What was the significance of the Lucknow Pact?

The Indian National Congress and the Muslim League met in a joint conference for the first time in 1916 at Lucknow. The greatest significance of the Lucknow Pact is that it brought together these two groups: the Indian National Congress that claimed to represent all of India, and the Muslim League that was formed to counter the Congress's overarching claim. 

At that joint conference, the Hindu and Muslim leaders were able to resolve their own...

The Indian National Congress and the Muslim League met in a joint conference for the first time in 1916 at Lucknow. The greatest significance of the Lucknow Pact is that it brought together these two groups: the Indian National Congress that claimed to represent all of India, and the Muslim League that was formed to counter the Congress's overarching claim. 

At that joint conference, the Hindu and Muslim leaders were able to resolve their own differences and agreed to jointly pressure the British government to allow India more home rule. At the time, the two groups fully expected the constitutional reforms they jointly presented to their British colonial rulers to be enacted after World War I ended. 

The pact was an important move toward Indian independence during the nationalist movement in Indian, but the unity between Hindus and Muslims was short-lived. Most of the Congress leaders who voted for the Lucknow Pact rescinded their support not long after it was passed. In 1918, the INC joined the Indian Franchise Committee (also know as the Southborough Committee), one of three committees led by British representatives, that worked out the details of post-World War I constitutional reforms for India.

Who are four Victorian era poets and what were their contributions to Victorian Poetry?

The Victorian Period is characterized by multiplicity and extreme variety of style and belief. Four renowned Victorian poets are Alfred Lord Tennyson, Robert Browning, Gerald Manley Hopkins, and Thomas Hardy.

• Alfred Lord Tennyson

Although Matthew Arnold criticized Tennyson as being without intellectual power because he had no unifying theme, others have praised him for his different types of poetry. Still, Tennyson shared with the other poets of his age a sense of estrangement. Perhaps, he is...

The Victorian Period is characterized by multiplicity and extreme variety of style and belief. Four renowned Victorian poets are Alfred Lord Tennyson, Robert Browning, Gerald Manley Hopkins, and Thomas Hardy.

• Alfred Lord Tennyson

Although Matthew Arnold criticized Tennyson as being without intellectual power because he had no unifying theme, others have praised him for his different types of poetry. Still, Tennyson shared with the other poets of his age a sense of estrangement. Perhaps, he is most notable for his advanced techniques of symbolism. For instance, he made use of the technique of symbolic situation, a method close to allegory as in "The Voyage" and "The Holy Grail," which represent the course of spiritual life.
Another long poem,"Maud," achieved psychological naturalism and reflects with poetic brilliance and mellifluous tone the social discontent of mid-century.  

• Robert Browning

Browning's career is often defined as the accomplishment of dramatic poetry, a form of poetry which dominated the twentieth century. Browning broke from the traditional poetic confession of the Romantics and moved to the dramatic monologue. "My Last Duchess" stands as an excellent example of such a monologue. In addition, Browning mastered ironic understatement and his diction strips away the superfluous, leaving the essential, a style that became characteristic of the twentieth century.

• Gerald Manley Hopkins

Hopkins is, perhaps, best known for his "Sprung Rhythm." This is a pattern in which there are a determined number of stresses, but the number and disposition of unstressed syllables are widely variable. Hopkins himself has said that he chose this meter because it was "the native and natural rhythm of speech," and because it retained the movement of song. This metric is flexible and catches the changing emotions of experience in a natural ways. It scans by accents or stresses alone, without concern for the number of syllables. Such poems as "God's Grandeur" and Pied Beauty" exemplify this "sprung rhythm."

• Thomas Hardy

Known as the "good gray poet," Thomas Hardy's style is rugged and idiosyncratic, but it is always sensitive though unsophisticated. His education was in a country environment where he most focused on the bare essentials. Not urbane and sophisticated, Hardy was intent upon the central passions of life, which provide his poems their symbolic wealth.

Perhaps better than many other Victorian poets, Thomas expressed the doubt and despair of his age, but used characterization more than illustrative incidents to do this. Influenced by ballads and folksongs, Hardy experimented with different meters and stanza forms. In addition, he liked to employ "rough-hewn rhythms and colloquial diction." 

Who is in charge of the ceremonies in The Giver?

The Chief Elder is in charge of the ceremonies. 

A Committee of Elders carefully observes the children when they are close to turning Twelve to determine what assignment they should get.  Then during the Ceremony of Twelve the Chief Elder describes the class and then each individual in it, in order of their birth.  Each child is given an assignment that will be his or her job for life. 

The Ceremony of Twelve is...

The Chief Elder is in charge of the ceremonies. 

A Committee of Elders carefully observes the children when they are close to turning Twelve to determine what assignment they should get.  Then during the Ceremony of Twelve the Chief Elder describes the class and then each individual in it, in order of their birth.  Each child is given an assignment that will be his or her job for life. 

The Ceremony of Twelve is the most important ceremony.  It takes place last, because the ceremonies go in order of the children’s ages.  At the Ceremony of Twelve, the Chief Elder recognizes the group and the individual.  This is rare, because usually individual differences are not acknowledged because the community does everything it can to enforce Sameness. 

The initial speech at the Ceremony of Twelve was made by the Chief Elder, the leader of the community who was elected every ten years. The speech was much the same each year: recollection of the time of childhood and the period of preparation, the coming responsibilities of adult life, the profound importance of Assignment, the seriousness of training to come. (Ch. 7) 

Jonas’s ceremony starts off normally.  Each child’s number is called, the little story told, and the assignment announced.  However, when Nineteen, Jonas’s number, is supposed to be called, the Chief Elder skips it.  Jonas is horrified.  He assumes he has done something wrong. 

She skipped me, Jonas thought, stunned. Had he heard wrong?  No. There was a sudden hush in the crowd, and he knew that the entire community realized that the Chief Elder had moved from Eighteen to Twenty, leaving a gap. (Ch. 7) 

Of course, the Chief Elder made no mistake.  Jonas was skipped to increase the community’s suspense, and to acknowledge the uniqueness of his assignment.  The Chief Elder announces that Jonas was selected, not assigned, as the Receiver of Memory.

What is Mr. O’Connor’s job, and why is he not doing it?

Mr. O'Connor's job is to go from door to door trying to rally support for the political candidate he works for, Tricky Dicky Tierney. The reason he isn't doing his job during this story is that the weather is bad, so he's staying inside.

We find this out early on in the story, in the eleventh paragraph:

Mr O'Connor had been engaged by Tierney's agent to canvass one part of the ward but, as the weather...

Mr. O'Connor's job is to go from door to door trying to rally support for the political candidate he works for, Tricky Dicky Tierney. The reason he isn't doing his job during this story is that the weather is bad, so he's staying inside.

We find this out early on in the story, in the eleventh paragraph:

Mr O'Connor had been engaged by Tierney's agent to canvass one part of the ward but, as the weather was inclement and his boots let in the wet, he spent a great part of the day sitting by the fire in the Committee Room in Wicklow Street with Jack, the old caretaker. They had been sitting thus since the short day had grown dark. It was the sixth of October, dismal and cold out of doors.

As you can see in the text, O'Connor's specific job is to "canvass one part of the ward." What this means is that he is supposed to walk around town, knocking on doors, talking to people to try to get them to support Tierney as he's running for political office. We assume that he's also supposed to be passing out cards with this text on them:

Mr Richard J. Tierney, P.L.G., respectfully solicits the favour of your vote and influence at the coming election in the Royal Exchange Ward.

However, because it's raining, it's not a good day for doing this work, which requires being outside. So, O'Connor is relaxing indoors by the fire instead, smoking cigarettes, and using those cards to light his cigarettes--which reveals the utter lack of respect that O'Connor feels toward his employer, Tierney.

The fact that O'Connor is basically doing nothing all day rather than the work he was hired to do helps us start to understand one of the themes of this story, a common one in James Joyce's short works of fiction: the stagnation of life. (You can read more about that theme .)

In "The Hollow Men" by T.S. Eliot, what have you learned about Eliot's view of humanity after WW I?

T. S. Eliot writes that all men after World War I are "hollow." At the beginning of his poem "The Hollow Men," the line "Mistah Kurtz--he dead" appears. This is a reference to Kurtz, the antagonist of Conrad's Heart of Darkness--an evil man who dies after despairing of the state of humanity. However, the hollow men, their heads filled with straw and with "dry voices," have not passed to "Death's other kingdom," as Eliot...

T. S. Eliot writes that all men after World War I are "hollow." At the beginning of his poem "The Hollow Men," the line "Mistah Kurtz--he dead" appears. This is a reference to Kurtz, the antagonist of Conrad's Heart of Darkness--an evil man who dies after despairing of the state of humanity. However, the hollow men, their heads filled with straw and with "dry voices," have not passed to "Death's other kingdom," as Eliot writes in the first stanza of his poem. Instead, these hollow men wander the earth with "paralyzed force." They have no force but instead inhabit the earth as if they were dead.

The hollow men that Eliot describes are afraid to look the dead in the face--they seem guilt-ridden to look at the dead. Instead, they wonder alive but in a "dead land," a "cactus land." Eliot's view is that humanity has no ability to be human after the war. They instead are unable to show emotion, such as kissing people. The hollow men have no eyes and no ability to speak. They can't even complete simple acts, such as circling the mulberry bush in the famous children's rhyme in the final stanza. Instead, they live in a world of shadow. They seem unable even to complete a prayer, as the line "For thine is," which refers to the line "For thine is in the kingdom of God," in the Lord's Prayer, is incomplete in the final stanza. Eliot believes that after World War I, people lived in a world of shadows where they are reduced to being less than human and where God had deserted them. 

How did Social Darwinists tend to view government aid to industries and other institutions?

Social Darwinists were (and are) generally opposed to government aid to anyone, indeed to aid to anyone, at least any aid that is not paid for and in the direct self-interest of the person providing it. They opposed welfare, social insurance, foreign aid, and even public infrastructure.Based (loosely) on Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection, Social Darwinists argued that the way to achieve the best outcome in any system, be it biological,...

Social Darwinists were (and are) generally opposed to government aid to anyone, indeed to aid to anyone, at least any aid that is not paid for and in the direct self-interest of the person providing it. They opposed welfare, social insurance, foreign aid, and even public infrastructure.

Based (loosely) on Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection, Social Darwinists argued that the way to achieve the best outcome in any system, be it biological, economic, or social, is to simply let all the different agents fiercely compete with one another, a constant war of all against all, and to the victor go the spoils. They theorized that this would ensure that the ones who win---and therefore the genes and individuals that survive---would be the best and the strongest.

They also believed that any attempt to intervene in that competition would ultimately be harmful; by helping those who would otherwise fail or handicapping those who would otherwise succeed, intervention in the natural state of competition would only allow the weak and inferior to prosper.

Today we know that this is not at all what evolutionary theory actually implies. Indeed, one of the central reasons why humans are so successful is that we cooperate with one another, forgoing our own narrow self-interest for the good of our tribe, our culture, our nation. Cooperative behavior is common across many species, and particularly among intelligent social species such as ourselves. Social Darwinists believed that they were applying evolution to understand human nature, but in fact they were distorting evolution and fighting human nature.

Describe one strength of one of the three branches of government.

In this answer, I will provide one strength for each of the branches of the United States government.  Those three branches are the legislative branch (Congress), the executive branch (headed by the president), and the judicial branch (headed by the Supreme Court).

The major strength of Congress is its ability to make laws.  No law can be proposed, let alone passed, without the consent of Congress.  This means that Congress has the sole authority, for...

In this answer, I will provide one strength for each of the branches of the United States government.  Those three branches are the legislative branch (Congress), the executive branch (headed by the president), and the judicial branch (headed by the Supreme Court).

The major strength of Congress is its ability to make laws.  No law can be proposed, let alone passed, without the consent of Congress.  This means that Congress has the sole authority, for example, to impose taxes and to allocate money for spending.  Presidents may have big plans and important proposals, but only Congress has the power to make these plans into actual laws.

A major power of the president (and, therefore, of the executive branch) is what Theodore Roosevelt called the “bully pulpit.”  The president is the most famous political figure in the nation. He (or someday she) can command the attention of the public.  The public does not really pay much attention when, for example, Paul Ryan gives a speech about proposed policies, but it does pay more attention when the president speaks.  This gives the president more power to persuade the people than anyone else in our system.

The major power of the Supreme Court is the power of judicial review.  This means that the judicial branch gets to decide what laws are and are not constitutional.  For example, the Supreme Court changed the way our political campaigns are financed when it struck down campaign finance laws in the Citizens United case that was decided in 2010.  The Court also has done things like making segregated schools illegal (Brown, 1954) and declaring that states cannot ban all abortions (Roe, 1973).  The ability to say what the Constitution means gives the judicial branch a great deal of power.

Was Juliet the innocent victim of the play Romeo and Juliet?

Juliet is an innocent victim of her family’s feud and a patriarchal society. 

You could easily say that Juliet would not have died in this play if her family was not feuding with the Montagues.  There seems to be no basis for the feud.  It just has been going on for so long that everyone accepts it.  Even Juliet is upset when she learns Romeo is a Montague because she does not want to betray her family. 

JULIET

My only love sprung from my only hate!
Too early seen unknown, and known too late!
Prodigious birth of love it is to me,
That I must love a loathed enemy. (Act 1, Scene 5) 

Juliet loves Romeo, and he seems to love her, so she goes along with marrying him in secret.  She decides that his name is insignificant to who he is as a person.  Romeo doesn’t care who is a Capulet.  He doesn’t want to fight Tybalt, but Tybalt kills Mercutio, and he has to. 

Juliet still might not have died when Romeo was banished if her father hadn’t insisted that she marry Paris.  In the patriarchal society of Verona, he has a right to choose her husband. He tells her he will disown her and throw her out if she doesn’t marry Paris, and calls her ungrateful. 

CAPULET

Hang thee, young baggage! disobedient wretch!
I tell thee what: get thee to church o' Thursday,
Or never after look me in the face:
Speak not, reply not, do not answer me;
My fingers itch. (Act 3, Scene 5)

Juliet goes to Friar Lawrence for help.  He married Romeo and Juliet in secret, thinking it might help end the feud.  He tries to buy Juliet time by giving her a potion to fake her death and getting a message to Romeo.  Unfortunately, Romeo doesn’t get the message and comes back and finds Juliet. Thinking she is dead, he kills himself, and then she wakes up and kills herself because Romeo is dead.

In the novel Lord of the Flies, what strategies does Jack use to make his group of boys stronger?

Jack uses several effective strategies to increase his tribe's comradery, efficiency, and loyalty. First, Jack encourages his hunters to paint their faces to mask their identity. These masks essentially remove their consciences and allow them to participate freely in savage acts without feeling ashamed. He then creates rituals such as ceremonial dances and chants. These routines draw the boys closer together which increases their comradery. They practice huntingand go on numerous expeditions which make...

Jack uses several effective strategies to increase his tribe's comradery, efficiency, and loyalty. First, Jack encourages his hunters to paint their faces to mask their identity. These masks essentially remove their consciences and allow them to participate freely in savage acts without feeling ashamed. He then creates rituals such as ceremonial dances and chants. These routines draw the boys closer together which increases their comradery. They practice hunting and go on numerous expeditions which make them efficient killers. Jack fearlessly leads his group of boys on hunts and continually challenges Ralph in front of his savages which elevates his standing among the boys. Jack then perpetuates the existence of a beast with seemingly mythological powers by claiming that the beast can switch forms. He uses the boys' fear to manipulate them into following his commands and severely punishes individuals to intimidate the group of boys. Jack also creates common enemies in Ralph and the beast. His tribe focuses on destroying both of these targets which allows Jack to direct their attention elsewhere so he can maintain his role as chief without worrying. Jack successfully gains favor among the boys and is revered as their fearless chief by the end of the novel.

How did Gulliver land on the beaches of the strange new land?

In , Gulliver begins his story with a little about his background. He was the middle boy of five sons and was taken in as an apprentice to a London surgeon. With money Gulliver received from his father during his apprenticeship, he studied navigation. The surgeon he apprenticed for introduced him to Captain Pannel, who allowed Gulliver to accompany his crew on voyages. Eventually, Gulliver married and gained an offer...

In , Gulliver begins his story with a little about his background. He was the middle boy of five sons and was taken in as an apprentice to a London surgeon. With money Gulliver received from his father during his apprenticeship, he studied navigation. The surgeon he apprenticed for introduced him to Captain Pannel, who allowed Gulliver to accompany his crew on voyages. Eventually, Gulliver married and gained an offer to journey on the Antelope to the South Sea.

On this journey, the ship was overtaken by a storm and driven into rocks. Gulliver swam to the nearest shore. There, he found no houses or inhabitants. Feeling exhausted, he opted to stop for the night and sleep in a patch of grass. When he woke up, he found his legs and arms tied to the land. He saw tiny creatures measuring about half a foot in height. Dozens of others surrounded him. This kicked off his adventures in the . It was on Lilliput that his adventures with the tiny Lilliputians began.

How do Gram and Grim show love and care for Maxwell in Philbrick's Freak the Mighty?

Grim and Gram have had their grandson Max with them ever since their daughter was killed by her husband about ten years earlier. During this time, they have provided him with a room of his own, food, shelter, and love. First, Grim and Gram have always shown an interest in Max's education, which is one way to demonstrate that they care. For example, they actively participate in parent/teacher meetings and work with his teachers to...

Grim and Gram have had their grandson Max with them ever since their daughter was killed by her husband about ten years earlier. During this time, they have provided him with a room of his own, food, shelter, and love. First, Grim and Gram have always shown an interest in Max's education, which is one way to demonstrate that they care. For example, they actively participate in parent/teacher meetings and work with his teachers to help Max in his resource classes.

Another way that Grim and Gram show how much they love and care for Max is in Chapter 8. After Max is brought home from the Fourth of July celebration by the cops, he looks and smells like a mess because he ran into the pond with Kevin to escape bullies. Grim and Gram don't get mad at him. In fact, they give him ice cream and coffee to commemorate the occasion. Max responds by thinking the following:

"By the time I polish off the ice cream, Grim is handing me coffee in a china cup, from the set they never use" (42).

These gestures make Max feel loved and cared for because his grandparents are making a fuss over him. If they didn't care about him, they would just tell him to take a shower and go to bed. Not only that, but Grim and Gram discuss the bully situation with Max and spin it in a positive way to make Max feel better about everything. They never belittle him or make him feel stupid, even though he may feel that way on his own. 

Then, in Chapter 14, Max hears Grim and Gram arguing about whether Grim should protect the family from Killer Kane with a gun. Gram doesn't want her husband to use a gun; however, Grim shows his love for Max by saying the following:

"He fooled 'em . . . Just like he fooled Annie. Just like he fooled us once upon a time. Never again, though. That man tries to set foot in this house I aim to shoot him" (90).

Clearly, Grim and Gram love their grandson Max because they are willing to do whatever it takes to protect him from bullies and Killer Kane. Once Max is kidnapped, they never give up searching for him, either. Then, after Kevin dies, Grim and Gram are there for Max as he grieves and goes back to school. Max is lucky to have such great grandparents to look after him.

What are some lessons that students should learn throughout the novel The Boy in the Striped Pajamas?

Boyne's novel about a nine-year-old German boy who develops an unlikely friendship with a Jewish boy who is confined behind a barbed wire fence at Auschwitz has several significant lessons. This story is a cautionary tale of how radical government policies can propagate prejudice that results in the inhumane treatment of a specific group of people.The Nazi's Final Solution persecuted people of the Jewish faith and resulted in the deaths of approximately six million...

Boyne's novel about a nine-year-old German boy who develops an unlikely friendship with a Jewish boy who is confined behind a barbed wire fence at Auschwitz has several significant lessons. This story is a cautionary tale of how radical government policies can propagate prejudice that results in the inhumane treatment of a specific group of people. The Nazi's Final Solution persecuted people of the Jewish faith and resulted in the deaths of approximately six million Jews.

Another lesson expressed throughout the novel is the idea that people should treat others the way they want to be treated. Unlike the other characters in the novel, Bruno's innocence allows him to treat everyone with respect and compassion.

Another lesson deals with the power of love and friendship. Boyne illustrates how love and friendship can overcome the most inhumane, dangerous environments. Despite the hate and brutality regularly surrounding them, Shmuel and Bruno develop a close friendship that withstands the test of time. Even though they both die at the end of the story, their bond transcends the physical realm.

When a mass of 350g is hung on a spiral spring which was designed for a maximum load of 200g, what happens?

The spring is designed to take a maximum weight of 200g. At this threshold, the spring reaches its elastic limit when the weight is attached to it and allowed to drop down towards the ground.

The extension (e) in meters (m) of a spring is related to the force (F) in Newtons (N) applied to it and its spring constant (k) in Newtons per meter (N/m) by Hooke's Law

`F = k times e `

Assuming a gravitational constant of 9.81m/s^2 (that on Earth), the maximum force that can be applied to the spring in question is

`F_max = 0.2 kg times 9.81 "m/" s^2 = 1.962 kg "m/" s^2 = 1.962N`` `

When the maximum force the spring can withhold is exceeded, the spring constant of the spring will no longer be the same. The spring is no longer in equilibrium and loses its properties of retraction and elasticity. The tension in the matter that makes up the spring is weakened, some bonds of the matter (perhaps metal or plastic) being stretched beyond a critical threshold.

Being overloaded, the spring might lose its elasticity by bending in one or more of its coils, perhaps so much so that the spring snaps. The spring would not spring back up in the direction of its original starting position before the 350g excessive weight was added, as it would with a weight less than 200g, unless the ground which the weight would drag the spring down towards were also springy.

From the point of view of the 350g weight that is added to the spring, the spring would slow the weight's progress to the ground, counteracting the acceleration due to gravity. Depending on the height of the (originally contracted) spring from the ground, the weight might drop to the ground still attached to the spring, or might drop to the ground severed from part or all of the spring, or might dangle above the ground on the spring as a result of its warping of the spring.

Who is the antagonist in Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand?

Although one could argue there are multiple antagonists in Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand—including the ocean and Louis Zamperini's own self-doubt—perhaps the most accurate answer would be Mutsuhiro “The Bird” Watanabe.

During Zamperini's time as a prisoner of war in the Pacific, Watanabe was responsible for the war camp where Zamperini was held. Although there is no explicit reason stated for why Watanabe had a hatred of Zamperini, a few conclusions can be made.

Because Watanabe had...

Although one could argue there are multiple antagonists in Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand—including the ocean and Louis Zamperini's own self-doubt—perhaps the most accurate answer would be Mutsuhiro “The Bird” Watanabe.

During Zamperini's time as a prisoner of war in the Pacific, Watanabe was responsible for the war camp where Zamperini was held. Although there is no explicit reason stated for why Watanabe had a hatred of Zamperini, a few conclusions can be made.

Because Watanabe had not been able to attain the rank of officer in the Japanese military, he despised all those who were officers in the U.S. military. Zamperini was one of those officers. Watanabe would force U.S. troops to hit their own officers in the face, perhaps because of the disdain he had for not being made an officer himself.

The main reason why Watanabe had a severe dislike for Zamperini could be because Zamperini refused to be broken by Watanbe. While Watanabe operated by invoking fear and tearing men down, Zamperini held true to his internal strength and convictions and did not cower in Watanabe's presence.

This, in turn, only angered Watanabe more and made him want to dole out more punishments on Zamperini. The two were caught up in this seemingly endless cycle of punishment and resistance throughout Zamperini's time at the camp.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, how was Scout saved from being stabbed?

In Chapter 28, Scout and Jem are walking home from Maycomb's Halloween festival when they are attacked by Bob Ewell. During the struggle, Jem is thrown to the ground and breaks his arm. Scout, in an effort to escape, runs right into Bob Ewell, and she feels him try to squeeze the breath out of her. Suddenly, Bob Ewell is jerked backward and falls to the ground. Scout is tangled in her ham costume and...

In Chapter 28, Scout and Jem are walking home from Maycomb's Halloween festival when they are attacked by Bob Ewell. During the struggle, Jem is thrown to the ground and breaks his arm. Scout, in an effort to escape, runs right into Bob Ewell, and she feels him try to squeeze the breath out of her. Suddenly, Bob Ewell is jerked backward and falls to the ground. Scout is tangled in her ham costume and cannot clearly see what is going on around her. After the struggle is over, Scout is finally able to make out the figure of a man carrying Jem towards her home. When Scout returns home, she tells Sheriff Tate and Atticus what happened. Sheriff Tate examines Scout's ham costume and points out a long, thin gash in its fabric. Tate comments, "This thing probably saved her life" (Lee 165). According to Sheriff Tate, Scout's ham costume, which was made from chicken wire and fabric, saved her from being stabbed. Boo Radley also came to Scout's aid by wrestling Bob Ewell away.

What are the qualities to keep in mind while associating with people?

There are lots of qualities of people to keep in mind as you associate with them.  Based on the attached text, though, one quality to definitely keep in mind is whether or not the person that you are associating with is a "self-seeking friend."  In fact, the attached text goes so far as to say that you should "shun" those people.  The writer says that you should shun self-seeking friends in order to "conserve your...

There are lots of qualities of people to keep in mind as you associate with them.  Based on the attached text, though, one quality to definitely keep in mind is whether or not the person that you are associating with is a "self-seeking friend."  In fact, the attached text goes so far as to say that you should "shun" those people.  The writer says that you should shun self-seeking friends in order to "conserve your resources."  

I don't necessarily agree with every single part of the attached text, but I do agree that it is wise to be aware of which people/friends are self-seeking.  My own students would call this kind of person a "user."  Not a drug user.  This is the kind of person who never has money on them, so they are constantly borrowing from friends in order to buy lunch (or whatever).  Their gas tank is always empty, so they always need a ride.  This type of person puts his/her own needs first (which makes them self-seeking), but expects other people to help provide for those needs.  The author of the attached text warns against that kind of friendship because it is a very lopsided friendship.  One friend is always doing the giving, and the other friend is always doing the taking.  It's exhausting to always be giving and never have the friend "return the favor." And like the text says, it does put a drain on personal resources, if the friend is never repaying the favor/loan/goodwill.    

All books are divisible into two classes: books of the hour and books of all time. How can I relate this idea to Fahrenheit 451?

Ruskin said, "For all books are divisible into two classes, the books of the hour, and the books of all time." By this, he meant that some books stand the test of time and are classics, while other books are just of that moment.

In Fahrenheit 451, the books that Montag and the other firemen burn are books of all time, as their society has not produced books of the hour in some time....

Ruskin said, "For all books are divisible into two classes, the books of the hour, and the books of all time." By this, he meant that some books stand the test of time and are classics, while other books are just of that moment.

In Fahrenheit 451, the books that Montag and the other firemen burn are books of all time, as their society has not produced books of the hour in some time. Montag recites to Clarisse, "Monday burn Millay, Wednesday Whitman, Friday Faulkner, burn 'em to ashes." These authors—Millay, Whitman, and Faulkner—wrote books of all time, as their works are classics that have stood the test of time. Later in the book, Montag meets a society of people that have committed books to memory, and these books are also books of all time, including Swift, Dickens, and works by great thinkers such as Einstein, Lincoln, Gandhi, Confucius, and Darwin. This secret society has thought it worthwhile only to memorize books of all time, as these are the classics that future generations should know. Fahrenheit 451 has itself become a book of all time, as it is still read many years after its initial publication in 1953 and discusses ideas that are still relevant.

Why do most people like Jean Passepartout in Around the World in Eighty Days?

Jean Passepartout is a very versatile and fun character. When he introduces himself to Phileas Fogg, he says, "I have a natural aptness for going out of one business into another" (page 5). Passepartout has been a singer, a circus performer, a gymnastics teacher, and a firefighter, among other professions. Passepartout is described as "an honest fellow...soft-mannered and serviceable, with a good, round head, such as one likes to see on the shoulders of a...

Jean Passepartout is a very versatile and fun character. When he introduces himself to Phileas Fogg, he says, "I have a natural aptness for going out of one business into another" (page 5). Passepartout has been a singer, a circus performer, a gymnastics teacher, and a firefighter, among other professions. Passepartout is described as "an honest fellow...soft-mannered and serviceable, with a good, round head, such as one likes to see on the shoulders of a friend" (page 6). He is honorable and friendly, and even though he wants to retire to a quiet life with Fogg, when Fogg asks him to pack his bags en route to a voyage around the world, Passepartout gamely agrees. In the end, it is Passepartout who reminds Fogg that he, Fogg, forgot about the time difference so that Fogg has won the bet and has completed his voyage in time. Passepartout is unfailingly loyal and devoted to Fogg; these are winning qualities that cause the reader to like him. 

How does the style of Silent Spring affect Rachel Carson's purpose in writing the book?

Though a learned biologist, Rachel Carson wrote her book in a style that is accessible to the general public. For example, she only included citations to research articles in an appendix at the end of the book (so that they wouldn't get in the way of the general reader), and her book often reads like a story. It begins with an allegory that explains to the reader how a pristine American town, resplendent with nature,...

Though a learned biologist, Rachel Carson wrote her book in a style that is accessible to the general public. For example, she only included citations to research articles in an appendix at the end of the book (so that they wouldn't get in the way of the general reader), and her book often reads like a story. It begins with an allegory that explains to the reader how a pristine American town, resplendent with nature, is destroyed by a mysterious blight that silences the birds. Carson does not name this plight--which is the use of pesticides--but the allegory she establishes helps readers understand the information she is to present later in the book and quickly establishes the damage that pesticides have caused to the environment. She then establishes the story, in subsequent chapters, of how pesticides, not originally needed by farmers who planted a diverse set of crops, came to destroy the ecosystem. While she includes complex scientific information--for example about the structure of carbon compounds--the reader can still understand her main points, written in layman's terms and presented in a step-by-step manner, without understanding all of the science behind them. 

What is political economy?

Political economy was, in some ways, an outgrowth of the transition from monarchy to a parliamentary system of government, and more particularly, government finance.

In antiquity, the science of organizing cities was "politics," and included systems of law to regulate behavior (e.g. rules concerning murder and theft) and external relations (diplomacy, military matters). There was little in the way of what we would now think of as civil service and most public services were provided...

Political economy was, in some ways, an outgrowth of the transition from monarchy to a parliamentary system of government, and more particularly, government finance.

In antiquity, the science of organizing cities was "politics," and included systems of law to regulate behavior (e.g. rules concerning murder and theft) and external relations (diplomacy, military matters). There was little in the way of what we would now think of as civil service and most public services were provided by liturgies (assigning wealthy people, on a rotating basis, the responsibility for providing services or financing for public projects). Economics had to do with administering households, and had a far more practical and financial focus. 

In the Renaissance, nations were run as part of a monarch's household, and thus what we would now think of as national finance or economic planning (taxation, public works, military funding, etc.) was technically organized as a department of royal household finance. As the power of Parliament increased and that of the monarchy decreased, economics became public, pertaining to the polis or state as a whole, rather than run as part of the household economy of the monarch. The term political economy proliferated in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to reflect this shift.

Provide full character sketches of all the characters in Three Men in a Boat.

J. is the narrator. If he has a “real” job, he doesn’t tell us what it is. He’s an avid storyteller who likes to add humor and exaggeration to every tale. He gets distracted by stories he’s reminded of, at every turn. He admits that he’s lazy. In Chapter XV, he famously says: “I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours.” And yet, he seems to be the...

J. is the narrator. If he has a “real” job, he doesn’t tell us what it is. He’s an avid storyteller who likes to add humor and exaggeration to every tale. He gets distracted by stories he’s reminded of, at every turn. He admits that he’s lazy. In Chapter XV, he famously says: “I like work: it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours.” And yet, he seems to be the unofficial leader of this group of friends.

William Stanley Harris doesn’t seem to hold a “real” job, either. In today’s terms, we may consider him to be a high maintenance friend, and one who can sap everyone else's strengths, if given the chance. He’s confident that he can do certain tasks, and it eventually turns out that he can’t. In Chapter XI, he makes an unsuccessful attempt at cooking scrambled eggs for breakfast for the group.

George works at a bank. He has to work early on the first day of the trip, so J. and Harris have to pick him up en route. He seems to be more organized and focused than the other two friends; although at times, like them, he can become confused or clumsy. In Chapter XVII, he accidentally knocks down the mounted fish on the wall of the inn. But he does cook a good Irish stew in Chapter XIV.

Montmorency is the fox terrier who serves as the dog on the trip and in the book title. Looks can be deceiving. He looks like an amiable enough and mellow animal. But he likes to chase cats. He likes to bring dead things back to his friends. He likes to get in the way when people are busy with a complex task, as he does when the men are packing in Chapter IV. Here he is treated as a worthy fourth member of the group, however.

What can we as human beings learn from "Sonny's Blues"?

We can learn a great deal from "Sonny's Blues." One lesson we learn from "Sonny's Blues" is that experience brings empathy. After learning about his brother's heroin addiction, the narrator does not reach out to help his brother, Sonny. Instead, he waits nearly half a year.

I think I may have written Sonny the very day that little Grace was buried. I was sitting in the living room in the dark, by myself, and I...

We can learn a great deal from "Sonny's Blues." One lesson we learn from "Sonny's Blues" is that experience brings empathy. After learning about his brother's heroin addiction, the narrator does not reach out to help his brother, Sonny. Instead, he waits nearly half a year.

I think I may have written Sonny the very day that little Grace was buried. I was sitting in the living room in the dark, by myself, and I suddenly thought of Sonny. My trouble made his real.

Because the narrator has experienced the pain from the loss of his daughter, he understands the pain that his brother must be going through. Just as the narrator is alone in his room, he realizes that his brother must feel alone, and that is when he decides to reach out to him. We see the narrator's capacity for empathy in an earlier scene when the narrator is speaking to one of Sonny's friends.

"Look. Don't tell me your sad story, if it was up to me, I'd give you one." Then I felt guilty -- guilty, probably, for never having supposed that the poor bastard had a story of his own, much less a sad one.

While the narrator starts off angry at Sonny's friend, he begins to sympathize with him, and by the end of the scene he even gives the friend money.

The experience of reading gives the reader of this story an opportunity to empathize with Sonny and the narrator as well. Through reading we must put ourselves in the characters' shoes and experience their problems. Similarly, at the end of the story, the narrator, while listening to Sonny's band, realizes that the musicians are communicating their suffering through the music and that this music can help soothe those in the audience who are suffering. The suffering that is carried by the music is universal to all humans.

For, while the tale of how we suffer, and how we are delighted, and how we may triumph is never new, it always must be heard. There isn't any other tale to tell, it's the only light we've got in all this darkness.

Despite their closeness, what experiences does Mai feel unable to share with her American friend Bobbie in Lan Cao's Monkey Bridge? Why?

Despite their closeness, Mai feels unable to share with Bobbie her continuing sense of doubt and despondency about her future in America.

In the second chapter, Mai and Bobbie are on their way to Canada to place a phone call to Vietnam; the purpose of the phone call is to locate Mai's grandfather in the Southeast Asian country. Canada didn't participate in military offensives during the Vietnam War and as such, was considered non-belligerent in...

Despite their closeness, Mai feels unable to share with Bobbie her continuing sense of doubt and despondency about her future in America.

In the second chapter, Mai and Bobbie are on their way to Canada to place a phone call to Vietnam; the purpose of the phone call is to locate Mai's grandfather in the Southeast Asian country. Canada didn't participate in military offensives during the Vietnam War and as such, was considered non-belligerent in its war stance. Because of Canada's (at least on the surface) neutrality, Bobbie feels confident that telephone connections to Vietnam would enable them to easily locate Mai's grandfather.

For her part, Mai is less optimistic about their ability to succeed in their efforts. She realizes that she has inherited too much of her mother's cautionary nature to feel buoyant about the outcome of their mission. Part of the reason she feels that she can't share her experiences with Bobbie is because she treasures Bobbie's "sweet, uncorrupted innocence." Bobbie's innocence stems from never having witnessed the horrific scenes of war that Mai had been exposed to in Vietnam.

Even during their travels, Mai can see helmeted soldiers, tanks, and barbed wire in her mind's eye. Ugly scenes of carnage often cloud her vision, and she often finds the most ordinary of tasks overwhelming and sometimes, surrealistically macabre, as when she imagines (during a trip to the mall) Bobbie's index finger taking on the dimensions of a soldier's brutally maimed trigger-finger. Mai's private torment is further reinforced by the privations she was forced to endure before she emigrated to the United States. For her part, Bobbie has been raised in relative security and has no frame of reference to understand what Mai has gone through.

So, Mai feels unable to share her war experiences and her fears regarding the future with Bobbie. Part of the reason stems from the fact that she feels self-conscious about her fears; another reason is that she cherishes Bobbie's innocence, something she wishes that she still had. Perhaps yet another reason is that Mai fears her friend may be unable to fully relate to her anxieties about the future and her grief about the past. Indeed, from Bobbie's point of view, her friend is safe in Canada and should have nothing to worry about; she doesn't realize that people like Mai often suffer from survivor's guilt and other emotional stresses even after they have been rescued.

In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, what forces drive the dichotomy of Junior's perception of his world and allow him to see the...

In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, Junior sees the reservation in "apparently disparate" ways because he understands the cultural beauty and socioeconomic difficulties that are simultaneously present in life on the reservation. For example, in one scene, Junior sits on top of a high hill looking out over the reservation, and he feels a sense of love for the beauty of the landscape. He understands his people have a strong attachment...

In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, Junior sees the reservation in "apparently disparate" ways because he understands the cultural beauty and socioeconomic difficulties that are simultaneously present in life on the reservation. For example, in one scene, Junior sits on top of a high hill looking out over the reservation, and he feels a sense of love for the beauty of the landscape. He understands his people have a strong attachment to their land and families, which is why people—even in the face of adversity—choose to remain living on the reservation. Junior also understands there is a significant lack of opportunities for education and employment on the reservation, which creates problems such as the rampant alcoholism that claims the lives of many people Junior knows. Junior's decision to leave the reservation to go to school at Reardan is not motivated by hate or disgust for the reservation—he simply wants to have access to better opportunities. He loves the cultural and familial ties he has to the reservation, and this love motivates the disparate views he has of his life on the reservation.

How would you describe and analyze the Prince of Arragon in The Merchant of Venice?

The first reference to the prince is in Act I, Scene 2, when Portia and Nerissa, her lady in waiting, are discussing Portia's suitors. Each one is individually mentioned by Nerissa, with Portia providing insight into her sentiments about each man. Nerissa refers to the Prince of Arragon as the 'Neapolitan prince.' It is clear Portia does not like him much, as we can read in her comment:

Ay, that's a colt indeed, for he doth nothing but
talk of his horse; and he makes it a great
appropriation to his own good parts, that he can
shoe him himself. I am much afeard my lady his
mother played false with a smith.

Portia seems to believe the prince is obsessed with his horse. He talks about it incessantly and is very proud he can shoe it himself. Portia mocks the prince and says she believes his peculiar behavior could only be because he was most likely the result of an affair between his mother and a blacksmith.

In Act II, Scene 9, we learn more about the Prince of Arragon when he chooses a casket. His name seems to suit his personality and one can easily assume 'Arragon' is a deliberate play on 'arrogant,' since the prince displays a conceited opinion of himself as can be inferred from his response to the inscription on the lead casket:

'Who chooseth me must give and hazard all he hath.'
You shall look fairer, ere I give or hazard.

The Prince of Arragon's remark is quite offensive, since he states that Portia should either be more beautiful, lighter in complexion, or more generous before the prince will be moved to give and risk everything he has. When he looks at the inscription on the gold casket, his response is supercilious:

'Who chooseth me shall gain what many men desire.'
What many men desire! that 'many' may be meant
By the fool multitude, that choose by show...

...I will not choose what many men desire,
Because I will not jump with common spirits
And rank me with the barbarous multitudes.

It is obvious the prince deems himself superior to other people, whom he refers to as 'barbarous multitudes.' As a result, the prince rejects the gold casket, claiming he is not a commoner who is easily led by what he sees on the outside and ignores the true value of what is inside.

When the prince reads the inscription on the silver casket, he reveals a pompous attitude, for he is quite condescending and patronizing. He boorishly sermonizes about the value of being rewarded with what one deserves and not obtaining merit by corrupt means. Apparently, the prince forgets he was born into wealth and privilege without having to work for those advantages. His remarks, therefore, come across as quite hypocritical.

When he decides on the silver casket, the prince clearly indicates his superiority complex, as he assumes he is entitled to Portia's hand. He says, "I will assume desert," which means he thinks he deserves to be the one who gets Portia. In the end, though, the prince is honest enough to admit having been foolish. He states he has become twice as foolish as he was when he arrived.

With one fool's head I came to woo,
But I go away with two. 

In Life of Pi, how was Richard Parker a factor in Pi's survival at sea?

In part the answer to this question depends on whether you see Richard Parker as a real tiger or as a figment of Pi's imagination, but let's start with Richard Parker the tiger. Richard Parker helped Pi to survive by, essentially, giving him both a reason to and the will to live. Neither one of them could survive at sea without the other. Not only did Richard Parker help Pi stay alive (for example, by...

In part the answer to this question depends on whether you see Richard Parker as a real tiger or as a figment of Pi's imagination, but let's start with Richard Parker the tiger. Richard Parker helped Pi to survive by, essentially, giving him both a reason to and the will to live. Neither one of them could survive at sea without the other. Not only did Richard Parker help Pi stay alive (for example, by killing the Frenchman), but taking care of Richard Parker (by helping him eat) meant that Pi had a reason to wake up in the morning that meant more than going through the motions of surviving by himself.

On the other hand, Richard Parker remained a carnivorous animal through and through. In other words, Pi was always in danger from him. Every time he had to fight off Richard Parker or escape to avoid being eaten, it reminded him that he wanted to live. That gave him the strength and willpower to live through his ordeal.

Taking Richard Parker as an allegory (in Pi's "real story," where Richard Parker is a metaphor for himself and the other animals are the other passengers on the raft), he can be seen to represent the war of faith that Pi goes through. He prays to the Christian, Islamic, and Hindu gods to help keep him alive, relying on them for support, but he also has serious doubts about religion and sometimes clashes against it like he's fighting the tiger. In this version of the narrative, Richard Parker also becomes an allegory for the power of story itself; by making up a companion, even an adverserial one, Pi keeps himself going. Either way, Richard Parker becomes the main thing that keeps his heart and mind going.

What do we learn about Mr. William Endicott in Helen Keller's The Story of My Life?

Helen Keller does not say much about Mr. William Endicott in her biography The Story of My Life, but she does explain that he and his daughter were very good friends of hers.In chapter 9, Helen relays her first trip to Boston in May of 1888 to visit the Perkins Institute for the Blind. While in Boston, she met many friends and visited many sites, including Bunker Hill. Mr. William Endicott and...

Helen Keller does not say much about Mr. William Endicott in her biography The Story of My Life, but she does explain that he and his daughter were very good friends of hers.

In chapter 9, Helen relays her first trip to Boston in May of 1888 to visit the Perkins Institute for the Blind. While in Boston, she met many friends and visited many sites, including Bunker Hill. Mr. William Endicott and his daughter were two of her many good friends she met while in Boston. Mr. Endicott owned an ocean-side farm near Boston called Beverly Farms; the farm was close enough to the water that the ships sailing from Boston to Europe could be seen passing by, and Mr. Endicott took the time to describe each one to Helen. While on the farm, Helen explored the Endicotts' rose garden, played with their dogs, and fed their horse sugar. Mr. Endicott became such a good friend of hers that she states she "saw him many times" after having first met him that summer.

We learn in letters provided as an addendum that one of the many times she had occasion to see Mr. Endicott was at Christmas time the next year. In a letter Helen addressed to her parents, dated December 24th, 1889, we learn Helen and Miss Sullivan spent Christmas that year at the Perkins Institution. All the other girls had left the institution for the holiday, and Helen and Miss Sullivan were left to the care of Mrs. Sophia C. Hopkins, a matron at the institution and Miss Sullivan's own teacher and dear friend. It is in this letter Helen expresses excitement at having been visited by Mr. and Miss Endicott for the holiday, who took her out for a carriage ride. Helen also writes, "They are going to give me a lovely present, but I cannot guess what it will be."

What is a company that is currently facing a significant dilemma? How can the rational decision-making process be applied to help the company...

The first step in the seven-step rational decision-making process is defining the problem.

One problem for Whole Foods is that its stock prices have been fluctuating significantly. Stock was priced at $67 per share in 2013 but fell to $31 per share in 2015. Though stock gained an additional 6% in 2016, analysts wonder how well Whole Foods is holding up under competition.

One reason for the fall in stock market value is that Whole Foods has faced two different lawsuits. One was filed by PETA, who claimed the Whole Foods 5-step-rating system for meat sold at the counter was a "sham"; however, Whole Foods successfully won the case, and charges were dismissed (Stempel, J., "Whole Foods Wins Dismissal of PETA Lawsuit Over Meat Claims," Reuters). The second lawsuit is still ongoing and filed by shareholder Yochanan Markman, who claims that Whole Foods was overcharging prepackaged foods by stating "incorrect weights" (Dent, M., "Why Whole Foods is Facing a Whole Lot of Problems," The Fiscal Times). More importantly, Markman claims Whole Foods intentionally raised the prices to con shareholders by artificially increasing the company's value (Dent). CEOs Walter Robb and John Mackey admitted that pricing errors did occur but denied the errors were part of a scheme to con shareholders (Grisales, C., "Lawsuit Claims Whole Foods Violated Securities Laws, Misled Consumers," My Statesman).

The next 6 steps in the rational decision-making process are pinpointing a possible decision, weighing the decision, pinpointing other options for decisions, weighing the alternative decisions,  choosing the best decision, "take action, and review the decision" ("Decision-Making Process," University of Massachusetts Dartmouth).

To increase share value, Whole Foods must regain consumer confidence. To regain consumer confidence, although Whole Foods won the case against PETA, Whole Foods can consider dropping using the five-point rating system of humane animal husbandry upon which Global Animal Protection bases its certification. Using this system, farms can be certified as humane with a rating of 1 to 5, the most humane being rated a 5. A rating of 1 "allows for intensive crowding, minimal access to pasture, castration without anesthesia, and nose ringing for pigs" (McWilliams, J., "Animal Welfare Labeling: What They're Not Telling You," Free From Harm). While the certification system is not the worst in existence, it is certainly not the best. Whole Foods could consider switching to a more reliable certification system using a smaller certification company such as Animal Welfare Institute. An alternative decision is that, since Whole Foods helped initiate Global Animal Protection's 5-point system, Whole Foods could also initiate an improvement in the system, making farms that currently have a 5 rating the only certifiable farms.

What do you think Wordsworth meant by "the burden of the mystery" in line 39 of "Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey"?

Wordsworth's line brings to mind the ideals of the Romantic movement, where Wordsworth was a main player. Specifically, when Wordsworth finds that the view before him relieves the "burden of the mystery," he is hearkening to the ideal of the "sublime," where Romantics found peace in the beauty of nature: 

                that serene and blessed mood, 

In which the affections gently lead us on,— 

Until, the breath of...

Wordsworth's line brings to mind the ideals of the Romantic movement, where Wordsworth was a main player. Specifically, when Wordsworth finds that the view before him relieves the "burden of the mystery," he is hearkening to the ideal of the "sublime," where Romantics found peace in the beauty of nature: 

                that serene and blessed mood, 

In which the affections gently lead us on,— 

Until, the breath of this corporeal frame 

And even the motion of our human blood 

Almost suspended, we are laid asleep 

In body, and become a living soul: 

While with an eye made quiet by the power 

Of harmony, and the deep power of joy, 

We see into the life of things. (39-47)

Going along with the Romantic ideals, Wordsworth's definition of burdens would be unique to the individual.  He speaks earlier in the poem about those in the village he imagines; those individuals would have their own burdens—work, children, enemies, and so on. The Hermit that he mentions in lines 21-22 might have more intellectual burdens, perhaps thinking about the mysteries of life and death.  For these individual reasons, Wordsworth does not define those burdens; he wanted to make his own personal remembrances of Tintern Abbey and River Wye accessible to anyone reading his lines.  That was another aspect of Wordsworth that made him famous—the ease with which anyone could read and understand his writing.

Do you think it is right for some one to take the law into his/her own hands because some one has harmed this person? (This question is in...

Wars and matters of national interest notwithstanding, it is morally wrong for a person or persons to seek revenge against others, especially when it involves taking human life. 

Madame Defarge knits the names of the enemies of the revolution, but it is because of her personal vendetta that she knits into her handiwork the name Evremonde. The Marquises Evremonde are both dead; they are the guilty ones. Charles Darnay, né Evremonde, has left France...

Wars and matters of national interest notwithstanding, it is morally wrong for a person or persons to seek revenge against others, especially when it involves taking human life. 

Madame Defarge knits the names of the enemies of the revolution, but it is because of her personal vendetta that she knits into her handiwork the name Evremonde. The Marquises Evremonde are both dead; they are the guilty ones. Charles Darnay, né Evremonde, has left France and never injured anyone. Furthermore, she has also recorded Dr. Manette in her list because he has pleaded for the life of Charles Evremonde (Darnay), the husband of his beloved daughter. 

When Monsieur DeFarge is troubled that Dr. Manette is on the list, he says to his wife,

"Extermination is a good doctrine, my wife...in general, I say nothing against it. But this Doctor has suffered much; you have seen him to-day; you have observed his face when the paper was read."

Angered and with contempt, Madame Defarge counters,

"Yes, I have observed his face! I have observed his face to be not the face of a true friend of the Republic." (Bk.3, Ch.12)

Madame Defarge would have Dr. Manette exterminated because he has allowed his daughter Lucie to marry Charles Darney, who is actually an Evremonde, the sworn enemies of Madame Defarge because the Evremonde twins raped her older sister and killed her sister, her sister's unborn child, her brother, and her father.

What led to clashes between the British and Spanish over Florida?

Great Britain fought against France during the Seven Years' War.  Secret French and Spanish negotiations led to plans for an attack on neutral Portugal.  According to the plan, the Spanish attacked Portugal.  The British knew that Spain would soon be at war against them, so they attacked Cuba and Spanish ships.  The British took over Havana and other Spanish colonies.  Great Britain was eventually declared the victor in the Seven Years' War, which officially ended...

Great Britain fought against France during the Seven Years' War.  Secret French and Spanish negotiations led to plans for an attack on neutral Portugal.  According to the plan, the Spanish attacked Portugal.  The British knew that Spain would soon be at war against them, so they attacked Cuba and Spanish ships.  The British took over Havana and other Spanish colonies.  Great Britain was eventually declared the victor in the Seven Years' War, which officially ended with the Treaty of Paris.  As outlined in the treaty, the British gave Havana back to Spanish in exchange for Florida.  This was the beginning of British rule in Florida.  

After the Revolutionary War, the Peace of Paris treaties included the secession of Florida from the British back to Spain.  The British no longer had a need for Florida because all the surrounding land now belonged to the newly formed United States of America.  Florida remained in Spanish control until it was acquired by the United States.

Why is T.S. Eliot worthy of critical study? What makes him worthy of critical study in the future? Refer to two of his poems.

One reason why T.S. Eliot is worthy of critical study is because of the disenchantment expressed in his poems.

There will always be sadness in the world.  Despite its preponderance, we have a tendency to avoid paying attention to it because we avoid what makes us uncomfortable.  The work of T.S. Eliot reminds us that sadness and disenchantment are daily parts of our lives.   The only thing we can do is understand their roles in shaping our identities and world.

In "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," Eliot delves into a topic that most would want to avoid.  Eliot focuses on the outsider, the person on the periphery.  The poem's speaker is looking into a world unwilling to accept him. Most would want to be on the inside, and would avoid paying attention to those relegated to the margins. However, Eliot brings this experience to the poem's center.  

The poem's speaker does not command immediate respect from everyone. He is not a Romantic hero who is able to make women swoon upon seeing him. Rather, Eliot's speaker is self-conscious about his looks.  He expresses discomfort about physical details like "a bald spot in the middle of my hair" or "how his arms and legs are thin!" The speaker is not a "carpe diem" type of person.  He does not actively "seize the day" and discard the thoughts of other people.  Rather, he has "measured out" his "life with coffee spoons." This image makes us think about people who live an invisible and indistinguishable life.  He is not a "Prince Hamlet" or an "attendant lord." Rather, he will "grow old" and "wear the bottom of my pants rolled."  

Eliot challenges the poetic conventions of a hero.  This hero suffers from low self-esteem, believing the very worst about himself as the world's gaze traps him.  While this is not someone we would like to think about, our world is filled with people like this.  In our lesser moments, we might actually share the speaker's experience of being "pinned and wiggling."  Eliot's illuminates a condition we want to avoid examining.  He forces us to look at something difficult so we can better understand who we are.

"The Waste Land" is another Eliot poem that compels us to embrace difficult reflection.  Written in the wake of World War I, Eliot brings out the disillusion that is a part of the human experience.   The poem's images of broken hope are worthy of critical study.  From the opening image that does not recall the perceived vigor of spring as much as "dried tubers" to how "the dead tree gives no shelter," Eliot conjures a world where natural disillusion mirrors the state of human existence.  At the same time, he shows a desolation in human beings.  This is conveyed in images such as the "old man with wrinkled female breasts" along with how people were "once handsome and tall" but no longer.  Eliot's poem insists that we examine how disillusionment can take form in ourselves and our world. It is worthy of critical study because of the richness of images from different intellectual and spiritual traditions. These mental pictures communicate social and personal disenchantment, a topic we would rather avoid.  

In the cases of both poems, Eliot's work is worthy of critical study because it transforms us. The result of examining uncomfortable realities is that we see ourselves and our world differently.  We end up paying attention to concepts that might not immediately grab our attention. Eliot changes our thinking. It might be only for a moment, but the poems broaden our thought towards of the amazing intricacy of life.  It is filled with varying intensities of sadness, loss, and pain.  Eliot forces us to ponder this social and emotional complexity.

I would start a presentation on Eliot by stressing his background.  He is a writer that pulls from so many elements in order to communicate his ideas. Greek and Roman traditions, as well as Romantic sensibilities along with Judeo-Christian and Hindu philosophical frames of reference dominate his poetry.  When we read T.S. Eliot, we end up reading more than T.S. Eliot.  He is worthy of further study because of their vast intellectual and religious references.  I would focus on how "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" and "The Waste Land" are filled with such references. You could spend several slides probing such references.  I would conclude the presentation with how both poems focus on disillusionment, paving the way for focus on uncomfortable reality.  This becomes the final reason why Eliot's work is worthy of further study.

How would you describe each of the main characters of the Book of Matthew? What were your first impressions of the protagonist and antagonist?

The Gospel according to Matthew is not a literary work with a conventional protagonist and antagonist, but rather a biography of Jesus, a holy man. This makes the Bible part of a distinct genre following its own distinct conventions. Some of the characters you might want to discuss are below.

Jesus:The protagonist of the work is obviously Jesus, who is the central character, present in every chapter, and held up as a model for...

The Gospel according to Matthew is not a literary work with a conventional protagonist and antagonist, but rather a biography of Jesus, a holy man. This makes the Bible part of a distinct genre following its own distinct conventions. Some of the characters you might want to discuss are below.

Jesus: The protagonist of the work is obviously Jesus, who is the central character, present in every chapter, and held up as a model for emulation and worship. You might actually want to use "Christ" as an adjective because it functions as a descriptive term meaning "anointed one" (its Greek meaning) or Messiah (Hebrew equivalent). Another key descriptive term is "Son of Man," which occurs more frequently in Matthew than in the other Gospels. 

John the Baptist: This important figure was described as a forerunner of Jesus in Matthew 11:1-19, and is portrayed as an austere prophet who lives in the wilderness.

Satan: Matthew 4:1-11 describes Jesus being tested by Satan in the wilderness. The devil can be considered an antagonist to Jesus and is evil and duplicitous by nature. 

Mary: The Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, is an important positive character in the work, both as the woman who bore Jesus and in her mourning for him after his death.

The most interesting part of the story is the reversal of the expected situation when the Otis family terrorizes the ghost instead of the ghost...

I would agree that the Otis family's terrorizing of Sir Simon's ghost is a very interesting part of the story.  It's just so completely unexpected.  That is especially true when I consider the popularity of modern day horror movies.  They're everywhere, and they all seem to try and one up each other.  The scarier and gorier the better.  No audience member goes to one of those movies expecting the characters in the movie not to be frightened of the supernatural creatures; however, that's exactly what happens in "The Canterville Ghost." 

The Otis family's disregard for the ghost starts right away.  Lord Canterville tells Mr. Otis about the ghost, and Mr. Otis isn't concerned in the slightest.  He doesn't bat an eye or second guess his purchase at all.  Quite the opposite actually.  He flat out tells Lord Canterville that he doesn't believe that a ghost exists at all.  Lord Canterville insists that the ghost exists, and Mr. Otis then makes a joke of it.  

"I fear that the ghost exists," said Lord Canterville, smiling, "though it may have resisted the overtures of your enterprising impresarios. It has been well known for three centuries, since 1584 in fact, and always makes its appearance before the death of any member of our family."

"Well, so does the family doctor for that matter, Lord Canterville. But there is no such thing, sir, as a ghost, and I guess the laws of Nature are not going to be suspended for the British aristocracy."

Mr. Otis's complete disregard for the possibility of a ghost is so completely atypical that it is immediately interesting.  Who exactly is this Otis guy?  Is he that dumb or just that brave?  

The majority of the Otis family responds similarly as well.  Even in the face of ghostly evidence, the Otis family stays unconcerned.  The first evidence of the possibility of a haunting is the creepy bloodstain that can't be gotten rid of.  Mrs. Umney explains what the stain is from and that it has been present for hundreds of years.  Washington Otis is completely unfazed.  He politely explains that his special cleaner can get rid of the stain, and he proceeds to rid the house of the stain.  

"The blood-stain has been much admired by tourists and others, and cannot be removed."

"That is all nonsense," cried Washington Otis; "Pinkerton's Champion Stain Remover and Paragon Detergent will clean it up in no time," and before the terrified housekeeper could interfere, he had fallen upon his knees, and was rapidly scouring the floor with a small stick of what looked like a black cosmetic. In a few moments no trace of the bloodstain could be seen.

The bloodstain does return, and the Otis family remains more or less unconcerned about any potential dangers that the ghost might present.  Instead they are interested in the ghost.  

The whole family were now quite interested . . . 

Soon after, Sir Simon decides to make an actual appearance.  This is my favorite part of the story.  Sir Simon shows up looking very scary.  He's shaking metal chains, he's got red eyes, and he's wearing worn out clothing.  He's not friendly looking.  

His eyes were as red burning coals; long grey hair fell over his shoulders in matted coils; his garments, which were of antique cut, were soiled and ragged, and from his wrists and ankles hung heavy manacles and rusty gyves.

I'd be scared.  If this were a horror movie, I'd be hiding behind my pillow.  I don't do scary movies.  But Mr. Otis isn't scared at all.  He's more annoyed than anything else.  He has been forced out of bed late at night because of all of the noise that the ghost is making, and he wants to go back to sleep.  Mr. Otis calmly hands the ghost a bottle of oil, tells him to use it, turns around, closes the door, and promptly returns to bed.  Sir Simon is left standing in the the hall dumbstruck by what has just occurred.  

"My dear sir," said Mr. Otis, "I really must insist on your oiling those chains, and have brought you for that purpose a small bottle of the Tammany Rising Sun Lubricator. It is said to be completely efficacious upon one application, and there are several testimonials to that effect on the wrapper from some of our most eminent native divines. I shall leave it here for you by the bedroom candles, and will be happy to supply you with more, should you require it." With these words the United States Minister laid the bottle down on a marble table, and, closing his door, retired to rest.

For a moment the Canterville ghost stood quite motionless in natural indignation; then, dashing the bottle violently upon the polished floor, he fled down the corridor, uttering hollow groans, and emitting a ghastly green light.

From there things only escalate.  The twins especially love to antagonize Sir Simon.  They set trip wires up in the hall, lube up the hallway, set buckets of water up on doorways, make fake ghosts to scare Sir Simon, and shoot their pea shooters at him.  At the beginning of the story, readers assume that the ghost will antagonize the Otis family throughout; however, the Otis family completely turns the tables on Sir Simon, which makes the entire story a very interesting and funny read.  

State the function of amylopectin in plant cells. Give a reason why it is needed.

Amylopectin is a chain of glucose sugars, or a starch chain. This kind of molecule is known as a polysaccharide, and is component of starch. 

Glucose, as you most likely know, is an easy way for plants to store energy in a way they can use. This simple sugar, however, can be a pain to store on its own, so plant cells use an organelle called the amyloplast to combine many glucose molecules into much...

Amylopectin is a chain of glucose sugars, or a starch chain. This kind of molecule is known as a polysaccharide, and is component of starch. 

Glucose, as you most likely know, is an easy way for plants to store energy in a way they can use. This simple sugar, however, can be a pain to store on its own, so plant cells use an organelle called the amyloplast to combine many glucose molecules into much more compact amylopectin molecule chains. The amyloplast will build and store these molecules until the plant needs them, at which point the plant will destruct the molecules back into the component glucose molecules. 

The whole point is to allow easy storage of energy stored by photosynthesis, because if energy isn't stored, plants will die at night.

What is the tone and theme of "Legacy II" by Leroy V. Quintana?

In any poem, tone is the poet's attitude towards the subject. As such, the tone of Legacy II is one of regret. The poet feels that he lacks the wisdom his grandfather had been blessed with when he was alive.

The poet describes his grandfather as a "quiet man" who "talked about simple things" when he still lived. He reminisces about the time when his grandfather taught him the names of the four directions in...

In any poem, tone is the poet's attitude towards the subject. As such, the tone of Legacy II is one of regret. The poet feels that he lacks the wisdom his grandfather had been blessed with when he was alive.

The poet describes his grandfather as a "quiet man" who "talked about simple things" when he still lived. He reminisces about the time when his grandfather taught him the names of the four directions in Spanish. At the time, it had seemed like such a simple, pointless lesson to the poet, but he now regrets that he never learned the true message of the lesson. His grandfather was trying to teach him that, in life, every man must know where he is and where he's headed. This awareness is imperative for his survival and his happiness in an uncertain world. Thus, the theme of the poem is that, to be successful in life, a man must know who he is (his roots and personal values) and what he aims to achieve.

The poet realizes that, in order to gain wisdom, he must go back "to the center of the world/ where Grandfather stood/ that day." In order to navigate life successfully, he must revisit his roots, try to understand who he is, and aim to use the important lessons his grandfather had taught him.

Regarding "The Ransom of Red Chief," are Sam and Bill usually successful in their schemes?

This is a perceptive question? Although "The Ransom of Red Chief" is presented as a funny tale, the moral of the story is clear: Crime does not pay. O. Henry sincerely believed that. He had spent about three years in state prison for embezzlement and never got over the guilt and shame. He wrote under an assumed name and dreaded having his past catch up with him. 

Sam and Bill appear to be middle-aged men...

This is a perceptive question? Although "The Ransom of Red Chief" is presented as a funny tale, the moral of the story is clear: Crime does not pay. O. Henry sincerely believed that. He had spent about three years in state prison for embezzlement and never got over the guilt and shame. He wrote under an assumed name and dreaded having his past catch up with him. 

Sam and Bill appear to be middle-aged men who have been trying to make a lot of money through crooked schemes, such as the one Sam mentions at the beginning of "The Ransom of Red Chief." 

Bill and me had a joint capital of about six hundred dollars, and we needed just two thousand dollars more to pull off a fraudulent town-lot scheme in Western Illinois with. 

O. Henry probably has Sam refer to the "fraudulent town-lot scheme" in order to show that these two men are career criminals. After all these years, Sam and Bill only have a joint capital of about six hundred dollars--and ultimately they are going to have to pay Ebenezer Dorset $250 of that capital to take their "victim" off their hands. Just the fact that they have so little money at their ages should prove that they are not usually successful in most of their schemes.

Their latest scheme to kidnap a little boy for ransom may be intended as an illustration of the fact that these two clowns are incompetent. They start off with high hopes and end up victimized by their intended victims. They can't even handle a little boy. Their latest caper is just one disaster in a series that leaves them, in middle age, with a net balance of $350. Their "fraudulent town-lot scheme in Western Illinois" will never come off because they needed $1400 before the kidnapping and now they need $1650. Even if Ebenezer Dorset had paid them the $1500 they demanded, they still would have had to add most of their $600 to finance that town-lot scheme.

If “Setting” is the general locale, historical time, and social circumstances in which the action of a fictional or dramatic work occurs, in...

This short story is set in the United States.  The narrator describes the home her husband, a physician, has rented as a "colonial mansion," and says that it "makes [her] think of English places" that one reads about.  The characters' names help us to identify the setting as America as well.  Further, the narrator mentions that her husband has promised to send her to see Weir Mitchell if she doesn't improve more quickly.  Silas Weir...

This short story is set in the United States.  The narrator describes the home her husband, a physician, has rented as a "colonial mansion," and says that it "makes [her] think of English places" that one reads about.  The characters' names help us to identify the setting as America as well.  Further, the narrator mentions that her husband has promised to send her to see Weir Mitchell if she doesn't improve more quickly.  Silas Weir Mitchell was a real American physician who was actually responsible for inventing a treatment called the "rest cure," in which he would prescribe absolute bed rest, frequent feeding, and the complete absence of mental stimulation, to help women who were suffering from "hysteria" (a sort of catchall term for female emotional dysfunction) or a malady that we now know as postpartum depression (which appears to be what the narrator suffers from in the story).  Mitchell actually treated the story's author, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, with the rest cure at one point, inspiring her to write the story.  All of these clues help us to ascertain that the story is set in the United States in the later part of the 19th century, as this is when Mitchell garnered acclaim for his treatment methods and research.

What was the relationship between goverment and business in the late 1800s?

The relationship between businesses and the government in the late 1880s was a very good one. The prevailing philosophy during this time period was one of laissez-faire. This philosophy was one that supported very little government involvement in and regulation of the economy. As a result, businesses were free to do almost anything they wanted to do.

There were very few laws passed to protect workers. The government generally supported the business owners when there...

The relationship between businesses and the government in the late 1880s was a very good one. The prevailing philosophy during this time period was one of laissez-faire. This philosophy was one that supported very little government involvement in and regulation of the economy. As a result, businesses were free to do almost anything they wanted to do.

There were very few laws passed to protect workers. The government generally supported the business owners when there were strikes against them. As a result, many strikes were unsuccessful. Businesses were also able to grow in size. They began to establish monopolies. This reduced competition and allowed businesses to make more money by charging higher prices. Some states passed laws that allowed businesses to form corporations. Even when laws were passed to control business activities, the laws were worded so unclearly that the courts wouldn’t act on them. The Sherman Antitrust Act was an example of such a law. The courts also sided with the business owners when there were disputes with the workers.

The relationship between the government and businesses was a very good, close relationship in the late 1800s.

What did Robert the Bruce Do?

Robert I, the Bruce (1274-1329), was the King of Scotland who defeated the larger and more powerful English forces under King Edward II at Bannockburn in 1314. His victory ensured the freedom of the Scots. The English had begun to try to establish dominance over Scotland under Edward I. In the 1290s, the throne of Scotland was contested between John Balliol, the English choice, and Robert Bruce. In exchange for supporting Balliol, Edward I demanded that...

Robert I, the Bruce (1274-1329), was the King of Scotland who defeated the larger and more powerful English forces under King Edward II at Bannockburn in 1314. His victory ensured the freedom of the Scots. The English had begun to try to establish dominance over Scotland under Edward I. In the 1290s, the throne of Scotland was contested between John Balliol, the English choice, and Robert Bruce. In exchange for supporting Balliol, Edward I demanded that he, Edward, have judicial superiority over the King of Scotland and that Scotland help him pay the costs of defending their land. Balliol refused, and Edward launched attacks against Scotland in retaliation. The Scots were defeated by the English in 1296. William Wallace, a Scottish knight, fought back, but in the wake of his early victories, the English became more determined to control Scotland. In 1306, Robert the Bruce declared himself King of Scotland, and he went on to win a number of military victories, including his important victory at Bannockburn in which he defeated the better defended English troops. This victory wrested Scotland from English control, and in 1328, a peace treaty with the English recognized Scotland as an independent nation. 

What's a list of differences between normal and cancerous cells?

Cancer cells are unlike normal cells in the sense that they grow and divide at an abnormal rate. Unlike normal cells that undergo cell senescence and eventually stop dividing after a set number of cell divisions has occurred, cancer cells continue to grow, divide, and evade apoptosis (or cell death).

Cancer cells are typically found to:

1. Grow and divide even without the presence of growth signals that normal cells need (either by producing these themselves...

Cancer cells are unlike normal cells in the sense that they grow and divide at an abnormal rate. Unlike normal cells that undergo cell senescence and eventually stop dividing after a set number of cell divisions has occurred, cancer cells continue to grow, divide, and evade apoptosis (or cell death).

Cancer cells are typically found to:

1. Grow and divide even without the presence of growth signals that normal cells need (either by producing these themselves or keeping mechanisms that the signals activate turned on)


2. Bypass cell cycle checkpoints that prevent other cells from growing and dividing as a means to avoid abnormal cells from persisting


3. Bypass apoptosis, which is a programmed form of cell death that maintains the balance among cells in the body and prevents the growth of damaged or abnormal cells


4. Have the capability to replicate their DNA by having excess of the enzymes like telomerase that are responsible lengthening the ends of chromosomes (or telomeres) and are shown to have decreased activity as normal cells age


5. Initiate the formation of blood vessels (angiogenesis) to obtain a supply of blood and nutrients


6. Move from their location to other areas of the body (metastasis) and "invade" new areas


7. Have abnormal metabolic processes


8. Evade immune responses of the body


9. Be genetically unstable (several mutations found in the genome)


10. Be caused by chronic inflammation

How do the narrative voice and the sentence structure of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood change when the story shifts from descriptions of the...

In Part I of In Cold Blood, when Capote is describing the Clutter family, his sentences are long, descriptive, and concentrated on the beauties and wholesomeness of nature. In the following passage, he describes Mr. Clutter's breakfast:

"After drinking the glass of milk and putting on a fleece-lined cap, Mr. Clutter carried his apple with him when he went outdoors to examine the morning. It was ideal apple-eating weather; the whitest sunlight descended from...

In Part I of In Cold Blood, when Capote is describing the Clutter family, his sentences are long, descriptive, and concentrated on the beauties and wholesomeness of nature. In the following passage, he describes Mr. Clutter's breakfast:

"After drinking the glass of milk and putting on a fleece-lined cap, Mr. Clutter carried his apple with him when he went outdoors to examine the morning. It was ideal apple-eating weather; the whitest sunlight descended from the purest sky, and an easterly wind rustled, without ripping loose, the last of the leaves on the Chinese elms" (page 10).

Capote pays a lot of attention to details, such as the soft lining of Mr. Clutter's cap and the white sunlight. The images he uses are meant to evoke a picture of wholesomeness and goodness in the reader's mind, including phrases such as "apple-eating weather" and the "purest sky." Capote also includes references to nature, to connect Mr. Clutter to the purity of the natural world.

When Capote shifts to describing Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, his sentences are clipped and staccato, as in the following example:

"Like Mr. Clutter, the young man breakfasting in a cafe called the Little Jewel never drank coffee. He preferred root beer. Three aspirin, cold root beer, and a chain of Pall Mall cigarettes--that was his notion of a proper "chow-down." Sipping and smoking, he studied a map spread on the counter before him--a Phillips 66 map of Mexico" (page 14).

Unlike Mr. Clutter, who Capote refers to with the honorific "Mr.," Perry receives no name in this passage. He is referred to instead, without dignity, as "the young man." Perry is also eating breakfast, but in an entirely different way than Mr. Clutter. Unlike Mr. Clutter, who wholesomely eats an apple, Perry is consuming root beer, aspirin, and cigarettes. The sentences are clipped and even fragments, unlike the long, flowery sentences Capote uses to describe Mr. Clutter. The images Capote uses are not at all wholesome, including root beer, cigarettes, and a map of Mexico from a gas station (Phillips 66). He also uses slang such as "chow-down," which he doesn't use in the passage about Mr. Clutter. 

A field experiment was set up at the onset of the first rain season this year in early April. Two farmers were selected, constituting sites one and...

It seems to me that the only thing being tested here is the two different farmers.

When you get a question like this, you want to look for a single changing variable. If there are several changing variables, the experiment is going to be inconclusive. If there are no changing variables, you have no purpose to experiment. We can see that both farmers have the same setups. Each has two identical sets of four plots...

It seems to me that the only thing being tested here is the two different farmers.

When you get a question like this, you want to look for a single changing variable. If there are several changing variables, the experiment is going to be inconclusive. If there are no changing variables, you have no purpose to experiment. We can see that both farmers have the same setups. Each has two identical sets of four plots with the different types of farming methods. Every plot of land is being treated the same with identical doses of fertilizer prior to the test starting, and the crops grown are genetically identical. The only thing changing between cases here is the farmer's land. One might be in a mountainous area with rocky soil and dry climate. The other might be on a coastal plain with high salt content and intense heat and humidity. These two variables being tested are the root of the problem.

I would say that the thing being tested is the climate of the two farms in order to determine the most viable method of agriculture for them.

In "Ring out, wild bells," why is pride in place and blood considered to be false?

"Ring out, wild bells" starts with a plea for change, addressed to nature itself: "The year is dying in the night; / Ring out, wild bells, and let him die." It pauses on an image of snow, which is often associated with purity (think of the phrase "as pure as driven snow"), but is also harsh on the human body. The poem is informed by Tennyson's extreme grief at the death of his close friend, Arthur Hallam (to whom In Memoriam is dedicated), but it is also an expression of cautious optimism that not all change is bad. We're suffering right now, but purity is not entirely out of our reach.

While the poem begins and ends with thoughts of purity and spirituality, the middle becomes concerned with concrete, tangible human failings. These are impure, largely because they're concerned with material things. Now we're in the world of "party strife," "civic slander," "foul disease," "lust of gold," and "wars of old." Can't you just see a dingy, smelly city street, strewn with trash, as you read those lines?

Among this litany is "false pride in place and blood." In essence, you feel "false pride in place and blood" when you think you're important just because of where you live or who you're related to. Does being born in the United States make a person better than being born in Canada? Does supporting your local football team make you better than fans of other teams? Does having a hereditary title (one that you inherited rather than earned) make you automatically better than people who don't have one? This poem thinks not.

Look at the types of things identified as good in the poem: sweet manners; pure laws; love of truth and right and good; peace; valiance; kindness. What do they have in common? They are things you do. You have to choose to love truth or write better laws or act kindly. It doesn't just happen by accident.

The poem sees pride as false when it's not earned. Being born in a certain place or born into a certain family is arbitrary. There's nothing for you to be proud of, because you didn't do anything.

The reason this false pride is dangerous, and should be rung out, is that it creates needless conflict between people. It can lead to the civic slander and party strife—everything from football hooligans to nationalistic armies to peasant revolts to schoolyard bullying.

In a larger sense, the poem scorns pride in place and blood because it's one of many expressions of our moral failing—we value material things at the expense of spiritual ones. That's why the last line is an expression of hope that Christ will come: if anyone can help us get our priorities straight, it's him.