Was the killing of Julius Caesar moral or not moral?

This is a major debate throughout the play. Brutus fears that Caesar will become king, which would destroy the republic of Rome and turn it into a monarchy. It is a possibility: Mark Antony offers Caesar the crown three times in front of a cheering crowd, and Casca claims that the people would praise Caesar even if he “had stabbed their mothers.”

Brutus spends much of Julius Caesar convincing himself to kill his friend. He worries about whether power would corrupt Caesar: “He would be crown'd: / How that might change his nature, there's the question.” Perhaps making him king would “put a sting in him.” Brutus decides that killing Caesar is not personal: “Let us be sacrificers, but not butchers ... / We all stand up against the spirit of Caesar.”

At Caesar’s funeral, Brutus and Antony give speeches that support and condemn Caesar’s murder. Brutus announces that he cared for Caesar: “Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more.” He killed him for the Roman people, not for himself. (The other conspirators do not seem to have such noble motives.)

Antony argues that Caesar was a dear friend, to him and the people of Rome. Caesar refused the crown the three times it was offered, a sign that he wasn’t as ambitious as Brutus claimed. Caesar also donated money to every Roman citizen in his will, again demonstrating that maybe he was a more salutary than dangerous to the Roman people.

Even if Caesar did aim for the throne, there is also the question as to whether it is moral to conspire to murder one’s friend for political purposes. Antony emphasizes Brutus’s personal betrayal of Caesar:

For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar's angel:
Judge, O you gods, how dearly Caesar loved him!
This was the most unkindest cut of all…

Unfortunately for Brutus, Caesar is not simply an idea. He is a man. When the conspirators stabbed him, Caesar had not yet taken the throne or been corrupted by it. Brutus is tormented by guilt, and Rome is eventually ruled by a series of emperors. Perhaps he was on the right side of history by aiming for a more equal society, but Brutus as well as the republic of Rome could not live with the decision that Brutus made.

How to find the minimum value of a function f(x)=x^2-5 ?

Find the minimum value of f(x)=x^2-5:

(1) If you have calculus, the minimum can only occur at a critical point of the function. Since this is a polynomial the function is continuous and differentiable everywhere, so we find where the first derivative is zero:

2x=0 ==> x=0. Since f(0)=-5 the minimum is -5 and occurs at x=0.

(2) If you do not have calculus, you can proceed numerically/algebraically, or graphically:

(a) The graph of the function is a parabola. Since the leading coefficient is positive, the parabola opens up and has a minimum at the vertex. There are multiple ways to identify the vertex; one way is if the function is written in standard form take `x=(-b)/(2a) ` ; since b=0 we have x=0 as the x-coordinate of the vertex, f(0)=-5 so the minimum is -5 at x=0.

(b) Numerically, see that `x^2>=0 ==> x^2-5>=-5 ` with equality at x=0.

The graph:

If the answer to the Sphinx's riddle is not just man but Oedipus himself, may the answer to Oedipus's question "Who am I?" pertain not only to...

The answer that Oedipus gives to the Sphinx is indeed a universal one. All humans start out as babies completely dependent upon their elders for their very survival, mature and develop strength and independence, and then age and become more feeble, reduced again to the state of dependence. 

This generic account of humanity is even more pertinent to Oedipus than to most people. As an infant, he was condemned to be exposed on a mountain and his feet pierced. Through the kindness of a servant, he was placed in a loving and nurturing household and grew into a strong and powerful man. After he blinds himself, he is instantly reduced again to a state of dependency. 

This cycle of human life applies to all of us to a degree, as does our having some special relationships with our parents that form us. The notion of a curse suggests that we are brought into a world in which much of our fate is determined by things external to us. Sophocles seems to be suggesting that we cannot escape our fate no matter how much we struggle. Oedipus only finds peace in another play by Sophocles, Oedipus at Colonus, after he has embraced his fate and seen how even his curse can be turned to something beneficial. 

What is textual evidence of censorship/ book banning in Fahrenheit 451?

In the opening paragraph, the narrator describes Montag's joy in burning books: 

He wanted above all, like the old joke, to shove a marshmallow on a stick in the furnace, while the flapping pigeon-winged books died on the porch and lawn of the house. While the books went up in sparkling whirls and blew away on a wind turned dark with burning. 

In his first conversation with Clarisse, she asks Montag if he's ever read any of the books he's burned. He laughs and replies, "That's against the law!" He goes on, saying, "It's fine work. Monday burn Millay, Wednesday Whitman, Friday Faulkner, burn 'em to ashes, then burn the ashes. That's our official slogan." 

In a later conversation with Beatty, Montag expresses how the firemen would feel if they had books and if someone burned those books. Beatty responds that they have no books and then asks Montag if he has some. Montag says "No" and then he "gazed beyond them to the wall with the typed lists of a million forbidden books." 

Montag is particularly affected by the woman who chooses to burn with her books. In describing the traumatic event to Millie, he bluntly says, "We burned a thousand books. We burned a woman." After this, Montag becomes more and more curious about books. 

In a later discussion, Beatty notes that if a fireman does dare to take a book, the firemen give him twenty-four hours to satisfy his curiosity and then burn the book. If he doesn't, the firemen will come and burn it for him. 

There are many other references to the practice of book banning and burning in this novel. Look at discussion between Montag and Faber, Montag and Beatty, and other descriptions in which the narrator describes how the society is oppressed. 

Why are cells and cell processes important to humans and the environment?

According to the cell theory, cell is the basic unit of life and all living things are composed of cells. Cells are capable of carrying out all the life processes, though maybe not as complex as higher organisms. All of our bodily functions are carried out by cells. Human beings are complex organisms and require complex systems (such as circulatory, respiratory, reproductive, etc.) to carry out the tasks required for maintenance and growth of human body. Each of these complex systems is composed of organs, which are made up of tissues, which in themselves are made up of cells performing similar functions. Think about our nervous system, which is made up (ultimately) of nerve cells. Cells are also important for our environment. An example is the process of cellular respiration, during which cells break down glucose and generate carbon dioxide and ATP molecules. Through this process, cells generate carbon dioxide, which is a necessary ingredient of photosynthesis (the process which produces food and oxygen for us). Carbon dioxide also causes greenhouse effect and ensure the warm temperature on Earth. 

A number of other examples can also be thought of.

Hope this helps. 

Using a dictionary, look up the word “apocalypse.” How does this term and all its various meanings and related notions apply to pages 205-273...

Ordinarily, asking about apocalyptic conditions in Zeitoun would relate to the destruction of the city of New Orleans, but asking about this in regards to the portion of the book in which Abdulrahman is imprisoned brings up a different set of issues. The word "apocalypse," which in Merriam-Webster's dictionary is defined as "a sudden and very bad event that causes much fear, loss, or destruction," can best be related to this portion of the book by discussing the ideas of how, after a disaster like Katrina, the ruling powers will often resort to Draconian measures to restore the social order, which is dominated by fear.

In order to placate the fears of the ruling powers after Hurricane Katrina, perfectly legitimate members of society, like Abdulrahman Zeitoun were placed in prisons described like this:

"Chain-link fences, topped by razor wire, had been erected into a long, sixteen-foot-high cage extending about a hundred yards into the lot. Above the cage was a roof, a freestanding shelter like those at gas stations. The barbed wire extended to meet it."

These quickly constructed cages seem to be necessities in post-apocalyptic worlds to suppress any violence or anything that might interfere in the ruling powers' attempt to regain control.

In this real-life case, Abdulrahman, Nassar, and Todd did not evacuate the city when ordered to. These men became non-people. They lost all rights and all ability to communicate with the outside world. American laws, like the right to trial, were abandoned in favor of indefinite internment.  

In conclusion, the best way to apply the word "apocalypse" in this book is to discuss the authoritarian treatment of the people remaining in New Orleans as "post-apocalyptic."

What is a good topic sentence that will hook my readers on this this topic: "Martin Luther a hero or a zero"? This has to do with Martin Luther...

I believe that you are asking for advice on how to write a good "attention getting" statement to a paper or essay.  An attention getting statement is the first sentence that is written, and it is specifically designed to hook your reader's attention.  A hooked reader will keep on reading, which is what you want.  

Without knowing who your intended audience is, I can't write out a perfect "attention getter" for you.  You know your audience better than I do.  But I can offer strategies for how to write a good attention getting sentence.  

In my writing and speech classes, I teach five different types of attention getters.  

1. Make a bold statement.  Your "Martin Luther hero or zero" is on the right track for this kind of attention getter.  Most Christians have high esteem for Luther and his work toward creating the modern church.  So even mentioning that he could be considered a zero will grab a reader's attention.  The point with a bold statement is that you are stating a strong opinion about something controversial.  You could say something like "Martin Luther is the most overrated religious figure in history." A word of caution though.  I wouldn't make your bold statement something that is likely to run counter to reader opinion.  You don't want to put your reader on the defensive right from the beginning.  That makes your audience antagonistic to your writing.  Save your counter arguments for a bit later.  


2. Use a quote.  Because you have said that you are going to write about Martin Luther, use a quote from Martin Luther.  It doesn't even have to be from his 95 theses.  Readers automatically assume that they should pay closer attention to quoted material, because they think it must be worthwhile if the author (you) is quoting another writer's words.  


3. Ask a question.  Questions do a nice job of engaging readers, because questions always beg an answer.  "Was Martin Luther really as influential as the church gives him credit for?" If you can get your reader thinking about your question and trying to answer it in their own mind by the end of the first sentence, you have a hooked reader.  I find a lot of students like to use the question technique, because it's easy to write and start with.  If you're like a lot of students, the hardest part is simply starting to write. 


4. Use a definition.  This is my least favorite attention getter.  I feel it is dry and uninspiring, but it does work in the right situation.  It works for the same reason that a quote works.  Readers assume that the definition is key to understanding what is next, so they focus closely on the detail of the definition.  


5. Tell an anecdote.  This can be easily incorporated into a speech, but it doesn't necessarily always work with written papers.  I believe that you could make it work with Martin Luther.  I could easily see you narrating over the course of 6-8 sentences Martin Luther's actions and steps to the church door that he nailed his 95 theses to.  That kind of start would really get readers in the proper mind set to analyze what the impact of Luther's actions were.  

I hope this helps.  Good luck! 

Where does Book X of Homer's The Odyssey take place?

When Odysseus narrates the events of Book X in the story's present, he is in Phaeacia, at the court of King Alcinous and Queen Arete (recall that it was their daughter, Nausicaa, who led him back to their home after he survived Poseidon's terrible storm).  However, the events that he narrates -- landing in Aeolia and receiving the bag of winds that almost gets him home, getting blown all the way back to Aeolia when his crew betrays him and opens the bag, sailing to Laestrygonia and losing all of his ships but one to the giant cannibals who live there, and reaching Aeaea, where he and the crew spend a year in Circe's palace -- happened some nine years ago.  Remember that, in the meantime -- since his time at Circe's -- Odysseus has been to the underworld, has survived the Sirens and Scylla and Charybdis, has lost all of his men after they ate the cattle belonging to the sun god, Helios, and finally became the prisoner of Calypso for seven years.  Phaeacia, where Odysseus narrates Book X, is the first locale Odysseus finds after he has sailed away from Calypso's island.

Why would Morrsion choose this title to reflect her piece?

Toni Morrison's story, "Recitatif," is about two young girls, Roberta and Twyla, who are in an orphanage, despite the fact that their mothers are alive. One girl is white and the other is black and they become unlikely friends. The narrative shows them leaving the home and then running into each other at different stages of their lives. A recurring question that the girls ask each other is a variation of the question, "How's your mother?" At times, this question is meant to hurt the other girl, while it's also meant to show concern. 

The question about the girls' mother is repeated throughout the story, almost as a refrain in a song. The word 'recitatif' is a French style of music that is something between song and speech. It is generally used for narrative interludes between parts of an opera. Morrison arranges the story as if it were a song, having verses and refrains. The mother refrain separates the other parts of the story, and gives the entire story a song-like, spoken word feel to it.

What are two possible uses for hydrophobic material?

Hydrophobic materials are materials that do not mix well with water (“hydro” = water, “phobic” = fear of).

A group of nanomaterial scientists created a superhydrophobic material that is claimed to be 10,000 times more hydrophobic than the average hydrophobic material. This material is projected to be used in the following two capacities.

• Used as a windshield fluid, the material will be beneficial in causing rain and other precipitants to repel off of car windows.


• Steam turbines are used to make energy at nuclear power plants. The steam produced is collected by cooling towers. The inside of these cooling towers is not hydrophobic. Thus, the condensed water remains within. The superhydrophobic material could be used to line the towers in order to increase productivity.

How do the citizens feel about Caesar after Brutus's speech in Julius Caesar?

The citizens are supportive of Brutus and seem to accept his characterization of Caesar after his speech.

Brutus has an uphill battle in his speech to the people after killing Caesar.  Most of the people are afraid because they do not know what is happening and their leader is dead.  Brutus, the head of the conspiracy, has to explain to the people why they killed him.  It is important to him to win over public opinion.  His speech is very aggressive, but seems to do the trick.

Brutus attempts to justify the killing of Caesar by explaining that he did love Caesar, but that Caesar was ambitious and dangerous.  To live under him was akin to being a slave.  Brutus considers the assassins liberators.

If there be any in this assembly, any dear friend of
Caesar's, to him I say, that Brutus' love to Caesar
was no less than his. If then that friend demand
why Brutus rose against Caesar, this is my answer:
--Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved
Rome more. (Act 3, Scene 2)

Brutus seeks to explain to the people that he did not kill Caesar out of his own ambition to take his place.  He connects himself to Caesar throughout the speech, using repetition to demonstrate that he is totally in control and not a murderer.  He loved Caesar, but he loved his country more.

Brutus’s biggest justification is that Caesar was a king, and that living under him made them all slaves.  This is powerful rhetoric, and exonerates Brutus and the others.

Had you rather Caesar were living and
die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live
all free men? As Caesar loved me, I weep for him;
as he was fortunate, I rejoice at it; as he was
valiant, I honour him: but, as he was ambitious, I
slew him. (Act 3, Scene 2)

How do the people respond?  They are quiet during Brutus’s speech. No one heckles him as they do Antony.  This could be interpreted as respect and support, or as fear.  However, the people do not seem to want to even hear Antony speak, and this would seem to indicate that Brutus has won them over, or at least the most vocal ones.

Brutus’s power over the people is short lived.  He made the crucial error of allowing Antony to speak after him.  Whereas Brutus uses logic to try to sway the people, Antony uses pure emotion.  His speech is flamboyant and tears at the people’s heartstrings.  It also reminds them of why they loved Caesar.  Antony does not excuse Caesar, but he does accuse his assassins.  He turns the tide of public opinion against Brutus and the others, so that by the time the speech is over they are an angry mob—a weapon he points directly at the conspirators.

Where do the Ewells live?

In Chapter 17, Mayella Ewell is called to the witness stand to testify during the Tom Robinson trial. Atticus questions Mayella about her family life and background. The Ewells are the most despicable, dirty family in Maycomb County. The Ewells live behind the town garbage dump about five hundred yards in front of a small Negro settlement. Their house is a tiny, old Negro cabin with a tin roof. It is shaped like a square and has four small bedrooms. Scout describes the Ewell's yard as a "playground for an insane child." (Lee 228) Inside the fence, there is garbage, random broken items, and remnants of an old Model T. The only aesthetically pleasing items in the entire Ewell residence are Mayella's red geraniums in the corner of the yard. Scout says that no one in the Maycomb community knew how many children lived there because no one ever drove past the Ewell residence. 

What is the significance of courage in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird?

In To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee shows that society's most dominant beliefs are not always correct, and it takes a great deal of courage to challenge society and to move in ways that run against the flow of society.

In the novel, Atticus Finch displays a great deal of courage by accepting Tom Robinson's case and putting his all into Robinson's defense though Atticus dreads the case. Atticus expresses his fear of the case in a private conversation with his brother Jack, in which he says, "You know, I'd hoped to get through life without a case of this kind, but John Taylor pointed at me and said, 'You're It'" (Ch. 9). Atticus's fear of the case stems from the fact that he knows full well that an innocent man is being put on trial for his life based on absolutely zero corroborating evidence; the only evidence being used in the trial are the testimonies of the witnesses, the Ewells. Despite lack of evidence, he also knows losing the case is inevitable because the jury will base its verdict on racial prejudices, causing him to dread the outcome of the case.

Yet, Atticus's reasons for putting his all into the case go far beyond the fact that Judge Taylor commanded him to take the case. Atticus feels it is his moral imperative to give Robinson the best defense he can, despite the inevitability of losing the case. As Atticus further explains to Jack, Atticus would be unable to "face [his] children" if he did not take the case (Ch. 9).

Atticus is showing great courage in acting upon his moral imperative in the face of the town's ridicule. All of Maycomb has already judged Robinson to be guilty based simply on the color of his skin, as Scout informs her father at one point:

Atticus, you must be wrong ... Well, most folks seem to think they're right and you're wrong ... (Ch. 11)

But Atticus knows there is absolutely zero evidence pointing to Robinson's guilt, so he continues to act as his conscience tells him to act, which contradicts the rest of society's actions.

In A Christmas Carol, Scrooge asks the Ghost of Christmas Present if Tiny Tim will live, and the ghost replies, “If he be like to die, he had...

The Ghost of Christmas Present shows Ebenezer Scrooge the Cratchit family on Christmas Day.  Among them is Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchit's young son, who is crippled.  He is also weak and in poor health.  Scrooge sees this and he asks the spirit if Tiny Tim is going to die.  The spirit replies with the same words that Scrooge said to the men asking him for donations for the poor in the beginning of the story.  Scrooge realizes the coldness of his earlier words.  Before Scrooge is visited by the spirits, he is uncaring and uncharitable.  He thinks that if someone living in poverty would rather die than go to a work house then they should do so.  Seeing the poverty of his employee and his family and their Christmastime joy, Scrooge experiences a change of heart.

What is the science fiction part in Catching Fire, the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy?

To first answer this question, we must define what science fiction means. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines science fiction as "fiction dealing principally with the impact of actual or imagined science on society or individuals or having a scientific factor as an essential orienting component." The Gunn Center for Science Fiction at the University of Kansas defines science fiction as "the literature of the human species encountering change, whether it arrives via scientific discoveries, technological innovations, natural events, or societal shifts."

When looking at Catching Fire, the second book in the Hunger Games series, we must look for the impact of actual or imagined science on the individuals in the book. We must also look at the societal shifts through scientific discoveries. 

The impact of imagined science takes place through the annual Hunger Games. The Hunger Games itself has societal shifts. The introduction of the Hunger Games changed how the citizens of Panem live. You are more likely to be chosen for the Hunger Games if you are poor and have to take free food from the district because you are entered into the Hunger Games each time you take food. 

In Catching Fire, we see science fiction take place during the 75th Hunger Games. During the Hunger Games, we see many different types of technological innovations that play a role. For example, we see fog that can move in a certain area that can cause participants to be paralyzed or die. Additionally, there is water that has healing powers. These are just some examples of science fiction in Catching Fire. 

What was the significance or importance of the Pendelton Civil Service Reform Act?

The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act was important because it changed the way that people were able to get some government jobs. For many years, government jobs were awarded based on the spoils system. With this system, people got government jobs based on whom they knew or which candidate they supported instead of being based on the merit of the person seeking the job. After a person who was unhappy he didn’t get a government job assassinated James Garfield, the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act was passed.

This law required that some government jobs be awarded to people based on merit. These people had to take a test to determine if they were capable of doing the job. It also made it illegal to remove a federal worker from a civil service job for political reasons. It is also illegal to require a federal employee to give contributions to a political campaign. When this law was passed, it covered about ten percent of the federal government’s jobs. Now, civil service covers about ninety percent of the federal government’s jobs.

Identify two examples of simile in "Harlem" and describe their connection to a "dream deferred."

In the poem "Harlem," Langston Hughes uses five similes and one metaphor to describe what can happen to a dream when it is deferred. To "defer" means to put off or delay, and so all of the comparisons describe what happens to something that is left too long.

First, the speaker asks, in a simile comparing a dried-up raisin to the "dream deferred" referenced in the first line, "Does it dry up / like a raisin the sun?" (2-3) One might imagine the original dream as a firm, plump raisin, sweet and flavorful; however, the dream deferred is more like a hard, small raisin that has dried out and become undesirable. The contrast between the two images shows us the harm in delaying a dream.

Next, the speaker asks, in a simile comparing a festering wound to the dream deferred, "Or fester like a sore-- / and then run?" (4-5) Here, the dream that is deferred is compared to something that, if left to sit without being taken care of, becomes infected and painful. The implication is that a dream deferred becomes something bad, something that hurts.

Third, the speaker asks, in a simile comparing the dream deferred to rancid meat, "Does it stink like rotten meat?" (6) Now the delayed dream is making its presence known. Its "stink" affects everyone around, and again, the comparison has shown how something good can go bad when it is not used right away.

Fourth, the speaker asks, in a simile comparing the dream deferred to an old piece of candy or pastry, "Or does it crust and sugar over-- / like a syrupy sweet?" In this case, again, something that was once perhaps positive becomes inedible and kind of disgusting ("crust[ing] over" and "syrupy" have negative connotations). A dream deferred is like this: it begins as good but then goes bad.

Fifth, the speaker suggests, in a simile comparing the dream deferred to weighty baggage, "Maybe it just sags / like a heavy load." "Sag[ging]" clearly has a negative connotation, as does "heavy load." This comparison suggests that a dream deferred begins to weigh the dreamer down, to tire them out as carrying a heavy load would do.

Finally, the speaker uses a metaphor to compare the dream deferred to a bomb: "Or does it explode?" It is notable that Hughes uses only one metaphor in the poem because metaphors are more forceful than similes; they say that something is something else rather than that something is like something else. Perhaps he uses the metaphor here because he believes this one to be more truthful than the similes, or perhaps it is the inevitable and eventual outcome of any dream deferred, regardless of what other stages it might pass through.  

How does Miss Adela Strangeworth betray herself in "The Possibility of Evil?"

Miss Adela Strangeworth writes her anonymous letters on various-colored papers and puts them in matching-colored envelopes. In the scene in the story in which she is writing three new letters, 

...she wrote on a pink sheet: Didn’t you every see an idiot child before? Some people just shouldn’t have children, should they?

Then on a green sheet she writes a note intended for Mrs. Harper.

Have you found out yet what they were all laughing about after you left the bridge club on Thursday? Or is the wife really the last one to know?

It is important for the reader to remember the colors of these letters in order to understand what happens at the post office.

She addressed an envelope to Don Crane after a moment’s thought,… using a pink envelope to match the pink paper. Then she addressed a second envelope, green, to Mrs. Harper. Then an idea came to her and she selected a blue sheet and wrote: You never know about doctors. Remember they’re only human and need money like the rest of us. Suppose the knife slipped accidentally. Would Doctor Burns get his fee and a little extra from that nephew of yours? She addressed the blue envelope to old Mrs. Foster, who was having an operation next month.

After finishing her three letters she eats lunch and then takes a nap. When she wakes up she sets off on her regular evening walk with the letters in her purse. She never mails her poison-pen letters at any place but the post office. The outside of this building happens to be a hangout for children and teenagers. Miss Strangeworth overhears two of her victims talking and stops to eavesdrop on the conversation. She has made both of them unhappy by writing to Linda Stewart's parents suggesting that Dave Harris is carrying the romance with their daughter beyond the usual teenage hugging and kissing. 

“I can’t tell you, Dave,” Linda was saying – so she was talking to the Harris boy, as Miss Strangeworth had supposed – “I just can’t. It’s just nasty.”

The mail slot for depositing letters after hours is in the front door of the post office. Miss Strangeworth opens her purse and slips two of her letters inside. But she doesn't notice that the third letter doesn't go all the way through the slot. It falls to the ground. Ironically, Dave Harris whom she has caused so much unhappiness, picks it up and decides to hand-carry it to the addressee, Don Crane. The reader may not realize immediately that Don Crane is the husband of Helen Crane, the young mother who told Miss Strangeworth earlier that she and her husband were worried about their six-month-old daughter's apparent slow development. But the color of the envelope will reveal everything.

Sadly, holding hands, they wandered off down the dark street, the Harris boy carrying Miss Strangeworth’s pink envelope in his hand.

The reader knows that Dave will tell Don Crane that Miss Strangeworth accidentally dropped the letter at the post office. And Dave's girlfriend will be with him to confirm it. Miss Strangeworth will never know who it was that chopped all her precious rose bushes to pieces and sent her the anonymous letter reading:

Look out at what used to be your roses.

I've read the short story "Tickets, Please!" by D.H.Lawrence, but I did not understand it very well. Would you help me please, with more detailed...

Ticket, Please! was published in 1922. The story is set during the aftermath of World War 1, so that's the historical context. Remember that the 19th Amendment was ratified on August 1920, and on Election Day in 1920, women exercised their right to vote for the very first time.

Read all about the fight for women's suffrage here.

D.H. Lawrence's short story exemplifies the change in women's status in the aftermath of the war and of women's suffrage. In the story, we see that Annie Stone is a conductress on the Midlands line. She belongs to the new group of working women who are newly empowered and independent. However, the women's new found social relevance becomes a curse: their enthusiastic embrace of masculine energy renders them unintentionally clumsy caricatures of femininity:

The girls are fearless young hussies. In their ugly blue uniforms, skirts up to their knees, shapeless old peaked caps on their heads, they have all the sang-froid of an old non-commissioned officer.

They pounce on the youths who try to evade their ticket-machine. They push off the men at the end of their distance. They are not going to be done in the eye—not they. They fear nobody—and everybody fears them.

On the other hand, the tram drivers seem to be 'rash young men, or else... invalids who creep forward in terror.' Here, Lawrence is drawing our attention to the price that we may pay for progress: the loss of gender differentiation. We are led to question whether modern concepts of gender are superior to those necessitated by traditional ideals. No where is the debate more heated than in the area of romance.

In the story, we are told that the chief inspector of the tram lines is one John Joseph Raynor. He's a good-looking cad who seduces all the female conductresses, confident in his ability to extract sexual favors from each one. Notice that he usually moves on to the next girl when the current one gets too clingy for his liking:

When she started to take an intelligent interest in him and his life and his character, he sheered off. He hated intelligent interest. And he knew that the only way to stop it was to avoid it. The possessive female was aroused in Annie. So he left her.

Here, Lawrence is highlighting the plight of the modern woman. Traditionally, a woman preserved her sexual purity for marriage, while prospective suitors had to display definitive proof that they were worthy supplicants for a woman's loyalty. However, now that women have achieved political and economic independence, men have correspondingly rejected their own traditional obligations to women. You can see this in John Raynor's nonchalance; he's not the least bit perturbed by his callous treatment of the women.

Lawrence also highlights the fact that only the cosmetic, outward conventions of gender reciprocity and respect are preserved. John Joseph pays Annie's way at the fair, but this is a very superficial sort of gallantry. It's only designed to capture Annie's interest in a sexual dalliance. Annie, on the other hand, doesn't just want a 'nocturnal presence' in her life; she wants a real companion by her side, something John Joseph isn't about to submit to.

In the end, the female conductresses get their revenge. They lure John Joseph to their dressing room at the depot station. While pretending to engage in social pleasantries, they soon turn on him and attack him brutally. The women's actions stem from their pain at being marginalized. They have given up sexual favors with little to show for them. Also, despite their revenge, the mere act of physical retribution fails to provide them the complete catharsis their hearts desire. They are still left bereft of the kind of commitment and love they desperately want.

And they began to put themselves tidy, taking down their hair, and arranging it. Annie unlocked the door. John Joseph looked round for his things. He picked up the tatters, and did not quite know what to do with them. Then he found his cap, and put it on, and then his overcoat. He rolled his ragged tunic into a bundle. And he went silently out of the room, into the night.

The girls continued in silence to dress their hair and adjust their clothing, as if he had never existed.

In the above passage, John Joseph is reduced to a pitiful, emasculated figure. The women themselves are paralyzed by their vulnerabilities and pain. In the face of social/economic progress and the aftermath of the war, both genders have failed to attain a corresponding new shift towards greater understanding and respect. This is what Lawrence highlights in his short story.

Why is it difficult to observe the planet Mercury?

Mercury is closest to the Sun. It is one of the inferior planets, that is, its orbit (around the Sun) is smaller than Earth's orbit and hence takes much less time to go around the Sun. Mercury takes 88 days to go around the Sun, as compared to the 365 days the Earth takes. Because of these reasons, Mercury is difficult to see. For one, it is very close to the Sun (due to a small orbit) and is always covered by Sun's glare (when viewed from Earth). The only times when we can actually see this planet, are either early morning or late evening, when Sun's light will not interfere and we can find it near the horizon.  Thus, we need to precisely know, when and where to look for this planet.

Hope this helps.  

How does Alfred, Lord Tennyson bring about the beauty and the power of the eagle in the poem "The Eagle"?

Through personification and simile the 19th century English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson shows the majestic beauty of the eagle in his short poem, "The Eagle."

Tennyson paints a simple picture in two stanzas of an eagle perching high atop a remote mountain cliff scanning the world below him, probably for his next meal. He is personified in the opening line, "He clasps the crag with crooked hands." The next line may bring up the image of a beautiful bald eagle surrounded by sky and clouds, "Ring'd with the azure world, he stands." Picture the images used to show the bird as a symbol of America.

In the final stanza Tennyson emphasizes the power of the eagle in the simile:

"He watches from his mountain walls,

And like a thunderbolt he falls."

Speed, power and grace are all illustrated in these lines as the eagle crashes down from his mountain lair to become a small rodent's worst nightmare.

How was the burning down of Miss Maudie's house a symbol in the story?

Miss Maudie is a morally upright character throughout the novel. The fire that consumes her house utterly destroys the structure. Typically, an individual who experiences such a catastrophic loss is shaken and upset. However, Miss Maudie remains in good spirits and says she hated the "old barn" anyway. The fire can symbolize the Maycomb communities' attempt to destroy Tom Robinson via prejudice. Similar to Miss Maudie's connection to her home, Atticus is connected to Tom Robinson. Even though Tom Robinson is destroyed by prejudice, Atticus remains strong and is willing to rebuild. Scout's attitude toward her community following the Tom Robinson verdict also parallels Maudie's house fire. Despite Tom being destroyed, like Maudie's house, Scout has faith in humanity and is willing to move on. The fire symbolizes racism and prejudice throughout the community. Morally upright individuals like Miss Maudie, Atticus, and Scout overcome the hatred.

How does the figurative language in "Still I Rise" affect the poem's overall meaning?

In the first stanza, the author uses figurative speech to illustrate oppression, and her response to it. 

You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

The image of someone being ground into the dirt is painfully evocative. It transmits a feeling of degradation and helplessness to the reader. However, the next line asserts that "like dust," she will rise. By using figurative language that is similar to the word used in the previous line, "dirt," the author seems to be showing herself transforming her situation by using the tools available to her. By comparing herself to something similar to the thing that oppressed her (dust being a component of dirt) she shows how she uses the oppression to become resilient. The use of the word "dust" also indicates how something generally considered dirty or useless can be used to rise above challenges and become stronger.

Here is another example of figurative language in "Still I Rise."

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

The following quote uses the same structure and type of figurative language as the former:

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own backyard.

The metaphor of oil wells and gold mines are a perfect example of figurative language in this poem. Obviously, the author does not really have an "oil well" in her living room. However, the use of this type of language tells us that the author is feeling a carefree and ecstatic feeling. She does not care about the feelings of those who are offended or upset by her race. Angelou uses this type of language to tell us that she has inherent self-worth and confidence, as a response to the hate of others. She uses wealth symbols specifically to show how much she values these traits.

In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, what news does Atticus bring home about Tom Robinson?

There are many times that Scout records the events of her father returning home from work. The one time that has anything to do seriously with Tom Robinson is when Atticus has news of Tom's death. Scout was attending one of Aunt Alexandra's tea parties when she heard the front door slam and heard Atticus come in. She checked the time and realized that it was too early for him to be done with the day's work. She also remembered that Atticus usually stayed away from the house longer on the days that the Missionary Society met with Aunt Alexandra at the house. Atticus came home to ask Calpurnia to accompany him to Helen Robinson's house to tell her the sad news. Atticus explains as follows:

"They shot him...He was running. It was during their exercise period. They said he just broke into a blind raving charge at the fence and started climbing over. Right in front of them--" (235).

Atticus had hoped to appeal the decision of the court on Tom's behalf. He had told Tom not to give up hope because they would continue to fight for his freedom through the justice system. Sadly, Atticus surmises,

"I guess Tom was tired of white men's chances and preferred to take his own" (235-236).

The news is obviously sad for the people who supported Tom. Any hope for Tom to get his appeal and return home to his family is completely over at this point. 

What compelled Nicholas to enter the lumber room?

Nicholas was being punished for placing a frog in his bread and milk in the morning.  He was not to go to the beach with the other children, and he was not to play in the gooseberry garden.  His aunt was sure he would try to get into the gooseberry garden, so she set herself up as a guard to dissuade him.  Nicholas made some half-hearted attempts to go into the front garden and caught his aunt’s eye; however, he had no intention of entering the gooseberry garden.  He wanted to go into the lumber room and had been planning it for a while.  Nicholas wanted to enter the lumber room basically because he was told that room was forbidden to children. 

“Often and often Nicholas had pictured to himself what the lumber-room might be like, that region that was so carefully sealed from youthful eyes and concerning which no questions were ever answered.” (pg 4)

What child wouldn’t want to go into such a forbidden place? He knew where the key was located and had practiced using the key for the schoolroom door for a few days.  So when his aunt was suitably occupied, he stole the key and opened the door to the forbidden room.  What he found inside was totally delightful.

My copy of the story comes off the internet. However, the page number should be relatively close. 

What does Esperanza say is the reason for the existence of trees in The House on Mango Street?

In the vignette entitled "Four Skinny Trees," Esperanza compares herself to the trees on Mango Street. She says that the trees understand her because they are skinny like she is. These trees were planted by the city as if they were trying to beautify the area, but they seem forgotten like so many people who live there. Esperanza appreciates trees because they are strong. These four trees specifically are survivors because they "grab the earth between their hairy toes and bite the sky with violent teeth and never quit their anger. This is how they keep" (74). When she uses the word "keep," she means they survive.

Esperanza says that trees exist as examples for living, existing, and surviving. Not only that, but trees teach her to attack life with strength no matter where she is planted. Every time she is sad, she looks at the trees and sees that they "grew despite concrete" (75). This means that even though the trees aren't in a forest, and they are surrounded by concrete rather than dirt, they persevere and fight for their existence. She also says that these trees never forget to reach for what they need and want, so she uses them to remind her to do the same in her own life.  

In Romeo and Juliet, what are Paris's character traits?

Count Paris is the man whom Lord Capulet wants Juliet to marry. In the social consideration of the time, Paris is a good match: honest, wealthy, and of a high rank. He is related to Prince Escalus, and as such is not involved in the Montague-Capulet feud.

As far as personality, Paris may not have Romeo’s extreme romanticism, but he is truthful, loving, devout, and caring. He is also somewhat vain.

When he meets Juliet in Friar Lawrence’s cell, he is polite and respectful of both Juliet and the Friar: “God shield I should disturb devotion!” It never occurs to him that Juliet might not want to marry him. He suggests she not deny to Friar Lawrence that she is in love with him (Paris).  Despite his over-confidence, he is also concerned about Juliet: “Poor soul, thy face is much abused by tears.”

When he believes Juliet is dead, his grief is deep and genuine: he truly did love her. He goes to her tomb to grieve in private, sending his servant away and vowing to visit Juliet’s grave every night:

"Sweet flower, with flowers thy bridal bed I strew, --

O woe! thy canopy is dust and stones; --

Which with sweet water nightly I will dew,

Or, wanting that, with tears distill’d by moans:

The obsequies that I for thee will keep

Nightly shall be to strew thy grave and weep."

When Romeo arrives in the churchyard, Paris shows both courage and valor. He believes Romeo has come to desecrate Juliet’s grave, and so he fights to the death to protect her tomb.

Although he is a minor character in the play, Count Paris nevertheless displays a number of admirable personality traits.

In Brave New World, how does Helmholtz gain Mond's approval and admiration?

In Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World, Mustapha Mond is one of the ten World Controllers. Towards the conclusion of the text, he announces to both Bernard and Helmholtz that they will be exiled from society, which is seen as one of the greatest punishments that can be inflicted in this culture. 

Helmholtz's reaction to this news is impressive to Mustapha Mond. Rather than becoming upset or trying to find a way to stay in society, as Bernard does, Helmholtz greets this news with a mixture of stoicism and pleasure. Rather than react to the shock of being punished, Helmholtz actually considers how this act will affect his daily life and well-being, and he realizes that he will be much happier. He then requests a specific type of exile, where he will be isolated and subjected to terrible weather, in order to produce his best poetry. Mond is impressed by Helmholtz's composure and thought process, particularly in contrast to Bernard's. 

What are the euphemisms used in The Giver, other than release?

Euphemisms used include Stirrings, Elsewhere and Sameness.

There are many words in this book that are used differently than we might use them. Some are euphemisms.  A euphemism is a word used to replace another word, usually a word that is considered unpleasant.  Release is a euphemism for killing.  It is a more sensitive way to describe the concept.

The most significant euphemism other than release is Stirrings.  Stirrings stand for sexual feelings.  The community is so concerned with preventing emotions and controlling the population that it trains parents to identify the first signs of puberty in their children, which they refer to as Stirrings.

He remembered that there was a reference to the Stirrings in the Book of Rules, though he didn't remember what it said. And now and then the Speaker mentioned it. ATTENTION. A REMINDER THAT STIRRINGS MUST BE REPORTED IN ORDER FOR TREATMENT TO TAKE PLACE. (Ch. 5)

As soon as Stirrings are identified, the adolescents begin taking a pill to prevent them.  This pill keeps them childlike.  It is some kind of hormone blocker, and as soon as you stop taking it the Stirrings come back.

Another euphemism related to release is Elsewhere.  When a person dies, he or she goes to Elsewhere.  Elsewhere is a euphemism for death.  The community’s citizens do not really seem to understand this.  Jonas thinks that Elsewhere is an actual place.

If he were released, they would not see him again. Ever. Those who were released--even as newchildren—were sent Elsewhere and never returned to the community. (Ch. 6)

As release and Elsewhere demonstrate, Jonas’s community has no concept of death.  They do not seem to understand that people are being killed, and they have no idea what happens to them when they are released.  Elsewhere is nowhere, unless it is the afterlife.

These euphemisms are part of the community’s efforts toward Sameness, which is a major concept.  Sameness is a euphemism for societal control.  It includes surveillance, eugenics (genetic modification to control race) and control over every aspect of a person’s life.

There was a time, actually--you'll see this in the memories later--when flesh was many different colors. That was before we went to Sameness. Today flesh is all the same, and what you saw was the red tones. (Ch. 12)

This seems to indicate that everyone in the community is white, since there are no other skin tones and The Giver refers to skin as having shades of red, which seems to refer more to white skin tones.

Part of Sameness is the population control, which means that family units are carefully constructed based on predetermined parameters.  Another part is climate control and the modification of the landscape.  Everything is designed to maintain the optimum control over the community.

In the novel Pocho, where is Mary moving to?

First, let's slip in a very important fact. Pocho, by Jose Antonio Villareal, was published in 1959 and it is regarded as the first novel of its kind. It is the first novel that deals in detail with the issues of Mexican emigration and the fusion of the Mexican and American cultures in a new generation of immigrants growing in the U.S. It was also one of the first novels where these themes were openly discussed: racism, contempt against immigrants, and the confusion of young men of Mexican descent when they are faced with life in a culture that demands different things from them.  Another theme that surfaces, as a result of these others, is that of identity loss. What could Mexican American young men do to distance themselves from their much-criticized heritage? Become something entirely different and devoid of rationale. 

“They had a burning contempt for people of different ancestry, whom they called Americans, and a marked hauteur toward Mexico and toward their parents for their old-country ways. [...]They needed to feel superior to something[...]. The result was that they attempted to segregate themselves from both their cultures, and became truly a lost race.”

Villareal is far from one-sided, though. He also describes how life must have been for the people surrounding these immigrants.

A great example is the Madison family. This Anglo-Protestant family, held very strictly negative views about  the changing neighborhood. It is clear that the Madison parents were entirely against immigrants while daughter Mary, who was madly in love with main character Richard, held a glimpse of hope that maybe she would be able to marry him someday. 

However, that was not to happen. These were the days of the Depression and home was wherever work could be found to make a living. Like many other families in search of a better opportunity, the Madisons left for a better life somewhere else. This time, they left for Chicago once the patriarch of the family was able to find work. 

In The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton, what does Cherry say is the real difference between the Socs and Greasers?

Ponyboy had always believed that the Socs were spoiled and cruel, but meeting Cherry Valance at the drive-in makes him start to question his beliefs.  They form a fast friendship that night, and are both able to open up and share their thoughts on the two gangs and the conflicts between them.  When Ponyboy tells Cherry about the night that the Socs attacked Johnny, she wants to make him understand that not all Socs act that way.  She knows that he thinks that all of the Socs have perfect lives, but urges, "We have troubles you've never even heard of. You want to know something?" She looked me straight in the eye. "Things are rough all over."  She hopes that he will begin to see that The Socs are people too.

As they are walking home from the movie, they continue their conversation, this time focusing on what makes the Socs and the Greasers so different.  Ponyboy offers his thought that maybe it was just money, but Cherry disagrees, saying, "It's not just money. Part of it is, but not all. You greasers have a different set of values. You're more emotional. We're sophisticated--- cool to the point of not feeling anything. Nothing is real with us."  What Cherry says is the main difference between the Socs and Greasers is their emotions.  The Socs have to bottle up all of their thoughts and emotions in order to fit in and live up to their society's standards.  The Greasers, alternatively, throw caution to the wind and let their emotions get them into trouble.  Finally, Ponyboy understands, saying, ""That's why we're separated...It's not money, it's feeling--- you don't feel anything and we feel too violently."

Why does Collins seek permission to get water from the well in "A Mystery of Heroism"?

A battle is raging around Fred Collins, and he wants a drink of water from the well in the middle of the battlefield.  When he brings up the idea of going to get some water, the other soldiers with him start teasing him and egging him on.  This puts pressure on Collins to be “heroic” and go get some water.  He asks permission from his commanding officer probably hoping that the officer will tell him, “no”.  Unfortunately for Collins, the officer tells him to go ahead and get some water despite it being a deadly mission.  Now, Collins is stuck.  If he doesn’t go, this fellow soldiers will say he is a coward; if he does go, he risks his own life.  Peer pressure forces Collins to run to the well, fill up a bucket of water, and run back to the other soldiers despite the bombs and bullets destroying everything in their path.  When Collins gets back to the men, they fight over the bucket of water, and it spills all over the ground.  Collins risks his life for a dare, and it turns out to be a ridiculous, futile attempt to appear heroic. 

What events influenced and were a part of John Steinbeck's early life?

John Steinbeck had numerous experiences in his early life that had a clear impact on his career as an author. Steinbeck lived in a very rural town located in a highly fertile area of California and found early work on a series of beet farms. Here he came in close contact with many migrant workers and developed a sense of the hardships of their lives. This time spent as a farm employee directly contributed to several of his works, most notably Of Mice and Men. It is also noteworthy that he was afforded time throughout his youth to write; thus he began to develop his craft. His mother had formerly been a schoolteacher and it is likely that she was a major source of his love for reading and writing. Steinbeck himself suffered a fair deal of hardship, having failed at his attempts to make a living as a businessman, and then living with little means as the Great Depression gripped the nation. His success as an author directly depended on the support that he received from his family and his wife—they enabled him to continue to write instead of toiling in a menial labor position.

What is the function of relating the Finch family history at the outset of the novel?

The main reason to give some background on the Finch family is to introduce them as a well-established and important family in the history of Maycomb.  The most famous ancestor, Simon Finch, came to Maycomb from England and settled in an area later known as Finch Landing.  There Simon Finch trapped animals and practiced medicine.  Simon Finch was also a slave owner.  After gaining some wealth, the family lost all of its money during the Civil War. 

Because they are an old Southern family, they are well-respected in the community.  They are also considered a higher class of people because of Atticus’ law degree and tenure in state politics.  In the South, family heritage is important and a basis for social class. 

Atticus also represents a new generation of Finches.  Although his ancestor, Simon Finch, owned slaves, Atticus fights for the rights of Tom Robinson, a black man.  He truly shows the evolution of values and beliefs in the South. 

Introducing this family history gives the reader a solid background on where the members of the Finch family began and how they have developed since then. 

From Lois Lowry's The Giver, how important is Sameness in Jonas's community compared to ours today?

Sameness is the idea that if everyone is the same, then no one will feel left out or different, and everyone will be happy. Not only that, but it includes many significant sacrifices on the part of individuals for the benefit of the whole community. Jonas's community gave up anything unique, original or challenging in order to create a life of peace and security. Today, we have sacrificed many elements of privacy for the sake of security, such as when we pass through security checkpoints before boarding a flight. Jonas's community, long before he or the Giver were born, though, gave up snow, colors, and many aspects of individuality. The Giver's first explanation of Sameness to Jonas after he asks the following:

"'But what happened to those things? Snow, and the rest of it?'

'Climate Control. Snow made growing food difficult, limited the agricultural periods. And unpredictable weather made transportation almost impossible at times. It wasn't a practical thing, so it became obsolete when we went to Sameness'" (85).

The problem is that true joy and happiness comes when we experience opposition in our life. We don't truly appreciate warmth until we experience freezing cold, for example. We can't appreciate love without knowing hate. But the people in Jonas's community decided that they would rather live without opposition in order to be safe and live in an efficient society. Today, the debate continues as laws are made or eradicated based on how people want to live and what they are willing to live without to live that way.

Sadly, Jonas learns other sacrifices that are made to keep the community running without a hitch. For example, he learns that the weak, the old, and the disabled are killed so that Sameness can be controlled. Some people today are ostracized from our communities for being different because many people still hold prejudices and prefer to be around those with whom they feel equal or the same. Ultimately, though, Jonas's society wouldn't work without Sameness, so it is highly important to it.

"The Black Cat" features a heavy use of dashes that create long, cumbersome sentences, and accentuate the fragmentation of the narrator's thoughts....

Edgar Allen Poe loves to use dashes in his work.  He uses them frequently in "The Black Cat," along with other works such as "The Pit and the Pendulum" and "The Tell-Tale Heart." Indeed, these dashes do help us hear the fragmentation of his thoughts, as your question mentions.  They also show a crazed feeling or emotion.  His mind seems to be bouncing around from thought to thought, almost faster than he can pen the words.

This style of writing serves to evoke suspense in the reader.  It is a very "gasping" form of conversation, and this causes tension to build in the story.  Because the dashes link several thoughts together rather than end each thought, information is piled on the reader in a rather stressful way.

Take, for example, this excerpt from "The Black Cat":

"The reader will remember that this mark, although large, had been originally very indefinite; but, by slow degrees -- degrees nearly imperceptible, and which for a long time my Reason struggled to reject as fanciful -- it had, at length, assumed a rigorous distinctness of outline. It was now the representation of an object that I shudder to name -- and for this, above all, I loathed, and dreaded, and would have rid myself of the monster had I dared -- it was now, I say, the image of a hideous -- of a ghastly thing -- of the GALLOWS ! -- oh, mournful and terrible engine of Horror and of Crime -- of Agony and of Death!"

The dashes in this selection serve to insert a gasping feeling between each thought.  It helps the reader to feel the madness and panic that the character is experiencing.  If Poe had chosen to simply use commas or periods, then the sentences would seem more commonplace.  But because the usage of dashes is meant to add emphasis, frequent usage will serve to emphasize strong feeling in a passage.

Poe's use of dashes in this way ends up being extremely effective, and many of his works are well known for the heart stopping terror they give to their readers. 

What does Atticus show in his cross-examination of Sheriff Tate in To Kill a Mockingbird?

In his cross-examination of Sheriff Tate, Atticus establishes two things. First, that the bruises and wounds on Mayella's face after the incident were on the right side of her face. Sheriff Tate then volunteers that she had bruises elsewhere, especially around her throat, as if someone had grabbed her around the neck and choked her. Later, we see the significance of these facts. As it turns out, Tom Robinson's left arm is essentially crippled, shriveled up and largely useless. Because a blow to the right side of Mayella's face would have likely been delivered by someone's left hand and because it was very unlikely that Tom, with his crippled left arm, could have put both hands around Mayella's neck to choke her, Atticus begins to establish a more-than-reasonable doubt that Tom was responsible for the crime. As it turns out, of course, these facts don't really matter. Tom, a black man, is convicted by the all-white jury.

What does the loan show about Nora?

Nora's taking out the loan demonstrates that she loves her husband unselfishly and has the courage to do what is necessary for his welfare.

In Act I Nora talks with her old friend, Christine Linde, who is widowed and has returned to the town to find work. As they converse, Mrs. Linde seems to think that Nora has led a soft life, but Nora contradicts her, saying both she and Torvald have had to work hard; in fact, Torvald worked so hard that he became seriously ill, and the doctors urged him to travel the Southern Europe. Mrs. Linde asks if Nora and Torvald went to Southern Italy.

NORA. Yes, we did. But you won't believe how hard it was to get away....But of course we had to go. Oh, it was a wonderful trip. And it saved Torvald's life. But it took a lot of money, Kristine. 

When Nora is rather vague about how she obtained the money for the trip, saying merely that her father helped her, Mrs Linde thinks Nora received the money from her father, Nora contradicts, saying that she has raised it herself. Further, she proudly explains how with fierce determination she has paid the money back by doing small jobs. Yet, there is some mystery to how Nora could obtain so much money on her own.

Much later, as Torvald learns that Nora risked breaking the law by forging her father's name on the loan so that she could save her husband, Torvald is unforgiving and appalled that she could do such a thing and bring shame to his name. Moreover, his myopic and selfish reaction to learning of Nora's ill-gotten loan acts as the catalyst to Nora's awakening about their relationship: While she has been the loving and unselfish wife, making great sacrifices so that Torvald's health be restored, he, on the contrary, has been self-centered, perceiving Nora merely as his "doll," and when she breaks from this mold, he is unforgiving.  

Did Grandma switch the pie cards so Rupert Pennypacker could win or because she thought she had a better chance to win with his pie?

In A Long Way from Chicago, Rupert Pennypacker is supposedly the "best home-baker in the state of Illinois." Along with Grandma Dowdel, Rupert enters a gooseberry pie for the Fruit Pies and Cobblers competition at the county fair. When Grandma catches a glimpse of Rupert, she exclaims "I'm a goner." She thinks she might just lose to Rupert.

When Barnie Buchanan distracts everyone by flying his plane over the fair during the judging period, Grandma Dowdel switches her name card with Rupert's. Barnie Buchanan is the pilot who's offering free rides to all blue ribbon winners at the fair. Joey realizes that, if Grandma wins, he can get a ride in Barnie Buchanan's plane. Because of this, he doesn't say anything when he sees Grandma Dowdel switch the cards. After all, "desperate times" call for a "desperate act."

Ironically, in the end, Grandma wins the red ribbon (second place) for her pie, despite the fact that she switched the name cards. The text tells us that Grandma Dowdel did think she had a better chance of winning with Rupert's pie. In her conversation with Joey, she admits this:

"And another thing. I've got a confession to make," I said. "I know you wanted first prize on the pie. You wanted it bad. And I thought you'd switched the card on Mr. Pennypacker's pie with yours so you could win with his pie."

She shot me her sternest look. But then, easing back in the platform rocker, she said, "I did."

From the story, we can deduce that Grandma Dowdel's pie was actually judged to be better than Rupert's, and if she hadn't switched the card, she would have won the blue ribbon.

Why was Harrison Bergeron so intimidating?

Harrison Bergeron is intimidating because he is exceptionally above-average in every way. For starters, he is physically imposing – fourteen years old and seven feet tall, forced to carry around three hundred pounds in metal as a handicap to his incredible strength. This would be intimidating to anyone of average size in a society that celebrates differences; in a society such as the one he lives in, in which all individuals are equalized in every way by forced handicaps, those in charge would of course see him as a threat. You cannot mask height or strength as you can beauty. Harrison is exceptionally good-looking as well, and intelligent, having to wear thick headphones rather than a small earpiece to keep him from completing his intelligent thoughts.

Harrison, basically, is a representation of everything the government is fighting against – he is noteworthy, he is undeniably unique. And he has obviously been rebelling against the equalization policies, else the government wouldn’t have arrested him in the first place. And he’s a teenager, the most volatile and unpredictable of all creatures. “I am the Emperor!” he declares to the world after his escape from prison, and invites the public to “Now watch me become what I can become!” With this line it is clear that he protests the forced equality and suppression of skills and talents required by law, and yearns for the freedom to be who he is, and discover how great he can be.  It is this capacity for individual thought despite his handicaps, and his refusal to acquiesce to the mandates imposed by the government, coupled with his unmatchable strength, that make him so intimidating.

How long did the United States control the Philippines?

After winning the Spanish-American War and destroying the Spanish navy in Manila Bay, the United States received the Philippines in the Treaty of Paris in 1898. The controversial decision was made to annex the islands in that year. This led to a bloody insurrection that was defeated in four years, with hundreds of thousands of Filipino civilian deaths. After the so-called Filipino-American war, the United States governed the Philippines as a territory until 1935, when it gained commonwealth status, though not formal independence. In 1941 (simultaneously with their attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii) the Japanese army invaded and crushed the American garrison there. The Philippines were occupied by the Japanese for most of the war. American troops under Douglas MacArthur retook the islands in 1944, and the Philippines gained fully independent status one year after the war's end, in 1946. They remain an independent nation today. 

Why did Mrs. Jong give Waverly special privileges?

Mrs. Jong gives Waverly special privileges, because she wants to see her daughter do well in chess.  In some ways, Waverly's success is about her as much as it is about Waverly.  To be sure that she wants to see her daughter succeed and do well, but she also loves to boast about her daughter.  Therefore, she will do what she can to help Waverly be a chess champion. 

So, if her brothers are too loud, she will move them into the living room to sleep.  If Waverly cannot think on a full stomach, she does not have to finish her food. 

Her brothers are annoyed at this arrangement, and they complain as they see the incongruity of the situation, but in the end Mrs. Jong's words and will prevails. 

"Why does she get to play and we do all the work," complained Vincent. "Is new American rules," said my mother. "Meimei play, squeeze all her brains out for win chess. You play, worth squeeze towel."

What do you learn about Katniss based on her internal/external struggles?

In the book The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, the character Katniss appears to have multiple levels to her personality. Throughout the book, her internal and external struggles reveal to the audience that there is more to her than there initially appears. Some of these revelations include insight into her strength and her sensitivity.

Beginning with her strength, many of the external and internal struggles reveal how unbelievably strong Katniss truly is in the story. Regarding the external, Katniss faces the Hunger Games and provides for her family’s wellbeing after her father’s death. Internally, Katniss also expresses personal fears (such as surviving the Hunger Games), but continues to fight through without giving up. Throughout all of these circumstances, Katniss persists and utilizes her strength to overcome the struggles.

Subsequently with her sensitivity, we can see that Katniss truly has a more sensitive and caring spirit underneath her tough exterior. With her internal struggles, she reveals how much she cares for people, even when she has not known them for very long, such as with the loss of her friend Rue. This is also portrayed when she meets the Avox again. Katniss feels deep guilt and remorse because she did not try to save her from her capture. As Katniss herself explains when seeing the girl:

“But even as I utter the words, I feel my insides contracting with anxiety and guilt at the sight of her, and while I can’t pull it up, I know some bad memory is associated with her.”

As a result, these internal and external events reveal the strength of Katniss; however, they portray a sensitive side to her as well. Although throughout the story she naturally seems more comfortable with demonstrating her strength, she illustrates her sensitivity and care for people at numerous moments. This juxtaposition of sensitivity and strength cause Katniss to be an even more admirable character.

Why are objects that fall near Earth’s surface rarely in free fall?

Free fall refers to the downward motion of an object without any resistance. Any object thrown upwards or dropped from a height is pulled towards the Earth's surface due to Earth's gravity. Such objects experience a constant acceleration, known as acceleration due to gravity (denoted by g), which has a numerical value of 9.81 m/s^2. Objects in free fall will not experience any other force and will fall with constant acceleration. 

However, this is an idealized scenario. In reality, air offers resistance to any object falling downwards and this results in object achieving a constant velocity, known as the terminal velocity. This is a result of gravity pulling object downwards and air resistance opposing this motion. More the air density, higher will be this resistance. Air density is a function of altitude (apart from temperature). The higher the object, lesser will be the air density and hence lesser air resistance. Thus, the objects that are dropping from high altitudes are in (nearly) free fall, while those close to Earth's surface will have significant air resistance and hence will not be in free fall.

Hope this helps. 

How did the idea of nationalism lead to nation building in Europe in the 19th Century?

Nationalism was the ideological driving force behind nation-building in the nineteenth century. A shared sense of identity with other "Germans" and "Italians," for example, helped to build popular support for the unification of these countries--Italy, as one European leader said, was nothing more than a "geographic expression" before the 1860s. (I focus here on these two nations because nation-building there served as an example for other nations). As early as the 1810s, nationalistic organizations like Giuseppe Mazzini's "Young Italy" emerged, creating momentum for the formation of nation-states. As historian Benedict Anderson has shown, the spread of print media also facilitated nationalism by helping to create a shared culture, or an "imagined community" as Anderson called it. The actual mechanics of nation-building was carried out by statesmen such as Count Cavour in Italy and Otto von Bismarck in Germany, and the liberal ideals that often accompanied nationalistic sentiment in Europe were largely absent from the governments formed by these men. But nationalism played a pivotal role in mobilizing popular support for forming nation-states in Italy and Germany.

How successfully does Gay manage to balance the targeting of identifiable individuals, or of specific fashions or social institutions, with...

In the play, The Beggar’s Opera, Gay used the individuals, specific fashions, and social institutions to mock the vices of humanity in general. Thus, he created a co-dependent and balanced relationship between the specific individuals, fashions, and social institutions with humanity’s vices in general. Without either, the play would lack the applicability and comedy that exists to this day.

During time period of The Beggar’s Opera (1728), England was becoming aware of itself in numerous ways as an Empire. As a result, fashions and commodities were becoming part of everyday life. Gay used this play to indicate that people focused on the commodity of not only items, but also people. For instance, people’s worth was based off their ability to procure items. For example, the character Polly Peachum is discouraged from marrying by her father Mr. Peachum because he wants her to be “a key” and have several men at her disposal. Additionally, Mr. Peachum does not want her married because she would lose her possessions, showing that commodities appear more important than the love that Polly feels. Not only are women subjected to this debasement of value based on commodity, but the character MacHeath is viewed as successful and a good man because he steals many things and much of the play focuses on listing specific commodities that were treasured during that time. Furthermore, Gay includes lists of specific commodities in his play to illustrate the general obsession with commodities at the time. As a result of these specific commodities, people established a general sense of being upper class and used these items to appear superior, showing a sense of what the British Empire believed to be “good” or “bad” commodities.   

Furthermore, by illustrating the specific individuals and comparing their lives, Gay analyzes the differences between social classes. Throughout the play, the specific characters from both classes appear the same (morally corrupt), calling into question if there is really any difference at all. As a result, commodity appears to replace traditional morals or beliefs. 

Thus, Gay uses these specific people, fashions, and social institutions to focus the audience on the more general and larger problems of humanity. Both these specific and general literary devices were required to make the play a success.

In Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night", why does Olivia avoid men?

At the beginning of “Twelfth Night” we learn that Olivia has gone into a period of deep mourning for her brother's death. She has announced that she will not leave the house or entertain any suitors for the next seven years. Olivia is motivated in part by genuine grief, but this also accomplishes two other things that are useful to her. First, she's being pursued relentlessly by the Count Orsino, who is madly in love with her and trying very hard to get her attention while he sits in his own castle in Illyria moping about how she won’t pay attention to him. By announcing that she is going into a period of mourning during which she is cutting off the possibility of romance, she is hoping that he'll get the message and simply leave her alone. Second, according to the inheritance rules at the time, she has inherited the estate where she lives from her brother because she's the only surviving child. Her parents died, and we can assume that when her father died the estate passed to her brother; when her brother died it passed to her, but only because there were no surviving male heirs. If she gets married, all of her property and money would then transfer immediately to her husband and she would once again have nothing of her own. In order to hold on to her own fortune and her own property and be able to be to make independent decisions about her life and her money, she needs to remain single. By avoiding men, she is also protecting her property rights. All those reasons are true for Olivia at the same time: she is genuinely grieving for the loss of her brother, mourning provides an excuse to be rid of the annoying Orsino, and also helps her protect her property, which she would have to give up if she married.

What are the symbols found both in the title Of Mice and Men and in the novella?

In Of Mice and Men, the symbolism of its title is twofold.

First, the title represents the fact that the plans we make can often fall apart. Steinbeck took the title from Robert Burns' poem "To a Mouse Upon Turning Up Her Nest With a Plow." In this poem, the speaker apologizes to the mouse for destroying her home right before the frosty winter. He acknowledges that the mouse probably planned and worked very hard to prepare for the upcoming freeze, but he also states that "the best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry," meaning that no matter how much we try to plan and prepare, something can always go wrong. Such is the case for George and Lennie who devise a plan to save their earnings and buy a farm where they could live the rest of their days "an' live of the fatta the lan" (14). However, as the poem states, their plan falls apart when unforeseen circumstances lead to Lennie's death.

Lennie and George's farm is a symbol itself, representing the unattainable American Dream. According to Crooks, "every damn one of 'em's got a little piece of land in his head. An' never a God damn one of 'em ever gets it" (74).  

The mouse in the title also symbolizes the power that the weak have over the strong. In the novella itself, this mouse manifests itself as mice as well as rabbits, Lennie's puppy, Candy, and, ultimately, Lennie. Lennie, unaware of his strength, inadvertently kills whatever small, weak creature is unlucky enough to cross his path. Likewise, Lennie is weak-minded, and those who have a stronger mind take advantage of him. For example, Curley, smaller and weaker in size, has a lot more mental power than the gentle giant, so he is able to tease and bully him. Similarly, Candy is weak in that he cannot stand up to Carlson when the latter wants to kill Candy's dog. "He looked for help from face to face," but ultimately, the dog is shot.

Finally, Candy's dog itself is a symbol. The decrepit, useless animal represents society's view and treatment of old, disabled people. Candy acknowledges that he, like his dog, is old and disabled, having only one hand. He asks George, "You seen what they done to my dog tonight? They says he was no good to himself nor nobody else" (60).   

How does the death penalty apply to Romeo and Juliet?

In Act I, Scene 1 of Romeo and Juliet there is a major brawl between the Montagues and Capulets. It begins with the Capulet servants "biting their thumbs" (a severe insult) at their Montague counterparts. It escalates as Tyblalt, despite the attempts by Benovlio to mitigate the situation, joins in and says he hates the Montagues as much as hell. The scene provides exposition for the remainder of the play.

The battle in the street is eventually broken up by the Prince, who rules Verona. He is obviously fatigued by the continual outbreaks of violence in the city streets, so he issues an edict which outlaws the fighting between the two families and threatens the death penalty for anyone who breaks his proclamation. He says,

Three civil brawls bred of an airy word
By thee, old Capulet, and Montague,
Have thrice disturbed the quiet of our streets
And made Verona’s ancient citizens
Cast by their grave-beseeming ornaments
To wield old partisans in hands as old,
Cankered with peace, to part your cankered hate.
If ever you disturb our streets again,
Your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace.

Later, however, the Prince reconsiders his proclamation when Tybalt kills Mercutio and Romeo, in a fit of revenge, kills Tybalt. After hearing the story of the fight, which breaks out in Act III, Scene 1, from Benvolio he sentences Romeo to banishment rather than death. The Prince listens to the pleas of Lord Montague and agrees that exile is the just decision. He says at the end of the scene,

And for that offense
Immediately we do exile him hence.
I have an interest in your hearts’ proceeding:
My blood for your rude brawls doth lie a-bleeding.
But I’ll amerce you with so strong a fine
That you shall all repent the loss of mine.

His decision may have also been influenced by the fact he was related to Mercutio, as he is to Count Paris, who dies later at the hands of Romeo outside the Capulet tomb.

How do the nucleus and ribosome work together in the process of protein synthesis?

The nucleus and ribosomes both involve messenger RNA (mRNA) during protein synthesis. The mRNA is made during transcription within the nucleus. The mRNA then travels out to the cytoplasm via a nuclear pore of the nucleus. Here, the mRNA works with ribosomes, tRNA, and rRNA to make proteins in the process known as translation.

As mentioned above, transcription and translation are the two phases of protein synthesis. Each process is described in more detail below.

During transcription, the two strands of DNA unwind. One of the strands serves as a template from which an mRNA strand is made. Each set of three nucleotides on an mRNA is called a codon. These codons will be important in the second phase of protein synthesis called translation.

After the mRNA is created during transcription, it migrates to the cytoplasm via a nuclear pore. 

During translation, mRNA, ribosomes, rRNA, tRNA, and amino acids work together to make the protein strand.

Once in the cytoplasm, the mRNA and ribosomes attach. The ribosomes serve as scaffolds that match the mRNAs codons to the anticodons on the tRNAs. Anticodons are sets of three nucleotides on the base of a tRNA that are complementary to mRNA codons. Amino acids are attached to the tops of eacg tRNA. Thus, the pairing of complementary codons and anticodons ensures that the amino acids of proteins are placed in the correct sequence.  

As a ribosome moves down a mRNA during translation, additional tRNA anticodons are matched with their complementary mRNA codons. In this way, a protein strand grows in length.  When two amino acids are adjacent to one another, a peptide bond forms. The polypeptide chain continues to grow until a stop codon is reached on the mRNA. At this point, the polypeptide chain is complete.

Is the narrator of Edgar Allan Poe's "Cask of Amontillado" also a murderer?

In Poe's short story "Cask of Amontillado" the narrator, Montresor, makes his intentions clear in the first paragraph. He has been insulted by Fortunato and views the man with complete disdain. Because of this unnamed insult Montresor vows to punish Fortunato, but makes it clear that any punishment must go undiscovered and that Fortunato should be the only one to know that Montresor has punished him. The narrator says,

"I must not only punish, but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong."

Montresor has devised a plan for murder which will not only go undetected by any outside entity but as the murder unfolds, Fortunato will be quite aware of who is responsible for his demise. Montresor chooses the perfect setting for his crime, the Carnival season. Carnival (literally a farewell to meat), as its name suggests, was a time of excess and extreme (picture the annual Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans) in anticipation of the Christian observance of Lent, a forty day period of fasting and abstinence prior to Easter. Costumes and alcohol are in abundance during this festival. 

Not only is Fortunato inebriated but he is also dressed in costume as he comes under Montresor's plot of retribution. Montresor lures the drunken man to his villa with the excuse of needing his opinion on a rare spirit called Amontillado. Because of the festivities Montresor's servants are all out of the house enjoying themselves.

As was the custom of the wealthy in those days Montresor keeps his wine collection underground in what were once catacombs, or underground cemeteries, which is, of course, a fitting place to perpetrate his crime. As he and Fortunato descend deeper into the vault Montresor continually praises his victim about his knowledge of good wine to make it look as though this is simply two friends indulging in a common interest. Montresor is also plying Fortunato with more drink so that by the time Fortunato realizes what is happening it will be too late.

Finally toward the bottom of the incredibly creepy vault Montresor chains Fortunato to the wall and proceeds to actually wall him in, thus gaining retribution for the unnamed insult without a trace of evidence. Fortunato will eventually die in the catacomb and his bones will mix with the others buried in this underground tomb. The narrator concludes, "For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed them." As Montresor predicted his plan works perfectly and only Fortunato realizes the true identity of his murderer. 

How does Faber respond to Captain Beatty's dream?

Guy Montag receives a small listening device from Faber, called a green bullet, that allows the two of them to communicate back and forth without anyone knowing. Montag places the bullet in his ear while Faber listens and can speak to him from his home. It's not unlike the cell phone earpieces used today, but this device hides within the ear canal. This allows Faber to hear Captain Beatty when he tells Montag about the dream he has. The dream centers around Beatty and Montag having "a furious debate on books" (106). As Captain Beatty describes the details of the dream to Montag, Faber can hear every word. Faber can also respond to Beatty so that only Montag can hear him. For example, when Beatty says, "Stick with the firemen, Montag. All else is dreary chaos," Faber counters by saying, "Don't listen. . . He's trying to confuse. He's slippery. Watch out!" (106).

Captain Beatty continues to describe his dream, which is really a debate about how books are bad and the firemen are good. His arguments are very convincing, too; so much so that Beatty affects Montag in the following way:

"Montag's head whirled sickeningly. He felt beaten unmercifully on the brow, eyes, nose, lips, chin, on shoulders, on up-flailing arms. He wanted to yell, 'No! Shut up, you're confusing things, stop it!'" (107).

Faber can hear all of this debate and he knows that Montag is getting confused due to the verbal and psychological beating he is enduring. Faber does his best to calm Montag down since he is not able to be there in person for him by saying, "Montag, hold on! . . . He's muddying the waters!" (107). Before Faber can say anything else, though, an alarm sounds for the firemen to go burn a house down and Faber remains powerless at his home as he waits for another moment in which he can help Montag again. Therefore, Faber's response to Captain Beatty's dream is not to listen to his arguments because Beatty twists facts and words from books to support his own claim against them.

If the sun is, one day, going to expand into a massive gigantic star and obliterate earth, then does that mean our galaxy wouldn't be...

It is true that our Sun is ultimately going to become a red giant and expand into a much larger size and engulf most of the planets of solar system. When that happens, the life on Earth will cease to exist. However, that eventuality is billions of years away. Our Sun is a relatively young star. Also, the question precludes the possibility of existence of life on other planets of the galaxy. We have so far not found any evidence of life elsewhere in the universe, however, we may be able to find life on some other planet or galaxy before our Sun becomes a red giant. Thus, we cannot say (with much confidence) that life in our galaxy will become unsustainable. However, the solar system will not be able to support life once the Sun becomes a red giant. 

The artificial satellites in orbit around Earth have short lives (a few years); natural satellites (such as our Moon and those of Jupiter) will die out when the Sun expands. 

In general, the question is about an event that is a few billion years away and hence most of our answers are educated guesses, especially about the existence of life.

Hope this helps. 

Describe the character of Eveline in Dubliners.

Eveline is a 19-year-old girl who finds life in 20th-century Dublin unbearable. She is a dutiful daughter, who takes care of her family, especially her father, who is often drunk and abusive. Eveline oscillates between the two choices she has -- she can either stay and enjoy the comfort and familiarity of her home or she can run away from her oppressive and stifling daily routine with her lover, Frank, to Argentina and embrace the unknown.

Throughout the whole story, Eveline struggles to make a choice. Even if we dare assume that she has made a choice, she quickly proves us wrong, letting us into her world of thoughts and doubts. On the one hand, she cannot let go of the obligations and promise made to her mother that she would keep the family together no matter how hard it is. On the other hand, she knows that staying in Dublin would mean that she would be robbed of her dreams and happiness:

She stood up in a sudden impulse of terror. Escape! She must escape! Frank would save her. He would give her life, perhaps love, too. But she wanted to live. Why should she be unhappy? She had a right to happiness.

However, as she becomes aware that her new life would not necessarily bring her the fulfillment which she desperately needs, she decides to stay. Just like other characters in Dubliners, Eveline is the victim of emotional and spiritual paralysis which enveloped Dublin at the time Joyce lived.

What message is sent when bricks are bought and a school house is built for Napoleon's offspring in Animal Farm by George Orwell?

In Chapter 9 of Animal Farm by George Orwell, Napoleon buys bricks and timber to build a schoolhouse exclusively for his piglets. The message that is sent by Napoleon's actions is that the pigs are considered of a higher status than any of the other animals. They are better than everyone else according to Napoleon's actions. About this same time, a rule is made that if another farm animal meets a pig along a path, the other animal has to step aside and allow the pig to pass.

By this point in the book, Napoleon has separated himself and his offspring from the rest of the farm animals, and he has taken privileges that are not available to the others on the farm. Napoleon also has given himself more privileges than anyone else including the other pigs.

"There were the bricks, sand, and lime for the schoolroom to be purchased, and it would also be necessary to begin saving up again for the machinery for the windmill.  Then there were lamp oil and candles for the house, sugar for Napoleon's own table (he forbade this to the other pigs, on the ground that it made them fat), and all the usual replacements such as tools, nails, string, coal, wire, scrap-iron, and dog biscuits." (Orwell 116-117)

What problems did Okonkwo face in Things Fall Apart that led to his downfall?

In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe vividly illustrates the tragic story of proud warrior Okonkwo as he faces the challenges presented by a rapidly changing Umuofia. Okonkwo faces a number of problems in the novel. Chief among them is the pervasive influence of Western settlers that changes the face of his region and ultimately marginalizes the traditional norms and values that Okonkwo holds dear. This influence becomes especially prevalent when he is in exile in Mbanta. His oldest son Nwoye rebukes his relationship with his abusive father and joins the Christian church. Okonkwo feels betrayed, and considers Nwoye dead to him:

“How could he have begotten a woman for a son? At Nwoye’s age Okonkwo had already become famous throughout Umuofia for his wrestling and his fearlessness. He sighed heavily, and as if in sympathy the smoldering log also sighed. And immediately Okonkwo’s eyes were opened and he saw the whole matter clearly. Living fire begets cold, impotent ash. He sighed again, deeply” (153).

After Okonkwo returns from exile, he realizes that the region has changed forever. The major problem that Okonkwo faces is that his values are no longer seen as relevant. Umuofia has been too heavily influenced by Western norms and institutions:

“Umuofia had indeed changed during the seven years Okonkwo had been in exile. The church had come and led many astray…. But apart from the church, the white men had also brought a government. They had build a court where the District Commissioner judged cases in ignorance” (174).

Thus, the problems that Okonkwo faces can largely be traced to his inability to adjust to change. His inflexible will makes him a living relic, and this why he faces so many problems in the novel.

Should Lyddie have agreed to go to the mass meeting at Woburn on Independence Day in Lyddie?

Lyddie did not attend the meeting because she did not want to get in trouble.

When Lyddie hears about the mass meeting of the “ten-hour movement” on Independence Day, she says she will be busy.  Lyddie does not want to make trouble.  She refused to sign the petition at first, because she believed that it was wrong of the factory girls to organize.

She liked Diana, really she did, yet she found herself avoiding her friend as though radicalism were something catching, like diptheria. She knew Mr. Marsden was beginning to keep track of the girls who stopped by Diana's looms. She could see him watching and taking mental note. (Ch. 13)

Lyddie decides for Diana’s sake to sign the petition.  She wants to make a present of it.  When she tells the movement leader that she wants to sign the petition, she is told that it was already submitted and failed, even with four thousand names.

While it may be easy to judge Lyddie, we have to remember that she was in a tough situation.  Her baby sister died, and her little sister was in bad shape.  She felt that her money was the only thing keeping her family afloat.  Her mother wrote to her and asked for money.  Even if Lyddie had signed the petition, it would not have done any good.  The petition still failed.

Being a factory worker is hard work.  The conditions are terrible.  Lyddie works long hours, and she makes less and less per piece even as the amount of work and hours increase.  She makes $2.50 and $1.75 of it goes to room and board.  Clearly the factory takes advantage of its workers.  This is why Lyddie worries about being punished for signing the petition and refuses to sign it.  She knows that the factory owners are watching her.