List two traditional beliefs or customs that Lakunle abides by throughout the play The Lion and the Jewel.

Throughout the play, The Lion and the Jewel, the character of Lakunle is known for his support of modernization and progress. Although he claims to utterly despise ancestral practices, he supports and refers to several traditional customs throughout the play. At the end of the play when Sidi returns to the village after sleeping with Baroka, she confesses that she lost her virginity to Sadiku and Lakunle. Lakunle laments and says, "This trial is my own. Let Sango and his lightning keep out of this...I'll swear he is a liar---and swear by Sango too!" (Soyinka 60). Lakunle swears by the Yuroba god of Thunder, Sango, which portrays his traditional religious beliefs. In addition to mentioning the Yuroba god, Lakunle justifies his refusal to pay the bride-price by referencing the traditional law that states that a man does not have to pay a bride-price if the woman he is marrying is not a virgin. He only supports the traditional custom when it is in accordance with his own beliefs.

Why didn't Tom's religious efforts aid him when it came time for the devil to come for him?

Toward the end of his life Tom Walker, the main character in Washington Irving's short story "The Devil and Tom Walker," becomes a terrible hypocrite. A hypocrite is someone who pretends to have certain moral or religious beliefs yet performs acts which go against these professed beliefs. 

Tom Walker becomes a devoted church goer only at the end of his life when he begins to worry about the after life. He hopes to cheat the devil out of the bargain they made which made him a wealthy man. He thinks that going to church and reading the Bible will nullify his deal with "old scratch." 

We know he's a hypocrite, however, because at the same time he is professing to be a good Christian, he is still lending money at exorbitant rates to the economically unfortunate of Boston. Usury (lending money and charging interest) was prohibited by the church, but evidently Tom never sees the incongruity between his newfound faith and his usurious ways. In the final scene, just as he is foreclosing on a desperate man's mortgage, the devil comes to get him and the reader may assume that God saw him as the imposter he was and wouldn't save him from the "black woodsman." 

How do Mr. and Mrs. Fezziwig treat their workers at the party?

Fezziwig and his wife appear during Stave One, as Ebenezer is visiting scenes from his past.  Scrooge previously served as Fezziwig's apprentice.  It is clear that Fezziwig knows his business well, and that present-day Scrooge learned much from this apprenticeship.  Yet, what Scrooge is lacking, and what Fezziwig represents, is the balance between work and play.  At the party, Fezziwig treats his guests to food, lively singing, and dancing.  It is clear that, while Fezziwig has a good head for business, he also realizes the importance of treating his workers well and of celebrating life.

This example stands in direct contrast to the scene at Scrooge's office on Christmas Eve, which we have previously seen.  There, Scrooge counted his money while Bob Cratchit worked.  There was no party to be seen.  In Fezziwig's example, however, we see a glimpse of what Scrooge's life could be like, if he could find that balance.

What are the differences between the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire?

There are several important distinctions between the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire. 

First, let's look at the Roman Empire. The Roman imperial period began in 31 BCE when the republican period ended and Augustus became emperor. The Roman Empire was centered in Rome itself. Culturally, it remained officially pagan until the 4th century. It held political and military control over the Mediterranean, including parts of African, Asia, and Europe. The Roman Empire began to destabilize in the 4th-6th centuries CE. Eventually, external conflicts and internal political issues (such as power struggles, economic depression, and changes to the military) led to its fracturing.

Second, let's consider the transition to the Byzantine Empire. (One other difference to note is that the west was Latin speaking, while the east was Greek speaking, predominantly.) The Roman Emperor Constantine had moved the capital from Rome to Byzantium in the 3rd century (when it was renamed Constantinople). The center of power had shifted from the western part of the Roman Empire to the eastern part. It was this area, once the Eastern Roman Empire, which became the Byzantine Empire. The split is generally considered complete - and the Western Empire finished - in 476 CE.

Finally, the Byzantine Empire (which can also be called the Eastern Roman Empire, as they themselves still called it). The Byzantines continued to be a powerful political force in the Mediterranean and western Asia for the next thousand years, waxing and waning at different points. It was based in Constantinople (formerly Byzantium and later Istanbul). It was culturally more eastern and Greek leaning than the Latin west had been. It was also Orthodox Christian. Eventually, they lost economic and military power to Turkish and Arab imperial powers and to the devastation of the crusades. Constantinople finally fell in 1453 to the Ottomans, ending the Byzantine Empire.

What are some of the advantages and disadvantages to a national policy that must be implemented by an agency of the federal bureaucracy?

The major benefits of having a policy that needs to be carried out by a national bureaucratic agency are that the policy is carried out in a uniform way by professional technocrats.  The first positive aspect of such a policy is that the policy is carried out the same way everywhere.  If a policy is left to be carried out by all the different state and/or local bureaucratic agencies, there will not be a central authority that can control the way in which it is being implemented.  By having the national government carry out this policy, we get a uniform policy across the country.  The second positive aspect of this policy is that it is carried out by technocrats.  The members of this bureaucratic agency are presumably experts in their field.  Therefore, they will be better equipped to carry the policy out than other people would be.

The major downsides of such a policy are the opposite of its benefits.  While it is good that the policy will be centrally administered, that makes is less flexible.  It means that local agencies cannot adapt the policy to fit their needs. Instead, the national government imposes a “one size fits all” policy on the states and localities.  While it is good that the policy is being carried out by technocrats, this does make things somewhat less democratic.  It is hard for the people to put pressure on bureaucrats if they do not like the way in which the policy is being implemented.

Thus, the good and bad aspects of having such a policy come together and cannot really be separated from one another.

How does Steinbeck's initial description of the bunkhouse show that the migrant workers have to live in harsh conditions in Of Mice and Men?

Steinbeck describes the barren bunkhouse with its whitewashed walls and unpainted floor, small square windows in only three walls, and a solid, wooden door with a rustic wooden latch. For beds there are eight small bunks with single blankets or burlap ticking, and above the beds a wooden box nailed to the wall acts as shelving on which the bindle stiffs place their meager belongings. Thus, the living conditions are those of the ascetic or the poor. 

There are no curtains at the walls, no paintings, no mirrors, no rugs, no comfortable chairs. In the middle of this bunkhouse, a large, square table functions as a card table or gathering spot for the men to sit; however, they must sit upon boxes as there are no chairs. Everything inside the bunkhouse is impersonal and functional. For example, "[N]ear one wall there was a black cast-iron stove, its stove pipe going straight up through the ceiling." This stove's function is to heat the bunkhouse.

Much like the lives of the bindle stiffs, there is a sense of the temporal in this bunkhouse devoid of any real comforts; in addition, nowhere is there decorations or curtains--those things that personalize a place and make it feel a little like home. Instead, the bunkhouse is merely a station where the men come to sleep and to relax for brief periods with no privacy, either. It is not unlike the barn quarters of Crooks, the stable hand, other than the fact he is isolated from the other men.

How can I compare Mr. Wickfield and Mr. Spenlow in David Copperfield?

Mr. Wickfield is Agnes’s father and David’s guardian during his time at school. He is kind and gentle, but unfortunately easily manipulated. He falls victim to Uriah Heep, as does Aunt Betsey Trotwood. He cares for David and Agnes throughout their childhood. He is well off financially, though not excessively wealthy. Unfortunately Uriah Heep is able to finagle much of his wealth from him.

Mr. Spenlow, Dora’s father, is not very kind. He refuses to allow David to court his daughter, viewing him as a mere clerk (and employee). His daughter is meant for better things, much more than David will be able to provide for her. His death is somewhat a release, enabling David to pursue Dora and eventually marry her.

Both of David’s fathers-in-law are influential in his life. However, it is Mr. Wickfield who provides him with a happy life as a child and a happy marriage with his daughter as an adult.