What is a good claim that joins Life of Pi and Margaret Atwood's "True Stories"?

Life of Pi is 2001 critically acclaimed and commercially successful fictional adventure novel written by Canadian writer Yann Martel. It follows an Indian boy named Piscine Molitor Patil (Pi) who survives a horrible shipwreck and manages to stay alive, alone, stranded on the Pacific Ocean, for nearly eight months. He is stuck on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, with whom he forms an unbreakable bond and even friendship. The novel explores various themes like spirituality, friendships, human nature, and people's fiery will ability to adapt and do anything they can to survive. Most importantly, however, the book also explores the meaning of truth, and this is precisely how it connects to Margaret Atwood's poetry collection True Stories.
Published in 1981, the collection consists of several poems which explore themes like nature, people's connection to nature, war, violence, oppression, and the exploration of truth. More specifically, Atwood's title poem "True Stories" asks the questions "What is the truth and why do we need it?" and answers them similarly to how Martel answers them in his famous book.
Both the novel and the poem are filled with rich imagery, and one can even believe that Pi himself could become the speaker of Atwood's poem. Atwood writes,

Don't ask for the true story;why do you need it?It's not what I set out with,or what I carry.What I'm sailing with,a knife, blue fire,luck, a few good words that still workand the tide.

This connects to Pi's adventurous journey, as he too becomes convinced that the world and the natural phenomena around him are very different from and much more captivating than what he originally thought. Once people learn to appreciate the natural world and realize that their survival and endurance are completely dependent on it, that they are helpless before it, they will have a much deeper spiritual connection with reality and with their inner self. Atwood mentions the beach and the ocean as a metaphor for change; Pi's character and personality constantly change throughout the book, as he discovers his own identity and his purpose. Both the speaker and Pi are, basically, on a quest for truth, meaning, and self-discovery.

After nearly two months in the hospital, Malala, her mother, and two nurses went to Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Why didn't her father go?

During her convalescence at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Malala has been working hard at the gym and with a physiotherapist to get her arms and legs working properly again. As a reward for all the progress she's made, Malala is taken on a trip by two hospital staff to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. The hospital staff know that Malala loves nature, so they figure that visiting the Gardens will assist her recovery.
In allowing Malala to go on an outdoor excursion, the hospital administrators need to take precautions to ensure her safety. She is, after all, a victim of terrorism and still needs to be protected from those who would harm her. This means that Malala and those going accompanying her to the Botanical Gardens shouldn't attract too much attention during their visit. For this reason, Malala's mother can go with her, but not her father, as he would be too easily recognized on account of his regular appearances in the media.

To what extent did Lincoln’s "Gettysburg Address" speech reflect the changing nature of American society?

President Abraham Lincoln’s speech, delivered at the dedication of the cemetery for the fallen Union troops at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania is important both for the events it commemorated and for the sentiments he expressed. Because the United States was divided into two countries at that time, any understanding of “American society” in the early 1860s must take into account the deep schism in the ways that Union and Confederate people regarded themselves as American.
The battle at Gettysburg, which lasted from July 1–3, 1863, came to be regarded as one of several turning points in the war. General Lee had decided to march his troops north into Union territory, from Virginia through Maryland (a Union state) and into Pennsylvania. It was not only the largest battle fought to date, involving some 85,000 men, but also the bloodiest, resulting in 50,000 casualties. Had Lee’s army succeeded, the Southern forces would have been well positioned to surround and possibly capture Washington, D.C. They were roundly defeated, however, and the surviving troops had to retreat back into Virginia. Lee’s forces never again invaded the North, which meant that the rest of the war was fought in Confederate territory, with the South in a defensive position.
By the time Lincoln gave his speech, four months had passed since the battle, so its impact was acknowledged. The war had been going on for two and a half years, and the heavy burden was felt on both sides. Lincoln wrote and spoke only 272 words, and he emphasized both unity and continuity. Rather than bring up the Northern victory, he referred to the principles upon which the United States had been founded. He stressed that the soldiers had died for the whole country so that “the Nation might live.” He concluded with the simple but effective repetition of “the people” to remind everyone that the nation and the government meant them. In this regard, he reflected the values of the Union, as it was dedicated to making the country whole again, but not of the Confederacy, which was equally dedicated to having two countries where before there had been just one.

Compare Emerson's and Thoreau's attitudes toward society as expressed in their lives and writings

Both Emerson and Thoreau felt that spending time in nature would be morally improving and inspirational to all people. Emerson wrote, "In the woods, we return to reason and faith." He believed that nature could repair any part of his person that had been ravaged by the cares and concerns of daily life, society's standards, or his own ego. Nature could restore him to his best self. Thoreau likewise felt that nature could be restorative and provide an excellent example of how we ourselves ought to live. He wrote,

Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with Nature herself. I have been as sincere a worshipper of Aurora as the Greeks. I got up early and bathed in the pond; that was a religious exercise, and one of the best things which I did.

Nature uses what it needs and not more; it is simple, and we should also embrace simplicity in our lives. Nature can also provide scenes of beauty and serenity that can wake us up and snap us out of the routines that we too often adopt, forgetting to truly live.
Both Emerson and Thoreau also championed self-reliance and intellectual independence. If you are not inspired by sitting in a church and listening to a preacher, then get up and leave and go find what does inspire you. We must not follow the lead of society, because it may take us somewhere we do not want to go, or worse, lead us to do things that go against our consciences. Emerson wrote, "Be yourself; no base imitator of another, but your best self. There is something which you can do better than another. Listen to the inward voice and bravely obey that." Likewise, Thoreau argued that each person must follow their own conscience, rather than the law. Simply because something is legal does not mean that it is moral or just; slavery, for example, was legal during Thoreau's lifetime, but he refused to participate in any endeavor that even indirectly supported the institution of slavery. He did not pay his taxes at one point and was promptly placed in jail, but he had to follow his conscience, and his conscience would not allow him to contribute money for the support of a government that supported slavery. He believed in a "majority of one"—societies ought not to be ruled by majorities, because majorities are not always, or even often, right; instead, each person must follow their conscience, and this will result in a more just world.
Both men, therefore, placed a great importance on the individual and advocated for society's taking a back seat to the individual. When individuals rely on themselves and their own bodies and souls and consciences, society will become more just and good.

From your reading of the poem "The Man He Killed," explain how the poet feels about war.

This poem by Thomas Hardy makes fairly clear that the poet thinks war "quaint and curious"—specifically because it seems to be such a stupid and pointless exercise. The speaker in the poem describes having shot and killed another man because war and politics have decreed them to be each other's "foe." However, the speaker is filled with wonderment and confusion about this because the other man is, on personal terms, not someone he has any dislike for. On the contrary, he is someone who, if the two were to meet in a "bar," the speaker would buy a drink for; or if he were short of money, the speaker would lend "half a crown" to. The speaker is making the point that, in war, both sides are essentially the same: they are made up of very similar young men who do not want to kill each other and who nurse no personal enmities. The similarity between the two is underlined through phrases like "just as I," as the speaker considers the fact that nothing divides him from the man he has killed but the lines which have been drawn between them by politics and their governments.

How would you interpret Sidi's decision to marry Baroka in The Lion and the Jewel?

In The Lion and the Jewel, Wole Soyinka characterizes Sidi—the “jewel”—as smart, resourceful, ambitious, and practical as well as beautiful. As the suitors vie for her affections, the younger man, Lakunie, shows that he is primarily interested in her beauty. He routinely underestimates her intelligence and denigrates her ideas and values; this is particularly shown in his refusal to pay the bride prices.
Baroka—the “lion”—is not completely straightforward in the way he goes about courting her, and in fact he and his senior wife, Sadiku, deceive Sidi in order to persuade her. Nevertheless, Baroka is clearly the most powerful man in town, and Sidi has learned that she can get along with Sadiku. Of the options available to her, Sidi has considered their pros and cons and made the best decision.

Why do cats meow?

Usually only domesticated cats meow, whereas wild, feral cats do not. Domesticated cats also don't tend to meow to one another. This suggests that cats meow as a way of communicating with humans.
A domesticated cat meows to get the attention of a human, perhaps because the cat wants food, because it wants to be let outside, or maybe simply because it would like some attention.
In a scientific paper published in 2009, Karen McComb, a professor of animal cognition and behavior at the University of Sussex, suggested that when a cat meows it is taking advantage of a human's natural, nurturing response to the cries of a baby. In other words, cats may have learned to adapt their meows to mimic the cries of a baby, so as to elicit more effectively the attention they desire from their human owners.
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/news-blog/the-manipulative-meow-cats-learn-to-2009-07-13/?redirect=1&error=cookies_not_supported&code=dddee74f-4f6c-42d1-8b7d-2ea92dd1ac5a

How does Shakespeare use languages to present Romeo and Juliet's love in act two, scene two?

In the famous balcony scene of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare expertly uses language to emphasize the emotions expressed by the two love-birds. Romeo's language is noticeably poetic and religious, certainly by comparison with previous scenes. Then, Romeo was much more bawdy and immature in the language that he used, especially in relation to the opposite sex. But now, as he stands beneath Juliet's balcony, his discourse is considerably more elevated, in keeping with the solemnity of the occasion. He refers to Juliet as a "bright angel," indicating the almost heavenly nature of her beauty and the love that she inspires.
Through the use of personification, Romeo also compares Juliet to certain features of the natural world:

"But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
Who is already sick and pale with grief," (Act II, Scene ii)

The metaphor of Juliet as the sun perfectly encapsulates Romeo's feelings for her as well as the astonishing effect she's had upon his life in such a short time. Since coming into his life, she has lit up the darkness in which it was previously enveloped. Yet unbeknownst to Romeo, the sun metaphor has an altogether different, less welcome connotation: Juliet, like the sun itself, will always remain out of reach.
By the same token, Romeo compares Juliet's eyes to a pair of twinkling stars. Yet once again, the metaphor serves to highlight not just the overpowering effect of Juliet's beauty but also the sad fact that the two young lovers are destined never to be together. Like the stars, Juliet will always be there, but not always seen.
Juliet's language, on the other hand, is much more restrained. This isn't because she doesn't reciprocate Romeo's feelings, it's just that she seeks assurances from Romeo that his love for her is real. That's why she comes right out and asks him straightforward questions such as "Dost thou love me?"
Romeo responds by swearing his love by the sacred moon, but Juliet's not satisfied by this response. The ever-changing moon is unreliable and so if Romeo swears his love by it, then Juliet fears that their budding relationship will follow the same path. Juliet wants a firm commitment from Romeo if she's to take such huge risks to be with him. And talk of swearing by "yonder blessèd moon," for all its romantic beauty, simply doesn't do that.
Juliet's impatience with Romeo's high-flown language of love is further demonstrated when she interrupts him after he begins to speak of "his heart's dear love." She will hear no more of such language, no matter how beautiful or heartfelt. Juliet, for all her youth and relative immaturity, understands better than Romeo the high stakes involved in such an illicit relationship and her much more down-to language is a reflection of this.

In what way does Wes disappoint Tony in The Other Wes Moore?

Wes disappointed Tony by selling drugs and lying to him about it.
When Wes brings home money, Tony asks him where he got it. Wes says he was DJing. Tony asks again and Wes tries to respond in the same way; before he can finish his sentence, Tony is beating him. Mary, their mother, tries to stop Tony and says that she believes Wes. Tony is skeptical and knows that she's wrong and that she is only seeing what she wants to see.
Wes thinks to himself that he didn't think Tony would be so angry. Tony did the same things even though he tried to keep Wes away from it. But it's clear that Tony wants better for Wes. As his mother cleans him up, Wes thinks about how he disappointed Tony. Wes Moore writes:

The wet rag felt good over the open cuts on Wes’s face. The deeper bruise, however, Mary could do nothing about. Wes knew he was disappointing his brother, which hurt much more than the beating he’d just taken.

He thinks that he wants to be like Tony. However, the more that he acts like him, the more Tony pushes him away.

Why does Gatsby trust Nick in The Great Gatsby?

Gatsby views Nick as a genuine friend in a society full of selfish, shallow individuals and demonstrates trust in him for several reasons. Initially, Gatsby lies to Nick about his background and occupation. Gatsby even dismisses Nick's questions regarding his business and conceals his true identity for the majority of the story until he discovers that Nick is inherently different from the East and West Eggers.
At the beginning of the novel, Nick mentions that he was always "inclined to reserve all judgments" and is a relatively tolerant, understanding individual. The fact that Nick is an outsider to the East Coast also appeals to Jay Gatsby. Similar to many individuals who have confided in Nick, Gatsby does the same after he becomes familiar with him. Gatsby does not feel that Nick is superficial like the other members of his community and feels comfortable trusting him due to his casual, tolerant demeanor.
Gatsby also views Nick as a kindred spirit—in hailing from the Midwest and having fought in World War I. Gatsby and Nick share these commonalities, and Gatsby gradually begins to trust Nick after he proves that he is an honorable, trustworthy individual. For example, Nick sets up a meeting between Gatsby and Daisy and also refrains from speaking about their affair. It is only after Myrtle's death that Gatsby tells Nick the truth about his past, which reveals that he views Nick as a genuine friend.

In "Babylon Revisited," what are the fatal flaws in Charlie's character?

I would say that "Babylon Revisited" is, more than anything else, about how impossible it is to fully erase one's past mistakes. Indeed, it should be noted that many of the story's most important events and plot points happened in the past. This is, more than anything, about the lingering aftermath, which never fully resolves the way its main character wishes it would.
This story's basic plot follows Charlie as he seeks to regain legal custody over his daughter, Honoria. Over the course of the story, Fitzgerald slowly reveals more and more details about what brought him to this point in his life, and just what sort of demons lurk within his past.
Looking backward into the past, we'll find that Charlie possessed a number of qualities, all very much emblematic of the image associated with the Roaring Twenties. He was wealthy and ostentatious; he made money and he spent money with reckless abandon. He drank heavily and was an inveterate social carouser. This was a very turbulent kind of lifestyle, and that turbulence was reflected in his marriage with Helen. Returning back to the present, we see that his sister-in-law blames him for Helen's death, and it is this same woman he now needs to convince to return guardianship over his daughter.
So in answering your questions, you can discuss various character flaws individually, and they certainly apply. There's his drinking and his irresponsibility, but more than anything else, I think, it's the totality of that entire hedonistic lifestyle that has led him to ruin. It cost him his wife and his daughter, and no matter how much he might try to pick up the pieces and get his life back in working order, those stains are never wiped clean. He's still paying for them. We see this expressed symbolically with the intrusion of his old friends Lorraine and Duncan, which in the story's conclusion ruins his chance at regaining Honoria's custody.

Explain the title Wages Against Housework by Silvia Federici.

Wages Against Housework by Silvia Federici was a book that grew out of pamphlets, flyers, and related materials that the US branch of the international Wages for Housework movement produced. Federici was a founder of the US group, which had a New York office beginning in 1975. The Wages for Housework Committee was open to women who were employed inside or outside of the home. Federici’s title refers to the central idea that a variety of activities inside the home, often grouped under the “housework” umbrella and almost all performed by women, should be paid a wage. The book’s title reflects the problematic idea of unpaid housework as it conveys the complex relationship between waged and unwaged labor.
The term "housework" in the global movement's usage drew on Marxist ideas of production; it referenced not just house cleaning but also childcare and related work of social reproduction. It also called attention to the division of labor by gender and the related discrimination that women experience, along with the additional labor burden these factors placed on women. Because women perform unwaged, often hidden labor, they subsidize capitalist relations of production by reducing the amount that owners must pay as wages and forcing those recognized as workers to absorb those costs.
Overall, calling for wages for housework is not just about wanting money; it must instead be viewed from a political perspective, Federici writes, which is enormously different. This perspective urges women, even if they are paid a wage, to refuse housework.

If we start from this analysis we can see the revolutionary implications of the demand for wages for housework. It is the demand by which our nature ends and our struggle begins because just to want wages for housework means to refuse that work as the expression of our nature, and therefore to refuse precisely the female role that capital has invented for us.

Federici calls for the recognition of women’s domestic work as work by everyone, including by women who work outside the home. The idea of “wages” standing in opposition to “housework” means, in this regard, that women who do earn a wage should not aim to separate themselves from unpaid women’s struggle, as they are still expected to do the unpaid work as well.
http://journals.msvu.ca/index.php/atlantis

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/english/currentstudents/postgraduate/masters/modules/femlit/04-federici.pdf

How does the poem "God's Grandeur" comment on man's relationship with the nonhuman world?

In the poem "God's Grandeur," the nonhuman world is defined as a sort of spiritual charge emanating from God, which exists side by side with and enriches the human world. The human world, the speaker says, is "charged with the grandeur of God."
In the first part of the poem, the speaker asks, "Why do men then now not reck his rod?" In other words, why, the speaker asks, do men not heed and respect God's authority and embrace rather than deny this spiritual charge? The speaker then offers an answer to his own question. He suggests that generations of "trade" and "toil" have isolated man from God's "grandeur." Mankind has become so preoccupied with its own "trade" and "toil" that it can no longer sense God.
In the closing lines of the poem, the speaker says that, although mankind has cut itself off from God, God will always be present and ready "with warm breast" to embrace any who are willing to once more embrace him. In other words, there is salvation at hand and a possibility that mankind may be able to reconnect with God or the nonhuman world.

What is a theme that the author develops in chapter 16 of The Shakespeare Stealer?

In chapter 16 of The Shakespeare Stealer, Widge talks to the actor Chris Beeston, a former apprentice. Beeston explains that there is a history of playbooks being stolen from theaters. Simon Bass is brought up as a notorious thief who makes use of his makeup skills in order to steal plays. This makes Widge uncomfortable, since Bass is the master who sent Widge to steal Hamlet. Widge begins to feel at home in the company, and is happy to be offered a small part.
In this chapter, the themes of loyalty, honesty, and right and wrong are all connected. Widge must decide who he will be loyal to: Simon Bass or the acting company. He is uncomfortable when his master's name is brought up, because he is not being honest with the others about his true reason for being there. He is also uncomfortable during the discussion of stolen playbooks, because he recognizes that stealing is wrong, even though it is what he is tasked to do. Widge wrestles with the conflict between performing the job he was given and the happiness he feels with the players.

How does the following line from Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich contribute to the plot at the end of the novella? "Death is finished, he said to himself. It is no more!"

Obviously, Ivan is not claiming he will not physically die. This quote refers to his spiritual regeneration, which only came through the process of death waking him up from the emptiness of his loveless, materialistic life. These lines show that Ivan has made his peace with death after finally realizing that the meaning of a good, proper life is loving others, rather than getting as high up on the social ladder as possible. Now that he realizes the illusory nature of the material world, which was his entire world before his final illness, he is no longer frightened of dying.
Also, these lines are evocative of certain lines from the New Testament, such as Jesus's dying words, "It is finished" or Paul of Tarsus's famous claim in 1 Corinthians that death has been swallowed up in the victory of Christ. Like Jesus, Ivan has gone through a painful death to achieve a great spiritual victory.

What was the role of religion and the Church during the Middle Ages? How was that different from Ancient Rome or modern America? Explain.

This is a big question, but in broad strokes we can outline the chief differences.
Ancient Rome embraced religious pluralism for most of its history, though it did, in its last years, adopt Christianity as the official state religion. However, through most of its history, it allowed many different religious groups to flourish as long as those groups were willing to worship the Roman emperor (once Rome became an empire) in their pantheon of gods. Rome's biggest collusions came with Judaism and Christianity, because both of those religions were exclusivist: they only worshipped one god and refused to worship the emperor.
During the Middle Ages, in contrast to Ancient Rome, there was only one church, the Christian Church, although it was split into two parts, Roman Catholic and Orthodox Catholic. Religious pluralism was forbidden and non-Christians were stamped out. Christianity was a unifying force across Europe, and the pope had a great deal of influence on political affairs. Rulers were expected to be Christians and to have the approval of the pope. There was no separation of church and state.
Modern America, meaning the United States, has enshrined religious freedom and the separation of church and state in its Constitution. Like the Ancient Romans, we accept many religions and leave people alone to belong to whatever faith they wish as long as they obey the law.

Referring to the resource entitled: "Affirmative Care for Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming People", what current challenges do transgender and gender non-conforming individuals face when dealing with health or human services? What are some guidelines set forth by the National LGBT Health Education Center (authors of this resource) that can aid health or human services providers in creating an inclusive environment for those who have transitioned their gender or are outside of the traditional genders of men and women?

In "Affirmative Care for Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming People," the National LGBT Health Education Center outlines some of the issues transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) people encounter when dealing with health or human services.
One of the issues highlighted is the fact that many fear being treated in a disrespectful manner by health care service workers. This causes TGNC people to delay seeking health care services.
Another issue is that non-legal names that TGNC people use may not match the names listed on their health insurance or medical records. This creates administrative complications for health care services.
The National LGBT Health Education resource (which is linked in the References below) suggests that the front desk and other office staff who communicate with the public play an important role in assisting TGNC people feel welcomed in the health care office. Education about the LGBTQ community and culture, as well as sensitivity training for staff members--particularly the front-line staff--will improve the relations between TGNC people and health care service providers.
Discrimination against TGNC people is still prevalent in modern society, and staff members who act in an unprofessional and discriminatory manner should be trained to be objective in their duties as health care service providers.
One particular recommendation for training modules is educating health care service staff regarding gender identity. Staff members should collect the name of the patient along with the pronouns they identify as.
https://www.lgbthealtheducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Affirmative-Care-for-Transgender-and-Gender-Non-conforming-People-Best-Practices-for-Front-line-Health-Care-Staff.pdf

In Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Bailey can be identified as a dynamic character. What are some examples that prove this point?

Bailey (Junior) changes in the course of Maya Angelou’s book in several ways. As both Maya (called Ritie, for Marguerite) and her brother are growing up, it is natural for them both to change and mature. Although the reader learns the most about Maya because she is the protagonist, her close relationship with her brother also receives considerable attention. We see Bailey primarily through her eyes and through their sibling relationship. In addition, as their experiences were so different and Bailey is male, he develops along different paths than his sister and, when we last see him, has become his own person.
After establishing their closeness during the first few chapters, Angelou shows Bailey’s roles in helping and trying to protect her during and after the time when Mr. Freeman was sexually assaulting her. Bailey is also differentiated from Maya by developing a closer relationship to their mother. Once she decides that Maya needs a different environment, she sends both children back to Stamps and their grandmother (Chapters 13 and 14). It is at this point that we begin to see real changes in Bailey. Although he knows the reasons for their move, he feels confined by the small-town atmosphere. In addition, he must also strive to understand why Maya is temporarily unable to speak.
As Bailey enters adolescence, he acts out with minor incidents of rebellion against his grandmother’s and Uncle Willie’s authority (Chapter 17). Developing an interest in girls, he gets involved with Joyce, with whom he has his first sexual experiences. She also initiates him into petty crime before she leaves him and leaves town (Chapter 21). This abandonment has a negative effect on Bailey, whom Angelou says became closed up and “paled.” A random accident that involves Bailey forces him to grow up quickly and face the town's racism—confronting an enigma, Angelou says—when he and others find a dead body in the river (Chapter 25). Transporting it by train, white passengers threaten Bailey because of his race.
The next phase of their lives opens when they move to California and are reunited with their parents. Both mother and father now have new partners, and the children—now both teenagers—must get used to them. For a period they are separated when Maya goes to live with her father and his girlfriend, while Bailey stays with their mother. When she returns, it is clear that a rift has grown between son and mother (Chapter 33). He realizes that they cannot mend things and that part of the issue is his growing up. He decides he must “push off from the wharf of safety into the sea of chance,” and leaves home to join the Merchant Marine.

In what ways do Othello's suicide strengthen or undermine his heroism?

One could say that Othello's suicide strengthens his heroism in the sense that it's a recognition that he can no longer live with the shame of what he's done and what he's become. Once a decent, honorable man, the bravest soldier in the kingdom, the Moor of Venice has been reduced through the machinations of Iago to an insanely jealous, paranoid killer.
There is no honor left for Othello, nothing he can do or nowhere he can go to hide from his disgrace. Although he cannot now live an honorable life, he can at least die an honorable death, and so there is no option left but to die the kind of death so beloved of ancient Roman generals and statesmen.
On the other hand, Othello's suicide detracts from his heroism in that it shows his cowardice in the face of adversity. Instead of facing up to his responsibilities and facing the music for killing Desdemona, he has chosen to take the easy way out.
Suicide also deprives Othello of the opportunity to see justice done to Iago, the man who more than anyone else is responsible for his fall from grace. Perhaps Othello's still scared of Iago's demonic power, worried that his former friend and servant may have one final trick up his sleeve.
In any case, Othello's not taking any chances, and so he kills himself. All in all, it's a pretty tawdry end for someone who once earned the reputation of the bravest soldier in Venice.

What happens to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are childhood friends of Hamlet. From this perspective, we would expect them to be loyal friends to Hamlet who is going through a difficult time, but instead they are called by Claudius, Hamlet’s wicked uncle, to spy on him. We see this in act two scene two.
Hamlet immediately sees this point, and he distances himself from them. When Hamlet accidentally kills Polonius—who is hiding behind a curtain—Claudius grows more worried, and he tasks Rosencrantz and Guildenstern with escorting Hamlet to England. The pretense is that Hamlet could use some time away. Claudius's real purpose is to have Hamlet killed there.
Hamlet knows that something is off and finds the letter speaking of his death and rewrites the letter so that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are killed instead. We actually do not know whether Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are in on the plot of murder.
When Hamlet finds out that they are dead, he says that he does not feel remorse.

They are not near my conscience; their defeat / Does by their own insinuation grow.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are murdered due to an ingenious plot masterminded by Hamlet. King Claudius instructed Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet’s childhood friends, to escort him to England with official orders that Hamlet would be executed there. However, Hamlet discovered the king’s commission while on the ship to England and thus learned what was to be his ultimate fate. While Rosencrantz and Guildenstern slept, Hamlet rewrote the letter to say that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, not Hamlet, should be executed. It was extremely fortuitous that Hamlet happened to have on his person his late father’s signet, which he used to reseal King Claudius’s letter and make it appear as if it had not been opened. Hamlet returns to Denmark, never making it to England, and explains to his good friend Horatio how Rosencrantz and Guildenstern met their end.

Hamlet explains to Horatio how he forged a letter to the English king in place of the one Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were delivering from King Claudius. As Hamlet tells Horatio, his forgery contained
An earnest conjuration from the King,
As England was his faithful tributary,
As love between them like the palm might flourish,
As peace should still her wheaten garland wear
And stand a comma 'tween their amities,
And many such like as's of great charge,
That on the view and knowing of these contents,
Without debatement further, more or less,
He should the bearers put to sudden death,
Not shriving-time allow'd.
So Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are unknowingly carrying what is known as a "bellerophonic letter." The term comes from Greek mythology. The hero Bellerophon, who was noted for taming the winged horse Pegasus, was asked to deliver a letter which unbeknownst to him contained a request that he be executed. One can imagine Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's surprise when they are taken immediately to the beheading block instead of being greeted with honors as emissaries from the King of Denmark. The two men would not know that the letter was a forgery because they would not see the letter and probably would not know the difference between Claudius' and Hamlet's handwriting anyway. Nevertheless, Hamlet requested
That on the view and knowing of these contents,
Without debatement further, more or less,
He should the bearers put to sudden death,
Not shriving-time allow'd.
This was to prevent the two unfortunate men from telling anyone, including a priest, anything about Hamlet's recent apparently mad behavior, including his murder of Polonius, or Claudius' fears for his own safety. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern probably do not know they are escorting Hamlet to his execution, nor do they know that the letter they are delivering is a forgery. They would probably both die believing that Claudius was having them beheaded for some offense of which they are unaware. If they had more time, they might confer with each other and guess that Hamlet had planted a forged letter in their packet--but Hamlet isn't giving them any time to think or to confer.

Explain the who, what, when, where, and significance of the following: Three Theories of Migration Common Sense Bacon’s Rebellion Salem Witchtrials Battle of Saratoga Jean Ribault and Fort Caroline Mercantilism Great Awakening Olive Branch Petition Coercive Acts Boston Massacre Salutary Neglect Treaty of Paris, 1783 Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation Indentured Servants

Three Theories of Migration: The three theories of migration relate to how humans moved from the Eurasian land mass to North America and South America around 10,000 years ago. The first theory, often referred to as "Beringia," states that humans traveled over a land bridge that is now covered by the Bering Strait. The second theory is that humans traveled in small boats from Eastern Asia and landed in Peru. The last theory rests on humans "island-hopping" from Europe and landing in eastern America.

Common Sense: Written by Thomas Paine, Common Sense is a pamphlet that advocated independence from Great Britain for the thirteen colonies. Published in January of 1776, the pamphlet made a highly persuasive case for independence that had previously not been considered seriously.

Bacon’s Rebellion: Bacon's Rebellion took place in Virginia in 1676. Led by Nathaniel Bacon, settlers in Virginia rose up against the colony's governor, William Berkeley. The immediate cause was the governor's refusal to retaliate against a series of Native American attacks on the frontiers. Bacon's Rebellion represents the first rebellion in the American colonies.

Salem Witch Trials:The Salem Witch Trials took place in and around the village of Salem, Massachusetts (though most activity occurred in the neighboring village of Danvers). In 1692, the trials represented a local hysteria in which people accused their neighbors of witchcraft, and these "witches" were subsequently hanged. The trials relied on Puritan religious ideals, but the targets were often societal outcasts and teenage girls.

Battle of Saratoga: The Battle of Saratoga, taking place from September 19th to October 7th of 1777, was the final battle of the Saratoga campaign in which the colonies won a decisive victory against the British.

Jean Ribault and Fort Caroline: Jean Ribault was a French naval officer and explorer who established a French Colony in the modern-day southeastern United States in 1562. He was a major player in the French attempt at colonizing Florida. He took over the colony of Fort Caroline in modern-day Jacksonville in 1564.

Mercantilism: Mercantilism is the implementation of national policy to maximize trade. It was prominent in Europe (at least in modernized countries) from the sixteenth to the eighteenth-century. Mercantilism promotes the increase of a nation's economic power at the expense of rival powers and was a major factor in the rise of colonialism.

Great Awakening: The Great Awakening was a Protestant Revival that moved through England and its colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. The movement placed a renewed emphasis on individual piety and religious devotion. Major leaders included John Edwards, George Whitefield, and John Wesley.

Olive Branch Petition: The Olive Branch petition was the last attempt by American colonists to avoid a war with Britain. The petition was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 5, 1775, and signed three days later. It affirmed the colonies' loyalty to Great Britain and implored King George III to prevent more conflict.

Coercive Acts: The Coercive Acts describe a series of acts imposed by Great Britain against the American colonies, in response to the events of the Boston Tea Party passed in 1774. The acts were intended to quell the colonial resistance but ultimately incited further uprising.

Boston Massacre: The Boston Massacre took place on March 5, 1770. British soldiers stationed in Boston, Massachusetts, shot and killed five people during a mob attack. Patriots at the time, such as Samuel Adams and Paul Revere, used the massacre to incite rebellion against Great Britain.

Salutary Neglect: Salutary neglect, a term coined by Edmund Burke, refers to the British policy during the seventeeth and eighteenth-century of being lax on the enforcement of trade laws in the North American colonies.

Treaty of Paris, 1783: The Treaty of Paris, signed in Paris on September 3, 1783, officially ended the American Revolutionary War. The Treaty set the boundary between United States and British territory in North America and is part of what is broadly known as the "Peace of Paris."

Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation: Signed on November 7, 1775, Dunmore's proclamation declared martial law in the American Colonies. The proclamation offered freedom to slaves of revolutionaries who left their owners and joined the British forces.

Indentured Servants: Indentured servants were brought to the colonies (usually from Europe) on contracts to serve for a set number of years. In exchange for their servitude, they were provided transportation to the colonies. The majority were brought to the Virginia colony.

What was William Henry Harrison's campaign slogan in 1840?

During the 1840 presidential campaign, William Henry Harrison was nominated by the Whig party, and he ran against the incumbent president, Martin Van Buren, who was Democratic. The campaign became a contest of personality, as the Democrats kept attacking Harrison's age and background.
The Whigs also used personality and developed the slogan “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too,” which helped Harrison win the campaign. During the campaign, Harrison became known as “Old Tippecanoe,” which refers back to the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811 when Harrison led a small army of American troops to defeat Indian warriors that attacked them. This victory led Harrison to become a general in the War of 1812, followed by a senator and then a presidential nominee. The other part of the slogan “and Tyler too” refers to his running mate for vice president, John Tyler. The slogan became popular and effective, as it reminded the citizens of Harrison’s successes to get where he is today. The successful slogan also helped him defeat his running mate and secure the presidency.

Comment on the behavior of Popova in relation to the condition of women in Russian society in the drama The Bear.

In Anton Chekhov’s play, Elena Ivanovna Popova has recently lost her husband and decides to shut herself away from the world as a sign of her deep mourning. In many ways, this position is false because she knows he was unfaithful to her. She seems to be more concerned about the impression she is creating of the loyal wife than about facing her true feelings toward her late husband.
Popova’s reverie is interrupted by Gregorii Stepanovich Smirnov, who is in search of having a debt repaid. Initially, she sticks with her position of social propriety, as befits her widow status. Smirnov goads her by mocking her emotional female nature, echoing popular beliefs of the day about women’s innate differences from men. He further challenges her with a stereotypical symbol of male honor—the duel.
In emphasizing this vehicle for dispute resolution, Chekhov calls attention to the idea that women were not expected to defend their honor. Popova’s acceptance of his offer stimulates his love for her, demonstrating that not all men adhered to the same views of female roles.

How do Meg, Calvin, and Charles Wallace demonstrate teamwork, courage, and perseverance in A Wrinkle in Time?

The main characters in A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’engle display perseverance, team work, and courage throughout the novel. Most prominently, in the final confrontation with IT, Meg shows resolve and determination to get to her brother and show him she loves him deeply, because he has been mentally consumed by the monstrous hive mind. Calvin steps in as well, encouraging their connection. The three of them show unity in this moment and show courage in the face of certain death in order to overcome the consciousness. Earlier in the novel, the three characters decided to venture off into dimensions unknown, risking their lives but remaining together, primarily because Meg wanted to find her father so desperately. This display of solidarity shows their teamwork and their perseverance because the road to find him is certainly not easy nor safe.

What are Ha's character traits in Inside Out and Back Again?

The primary character trait that Ha possesses is tenacity. She does not give up, even though she often feels weak. She is also basically optimistic; her hope sometimes dims, but she tries hard to look toward the future rather than regret the past. In addition, she is flexible. In countless situations, she feels uncomfortable but then realizes she must adjust her attitude if she is to survive and thrive.
Numerous other traits that she exhibits change during the course of the novel. We understand that she is a compassionate person, as indicated by giving her grieving brother her doll. However, she can also be cruel, as she sometimes bullies her new classmates. The fact that she succeeds in adjusting to a new country, language, and school are all indications that her behavior was strongly affected by her fear and apprehension. In the long run, her tenacity and flexibility helped her adjust.

Ha is the main girl in the book Inside Out and Back Again, by Thanhha Lai. Together with her family, Ha is forced by the ongoing warfare to emigrate from Vietnam to America.
Ha is depicted in the story as a loving and caring person. This is evident in the scene in the ship where Khoi’s dead chick is found and taken away from him. This makes him so sad. Ha, noticing her brother’s pain, holds his hand and takes out her “mouse-bitten doll," wrapping its arms around the dead chick before tossing it into the sea. The doll was pretty much her only personal belonging, but to show solidarity with her brother, and to share in his loss, she chooses to throw it into the water together with the chick. As if that was not enough, Ha wraps the arms of her doll around the chick in a manner that suggests she loves and cares for the thing her brother loved so dearly.
Ha is also presented as a feisty individual. She likes to feel smart and to compete, but when things do not go as expected, she does not let things slide. For example, when her brothers, who are relatively bigger than her, tend to annoy her, she does not let it just slide. She illustrates this in the following humorous quote:

“I can’t make my brothers go live elsewhere, but I can hide their sandals.”

This clearly shows that she is determined to outwit her brothers, despite their greater physical strength. Bearing in mind the fact that each of the brothers possesses only one pair of shoes, we can see how this scheme turns out to be quite painful to them. This trait of feistiness is also evident when Ha goes to the blackboard and does a problem for Pink Boy, a boy who is not good with numbers and is fond of harassing her; this shames Pink Boy in front of the entire class.
Ha is also portrayed as hardworking and determined. When she first moves to Alabama, she does not know English. Thus, when Pink Boy and her friends follow her home and hurl insults at her, she does not comprehend what they mean. As a result, she resolves to learn English so that she can get back at her persecutors some day. Hence, through her determination to know the language and the training she gets from Miss Washington, she is able to learn the language, which enables her to understand whenever Pink Boy and her friends insult her. Further, her determination is evident when she continuously pleads with her brother Vu to teach her the fly-kick so that she can defend herself from her persecutors. Eventually, she is able to stand up for herself by shouting back at Pink Boy, and at one point, she even manages to dodge when Pink Boy tries to strike her, causing him to hurt himself in the process.

Why were Che Guevara and the Cuban Revolution inspiring for the European Left?

For years, the European Left had been railing against the increasing power and dominance of the United States and her allies across the globe. It seemed to many that nothing could stop the seemingly inevitable spread of Western capitalism, especially in the developing world, where it was increasingly taking root in partnership with right-wing military juntas backed up by the United States.
The victory of the Communist revolution in Cuba appeared to put a halt to this process. Communist insurgents, led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara among others, overthrew a US-backed far-right dictatorship which had been a reliable strategic ally to the United States for many years. To the European Left, the Cuban Revolution was an inspiring moment in world history, as it appeared to suggest that the onward march of Western liberal capitalism had been halted and that its future was no longer assured.
As capitalism was more advanced in Europe than in Cuba, it was widely believed by left-wing parties on the continent—especially those of a more orthodox Marxist bent—that there was every chance that a socialist uprising, similar to the one that had achieved such astonishing success in Cuba, would soon break out in the West.

What time of the year do you think the Magi set out on the journey? Give examples from the poem.

T. S. Eliot's "Journey of the Magi" is set in the winter. The poem's speaker states explicitly that the journey takes place in this season—the Magi set out in the "dead of winter." However, we don't need to be told that, because so many images in the poem reveal a wintry scene.
An image uses any of the five senses of sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch to describe. In this poem, the speaker employs the sight image of "melting snow" and the image of "sharp" weather—we can imagine the wind biting the skin of the Magi—to convey how freezing it is. The speaker also uses the phrase "the worst time of year," which is usually associated with winter, and the word "cold" to evoke the scene the Magi faced.
Eliot also uses contrast to highlight that the Magi face severe weather as they head out to seek the infant Jesus. The speaker has them "regret" the summer warmth and comfort they left behind. This regret is captured in the image of longing to eat the sherbet back home brought by young woman in silk dresses. However, when the Magi come close to the location of the infant Jesus, the climate becomes "temperate" or warm, symbolizing the life and warmth the birth of Jesus brought to the earth.

Where does the narrator spend most of her time while Rolf is with Azucena?

The narrator, Eva Luna, spends most of the time watching the action unfold on TV. Her lover Rolf is a documentary maker who's arrived on the scene of the earthquake to film the attempted rescue of a trapped little girl, Azucena. Together, they become the focal point for international news coverage, watched by millions at home, including Eva.
Eva's vantage point in front a TV screen is important because it gives her two different perspectives on the unfolding events. First, she sees things from the perspective of a TV viewer watching a drama with all its numerous twists and turns. Secondly, she's also emotionally invested in the story, not just because of the little girl's tragic plight, but also because the traumatic experience has revealed just how deeply Rolf has been affected by Azucena's terrible ordeal.

What are six major conflicts in Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda and what are the resolutions to those conflicts?

There are many conflicts in the novel Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda. One conflict is that Simon is gay but is not out to his family or friends. This conflict gets more complicated when Simon starts getting blackmailed by another student in order to get a date with one of Simon's friends. That relationship between the student blackmailing Simon—Martin—and Simon's friend, Abby, is a third conflict. A fourth conflict is between two of Simon's best friends, Nick and Leah. A fifth conflict occurs when Simon comes out to Abby before Leah, which causes more conflict amongst the girls. A sixth conflict is between Simon and a boy named Cal, who Simon believes is his online boyfriend.
All of these conflicts have resolutions. Simon eventually comes out as gay to his family and his friends, and every person is accepting and loving towards him. He attempts to help Martin with Abby in order to avoid getting blackmailed. The three go to the Waffle House to study lines for a play, and eventually all become friends. Nick and Leah have a conflict because Leah is in love with Nick, who likes someone else. The two are honest with each other and are able to stay friends. Leah also struggles with her friendship with Simon when he tells Abby about being gay before he tells her. She feels isolated and wants her friends back. She begins playing music in a band with Simon's sister and eventually makes up with Simon. The final conflict between Cal and Simon is quickly resolved when Simon asks Blue if he is Cal, and Blue says no. Simon and Cal remain friends.

Discuss the representation of exile and migration in Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat.

Sofia, who lives in Haiti and New York, is one member of a family of migrants. When Sophie was young, her mother, Martine, left Haiti for New York, where she settled and worked, and Sofia remained in Haiti, living first with her grandmother and then with her aunt. By the time she is a teenager, she barely knows her mother, who does not come to visit. Then her mother sends for her, and she moves to New York to live with her—a person she considers little more than a stranger.
Sophie must get used to life in New York but cannot get comfortable there. Part of her understands that her mother had lived in New York alone and far from family, enduring a self-imposed exile, while saving enough money to bring Sophie to her. But Sophie feels doubly exiled. While back in Haiti, she had felt that her mother did not want her around, and she had grown very close to her aunt. She experienced the separation from her mother as a kind of exile in her own homeland, an exile of the heart through estrangement. After moving to the United States, however, she understands more fully the matter of physical separation from home, as she misses not only her aunt and grandmother but the Haitian smells, sounds, and foods she grew up with.
After some years pass, Sophie becomes estranged from Martine once again after several vehement disagreements over Sophie’s personal life, and especially her ownership of her body as related to sexual matters. Now a mother herself, Sophie takes her daughter to Haiti to meet her relatives. Uncertain about her future as a possible returning migrant, she realizes that the condition of exile is not as much of a physical state as she had believed. The internal, emotional exile is reactivated as she struggles to reconnect with the Haiti of her childhood. Ultimately, however, it is Sophie who can adjust and Martine who cannot. Sophie’s final adjustment in the novel is to her mother’s death and burial, as she understands Martine as another fragile, mortal person rather than the larger-than-life imagined mother/hero who had loomed so large.

How did Zachary Taylor die?

The exact cause of Zachary Taylor's death is still unknown. On the Fourth of July he had attended the dedication of the Washington Monument grounds. The day was exceedingly hot, and Taylor walked along the Potomac before returning to the White House. At the dedication, Taylor reportedly consumed a large quantity of iced milk and cherries. Upon returning to the White House he also consumed a large quantity of water. Some believe that the iced milk and cherries combined and caused a case of gastroenteritis that was ultimately fatal. Some sources have also suggested food poisoning and typhoid as causes of Taylor's death. Taylor's physicians concluded that his death was a case of cholera, which was a common illness in cities at the time.

What is a critical examination of the reason for the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte to power by 1799?

Napoleon Bonaparte's rise to power in 1799 was propelled by a number of factors beginning before the ruler was even born. For instance, the Buonaparte family, as they were then known, descended from Italian nobility and had both substantial wealth and political connections. Napoleon's father was a prominent attorney, which afforded Napoleon the opportunity to receive a first-class education at a military academy in Brienne-le-Chateau, France. Napoleon was successful in school and graduated with the rank of second lieutenant.
After finishing school, Napoleon was first stationed in Valence and Auxonne. Then, the French Revolution began in 1789. At the beginning of the revolution, Napoleon returned to his homeland of Corsica, where he found difficulty navigating the contentious political environment between French loyalists, revolutionaries, and Corsican nationalists. In 1793, he and his family fled to mainland France after being accused of being too pro-French by the people of Corsica.
Later that year, Napoleon gained prominence after publishing a pro-republican political pamphlet, Le Souper de Beaucaire, in which he called for an end to the civil war. At this same time he was also promoted to artillery commander of the republican forces just before the Siege of Toulon. Over the next few years, Napoleon saw much success in the military, ultimately being promoted to Commander of the Army of the Interior, and he claimed victory at a number of important battles, including the Battle of Lodi, the Battle of Arcole, and the Battle of Rivoli. He served as a French military leader in places like Italy, Austria, and Egypt.
It was during Napoleon's time in Egypt that he learned of more internal turmoil happening in France, as other European monarchies (namely Britain, Austria, and Russia) sought to temper French revolutionaries and restore the French monarchy. Upon learning this, Napoleon returned to Paris, where he was welcomed as a hero by the French people. This was August 1799.
Once in Paris, Napoleon created an alliance with other revolutionary leaders and organized a coup d'etat to overthrow those in power. He was then named First Consul of the new French government, and his new power was confirmed by the new Constitution of the Year VIII. While the Constitution originally only granted Napoleon minor power, he rewrote it to grant himself more authority. By the time it was finished, the new constitution had essentially established France as a dictatorship under Napoleon, though it appeared to be a republic.
Ultimately, most historians agree that Napoleon's rise to power can be attributed to a combination of factors, namely, his privileged upbringing, political connections, military acumen, and strong will.

What is the meaning and significance of the words on Dr. Faustus' arm, "homo fuge; fly, O man!"?

In fact,"Homo fuge" are Latin words which literally mean, man fly! Dr.Faustus signs a pact to mortgage his soul to Lucifer in return of devils' service. He signs it with his blood by cutting his arm. when the wound is getting sealed immediately, these words "Homo fuge" appear on the sealing wound which means man fly!This is taken to be a divine message that has been sent to forewarn Faustus not to engage in any deals with devils.These words also have a biblical reference in which Paul convincing Timothy not to run after money which is obviously root of all evils. Indeed, Faustus is saturated with all kinds of worldly knowledge and wants to venture into the pseudo discipline of black magic which is forbidden by the religion.So, he is warned by a supernatural message " Homo fuge" which hints Faustus to stop his devil pursuit and fly away from blasphemy.

"Homo fuge" is simply the Latin for "Fly, man!" These words appear on Faustus's arm after he makes his diabolical pact with the Devil, selling his soul in return for twenty-four years of incredible power. The words refer to a verse in the Bible, 1 Timothy 6:11.

But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. (KJV)

Here, St. Paul urges Timothy to fight the good fight, to turn aside from the things of this world to focus on what really matters to a Christian. The above passage comes right after Paul's famous warning that love of money is the root of all evil.
It's ironic indeed that the words "Homo fuge" should appear on Faustus's arm at this point. Instead of fleeing the world and flying towards God's righteousness, God's love, this man—Faustus—is actually about to go in the opposite direction; to embark upon a life of earthly power and wealth. In any case, Faustus is trapped; having made his bargain with Lucifer, he cannot flee to God, for he's certain that the Almighty will cast him straight down to hell.

To what extent is the deprivation theory adequate in accounting for the emergence of feminism?

Ultimately, social deprivation theory is probably inadequate on its own to account for the emergence of feminism. First, it is important to understand that relative deprivation theory seeks to explain the emergence of large social movements (as well as some violent movements) based on the feelings of deprivation among a group. Importantly, this deprivation is relative to what individuals believe are necessary to maintain a certain quality of life. Under relative deprivation, the individuals have the necessary resources to maintain life, but lack resources that would enhance the quality of that life. An important aspect of relative deprivation theory is that the deprived individuals believe that, through some action, there is a reasonable chance of succeeding in obtaining the desired resources.
Secondly, it is important to clarify the term "feminism". Generally, discussions of feminism focus on the second wave of feminism, which began in the 1960s. Relative deprivation theory may be adequate to discuss the emergence of second-wave feminism, as by this time, women had political, legal, and (because of the labor market changes during World War II) basic economic rights. In this environment, women had the necessary resources in general to maintain life, though they lacked resources which were necessary to bring the quality of life up to the level of men in the same or similar situational context.
However, as evidenced by its descriptor, second-wave feminism does not describe the emergence of feminism. First-wave feminism began in the mid to late 1800s and sought to obtain political and legal rights for women. At this time, most women did not have the right to vote and could not own much in the way of property. They also could not generally inherit wealth or enter into contracts on their own. This situation seems closer to absolute deprivation because, without an attachment to a male family member, most women did not have sufficient resources for the maintenance of life. It could be argued that the life-maintaining resources provided by male family members was sufficient to create a situation where relative deprivation would take the main focus, but this raises another concern with regard to the adequacy of relative deprivation theory.
Women have been deprived of political, legal, and economic interests through the vast majority of human history. In ancient cultures, husbands retained the authority to murder disobedient wives without consequence, and in some societies, crimes committed against a woman were redressable to the closest male relative rather than the woman. In these situations, women were able to rely on the resources which flowed through male relatives to maintain life, but no mass movement to improve women's rights emerged.
In order to maintain that relative deprivation theory is adequate to explain the emergence of feminism, this issue of timing must be addressed. It is possible that industrial revolution, which loosened some of the economic restrictions on women, provided more room for women to focus on their relative deprivations, planting the seed for a movement. This would coincide with the timing of the first-wave feminist movement. Additionally, one could point to other incremental changes that had improved the place of women in society and argue that this was the first cultural context where women had a reasonable belief that political and legal rights could be obtained. Some developments in the variety of state laws in the US would likely support this contention.
Regardless, the need for these additional positions to explain the timing of the emergence of feminism demonstrate that relative deprivation theory on its own is inadequate to account for this emergence. Relative deprivation theory could be considered adequate to the emergence of feminism when paired with additional explanations.

How is Kezia different from her sisters? Explain

In “The Doll’s House,” Kezia Burnell is the youngest of the Burnell girls. Aware of the luxury of the doll house they receive, she finds it enchanting. She is particularly fascinated by a miniature lamp.
Kezia is shown as less selfish than her older sisters, Isabel and Lottie, who boast of the gift. After all the other schoolmates have been invited to see the house—except for the poor Kelvey girls—it is Kezia who takes the initiative to speak with the Kelveys, who are always excluded from their social circle, and to ask her mother if they can come to see the doll house. Her mother tells her absolutely not.
Kezia not only perseveres but goes against her mother’s orders. When she does bring them home, her aunt rudely shoos them away. The younger Kelvey girl, however, has caught Kezia’s fascination with the lamp.

What is the name of the chemical reaction when vinegar combines with calcium carbonate (eggshell)?

An estimated 3% of vinegar is composed of acetic (ethanoic) acid. Meanwhile, an eggshell is mostly composed of calcium carbonate. When acetic acid and calcium carbonate are combined, they form calcium acetate, water and carbon dioxide. This combination physically and chemically changes a non–water-soluble chemical like calcium carbonate into a water-soluble compound (calcium acetate and carbon dioxide gas).
The reaction created by acetic acid and calcium carbonate can be written as the equation CaCO3+ 2H+ -> Ca+2 + H2O + CO2.
CaCO3 is calcium carbonate, and H2 is hydrogen iodide. Ca+2 is calcium cation. H2O is water. CO2 is carbon dioxide.
This osmosis experiment is a common scientific lesson in many junior high and high school classes and is a simple way to teach students chemical reactions.

How might Mowgli help Akela recover in The Jungle Book?

When Akela fights to save Mowgli’s life in the novel “The Jungle Book,” he eventually perished from his wounds, despite successfully protecting Mowgli and driving off the pack of wild dogs, or dholes. Mowgli sits with him, resting the wolf’s head in his arms as he perishes. Mowgli could, however, have taken action to potentially save him.
While it is unlikely that Akela would have survived his injuries, Mowgli has come to know some humans and human knowledge. He could have tended to the wolf’s wounds, potentially using leaves and herbs from the forest to create bandages or salves to calm the pain and encourage healing. Additionally, he could have, at the bare minimum, run to the nearby village to find help and brought someone with some sort of medical experience to help Akela. Unfortunately, it would have likely taken too long, as Akela was gravely injured. In the end, there probably was not much that could have been done.

Why do women continue to feel a lack of freedom in today’s society?

The twentieth century made big strides toward women's equality in the United States with the right to vote, right to own property, anti-discrimination laws in the workplace, and sexual liberation. However, women are still vastly treated as second-class citizens and subjected to the power that men have widely possessed.
In recent years, the women's movement has focused closely on sexual assault and harassment, looking for more justice and accountability. While it's true that anyone can be a victim of sexual assault, women make up 91% of rape and sexual assault victims, according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. And according to RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), fewer than 1% of reporting will lead to a conviction or incarceration. Rates of sexual assault and abuse are higher for women of color, lesbian and bisexual women, and transgender women. The Human Rights Campaign reports that 46% of bisexual women experience sexual assault in comparison to 17% of heterosexual women and 13% of lesbians. The HRC also claims that 47% of transgender people experience sexual assault with the majority of the victims being people of color.
Reproductive rights continue to be an issue for women. While abortion has been legal in the United States since 1973, it has remained at the forefront of many political races. The Guttmacher Institute says many states require a counseling session with a minimum of twenty-four hours between the counseling and the procedure; several states require ultrasounds; six states inform the patient that "personhood begins at conception." Many women have found these stipulations to be invasive and problematic. The claim of personhood has been widely debated by those claiming to be pro-choice and pro-life.
The majority of people living in poverty in America are women and children, with the rates being highest for women of color. In a 2013 study by Status of Women in the States, women made up 15.5% of the country's impoverished, while men made up 11.9%. Single mothers made up 43.1% of women in poverty. This is often attributed to the gender wage gap; women on average are paid 20% less than men. Legal Momentum claims that women make up 60% of the lowest-paid workers in the country, claiming that "the salaries for the vast majority of jobs held by women, in industries such as retail and hospitality, are consistently lower than in traditionally male career paths, such as construction, engineering, and energy." Additionally, the lack of affordable childcare contributes to the poverty rate, as single mothers seemingly have only two options: pay high costs for childcare or stay home. Women in low-paying jobs often don't have the benefits of taking time off for pregnancy; this can be because their jobs do not offer paid maternity leave or because the maternity leave pay isn't substantial enough to live on.
This only touches on a small handful of the grievances of women. Issues can vary by race, ethnicity, economic class, religion, and sexuality.
https://statusofwomendata.org/explore-the-data/poverty-opportunity/poverty-and-opportunity-full-section/

https://www.hrc.org/resources/sexual-assault-and-the-lgbt-community

How does anarchism transgress traditional understandings of the state and political order?

Anarchism is a theory that criticizes the concept of having a central government or state. The ideologies of the philosophy are based on the significance of individual freedom. It embraces the view that people should succeed in life because of having a mutual understanding with one another. Anarchism focuses on establishing ideal societies by changing the traditional state and political order. Political anarchists do not acknowledge the legitimacy of state power. Therefore, they often do not agree with many actions by the state.
Anarchism holds the view that having a few people with excess power enslaves the ordinary citizen. Anarchists believe that societies should be devolved and decisions should be made based on voluntary consensus. The views held by political anarchists are subject to much debate because the traditional state and political order is a complicated concept that aims to ensure that every person has individual liberty through the separation and distribution of power.

How does Poe’s word choice demonstrate the intensity of the narrator’s hatred for the old man?

The narrator describes the old man's eye as "the eye of a vulture": it is light blue and seems to have a kind of film over it. It seems possible, then, given his age, that the old man has cataracts, as they would give it this appearance and prevent him from seeing out of this eye. The narrator says, "Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold [...]." By describing the man's eye as being like a vulture's eye -- an animal associated with death and decay -- Poe demonstrates how deeply the narrator hates the old man's eye and what it symbolizes (i.e. mortality and the fact that we will all die and decay someday). Further, the fact that the narrator describes the eye as making his blood go cold shows us just how much he dreads and fears it. He does not seem to hate the old man himself, as he says,

I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insults. For his gold I had no desire.

Therefore, we see that the narrator does not hate the old man himself but, rather, what the old man's eye represents. The intensity of his hatred is further revealed by his calling it the man's "Evil Eye." On the eighth night of stalking the old man, the narrator says that he "grew furious" as he looked upon the eye, and he describes it as "hideous," so much so that it "chilled the very marrow of [his] bones." Such language continues to convey the narrator's visceral loathing of the old man's eye.

How does Barth employ metafiction to examine ordinary life?

Certainly the story is about Ambrose. But, the story's central project is the exploration of the process of writing and the compensations of imagination. The story's constant metafictional play highlights the fact that the process of writing and the exploration of imagination is akin to the life of the contemplative mind. Like a great writer, Ambrose is too sensitive to live as happily in the funhouse of life as his happy-go-lucky brother Peter can. It is easier to live life without thinking too deeply; but, if one must contemplate rather than act, and it seems that Ambrose must, then the imagination will be a vital compensation. To explain how one might share and use that imagination as a writer, Barth employs metafiction both as a lesson on the frustrations of writing and reading and as a warning about the limitations of a (writer's) life. The story suggests that Peter will be happier and more sexually fulfilled, but Ambrose will become the next Proust.

Describe the battle against heteronormativity according to the novel Stone Butch Blues.

In Stone Butch Blues, narrator Jess Goldberg must navigate her life while not fitting into the strict social expectations of gender presentation and behavior. Jess explains her dislike of traditionally feminine presentations and her parents's and broader community's rejection of her for her more masculine presentation. When Jess runs away from her unsupportive parents at the age of 16, she finds solace and community in the growing lesbian and gay scene of Buffalo, New York. However, even within the lesbian community, Jess, who is a very masculine presenting butch, is alienated by her lesbian peers when she begins taking testosterone in order to find more jobs as well as lessen the dysmorphia she feels in her body. While the heteronormativity of the straight world had always oppressed Jess, she finds that even in the lesbian and gay scene, gender fluidity and non-binaric gender expression is not very accepted. Jess finally finds camaraderie and friendship with a transgender neighbor, who accepts and supports Jess's dynamic and complicated relationship to gender.

What did Gerald Ford know about Nixon's crimes?

Gerald Ford, who was selected as Vice President Agnew's successor after Agnew resigned for corruption, knew by August 5, 1974, as did the rest of the country, that Nixon had illegally attempted to block the FBI investigation into the break-in of Democratic National Party headquarters at the Watergate Hotel. The release of White House recordings established that beyond any doubt. By the time Ford was sworn into office as president later that month, he was fully aware that Nixon was a criminal. Nevertheless, Ford granted him a full pardon in September of 1974.
That Ford felt some guilt over this act is attested to from the fact that he carried in his wallet a copy of a court decision that said that a pardon implied that the person pardoned was guilty. Some reports says that Ford had asked Nixon to make a public declaration of contrition in return for his pardon.
Ford's pardon was extremely unpopular at a time when many Americans believed Nixon should be punished for his crimes. The country was also still highly heated over the Vietnam war, which was still ongoing, and negative feelings against Nixon ran very high. Many historians believe the pardon so badly undermined Ford's credibility that it cost him the election in 1976. Many citizens at the time believed there had been "deal" for Ford to become president in return for a full pardon. Nevertheless, the pardon did help calm the country down.

How would you summarize chapter 3 of William Miller's A Primer of American Courts? What are some key points?

A Primer on American Courts is a nonfiction book written by William Miller. The book was published in 2004. As the title suggests, the book is a "primer" or simplified introduction to the United States judicial system.
Chapter 3 of A Primer on American Courts is titled "Litigation." The chapter's sub-topics include: civil cases and criminal cases; civil procedure; criminal procedure; appellate procedure; expedited consideration of constitutional issues, and the chapter's conclusion.
Miller discusses the different types of litigation, such as civil and criminal cases. The majority of the chapter details the court procedures of these types of litigation. Miller also discusses the funnel effect, stating that "a lot of cases go into the system, but few proceed to trial and judgment."
Although Miller describes the actual court procedures—such as those for criminal cases—he also notes that few civil and criminal cases go through a majority of the applicable procedural steps.
Miller cites verified data to illustrate concepts like the funnel effect and to show examples of the various litigation types. For example, Miller cites data by the National Center for State Courts to show the numerical figures of funnel effect. In 2003, over 323,000 criminal and civil cases were filed in district courts, but only 2.5% made it to trial.
Before concluding the chapter, Miller also discussed constitutional issues with litigation. He also included relevant case studies to articulate such issues to the reader, for instance pertaining to abortion, which is legal on a federal level, but could be illegal according to state law.

What are some symbols in Death of a Salesman?

Arthur Miller incorporated a number of powerful symbols into Death of a Salesman. When searching for potential symbols in a work of literature, consider items that are referred to or shown often and think about what they could represent that would relate to the theme(s) of the work. Here are some symbols from the play and what they stand for:
Trophies: In the stage instructions, Miller writes that Biff's old high school sports trophies are displayed above Willy's bed. This represents the fact that Willy still finds meaning in the past successes of his son rather than in his own achievements.
Tennis shoes: Biff had a pair of tennis shoes with "University of Virginia" printed on them. They symbolized his goal of going to college and becoming successful as an adult. When Biff finds out his father is having an affair, he is so upset that he burns the shoes. This represents the abandonment of his previous goals and his embarking on a course that his father calls "spite."
Silk stockings: These represent Willy's unfaithfulness to Linda and her naive loyalty to him. Willy gave new silk stockings to the woman he had an affair with; Linda is often seen mending her own stockings, to Willy's great distress.
Refrigerator: The refrigerator represents the rat race of the low-income worker. The refrigerator was purchased on credit, and Willy can't even afford to make the small payments. It is finally paid off when he ends his life.
Pen: Biff steals Bill Oliver's ballpoint pen from his office and has an epiphany about who he is and what he wants from life. The pen symbolizes the petty life Biff has led (which included repetitive stealing) and which he decides to give up in favor of one that reflects his new understanding of who he is.
Garden seeds: Ironically, the seeds don't represent new life but rather Willy's plan to kill himself. Not only will they be "proof" to the insurance company that his death was accidental (he wouldn't plant a garden if he planned to kill himself), but the seeds are buried in order to produce fruit, just as Willy thinks that his death and burial will provide "seed money" for his sons, especially Biff, to start a successful business.
These and other symbols give greater depth to the themes Miller explores in the drama.

Two important symbols in Arthur Miller’s play are the sample case and stockings. Although Willy Loman is a professional salesman and that professional is a crucial part of his identity, the audience never learns what he sells. When he enters as the play begins, he is carrying two sample cases, apparently quite heavy. They symbolize his profession as salesman.
Another symbol are stockings. Linda mends her old stockings while she sits in the kitchen. This action and the fact that she must make do with these worn stockings symbolize her attitude toward her marriage and her life. When Willy is with The Woman, he makes her a gift of new stockings. The contrast between the two items symbolizes Willy’s attitude toward his marriage and the extramarital affair.

Death of a Salesman is about the destructive effects of the economic system in the U.S. One can say that the entire play is a kind of symbolic enactment of these effects, but if we are looking for more concrete, individual symbols within the play, I would suggesting the following:
The tape recorder Willy's boss Howard is playing with when Willy comes to see him about his job is a symbol of materialism and of the dehumanizing results of the system in which we're immersed. Howard is more interested in this gadget than in speaking to Willy or in helping Willy solve his problems. Death of a Salesman was premiered in 1949, 70 years ago. It's interesting in this connection to note how much more our lives now are dominated by electronics and gadgetry, but that the process was already in full swing that long ago.
The fountain pen Biff steals when having his unsuccessful interview is another material symbol, but in this case it may represent the things Biff has always wanted to have but has been blocked from by his dysfunctional personality and by the family dynamic.
As to what the characters in the play symbolize, I'll choose only two, though one can find many meanings in the others as well. Willy's brother Ben is a recurring image, standing for some mythical kind of success Willy imagines he could have had. This symbol haunts Willy throughout the play, both serving as a positive, reassuring force but at the same time a reminder of the failure Willy himself is.
In the scene where Biff finds Willy in a hotel room with a woman, The Woman, as she's referred to, represents the rebellious side of Willy. His whole concept of himself is that of a model citizen, carrying out the role of breadwinner for his family and being the mythic success figure the American Dream extols. The Woman is the revelation—to Biff and to the audience—of the falseness of Willy's self-created identity, despite the fact that she herself is also a victim, a cast-off of the same system that has crushed Willy and his family.

Where does Dana find herself when she regains consciousness?

The first time that Dana travels through time, she wakes up near a river. It is 1815, and Dana is an African-American woman in the Southern United States. She comes upon a young, white boy drowning in the river. She pulls him out of the water and performs CPR to save his life.
Over the course of the novel, Dana encounters the boy at various points of time in his life. The boy is none other than Rufus Weylin, Dana's great-great-great-great grandfather. Dana never knew that he was white, and meeting him and her great-great-great-great grandmother in the past offers her the opportunity to learn about her ancestors. Furthermore, Dana saves Rufus's life more than once, ensuring her own existence in the future.

How is Abigail Williams from The Crucible vengeful?

Abigail Williams demonstrates her vengeful personality by setting up Elizabeth Proctor and accusing her of witchcraft in order to be with Elizabeth's husband, John. Abigail Williams seeks revenge on Elizabeth Proctor for casting her out of their home and giving her a bad reputation throughout Salem's community. In act 1, Abigail expresses her negative feelings for Elizabeth by telling John

She [Elizabeth] is blackening my name in the village! She is telling lies about me! She is a cold, sniveling woman, and you bend to her!

Abigail also wishes to be with John and blames Elizabeth's spirit for attacking her. In act 2, Abigail stabs herself with a needle knowing that Mary Warren has a poppet with a needle in its stomach that is in Elizabeth's home. The authorities find the poppet and believe that Elizabeth used it as some sort of a voodoo doll to harm Abigail. In act 3, Abigail once again reveals her vengeful personality by accusing Mary Warren of sending her spirit to attack the girls. Abigail views Mary Warren as a threat and seeks revenge after Mary tells Salem's authorities that the girls are frauds.

Almost everything that Abigail Williams does in The Crucible is motivated by revenge. She's the ultimate example of a woman scorned, furious at being dumped by John Proctor after he ends their brief affair. So she sets out to destroy not just him but his whole family. Abigail harbors a particularly deep resentment towards John's wife, Elizabeth. She uses her newfound power as the main accuser in the rapidly developing witch craze to make patently false accusations of witchcraft against Elizabeth. Abigail knows exactly what she's doing. She knows that, given the tense, hysterical atmosphere in Salem, an accusation of witchcraft, however ridiculous, is tantamount to a death sentence. And that's exactly what she wants to happen to Elizabeth; she wants her to be burned as a witch. Abigail also goes out of her way to make sure that John ends up being executed as well. If she can't have him, she's determined that no one else can.

Was America founded by religious zealots?

There are a few things to unpack in order to consider this question. The first is, how does one define the "founding" of America? Was it done by its native, indigenous inhabitants? Was it done by the early explorers who came here, like Ponce de Leon or Leif Ericsson? Or was it the first settlers who determined to make a new life here? That last group are often considered the first "Americans" who decided to colonize on a long-term basis, and called themselves "pilgrims" because they sought freedom what they thought was religious persecution. Their mode of Christianity was at odds with what their religious community in England believed and practiced, so they thought the best way of establishing their own religious enclave was to go to an entirely new country.
But the landscape and climate were harsh, compared to what they had come from, and living conditions very difficult. Winter especially was a time of starvation and illness. These colonists often questioned whether they had made the right decision in coming to this new world that was often inhospitable. They found some solace in their religion, but they also found blame there. This tendency to attribute ordinary hardship (for example, crop failure or death of livestock) to a form of punishment from God was indeed connected to a type of religious zealotry, and eventually led to an atmosphere of superstition and extreme beliefs in the devil's manipulation of residents. This is how the witchcraft craze, having already affected Europe for many years, found its way to the new world and manifested most dramatically in the Salem Witch Trials. The new settlers no longer wanted to blame themselves for their problems and found it more palatable to find scapegoats.

What themes are developed in The Taking of Miss Janie?

Some key themes in The Taking of Miss Janie are sexual assault, race, and the relationship of the personal to the political. Set mainly in the turbulent 1960s, Ed Bullins’s play centers on a sexual incident between a white woman and a black man. More generally, it follows a group of white and black characters beginning in their early interactions in the late 1950s. The sexual encounter between Janie, who is white, and Monty, who is black, is shown from different perspectives. The primary question is whether their intercourse was consensual or if he raped her. Many of the characters struggle to stay true to their political convictions while working through complicated personal relationships, which often cross racial lines. Relationships that include sexual and racial dimensions include Monty’s marriage to Peggy, a black woman who learns she is bisexual, and the marriage of Sharon, who is white, to Len, who is black.

Describe Ebenezer in The Book of Ebenezer Le Page.

The Book of Ebenezer Le Page by Gerald Basil Edwards (first published in 1981) is the fictional autobiography of a man who lives his entire life on the island of Guernsey in the English Channel, off the coast of Normandy. The book is written in Guernsey English, and the local parlance adds color and depth to the narrative.
Ebenezer is is born in the late nineteenth century and lives into the 1960s. He is an ordinary man of Guernsey—a fisherman and grower who once served in the Royal Guernsey Militia. Ebenezer has never married, though he has had some relationships with women. He spends his whole life in a parish of the island known as the Vale and sees many changes come to Guernsey over the years.
The character of Ebenezer tells not only his personal story, but that of a tiny part of the world with a very rich history. He is the kind of man who makes peace with the approaching end of his years. Ebenezer gives two treasures to a young artist friend to mark the meaning of his life—his pot of gold and his own autobiography.

What is the significance of Paul Tillich's theology in our modern churches?

Paul Johannes Tillich (August 20, 1886–October 22, 1965) was a German-American philosopher and Lutheran theologian whose work was intended to respond to the alienation experienced in the modern world. He fused the philosophy of existentialism with Christian theology in a way that spoke to many people who felt modern life had become alienated or meaningless, and his work was extremely popular. Many mainline Protestant churches find Tillich's analysis of the modern condition relevant to the lives of their congregations.
Tillich's starting point is not Biblical literalism, which has become problematic in light of modern linguistic and historical research, but rather the problem of anxiety and despair. He argues that these are the result of the threat that nonbeing poses to being, something that people under the threat of global climate change and weapons of mass destruction experience as existential threats.
Tillich sees the greatest modern anxiety as one of meaninglessness, which is the result of a secular world and breakdown of social cohesion. He sees self-affirmation and religious belief as a solution to this anxiety. This creates a theology that is relevant to modern churches in that it enables members to find meaning rather than simply performing rituals for their own sake.

Why might historians disagree about the number of people who died because of the Black Death in the Medieval period?

Historians do indeed disagree over the precise number of fatalities caused by the Black Death. Estimates vary as to the number of people killed by this deadly pandemic. Some say 75 million died; others, 200 million. Though historians may disagree over the numbers, there is unanimous agreement over the utter devastation that the Black Death wrought upon the continent of Europe.
The huge discrepancy in the overall number of deaths between different accounts is largely due to the lack of reliable records. While some parishes were able to keep fairly accurate records of plague deaths, others were not. Generally speaking, large urban centers such as towns and cities were more reliable at keeping records than rural areas. One should also bear in mind that, because of the plague, people naturally had other things on their minds than keeping precise records of who had died. The ensuing gaps in the records have only been partially filled by extensive historical research over the years, still leaving much room for guesswork. Irrespective of the precise number of fatalities, though, there's no doubt that the Black Death wiped out a substantial proportion of Europe's population, earning it the reputation of one of the deadliest pandemics in history.

What is the meaning of Milton's famous line, "That last infirmity of noble mind"?

The poem is an elegy to Milton's friend Edward King, who drowned while young. It is also a pastoral elegy, placed in a rural setting. In it, King is envisaged as having been a shepherd living in nature. Much of the poem is spoken by an imagined "uncouth swain," or shepherd friend of King's, lamenting his death.
In this passage, the shepherd is saying that the desire for fame draws men away from the pastoral life of pleasure, such as dallying with beautiful maidens like Amaryllis. Fame, instead wishes:

To scorn delights and live laborious days

The shepherd also says that

Fame is ...That last infirmity of noble mind

By this he means a noble person will put aside all other vices before abandoning the desire to be famous, because it can seem noble to pursue fame. The shepherd, however, questions whether it is worth the price to pursue fame rather than to enjoy the simple life. He goes on to say that lasting fame is not, anyway, bestowed on people in their lifetimes or by other people. It comes after death and is decided on by Zeus ("Jove"_):


all-judging Jove;
As he pronounces lastly on each deed

The shepherd argues, as a shepherd would, that fame is not worth pursing (it is an "infirmity") and is out of our hands.

Milton is translating a statement by the Roman historian Tacitus:
Etiam sapientibus cupido gloriae novissima exuitur. (The desire for glory clings even to the best men longer than any other passion.)Caius Cornelius Tacitus (A.D. c. 55 - c. 117)
Milton's translation of this profound thought is beautifully succinct in one graceful line of iambic pentameter. The statement implies that everyone has a desire to be important in one way or another, men and women alike. Wise men, however, recognize this desire for fame, glory, appreciation, admiration as a fault to be overcome, although it is the last of their faults for even the wisest men are able to overcome. Why is it a fault? It can lead to bad behavior as well as good. We should be inner directed, as Emerson says in his best essay "Self-Reliance," and not motivated by trying to please other people.

Why did the third estate revolt?

To put it simply, the third estate revolted in response to an unfair economic and political system that disproportionately taxed the middle classes and peasants while benefiting the other estates. The first estate was comprised of higher-ranking members of the clergy and the second estate was the nobility. Everyone else, from poor farmers to wealthy merchants, made up the third estate.
In response to economic tension, Louis the XVI called for an assembly of the Estates General in 1789. Despite the fact that 98% of the population belonged to the third estate, all estates had an equal vote. The voting power of the clergy and the nobility together outweighed the rest of the population 2 to 1, so they used their votes to benefit themselves at the expense of the third estate. The third estate broke off into the National Assembly, ultimately leading to the storming of the Bastille and the beginning of the revolution.
Other cultural and historical factors contributed to the atmosphere of the French Revolution. Most notably, the rise of Enlightenment thinking in the eighteenth century challenged the supreme authority of the Church. The monarchy drew its power from the idea of “divine right,” where the king was supposedly destined to rule according to the will of God. When the Church was delegitimized as a moral and spiritual authority, the monarchy similarly lost its authority to govern. Additionally, the French Revolution occurred within decades of the American Revolution. All of Europe was watching as a colony of the greatest military power in the world gained its independence. It is interesting that one of the major issues at play in both revolutions was the idea of taxation without fair representation.
The French Revolution was a perfect storm of intellectual, social, political, and economic upheaval. All of these factors can be seen as intertwined, collectively leading to the revolt of the third estate.
https://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/rschwart/hist151s03/french_rev_causes_consequences.htm

What are the series of events that led to Aksionov's imprisonment in "God Sees the Truth, But Waits"?

As this short story begins, its main character, Aksionov, is heading out to the Nizhny Fair. On his way there, he meets up with a fellow merchant, and they share adjoining rooms for the night. The next morning, he continues on his way.
Later, while he has stopped at an Inn, an official of the State arrives with two soldiers and begins questioning him on the grounds that the same merchant he had earlier been seen with has been found murdered. They conduct a search through his things and find a bloody knife. Despite Aksionov's innocence, the evidence of his guilt seems overwhelming: the house had been locked from within, and moreover the murder weapon is found in his possession. Appeals to the Tsar are unsuccessful. Aksionov finds himself condemned to be flogged and then sent to Siberia.

The short story "God Sees the Truth, But Waits" by Leo Tolstoy tells of a merchant named Ivan Dmitrich Aksionov who is falsely accused of murdering a fellow merchant. He is sentenced to prison in Siberia, and after spending 26 years there, he meets and forgives the man who actually committed the murder, and then he dies.
The story begins as Aksionov prepares to go to the Nizhny Fair. Because of a bad dream she has had, his wife begs him not to go, but he leaves anyway. On the way, he meets a merchant he knows, and they stay at an inn together, although in separate rooms. Aksionov wakes before dawn, pays his bill, and continues on his way. However, 25 miles down the road, a police officer accompanied by two soldiers stops and questions him. The merchant he stayed with was stabbed to death, and they are investigating the murder. After searching Aksionov's things, they find the murder weapon, a blood-stained knife.
Aksionov protests his innocence, but he is put in jail pending a trial. His wife comes to visit him, but her petition to the Czar to have her husband released is refused. He is found guilty, flogged with a knot, and then sent to the prison in Siberia.

Ivan Aksionov is a prosperous merchant who's put behind him a life of drunkenness and debauchery to settle down as a businessman and a loving husband. One summer, he's about to head off to Nizhny Fair, where he hopes to sell all his goods. Just before he sets out on his journey, his wife urges him not to go. She tells him about a terrible dream she had the night before in which Ivan removes his cap to reveal a head of gray hair. Ivan laughs off the dream, telling his wife that it's actually a good sign as it means that he'll sell all his goods and bring her back some presents from the fair.
On the way to the fair, Ivan meets up with a fellow merchant and they spend the night at a local inn. When Ivan wakes early the next morning, he settles his bill with the landlord and continues with his journey. After traveling for another 25 miles, Ivan stops off at another inn, where he rests and drinks tea, cheerfully strumming on a guitar while his horses are being fed and watered.
The happy scene is disrupted when a law enforcement official suddenly pulls up in his troika—a kind of carriage or sled—with a couple of soldiers in tow. The official starts giving Ivan the third degree about his whereabouts the previous night. The official, the district police officer, tells Ivan that the merchant with whom he'd been staying at the inn has been brutally murdered, his throat cut with a knife. The policeman and the two soldiers carry out a search of Ivan's belongings and find a blood-stained knife in his bag. A shell-shocked Ivan doesn't know how it got there and protests his innocence of any crime. But the policeman's having none of it. He's convinced himself that Ivan is guilty as sin, and so he and the soldiers bind up the poor merchant, fling him into a cart, and take him away.

What is Melinda's attitude toward cheerleaders in Speak?

Melinda Sordino is portrayed as an outcast who remains isolated from her former friends and peers after suffering a traumatic incident the summer before her freshman year of high school. As a freshman, Melinda struggles to assimilate with the other students and be accepted into a genuine peer group.
In the first marking period, Melinda elaborates on her hatred of the Merryweather cheerleaders. Melinda views the cheerleaders as privileged hypocrites; they are often viewed as virtuous young women, but they are actually promiscuous girls with no morals. Melinda rants about their dual personalities and compares the cheerleaders' lives to living in two separate universes. In one universe, the cheerleaders are model citizens and straight-A students, revered by the faculty and local parents. In another universe, the cheerleaders behave like unscrupulous drunks who sleep with every football player.
Overall, Melinda feels that the cheerleaders are hypocrites and absolutely detests them. She even says,

If I ever form my own clan, we'll be the Anti-Cheerleaders. We will not sit in the bleachers. We will wander underneath them and commit mild acts of mayhem.