Describe the system of trade between European nations and their colonies.

The word that is usually used to describe the system of trade between European countries and their colonies is “mercantilism.”  The mercantile system was one which was set up in such a way as to benefit the European countries without much regard for the colonial economies.

People in this era of history generally believed that countries needed to export in order to become rich.  The idea was that a country could not be wealthy unless...

The word that is usually used to describe the system of trade between European countries and their colonies is “mercantilism.”  The mercantile system was one which was set up in such a way as to benefit the European countries without much regard for the colonial economies.

People in this era of history generally believed that countries needed to export in order to become rich.  The idea was that a country could not be wealthy unless it exported more than it imported.  In order to help this happen, countries regulated their colonies’ trade.  The European countries required the colonies to buy only from the mother country, not from any other country.  The European countries required all of the colonies’ exports to go through the mother country. The colonies could not sell directly to any foreign countries.  This increased each country’s exports and reduced its imports.

In addition, the European countries tried to ensure that the colonies would be a market for their exports.  The Europeans would often prohibit the colonists from producing various goods that were produced in the mother country.  By doing this, they forced the colonists to buy those goods from the mother country, thus increasing its exports.

In short, the European countries used trade with their colonies as a way to enrich themselves.  They did this with little regard for the needs or desires of the colonists.  We typically call this the mercantile system.

According to the essay "Supernatural and Shakespeare," during Shakespeare's time "witches were a convenient way to explain all the terrible...

If the Weird Sisters truly know the future and are not simply manipulating Macbeth into thinking that they do, then everything that happens in the play is the result of fate, or destiny, and not effects of Macbeth's corruption.  In other words, if the future is knowable, then it must be fated, and if it is fated, then no one can be blamed for their role in bringing it about; Macbeth is exonerated from responsibility...

If the Weird Sisters truly know the future and are not simply manipulating Macbeth into thinking that they do, then everything that happens in the play is the result of fate, or destiny, and not effects of Macbeth's corruption.  In other words, if the future is knowable, then it must be fated, and if it is fated, then no one can be blamed for their role in bringing it about; Macbeth is exonerated from responsibility for his deeds.  For example, the witches tell Banquo, "Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none" (1.3.68).  In other words, Banquo's line of descendants will produce kings.  This is true.  The king on the throne when Macbeth is first performed is King James I (James VI of Scotland), and he can trace his lineage back to Banquo. 

Further, when the Weird Sisters call up the apparitions in Act 4, scene 1, the first is an "armed head" (a disembodied head, wearing a helmet) which says that Macbeth must "Beware Macduff" (4.1.73).  It turns out that Macbeth should fear Macduff because it will be Macduff who kills him by cutting off his head after Macbeth has donned his armor.  Therefore, the apparition -- created and conjured by the Weird Sisters -- not only knows the future but takes the shape of something to occur in the future as well.  Likewise, the second apparition appears as a "bloody child" who says, "Laugh to scorn / The power of man, for none of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth" (4.1.81-83).  Macduff was not technically born, as he tells us later, he was from his "mother's womb / Untimely ripped," i.e. he was born via Caesarean section  (5.8.15-16).   So, the apparition appears as a bloody child because a child born by C-section would be bloody since the mother's been cut, and it knows the future: that Macbeth will be killed by someone not "born."  Finally, the last apparition, "a child crowned, with a tree in his hand," says that "Macbeth shall never vanquished be until / Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill / Shall come against him" (4.1.96-98).  The child's appearance gives a clue as to how this will happen: a rightful king (Malcolm, child of Duncan) will march on Dunsinane with his army, each soldier holding up a bough of a tree in order to shield his army's numbers from Macbeth's lookouts.  Again, the apparition (produced by the witches) knows the future.

Ultimately, then, Macduff isn't in control of his fate: he is destined to kill Macbeth.  Malcolm isn't in control of his fate: he is destined to lead an army against Macbeth.  This means that Macbeth cannot be in control of his fate either: he must perform the actions that lead him into this place at this time, and thus we cannot fault him for killing Duncan because that action was only the one to set this destiny into motion.  It was fated too.  If we accept that the Weird Sisters know the future, then that means the future is knowable, and if the future is knowable then we do not possess the free will to change it; we are only pawns of fate and thus not responsible for our actions.

In Monster by Walter Dean Myers, how does Steve act when he is around people in his neighborhood?

There are several scenes throughout the novel Monster which depict Steve Harmon hanging around with people in his neighborhood. Steve Harmon wishes to gain notoriety for being tough and has recently begun hanging out with a group of thugs. Early in the novel, Steve has a flashback to when he was sitting on a stoop smoking a blunt with James King, Johnny, and Peaches. Steve is shy and doesn't say much as the others discuss...

There are several scenes throughout the novel Monster which depict Steve Harmon hanging around with people in his neighborhood. Steve Harmon wishes to gain notoriety for being tough and has recently begun hanging out with a group of thugs. Early in the novel, Steve has a flashback to when he was sitting on a stoop smoking a blunt with James King, Johnny, and Peaches. Steve is shy and doesn't say much as the others discuss the ideal place to rob. Johnny doesn't know Steve because he's never seen him before and says, "Since when you been down?" (Myers 56). In another scene, a person named Freddy asks where Steve went to school and Osvaldo Cruz begins to make fun of Steve. Steve tries his best to act tough and threaten Osvaldo, but Osvaldo mentions that he is in a gang called the Diablos. When Freddy comments that Steve hangs with some bad dudes, Osvaldo says, "He don't hang with nobody. He's just a lame looking for a name" (Myers 86).

In other scenes that depict Steve talking with King about the robbery, Steve is rather short and does not speak a lot. Overall, Steve is relatively new to the group of people he's been hanging out with and doesn't speak much. Although he is shy, he tries his best to fit in by smoking blunts and making minor comments. Steve Harmon is simply trying to act cool and make a name for himself by hanging out with tough individuals in his neighborhood.

In The Communist Manifesto, what do Marx and Engels have to say about people in pain and who experiences pain under capitalism?

In The Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engels suggest that the way capitalism exploits labor for profit is painful for the working class.  

The Communist Manifesto is quite direct in attributing exploitation for profit as the reason that people suffer. Marx and Engels argue that capitalism is predicated on manipulation.  The wealthiest of people generate their profit at the cost of workers.  For example, the owner of the factory is able to make more money...

In The Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engels suggest that the way capitalism exploits labor for profit is painful for the working class.  

The Communist Manifesto is quite direct in attributing exploitation for profit as the reason that people suffer. Marx and Engels argue that capitalism is predicated on manipulation.  The wealthiest of people generate their profit at the cost of workers.  For example, the owner of the factory is able to make more money when the worker is paid less for their efforts.  The less the worker receives, the more profit the owner makes.  Marx and Engels believe this helps to explain why capitalism is synonymous with suffering and pain for the working class:  "These labourers, who must sell themselves piecemeal, are a commodity, like every other article of commerce, and are consequently exposed to all the vicissitudes of competition, to all the fluctuations of the market."  Marx and Engels feel the wealthy have no qualms about increasing the suffering of the working class in order to meet the demands of the marketplace.

Marx and Engels are emphatic in suggesting that capitalism's success is dependent on the workers' pain. Suffering is unavoidable.  Marx and Engels describe how "masses of labourers, crowded into the factory, are organized like soldiers" and exist "under the command of a perfect hierarchy of officers and sergeants."  Such control makes workers "slaves of the bourgeois class, and of the bourgeois State."  In order for capitalism to thrive, Marx and Engels believe that the laborer is "daily and hourly enslaved by the machine, by the overlooker, and, above all, by the individual bourgeois manufacturer himself."  Suffering is inevitable when capitalism reduces workers to slaves.  When the drive for economic profit makes workers a mere "commodity," the end result is the workers' pain.  As a result of its objectification of the working class, Marx and Engels blame capitalism for the suffering it causes. 

What does the phrase "teach the torches to burn bright" suggest in Romeo and Juliet?

Juliet is so beautiful that even torches are not as bright as she.

This quote is from this line when Romeo first sees Juliet, before he knows who she is.

O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! (Act 1, Scene 5)

Basically, with this line Romeo is saying that Juliet is so beautiful that her beauty is brighter than a torch.  She is so bright, that the torches learn to be bright from her....

Juliet is so beautiful that even torches are not as bright as she.

This quote is from this line when Romeo first sees Juliet, before he knows who she is.

O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! (Act 1, Scene 5)

Basically, with this line Romeo is saying that Juliet is so beautiful that her beauty is brighter than a torch.  She is so bright, that the torches learn to be bright from her.  It is another metaphor on Juliet's beauty.

Romeo is infatuated by Juliet’s beauty and, blinded by her beauty, has not really stopped to consider anything else.  Romeo goes on and on with many beautiful lines about Juliet’s looks, but never once does he mention her personality.  He compares her to the sun, and a jewel, and says in this line that the torches get their light from her.  However, he is not talking about her glowing personality.  He is again talking about her looks.

Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear!
So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows,
As yonder lady o'er her fellows shows. (Act 1, Scene 5)

Romeo proposes soon after.  Romeo has only just met Juliet, and he didn’t even have a real conversation with her.  They share a cute conversation that was all in metaphors.  What is she like?  Does she like roses?  Is she allergic to strawberries?  What does she do on weekends?  He has no idea!  He has spent no time with this girl.  He just took one look at her and fell head over heels in love with her.

In "By the Waters of Babylon," what did John realize about his people's stories and legends?

John realizes that the “gods” are just humans who were killed by the Great Burning.

There was some kind of catastrophic apocalyptic event in John’s world that turned New York City into a wasteland.  John’s community became very primitive, but is clearly derived from what was once our society. His people are afraid of the places we used to inhabit, and do not realize that’s what they are.

It is forbidden to cross the great...

John realizes that the “gods” are just humans who were killed by the Great Burning.

There was some kind of catastrophic apocalyptic event in John’s world that turned New York City into a wasteland.  John’s community became very primitive, but is clearly derived from what was once our society. His people are afraid of the places we used to inhabit, and do not realize that’s what they are.

It is forbidden to cross the great river and look upon the place that was the Place of the Gods—this is most strictly forbidden. We do not even say its name though we know its name. It is there that spirits live, and demons—it is there that there are the ashes of the Great Burning. 

John is studying to be a priest like his father. He has a vision that he should go check out the Place of the Gods, and he does it without fear. Once he is there, he realizes that there are no gods. The places his people think gods inhabited contain the remains and artifacts of dead human beings.

That is all of my story, for then I knew he was a man—I knew then that they had been men, neither gods nor demons. It is a great knowledge, hard to tell and believe. They were men—they went a dark road, but they were men.

John sees a new vision for his people. He decides that they need to reclaim their heritage. Rather than live in fear, they need to rebuild. They should return to New York, and reestablish the society that the people once had on the ashes of the civilization they once thought belonged to the gods.

What does Helen mean by "everything has a lesson and a suggestion" in The Story of My Life?

When Anne Sullivan comes to Helen Keller, she opens up whole new worlds of learning. Despite the fact that little Helen is blind and deaf, Miss Sullivan teaches her language by spelling words into her hand and showing her what they meant. Soon after that, Helen can make sentences. Miss Sullivan helps Helen see the world by describing things to her.

Helen has a great love of nature, so she and Miss Sullivan go outside...

When Anne Sullivan comes to Helen Keller, she opens up whole new worlds of learning. Despite the fact that little Helen is blind and deaf, Miss Sullivan teaches her language by spelling words into her hand and showing her what they meant. Soon after that, Helen can make sentences. Miss Sullivan helps Helen see the world by describing things to her.

Helen has a great love of nature, so she and Miss Sullivan go outside as much as possible. This makes their lessons more sensory and interesting for Helen.

All my early lessons have in them the breath of the woods–the fine, resinous odour of pine needles, blended with the perfume of wild grapes. Seated in the gracious shade of a wild tulip tree, I learned to think that everything has a lesson and a suggestion. "The loveliness of things taught me all their use" (Chapter 7).

Helen can tell there is a lot to experience outside in nature. The combination of the senses she can use and Anne Sullivan’s descriptions allows her to explore the world around her. When she says there is a lesson in everything, she means she is finally able to experience the world on a fuller level now that she has the use of language and someone to explain things to her.

Nature seems to make learning almost any subject easier and more interesting for Helen.

There we spent many happy hours and played at learning geography. I built dams of pebbles, made islands and lakes, and dug river-beds, all for fun, and never dreamed that I was learning a lesson. I listened with increasing wonder to Miss Sullivan's descriptions of the great round world with its burning mountains, buried cities, moving rivers of ice, and many other things as strange (Chapter 7).

While she enjoys studying zoology and botany and using the great outdoors to explore other subjects, Helen has less patience with arithmetic. Anne Sullivan teaches Helen arithmetic by counting beads. She learns to add and subtract this way, but likes going out into nature more.