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How does Atticus protest Jim Crow laws even before Tom's trial in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird?

Atticus Finch protests against Jim Crow by not allowing his children to refer to the African-American members of the community using the pejorative term that others do, and by treating Calpurnia as a member of his family.

In Chapter 9, when Scout comes home after Cecil Jacobs has made an announcement in the schoolyard that Atticus Finch defends n*****s, she asks her father if he does, and Atticus affirms that he defends them. But, he instructs Scout to not use this pejorative term for black people because it makes a person seem "common" (low class).

Then, in Chapter 14, after his sister Alexandra has come to stay with Atticus and his family, the brother and sister have an argument over Atticus's employment of Calpurnia. Aunt Alexandra tells Atticus that Calpurnia is no longer needed; however, in an "even" tone, Atticus replies,

"Alexandra, Calpurnia's not leaving this house until she wants to....She's a faithful member of this family and you'll simply have to accept things the way they are."

Atticus not only gives Calpurnia equal standing in his home, but he speaks of her as a family member. He praises her as being stricter with the children than a mother would have been, and argues that she raises the children with a sound set of ethics. Moreover, there is love shared among the children and Calpurnia. After Atticus's words, Alexandra is "furious" because her brother has gone against he conventional wisdom of their culture.

What is a good thesis statement about The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?

That depends on the assignment.

Have you been given an assignment that involves a specific question about the book, or that points you in the direction of certain themes? Since you don't mention anything like that in your question, I'm going to assume you haven't been given any such thing, and have just been asked to write an essay or a paper about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, with the topic left wide...

That depends on the assignment.

A thesis statement should be brief and clear, and it should make a claim about the book that it will take you the rest of the essay to prove.

Here are a few suggestions of possible thesis statements to get you started:

"The process of disintegration that Dr. Jekyll goes through over the course of the novel resembles the process of drug addiction."

"Although Utterson is a good person and a very good friend to Dr. Jekyll, he is unable to save Dr. Jekyll from himself."

"The novel would have a very different effect on readers who do not know from the start that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are the same person."

"The author's many chilling descriptions of Hyde help us feel the horror of a person who is entirely without conscience."

"Throughout the novel, Dr. Jekyll has experiences and feelings that all people can identify with."

What is a simple problem of a single and working mother that can be used as a thesis title?

I'm not sure here what you mean by a "thesis title." Are you working on an M.A. or PhD thesis? If so, you need to think of some area of research that contributes a small and focused study to an existing body of scholarship in your discipline. In general, this is something you do by consulting with your adviser after having spent several months reading deeply in your area and will be determined by your disciplinary location; sociology, social work, criminal justice, and psychology will have different approaches to this topic. Also, you need to decide whether you want to do an ethnography, a thick description of the life or an individual single mother or a small group of single mothers, a broader statistical study of a specific group of single mothers, or a theoretical study. One possible empirical study would be one of the type "Access to Child Care for Single Mothers in [name of town] in 2016."

If by "thesis title" you are attempting to develop a thesis or central claim for a short paper for a high school or introductory university writing course, you should know such a paper is termed an "argumentative paper," not a "thesis." The term thesis in such a context refers to the central claim of the paper. At this level, you are being asked to come up with an argumentative paper. Purely expository papers which simply describe something have a subject area or focus but not a "thesis." Thus, if you are looking for an argumentative thesis, you want a statement with which people could agree or disagree, not simply a one-sided claim. You might choose a topic such as "X is the most effective HUD program to help single working mothers." You would then research the various housing programs sponsored by HUD and argue about their respective merits.

How can I write a three to five page analysis on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit?

This question is a little difficult to answer, as you can write an analysis about many different aspects of a work of literature. However, what I can do is give you some advice on how to approach analytical writing, and then give you some ideas about prominent themes in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit to analyze.

Writing an analysis paper is like forming an argument. There are a couple of general steps you should follow when...

Writing an analysis paper is like forming an argument. There are a couple of general steps you should follow when you're working on this kind of assignment. First, read the work of literature you have to analyze. Then, think about your particular opinion of the book. Usually, this opinion shouldn't be general (don't just say it's a "good" or "bad" book), but should deal with an important theme, idea, scene, or stylistic aspect in the book. Then, you'll come up with a thesis. This might sound complicated, but a thesis is just your particular opinion about a specific point in a work of literature. In other words, your thesis is your main argument/what you think about the point you're analyzing. Once you come up with a thesis, you'll need to back it up by picking examples from the book that support your ideas, and then explaining what these examples mean and how they prove your thesis.

Here's an example: you could analyze The Hobbit by reading it as an example of the Hero's Journey (a specific sequence of events, themes, and motifs that occurs again and again in literature and is absolutely present in The Hobbit). A sample thesis statement, depending on what you actually think about the topic, could read as follows: "I believe that The Hobbit is an example of the Hero's Journey because it includes perfect examples of each stage of this cycle, including the Departure, the Initiation, and the Return." Then, the rest of your essay would involve presenting examples from the book that support this idea. For example, you could argue that Bilbo's unexpected party is the Hero's Journey's Call to Adventure, or that his heroism in Mirkwood is part of the Initiation stage. All of these could be great examples, as long as you thoroughly and logically explain how they support your thesis.

Don't worry if you don't want to write about the Hero's Journey in The Hobbit; that was just an example. There are many other things you could write about, such as the parallels between Tolkien's novel and the poem Beowulf, the importance of Bilbo's merciful refusal to kill Gollum, and more. If you're still having trouble writing your analysis paper, I'd recommend looking at ' essay resources. They're excellent and could give you some more specific support.

Who were Mafatu's closest companions in Call It Courage? Why did he make them his friends?

The answer to these questions can be found on p. 13 of Call It Courage. Mafatu’s closest companions were two animals, a dog and an albatross. He made them his friends because they were different, just as he was different.

By the time that you get to p. 13 in the book, you will know that Mafatu is something of a reject on Hikueru. He is the only boy who is afraid of the sea....

By the time that you get to p. 13 in the book, you will know that Mafatu is something of a reject on Hikueru. He is the only boy who is afraid of the sea. Because of this, he has a hard time doing any of the things that men are expected to do on that island. The boys scorn him because of this and generally stay away from him. He does not have friends among them.

Since humans will not befriend him, he turns to animals. His dog, Uri, is his “inseparable companion.” The “only other true friend” that Mafatu and Uri have is “Kivi, an albatross.” It is clear why Mafatu chooses Kivi. Kivi’s feet are different sizes and one leg is not fully formed, making him different from all the other birds. They pick on him. His efforts to fight back “touched the boy’s heart” and Mafatu raised Kivi to adulthood. It is less clear why Mafatu picked Uri in particular or even if he did. However, Uri did have a “thin coat which showed his ribs,” which implies that he is not a strong and handsome dog. Mafatu identifies with these animals because of their imperfections. He cannot find human friends, so he sticks with his animal friends who, like him, have problems that set them apart from their own kind.

What simile does Romeo use to convey Juliet's beauty in Romeo and Juliet?

A simile is a type of figurative language used to make a comparison. A simile is “a figure of speech in which two things, essentially different but thought to be alike in one or more respects,” are compared, usually using the words “like” or “as” to make the comparison ('s Guide to Literary Terms). It is an indirect comparison. You are saying that something is like something, not that it issomething, as in...

From the moment Romeo first sees Juliet, he is very attracted to her. He is captivated by her beauty. One of the ways he describes her beauty is with a simile. When Romeo first sees Juliet at the ball, he compares her to a beautiful jewel.

O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!
It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night
Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope's ear;
Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear! (Act I, Scene 5)

An Ehtiope is someone from Ethiopia, who therefore has dark skin. Romeo contrasts the jewel's brightness with the skin's darkness, with night being the skin and Juliet being the jewel. In other words, Romeo thinks Juliet is very eye-catching.

Romeo and Juliet meet, and they share a conversation that is basically one long metaphor. Later, Romeo sneaks into the Capulet orchard and again praises Juliet's beauty with plenty of metaphors and other types of figurative language.

What purpose does Jonathan Edwards's sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" serve?

Jonathan Edwards gave his "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" sermon because he felt a great burden to see unsaved persons turn to Christ, which he believed was the only way to God and eternal life. In this sermon, Edwards describes vivid pictures of the dire situation of those not in favor with the almighty God.

He says, “The Use may be of Awakening to unconverted persons in this congregation” (see the entire sermon here).

Edwards's purpose and use of powerful, persuasive language is excellently displayed in this excerpt:

“So that thus it is, that natural men [i.e. people in their present state; unrepentant] are held in the hand of God over the pit of hell; they have deserved the fiery pit, and are already sentenced to it; and God is dreadfully provoked… and they have done nothing in the least to appease or abate that anger, neither is God in the least bound by any promise to hold 'em up one moment; the devil is waiting for them, hell is gaping for them, the flames gather and flash about them, and would fain lay hold on them, and swallow them up; the fire pent up in their own hearts is struggling to break out; and they have no interest in any mediator, there are no means within reach that can be any security to them. In short, they have no refuge, nothing to take hold of, all that preserves them every moment is the mere arbitrary will, and uncovenanted unobliged forbearance of an incensed God” (Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God).

With these frightening words, Edwards is saying that we, in our natural state — as we are born — are sinners. We have blatantly and irrevocably offended an all-powerful God, and are now hanging by a thread over the mouth of Hell. The only thing keeping us from suffering in horrifying anguish is that God’s will has not decreed us to die — yet.

Edwards does not leave us to complete despair, however. There is hope for salvation from this damnation. He says, “here you are in the land of the living, and in the house of God, and have an opportunity to obtain salvation.

“And now you have an extraordinary opportunity, a day wherein Christ has flung the door of mercy wide open, and stands in the door calling and crying with a loud voice to poor sinners; a day wherein many are flocking to him…many that were very lately in the same miserable condition that you are in, are in now an happy state, with their hearts filled with love to him that has loved them and washed them from their sins in his own blood, and rejoicing in hope of the glory of God.”

Edwards desires to awaken his congregants from (what he perceives to be) their blindness, pride, and darkness, to see that Jesus Christ is what we need. Jesus is the only One who can rescue us from the impending wrath of an incensed God.

Edwards speaks terrifying words. He also speaks words of hope, but does so urgently, knowing we could die at any moment and forever be banished from God’s presence and plunged into eternal wrath and damnation. Once we die, it is too late.

In John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (NASB).

Edwards desperately wants us to see that Christ is the only salvation from this terrible fate, and he hopes we will be driven to Christ once we hear Edwards describe the wrath of God and our hopeless state.

You can read his whole sermon here.