What is the setting in Langston Hughes's "Mother to Son"?

Langston Hughes's poem "Mother to Son" lacks a distinct setting, but it's clear that the what the speaker is doing during the poem is talking to her son. There is a sense that this is happening at a casual place—I see her on a big chair in a living room talking to her son on a couch, but that's just my perspective—but there is no definite place. However, through the title and the informal opening line that addresses her son directly, "Well, son, I'll tell you..."  it's clear that the speaker is in a comfortable place.

However, throughout the poem, there is a sense of place when the speaker is talking about where she came from. She lived in poverty as life's had "tacks in it, / And splinters, / And boards torn up, / And places with no carpet on the floor— / Bare."

Both the setting gathered from the first line and the place the speaker describes helps generate meaning in this poem. Both things reveal that this poem is a passing of knowledge and a call for this mother's son to thrive in the world because if she could make it with no "crystal stair," so can he.

In Chapter 11 of Going After Cacciato, Lt. Corson calls in a massive air strike following the death of which of his men?

In "Fire In The Hole" (Chapter 11) of Going After Cacciato, Lt. Corson calls in an air strike following the death of Jim Pederson. After Pederson's death, Doc Peret puts the soldier's broken dog tags into his mouth and tapes his mouth shut. Pederson's body is taken away by helicopter.

The lieutenant calls in an air-strike on the village of Hoi An. The first barrage misses the mark slightly, which prompts the lieutenant to call for adjustments.  On the second round, white phosphorus rains down on Hoi An and burns the entire village. As the village burns, the soldiers open fire to kill any living thing that might still be alive. It is a grim task, and the soldiers do not cheer their horrible mission.

Later that night, the soldiers finally talk about the death of Jim Pederson.

Why is the climax of "Raymond's Run" so important? What makes it such a valuable moment?

The climax of a story is the turning point when the rising action reaches a peak, the conflict is resolved, and the story goes into its falling action. The climax is important in Toni Cade Bambara’s short story “Raymond's Run” because it is a moment when Hazel Elizabeth Deborah Parker’s self-identity becomes clear. Hazel, who is known as Squeaky, realizes that Raymond has a future as a runner and she has a future as his coach. She completes her run, winning the annual May Day competition during which she notices Raymond matching her step for step. Gretchen, the new girl in the neighborhood, challenges her, which allows Squeaky to feel a new respect for her. The climax of the story finds Squeaky realizing her identity in a more mature way than at the beginning of the story when she copes with events with angst and antagonism. She also realizes that she can be friends with other girls instead of always being an adversary.

What role does Candy play at the ranch in Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men?

Candy is the old swamper character in Steinbeck's novella Of Mice and Men. A "swamper" is in charge of keeping the bunkhouse clean and doing minor maintenance on the ranch where George and Lennie come to work. "Swamping" literally means washing out the building. When he is first introduced he is carrying a broom in his left hand and is missing his right hand which he lost in a work related accident. In chapter three, he says,

“I ain’t much good with on’y one hand. I lost my hand right here on this ranch. That’s why they give me a job swampin’." 

He is a pivotal character for two reasons. When Carlson shoots his old dog, Candy laments,

“I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog.”

The incident provides foreshadowing for George's actions later toward Lennie. Candy also joins the dream of owning a "little piece of land" as he is willing to contribute money toward the purchase of the farm that George knows about. For a short time, it appears that George, Lennie and Candy (and for a short time Crooks) might go off to their own place and be their own bosses. Unfortunately, the dream ends when Lennie accidentally kills Curley's wife and George is forced to kill his friend. 

What are three significant settings in Speak and why are they important?

Setting is absolutely an important element in the novel Speak, as the different settings tell readers a lot about Melinda's state of mind. 

One setting that is particularly revealing is Mr. Freeman's art room. When she first goes in, Melinda describes is as a dream following a nightmare. She says,

"The sun doesn't shine much in Syracuse, so the art room is designed to get every bit of light it can. It is dusty in a clean-dirt kind of way. The floor is layered with dry splotches of paint, the walls plastered with sketches of tormented teenagers and fat puppies, the shelves crowded with clay pots. A radio plays my favorite station" (pg 10).

The imagery here creates the sense of a very comfortable, very lived-in kind of space. It's not clean and sterile – what kind of art room would be? Instead, it's the kind of place where you can mess up and make mistakes and get inspired by other people. This is exactly what Melinda does there. Throughout the novel, she struggles to find her voice in the art room, through her art. Whether making her turkey carcass creation on pages 62-64 or struggling through her tree project with Picasso and Cubism on pages 118-9, Melinda is both frustrated and exhilarated in the art room. This makes it the perfect setting for the emotional growth and acceptance of her rape that she goes through during the course of the novel. 

Another important setting in the novel is Melinda's closet – an old, unused janitor's closet that she uses to hide in and skip classes. She says,

"This closet is abandoned–it has no purpose, no name. It is the perfect place for me" (pg 26).

As the novel progresses, readers can gauge Melinda's emotional state by how much time she's spending sequestered away in her closet. She runs to it often to avoid classes or people, so it seems like a safe place to escape her problems at first. But upon closer inspection, it actually seems to make things worse. After all, when she's in there she says, "Mostly I just watch the scary movies playing on the inside of my eyelids" (pg 50). Plus, her closet is the setting of Andy's second attack on her, at the end of the novel. This is important because it suggests that hiding away from your problems won't protect you. Melinda's worst nightmare invaded her "safe space" and she needed more to fight him off than just a closet to hide in. 

One other important setting is Merryweather High School itself. Though this setting is more in the background than the previous two, its effect can be seen through the whole novel. When we first meet Melinda, she's on her way to the first day of high school. Her sardonic comments and jaded attitude towards her school are amusing at first, but as the novel progresses, readers can see how much Merryweather High is lacking as a place of learning and growth. The school can't agree on a mascot (pg 49-50), teachers like Mr. Neck roam the halls looking for students to get in trouble and hold racist debates (pg 53-57), the guidance counselor and the principal can barely remember who Melinda is, let alone help her (pg 113-116). In Merryweather, Anderson demonstrates many stereotypes of what can make high school feel like the worst years of a person's life. For someone like Melinda, recovering (or not!) from a rape, these annoyances help exacerbate her depression, making recovery that much harder.

What is important to R.J. Bowman in "Death of a Traveling Salesman"?

In Eudora Welty's story, "Death of a Traveling Salesman," the protagonist, Bowman, spends a lot of time on the road in a pretty boring and thankless job of shoe sales. He is very lonely and has no one that he is close to--no family or wife. When he meets Sonny and his woman, at first he doesn't realize what they have, but by the end of the story, he recognizes that she is pregnant and they have a fruitful, happy marriage. He envies them of this and it amplifies his utter loneliness. For Bowman, what is important to him is having someone to care for and who will care for him. He does not have this, so he steals away into the night, away from these people who have what he does not. 

In the first two lines of "Because I could not stop for Death—" what adverb defines Death's actions?

"Kindly"

Emily Dickinson's "Because I could not stop for Death," composed around 1863, envisions one's death as a carriage ride to immortality. Death collects the poem's persona, or speaker, and they pass by a school and field before arriving at their destination: the persona's grave. 

The poem's title and first two lines personify death as a gentleman caller: "Because I could not stop for Death - / He kindly stopped for me" (1,2). Typically, titles of poems follow strict rules of capitalization; yet here, Dickinson only capitalizes the first word and "Death." Since "Death" is capitalized, and the poem refers to death with the subject pronoun "he," the concept of death becomes personified. The poem describes Death as "kindly," and as possessing "civility" (2,8). Death is not imagined as the grim, scythe-wielding villain most regard it to be, but instead as a gentle, well-mannered carriage driver. For Dickinson, then, death itself is not a somber event, but a benign force that gently conveys us to the afterlife.

What are the independent variables of the "Simple Pendulum"? A. Length B. Mass C. Both A and B

In any experiment, the variables are classified as either control, independent or dependent. Control variables are those that are to changed and hence controlled. Independent variables are those that are changed and we study the effect of changes in these variables. Dependent variables are those that are affected by changes in independent variables.

For a simple pendulum, we commonly study the time period and experiment with various variables that might affect it. The time period of a simple pendulum is given as:

`T = 2pi sqrt(L/g)`

where, T is time period, L is the length of pendulum and g is the acceleration due to gravity. The time period, thus, depends on length of the pendulum. 

Even though the time period of pendulum does not depend on the mass of pendulum bob, it is often used as a variable.

Since, length of pendulum and mass of bob are both changed, one at a time, in experiments on simple pendulum, they are both independent variables. Thus option C is correct.

Hope this helps.

What is the lesson of Freak the Mighty?

This is not really a fair question because this book has so many lessons to teach; however, in my opinion, the main lesson of Freak the Mighty is that friendship and platonic love can breakdown many barriers.

At the beginning of the story, Max has low self-esteem, feels unloved by his father, and deems himself completely unintelligent.  Likewise, at the beginning of the story, Kevin suffers greatly from his birth defects (both with his small stature and his limp) and lives only in his imaginary worlds. 

Things change for the two boys because of their platonic love for each other.  Together, the two become the unified "Freak the Mighty."  Max learns that he is both incredibly smart and brave, able to combat even powerful criminals like his father, Kenny "Killer" Kane.  Kevin learns that, although he cannot change his physical deformity, he can completely overcome it by being friends with Max.  Kevin can now move quickly and with strength as "Freak the Mighty."  Further, through the boys' adventures, Kevin explores the real world instead of just living within his imaginary world.

The beauty of friendship transforms the pair of boys.  Although Max struggles with Kevin's death, Max emerges as a stronger person than he ever was before, able to write down the stories of Kevin and Max as "Freak the Mighty."  These stories (the ones found in this book) are a testament to the power of friendship and platonic love.

Why is it important to select the appropriate wavelength of light when using a spectrophotometer, with the explanation stated in terms of the...

When using a a spectrophotometer to measure concentration changes in a colored solution you want to select the wavelength at which the greatest absorbance by the solution occurs.

Wavelength of light is related to energy by Planck's constant, h = 6.626 x 10^-34 J-s. The relationship is described by the equation E = h`nu`  where  = frequency or E = (hc)/`lambda` where c = speed of light (3.0 x 10^8 m/s) and `lambda`  = wavelength. 

When we see a substance as a particular color, we're seeing the wavelengths or colors of light that it reflects. Other wavelengths are absorbed. The primary colors of light are red, green and blue. Secondary colors are yellow, magenta and  blue-green.

When a primary color is absorbed, the remaining two primary colors that are reflected make up the complementary secondary color of the absorbed wavelength.

The purpose of the hint is to tell you that the range of maximum absorbance of the substance is most likely the complementary color of the color that the substance appears, not the color that you actually see in the spectrophotometer.

You can find the wavelength that has maximum absorption by starting at the shortest wavelength setting on the spectrophotometer and measuring the absorbance of your solution, then increasing the wavelength setting by 10 nm settings and repeating. 

A car starts from a certain point at a velocity of 100 kph. After 20 seconds, another car starting from rest, starts at the same point following...

Hello!

Certainly car B will overtake car B. After some time the speed of car B will become greater than the speed of car A and a quicker object always overtakes a slower one.

Now determine the specific time. The distance travelled by car A is

`d_A=V_A*t,` where `V_A=100 (km)/h=(100,000m)/(3600s) approx 27.8m/s` and time `t` is measured from the start.

The distance travelled by car B is

`d_B=a_B*(t-20)^2/2,` where `a_B=3m/s^2.`

We have to find `t_1gt20` such that `d_A(t_1)=d_B(t_1):`

`27.8*t=3(t-20)^2/2,` or

`3t^2-120t-2*27.8t+1200=0,` or `3t^2-175.6t+1200=0.`

So `t_1=(175.6+sqrt((175.6)^2-4*3*1200))/6 approx` 50.6 (s). The solution with minus before the root is less than 20.

The distance both travel will be `d_A=27.8*50.6 approx` 1407 (m).

I'm in 10th grade and we just finished our first-semester finals. Will taking a regular English class one time affect the way a college looks at me?

Taking one non-Honors English course, especially if is simply is not offered at your school, will not adversely affect your ability to get into a good college. Looking at the totality of the coursework and elective and extra-curricula activities listed, it would appear that your academic record will be just fine, assuming you continue on in this manner. You still have all of your junior year and at least the first semester of your senior year of high school to build upon the record you have constructed up to this point. More important than whether you are unable to take an honor's course that is not offered at your school will be your grade point average (GPA) at the time you apply to universities, your scores on college entrance exams, and your record of extra-curricular activities. Band and Junior ROTC, in fact, will both weigh in your favor with many college admissions officers, especially if you intend to enroll in ROTC at the college level, which presumably is the case. (You should, by the way, look into the possibility of applying for a ROTC scholarship, which could pay your entire way through college, plus provide a modest stipend for additional living expenses, in exchange for a commitment to serve in the military, either on active duty or in a reserve component.)

College admissions officers look at the totality of an applicant's record, including extra-curricular activities and college entrance exam scores. There is no reason to believe that the inability to take a single honor's course will hurt your chances at attaining admission to a good university. 

In Act One of The Miracle Worker, how is Helen vicious?

Helen Keller was often frustrated because she could not effectively communicate.  This frustration sometimes led her to do unkind or violent things.  The word vicious means to do something mean or violent in a deliberate manner.  

In Act One of "The Miracle Worker," Helen is playing with two children, Martha and Percy.  While they are playing, Helen, "in a bizarre rage..., bites at her own fingers."  Martha attempts to stop her, but "Helen topples Martha on her back, knees pinning her shoulders down, and grabs the scissors."  Helen's mother comes to the rescue, but Helen fights her.  This is just one example of Helen's violent behavior toward herself and others.

Later, Helen approaches the cradle where her baby sister sleeps and "unhesitatingly overturns it."  The baby falls out, and their mother catches her.  If the baby had not been caught, she might have died.  Helen physically fights both her mother and Annie Sullivan in the first act.  She also locks Annie in her room and hides the key.

Discuss Bois Sauvage from Salvage the Bones and its deprivations--the poverty, unemployment and housing. How does the area shape the people,...

Bois Sauvage is a fictional town on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and the setting of the novel Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward. The name of the town means wild or untamed woods and signifies the way in which life in the area is harsh and differs from that of wealthier parts of the United States. The novel is set in 2005, during the preparation for and arrival of Hurricane Katrina, the event that inspired Ward to write the story.

The first type of deprivation that affects the characters of the story is lack of access to medical care. Mama bears her children at home with no medical assistance and eventually dies in childbirth. Daddy is an alcoholic with no access to counselling or rehabilitation, and when he injures his hand lacks proper follow-up care. Esch is 15 years old, has been sexually active since she was 12, and seems to be following her mother's path in lacking access to sexual education, birth control, and prenatal care. She also has not been taught that she is in control of her own body and free to make her own choices; instead she allows herself to be sexually molested:

“And it was easier to let him keep on touching me than ask him to stop, easier to let him inside than to push him away, easier than hearing him ask me, "Why not?" It was easier to keep quiet and take it than to give him an answer.”

The children's opportunities are limited by their poverty. As a pregnant teen, Esch is unlikely to complete her schooling and find a good job. Randall cannot afford the basketball camp that might lead to a college scholarship. 

On the other hand, the youngsters form close bonds with each other, and develop considerable initiative in foraging for food and preparing for disaster. They collaborate to take care of the dog China and her puppies. The community is close knit, with people helping each other as much as they can. 

Are conventional Victorian ideas about women contested or supported in Goblin Market? Can the poem be seen as demonstrating a power struggle...

Christina Rossetti’s narrative poem “Goblin Market” is often praised as a protofeminist work of literature, and for good reason: the text absolutely contests restrictive Victorian gender norms by exploring the strong, sensual relationship between two sisters as they resist a noticeably masculine group of goblins. Many feminist critics point to the powerful connection between the sisters as an indication that Rossetti is working against the narrow gender norms of the time. Indeed, the fact that the poem is written from a distinctly sensual feminine point of view is already radical, but Rossetti goes further by having the women resist the temptations of the goblins:

“One called her proud,

Cross-grained, uncivil;

Their tones waxed loud,

Their looks were evil.

Lashing their tails

They trod and hustled her,

Elbowed and jostled her,

Clawed with their nails,

Barking, mewing, hissing, mocking,

Tore her gown and soiled her stocking,

Twitched her hair out by the roots,

Stamped upon her tender feet,

Held her hands and squeezed their fruits

Against her mouth to make her eat” (1504-5).

Rossetti’s imagery can be read as intensely sexual and aggressive, which is especially interesting considering she was held to different standards than male writers at the time. Her vibrant imagery teems with subversive sexuality that would obviously challenge the patriarchal norms of the time. This raw sensuality is especially present when Lizzie comes back from facing the goblin horde to nurse her sister back to health:

“She cried 'Laura,' up the garden,

'Did you miss me?

Come and kiss me.

Never mind my bruises,

Hug me, kiss me, suck my juices

Squeezed from goblin fruits for you,

Goblin pulp and goblin dew.

Eat me, drink me, love me;

Laura, make much of me:

For your sake I have braved the glen

And had to do with goblin merchant men” (1506).

Not only does Rossetti’s imagery teem with veiled sexuality, but she also presents two female characters who do not rely on a dashing man to save them from their predicament. They are presented as independent, as two sisters against a violent crowd of male goblins. Thus, the poem subverts gender paradigms of the time by pitting the sensual sisters against abrasive, masculine figures.

I pulled my textual evidence from the 9th Edition Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume E

How did Prince Prospero and his friends try to escape from the Red Death?

Prince Prospero seems to believe his elevated status and large fortune can provide some protection to him and his friends from the Red Death. He moves into an isolated abbey, behind a tall wall, and the courtiers he brings with him weld the iron gates shut.

They resolved to leave means neither of ingress or egress to the sudden impulses of despair or of frenzy within. . . With such precautions the courtiers might bid defiance to contagion.

In other words, they believe themselves to be safe. As if to showcase his mastery of death, Prospero has constructed a series of rooms that seems symbolic of a human life—beginning in the east and ending in the west, as the sun rises (symbolic of birth) and sets (symbolic of death)—ending in a room decorated in shades of black (often symbolic and indicative of death) and "blood red" (very much symbolic of death in this story because it is the "Avatar and. . . seal" of the disease). In this room that symbolizes death, there is an "ebony clock," a symbol of mortality, whose chimes unnerve the masqueraders each hour, as though they remain aware of death despite their attempt to escape it. Everyone avoids this room as though, by putting their mortality out of mind, they might actually fend off death. Obviously, neither their money nor their resources can shield them from death because it is the one inevitability in life.

What important lesson have you learned from Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist as a whole?

Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist is a unique story which basically tells readers not to just follow their dreams, but to go accomplish them. The boy, Santiago, represents each one of us on life's journey. Since we all have choices to make in life, the question is whether or not we will make ones that will propel us forward to achieving our fullest potential, or will we sit still and wait for life to come to us? Santiago learns to watch for omens that will direct him through life and towards his Personal Legend and treasure. He learns to trust in himself, not to give up until the goal is accomplished, and that marriage and family can wait until all of this happens first.

There are some very inspirational quotes and pieces of advice given throughout the book, too. Here are a few examples:

1- ". . . when we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too" (150).

2- "What you still need to now is this: before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we've learned as we've moved toward that dream" (132).

3- "The boy reached through to the Soul of the World, and saw that it was a part of the Soul of God. And he saw that the Soul of God was his own soul. And that he, a boy, could perform miracles" (152).

These are all very empowering and motivating passages that teach readers not to give up and that life does not have seem insurmountable. Life can be difficult, but there's always a solution to discover or a choice to make it better.

A spotlight can be adjusted to effectively light a circular area of up to 6 meters in diameter. To the nearest tenth, what is the maximum area that...

The spotlight can effectively illuminate a circular region of diameter 6m.

The area of a circle is found by A=pi*r^2 where pi is a constant (pi is about 3.14159 or 22/7) and r is the radius.

Here the radius is 3m (1/2 of the diameter.)

So the area is (3.14159)(3)^2 or about 28.2743 square meters. Rounding to the nearest tenth of a square meter we get 28.3 m^2.

The area is about 28.3 square meters.

How would you summarize the first paragraph in Chapter 6?

Summary of the first paragraph in Chapter 6:

Early American pioneers such as the Puritans viewed immigration to the New World as a vehicle for unmitigated success, whether for themselves or for future generations. Their convictions were such that they resolved never to be resigned to a zero-sum solution to their problems. Subsequent generations of Puritans have been less circumspect; their focus is trained on the present, and they prefer to trust that future spiritual reward will be predicated on current decisions and actions.

A word on zero-sum solutions.

Zero sum solutions occur when a win for one party results in a corresponding loss for another party. For example, any money Congress allocates for certain pet projects results in less money for other desired programs. So, in the case of the Puritans, these early American pioneers were not merely interested in securing benefits for their own generation. They resolved to labor for succeeding generations even if they failed to secure the necessary progress critical to their own happiness during this lifetime.

Describe Mary Maloney at the beginning of Lamb to the Slaughter. What kind of wife does she appear to be at this point?

In the beginning of Roald Dahl's "Lamb to the Slaughter," Mary Maloney is described as a stereotypical housewife. She is happily pregnant and is happy when it is approaching time for her husband to come home. All of her actions are that of a woman who is blissfully content with her station in life as a dutiful and loving wife. 

There are, however, a few descriptors that serve as forewarning that Mary may not be as stable, calm and loving as she seems. Roald Dahl uses expressions like "curiously tranquil" and noted that her eyes seem "larger, darker than before." It almost suggests that she was in a dreamlike state in the beginning of the story. Whether it was due to the pregnancy or not is impossible to say. If she was in a dreamlike state instead of actually tranquil and steady, it would explain why the shock of her husband's intent to divorce her caused her to act the way she did. It would also explain why now, suddenly awake, she is able to transform from a loving wife into a woman cleverly covering her tracks when the murder itself seemed sudden and accidental. 

In "Contents of the Dead Man's Pockets," why does Tom permit himself to look down?

This is a very good question. Tom realized that his biggest problem would be to avoid looking down, because the sight could cause vertigo and make him lose his balance, in which case he could fall backwards into space. He manages to resist the understandable temptation to look down until he gets his fingers on the yellow sheet of paper. The following brief paragraph tells what happens then.

He couldn't quite touch it, and his knees now were pressed against the wall; he could bend them no farther. But by ducking his head another inch lower, the top of his head now pressed against the bricks, he lowered his right shoulder and his fingers had the paper by the corner, pulling it loose. At the same instant he saw, between his legs and far below, Lexington Avenue stretched out for miles ahead.

Apparently he only intends to look at the paper. It would seem that in that awful position and with only his fingertips touching the paper, he would have to open his eyes to see what he was doing. Otherwise, there was a risk that, after all his effort, he might pull the paper loose and it would fly away. Tom had thought that getting to the paper was the challenge, but it turns out that, because of the narrowness of the ledge, the biggest challenge is just picking the paper up. He can't look at the paper without seeing New York City all lighted up in a fascinating and terrifying panorama far below.

He saw, in that instant, the Loew's theater sign, blocks ahead past Fiftieth Street; the miles of traffic signals, all green now; the lights of cars and street lamps; countless neon signs; and the moving black dots of people. And a violent instantaneous explosion of absolute terror roared through him.

This is the high point of the story. The author has deliberately withheld any description of the city from a dizzying height until right now, when the viewpoint character is in his most awkward position on the ledge and is barely maintaining his balance.

Tom had to look down. He could close his eyes again, but he couldn't shut out the awesome vision he had seen. The "absolute terror" he felt was both a threat and a motivating factor. This terror could make him fall, but it also forces him to act. After a long inner struggle, he manages to shut out the spectacle he had seen.

With fear-soaked slowness, he slid his left foot an inch or two toward his own impossibly distant window.

Describe Banquo's and Macbeth's reactions to the witches in Shakespeare's Macbeth.

In Act I, Scene 3, when Banquo and Macbeth happen upon the three witches, they are certainly daunted. But, after listening tothem, Macbeth is perplexed by the witches' calling him Thane of Cawdor, then King, while Banquo wonders if he has merely hallucinated.

As Macbeth and Banquo move closer to the three sisters, they tell Banquo that his sons will be kings. Banquo is confused as to whether he has really seen and talked with these three sisters, or whether he has only hallucinated because he has heard them already call Macbeth king, and now they tell him his sons will be kings. After the witches disappear, Banquo asks Macbeth,

Were such things here as we do speak about?
Or have we eaten on the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner? (1.2.83-85)

Macbeth tends to give credence to what the "weird [meaning Destiny-serving] sisters" since they have predicted for him that he would become Thane of Cawdor and he has. But, Banquo argues that the preternatural creatures may have told some truths in order to win them over so that they will do harm to themselves:

The instruments of darkness tell us truths.
Win us with honest trifles, to betray's
In deepest consequence. (1.3.133-135) 

Still, Macbeth is not convinced. To him, fantasy and reality may be equal. At any rate, he likes the idea that chance may make him King without his having to do anything. So, he decides to think more about what he has heard, and he suggests that Banquo and he ponder what they have witnessed and later they may speak their minds to each other.

What was Daniel's reaction when Jesus began speaking at the synagogue in Ketzah?

When Daniel is taken to the temple by Simon to see Jesus of Nazareth in Elizabeth George Speare's The Bronze Bow, he is initially uninterested. Jesus arrives dressed plainly, and as he begins to speak Daniel becomes excited. He initially takes Jesus to be a man of action, a fighter, but as Jesus continues the sermon Daniel begins to grow disillusioned. As it dawns on him that Jesus is there only to preach and not to fight, he becomes greatly disappointed. Furthermore, Daniel finds the sermon that Jesus delivers to be very confusing. Jesus insists that his Kingdom is at hand, but Daniel is unable to understand what Kingdom it is that Jesus is speaking of, nor how it is to arrive since Jesus does nothing but talk.

In A Christmas Carol, give an example of a list and a long sentence used by Charles Dickens.

Your request made me smile because Charles Dickens is renowned for the parallelism that he uses in “lists” and “long sentences.”  Parallelism, of course, is the use of a grammatical structure again and again in the same sentence.  Let us look at one example of Dickens’ parallelism in a list and then in a long sentence.  Charles Dickens often uses lists to further the description of a character.  In this case, the list describes Scrooge before his transformation:

Oh! but he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! 

Here Dickens’ uses parallelism especially in the words “squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching.”  This description furthers the simple idea of Scrooge being an “old sinner” and suggests a degree of intensity that the reader could not understand as well without the list.

In regards to Dickens’ use of the “long sentence,” let us take an example from after Scrooge’s transformation:

The chuckle with which he said this, and the chuckle with which he paid for the Turkey, and the chuckle with which he paid for the cab, and the chuckle with which he recompensed the boy, were only to be exceeded by the chuckle with which he sat down breathless in his chair again, and chuckled till he cried.

Again we have the description of a character (the same character, in fact) furthered by the use of parallelism.  In this case, the parallel structure of this sentence gives it multiple subjects.  Dickens decides to list each individual laugh instead of simply indicating that Scrooge “chuckles” a lot.  The irony in regards to your question is that the long sentence again includes a list.  This time, Dickens lists Scrooge’s laughs to show his transformation from miserliness to mirth. 

In A Christmas Carol, where does Dickens portray poverty? Please include quotes.

Dickens was inspired to write A Christmas Carol after reading about the plight of poor children in the industrial towns of Northern England. As a result, we find many descriptions of poverty in the text.

In the first stave, for example, two gentlemen call on Scrooge and request that he makes a charitable donation to their collection for the poor. In the conversation which follows, we hear of the poor in workhouse and prisons, forced to live in squalor and to go without the necessities and comforts of life. 

Next, in the third stave, we find a description of Scrooge's employee, Bob Cratchit, and his family. Though they enjoy the Christmas season and are full of cheer and good-will, they are still classed as paupers:

"They were not well dressed; their shoes were far from being water-proof; their clothes were scanty; and Peter might have known, and very likely did, the inside of a pawnbroker's."

From here, the Ghost of Christmas Present takes Scrooge to see a family of miners. Here, in the "bowels of  the earth," the miner lives in a cottage made of stone and mud but his family are happy, all gathered around a small fire in the main room. 

Towards the end of the stave, we find another description of poverty. This time, it is two children who represent Ignorance and Want, and they are described as being "wretched, abject, frightful, hideous, miserable." They have been taken from the world in the prime of their lives and have been physically scarred and aged by their deprivation and poverty. 

Finally, in the fourth stave, we see another, quite different, description of poverty. It is the neighbourhood of Old Joe's shop, where Scrooge's belongings are taken and sold after his imagined death. Dickens' description here is embellished, yet powerful:

"The ways were foul and narrow; the shops and houses wretched; the people half-naked, drunken, slipshod, ugly. Alleys and archways, like so many cesspools, disgorged their offences of smell, and dirt, and life, upon the straggling streets; and the whole quarter reeked with crime, with filth, and misery."

What we find, then, is quite a variety in the character of Dickens' descriptions of poverty. They show all facets of life, from the types of streets and houses that the poor inhabited to the physical effects of experiencing poverty. But, what is most striking here, is that Dickens does not vilify the poor or blame them for their situation. He is a sympathetic observer who seeks to highlight their plight to the reader. 

What are three things Isabel did to keep Christmas in Chains?

Well, as a slave, Isabel cannot really "keep Christmas" in the way she was accustomed when she was a little girl.  Momma, Isabel, and Ruth used to bake bread pudding, eat the entire day, and read the Bible.  In fact, Isabel is only able to do one of these activities:  bake bread pudding.  Now Isabel keeps Christmas by bringing food to the prisoners, baking bread pudding, and bringing that pudding to a family with children.  These are three ways Isabel keeps Christmas.  On Christmas Eve, Isabel gives food the poor by visiting Bridwell (the prison in town) and brings the rebel soldiers food.  Isabel's friend, Curzon, is among the soldiers.  Luckily, Isabel is able to find some bread on Christmas day and make some bread pudding.  In her wanderings, Isabel takes the bread pudding in a basket to Canvastown (the local tent city).  There she finds a poor family who is truly in need.  Isabel gives her bread pudding away and is happy that she has helped another family celebrate Christmas.

In chapter 24 of Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout learns something about a true lady. What does Scout learn?

Jean Louis "Scout" Finch is growing up as what used to be called a "tomboy," a female who enjoyed activities and a physical appearance more commonly associated with males, such as in her choice of clothing and hair style. Harper Lee's young narrator in To Kill a Mockingbird, however, is growing up under the tutelage of her widowed father, Atticus, a dedicated attorney and father struggling to raise his two children with liberal values in the American South of the 1930s. Atticus's sister, Alexandra, however, fundamentally disagrees with the latitude her brother affords his daughter with respect to those very activities and styles. Aunt Alexandra believes that Scout is growing up without the values necessary to ensure that she grows up to be a "lady." In Chapter 9, Scout focuses on the issue of her perpetual conflict with her aunt, whose efforts at feminizing the young girl reveal a fanaticism guaranteed to anger the equally-forceful niece:

"Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches; when I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn’t supposed to be doing things that required pants. Aunt Alexandra’s vision of my deportment involved playing with small stoves, tea sets, and wearing the Add-A-Pearl necklace she gave me when I was born . . ."

Aunt Alexandra's commitment to Scout's "proper" upbringing is a recurring theme in To Kill a Mockingbird, as is evident in the passage in Chapter 24 in which Scout describes her aunt's social gathering in the Finch home or, more precisely, the assemblage of Alexandra's "missionary circle." Alexandra unfailingly exploits the opportunity to attempt again to instill in Scout the meaning of being a "lady," as when she corrals the young girl and insists that Scout remain in the room among the adult women:

"Aunt Alexandra smiled brilliantly. 'Stay with us, Jean Louise,' she said. This was a part of her campaign to teach me to be a lady."

Scout then proceeds to provide a physical description of the gathered women, noting that "the ladies" wore "fragile pastel prints" and that "some of the younger ladies wore Rose." Scout is very much out of her element among these women, and her discomfort is palpable. She has no interest in acting in the manner prescribed by her intrusive aunt, preferring to wear jeans instead of a dress. 

What Scout learns from her exposure to this gathering of proper ladies is that "proper" may be only a facade behind which lies the very prejudices and narrow-mindedness that Scout has been taught by her father to reject. As the women discuss the trial of Tom Robinson and gossip about others, Scout begins to realize just how superficial are these proper society ladies. The presence of Miss Maudie Atkinson is instrumental in revealing the extent of these women's hypocrisy, and the ugliness within some of these women helps Scout to reaffirm her commitment to the life she has led. As Lee's young, precocious narrator concludes:

"There was no doubt about it, I must soon enter this world, where on its surface fragrant ladies rocked slowly, fanned gently, and drank cool water. But I was more at home in my father’s world. People like Mr. Heck Tate did not trap you with innocent questions to make fun of you; even Jem was not highly critical unless you said something stupid."

The venality beneath the proper exterior of some of these women is revelatory to Scout. As the social circle continues its infantile gossiping and misinformed judgmentalism, Scout becomes increasingly convinced that her way is the right way.

What is the second major event in the book The Giver?

There are a couple different events that could be considered "main events" at the beginning of the book.

- Jonas's father brings home baby Gabriel, an infant from the Nurturing Center who "wasn't doing well."

- Jonas watches an apple that is being tossed into the air.  Before his eyes, the apple changes.  He sees a flash of color.  In his community, there are no colors.

- Jonas shares his dream of wanting to bathe his friend, Fiona, naked.  His mother then informs him that his strange new feelings toward his friend are the "stirrings."  He starts taking medication to suppress these feelings.

Because Gabriel is a main character in the story, the event of bringing him home is important.  The entrance of Gabriel in the family's home is the first main event.

The second main event is debatable.  While it is a pivotal occurrence in Jonas's life, the scene with the apple is extremely brief.  If you do not consider this to be an event, then Jonas's dream about Fiona and him having to be medicated for the "stirrings" would be another important event.

In T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," what figures of speech are used in lines 57-58 and 73-74?

In "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," T.S. Eliot uses a variety of figures of speech, especially metaphors. A metaphor is a comparison that does not use the words "like" or "as." Two examples of metaphors are seen in lines 57 - 58 and 73 - 74.  In the first of these, the persona of the poem compares himself to a specimen being mounted for scientific study. It could be a butterfly, insect, or other such creature that is being called to mind. The metaphor is made more graphic by showing that the persona is being mounted while he is still alive, for he is "pinned and wriggling on the wall." In the second, the persona compares himself to a crab or other such creature that scuttles along the ocean floor. Both these metaphors speak to the insignificance that the persona feels when confronted not only with social situations, which he finds awkward, but also with the great questions of life, such as the meaning of existence and whether there is an afterlife.

Identify the protagonist and antagonist and the conflict in The Dew Breaker, a novel by Edwidge Danticat.

The Dew Breaker is a novel written by Edwidge Danticat. It deals with the struggle of one man who tries to escape his past life in Haiti as a hired government bully for Duvalier, and tries to lead a new life in New York. Unbeknownst to him, the past is hardly ever easy to bury completely, and it will eventually come back to haunt you.

Protagonist

The protagonist of the novel The Dew Breaker is not named. He is a former prison guard who was also hired by the corrupt and terroristic Haitian government to serve as a hired killer as well as a torturer of prisoners. This is where the title comes from. A “dew breaker” was the jargon used to identify the government bullies who would be hired to go and get people from their homes and into the prison system, whether they deserved it or not.

The man’s story, narrated by his daughter, begins in New York City, to where he has moved to start a new life, away from the horrible situation in Haiti. There, he works as a barber and leads a quiet life with his wife and his daughter. Sadly, his daughter has been brought up thinking that her father is a prisoner and victim of Duvalier’s dictatorship, not knowing that he was actually a pawn in such a horrible system.

Antagonist

Arguably, the key antagonist in the story is the main character’s past. It is because of his past that all of the situations in the story will unfold, with the narrative showing the story of each of his victims from his years as a hired gun for the Haitian government. The fact is that the main character has to confront his past, no matter how hard he wants to fight to get away from it.

Conflict

The novel The Dew Breaker follows the same convoluted narrative style as modern movies such as Crash, where different stories, each with its own plot and characters, are told and are then connected to a common source. As such, The Dew Breaker’s common source is the past life of the main character, which was responsible for the life changes that occur to the people whose stories are featured in the novel: Dany, Claude and Beatrice. As such, the main conflict is that of the unnamed barber against his past; a past that has come to haunt him all too heavily.

Evidence of this conflict can be found in the quote:

Do you recall the judgment of the dead," my father speaks up at last, "when the heart of a person is put on a scale? If it’s heavy, the heart, then this person cannot enter the other world

This is a poignant moment in the novel when the main character sees a statue that his daughter, Ka, has built for him. The statue shows a man who is subjugated by an unjust prison sentence. Thinking that his father was a victim of Duvalier, Ka makes this symbolic gesture representing her father’s presumed years of pain and suffering. The main character is so mortified by his truth that, when he sees the statue, he decides that he does not deserve it. He throws it eventually at the bottom of a lake, and this is allusive to the way that he wishes he could do the same thing with his past.

So much is his desperation that, when he confesses to Ka about his past, Ka’s mother responds with compassion because she knows that the man’s past has cost him too much.

You and me, we save him. When I meet him, it made him stop hurt the people. This how I see it. He a seed thrown in rock. You, me, we make him take root.

The barber did what he did in his past because he had no other choice. Duvalier ruled Haiti with an iron fist and the corruption in the government was so rampant that the only choices were either to join in or die fighting.

In all, if we were to write a theme of the story in one sentence we could easily describe it as “A man’s lifetime struggle to bury his past”. This is a huge statement because the truth is that the past makes us who we are, therefore, it never really goes away.

Hence, if the past that forged you into what you are now was a good past, you will always cherish it. If the past that forged you is a bad one, you have to live it daily, similarly, whether you like it or not. The past simply does not just go away.

What are three things that happen to Max and Kevin in eighth grade?

I have to admit, many of the adventures of Max and Kevin (who together make "Freak the Mighty") happen during the summer before their eighth grade year.  After reading half of the book, the reader finally comes to the boys' eighth grade school year. There are some significant events that happen during school as well.  

The first thing that happens (on the first day of eighth grade, no less) is that Max and Kevin proclaim their name to their classmates:  "Freak the Mighty."  Max is asked to get up in front of the class to talk about his summer.  When Max has a hard time with this and the kids tease him, Kevin stands on his desk and demands order.  Kevin then climbs on Max's back again and raises his fist in the air shouting their name: "Freak the Mighty."  All of the students join in the chant.  This validates both Kevin and Max.

Two other important events require less of an explanation, but are just as important to the story.  Max learns that his father, Kenny "Killer" Kane, is going to get out of jail on parole.  This scares Max so much that he goes into hysterics in the principal's office.  Likewise, Kevin has his own seizure when he is in the lunchroom eating "American chop suey."

In conclusion, there are plenty of events in these chapters that have nothing to do with school.  Probably the most important are Kane's release from prison and his visit to Loretta and Iggy Lee, which trigger many more unfortunate events for Max.

What is the time and place of the short story The Gift of the Magi?

The Gift of the Magi is a short story written by William Sydney Porter, who went by the pen name of O. Henry. It is a story of love, difficult economic times, and the true meaning of the gift-giving of Christmas. It is believed to have been written in a tavern in New York City in 1905.

While the setting is not overtly revealed in the story itself, there are clues that suggest it takes place in New York City on Christmas Eve during the Early Twentieth Century. The fact that it is December 24th is stated at the start of the short story. The prices of the items in the story, and because it was written in 1905, reveals it takes place in the early 1900s. As for the location, it can be inferred that the story takes place in New York City when Della Dillingham suggests that her husband will think that she looks like a "Coney Island choir girl."

Setting of the Story: Christmas Eve, 1905 in New York City.

What is Fitzgerald's attitude towards Myrtle Wilson in The Great Gatsby?

Portrayed as a rather pretentious character, Myrtle Wilson is a person who is servile towards wealth, and she captures the excessive worship of materialism of the Jazz Age. Fitzgerald uses this character, who possesses no money of her own, to convey a message about how the desire for money and its false values destroy people.

Myrtle Wilson has no qualms about eschewing her moral obligations to her husband whenever she has the opportunity to pretend that she is a part of the wealthy class. When she is in the apartment in New York City partying with some of Tom Buchanan's friends, Myrtle virtually transforms herself, wearing expensive dresses and assuming a superior attitude. For instance, while she is sitting with Mrs. McKee in the apartment, she says with a condescending attitude in her artificial voice,

"My dear...I'm going to give you this dress as soon as I'm through with it. I've got to get a new one tomorrow. I'm going to make a list of all the things I've got to get. A massage and a wave and a collar for the dog...."

Later, when she has the temerity to be angry about Daisy and shout her name, Tom punches her in the face. Clearly, then, she will never be accepted as anything other than what she is, a lower-class mistress who can feed Tom's sense of superiority. But, Myrtle cannot return to her grey life in the Valley of Ashes without excitement and money. So, one night when she sees what she thinks is Tom in his car, she runs out in front of the car, and is struck not by Tom, but by Daisy, his wife, signifying the futility of striving for materialism and what happiness she thinks it can purchase.