What are some quotes from the novel Ready Player One concerning or alluding to the concepts of dystopia and utopia?

Chapter 5, paragraph 27 has the following quote:

The OASIS [was] beautifully rendered in meticulous graphical detail, right down to bugs and blades of grass, wind and weather patterns.

This might be a solid initial quote to begin talking about the OASIS as a utopia. It explains to readers why people might want to spend so much time there.
Chapter 5, paragraph 25 has the next quote:

Even though it was initially marketed as a new kind of massively multiplayer online game, the OASIS quickly evolved into a new way of life.

This quote might work well because it talks about how the OASIS provided a new way of life. All utopias or dystopias involve having people behave certain ways and accept and follow particular rules and ways of life.
The second paragraph of the opening prologue has this quote:

[Halliday] was the video game designer responsible for creating the OASIS, a massively multiplayer online game that had gradually evolved into the globally networked virtual reality most of humanity now used on a daily basis.

Part of a dystopia/utopia is societal control. This quote might work for an essay that tries to show the OASIS as a form of societal control and/or brainwashing.
Chapter 2, paragraph 37 has the following quote:

[OASIS] was much more than a game or an entertainment platform.

Readers are told very early on that the OASIS is much more than only a game. We aren't far enough into the story to see what it might be, but already the seeds have been planted in our minds that the OASIS could be a form of control over society and people.
Chapter 38, paragraph 48 has this quote:

As terrifying and painful as reality can be, it's also the only place where you can find true happiness.

This quote could be a very interesting quote to use, because it highlights the possible dual nature of reality. Reality contains both pain and happiness.

What were the lessons of the Manchurian Crisis?

In 1931, Imperial Japan invaded Manchuria, on China's eastern seaboard. This came about after the so-called Mukden Incident, when a section of the South Manchurian Railway—in which the Japanese were heavily invested—was blown up by saboteurs. The Japanese accused the Chinese of carrying out the attack, but in actual fact it was a false-flag operation by the Japanese themselves to provide a pretext for invasion.
After the Japanese invasion, the Chinese government appealed to the League of Nations for help. Japan was a member of the League and, as such, was nominally bound to its provisions. A League commission led by Lord Lytton declared that the Japanese must leave Manchuria. The Japanese responded by walking out of the League of Nations for good.
The most important lesson of the Manchurian Crisis was that without firm, decisive action, aggression would go unpunished. Though united in its condemnation of the invasion, the League was unable to agree on a concerted course of action. Britain and France, the League's main military powers, were unwilling to send troops to confront the Japanese. The League of Nations had shown, as they would do in the case of Abyssinia, that they were incapable of either preventing the forced seizure of foreign territory or holding those responsible accountable for their actions.
Both Hitler and Mussolini learned a valuable lesson from the Manchurian Crisis: the League's chronic weakness and inaction meant that it was powerless to stop any country from carrying out an aggressive, expansionist foreign policy. This encouraged both dictators in their imperialist designs, and the subsequent escalation of hostilities led directly to the outbreak of World War II.

How does Old Gariot suggests that, when a culture does not keep the ideals of liberty, fraternity, and equality in view, and instead glorifies things like material wealth and social power, human beings suffer both individually and collectively?

Père Goriot shows that, when people value material wealth over noble values like liberty, equality, and fraternity, people suffer, because the characters in the novel suffer from the negative actions of those who place a high value on material wealth and personal status. Specifically, Père Goriot's and Eugène's family suffer consequences from those who are attempting to climb the social ladder and live a life of luxury with no work of their own.
The French ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity exemplify the best of what France hopes to be. However, many of the characters in Père Goriot don't value these ideals. Instead, they value the things money can buy and the power of social influence. This damages society as a whole, creates a social net that thrives on dishonesty, and leads to unhappiness for individuals in that society. People don't work for the betterment of the community but rather for the betterment of themselves only.
Status in Père Goriot is obtained by having the most money or social influence. Eugène reveres his cousin because she is wealthy and has social power. It's what gives him access to the upper echelon of society, and lets him get to know Père Goriot's daughters:

He had just become aware of the fact that the Vicomtesse de Beauseant was one of the queens of fashion, that her house was thought to be the pleasantest in the Faubourg Saint-Germain. And not only so, she was, by right of her fortune, and the name she bore, one of the most conspicuous figures in that aristocratic world. Thanks to the aunt, thanks to Mme. de Marcillac’s letter of introduction, the poor student had been kindly received in that house before he knew the extent of the favor thus shown to him. It was almost like a patent of nobility to be admitted to those gilded salons; he had appeared in the most exclusive circle in Paris, and now all doors were open for him. Eugene had been dazzled at first by the brilliant assembly, and had scarcely exchanged a few words with the Vicomtesse; he had been content to single out a goddess among this throng of Parisian divinities, one of those women who are sure to attract a young man’s fancy.

He's willing to spend money that his family gives him to pursue a life like hers rather than working on his career. Père Goriot is admired by his landlady when he first moves in because he takes an expensive and luxurious room. As the years pass, and he has to move to smaller, cheaper rooms, her regard for him decreases. His daughters only appear to care for him when he's able to pay for the expensive lifestyle that they want. Without money or social influence, the characters in Père Goriot are looked down on and considered unimportant.
One way it's clear that the lack of fraternity or brotherhood is hurting the characters is evident in the interaction between Anastasie, Père Goriot's daughter, and Eugène. When Eugène mentions that he knows her father, Anastasie, her husband, and her lover all kick him out of the house:

Eugène had a second time waved a magic wand when he uttered Goriot’s name, but the effect seemed to be entirely opposite to that produced by the formula "related to Mme. de Beauseant." His position was not unlike that of some visitor permitted as a favor to inspect a private collection of curiosities, when by inadvertence he comes into collision with a glass case full of sculptured figures, and three or four heads, imperfectly secured, fall at the shock. He wished the earth would open and swallow him. Mme. de Restaud’s expression was reserved and chilly, her eyes had grown indifferent, and sedulously avoided meeting those of the unlucky student of law.

Eugène doesn't have any value to them on his own; when it's clear that he could reveal the poverty Anastasie's father lives in, they immediately eject him so that they can keep their own social status. He, himself, is also careless. He solicits money from his mother and sisters not so he can continue his legal education and support his family, but so he can live an empty life as a darling of society. Fraternity is about caring for your fellow-man; the characters in Père Goriot reject this when they choose their own selfish desire for money or status over their family. This leads to suffering on behalf of discarded individual family members, and ultimately weakens society as a whole when those connections that help create community are no longer valued.
It's clear that equality, too, has no place in the society in Père Goriot. Characters aren't equal to each other because their social position sets them apart. Eugène is only able to gain entry into the ranks of society because of his relationship with his cousin. Père Goriot works hard for his daughters but is rejected because, ironically, he cannot afford to live the life of luxury that he provides for them. If someone doesn't have the same social influence and access to material goods, they're seen as a lower person than someone who does have those things. A character like Vautrin is even willing to kill to help himself and others rise in their social position, because equality doesn't exist in the society in which they live. This is why he sets up Victorine's brother to die:

A book might have been made of her story. Her father was persuaded that he had sufficient reason for declining to acknowledge her, and allowed her a bare six hundred francs a year; he had further taken measures to disinherit his daughter, and had converted all his real estate into personalty, that he might leave it undivided to his son. Victorine’s mother had died broken-hearted in Mme. Couture’s house; and the latter, who was a near relation, had taken charge of the little orphan.

Vautrin attempts to plot Victorine's brother's death, so that he can have access to the additional money she will inherit if Eugène marries her. This is an example of how a lack of equality in society can lead to human misery. Eugène tries to stop the plot but her brother ultimately dies. Victorine's broken-hearted. To the characters in the novel, it's better to break the law and damage others in the attempt to reach a better position of social influence and material wealth. This attitude causes pain to the characters, but is also negative for the society they live in.
The characters in Père Goriot do not have liberty. They are bound to money and social influence and cannot function without them. Near the end of the novel, Père Goriot's daughters have both misused money in such a way that they're broke once again and in trouble with their husbands. Though Père Goriot provided for his daughters, they were careless and want more, leaving him bound to them both by love and honor:

For this ball she had ordered a golden gown like a setting for a jewel. Her mantuamaker, a woman without a conscience, would not give her credit, so Nasie’s waiting-woman advanced a thousand francs on account. Poor Nasie! reduced to such shifts! It cut me to the heart to think of it! But when Nasie’s maid saw how things were between her master and mistress, she was afraid of losing her money, and came to an understanding with the dressmaker, and the woman refuses to send the ball-dress until the money is paid. [. . .] She cannot. I saw that myself. Delphine will be there too in a superb toilette, and Anastasie ought not to be outshone by her younger sister. And then—she was drowned in tears, poor girl! I felt so humbled yesterday when I had not the twelve thousand francs, that I would have given the rest of my miserable life to wipe out that wrong. You see, I could have borne anything once, but latterly this want of money has broken my heart. Oh! I did not do it by halves; I titivated myself up a bit, and went out and sold my spoons and forks and buckles for six hundred francs; then I went to old Daddy Gobseck, and sold a year’s interest on my annuity for four hundred francs down. Pshaw! I can live on dry bread, as I did when I was a young man...

He is bound through obligation to their life of social status and luxury that he'll never be free. Instead, he takes away the very things he needs to survive so that his daughter can have a new dress for one night. Père Goriot dies still in bondage to this idea of a life of material goods and social influence, and his daughters don't even bother to attend the funeral. Without liberty, the man dies alone and is mourned only by the people who lived with him at the boarding house; he's never free enough to disentangle himself from his desire to give his daughters everything, and they are willing to take until there's nothing left he can give. They're damaged by the society created by the pursuit of money and status; it leaves them unable to feel and appreciate real human connection.
Ultimately, the lack of fraternity, liberty, and equality in Père Goriot keeps the characters from living meaningful, fulfilling lives and only leads to suffering, including the death of Père Goriot himself. The important things in life, like family and community, are set aside when the characters focus instead on material goods. While Père Goriot and Eugène might have lived happy, positive lives with the money and status they had, they were unable to. They, along with every other character in the novel, suffered, because the society in which they lived valued money and social position over the ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity.

What racial/ethnic stereotypes does “Evicted” by Matthew Desmond show? How do people in “Evicted” use race and ethnicity in their social relations?

Evicted is a Pulitzer Prize-winning nonfiction book by Matthew Desmond. The book features true accounts of various impoverished families in the inner-core areas of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Desmond's reportage and research took place during the beginning and peak of the late-2000's economic recession. To understand the socioeconomic and racial dynamics in Milwaukee, one has to understand its demographics. Milwaukee's total population is composed of 44% whites, 40% blacks, and 17–18% hispanics. This makes Milwaukee, like nearby Chicago, a racially diverse city.
Milwaukee is also situated in the heart of the Midwest, or what economists call the Rust Belt. The Midwest had a booming economy during the second-half of the nineteenth century and the first-half of the twentieth century. This attracted many African American migrants from the South. However, when factories closed their operations during the late-1970s and 1980s, unemployment rates increased, along with drug addiction and homelessness.
Many of the people who experienced the economic struggle during this period were minorities, particularly blacks, as well as lower-class and lower-middle-class whites. Stereotypes of African Americans being drug dealers and white Americans being drug addicts, and vice-versa, were perpetuated during the 1980s and 1990s. This is illustrated by Scott, a nurse who succumbed to heroin addiction. Even with a steady job, Scott's environment and possible depression partially-influenced him to use narcotics.
While the stereotypes do have a partial basis in reality, according to statistics, these stereotypes are rooted in racial discrimination and economic/social class struggles. For instance, one of the most notorious unethical practices in real estate is redlining, which is a form of discriminatory housing. It is a federal crime for landlords and real estate agents to discriminate against potential tenants or homeowners based on ethnicity, color of skin, gender, or sexual orientation. However, many used loopholes to divert African Americans and other minority groups towards undesirable and dangerous neighborhoods, while encouraging middle-class whites to move into posher suburbs.
This unethical practice gave working-class African Americans, latinos, and even some whites, no choice but to live in crime-ridden and socially desolate neighborhoods. This can be seen throughout the book. This situation reinforces stereotypes of inner-city black citizens as being criminals. However, the stereotypes do not account for the socioeconomic roots of criminality, which is illustrated by Vanetta, who participated in a failed robbery.
The book also highlights the tribal nature of humans. Whites tend to stick with other whites, while blacks and latinos tend to stick with their own respective communities. This creates a form of unofficial segregation. While there is nothing wrong with preferring to stay close to one's ethnic culture, this large-scale anti-social behavior can lead to racial tension and limited perspectives on cultures different from one's own. At worst, it can lead to bigotry.
https://www.irp.wisc.edu/publications/fastfocus/pdfs/FF22-2015.pdf

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227348511_The_theory_of_bank_redlining_and_discrimination_An_exploration

Who was more evil, Mary Carson or Fiona Cley?

This question is a matter of opinion. This opinion is based on one definition of the word "evil." To some, the word "evil" means literally, "far from God." According to this interpretation of the word "evil," Mary Carson is much farther from God than Fiona Cleary.
Mary Carson's evilness is ironic because she has such a close relationship with Father Ralph. A reader might expect this closeness to reflect Mary's devotion to God, as Father Ralph is one of God's representatives on earth, but the opposite is the case. Mary Carson's attachment to Father Ralph is hardly holy. Rather, it is based on lust, which makes their relationship sordid and flawed. Because Mary Carson is in love with Father Ralph, and she desires him in a physical way, her jealousy of Meggie is uncontrollable. Both Mary's selfishness when it comes to Ralph and her envy when it comes to Meggie only increases the distance between Mary Carson and God. When Mary Carson sees an opportunity, she attempts to use Father Ralph's spirituality to her own advantage, and at the time of her death, she was very far from God indeed.

How would you analyze Restart by Gordon Korman?

I'd start an analysis of Restart with the book's themes. Through Chase Ambrose's eyes, we see that who you used to be doesn't have to be who you always are. His past bullying behavior shapes how people view him after his accident, but his kind and understanding post-accident behavior eventually convince the other characters that the new Chase doesn't want to live like the old.Another theme is the impact of bullying, not only on those bullied but on the bullies themselves. Being a bully changes the relationships Chase is able to have with his family members and with kids his own age. His stepmother doesn't trust him, his half-sister is afraid of him, potential good friends don't want anything to do with him, and his so-called friends don't have anything in common with him except the desire to wound others. As a bully, Chase has limited himself, but he'd probably never have realized it without the accident.That leads to one more theme: it's hard to shed a role once people identify you with it. In his own view, Chase sheds his role of bully without intending to, because he simply doesn't remember it. In the view of other characters, Chase has a lot of work to do to regain trust. Some people don't want to give him the chance because they've been hurt too often. Chase has to accept that trust will be hard-earned in some cases; this is a natural consequence of his behavior before the accident.

Restart is a story about fresh starts, examining one's faults and the impact that a person's life can have on those around them. It is a coming-of-age tale with a twist and the story of how a person's life has an impact on those around them.
At the start of this novel, Chase Ambrose is an eighth-grade bully who was required to do community service due to a run-in with the law. Together with his friends, he terrorized his school, and even his sister was terrified of him.
After a bad fall, Chase winds up in a coma and suffers amnesia. With no memories of his past, he begins to analyze his former self and is shocked at the stories of how despicably he had behaved.
The topic of redemption is explored deeply in this novel, as are the themes of personal responsibility, trust, kindness, and transformation.

The theme of Restart by Gordon Korman is bullying and the affect it has on all observers and victims of it.
Chase Ambrose falls from the roof of his house and spends 4 days in a coma. He wakes up with a damaged shoulder, a concussion, and amnesia. He doesn't recognize his immediate family nor does he have any recollection of his life before the accident.
As he recovers, he begins to get hints about the boy he was before. He is not happy with this news, as the boy he is now cannot even imagine doing the things that he apparently did repeatedly to hurt others. Chase and his two football/bully buddies concentrated much of their action on Shoshanna's brother, Joel. The final prank involved putting three cherry bombs inside a grand piano that Joel was to play in a large auditorium. As Joel plays and the audience listens, the bombs go off. Joel is terrified and screams, the audience is panicked, and Chase and his buddies are in stitches. As a result, the three boys are sentenced to three months of community service at a nearby senior citizens' residence.
School begins, and Chase attends. He is disappointed that most of the school's population looks at him fearfully, waiting to see who he will target next. Chase cannot yet play football, so he has time to spend with other interests. He is accepted into the video club and learns that he is quite a good videographer. The other members are wary of him as first, but they begin to believe that Chase is just as nice a guy as he seems to be.
Chase's father and the football squad are horrified because Chase is friends with the video club members, those "nerds". His former partners in crime, Bear and Aaron, work to get Chase to return to his old self. This is quite a struggle for Chase, because the two sides are to vastly different. Who does he want to be?
Another bullying event that Bear and Aaron plan, to make Chase look guilty, almost tips Chase in the direction of his old self. Topping that off is the revelation that Chase stole the Medal of Honor from Mr. Solway, one of the senior citizen residents, many months ago. Chase is devastated as he realizes this, as Mr. Solway was the subject of a video project that Chase and Shoshanna have filmed, and the old soldier has become Chase's hero. Chase finds himself once more in front of a judge, and he is saved from punishment by the attendance of most of the school and community, who have come to speak on his behalf. Chase now knows which way his life will go.
Character development is a large part of this book. Most of the characters grow and change as a result of the events. Even Chase's step-mother, who initially stayed as far from him as possible, becomes a pivotal character in Chase's salvation. Pointedly, the two characters who do not change are Bear and Aaron, who still don't understand why Chase has become a good guy. Maybe they eventually will follow Chase's example.

Why did Christopher Columbus want to go to Asia?

Throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, European traders traversed the relatively safe Silk Road to Asia in order to procure the silk and spices that were in high demand. By the mid-fifteenth century, however, this route had become quite dangerous, and rather than give up this highly lucrative trade, merchants began thinking of looking for a water route to Asia.
Christopher Columbus was a mariner from Genoa who had first set sail as a young boy on merchant ships, some of which sailed part way down the coast of Africa. He was also very well-read in such areas as history, astronomy, and geography, and was well aware that educated people understood that the world was round. As his skills as a navigator and explorer increased, he decided that he wanted to lead an expedition to the west in order to find a waterway to Asia. He attempted to get backing for such an expedition in Genoa, Venice, England, and Portugal, but he was turned down. Finally, the rulers of Spain, Isabella and Ferdinand, gave him their backing and promised him that he would be made an Admiral of the Seas and a viceroy of any lands he discovered, and he would get a percentage of the profits of the spice trade if his expedition proved successful.

Who is Rose in the novel The Years?

Rose is the youngest Partiger daughter. As a ten-year-old, she sneaks out of the house by herself, and a man exposes himself to her—a sexual threat she doesn't forget. Later, as an unmarried spinster considered a little odd, she gets involved in the Woman's Suffragist cause—one in which women were getting increasingly militant in their demand for the vote in early twentieth century England. In 1911, she is arrested for throwing a brick, and by 1914, she is in prison.
Rose is one in a long line of characters in Woolf's novels who strike out on their own and choose a feminist, single lifestyle. Throughout her novels, and in this one in particular, Woolf explores the plight of women in her society, both as it was at the time of her childhood in the 1880s and 1890s and up through the present day. Rose represents an extreme in the narrow spectrum of choices open to women: she does not choose the conventional route of marriage and family but strikes out in her own militant direction. Woolf admires this choice on the one hand but also shows that a woman who makes this choice is likely to be looked down upon and misunderstood by her society. In Rose's case, she is punished by the state for advocating for a right we now take for granted.

What is a summary of part 5 of A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful?

Part 5 of A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful by Irish philosopher Edmund Burke focuses on the nature of linguistics, poetics, and the effects of words in general. The chapters include the following: "Of Words"; "The Common Effects of Poetry, Not by Raising Ideas of Things"; "General Words Before Ideas"; "The Effect of Words"; "Examples that Words May Affect Without Raising Images"; "Poetry not Strictly an Imitative Art"; and "How Words Influence the Passions."
In these chapters of part 5, Burke examines not only the aesthetics of the written word, such as within poetic forms, but also what poetry evokes within the reader. Burke also explores the dynamic between what we say or write and what we truly feel. Burke tries to understand the very nature of literary forms, such as poetry, by exploring the psychological processes of literary expression.
Although not trained as a psychologist or linguist, Burke tries to analyze the very origins of human linguistics and its complex mechanisms. However, Burke's viewpoints regarding our relationship with words are limited in scope. For instance, Burke views the origins of linguistics from a Eurocentric perspective and does not take into account the development of different languages and how they are dependent on specific cultures and social codes.

What is the meaning of Stephen Crane's poem "I Saw a Man Pursuing the Horizon?"

At first glance, it might seem that the point behind this poem is to warn others to not bother chasing fruitless dreams. Either this, or why we should do ignore the criticisms of others, while in pursuit of our goals. But upon closer reading, I do not believe the purpose of this poem shares anything in line with either of these points.
I say this because there seems to be a finality to the words of the man chasing the horizon. It is not as if he still chasing a goal, but is rather, living within the confines of the goal he has obtained. And this is an entirely different concept. Because sure, there is room for doubt when we are pursuing our goals, but once we have achieved them, there is no denying we made them happen.

Stephen Crane's poem “I Saw a Man Pursuing the Horizon” is about a man pursuing an impossible dream. Just as we can never reach the horizon, no matter how hard we try, so the man in the poem has set himself a goal that he can never achieve. At the same time, most readers of the poem feel more than a little sympathetic to the man. No one really likes to be told that they can't do something, that whatever they're doing is futile, as the speaker of the poem says to the man. Everyone has their dreams, and no matter how unrealistic they may be, we don't take too kindly to anyone trying to rain on our parade. Those dreams are special; they are unique to us, and we want to hold on to them for as long as we can. Besides, many great men and women of the past—scientists, inventors, innovators—were doubtless told that their dreams were impossible to realize, and yet they achieved.
Whenever I read the poem, I always picture the man as a kind of eccentric genius, a scientist perhaps, who's been rudely interrupted in his experiments by the nay-saying speaker. That's why I remain firmly on the side of the man pursuing the horizon, and why I want him and countless others like him to keep on reaching.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/50457/i-saw-a-man-pursuing-the-horizon

How would you describe the speaker?

Like the speaker in a dramatic monologue, the narrator in Frost’s poem unintentionally reveals much about himself. He does not identify himself or talk about his life, nor does he explain specifically why he is traveling through the snow on the “darkest evening of the year.” Nevertheless, through his voice, his actions, and his reactions to his surroundings, his character is developed clearly. As the poem progresses through the four brief stanzas, it also becomes clear that the narrator is a man to admire.
A telling detail about the character of the narrator is introduced immediately by his actions in the first stanza. He stops to “watch the woods fill up with snow.” His decision to stop suggests several personal traits. He is aware of his surroundings and sensitive to the rhythms of nature; he finds beauty in the natural world and is attuned to it. The image of snow falling in the woods suggests a silence and serenity that speaks to the spirit rather than the intellect, revealing that the narrator is not self-absorbed with the workings of his own mind. Instead, he is open to the beauty of the moment and takes time to acknowledge and appreciate it. Besides revealing the kind of man the narrator is, the stanza quickly establishes what he is not. He is not a man driven by ambition and the relentless need to hurry through life in pursuit of worldly success. By stopping to experience the beauty of snow falling in the woods, the narrator shows that he values nature and feels comfortable in a quiet, isolated landscape apart from society.
The narrator’s character is developed further in stanzas two and three as he speaks of his horse. His reference to “my little horse” is affectionate, and from his subsequent personification of the “little horse,” it’s easy to infer that he thinks of the horse as his companion, not as a subjugated animal in harness. The narrator and his “little horse” understand each other’s behavior, suggesting they have travelled together many times. Consequently, the narrator knows what his horse must be thinking when they stop for no apparent reason “between the woods and frozen lake.” The bond between the narrator and his horse underscores the narrator’s sensitivity and perception; the affection he feels for his “little horse” reveals a gentle and loving spirit.
As the poem concludes, the first line of the fourth stanza serves to reprise much of what the narrator has revealed about himself in the previous stanzas. “The woods are lovely, dark and deep,” he observes, indicating once again that he is sensitive to the beauty of the natural world and finds wonder in it. The reader can almost hear him sigh as he describes the scene before him. In the final three lines of the stanza, additional traits in his character now become evident. He has “promises to keep” and will travel far through the dark, snowy night, without rest, in order to honor them. A promise is a vow, indicative of commitment; to keep a promise implies dedication and a sense of personal responsibility. “[I have] miles to go before I sleep,” the narrator says, reluctantly turning away from the peaceful scene that invites him to linger. A good man through and through, he can delay no longer in keeping his word.

Why did Miss Bingley invite Elizabeth to remain in Netherfield?

Gracious Jane likes everyone including the Bingley sisters. The Bingley sisters, although snobs, feel they "have to converse with someone while staying in the country" so they invite pleasing Jane to dine. Knowing it will rain Mrs. Bennet instructs Jane to travel by horseback, so she can stay overnight, to be closer to Mr. Bingley. Jane arrives to Bingley's soaking wet and a comes down with a fever.
Although mortified that her mother's plan worked, Elizabeth hurries to visit her dear sister by foot. When Elizabeth arrives with mud splattered on her petticoat, the Bingley sisters are shocked and appalled. Although Caroline Bingley loathes Elizabeth and recognizes her as a potential rival for Mr. Darcy's affections she invites Elizabeth because a sick Jane begs Lizzy to stay and care for her. Caroline prides herself on following the rules of polite, civil society and thus, she feels, proving herself superior to Elizabeth.

The Bingley sisters initially invite only Jane to spend time at Netherfield. Mrs. Bennet takes advantage of the situation, forcing Jane to go on horseback and expose herself to the rain. Mrs. Bennet's plan is successful; Jane has to stay the night in the home of the man Mrs. Bennet wishes her to marry. Unfortunately, she falls ill.
This is the setup for the reason that Elizabeth is invited to stay at Netherfield as well. Elizabeth rushes out in the mud to tend to her sick sister. It is important to note that she was not invited. When she arrives, Miss Bingley is bound, as hostess of the home, by social customs and rules of polite society to extend the invitation to Elizabeth, so that she can care for her sick sister.

When Jane receives an invitation from the Bingley girls to dine at Netherfield, Mrs. Bennet seizes the opportunity to put a cunning plan into effect. She instructs Jane to travel to Netherfield on horseback. Mrs. Bennet figures that, as it will be raining when Jane arrives, she'll be invited to spend the night at Netherfield, thus giving her an opportunity to get to know the dashing Mr. Bingley a little better.
Mrs. Bennet's plan works, but only up to a certain point. Jane is indeed invited to spend the night at Netherfield, but that's only because she's wet through from the rain and has developed a nasty fever. When the Bennets receive word of Jane's illness, Elizabeth immediately sets off for Netherfield, tramping through the sodden fields, as there are no horses available. As one can imagine, once Lizzie arrives, her clothes are all spotted with mud, much to the horror of the Bingley sisters. However, Lizzie is invited inside and spends all her time keeping vigil by the stricken Jane's bedside. As Jane doesn't want Lizzie to leave her side, Caroline Bingley invites her to spend the night at Netherfield.

A central theme in M. Butterfly is the juxtaposition of fantasy and reality, of the past and the present, of desire and hope, and of frustration and loss. Choose any two of these juxtapositions and discuss how they inform the lives of three major characters in the play. How do these characters respond to this conflict or tension in their lives? What is the effect of this conflict on them? What do they lose, and what do they gain as a result?

Of these juxtaposed ideas, the one most obviously central to the play is that of fantasy versus reality. Gallimard lives in a make-believe world by carrying on his affair with Song and apparently not guessing that Song is actually a man. And Gallimard's wife is being deceived on two levels: first in the more conventional fact of Gallimard having a lover, and second in not understanding Gallimard's "true" nature.
What Song himself must perceive about the situation is perhaps more complex. He is being "used" by his government to carry out this bizarre deception, but to us, the reader and audience, it's unknown to what extent he is merely play acting and not actually expressing some level of need that is genuine in his affair with Gallimard. The dichotomy of "past" and "present" is a more subtle and ambiguous issue. We first see Gallimard as an old man looking back on his sorry history and in effect re-creating it for us.
The shifts in time give the play a dreamlike (or nightmarish) quality, but also raise the question of how much is "real" and how much an exaggeration or transformation by Gallimard of events that have led to his downfall. Is Gallimard the ultimate unreliable narrator? The explicit references to the opera Madama Butterfly show Hwang's play to be a kind of ghost of a work which has become a cultural trope for east-west relations and the exploitation inherent in them. But in this case, the dynamic between east and west has been reversed. Gallimard's actions in his affair with Song represent the desire to re-enact the old dynamic between different cultures, but the result for him is a catastrophe that makes the terms "frustration" and "loss" seem like vast understatements.

What is the importance of enzymes in carrying out life processes?

Enzymes are the body's own catalysts and (like any other catalyst) control the speed of chemical reactions in the body. There are so many chemical processes going on in our body and most of them take place at a very slow pace. The enzymes speed up the rate of these reactions and enable our survival. If the body does not have the enzymes, it may be unable to survive.
Although the principal application of enzymes is as catalysts, there are other actions that are carried out by the enzymes in the body. Enzymes help in cellular communication and keep a check on the growth, life, and death of the cells.
Enzymes help our bodies maintain homeostasis and are essential to our survival.
In short, we can say that enzymes are essential for catalyzing catabolic and anabolic reactions in the body of any living organism.
Hope this helps.

Examine how Dickens introduces the stifling conditions of the educational system through this novel Hard Times.

The educational system is presented in Hard Times as narrow and uninspiring, based upon nothing more than the dissemination of facts. In the dull, deadening curriculum delivered to the letter by Mr. Gradgrind there is no room for imagination or creative thinking. What he wants are facts, and plenty of them. Dickens paints a suitably grim picture of formal education that is thoroughly utilitarian, that is to say concerned with nothing more than producing a particular end product. Children are expected to grow up very quickly in this society, and must soon take their place in the cut and thrust world of work. To that end, they need learn nothing more than facts, facts, and more facts.
But in the character of Sissy Jupe we have an alternative to the Gradgrindian method of teaching. Through her life in the circus, she's come to know lots of things. She may not be able to give the kind of precise definition of a horse that Mr. Gradgrind demands, but due to her vast experience she still knows much more about horses than he ever will. Sissy shows us the value of education through doing, not just learning in a formal classroom environment. It is somewhat ironic that Gradgrind's unimaginative curriculum is supposed to prepare children more effectively for the world of work, and yet Sissy Jupe's practical experience of that world has already given her an education that she couldn't get in any school.

What is an example of symbolism in Romeo and Juliet act 2, scene 2?

The symbol of poison introduced by Friar Laurence in act 2, scene 2, has great significance in Romeo and Juliet. As the good Friar introduces us to his little bag of potions, he comments somewhat ominously on how poisons aren't intrinsically evil, but only made so by the uses to which they are put.
As well as foreshadowing the Friar's own use of the sleeping draught he prepares for Juliet, this remark introduces poison as symbolizing society's seemingly inordinate capacity to destroy the good things of life, with potentially damaging and tragic consequences. The most obvious example of this would be the way in which society turns something sweet and pure—the love between Romeo and Juliet—into deadly poison that destroys them both. No one deliberately set out to do this, of course, any more than Friar Laurence intended to hurt Juliet by giving her the sleeping potion; but it's how things have turned out all the same.

What is an explanation of "Watching for Dolphins" by David Constantine?

In the poem "Watching for Dolphins" by David Constantine, a group of passengers on a boat bound for mainland Greece stop whatever else they are doing and head out on deck to attempt to sight dolphins swimming in the water. Their destination is Piraeus, which is a port city near Athens on the Greek mainland, and they are in the midst of the Aegean Sea, which lies between Greece and Turkey. Their port of origin might be somewhere in Turkey, or they may be coming from one of the Greek islands such as Mikonos.

Constantine describes a variety of passengers: lovers, an overweight photographer, and children. What all these disparate people have in common is a desire to see dolphins. When they head for the deck, their personal problems and ambitions dissipate as they all engage in scanning the waters. They wonder whether a sighting is more likely if the sea is calm, if it is choppy with waves, or if there are seagulls present.

All of these people are awaiting a transcendent experience, something extraordinary that will take them beyond the usual limits of what they consider normal. The poet compares their fervent waiting to praying. As an explanation of what they are seeking he uses the word "epiphany," which means an illuminating discovery or realization, or the appearance or manifestation of something supernatural. As they wait, they imagine what a dolphin sighting would be like and how everyone will laugh and point out the dolphins leaping out of the water.

However, the boat reaches the port and is surrounded by mundane tankers. No dolphins will venture into the black polluted waters near shore. The passengers disperse and go back to the concerns of their individual lives.

In this poem, Constantine reminds his readers that although we are all different, we all share a desire to glimpse something transcendent and supernatural that lies beyond the world that we normally see. Sometimes our longing remains unrequited and, like the passengers aboard the boat in the poem, we pray and hope to no avail. However, it's good to keep in mind that all of these passengers are hopeful when they go on deck because often dolphins are sighted in the water. If they do not observe dolphins this time, there is always the chance that their hopes will be fulfilled on some future voyage.

In this poem, the speaker describes how "certain passengers" aboard a ship would, with "no acknowledgement of a common purpose," rise and go to the railings to look for dolphins in the Aegean Sea. Without discussing their intentions with one another or even being aware that they had similar intentions privately, these individuals would "lose / Every other wish."
They would, uniformly, consider signs such as the presence of seagulls or the calmness of the waters, awaiting the "epiphany"—almost as though they were praying—hoping to see the dolphins break the surface. The speaker says that, if they were to see the creatures, "We should have laughed and lifted the children up / Stranger to stranger," as though their strangeness to one another does not matter, as though their differences do not exist.
But, that "climax" never arrives—the prayer is unanswered—and, as the ship approaches the city, people give up hope of seeing any dolphins. That hopefulness now seems almost like a dream, as the speaker says that they "woke, blinking" with their eyes "cast down" in disappointment.
This hopefulness, this simple and sweet desire to see the dolphins, free and playing in the water, seems to signal something fundamentally human about these passengers: they recognize a beauty in something that not everyone does—after all, it is only "certain passengers," the speaker included, who get up to look. Not everyone appreciates these simple beauties in the world, and even when we are disappointed in our hope for them, there is beauty in that hopefulness.

"Watching for Dolphins" is one of the most celebrated and acclaimed poems by David Constantine.
A first reading shows the poem to be about passengers hoping to see dolphins while traveling by boat to Piraeus, a port city in Greece.
However, as the poem progresses, it reveals a deeper message about human hopes and ambitions.
Here is an excerpt from the second stanza which shows the same:

Every other wish. Even the loversTurned their desires on the sea, and a fat manHung with equipment to photograph the occasionStared like a saint, through sad bi-focals; others,Hopeless themselves, looked to the children for theyWould see dolphins if anyone would.

This stanza shows how the hope of seeing the dolphins binds everyone, including the children.
Although the passengers are strangers to each other, their desire to see the dolphins arguably makes them one, which is highlighted well in this excerpt from the fourth stanza:

We could not imagine more prayer, and had they thenOn the waves, on the climax of our longing come

The poet uses words such as "we" and "our," which again highlights how the passengers' hopes and desires bring them together. The poem at this point becomes more spiritual and religious with the use of words like "implore," which is also used in religious language.
In the fifth stanza, the poem includes the element of wishful thinking, as the passengers hope to celebrate the sight of dolphins.
However, as we progress to the end of the poem, we understand that the epiphany does not occur—that the dolphins are not seen, which leads to sheer disappointment. In the last stanza, the word "black" signifies the loss of hope. With their "eyes cast down," the passengers exit the boat, returning to their solitary lives in the city.

Why was Tonni getting upset about what Addie was saying to DuShawn?

The well-meaning but slightly condescending Addie is trying to build a third party system at school. Ms. Wyman advises Addie to work within the system, but Addie refuses. She wants DuShawn to run for president, only she hasn't actually told him yet. DuShawn is one of only three black students in the seventh grade—the other two being Tonni and Royal—and they all hang out together. Addie goes to see DuShawn, hoping to convince him to run as the Freedom Party candidate. She loftily announces that she wants to create a voice for the voiceless, to speak about the many injustices in society that DuShawn, as an African American, has personally experienced.
Initially, DuShawn doesn't take Addie's proposal at all seriously. He feels like she's making him out to be some kind of slave, so he adopts the voice and mannerisms stereotypically associated with an Uncle Tom character. For her part, Tonni's flat-out angry at Addie. She thinks that Addie, a white girl who's never really known injustice, is just using DuShawn to burnish her woke credentials:

What are you but a lily-white girl living your whole life in a lily-white town with a lily-white name like Paintbrush Falls, and you start some sort of liberation movement or something and use DuShawn here like some kind of fool pawn or something, like he’s gonna make you black or something?

What was Helen’s mind bogged down with in chapter 20 of The Story of My Life?

Helen's mind is bogged down with all her studies.
She'd always been so excited at the prospect of going to Radcliffe College. But her romanticized ideals of what higher education would be like soon collide with the day-to-day reality of college life.
Helen is somewhat bewildered by the teaching methods used at Radcliffe. All the emphasis seems to be on processing an endless stream of information in this incredibly fast-paced learning environment. Much to Helen's disappointment, there appears to be no time in the academic day for calm reflection and the exercise of one's imagination. Everything appears geared towards teaching and assimilating facts as quickly as possible.
Under the circumstances, Helen can be forgiven for getting more than a little bogged down by her studies. She's not enjoying the experience because it's not what she expected. Nevertheless, she will learn to adapt in due course, eventually gaining her degree. But for now, it's all a bit too much and Helen's floundering somewhat.

What is the poet thinking of as he watches the waves in "Break, Break, Break"?

In the poem "Break, Break, Break" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, the speaker contemplates waves breaking upon the seashore, the children of fishermen playing together, a young sailor singing in his boat, and ships heading into port. He finds it difficult to put into words the thoughts he is having.
In fact, the poet is mourning the recent death of a loved one. He is heartbroken that he will never again be able to hear his friend's voice or touch his hand. When he writes of "the tender grace of a day that is dead," he is using the word "day" figuratively to refer to the era of time during which his friend was still alive. He is lamenting that he will no longer experience the joyous times that he was able to spend with his friend.
Tennyson wrote this poem shortly after the death of his friend Arthur Henry Hallam, who died on August 15, 1833, at the age of twenty-two. Tennyson and Hallam were very close friends, and Hallam was also engaged to Tennyson's sister Emily. The poem brings out Tennyson's sense of isolation and loss after Hallam's unexpected death.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/alfred-tennyson

Who were Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)? What activities did they routinely engage in to “change” American society? Do you agree with their methods of promoting change? Why? What was their overall effect on the United States? Explain.

The Students for a Democratic Society, an outgrowth student of the League for Industrial Democracy, was founded in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1960. Through college chapters throughout the United States, SDS members were active—alongside SNCC, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee—in the Civil Rights Movement, such as Freedom Riders. Especially under co-founder and president Tom Hayden, SDS is primarily associated with the growing opposition to the United States' military involvement in Vietnam in the 1960s–1970s.
Hayden increased the SDS presence through organizing demonstrations and was one of the Chicago Seven arrested in the police attacks on protestors at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. He was criticized for traveling to North Vietnam with his then wife, Jane Fonda.
While SDS generally adhered to peaceful civil disobedience, it had several offshoots that advocated violence. The Weather Underground, or Weathermen, gained notoriety by bombing military targets and related research facilities.
One's evaluation of any activist group's objectives and effectiveness will depend on one's overall attitude toward violence as a means of social transformation. Many people argue for peaceful means only, while others point to the prominent role of armed struggle in American history, including the nation's birth in revolution.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Students-for-a-Democratic-Society

How does Muni describe the end of the world?

In R. K. Narayan's story “A Horse and Two Goats,” the horse is a statue in the middle of Kritan, a tiny village in India. As a representation of the Redeemer (as an avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu), it is considered the village’s guardian, which protects them and will kill all their enemies. When the American visitor shows interest in the statue, Muni tries to explain its significance to him—a process that is hindered by the language barrier. When the end of the age of Kali Yuga, the dark time, comes, the statue will be revealed as the living Redeemer. Through its combined judgment and ferocity, the now-living horse will know which people are good and worth saving, and it will trample all the undeserving, evil people.

Did different opinions matter during WWI, and were there critics of the war criminals (consider the United States only)?

In the eyes of the law, yes, critics of WWI were criminals in the United States. Eugene Debs is a prime example. He spoke out against the draft and business's close relationship with government—he was given a prison sentence for speaking his mind.
Your definition of "matters" is important in considering this question, but it is important to note that there was some opposition to WWI. Some Progressive groups did not want to get into the war, as it would detract from their domestic agenda. Some immigrant groups did not want to act against Germany or Austria-Hungary. Others, such as the Irish and Polish, did not want to help Britain or Russia. Pacifists opposed the war on moral grounds. In the end, government clamped down on directly opposing the war: it was illegal to impede munition work or the draft.
Citizen groups were often more harsh than the government in their support of the war. Some groups took it upon themselves to burn German books in libraries. People who did not work fully in munitions or sign up for the draft were called "slackers" and treated as outcasts by their neighbors. While government restricted free speech during this war to "preserve democracy," it was really citizen groups outside of government that proved to be the most restrictive in suppressing dissent.

How does 1984 address the cult of personality?

In order to answer this question we first need to define "cult of personality." According to Merriam-Webster, a cult of personality is

a situation in which a public figure (such as a political leader) is deliberately presented to the people of a country as a great person who should be admired and loved.

To further understand what is meant by "cult of personality," let's focus on the "deliberately presented." In other words, the citizens are propagandized, if not brainwashed, by the mass media to see the leader as a hero to be worshipped and followed blindly. So with a cult of personality, the leader must have control over the mass media. And in order to spread the message as far as possible, art, spectacle, demonstrations, and rallies are used along with the mass media to create a sort of impermeable group perspective against which dissent is difficult, if not impossible.
The term "cult of personality" is often used to describe strongmen leaders of totalitarian regimes who have total control over state-run media: for example Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and today's Kim Jong-Un. In addition to admiration and support, a sort of worshipful love and infatuation—even deification—is encouraged in the public, which increases the power of the leader.
Behind the definition is the understanding that the leader is not actually great or admirable or heroic, in contrast to public acclaim and love for a leader like George Washington, which would be based on real accomplishments. A cult of personality has historically been viewed as a threat to democracy, since acclaim for the figure's leadership is not based on their performance, but rather their (propagandized) charisma.
In 1984 by George Orwell, a cult of personality has been created around the figure of Big Brother. However, since it is never clear whether Big Brother is an actual human being or simply an invention of oppression, it shows that people can even be manipulated to fall in love with an idea of a person.
The term "Big Brother" has entered everyday use to indicate intrusive and unwarranted surveillance, usually by the government.

Are the behaviors of the main characters in "Cranes" consistent with the plot? Explain.

The answer to this question is subjective, and you are welcome to go either way and defend your stance. Personally, I would to say that characters' behavior is consistent with the plot. More often than not, students of mine like this story. That generally occurs when both plot and character are meshed well and work hand in hand.
Songsam and Tokchae are childhood friends that have been forced on opposite sides of a conflict for one reason or another. There is some animosity present at first, but too many memories of good times thaw those feelings quickly, and Songsam and Tokchae are freely discussing why one of them left while the other stayed behind. Their shared experiences are simply much more meaningful to them than current government beliefs. Their friendship is more powerful than their politics; therefore, each other's health and wellness trumps job responsibilities. This is why Songsam lets Tokchae go. The plot concludes with one person freeing another, and that only works in a reader's mind if those two characters have a stronger friendship than their political worldviews.

What did Mowgli do when he was learning the Laws of the Jungle?

I believe you're asking about what is involved in Mowgli's education in the jungle. Baloo the Bear, or "Teacher of the Law," requires Mowgli to learn all of the Laws of the Jungle. Mowgli, being a "man-cub," is taught all of the "Laws of the Jungle" because they all apply to him. Baloo teaches Mowgli the "Wood and Water Laws," most of which involve basic manners for all species in the jungle and how to ensure his presence in the jungle is not disruptive or a nuisance. Mowgli learns how to ask before splashing through a water snake's puddle, how to speak to bees when he accidentally comes across a hive, and how to pardon himself when he wakens a sleeping bat.
Mowgli learns the "Strangers' Hunting Call," needed every time any species in the jungle was going to hunt outside its territory. The Strangers' Hunting Call essentially includes repetition of a call asking for permission to eat until answered. The answer has the restriction of hunting for only food, never pleasure. Since Mowgli has to learn all the Laws of the Jungle, he learns this call in all languages by repeating the phrase over and over.
When Bagheera the Black Panther mentions Mowgli's bruising from Baloo's spankings, Baloo tells him that it is better for Mowgli to be hit softly by someone that loves him rather than someone with intentions to hurt him.
https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~rgs/jngl-Brothers.html

https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~rgs/jngl-Hunting.html

https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~rgs/jngl-Pack.html

What made Bob Cratchit emotional about Tiny Tim?

When the Ghost of Christmas Present shows Scrooge the Cratchit family, Bob's voice becomes "tremulous" when he tells his family about what Tiny Tim said on the way home from church. He says that

"he hoped the people saw him in the church, because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant to them to remember upon Christmas Day, who made lame beggars walk, and blind men see."

This is quite a remarkable statement for a young child to make. Tiny Tim does not feel sorry for himself, and he does not try to hide the disability caused by disease (possibly rickets, a severe vitamin D deficiency, which makes the bones soft and brittle and would be treated with the kinds of braces Tim wears). In fact, he wants people to see him because it would remind them of Jesus and the miracles Jesus performed, and this would be appropriate on the day of Jesus's birth. It's a thoughtful, generous, compassionate, kind thought from a child who has so many reasons to feel sad instead. This makes Bob quite emotional, as he recognizes how very special his son's heart is.

Bob Cratchit is a devoted family man and is especially attached to his youngest child, Tim. The boy suffers from an unspecified disease (possibly rickets) which has left him unable to walk without help. Dickens tells us that Tim generally walked using a crutch "and had his limbs supported by an iron frame." Bob carries his son much of the time.
Bob would like to get medical treatment for his young son but cannot afford it.
In Scrooge's visions, he sees two versions of the present and future. Though poor, the Cratchits enjoy their Christmas together, which surprises Scrooge. In one version of the future, however, the lack of medical attention has taken its toll, and Scrooge envisions the family's mourning following Tim's death. In that vision, the Ghost shows Bob crying and lamenting for his little son. It turns out that was just a vision, and Tim is still alive.

How are the lives of the Wingfields ironic?

The three members of the Wingfield clan are living desperate lives in the Depression. Tom, the son and resentful breadwinner, takes long breaks on the fire escape. Amanda, the nosy and meddling mother, fills the house with the anxiety of an overly concerned parent. Meanwhile, Laura's fragile body and spirit threaten to break more than just her diminutive frame.
Tom is angry at his father, who “fell in love with long distance” and abandoned the family. Though they still have a portrait of the father in their living room, and Amanda still discusses the “match” she made in him, his leaving is clearly the cause of many of their problems. While Tom resents his father for doing this, his personal irony is that he becomes the man he hated: after the disastrous dinner with Laura’s “gentleman caller,” he leaves the women on their own.
Amanda is fixated on securing a future for Laura, but ironically, she will never be able to do so, because she is stuck in her own glorious past. She wants to build Laura up, but ironically, her criticism of her situation does the exact opposite, causing Laura to panic and to retreat into her world of music and glass animals.
Laura’s random gentleman caller turns out to be the young man she had a crush on in high school, and while this may have buoyed her for a moment, it ultimately destroys her spirit.

Situational irony in literature refers to an outcome that is the opposite of what one desires or expects. There is a great deal of situational irony in The Glass Menagerie, as the life that Amanda Wingfield does not want for her family is the life that they come to have. Throughout the play, Amanda tries to prevent her son, Tom, from breaking away from the family. She even resents the time he spends away from their apartment. In the end, however, her actions make Tom want to flee, and he leaves the family, abandoning them without a clear source of income.
Amanda also does everything she can to make sure her daughter, the loveless Laura, gets married. She pushes Tom to invite friends home, but when his friend Jim kisses Laura and then tells her that he is about to be married, Laura has a psychological breakdown. As a result, Amanda must protect and care for her daughter.

The lives of Amanda Wingfield, her son Tom, and her daughter Laura are impacted throughout the play by the Great Depression of the 1930s and by their family history and personal relationships. As the internal and external conflicts develop in the drama, the ironies in their lives become increasingly apparent; in some instances, they are tragic.
Amanda Wingfield is plagued with fear throughout the play, primarily fear for Laura’s future. Physically disabled and paralyzed by anxiety, Laura cannot function in the world beyond the Wingfields’ St. Louis apartment. She has no friends or acquaintances, and she resists her mother’s efforts to involve her in social activities. Laura’s dropping out of Rubicam’s Business College after Amanda had paid her tuition with money the family could not afford to waste indicates the depth of Laura’s anxiety and withdrawal from society. Amanda is well aware that Laura can’t support herself financially, and she believes that finding a husband to provide for Laura is imperative.
As Amanda despairs in regard to Laura’s inability to make her own way in the world, she fails to see that Laura’s circumstances ironically mirror her own. “I know so well what becomes of unmarried women who aren’t prepared to occupy a position [in the business world],” she lectures Laura. Unaware that she is describing herself, she adds, “I’ve seen such pitiful cases in the South—“ Amanda’s believing that finding a husband for Laura will insure her daughter’s financial security is also ironic, since Amanda had been abandoned by her own husband years earlier and now struggles to survive the Depression.
After dropping out of business college, Laura spends her days at home, dusting, arranging, and rearranging the fragile glass animals in her collection and listening to her father’s old phonograph records. Losing herself in her glass menagerie and in music of the past offers an escape from reality and from the emotional stress of forging personal relationships. Anxious and insecure, Laura finds no redeeming traits in her own character or realizes that she might attract the attention or the admiration of young men, until an unexpected evening with Jim O’Connor brings her out of self-imposed isolation. Drawn into a conversation with Jim, Laura’s anxiety and self-consciousness give way in response to his warmth and charm, but Jim’s presence in the Wingfield apartment is ironic, and the irony leads to disaster.
Jim’s working with Tom and coming to dinner at the Wingfield apartment is ironic, since Laura had known and secretly loved Jim in high school. The irony is compounded when Laura dares to allow herself to respond emotionally to him and subsequently is crushed to learn that Jim’s romantic kiss was careless and that he is engaged to another girl. Laura’s first, and undoubtedly last, “gentleman caller” breaks her heart and destroys what little peace she had managed to create for herself.
The greatest irony of Jim O’Connor’s visit to the Wingfields, however, develops from its final consequences. When Amanda’s dreams of Laura’s finding a husband in Jim are destroyed, Amanda turns her fury on Tom, driving him out of the apartment and out of their lives forever. In pressing Tom to bring home a young man for Laura, Amanda believes she is securing her daughter’s future; ironically, however, Amanda is setting in motion the events that culminate in her greatest fear becoming a reality—that Tom will abandon her and Laura as his father had once abandoned them.
The ultimate irony in the play—the irony that drives the primary theme of the drama—is reserved for the conclusion as Tom narrates the poignant coda. Years after leaving home, Tom is haunted by his memory of Laura: “It always came upon me unawares, taking me altogether by surprise. Perhaps it was a familiar bit of music. Perhaps it was only a piece of transparent glass . . . .” Despite Tom’s efforts to forget the sister he loved yet abandoned, he cannot escape his memories of her. “Oh, Laura, Laura,” Tom despairs, “I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intended to be!” Throughout the play, Tom is consumed with anger and resentment, trapped in unbearable circumstances and longing for a life of freedom and adventure. When he frees himself from the life he can no longer endure, however, and travels the world alone, he discovers, ironically, that escape had been only an illusion.

Discuss what qualities of Gortsby are evident in a passage from the text.

Given that you did not specify which passage, this answer will address numerous passages and the qualities present in the protagonist for each passage.
Saki's short story "Dusk" tells of Norman Gortsby's night sitting on a bench during dusk.

The scene pleased Gortsby and harmonised with his present mood. Dusk, to his mind, was the hour of the defeated.

This passage speaks of two possible qualities present in Gortsby. First, Gortsby seems to possess a defeatist quality. Given that he has positioned himself in the middle of the "hour of the defeated" could identify Gortsby as defeated himself. On the other hand, one could identify the quality of confidence in Gortsby. He realizes his circumstances and is confident he belongs at this place at this time.

"It was a pity," mused Gortsby; "the going out to get one's own soap was the one convincing touch in the whole story, and yet it was just that little detail that brought him to grief."

This passage illustrates Gortsby's practicality. He thinks about the young man's story and the validity of his story. This passage, as Gortsby considers the "facts," shows him to be practical. He looks at the realities and possible falsehoods the young man presented. He finds that the young man must have been lying, given the inability to present the soap, "the one convincing touch."

In another moment Gortsby was scudding along the dusk-shrouded path in anxious quest for a youthful figure in a light overcoat.

Here, Gortsby proves to possess a giving quality. Since the soap has been found, Gortsby now knows that the young man has been telling the truth. He wishes to help the young man. By helping the young man who is down on his luck, Gortsby proves to possess a giving nature.


"Poor boy, he as nearly as possible broke down," said Gortsby to himself. "I don't wonder either; the relief from his quandary must have been acute. It's a lesson to me not to be too clever in judging by circumstances."

Here, Gortsby proves to be humble and open. Gortsby now realizes that "judging a book by its cover" is not the right way to go forward in life. He has learned a lesson, and his own thinking has been changed.
In the end, Gortsby realizes that his first impression of the young man was correct, as the soap actually belongs to the elderly man. The young man has, in fact, scammed Gortsby. Therefore, at the close of the story, Gortsby possesses the quality of being cynical. Although he is right in his initial assessment of the young man, the young man is able to successfully con him. Therefore, Gortsby feels defrauded, and because of that, he also possesses the quality of cynicism.

Compare and contrast the New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies.

The English colonies in North America are generally divided into these three regions. The New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies all shared certain elements, but they also had differences based on their climate, geography, and demographics.
All the colonies were based on some sort of business enterprise in which the colonists were expected to make a profit for shareholders and/or the British Crown. All three regions harvested raw materials and cash crops for export to Great Britain. While the types of these exports varied by region, all proved to be profitable. New England sent large amounts of timber and fish across the Atlantic. The Middle Colonies produced tobacco, grains, and livestock. The Southern Colonies shipped large amounts of grain and tobacco in addition to indigo and sugar. All three regions were highly dependent on Great Britain for their supplies of manufactured goods.
Land ownership was highly valued throughout the English colonies. It was seen as a means and symbol of liberty. English settlers saw their homes and property as an extension of their natural rights as a free people. They also came to view the Native American populations as uneasy allies at best; more often they were viewed as a dangerous obstacle and were pushed to the peripheries of the colonies.
Most of the original English settlers in New England were religious dissidents. More so than the other regions, New England colonists came hoping to set up their own theocratic version of what they felt a proper and godly English society should look like. While many of the colonists in the other regions were religious too, they were more concerned with establishing profitable enterprises to enrich themselves and their shareholders.
For the most part, the Middle colonies had a two-tiered social system with wealthy landowners controlling rural areas and a thriving middle class in the cities. They also had many indentured servants during their early years. The Southern colonies also had similar social divisions as the Middle colonies in addition to poor white settlers in the backcountry and a larger population of enslaved Africans working on the plantations.
Differences in geography were also notable. The short growing season and poor soil quality of New England meant that little more than subsistence farming could take place there. Trade and timber came to dominate the New England economy. The Southern and Middle Colonies, on the other hand, had much better conditions for large-scale agriculture. Consequently, their economies were based more on farming.
https://www.apstudynotes.org/us-history/topics/the-middle-chesapeake-and-southern-colonies/

Historians divide the American colonies into three distinct regions: the New England Colonies, Middle Colonies, and Southern Colonies. These divisions are somewhat arbitrary distinctions based on the date of the settlement, regional economy, and to some extent the cultural orientation of the region (for example, southern culture differs from that of New England). It is important to remember these are arbitrary distinctions in that Europeans settled the colonies with similar skill sets and ideas about religion, governance, and trade. The colonies interacted with one another, and there were no drawn boundary lines between the regions.
The New England colonies were the earliest permanent settlements. The climate of New England and the general topographic features did not lend the land to being easily farmed. Agriculture, though important, was second to the fishing, shipbuilding, and industries associated with having deep water access. Timber became an essential product as the colonies became more urbanized. Lumber was required in the construction of buildings. Industrialization of the American colonies probably began in the New England colonies and then expanded to the northern parts of the Middle colonies.
The Middle Colonies are interesting because the colonies maintained some of the early New England cultural roots but adapted them to fit a region with a less harsh climate. The middle colonies were comprised of a mixture of farmers and tradesman. The topography of the Middle Colonies was less rocky, and the soil was of better quality for farming. Middle colonists enjoyed a strong trade relationship with their New England counterparts. Unlike the New England colonists, the Middle colonists produced food surpluses which they traded for goods. Middle Colonists had access to deep water and were able to transport their products by the ocean.
The Southern Colonies developed an economy entirely based on agriculture. The Southern colonies had long growing seasons, very short winters, and fertile soil. Southern colonists were encouraged to plant and farm large tracts of land. The primary source of labor for the Southern colonies was slave labor. Slave labor was part of all the colonies at some point in their history, but due to the need for manual labor, slavery was more prominent in the Southern than Middle and New England Colonies. The New England colonies, because of their large ports, were the primary entry points for the slave industry, and large slave auction houses were located near the main ports of the colonies. Small farms dominated the Southern colonies, and most were family enterprises with few slaves or none at all.
Though we tend to contrast the colonies, the one critical element in all of the colonies is the culture for representative forms of democracy. Even in colonies started by proprietors, the colonists had a voice in the government. The investors chose the governor, but colonists were allowed to meet and discuss issues important to their daily lives. The issues were presented to the governor and acted upon by his administration. Representative government in the colonies did not represent everyone. White male property owners were the only voters and controlled most of the institutions supporting the colonies.

How does the development of Melinda's art reflect her process of healing and recovering?

Melinda is portrayed as a rape victim who is so badly traumatized that she can barely speak. She also can barely look at her own image, and puts a poster of Maya Angelou--who famously was silent for years after enduring abuse--over the mirror.
While Melinda is absorbed in art, she would rather choose the circumstances of its creation. The art teacher does not allow her to do so and insists that she, like all the other students, follow the rule he laid down.
For a long time, she resists this restriction, making art that does not match her true inner self. She tries to keep her own, genuine creativity separate from the school assignments.
Melinda's ongoing battle with PSTD, with which she seems to get little support from her parents, escalates until December. She is moved by their gift of art supplies, which shows that they understand something important about her.
The art teacher is also trying to reach her. The tide turns when she discovers Cubism, as she realizes that understanding meaning does not require attempting realist-type verisimilitude but is concerned with what is beneath the surface. She starts to channel her creativity into the school project.
With the spring, time of renewal, she and her creative tree grow together. She is not as tormented by the surfaces of things but can reach inside for what is meaningful to her. She extends herself, first anonymously, with the graffiti warning other girls about Andy. She continues by directly warning her friend Rachel, despite the risk of disbelief.
Melinda slowly recovers her spoken voice as she gains her artistic voice.

Melinda is involved in a year-long art project set for her class by Mr. Freeman. As part of that project, she's required to paint a tree. Over time, the painting of the tree comes to symbolize Melinda's emotional growth and the radical change she experiences in her self-perception. When she begins the project, it's notable that Melinda's watercolor reflects the negative way she perceives herself. She paints the trees as almost dead, completely surrounded by darkness. In her fraught emotional state, that's precisely how Melinda feels.
Later on, however, Melinda has a different conception of what she wants the tree—and by extension, herself—to be like. She hopes that the finished painting will depict a strong, sturdy oak tree reaching its branches upward to the sun, just as Melinda hopes to be strong enough one day to reach out to the people around her. When she finally completes the project, Melinda is pleased with her painting, just as she is pleased with the way her life seems to be turning out.

How does the sound and sense work together in this poem?

Robert Frost's "Fire and Ice" combines a simple rhyme scheme with a rather dark message. The entirely of the poem reads as follows:

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

The poem features a rhyme scheme of ABAABCBCB, and the end rhymes themselves are fairly simple (e.g., fire, desire; hate, great). The basic sound and rhythm of the poem belie a darker meaning, though. The tone of the poem sounds rather casual and conversational, but when we look closely at what the speaker is contemplating, we see the contrast between the "sound" and the "sense," or meaning.

The speaker considers two possible ways the world could end: by burning up in a fire or by freezing in ice. He then thinks about which he would prefer, or which would be worse or better. The speaker aligns "fire" with "desire," both in rhyme and in content; he claims his experience with desire makes him think the world will end in fire. This suggests that the speaker has been figuratively burned by his desire, and he therefore imagines fire to be more painful.

On the other hand, he considers what ice might imply, too. He associates ice with "hate," and he imagines that, based on his experience with "hate," that ice would also be an appropriately painful end to existence. Basically, the speaker feels that either fire or ice could cause the apocalypse, as both desire and hate, seemingly opposite emotions, can be equally painful.

Henry James's Daisy Miller chronicles Daisy's efforts to construct her own identity in an environment that wants to construct it for her. Despite her death at the end of the narrative, did she succeed or fail in her efforts, or is it perhaps some combination of both?

In my view it's difficult to know if Daisy's intention, as phrased in your question, is to construct her own identity. To Winterbourne (and to James himself as author, I believe) Daisy is an enigma. We cannot be sure if her behavior is a deliberate effort to flout convention, or if there is simply an unexpected (and mystifying) naivete in her makeup as a person that causes her seeming inorthodoxy.
Winterbourne is impressed by Daisy because of her beauty. We can talk all we would like to about his being fascinated by a young lady because of the curiously detached way she acts, and perhaps this is, after all, part of his attraction to her. Her apparent lack of any real understanding of social codes drives Winterbourne on to find out more about her, to grasp the enigma at her core. But he finds out nothing. In Rome her association with Giovanelli infuriates him, as it scandalizes others. He can't figure her out, though the other American tourists seem to take it for granted that Daisy has become Giovanelli's mistress.
When Winterbourne warns Daisy that in Europe people do not understand the sort of mere "flirting" she has been doing, she does not care. Again, we can't be sure if she is deliberately pursuing an independent, novel way of acting, or if on the other hand she genuinely does not know the difference and is clueless about her supposed violation of the laws of conventionality. I would suggest that one of James's themes is that of the uniqueness (for good or ill) of the American psyche. Daisy appears innocent, superficial, and disregarding of others—just as "America" has been and still is perceived by the outside world that way. She does not care if her behavior offends or disappoints those around her. It is possible that some inner guile animated her, but there's no proof of it. There is a remoteness about her that Winterbourne never solves. Yes, she has created an independent existence for herself, given that no one has stopped her and forced her back into the comportment expected of her. In this sense she is a kind of pathbreaker. That she dies at the end is perhaps symbolic of the cold fact that those who choose their own path are usually struck down.

What would be the identity moratorium in the Boy in the Striped Pajamas? I think that it is when his teacher says that all Jews are bad and this conflicts with his knowledge that his friend is a Jew and is not "bad." Also, it occurs when he realizes that the people in the striped pajamas are prisoners, not farmers, and they cannot leave. I don't think that he reaches identity achievement because he dies in the gas chamber, however maybe he does so at the moment that he comforts his friend in the gas chamber despite his fears? Could this be identity achievement?

The concept of "identity moratorium" comes from the identity status theory of psychologist James Marcia. This theory is concerned primarily with adolescence and extends into young adulthood. "Moratorium" is one of four statuses. Another, which you mention in your question, is "achievement." Both of these are statuses, or states of being at the end of a process. Your question suggests that you are instead approaching them as events or as "light bulb" moments of realization, which is different from the way Marcia presents them.

Marcia’s idea is that individuals start constructing personal identities in childhood. These identities develop further while they are adolescents and into early adult years. At different times and stages, an individual can occupy one of four statuses, including the two about which you ask.

A key element of this body of theory is that development is strongly social in character. Each person is influenced by their interactions. While achievement status can be reached by younger persons, it is mostly associated with young adults. Achievement here involves commitment to moral values and to personal goals. Individuals may learn new information and explore new beliefs, but those things will not really shake the values they have already established.


People in the moratorium category, in contrast, have not yet cemented their identities and life goals. They are likely to do more exploring and may be swayed by the new experiences they encounter. This identity-seeking, including more concern with short-term problems, is associated with—and considered normal for—adolescents.
In this story, Bruno is put into a situation where his opportunity for normal exploration is abruptly cut off. He is not only separated from his social peers at home, but when he arrives at the camp, there are no potential peers. His lack of understanding, as his parents try to keep information from him, is intensified by his loneliness. Meeting and befriending Schmuel, which is a new experience, is an aspect of the moratorium status: so is his exposure to, and rejection of, numerous elements of Nazism.

The figurative idea of "trying on new identities" is here presented as literal, when Bruno tries on the "new" (as in different) clothes that Schmuel wears: the cap and pajamas.


Because Bruno's parents withhold information, Bruno can't know the danger he has placed himself in through this experimenting. And because this combination of factors ends his life, he is forever blocked from moving into the achievement status. He can never become an adult.
https://online.alvernia.edu/articles/

Read "Two Ways to Belong in America" (pp. 849) and "White Trash Primer" (pp. 852). After reading, answer the following questions: Both essays are about different ways to be in America—different ways to live, different ways to see yourself and be seen by others. Compare and contrast Mukherjee's and Johnson's essays. Which do you find more stirring? More persuasive? Imagine a conversation between the authors on the subject of culture. How might their definitions be similar and how might they be different? Your answers must be between 250-400 words.

In both texts, the concept of culture is considered; and ultimately, the focus of the texts shifts to how culture is flexible and evolves. Both "White Trash Primer" and "Two Ways to Belong in America" discuss how someone can change their culture to adjust to the opportunity that America provides.
In "White Trash Primer" the author addresses the struggle of working-class white Americans. At the start, her family struggles to eke out a living working on a farm, and the narrator falls works, despite being underage. The work that the author does at the start of the story and the subsequent sex-work she does is indicative of her social class, as well as her own view of herself and her station in life. She drops out of college to help her family make ends meet, and she operates in survival mode through the first half of the story.
Her vision of an evolving culture is what links her to the mindset of the author of "Two Ways." Like in "Two Ways," the protagonist of "White Trash Primer" eventually sees a choice. Her vision of herself transforms in the story and helps her to see beyond her upbringing and the mindset it taught her. She goes to college and seeks to make something new.
That transformation is similar to what the author of "Two Ways" talks about in her own choices to marry outside her ethnic group and to become an American citizen. Both authors see culture as something malleable. It can change and evolve, and those who participate in it can stay in one culture or move to another. The flow from one culture to another is seen as distinct in both stories, and the authors would share the idea that cultures may interact, but they rarely mix.
However, the authors might disagree with each other over the role of choice. In "White Trash Primer," the protagonist can move from one culture to another, and she makes a conscious decision to do so, but her parents don't have that same ability. Her choice is the result of privilege and not something that everyone within the culture has access to, as a rule.
In "Two Ways to Belong in America," the author treats cultural participation as entirely a choice. She is an immigrant who accepted citizenship while her sister preferred to stay a legal immigrant rather than a citizen. The concept of poverty does not figure into the narrative, and intersectionality seems to be foreign to her experience. She treats the acceptance of culture as a choice entirely—between her and her sister, it is all down to their desire, not their means.

To answer this question, I will first summarize each text. Then, I will take both sides—that of Mukherjee and Johnson.
Mukherjee's work is a personal essay about her and her sister Mira's different experience as immigrants in America. Mira, despite living in the US for more than 30 years, has retained her Indian citizenship and plans to retire to her home country eventually. On the other hand, Mukherjee has full American citizenship status and has assimilated completely into American culture. Mukherjee insists that the "self-transformation" she underwent as an immigrant makes her experience more meaningful and more satisfying that her sister's, who feels no real connection to American society or culture.
Lacy Johnson's "White Trash Primer" is a fictional short story about a young, lower class, Southern girl whose attempts at achieving upward mobility are often frustrated by her family's circumstances. The girl drops out of college and gets a job at the "fancy" Wal-Mart in order to help pay for her mother's medical bills related to her cancer diagnosis. The protagonist eventually returns to university at her mother's urging. Embarrassed of her family's poverty, the girl realizes that she is the only one with the power to change her situation.
The second part of this question asks which piece you find more stirring or persuasive. If you went with Mukherjee's piece, you could say that it is her desire to truly belong to her community that is the driving force behind her assimilation, and is not due to a wish to abandon her Indian heritage. If you say that Johnson's piece is better, you might discuss how she uses regionalism and dialect to capture the struggles of lower-class people in the US and how they can overcome these struggles through hard work and education.
If Mukherjee were to define culture, she would most likely say it is the culmination of one's clothes, interests, and rights. Throughout her piece, she frequently mentions how she abandoned her family's centuries-old traditions in favor of tee shirts, jeans, pop culture, and her "immigrant nobody" identity. As a result, she would likely say that culture is something we choose.
Johnson, on the other hand, might define culture differently. She seems to assert through her story that one can transcend their upbringing but will never escape their culture. Despite the girl's educational aspirations, she still retains her "white trash" identity and culture. Still, Johnson and Mukherjee would likely agree that, in order to live happily in the US, it is necessary to embrace one's culture.

"The Haw Lantern” is not a traditional sonnet in content or form. Analyze the sonnet, making sure to include a discussion about how this poem differs from traditional sonnets in content and form.

Seamus Heaney's poem "The Haw Lantern," part of a larger collection of short poems published in 1987, is not structured as a sonnet, nor does it exhibit the meter and rhyme schemes we associate with sonnets. A traditional Italian (also, Petrarchan) sonnet almost always contains fourteen lines, divided into three sections, an octave (8 lines, a sestet (6 lines), and the rhyme is usually abba, abba (the octave) and cde cde (the sestet—the sestet rhyme may vary slightly. The English or Shakespearean sonnet is usually divided into four quatrains, with a rhymed couplet and a rhyme scheme of abab, cdcd, efef, and gg. The Spenserian sonnet is essentially a combination of the Petrarchan and Shakespearean sonnets.
As we can see by looking at "The Haw Lantern," Heaney does not use sonnet structure. Many sonnets in English use the most common rhythm in the language, which is iambic (an unstressed and stressed syllable) with five sets of iambs to make pentameter. If we scan "The Haw Lantern" line by line we will find that the meter is irregular and internal and end-line rhyme is nonexistent. Although the poem is replete with vivid imagery and metaphorical language, Heaney chooses function over traditional poetic form. The poem is actually closer to vers libre, free verse, or perhaps blank verse than it is to a highly-structured form like the sonnet.
This highly visual and allusive poem begins with lines that personify the hawthorn bush, one we associate with winter because the hawthorn's bright red berries are like beacons in a drab world:

The wintry haw is burning out of season,
crab of the thorn, a small light for small people,
wanting no more from them but that they keep
the wick of self-respect from dying out,
not having to blind them with illumination.

The hawthorn, which is "burning" in winter with its bright red berry, is shining for "small people," an inherently ambiguous designation that could mean the people are physically small or, more likely, spiritually decayed. Because the hawthorn wants only that "they keep the wick of self-respect" alight, we can infer that the hawthorn understands that these morally-challenged people have just enough moral or spiritual vitality to keep the a greater inspiration barely alive in their souls. The hawthorn's goal is not to inspire them ("illumination") but to encourage them to maintain whatever vestige of self-respect resides within them. Heaney undoubtedly chose the hawthorn as the emblem of illumination because it is traditionally associated with Christ and his suffering (the crown of thorns).

In the next few lines, Heaney expands the theme to include a different kind of lantern, but one that is still looking for something inside mankind:


But sometimes when your breath plumes in the frost
It takes the roaming shape of Diogenes
with his lantern, seeking one just man;
so you end up scrutinized from behind the haw
he holds at eye-level on its twig,

Heaney refers to breath that changes to form the likeness of Diogenes, a Greek philosopher, who searches with his lantern in vain for an honest man. Instead of the hawthorn personified, the searcher is actually one's own breath in a form that allows the searcher to engage in a very personal form of scrutiny—looking from his eyes into the eyes of the person being scrutinized.

Unfortunately, as Heaney's last lines suggest, Diogenes does not find what he is looking for:


and you flinch before its bonded pith and stone,
its blood-prick that you wish would test and clear you,
it pecked-at ripeness that scans you, then moves on



Even though the person being scrutinized wishes the hawthorn would, in effect, test his or her blood to confirm inner self-respect, the berry—depicted realistically as pecked (by birds)—finds nothing it seeks, and Diogenes moves to another person, presumably to search in vain for truth, for self respect, for the "illumination" whose brightness is too bright for mankind.

I need to have my mothers body exhumed for a second autopsy. In order for the surviving family closure this process needs to happen. Who do I consult with?

This question will generally have a state specific answer as body exhumation is regulated at the state level. This means that the answer provided here will be general in nature and may not address the specifics of the requirements of the state at issue. That being said, exhumations generally require either a court order or the consent of the next of kin. Court ordered exhumations are generally only necessary when the person requesting the exhumation is not the next of kin, though some states narrow this further and require a court order unless the requester is an heir to the person being exhumed. Based on your question it sounds like you would be considered an heir, so that should make it easier.
An heir will need to get a signed affidavit affirming their status as heir. This can be provided to the cemetery to allow for the exhumation. In some states you'll also need to have the approval of other next of kin, while in others it is sufficient to merely notify the other next of kin. Either way, you'll need to consult with any direct relatives of the person being exhumed. Various companies do offer these services and will likely have more state specific information available about what they need to be provided before they can exhume a body.

How does Bod reunite with Scarlett?

Bod and Scarlett were originally good friends together when growing up. They used to hang out at the graveyard quite a lot, and it's there that they discovered a weird, serpent-like creature called the Sleer, who's been guarding a horde of ancient treasure for thousands of years. Eventually, Bod and Scarlett lost touch when Scarlett's family moved with her to Scotland. But years later, when Bod reached the age of fourteen, Scarlett returned to the neighborhood after her parents divorced. The two old friends were reunited and set off once more on their exciting adventures.
Scarlett has made friends with a historian by the name of Jay Frost, who's going to help Bod find out what happened on that terrible night when his family were murdered. This Mr. Frost seems to know a lot about these tragic events. But as Bod will soon discover, there's a very good reason for that: he is none other than Jack Frost, the very same man who killed his family.

What is the context of "Tonight I Can Write"?

"Tonight I Can Write" by Pablo Neruda is loosely based on a poetic form known as the "ghazal." It is originally an Arabic form that uses couplets and a refrain. The typical subject matter of the ghazal was pain or loss, often lost love. The most renowned practitioners of the form were medieval Sufi mystics and Persian poets such as Rumi and Hafiz.

How can I explore the following statement specifically in relation to the SBS TV series Go Back To Where You Came From: "Through the telling and receiving of stories, we become more aware of ourselves and our shared human experiences."?

The Australian television network SBS's documentary program Go Back to Where You Came From was broadcast between 2011 and 2018 and progresses over the course of four seasons.
The first season follows a group of Australian citizens who willingly submit to live the first-hand experience of immigrants. They have their cell phones and other personal belongings stripped from their possession—with the exception of a single bag that is allowed to all foreign refugees—and are sent to Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. At the end of the season, the group is interviewed to discuss their experiences.
The entire premise of the documentary-style show attests to the truth of the quote above. The show's participants (all of whom started out with diverse opinions on the politics of immigration) serve as storytellers who share with the audience their experience as would-be immigrants. Here, an immigrant experience was imparted on people who would never have been exposed to it otherwise, and their stories and experiences provide visibility for the experiences of immigrants worldwide.

In Faulkner's "Barn Burning," the plot is straightforward, but the motives of the characters (especially Abner and Sarty) are complex. In your opinion, why does Abner burn barns and destroy the rug?

Since the story is told primarily from Sarty's point of view, readers don't get much of a glimpse into Abner's thoughts. However, Faulkner does give some clues as to why Abner Snopes burns barns and why he soils the de Spains's rug.
When the Snopes family stops to camp for the night on the way to the de Spain property, Sarty thinks about the tiny fires his father makes whenever they camp. This causes him to contemplate his father's relationship with fire. Faulkner writes that if Sarty had been older, he might have realized that Snopes viewed fire as "the one weapon for the preservation of integrity." This implies that when Snopes feels he has been belittled or disrespected, he retaliates by burning barns as a way to preserve his sense of worth.
Snopes's comments upon leaving the plantation house shed light on why he soiled the rug. After commenting on how "pretty and white" the house is, Snopes says,

"That's sweat. Nigger sweat. Maybe it ain't white enough yet to suit him. Maybe he wants to mix some white sweat with it."

This suggests that Snopes believes the de Spains's wealth has been achieved by oppressing others. He believes the de Spains have used other men's labor to create a comparatively extravagant lifestyle. To punish them for their wealth and their lifestyle that puts them above manual labor, Snopes damages their property.
Snopes acts out when he feels disrespected; he believes burning barns and damaging the property of others helps make up for his poor lot in life and helps to even the score with those who are more successful than he.

Explain how the opening epigraph from Dante’s Inferno relates to the poem. How does the speaker in the epigraph relate to Prufrock himself?

The six line epigraph from Dante's Inferno translates as:

If I thought that my reply were given to anyone who might return to the world, this flame would stand forever still; but since never from this deep place has anyone returned alive, if what I hear is true, without fear of infamy I answer thee.

The lines are spoken by Guido da Montefeltro, a double-dealing monk consigned to hell for his fraudulent behavior. The shade of Guido wrongly assumes that Dante is also dead and that he can confess his darkest secrets to the poet. He thinks he is safe because he thinks that Dante will not be returning to the world above.
Prufrock himself is trapped in a kind of hell, a private hell of impotence, boredom, and social anxiety that permanently separates him from the world around him. But unlike Dante, Prufrock is not about to return from hell anytime soon. He spends so much time analyzing—some might say overanalyzing—everything that he can never truly escape the hellish confines of his mind. He confesses all to himself just as Guido confesses all to Dante. However, there is no sense that any of these innermost anxieties and secrets will ever see the light of day or that they will ever be revealed to those who pass by him in his daily life like ships in the night. Prufrock, no less than Guido, is a shade in a world of shades. But unlike Guido, he is incapable of reaching out to his fellow shades and showing them something of himself.