Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Did the coming of Europeans do more harm than good?

This question depends on your vantage point. European arrival to the New World was catastrophic for the Native Americans. Native Americans had no disease resistance to smallpox, typhus, and cholera, and many of them died. Entire tribes were wiped out by disease. Europeans also took the land and destroyed native culture as they considered native religions as pagan.
Of course, on the other side, one can also argue that European exploration of the New World was a positive thing. Food from the New World, such as tomatoes, potatoes, and squash, brought much-needed vitamins to European diets. This led to an increase in birth rates and longevity. While one can argue that this led to a population increase that fueled scarcity and, ultimately, major wars, the addition of new foods made the human population of the world more healthy. Also, the addition of the horse made the Plains Indians more successful in their buffalo hunts. While the arrival of Europeans can be considered a tragedy, there were some benefits for both sides.

How accurately does the Dwarf’s journal describe the Dwarf’s feelings? Does it describe his feelings accurately because a journal is normally not meant for other people?

Since The Dwarf is written as a series of journal entries from the title character's point of view, I would contend that it is an accurate depiction of the Dwarf's feelings. Throughout the short book, the Dwarf is very candid about his feelings and opinions. He states plainly his opinions about the other characters in the story. We can assume that the journal serves as a reliable insight into Dwarf's mind, particularly from passages in which he admits something to the reader which he would most likely have hidden from the other characters.
One example of this is his feelings towards Princess Teodora. His feelings concerning Teodora are quite jumbled but overall very negative. He writes that he hates her and would like nothing better than to see her tortured and dead, even though he outwardly does everything she asks and would even risk his life for her. Clearly, he would never express these feelings out loud. First off, they would show his own personal weakness, but more to the point, such opinions would likely get him killed.
Even though we can trust the narration to be reliable as far as the Dwarf's feelings are concerned, we should not trust the Dwarf to be a completely reliable narrator. We see things from his point of view, not how things actually are. For instance, the Dwarf frequently overstates his importance in the Court. He seems to think that the goings on in the Court revolve completely around him. However, if any of the other characters were asked, they most definitely would disagree. Essentially, the journal format of this story shows us what the Dwarf, a truly duplicitous character, is really thinking and feeling since it would be indiscernible through studying his actions and words alone.

Monday, June 2, 2014

What does Anne mean when she says paper is more patient than man?

What Anne means by this is that she can be more honest in writing her diary than she can in communicating with other people. She can put down on paper her innermost thoughts, hopes, fears, and dreams, sharing things with her diary that she could never share with anyone else.
This is crucial for someone of Anne's age, especially given her situation. As a teenage girl, she's going through a difficult phase in life, with all the usual problems of adolescence. To make matters even more complicated, she's forced to spend her early teenage years stuck in a cramped annex in order to avoid detection by the Nazis. And while all this is going on, Anne, like so many other girls of her age, feels unable to confide in her parents. That's where the diary comes in. This little book has infinite reserves of patience. It will always be there for her, always ready for whatever Anne has to say, and that's not something that could be said of anyone in her life.

Sunday, June 1, 2014

Where is Mattie Cook sent to?

The answer to your question can be found in chapter 10. With the fever spreading like wildfire through Philadelphia, it is decided that Mattie will be much safer if she goes out to the countryside. After consulting with Dr. Kerr, Grandfather agrees to take Mattie to the Ludingtons' farm, which lies some distance from the city. They leave in an old coach-wagon, accompanied by a farmer and his wife and infant child.
However, in the following chapter, when the wagon reaches the town of Pembroke, they are stopped by armed guards and a doctor, who are intent on preventing anyone with the fever from entering the town. Unfortunately, this is when Grandfather has a very ill-timed coughing fit, and the doctor, concerned that they are carrying the disease, orders them to turn around and return to Philadelphia. Mattie and Grandfather are expelled from the wagon and left by themselves on the country road.

In "A Photograph," what has not changed over the years? Does this suggest something to you?

The thing that has not changed over the years in "A Photograph" by Shirley Toulson is the sea. The poet writes,

. . . the sea, which appears to have changed less, washed their terribly transient feet.

The girls pictured in the photograph grew older; one became the speaker's mother, who took out the photo periodically and laughed with her daughter over the swim fashions shown in the photo. Fashions change; people grow older and die. The mention of "their terribly transient feet" symbolizes the way humans age. Their bodies change day-by-day and year-by-year until they eventually stop functioning and the person passes away.
The fact that the sea doesn't change provides a stark contrast to the ephemeral nature of life. The world has been here a long time, and it will continue a long time after each one of us who is now alive is gone. This can make the reader feel insignificant, or it can inspire the reader to live life to the fullest and to leave a legacy for those to come.
In the poem, the speaker's mother left a legacy of warm companionship that her daughter still remembers fondly. She remembers her mother's laugh and the way that her mother shared her own past with her. Those memories endure and come back to the speaker like waves of the sea come back to the shore over and over again. Forming strong relationships and sharing intimate moments are important ways that each of us can leave a link to the next generation even after we're gone.

From the eighteenth century to the twenty-first century, the world’s people advocated and organized to reconstruct the world in ways different than they had inherited—for example, through the abolition movement, through nations, through the “Pan-" movements we discussed, through international agreements and institutions, through revolutions, through “swaraj,” through establishment of universal rights. Select three or more of these initiatives to explain what sort of world order their advocates conceived of establishing, how they advocated bringing that about, and what resulted—to what extent and in what ways did they change the world?

The Communist Revolution in Russia sought to bring about a world governed by Marxist principles. These principles would see the transfer of business ownership to the people and the equalizing of most peoples' station in life. Ultimately, it would do away with nations and governments, leading to a singular communist authority that would plan for and provide the needs of every person in the world. Advocates disagreed on how to accomplish this. In Russia, the Communists came to power through revolution. The Russian Communists provided funding, support, and guidance to Communist parties in other European countries in an attempt to either gain control of a country by proxy or to weaken the country through gridlock, thus empowering the Communist message. In less developed countries, the Communists sought to use force and conquest. In the end, the Soviet Union fell, but its impact can be seen in the world today. The corruption of the Russian government, the American military empire, the existence of NATO and other treaty organizations, and the specter of nuclear war are all results of the Communist Revolution in Russia.
The abolition movement sought to end the practice of slavery. Individual abolition movements were mostly interested in ending the practice of slavery in a specific country, though the broader ethos focused on ending the practice of slavery worldwide. Methods were varied: many abolitionists used moral suasion to try to convince slaveholders and society of the evils of slavery, while others focused on political power as a means to force the end of slavery. A minority thought that force was the preferable option and attempted to arm slaves and encourage rebellions. In the United States, this ultimately led to the Civil War, which ended with Reconstruction and the violent backlash against Reconstruction that led to the creation of Jim Crow laws. Much of the American division between Northern and Southern states can be traced back to this. The abolition movement also gave moral arguments to European powers seeking to colonize Africa, as they generally led with the charge that they were seeking to stop the Arab slave trade.
Several different groups have sought to use international agreements to end the continuous cycles of war that have rocked Europe through most of its history. The treaty of Westphalia was likely the first major effort of this type, though the first truly international effort that encompassed more than Europe was the League of Nations. The advocates of these agreements believed that they would allow for the peaceful coexistence of nations and the improvement of humankind. They advocated attaining these goals through peaceful diplomacy and, where war was unavoidable, through the marshaling of troops from many nations against an aggressor. These treaties created webs of alliances and delineated colonial allotments, thus exacerbating colonial ambitions and setting the stage for World War I. The League of Nations was insufficient for its task and ultimately failed to prevent World War II. The United Nations has been better, though it was largely unable to prevent proxy wars between the United States and the Soviet Union throughout the later half of the twentieth century. Ultimately, the impacts of these agreements are best seen in economic and diplomatic integration. Major power war has been prevented, so the aims have been largely successful here—however, other goals related to a larger peace have been unattainable so far.

What is the relationship like between Ezeulu and his children in Arrow of God?

Ezeulu has a fraught relationship with his sons; his family could reasonably be said to be dysfunctional. His son Edogo resents the fact that his father favors his brother Nwafo, whom he believes is being groomed for the priesthood. Edogo doesn't want to be chief priest himself, but he still smarts at his father's special treatment of Nwofo.
As for Obika, he doesn't have much of a relationship with his father to speak of. A juvenile delinquent who's always getting into mischief, he causes no end of trouble for his old man, who has no compunction in seeing him publicly whipped by the colonial authorities for his various transgressions against the law. There's a possibility of some reconciliation by the end of the story, but it's tragically cut short as Obika, with his newfound wisdom and respect for the old traditions, drops dead during a funeral ritual.
Then there's Oduche, Ezeulu's second youngest son. Although Oduche looks up to his father, Ezeulu manipulates his son, effectively making him a spy in the world of the white man by sending him to church and school. Ezeulu's motives in this regard are entirely selfish; he wants to gain as much knowledge of the white man as possible without compromising his position as chief priest. However, Ezeulu's plan backfires in spectacular fashion when Oduche becomes a militant Christian committed to destroying the worship of Ulu and all other pagan deities.

What is the theme of the chapter Lead?

Primo Levi's complex probing of the Holocaust, including his survival of Auschwitz and pre- and post-war life, is organized around indiv...