What central incidents reveal the primary characteristics of Buddy's older friend that make her such an important part of Buddy's life?

In Truman Capote’s short story “ A Christmas Memory” Buddy’s friend, who is also his distant cousin, includes him in all of her adventures. She is a simple woman who has limitations from a childhood illness. In spite of the difference in their ages, the two are constant companions. Buddy’s friend is creative, loyal, suspicious, and values her relationship with Buddy. She sees Buddy as her friend and confidant.

All year long, the pair devises ways to save money for the highlight of the cousin’s year; fruitcake making time. She includes Buddy in all aspects of the endeavor, making him an important part of the operation. When she needs the buggy, she asks Buddy to retrieve it so they can pick the pecans, and bring home the store bought ingredients they need. When their other relatives find them after drinking the leftover whiskey from making the cakes, it is Buddy’s friend who takes responsibility. She takes to her bed crying for hours but in the end, Buddy is able to comfort her. Her caring, albeit, immature nature endears her to Buddy.

At Christmas time they share their arts and crafts activities in order to decorate their freshly cut tree and make kites for each other. Her child-like, but caring attributes make her the perfect companion for six year old Buddy.

He values their friendship so much that he stays in constant contact with his friend after he is sent to military school. She keeps him abreast of the ongoings at home through her perspective. Through her letters she is loyal to Buddy even in his absence.

Imagine that you are a future scientist, living in space today. Identify a testable question for an investigation in space, and design a citizen...

This is a question about the scientific method, the list of steps scientists use to find answers to questions they have.  In this example, we are in space, which would tend to suggest something based on weightlessness.  Eventually, the "scientists" will return to earth, where they will experience earth's gravitational pull on their bodies. 

I think a great scientific investigation would be the effects weightlessness has on muscle maintenance in the human body.  On earth, every motion the human body goes through fights against the pull of the earth.  This is what gives objects their weight.  When people go to space, objects don't weigh much at all.  So they need little in terms of muscular power to pick something up.  Over time, muscles become atrophied, which means they waste away.  It's the old "If you don't use it, you lose it" quotation.

For the question, I would put it like this:  "What are the effects on muscle maintenance in zero gravity environments (space)?"

The next step in the scientific method requires a hypothesis, your best educated guess as to what you think the outcome will be.  Something like "The less gravity in the environment, the more muscle loss a scientist will experience in his/her body."

Now we need an experiment to test the hypothesis.  At the very least, the scientist should take a tape measure and measure specific muscles on his/her body.  Data should be taken over an extensive period of time, such as four to six weeks.  The data could be arranged in graphs, which would provide excellent graphical presentation to consider.  Measurements should be made at the very onset of the experiment, which would represent muscle measurements while on earth with gravity.

An analysis of the data should be considered.  Were the scientists right?  Were they wrong?  Why?

The end of the scientific method  offers a conclusion.  The scientists were right about their idea, or they were wrong.  Being wrong can offer as much educational experience as being right.  What possible explanation could be offered for why the results did not turn out as expected?

What are examples of perseverance in the poem "If" by Rudyard Kipling?

In his poem "If," Kipling explains manly virtues in the manner a father might to a son, and chief among those virtues is perseverance:

"If you can wait and not be tired by waiting" advises the reader to persevere in patience.

"If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew / To serve your turn long after they are gone, / And so hold on when there is nothing in you / Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'" This is a more literal form of perseverence, one of keeping one's faculties working well into weariness and old age.

"If you can fill the unforgiving minute / With sixty seconds' worth of distance, run." A bit more abstract than his other admonishments, this asks the reader to be ready to strive and persevere, on the shortest of notice, for as long as necessary.

Another related virtue is the ability to distance one's self emotionally from the tasks that might be necessary: "If you can make one heap of all your winnings / And risk it on one turn of pitch-and- toss, / And lose, and start again at your beginnings/And never breathe a word about your loss." He advises us to persevere out of necessity and the satisfaction of being able to do so, not out of some kind of emotional need.

What are four quotes that deal with misinterpretation in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird?

There are several scenes throughout the novel that depict characters misinterpreting various ideas and comments. In Chapter 2, Scout is frustrated with Miss Caroline's teaching style and laments to her brother, Jem, during recess on the first day of school. Jem explains to Scout that the teachers are introducing a new way of teaching. He tells her, "I'm just trying to tell you the new way they're teachin' the first grade, stubborn. It's the Dewey Decimal System." (Lee 24) Jem misinterprets what the Dewey Decimal System actually is. The Dewey Decimal System is a way for librarians to classify books and is not a teaching strategy that involves flashcards.

In Chapter in 3, Scout is describing her terrible first day of school, and Atticus teaches her a lesson in gaining perspective. Scout has an epiphany and says, "listen Atticus, I don't have to go to school!" (Lee 40) Scout comments that Burris only has to go to school on the first day. Atticus tries to explain to his daughter that Burris has an excuse because he has a unique circumstance. Scout misinterprets Burris' excused absence as a justifiable reason that she doesn't have to go to school. Atticus elaborates further into why Burris has a viable excuse to miss school and makes a compromise with Scout that she will go to school if he continues to read to her at night.

In Chapter 5, Scout is having a conversation with Miss Maudie about the Radleys. Miss Maudie tells Scout that Mr. Radley is a "foot-washing Baptist" who takes the Bible literally. Miss Maudie says, "sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hand of---oh, of your father." (Lee 60) Scout misinterprets Maudie's metaphor and says, "Atticus doesn't drink whisky...He never drunk a drop in his life---nome, yes he did. He said he drank some one time and didn't like it." (Lee 60) Scout is too young to understand that Maudie was attempting to compare the negative effects associated with interpreting the Bible literally to the negative effects alcohol would have on a sober individual.

In Chapter 7, Jem explains to Scout what he is learning in the sixth grade. Scout mentions that Jem went through a brief period where he walked like an Egyptian. Jem tells Scout that they walked like stiff zombies. Jem misinterprets Egyptian art and believes that their hieroglyphs accurately depicted how they walked. Scout can't seem to understand how they accomplished so much if they walked like that.

How do Captain Keller and Annie Sullivan compare/contrast in The Miracle Worker?

In The Miracle Worker, Annie Sullivan and Captain Arthur Keller, Helen's father, are both similar and different.  If we look at the similarities, both love Helen, though the captain hides his feelings more than Annie does.  Having Helen, both are determined to help her make progress as Miss Sullivan and Captain Keller want her to be able to help herself.  Both want success.

These two dominant figures in Helen's life are also very different.  Miss Sullivan is determined to bring Helen into some kind of calm and to follow what Miss Sullivan is asking her to do.  Helen has long been able to bully anyone into doing as she wants including eating off the plates of anyone at the table.  Annie must fight both the determined Helen and Helen's father as he would indulge his daughter.  As a captain during the Civil War, he is used to giving orders and having them followed, but he cannot seem to get control of Annie as she does what is best for Helen and defies the Captain.  Leading to constant conflict on how to handle Helen, Annie finally has to appeal to Helen's mother, Kate, for help.  The father wants to help his daughter learn, but totally disagrees with Annie's methods as he is required to learn to say no to the child.

Eventually, the breakthrough is made with Helen's sharp mind, and Annie and Captain Sullivan can work together to help Helen learn.

What is the main event in the plot of this poem?

The poem "The Lady of Shalott" tells a story, yet it is not a very eventful story. In Part 1 and most of Part 2, the setting and everyday life of the Lady are described using the present tense, indicating that what is described is a constant scene rather than a series of actions. But at the end of Part 2, the funeral and the arrival of the two young lovers are described in past tense, indicating that the events of the story are now beginning. The remaining events include Lancelot riding by, the Lady leaving her loom and the curse coming upon her, the Lady floating down to Camelot in the boat and dying, and the residents of Camelot coming out to see her body. Of these events, the one that must be considered the "main event" is Sir Lancelot riding past the Lady's window. Most of part 3 is devoted to describing his actions and appearance, and the words "he rode" are repeated six times in four stanzas. The appearance of Lancelot in the Lady's mirror is what results in her decisive action: "She left the web, she left the loom, / She made three paces through the room." Certainly this event could be considered the climax of the story, yet it is precipitated by Sir Lancelot riding by. Therefore, of all the events that occur in the poem, Sir Lancelot's riding by shines clearly as the main one.

Why is pathetic fallacy used in Lord of the Flies by William Golding?

The word "pathetic," in modern and common usage, is typically defined in terms of being sad, weak or contemptible. However, the word is actually rooted in the Greek word "pathos," which means something closer to "feeling" or "emotion." Thus, a pathetic fallacy is an error in feeling, or, more accurately, the misattribution of feeling to a thing that does not feel, such as saying the sun is cruel.

Ascribing human feelings to non-human things is probably a deeply-rooted, ancient practice that may have been employed in an attempt to understand the many mysterious aspects of the natural world, as well as giving rise to numerous myths and religious beliefs. Characterizing objects according to perceived qualities and attitudes may help in shaping human behaviors towards them; for example, qualifying wet rocks as "treacherous" clearly communicates that they are untrustworthy and one must exercise caution or avoid them in order to stay safe. 

Because the boys lack protective adults or tools, we may think of them as resorting to a more primal nature, and accompanying this is a greater degree of pathetic fallacy, in order to understand their place in the world and their relationship to the various inanimate forces around them. 

From a literary perspective, pathetic fallacy is a tool that helps to create other literary elements, such as mood and characterization. We not only learn about Golding's characters by the fact, and the type, of pathetic fallacy they perform, but also how they feel and how Golding wishes to depict their reality.