What does Starr remember about Natasha's funeral in The Hate U Give?

The answer to this question can be found in Chapter 8 of Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give. Starr and her family attend Khalil’s funeral at the black church the Carters stopped frequenting years ago in favor of a more diverse—or white—one. Starr feels out of place with she and the rest of her family seated in one of the front pews despite not attending the church.
When it is her turn to pass by Khalil’s open casket, Starr thinks her deceased friend looks nothing like himself. Rather, he looks like a mannequin.
This causes Starr to flash back to Natasha’s funeral years earlier.
Starr recalls thinking the same thing about Natasha’s appearance—that she had been reduced to nothing but a waxen mannequin in a “white dress with yellow and pink flowers” wearing “makeup.” After the younger Starr squeezed Natasha’s hand, she began screaming at Natasha to wake up, prompting her father to carry her out of the sanctuary.
This momentary flashback shows that Starr has learned a lot about death despite her young age, but it also shows that she is better able to comprehend the finality of death after Khalil’s murder.

Who do smilin' man and cameraman work for in "Blues Ain't No Mockin Bird"?

The two white filmmakers claim to have been sent by the county to make a film about food stamps. They appear to be operating on the racist assumption that the Cain family, being African-American, is on welfare, and is therefore the ideal subject for their film. Grandma Cain takes exception to the filmmakers' presence, seeing them as nothing but a nuisance as they trample all over her flower beds. They make patronizing observations about Granny's vegetable patch, blithely unaware that this is proof that the Cains are hard-working, self-reliant folk who have no need to be on welfare.
Granddaddy Cain is not much happier than his wife at the filmmakers' intrusion. These men are trespassing on private property, and he wants them to leave at once; It makes no difference whether they're working for the county or not. In any case, Grandaddy Cain doesn't take kindly to the government infringing on his rights as a citizen. In asserting his rights as an American, he is challenging the stereotyped view of African-Americans that the filmmakers and their employers clearly hold. Far from being reliant on the state, he wishes to assert his independence from it.

What does the speaker in "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" see that changes his mood? How?

In "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by William Wordsworth, the speaker is out walking in nature. His mood is "lonely" as he wanders aimlessly along. Suddenly, he sees a field of daffodils. One imagines him coming up over a rise and seeing spread out before him a luxurious field of the yellow flowers blowing in the breeze. Stanza 3 describes the change in mood the speaker experiences upon seeing the unexpected flora. The flowers, he imagines, are more gleeful than the dancing waves. He catches the spirit and says, "A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company." Jocund, not a word we use often, means lighthearted and cheerful. Gay is a synonym. The flowers seem happy because of their bright yellow color and their free and easy movement that looks like dancing. Their imagined happiness is catching; the poet takes on a bright and joyful mood just from watching the field of flowers.
Another mood change is mentioned in the last stanza. Now the poet feels either "vacant" or "pensive." Vacant means that nothing important is occupying his mind. Pensive means that he is thinking of weighty or serious matters. At such times, the memory of the field of daffodils comes back to him, and again it changes his mood, causing him to feel just as cheerful and lighthearted as when he first came across the golden field of flowers.

How do the parachutes falling from the sky illustrate the turning point in the story?

The novel tells the story of occupation and resistance during World War II in an unnamed country (probably Norway). The local people search for ways to resist the control of the occupying army, which is coercing them into mining coal for the war effort. Because they are under surveillance and unarmed, the townspeople decide that dynamite will be the most effective weapon. The parachute scene is the point where their plans start to work out.
Some time after the occupiers kill Alexander Morden, their Lieutenant Tonder develops an interest in Molly Morden, unaware that she is Alex’s widow. Returning at her encouragement, rather than having a romantic encounter, Tonder finds that Molly has a knife. She fatally stabs him. Her decisiveness inspires her fellow residents.
A few locals had managed to escape to England and sought the help of the English forces. Soon after Molly kills Tonder, everyone sees planes overhead. The English fliers drop packages with little parachutes. Along with chocolate and other supplies, they contain sticks of dynamite. With the dynamite, the townspeople step up their actions and blow up a mine.
Even though they are punished for the action, the fact that they banded together to pull it off marks a turning point in morale. The reader is left encouraged in the idea that they will ultimately succeed in driving off the occupiers.

What is the American Revolution?

The American Revolution took place between 1765 and 1783 when thirteen of England's colonies in North America rallied together and fought for their independence against King George III of the United Kingdom.
The Revolutionary War resulted due to a buildup of tensions between colonists and their king, primarily over the concept of "taxation without representation." Colonists were expected to pay taxes on items like stamps and tea without receiving direct representation in the British Parliament. Americans increasingly felt betrayed by their government in England and began protesting their treatment by King George and his Parliament.
The first military engagement of the Revolutionary War was a skirmish at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts on April 19, 1775. Two years later the French allied with the colonists against their historical rival Great Britain, and their defeat of the British army at Yorktown, Virginia in 1781 is traditionally viewed as the end of the Revolutionary War.
The Revolutionary War established the United States of America as an independent federation with its own legal and political structure.

The American Revolution, 1775–83, was a war fought between England and her thirteen American colonies. The Americans won the war and achieved independence from England, creating the United States of America.
Relations between England and her colonies deteriorated after 1763. In that year, France was beaten in a war and ejected from the North American continent. With the French defeated, the American colonists believed that there was no longer a need for British troops in the colonies. London, on the other hand, wanted to keep troops in the colonies and have the colonists help pay for their upkeep. Also, London passed tax laws which angered many Americans. Moreover, King George III was increasingly viewed as a tyrant by many Americans.
The war was long and difficult, but George Washington's leadership and French aid enabled the Americans to prevail in the end.

How does the shift in structure from an autobiographical tale to a "bedtime story" affect the reader?

The autobiographical structure that frames the bedtime story establishes a note of resistance—Gordimer doesn't want to write a children's story, as she has been asked to do. It also, and most importantly, strikes a deep note of fear. Gordimer, or more precisely the unnamed narrator, hears a noise in the middle of the night and wakes up. There have been murders in the neighborhood, we learn, and the house is built on "undermined ground." Although the narrator establishes that her house has not been invaded by an intruder, she has been frightened and decides to tell herself a story. Because of this context, the bedtime story to follow is accompanied by a deep sense of unease.
This sense of unease affects us as readers by leading us to expect that the story, which also takes place in a house in a suburb, and featuring a happy, loving family who are living "happily ever after," might also make us uneasy. Given the framing story and the fact we are starting at a point of seeming unrealistic fairytale happiness, we can expect that something bad is going to happen.

Why were the Articles of Conferderation a necessary stepping stone to the Constitution?

The Articles of Confederation was a stepping-stone to the development of the Constitution. When the Articles of Confederation was created, the United States needed a plan of government. There was a great fear that the new federal government would have too much power and would operate in a similar manner as the British did when they ruled the colonies. As a result, by design, the Articles of Confederation was a weak form of government. There were many restrictions placed upon it. For example, the federal government couldn’t levy taxes nor could it require people to serve in the military. As a result, the new government struggled in many ways. The government was always short of funds and struggled to pay its debts and maintain a military force. Other countries pushed the United States around, and there was little the federal government could do about it because of these restrictions.
Eventually, people began to realize that there were serious weaknesses with this plan of government. A meeting was held in Philadelphia to develop a new plan of government that would address the weaknesses that existed with the Articles of Confederation. This meeting led to the creation of the Constitution. The Articles of Confederation served its purpose of setting up an initial plan for the federal government after independence was achieved. As time passed, its usefulness diminished, creating the need for a new plan for the federal government.

What point is Asimov making in his essay "A Cult of Ignorance," and how does the point relate to current events?

Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.

In our current condition in the United States, we immediately suspect that these words cannot be of recent vintage, and in fact, were written nearly two centuries ago by James Madison.
In fact, as Isaac Asimov points out in the 1980 essay "A Cult of Ignorance," America has a long tradition of anti-intellectualism. Indeed, as he says,

The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that, "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."

As a result of this belief, he states, the quality of American education has remained lackluster, producing a populace with little ability to read anything beyond the simplest type of material.
And, at the time of the inception of the Reagan presidency, he notes that the term "elitist" has begun to be employed as a pejorative to describe the well-educated and particularly those with domain expertise. "Don't trust the experts," has become a rallying cry. The problem with these beliefs, he says, is that they inherently disenfranchise those who hold them and insist on remaining ignorant. As Asimov puts it

I contend that the slogan. "America's right to know" is a meaningless one, when we have an ignorant population, and that the function of a free press is zero, when hardly anyone can read.

We now have a president who has an administration dedicated to the reduction of funds for scientific research, the elimination of scientific criteria for environmental research, and a drastic curtailment of educational funding, in general. One could argue, then, that a "cult of ignorance" arguably even worse than that described by Isaac Asimov, is thriving in the United States. One may hope that the nation will soon return to the control of those who believe, with Madison, that knowledge should forever govern ignorance.
https://aphelis.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/ASIMOV_1980_Cult_of_Ignorance.pdf

What does the title Killers of the Flower Moon mean?

On the first page of Chapter 1, "The Vanishing," in Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, author David Gann explains the story behind the title of the book.

In April, millions of tiny flowers spread over the blackjack hills and vast prairies in the Osage territory of Oklahoma. There are Johnny-jump-ups and spring beauties and little bluets. The Osage writer John Joseph Mathews observed that the galaxy of petals makes it look as if the "gods had left confetti." In May, when coyotes howl beneath an unnervingly large moon, taller plants, such as spiderworts and black-eyed Susans, begin to creep over the tinier blooms, stealing their light and water. The necks of the smaller flowers break and their petals flutter away, and before long they are buried underground. This is why the Osage Indians refer to May as the time of the flower-killing moon.

In the late 1800s, the Osage Indians were driven from their ancestral home in Kansas to land in northeastern Oklahoma—land that was considered essentially worthless.
The Osage negotiated with the United States government for the oil, gas, coal and mineral rights to the land, and in the early 1920s, one of the largest oil deposits in the United States was discovered under the Osage land. This meant that oil companies and oil prospectors had to pay the Osage for drilling rights, and as a result, the Osage became the wealthiest people per capita in the world at the time.
By 1925, when the FBI stepped in to investigate corruption associated with the mismanagement of the Osage oil rights, over 20 Osage had died under questionable circumstances.
The story of the taller plants overgrowing and choking off the light and water of the smaller spring flowers and eventually killing them at the time of the flower-killing moon is a metaphor for how the Osage Indians were overrun, victimized, and killed by people who swarmed over their land in ruthless pursuit of power and wealth.

What are some literary devices in Boy Erased?

Each time he walked past us, the shadow of the door’s central rail passed over him like the sluggish pendulum of a metronome, marking the slow tempo of his pacing.

In this first quotation here is a simile. John Smid, at this point in the story, is addressing the therapy group. The simile comparing the shadow to "the sluggish pendulum of a metronome" alludes to Smid's practiced, deliberate, methodical manner of speaking. He speaks like a priest delivering a sermon.

. . . a heavy silence blanketing the room during our morning Quiet Time, drifting into our daily activities

In this second quotation, the metaphorical image of silence as a "heavy" blanket suggests the oppressive atmosphere of a Love in Action facility. The blanket metaphor suggests that the silence is smothering and restrictive.

Masculine meant strong. Masculine meant straight. If we could only learn the essence of what it meant to be masculine, then we could learn the rest.

In this third quotation, there is repetition of the word "Masculine." By repeating the word "masculine," masculinity as a concept, and any meaning attached to it, becomes almost meaningless. It is repeated so much that it almost becomes a nonsense word, which of course it is in this context. It is nonsensical that masculinity should be synonymous with strength or, indeed, with being "straight."

Is Wallace Stevens’s definition of poetry in “Of Modern Poetry” the same now? Give an example of a contemporary piece of poetry to support your comparison.

Though, as with all literature, there are many possible interpretations of Stevens's "Of Modern Poetry," I would argue that the "formula" he presents for verse is intended as at least partly ironic.
Consider the following lines:

It has not always had
To find: the scene was set; it repeated what
Was in the script.

I am not sure what period of literature Stevens is referring to in saying that at one time, poetry "repeated what was in the script." In the poem, the speaker seems to be presenting a caricatured view of what literature used to be at some time in the past, when it was presumably easier for poets to write convincing verse and to reach an audience or readership simply by repeating known truths. The speaker is reacting against this situation, the demand that in the modernist period poetry must


construct a new stage. It has to be on that stage
And, like an insatiable actor, slowly and
With meditation, speak words that in the ear,
In the delicatest ear of the mind, repeat,
Exactly, that which it wants to hear....



No writer genuinely believes that they must speak or repeat words that are "exactly" what "the delicatest ear of the mind" wishes to hear. Stevens's message, in my opinion, is that the poet has unfairly been placed in a position where they cannot continue to express their own truths, as poets in the past were able to do and, in fact, did successfully. In summary, I would argue that he is expressing a defiant resistance to the apparent demands society makes on the modern artist.

Is there a contemporary poem that expresses or validates Stevens's ideas about modernist art? Though some would think that the lyrics of popular music are not "true" poetry, I would counter that popular art is at the center of our culture and therefore represents the most central and valid form of artistic expression in the contemporary world. The lyrics of Lady Gaga's songs tend to be an ironic commentary on the relationship of an artist to his or her audience. "Paparazzi" is about an attraction-repulsion that exists between the singer/speaker and the crowd that follows her and makes or breaks her. In my view this idea does, in fact, support the validity of Stevens's criticism of the demand that in the modern artistic world, one cannot simply write poetry without attuning it to the desire of the crowd to have its own ideas echoed, repeated to it. On the surface, "Paparazzi" is a story of a personal relationship (and is depicted this way in the video), but on a higher level the lyrics are about the connection between artists and their audiences. Is the artist drawn to the crowd or the crowd drawn to the artist? On which side is the dependence stronger? Or is it actually an antagonism between sides?

I'm your biggest fan,
I'll follow you until you love me,
Papa—Paparazzi.

The obvious Freudian implications of those lines are significant, but the entire song is about the meaning of art in the modern world and the freedom or restrictions imposed upon artists. Lady Gaga's verses are an indication that the concerns and questions posed nearly a century ago by Wallace Stevens are still valid today.

Has anyone got 10-15 quotes on the key themes in Sweet Bird of Youth with close analysis aswell?

Here is some advice for completing your assignment of finding ten to fifteen quotes and analyzing them!
First, let's identify what some of the major themes of the play are. As the title suggests, youth versus age is an important theme. The passing of time means aging, which is a big worry for these characters. As Hollywood actors, their work is influenced by their looks, and therefore youth is important to them.
Sex is another theme present in the play. Sex becomes part of Chance's job, as he makes money through offering sex and/or companionship to women. Princess Kosmonopolis feeds into this as one of Chance's customers. Boss Finley has a younger mistress. Sex influences relationships and the characters' lives.
Other themes include escapism, as Princess Kosmonopolis engages in sex and drugs to run away from her everyday life, and hypocrisy, as demonstrated by Boss Finley.
With these themes in mind, we can look for quotes that might demonstrate them.
One that I found is this quote from Heavenly:

Scudder’s knife cut the youth out of my body, made me an old childless woman. Dry, cold, empty, like an old woman.

Heavenly has a hysterectomy because of the sexually transmitted disease Chance passed on to her. The operation has left her sterile. This quote is connected to the theme of sex, as the consequence of Chance's encounters with other women has led to the disease. It is also connected to the theme of aging, as Heavenly claims the operation "cut the youth" out of her and effectively aged her.

Time—who could beat it, who could defeat it ever?

The above quote from Chance is connected to the passing of time. Chance is distressed at the idea of aging and losing his youthful looks.
When you find your quotes, you can analyze it by restating it in your own words, explaining how it is connected to a theme in the play, providing explanation of the context of the quote, and identifying any figurative language present.
I hope this helps you complete your assignment!

Do you think we as a society need to legislate common sense and pass laws and regulations requiring disclosure labels and notices warning people of obvious potential risks associated with certain products? For example, should there be a law requiring a disclosure that coffee may be hot—what about the labels on your mattress or furniture—think about all of the money spent labeling products to warn of certain risks. Is this needed?

Here is some advice on the ethicality of disclosure labels and notices of warnings. First and foremost, the issue about which you are inquiring is more of a civil than criminal one. So, essentially, by companies putting warning labels on their products, they are protecting themselves in the case of an eventual lawsuit.
This is important when it comes to liability; the example you list, labels on hot coffee, was inspired by the McDonald’s case, Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants. This case was thought to be frivolous because it should be self-evident that coffee is hot and is seen by some as an example for why tort reform is necessary (more on tort reform in a bit).
However, for products such as McDonald’s coffee, there is essentially no downside to listing the warning. People (at least in general) know that coffee is hot and exercise caution when handling it. However, by using the warning label, if a customer spills the coffee on themselves, it is much harder for the customer to argue in court that they are worthy of damages, as they were warned the coffee was hot. At the end of the day, the pennies (or less) it costs for a company to provide the labels is nothing compared to what they could be liable for in court.
A note on tort reform: tort reformers generally want to reduce the ability for people to sue companies for damages as a way to compensate for malfeasance or other wrongdoings by the company. It may seem ridiculous that a person can sue McDonald's for spilling hot coffee on themselves, but tort reform can be a slippery slope. Other companies (e.g., insurance companies) commonly argue for tort reform. If tort reform materialized, insurance companies could potentially not pay for a procedure that could be deemed “experimental” or “unproven” and then avoid a suit by the patient or their family in the event of the patient’s serious illness or death, even if the illness or death could have been reduced or avoided by getting the treatment in the first place.
Works Cited
Liebeck v. McDonald's Rest., P.T.S. Inc., No. CV-93-02419, 1995 WL 360309 (N.M. Dist. Ct. Aug. 18, 1994).
https://www.tortmuseum.org/liebeck-v-mcdonalds/

How does Jane Eyre feel trapped at Thornfield?

There are two ways Jane feels trapped at Thornfield. First, in a famous passage, Jane thinks about how quiet and stifling her life as a governess is. Mr. Rochester has not yet arrived, and Jane is stuck, unable to leave, with only the housekeeper and her pupil, the young child Adele, for company. Like many women of her time period, she simply doesn't have enough to do. She has many talents and passions and nowhere to exercise them. While she knows she should be grateful for her easy job and life, at the same time she is bored half to death and longs for more, for some adventure or challenge. As she says to herself:

It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquillity: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it. Millions are condemned to a stiller doom than mine, and millions are in silent revolt against their lot. Nobody knows how many rebellions besides political rebellions ferment in the masses of life which people earth. Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts, as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, to absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer.

Later, Jane feels trapped when she finds out that Mr. Rochester had planned to deceive her and pretend to marry her while he was already married to Bertha. Much as she loves him, she believes she must flee immediately, and she does.

How does the play Riders to the Sea fulfill the themes of resignation and reconciliation?

The famous Irish play Riders to the Sea explores the themes of resignation and reconciliation in the relationship of the mother to the sea and to her own heartbreak. When a body washes up on shore, Maurya and her daughters know that it is likely her husband. When it is finally revealed that it is in fact her husband, she resigns herself to the tragedy that has happened. Maurya also argues vehemently with her son Bartley about his departure to sell a horse. She asks him not to travel on the sea, because it will kill him—the sea has cursed Maurya and is taking all of the men from her life. When Bartley nonetheless departs, she resigns herself to his ultimate fate, and she is proven correct when he falls from his horse and drowns in the sea.
In the end, Maurya reconciles herself to her loneliness, to God, and to the sea. She is broken-hearted, but she knows now that the sea can do her no more harm. She "forgives" it, in a sense, knowing that it has no more power over her after all of the men are deceased. She reconciles herself to God, after being angry with him, by bringing out holy water and praying over her own life and the souls of her sons and husband, and in the end, she accepts the solitary life that has befallen her.

Mr. Davis is a very different kind of teacher than Mr. Simet. Compare and contrast these two teachers.

Mr. Davis and Mr. Simet are like night and day. At first, the boys are looking forward to attending Mr. Davis's class; it'll be the first time that many of them will have had a male teacher. But they soon discover to their horror that Mr. Davis runs the class the same way as he runs the Mountain Bible Center: with a rod of iron. This is a man who will tolerate absolutely no nonsense whatsoever in class, and God help anyone who doesn't understand this. Even worse, Mr. Davis likes to humiliate his students. In one unpleasant incident, he makes the disabled kid Chris Coughlin stand up behind his desk; he then tells everyone in class—falsely—that Chris believes himself better than Jesus. And all this is because Chris, due to his developmental challenges, couldn't quite understand the task Mr. Davis had set him.
Mr. Simet's the exact opposite of Mr. Davis—thank goodness! He's helpful, inspiring, and kind to his students. It's Mr. Simet who encourages T.J. to start a swim team. The team will consist of all the high school misfits, those social outcasts bullied, sneered at, and rejected by jocks like Mike Barbour. This includes misfits such as Chris Coughlin, who now has a chance to come into his own in a nurturing, mutually-supportive environment. Where Mr. Davis is nasty and belittling to his students, Mr. Simet is encouraging, urging members of the swim team to improve their times at every meet, thus giving them a shot at the coveted letter jackets.

Why is Angel the antagonist in Buried Onions?

In Buried Onions, author Gary Soto sets up the ironically named Angel as the antagonist to the novel's protagonist, Eddie. Referred to as a "gangster" by Eddie, Angel lives in the neighborhood and was a friend of Eddie's cousin Jesús who was stabbed to death at a local nightclub. Both Angel and Jesús's mother want Eddie to go after the killer. When Eddie meets Angel at Holmes Playground in chapter one, he is obviously quite leery of Angel. He calls Angel "sneaky" and "vicious." Later in the novel, the two stage a bitter fight, which carries over through the end of the book.
Eddie has two conflicts with Angel. First, he views Angel as everything he doesn't want to become. Angel runs with a gang, breaks into people's houses, and is usually drunk or stoned. Eddie is searching for something else, a way to get out of his dead-end ghetto in Fresno. Second, Eddie comes to believe that it was actually Angel who killed Jesús, rather than the guy with the yellow shoes who is pegged by Angel as the killer. In the end, Eddie joins the navy and leaves Fresno, primarily because he seeks to avoid another violent confrontation with Angel.

What is life like for Daniel in the caves in The Bronze Bow? Why is he living there?

Daniel is living in the caves at the beginning of The Bronze Bow because he has fled the master to whom he had been sold into indentured service. Amalek had been a hard master, often flogging Daniel. When he could stand it no more, he ran away, and Rosh found him "lying flat on his face, starving, half frozen, his back still raw from the last flogging." Living with Rosh's band in the hills is better for him, especially since Rosh initially showed him kindness. However, Rosh runs the band as a dictator, and his word must be obeyed. Even if Daniel doesn't agree with a decision Rosh makes, he must comply if he wants to be part of the group.
Since he had already been a blacksmith's apprentice when he lived in the village, Daniel performs smithing duties for Rosh's band. The men keep supplies in the caves, such as skins and cloaks for blankets and goatskin bags filled with drinking water. They have a fire at night and take turns keeping watch and keeping the fire going. They usually fall down anywhere around the fire to sleep for the night.
After the band captures Samson, the mute slave, Daniel's life becomes both easier and harder. Samson carries water and firewood and kneads the bellows for Daniel, and because Samson is so strong, things get done more easily and quickly. Yet Daniel feels tied down by Samson because the slave sticks so close to him. The men make fun of Samson, and because Samson is linked so closely to Daniel, he feels more isolated from the other men. When he returns to his childhood home to visit, he realizes how much he really enjoys the freedom and camaraderie of his life on the mountain. Only when Daniel becomes disillusioned with Rosh as a leader does he decide to leave the band and return to the village permanently.

How does the use of second person add to the book's themes?

The Golden Compass is told in third person, not the second person, with omniscient narration. This means the author can move around among characters and places to get inside different characters' heads. Given that Pullman is trying to create the feel of an entire alternate universe, this is an effective method to accomplish this goal. We primarily see events through the eyes of Lyra Belacqua, but the use of third-person omniscient narration allows other perspectives to emerge. For example, we inhabit the point of view of John Faa at the beginning of part 2 and, later, the perspectives of Roger and Lord Asriel.
In part 3, the omniscient narration allows the reader to see events from the perspective of the bears:

Iorek found what he wanted: a firm rock deep anchored in the permafrost.

Later, we learn the following:

The bears knew what they must do.

Although it usually sticks close to Lyra, the ability of the narrative to move into other minds helps this world come alive.

Which poetic devices are used in the poem Paradise Lost book 8?

Milton's Paradise Lost is known for its rich use of literary devices. It is famous, for example, for its lush imagery. Imagery is describing using the five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. In the passage from Book VIII below Milton's imagery pictures the earth as Adam first experiences it when he awakens in Paradise. Adam says to the angel Raphael that he:

Stood on my feet: about me round I saw
Hill, dale, and shady woods, and sunny plains,
And liquid lapse of murmuring streams; by these,
Creatures that lived and moved, and walked, or flew

In the above passage, Milton employs visual images such as "shady woods," but also sound images, such "murmuring streams," and conveys as sense of motion in the last line.
Milton also incorporates much alliteration into his poem. Alliteration occurs when words beginning with the same consonant are placed in close proximity to each other. In the passage above, "liquid lapse" is an example of alliteration. Milton also writes that Eve "went forth among her fruits and flowers," repeating the "f" sound at the start of words.
Milton's description of Eve walking away from the conversation between Raphael also is an example of characterization as it shows she preferred to learn from her husband rather than directly from the Angel.
Milton frequently employs metaphor, comparison that does not use the words like or as. For example, he has Adam compare the earth to "a spot, a grain, an atom" while Raphael calls heaven the "book of God" and God the "great Architect."
Milton uses personification when he calls nature "wise and frugal" as if it is a person.
Book VIII is filled with dialogue. Milton enlivens his story at this point by depicting it as a dialogue between the angel Raphael and Adam. He also uses first person narration as he has Adam himself describe what it looked like to first see earth—and Adam also recounts a dialogue with God.
Finally, a lesser known literary device that Milton uses is anastrophe. This is reversing normal word order for effect. For example, Raphael says God has replicated in Adam his (God's) "image fair." Normally, we would say "fair image," but putting the adjective ("fair") last allows the emphasis to fall on that word.

What did McPherson believe was the turning point of the war?

McPherson doesn't believe that the Civil War was decided by a single battle but by a series of sustained and costly operations, which was one of the main factors that made the conflict the first modern war. That said, McPherson argues that the Battle of Antietam was pivotal in that it led to what he regards as one of many turning points in the war: Lincoln's decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.
Though not quite a decisive victory for the North, Antietam was nonetheless enough of a victory to change the whole nature of the war. From then on, the war to save the union was linked to the abolition of slavery. General Lee's failure to capture the Union slave state of Maryland dealt a final blow to any lingering hopes of a compromise settlement, ensuring that the remainder of the conflict would be conducted by Lincoln as more of a moral crusade than as a war to keep the nation together.

"Then I remembered something else, his son had seen him losing around, limping, staggering back to the rear of the column. He had seen him. And he had continued to run on in front, letting the distance between them grow greater. A terrible thought loomed up in my mind . . ." What does Elie mean by this?

In chapter six, Elie and the other Jewish prisoners are exhausted from their overnight journey in the snow, and they must cram into a tightly packed warehouse. When Rabbi Eliahu enters the shed, he is looking for his son and asks Elie if he has seen him. Rabbi Eliahu proceeds to say that he lost his son during the march because he did not have enough strength to keep up the pace. Elie responds by telling the rabbi that he did not see his son, and Rabbi Eliahu leaves the shed. Moments after Rabbi Eliahu leaves, Elie recalls witnessing his son during the march. Elie remembers seeing the rabbi's son purposely march at a faster pace in order to distance himself from his father. Rabbi Eliahu's son could feel his father becoming weaker and purposely quickened his pace with the hopes of leaving his father behind and unloading his burden. The terrible thought that crosses Elie's mind is that Rabbi Eliahu's son wanted his father left behind to die in order to make his own life easier. Elie sympathizes with Rabbi Eliahu's son and begs the Lord to never allow him to abandon his father like the rabbi's son.

How did Morrie respond to his diagnosis in Tuesdays With Morrie?

Morrie just accepts the news of his impending death as the next fairly ordinary thing in life. He tells Mitch, "You know, Mitch, now that I'm dying, I've become much more interesting to people." He explains that people view him as a bridge—not quite alive and not quite dead, and everyone wants to suddenly talk about his insights. "I'm on the last great journey here—and people want me to tell them what to pack."
Morrie retains his dry sense of humor (even about dying) and weaves in some good advice about the process that he's going through. He tells Mitch that everyone knows they are going to die, but "nobody believes it." He learns to enjoy one precious day at a time, realizing that "once you learn how to die, you learn how to live." This is so crucial that he repeats himself to make sure Mitch understands.
Morrie uses his diagnosis as an opportunity to really live during his remaining days and to make intentional efforts to connect deeply with the people whom he cares about.

How does Saadat Hasan Manto portray hypocrisy in Mottled Dawn?

Mottled Dawn: Fifty Sketches and Stories of Partition is a collection of short stories by the Pakistani writer Saadat Hasan Manto. The stories are painful reflections of the communal frenzy that followed the partition of India in 1947. Manto chronicles the hypocrisy of people who coexisted for centuries but became enemies because of where they fell along the religious and political divide.
Mottled Dawn depicts violence against women during the crisis. In the short stories—"Toba Tek Singh," "The Dutiful Daughter," "Thanda Gosht (Cold Meat)," "Khol Do (Open It)," "Mozail," and "A Girl from Delhi"— Manto creates diverse female characters. His narratives mediate our understanding of the misogynistic beliefs and sexual horrors that women faced during the partition. Manto rejects the patriarchal attitude that looks at women as "symbols of honor." He emphasizes that sexual objectification and exploitation are tools that men use to seek vengeance on each other. He exposes the hypocrisy of the male perpetrators who prey on vulnerable women, regardless of their religion or identity.
https://scholarworks.smith.edu/cgi/login.cgi?return_to=https%3A%2F%2Fscholarworks.smith.edu%2Fcgi%2Fmyaccount.cgi&cookieset=2&context=theses

What mood is created by Bryson's description of the woods?

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson recounts the author's journeys along various sections of the 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail, usually in companionship with his friend Stephen Katz. The mood that Bryson invokes in his description of the woodlands they traverse is a mix of respectful awe and humor. While extolling the loveliness of the mountains, hills, forests, streams, and wildlife that he encounters, Bryson at the same time tells one anecdote after another about his and his companion's bumbling attempts to surmount the difficulties of the trail.
Shortly after moving to a new location in New England, Bryson happens upon a path in the woods that he is astonished to discover is a tiny artery on the vast Appalachian Trail. As he conducts preliminary research, the idea seizes him to hike the trail from its southern extremity to its northern conclusion. Since he doesn't want to do it alone, he enlists the companionship of a friend he hasn't seen in years. However, when Katz gets off the plane, Bryson realizes that his overweight friend—"Orson Wells on a bad day," as he calls him—is even more unfit for the hike than Bryson himself.
Nevertheless, the two hikers commence their journey near Springer Mountain in Georgia with staggeringly heavy packs. Early descriptions of the stunningly beautiful landscapes are mixed with the difficulties they encounter and their inadequacies to meet these challenges. The loveliness of the hills and forests are not enough motivation to sustain their strength, so Bryson and Katz start discarding food and equipment in efforts to lighten their loads. Eventually Bryson realizes that his original goal to hike the entire trail is too ambitious, and he settles for traveling by car and hiking disparate patches until he reaches the end.
At times, Bryson's descriptions of his misadventures are not only humorous but hilarious. His presentation of his inability to become a rough and tough woodsman serves to place into sharper relief the brilliance and beauty of the awesome woods through which he passes.
https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/news/a3694/bill-bryson-interview/

What is the dramatic importance of the ring episode in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice?

In The Merchant of Venice, the ring that Portia gives her suitor, Bassanio, symbolizes their commitment. Disguised as Balthasar, a lawyer, she argues at the trial to save his friend Antonio’s flesh. Still in disguise, she accepts the ring from Bassanio as partial payment for her having saved Antonio. Restored to her true identity as Portia, she asks her beloved to see the ring, which he cannot produce. This inability leads to her accusation of infidelity, which Bassanio vigorously denies. When she reveals she has the ring, she also jokes around that she had gotten it back via a sexual encounter.
After she reveals that she had been playing Balthasar, they agree that it was acceptable for Bassanio to use the ring because it showed his devotion to his friend. Although it might seem that Bassanio did not adequately appreciate his fiancée’s gift, the difference between the symbolic and material value of the ring is stressed. The episode is a confirmation that Bassanio is a good, loyal person whose interested in marrying Portia is not her economic status, which the ring also represented.

What is different in dialysis and osmosis?

Dialysis is the process of separation of molecules. In dialysis, the solute molecules (such as salts, glucose, fats, etc.) are separated from larger molecules by the use of a permeable membrane. This membrane only allows the motion of small molecules across it, leading to separation of molecules. One of the most common daily life applications of dialysis is in the area of medicinal science. Dialysis is used for patients with kidney problems, and the process helps their bodies in cleaning the blood by removing ions, metabolic waste, toxins, and so on.
Osmosis is the process by which water molecules move from a region of low solute concentration to a region of high solute concentration across a semi-permeable membrane. In the case of osmosis in cells, the plasma membrane is the semi-permeable membrane. Unlike dialysis, osmosis applies to the movement of the solvent only. Osmosis is commonly used in the fields of biochemistry and pharmacology.
I hope this helps.

What fear/nightmare does Steve have in Monster?

In Monster, Steve Harmon is in almost a constant state of fear until the trial ends. His film helps him cope with the various fears. While he is incarcerated before and during the trial, he fears that the other prison inmates might attack or rape him. He does not want to sleep because he fears that he might not wake up.
One thing he especially fears is that he will be found guilty, which would likely result in spending many years behind bars. He also fears that he is the “monster” that the prosecutors make him out or that he is changing into that creature; he does not recognize himself in the mirror. Steve suffers panic attacks that leave him breathless.

In "The Second Coming" by W. B. Yeats, the speaker asserts that the best people "lack all conviction, while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity." How does this statement apply to the speakers in "An Irish Airman Foresees His Death" by Yeats and "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T. S. Eliot? What characteristics of the modern world make it difficult, if not impossible, to be heroic in the traditional sense?

When answering this question, keep in mind the context of the poem in question: "The Second Coming" was written in 1919, amid a time of deep disillusionment in Europe. So, when thinking about the meaning of the lines in question, I'd suggest you think of it in terms of the very real soul-searching that characterized this period in history. How might you expect individuals to view their political leaders, as well as the future, especially given the experience of the First World War? What kind of vision does "The Second Coming" present, as far as it relates to those same kinds of questions? I think the lines in question are a very powerful illustration of the sense of disillusionment and cynicism that awakened in the time period in question.
From here, it's a matter of applying this same kind of thinking to the other two poems. When looking at "An Irish Airman Foresees His Death," it's worth asking: just what is the man's attitude toward the war as far as it relates to the enemy? to his own side? to himself? Similarly, consider the psychology of Prufrock. How does Eliot depict the world, as well as the character of Prufrock? Do we see the same modernist impulses at play? In thinking about these poems in these terms, I think you should be able to discern how they fit together in the manner your question asks for.

When was Dana planning to ambush Roy in chapter six?

Dana's planning to ambush Roy after school. He's a real bully and hates the fact that Roy stands up to him. As far as he's concerned, Roy's cruising for a bruising, and it's just a matter of time before he gets what's coming to him. In fact, as Garrett tells Roy, kids at school are actually taking bets on how many times Dana will beat him up. One day, Garrett tells Roy that Dana will be waiting for him after 7th period. He's going to snatch Roy before he has the chance to make it to the bus.
After history class, Roy sticks by Mr. Ryan, hoping for protection, but he soon finds himself all alone in the halls. Then, as Roy walks past the janitor's closet, Dana suddenly jumps out and drags him inside. Dana proceeds to give Roy a good beating; he's been waiting for this moment for a long time. After what seems like a lifetime of savage punches and tight, crushing bear-hugs, Roy's saved by a mysterious intervention. Seemingly out of nowhere, someone—Roy doesn't know who—lifts the bully right off him, allowing him to make a run for the nearest exit.

What does Posidon want Odysseus to understand?

Poseidon’s son, the cyclops Polyphemus, imprisoned Odysseus crew and ate six of his sailors. Odysseus and his men managed to escape by getting the giant drunk on wine and stabbing his eye with a stick while he was sleeping. As he was leaving the island, Odysseus arrogantly proceeded to mock and insult the cyclops. Enraged, Polyphemus begged his father Poseidon—the God of all seas, to kill Odysseus or make his life a living hell and stop him from ever returning home. Poseidon listened to his son’s curse and tried to make Odysseus’ journey back home much harder and much more challenging. Essentially, Poseidon wanted Odysseus to understand what it’s like to suffer; he wanted to punish him for his pride, his arrogance and his ego, and make him understand that his behavior is harmful and disrespectful to others. As he couldn’t kill Odysseus, Poseidon did everything in his power to delay his journey.

What is a strong thesis statement about marriage for the short story "Four Summers"?

In “Four Summers,” the author, Joyce Carol Oates, highlights several key ideas about marriage that could be developed into a thesis statement. The short story is told from Sissie’s perspective at four times during her life. In the fourth part of the story, Sissie gives her perspective as a married woman who is nineteen years old and pregnant with her first child. Sissie’s view of marriage appears to be that it is nothing more than a contractual arrangement, an obligation, more or less, as the story takes place in the 1960s, when Americans glamorized the institution of marriage and when women were expected to get married and have children. In the 1960s, for a woman, marriage was considered the road to fulfillment, and Oates challenges that concept in the story.
Sissie is coming of age in the 60s, and though these traditional ideals remained strong, women began to question them during this era of civil rights. Sissie questions the possibility of fulfillment in marriage, and in fact, she questions the sustainability of romantic love. She also questions whether love and marriage are linked, given that she feels confident, based on her experiences, that romantic love is destined to die. Sissie had observed her parents’ marriage and the marriage of her Aunt Sue, and in her eyes, both were filled with anger, unhappiness, and resentment. Speaking from the perspective of a married woman herself, Sissie reveals that she expects these same feelings to surface in her own marriage.

Why did Charles Darnay go back to England?

After catching up with his wicked uncle, the Marquis St. Evrémonde, Charles Darnay returns to England. On the face of it, this seems like quite an odd decision. For one thing, Charles came within an ace of being executed on a trumped-up charge of high treason. If it hadn't been for his quick-thinking lawyer and a fortuitous resemblance to Sydney Carton, he would've been toast.
But ever the romantic Frenchman, Charles has decided to remain in England primarily for reasons of the heart. He's fallen head over heels in love with Lucie Manette, another French expat, who lives in London with her father, a former prisoner of the Bastille. Charles may have had a close shave with the English criminal justice system, but at least he was acquitted, which would never happen to this young aristocrat under the tribunals of Revolutionary France. In choosing to make a life for himself in England, then, Charles isn't just listening to his heart; he's also using his head, a head that would be lost on the guillotine were he to remain in France.

What does Dumi write in his letter to his family?

In Journey to Jo'burg by Beverly Naidoo, Dumi is the older brother of Grace, a fellow traveler Naledi meets on the way to Johannesburg. Dumi was a freedom fighter who actively engaged in protests against the oppressive apartheid system in South Africa. This made Dumi—a young, black, politically active male—a great threat to the police and to the government as a whole.
At one point, Dumi is detained by police officers and then physically assaulted while in custody. Afterward, Dumi disappears, and his family fears he has been killed. Forced disappearance was common in South Africa during the apartheid era. High-profile revolutionaries and student activists were equally highly targeted by the military and police.
Later on, however, Grace and her family receive a letter from Dumi. He explains that he left South Africa after being released and went to another country in order to study. Dumi states that he is studying in order to come back to South Africa armed with knowledge and new skills so that he may continue fighting for liberation against the European colonialists.

Why was Oliver sent away from the workhouse?

Oliver, an orphan, is sent to the public workhouse when he is nine years old (chapter 2). While there, he is horribly mistreated by the members of the board who have little compassion towards poor people:

The members of this board were very sage, deep, philosophical men; and when they came to turn their attention to the workhouse, they found out at once, what ordinary folks would never have discovered—the poor people liked it!

These board members decide to starve the poor people to encourage them to get out of the workhouse.

So, they established the rule, that all poor people should have the alternative . . . of being starved by a gradual process in the house . . . With this view, they contracted with the water-works to lay on an unlimited supply of water; and with a corn-factor to supply periodically small quantities of oatmeal; and issued three meals of thin gruel a day, with an onion twice a week, and half a roll of Sundays.

The orphaned children have few other options of places to live. Still, they are slowly starved by the board members to encourage them to leave. One day, Oliver and his companions grow exhausted of being hungry. They decide (by lots—that is, at random) who will ask the leadership for a great portion of food. Oliver is selected for the job. He humbly asks, "Please, sir, I want some more."
The leaders are astonished that he would dare to ask for more. In fact, the leaders say that this shows that he will eventually turn into a criminal and be hung:

"That boy will be hung," said the gentleman in the white waistcoat. "I know that boy will be hung."

Immediately, the board members try to find another placement for Oliver:

Oliver was ordered into instant confinement; and a bill was next morning pasted on the outside of the gate, offering a reward of five pounds to anybody who would take Oliver Twist off the hands of the parish. In other words, five pounds and Oliver Twist were offered to any man or woman who wanted an apprentice to any trade, business, or calling.

Oliver is sent away from the workhouse for daring to ask for more food, though many of the people living at the workhouse are starving to death.
https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/oliver-twist-and-the-workhouse

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/730/730-h/730-h.htm

Elaborate on the legal history of common law?

Common law is a collective English legal tradition, comprised of hundreds of years's worth of decisions handed down by judges. The origins of the common law are sometimes said to be "immemorial," that is, it goes so far back in British history that it cannot be determined.
That said, most cases at common law cite precedents that occurred later than the Norman Conquest. It was really during the Age of Enlightenment, in particular the eighteenth century, that attempts were made by jurists (most notably William Blackstone) to compile the common law into a usable legal system, one that provided clear precedents and legal definitions. This change was itself a response to the advent of capitalism and the need for clear laws related to the transfer of land and other forms of property.
One thing that is especially significant about common law is that it became the basis for law in the American Colonies. Even after the American Revolution, most legislatures passed laws stating that common law prevailed except when, or until, they passed laws overturning them. Many aspects of American law were thus actually founded on the common law.
https://www.radford.edu/~junnever/law/commonlaw.htm

How did William Penn earn the respect of the Native Americans?

William Penn earned the respect of Native Americans through his peaceful interactions with them. He would travel to Native American land and become friends with them. When King Charles II granted land to William Penn, that land was already occupied by Native Americans. Instead of running them off their land through violence, Penn entered into a peace treaty and offered to purchase their land at a fair price. He had the most interaction with the Delaware Indians, also known as the Lenni Lenape, and he paid about 1200 pounds for their land. In addition to paying fair prices for land, if any disagreements broke out between the colonists and the Native Americans, he demanded that an equal number of Native Americans and colonists formed a committee to solve the dispute.

What is the function of the Igbo words in the novel Things Fall Apart? Provide at least three functions.

There are many functions to the Igbo words in the novel. In no particular order, one function is to introduce the Igbo culture and language to the reader. Things Fall Apart is written in English, which is not the first language of the author Chinua Achebe. By including words and phrases in the Igbo language, he allows the reader to take a closer look at the lives of the people he writes about. The novel is widely popular, and it's quite likely that most of us readers do not speak Igbo. Using Igbo vocabulary helps with world-building and makes the book more realistic.
In addition, it's useful when there are ideas and terms that don't have an exact equivalent in English. For comparison, no translator would ever translate words like "sushi" from Japanese, "rabbi" from Hebrew or "déjà vu" from French. It's not that it's impossible, it's just that something gets lost in the translation. When reading about a different culture, being introduced to it through their language and vocabulary helps to understand them better.
Secondly, the characters themselves think in Igbo terms. It is the basis for how they interpret and interact with the world. Losing the Igbo words would make it harder to convey the framework of ideas and traditions they work in. In a way, having a specific term for something solidifies the notion of its importance. For example, if the novel just said that there were outcasts among the Igbo people, it would remain somewhat fuzzy. As they are introduced to us as Osu, an entirely separate class in the Igbo society, the significance of their exclusion becomes more real somehow. It implies that the Osu are not just chosen at random, that there is a long history to some people not being allowed to partake in the larger society. Here, the function of Igbo words is to remind the reader that the world the characters live in is not the world they know.
Thirdly, there is a literary and philosophical function to consider. Achebe has said that language and the beauty of language is very important to the Igbo people. They like conversing, they enjoy it, they relish in it. Igbo words are a symbol of the power of words and the beauty of storytelling. In every way, it provides a contrast to the novel itself, which explores the topic of colonial expansion and its clash with the Igbo culture.
Achebe was criticized by some for writing his novel in English and defended himself by asking why wouldn't he use a way to introduce the Igbo culture to the world through means the colonists themselves provided. The levels of language therefore go very deep in the novel. It's written by a Nigerian author in English, the Igbo words and phrases emphasize a somewhat lost word. The characters are both barbaric and deeply insightful, they are capable of horrible things and enjoying good conversation, and so on. Igbo words help make Things Fall Apart what it is: an amalgam of or a bridge between worlds.

Chinua Achebe, who was Igbo, wrote primarily in English. He explained his decision as one that would help his work reach a wider audience throughout Nigeria, Africa, and the world. Achebe became well known as an advocate of the “both not either” perspective, as stated in his 1965 article, “The African Writer and the English Language.”
Achebe was fully aware, however, that translating culture into another language was not a simple prospect. He was committed to including Igbo vocabulary as the best expression of particular concepts. One type of vocabulary pertains to items of material culture, including musical instruments (ekwe). A second important concept is that of religious ceremonies, such as the isa-ifi. Perhaps the most important are unique concepts that have no exact equivalent outside of Igbo culture; notable among these is the ogbanje, a type of child-spirit separated from its true essence.
The question of writing in the language of the colonizer versus that of the author’s indigenous culture was one that was widely debated in the years following the novel’s publication. This debate was stimulated, in part, by the novel’s tremendous international success. In his essay “Decolonising the Mind,” Kenyan author Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o was among those who spoke most eloquently against writing in English and switched to writing in Gikuyu, his native language.
http://theconversation.com/things-fall-apart-chinua-achebe-and-the-languages-of-african-literature-106006

http://wrightinglanguage.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/0/5/24059962/achebe_englishandafricanwriter.pdf

Chinua Achebe, the author of Things Fall Apart, was raised in an Igbo village himself. In this novel, he utilizes the Igbo language for several different reasons.
First of all, the function of using the Igbo language is to bring the Igbo culture to life. In chapter 5, during the Feast of the New Yam, the women prepare yam foo-foo, a mixture of yam that the women pound with mortar. This food is very important to the Igbo people and their culture. Furthermore, the villagers turn out on the ilo, an open playground area, while the first group of young men dance and get taken over by the spirit of the drums prior to the wrestling match. The use of the Igbo words that describe the culture also function to bring realism to the novel by illustrating the way of life of the Igbo people.
Lastly, the use of the Igbo language functions to describe the people's religion. In chapter 3, Unoka, Okonkwo's father, goes to consult the Oracle Agbala concerning his poor crops. He tells the priestess, Chika, about his sacrifices to the shrine of Ifejioku, the god of yams, and about his sacrifices to Ani. However, these sacrifices do not bring him good crops because he has bad chi (bad fortune). By using the Igbo words, the reader can understand the importance of the Igbo belief in their gods and the importance of consulting oracles to aid them in seeking their livelihood.
The Igbo culture, reality, and religion are all transmitted through the use of the Igbo language.

How does the style of the book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings relate to Angelou’s role as a poet?

Maya Angelou's understanding of herself as a lyric and dramatic poet powerfully informs the style of her autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Even the choice of title (borrowed from African-American poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar's poem "Sympathy") announces insight into the particular perspective of the lyric poet. The caged bird is the poet, and the poet sings not out of joy but out of a need to plead with God.
Stylistically, Angelou's conception of her role as a poet shapes the use of imagery, voice, sentence structure, diction, and characterization in the novel. For example, the novel depicts various emotions in startlingly vivid and imagistic terms more readily associated with lyric poetry than with autobiographical non-fiction. Thus, the minister's wife has "a long yellow face full of sorry" and young Maya worries that "my poor head would burst like a dropped watermelon." Neither of these images are meant in a literal or realistic sense; they are written with a considerable amount of poetic license, as befits a text that is ultimately about the conditions under which self-expressive speech is possible.

Why do rabbits have long ears?

The long ears of a rabbit play a huge role on the survival of the animal in a couple of different ways. If you have watched a rabbit sit out in your yard then you have noticed that their ears can move in opposite directions at the same time. This allows for the rabbit to constantly be on the alert for noises of oncoming predators. Another reason that rabbits have longer ears is because a rabbit needs to be able to control its body temperature in different climates. A rabbits ears are made up with a large network of blood vessels that help it perform this job. Rabbits are not able to sweat when it is hot so their ears play a vital role by blood vessels swelling that allows the rabbit to cool down by releasing body heat. When a rabbit is in a cold climate, then the blood vessels in the ears constrict, allowing the rabbit to retain their body heat more.

Rabbits have long ears for two purposes. The first purpose is to detect predators. Rabbits are prey for many predators in the wild. A rabbit's ears are long not only to hear predators but also to detect the location of the sound. If one has a pet rabbit, one may notice that its ears move slightly according to the direction of a sound (like the sound of rabbit pellets in a feed dish).
Another reason rabbits have long ears is for temperature control. This is especially important in desert rabbits, as they have to adjust to greater temperature extremes. These jackrabbits are able to adjust to hot, dry conditions thanks to their long ears. Some domesticated rabbits do not use their ears so much for this purpose; a breed referred to as the English Lop Eared rabbit has ears that are not erect. Rabbits of this breed are primarily used as children's pets and show rabbits, and they are not viable in the wild.

The simplistic answer to this question is evolutionary adaptation to their environment. The ears of rabbits serve two different purposes. First, they assist rabbits in hearing threats at different angles. In fact, a rabbit's ears can rotate 270 degrees. This helps the rabbit detect and locate threats.
The second function is to help regulate body temperature. Rabbit ears have a network blood vessels that allows heat exchange. For example, the blood vessels will contract when the rabbit is cool, and the vessel will swell up when the rabbit is warm.
From an evolutionary biology standpoint, these mechanisms developed over a course of 4,000 years, and thus physiologically changed the shape and size of modern-day rabbits. It is similar to how our ancestors—specifically Homo habilis—developed opposable thumbs in order to grip objects better. If such a need did not exist, we wouldn't have opposable thumbs today.
https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/28/6/1801/1066858

What happens when Malala gets out of the hospital?

After being shot by the Taliban, Malala is very lucky to be alive, but as her recovery continues, it's clear that she still requires intensive physical therapy if she's going to lead anything like a normal life. The hospital in Pakistan where Malala's being treated simply doesn't have the facilities for this, so the decision is taken to fly Malala abroad. She'll receive the treatment she needs at the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Birmingham, England, which is one of the world's foremost medical centers for gunshot victims.
Thanks to the hospital's expert medical care, Malala is able to make a good recovery. However, it's still way too dangerous for her to return home, as the Taliban will definitely try to kill her again. When she leaves hospital, she remains in Birmingham, where she lives with her family. Malala also starts attending a local school, where she can continue with the education that is so important to her and which was so cruelly disrupted by the terrorists who tried to kill her.

How do the poems "Mutability" and "Ozymandias" use the ironic conflict between being (stasis, fixity, imaginative death) and becoming (process, change, progress) to explore the problem of mutability?

Mutability is defined as the tendency or liability to change. Something that is mutable is, at its core, incapable of establishing a sense of regularity or identity. As such, something cannot both be and become at the same time. This is the ironic tension described in your question.
This tension is at play in Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Mutability” and “Ozymandias.”
In “Mutability,” the first three stanzas describe examples of the ephemeral. Shelley explains how once something occurs, something else occurs that replaces the original. Something can never be replicated identically once it has passed. This relates to the state of being and becoming because in Shelley’s view, things just are until they are not. In the final stanza, Shelley underscores his message that human existence is impermanent when he says, “Man's yesterday may ne'er be like his morrow; / Nought may endure” except change.
In “Ozymandias,” the speaker describes a fallen statue in the desert of what was likely a powerful man during his lifetime. The inscription on the statue warns the viewer to “Look on my works, Ye mighty, and despair!” This contrasts with the statue’s destruction and isolation. The viewer has no works upon which he or she can look to judge Ozymandias’s prowess as a ruler. This relates to the concept of mutability because it is clear that the statue has changed from its original state. When Ozymandias commissioned the statue, he obviously believed it would tower over his kingdom for the rest of time. Of course, nothing lasts forever, and Shelley uses the ego of a fallen ruler to demonstrate that. When the statue came into being, it probably enjoyed fixity for quite some time. Despite this period, the statue eventually changed—along with its subject’s influence on the land and history.
In both poems, Shelley philosophizes on the nature of time and permanence and reaches the conclusion that the world—and everything in it—is in a constant state of flux.

How does Victor demonstrate obsession?

When Victor is about to bring the creature to life, we can see his thought process immediately leading up to that moment.
He is very excited about his work, and is literally obsessed by it. Yet, he is isolating himself more and more and even recognizes the "wreck" he has become. He notes his "silence" more than once in regards to his family and friends and describes the "neglect" he has shown his relationships and even his own health. In other words, he has become so obsessed with this project that he has shut everything else out of his life. His relationships are suffering, as are his mental and physical well being.
All of this is important in helping us to realize two things: he has no one else around telling him that this project might not be a good idea AND we must question his sanity and stability given the way he is describing himself.
https://www.owleyes.org/text/frankenstein/read/chapter-iv

Who is the Antagonist for August Osage Country?

August: Osage County is a dramatic comedy play written by Tracy Letts. The entire story takes place within the month of August inside the home of Beverly and Violet Weston, who live in Oklahoma. Letts' portrayal of the Weston family is such that one key protagonist and one key antagonist are hard to identify; multiple characters can be argued to fit into each role. However, generally speaking, Violet, the matriarch of the family, is often considered to be the story's antagonist, while Barbara, her oldest daughter, is typically considered the protagonist.
From the start of the play, Violet Weston is a generally unpleasant person. Because she is addicted to prescription drugs and prone to unkind rants (such as the one she gives at her husbands funeral dinner), other members of the family find it difficult to deal with Violet. Her addiction to prescription drugs is complicated by the fact that she is fighting oral cancer at the time of the story.
Throughout the play, Violet fights to keep the money her children were meant to inherit from their father's death. She continually insults, taunts, and offends her family members, causing them to decide to address her addiction. Barbara, her eldest daughter, leads the charge in searching the home for all of Violet's pills.
By the end of the play, no real progress is made in terms of the familial relations. The story ends with Barbara and Violet in one final confrontation, as Violet blames her daughter for the death of her husband. Barbara, seemingly realizing that there is nothing more she can do to help her mother, leaves her with her live-in caretaker.

Did Kit choose Hannah or her duty?

This question is a bit vague. Without a more specific story reference, I am going to have to make an educated guess. I also think that Kit chooses to do both her duty and remain loyal to Hannah Tupper. In the final third of the story, a terrible fever strikes the town. Even Kit gets sick, and Mercy is especially sick. Being a superstitious town, the people decide that they need a scapegoat to blame the illness on. They believe that Hannah Tupper and her strange ways are to blame. They think she is a witch, so they form a mob with the intention of burning her house down. At this point, Kit chooses Hannah Tupper. Kit rushes out to warn Hannah of the coming danger.

She would have to get to Hannah. No matter what happened, she could not stay here and leave Hannah to face that mob alone. If she could get there in time to warn her—that was as far as she could see just now.

Nat also shows up, and he spirits Hannah away to his grandmother's house. He offers to give Kit sanctuary as well; however, Kit chooses her duty to Mercy and the family:

"Or you can go on to the West Indies with us."
Barbados! The tears sprang to her eyes. "I can't, Nat. I have to stay here."
The concern in his eyes hardened to awareness. "Of course," he said courteously. "I forgot. You're going to be married."
"'Tis Mercy," she stammered. "She's terribly ill. I couldn't go, I just couldn't, not knowing—"

What type of colony was Jamestown?

The Jamestown colony was a financial venture by a group of private investors in a London firm called the Virginia Company. The group obtained a royal charter from James I in 1606, hence the name Jamestown, and hoped to profit from mining silver and gold and locating and establishing river routes to the Pacific Ocean that could be used for trade with the Eastern world.
Mismanagement and bad luck plagued the colony from its inception in 1607. Illness, hunger, and Native American hostilities pushed the colony to near collapse over several of its early years. However, the marriage of colonist John Rolfe to Pocahontas helped improve relations with indigenous people for a time, and as Jamestown revolutionized its tobacco growing enterprise, the colony began to thrive by 1619.

What does Twain say is the one permanent ambition he and his boyhood friends shared?

This quote from Mark Twain’s memoir Life on the Mississippi comes from the beginning of chapter 4: The Boys’ Ambition.
Ambition is defined as a drive to achieve a higher goal for oneself. In Twain’s childhood, the ambition he shared among his friends was straightforward: “to be a steamboatman.”
Twain lists several other “transient” ambitions the boys had, including a desire to be circus clowns or pirates. However, the allure of the steamboat never waned among the boys. Twain states that this was due in part to the daily arrival of a steamboat coming up the river, which became the highlight of his small village’s day. Twain recalls everyone in town patiently waiting for the arrival of a steamboat, everyone clamoring in excitement once the sounds of an approaching vessel could be heard.
Therefore, Twain associated the steamboats with excitement from a young age. Steamboats were a gateway to adventure in the world beyond his town, an idea that was powerfully motivating to the young boys.
Besides this adventurous allure, the steamboats offered good wages for the various positions one could get aboard a boat. Twain remarks that two months' wages for a pilot “would pay a preacher’s salary for a year.” While pilot was the most coveted, lucrative, and rare of the positions, that fact likely appealed to a young Twain, because he couldn’t imagine what it would be like to make such a sum in a short amount of time.
Ultimately, Twain—and his friends—regarded the steamboat as an escape from the humdrum, provincial life in which they were raised. This created a lasting appeal in their impressionable young minds.

If he were caught what words could Montag cry out in his last moments alive to make an impact and wake up the public?

That's a very good question. I think that if Montag were ever captured by the authorities, he could do a lot worse than to follow the example of the old woman in the story who chooses to burn to death along with her books rather than allow them to be seized. In her last moments on earth, she cries out

Play the man, Master Ridley; we shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out.

This quotation comes from Hugh Latimer, a sixteenth-century Protestant bishop burned at the stake for heresy by the Catholic Queen Mary of England. Alongside him was another Protestant bishop, Nicholas Ridley, who met the same gruesome fate.
If Montag chose to follow this example, he would be showing not just defiance of the regime, but that he understood why such defiance was necessary in the first place. He would've shown, like the old lady, that he understood what was at stake in challenging the regime over its wholesale destruction of the cultural treasures of Western civilization.

Find as many things as you can that the extracts have in common (literary devices, themes, mood, etc.). Compare extract 1 from "The School" with extract 1 from "The Lottery," and so on. 1 - "The Lottery" The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green. The people of the village began to gather in the square, between the post office and the bank, around ten o'clock; in some towns there were so many people that the lottery took two days and had to be started on June 27th. But in this village, where there were only about three hundred people, the whole lottery took less than two hours, so it could begin at ten o'clock in the morning and still be through in time to allow the villagers to get home for noon dinner. 1 - "The School" Well, we had all these children out planting trees, see, because we figured that . . . that was part of their education, to see how, you know, the root systems . . . and also the sense of responsibility, taking care of things, being individually responsible. You know what I mean. And the trees all died. They were orange trees. I don’t know why they died, they just died. Something wrong with the soil possibly or maybe the stuff we got from the nursery wasn’t the best. We complained about it. So we’ve got thirty kids there, each kid had his or her own little tree to plant and we’ve got these thirty dead trees. All these kids looking at these little brown sticks, it was depressing. 2 - "The Lottery" "Tessie," Mr. Summers said. There was a pause, and then Mr. Summers looked at Bill Hutchinson, and Bill unfolded his paper and showed it. It was blank. "It's Tessie," Mr. Summers said, and his voice was hushed. "Show us her paper. Bill." Bill Hutchinson went over to his wife and forced the slip of paper out of her hand. It had a black spot on it, the black spot Mr. Summers had made the night before with the heavy pencil in the coal company office. Bill Hutchinson held it up, and there was a stir in the crowd. "All right, folks." Mr. Summers said. "Let's finish quickly." 2 - "The School" One day, we had a discussion in class. They asked me, where did they go? The trees, the salamander, the tropical fish, Edgar, the poppas and mommas, Matthew and Tony, where did they go? And I said, I don’t know, I don’t know. And they said, who knows? and I said, nobody knows. And they said, is death that which gives meaning to life? And I said no, life is that which gives meaning to life. Then they said, but isn’t death, considered as a fundamental datum, the means by which the taken-for-granted mundanity of the everyday may be transcended in the direction of— 3 - "The Lottery" The children had stones already. And someone gave little Davy Hutchinson few pebbles. Tessie Hutchinson was in the center of a cleared space by now, and she held her hands out desperately as the villagers moved in on her. "It isn't fair," she said. A stone hit her on the side of the head. Old Man Warner was saying, "Come on, come on, everyone." Steve Adams was in the front of the crowd of villagers, with Mrs. Graves beside him. "It isn't fair, it isn't right," Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her. 3 - "The School" I said that they shouldn’t be frightened (although I am often frightened) and that there was value everywhere. Helen came and embraced me. I kissed her a few times on the brow. We held each other. The children were excited. Then there was a knock on the door, I opened the door, and the new gerbil walked in. The children cheered wildly.

Both of the first extracts seem to be establishing the setting of each story. In the paragraph from "The Lottery," we learn that the story takes place in a small village of only about three hundred people and that it is something of a special day in the community. When we hear the word "lottery," we might automatically assume that winning it would be a very good and welcome thing; however, this seems to be different from the kind of lottery we are used to: it takes two days, apparently, in larger towns, and at least two hours in this one (so we learn that this is not a draw-one-ticket-to-find-out-the-winner kind of a lottery; it is unusual, unfamiliar to us). In the extract from "The School," we learn that the story takes place at a school for young children, beginning on what is likewise an auspicious day: a day when the students are to plant their own orange trees as part of a class project. However, it is also a bit odd, as well, because somehow all thirty trees have died.
Further, these strange details—a lottery taking two hours and thirty trees dying all at once—help to set the mood. Both stories seem to possess oddities right off the bat, and this might make us feel a little wary or uncertain, perhaps a little nervous. We do not quite know what to expect: what kind of lottery is this? And how could all of the trees die like that?
Both of the second extracts seem to present a climactic moment from their stories. In "The Lottery," we learn that whoever "wins" this lottery does not actually win something good at all: this presents an example of irony, because reality differs from what we were expecting. Now, Mr. Summers's "voice was hushed," and the paper must be "forced . . . out of [Tessie Hutchinson’s] hand." A feeling of dread is conveyed by the big "black spot" made in "heavy pencil," and we know that whatever Tessie has been chosen for is not a pleasant thing; Mr. Summers just wants to "finish quickly," as though to get whatever it is over with.
In the second extract from "The School," the children are asking the narrator, a teacher, about the nature of death. While we might expect children to ask questions about death, we would certainly not expect the very young to be asking, "Is death that which gives meaning to life?" or "Isn’t death, considered as a fundamental datum, the means by which the taken-for-granted mundanity of the everyday may be transcended. . . ?" These are incredibly advanced questions, posed with vocabulary not possessed by typical children (even, perhaps, by typical adults). These ironies, then, continue to develop the stories’ moods, which have now become somewhat more menacing and/or frightening.
Each of the third excerpts presents their story's conclusion. In "The Lottery," we learn what Tessie has "won": death by stoning. In "The School," the children have asked their teacher not just about death, but sex—an act that is, essentially, the beginning of life. The children have witnessed so much death, the end of life, that now they seem interested in how life is created, or begun: an equally, if not more awkward, subject for adults to address with them, because adults often wish to preserve what they see as children's innocence (not realizing that children often know much more than adults expect them to). Our suspicion about these children, that they are quite strange and not at all innocent, is verified by the explicit and specific nature of their curiosity. In "The Lottery," even Tessie’s young son is encouraged to participate in the violent death of his mother. Both conclusions address the idea of childhood innocence: in "The School," it exists only as a fantasy maintained by adults, and in "The Lottery," it is ruined by adults.

How does Malouf, in his text Earth Hour, explore the progression of day to night, and how does he use dark and light imagery? How does Malouf explore the movement of time?

In the volume of collected poems Earth Hour, David Malouf frequently puts the reader into the crossings of space and time. One notable way he does so is in locating his native Australia at the border of east and west, as Martin Duwell has noted. Movement in either direction takes one into the past or the future because of Australia’s proximity to the International Date Line. Malouf’s poem “Good Friday Flying West” references the changeover of a full day in seconds, along with observing the Christian holiday commemorating death. Within those moments, the poet implies, one can understand the dark associated with the period between Jesus’s death and resurrection. At the same time, the dark of night shows that when business and cultural venues, such as museums, are still closed, the associated stillness takes one back into ancient times, traversing centuries toward our origins and a different kind of salvation, through Noah, at Mount Ararat.

the pluck and flow of the planet takes usback, half a dayor centuries; driftways
descend from Mt Ararat. Unrisenahead the dazzling dinning bee-hive cities.Museums not yet open . . .
http://www.australianpoetryreview.com.au/2014/04/david-malouf-earth-hour/

Why does Holden call Stradlater a secret slob?

What he means by this is that, although Stradlater gives the outward impression of being a well-groomed young man, in actual fact he's a bit of a slob. It's just that, unlike Ackley, he's so much better at hiding it.
To the outside world, Stradlater comes across as immaculately dressed, with high standards of personal hygiene. But Holden witnesses a different side to Stradlater at first hand; he sees that Stradlater makes no effort to keep his razor or his toiletries clean. In Holden's eyes, this is what makes him a slob.
But because Stradlater appears attractive to everyone who meets him, his slovenliness remains largely a secret. No one would ever think in a million years that he'd behave like such a slob in the confines of the bathroom. The gap between the secret slob Stradlater and his public persona of a well-dressed young man about town is one of the many things that, according to Holden, makes him such a grade A phony.

What tone does McCourt use as he characterizes the conditions of his youth when he writes, "It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while"?

McCourt's tone here is in keeping with much of the rest of the book in that it is blackly comic—this quote is not intended to be interpreted seriously. McCourt's sardonic tone invites the audience to infer that the writer's experiences led him to believe that most childhoods were unhappy, and that this belief was reinforced by the idea that being unhappy was simply a way of life; having a happy childhood would have been, somehow, an indulgence, or a waste of time. Note the use of the phrase "of course," and the colon, which seems to imply that he is repeating an overheard or learned idea. He does not comment on this idea, but his tone suggests that he does not agree with it, and nor does he expect the reader to. He is making a joke of his own past, but the misery was surely real.

What type of leader was Fulgencio Batista?

Fulgencio Batista was born in Cuba in 1901, where he later became a soldier and a dictator. During his reign, he jailed political opponents and embezzled funds. He was one of the most powerful and corrupt men in Cuba in the 1950s. He exercised brutal control over thought and speech in the press, the higher education system, and the branches of government. Although elections were held in 1954 and 1958, those elections were rigged to make Batista the only candidate who could win re-election.
During his rule, there was a lack of adequate public services, as Batista was more concerned with enriching himself and his associates than helping and serving the Cuban people. Although there were moments when Batista led efforts to make the lives of his country's people better—such as through education and social programs—his legacy is stained with the memories of corruption and dictatorship. By the end of 1958, most people in Cuba detested Batista, and he fled the country.

Why did Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. use children as examples in Why We Can't Wait?

Why We Can't Wait was written by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., one of the most prolific and influential civil rights activists in the history of the world. Dr. King begins the book by introducing a comparison of the lives of two black children: a black boy growing up in Harlem, New York, and a black girl growing up in Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. King uses the examples to illustrate that young black children in different parts of the country struggle with poverty and limited opportunity in a land that claims to provide equal opportunity for all its citizens. Dr. King demonstrates that racial discrimination against African Americans is a national problem, not a regional problem with limited impacts. Dr. King mentions that racial discrimination in the North and the South is an injustice that must be addressed.
Another reason why Dr. King used examples of children is to stress the need for direct action to be taken. The future of children was at stake. The children's limited opportunities, in particular, were unaddressed, poverty aside. So Dr. King was trying to make an appeal to those who believe in giving our future generations the American Dream.

Why does Two-Bit tear up Marcia’s phone numbers?

After the movie, Marcia and Cherry make their way over to Two-Bit's place, hoping to get a ride. Their Soc boyfriends have gone off and left them, so they need someone to drive them home. On their way there, Cherry and Ponyboy strike up a conversation, where they discuss the differences between Socs and Greasers. Ponyboy feels comfortable in Cherry's presence, despite her being a Soc, so much so that he reveals a softer, more vulnerable side to his personality. He tells Cherry about the time when Soda worked in a stable, where he formed a close attachment to a horse by the name of Mickey Mouse. Ponyboy reveals how upset Soda was when the horse was sold and how he, Ponyboy, tried to buy it back for him.
The relative peace is shattered when Marcia and Cherry's Soc boyfriends turn up in their Mustang. Their presence is unwelcome to Two-Bit, who comes dangerously close to getting into a fight with them. After the girls speed off in the Mustang, Two-Bit makes his way to a poker game. One of the Soc girls, Marcia, has given him her phone number on a piece of paper, but Two-Bit tears it up. Two-Bit doesn't believe for one minute that a Soc would want to be seen with a Greaser. And besides, he thinks that the number's probably a fake anyway. It's just the kind of stunt that a Soc would pull on a Greaser.

Explain how Sebastian's entry into the drama changes the grim situation into an atmosphere of enchantment and mirth.

Much of the play's humor is derived from the confused pairs of lovers who pursue each other. Behind this confusion is mistaken identity. Shakespeare uses the well-established plot device of twins who have been separated. Here, the twins are female and male. The author employs another convention, which was especially popular in Elizabethan theater, of females disguised as males to generate humor by having people fall in love with someone of the same gender.
In Twelfth Night, Viola and Sebastian are twins who do not know each other's whereabouts. Viola decides that she can move around the island more easily if she is disguised as a man. Once she has assumed this role, calling herself Cesario, she looks just like her brother. Viola falls in love with "him."
Once Sebastian shows up, everyone mistakes him for Cesario and vice versa. The mirth comes from the lovers's confusion over being ignored or, they believe, spurned. The pompous Sir Andrew gets a big surprise in a sword fight when his opponent, Sebastian, turns out to be very skilled and wounds him.

Why does Hester need for money?

It might be said, as a broad generalization, that there are two types of people: those who believe money is something to be spent, and those who believe money is a good thing in of itself. People who like to spend their money regard it as only so much paper or coins until it has performed its magic of creating whatever one cares to wish for. Paul’s mother Hester is such a person. She could never get enough money because she can think of too many ways to spend it. When Paul arranges through his Uncle Oscar for his mother to receive five thousand pounds in one lump sum,
Something very curious happened. The voices in the house suddenly went mad, like a chorus of frogs on a spring evening. There were certain new furnishings, and Paul had a tutor. He was really going to Eton, his father’s school, in the following autumn. There were flowers in the winter, and a blossoming of the luxury Paul’s mother had been used to. And yet the voices in the house, behind the sprays of mimosa and almond-blossom, and from under the piles of iridescent cushions, simply trilled and screamed in a sort of ecstasy: “There must be more money! Oh-h-h; there must be more money. Oh, now, now-w! Now-w-w—there must be more money!—more than ever! More than ever!”
The people who believe money is a good thing in itself value it because it can provide security and freedom. Robert Burns, the great Scottish poet, talks about money in his “Epistle to a Young Friend,” which is full of practical advice.
To catch dame Fortune’s golden smile, Assiduous wait upon her; And gather gear by ev’ry wile That’s justified by honour; Not for to hide it in a hedge, Nor for a train attendant, But for the glorious privilege Of being independent.
And Somerset Maugham, who made a lot of money as a writer of plays, novels, short stories, and essays, had this to say on the subject of money:
The value of money is that with it you can tell anyone to go to the devil.
That is approximately the same as saying that with enough money you can enjoy the glorious privilege of being independent.
It was a good thing that Hester lived in the days before credit cards, because she would have spent Paul’s five thousand pounds, which she did have, and another five thousand pounds which she didn’t have. This is pretty much what is happening to many Americans today, and Hester can be seen as a representative of all the people who believe money is only good for buying “things” and only paper or base metal in its “natural” state; or worse yet, the money may only be in the form of numbers on a bank statement, numbers which may or may not be convertible to the scraps of paper with the pictures of all those serious and sober-looking gentlemen on them.
The love of money may be the root of all evil, but respect for money is not a bad idea at all. Many people only learn the value of money when they run out of it.

What is the major theme of the story "Miss Tempy's Watchers"? What is the symbolism of the story "Miss Tempy's Watchers"?

The major theme conveyed by this text is that we all have a responsibility to help one another in times of trouble or need. Tempy Dent, the woman who died, spent her whole life serving others even though she had relatively little herself. She was industrious and generous, and, even in death, her friends feel as though she is encouraging them to "'put some more wood into the stove'" or to eat a little more of her food because "she'd like to have us comfortable now, and would urge us to make a good supper." Even as she lay dying, she comforted Sarah Ann by telling her that it only felt like getting sleepier and sleepier.
Tempy also seems to have purposefully arranged to have these two dear friends of hers—who have not always gotten along in the past and who come from two different classes—come together so that they can learn to better understand one another and, perhaps, offer the same kind of help to each other that she did. They even feel that "they are being watched themselves," perhaps by Tempy's spirit. Despite the fact that Miss Binson and Mrs. Crowe "belonged to opposite parties, and had at one time come as near hard feelings as they could, and yet escape them," Tempy manufactures a scenario wherein Mrs. Crowe can learn the value and necessity of helping others and in which Sarah Ann can offer the kind of emotional support that Mrs. Crowe needs. When the watchers grow tired,

Sister Binson closed her eyes first, to rest them for a minute; and Mrs. Crowe glanced at her compassionately, with a new sympathy for the hard-working little woman. She made up her mind to let Sarah Ann have a good rest, while she kept watch alone.

Early on in the night, Mrs. Crowe expressed her belief that a person can give away too much and that individuals have a "duty to ourselves," and Sarah Ann "looked up in a half-amused, unconscious way, and then recollected herself." By the end, it is as though these two have become as close as they were with Tempy, having unburdened themselves of "statements that either [woman] would have found impossible by daylight." Mrs. Crowe comes to feel that Tempy "has been a constant lesson to [her]." Sarah Ann already has a very giving spirit, as Tempy did, and now Mrs. Crowe will, we assume, join the ranks of those who assume the responsibility to help others however they can.
In terms of the major symbol, the number of times that the narrator refers to the brook and its noise is a big clue. The narrator first says,

There was a brook which ran down the hillside very near the house, and the sound of it was much louder than usual. When there was silence in the kitchen, the busy stream had a strange insistence in its wild voice, as if it tried to make the watchers understand something that related to the past.

The brook is noisy and sounds "louder than ever" through the night, and only the brook "seems awake." In the end, however, "the brook's voice was not nearly so loud as it had been in the midnight darkness." It seems that the brook courses loudly as the two watchers share their memories of Tempy and put their past disagreements behind them. Then, the brook is finally quiet once they have come to understand what Tempy seems to have hoped they would: that they can be there for one another just as she has been there for both of them and that they really have an obligation to do so—just as Tempy felt called to help anyone and everyone she could. The brook seems to want them to understand that their differences are not nearly as important as they may once have seemed.

In this short story, two older women, Mrs. Crowe and Sarah Ann Binson, who have belonged to different "parties" all their lives (meaning that they came from different parts of society) meet in the house of a mutual friend, Tempy Dent, to watch over her after she has died. It was once a tradition for "watchers" to keep guard over the body of the deceased until the funeral. Usually, this service would be performed by family, but in this case, Tempy Dent—a presence the two women often seem to feel in the room with them—has arranged for her two old friends to perform this task together. As the story progresses, the two women learn sympathy for each other as they bond over their love of Tempy, and it becomes clear that Tempy's death has, through Tempy's careful orchestrations, led to a situation in which disparate elements of a community have been brought together.
The major theme of this story, then, is surely community, or unity in general. As the two women, Mrs. Crowe and Sarah Ann, spend a quiet night together, feeling the presence of their old friend in the room with them, they come to learn that they share similar fears and similar memories of Tempy. They develop an understanding that they are not particular dissimilar at all. The implication of the story seems to be that a good person, or even simply the spending of time with others, can lead to better understanding among people who previously thought they had nothing in common. While the death of Tempy Dent has left the world, in some ways, feeling "more and more empty" to the two women, the reader is left with the feeling that, having spent this night together and come to understand one another better, the two women may seek out each other now to fill that emptiness.
This is confirmed by the symbolism of the weather elements at the end of the story. The use of the weather to mirror what is going on in a story is called pathetic fallacy, and it is really the only symbol used in this short story, which otherwise uses mainly plain and simple language and little imagery or figurative language. Look at the end of the story and you will note that, as the two women fall asleep, there is a contrast drawn between the "silence" of the house—a place of solitude, a shrine for Tempy, and a little quiet space of peace in which the two women can bond—and the wind which "blew about the house" while the brook "babbled on." The house here seems to be safe while the outside world is, symbolically, a place of confusion. However, the following morning, when they open the door, it is to a mild day, with the brook "not nearly so loud" as it had been the night before. This seems to imply that the outside world is now no longer the intemperate and confusing place it had seemed before the two women slept on their thoughts and allowed themselves to be reconciled to what has happened. Now, it is "a beautiful day for a funeral," and the women, it seems, will be able to move on, having talked their way through their feelings about their old friend.

How can you describe Macbeth's attitude to Duncan—as seen in his parting words?

Macbeth has no parting words, as such, with Duncan, but Macbeth makes other references to Duncan throughout the play that reveal Macbeth's true feelings towards him.
On Macbeth's first meeting with Duncan, Macbeth describes his loyalty to his king:

MACBETH. The service and the loyalty I owe,In doing it, pays itself. Your highness' partIs to receive our duties, and our dutiesAre to your throne and state, children and servants,Which do but what they should, by doing every thingSafe toward your love and honor. (1.4.25–30)

The last words that Macbeth speaks to Duncan in the play occur just a few lines later, after Duncan tells Macbeth that he intends to visit Macbeth at Inverness, Macbeth's castle:

MACBETH. I'll be myself the harbinger, and make joyfulThe hearing of my wife with your approach;So humbly take my leave. (1.4.51–53)

Macbeth is pleased that Duncan is going to visit him at his castle and looks forward to telling Lady Macbeth the good news, but before making his exit Macbeth expresses to himself his dissatisfaction with Duncan naming his son, Malcolm, as his successor, and Macbeth reveals his ambitions towards acquiring Duncan's throne:

MACBETH. (Aside) The Prince of Cumberland! That is a stepOn which I must fall down, or else o'erleap,For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires;Let not light see my black and deep desires:The eye wink at the hand; yet let that beWhich the eye fears, when it is done, to see. (1.4.55–60)

Macbeth doesn't meet Duncan when Duncan arrives at Inverness and avoids meeting with him at dinner.
After Macbeth discusses killing Duncan with Lady Macbeth, Macbeth has second thoughts it and thinks about his duties to Duncan and his feelings towards him:

MACBETH: He's here in double trust:First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,Who should against his murderer shut the door,Not bear the knife myself. Besides, this DuncanHath borne his faculties so meek, hath beenSo clear in his great office, that his virtuesWill plead like angels trumpet-tongued againstThe deep damnation of his taking-off (1.7.12–20)

We don't know what Macbeth might have said to the sleeping Duncan before he murdered him, but Macbeth expresses nothing but remorse, regret, and revulsion for having killed him:

MACBETH: This is a sorry sight. (2.2.28)

Macbeth heard the guards praying before he killed Duncan:

MACBETH: One cried, "God bless us!" and "Amen" the other,As they had seen me with these hangman's hands.Listening their fear, I could not say "Amen,"When they did say "God bless us!". . . But wherefore could not I pronounce "Amen"?I had most need of blessing, and "Amen"Stuck in my throat. (2.2.36–43)

When Macbeth forgets to leave the daggers with Duncan's guards, Lady Macbeth tells him to take the daggers back to Duncan's room.

MACBETH: I'll go no more:I am afraid to think what I have done;Look on't again I dare not. (2.2.64–66)

There's knocking at the castle gate, and Macbeth clearly wishes that he hadn't killed Duncan, and regrets that he's done so:

MACBETH: (Knocking) Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou couldst! (2.2.93)

He later remarks, "the gracious Duncan have I murder'd" (3.1.70).
The last words that Macbeth speaks about Duncan express his desire that Duncan rest in peace:

MACBETH: Duncan is in his grave;After life's fitful fever he sleeps well;Treason has done his worst: nor steel, nor poison,Malice domestic, foreign levy, nothing,Can touch him further. (3.2. 24–28)

Explain the argument from contingency in Thomas Aquinas's "Five Ways" in detail. Describe the problems with the argument. Are the problems real problems?

Thomas Aquinas’s Quinque viae, its original Latin title meaning “five ways,” is a segment from Summa Theologica that argues how the existence of God can be proven.
In his argument from motion, Aquinas asserts that one can prove God’s existence via the idea that nothing moves without first being set into motion by the “first mover,” or a higher power. In his argument from efficient causes, he explains that everything is an effect stemming from a cause—and if one goes back far enough, one discovers the original cause is God. In his Reductio argument, he suggests that it is impossible for everything to rely on time for its existence and that there must be something that exists outside the confines of time. In his gradation argument, Aquinas implies that all morality and quality must descend from an apex perfection, or God. The fifth way is design, in which Aquinas states that nature lacks intelligence and therefore must be directed by someone in order for amazing things to happen or be created.
Logically speaking, Aquinas’s arguments suffer from a couple problems. Some of his conditions that he takes as truths, from which he deduces the existence of God, are not wholly accurate. For example, he suggests that nature is not comprised of intelligent beings or forces. Based on what we know now, Aquinas’s assumption about nature is flawed, and therefore, using it in his argument about design is faulty logic. Another place where he falters is in his assumption about motion.
This part of your question is the most difficult to answer, because it depends on your perspective. “Real problems” implies that Aquinas’s arguments are invalidated whole-cloth, I am assuming. From a purely logical standpoint, I don’t think Aquinas’s problems are that serious. Of course, if an atheist were to evaluate whether Aquinas has real problems in his arguments, they might interpret things differently.