How is self-deception a theme in Twelfth Night?

A crucial moment in the play in regards to the theme of self-deception is when Malvolio connects the person in "Olivia's" letter (which was really written by Maria) to himself. 

As part of a cruel prank, Maria forges Olivia's handwriting in a letter. The contents of this letter request that a person with the letters MOAI in their name act a bit strange by dressing in yellow stockings for Olivia. After convincing himself that he is in fact the addressee, he immediately seeks to fulfill Olivia's wishes. Continuing the prank, Maria and others note to Olivia that Malvolio is acting strange. By Act 5, he confronts her with the letter and says:

Alas, Malvolio, this is not my writing,
Though, I confess, much like the character.
But out of question, 'tis Maria's hand.

This proves that Malvolio was a victim to self-deception. Beyond the fact that the letter doesn't even mention his name, it's not even Olivia's handwriting. He allowed himself to believe that a relationship between himself and Olivia was actually possible, when, in reality, it wasn't. 

A less obvious example of self-deception could be the way that Olivia portrays herself in the beginning of the play. As she mourns the death of her father and brother, she swears that she will be in mourning for the next seven years and will not allow any man into her heart. This is particularly addressed to the Duke, who has been pursuing her for quite some time. However, upon seeing Cesario's (Viola's) face, Olivia notes:

Methinks I feel this youth's perfections
With an invisible and subtle stealth
To creep in at mine eyes. Well, let it be.

In other words, she is going to willingly allow Cesario's good looks to be the object of her affection - a complete 180 degree shift of how she responded to the Duke's pursuits. In other words, she may have been using the mourning as a disguise as to why she can no longer be in love. 

This theme of self-deception connects to a larger theme of lies and deceit in the play. There are obvious examples of disguise to try and accomplish personal interests; however, those disguises do not let the characters reveal their true selves. That's why these cases of self-deception are particularly interesting. 

What are some advantages of social media?

Though people may disagree over whether social media is a positive or negative influence in our lives, it certainly offers some benefits that cannot be found elsewhere. Social media websites and applications like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn help millions of people get connected and stay connected.

The biggest advantage social media offers in my mind is the ability to stay in touch with people who are far away. People who may not have access to a phone or postal service can use social media to stay up to date with friends, family, and colleagues. Even if someone does have the means to communicate in other ways, using a website like Facebook helps people to stay in touch even when they have different schedules. In my own experience, I have a very busy family and it can be difficult to know when is the best time to give grandma a call. With Facebook, I can send her a message and know that she will respond on her own time. It's also a great, low-cost way to share photos with family and friends.

Applications like Instagram offer a significant advantage to people interested in the arts. Free social media websites create a platform where artists of all levels of experience who work in all mediums can share photo or video of their creations. Many artists can't afford fees to rent space in a gallery, or may not be able to market themselves locally. Representing oneself on the internet makes art available to an exponentially larger audience than sharing art locally. Because apps like Instagram are intended for smartphones, it significantly cuts down on a photographer's monetary investment if they can combine their equipment (a camera) and art-sharing (online) into one item!

Businesses may find an advantage in using social media. Having a company profile with services like Facebook and LinkedIn can help businesses look for new employees and stay in touch with customers. Customers may find it easier to voice questions and concerns to businesses through platforms like Facebook rather than by phone, email, or a hand-written letter. Many businesses even choose to offer special deals to customers who engage with them on social media, such as offering discount codes only on a particular platform. 

Social media also really open up many people's global consciousness. Millions of people from all over the world use social media, and though that comes with a certain level of language barrier(s), it opens up the possibility to connect with people from very far away. Thanks to social media, it is possible to stay in touch with events from across the globe as soon as they happen and often before official news reporters or journalists have arrived on the scene. 

What is the relationship between body size and heat loss in organisms?

In general, the larger the body size (in terms of surface area to volume ratio) of an organism, the higher will be the heat loss from the body. This is simply due to large surface area which is exposed to the environment and which facilitates the heat loss. A direct effect of this relationship is the habitat of animals. Animals that have smaller surface area to volume ratio, such as polar bears, generally live in colder climate. Under such conditions, the heat generated from metabolism need to be conserved and the small surface area to volume ratio allows that. In comparison, thin, slender organisms that have large surface area to volume ratio generally live in much warmer weather (say equatorial regions). Under warm climatic conditions, it is necessary for an organism to be able to dissipate as much heat as possible to survive. Larger surface area to volume ratio allows that.

Hence, a direct relationship exists between surface area (to volume ratio) and heat loss.

Hope this helps. 

How old is Jim in "The Gift of the Magi"?

In The Gift of the Magi, we find out that Jim is twenty-two years old.  We learn Jim's age near the end of the story.  At the beginning of the story, we learn other information about Jim, such as how much money he makes per week and what his most prized possession is.  O. Henry leaves out Jim's precise age at this point in the story, only mentioning it later on when he enters the small apartment after work.  After stating Jim's age, O. Henry writes that despite his youth, he works hard.  Jim has to support his family, which consists of his wife, Della.  O. Henry continues to describe qualities of Jim, such as his appearance.  

The writer may have chosen to not mention Jim's exact age at the beginning of the story because he felt that it was unimportant to the plot.  His age is mentioned as more of an afterthought.

List three examples of conserving resources.

Resource conservation is a necessity since the quantity of resources is limited. There are a number of examples from our daily life where we can conserve resources. Recycling is one way we can conserve resources. The soft drink plastic bottles can be recycled in a number of ways. They can be used for keeping water in a refrigerator. They can also be used for constructio, in place of bricks,  by filling them with sand. They can also be as flower pots by cutting them in half. Another example is use of reusable bags for groceries and shopping, instead of plastic bags. Another example is the use of handkerchief instead of paper napkins. We can also store and use rainwater by rainwater harvesting. Another example is carpooling to save fuels. You could also turn the heat down by a couple of degrees at home and save on electricity (which is typically generated by fossil fuels).

Hope this helps.

Where can a student find three arguments to support the following thesis statement about Romeo and Juliet? Thesis statement: In the monologue...

In this monologue, the Nurse is telling Juliet to treat exiled Romeo as if he is dead. This has a devastating effect on Juliet, for obvious reasons. To connect this passage to your thesis, however, we must be a little more creative.

For your three arguments, you should break down what you mean when you say "everyone involved." This is most easily done by considering the Montagues, the Capulets, and Romeo and Juliet themselves.

First point: "Romeo is banish'd." Why is Romeo banished? Romeo killed Tybalt, a Capulet. Explain why this is a tragedy for the Capulet family, and talk of the circumstances surrounding the death.

Second point: "If he do [come back], it needs must be by stealth." What is the effect of Romeo's banishment on his family? Here you can go into detail about the suffering of the Montague family. These first two paragraphs thinly relate to the above passage, because the nurse is addressing Juliet's specific question of what she must do about Romeo's exile. To build a more solid argument, you must either change the thesis or choose a different passage.

Third point: "Or if it did not, your first is dead." Here the Nurse tells Juliet that even if Paris is not as good a suitor as Romeo, Romeo's exile essentially means that he is dead. Juliet's response at the end of the scene indicates that she would rather kill herself than live without Romeo. "If all else fail, myself have power to die." It is easy to explain the strong negative effect on Juliet and to speculate the same for Romeo.

What is the author's message in the story, "The Tell-Tale Heart?"

The primary message author Edgar Allen Poe tries to communicate through "The Tell-Tale Heart" is that the human heart knows the truth and will always have a louder voice than the lies that are told to obscure it. This is demonstrated through the narrator's hallucination of his victim's heart beating loudly through the floorboards. Despite the fact that the narrator dismembered his victim, his guilt and madness drives his delusion that somehow the old man's heart is still beating and that it will soon announce his crime to the world. This can be seen as a metaphor for the narrator's own conscience, which ultimately results in his confession to the police.

Another strong message delivered through the text is the unreliability of human perspective. The narrator is so deeply entrenched in his delusional perspective that he confesses to murder in order to prove his sanity. He fails to recognize the possibility that his madness is what motivated his crime in the first place. The narrator's fervent belief in his victim's "evil eye" was enough to move him to murder, despite claiming to love the old man. He also reports hearing "many things in heaven and hell," which further illustrate's Poe's message that it is entirely possible for someone to create a nightmare through his or her own warped perspective when there is no objective reality behind it. In this sense, much of human suffering begins and ends in the mind.

How does the character Barton change throughout Tom Godwin's short story "The Cold Equations"?

In the opening of Tom Godwin's short story "The Cold Equations," the narrator describes the pilot Barton as so used to the sight of men dying in the new frontier that he no longer feels any emotion when witnessing death. Yet, by the end of the story, he is not as desensitized towards the sight of death as he thought.

We see his initial cold, objective view of death described in the following passage:

He was an EDS pilot, inured to the sight of death, long since accustomed to it and to viewing the dying of another man with an objective lack of emotion, and he had no choice in what he must do.

Although barton continues to be convinced he must carry out his orders of taking the stowaway's life to save the lives of many more people, his emotions soften once he sees the stowaway is a young girl.

Barton displays his change in emotion when he drops the deceleration speed to save fuel and radios the commander of the Stardust to see if Marilyn might be rescued in some way. He best shows his change in emotion when, after Marilyn realizes what will happen to her, he says to her, "I'm sorry. . . You'll never know how sorry I am. It has to be that way and no human in the universe can change it." Though Barton remains convinced of the rightfulness of the law, it is clear by the end of the story he is no longer "inured to the sight of death." It is evident he is grieving for Marilyn, as he continues to feel her presence in the ship and hear her words echoing through his head.

What disadvantage/advantage did northern factory workers have?

Northern factories workers had some advantages and disadvantages. One advantage they had was that there were plenty of jobs available in the North. The Industrial Revolution took place in the North because the North had good ports, an abundant workforce, and a climate more suited to manufacturing than farming, and good access to resources needed for the Industrial Revolution to occur. Most of these industries were located in cities near rivers. People moved to the cities for these jobs. There were also more things to do in the cities than in the countryside.

One disadvantage northern workers faced was the growth of factories changed the work environment. Workers no longer worked in worker-friendly environments. They worked in large factories where workers, managers, and owners didn’t know each other or have a personal connection to each other. Working conditions were poor with long hours, unsafe and unhealthy environments, and low pay.

What effect do ice-storms have on birch trees in the poem "Birches" by Robert Frost?

In the poem “Birches” by Robert Frost, the speaker is reminded of his own childhood, living “too far away from town for baseball,” amusing himself by swinging down to the ground from the tops of birch trees.  He recalls this memory fondly, and upon seeing birches with their trunks bent low, he says, “I like to think some boy’s been swinging them,” as he himself used to do.  But no boy has been there, for “Swinging doesn’t bend them down to stay/As ice storms do.”  So we know that an ice storm is the culprit for the current configuration of the birches.  Frost describes what happens to birches in an ice storm with as much nostalgia as he does his own swinging, another indication that birches – and by extension nature in general – played a large role in the speaker’s upbringing.  When there is ice on the birches after a rain, he says,

…They click upon themselves
As the breeze rises, and turn many-colored
As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel.
Soon the sun’s warmth makes them shed crystal shells
Shattering and avalanching on the snow crust

Here we get a smorgasbord of sensory imagery:  the sound of the ice clicking and cracking as the wind sways the trees, the feel of the warm sun, which we can contrast with the chill of the air suggested by the snow; the shifts in color caused by the cracking and the resplendent sparkle of thousands of shards of ice finally released to fall onto the ground below the branches.  And during this whole enchanting process, the birch trees are being pulled all the way to the ground by the load.  And so, after bearing their icy burden for hours on end, the birches do not bounce back once the ice has melted, and instead are bent permanently toward the earth, “trailing their leaves on the ground/Like girls on hands and knees that throw their hair/Over before them to dry in the sun.”  The birches remain forever bowed, and their leaves, instead of surging upward toward the sun, stretch along the ground for that same nourishment, a stance which, like the girls on hands and knees, is merely another natural interpretation of their own range of motion.

In the poem "A Sight in Camp in the Daybreak Grey and Dim", at what time of day does the speaker come out of his tent? Why does he leave the tent?

Walt Whitman's poem "A Sight in Camp in the Daybreak Gray and Dim" is rather self-explanatory since the title, which is the same as the first line, indicates that it is dawn. Whitman, the speaker, walks toward the hospital tent where he works as a volunteer.

During the Civil War, Walt Whitman traveled to Virginia to care for his brother George, who was wounded at the first battle of Fredericksburg. While he attended his brother who was not badly injured, Whitman experienced other horrors of war. For, he witnessed the suffering of hundreds of other men when he helped assist in the medical field units and hospitals.

This poem is a poignant description of Whitman's sights and feelings in the army camp. Whitman's tender and heartfelt remarks, his calling himself brother, and his calling the face of the third soldier the "face of Christ himself" gives to the dead soldiers a martyr's sainthood.   

What does St. Bernard of Clairvaux mean by loving oneself for the sake of God, and why does he put this stage of love as the highest form of love?

St. Bernard believes that loving oneself for the sake of God places an individual at the highest form of love because they have merged themselves with transcendental truth.

St. Bernard breaks down the different forms of love that an individual experiences.  From carnal forms of affection to a conditional love of God, Bernard suggests that there is a journey through which a devotee can experience different aspects of the Lord's grace.  However, in the fourth stage of love, Bernard believes the highest form of love is evident.  In this stage, Bernard feels that there is a pure identification with God because the individual has merged both worlds of the celestial and divine:

‘My flesh and my heart faileth; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever’ (Ps. 73.26). I would count him blessed and holy to whom such rapture has been vouchsafed in this mortal life, for even an instant to lose thyself, as if thou wert emptied and lost and swallowed up in God, is no human love; it is celestial.

The emphasis on "swallowed up in God" is an important element.  Bernard believes that when people love God in a manner where their own existence is absorbed in the divine, a merging takes place.  Loving God in this manner ensures that the individual is no longer separate from God, but rather within him. Unity has overcome division.

St. Bernard believes that when a person loves themselves for the sake of God, they have created a form of "heaven on earth."  St. Bernard suggests that when we focus our love on the divine, it is the highest form of expression because we have transcended temporal reality:

In Him should all our affections center, so that in all things we should seek only to do His will, not to please ourselves. And real happiness will come, not in gratifying our desires or in gaining transient pleasures, but in accomplishing God’s will for us: even as we pray every day: ‘Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven’ (Matt. 6.10)

In this love of God, carnal affections have been surpassed.  Individuals no longer care for conditions applied to God in exchange for worship ("I pray to win the lottery" or "God, please help me get that promotion to regional manager"). Rather, this love of God is universal.  It seeks to bring the individual closer to the divine because it merges one with the force of God.  Just as God loves us selflessly, St. Bernard believes that loving God is the highest form of love because it transcends the individual.

In Things Fall Apart, Chapter 8 what is Okonkwo's opinion of and concern about his children, as expressed to his friend Obierika?

In Chapter 8, Okonkwo finds himself grieving over the death of Ikemefuna. Although he remembers how fond he was of the young boy, he is disgusted with himself for displaying what he considers feminine emotions.

He decides to visit his friend, Obierika, in order to take his mind off his grief. When he approaches his friend, he finds Obirieka sitting under an orange tree making thatches. Soon, Obirieka's son, Maduka, walks up, and Okonkwo asks to shake hands with him. He tells Maduka that his wrestling skills have impressed him.

With this, talk turns to the subject of children, and Okonkwo laments that he does not have a son like Maduka. He complains to Obirieka that a bowl of mashed yams could defeat Nwoye in a wrestling match. Okonkwo feels that Nwoye's two younger brothers show more promise, and he frets that Ezinma, while possessing the right spirit, is the 'wrong' gender.

Obirieka chides Okonkwo for what he considers a baseless worry, pointing out that Okonkwo's children are still young. Okonkwo counters that, when he was Nwoye's age, he was already quite independent, and since Nwoye is supposedly old enough to impregnate a woman, he expects Nwoye to show more masculine promise and initiative. Instead, Nwoye seems to have too much of his mother in him, and this frustrates Okonkwo. Meanwhile, Obirieka leaves unspoken the thought that Nwoye really takes after his grandfather. Their conversation soon turns towards the events of Ikemefuna's death and why Obirieka did not participate in Ikemefuna's execution.

What are the two ways to fix carbon dioxide on earth?

The increasing carbon dioxide concentration in our atmosphere is causing enhanced greenhouse effect, thus resulting in global warming. A number of steps are being currently taken or have been proposed to tackle this problem. One of the key steps is to decrease our dependence on fossil fuels (such as, coal, natural gas, petroleum, etc.). These compounds fulfill most of our energy requirements, in the form of electricity, heating and are also primary transportation fuels. The enormous amounts of carbon dioxide (and other greenhouse gases) released by their combustion can be reduced by adopting renewable energy sources and increasing the efficiency of fossil fuel combustion and energy transmission. These methods are aimed at reducing carbon dioxide generation. Carbon sequestration is a method aimed at removing the carbon dioxide (already generated) from our atmosphere. Carbon dioxide can be sequestered in underground reservoirs (such as old mine shafts, etc.) or undersea (deep sea burial). A known and commonly used method, afforestation, can also be employed for removing the carbon dioxide from our atmosphere.

Hope this helps. 

In Chapter 14 of To Kill a Mockingbird, why does Scout start fighting Jem?

In Chapter 14, Atticus is arguing with Aunt Alexandra over the role of Calpurnia in the Finch family when Jem motions to Scout to go to his room. Inside Jem's room, he tells Scout to stop antagonizing Aunt Alexandra. Scout gets defensive and says, "You tryin' to tell me what to do?" (Lee 183) Jem tries to explain to Scout that Atticus has a lot on his mind, particularly the Tom Robinson trial, and he doesn't need added stress worrying about them. Scout rebuttals, saying that Atticus doesn't worry about anything and cases never bothered him. Jem insults Scout by saying, "That's because you can't hold something in your mind but a little while...It's different with grown folks, we---." (Lee 184) Scout becomes upset at Jem's "maddening superiority" and finally punches him in the face after he threatens to spank her. Jem is forced to fight back, and the two brawl on the floor of Jem's room before Atticus breaks them apart.

Why isn't Romeo supposed to go to the party in Romeo and Juliet?

Romeo isn’t supposed to go to the party because he is a Montague and his family is in a feud with the Capulets.

The feud between the Montagues and the Capulets has been ongoing for years.  Shakespeare never even tells us what started it.  It is clear that it is tearing Verona apart.  Everyone that has an association with either family, from the servants to the heads of household, is drawn up in the feud.

For this reason, the son of a Montague going to a party for the daughter of a Capulet would be normally considered a bad idea.  As far as Romeo’s friends Mercutio and Benvolio are concerned, however, a party is a party!  They convince Romeo to go because he has been pouting since breaking up with his girlfriend, Rosaline (also a Capulet).

So Romeo goes to the party.  Tybalt, a Capulet with a bad temper, is angry to see him there.  He wants to fight Romeo for being a Montague and crashing a Capulet party.

This, by his voice, should be a Montague.
Fetch me my rapier, boy. What dares the slave
Come hither, cover'd with an antic face,
To fleer and scorn at our solemnity?
Now, by the stock and honour of my kin,
To strike him dead, I hold it not a sin. (Act 1, Scene 5)

Lord Capulet, Juliet’s father, refuses to allow it.  He does not want to ruin the party.  He also comments that Romeo seems to have a good reputation.  What could it hurt?  He can stay at the party because he will conduct himself honorably, and everyone will have a good time.

Of course, we all know how the story ends.  Romeo sees Juliet and is enraptured.  When he asks who she is, he is shocked to find out that she is a Capulet. Juliet has the same reaction to finding out Romeo is a Montague.

My only love sprung from my only hate!
Too early seen unknown, and known too late!
Prodigious birth of love it is to me,
That I must love a loathed enemy. (Act 1, Scene 5)

The two fall in love at first sight, in a classic head-over-heels sonnet-sharing case.  They decide they do not care what their families would think, because they are meant to be together.  Romeo vows to give up his family name if it means he can be with Juliet.  Juliet decides that names do not mean much.  They both go through with it and end up secretly married.

In retrospect, Romeo should never have gone to the party.  It would have saved his life, as well as the lives of Mercutio and Juliet.  He seems to be a passionate young man.  He likely would have fallen in love with some other, less dangerous girl if he hadn't gone.  Unfortunately, Shakespeare tells us the two were star-crossed.  Their destiny and their doom was fated.

Describe the German perspective of the Versailles Treaty.

The German perspective on the Treaty of Versailles is not a very positive perspective. The Germans believed they were treated unfairly and misled.

There was a belief in Germany that if they surrendered without the Allies having to capture Berlin that the peace treaty would be easier on the Germans. That turned out to be a false belief. Germany believed this was a dictated peace instead of a negotiated peace.

Germany was very angry at the terms of the Versailles Treaty. They had to accept the responsibility for the start of the war, known as accepting the war guilt. Germany felt this was very unfair because it was Austria-Hungary that declared war on Serbia, starting World War I. The Allies believed that if Germany wouldn’t have agreed to support Austria-Hungary’s attack, then Austria-Hungary might not have declared war on Serbia.

There were other aspects of the treaty that upset Germany. Germany saw its military dismantled and colonial possessions taken away. Germany was allowed to have a military with defensive capabilities only. They lost their colonies overseas as well as some of their land. They had to pay $33 billion in reparations to the Allies. This basically ruined Germany’s economy.

The Germans view this treaty very negatively. They felt they were punished much more than they should have been punished. It led to a growing anger to get revenge. Adolf Hitler seized upon that feeling. Eventually, World War II would start.

What is the psychological bondage to her father theme in A Rose for Emily?

The theme of psychological bondage is shown in the dynamic between Miss Emily and her father. In Miss Emily's home, her father has been the patriarch who controlled the lives of his family. He sent Emily's beaux away if they did not meet his standards, and he dictated the manner in which Emily lived.

The narrators remark that they had long thought of Emily and her father as a "tableau":

Miss Emily a slender figure in white in the background, her father a spraddled silhouette in the foreground, his back to her and clutching a horsewhip, the two of them framed by the back-flung front door.

This portrait bespeaks of the relationship as with his horsewhip he appears to be astride her as though she were a horse--a very dominant position. Obviously, he was very authoritarian. Further, after his death, Emily could not bring herself to admit his loss; when the ladies of society came to visit after her father's death, Emily "told them that her father was not dead." For, she was so accustomed to his domination that she found life impossible without him.

We remembered all the young men her father had driven away, and we knew that with nothing left, she would have to cling to that which had robbed her, as people will.

Emily Grierson has had a forced dependence upon her father. Having lost her chances at marriage and sacrificed her young, tender years to the domination of her patriarch, Emily lives out a tragic life in which she tries to fill a void, but cannot retrieve the opportunities for love that she has irretrievably lost.   

How did the Kansas-Nebraska Act affect the North and the South?

The Kansas-Nebraska Act proposed that these territories, after being organized, should be allowed to decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery. This principle, called popular sovereignty, was espoused by the bill's author, Stephen Douglas, an Illinois Democrat who hoped that opening the region to settlement might lead to the construction of a transcontinental railroad with its terminus in Chicago. The bill outraged many in the North because it repealed the 1820 Missouri Compromise, which had banned slavery in territories within the old Louisiana Purchase above a line drawn at 36'30 latitude. Many of those angered by the Act formed the Republican Party, which was created for the express purpose of arresting the spread of slavery. Southerners generally supported the bill, but eventually rejected its core idea of popular sovereignty due to the possibility that a territory could ban slavery from its borders. As it turned out, popular sovereignty in practice was catastrophic. Pro-slavery Missourians poured into Kansas to establish a pro-slavery government there against the wishes of a majority of Kansans. Bloodshed ensued in what became known as "Bleeding Kansas."

How does Steinbeck present ideas about the good and bad in people Of Mice and Men?

Steinbeck’s ideas of the nature of good and bad is told best by a character in another of his books (The Grapes of Wrath) as “just what people do.” There is no standard definition, independent of a person’s conscious being or intention, yet there is a system that will impose its ideas on others’ actions, especially those of the innocent and helpless. An example in Of Mice and Men is Lennie, the mentally handicapped companion of George. Lennie has very little notion of good and bad. He just knows what he likes. He likes to pet soft things, but he has no idea of how this affects people who see it as aggression. The petting is what Lennie does; the aggression is what people view it as. Lennie’s actions often result in death (the mice, the puppy, Curley’s wife), but this death is not seen as a crime by Lennie or George, even though they may call it a “bad thing". It is just what happens when Lennie’s actions are too overwhelming. In this context, it is the result, not the intention or the person himself, who is considered “good” or “bad".

Were the sons of liberty justified in their action?

Based on your question, I am assuming you are referring to the actions of the Sons of Liberty at the Boston Tea Party. Let’s view this event from various perspectives so you can make a decision if they were justified.

There are people who believe the Sons of Liberty were justified. They were unhappy with the monopoly the Tea Act gave the British East India Tea Company. The tea tax, which had been in effect for some time, would continue. The colonists already had other disputes with British, and they felt the British government wouldn’t hear their concerns again. These colonists believed a strong action was the only way to get the British government to hear their concerns. Thus, they dumped all of that tea into the harbor.

Other people believed it was wrong to destroy property no matter how much the colonists disagreed with laws and policies. These people felt the colonists should continue to voice the concerns and take actions, such as boycotts, that would send their message to Great Britain. They believed the colonists were wrong for destroying the property of a company or business.

Based on this information, you should be able to make a decision if the Sons of Liberty were justified in their actions on the night of December 16, 1773.

What does Mrs. Bigio do for Holling in February?

In February, Mrs. Bigio not only bakes cupcakes for the whole school, but she also gives Holling two tickets to see the play Romeo and Juliet. She has a special theater membership that entitles her to go to every show that season, she explains, but she won't be able to go to that particular show and doesn't want the tickets to go to waste. (We don't know if that's true or not. Mrs. Bigio could just be doing something especially kind for Holling here.)

Because he has the tickets to the play, Holling now has a place to take Meryl on their Valentine's Day date. He'd worried a lot about this, thinking about how he only has a few dollars. It's not nearly enough money to take Meryl out for a nice dinner or to provide her with some other form of entertainment. Even Holling's sister warns him that he'll seem like a cheapskate if he doesn't take Meryl somewhere nice on the date! Thanks to the theater tickets, Holling and Meryl have a fantastic time on their date, which strengthens their relationship, and Holling's few dollars are enough for a shared snack after the show. As a bonus, Holling appreciates Shakespeare even more now that he's seen the live performance of the play. All these positive outcomes can be attributed to Mrs. Bigio's help.

What do we learn about Macbeth's courage and skills?

At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is hailed as one of the best, most loyal and most courageous warriors by everyone. He helps king Duncan defeat the Norwegians, and, as a result, he becomes promoted to the Thane of Cawdor:

No more that thane of Cawdor shall deceive
Our bosom interest: go pronounce his present death,
And with his former title greet Macbeth.

In this speech, King Duncan states that he will have the former Thane of Cawdor executed for his treachery and that his title will be given to Macbeth.

Although Macbeth is promoted by the king, we begin to notice that he has other ambitions. The witches' prophecy encourages him to go after his ambitions, and it becomes evident that Macbeth is prepared to cast aside both his good reputation and his loyalty to the king in order to achieve his personal goals.

Therefore, Macbeth's downfall starts when he no longer thinks his courage and fighting skills are important. The moment he begins working on his plan which pertains to murdering his benevolent king Duncan is the moment he rejects the true values he should live by. His desire to take the throne will only cause the beginning of his downfall.

Why does Doodle cooperate when his brother forces him to learn to walk?

In the “Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, Doodle does learn to walk, but why? Doodle cooperates with Brother’s efforts to teach him to walk after Brother makes him feel guilty. When Doodle tires of trying to stand or questions his need to walk, Brother becomes insistent. Brother says,

Then I'd paint for him a picture of us as old men, white-haired, him with a long white beard and me still pulling him around in the go-cart. This never failed to make him try again.

Doodle does not like the picture that Brother paints of their future. With Brother’s persistent efforts, Doodle learns to stand which makes both boys ecstatic. Doodle gets caught up in Brother’s enthusiasm and finds a reason to continue with the hard work of learning to walk. The boys decide to keep walking practice a secret until they are successful. Again, these clandestine activities keep Doodle interested in Brother’s efforts. Failure is not an option at this point.

In The Freedom Writers Diary, how do the students change over the span of four years?

Eva changes throughout the story by going from a naive, frightened young girl to a thoughtful, confident young woman. In the earlier years of her life, she saw her father rousted by police and taken away from his community for the crime of "being respected by his people" too much. This perceived (and real) racism marked Eva's heart and spirit for a long time.

When she entered Gruell's class, she was a tough act—getting into fights and making other poor choices. She joined a gang and participated in illegal activities. She skipped school. She recognized that even in the classroom, students segregated themselves based on their racial identity. The environment outside was no better; just getting to school meant a gauntlet of racial and gang-affiliated violence.

When she witnessed the robbery, she had a hard choice whether or not to lie about murdered the shop keep. At first, she was going to lie to protect her family member, but in the end she chose to tell the truth. This decision was mostly based on the shared experiences between Eva and other students in Gruell's class.

Between showing solidarity amongst each other, bonding via the Holocaust Museum experience, and meeting the holocaust survivors, they came together to positively change their world. Eva's evolution throughout the book shows this the most.

Why does Winnie get reminded about her grandfather's funeral when talking to the stranger?

But Winnie, though she was half charmed, was suddenly reminded of the stiff black ribbons they had hung on the door of the cottage for her grandfather's funeral.

Winnie meets the man in the yellow suit in chapter 4.  The man is perfectly cordial and friendly to Winnie.  In fact, he is even a bit charming, and those are Winnie's initial feelings about the man; however, Winnie does not fully trust the man.  She feels as if something is "off" about the guy.  The black ribbons and the funeral thoughts help the reader and Winnie better understand that the man in the yellow suit isn't what he seems.  The black ribbons at a funeral might look nice and neat, but they represent a terribly sad situation.  A loved one has died.  Like the ribbons, the man in the yellow suit might appear and sound nice and neat, but he most definitely represents a dark, evil force in the novel.  Winnie being reminded of her grandfather's funeral is her internal warning system going off about the stranger. 

What could the pit symbolize?

The pit in "The Pit and the Pendulum" could symbolize a few things: despair, fear, or even Hell. The depth of the pit, which was so vast that it took a few seconds for a small piece of the side of the pit to actually make it to the water pooled at the bottom, could act as a symbol of the narrator's despair at his plight, which was also incredibly deep. The pit could also be a manifestation of the narrator's fear; at first he is afraid of the dark and unknown, which is exactly what the pit is (even when the lights came on), but even when it becomes known, the watery death it held very far below was just as terrifying as before. Then there is the obvious connection to Hell, which is often referred to as "the Pit" because it is supposedly deep beneath the earth.

In Chapter 3 Max says Kevin "scared him, but not really." What does he mean?

There is only one character that truly “scares” Max: Max’s criminal father, Kenny “Killer” Kane. Therefore, Max is “not really” scared of Kevin. Kevin does look different than the other kids that Max knows, however. This is what makes Max think about being a bit “scared.” In Chapter 3, Max has retreated into the “down under” of the basement in order to escape Kevin’s current situation due to Max’s “fear.” Max has observed Kevin trying, in vain, to reach a toy up in a tree. Kevin tries, again and again, to jump and hit the toy with his crutch. While sitting in the basement and considering the situation, Max thinks about the “crippled little humanoid” who was trying to retrieve his toy. Max remembers how Kevin called himself “Robot Man” in daycare and wore “shiny braces strapped to his crooked legs.” Even at this point, when the boys were much younger, Max knows that Kevin was not someone to “mess with.” At this point in time, Max is brave enough to conquer his "fear." Why? Kevin needs help retrieving his toy. Max helps Kevin and this begins the friendship.

Why is it important to study life science?

Life sciences are concerned with plants, animals, microorganisms, zoology, anatomy, and other living things. Examples of life sciences are biology, molecular biology, cellular biology, and genetics.

Advances in the biological branch of the life sciences are helping in the following ways:

- Create transgenic crops that are resistant to parasitic infections in order to increase crop yields. This will help to increase food production in order to feed people around the world.

- Create plant-based alternative fuel sources in order to decrease the amount of air pollution in Earth.

- Use natural decomposers in order to decrease the amount of waste on Earth.  

Advances in the medical branches of the life sciences are helping in the following ways:

- Use the genomic code to identify genetic predispositions to cancer. In this way, people that have such dispositions can be perform preventative measures before they have full-blown cancer.

- Use stem cells to form organs for transplant purposes.

- Help find cures to infections.  

Additionally, life sciences teach the process of analyzing and applying information. This process is a skill that is beneficial to have all aspects of life.

By no means is this an exhaustive list, but I hope it gives you an idea of the importance of the life sciences!

How does fear of difference feed into conflict?

The fear of something different or the difference between two things often brings conflict.  When a person has no knowledge of something which is different than himself or herself, the first reaction is usually fear.  Fear builds on itself so that unless something or someone explains the differences in a way the person can understand AND relate to, the fear remains. When something is unknown or feared, conflict raises its head.  At first it is small conflict perhaps among students at school.  That can lead to conflict among parents, the community and then to law enforcement which can grow much too widespread.  Soon, it touches far too many people. Too much of the conflict in this country is due to fear, and too many of the candidates for president are preying on the fears of the populace about immigrants, religions, etc. 

For example, in my family alone, we have a transgendered female, one gay male, three Muslims, two Buddhists, several Catholics, three blacks, two Hispanics, two South American "sons" along with their wives and children,  several diabetics, two celiac disease, one cell mast disease, one autistic, one adopted child, etc.   As you can see, the difference in my family is sort of a microcosm of the world.  Fear is not really part of our lives in the same way that others fear people of color, those who speak another language, those from other countries or those of different religions or sexual orientation.  People must learn to talk to each other over their fear and learn what the other person is like.  We have to get over the fear of the unknown.

What is the problem and solution in Andrew Clements' Frindle?

The problem in Andrew Clements' Frindle, also called the conflict, concerns the fact that Nick Allen, the protagonist, is an unusually creative person. As a creative person, Nick has a tendency to do things that are contrary to what the rest of society does, which also means Nick constantly challenges authority in order to express himself. In Frindle, Nick challenges authority by deciding to call a pen a frindle. Since Nick is challenging the rest of society by renaming a pen a frindle, we can call this a character vs. society conflict. However, Nick's decision to call a pen a frindle is opposed most by his third-grade teacher, Mrs. Granger; therefore, we can also call this a character vs. character conflict.

Nick first begins being influenced to invent a new word, such as frindle, when he asks Mrs. Granger who decides what words mean, and she responds with the following answer:

Who says dog means dog? You do, Nicholas. You and I and everyone in this class and this school and this town and this state and this country. We all agree. (p. 28)

Soon after this speech, Nick gets the brainstorm to exercise his authority to decide what words mean by calling a pen a frindle. Yet, Mrs. Granger objects to this decision and fights against it because, for one reason, in her view, the meaning of words are not arbitrary. The meanings of words have extensive background and have already been agreed upon and laid down in the dictionary as law by good authority.

The solution of the story, also called the resolution, occurs when, at the age of 21, Nick's word is added to the dictionary, a symbol that he should continue to be creative and challenge the world, accomplishing great, new things, despite opposition. Furthermore, by the time we reach the end of the story, we learn that Mrs. Granger had only been angry at first. As she explains in the letter she gives Nick at the age of 21, she had come to realize that Nick was doing exactly what every teacher wants students to do: "take an idea they have learned in a boring old classroom and put it to a real test in their own world" (p. 85). In other words, she was proud to see Nick think his own thoughts and run with them, something most people never do. She further explains that the reason why she decided to stick to opposing his idea is because she knew his idea would never take off if he did not have opposition, someone to "be the villain" (p. 85). As Nick explains in his own thoughts after reading the letter, "The old fox! She had been rooting for frindle the whole time. By fighting against it, she had actually helped it along" (p. 86). Hence, the story further resolves once Nick comes to understand how influential he, one small person with creative ideas, can truly be, and realizes just how many people in the world have been rooting for him all along.

What are the most significant quotes in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird?

There are many significant quotes throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The following quotes are important to the plot and theme of the novel.

"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view---" (Lee 39)

An important theme throughout the novel is gaining insight into other people's point of view. Atticus teaches Scout about perspective when she returns home from her first day of school.

"Somehow, if I fought Cecil I would let Atticus down." (Lee 102)

This quote portrays Scout's moral development. She is cognizant that her actions have consequences and does not want to upset her father. This quote portrays how Scout looks up to Atticus and values his opinion.

"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." (Lee 119)

Another important theme throughout the novel is the importance of treating innocent beings with respect and kindness. Mockingbirds symbolize innocent humans such as Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. Atticus teaches his children that it is a sin to harm innocent beings.

"nigger-lover is just one of those terms that don't mean anything---like snot-nose. It's hard to explain---ignorant, trashy people use it when they think somebody's favoring Negroes over and above themselves. It's slipped into usage with some people like ourselves, when they want a common, ugly term to label somebody." (Lee 144)

This quote depicts Atticus explaining to Scout what the racial slur "nigger-lover" means. Throughout the novel, Scout and Jem are subjected to racial slurs directed towards their father. Atticus teaches his children the importance of responding to ignorant remarks with tolerance instead of hate.

"I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that real courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what." (Lee 149)

Following Scout and Jem's interaction with Mrs. Dubose, Atticus explains why he wanted Jem to read to her. He explains to them what real courage is, which parallels his choice to defend Tom Robinson in the midst of a prejudiced community.

"No, everybody's gotta learn, nobody's born knowin'. That Walter's as smart as he can be, he just gets held back sometimes because he has to stay out and help his daddy. Nothin's wrong with him. Naw, Jem, I think there's just one kind of folks: Folks." (304)

This quote depicts Scout's moral development. She is not jaded about humanity the way her brother is following Tom's conviction. Scout has learned from her father that all people are created equal, despite what others think.

"He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good-luck pennies, and our lives. But neighbors give in return. We never put back into the tree what we took out of it: we had given him nothing, and it made me sad." (Lee 373)

Scout finally realizes that Boo Radley is a caring, shy individual. This moment depicts her understanding and displays her maturation at the end of the novel.

When did Juliet get married?

Juliet marries only once during the play.  Friar Lawrence marries Romeo and Juliet in Act 2, Scene 5, in the hopes of uniting the Montague and Capulet families.  Timing wise, the marriage takes place in the afternoon, the day after Romeo and Juliet meet at the Capulet party.  Of course, the marriage is initially kept a secret from most of the characters.

While Juliet is ultimately engaged to Paris, she does not go through with that marriage.  In fact, it is the "threat" of her impending marriage to Paris, coupled with Romeo's banishment to Mantua, that brings about the plan that will lead Juliet to initially fake her own death and, ultimately, to take her life.  It is only after she is dead that the majority of the characters (those that are still alive!) learn of her marriage to Romeo.

How has Bottom's absence affected his friends in A Midsummer Night's Dream?

In Act IV scene ii of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Bottom’s friends gather at Peter Quince’s house. They are worried about Bottom. They are afraid the mysterious donkey monster has harmed him. Starveling says, “He cannot be heard of. Out a doubt he is transported.” Flute wants to know if they will still enact the play if Bottom doesn’t return from the woods. Quince says it would be impossible because Bottom was the only man in all of Athens who could play Pyramus. The small band of sad actors declares that Bottom was the smartest and funniest man in the city.

Snug bursts in and announces that Theseus has gotten married. Flute gets even sadder about Bottom’s disappearance, since Bottom would have earned a great deal of money from the Duke for his excellent portrayal of Pyramus: “an the duke had not given him sixpence a day for playing Pyramus, I'll be hanged.”

But all the sadness turns to joy when Bottom arrives a moment later, and the troupe gets ready to perform for the Duke and his guests.

Why is this quote important in the book To Kill a Mockingbird?: "Now don't you be so confident, Mr. Jem, I ain't ever seen any Jury decide in favor...

These words of Reverend Sykes underpin the lesson that Jem and Scout learn about social and racial inequality from witnessing the trial of Tom Robinson.

Thematically based upon the trial of the Scottsboro boys in Alabama falsely accused of rape by two transient white women in the 1930s--the same era as the setting of Harper Lee's novel--Tom's trial finds a black man falsely accused by a white girl of rape. And, even though Atticus has irrefutably discredited the testimony of  Mayella's father, Bob Ewell, and certainly challenged the truth of Mayella's assertions, Reverend Sykes expresses his doubts about Tom's acquittal. For, the old preacher knows that it has been customary that any black accused by a white is automatically guilty if there is no substantive proof.

As Atticus makes closing remarks in Chapter 20, he points out that the case is really reduced to the words of the Ewells against the word of Tom Robinson, and the strength of the Ewell's case depends upon the jury's assumption that no matter what

...all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women....

While such a false assumption points to the blind prejudice of a jury if the verdict is guilty, Reverend Sykes knows that it is, nevertheless, probable that the jury will vote guilty upon just such an assumption.

Having witnessed the trial and heard the verdict, Jem and Scout then learn a significant lesson about life's unfairness and racial inequalities.

In A Separate Peace by John Knowles, what is Finny trying to say in the passage where he tells Gene he is his "best pal"?

In 1942, Gene and Phineas are good friends attending summer school at a private school called Devon. Gene excels academically and Phineas is the athlete. It is curious that these two would become close, but they are also roommates which encourages them to bond. Due to Finny's social and athletic prowess, though, Gene becomes competitive, jealous, and resentful. Phineas, on the other hand, has no clue that Gene feels this way. In fact, Finny thinks the two of them are the best friends in the world and he seems to force Gene to do whatever he feels like doing. For example, Finny wanted to go to the beach for the day, but he didn't want to go alone, so he drags Gene along. Finny expresses his feelings as follows:

"I know I kind of dragged you away at the point of a gun, but after all you can't come to the shore with just anybody and you can't come by yourself, and at this teen-age period in life the proper person is your best pal. . . which you are" (48).

In the above passage, Phineas is apologizing for making Gene break the school rules by leaving campus. Not only did they go to the beach, but they went to a bar, used fake IDs and drank alcohol. They slept that night on the beach, too. They both could have been kicked out of school had they been caught. It's interesting, though, that Gene isn't concerned so much about the rules that he breaks with Finny as he is with the fact that he's declared a "best pal." Gene explains as follows:

"It was a courageous thing to say. Exposing a sincere emotion nakedly like that at the Devon School was the next thing to suicide. I should have told him then that he was my best friend also. . . But something held me back" (48).

Sadly, Gene doesn't take Finny's friendship to heart as he should have because of his own personal flaws. Finny was just trying to tell Gene that he was grateful to have a close friend who could accompany him to the beach. Finny feels comfortable with Gene enough to be himself around him and that's a gift; but again, Gene doesn't really catch onto that gift until later because he was insecure within himself.

Explain these lines of the poem "I Stood tip-toe upon a little hill": I stood tip-toe upon a little hill The air was cooling, and so very still,...

Keats often looked to nature for poetic inspiration. These first lines of this poem illustrate his fascination with natural imagery and how it inspires and energizes his poetic mind. In the first line, he is standing on a hill on his toes so that he can look at the landscape from the highest point possible. Nature was a calming, meditative, and transcendent place for Keats. In the second line, the still air suggests a calm atmosphere. The buds are "modest" because they almost appear shy, still in the process of opening. They droop away from the plant and since they are still opening, they have the crown (diadem) shape. They still have dew on them ("sobbing of the morn") and therefore, it must be close to morning. This image of buds opening, still with dew, early in the morning, creates images of freshness, newness, and purity. 

The clouds are as white as freshly shorn sheep. They "sleep" and/or drift gracefully in the sky ("blue fields of heaven"). The "noiseless noise" is the wind drifting through the leaves. The wind is noiseless on its own; it needs the leaves to rustle in order to make noise. The wind is born of (comes from) the sky (heaven). These associations with heaven give a spiritual notion to these movements, sights, and sounds in nature. Later in the poem, Keats will invoke mythological characters, continuing with this conflation of the natural with the spiritual. Although he hears the wind through the trees, the leaves move imperceptibly. He hears the "noiseless noise" but can not see the "faintest motion" that causes the sound. 

How does a paleontologist used geological principles for the relative dating of fossils?

Relative dating tries to determine the relative order of past events without determining absolute age. Therefore, relative dating does not use radioactive decay or half-life in order to determine the exact numerical age of a fossil. Instead, scientists that use relative dating try to put the rocks that are left behind by geological events in chronological order.  This method is known as stratigraphy ("strata" = layer). 

Most fossils are found in sedimentary rocks. During this process, the remains of the organism are buried by sediments and the bones become mineralized. Relative dating is based on the geological principle that sedimentary rocks are formed from bottom to top. Therefore, fossils found in the bottom layers, or strata, represent the oldest forms of life in that rock formation. 

The link below describes additional geological methods that are used to date fossils and rocks. 

What remarkable difference does Mr. Utterson notice about Dr. Lanyon?

On January 8, Mr. Utterson eats dinner with Dr. Lanyon and notices nothing out of the ordinary.  Six nights later, however, he returns to the doctor's house and meets a very changed man.  At this point, Dr. Lanyon

had his death-warrant written legibly upon his face.  The rosy man had grown pale; his flesh had fallen away; he was visibly balder and older; and yet it was not so much these tokens of a swift physical decay that arrested the lawyer's notice, as a look in the eye and quality of manner that seemed to testify to some deep-seated terror of the mind.

The formerly healthy doctor now looks to be on the edge of death.  He has deteriorated in almost every physical way in less than one week, and when Utterson asked about his altered appearance, the doctor resolutely states that he is "a doomed man." 

When pressed to explain, he only says that he's had a terrible shock and that he no longer wants to see or hear news of Dr. Jekyll, a man he now regards as "dead."  Utterson receives a letter from Dr. Lanyon with instructions not to open it unless or until Henry Jekyll has disappeared, and Dr. Lanyon himself perishes.  When Mr. Utterson eventually does open this letter, he learns that Dr. Lanyon actually witnessed the transformation of Edward Hyde into Henry Jekyll, and this was the shock that eventually lead to his dramatic physical change and premature demise.

What events or situations in The Outsiders prove that Ponyboy is heroic and a good person?

I think the best situation to use as proof of Ponyboy's heroism and upstanding moral character is the burning church sequence.  Ponyboy and Johnny are on the run after Johnny stabbed and killed a Soc to save Ponyboy's life.  They are hiding out in an abandoned church.  After awhile, they are able to leave the church and return home.  But as they are leaving the church, Johnny and Ponyboy realize that the church is on fire and that a group of children have wandered into the structure. Without any thought for their own personal safety, Ponyboy and Johnny rush back into the church and save the children.  That's an act of heroism and clearly shows that Ponyboy cares for other people more than he cares for himself.  

Ponyboy's interactions with Cherry also show that he is a good person. He treats her with respect and dignity.  He doesn't try to woo her with dirty talk like the other Greasers, and he doesn't cast her off as some Soc that doesn't know anything either.  Pony treats her fairly.  

In Chapter 24 of To Kill A Mockingbird, why does Miss Maudie get so angry at Mrs. Merriweather?

In Chapter 24 of To Kill A Mockingbird, some of the women in Maycomb are gathered at Scout's house as Aunt Alexandra hosts them with Calpurnia's help. Mrs. Merriweather, who Scout describes as "the most devout lady in Maycomb," (page 234; page numbers vary according to the edition), spends some time speaking about her favorite missionary activity, and then she starts criticizing Atticus without referring to him by name. Miss Maudie becomes angry when Mrs. Merriweather criticizes Atticus's defense of Tom Robinson.

While eating food in Atticus's house, Mrs. Merriweather says:

To Kill A Mockingbird

"I tell you there are some good but misguided people in this town. Good, but misguided. Folks in this town who think they’re doing right, I mean. Now far be it from me to say who, but some of ‘em in this town thought they were doing the right thing a while back, but all they did was stir ’em up" (page 236; page numbers may vary). 

Mrs. Merriweather is referring to Atticus's insistence that Tom Robinson, an African-American man, have a fair trial in a southern town that regards African-Americans as people who do not merit these types of rights. She believes that this type of action, while perhaps guided by good morals, has instead given the African-American community the wrong idea. She fears that they are "stirred up," meaning that they might start agitating for their rights. 

In response, Miss Maudie says, “His food doesn’t stick going down, does it?” (page 237; page numbers may vary). This line means that Mrs. Merriweather is eating Atticus's food happily without choking on it while she is criticizing him. Miss Maudie points out Mrs. Merriweather's hypocrisy in eating Atticus's food while speaking ill of him. 

What was the name for the group of congressmen who wanted war to begin with Britain?

This question is referring to the years before the War of 1812. The congressmen who wanted war with Britain were known as "war hawks." Most were relatively young, as opposed to their older colleagues who remembered the Revolutionary War, and most were from the South and especially the West. Many Western congressmen were eager to invade British Canada to seize British lands, and, at the very least, to destroy perceived British influence among Indian peoples around the Great Lakes. These men were especially outraged by British offenses to American honor, especially the practice of impressment, which indicated that the British Navy had no respect for the United States. The most famous of these so-called "war hawks," who mainly identified with the Republican Party, were Henry Clay of Kentucky and John C. Calhoun of South Carolina. 

What heroic traits has Odysseus displayed in the episodes with the Lotus-eaters and the Cyclops?

When his ships arrive at the land of the Lotus-eaters, Odysseus intelligently sends only three men to investigate the inhabitants.  This way, he only sacrifices three men if the natives are violent (which they are not).  When those three eat the lotus offered to them, they no longer care to return home, and Odysseus must forcibly drag them back to the ship.  He could simply have left them there and saved himself the trouble, but his loyalty to them and their families (who are waiting for them back home) compelled him to save them from themselves.  This shows his compassion as well.

Although Odysseus certainly does make some missteps with Polyphemus, the Cyclops, he does display his forethought and bravery when he realizes that he cannot kill the monster but will have to wound him instead.  Although Odysseus could kill him, he realizes that there will be no one to lift the stone from the door to the cave and that he and his men will perish inside.  Instead, he devises a plan to get the monster drunk and then stab him with a sharp stake in his one eye, blinding him.  This will mean that he is still capable of moving the stone but less able to catch Odysseus and his men.  This plan is ingenious and thoughtful; a man with less forethought might simply have killed the monster and condemned himself and his crew to certain death.

What was the most important reason why prohibition was ended in 1933?

There were two important reasons why prohibition ended in 1933. The first reason was that prohibition wasn’t working. Despite the ban on the manufacture, transport, and sale of alcohol, people still got alcohol and drank. People joined private, secret clubs, called speakeasies where they would drink. Even President Harding would drink in the White House with his poker-player buddies. Mayor LaGuardia of New York City was known for saying he would have needed to hire hundreds of thousands of police officers just to police the police that were drinking. Organized crime took over the distribution of alcohol, leading to violent confrontations. While prohibition may have seemed like a good idea, it just wasn’t working. People really didn’t want to give up drinking alcohol. It was time to end the mockery people were making of the 18th amendment. The 21st amendment ended prohibition in 1933.

Another reason why prohibition ended was that we were in the Great Depression. If drinking became legal again, more jobs would be created throughout the alcohol industry. Since we had a record high unemployment rate, anything that would help create jobs would be a good thing. The Great Depression played a smaller role in ending the 18th amendment. Creating jobs was a side benefit to approving the 21st amendment.

Does the restrictive nature of school and church lead Tom Sawyer and other children to be more inventive outside the school?

In Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain articulates a parody of the two institutions that provide the pillars of society: school and church, and very especially, Sunday school. Tom is a romantic hero with a feverish imagination who resists the confinement, physical and emotional, of the classroom and the chapel by continuously devising new adventures in the river and the forest. With his Quixotic mentality, Tom becomes the natural leader of his gang, always imagining new and exciting undertakings to avoid the dullness of life in the town of St. Petersburg. An avid reader of romantic novels such as Robin Hood, as don Quixote was a voracious reader of novels of chivalry, Tom populates the natural surroundings of the town with pirates and treasures, villains and damsels in distress, and engages his gang in the most feverish, and at times dangerous, games.

School and church both serve the purpose of transmitting social, cultural and religious values, but in St. Petersburg both institutions also symbolize the profound hypocrisy of its inhabitants and the superficiality of the teachings that both instil in the children. For example, religious instruction consists of learning the Bible by heart, which Tom refuses to do, even though he is able to recite whole passages of Robin Hood. While the town represents the space of prosaic and hypocritical social conventions, the river represents the space of freedom from social constraints and the realm of the imagination. Twain was always critical of fake religiosity and repressive schooling, as seen once and again in his writings, and he famously said: "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." Like the American Transcendentalists, and like Walt Whitman, Twain thought that true learning was found in nature, not in the classroom.

What is Wordsworth's theory of poetry?

In the first statement of the 1802 edition, Wordsworth says the poems in Lyrical Ballads are an experiment of "fitting to metrical arrangement a selection of the real language of men in a state of vivid sensation." So, one of the goals that Wordsworth has with this collection of poems is to use real language. In other words, he wants to make poetry from the language that people actually use. This was an attempt to get away from the formal style of his predecessors, namely the Neoclassical poets such as Alexander Pope. And the "vivid sensation" appeals to the poet's provocation of emotion rather than the more rational style of something like Pope's "An Essay on Man." 

Wordsworth also focused on the common man and this goes along with his focus on real or common language. Now, his poetry is still poetic, so to speak, but it was a shift from poetry as a formal, structured poetics to something more common and emotive. He wanted to explore how ordinary events and feelings could be understood in extraordinary ways. He chose to focus on rural settings and people and to explore their feelings "because the manners of rural life germinate from those elementary feelings; and, from the necessary character of rural occupations, are more easily comprehended, and are more durable; and lastly, because in that condition the passions of men are incorporated with the beautiful and permanent forms of nature." Thus, Wordsworth also was enchanted by the emotive and transcendent power of nature. The natural world, the rural lifestyle, and the realness of language and feelings were all inspirational elements for Wordsworth's new theory of poetry. This is why Wordsworth could write a poem about a cloud in which he contemplates nature, his existence, and his role as a poet. 

Since Wordsworth was tapping into "real language" and more common subjects (rendered in imaginative, extraordinary ways), he notes that some of his poems might be as easily read as prose. He is not trying to erase the line between prose and poetry, but he is illustrating how his brand of poetry does utilize a more free, prose style while still presented in poetic verse. And he notes that any subject is more likely to be read in poetic form, " . . . the one in prose and the other in verse, the verse will be read a hundred times where the prose is read once." Such is the accessibility of poetry and such would be the accessibility of Wordsworth's subject matter: common life and language. 

Lastly, Wordsworth's theory about writing poetry is often summed up as writing from the spontaneous overflow of emotion reflected in tranquility. The poet should contemplate the simple things, nature or rural life, but he should allow himself to be emotionally affected by the deep significance of such things: 

I have said that Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility: the emotion is contemplated till by a species of reaction the tranquility gradually disappears, and an emotion, kindred to that which was before the subject of contemplation, is gradually produced, and does itself actually exist in the mind.