse, a revered elder of the town, Brown hides because he doesn't want her to see him with the traveler.  Perhaps the most telling event in the woods occurs when Goodman Brown finally says he will go no further.  The traveler says that Brown "will think better of this by-and-by," but leaves Brown behind and goes on his way.  Shortly after he leaves,

The young man sat a few moments by the road-side, applauding himself greatly, and thinking with how clear a conscience he should meet the minister, in his morning-walk, nor shrink from the eye of good old Deacon Gookin. And what calm sleep would be his, that very night, which was to have been spent so wickedly, but purely and sweetly now, in the arms of Faith!

Young Goodman Brown believes that he has overcome temptation, but immediately begins to feel very proud, and starts to pat himself on the back.  In short, he has stopped walking, but because he is now giving into pride, he is moving into further and further into sin.

Goodman Brown eventually continues further into the woods and eventually discovers a strange witch-meeting, which appears to include all of the town folk believed to be "good" (including his wife, Faith).  Brown then attempts to stand up to the evil that he believes he sees.  However, everything disappears.  As Brown comes back into town the next morning, Hawthorne speculates that perhaps the entire event was a dream.  He details how Brown can no longer trust the people in town, believing he encountered them in the woods at an evil witch-meeting.  The rest of Brown's life was lived in distrust of those around him, and "his dying hour was gloom."

From the first moment Young Goodman Brown started his journey, he knew that what he was doing was wrong.  He ignored his wife's feelings, entered into the woods, and, despite having a number of clear indications that he should stop, he kept going all under the premise that it was just "this one night."  Whether or not the witch-meeting was real is irrelevant.  What matters is that Young Goodman Brown knew he was doing something wrong, and he did it regardless.  He returns so preoccupied with his perceived sins of everyone else in Salem that he is never able to see his own actions as sinful.  He develops a "holier than thou" attitude toward everyone else in town, despite the fact that the events in the woods may have been a dream.  In the story, the only person who definitely did something wrong is Young Goodman Brown himself, and he is never able to understand that.

Hawthorne presents this character as a case study in human nature.  The troubled writer spent his entire life trying to reconcile himself with his family's history.  His great great grandfather John Hathorne was the head magistrate during the Salem Witch Trials, an event that included a number of self-righteous individuals so incapable of seeing their own capacity for sin that they brought harm upon innocent people.  Like Young Goodman Brown, many of the self-righteous never came to understand their actions as sinful.  Hawthorne spent his career studying the nature of sin, including the most ignorant varieties of it.  This is why Young Goodman Brown isn't supposed to learn anything; sometimes people don't, even after their actions cause others to suffer.

"I will live in the past, the present, and the future": Scrooge's redemption proves that destinies may be changed. Discuss.

Crucial to this story is the idea that individual actions can transform the future, for good or ill. Supernatural events—the multiple appearances of ghosts—break into Scrooge's life, causing him to change his behavior. 

The ghosts can be seen as metaphors for memory, empathy and the imagination. As Scrooge remembers the better self of his past and the people who touched him emotionally through the ghost of Christmas Past, his heart softens, opening him to emotions he had shut down. As he regains the capacity to feel, he views the present through new, more compassionate eyes. With the help of the ghost of Christmas Future, he can imagine the bleak scenario of Tiny Tim's death. He can also imagine his own death being celebrated rather than mourned. 

This new—or old—way of seeing leads Scrooge to take control of changing his destiny, as is illustrated at the end of the novel: Scrooge makes the conscious choice to act generously and benevolently, using his wealth to improve the general good, and more particularly, the circumstances of the Cratchit family. Scrooge's redemption leads to changed destinies: so can anybody's redemption change destinies. This hopeful message is a key to the book's popularity. It is also typical of Dickens' belief that touching individual hearts and motivating people to acts of kindness and compassion can transform society.

what were some negatives about Virginia's colonial government?

The colony of Virginia was first run by the Virginia Company of London, which chose a governor. In 1609, King James I issued a second charter that allowed private investors to chose a governor. At first, the governor exercised a great deal of control and even imposed a kind of martial law during the Starving Time of 1609-1610. Over time, the colonial government turned to strict racial laws and laws about slavery to maintain control--negative aspects of its leadership.

In 1619, the House of Burgesses became the first elected legislative body in the New World. This was the first year that slaves were also imported into Virginia. The governor chose a council of 6 citizens, and plantations (later counties) chose representatives to the House of Burgesses, which eventually grew in power. Still, wealthy planters generally controlled the power structure in the colony.

In 1676, a man named Nathaniel Bacon led a rebellion of former and current indentured servants, who were both white and black, against the government under William Berkeley. This was in part because the indentured servants were angry at the government for not giving them enough protection against Native American attacks. In addition, they felt left out of the power structure. They ousted Berkeley for a time, though he was later reinstated (and finally recalled to England). As a result, the government turned to instituting stricter laws about slavery after the rebellion. Many historians believe that the idea was for the white power structure to convince poor whites to go along with them because black slaves were below poor whites. For example, the House of Burgesses cut off the means by which blacks could gain freedom in the 1700s, and denied freed blacks the right to vote. This turn to making slavery harsher was a negative aspect of the colonial government. 

In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, what are some ways that Juliet uses imagery?

The imagery used in this play, in particular the imagery found in the dialogue of Romeo and Juliet themselves, is effective in illustrating themes of love and destiny. Romeo and Juliet describe one another with imagery related to the sun, moon and stars, emphasizing the "star-crossed lovers" themes with images that reflective timeless, eternal qualities of celestial bodies. The emphasis on the imagery of day and night also reiterates the theme of urgency and the importance of time (which ultimately causes hasty decisions and missed communication, leading to the lovers' untimely deaths).

While Romeo describes Juliet in terms related to the sun and brightness, Juliet's descriptions of Romeo often relate to night, darkness, the moon and stars. When Romeo comes to see her by climbing the wall of the orchard, he begins to swear his love by the moon, and she interrupts him and says "swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon, that monthly changes in her circled orb, lest that thy love prove likewise variable." She is also hinting that she does not want to see him in secret, and would like for them to be able to be together openly, in the light of day. Yet this is impossible, due to the family feud, and they accept the necessary secrecy of their love.

Juliet also describes Romeo in terms of the night sky when she awaits his arrival on the night of their planned elopement, in her famous soliloquy of Act III that begins "Gallop apace, ye fiery-footed steeds." She mentions Phoebus and Phaeton ("such a driver as Phaeton would whip you to the west"), characters from mythology, and this suggests she is looking at constellations in the sky. She refers to night as a "sober-suited matron all in black" and a comforting maternal presence (unlike her own parents, who forbid her to see Romeo). Since their families are unsupportive, the lovers must rely upon nature to protect them. This theme continues in this speech, and she personifies the night saying "Give me my Romeo," and she says that upon Romeo's death she wants the night (its darkness related to the realm of death) to "cut him out in little stars" so that "all the world will be in love with night."

Who was Benito Mussolini?

Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was the first European fascist dictator and ruler of Italy from 1922-1943. He was born in 1883 in Predappio, Italy to a blacksmith and a schoolteacher. He was an intelligent child and enjoyed the philosophy of Marx, Kant, and Nietzche, but he was also very aggressive and was expelled from multiple schools for assaulting fellow students. He lived in Switzerland for some time and worked as a political journalist. Upon returning to Italy, Mussolini worked for several socialist newspapers before moving on to a nationalist periodical titled "The People of Italy." In 1915, he was drafted into the Italian army and injured.

Mussolini's experience with the army had a profound effect on him as he came to know the struggles of unemployed veterans. In 1918, he began speaking about his belief that Italy needed a dictatorship. By 1920, he was beginning to organize the "fighting bands" that would become known as the Blackshirts. By 1921, Mussolini and the Blackshirts had begun capturing parts of Italy by attacking local government. By October of 1922, the political and economic circumstances of Italy were collapsing and people were growing disheartened with the current government. Mussolini and his Fascists marched on Rome, causing King Victor Emmanuel to step aside and allowing Mussolini to take control and eventually declare himself dictator.

Mussolini began a campaign of social reform, public development, and virulent propaganda. With Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany, Italy had found a new ally, and in 1938 Mussolini began passing Anti-Semitic laws. While Mussolini wanted to avoid getting Italy involved in a major war, his entanglement with Nazi Germany and the nationalist, fascist sentiment he inspired in the Italian people made a war all but unavoidable. Mussolini joined the war in partnership with Germany in June of 1940, convinced the war would be over quickly. Until the end of the war, Italy suffered repeated defeats and invasions. 

The Italian people, as well as some of Mussolini's closest officials, soon began to lose faith in him. In July of 1943, the Grand Council of Fascism voted Mussolini out of power and brought King Victor Emmanuel back. After being removed from power, Mussolini lived for some time in Lombardy. He was eventually shot by a dissatisfied civilian, presumably the Communist leader Walter Audisio.

In Edgar Allan Poe's The Masque of the Red Death, how do the chimes of the clock affect the guests?

In his short story The Masque of the Red Death, Edgar Allan Poe devotes considerable time to physical descriptions of Prince Prospero’s abbey, specifically, the adornments of the seven rooms that collectively comprised “the imperial suite.” Each of the seven rooms features a different color. It is the seventh room, decorated in black with windows the glass of which were “scarlet—a deep blood color”—that contains an imposing clock, described by Poe’s omniscient narrator as “a gigantic clock of ebony” with a pendulum that swings, as the narrator notes:

“. . .to and fro with a dull, heavy monotonous clang . . . a sound which was clear and loud and deep and exceedingly musical, but of so peculiar a note and emphasis that at each lapse of an hour, the musicians of the orchestra were constrained to pause, momentarily, in their performance, to hearken to the sound; and thus the waltzers perforce ceased their evolutions; and there was a brief disconcert of the whole gay company; and, while the chimes of the clock yet rang, it was observed that the giddiest grew pale, and the more aged and sedate passed their hands over their brows as if in confused revery or meditation.”

Prince Prospero’s clock plays a prominent role in the progression of Poe’s story. The swinging pendulum, reminiscent of the giant pendulum from his short story The Pit and the Pendulum, represents an ever-foreboding presence amidst the merriment that defined the prince and his friends’ carefree demeanor. While the music plays and the partyers dance and the magicians and “fools” entertain the assembled elite of this fictional society, the gaiety is interrupted every hour by the clock’s ominous chimes, each occasion immediately followed by a resumption of the merriment.

It is the clock’s chiming that, at the stroke of midnight, signals the story’s most prominent and irreversible shift from its emphasis on partying to an atmosphere of impending doom. Once again, as Poe’s narrator describes the scene:

“ . . .now there were twelve strokes to be sounded by the bell of the clock; and thus it happened, perhaps, that more of thought crept, with more of time, into the meditations of the thoughtful among those who revelled. And thus too, it happened, perhaps, that before the last echoes of the last chime had utterly sunk into silence, there were many individuals in the crowd who had found leisure to become aware of the presence of a masked figure which had arrested the attention of no single individual before.”

The chiming of the clock, as it had regularly, every hour on the hour, causes a momentary lapse in the debauchery and gaiety that has stood in stark contrast to the wide-spread misery occurring outside the castle walls. This time, however, it is different; this time, the ominous tone that has descended upon the partyers with the clock’s chiming is different. It is accompanied by the realization that a masked  intruder walks among the gathered throngs and that this interloper represents a threat to the tranquility and security the revelers had enjoyed. In short, the chimes affect the guests by interrupting their fun and replacing the light-hearted atmosphere that otherwise prevailed with an ominous sense of foreboding.

How can brain disorders tell us more about brain function?

The most fundamental reason is this: There are vastly more ways to be wrong than to be right.

For example, if I ask you, "what is 6 times 7?" there are literally infinitely many possible wrong answers you could give me, but only one right one: 42.

The human brain has been optimized by millions of years of evolution. In the vast majority of circumstances---particularly those similar to our ancestral environment on the African savannah 200,000 years ago---it gives the right answer.

But giving the right answer doesn't tell you how the underlying mechanics work; all it tells you is that they work... well. There are many different possible architectures that could yield that same correct response: both I and a calculator can give you the answer "42", but we work in radically different ways.

In order to understand the underlying mechanics of the brain, you need to see it work wrong. You need to watch it take shortcuts (heuristics, one of the main things I study in my own research), or see what happens when it gets damaged (neuropsychology, the subject of this question), unless of course you can actually look inside the brain and see what it is doing (neuroimaging, which due to the technology required is a field of study no older than I am).

Before we had brain-scanning equipment or clever experimental methods to detect heuristic judgments, we had people with mental disorders and brain injuries. Indeed, we've always had people with mental disorders and brain injuries, though our ability to treat them has improved dramatically over time.

Yet simply by observing what happens to people's behavior as a result of injuries to particular parts of the brain, we were able to learn a great deal about what those particular parts do.

Imagine if you didn't know what the various parts of a computer did, but you took a bunch of computers, and hit various pieces with sledgehammers. This would give you at least some sense of how computers work: The one with a smashed hard drive lost a bunch of data, so the hard drive must store data. The one with a smashed screen doesn't display things properly, but will still perform computations just fine; so the screen is involved in display but not computation. The one with a smashed processor doesn't do anything at all, so that must be a really important component.

This is basically what neuropsychology does, only with human brains.

To use a particularly famous example, Phineas Gage infamously took a railroad nail to the prefrontal cortex, and then became impulsive and aggressive; so the prefrontal cortex must be involved in inhibiting impulsive behaviors.

Other brain structures discovered this way include Broca's area and Wernicke's area, both discovered due to particular speech problems (aphasia) that people with damage to each area have. People with Broca's aphasia can understand language but have trouble speaking it, and often speak primarily in swear words because (for whatever reason) those are the last to go. People with Wenicke's aphasia can speak language fluently and eloquently, but can't understand it very well and often speak in utter nonsense. Thus, we know that Broca's area is involved in the production of speech and Wernicke's area is involved in the comprehension of speech.

The kind of knowledge you can get this way is limited, and studying more requires you to either get "lucky" (the patients don't feel so lucky) and find patients with particular types of brain damage to study, or else intentionally induce brain damage (usually in cats or monkeys). The former is improbable, the latter questionably ethical. As a result this was more of a way for us to find out some of the basics of brain function about a century ago before we discovered cognitive science methods and invented neuroimaging technology.

What is a good idea for a thesis on the following writing prompt? Examine the relationship of Romeo, Benvolio, and Mercutio. What traits and...

In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Romeo, Benvolio and Mercutio have a close relationship, although they are very different in personality and temperament. Romeo is a passionate lover and often acts impetuously. He rarely takes time to reflect on his feelings. Rather, he indulges in what he desires. Benvolio is level headed and a peacemaker. He usually gives good advice and is a loyal friend. Mercutio is a cynic and a fighter. He is sometimes quick tempered and belligerent.

Romeo is a lover who wears his heart on his sleeve. When he is first introduced, he is moody and depressed about his unreciprocated love for Rosaline. He bears his soul to Benvolio about his feelings in Act I, Scene 1:

Griefs of mine own lie heavy in my breast,
Which thou wilt propagate to have it pressed
With more of thine. This love that thou hast shown
Doth add more grief to too much of mine own.

Romeo's depression, however, doesn't last long. When he first sees Juliet he forgets all about Rosaline. His temperament is mercurial as he instantly falls for the daughter of Capulet. One glance and he is in love. He says in Act I, Scene 5,

O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!
It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night
As a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear—
Beauty too rich for use, for Earth too dear.

Of course, his impetuous nature gets him in trouble. He rushes into marriage and then can't control himself after Tybalt kills Mercutio. He condemns himself to suicide on the word of a servant and doesn't consult with those who are wiser.

Benvolio is a good friend and, although he is loyal to the Montagues, he has sense enough to avoid fighting. In Act I, Scene 1, he tries to break up the fight between the servants. Later in that scene he is a good friend to Romeo when he advises his cousin to move on from his failed love for Rosaline. And, in Act III, Scene 1, he is again the peacemaker as he urges Mercutio to get off the street:

I pray thee, good Mercutio, let’s retire.
The day is hot, the Capels are abroad,
And if we meet we shall not ’scape a brawl,
For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring.

As his name suggests, Benvolio is good (the Latin root "ben" means good). He is loyal, honest and sensible. Unfortunately, his words often fall on deaf ears.

Mercutio is volatile. Soon after he is introduced, he launches into his Queen Mab speech. The speech reveals a preoccupation with both sex and violence. Throughout the play, Mercutio makes bawdy jokes, especially in the scene with the nurse. He also displays a violent nature in Act III, Scene 1 when he fights Tybalt. The audience may be believe that Mercutio is only standing up for Romeo but Mercutio is also anxious to match swords with Tyblat. He suggests such in Act II, Scene 4 as he goes on about dueling:

More than prince of cats. O, he’s the courageous
captain of compliments. He fights as you sing
prick-song, keeps time, distance, and proportion.
He rests his minim rests, one, two, and the third in
your bosom—the very butcher of a silk button, a
duelist, a duelist, a gentleman of the very first house
of the first and second cause. Ah, the immortal
passado, the punto reverso, the hay!

Mercutio also has a great wit. What other character would make jokes about their own death? To the very end, he is displaying his humor and cynicism as he puns on the word "grave" and at the same time condemns the feud:

No, ’tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as
a church door, but ’tis enough. ’Twill serve. Ask for
me tomorrow, and you shall find me a grave man. I
am peppered, I warrant, for this world. A plague o’
both your houses!

 

What does Athena ask of Odysseus?

Athena helped Odysseus arrive back home in Ithaca. She was also the first person that Odysseus met when he arrived from Scheria. Athena asked Odysseus not to tell anyone who he was. The goddess also requested him to be humble and bear any disrespect to him by the people he would meet.

"Bear everything, and put up with every man's insolence, without a word.”

Athena helped Odysseus store away the treasure trove he received from the Phaeacians and helped him plot his vengeance against the suitors. The goddess told Odysseus that she would disguise him and make him appear miserable and poor. He was also to visit the swineherd, who would inform him of what was going on in his house. During their conversation, Athena informed Odysseus that she had sent Telemachus on a voyage to gather information about him. This was expected to bolster the boy's image and reputation.

Who are the 2016 presidential candidates and what are their strengths and weaknesses?

This question is actually a bit easier to answer today than it was a few weeks ago, because several of the candidates have dropped out. 

The Republican candidates who are still running are Donald Trump, a businessman from New York; Ted Cruz, U.S. Senator from Texas; Marco Rubio, U.S. Senator from Florida; John Kasich, the governor of Ohio; and Ben Carson, a surgeon from Michigan.

The Democrat candidates are Hillary Clinton, former U.S. Secretary of State; and Bernie Sanders, U.S. Senator from Vermont.

Obviously, the strengths and weaknesses of each is a very subjective question, and supporters of the various candidates would give very different opinions.  I will try to list a few strengths and weaknesses of each, as neutrally as I can.

Donald Trump - Strengths:  successful businessman, with a large amount of money to spend.  He appeals to people for his frank discussion of issues and a straightforward approach toward problems.  Weaknesses:  limited political experience and a tendency to make outlandish, brash statements that can offend groups of people.

Ted Cruz - Strengths:  experience in the U.S. Senate.  Intelligent individual who seems to know how to say "the right thing."  Weaknesses: limited time in politics, not highly charismatic

Marco Rubio - Strengths: experience in the U.S. Senate.  Charismatic and engaging individual with some fresh ideas.  Weaknesses:  youth, and limited leadership experience

John Kasich -- Strengths:  experience as a state Governor, which requires more individual leadership than membership in Congress.  Knows how to make decisions and get things accomplished.  Weaknesses:  less charismatic and compelling as a candidate than the others, he is less able to attract followers.

Ben Carson - Strengths:  very intelligent individual, with thoughtful, fresh ideas for change.  Weaknesses: no experience in politics, so he is having difficulty getting his message heard against the other candidates

Hillary Clinton - Strengths: a life in political service, she has been First Lady, U.S. Senator, U.S. Secretary of State.  She probably has the most experience closely related to the Presidency than any other candidate.  Weaknesses: if elected, she would be the first female President, which is an unfair challenge, but is a challenge nevertheless.  She is also connected to former President Bill Clinton, whose turbulent Presidency may be a challenge for her.  She is seen by many as being too closely tied to the current administration and therefore less likely to bring about positive change.

Bernie Sanders - Strengths: a long career as a U.S. Senator, he understands Washington politics and he is very familiar with the important issues facing our country.  Weaknesses: he is from a very small, very liberal state (Vermont), so getting his message out is an uphill climb.  He expresses great desires for positive change, but is criticized for not having a feasible plan to accomplish his ideas.

In One Writer's Beginnings, how does author Eudora Welty foreshadow her eventual epiphany and writing style?

One Writer's Beginnings, by Eudora Welty, is her Pulitzer Prize–winning collection of autobiographical essays based on three lectures she gave at Harvard University on "Listening," "Learning to See," and "Finding a Voice." In these essays--especially in "Listening"--Eudora Welty explains how in her youth listening and eavesdropping would later become essential to her as a writer, helping her to understand the cadence of words and how they worked together to shape sentences and lines. She recounts how she could hear her father shaving, her mother cooking, and them both whistling a shared tune. Moments like this would later influence how she incorporated sounds and tender moments into her own short stories.

Additionally, Welty's mother would constantly read to her, even while cooking, which would integrate itself so much into the younger Welty that she would later hear her mother's voice when she would read silently to herself. Welty also mentions how this reading voice influences her sentences so that they have a particular rhythm that mirrors the reading voice, and how constantly being surrounded by books and reading gave her such a fascination and love for reading and writing.

Additionally, she used her ability to listen in order to inspire her writing, finding stories, inspiration for stories, dialogue, and characters by simply listening to the world around her. By listening and eavesdropping as a young girl, she was able to cultivate that into a talent for storytelling and writing later on in life.

What does it mean when Edward has red eyes? What does it mean when Edward has black eyes?

Vampire eye color is an indicator of their diet.  Red eyes are reserved for newly changed vampires and vampires that feed on the normal vampire diet.  That would be human blood.  That's why Bella would have no reason to see Edward's eyes as red in the first book.  He's a "vegetarian" vampire.  That means he doesn't feed on human blood.  He survives by drinking animal blood, so his eyes assume a nice golden color.  When vampires, like Edward, haven't fed in quite some time, they get hungry.  As the hunger increases, the eye color changes.  The color drops out, and the eyes become a black color.  So once Bella knows what Edward is, she is able to tell when he needs to go hunt.  If his eyes are black, he's hungry. 

Why does Ponyboy share this with Cherry?

This question is rather vague, but I believe you are trying to ask why Ponyboy shares with Cherry the story of how Johnny got beat up by the Socs. In Chapter 2, Ponyboy, Johnny, and Dally sneak into the drive-in movies, and Dally begins to harass two pretty girls named Marcia and Cherry. Johnny sticks up for the girls, and the boys sit next to them when Dally leaves. Ponyboy feels comfortable around Cherry because she does not view him with contempt like most Soc girls do. She smiles at him and tells him that she likes his unique name. Cherry tells Pony that she thinks he is sensitive, unlike the other greasers. Ponyboy has never met a Soc female who says she admires Dally, and he feels both physically and emotionally attracted to her. When Cherry asks Ponyboy to walk her to the concession stand, she says, "Johnny...he's been hurt bad sometime, hasn't he?" (Hinton 31) Ponyboy nervously tells her the story about how Johnny was brutally beaten by a gang of Socs four months earlier. Ponyboy tells her this story because he felt comfortable around Cherry and she seemed genuinely interested in why Johnny appeared to have emotional baggage. Pony admits that he doesn't like retelling the story, but there is something about Cherry's tolerant disposition that allows him to confide in her.

Explain the content of the poem "An Irish Airman Foresees His Death."

This poem, composed as a dramatic monologue, was written by William Butler Yeats to commemorate the valor and patriotism of Major Robert Gregory, an Irish aviator, who was a member of the gentry and an artist and a scholar.

The poem deals with the untimely death of an Irishman, who ironically could have better served his country had he lived because he could have helped to quell the unrest in his beloved Ireland after the war.

The aviator is likened to a Byronic hero since he has volunteered to fly for the British government out of a romantic desire for adventure:

A lonely impulse of delight 
Drove to this tumult in the clouds,

That the airman has had foreknowledge of his demise is indicated in the first two lines. He is well aware of the risks involved in flying machinery that has not been perfected and could well be shot down. But, the airman, true hero that he is, avoids any regret and resentment.

Those that I fight I do not hate
Those that I guard I do not love

Certainly, this poem conveys the futility of war and the pilot's philosophical contemplation of the insignificance of his bold adventure.