If the main character in a story struggles against the cold Arctic weather, is the conflict internal or external?

In a sense, this is a false dichotomy with respect to Jack London's story "To Build a Fire." While an external conflict is a struggle against something outside oneself and an internal conflict is a struggle against one's own emotions, desires, beliefs, or habits, often the two work together. 

In the case of "To Build a Fire," in one sense, the narrator is engaged in an extended struggle for survival against the Arctic cold. This...

In a sense, this is a false dichotomy with respect to Jack London's story "To Build a Fire." While an external conflict is a struggle against something outside oneself and an internal conflict is a struggle against one's own emotions, desires, beliefs, or habits, often the two work together. 

In the case of "To Build a Fire," in one sense, the narrator is engaged in an extended struggle for survival against the Arctic cold. This would be an external conflict.

On the other hand, the narrative focuses to a great degree on how the cold saps the man's willpower and thus that much of his struggle is an internal one to summon up the reserves of will and character necessary for survival and how he ultimately fails.

Many of these sorts of survival stories set in the wilderness emphasize how a harsh external environment leads to people developing–or failing to develop–inner strength. 

What were some of the influences in the creation of Apartheid?

In South Africa, a system of racial segregation named apartheid was established in 1948 by the National Party, an all-white gubernatorial body.  Apartheid created conditions where non-white South Africans, a majority of the population, were forced to live in separate areas, were required to use separate public facilities, and were forced to not interact with white South Africans.

As we consider some of the influences that led to the creation of the system, we must...

In South Africa, a system of racial segregation named apartheid was established in 1948 by the National Party, an all-white gubernatorial body.  Apartheid created conditions where non-white South Africans, a majority of the population, were forced to live in separate areas, were required to use separate public facilities, and were forced to not interact with white South Africans.

As we consider some of the influences that led to the creation of the system, we must first realize that racial segregation and white supremacy were predominant within the country of South African long before the official apartheid policies were created.  Consider that in 1911, long before apartheid, the Land Act created territorial segregation where black Africans were required to live on reserves and were forbidden to partake in work as sharecroppers.  

Another major influence in the birth of apartheid was the economic downturn in South Africa following The Great Depression and World War II.  These economic woes created even more racial tension and disparities as black Africans were required to live along tribal lines to decrease their political power.  

Would you argue that the areas (i.e. Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa) can properly be called non-western? Why or why not? Would...

Huntington defines Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa as non-western. He writes, "Civilizations are differentiated from each other by history, language, culture, tradition, and, most important, religion" (page 25). He states that economic modernization and social changes have weakened the nation-state and have made religion more important in helping people define their identities, leading to fundamentalist forms of religion. Asia, the Middle East, and Africa are partly non-western. It could be argued that they...

Huntington defines Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa as non-western. He writes, "Civilizations are differentiated from each other by history, language, culture, tradition, and, most important, religion" (page 25). He states that economic modernization and social changes have weakened the nation-state and have made religion more important in helping people define their identities, leading to fundamentalist forms of religion. Asia, the Middle East, and Africa are partly non-western. It could be argued that they are also western in many ways, as parts of these regions also follow Christian religious traditions, which are western. In addition, their histories and languages are in part western, as the recent history of the world is interconnected, and western languages, particularly English, are now spoken almost everywhere. However, religious differences remain in these regions, particularly the Middle East. Latin America is more western in its orientation, as it has western religious traditions (mainly Catholicism), languages, and recent history.

The conflict between the western and Islamic world, as Huntington pointed out, has been going on for over 1,300 years (page 31). Increased immigration from the troubled Middle East to Europe and other areas of the west has only worsened this tension and increased forms of racism. Therefore, for the short term, it seems like the situation between civilizations will be one of conflict; however, it is difficult to predict if increased immigration to the west will eventually result in making the west more comfortable with Islam. Therefore, it is unclear whether conflict is inevitable in the long term. In addition, our relationships with China seem to be improving over time, resulting in more cooperation than conflict. 

From Romeo and Juliet, what enduring truths does Tybalt show relating to our modern day life?

I would like to say that people no longer fight for no reason or let their tempers get the best of them, or are ruled by affiliation and association loyalties more than logic, but this is not the case.  Tybalt believed that it was more important to be tough and to make sure everyone else knew he was tough, and he paid the price.

Tybalt was a bully.  There always have been and always will...

I would like to say that people no longer fight for no reason or let their tempers get the best of them, or are ruled by affiliation and association loyalties more than logic, but this is not the case.  Tybalt believed that it was more important to be tough and to make sure everyone else knew he was tough, and he paid the price.

Tybalt was a bully.  There always have been and always will be bullies.  Tybalt showed he was a bully when he got upset at the Capulet ball by Romeo’s mere presence there.  His uncle was not amused.

TYBALT

It fits, when such a villain is a guest:
I'll not endure him.

CAPULET

He shall be endured:
What, goodman boy! I say, he shall: go to;
Am I the master here, or you? go to.
You'll not endure him! God shall mend my soul! (Act 1, Scene 5)

Capulet called him a “saucy boy” and told him to leave off.  He was not allowed to fight Romeo there, but he did not give up.  He refused to give up.  This goes beyond holding a grudge.  This is someone who is taking advantage of a family feud to use a violent personality.  Tybalt did not need to force Romeo to fight him, and if he hadn't, neither Mercutio nor Tybalt would have been dead (to say nothing of Romeo and Juliet's suicides later, which were directly related to Romeo's banishment).

We live in a violent world.  Family feuds are not that common today.  It is gang wars and border disputes.  The motivation is the same though.  Tybalt had no personal dispute with Romeo.  He did not know him personally.  He hated him because of his family name and where he was from.  Hate is not something we left behind in Elizabethan England.

Do you think Buck from Jack London's The Call of the Wild would be able to rejoin man at some point in his future?

I would say Buck would be unlikely to rejoin man, but that doesn’t mean he never could. Buck’s early experiences with humans were good. He was the judge’s dog, and he was the king of the house. He had a very good life. Buck then had some terrible experiences; he was abused and neglected by the sled drivers. Finally, Buck had a good life with John Thornton, the first sled driver to show him love....

I would say Buck would be unlikely to rejoin man, but that doesn’t mean he never could. Buck’s early experiences with humans were good. He was the judge’s dog, and he was the king of the house. He had a very good life. Buck then had some terrible experiences; he was abused and neglected by the sled drivers. Finally, Buck had a good life with John Thornton, the first sled driver to show him love. Buck went into the wild after Thornton’s death, and the ending of the book seems to indicate he stayed there.

The years were not many when the Yeehats noted a change in the breed of timber wolves   . . . But more remarkable than this, the Yeehats tell of a Ghost Dog that runs at the head of the pack. They are afraid of this Ghost Dog, for it has cunning greater than they, stealing from their camps in fierce winters, robbing their traps, slaying their dogs, and defying their bravest hunters (Chapter 7).

Buck would not feel kindly toward the Yeehats because of John Thornton, whom he loved. Buck would, however, also feel at home with the wolves. He was the head of the pack and created his own hybrid wolf-dog tribe.

This does not mean that a scenario could not come into play where Buck would not return to humans. In White Fang, there is a severe drought that drives the wolves and narrators to distraction. The titular White Fang is a hybrid, and his story is the opposite of Buck’s in some ways. White Fang starts off wild and becomes domesticated. 

Circumstances change. Buck's experiences certainly seem to indicate that. It is possible to imagine a circumstance where Buck would lose his tribe and be vulnerable enough where he would need people again, even though as the book ends he seems to be in a strong position.

Outline the acquisition of data through the technology of satellite remote sensing and provide one example of the application of remote sensing...

Data acquisition is accomplished through satellite remote sensing through temporal, spectral and spatial resolutions. Spatial resolution gives a specific pixel size for satellite images of the earth's surface. This data can be used in a variety of contexts. Temporal resolution gives the revisiting frequency of the satellite sensor for a given location on earth. Finally, spectral resolution gives the number of spectral bands a satellite sensor picks up that gather reflected radiance. Spectral resolution also...

Data acquisition is accomplished through satellite remote sensing through temporal, spectral and spatial resolutions. Spatial resolution gives a specific pixel size for satellite images of the earth's surface. This data can be used in a variety of contexts. Temporal resolution gives the revisiting frequency of the satellite sensor for a given location on earth. Finally, spectral resolution gives the number of spectral bands a satellite sensor picks up that gather reflected radiance. Spectral resolution also covers the position of bands in the electromagnetic spectrum.

Each of these aspects of data acquisition accounts for the powerful acquiring abilities of satellite remote sensing. This technology has numerous applications in everyday life. Obtaining accurate and reliable information about the relationships between physical objects on earth is key to many scientific disciplines and industries, from construction to cartography.

A Practical Example of Remote Sensing Technology

Satellite remote sensors can be used to determine the scope of a phenomenon or to find out more about an object that cannot be deconstructed. This is accomplished by making inferences based on the EMR that is reflected and recorded by satellite remote sensing equipment. The human eye is the most common example of remote sensing technology in everyday life. The human visual system works through passive remote sensing. The eyes passively sense radiation that is reflected off a given object and the brain processes the information. The cones and rods in the eyes are photosensitive cells that function as remote sensors. The further away an object is from the eyes observing it, the further the radiation must travel. The signals the radiation sends from the retina travel to the visual system for processing according to its physical relationship to the observer.

Why should organizations create departments and branches in management?

This question is somewhat confusingly worded, I think.  You won't have departments and branches in management unless and until you have departments and branches in the organization in the first place.  Once these are in place, you will need managers to run them.  So we can talk about why we divide an organization in this manner and then talk about some reasons departments and branches need different managers.

Once an entity begins to grow beyond a few employees, it is usually necessary to divide up the various tasks of the entity.  These might be divided by function; for example, a research and development department, a production department, and a marketing department. Some departments might be included as support as well; for instance, a legal department and a human resources department. An entity can also be organized along geographical lines, with different divisions in different cities, states, regions, or countries. Or an organization can be organized around different products, such as car manufacturers are.  This is necessary because it is the most efficient way to get work done, decentralizing the various tasks in the organization so that each can have specialists in each division and decision-making can occur on the spot. And these are also reasons to have different managers for different divisions. 

A manager of a very small company can be a jack of all trades, knowing enough about everything to keep a company going.  But a company growing larger needs different managers.  Beyond the smallest of companies, there is going to be a need to have different managers who have different areas of expertise to maximize efficiency and effectiveness. If I have a company of three hundred employees, I want someone who is a certified accountant running my accounting division and an attorney running my legal department. I want a production specialist who can figure out why my production line is not running properly.  I also want managers who can make decisions.  One person holding all the reigns is foolish, no matter how much that person wants to micromanage.  It is the manager on the scene who can best judge the situation, or at the very least, be the person who can provide the most full and accurate report. There is also a concept in management called span of control. This describes how many people a manager is responsible for. If a company has one manager for three hundred people, that is too wide a span of control, and the company will not run very smoothly.  We can only be responsible for so much without becoming completely ineffective. 

Our reasons for dividing an organization are grounded in specialization, efficiency, and effectiveness.  Our reasons for providing managers for these divisions are the same, really, allowing for greater expertise, better decision-making, and a realistic span of control.

How do I write a movie screen play or script using the assignment guidelines below? Here's a suggestion: write the screenplay from the...

The guidelines here are very detailed and give an excellent picture of the entire story you need to create. Here are a couple of tips to get you started: 

1. Think visually.

This source explains the visual aspect of screenplays compared to other types of writing, and gives examples and advice on how to approach this type of work.

Unlike an essay where you would be required to cite facts and give an historical presentation, this assignment is more creative and allows you to have some fun with history.

So start by visualizing the period, characters, etc., and figure out how you would like to present them.

2. Organize your data to tell the most interesting and effective story possible. 

Think about the types of movies you like to watch and base your screenplay off those. What would be most effective? Do you want to start from the very beginning of the character’s life? Or would you rather jump right into the middle of the action and explain his past with flashbacks?

The assignment guidelines give you the overall structure of his life, so you can decide whether you want to tell it chronologically or in a mish-mashed way. Do whatever sounds the most exciting/interesting to you, and what you think would be visually stimulating for viewers. 

Create a simple outline (for example, I. Childhood, II. Getting Acquainted with Master, III. Parents Sold, IV. Civil War Begins; or choose a fragmented storyline that vacillates between past and present).

Just start with the order of things. You already have the basic story. Now take a moment to figure out the order of events.

3. Convert the Outline into a Screenplay

Now that you have an outline, turn the points into scenes. Use descriptive words so that a film director can see the scene and recreate it with actors, costumes, sound effects, and visuals.

Here is a fleshed-out example from the earlier outline:

II. Getting Acquainted with Master

1. First memory of master


2. Master’s story about buying protagonist’s father


3. Master explains history, education


4. Master’s opinion on slavery/Abraham Lincoln

Taking “B. Master’s story about buying protagonist’s father”, create a mini scene:

First, describe the setting briefly but vividly. Where does this conversation happen? Who is present? What is the weather? Example: MASTER is at the table. A slave fans him, as he is sweating. PROTAGONIST comes in.

Second, begin the dialogue. Who speaks first? And remember to keep it moving.

There is a lot to remember, but don't feel overwhelmed. Keep the guidelines of the assignment in mind. How long does it need to be? You can tailor it accordingly (i.e. you don't have to go super deep if it isn't supposed to be a lengthy work).

So take the storyline you have, create an outline in the order of your choice, and then flesh out each point with a visual scene. Since you don’t have to write a report or essay, you can really use your imagination and creativity to craft a story with visual elements.

The Piligrims established a tradition of more or less peaceful coexistence with the Native Americans that lasted over fifty years. Why did that...

The Pilgrims established peace with the Wampanoags around Cape Cod after they arrived in 1620. Their migration was followed by other migrations that brought increased English settlement to New England. For example, 20,000 Puritans came to the area during the Great Migration of 1620-1640 to escape religious persecution in England. They settled along the Connecticut River and the coast and were beginning to settle at points in between, causing increased pressures on the Native Americans...

The Pilgrims established peace with the Wampanoags around Cape Cod after they arrived in 1620. Their migration was followed by other migrations that brought increased English settlement to New England. For example, 20,000 Puritans came to the area during the Great Migration of 1620-1640 to escape religious persecution in England. They settled along the Connecticut River and the coast and were beginning to settle at points in between, causing increased pressures on the Native Americans in the region to give up their lands. In addition, the later settlers were not part of the original peace settlement that the Pilgrims had established with Native Americans.

In 1675, King Philip's War broke out between the English settlers and Native Americans, who were led by Metacom (also called King Philip), the son of Massasoit (who had lived peacefully alongside the Pilgrims). This war led to the horrific defeat of the Wampanoags and Narragansett tribes. As a result, the flow of English settlement over Native American lands in most of New England was unrestricted. The war might have been prevented if the English settlers had respected Native American claims to the land, but the English did not. 

In the book "How to Read Literature Like a Professor," which quotes refer to the book "Frankenstein"?

There are actually a few references to Frankenstein in the book. In Chapter 21, Marked for Greatness, the author discusses physical deformities as symbols for inner dysfunction or moral turpitude (depravity).

He discusses Mary Shelley's monster from a historical perspective; the atrocious figure of the monster explores nineteenth-century fears about the unholy alliance between science and supernatural quackery.

Thanks to Hollywood, the monster looks like Boris Karloff or Lon Chaney and intimidates us by...

There are actually a few references to Frankenstein in the book. In Chapter 21, Marked for Greatness, the author discusses physical deformities as symbols for inner dysfunction or moral turpitude (depravity).

He discusses Mary Shelley's monster from a historical perspective; the atrocious figure of the monster explores nineteenth-century fears about the unholy alliance between science and supernatural quackery.

Thanks to Hollywood, the monster looks like Boris Karloff or Lon Chaney and intimidates us by its sheer physical menace. But in the novel, it's the idea of the monster that is frightening, or perhaps it’s really the idea of the man, the scientist-sorcerer, forging an unholy alliance with dark knowledge that scares us. The monster represents, among other things, forbidden insights, a modern pact with the devil, the result of science without ethics.

In fact, the dubious science of galvanism was the central premise that gave birth to Frankenstein, the monster. In Chapter 21, the author also introduces the hypothesis that Frankenstein unwittingly represents the ugly parts in all of us that we would rather keep hidden from public view.

Romanticism gave us the notion, rampant throughout the nineteenth century and still with us in the twenty-first, of the dual nature of humanity, that in each of us, no matter how well made or socially groomed, a monstrous Other exists.

What they share with Shelley’s monster is the implication that within each of us, no matter how civilized, lurk elements that we’d really prefer not to acknowledge – the exact opposite of The Hunchback of Notre Dame or “Beauty and the Beast,” where a hideous outer form hides the beauty of the inner person.

In the above quotes, the author makes the point that, when a writer takes the trouble to clothe a character with significant physical anomalies, he "probably means something by it," and we should try to understand the inherent symbolism behind his actions.

What is the meaning of the poem "The Road not Taken" by Robert Frost?

This poem is deceptively simple but actually quite complicated. The narrator pauses between two roads, and they are about the same. The poem reads, "the passing there/Had worn them really about the same," meaning that the roads are both worn down to the same degree and have had the same amount of traffic. He chooses one of the roads, not really knowing what it will hold, and he anticipates in the future that it will...

This poem is deceptively simple but actually quite complicated. The narrator pauses between two roads, and they are about the same. The poem reads, "the passing there/Had worn them really about the same," meaning that the roads are both worn down to the same degree and have had the same amount of traffic. He chooses one of the roads, not really knowing what it will hold, and he anticipates in the future that it will be hard to explain why he did so. The poem reads, "I shall be telling this with a sigh." While taking the less traveled road has "made all the difference," it was hard for him to predict in the moment which road would be better. The narrator seems to live with constant regret, no matter which choice he makes. The meaning of the poem is that it's difficult to make these types of choices, to know which path to take in advance, and one might never know if one was right or feel secure in these types of choices. 

Good vs. evil in Lord of the Flies: Explain which one triumphs, giving three reasons why.

Consistent with his theme that humankind is innately depraved, Golding has evil triumph over good in Lord of the Flies. Even though he doesn't write the book so that all the boys die, or even so that all the "good" boys die, evil achieves the upper hand as evidenced by the symbolic loss of spirituality and reason through the deaths of Simon and Piggy; Jack's embracing of premeditated murder; and the betrayal of Samneric, the last boys loyal to Ralph.

The point at which evil begins winning in the novel is the murder of Simon by the mob. Simon, the sensitive boy and the Christ figure, represents spirituality, religion, and/or philosophy. Simon is the only one of the boys who understands "mankind's essential illness," and he dies while trying to bring them the good news about the beast--that it "was harmless and horrible." That not just Jack but also Ralph, Piggy, and Samneric try to re-write history to deny their culpability in his death gives evil the upper hand. The "good" boys, those who haven't joined Jack's tribe, then try to muddle along with reason alone, represented by Piggy, the most intelligent of the boys. He is first handicapped when Jack's tribe steals his glasses, then is deliberately murdered. Spirituality and reason are the best ways to keep human depravity in check; without them, evil quickly spreads and gains control, just as Jack's power quickly becomes complete after the deaths of Simon and Piggy.

When Jack embraces Roger's brutal killing of Piggy by saying, "See? See? That's what you'll get!" he fully gives himself over to evil. If seeing a murder committed in front of him by one of his boys in broad daylight can't shame him, he is beyond hope. That proves to be true, for he immediately plans to hunt and kill Ralph as if he were nothing more than a pig. This shows he has fully embraced evil as his way of life--and he will lead the rest of the boys down that same path.

When Samneric, who have been made part of Jack's tribe against their will, betray Ralph by divulging his hiding spot, even the faint hope that at least some boys will retain their integrity and fight against the darkness dies. Although Ralph imagines that they are "hating it" as they are hunting him with Jack, that means nothing. The fact is, they comply with his evil regime, succumbing to physical torture rather than holding onto what is right. Ralph cannot survive on his own when there is not a single boy to help him. Evil has won.

Although Golding allows a naval officer--a representative of a saner portion of humanity that one hopes is doing its best to fight against an evil regime in the war taking place in the greater world--to rescue the boys, it is something of a deus ex machina. Without the help of a "higher power" the boys would have killed Ralph first, then all would have perished in the fire or from starvation. Golding wraps up his fictional social experiment, showing that evil is powerful enough to triumph over good, and presenting a clear warning that all must be on guard to prevent that from happening in our world.

How would you paraphrase "The Slave's Dream" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow?

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “The Slave’s Dream” paints the picture of an exhausted slave resting on the ground of a rice field with his “sickle” in his hand, his work unfinished. His head has been in the same place so long, his hair is covered by the sand of the field, which is a symbol for death encroaching on him. As he lays near death, he dreams of his life in his homeland before he became enslaved. His life flashes before him one final time.

When the author describes the Niger River flowing through the land, the reader learns the dying man’s homeland is Africa. The line “Once more a king he strode” indicates he was a leader in his former life before he became a slave. In his subconscious state, he hears the sounds of the “tinkling caravans” as they travel through his homeland.

As the poem progresses, he sees a woman, his “queen,” with his children who adore him. They hold him in great esteem by holding his hand, kissing him, and clutching his neck. This brings the dying man to tears. Although he is dreaming, the tears escape his eyes and flow to the ground around his head.

 He saw once more his dark-eyed queen

 Among her children stand;

The dream continues with him riding his horse with purpose and exhilaration. He carries his warrior’s sword as he guides his horse with “golden chains as bridle-reins.” The beautiful sight of flamingos in flight fills his view as he rides across the land to the sea.

Before him, like a blood-red flag,

The bright flamingoes flew;

The auditory imagery of the next stanza indicates what he is hearing in his dream. He hears cries of the animals, and hears himself thrashing through reeds along the river. Longfellow describes the scene as one of freedom and triumph with the “glorious roll of drums.” This tone of the slave’s dream continues with his dreams of being free. He experiences the sights and sounds of the forests and desert of his homeland. His subconscious thoughts bring a smile to his face.

And the Blast of the Desert cried aloud,

With a voice so wild and free,

That he started in his sleep and smiled

At their tempestuous glee.

Finally, he dies and no longer feels the constraints of slavery. Although he died a broken man, his soul is finally free.

For Death had illumined the Land of Sleep,

And his lifeless body lay

A worn-out fetter, that the soul

Had broken and thrown away!

In Farewell to Manzanar, what were the effects of the camps on Jeanne?

In Farewell to Manzanar, the greatest effect of the camps on Jeanne can be seen in how she perceives her father's change.   

Jeanne is vocal in describing how her Papa was in love with the United States. He had rejected Japan, and fully committed himself to America.  When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, Papa burns his Japanese flag and cuts himself off from his past. Even though he is a man without a country, he...

In Farewell to Manzanar, the greatest effect of the camps on Jeanne can be seen in how she perceives her father's change.   

Jeanne is vocal in describing how her Papa was in love with the United States. He had rejected Japan, and fully committed himself to America.  When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, Papa burns his Japanese flag and cuts himself off from his past. Even though he is a man without a country, he feels that his adopted country is America. The unconditional love that Papa had for America left an impression on his daughter.   

One of the most profound effects of the camps was how Jeanne saw her father change.  Papa is arrested and detained because he was suspected of conspiring against America.  When he returns to the family, Jeanne is struck with how he had been changed as a result of his time in the camps. His optimism and hope in America had been taken away.  Papa could not overcome the experience of being falsely accused, the loss of his possessions, and the stripping of his dignity.  He was unable to look past the wrong done to him by a country that he loved so much. As a result, he succumbed to alcohol.  He became abusive to his family members, most notably to Mama.

While Jeanne experienced hardship in the camp, Papa's change has a significant effect on her.  Jeanne never forgot what it was like to see an exuberant man who loved America change into an old man filled with bitterness and regret.

In The Cay, what quotes show the characters' personalities?

I like the following quote a lot.  It appears in chapter ten.  

Wanting to hear it from Timothy, I asked him why there were different colors of skin, white and black, brown and red, and he laughed back, "Why b'feesh different color, or flower b'different color? I true don' know, Phill-eep, but I true tink beneath d'skin is all d'same."

The quote is an important quote because it shows a turning point in Phillip's...

I like the following quote a lot.  It appears in chapter ten.  

Wanting to hear it from Timothy, I asked him why there were different colors of skin, white and black, brown and red, and he laughed back, "Why b'feesh different color, or flower b'different color? I true don' know, Phill-eep, but I true tink beneath d'skin is all d'same."

The quote is an important quote because it shows a turning point in Phillip's attitude about race and Timothy.  When the book starts, Phillip isn't exactly kind toward Timothy, and Timothy's race has a lot to do with that.  The above quote shows that Phillip is starting to accept Timothy as an equal.  The quote also illustrates that Timothy, while not having much formal education, is an incredibly wise and tolerant character.  

The next quote is from chapter nine, and it does a nice job of illustrating how much Phillip's attitude changes over the course of just a few chapters.  

"You ugly black man! I won't do it! You're stupid, you can't even spell."

The quote shows a very different side of Phillip this time.  The quote is filled with racial prejudices, and shows that Phillip links Timothy's skin color with his intelligence.  

How would you compare and contrast the two poems "America" by Claude McKay and "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus? What are these poems’ views of...

Emma Lazarus's "The New Colossus" and Claude McKay's "America" both speak about the promise of America, but McKay has a cynical view of what America can offer him, while Lazarus is idealistic about America's promise. 

Lazarus's poem, which she wrote in 1883 to raise funds to construct the Statue of Liberty, uses the symbol of Lady Liberty to stand for American values of freedom. She contrasts the Statue of Liberty with the Colossus at Rhodes,...

Emma Lazarus's "The New Colossus" and Claude McKay's "America" both speak about the promise of America, but McKay has a cynical view of what America can offer him, while Lazarus is idealistic about America's promise. 

Lazarus's poem, which she wrote in 1883 to raise funds to construct the Statue of Liberty, uses the symbol of Lady Liberty to stand for American values of freedom. She contrasts the Statue of Liberty with the Colossus at Rhodes, an ancient statue that stood for conquest. Unlike the Colossus, the Statue of Liberty stands at our "sunset gates," a reference to the Western world, as the "Mother of Exiles." Lazarus also personifies Liberty, stating,

From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

Liberty is not merely a statue but a powerful force who sends out messages of welcome across the world and commands the harbor between Brooklyn and Manhattan (which were then "twin cities"). In the second stanza, Lady Liberty calls for the world to send her "Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." Liberty, a symbol of American freedom, in contrast to the Old World (what Lazarus refers to as "ancient lands"), welcomes the poor and oppressed of the world with open arms.

McKay's poem, like Lazarus's poem, personifies the United States as a woman; however, his America, unlike Lazarus's, is the type of cruel person who "feeds me bread of bitterness." She, unlike the fair and welcoming Lady Liberty of Lazarus's poem, has a "tiger's tooth" and takes away "my breath of life." Although he describes the United States as "hell," McKay says he loves the United States, just like Lazarus. McKay praises the country's energy in a series of similes, such as "her vigor flows like tides into my blood" and "her bigness sweeps my being like a flood." In these similes, he compares American energy to tides and her size to a flood. He then compares himself, in a simile, to a rebel who stands before a king without any trace of ill will. Then, in an extended metaphor (and a simile in the last line), McKay compares the United States's greatness to marble statues who sink into the sands of time. While he acknowledges the United States's greatness, McKay ends his poem on a troubling note, as he questions what America's future will hold. Lazarus, on the other hand, presents a view that is hopeful about the future of the United States. 

In The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, how does An-mei's mother show motherly love towards An-mei?

In The Joy Luck Club, An-mei's mother's sacrifice displays maternal love.

An-mei's mother was dealt a terrible blow in being Wu-Tsing's fourth wife. When An-mei's mother comes back to her, all she has to do to show how much she loves her daughter is touch her "smooth-neck scar."  This shows An-mei that while her mother has been absent, she never stopped loving her. When she finds the wound that only a mother would know, it...

In The Joy Luck Club, An-mei's mother's sacrifice displays maternal love.

An-mei's mother was dealt a terrible blow in being Wu-Tsing's fourth wife. When An-mei's mother comes back to her, all she has to do to show how much she loves her daughter is touch her "smooth-neck scar."  This shows An-mei that while her mother has been absent, she never stopped loving her. When she finds the wound that only a mother would know, it conveys love and devotion towards An-mei. 

An-mei's mother further displays love in the way she tries to give her daughter the strength she lacks.  An-mei's mother teaches An-mei the importance of strength and why sadness and suffering cannot be swallowed. This is another way that love is shown because she is teaching her daughter the lessons that life has so brutally taught to her.  When she has to return to Tientsin, An-mei's mother shows love towards her daughter by respecting her wishes:  "An-mei, I am not asking you.  But I am going to back to Tientsin now and you can follow me."  There is a respect for her daughter underscored with love.

An-mei does go with her mother and learns more about suffering, pain, and the way to combat them.  The classroom for such instruction is An-mei's mother's life as a fourth wife for Wu Tsing.  An-mei's mother teaches An-mei about the ways of men and marriage:  "You can see now, a fourth wife is less than a fifth wife. An-mei, you must not forget.  I was a first wife, yi yai, the wife of a scholar.  Your mother was not always Fourth Wife, Sz Tai!" When An-mei's mother breaks the necklace that Second Wife gave An-mei, it is one of the strongest examples of love that a mother can show a daughter:  "You do not believe me, so you must give me the necklace.  I will not let her buy you for such a cheap price."  An-mei realizes how much her mother truly loves her: "That necklace that had almost bought my heart and mind now had one bead of crushed glass."  An-mei's mother wants her to "recognize what is true" and avoid that which is false, a lesson forged out of love.

An-mei's mother loves her so much that she wants her to learn from her own example.  She wants her daughter to look at her own life as how not to live. When An-mei's mother dies, An-mei knows why.  While others believe she swallowed too much opium, An-mei knows the truth about her mother's death:  "She would rather kill her own weak spirit so she could give me a stronger one."  This shows the highest form of love that a parent can have for a child. It is the reason why An-mei is able to scream, raising her voice against an injustice.  An-mei is able to demand that her mother in death is respected more than she was in life.  She is able to right the wrongs done to her mother, and prove that the best love a parent can show to a child is teaching them the value of strength and honor.  An-mei's mother's sacrifices are a testament to both this lesson and the love she had for her daughter.

What are the similarities and differences between a monarchy and a dictatorship?

Dictatorships are systems of government in which you have only one ruler. Such a ruler has supreme power and dictates all laws. The country is run on the will of the dictator and his power cannot be challenged. Usually there are no elections. A dictator normally gains power either by overthrowing a previous regime, when an elected head of government refuses to vacate his/her position, or when control is passed on from a previous dictator to a new leader who can be either a relative or a close associate. The regime in Iraq under the leadership of Saddam Hussein was an example of a dictatorship, as was that of Italy under Benito Mussolini. Dictatorships generally end when there is a violent overthrow of government.

A monarchy, in general terms, is similar to a dictatorship in that the country is ruled by a king or a queen. In monarchies though there are different levels of control. An absolute monarchy is most similar to a dictatorship. The king, queen, or emperor has absolute power that cannot be challenged. As in a dictatorship, there are no elections. Saudi Arabia is a good example of this type of monarchy. The Saudi king dictates laws and policy. 

In a limited monarchy, such as in England, the king or queen only has ceremonial powers and no real authority. In a constitutional monarchy, the king, queen, or emperor has only certain powers as prescribed by the constitution. Sweden has such a monarchy. In monarchies, the monarch's authority is passed on by birth and power is retained within the family--this is generally seen as a divine right.

Because so much power is vested in the hands of a single person in absolute monarchies and dictatorships, many abuses of power result. Such leaders generally oppress their subjects either to retain authority or to enrich themselves and their closest supporters or relatives. It seldom happens that such leaders put their citizens first and act in their countries' best interests. The end result is, more often than not, rebellion and an overthrow of the regime.

In reference to the quote below, what are two separate incidents when the members of the Greaser gang stick up for each other in Hinton's The...

There are several scenes throughout the novel The Outsiderswhere the members of the Greaser gang stick up for one another. In the opening scene of the novel, Ponyboy is walking alone down the street when he gets jumped by a gang of Socs. The Socs throw Ponyboy on his back and begin punching him in the face. One of the Socs then takes out a knife and holds it against Pony's throat. Ponyboy panics...

There are several scenes throughout the novel The Outsiders where the members of the Greaser gang stick up for one another. In the opening scene of the novel, Ponyboy is walking alone down the street when he gets jumped by a gang of Socs. The Socs throw Ponyboy on his back and begin punching him in the face. One of the Socs then takes out a knife and holds it against Pony's throat. Ponyboy panics and begins to scream at the top his lungs. Out of nowhere, Ponyboy hears people shouting, and the Socs let him go as they runaway. Darry is the first to arrive, and the rest of the Greaser gang shows up. The Greasers stick up for Ponyboy by coming to his aid and preventing the Socs from continuing to beat him up.

Another scene which portrays how the Greasers stick up for one another takes place in Chapter 6 when Ponyboy, Johnny, and Dally return to the abandoned church to find out that it is on fire. When Ponyboy enters the church, Johnny follows him into the burning building and helps save the children that are trapped inside. After saving the last child, Johnny selflessly pushes Ponyboy out of the window and saves his life. Dally then prevents Ponyboy from going back into the flames by knocking him out and enters the burning building to save Johnny. Both Johnny and Dally's actions demonstrate how the Greasers stick up for one another. Johnny saved Pony's life by shoving him out of the window, and Dally saved Johnny's life by rescuing him from the fire.

Where are Antonio and his friends, and what does Antonio say about his sadness in the opening scene of The Merchant of Venice?

Antonio and his friends are on a street in Venice, a city of "psychic, dark corners," as Shakespearean critic Harold Bloom describes it. Antonio has fallen into one of these "dark corners" in his mind, and his friends Salerio and Salanio express their concern. 

When Antonio tells the two men that he knows no cause for his sadness--"In sooth I know not why I am so sad (1.1.1.)--Salerio suggests that Antonio may be anxious about his...

Antonio and his friends are on a street in Venice, a city of "psychic, dark corners," as Shakespearean critic Harold Bloom describes it. Antonio has fallen into one of these "dark corners" in his mind, and his friends Salerio and Salanio express their concern. 

When Antonio tells the two men that he knows no cause for his sadness--"In sooth I know not why I am so sad (1.1.1.)--Salerio suggests that Antonio may be anxious about his merchant ships: "Your mind is tossing on the ocean" (1.1.8). However, Antonio denies that this is the cause. Not convinced by Antonio's reply, Salanio provides Antonio with another opportunity to admit his concerns as by observing that he would certainly be worried about everything that could go wrong were he in Antonio's place. Nonetheless, Antonio is adamant that nothing about his business disturbs him.

When Salanio suggests that he might, then, be in love, Antonio replies heatedly, "Fie! fie!" At this, Salerio cleverly amends Salanio's question in order to ameliorate the situation:

Not in love? Then let us say you are sad,
Because you are not merry: and 'twere as easy
For you to laugh and leap and say you are merry,
Because you are not sad. (1.1.49-52)

At this point, Bassanio, Lorenzo, and Gratiano enter and Salerio and Salanio make their departure, bowing to "worthier friends."

Perhaps, then, the very beginning of this play is meant to set a tone that complements the sometimes incongruous, foreboding, and "psychic" city of Venice, as well as to foreshadow the misfortune of Antonio which is to come.

In what ways are friendship and trust demonstrated throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird?

Friendship and trust are explored in the novel through various character's interactions with one another during particularly adverse situations. Miss Maudie displays her friendship and trust by supporting the Finch family before and after the controversial trial of Tom Robinson. She is quick to encourage Jem following the trial and stands up for Atticus' decision to defend Tom during the missionary circle. Jem and Scout's relationship with Dill also demonstrates friendship and trust.They not...

Friendship and trust are explored in the novel through various character's interactions with one another during particularly adverse situations. Miss Maudie displays her friendship and trust by supporting the Finch family before and after the controversial trial of Tom Robinson. She is quick to encourage Jem following the trial and stands up for Atticus' decision to defend Tom during the missionary circle. Jem and Scout's relationship with Dill also demonstrates friendship and trust. They not only play together but also get themselves into several precarious situations. The three children trust each other and stick up for one another whenever threatened with punishment. Jem is quick to deny the fact that they are acting out Boo's life story, and Dill lies to the adults after they raid the Radley's yard.

Other members of Maycomb's community portray the themes of friendship and trust throughout the novel. Sheriff Tate and some locals visit Atticus' home to warn him about the Old Sarum bunch, and Walter Cunningham's friendship with Atticus allows him to see the error in his actions. Boo also seeks to gain the children's friendship by giving them gifts in the knothole of his tree and comes to their defense when they are attacked by Bob Ewell. Harper Lee uses the character's friendship and trust towards one another to illustrate the small town, intimate setting of Maycomb.

Why does the astrologer pick up his special equipment and plan to pack up for the day?

The astrologer does not have any of his own lighting. When it gets dark he is dependent on the light of the groundnut vendor, whose place of business is nearby and who has a big flare for illumination. On this night the astrologer prepares to leave when the groundnut vendor puts out his flare. Without the flare the astrologer is in darkness except for a little shaft of green light which is insufficient for him...

The astrologer does not have any of his own lighting. When it gets dark he is dependent on the light of the groundnut vendor, whose place of business is nearby and who has a big flare for illumination. On this night the astrologer prepares to leave when the groundnut vendor puts out his flare. Without the flare the astrologer is in darkness except for a little shaft of green light which is insufficient for him to be noticed. He suddenly realizes that he has one customer who must have stopped in front of him just before the flare went out.

He picked up his cowrie shells and paraphernalia and was putting them back into his bag when the green shaft of light was blotted out; he looked up and saw a man standing before him. He sensed a possible client and said: "You look so careworn. It will do you good to sit down for a while and chat with me."

He is able to recognize the customer as Guru Nayak, but his former enemy does not recognize him because of the very bad lighting as well as the fact that the astrologer has changed his appearance by painting his forehead with ash and vermilion and is wearing a saffron-colored turban. The reader does not realize until much later that the astrologer knows Guru Nayak from the past, so the reader is amazed by some of the things the astrologer is able to tell his skeptical and potentially violent customer. The astrologer does not get home until nearly midnight. It is then that he tells his wife:

"Do you know a great load is gone from me today? I thought I had the blood of a man on my hands all these years. That was the reason I ran away from home, settled here, and married you. He is alive."

 

 

Is "The False Gems" a story that reveals much about human behavior?

The story is told entirely from the point of view of Monsieur Lantin and seems intended to reveal something about human nature as represented by this character. He is astonished when he finds out that the heavy necklace which he thought was only junk jewelry is worth as much as eighteen thousand francs. He had only hoped to raise six or seven francs for it. Maupassant gives modern readers a good way of conceptualizing the buying power of Lantin's horde of jewelry with a brief paragraph early in the story.

Monsieur Lantin, then chief clerk in the Department of the Interior, enjoyed a snug little salary of three thousand five hundred francs, and he proposed to this model young girl, and was accepted.

Lantin was earning three thousand five hundred francs a year, and he was not a mere clerk but a chief clerk. It would take him at least four years to earn the price of that one necklace. Maupassant had a cynical view of human nature. In some stories the reader might expect to see Monsieur Lantin take the entire collection of jewelry down to a bridge and throw them into the Seine--perhaps even throw himself into the river too. Not only that, but he might be expected to find out who had been buying all these presents for his wife and challenge him to a duel.

Instead, Lantin accepts eighteen thousand francs for the necklace and sells the rest of his trove to the same jeweler for an additional one hundred and forty-three thousand francs. All of a sudden his salary of thirty-five hundred francs per year seems ridiculously petty. He could easily find out the name of the man who had given the jewelry to his deceased wife. It was obvious that they had all been bought at the same store by the same man. But Lantin doesn't want to know and makes no effort to find out.

The point of the story seems to be that most men would behave like Monsieur Lantin under the same circumstances. Money talks! Lantin undergoes a dramatic change of character when he recovers from his shock and sorrow at the discovery that his wife had been unfaithful. The transition is suggested in the following brief lines:

Men of leisure were strolling about with their hands in their pockets. Monsieur Lantin, observing them, said to himself: “The rich, indeed, are happy. With money it is possible to forget even the deepest sorrow. One can go where one pleases, and in travel find that distraction which is the surest cure for grief. Oh if I were only rich!”

He really is rich but hasn't yet accepted the rike. All he has to do is to go back to that jewelry store with the "false" gems he inherited. It will entail a certain amount of embarrassment, but he adapts to the role of a rich man very quickly. How many other rich men have secrets like his--or worse?

What happens to the phenotype of the heterozygotes when traits are inherited in an incomplete dominance pattern?

"Dominant" is a highly generalized term that we use to describe the relationship of a particular allele to another. Dominant alleles will be more visible in the phenotype of the organism. In reality, things aren't always so straightforward, as the idea of being "visible in the phenotype" depends on much more than the allele itself. Thus, it should come as no surprise that there are variations on dominance.

Incomplete dominance describes a situation where two...

"Dominant" is a highly generalized term that we use to describe the relationship of a particular allele to another. Dominant alleles will be more visible in the phenotype of the organism. In reality, things aren't always so straightforward, as the idea of being "visible in the phenotype" depends on much more than the allele itself. Thus, it should come as no surprise that there are variations on dominance.

Incomplete dominance describes a situation where two alleles are equally expressed, but segregated. That is to say, some cells express one allele exclusively, and other cells express the other allele exclusively. Flowers are commonly cited as an example of incomplete dominance, wherein different parts of the flower can have different colors and patterns with no apparent relationship to the physical structure of the flower. There aren't many obvious traits in humans that involve incomplete dominance; if, for example, an allele for black hair and an allele for blonde hair were codominant, we would expect to see heterozygotes that have "patchwork" hair with intermittent chunks of black or blonde depending on where they're located.

Incomplete dominance is often compared and contrasted with codominance, another variation in which both alleles are equally expressed but not equally visible at the phenotypic level; instead, their equal expression "blends" to create a new phenotype. This is usually because the rates of expression per unit area are the same for a codominant trait, whereas the segregated effect of incomplete dominance leads to visibly different regions of the organism which retain a single allele's characteristics.

Why was "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" a major literary breakthrough in poetry?

T. S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" is a poem which brought verse fully into the twentieth century as it effected a cultural shift in poetry from Romanticism to Modernism.

Eliot's poem is also the first English-language poem of the twentieth century that is composed of free verse, and it differs greatly from the poems of the Romanticists because in them the natural world is in sympathy with man and offers succor, whereas for Prufrock in Eliot's verse the images of nature are sick or ominous. In the first stanza, for instance, the evening "spreads out against the sky" like "a patient etherised upon a table." Further in the poem, the atmosphere of the city is ominous, even suggestive of evil in its imagery, as there is "yellow fog" with "yellow smoke" on the window-panes. 

Indeed, Eliot became a major voice in Modernism as he has expressed so well the lassitude of man, as well as the horror and incongruity of many aspects of modern life. But, unlike Ezra Pound, who felt that the poet was not obliged to recompose the world out of its fragmentation, but could, instead, elicit "a paradisal aspect" out of such disjointedness, Eliot perceived a necessity to establish order out of the fragmentation through re-composition. In other words, Eliot wished to seam the world together as a spiritual quest.

Editors Richard Ellman and Robert O'Clair write that Eliot was strongly influenced by the French symbolists, while the metaphysical poets, too, affected Eliot strongly: 

His principal models were Laforgue and Corbiere. He dealt almost exclusively with decadent, enervated people, yet in all his technical devices revealed a violent, innovative energy. He combined a precise and often formal outward manner with an inner writhing, bound together by wit.

J. Alfred Prufrock is the "decadent, enervated" man of the twentieth century. Moreover, he exemplifies modern man so well because he shares the angst of many. For instance, his inner fears prevent him from risking rejection by a woman despite his strong sexual desires. Much like characters brought to life by James Joyce, his inner dialogue is wrought with fear and a certain spiritual paralysis. Prufrock, too, is afraid to engage with the world:

Is it perfume from a dress
That makes me so digress?
Arms that lie along a table, or wrap about a shawl.
    And should I then presume?
    And how should I begin?

Despite the frustrations and hesitations and fragmentation, Eliot's verse, like the writings of other Modernists, has a profound honesty to it.

Additional Source: The Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry

People who are involved in a zero waste lifestyle says they are doing this to save the planet. Is this a practical lifestyle, and are there likely...

One of the biggest problems that comes up in the course of answering this question is defining a "Zero Waste Lifestyle;" this isn't a prescribed set of criteria in the way something like the Atkins Diet or epilepsy are. The definition of waste itself is uncertain, and what one person considers to be "zero waste" is likely not to meet another's terms, in the same way that there isn't some sort of regulatory body overseeing veganism. More to the point, my own research suggests Wikipedia is the highest-authority source for information on the zero waste concept, and Wikipedia isn't the most reliable resource. I've linked the website of a zero-waste advocacy group as a source below, but keep their bias in mind. 

Zero waste, as a lifestyle, seems to be a fairly straightfoward concept; the individual generates no trash, or, more specifically, nothing that is a part of their lifestyle ends up in a landfill or incinerator. This immediately calls into question whether many of our typical behaviors are compatible; for example, biodegradable or reusable packaging is still relatively rare, and so this would eliminate things like plastic milk cartons or frozen dinners from the things a zero-waster would be able to conscientiously purchase. In this sense, it seems likely that a zero-waster would be obliged to either grow their own food, including animals, or would have to adopt a vegan or near-vegan lifestyle in order to avoid all packaged products, including packaging for meat.

Practically speaking, this would also strongly influence almost any other choice the zero-waster is able to purchase as well, since nearly everything has some kind of non-biodegradable packaging. In terms of a modern lifestyle, this would include things like mobile phones, computers, printer cartridges and cars (the maintenance, for example, would require oil, which comes in plastic containers). A significant degree of the modern lifestyle would be unavailable to the zero-waster unless they were willing to compromise their terms, such as by taking their car to an auto mechanic so that the "waste" was not "theirs," but the mechanic's. This would also call into question how any zero-waster is able to communicate on the internet without violating their principles by owning and accessing a device made with fossil fuels, powered by electricity produced by fossil fuels. Perhaps in these cases the zero-wasters considers it to be a "once, then never again" exception whose value outweighs the moral contradiction.

Furthermore, if the zero-waster lives in a developed country and makes use of its advantages, such as public transport, electricity, medical care, and public education, they should be considered to be de facto participants in any and all waste generation that society engages in. This doesn't diminish the value of any zero-waste choices over which they have direct authority, but they cannot claim moral superiority or exemption from participation in polluting activities.

In terms of this being a "practical" lifestyle, I think it would depend entirely upon what you're willing to give up in exchange for it. Considering that there is no immediate reward, it seems much more likely that the average person would consider it inconvenient at best, or impossible at worst. Its feasibility would depend strongly upon the availability and affordability of fresh, unpackaged food, a consideration that is likely to play out very differently for single educated people compared to families or those who live far from a grocery store.

What is the theme of "To Autumn" by Keats?

The theme of "To Autumn" is the transitory quality of nature.

In one of the marvelous letters written by Keats to friends, he explained that he composed "To Autumn" because

Somehow a stubble plain looks warm--in the same way that some pictures look warm--this struck me so much on my Sunday's walk, that I composed upon it.

The three stanzas of Keats's ode depict this tempered warmth of Autumn with its own beauty, although like...

The theme of "To Autumn" is the transitory quality of nature.

In one of the marvelous letters written by Keats to friends, he explained that he composed "To Autumn" because

Somehow a stubble plain looks warm--in the same way that some pictures look warm--this struck me so much on my Sunday's walk, that I composed upon it.

The three stanzas of Keats's ode depict this tempered warmth of Autumn with its own beauty, although like the other seasons it is transitory.

In the first stanza Autumn has "conspired" with Summer, its "close-bosomed friend," a personification with suggests the mating process since fruit is then produced. Then, in the second stanza, the bounty of nature is harvested and Autumn sleeps after all her work, her

hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind....Drowsed with the fume of poppies....

Finally, in the third stanza Keats underscores the importance of the role of Autumn and harvest time: "thou hast thy music too." For, there is a ground choir of gnats that "mourn among the river sallows," along with the robins, grasshopper, and crickets, who sing while the"twittering swallows" gather in the sky. These creatures express the melancholy in delight which Keats often felt. Autumn is the most bountiful of seasons, rich in its fruitfulness and the music of its sounds; however, winter does approach, signaled by the gathering swallows in the skies. Like all seasons and all life, it is temporal.   

Can you help me think of an idea for my level 3 question about Phantom of the Opera?

A Level 3 question moves beyond the text itself and facts about the text to ask what sort of implications the text has or what sort of challenges it offers to broader systems of ideas. Such a question often has a moral dimension, asking what the text says about issues not just of how characters lived their lives but also about how characters (and real people) should live.

I find the most problematic aspect of...

A Level 3 question moves beyond the text itself and facts about the text to ask what sort of implications the text has or what sort of challenges it offers to broader systems of ideas. Such a question often has a moral dimension, asking what the text says about issues not just of how characters lived their lives but also about how characters (and real people) should live.

I find the most problematic aspect of the novel the way it handles disability. The romantic figures of Christine and Raoul are traditionally young and attractive. They are portrayed as morally good figures who fall in love and are rewarded, after various perils and obstacles, with a happy marriage.

Erik, however, is a more problematic character. His disfigurement is a form of disability. Erik is the lover who helps Christine improve her singing and is intelligent and creative. We might ask why he is eventually made over into a villain by the plot. Although thematically the novel examines the nature of illusion, it still associates physical ugliness with evil. Even Erik's partial redemption at the end of the story is due to his love for a young beautiful woman.

You might want to examine how the novel itself and its being taught in schools reinforces prejudices against the disabled and encourages an attitude that correlates physical attractiveness with moral character.

Another question you could examine is the trope of woman as reward. Thus you could think about the degree to which Christine is a reward in a contest between Erik and Raoul versus the degree to which she is portrayed as an independent person who makes active choices.

What is the overall purpose of Silent Spring, and which literary devices does the author use to accomplish this?

Rachel Carson's purpose in writing Silent Springwas to show the harmful effects of using pesticides on the natural world and on human health. She also wanted to expose the false claims of the chemical industry that their pesticides were not harmful. The literary device she uses in the first chapter is to present a fable about an ideal and beautiful town in America that is destroyed by a blight. This town is fictitious, but...

Rachel Carson's purpose in writing Silent Spring was to show the harmful effects of using pesticides on the natural world and on human health. She also wanted to expose the false claims of the chemical industry that their pesticides were not harmful. The literary device she uses in the first chapter is to present a fable about an ideal and beautiful town in America that is destroyed by a blight. This town is fictitious, but Carson's presentation of a fable helps the reader understand the metaphor of a blight--which is in reality the use of pesticides--affecting the country and its wildlife. Then, before presenting information about the harmful effects of pesticides, she presents an overview of the interconnectedness of the ecosystem and the story of its evolution in layperson's terms. She presents scientific information in a narrative format and only includes scientific citations at the end of the book in an appendix. The literary device of using a narrative helps her convey scientific information to non-scientists.

What are the basic differences in the attitudes of Lord Canterville and Mr. Otis?

The most basic attitude difference between Mr. Otis and Lord Canterville is their attitude toward the ghost.  

The attitude difference starts out as a difference in belief.  Lord Canterville believes that the ghost is real.  Mr. Otis does not believe the ghost of Sir Simon is real.  He even states that if ghosts were a real thing, then the Americans would already have one on display in a museum.  

"I have come from...

The most basic attitude difference between Mr. Otis and Lord Canterville is their attitude toward the ghost.  

The attitude difference starts out as a difference in belief.  Lord Canterville believes that the ghost is real.  Mr. Otis does not believe the ghost of Sir Simon is real.  He even states that if ghosts were a real thing, then the Americans would already have one on display in a museum.  

"I have come from a modern country, where we have everything that money can buy; and with all our spry young fellows painting the Old World red, and carrying off your best actors and primadonnas, I reckon that if there were such a thing as a ghost in Europe, we'd have it at home in a very short time in one of our public museums, or on the road as a show."

Eventually, Mr. Otis comes to accept the fact that the ghost is real.  This leads to the second attitude difference between Lord Canterville and Mr. Otis.  Lord Canterville accepts the ghost's presence as an unfortunate consequence of the property.  He believes that nothing can be done about the ghost.  Mr. Otis, on the other hand, believes that the ghost problem can be solved.  Mr. Otis, and most of his family, view the ghost as a mild inconvenience of the home -- an inconvenience that can be fixed.  

"Upon the other hand," he continued, "if he really declines to use the Rising Sun Lubricator, we shall have to take his chains from him. It would be quite impossible to sleep, with such a noise going on outside the bedrooms."

In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, why does the meaning of the letter A change towards the end of the novel?

In the last chapter of the novel, Hawthorne reveals many themes.  The narrator describes the way Hester and Pearl left the colony, as well as the fact that Hester returns many years later.  In other words, of Hester's own free will, she decides to come back to the place where her misery had been because it was also where her love had been.  As a result, the narrator says that "the scarlet letter ceased to...

In the last chapter of the novel, Hawthorne reveals many themes.  The narrator describes the way Hester and Pearl left the colony, as well as the fact that Hester returns many years later.  In other words, of Hester's own free will, she decides to come back to the place where her misery had been because it was also where her love had been.  As a result, the narrator says that "the scarlet letter ceased to be a stigma which attracted the world's scorn and bitterness, and became a type of something to be sorrowed over, and looked upon with awe, and yet with reverence, too."  Hester could have tried to escape her punishment many years ago, and she did not.  She could at least have stayed away once she did leave, after Dimmesdale's death.  However, her commitment to him, to this place, impresses everyone, and so the letter stops being a bad thing and comes to symbolize her commitment and love instead.  People begin to come to her in their times of need, and she becomes the community's favorite auntie: a wise woman who has been through a great deal and is thus qualified to help others through their trials.  She is selfless and kind, and this is always respectable.

Does Shakespeare's Macbeth suggest that history repeats itself?

I don't think it would be accurate to say that the repetition of history is the main concern or most important theme in Shakespeare's Macbeth. Instead, other themes, such as psychological torment, the effects of guilt, the dangers of ambition, and the compelling gender dynamics inherent in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's relationship take center stage. That said, there are elements of historical repetition within Macbeth. For instance, Macbeth, like the Thane of Cawdor before...

I don't think it would be accurate to say that the repetition of history is the main concern or most important theme in Shakespeare's Macbeth. Instead, other themes, such as psychological torment, the effects of guilt, the dangers of ambition, and the compelling gender dynamics inherent in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's relationship take center stage. That said, there are elements of historical repetition within Macbeth. For instance, Macbeth, like the Thane of Cawdor before him, betrays King Duncan, and Macbeth is then betrayed in the same fashion by Macduff. As such, even if the central argument of the play is not necessarily that history repeats itself, we can see that much of Macbeth does focus on the cyclical nature of conquest and power struggles. This theme is represented by Banquo's ghost, whose presence suggests that the violent acts of the past (murder, in this case), never fully stay in the past and continuously leak into the present. As such, even if the repetition of history is not the central concern of the play, it is apparent that the cyclical representation of history is one of many important themes in Macbeth.

What are some values from Holes by Louis Sachar?

Justice, of course, is a major theme of the book, but Sachar's treatment of this theme calls into question the validity of criminal justice institutions—the camp—and suggests that true justice is the product of personal morality. This can be seen by comparing the treatment of the boys at the hands of the corrupt "professionals" who run the camp with the boys' treatment of one another. More specifically, the boys' ability to treat each other with...

Justice, of course, is a major theme of the book, but Sachar's treatment of this theme calls into question the validity of criminal justice institutions—the camp—and suggests that true justice is the product of personal morality. This can be seen by comparing the treatment of the boys at the hands of the corrupt "professionals" who run the camp with the boys' treatment of one another. More specifically, the boys' ability to treat each other with genuine kindness can be seen in the bond that develops between Stanley and Zero after Stanley begins to teach Zero to read.

Truth, or personal integrity, is another major theme in the book. While Stanley's decision to steal the water truck is, in one sense, a crime, in a larger sense the risk he takes in doing so is an expression of his own moral code: he feels an obligation to search for Zero. On another level, the "truth" about the camp and why the boys are digging the holes is another example of how appearances can be deceiving. The camp is not really concerned about juvenile corrections; the warden is not really concerned about the inmates; the boys are not criminals but, in actuality, victims.

A final theme would be fate. The story suggests that what happens to Stanley and Zero has been preordained somehow. Sam's lynching is the primary act of injustice that sets the plot in motion: it not only causes Kate to turn into a bandit and bury her loot, it actually creates the landscape of the camp (after the lynching, the lake mysteriously dries up). It seems only fitting that both Stanley and the warden had ancestors who searched for the treasure, that it is Kate's hundred-year-old preserves that keep Stanley alive in the desert, and that Stanley ultimately is the one to prevail over the warden.

What are some important quotes in Chapter 18 of The Autobiography of Malcolm X?

In Chapter 18, Malcolm X is touring Mecca. He says, "I cannot describe with what feelings I actually pressed my hands against the earth where the great Prophets had trod four thousand years before." He is clearly affected by being in Mecca. As he tours Mecca and parts of Africa, he says, "Even with my background, I was astonished at the degree to which the major single image of America seemed to be discrimination." Wherever...

In Chapter 18, Malcolm X is touring Mecca. He says, "I cannot describe with what feelings I actually pressed my hands against the earth where the great Prophets had trod four thousand years before." He is clearly affected by being in Mecca. As he tours Mecca and parts of Africa, he says, "Even with my background, I was astonished at the degree to which the major single image of America seemed to be discrimination." Wherever he goes, people abroad ask him about racial discrimination in the U.S. and whether or not people are aware of the situation.

Touched by the concern of people he meets abroad, Malcolm X writes:

"I reflected many, many times to myself upon how the American Negro has been entirely brainwashed from ever seeing or thinking of himself, as he should, as a part of the non-white peoples of the world. The American Negro has no conception of the hundreds of millions of other non-whites' concern for him: he has no conception of their feeling of brotherhood for and with him."

Malcolm X believes that African-American people should form unions with people around the world who are not white and who feel compassion and connection with African-Americans. He calls for a global unity among non-white people.

Towards the end of the chapter, he further writes about the brotherhood of Muslims that he saw in Mecca:

"My pilgrimage broadened my scope. It blessed me with a new insight. In two weeks in the Holy Land, I saw what I never had seen in thirty-nine years here in America. I saw all races, all colors, blue-eyed blonds to black-skinned Africans--in true brotherhood! In unity! Living as one! Worshiping as one!"

He believes that this brotherhood can unite people in a way that African-Americans have never been united with the rest of America. He has witnessed what he sees as the ability of Islam to draw together people of different races into a great unity, which is not a reality in the United States. 

What does globalization mean to kids who dropout of school without skills necessary to participate in the global economy?

As a result of increasing globalization, students who dropout without skills necessary to participate in the global economy are placed at a tremendous disadvantage.

Students who drop out of high school are placed at a significant disadvantage in a globalized world for a couple of reasons.  One reason is a changing job landscape.  Prior to globalization, there were more jobs in industrialized settings that required a lower level of skills. Manufacturing jobs and industrial labor were...

As a result of increasing globalization, students who dropout without skills necessary to participate in the global economy are placed at a tremendous disadvantage.

Students who drop out of high school are placed at a significant disadvantage in a globalized world for a couple of reasons.  One reason is a changing job landscape.  Prior to globalization, there were more jobs in industrialized settings that required a lower level of skills. Manufacturing jobs and industrial labor were readily available.  However, globalization has altered that reality:

Jobs that require routine manual or cognitive tasks are rapidly being taken over by computers or lower-paid workers in other countries, while jobs that require higher levels of education and more sophisticated problem-solving and communication skills are in increasingly high demand. 

Technology and outsourcing jobs that require a lower level of skills to different parts of the world have placed high school dropouts at a higher risk of failure in a globalized economy.

Another reality of globalization is that students are competing against more people.  Globalization has increased the candidate pool for work.  The global economy means that employers who want to find the best candidate can find candidates from anywhere. This means that students have to possess more skills than before to distinguish themselves from their global counterparts:  "American students today are therefore competing not just with students in the city or state next door but with students in Singapore and Shanghai, Bangalore and Helsinki."  Students who drop out of school move to the bottom even quicker than before because there are more qualified candidates from around the world.

When students drop out of school in a globalized world, they are placed at a brutal disadvantage.  What these students could do, others around the world are doing for a cheaper rate, making them expendable in the global economy. At the same time, the jobs that are available require skills that go beyond a high school education.  Globalization has created a system where education is essential for success. The more people have, the more economically viable they are.  The result is that students who drop out of school lack the skills needed to compete in a globalized world.

What is the mood of Act II, scene 2 of Julius Caesar?

There is an ominous and foreboding mood in Act II, Scene 2 of Julius Caesar.

Certainly, the weather is ominous, as the thunder and lightning threaten in the heavens. Caesar himself observes, 

Nor heaven nor earth have been at peace tonight:Thrice hath Calpurnia in her sleep cried out,"Help, ho! They murder Caesar...." (2.2.1-3)

Shortly after his words, Calpurnia enters and reports ominous happenings that the watchman has witnessed--

• The watchman has seen "horrid...

There is an ominous and foreboding mood in Act II, Scene 2 of Julius Caesar.

Certainly, the weather is ominous, as the thunder and lightning threaten in the heavens. Caesar himself observes, 

Nor heaven nor earth have been at peace tonight:
Thrice hath Calpurnia in her sleep cried out,
"Help, ho! They murder Caesar...." (2.2.1-3)

Shortly after his words, Calpurnia enters and reports ominous happenings that the watchman has witnessed--

• The watchman has seen "horrid sights" of a lioness whelping (giving birth) in the streets.


• Graves have opened and the dead issued forth with military formations coming from the clouds that then engaged in battle.


• Blood has drizzled down upon the Capitol and the din of battle clashed in the air.


• Horses have neighed and dying men groaned.


• Ghosts have screamed and shrieked in the streets. 

Caesar tells his wife that these omens can apply to rest of the world as well as to them. Yet, he expresses a certain fatalism:

...death, a necessary end,
Will come when it will come (2.2.36-37)

There are other omens, as well; for example, a servant reports that the augurers, religious officials in Rome who interpret and foretell events, have reported that a sacrificial animal had no heart in it. But, Caesar retorts that if he were to not go to the Senate House, he himself would be a beast without a heart. Still, Calpurnia begs her husband on this Ides of March to not go forth, but to send word that he is ill instead.

When Decius arrives in order to escort Caesar to the Senate, Caesar tells him of his wife's dream in which she saw his statue bleeding like a fountain while other Romans came toward this fountain, and with smiles on their faces, they bathed their hands in this blood. Caesar tells Decius, that Calpurnia considers this dream as an omen and begs her husband to stay home.
Decius interprets this dream in another manner, 

Your statue spouting blood in many pipes,
In which so many smiling Roman bathed,
Signifies that from you great Rome shall suck
Reviving blood, and that great men shall press
For tinctures, stains, relics, and cognizance. (2.2.85-89)

Decius here suggests to Caesar that people will beg for badges that indicate they are his servants; to the audience, he suggests that people will desire remembrances of his death. He has thus fed Caesar's ego. Further, Decius provokes Caesar into going to the Senate by asking,

If Caesar hid himself, shall they not whisper,
"Lo, Caesar if afraid?" (2.2.100-101)

Influenced by Decius, Caesar rejects Calpurnia's dream, as well as all the omens and disturbances of the heavens.  Therefore, when the others enter, among them Antony and Brutus, he departs for the Senate. 

What venture does Salerio mention? According to Salerio and Solanio, what would be the reason for Antonio's sadness?

In Act One, Scene 1, Salerio and Solanio are having a conversation with their depressed friend, Antonio. Antonio mentions that he doesn't know why he is in such a terrible mood and that he feels tired and confused. Salerio comments that Antonio is worried about his merchant ships that are sailing on the treacherous sea. Salerio mentions that he would also be worried and in a depressed mood if his precious ship Andrewwere...

In Act One, Scene 1, Salerio and Solanio are having a conversation with their depressed friend, Antonio. Antonio mentions that he doesn't know why he is in such a terrible mood and that he feels tired and confused. Salerio comments that Antonio is worried about his merchant ships that are sailing on the treacherous sea. Salerio mentions that he would also be worried and in a depressed mood if his precious ship Andrew were grounded or sunk after a storm. He then tells Antonio that he cannot fool him because he knows Antonio is worried about his goods. Solanio agrees with Salerio, and they both initially think that Antonio is upset about his ships at sea. When Antonio mentions that he is not upset about his merchandise, Solanio says that Antonio must be in love. However, Antonio dismisses Solanio's assumption that he is in love, and Solanio ponders how peculiar some people are.

In Emma by Jane Austen, what does the first sentence say about how Austen portrays Emma Woodhouse, and which themes are revealed in the first...

In the first sentence of Emma, Austen says that her heroine is beautiful, smart, and wealthy and has a good personality and that she has lived her 21 years without much to disturb her. The first sentence relates to way in which Austen portrays Emma Woodhouse and to the themes of the novel. Emma's life as a young woman in Regency England has led her to be cloistered and naive. Though she is bright,...

In the first sentence of Emma, Austen says that her heroine is beautiful, smart, and wealthy and has a good personality and that she has lived her 21 years without much to disturb her. The first sentence relates to way in which Austen portrays Emma Woodhouse and to the themes of the novel. Emma's life as a young woman in Regency England has led her to be cloistered and naive. Though she is bright, she does not know much about life and must become more enlightened through experience and through connections with men in her life, such as Mr. Knightley, who have been allowed to have more experiences in the outer world. Emma's naiveté leads her to meddle in other people's affairs, such as Harriet's relationships with Mr. Elton and Mr. Martin, in flawed ways. Her lack of experience also causes her to judge other people, such as Jane Fairfax, unfairly. Though her friendship with Mr. Knightley and her experiences with others, Emma is eventually able to cultivate her considerable intelligence and charm into a more worldly approach to life. 

Suppose you live in a community of 200 people where everyone is able and seeks to work. If 140 people are 16 years and older and 120 of them are...

The unemployment rate for this community would be 14.3%.  Let us see how we arrive at this figure.

As you can see in the link below, an economy’s unemployment rate is generally defined as the percentage of people who are at or above the age of 16 and who do not have work even though they would like to have it.  People who are below the age of 16 are not counted, even if they...

The unemployment rate for this community would be 14.3%.  Let us see how we arrive at this figure.

As you can see in the link below, an economy’s unemployment rate is generally defined as the percentage of people who are at or above the age of 16 and who do not have work even though they would like to have it.  People who are below the age of 16 are not counted, even if they would prefer to work rather than going to school. 

In the scenario that you have given us, only two numbers matter.  These are the number of people who are 16 or older and the number of people who have jobs.  The total population of the community does not matter here because unemployment rates only look at people who are at least 16.  In your question, you say that there are 140 people who are 16 or older in this community and 120 of them have work.  This means that 20 of them are unemployed.  We take 20 and divide it by 140 since 140 is the total number of people 16 or over who want to work.  That gives us a figure of .1428.  Expressed in terms of percentages, this is 14.3%, which means that the unemployment rate in this community is 14.3%.

Would you recommend Laurie Halse Anderson's book Speak to anyone? Why?

This is an opinion question, so feel free to state your opinion. Whether you would recommend the book or not isn't as important as explaining why you have that opinion. Additionally, one person might recommend the book because of a specific reason, while a different person might not recommend the book for the very same reason.  

Personally, I would recommend Speak. I would definitely recommend the book to people in high school or...

This is an opinion question, so feel free to state your opinion. Whether you would recommend the book or not isn't as important as explaining why you have that opinion. Additionally, one person might recommend the book because of a specific reason, while a different person might not recommend the book for the very same reason.  

Personally, I would recommend Speak. I would definitely recommend the book to people in high school or older. I would not recommend the book to anyone much younger than that, though, because the book's content focuses on the emotional turmoil Melinda goes through after being raped. I would recommend the book to both males and females. I believe it is important for men to understand and realize many women carry deep emotional scars from being raped. It's not just a physical violation. Despite the book being emotionally dark and depressing, Speak ends by giving the reader feelings of justice being served. There is hope at the end of the novel. Everyone knows what Andy did to Melinda, and the reader gets the sense that Melinda is finally on the emotional mend.  

The tears dissolve the last block of ice in my throat. I feel the frozen stillness melt down through the inside of me, dripping shards of ice that vanish in a puddle of sunlight on the stained floor. Words float up.

Tell me the dialogues which show appearance vs reality in The Merchant of Venice.

The scenes where this theme is most obviously explored are those involving the caskets.  These are Act 2, Scenes 1, 7, and 9; and Act 3, Scene 2.  

Portia is an heiress.  Her father, before he died, stipulated in his will that his daughter's husband should be chosen by a trial of caskets.  Each hopeful suitor is shown three "caskets" (small chests) and is asked to choose one to open.  If he opens the...

The scenes where this theme is most obviously explored are those involving the caskets.  These are Act 2, Scenes 1, 7, and 9; and Act 3, Scene 2.  

Portia is an heiress.  Her father, before he died, stipulated in his will that his daughter's husband should be chosen by a trial of caskets.  Each hopeful suitor is shown three "caskets" (small chests) and is asked to choose one to open.  If he opens the one that contains the picture of Portia, he can marry her.  One casket is of lead, one of silver, and one of gold, and each has a cryptic riddle that goes with it.  

In Act 2, Scene 1, the prince of Morocco arrives to try his luck.  With his first words, he asks Portia not to dislike him because of his dark skin, pointing out that he has blood as red as any white man's. 

In Scene 7, the prince chooses the gold casket, only to find it is the wrong one.  Inside it is a poem that contains the famous line, "All that glisters is not gold." 

In Scene 9, the prince of Arragon arrives to make his choice.  He chooses the silver casket, which is also the wrong one.

In Act 3, Scene 2, Bassanio makes his choice.  He and Portia love each other, and in fact Portia urges him to wait a while before choosing a casket so that they can enjoy each other's company.  But Bassanio feels that until he knows whether they can marry, he "live[s] upon the rack."  Bassanio picks the leaden casket, which of course turns out to be the right one.  Before he picks it, he gives a long speech about how appearance and reality often differ. This speech begins,

So may the outward shows be least themselves;/The world is still deceived with ornament.

Other notable scenes in which appearance and reality differ are:

• Act 2, Scene 2, in which Old Gobbo does not recognize his own son, and his son (Launcelot Gobbo), pretends to be someone else in order to have a joke on the old man.  When Launcelot finally reveals himself, he has some difficulty in getting his father to believe it's really he.


• Act 2, Scene 6, in which Jessica dresses up as pageboy to run away with Lorenzo.  


• The courtroom scene (Act 4, Scene 1), in which virtually nothing is as it seems.  Portia arrives dressed up as the young lawyer Balthasar and is not recognized by her own husband.  Shylock, who seems to have the law on his side, ends up being condemned by the law.  And so on.


• Act 4, Scene 2 and Act 5, Scene 1, in which Portia and Nerissa play a trick on their husbands Bassanio and Gratiano.  

In what way does Duke Theseus play a very crucial role in the lives of many of the characters in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, though he...

In Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Duke Theseus most significantly influences the lives of the four Athenian lovers, Hermia, Lysander, Helena, and Demetrius.In the opening scene, Duke Theseus expresses doubtthat Egeus is making the correct decision in forcing his daughter Hermia to marry Demetrius upon punishment of death or exile. He expresses this doubt in response to Lysander's protests that he is just as wealthy as Demetrius, maybe wealthier, and that...

In Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Duke Theseus most significantly influences the lives of the four Athenian lovers, Hermia, Lysander, Helena, and Demetrius.

In the opening scene, Duke Theseus expresses doubt that Egeus is making the correct decision in forcing his daughter Hermia to marry Demetrius upon punishment of death or exile. He expresses this doubt in response to Lysander's protests that he is just as wealthy as Demetrius, maybe wealthier, and that Demetrius is unfaithful. We observe Lysander accuse Demetrius of unfaithfulness in the following:

Demetrius, I'll avouch it to his head,
Made love to Nedar's daughter, Helena,
And won her soul; and she, sweet lady, dotes,
Devoutly dotes, dotes in idolatry,
Upon this spotted and inconstant man. (1.1.106-10)

Upon hearing Lysander's accusation against Demetrius of unfaithfulness, Duke Theseus expresses his doubt in the rightness of the match when he replies, "I must confess that I have heard so much, / And with Demetrius thought to have spoke thereof" (111-12).
He then takes Egeus and Demetrius aside to speak with them privately, probably to dissuade them from pursuing the match.

Therefore, by the time we reach act 4, scene 1, Duke Theseus is very willing to overrule Egeus's decision to force his daughter into marriage, and it his willingness to overrule Egeus that significantly influences the lives of the two Athenian couples. Theseus overrules Egeus's command the moment Theseus hears Demetrius explain that he is now in love with Helena, which Theseus believes is morally correct. Once he overrules Egeus's command to his daughter, he grants both couples permission to be married in the temple alongside himself and Hippolyta, as we see in the following:

Egeus, I will overbear your will;
For in the temple by and by with us
These couples shall eternally be knit. (4.1.176-78)

By permitting Hermia to marry Lysander and Demetrius to marry Helena, Theseus is significantly influencing their lives, especially by preserving the lives of Hermia and Lysander.

What is the meaning of the following quote from To Kill a Mockingbird? He could read two books to my one, but he preferred the magic of his own...

This passage is from Chapter 14 of To Kill a Mockingbird. Dill Harris has run away from home to be with his friends, Scout and Jem. In this passage, Dill is revealed as a highly intelligent boy, a creative genius, a sensitive soul, but he is lonely boy, perhaps not unlike Scout's strange neighbor. 

Dill is so unhappy alone at home that he takes a train from Meridian, Mississippi, to Maycomb Junction, fourteen miles away, and...

This passage is from Chapter 14 of To Kill a Mockingbird. Dill Harris has run away from home to be with his friends, Scout and Jem. In this passage, Dill is revealed as a highly intelligent boy, a creative genius, a sensitive soul, but he is lonely boy, perhaps not unlike Scout's strange neighbor. 

Dill is so unhappy alone at home that he takes a train from Meridian, Mississippi, to Maycomb Junction, fourteen miles away, and covers the rest of the way by walking and then riding on the back of a cotton wagon. 
When Dill gets in bed with Scout, she asks him why he has run away. Dill explains that his parents are often gone, and if they are home, they sequester themselves in a room and close him out. He says that his parents are not mean, and they buy him toys and tell him they love him. However, they rarely do anything with him, and the sensitive boy needs nurturing.

As they talk, Scout analyzes Dill in the passage cited above: He is bright, highly skilled in reading and arithmetic, but he prefers the dreamy, romantic--"twilight world"--of his own making, a world in which his creative soul that is sadly neglected at home finds refuge. He dreams of "a world where babies slept, waiting to be gathered like morning lilies." This world is one in which Dill, too, would he hugged and coddled and loved with deep emotion and laughter and exhilaration--much as the little world he shares with the Finch children.
Little Scout feels herself falling asleep, too, until the image of another sad house emerges in her mind: "a gray house with sad brown doors." She then asks Dill, 

"Why do you reckon Boo Radley's never run off?"
Dill sighed a long sigh and turned away from me.
"Maybe he doesn't have anywhere to run off to...." (Ch.14)

Intuitively, Scout has hit upon the emptiness of Dill's home as being similar to that of Boo Radley. Dill runs to the Finches where there is warmth and love, but Boo has no refuge from his loneliness. Indeed, the sensitive Dill's last words before falling asleep are very significant.