Why would you recommend The Pearl for reading?

I would recommend that someone read The Pearl to gain historical understanding of the struggles that Native Americans of the Baja Peninsula faced during the years of Spanish occupation from the 1500s until the Mexican War of Independence in the early 1800s. Though fictional, The Pearl truly represents the years of exploitation and discrimination that Native Americans endured under the Spanish.

I would recommend that someone read The Pearl to understand how an author can create complexity and ambiguity from a simple folk story. The Pearl was inspired by a Mexican folktale. John Steinbeck took this short story, added depth to its characters, and transformed it into a short novella.

I would recommend that someone read The Pearl to prepare to read one of the twentieth century’s literary masterpieces, since The Pearl contains many themes and political calls to action that John Steinbeck further developed in his longest novel, The Grapes of Wrath. Like The Grapes of Wrath, The Pearl shows how the rich and powerful, instead of protecting their vulnerable neighbors, exploit them for further unnecessary riches. The Pearl shows class struggle at a micro-level, the level of one family, whereas The Grapes of Wrath expands the theme to show how economic injustice affects a broad range of society.

I would recommend that someone read The Pearl to introduce themselves to the concept of the “tragic hero.” Kino, a protagonist with many good qualities, often leads himself to his downfall by letting his lust for the pearl get the best of him. The reader sees this when Kino viciously attacks his beloved wife, Juana, after she tries to throw the pearl away. The reader also sees this when Kino stubbornly holds onto the pearl even though he knows it will turn the town against his family.

How is "Fahrenheit 451" related to "Allegory of the Cave"?

The Allegory of the Cave is found in Book VII of the Republic by Plato. We see that Plato's philosophy about true education, wisdom, and freedom is delineated through a conversation between Plato's brother, Glaucon, and his teacher, Socrates. I will attempt to show you that each stage of the conversation corresponds on some level to Ray Bradbury's allegory of a dystopian society in Fahrenheit 451.

Part One: Setting the Scene: The Cave and the Fire.

In this section, Socrates asks Glaucon to imagine a cave and its inhabitants. These cave-dwellers have been imprisoned since birth. They have no knowledge of anything beyond the walls of the cave, particularly the wall in front of them. These unfortunate citizens of the cave are not even allowed to turn around and to observe their surroundings. They are chained to the floor, their necks are shackled, and they have no ability to stand up.

People carrying puppets and objects pass behind these prisoners, their bodies hidden by a low wall. The puppets and objects cast shadows on the wall facing the prisoners; a fire behind the prisoners makes it possible to cast the eerie shadows that the prisoners see on the wall. The shadows are their reality.

In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury tells us about the wall to wall television screens in every home. In this dystopian world, every citizen is bombarded with mind-numbing daily programming, courtesy of a government bent on subjugating its citizens. The images these citizens see on the screens are their reality, just as the shadows constitute reality for the cave-dwellers. In the story, Montag, the protagonist, and his wife, Mildred, quarrel about putting in a fourth wall-sized screen. Montag objects to having the fourth screen because they are still making payments on the third wall-sized screen.

Mildred's petulant response is telling; she is utterly convinced that the extra screen is necessary to her happiness. However, all is not well with Mildred. She denies taking all of her sleeping pills the night before, despite Montag's argument that the bottle is empty. This brings us to Part 1 of the three stages of liberation.

Freedom Stage One.

In this stage, Socrates argues that the cave dweller would deny reality even if he was apprised of the truth of his situation. Therefore, any attempt to free the prisoner would be met with bewilderment, fear, and suspicion on the prisoner's part. He would have to endure both physical and psychological pain to acknowledge the truth of his situation. Socrates asserts that most prisoners would rather return to what they know than to endure this distressing state of affairs.

Likewise, you can see that Mildred is a prisoner in Fahrenheit 451. Her life is punctuated by a dysfunctional merry-go-round of obsessive television and radio programming. She is either seen with her TV scripts in hand, mechanically quoting her personalized lines, or sitting dutifully with her headphones.

...you had the impression that someone had turned on a washing-machine or sucked you up in a gigantic vacuum. You drowned in music and pure cacophony.

In the story, Montag finds himself frustrated at the meaningless conversations he has with his wife. The ubiquitous headphones do not inspire any emotional intimacy between friends or family members. However, Mildred is depressingly content with the status quo. Her constant reliance on sleeping pills is a metaphor for her mental and psychological incarceration.

She was an expert at lip-reading from ten years of apprenticeship at Seashell ear-thimbles.

Freedom Stage Two.

In this stage, Socrates argues that the mission to save a cave-dwelling prisoner would necessitate the use of violence. One would have to violently drag the hapless prisoner out of the cave and into the open air. Why? He would fight you every step of the way. Enlightenment is one of the most frightening experiences of one's life, especially if degrading subjugation has been the norm of one's entire existence. Socrates tells Glaucon that such a prisoner freed, would respond in pain and rage. The ultimate glare of enlightenment would initially blind (and overwhelm) the prisoner.

Likewise in Mildred's situation, Montag is desperately trying to awaken his wife from her mental stupor. However, she is resistant. Her whole demeanor is characterized by denial, detachment, and a pathological lack of empathy for her husband's distress and mental agony. She shows no remorse or any discernible emotion when Montag tells her how the firemen burned up an old woman and her books. When Montag names off the 'burned copies of Dante and Swift and Marcus Aurelius,' Mildred responds with a vapid 'Wasn't he an European?'

In the end, Mildred betrays her own husband when she informs on him to the firemen. When he realizes that his wife is forever lost to him, Montag faces the bitter necessity of continuing his quest for freedom without her. This brings us to the third stage of freedom, as characterized by Socrates.

Freedom Stage Three.

In this stage, Socrates argues that, once the prisoner allows himself the opportunity to become acclimatized to his new surroundings of freedom, the desire to revert to his previous state of subjugation becomes anathema to him.

In Fahrenheit 451, Montag realizes that he wants to be free. When he discovers that his wife has betrayed him, he is consumed with grief and devastation. Even as Captain Beatty taunts him, Montag switches on the flame-thrower and burns down everything in his home. It is a catharsis of sorts for him. Notice what Captain Beatty says about books before he dies:

Give a man a few lines of verse and he thinks he's the Lord of all Creation.

This is actually a rather simplistic way of characterizing intellect; Beatty's statement was meant to be contemptuous. He wanted to demoralize Montag. However, as Montag later discovers when he joins the book enthusiasts, reality is what our intellect interprets of our surroundings. Our surroundings alone do not constitute reality. This, essentially is Plato's message in The Allegory of the Cave.

Next, we will discuss the Prisoner's Return to the Cave.

What is your opinion of World War II?

This is an excellent question for a history student, because hidden in the question is the need to assess the veracity of secondary historical documentation. In other words, one’s “opinion” depends on the rhetoric imbedded in reports, journalistic coverage, personal views expressed by contemporaries, etc. For example, my “opinion” is based not on documentation but on being a child when Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Japanese, when the Jewish prisoners were released from the concentration camps, when the atom bomb was dropped, when the Marshall Plan was instituted, etc. Consequently my “opinion” is not so much based on historical documentation as on personal experience.  My father drove an ambulance in London.  Your “opinion” will be based on what you have “heard” or read about the war. Were the Nazis purely evil? Was the Normandy Invasion worth the deaths? Was Paris burning? Did the American military/industrial complex want a war? Roosevelt said “I hate war. Eleanor hates war.” Where did you get your “opinion” of WWII? A reasonable source? Or an impassioned source? History books or primary sources?

How are children changed by the differences between today and the past? How are they different?

In my opinion, the largest difference the current generation of children has as compared to past generations is the influence of the internet.  No generation has ever before been bombarded with information and social pressures as they are today.  No generation of children has ever before carried phones in their pockets, constantly attached to the world at all times. 

In the past, children would come home from school and visit with friends, do homework, do chores, and then possibly spend the rest of the evening with their families.  Today, they might still be busy chatting with friends online until late hours, even robbing themselves of needed sleep.

In the past, children could be protected to some extent from the negative influences of the adult world.  Today, not only is porn and violence available on every phone, tablet, and pc, but it does not wait to be found by a child.  It is there, ready to be seen by any surfing eye.

In the past, it was enough of a challenge for kids to concentrate on school work.  Now, however, there are the constant distractions of text messages, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, entertainment updates, news headlines, and many other interruptions.  Children were not meant to multitask constantly.

Finally, with all of the TV, video games, and internet usage available to children, there is very little incentive to go outside and be active.  Because of this, today's youth are facing more obesity and internal health problems than ever before.  In the past, children became victims to external health threats such as viruses.  Today, kids tend to unknowingly cause their own health problems. 

Explain how Steinbeck uses language to describe the setting in Chapter Six of the novel, Of Mice and Men?

Steinbeck opens each of the six chapters of his novel, Of Mice and Men, with a description of the setting. Chapter Six is set near "the deep green pool of the Salinas River", which is also the setting of Chapter One. Lennie has returned to this spot on George's orders. For George and Lennie, this is a safe place, free of other people or the potential for Lennie to do "another bad thing". Lennie returns to the spot after accidentally killing Curley's wife, and it is where he will meet his end as George mercifully kills the big man at the close of the chapter.

In order to understand Of Mice and Men, the reader must understand literary naturalism. In novels which employ naturalism the characters are viewed from a totally objective and scientific stance. Often the harsh realities of life, as in nature, are the focus.

In the opening of the chapter, Steinbeck initially describes a tranquil scene:

The deep green pool of the Salinas River was still in the late afternoon. Already the sun had left the valley to go climbing up the slopes of the Gabilan Mountains, and the hilltops were rosy in the sun. But by the pool among the mottled sycamores, a pleasant shade had fallen.

Like the ranch, the river looks calm, but when examined closer it has an underpinning of violence as a heron, a bird common to this part of California, kills and eats a small snake. This matches the atmosphere at the ranch, which is idyllic on the surface, but which contains the belligerence of Curley and the discontent of Curley's wife, as well as alienation and racism.

These settings are a microcosm for the rest of the world which is a tough place to survive. In the final analysis Steinbeck's world is difficult and depressing where "the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray".

Why did Judge Taylor appoint Atticus to Tom's case?

During a conversation with Miss Maudie, Scout and Jem found out that Judge Taylor had appointed Atticus specifically to defend Tom Robinson. A young lawyer named Maxwell Green was the one who was usually appointed by the court for defense. He was new to the profession, so he served as the court-appointed defense attorney in Maycomb County. Atticus was a skilled defense attorney with many years of experience.

Historically, African Americans did not always have the most fair trials in Maycomb County. This was especially true when the jury was biased because an African American was accused of a crime against a white person. Miss Maudie saw the injustice in this, and she viewed Judge Taylor's decision as a step in the direction of progress. Miss Maudie hoped that Atticus would give Tom more of a chance:

Atticus Finch won't win, he can't win, but he's the only man in these parts who can keep a jury out so long in a case like that.  And I thought to myself, well, we're making a step—it's just a babystep, but it's a step (Chapter 22).

Where do cells come from?

Cells come from pre-existing cells. This is one of the basic tenets of the cell theory. Earlier it was believed that the cells can arise spontaneously, however, this was proven wrong and the view has been rejected. Now we know that the cells can only arise from already existing cells, through the process of cell division. In this process, a cell divides to form two daughter cells and this way, new cells are generated.

One may question, where the very first cell (or cells) came from, if every cell comes from a pre-existing cell. The origin of first cells is difficult to trace, since there are no fossils of single cells. However, this is clear that various macromolecules organized themselves and grouped together to form the original cells. 

Hope this helps.