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How does St.John refer to Jane's appearance on page 345? Why did Bronte reiterate this description of Jane's physical appearance?

My page numbers do not match yours, but I believe you are referring to St. John's description of Jane as being "'formed for labour, not for love.'" He wants her to accompany him to India to be a missionary, and he believes that "'God and nature intended [her] for a missionary's wife" because she is so mentally capable and not physically beautiful. Again, attention is drawn to Jane's plainness and to her lack of physical beauty just as it has been for so much of her life. St. John says that he "claims" her, "'not for [his] pleasure, but for [his] Sovereign's service.'" He seems to believe that she was made for work and not for pleasure, simply because of her physical appearance. He sees her rationally and not passionately. He feels that the way she looks on the outside must match the way she must feel on the inside, and he insists that they marry (though they are not in love with one another) in order for their trip to India to be a socially proper one. St. John fails to understand, though, that Jane needs passion too, that her appearance neither mirrors nor determines her feelings. Though she does not appear to be formed "for love," this does not mean that she doesn't want to be loved. Perhaps Bronte draws attention, again, to Jane's appearance in order to contrast it, thematically, with her rich emotional life: don't judge a book by its cover. Or perhaps Bronte does this in order to convey they idea that being loved either for one's mind or one's beauty is inadequate for one who is truly worth having; Jane's intelligence and passion and independence render her beautiful to one who understands and appreciates them.

How do Olympic games affect the economy of a country?

Hosting the Olympic games can have a powerful impact upon the hosting country's economy, sometimes positive, sometimes negative, and sometimes not particularly long-lasting. If a country invests in facilities that can be re-purposed in the future, it can be a good investment. Improved infrastructure can make business investments more desirable than they would otherwise have been, providing employment and taxes to the country. If the Olympics bring people to the country who would never have otherwise come, there are all the tourism dollars. But there are not necessarily long-lasting effects, particularly with tourism. It is not clear that people have been flocking to Russia, for example, since they hosted the Olympics. And there are opportunity costs to consider as well. Hosting the Olympics is a costly affair, and one must ask what could have been done with all that money otherwise. It may have been possible to invest it all in the country's future in a way that would have been much more productive, perhaps in education or in tax subsidies to bring in businesses. Brazil may very well turn out to be a worst case scenario. They budgeted about $13 billion to take care of Olympic preparation, but some are already estimating that the budget has been exceeded by over 50%. They have had many unanticipated problems, corruption, instability, the crashing of oil prices, and now the Zika virus, in addition to having been still very much a third world country to begin with, with poverty, severe sewage problems, and other inadequate or non-existent infrastructure. So, clearly there can be powerful impacts on a nation's economy, sometimes good, sometimes dreadful, and sometimes ephemeral.

What is the history of concentration camps in Nazi Germany during the time of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne?

Because you are referring to The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, I assume you are speaking of the specific history behind the Nazi concentration camps before and during World War II. (Of course, there have been other internment camps both before and after this time period.) In short, Nazi concentration camps lasted from 1933 to 1945.

The first concentration camps appeared immediately after Hitler became chancellor of the Nazi Party in Germany. The treatment...

The first concentration camps appeared immediately after Hitler became chancellor of the Nazi Party in Germany. The treatment at the concentration camps became particularly harsh after Heinrich Himmler and his SS took complete control of them. The population interned at the camps escalated rapidly, eventually numbering in the millions. The largest population set “concentrated” here was the Jewish population (specifically from Poland). The second largest population set “concentrated” here was the Soviet prisoners of war. However, there were many other people placed in the camps as well, such as Catholic priests, homosexuals, intellectuals opposing the Nazi regime, etc.

As you can see from the reference above, the term “concentration camp” is a reference to “concentrating” a certain undesirable part of the population in a small area. The Jews in Poland, then, were confined to “ghettos.” As time went on, concentration camps became synonymous with extermination camps because many people “concentrated” within them were tortured and killed, often in mass numbers. The treatment was horrible, with prisoners being subjected to experimentation, starvation, overwork, and execution. One of the most common methods of murder within the concentration camp was the gas chamber. What looked like an enormous shower room was actually a dispensary for lethal gas that killed hundreds of people at a time. The bodies were then deposited in mass graves.

The history behind Nazi concentration camps is a grim history. With close to 43,000 Jewish ghettos and over 20 million people killed, the history of Nazi concentration camps is a history of evil in the attempt to exterminate entire populations.

What oxymorons are in the second and the last stanza of "Dulce et Decorum Est" by Wilfred Owen?

Oxymorons, figures of speech that put together two opposing words, often create paradoxes with just a few words.

In the second stanza of Wilfred Owen's "Dolce et Decorum Est," the oxymoron is in the first line of the stanza, line 9, as Owen describes the terrible gas that the Germans used against the Allied Troops in World War I:

Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!--an ecstasy of fumbling [...]

Certainly, the word ecstasyhas a positive...

Oxymorons, figures of speech that put together two opposing words, often create paradoxes with just a few words.

Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!--an ecstasy of fumbling [...]

Certainly, the word ecstasy has a positive denotation of joyous excitement that opposes the idea of putting on gas masks to protect oneself from poisonous fumes. However, the word fumbling carries with it negative connotations and denotations since it means to use the hands in a clumsy or groping manner. Thus, a paradox is created.

In the last stanza of this poem, the oxymoron is line 26:

To children ardent for some desperate glory,

The meaning of desperate carries with it a negative denotation: reckless from despair or a sense of hopelessness. The word glory, on the other hand, is positive as it means exalted praise, or honor. This creates another paradox.

The apparent contradiction occurs as Owen implies that only someone desperate to be called a war hero would want to go to a war in which he would be subjected to the hideous pain and conditions as given in the description of the young man who could not get his gas mask on in time. Indeed, as the others watch the pitiful soldier thrown into a wagon with other dead soldiers, they realize only too well the meaning of the "old Lie," Dulce et decorum est.

How did Maniac create more trouble when he raced Mars Bar in the book Maniac Magee?

Maniac won his race with Mars Bar running backwards, which was insulting to his opponent.

Maniac just did not understand what he was getting into when he met Mars Bar. He didn’t realize that the boy had a reputation for being tough and that Mars Bar was a threat to him. His first mistake was not acknowledging Mars Bar's greatness, and his second was taking a bite out of his candy bar.

Maniac was really...

Maniac won his race with Mars Bar running backwards, which was insulting to his opponent.

Maniac was really confused by Mars Bar. Just as race was not a concept he understood, toughness was lost on him. He made an enemy of Mars Bar though, and he realized that. After Grayson's death, Maniac returned and ran into Mars Bar again.

Mars Bar told him he had new sneakers, he had been working out, and he was a faster runner. He challenged him to a race. Maniac was not sure what to do.

Even as the race began -- even after it began -- Maniac wasn't sure how to run it. Naturally he wanted to win, or at least to do his best. All his instincts told him that. But there were other considerations: whom he was racing against, and where, and what the consequences might be if he won. (Ch. 38)

Maniac’s decision to run backwards was an unusual solution to a difficult problem. He wasn’t really trying to humiliate Mars Bar by proving that he could run faster backwards than his opponent could run forwards. He just didn’t know what to do and it was the best he could come up with.

Why did I do it? was all Maniac could think. He hadn't even realized it till he crossed the line, and he regretted it instantly. Wasn't it enough just to win? Did he have to disgrace his opponent as well? Had he done it deliberately, to pay back Mars Bar for all his nastiness! (Ch. 38)

In reality, Maniac just loved to run. He enjoyed being on the East End among the people there. He really missed it and the Beales. He wished he had a home. Maniac had again added to his legend without meaning to.

A substance changes its state. The mass of the substance can't be changed. Why?

The reason that mass is not lost when matter changes state is because of the law of conservation of mass. This particular law says that for any closed system, the mass of the system must remain constant. One of the important parts of the above statement is the "closed system" wording. If the system is entirely closed, matter and energy can't come into the system or leave the system. If matter is being conserved, and all matter has...

Lastly, the question is asking about a state change. That could be something as simple as an ice cube melting. If you have 10 grams of ice (solid water), and it melts, you still have 10 grams of water (in a liquid state). The law of conservation of mass applies to state changes and chemical changes. For example, you could burn 10 grams of paper and you'd still wind up with 10 grams of ash and various gasses, as long as the system stays closed.

Describe the vertebrate vertebral column and list its functions.

The vertebral column, also called the spinal column, in vertebrates is composed of the bones, called the vertebrae, that go from the neck to the tail. The vertebrae are further differentiated into the caudal vertebrae (the bones in the tail), the sacral vertebra (often joined together to make the sacrum, which connects with the pelvic girdle), the lumbar vertebrae (in the lower back); the thoracic vertebrae (in the chest), and the cervical vertebrae (in the neck). In higher vertebrates, each vertebra has a centrum that is topped by a Y-shaped arch. The centrum and arch go around an opening, and the spinal cord goes through this opening. Each centrum is separated by the surrounding centrums by cartilage known as intervertebral disks. Vertebrae in the lower vertebrates are different and often have more complexity. The number of curves in the column varies by animal. Quadrupeds have one curve, though in humans there is also the sacral curve (which helps the sacra support the abdomen), the anterior cervical curve (to help raise the head), and the anterior lumbar curve (which forms as children walk and sit).

The function of the vertebral column is to protect the spinal cord. In addition, many muscles and other parts of the skeleton, such as the pectoral and pelvic girdles, are attached to the column. It also allows animals such as humans to transmit their weight while walking or standing.