How does Byron change when the Watsons arrive in Alabama? Why do you think he changes so suddenly? Provide text evidence to support your answer.

After the Watsons arrive in Alabama, Byron seemingly becomes a nicer boy overnight. Accordingly, the family makes the trip to Alabama in order to visit Grandma Sands and also to drop Byron off for a little stay with her. The hope is that Grandma Sands will straighten Byron out.

In Chapter 11, Kenny thinks that Grandma Sands will be no match for his troublemaker big brother. After all, she looks way too fragile to counteract the sort of misbehavior Byron is famous for. However, Kenny finds himself surprised when Grandma Sands puts Byron in his place when he answers her disrespectfully. Although Grandma Sands is small and withered, she's quite the disciplinarian; Kenny gets the idea that she's not the sort of old lady who will tolerate bad behavior. In fact, Grandma Sands may just be one of the main reasons Byron changes so suddenly.

"You good at following directions, Byron?” “Huh?” By’s face twisted up."What?” Grandma Sands’s voice popped like one of those big brown grocery bags being snapped open. By looked surprised and said, “I meant, ‘Huh, ma’am.’ “You good at following directions? Jobe’s is a good little walk.” I said,“He can follow directions real good, Grandma Sands, he’s not as dumb as he looks.” I shut up real quick and wished I hadn’t said anything when Grandma Sands looked at me and said,“ ’Lona, maybe there’s two who should be spending the summer down here with their granny.”

I started to think that making Byron spend all of his summer in this heat was more punishment than even a juvenile delinquent like him deserved. But he seemed like he was having a great time.

Kenny also thinks that the Alabama heat is too much for Byron and has temporarily incapacitated Byron's ability to behave badly. However, he also thinks that Byron seems to be enjoying himself; presumably, being away from Buphead's bad influence has also made a difference in Byron's attitudes.

Byron's change is further evident when he refuses to go to Collier's Landing with Kenny and Joey. Meanwhile, Kenny can't believe that the rebellious brother he used to know would listen to any adult, but here he is warning Kenny not to go to Collier's Landing just because Grandma Sands says so. Later, by all indications, Byron even saves Kenny from being drowned. Living in a wholesome environment has certainly helped Byron to act more like the big brother he should be.

When Kenny becomes shell-shocked after the bombing of Joey's church, it is Byron who comforts Kenny and offers him supportive words of wisdom to guide him out of his emotional paralysis. Byron's emerging maturity appears to be fueled by his experience staying with Grandma Sands in Alabama.

Great Britain passed the Stamp Act to collect what from the colonies?

The British Parliament, led by Prime Minister George Grenville, passed the Stamp Act to collect revenue, or money, from the colonies. The British had just fought a long, exhausting, and very expensive war against France, known as the French and Indian War in the colonies and the Seven Years' War in Europe. They argued (justifiably) that they had fought to protect the colonies from their French and Indian neighbors. The French had been driven off, and the British stationed troops on the frontier to deal with the threat posed by Native peoples (or more accurately by American settlers moving into Indian lands). Stationing these soldiers in America cost money, and, for the reasons mentioned above, the British government had an enormous war debt already. So the ministry of King George decided to try to make the colonists foot some of the bill by imposing a stamp tax that was basically a tax on certain types of documents. The colonists protested that this tax was illegal because they had no representatives in Parliament. The tax was repealed a year later due to the protests, which caught the British very much by surprise, but a host of new measures followed.

What do you know about Todd Wainio's character in World War Z? What's his background?

It is fairly important to understand that “background” of a character as he fights in the zombie apocalypse isn’t necessarily important; however, we can certainly talk about what we do know, as readers, about Todd Wainio. In short, it is from Todd Wainio that we learn about most of the zombie battles in World War Z.

Todd Wainio gives us many details about humans’ accouterments used to fight the zombies (and he does so in a very conversational style). When reading epic poetry, these kinds of lists would be a combination of a catalog and a description of armor. Often, the exact type of military vehicles are listed and described, such as in this section:

Dude, we had everything: tanks, Bradley, Humvees. ... We had Avenger Humvee mounted Stinger surface-to-air missile sets, we had this AVLB portable bridge layer system …. We had a bunch of XM5 electronic warfare vehicles all crammed with radar and jamming gear.

Even further in this section, Todd gives us a description of the battle armor and the “Land Warrior System,” both of which will also help humanity defeat the zombies during the world war. Also keep in mind that this description is given before the battle at Yonkers where Todd learns even more about what is needed to fight the zombies. Therefore, by the time the Battle of Hope happens, the warriors have a new set of vehicles, armor, and systems that are created anew to help in the fight.

Todd Wainio also shows us that it is important to have personal independence and smarts in order to survive in this era. Before the zombies took over the human world, the military soldiers used to be really good at playing games and pushing buttons in order to kill. This was something that didn’t take too much skill or smarts (says Todd Wainio). Now, however, a soldier has to be extraordinarily skilled in order to operate something like a SIR. Further that soldier has to have a decent mind and be mentally sound in order to operate the SIR and other sophisticated weapons. The machines in the above descriptions, then, can’t save us. Only skilled and independent people can save us from the zombies.

In conclusion, please realize that some people believe Todd Wainio is the protagonist of World War Z while others claim another character (such as the interviewer) is the protagonist. As the suggested protagonist, Todd does show the reader the importance of camaraderie in regards to keeping spirits up among the battles. Todd’s focus? The beauty of humanity: “It was a new army, as much the people as anything else.”

Why did Madison propose a new plan of government with three branches? What was he trying to achieve?

James Madison proposed a plan of government that would have three branches. One of the big concerns the writers of the Constitution had was to create a new plan of government that would be stronger and have more power than the government had under the plan created by the Articles of Confederation. At the same time, the writers feared a new federal government that had too much power. They remembered the problems we had when the British government had complete power and authority.

By proposing a plan of government with three branches, James Madison was hoping to give the government more power but not too much power so that it would be overbearing. Each branch of government would have a different job. No branch would be able to do everything by itself. The legislative branch would make the laws. The executive branch would execute or carry out the laws. The judicial branch would interpret the laws. This concept, known as separation of powers, would help prevent the federal government from having too much power. It would have enough power to deal with issues that arose, but not too much power to have total control.

With the system of checks and balances, where the branches would have ways to control each other, and with separation of powers, the new government would have the power to effectively run the government, but not have too much power to become dictatorial.

How does Shakespeare present the idea of mortality in Act V, Scene I? How does this relate to Hamlet’s character in the rest of the play?

Act V, Scene 1 presents Hamlet's "Alas, poor Yorick" soliloquy, in which we find our prince yet again pondering death. This time, Shakespeare presents death through the eyes of a few unlikely sources: first, through a pair of gravediggers; and second, indirectly through a jester's skull.

As the gravediggers prepare for Ophelia's funeral, we get a much different view of death from that presented thus far in the play. This pair pokes fun by literally joking; the first proposes a riddle to the second, to which they themselves are the answer. Their jests contrast sharply with their task, especially in light of the fact that they also debate Ophelia's funeral rites because they believe she committed suicide. Suicide has been an idea Hamlet has pondered since Act I; yet for him, it has never been a joking matter. He has seriously considered the act but has always feared for his eternal soul.

When Hamlet reveals himself to the gravediggers, he asks about the skulls they have unearthed. They reveal that one of the skulls belonged to Yorick, who was Hamlet's father's court jester and Hamlet's childhood companion. The reality of the certainty of death settles upon Hamlet. He reflects upon all the great men in history who are now no more than dust and bones. At this point in the play, Hamlet is able to see beyond himself and his present circumstances, which he has not been able to do before now.

Write a character sketch of Mrs. Hutton from The Story of My Life.

Mrs. Hutton was the wife of Mr. Laurence Hutton at the time when she and Helen Keller became friends.  Helen was friends with both Mr. and Mrs. Hutton.  The couple lived in a "lovely home" in New York City, which Helen visited often.  

Mrs. Hutton was a loyal friend to Helen.  In fact, Helen noted that a lot of what she "[held] sweetest" and "most precious" was because of her dear friend.  Her friend offered her advice and guidance when she was at school.  When Helen would become discouraged, Mrs. Hutton wrote her encouraging letters.  It is evident from Helen's descriptions of her that Mrs. Hutton was a motherly figure who sought to mentor a young woman who was living away from her own mother.  She had a large amount of loyalty and was always willing to help her friends.

The editor of The Story of My Life thanked Mrs. Hutton in the preface for providing many notes about Helen.

What do Ignorance and Want mean in A Christmas Carol?

Ignorance and Want represent mankind’s need to take care of children.

When Scrooge is visited by two men asking for money for charity, he scoffs at the idea.  He suggests that he already takes care of the poor by paying taxes that fund prisons and workhouses.  He sends the men off without giving them anything.

Scrooge attends many events from his past, and begins to get more reflective.  By the time he has finished viewing what is going on around him in the present and how he influences people’s lives, he is starting to regret his negligence in doing his duty to help the poor.  The ghost finally confronts him with two skeletally thin children.  He asks who they belong to, and the Ghost of Christmas Present tells him that they belong to mankind.

“And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree; but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased. …” (Stave 2)

Scrooge’s reaction to the two children is completely different than how he reacted to the poor in the first chapter.  He is no longer thinking of himself, and the thought of the children going to a workhouse is now repellent to him.  When he asks about the children, the ghost throws his words back at him with vehemence.

“Have they no refuge or resource?” cried Scrooge.

“Are there no prisons?” said the Spirit, turning on him for the last time with his own words. “Are there no workhouses?” (Stave 2)

Scrooge is a different person now than when he said those words.  He cared about Tiny Tim, and he cares about these children too.  He is already transforming into the Scrooge who cares about other people.  One of the first things he does when he wakes up in his own present again is find the men he denied gifts too and promise them an enormous sum for their fund.

Dickens wrote this book in order to remind people not to just walk past the needy on the street.  It worked.  When people saw beggars in the street, they thought about Tiny Tim.  Eventually, laws were passed providing funds for public education and ending the workhouse system.  Scrooge showed people that they are responsible for the children of their society.