Discuss the ways in which Widow Douglas tried to civilize Huck in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Widow Douglas means well. She wants Huck to take his place in civilized society—a civilized society based on slavery, but that's by the by—and be like all other young men his age. So she gets to work trying to turn him into her ideal of what a civilized young man in this neck of the woods looks like.
First, she makes him dress up in smart new clothes. No more stinking old rags for Huck; from now on, he'll wear nothing but the best. And Huck can forget about walking around in bare feet, too; wearing shoes will become a regular part of his daily routine.
Regular bible study is now definitely in, too. The Widow Douglas wants Huck to memorize great chunks of Scripture and hopefully learn morally uplifting lessons from them. The Widow is an avid churchgoer and wants Huck to follow her example. And besides, what better way for Huck to show off his nice new clothes and fancy shoes than to wear them for church each Sunday?

What request does Beowulf make before before he dives into the lake?

Beowulf is about to dive into the lake to do battle with Grendel's mother. He may be a brave warrior—probably the bravest warrior around—but he's not a fool; he knows that this valiant feat of daring could be his last.
So, before he descends to the dark, inky depths, he makes a number of requests regarding what should be done in the event that he doesn't make it back. He asks Hrothgar to remember his promise to take care of the Geats. He also asks him to send the treasures that he won back to the Geat king, Hygelac. Finally, he requests that Unferth be given his treasured sword, Hrunting—the very sword that Unferth had presented to him in recognition of his superior courage and ability.

What is the only problem Blakeslee had with Mattie Lou?

The only problem Blakeslee had with Mattie Lou was that she never gave him a son.
According to the story, Blakeslee had always loved his wife. Yet, it saddened him that she never gave him a son.
Aside from this one "fault," Blakeslee thought his wife was perfect. The narrator gives us possible reasons for this. Miss Mattie Lou (as her husband called her) was a refined woman. She never read Greek or Latin and certainly never engaged in intellectual pursuits. However, she always treated everyone kindly and never patronized those who were her social inferiors.
When she was alive, Mattie Lou never fussed at her husband for not having their house wired for electricity. She remained patient, even after their neighbors wired their own houses for electricity. Mattie Lou continued to trim wicks, clean out dirty chimneys, and "fool with kerosene" when other ladies pulled a ceiling cord to get electricity.
Mattie Lou also refrained from complaining when Blakeslee refused to pay to hook up their house to the new water main and sewer system. She continued to draw well water and empty slop jars. It never seemed to faze Mattie Lou that she had no faucets or flushing toilets. If she was unhappy about Blakeslee's strange ways, no one knew about it. The narrator notes Mattie Lou's gracious temperament and hints that this is the likely reason Blakeslee worshiped his wife when she was alive.

The narrator of The Round House is called Joe. What is his legal name? Why does he prefer to be called Joe?

In chapter 4, Joe states that he is named after his father, Antone Bazil Coutts, but hates the name so much that he says that "I'd fight anyone that put a junior in back of my name." He began calling himself Joe at the age of six, but he states that even that name is not ideal. He originally wanted a named that distinguished him from the other males in his family; however, at the age of 8, he found out that Joseph was the name of his grandfather.
Joe calls the character traits of the men in his family, which he states include "responsible" and "upright", tedious. In comparison, he admits there is something strange about him: "I was the sort of kid who spent a Sunday afternoon prying little trees out the foundation of his parents' house." He has no doubt he is different but says he has yet to grasp how.

How did indentured servitude compare with slavery in Virginia?

Indentured servants served 2-7 years in return for their passage to the New World. Many were treated harshly, and, as the source below points out, their punishment for actions such as running away or, in the of case of female indentured servants, getting pregnant, could result in additional time on their contracts of servitude.
However, indentured servants were treated better than slaves. Some indentured servants received land when their contracts were over. Slaves did not have this advantage, and, over time, slavery became an increasingly brutal system. The elite of Virginia and other colonies began to impose a harsh color line that differentiated between indentured servitude, which did not last forever, and slavery, which became a life-long condition. Slaves were black, while indentured servants became entirely white. Slaves were not allowed to claim their freedom, and, unlike the children of indentured servants, their children were born into the brutality of slavery.
http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/feature/indentured-servants-in-the-us/

Rank the following items in order from largest to smallest: cell, chromosome, gene, DNA, organism, nucleus.

In order from largest to smallest, we have: organism, cell, nucleus, DNA, chromosome, gene. The cell is the basic biological unit of the organism, so an organism is made up of one or more cells. Each of these cells contains a nucleus. Inside the nucleus of a cell is the cell's DNA. This DNA within the nucleus is divided into discrete units, called chromosomes. The number of chromosomes an organism has depends on its species. Humans have 46 (23 pairs of 2 chromosomes). Each chromosome is a single DNA molecule, which means that it is one long strand of DNA. A gene is a portion of DNA that codes for a specific protein. There are numerous genes contained in a chromosome. It is also important to know that the DNA contained in each cell of an organism is the same. This means that all the cells of an organism will have the same genes on the same set of chromosomes within their nuclei.

1. Organism - One basic characteristic of a living organism is that it must be made of one or more cells.
2. Cell- the cell is the most basic unit of life and encompasses smaller organelles (such as the nucleus in the eukaryotic cells).
3. Nucleus- the nucleus is found in eukaryotic cells and houses the genetic information (the DNA)
4. Chromosome- these structures contain the genetic information (DNA) . Human somatic cells contain 46 total chromosomes and human gametes contain 23.
5. Gene- Genes are segments of DNA that code for an organism's characteristics.
6. DNA- the nucleic acid that contains all of the information for synthesizing the necessary proteins for the organism.

The ranking of the given items from largest to smallest is as follows:
Organism > Cell > Nucleus > Chromosome > Gene > DNA
DNA is a molecule that can be thought of as the blueprint of life. In other words, it acts as a template which is replicated before cell division. It provides the information for building all the proteins within every living thing.
Gene is the basic functional and physical unit of heredity and is made up of DNA. Genes determine the traits and functions of a cell and are transferred from parent to daughter cells.
Chromosomes contain nucleic acids and proteins and they carry the genetic information in the form of genes.
The nucleus contains chromosomes. It is a membrane-bound structure and contains the hereditary information.
A cell is the smallest functional unit of life and contains nucleus and cytoplasm in a membrane-bound structure.
An organism is made up of a number of cells.
Hope this helps.

Why does Horatio keep asking the Ghost to speak?

Horatio is the one who challenges the ghost to speak, not Hamlet. Not only does Horatio challenge the ghost to speak, but he challenges the ghost to speak multiple times. This is important because there is often a debate among scholars as to whether the ghost is “honest” or not. Horatio, being a very honorable character, can be seen to have a bit of intuition in the first scene when he puts forth these interesting challenges. After the ghost causes Horatio to harrow “in fear and wonder,” it is in line 48 that he first asks the ghost “By heaven I charge thee, speak.” Now, yes, it is Marcellus who begs Horatio to do so with the words, “Speak to it, Horatio.” One imagines a cowardly friend pulling on the arm of a buddy who is more brave. Horatio doesn’t stop there. Line 51 reads, “Stay! Speak, speak. I charge thee, speak.” Then the ghost exits and reenters, and Horatio says again in line 127, “Stay, illusion. . . If thou has any sound or use of voice, speak to me.” Then further, “If there be any good thing to be done that may to thee do ease and grace to me, speak to me.” By line 135, Horatio is yelling, “O, speak!” In line 139, Horatio says again, “Speak of it. Stay and speak. Stop it, Marcellus.” It is then that the ghost is seen no more. The interesting thing to note there is that Horatio asks the ghost to speak no less than nine times within only 100 lines. What is also interesting is that Horatio calls the ghost an “illusion,” not something of reality. Further, it’s important to note the condition as to which Horatio wants the ghost to speak. Horatio asks the ghost to speak only “if there be any good thing to be done that may to thee do ease and grace to me.” This is precisely the debate among many scholars. Does the ghost have any desire to do “grace” to good characters like Horatio and Hamlet? Or is the ghost’s main goal to damn characters like Horatio and Hamlet to a fiery hell?